THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas is making quick moves with new RB target D.J. Williams
There were some changes to the Longhorns’ running back recruiting efforts this week, with Texas extending an offer to D.J. Williams and longtime target Noah Cain making some changes to his list as well.
The offer to Williams, which he tweeted on Saturday, came out of the blue but this is a young man whose stock is blowing up of late. Out of Sebring (FL), Williams is rated as only a two-star prospect and he’s committed to Appalachian State, but I expect both his ranking and his commitment status to change in short order. Williams’ senior film shows a back that punishes defenders and suddenly he’s caught the attention of schools like Texas, Miami, Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia, all of which have extended offers over the last week.
Williams took an unofficial visit to Georgia last weekend and has said he’ll likely return to Athens for an official visit as well. He’s scheduled to take an official visit to Auburn this weekend, Miami the following weekend and told me he’ll be in Austin the weekend of December 7. Williams plans to sign in the early window next month, so these next few visits could be huge.
Williams said UT running backs coach Stan Drayton’s résumé is one of the Longhorns’ biggest selling points.
“The coach. He’s just an amazing guy with his experiences,” Williams said when asked what stood out about Texas. “Basically, if I want to be like my favorite person (Ezekiel Elliott), he’ll help me become him.”
How quickly have things progressed with Texas and Williams? The 5-10, 205-pounder said he was literally on his way to Georgia last weekend for an unofficial visit when he got a call from Texas. He then talked to Drayton and the offer was presented.
At this point, with all the new interest, Williams admits he’ll be switching his commitment from Appalachian State sometime soon. At this point, he said he’s keeping an open mind and just trying to process the recent run of offers.
“I’ve been busy doing football, so I’ve been taking it day by day,” Williams said. “I’m just trying to find the best place for me. I’m keeping an open mind, trying to figure out what fits me the best.”
I asked Williams if Texas being a little further from home than a place like Miami, Auburn or Georgia will hinder UT’s chances. Williams said location isn’t a factor and he’ll go anywhere that provides him the best opportunity.
“Actually, it doesn’t hinder their chances at all,” he said. “It’s just wherever I fit best.”
One thing that could weigh in UT’s favor … Williams wants to study business and said academics will play a big part in his decision. I asked him if he had started to evaluate the academic reputations of the schools on his list.
“Not yet. Some of them, they’ve told me about them. I now Texas’ business school is pretty good,” Williams said.
2. Things are as difficult to predict with Noah Cain as ever
Coming out of his Texas official visit two weekends ago, I thought the Longhorns made a strong enough move with Rivals100 running back Noah Cain that they just might be the team to beat. Texas really impressed Cain and both his parents, including showing Cain how he could be a featured member of a young and improving Texas offense. All that being said, Cain still had three other official visits to take, and he did genuinely seem to be undecided as he continued to evaluate several options.
Cain visited Penn State last weekend and that visit, as expected, also impressed Cain and his family. He was slated to visit LSU this weekend and end things with a trip to Ohio State, but Cain has changed up his plans and will now visit Georgia this weekend before taking his final trip to LSU the first weekend of December. He’s still set to announce his decision on December 19.
With Texas’ new interest in Williams, does it mean the Horns’ are slipping with Cain? Not necessarily. I’m not sure Cain himself knows where he’ll wind up, so Texas is simply being thorough and giving itself options as it tries to find a back to pair with current commitment Derrian Brown. Five-star back Trey Sanders remains on the radar but I’ve always felt that the longer he got away from his September Texas visit (and the closer he got to Alabama and Florida visits) that it might be tough for the Longhorns to hold onto the solid footing they enjoyed following his stay in Austin. If the staff feels the odds are on Sanders landing elsewhere, focusing on Cain and adding Williams to the mix makes a lot of sense.
Cain’s eventual decision is really impossible to predict right now. The running back situation at LSU could still impact things, and the renewed interest in Georgia is another wrench thrown into the mix. Coming into last weekend, I thought Texas had a slight advantage, especially if LSU looked like it was going to add John Emery to its commitment list. Now, I’m not sure what to make of the entire situation, if I’m being honest. I still like Texas’ chances as much as anyone’s due to a variety of factors – depth chart, comfort with the coaches, McCombs School of Business – but it’s tough to say which way this one will ultimately fall.
3. Texas has a couple JUCO defensive lineman possibilities
Everyone’s favorite topic of late … defensive line recruiting, specifically JUCO defensive line recruiting.
I caught up with Iowa Western Community College defensive lineman Malcolm Lee this week, a player who has been in regular contact with Oscar Giles. Lee doesn’t hold a UT offer at this point, but he said he and Giles have talked about Lee being brought in for an official visit in December.
Lee has already taken one official visit to Houston. He isn’t ruling out any school at this point, but said he does have a few that are standing out, particularly Texas and Iowa.
“Iowa is up there. Texas is up there as well. Those are my two really big ones at the moment,” Lee said. “Houston is up there. I really like the staff at Houston. UCF and Louisville would probably be on there too.”
