THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas is the current leader for running back Derrian Brown
When we last checked with Buford (GA) running back Derrian Brown, he told Orangebloods that he was hoping to make it to Austin over the summer for an unofficial visit. That trip was never realized, but in following up with Brown this week, the Longhorns are still strong contenders for the Rivals250 back. In fact, Texas is the team to beat right now, according to Brown.
The 5-10, 185-pound Brown told us Texas and Penn State are the two schools on which he’s currently focused, and when asked if one was above the other he didn’t hesitate.
“It’s probably Texas and then Penn State,” Brown said.
Interestingly, Brown hasn’t seen either campus of his two favorites, but said he has developed a strong bond with both coaching staffs. Brown said Stan Drayton and Tom Herman have stayed in constant communication with him (he spoke with them over the weekend) and Texas has a couple other allies on its side in current commitment and fellow Georgia product Kenyatta Watson and Watson’s father.
“I’ve talked to Kenytta’s dad. He says it’s a great place, that I’ll fit in with the scheme of the offense they run and everything,” Brown said. “He said I would love it when I go visit. I talked to Kenyatta too. He said there’s just something special about it.”
Brown currently doesn’t have dates locked in for any of his official visits, but said he’ll for sure make it to Austin at some point in the fall. As for a decision date, Brown sounds somewhat torn – he mentioned that he could make a move before he even visits either Texas or Penn State, or he could wait until he takes some official visits before deciding. I’d expect the latter.
“That was my plan on taking some officials, but at this point, I don’t know. I’ll probably commit maybe midway through the season or right after,” Brown said. “It could be possible (to commit before visiting). But I would also love to see both of them.”
Of his two favorites, Brown said Texas is definitely recruiting him the hardest. He speaks to the UT staff about once a week and likes the message of how he’d be used and how he’d fit in to the Texas offense. Whatever he’s asked to do, Brown is confident he can be a major contributor.
“I’m just the type of guy, put me anywhere, I just want to help the team out. I feel like I’m an all-around guy. If you put the ball in my hands, I’ll make a play, just try to help get the team to a win,” Brown said. “I’m focused on my balance, getting faster and stronger, gaining a little more weight and focusing on the team, working up to the state championship.”
Brown’s thoughts on his two favorites:
Texas – “The history and then I’ve bonded with the coaches great. I know coach Drayton, looked at his history, what he’s accomplished. That’s great. I’ve connected with all the coaches there, the program overall is great. I talk to coach Drayton, coach Washington, coach Herman.”
Penn State- “I like their legacy. I have a good bond with the running backs coach there. They have a good history of running backs. That’s a great program also.”
Texas continues to pursue other highly-rated backs, most notably Noah Cain and Trey Sanders, but with the way things stand right now, it’s looking like UT’s chance with Brown may be higher than any other back on the board.
2. Texas is looking to the JUCO ranks for linebacker help and may have found a gem
The Longhorns recently extended an offer to Fullerton (CA) Community College linebacker Caleb Johnson, a move that seemed to come out of nowhere. A three-star prospect, Johnson is committed to Iowa State and is kind of flying under the radar when you consider he has an offer list that you can count on one hand, and Texas, Iowa State and Arkansas are his only Power 5 offers.
He may not be the sexiest offer in terms of dominating the headlines, but if you take a minute to evaluate things – and look at his film – the offer makes a lot of sense on a lot of levels.
- Texas has had success recruiting the junior college ranks in recent years with the addition of Gary Johnson to the program in the 2017 class. Not only has Johnson blossomed into arguably the top player on the Texas defense heading into the 2018 season, he’s become a key team leader and a player the staff has used as a key recruiter when other top prospects are on campus.
- A quick look at Johnson’s film, and you’ll see some characteristics that are similar to what Gary Johnson had put on tape coming out of Dodge City Community College. Johnson attacks the ball, does a good job of taking on or shedding blockers, he has tremendous speed and literally makes plays from sideline to sideline. He may be a bit undersized in the traditional sense (listed at 6-1, 220), but he’s an explosive athlete whose skill set and ability to cover ground should transfer well into Big 12 play. He earned all-American honors last year and on top of all that, he carries a solid 3.3 GPA, so getting him enrolled wouldn’t be a problem. Frankly, this guy seems like he’s being under-recruited.
- Texas needs help at the linebacker position and landing a player or two who could come in and compete for a starting spot from day one would be a huge bonus for Orlando’s defense next year. Replacing Gary Johnson and Malik Jefferson in back-to-back years is going to be very tough (not to mention losing Anthony Wheeler after this season as well), so landing a player like Johnson could help fill a void from the second he stepped foot on campus.
- Texas has a lot to sell here – an open depth chart, Orlando’s success, a bit of a developing California pipeline and the University itself. Iowa State did a good job of getting on Johnson early and securing a commitment in July, but you have to figure Johnson will give Texas a good look and getting him on campus for a visit seems like a smart bet.
