The thought of a crowded position room is usually enough to scare away most recruits.
When highly coveted players receive sales pitches from coaches, the easiest way to obtain an athlete is by selling playing time. Sure, they will get a good education. The campus looks nice, and that new academic building which is almost complete will probably be amazing. Most major programs have nice athletic facilities and weight rooms. Those things are nice, but once some recruits realize they may have to ride the bench for at least two years, they continue college shopping.
Former Texas recruit Zach Gentry is a great example. He was a solid quarterback commit to Texas from May 2014 until late January 2015. The moment Gentry discovered Texas was actively pursuing Kyler Murray, the New Mexico prospect de-committed and decided to attend Michigan. Gentry is currently a tight end, while Murray transferred from Texas A&M to Oklahoma (still waiting for this story to be told). There are times when some guys walk away.
Texas incoming freshman Marcel Southall is among five incoming defensive tackles who signed with the Longhorns in February. That number of guys playing the same position could have been enough to scare off most defensive tackles, especially a guy who waited until signing day to commit. Instead of viewing the potential competition as a bad thing, Southall believes a room with Jordan Elliott, Chris Daniels, Gerald Wilbon and DeAndre Christmas-Giles -- the other incoming freshmen defensive tackles – will translate into success for players, coaches and fans.
“We are going to be able to play in a rotation,” Southall said. “Instead of me going somewhere and I’m the only d-tackle playing the whole game, getting worn down, we can make a rotation. I know guys can play in front of me and behind me. Then the class I saw we had, it was a great class."
Speaking of class, we do need to get one thing out of the way before continuing our discussion about Southall.
Yes, Southall will take one class this summer to meet UT’s admission requirements, and he will not hit campus with the other incoming freshmen later this month.
No, he does not need to pass a Spanish class (Du’Vonta Lampkin flashback).
Muy bien.
Southall was a very good recruit with marginal interest in Texas for a long period of time. As Jason Suchomel can tell you, he does not crave the spotlight, or conduct many media interviews. He might be one of the least active teenagers on Twitter. Southall was always somewhat of a mystery to those who follow recruiting closely.
However, Southall is very observant.
He originally committed to Oklahoma, but after witnessing a change within the Sooners’ coaching staff, Southall decommitted. The coach who left gave Southall his word he would remain on OU’s staff. When the change occurred, trust was broken. Loyalty means a lot to this young man.
Southall's personal stance on loyalty helped linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary, a man who is extremely quiet, but should be viewed as one of the top recruiters in college football.
Southall’s top two school choices were Miami and Ole Miss. Texas was always on the outside looking in. Yet, Jean-Mary showed up at Southall’s school once a week just to let the recruit know he had a home in Austin. At first, it appeared Jean-Mary was just another college recruiter. Southall soon revealed Jean-Mary was the only recruiter showing up at his school every week. Remember, loyalty means a lot to Southall. Jean-Mary tapped into something he probably did not know existed at the time.
Jean-Mary’s persistence convinced Southall to visit UT in January. Southall enjoyed his visit, and even came out of his shell and answered my call to discuss the weekend with me on the way home. However, Southall still was not 100 percent sold on UT. He believed playing out of state would be the best decision at the time. Southall visited Miami – loved the school, but hated the distance from home.
However, Southall heard something during his official visit at Ole Miss in late January which convinced him to attend Texas.
During that visit, a coach from Ole Miss was addressing the recruits. He challenged them by asking why they would want to leave Mississippi and represent a state they were not from. That coach wanted them to proudly represent their program and stay in the state.
Yeah, somebody did not realize Southall was from Texas.
After hearing that speech, Southall thought about it. Why should he represent another state? Why should he leave family and friends? Why turn a nose up at Jean-Mary after he recruited him so hard? In Southall's mind, Texas was the perfect fit.
