25%OFF Your Order at DeadSoxy.com with Promo Code: Orangebloods!
******
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas made a strong impression on Colin Simmons and his mother during last weekend’s visit
The Texas coaching staff hosted about 40 prospects on Saturday, none bigger than defensive end Colin Simmons. Not only is Simmons a five-star prospect and the nation’s top overall defensive prospect in the 2024 class, he plays at a need position for Texas, and he’s an in-state target that could carry plenty of recruiting clout with other prospects on the Longhorns’ recruiting radar.
Simmons, out of Duncanville, is no stranger to the Texas campus, but Saturday’s visit gave him an up-close look at the program and some quality time with the UT staff. Simmons made his way to Austin with his mother, Monica McCarley, and McCarley said it was a good visit for all involved.
“I actually made it to the event late but Colin had already been there all morning. He got up and got to the school early that morning and spent all day there. But it was an amazing experience. I enjoyed myself,” McCarley said. “Just the family atmosphere (stood out). They seem to be very welcoming. I know that they really want Colin but they seem pretty genuine about his development. So that’s probably the biggest takeaway for me.”
When you’re as high-profile of a prospect as Simmons is, it can be difficult to decipher who is being genuine and who is only telling you what you want to hear. Every coach is going to sing your praises. Every coach is going to tell you how badly you’re needed. At some point, you have to be able to have a strong enough relationship with certain coaches to take what they’re saying to heart. It can sometimes boil down to a gut feel, and McCarley said she feels that the Texas staff genuinely cares about her son’s well-being.
“I've been on a few trips and I can definitely tell when someone seems genuine. I'm a mother so I always have that motherly instinct anyway. When something is a good fit or something is not a good, I'm pretty much able to go with my gut feeling about something,” McCarley said. “And Texas fit that, they gave me great vibes, great energy. I feel like Texas is a pretty good option for him.”
It’s a group effort by the Longhorn staff in its recruitment of Simmons, with Steve Sarkisian, Brandon Harris, Jeff Banks, Pete Kwiatkowski Bo Davis all playing key roles. They all reach out to McCarley often and she said she has a “good relationship” with the UT staff members.
It’s going to be a busy spring of visits for Simmons. He’ll be at Texas A&M next weekend. USC should get a visit and a trip is on the books for Florida. Colorado was trying to get him on campus but those plans fell through. A trip to Oregon is a possibility, as is a stop at Tennessee. At this point, as Simmons continues to work through the recruiting process, the plan is for him to do as much research as is necessary to make a well-informed decision.
“I would love for him to go ahead and get (his official visits) out of the way in the summertime but Colin really enjoys the recruiting process. As many visits as he gets in, I’m okay with. I actually had a conversation with him on our way back from Texas. I said ‘I want you somewhere where you‘re going to be comfortable and not looking at the transfer portal after one year. It that means we have to go to the school four or five times before you actually say okay this is the one, I’m okay with that,’” McCarley said.
In the end, Simmons will make his own choice on what college he attends. But in a decision that will help form the rest of his life, Simmons does oftentimes lean his mother’s opinion and he takes it to heart when she has a strong feeling about a program, be it positive or negative.
“I want him to make his own decision, but we kind of bounce ideas off of each other about what's a good fit for him. There are several different things that are important to me as a mom. So if I feel like a school does not have something that I feel like will help him in his development, I'll just say ‘I know that this one is not for you.’ And he will say the same, ‘Mom I'm not feeling it’ and then we talk about it,” McCarley said. “So ultimately, the decision is his, but he does take into consideration how I feel about things as well. We kind of just bounce off each other.”
Wherever the recruiting trail leads Simmons, Texas will likely be a team that remains in contention until the final moments. The UT staff has done a really good job recruiting Simmons and his family, so much so that McCarley said there’s really not much more the coaches can do. At this point, it just comes down to continuing to build relationships and trust.
“They really impressed us this weekend. I’ll say that much. They’re definitely in the race. I don’t know if they can do anything more,” McCarley said. “Colin has been to Texas more than any other school. He’s been down there, to Austin, probably seven or eight times in the past year. So I'm not sure if they can do anything different than what they've already done.”
