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(From Anwar)
Texas football coach Tom Herman recently made one of the biggest decisions of his young head coaching career.
Herman closely monitored the offseason quarterback battle between Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele. Both quarterbacks struggled last season, which could be attributed to their youth, injuries on the offensive line, and lack of chemistry. Herman had to decide which quarterback would give Texas the best chance of winning games this season. Even though Ehlinger appeared to be the obvious choice to start against Maryland, Herman gave Buechele every opportunity to claim the No. 1 spot. Herman officially named Ehlinger his opening-day starter after practice on Monday. The decision did not come as a huge surprise because Buechele never distanced himself from Ehlinger during the quarterback race.
I asked Herman during his Monday press conference how Buechele took the news. Herman said Buechele was disappointed, but vowed to be ready if called upon. Of course, that meant several Longhorn observers began to question if Buechele will leave Texas after this season as a grad transfer. Obviously, Texas needs to get through the regular season before anybody can have an educated discussion about Buechele’s future.
What matters most is the vibe in Texas’ quarterback room right now.
From what I can tell, both players have handled the quarterback decision with maturity.
I asked multiple people associated with the program about both quarterbacks and heard nothing but positive things about each player. There has not been any tension. The decision has not caused a division in that room. Instead, both quarterbacks are working with each other.
“Shane has been great,” I was told. “He’s been engaged, upbeat. He’s been great.”
That says a lot considering Buechele has compiled 4,363 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions (132.8 passer rating) in two seasons.
Obviously, part of Buechele’s positive attitude can be attributed to his father. In addition, Buechele displayed a high level of maturity in high school, and nobody should be surprised to see him doing the right thing in this situation.
Texas began implementing its Maryland game plan this week. This is a huge week for Ehlinger because he is learning the checks in different situations. Basically, Ehlinger is learning what to do when he sees Maryland in specific assignments this week. From what I heard, there have been a few hiccups, which is to be expected from a sophomore quarterback.
Overall, everyone associated with the program has a lot of confidence in Ehlinger, and they said Buechele is doing great in his backup role.
“They both handled it like pros,” a source associated with the program told me. “Sam has had a good couple of days of practice. Feels comfortable.”
From what I can tell, Ehlinger’s demeanor has not changed since being named the starting quarterback.
Ehlinger is still an “Alpha Male” in practice and around the facility. That has not changed at all. In fact, that personality has appealed to Herman from the first time he met the quarterback in high school.
However, the biggest concern about Ehlinger is nobody associated with the program wants him to press in the season opener against Maryland. There is a slight concern that Ehlinger will want to prove to everyone – including the offensive staff and players – that he deserves to be the starting quarterback.
One of the things that has been stressed to Ehlinger this week is he does not need to look over his shoulder or press in the season opener. Instead, Ehlinger just needs to focus and manage the offense against Maryland, according to people associated with the program. Basically, nobody wants Ehlinger to be tense in the season opener.
Instead, everyone associated with the program wants Ehlinger to be comfortable and not force anything this season.
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The quarterback battle was recently settled, but one more major battle has not been determined.
Right tackle.
Derek Kerstetter and Samuel Cosmi have been battling this offseason for the right tackle spot. From what I can tell, it has been a great battle between both players. Kerstetter started in 10 games last season, but Cosmi is an athletic freak competing for playing time. I asked Herman about the right tackle position on Monday, and he said that position had not been determined.
Well, I have a little insight for you.
From what I have been told, if the regular season began on Thursday, Kerstetter would start at right tackle, with Cosmi coming off the bench.
Before we go any further, it is important to understand one thing.
Everyone associated with the program loves Cosmi. They love him. I hear nothing but great things about his practice performances. Cosmi is strong as hell. He is a tremendous blocker. Cosmi studies the playbook. He looks like a guy who will eventually start at Texas.