“I called coach (Charlie) Strong, and he was a little surprised,” Southall said. “He was happy I rethought it. He didn’t want me to go to Ole Miss or Miami. I told him I was coming to Texas. He was happy. He told me don’t decommit on me at the last minute. I told him I wasn’t.”
Southall has been focused on academics and joining the program since signing day. He developed a relationship with Elliott and Daniels during the recruiting process, and the three players remain close. Southall is optimistic about the unity of this year’s defensive tackle class will lead to immediate success on the field. In many ways, UT’s success hinges on these five players.
Texas is very thin at defensive line. The Longhorns were so thin during the spring, lineman were usually gassed after practice because there were not enough substitutions. These freshmen are expected to contribute right away. In fact, defensive coordinator Vance Bedford previously said if a defensive lineman is 300 pounds, he will play at Texas.
Southall played defensive end in high school before being switched to defensive tackle. He is ready to play on the edge if asked. Southall is ready to make plays in the middle, too. The incoming freshman anticipates every defensive tackle will enjoy success at UT.
It is the reason why he decided to become a Longhorn.
“I’m excited,” Southall said. “I’m ready to go to UT and make a name for myself.”
Funniest Thing You Will See This Week
Sports On A Dime
1. I am wrapping up a weekend getaway in New York City, and attended a Yankee game on Saturday. Unfortunately, I sat by one of “those guys” during the game. If you were sitting by somebody who was clearly drunk, would not stop dropping the f-bomb around children, and was the reason why two families left before the third inning, what would you do? In this case, somebody eventually called security. The person I was with did not want me to say anything because she did not want me fighting some idiot in a baseball stadium (that story would have gone over well on OB, right?) How would you have handled this situation?
2. I was indifferent about Texas and the Big 12 for a long time. However, Big Lead writer Tyler Duffy wrote an interesting article stating why joining the Big Ten makes sense for the Longhorns. It is a speculation piece, but let me know what you think.
3. Give me Dwyane Wade in game seven against Toronto on Sunday. This series has been ugly and unpredictable. I am not convinced there will be enough left in the tank for either team against Cleveland.
4. It is time for me to fall on my sword when it comes to Billy Donovan. I was not convinced his hiring would improve Oklahoma City, and I held his quick abrupt departure from the Orlando Magic against him for years. Donovan’s squad performed better against San Antonio than I anticipated. He made San Antonio look old, which is something I did not expect. Time to give the man his props.
5. If this guy is still employed, he has Suchomel’s dream job:
6. The NFL announced Feb. 4 as its date for Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis. Anything other than a Prince tribute during the halftime show will be unacceptable.
7. There is a simple reason why the NFL will allow the Oakland Raiders to become the Las Vegas Raiders at some point – money. The city has enough residents to support a team, opposing fans will embrace a Vegas road trip, and imagine how much money will be generated with a Super Bowl in that city. The potential profits clearly outweigh any gambling risks by players.
8. Ray Lewis and Cris Carter are no longer a part of ESPN’s football coverage, while Mike Ditka’s role will be limited. In other words, somebody at ESPN finally realized these guys were unwatchable. Look, I understand why networks hire former players, but name recognition does not always equate to on-air talent. I would much rather watch intelligent journalists discuss sports (PTI is a perfect example) than former athletes ramble for two hours – and conduct boring interviews – during a pregame show.
9. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton is quickly becoming the most marketable quarterback to young people (nobody over 35 should dab). Newton’s Nickelodeon show “All in with Cam Newton” will show its first of 20 episodes Friday, June 3 at 8:00 p.m. on the children’s network. The show matches kids with mentors in fields of their dreams. I will not watch the show, but Newton’s growing fan base will eat it up.
10. Boxing fans received more promising news surrounding a possible fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin this past week. The sanctioning bodies – basically, people responsible for those meaningless belts – are working together to make this fight occur. If an agreement is reached, the fight will occur on September 17. Two boxers fighting in their prime? Boxing after Floyd Mayweather is a good thing for the sport.
