THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Though he’s still technically a TCU commitment, Texas is the team to beat for Kennedy Lewis
Melissa wide receiver and current TCU commitment Kennedy Lewis took an official visit to Texas last weekend, and to say the Longhorns made a strong impression is probably a significant understatement. Lewis raved about the experience when OB spoke to him on Monday, so much so that he’ll probably be opening up his recruitment shortly after most of you read this column.
“The visit was amazing. From the minute we saw coach (Tom) Herman, everybody coming up to us, taking pictures and things,” Lewis said. “I have seen coach Herman like three times now. Every time I meet him, he’s just been really nice. I know his history as a coach, believe in the system. I also met coach (Drew) Mehringer). I really trust those guys. This visit just helped me better understand them as coaches. It was a great visit.”
A “big” receiver at close to 6-4 and 200 pounds, Texas has talked to Lewis about playing a role similar to that of Collin Johnson, who just happened to put on a show last week in front of Lewis’ watchful eyes.
“They said I’m plan A for their last wide receiver spot, that they want a bigger guy to take Collin’s spot,” Lewis said. “They said I have the speed to be the Z, the quicker dude, but they’re looking for a big receiver.
Technically, Lewis remains committed to TCU. He gave the Horned Frogs a commitment in June, but said he’s strongly considering opening things up to continue to explore other options.
“Texas is definitely really high on my list. They’ve always been really high,” Lewis said. “I’m thinking I committed too early, thinking about decommitting. It’s not really just for Texas, just so I can take other visits.”
Lewis has been in contact with Florida and Notre Dame and is considering visiting both schools. If he does decommit from TCU, he said the Horned Frogs would “definitely still be in the picture.”
With the timing of a possible decommitment set for this week, coming shortly after his UT visit, it would seem to be a positive sign for the Longhorns’ chances. I asked Williams if I would be wrong to label Texas as the current team to beat.
“You would not be wrong, no. It was amazing,” Lewis said.
Lewis was accompanied on the visit by his parents, and he said they were also won over on the trip.
“They loved it too. My dad is kind of a football guru. He knew going on this visit, it would be hard to stay loyal to TCU,” Lewis said. “I kind of knew that too, but I wanted to make sure I’m making the right decision.”
This one may not have a quick resolution of Lewis does want to take some visits, but he is planning to sign in December so things will have to wrap up fairly soon. As it stands right now, the odds of Texas landing Lewis’ commitment look pretty darn good.
2. Peyton Powell could be a bit of a wildcard for this class
Odessa Permian athlete Peyton Powell has been a tough guy to figure out throughout this recruiting process. He’s been close to announcing a decision on a couple occasions, only to postpone things so he can continue to evaluate other options. There’s been a high confidence level at various programs, including recent speculation by some Ohio State insiders that Powell might be close to committing to the Buckeyes as a defensive back.
Last weekend, Powell visited the UT campus for the first time, and he was very impressed with what he saw from the Texas program during his official visit.
“It was great. I loved everything about it,” Powell said.
Powell said on Sunday he’s still considering about 10 schools, but when asked which schools were on top of his list, he narrowed things down to Ohio State, Texas, Texas Tech and TCU. Oklahoma, a school that was at one time believed to be a major factor in this one, has fallen off. Powell doesn’t have a firm date for a decision, but said “it’ll be soon” when asked when he’d like to make a commitment.
When we last interviewed Powell in early September, he detailed to us that Texas was now looking at him as a quarterback after initially offering him as a receiver. Drew Mehringer had been his lead recruiter, but Powell said Tim Beck was heavily involved at that time. When OB spoke to him on Sunday on his way home from his Texas visit, he said again that the Texas coaches are talking to him about getting a shot at QB.
As for what stood out about his UT visit, Powell said it was his conversations with the UT staff and the confidence the coaches have in his abilities.
“Really it was just the coaches, how much they showed me they want me on their team,” Powell said. “They believe in my ability, what I can do on the field. They want me to play for their team.”
