THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas made a very strong impression on linebacker David Gbenda during his Sunday visit
Katy Cinco Ranch linebacker David Gbenda isn’t a player who is going to have coaches drooling if you’re only going off his measurables – he’s undersized by any standard at 6-0 and 212 pounds. But then you watch his film, and Gbenda is flying around from sideline to sideline, knifing through traffic to make play after play (see for yourself below).
On Sunday, Gbenda was in Austin for an unofficial visit and he picked up a Texas offer before the day was over.
“We were there for a little while. I wasn’t expecting (the offer) at first but they surprised me when coach (Todd) Orlando told me to talk to Tom Herman,” Gbenda said. “It was a really great conversation.
“Me and my dad went into Herman’s office. I was kind of nervous. He’s really important. For him to want me is really a blessing.”
Texas stressed academics during last weekend’s visit and showed Gbenda UT’s facilities, including the dorms. Gbenda said he’s not looking to rush into a quick decision, but admits the Longhorns are a major player in his recruitment.
“I like to view all my options and schools. But Texas is really high on my list, I’m not going to lie,” Gbenda said.
In the last couple weeks, Gbenda has picked up offers from the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Colorado, Missouri and Kansas State. He said he may return to Austin for a UT spring practice and is working to set up a visit to Texas A&M as well.
As for the Longhorns, Gbenda said he’s very aware of the recruiting success Texas had in the 2018 class and it sounds like he’ll strongly consider being a part of UT’s 2019 haul.
“The way they recruited me and brought me into it stood out. They didn’t rush into it, kind of explained how they do it,” Gbenda said. “After the class they just signed, RevolUTion18, coach Orlando explained things and I really bought into that part of it. They’re really trying to build something special up there.”
2. Texas has surged with Rivals250 safety Jamal Morris
Richmond Bush safety Jamal Morris attended a Texas junior day in late February, and that visit has vaulted the Longhorns up his list and into his small group of favorites. On Sunday, Morris tweeted out a top three of LSU, Oklahoma and Texas (he listed those same three to us leaving the junior day) and said there’s a lot to like about the UT program.
“Texas, I feel they’re going to be a top program in the years coming,” Morris said.
The Riavls250 member (ranked No. 210 nationally) knows Texas signed a talented DB group in last year’s class, but said he won’t let numbers be a factor in his decision.
“Everywhere you go, there’s going to be competition. I don’t really shy away from that,” Morris said. “I know that Texas, statistically, Texas is DBU. I talked to (safeties) coach (Carig) Naivar. He told me how they run their system, how many DBs they play, how they rotate them. So I’m not really shying away from competition.”
One of the biggest reasons Texas is still standing in this fight is the presence of Naivar. He and Morris have known each other for a couple years and have developed a good relationship.
“Me and coach Naivar have been close for a long time. He was recruiting me when he was at U of H and he didn’t fall off one bit when he came to Texas,” Morris said. “That’s how I know that coach Naivar is going to be there for me.”
The 6-2, 177-pound Morris said he’d like to get his visits out of the way early and commit sometime in the summer. He already has one official visit set up to OU. Morris is originally from New Orleans, and this one is going to be a battle, but Texas has put itself squarely in the mix for both Morris and his teammate, Rivals100 CB Erick Young.
3. Monday night’s Texas-Baylor women’s hoops game was highly entertaining
If you didn’t see Monday night’s Big 12 Tournament Championship game between Texas and Baylor, you missed out. The Longhorns wound up losing a back-and-forth contest that went down to the closing minutes, so the outcome wasn’t ideal, but the action was intense.
There’s no love lost been those two programs, and you could sense the pressure reaching a boiling point in the final minutes as the teams battled it out. Unfortunately, that pressure undoubtedly played a part in a technical called on Texas head coach Karen Aston which helped put the game out of reach.
Side note … I can’t say I’m the most loyal viewer of women’s hoops, but is there a coach that’s tougher to like than Baylor’s Kim Mulkey? Maybe it’s because her teams are always so damn good and she pretty much owns Texas, but her act and interviews make me want to gouge out my eyes and cut off my ears.
Up next, Texas should host an NCAA Tournament regional and I’ve seen the Longhorns projected as a two seed, so Texas should be able to advance into the second week of the Tournament. I’ll certainly be watching.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. What would Texas get if it lands Jordan Whittington this weekend?
Cuero athlete Jordan Whittington is scheduled to announce his decision this Saturday (Whittington has changed his plans several times, so we’ll see if this one sticks). He’ll decide on either Texas, Texas A&M or UCLA.
