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THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. The final push for Anthony Hill will happen this week
The fight for five-star linebacker Anthony Hill is entering the final rounds and what once appeared like it might turn into a battle royale now looks like it will be another in-state battle, similar to Hill’s initial recruitment that eventually wound up with a commitment to Texas A&M.
There’s not a lot new to report on Hill from what we mentioned last week … both Texas and Texas A&M did in-home visits last week and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is slated to go in-home on Thursday. That visit could prove to be key if Hill is truly still sorting through his options, as could any potential visits to Austin or College Station this weekend, before the dead period kicks in on Monday.
Hill and those close to him aren’t going to tip their hands on what the Denton Ryan standout might be thinking with a little more than one week to go before the early signing period opens up. That being said, a couple of best guesses …
--- Hill and his family continue to stay in contact with coaches from multiple schools, but I’d be surprised if his mind wasn’t made up at this point. At the very least, he likely has a very strong grasp of where he’s going to wind up. Him waiting until the last minute feels more like a situation where he just wants to keep a low profile before ripping the Band-Aid off with one final announcement than a situation where he’s genuinely torn. Maybe I’m misreading the situation, but Hill isn’t the type to play a lot of games and he’s always been pretty decisive. I expect this situation is the same.
--- In checking with a source close to Hill on Sunday, we were unable to get any clarity on whether or not he would take one final visit to Texas or Texas A&M this weekend, or possibly both. I would expect if he hits one, he’ll hit them both because he knows it would cause an uproar if he stopped at only one campus, and it would essentially give the answer away.
--- We continue to feel confident that Texas will win out here, as we have since he decommitted from A&M in early November. Hill hasn’t been back to College Station since that decision while he did visit Texas for a game after re-opening his commitment. He’s probably seen A&M enough where another visit really isn’t necessary, but Texas getting the last unofficial visit and the last in-home visit feels like something we should be considering. From what I’ve gathered, the confidence in Austin seems much higher than it is in College Station. We should know if that’s warranted in about a week.
2. The Ryan Niblett rollercoaster ride continues
In case you missed it on Sunday, Texas wide receiver commitment Ryan Niblett took a surprise official visit to Houston over the weekend. We’ll get into that in a second, but let’s first take a look back at Niblett’s twists and turns since he committed to Texas back in April. Shortly after committing, Niblett told OB that he planned to take other visits but he would later back off that stance in the summer and had maintained for several months that he was locked in with the Longhorns. He showed up at Houston last weekend, mostly under the radar, and grapevine talk on Sunday had the Cougars staff as being very confident in a flip, possibly even before the weekend ended.
Fast forward to Monday night, and a source tells OB that there’s a high level of confidence that Niblett will stick with Texas. “He’s good. He’s committed,” a source close to the situation told OB.
Was it overconfidence by Houston? Perhaps the UofH staff leaking word of a possible flip to try to apply some pressure or generate some buzz? Is the pro-UT confidence on Monday night misguided after having talked to Niblett? This one still feels like it’s worth watching closely but Niblett did re-confirm with OB on Monday night that he’ll be in Austin on Saturday for an unofficial visit.
3. Houston continues to push for S’Maje Burrell and Dylan Spencer
Of the three players that visited Houston last weekend (Niblett, S'Maje Burrell and Dylan Spencer), it felt on Sunday that Niblett might be the one we should be paying the most attention to. That could still wind up being the case as things can change quickly, but on Monday night it feels like Spencer has taken over that title.
Niblett, as mentioned above, told OB that he’ll be in Austin on Saturday. Burrell on Monday also confirmed his plans to be in Austin this weekend, and the standout linebacker told OB last week that he’s still fully planning on signing with Texas on December 21. Spencer did downplay the significance of his Houston visit and told us on Sunday he’s still solid with Texas, but this could be a case where he might feel like more of a priority by Houston over the next week.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. What to make of the Chris Beard situation?
As I write this, the University of Texas has literally just issued a statement saying Texas basketball coach Chris Beard has been suspended indefinitely, without pay, after his arrest early Monday morning. It’s the right call, and it’s an obvious call.