Powell’s been a tough guy to figure out, but the Longhorns are definitely surging here. Ohio State and TCU are other schools to watch, but Texas offering him the ability to play offense compared to OSU wanting him at DB could be an element that helps tip the scales in UT’s favor. We should have our final answer pretty soon.
3. The wide receiver recruiting numbers have some flexibility
As mentioned above, the Longhorns continue to target a number of wide receiver prospects, which could be a sign of a number of different things … some guys could wind up playing other positions, the staff could feel there’s a need to add bodies to the WR room in the event that a guy or two leaves for the NFL early, or maybe the coaches just feel the wide receiver talent on their board is just too good to pass up.
If you look at the current roster and project that group forward to 2019, you can understand why the position is such a priority in this year’s class. Collin Johnson and Lil’Jordan Humphrey, the top two players at the position (and arguably on the entire offense) are both juniors. While it would be a bit of a surprise to see both players declare early for the NFL Draft, it’s not out of the question. Even if both players are back for next season, Texas will have to start grooming some young receivers to be ready for when Johnson and Humphrey are gone. Jerrod Heard will be gone after this year. Devin Duvernay should be a big part of the offensive personnel next year as a senior. John Burt is a senior and he seems to pretty much be a forgotten man in the rotation. Joshua Moore is a young man who appears to have a bright future, while Brennan Eagles and Al’Vonte Woodard have tremendous upside. But they’re all still unproven, as is Jordan Pouncey. D’Shawn Jamison is an explosive athlete out of the slot, but he could very well transition over to defense next year, which is where most thought he’d play when he was being recruited.
There’s young talent on the roster, but it’s no guarantee that it will all pan out, and Texas could still use an influx of explosive playmakers in the receiver rotation. Currently, Texas has three receiver commitments, but there is some flexibility in that group.
Jordan Whittington is labeled as an athlete. He wants to play receiver and he’ll get a look there, but he’s a player who could actually have more upside on defense than he does on offense. Jake Smith is a pure slot receiver who can also help in special teams and out of the backfield. Demariyon Houston is an outside receiver and while he’s been solid with his commitment, he is a player to watch in terms of possibly taking other visits.
As for uncommitted players, the Longhorns continue to target Marcus Washington, who is expected to announce next Friday. Missouri is still a factor there, as is Ohio State and Nebraska, but Texas feels like the team to beat there.
As mentioned above, Texas made a big move with Melissa WR Kennedy Lewis and Odessa Permian athlete Peyton Powell during their visits last weekend. Lewis is a pure receiver, but Powell is a player who could wind up at quarterback or on defense. Again, flexibility there.
The other big targets that remain realistic possibilities are Bru McCoy and Elijah Higgins. The Longhorns made a strong impression on McCoy during his recent official visit and things seem to be trending upward with Higgins with the way UT is playing, but you can’t really call Texas the clear leader for either of those players at this point. There is some flexibility with McCoy in terms of college position and from UT’s perspective, you can’t wait around for both of those guys while bypassing other good prospects, only to be left standing at the alter at the last minute. If either decides to come, you call it a blessing and find a way to make the numbers work.
We’ll see what happens here, but it’s looking more and more like it will be a large wide receiver haul, although it’s worth keeping in mind that there could be some position shake-ups with the current roster as well as some versatility with many of the players Texas is targeting.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. This week’s travel by the coaches could shed some recruiting light
One of the questions on everyone’s mind is how the Longhorns will finish out the rest of their recruiting class, particularly along the offensive line. It’s a question that gets submitted every single week in our recruiting Q&A, and the truthful answer is I just don’t know how things will shake out at this point. Going back to the summer, my belief has always been that Herb Hand would evaluate players into the fall and we’d see some new targets emerge after he got a chance to see how some players had developed during their senior seasons, much like we saw with UT signee Christian Jones last year.