Right now, Cosmi’s struggle is avoiding those freshman moments due to the college game speed. If you think being a freshman offensive lineman is tough, imagine having to face Todd Orlando’s creative defense. Orlando’s defense is hard for veteran offensive linemen to handle, so, try to imagine a young player facing those blitz schemes in practice.
That being said, I was told this about Cosmi: “His upside is really, really high.”
I cannot tell how Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand will solve the situation at right tackle.
Kerstetter is currently the number one player at that position, but there is a chance there might be a rotation at that position. From what I can tell, the details are still being worked out.
The good news for Texas fans is this team has more offensive line depth this year than in previous seasons.
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Whenever I ask about grad transfer running back Tre Watson, the reactions I get are similar to a proud parent who wants to show you cell phone pictures and videos of their little one.
That being said, Watson’s experience does not mean he will start in the season opener against Maryland.
“Tre catches the ball great out of the backfield,” a person associated with the program told me. “He’s a good perimeter runner. Daniel Young is the short-yardage guy, lead blocker on some fly sweeps to H or QB run, running power or counter. Keaontay [Ingram] is the mix of all of that. Not close to Danny’s power, but he can run inside the tackles well. Ideally, on a perimeter run play, he would be the guy since he’s the best one in space.”
From what I can tell, the running back that establishes himself early this season will have a good chance to become the primary ball-carrier at Texas.
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(From Suchomel)
With high school football in the state kicking off this week and next week and college coaches knee deep in preparations for their own season-openers, combined with the ongoing dead period, it’s been an unusually slow week on the recruiting front.
I did check around with a few of the current commitments just to check in, and the most interesting new of the week might be an injury update on the Longhorns’ highest-rated commitment, wide receiver Jordan Whittington.
The borderline five-star athlete suffered the injury last year, underwent groin surgery in May but returned to the field this summer, even competing in the State 7-on-7 Tournament. With Cuero gearing up for its season opener next Friday, Whittington is being brought along slowly and he said his status for the start of the season is still up in the air.
“I was hurt so I’m getting healthy right now, but I’m practicing and everything. My main thing right now is getting healthy,” Whittington said.
Whittington termed himself “likely” to play in the first game, but said he’ll be re-visiting with a doctor in the next week or so for another evaluation. He’s hopeful and optimistic that he’ll be a full participant for the 2018 season, but said another surgery is a possibility, which would force him to miss several games. He is running full speed, but won’t know a final answer until he meets with his doctor.
Being on the sideline has been a struggle for Whittington, and he said he’s anxious to get back to his normal routine of working out every day and being a full participant for Cuero.
“At first it was frustrating, but my mentality now is just getting healthy. I’m still alive,” Whittington said. “But at first, yeah, my mind was used to working out every day, doing football things every day, so it was frustrating.”
His goals and aspirations this year – stay on the field and win big.
“I’m just trying to lead the team, things like that. And stay healthy once I get healthy,” Whittington said. “Then go to state. That’s always the goal.”
Whittington committed to Texas over Texas A&M back in March and said he still feels great about his commitment, labeling it “100 percent.” He sort of stepped away from the recruiting spotlight this summer and said other schools have taken the hint that he’s locked in with his UT pledge.
“Nobody really hits me up anymore. I’m sure they know my status. I know where I’m going. I didn’t make decision to change my mind,” Whittington said.
“When I committed, I kind of stayed to myself. I know where I’m going. Right now I’m just business. I’m enrolling early so I don’t have that long.”
Whittington is a terrific athlete who can excel on either side of the ball, but his main focus in college will likely be at receiver. He said he stays in close contact with UT wide receivers coach Drew Mehringer, who has told Whittington he’ll have a chance to play early.
“He just says come in, be ready to play. Things like that. We talk mainly like friendship too, not just strictly football,” Whittington said.
During his recruitment, Whittington did flirt with some out-of-state schools, including UCLA and Florida. But his final decision came down to in-state rivals Texas and Texas A&M. Ultimately, Whittington said Texas had everything he was looking for, and more.