The 6-3, 225-pound Simmons is obviously a tremendous natural talent – you don’t get to where he is without some rare God-given ability. He’s also dedicated and committed to his craft. As importantly, he’s a good leader and someone coaches know they won’t have to worry about away from the field. McCarley said her son is a typical teenager that still needs guidance, but it just might be the way he carries himself outside of football that’s most important.
“I just continue to correct him if I feel like he’s not going in a direction that’s not becoming of us. That’s what parenting is, you have to continue to teach and correct, teach and correct until they get it right,” McCarley said. “It hasn’t always been easy. I go through the same things everyone else does, but the way he represents us outside of the home, I’m very appreciative of.”
2. Several observations were gained from Saturday’s football practice
@Alex Dunlap had a very thorough breakdown of Saturday’s UT practice (you can read it here) but I was able to connect with a high school coaching contact that happened to be at the practice to get his impressions as well. Some highlights …
--- On Colton Vasek … “One that stood out is Vasek. You can see the projection there. He reminds me of those Ohio State defensive ends when they were young. Once he puts on college muscle, he’s going to look like those Bosa boys or something like that.”
--- On the quarterbacks … “They all looked pretty good. I can see where Maalik (Murphy) is young. He got rattled in the pocket a couple times, but he had a couple good throws too. Arch (Manning) got rattled in there a couple times too but he found ways to make things work.”
--- On Arch’s personality … “Arch completed a pass, then ran over to the sideline and gave the defense a Triple H move. They were mad at him but he was laughing when he did it. He seems about as normal as you can get, fit right in. He doesn’t seem all high and mighty.”
--- On the d-line … “The defensive line did well on the plays I saw. They seemed to get a lot of penetration in red zone stuff. Found a way to get in there and cause some havoc. Alfred Collins made some plays in the backfield, saw him do that two or three times.”
--- On Jaydon Blue and Savion Red … “Between Red and Blue, those two guys are going to play. I was watching those guys. Blue, I don’t know when he’s going to play, but when he does he’ll be fine. He showed good cuts and vision. Red was the same way. A lot of his big plays were on the third team but he was killing them. I thought he got hurt one time, was scream while on the ground, but he was just fired up because he made a pretty good run and jumped up.”
--- On Quinn Ewers … “The thing is, he did what he’s supposed to do. I didn’t see anything special, but saw a lot of completions. There were a couple drops, but nothing out of the ordinary. He had a couple of long passes, one long one to Xavier Worthy that he caught and ran like 70 yards. You could see the happiness on Worthy’s face. You would have thought it was his first touchdown. You could just see the kid in him, enjoying that play.”
--- On Anthony Hill and Malik Muhammad … “Muhammad spent some time with the trainers but I don’t think it was anything serious. Anthony Hill was out there, moving around, but was like with third team. He made some plays but I didn’t see anything that made me go wow. But you can see the instincts, see him moving around. Once he gets comfortable, he’ll get in there. If he stays young as far as learning what to do, then he probably won’t be in there too much. But you can tell he’s still figuring out what to do.”
On Morice Blackwell … “Gbenda and Jett Bush rotated in. Mo Blackwell, just from a defensive perspective and looking, but that dude seemed like he was in on every play that I watched. He’s skinny, but he was filling up that gap and making plays. He does need to gain some weight, but it’s going to be hard to keep him on the sideline. He might be a situational guy because he’s light in the britches, but I think he’ll fit in there just fine. They may need to cover him up a little bit, just let him run and make plays.”
On CJ Baxter … “Between him and Blue and Red, they got all the carries. Those guys stood out a lot because they gave them the ball a lot. He made plenty of plays though. He’s another one that once he ages a little bit, he’s going to be fine too. He’ll be fine next year even without it, but he’ll be like one of those Alabama running backs once he gets some time in the program.”
On Jonathon Brooks … “They held Brooks out. Him and Neyor were running full speed sprints on the sideline. Brooks didn’t get anything in the scrimmage work when they went 1 vs 1s or 2s vs 2s. I really think he’s fine, they just don’t want to rush him back and this is a time to get those other guys reps.”
Overall … “I was impressed with the size and the depth of the team. So that’s a good thing. The offensive line had a couple good plays in there. Banks took somebody to the woodshed. But then I think the next play, they got him back. Saw him getting up off the ground in the backfield. I couldn’t tell exactly who it was though. It was a good practice. Dudes were making plays. I didn’t see anything glaring or anything unexpected.”
