Texas Card House is the official sponsor of this week's War Room.
Visit www.TexasCardHouse.com for more information.
(From Anwar Richardson)
Before I get into this subject, let me give you the genesis of this discussion.
During a recent conversation between me and Geoff Ketchum, we started talking about the potential captains of this year’s team. We began tossing out names and played an early guessing game as to who might be the guys Texas football coach Tom Herman leans on this year. Who would be the guy Herman loves so much, he calls his parents to thank them for making such a wonderful child, the way he praised P.J. Locke? Would there be an offensive lineman he compliments like Connor Williams? Is there a senior Herman identifies as a leader by action, like Poona Ford?
We started thinking about which players Herman would take to Big 12 Media Days. Would Locke head to Frisco for a second straight season? Is Patrick Vahe going to be the leader of the offensive line? Will linebacker Gary Johnson be the leader of this defense? Could this be the year where defensive end Charles Omenihu becomes a trailblazer? Maybe linebacker Breckyn Hager becomes that guy?
As a result of the conversation, I began asking multiple people associated with the program who is currently the leader of this year’s team. The answer may come as a pleasant treat for Texas football fans.
Right now, the players do not view one person as their leader. Nobody has emerged yet. Sure, Texas is only in its second week of winter conditioning, but that is not the main reason. Linebacker Naashon Hughes, Williams, Ford and Locke were last year’s captains. However, Locke is the only person remaining on this year’s group. Williams would have been a captain if he returned for his senior season, but is currently preparing for the NFL draft. Basically, three potential leaders have been removed from the mix.
When I spoke to people associated with the program this week, I was told the leaders most players looked up to last year were safety DeShon Elliott, linebacker Malik Jefferson, cornerback Antwan Davis and offensive lineman Jack McMillon. Every person respected Ford, but he did not talk a lot. Williams missed the majority of last season due to injury and skipped the bowl game. Hughes did not dominate on the field enough for teammates to look up to him. I was told they respected Locke, but there were other players who emerged as leaders and commanded the respect of Texas’ locker room.
Here is where the journey to discover who might lead this team started to get interesting.
Even though a leader has not emerged, multiple people told me the one person they are waiting to take over this year’s team is sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
From what I was told, players are eagerly anticipating Ehlinger emerging as a team leader this offseason. They want Ehlinger to guide this team. They believe he has the ability to be a general. He has everything they want in a leader. They are just waiting for him to take the next step.
One thing players love about Ehlinger is his confidence. Ehlinger believes he is a stud, even if he does not always play that way. When Ehlinger gets in the huddle, players are confident he is going to get the job done. He is the alpha male they believe in.
By the way, we know Herman loves Ehlinger.
Never forget what Herman said about Ehlinger last year after a spring practice.
“I fell in love with Sam Ehlinger for two reasons, and neither of them are quantifiable, or things that you see on video tape,” Herman said. “Yes, he was the Gatorade State Player of the Year as an 11th grader. That’s in the state of Texas. That’s big-time stuff. Two things stood out with Sam that are not on that video. One, is what he’s been through in his life, and that faced, and he’s had to mature at a very, very young age, and grow up really fast. He’s transitioned, or translated, that maturity into this really dynamic leadership quality that he has. He’s an alpha male. He walks in the room and it’s like, ‘Whoa. Sam’s here.’ He’s a competitor, and I just love that about quarterbacks.
“The second thing is the kid was committed to the University of Texas. Tears his meniscus in week one of his senior year. Could have easily settled. Probably a lot of players would have said, ‘That’s it, I’m shutting it down. I’m going to rehab and get ready for my college career. I’m an early enrollee, and I’m done. Guys, good luck. I’ll be there cheering you on from the sidelines’. Not Sam. Get me back on the field as fast as you can. Do whatever surgery is possible to get me on the field. Four weeks later, he’s on the field, he plays two games, he breaks his thumb. Alright, we’re like nine games into the season, or eight games into the season. You’re just going to shut it down, right? Go get ready to compete for the job at Texas. Not Sam Ehlinger. Sam Ehlinger probably comes back too soon on that hand, but he does come back. He plays in two playoff games for his team. Winds up breaking his hand. When you put that in perspective, everybody says injury laden senior year. It didn’t have to be. The guy could have said I’m going to Texas after that first one. He could have just said I’m out, and he didn’t. That tells me a lot about, one, does the kid loves football. Two, how great of a teammate is he that he was willing to continue to put himself back out there, even though he knew he had this opportunity at Texas waiting for him.”