So far this fall, things have remained fairly quiet with offensive line recruiting, aside from the weekly efforts in tracking Javonne Shepherd’s whereabouts. The Longhorns do have to very good OL commitments in Shepherd and Tyler Johnson, but Texas has only a couple offers out to currently uncommitted prospects. With Hand and the rest of the staff having a chance to get out this week to get first-hand looks at some players, I would expect that to change in the near future. If a run of offensive line offers is going to go out, you would think it would happen in the next couple weeks.
Speaking of coaches on the road, I found it interesting that Tom Herman started his week off hitting some of the major recruiting hotbeds in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. On Monday, Herman was spotted at schools like Lancaster, Cedar Hill and Duncanville, three schools that routinely churn out top talent, including some top targets for UT in the 2020 class.
There’s been a lot of discussion among fans and media that Texas needs to find a way to be more successful in recruiting the Metroplex. Maximizing those efforts will take time and getting a better foothold in that area isn’t going to happen overnight, but Herman getting out and making school visits is a big first step and pretty telling that recruiting DFW better is a big priority for this staff moving forward.
2. What’s the Big 12 pecking order after another wild week?
Another week, another shake-up in the Big 12 rankings. This has been a tough league to pin down in terms of team strengths as there’s been little consistency from each team from one week to the next. Is it inconsistency, or is it parity? Probably a little bit of both.
The ESPN FPI rankings are gradually looking a bit more accurate, although those rankings still have Oklahoma as the highest ranked team in the conference (No. 7), with Texas checking in second at 18. West Virginia is at No. 20 with Texas Tech slotted 23rd.
Surprisingly, the Longhorns are given only a 3.2 percent chance of winning out despite being favored to win by that poll in every game they play except the one in Lubbock. A few of UT’s remaining games are considered near toss-ups, but that still seems like strange math.
At any rate, my Big 12 rankings after seven weeks.
1. Texas – The Longhorns are the only remaining undefeated team in league play, so this is an easy choice. (Last week: 2)
2. Oklahoma – I’ve had WVU ranked over OU because those two will play in Morgantown, but my eyes tell me Oklahoma is the better team after WVU has struggled some over the last three weeks. (Last week: 3)
3. West Virginia – I figured Iowa State might make it interesting in Ames, but a 16-point loss? Didn’t see that coming. (Last week: 2)
4. Texas Tech – The Red Raiders actually beat TCU on the strength of their defense. Say what? This team could be dangerous if Alan Bowman returns to full strength. (Last week: 4)
5. Iowa State – It’s a pretty significant drop-off after the first four, although ISU has played well two weeks in a row with new QB Brock Purdy leading the charge. (Last week: 7)
6. Baylor – With the way TCU’s offense is playing, I’m giving the Bears the nod for this spot. (Last week: 6)
7. TCU – Can Gary Patterson coach his guys up enough this week to keep it close against OU? Not if his offense doesn’t improve in a hurry. (Last week: 5)
8. Kansas State – Big win last week over a free-falling Oklahoma State team. (Last week: 9)
9. Oklahoma State – It’s crazy to think that early in the season, this team looked like a potential darkhorse for the Big 12 title game. (Last week: 8)
10. Kansas – ESPN’s FPI has KU’s projected win total anywhere from 3.0-9.0. Something tells me it the Jayhawks won’t hit that high mark. (Last week: 10)
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ONE PREDICTION – JUCO LB Caleb Johnson will be a Longhorn
This one’s not a huge shock and I’ve kind of expected it ever since Texas offered (and especially after Johnson decommitted from Iowa State last week), but in talking to Johnson after his UT official visit, it’s pretty clear that Texas has a commanding lead in this one.
Johnson will visit Arkansas this weekend but going into the visit, I’m not expecting the Razorbacks to be much of a factor. Johnson himself said he doesn’t really see a why Arkansas or anyone else could overtake Texas. A potential Oregon visit could make things somewhat interesting since Johnson is a West Coast guy, but with everything Texas has to offer – including the success of Gary Johnson – this one looks like it should be a pretty easy choice for Johnson when he’s ready to decide.