“Basically in my mind, I was thinking I didn’t have to leave the state of Texas, I can get everything I look for in the school and don’t have to leave, I felt like (Texas) had everything I needed and more. That environment pretty much reminds me of my hometown, just bigger. The chemistry is great too, and I want to be a part of that.”
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Though he’s been committed to Texas for close to a month, linebacker Marcus Tillman has kind of flown under the radar. Tillman immediately committed to the Longhorns once he was offered and hasn’t done many interviews since his verbal pledge, so there hasn’t been a lot of opportunity to get to know the Orlando Jones product.
I checked in with Tillman this week to check in as he and his teammates get ready for their season-opener on Friday.
“We had our preseason game last week. Our first regular season game is this week. Last week, we played well in the second half. We came out slow in the first half but won 41-19,” Tillman said. “This week, we have a big game against (Apopka Wekiva) Rian Davis, Tyler Davis, that team. They’re number three team in the state but I think we’re ready.”
Last week, in a scrimmage, Tillman lined up at inside linebacker and felt he did a good job of playing in the box and running down plays on the edges. He said he’ll probably move all over the field as a senior, playing inside and outside linebacker and sometimes at end. As for Texas, he said the staff has talked to him about playing on the outside.
“All the schools said the same, they all see me that I can play all positions. If they play 3-4, they see me at all four positions. If it’s a 4-3, I can play all three positions,” Tillman said. “I can play safety, can come downhill, can cover, can come off the edge. I’m trying to get better at being a more vocal leader. I’m doing great at this year, but my main goal is trying to get better at being a vocal leader.”
Tillman, who played safety before sliding down to linebacker last year, said he feels his skill set translates well to today’s college football game – especially in the Big 12 – where teams like to spread the field and throw the ball.
“Today, everybody wants to pass the ball, do some spread, get up and down the field. Even before they moved me, I was already doing DB training, trying to get better at covering,” Tillman said.
Tillman picked up his UT offer in late July while in town for the Under the Lights Camp. He committed that night and announced it the next day. It was an easy decision, he said.
“When I first got there, I felt like I was already part of the team. I felt like the coaches really loved me, the players were cool. I loved the school too,” Tillman said. “Austin is a real nice city. That’s the capital, so you know it’s going to be nice. I have family not too far in Houston (his uncle is UofH track coach Leroy Burrell). I know that I’ll have a chance to get on the field right away as a freshman.”
Tillman said other schools do continue to recruit him and while he’s not closing down the lines of communication, his heart is already in Austin.
“A lot are still trying to flip me. I still talk to them, but I don’t say anything. I tell them I’m still committed. Texas is still for me,” Tillman said. “We can stay in touch, but Texas is my school for sure.”
Tillman said he’s trying to hit every single UT home game. He needs to talk to the UT staff to iron out his official visit plans, but said he may use that trip for either the USC or TCU game.
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A quick position-by-position look at where things stand for Texas in recruiting:
QB
Commitments – 1 (Roschon Johnson)
Needs – None
Nothing to see here. Roschon Johnson has been committed for more than a year, he’s the only quarterback Texas is targeting and Johnson is locked in with his pledge.
RB
Commitments – None
Needs – 1 or 2
On one hand, it would be nice for Texas to have a name on its commitment list, but on the other, the Longhorns do look very good for Rivals250 back Derrian Brown, who got off to a fast start to his senior season last week.
Texas does continue to pursue a couple heavy hitters in guys like Noah Cain and Trey Sanders, and while I expect both to take official visits to UT, I don’t think you can call the Longhorns the current leaders for either guy. If Texas wants to take two backs and does land Brown, the staff may have to look at other options and see how guys perform this fall.
WR
Commitments – 3 (Jake Smith, Jordan Whittington, Demariyon Houston)
Needs – 1 or 2
Recently, Texas missed on top target Dylan Wright, and while that one stings, don’t let it cloud your overall vision of UT’s wide receiver class. This is already a very good three-man group headlined by Jordan Whittington and Jake Smith, and Rivals250 member Demariyon Houston is certainly no slouch. The Longhorns are still in it for guys like Bru McCoy, Elijah Higgins and Marcus Washington. Those may be uphill battles, although it wouldn’t shock me at all to see Texas move up Washington’s list if/when he visits. If those players all fall through, there are still several in-state targets Texas could wind up landing, including current Baylor commit Jaylen Ellis.