Lee plans to enroll in January. He played in Iowa Western’s first four games this year but has missed the last couple months due to injury. If he plays in Iowa Western’s bowl game, he would have three years to play two seasons of Division I ball. If he doesn’t play in the bowl game, he said he could take a redshirt year, giving him four years to play three.
This weekend, Texas will host Butler County Community College defensive end defensive end Jacoby Jones on an official visit. Jones, who is committed to Oklahoma, is a player who was very high on the Longhorns when Texas first offered after he took an unofficial visit in May, so his visit will be worth watching closely.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. Can Texas use this weekend to make a recruiting move?
It’s the Longhorns’ last home game of the season, and Texas will host some key visitors. It’s early in the week so some players haven’t finalized their plans, but one player that has confirmed he’ll be in town is 2019 defensive end Myron Warren, one of the Horns’ top remaining targets. The Many (LA) product picked up a Texas offer recently, and this will be his first time on the Texas campus, meaning the Longhorns could really move the needle in this one if things go as expected. It’ll be an unofficial visit for Warren, who has told me he’ll likely also come in at some point for an official visit as well.
Everyone is focused on LSU and whether or not the in-state Tigers will offer. If that happens, LSU could shake things up, but Warren has told me he’s not locked into the idea of staying in state. Would LSU be the odds-on favorite if it had offered already? Probably, but it wouldn’t have been a slam dunk. Texas could take a big step towards helping its chances – regardless of what LSU does in the coming weeks – with a great visit this weekend. This is another we’ll be watching very closely.
A few other key names who have already confirmed their plans to be in Austin … Javonne Shepherd, T’Vondre Sweat, Peter Mpagi, Jared Wiley, Logan Parr, Zach Evans, Chad Lindberg, Kelee Ringo, Jacoby Jones. Lindberg has been a regular visitor to campus, it’ll be Evans’ first trip back to the Forty Acres since the summer and Ringo’s first stop in Austin. Texas could set a great foundation with those 2020 prospects with a successful visit weekend.
2. What’s Texas’ best hope to make the Big 12 Championship game?
There are a couple different scenarios that would put Texas in the Big 12 title game (all contingent on the Longhorns winning out, obviously). West Virginia will face a tough test this week in Stillwater and a loss by the Mountaineers would put Texas in a position to control its own destiny. Certainly possible, but the guess here is that Texas’ best odds of getting into the title game are to see West Virginia knock off Oklahoma in Morgantown in two weeks. On any given week, Oklahoma is my pick as the top team in the conference when it’s hitting on all cylinders, but with West Virginia playing at home, and with the struggles OU has on defense, I’m thinking more and more that WVU wins that game, opening the door for a possible West Virginia-Texas tilt in the title game. My Big 12 rankings after last week’s slate of games …
1. West Virginia – I’m sliding WVU back into the top spot after they dismantled TCU (Last week: 2)
2. Oklahoma – Barely survived, at home, against a team that doesn’t really play well on the road. OU’s defense can be awful. (Last week: 1)
3. Texas – It wasn’t always pretty, but picking up a win in Lubbock at night is getting the job done. (Last week: 3)
4. Iowa State – A legit case could be made that ISU could be ranked No. 3 (maybe even No. 2) on this list. We’ll know more late Saturday night. (Last week: 4)
5. Texas Tech – Consider me impressed with what Tech was able to do with Jett Duffey at quarterback. (Last week: 5)
6. Oklahoma State – It’s hard to predict which version of OSU will show up each week, but nearly knocking off OU in Norman was pretty impressive. (Last week: 7)
7. Baylor – A pretty good offense, but far from a complete team. (Last week: 6)
8. Kansas State – Barely held on against Kansas … Kansas! … but I can’t bring myself to move TCU up. (Last week: 8)
9. TCU – I don’t see any way TCU gets bowl eligible. Never thought earlier this year I would be saying that. (Last week: 9)
10. Kansas – I appreciate that this team is still fighting, but Kansas is locked in the cellar. (Last week: 10)
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ONE PREDICTION – Javonne Shepherd sticks with his Texas commitment
There’s been a lot of talk about the status of Javonne Shepherd’s commitment to Texas. The Houston North Forest offensive lineman has said ever since he committed in July that he planned to take other official visits, and Shepherd was expected to visit Texas A&M last weekend. There’s been conflicting information as to whether or not Shepherd made it to College Station, but according to people who cover that program, Shepherd was never seen on campus, so it’s believed that he did not visit. That’s obviously good for Texas. Shepherd will visit Texas for this weekend’s game, so that could be another positive step for the Longhorns.
Based on things I’m hearing of late, I do believe Shepherd sticks with his Texas pledge. He was pretty open before he committed that Texas had taken a sizeable lead, he has built a good relationship with the UT staff and he does have other ties that will likely keep him in Austin. He’s a tough one to pin down, but the guess here is that Shepherd sticks with his original commitment, even if there are some twists and turns in terms of visits over the coming weeks.
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