This could be the tip of the iceberg in this story after Beard was arrested after allegedly assaulting a woman in a manner that included choking, biting, slapping her face and throwing her to the floor. I’m usually a believer that the truth in a story when there are differing perspectives is somewhere in the middle and I’d advise everyone, including fans, to let this one run its course through the necessary legal channels before making any final decisions about Beard’s future in Austin. Thus, the indefinite suspension is more than warranted.
I’m not going to get on my soapbox too much here, but if it’s proven that there’s even a shred of validity to even some of the information that was in the arrest affidavit, Beard needs to be relieved of his duties at Texas. The University can stand by him and get him the help he needs, but he’s a public figure in charge of developing young men, both as players and as human beings. This week’s alleged incidents clearly put in question his capacity to perform those duties while representing the University of Texas honorably.
It’s an awful situation all around. I feel bad for the complainant. I feel bad for the current Texas team, who is in the early stages of what could be a season of historic success for the Longhorn program. The student-athletes are periphery players in this story but their world has probably been turned upside down and they’ll now have to answer constant questions they shouldn’t have to face. Nobody wins in this situation, regardless of what happens with the charges, and the spillover will go well beyond just Beard.
I’ve been trying to think of a comparable story where a head coach at a major university, in one of the “big” sports was charged with a violent felony and I’m unable to do so. This is uncharted territory to these eyes so there’s no book on how to handle this situation, but Texas will have some tough decisions to make if any of the allegations are found to be true, and the entire college sports world will be watching.
2. What is Texas getting in S’Maje Burrell, and what would teammate Ke’Morreun Pimpton mean for Texas?
I caught up with North Crowley head coach Ray Gates late last week to talk about UT linebacker commitment S'Maje Burrell and new tight end offer Ka'Morreun Pimpton (who tells OB he will not take any visits this weekend). His thoughts …
On what makes S’Maje Burrell so special:
First of all, S’Maje is a really good, humble kid, hungry for greatness. I think with him over the course of the year, whenever we got here we were changing schemes, changing some things he was comfortable with. It took a little bit of time to learn what we were doing. Once he was able to latch on, you were able to see the athleticism, the confidence, the things you know he possesses. It was unlocked again. His ability to play at a fast pace and decipher information as it’s being given to him allows him to really jump off the charts. We were very fortunate to have a guy like him, in our first year, anchoring our defense. We put a lot on him.
On what he’ll bring to Texas:
He’s going to be eager to learn. He’s going to come in wanting to compete right away. I don’t think he’s the type of kid that’s going to back down, back away from competition. He’ll be ready for the moment. The biggest thing for him, learning the scheme, how Texas is going to use him. His athleticism jumps off the chart. You’re not going to find anyone at his size, his ability to run, be physical, strong at the point of attack as he is. He’s a really smart kid, very sharp.
On Burrell in the locker room:
He’s really kind of a laid-back kid. He has a natural gravitational pull with people. Very charismatic around his peers. Loves his friends. He often tries to get people together. We challenged him in his leadership role here, were going to put more on him, he didn’t shy away from that. He grew as a leader for us. He’s one of those types of kids you won’t have to worry about away from the field.
On tight end Pimpton:
When you watch his tape from his junior year, you can see the potential, can see that he had ability, good hands, ability to be flexed out, a willing blocker. You saw that in his junior film … knew the potential was there.
When he got here, what we were able to do, we were able to take his unique skill set, showcase it in a different way, moving him all over the field. He’ll play outside, inside slot, hand down, tight end, h-back. He created mismatches week by week, allowed us to flourish offensively. His ability to high point a ball and his catch radius, it’s the best I’ve ever seen in 17 years. I had Zakhari Franklin, now at UTSA, he’ll be a high draft pick, (Pimpton’s) ball skills are as good or better than him. I didn’t matter what you did to game plan, didn’t matter if you had a Division I corner, you couldn’t’ take him out of the game.
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas loses one of the three Houston visitors, but flips at least one player
Out of the three players mentioned above that visited Houston, give me one of them to flip. We’re also keeping an eye on Sydir Mitchell and Liona Lefau since they’ve both hosted other coaches for in-home visits, but both players have told OB this week that they’re still locked in with Texas. On a more positive pick, give me a couple potential flips by the Longhorns, with wide receiver Deandre Moore and defensive lineman Justin Benton being the most likely.