TE
Commitments – 2 (Brayden Liebrock, Jared Wiley)
Needs – None
Texas loaded up with two early commitments here and will likely shut it down. Liebrock is a top talent and while Wiley isn’t as highly-rated, he has a lot of upside as he continues to develop.
OL
Commitments – 2 (Tyler Johnson, Javonne Shepherd)
Needs – 1 or 2
Texas has two huge head-to-head wins over schools like Texas A&M and Oklahoma with UT’s current commitments, and the Longhorns are sitting pretty at the tackle position. The coaches have to find an interior lineman or two, but I’m not sure where those come from at this point. I expect Herb Hand to evaluate players both in-state and out-of-state over the next few weeks and it wouldn’t shock me to see several offers go out this fall as Texas looks to fill out it’s OL class.
DL
Commitments – 2 (T’Vondre Sweat, Peter Mpagi)
Needs – 2 or 3
The commitments from Sweat and Mpagi are good in that they’re two players who could really compliment each other with their styles of play. Sweat is more of a known commodity since he was on everyone’s radar from early on, but don’t sleep on Mpagi, who has tons of natural upside and is just starting to scratch the surface of his potential. The Longhorns are still in on several others – including players like JUCO prospect Jacoby Jones and Rivals100 member Marcus Stripling – but Texas has ground to make up there (a lot of ground in the case of Stripling). Hawaiin Faatui Tuitele is a strong candidate to visit at some point, but he may be a tough pull. Taurean Carter is on the radar but he’s a player the staff is continuing to watch. Former Texan Rodas Johnson, who now lives in Ohio, is another name to watch. If Texas can get him back on campus for an official visit, that one could get interesting. Like last year – and similar to the OL this year – this could be a position where Oscar Giles and the rest of the staff sees how some guys develop in the fall.
LB
Commitments – 2 (De’Gabriel Floyd, Marcus Tillman)
Needs - 2
The Longhorns have two out-of-state commitments here and if things go well, it feels like there’s a strong chance they’ll add in-state standout David Gbenda at some point as well. We’ve mentioned it before, but keep an eye on JUCO linebacker Caleb Johnson, who is currently committed to Iowa State. He told me this week he’ll visit Texas the week after his season ends and it won’t be much of a surprise to see the Longhorns surge up his list. Shammond Cooper could be an interesting story – feels like a longshot right now but he’s a teammate of WR Marcus Washington and 2020 standout Mookie Cooper. If Texas can get him and Washington to visit at the same time (maybe Cooper as well), things could get interesting.
DB
Commitments – 3 (Kenyatta Watson, Chris Adimora, Marques Caldwell)
Needs – 2
Texas has a good collection of talent in its first three commitments – players that all bring some versatility – and now will look to close out with a couple more players who can help out on the back end. Jalen Catalon remains a top target and while Texas still looks good there, I’m not sure the Longhorns’ position feels as favorable as it was a couple months ago. Lewis Cine will return this fall for another visit so Texas will have a chance to make a move there, but he could wind up going out of state. Keep an eye on recent offer Tyler Owens. If Texas can land him and Catalon, that would make for a very nice close to the DB class.
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(From McComas)
A few hoops recruiting tidbits to pass along:
--- I’ve thought for a while that Sunrise Christian (Wichita, Kansas) wing/forward Malik Hall was leaning towards the trio of Oregon, Purdue, and Oklahoma. Specifically, Oklahoma seemed like it might have the best shot considering its staff was often three-deep at his games during the final July evaluation period in Las Vegas, Nevada.