3. Texas is at the top of the list for defensive end Melvin Hills
Lafayette Christian Academy Melvin Hills was on the UT campus last weekend, his second trip to the Forty Acres in less than a two-month span. Just like the first time, Texas made a very strong impression. This time, Hills said he really enjoyed the opportunity to see how Bo Davis coaches his defensive linemen.
“Seeing the practice was very amazing. I got to see how coach Bo coaches, all the techniques that he likes,” Hills said. “I got to see how he performs with his players and all the rotations that they do. They switch everybody out, not just one player that stays in for the whole thing. It was very enjoyable. The visit was nice. I loved it. It was great. Coach Bo is really a good coach to talk to. He’s very wise in his ways.”
Both times I’ve talked to Hills following his UT visits, he’s mentioned that Davis is a coach with whom he has really been able to connect. He sees some similarities between Davis and his high school coach.
“Coach Bo kind of reminds me of me of my d-line coach I have now. He’s honest, he doesn’t hold anything back, he tells you the truth,” Hills said. “He’ll get you where you need to be and where you want to be.”
Hills has set up his Texas official visit for June 16-18. He plans to drop a top five soon and says the Longhorns and Georgia are locks to make the cut. In fact, Hills listed UT and UGA as tied atop his current list.
“It’s just the environment,” Hills said of Texas. “The culture that they give off, the vibe, the aura that they have around the school. It’s a very nice place to visit.”
******
TWO QUESTIONS
1. What’s the latest with 2025 Rivals100 safety Jonah Williams?
Galveston Ball safety Jonah Williams is already highly-ranked, checking in at No. 88 on the Rivals100. Williams backed up that lofty ranking with a strong showing at last weekend’s OT7 tournament in Round Rock. Before beginning play in that event, Williams made his way to the UT campus to watch the Longhorns practice and get some time with the UT coaches.
“It’s a great campus. I love all the coaches,” Williams said. “They all show love. It kind of felt like home. I’m not going to lie.”
Williams’ primary contact at Texas has been Jeff Choate, who has stressed to Williams that UT can develop him beyond just the football field.
“He tells me that it’s a great school, great education, and that they're ready to make me a better man each and every day,” Williams said.
It’s still very early in this one, but Williams schools like Tennessee, Ohio State, A&M, Baylor and Texas are all showing love. At 6-4 and 200 pounds with tremendous range and instincts, it’s easy to see why.
“I just need to get better, one percent every day. The grind never stops,” Williams said. “I feel like I bring great leadership to the team. Just whatever, I get it done when it needs to be done.”
2. How ready is Billy Walton to join the UT program?
While last weekend was more about current recruits, there were a couple of 2022 signees that made their way in for practice. South Oak Cliff defender Billy Walton was among those in attendance, and he said he’s ready to join the fun after watching his former teammates work out.
“It was really good. It just makes me mad because I can’t be on the field with them yet,” Walton said. “But just seeing the guys, it’s always good to see them, see my cousin (Malik Muhammad). He looks like he belongs here. That’s the main thing, I’m just ready to get down here.”
Muhammad has told Walton that the first few days are tough, but the transition begins to get easier after a week or two in the program. That includes both the physical grind and setting into college classes. Knowing how difficult the workouts can be, Walton has been taking steps to make sure he’s prepared.
“As soon as I knew I wasn’t going to graduate early, I’ve been training pretty much every day,” Walton said. “Monday through Thursday I train, and then on Sundays still train. I’m working out, running.”
A one-time Oklahoma State commitment before switching over to Texas, Walton still feels great about his decision.
“(Texas) felt like it was home for a lot of reasons. I know half the dudes on the team. Those are my brothers right now and I’m not even here yet,” Walton said. “I feel like this is the perfect place for me.”
******
ONE PREDICTION – Your basketball national champion will be …
If you saw my bracket, you’d be smart to completely avoid my advice on anything college basketball-related (actually, anything in general). That being said, give me the following …
Florida Atlantic over San Diego State … It only took 35 wins, but I’m a believer that FAU is absolutely legit.
UConn over Miami … I love Miami’s athleticism but with the way UConn has been clicking, there’s no way I can pick against the Huskies.
National championship game - UConn over Florida Atlantic … FAU’s Cinderella run comes to an end and UConn takes them down by double digits.
Attachments
Last edited by a moderator:
