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In case you missed the notes on the board on Thursday, Rivals100 safety Lewis Cine attended UT’s practice on Thursday and wide receiver Elijah Higgins will be at Saturday’s practice.
On Friday, Texas will host several members of the Premium 7-on-7 team out of California, including the following top prospects:
QB Bryce Young (2020)
ATH Braedin Huffman-Dixon (Rivals250)WR Josh Delgado (Rivals250)
LB Ralen Goforth (four-star)
WR Mycah Pittman (Rivals100)
ATH Jordan Patterson
LB Nana Osafo-Mensah is scheduled to visit this weekend, and Texas will also have some prospects on campus competing in the Texas Relays (Roschon Johnson, Jordan Whittington and Branson Bragg are the most notable names).
Perhaps most importantly, Texas is hosting Wake Forest graduate transfer receiver Tabari Hines on an official visit this weekend. Hines tells me he’s also looking at Oklahoma, Oregon, Marshall, Illinois and James Madison.
Hines finished last season with 53 catches for 683 yards and seven touchdowns but really came on down the stretch, recording 35 catches for 433 yards and six TDs in Wake’s final five games.
We’ll try to catch up with the visitors after their trips conclude.
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Crandall center Branson Bragg will be in Austin on Friday to throw the discus in the Texas Relays. He’ll stay over in Austin for the weekend and will visit with the football staff, including Herb Hand, on Saturday.
Bragg has taken visits this spring to Stanford and Texas A&M and from everything we’ve heard (and in talking to Bragg this week), both programs made a strong impression. Texas will do the same this weekend. I’ve been talking about Stanford being a major player in this one for a few months and while I still believe the Cardinal is the Longhorns’ biggest threat, after talking to Bragg at the Rivals 3-Stripe Camp in Dallas, I’m back to putting my money on Texas.
Stanford will get an official visit in January, Bragg said, so that could certainly throw a wrench into things, but Bragg did mention the distance (unsolicited) when I asked him about his Stanford trip. When I followed up asking if staying close to home will be a factor, he was open and said it would. Point Texas. Also, Bragg’s family is Texas fans, including his father, and while he says they’re not pushing him to be a Longhorn, you have to know that will play a factor to some degree.
“They’re not pushing it on me. My dad is a die-hard Longhorn fan. He’s made sure though, he’s told me, it won’t hurt my feelings and I can go anywhere that I feel is the best fit. I really like that. It’s really up to me, it’s my decision,” Bragg said.
I asked Bragg if the confidence that Texas fans have in landing him was misplaced or being overblown, and he said Texas should feel good about its chances but his mind is not made up at this point.
“They should be confident, but any school could be confident at this point. I’m not leaning anywhere,” Bragg said. “One day I’ll wake up and I’ll think this school is really cool, then the next day it’s different. It’s just a process. I have to find out what is the right fit overall, no matter what my mood is. Just like a business decision, what’s the best fit for me.”
I don’t expect Bragg will tip his hand much after this weekend’s visit, but if Texas can continue chipping away at this one and get him on campus a couple more times, which I expect, I like UT’s chances.
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I mentioned in my 3-2-1 column on Tuesday that Ohio State has become UT’s biggest threat for Rivals100 running back Noah Cain. The Buckeyes are not only a threat, they’ve gained an advantage for now. I expect some twists and turns in this one, but Ohio State has surged of late and should only h elp its standing this week with Cain heading to Columbus for an unofficial visit (he also said Ohio State is the only school he knows for sure will get an official visit).
“Ohio State probably is the one school standing out right now because of the relationship I’ve built with that coaching staff, coach (Urban) Meyer and all of them,” Cain said. “But some of that can change up to the day I make my announcement so I’m just taking the process slowly.”
Cain, who plans to sign in December, has Texans Jeffrey Okudah, J.K. Dobbins and Barron Browning in his ear on behalf of the Buckeyes, and said OSU’s staff has really picked up its contact.
“They’re just talking to me every day, every other day, just checking in with me, see how I’m doing in school, talking to my parents,” Cain said. “It’s just really the relationship that we have. It’s kind of a family feeling I have from them. That’s not to say other schools haven’t given me that family feeling, I just kind of vibe with Ohio State the best.”
Texas will host Cain for the Orange-White game in April and this one’s a long way from being finished, so don’t hit the panic button on this one just yet. Ultimately, UT’s chances could come down to how well Texas plays on offense in the fall. Make improvements, including in the OL play, and I like Texas’ chances. That’s what I’m expecting. Should Texas struggle on offense once again, the Longhorns may have an uphill climb in this one.
“It’s not really catching back up,” Cain said when asked what Texas would have to do to catch up with OSU. “It’s really just continuing to develop that relationship, really showing me the new offensive line play they have. That was a big question mark for them last year, so this year I’m really playing close attention to the offensive line play. I know they got some transfers and some new signees, so I want to really watch them compete this spring and see how they do.”
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Nana Osafo-Mensah will be at Saturday’s practice (he was scheduled to come in last weekend but couldn’t attend) and he said he’s excited to get a look at how things operate.
“I’m just really going down there to see what it’s like. I’ll be able to watch a practice so I’m excited about that, being able to see how everything goes on down there, get the feel of how college practices are run,” Osafo-Mensah said.
The Fort Worth Nolan Catholic linebacker has official visits set up to Notre Dame (April 13) and Texas (May 4). He said he’ll probably take one more this spring and may take a couple in the fall. Osafo-Mensah plans to commit on May 19. Along with Texas and Notre Dame, Osafo-Mensah mentioned Texas A&M and Arkansas as schools standing out. His thoughts on those four schools …
Notre Dame – “I just really like the academics with them, because you can get great football over there and also get a great degree graduating from that school.”
Texas – “I just really like the culture and how it’s not too far from home, so my parents can always have the opportunity to just drive down there real quick and watch me play.”
Texas A&M – “I just always have liked A&M because they were my first offer really. Even though they had the whole coaching change, everything they have going on down there from the highly (rated) recruits coming in, that’s a really good thing to me and I like the A&M program and where it’s heading.”
Arkansas – “I really like the staff at Arkansas. Coach Chavis, when he was over at A&M, he and I had a really good bond and relationship. Also with coach Morris. I just really like those coaches a whole lot and I have a lot of trust in them.”
A lot of people are pegging Notre Dame as the leader going into the official visits, but Osafo-Mensah said he’s keeping an open mind.
“I don’t really know if that’s completely accurate. I have a lot of love for Notre Dame but I still have a lot of love for the other schools too.”
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There was a time shortly after his junior day visit that it felt like Texas might be the team to beat for Camden (AR) Fairview offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins. After talking to Cain this week, it sounds like he’s a little more open as more offers continue to pour in.
Wilkins said he will likely take an official visit to Texas at some point, which will be telling about where UT stands (if he doesn’t make it back in, UT has no chance). He really likes Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand, but Texas might have an ace up its sleeve with recruiting assistant Jake Langi. Langi is of Polynesian decent and has been instrumental in some of the Longhorns’ recruiting efforts in 2018 and 2019, including helping land Junior Angilau’s commitment. Langi is actively involved in Wilkins’ recruitment and has gained Wilkins’ trust.
“I have a really good relationship with him. He’s Tongan and Samoan so me and him have a lot of similarities,” Wilkins said. “He’s trying to build a Polynesia pipeline there, so we’re trying to get that going. He’s recruiting other Polynesian guys so hopefully they’ll get that going.
“Polynesian guys, we have a lot of athletes, so they want to try to build something up there (at Texas), be able to have that going on. When I went up there on my visit, it showed that he really cared and wanted to get to know me more.”
Wilkins will visit Memphis this weekend (he was previously going to visit Ole Miss and Mississippi State but changed his plans due to those staffs being out of pocket). Next week, he'll be at Arkansas' spring game. The following weekend is an Oklahoma visit, and then Alabama after that. Busy schedule.
Normally, getting a top player out of the state of Arkansas is a tough task, and that could wind up being the case with Wilkins as new head coach Chad Morris and staff have made Wilkins a priority. That being said, the talk I heard from someone close to Wilkins last weekend is that he wants to go to college outside of the state.
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Texas has two running back offers out in the 2020 class. North Shore standout Zachary Evans is one of the nation’s top overall prospects so he’s an obvious priority. The other offer is to Aledo’s Jase McClellanj.
McClellan is committed to Oklahoma, but said Texas is still in the picture.
“Texas, they’re showing me interest,” McClellan said. “Last year when I came up there, they really liked my film. And this year they really liked my film so they put out the offer this year.”
McClellan measure in at 5-10 and 197.5 pounds at Sunday’s Rivals Camp. He had planned to hit a Texas junior day in February but got sick so couldn’t attend. He said he’ll be heading to Austin at some point in the next few weeks.
“I’m planning on getting down there for a spring practice to see the running backs, see the coaching staff, just to meet the players,” McClellan said. “Texas has a great running back program. They have some great running back history and a great team down there.”
Along with Texas, McClellan said Alabama, LSU and Georgia are also continuing to recruit him despite his OU pledge. Tough competition. About OU, he said his commitment is “pretty solid right now” and he’s “still looking around for other schools.”
Flipping McClellan won’t be easy, and it may not matter if Texas can land Evans for next year’s class, but Evans does continue to have a legit interest in the Longhorns.