And while I’ve heard that trio of schools is projected to be out in front, I’ve also heard Hall, rated No. 50 in the 2019 class, has taken a really liking to Texas head coach Shaka Smart. The two have built up a connection that is as good or better than any other Hall has with a head coach recruiting him.
Can that eventually push Texas out in front? That remains to be seen, and official visits should play a big role in his recruitment. Hall, who has a final five of the four schools mentioned and Michigan State, told Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi recently he plans to take visits to all five schools.
--- Rockwall guard/wing Samuell Williamson, one of the best scorers and shooters in the 2019 class, is scheduled to take an official visit to Kansas over Labor Day Weekend. Refresher: Williamson has deep family ties to Kansas, and although the Jayhawks didn’t prioritize the sharpshooter until now, they’ve emerged as a serious threat to gain a commitment.
The door isn’t closed completely, though. It sounds like Kansas went from lukewarm to pressing hard for a commitment, which might work in the favor of the other schools recruiting him. I haven’t been able to confirm a specific date, but did hear Williamson has a Texas official visit in the works too, although he hasn’t confirmed that (he didn’t respond when I reached out… not uncommon at all as a vast majority of top recruits don’t respond to text or phone calls nowadays).
--- A native of the Bahamas, 2019 standout Kai Jones went from lightly discussed to a national name in June, and then carried that over into July with strong performances. Listed at 6-9, 200 pounds, Jones has tremendous upside, and as July progressed, he showed he was closer to realizing that potential than most expected. Although he played as a big for his AAU team, many schools are recruiting Jones as a wing/forward, and Texas is among those schools.
Stanford, who Jones told me during a late July interview he planned to visit, is being speculated as a possible leader. However, I’ve heard Texas is sitting in pretty good shape right now before Jones goes through his official visit process. Shaka Smart and assistant Neill Berry were spotted at Jones’s games during the final evaluation period, and have prioritized the very intriguing prospect.
--- Right now, Elkins (Fort Bend) guard Donovan Williams is the only player that has publicly locked in an official visit date to Texas, which will take place the weekend of September 7th. I expect that to change over the next couple of weeks.
There is some buzz that West Charlotte (Charlotte, North Carolina) guard/wing Patrick Willams could announce official visit plans toon. A connected person in the area told me his educated pick on visits are NC State, FSU, Louisville, Ohio State, and Texas. However, as I’ve mentioned before, Williams is one of the biggest enigmas in the 2018 class as he barely communicates with anyone, college coaches included, about his recruitment.
Jae’lyn Withers, another wing-type player with size and shooting ability, mentioned a while back he’d like to visit Texas in the fall. It does sound like an official visit to Texas in September is a definite possibility, although I continue to hear Louisville is going to be very tough to beat. Then, there are other top targets like Will Baker, Isaiah Stewart, and Jaden McDaniels.
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If you missed it, Andrew Jones plans to enroll in classes for the fall semester at UT, and is expected to be on the 40 Acres in classes when school begins Wednesday. Obviously, that’s terrific news. But the good news doesn’t end there.
From what I’ve heard, Jones, who spends a lot of time in Houston, where MD Anderson is located, has been participating in pickup basketball games at the Fonde. Those of you familiar with hoops in the Houston area have probably heard of the legendary rec center. For those of you that haven’t, it’s not uncommon for NBA stars to pop in for a game, and some of the all-time greats are a part of the hardwood’s storied past; it’s Houston’s basketball mecca. So, an average guy can’t just roll in and call next, and someone that plays better have some serious game or it’ll get ugly real quick.
The fact Jones is participating in games at Fonde is yet another sign he’s winning his battle versus Leukemia. Jones is determined to get on the floor with his Longhorn teammates this season, and I wouldn’t bet against him. As we all get our hopes up, though, remember this is a day-by-day, week-by-week-type of thing that’s difficult to project as Jones fights his way back to being 100-percent. Next up for Jones? Getting back in the swing of life as a student-athlete in class. And whoever bumps into Jones on campus or has a class with him will undoubtedly see a big smile and feel his positive energy.