3. Caleb Johnson’s interest in Texas is high
Texas’ interest in Caleb Johnson is very new. Johnson is committed to Iowa State. He’s never been to Austin. Despite those factors, Johnson did tell OB late Monday night that his interest in the Longhorns is high. Some background on his contact with Texas …
“They contacted me like two weeks ago. I talked to the Director of Recruiting, coach (Bryan) Carrington. He told me he saw my tape, thought the other coaches would love it. He was going to show them,” Johnson said. “Then I talked to coach (Todd) Orlando, we talked about the scheme, how I’d fit in. They said they’d get back to me and they called me on Friday. I was talking to them about what we went through in our practice, how it was similar to theirs. He was telling me how their camp was going. He told me at the end they had a scholarship and I need to get with coach Carrington to schedule a visit as soon as possible.”
Texas told Johnson they like his “speed, explosiveness” and that he’s “very similar to Gary Johnson” and that sales pitch has moved the needle.
Johnson tells me he’ll be talking to Carrington soon to set up an official visit and he likes the culture and history at Texas.
“It’s just huge,” Johnson said of the Texas offer. “I can’t even describe it.”
We’ll have more from Johnson in this week’s War Room.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. How big was the loss of Dylan Wright to A&M?
There’s really no way to sugarcoat the surprising commitment of wide receiver Dylan Wright to Texas A&M last week – it was a key head-to-head loss for the Longhorns and it will be tough for Texas to find a replacement.
Wright, a Rivals250 member with tremendous upside, was believed to be favoring Texas early in the process, but A&M began to surge in his recruitment in the spring and summer and most felt it was close to a dead heat heading into August. Wright had openly stated that he would not make an early decision, so the timing of his commitment and the way the momentum swung to A&M’s side in such dramatic fashion was certainly unexpected.
In checking around this week, Wright’s mind had been made up for a little while before he made his commitment announcement via a video on Tuesday of last week. In talking to people close to the situation, there really wasn’t anything too exciting in how this one unfolded … it really just came down to Texas A&M doing a fantastic job of recruiting Wright. A&M wide receivers coach Dameyune Craig is regarded as a fantastic recruiter, and he flexed his muscles on this one, winning over Wright and his family over the course of a few visits.
Recruiting can be tough to predict, and this one will probably go down as one of the bigger surprises of the 2019 cycle. A player that looked like a one-time Texas lean spurned the Longhorns for the program’s bitter in-state rival. It happens. A lot of it reminded me of the commitment to Texas from Javonne Shepherd, who was at one-time believed to be favoring A&M, although the timing of Shepherd’s commitment wasn’t quite the surprise that Wright’s was. Who will come out with the better end of those two situations? Time will tell but something tells me we all better buckle up for some bare-knuckle recruiting battles in the state for the next few years until one program separates itself from the other with its play on the field.
2. Where does Texas go from here at the receiver position?
The Longhorns already have three very good wide receiver commitments – Rivals100 member Jordan Whittington, Rivals100 member Jake Smith and four-star Demariyon Houston – so the Longhorns aren’t exactly hurting at the position, but the number of outside receivers who are realistic possibilities for Texas took a big hit with Wright removing his name from the mix.
Elijah Higgins will remain a top target, but Texas has work to do in that one. Garrett Wilson remains solidly committed to Ohio State despite the turmoil in that program. That could change if something happens with Urban Meyer, but a lot of dominoes would have to fall for Texas to win out with an eventual flip from Wilson. As we mentioned in the War Room a couple weeks ago, keep an eye on St. Louis receiver Marcus Washington (pictured above). The Ohio State situation has impacted him and he’s now slowing the process down, and Texas should get him on campus for an official visit this fall. Washington already has guys like Texas commitment De’Gabriel Floyd in his ear, and his teammate, 2020 athlete Mookie Cooper, has been very pro-Texas ever since visiting UT early in the summer.
Texas does still have offers out to in-state guys like Jaylen Ellis, Langston Anderson and Peyton Powell, so there are options out there. I still expect the staff to take another receiver in the class, but losing one of the staff’s top targets to in-state rival A&M was certainly a bitter pill to swallow and it’s too early to tell in what direction Texas will go from here.
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas is in a favorable spot with David Gbenda
There’s been a lot of talk about linebacker David Gbenda of late, but with me being gone last week, I haven’t had much of a chance to address the Katy Cinco Ranch linebacker.
In the War Room a week and a half ago, I reported the following:
“Hearing this week that A&M has fallen back in this one and it looks like the Longhorns would be the team to beat. Gbenda has maintained all along that he wants to take his time with the process and take his visits so this one could still have some twists and turns if he sticks to that plan, but I’d put Texas out in front of this one right now.”
As it stands now, I’d say Texas’ chances are even better than when I wrote the above note. Gbenda did tell me this week that he’s still settling on a recruiting timeline and may not decide until well into the fall, but an earlier announcement certainly wouldn’t be a shock. Regardless, Texas looks very good in this one.