Whittington ranks No. 18 on the Rivals100, so whoever wins out with his pledge is obviously getting a tremendous talent. If Texas lands him, it would give the Longhorns some instant in-state recruiting momentum to help combat Texas A&M’s fast start to the 2019 class.
“When we did the last rankings update, there were some ideas of him being a five-star kid,” said Rivals.com recruiting analyst Nick Krueger. “When you look at him athletically, it’s pretty obvious. He already looks like a college player just standing there. Watching him play, he has a good feel for the game offensively. I haven’t seen as much of him defensively, but I think he has such a natural ability to move the ball when he has it in his hands, he does a nice job of knowing what he’s good at. He performs at a high level within his ability, but he’s so talented that that ability goes a long way.”
Whittington can play on offense (receiver) or defense (safety) but prefers offense, where his size (he’s 6-1 and told me this week he’s 204 pounds), speed and strength make him an intriguing prospect.
“He’s interesting because you think of a lot of prototypical wide receivers, he doesn’t really fit that mold physically. He’s not the super long strider guy, but at the same time, he’s as quick as a lot of slot wide receivers but obviously much bigger,” Krueger said. “I think that’s what sets him apart. He’s the sort of guy that if he doesn’t try to put you out of your shoes on a juke, if all else fails, he can try to run through you.”
Whittington is a tremendous prospect, but he’s also a player who is well-liked by others in the 2019 recruiting class and is the type of personality that could greatly aid the efforts of whichever team he chooses.
“He really has a funny personality. It comes out on social media if you look at his tweets and responses. He’s a good natured dude when you talk to hm. Good natured and laid back,” Krueger said. “He has the type of personality that will resonate with guys. I think having someone like him in the class, not that the staff really needs it, but to have a strong personality in the class to kind of galvanize the class and pull them would be big for that too.”
2. What to make of the Texas hoops team after the win over West Virginia?
How fitting was it that Texas’ game against West Virginia, the contest that likely punched UT’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament, went down to overtime?
After allowing WVU to tie the game with under 2 seconds left, Texas went on to outscore the Mountaineers 15-7 in overtime, hitting on 4-of-5 field goal attempts and both free throws. Clutch when UT needed it most.
Jericho Sims was incredible with 17 points (career high) and 8 boards, and Matt Coleman and Kerwin Roach were fantastic in both scoring and being aggressive and creating plays. Playing without Mo Bamba isn’t ideal, but this team continues to battle and it could make Texas a better team once (if) Bamba is back.
A few thoughts popped into my head while watching Saturday’s game …
- It sounds like Texas is pretty much locked into a spot in the Tournament, but this team can’t afford to stub its toe against Iowa State on Wednesday. A loss there could make things far too interesting yet again.
- If this team gets in, the oddsmakers will probably have Texas at one and done. I’m not so sure. This is a scrappy team that has shown it can compete with some upper-echelon clubs on any given night, so it’s not out of the question that the Longhorns could make a little noise and advance beyond the first round. Hell, who knows? Maybe they can even get out of the first weekend. I wouldn’t put my money on it, but I’m not ready to rule out the possibility either. If Texas is a 10-12 seed, it’ll face a tough first-round opponent, but it won’t be a game the Longhorns cannot win. If they can get past that opponent, they’d face a second-round opponent in the same talent-range of a West Virginia or Texas Tech. It’ll take consistently good play in back to back games, but not impossible.
- A month ago, I thought this team was going to be in real trouble next year, assuming Bamba is playing in the NBA. Now, I’m not so sure. The growing confidence of guys like Coleman and Roach could be something on which Shaka Smart can lean, and if Sims can bottle up what he found on Saturday, this team will have a pretty good core group (not to mention what the team gets from Dylan Osetkowski).
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas out-of-state recruiting efforts pay off soon with a commitment from Kenyatta Watson
Rivals250 DB Kenyatta Watson told Rivals.com this week that he’s down to a final two of Texas and Notre Dame, and he could be closing in on a final decision very soon. After communicating with both Watson and his father in recent weeks, I feel pretty good about where UT stands, especially with Watson having taken an unofficial visit to Texas two weekends ago.
Watson does really like Notre Dame and speaks very highly of the Irish, so this one’s not a lock by any means (he swears he hasn’t made up his mind yet), but the comment I keep going back to is how his father mentioned a couple times how genuine and honest the Texas coaches are, including Tom Herman.
“We had an honest, straight-forward conversation about my expectations as a father handing his son off. He was very transparent and I appreciate that,” Mr. Watson said.
As it stands today, give me Texas for a big recruiting win in a very close race.