When you consider Ehlinger battled through a concussion last year, Herman’s words were prophetic.
The last quarterback leader at Texas was Case McCoy in 2013. McCoy was named a captain that season, and the Longhorns finished 8-5. It is the last time Texas finished a season with at least eight wins.
Prior to that, Colt McCoy was a team captain in 2008 and 2009. Texas finished 12-1 and 13-1, respectively.
Right now, players are waiting for Ehlinger to become this year’s leader, even if he is not named a captain.
Sure, Ehlinger made mistakes last season. He definitely could have played better at times. However, everyone associated with the program believes in Ehlinger’s upside. From what I was told, players are looking forward to seeing Ehlinger hit the field this spring, and they are optimistic he will improve.
In addition, Ehlinger has helped in recruiting this offseason. He has the potential to become the face of this program for the next three years. More importantly, Ehlinger wants to be guy players look up to. It is simply up the Ehlinger to live up to the expectations of his teammates.
Texas may not have a clear leader right now, but it is undeniable who most players are waiting to take over. (Richardson)
******
There was plenty of discussions about Texas’ winter conditioning program last year.
Longhorns strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight inherited a team that was used to losing. Those players were coming off their second straight 5-7 season. They were also a group of players who endured a humiliating loss to Kansas. Their coach was fired. Tom Herman was kicking ass and taking names. It was a total culture shock.
McKnight’s job was to calm the troubled waters. Players wanted to buy in, but the staff needed to earn their trust. McKnight was the first coach they worked with. Coming from Houston, he did not have a huge name, and none of the players knew what to expect. McKnight wanted to earn their respect, and he made it his mission to obtain it when he began working with them a year ago. Slowly, the defensive walls of Longhorn players began to come down. He ended up being the perfect bridge between the disappointment of the 2016 season and Herman in spring practice.
That is the main reason you have not heard much about winter conditioning this year.
For those are unaware, winter conditioning actually began last week. McKnight has been working with his guys to get them prepared for the upcoming season. He gives Herman and staff updates on the days those guys are on the road recruiting. Basically, this is his team right now.
From what I have been told by multiple people, this year’s winter conditioning is a 180 of what occurred in 2017.
There is a total buy-in from every player participating in the daily workouts. Nobody is complaining. Guys are not mumbling under their breath. There is not any anxiety about the future from players. The beginning of this offseason ride has been extremely smooth so far. That does not mean players may not leave after the spring. Instead, it simply means everybody is going extremely hard during workouts.
The reason there is a huge difference is because players know exactly what to expect, according to multiple people associated with the program. They know what McKnight wants. Players understand what Herman is looking for. Gold, green and crimson groups are no longer a foreign concept to them.
In other words, they get it.
I was told the team is in much better shape than they were last January. Obviously, that has a lot to do with having only a few weeks off between the bowl win against Missouri and the start of winter conditioning. Prior to last season, Texas had not participated in a bowl game since 2014. As Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando pointed out last month, the lack of a bowl game meant Longhorn players missed 30 postseason practices over the past two years. Instead of spending weeks just to catch up, players hit the ground running last week.
In addition, Herman’s desired culture within the program is a lot stronger. That means guys are going above and beyond, they are competing with each other while helping their teammates.
Now that players have finally experienced a winning season, there is a lot of optimism about the upcoming year. From what I was told, guys are definitely more focused this offseason because they believe this team can be successful this year. Texas was close in narrow defeats against USC, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, which has players believing this year’s team will be better.
Instead of discussing disgruntled players, unhappy players and burnt food, the focus has been on getting stronger, nutrition and hitting the next level.
It may not make a juicy headline, but this team is off to a great start in 2018. (Richardson)
******
(From Jason Suchomel)
It’s not expected to be the biggest recruiting weekend for Texas in terms of the number of visitors, but it’s one that could go a long way towards filling out UT’s 2018 class in some key areas. Let’s take a look …
--- Moro Ojomo – The Katy defensive tackle has seen his stock shoot through the roof in the last month, and it really started when Texas extended an offer in early December. After that, programs like A&M, Notre Dame, Tennessee, OU, Miamia and Oregon followed suit.
For my money, Ojomo just might be the top remaining player on UT’s board (aside from Jaylen Waddle). See for yourself in the video below. As good as current defensive tackle Keondre Coburn is, if you want to tell me that Ojomo has more upside then Coburn, a Rivals250 member, you won’t hear me argue.
Ojomo visited Notre Dame last weekend but in talking to some people who cover the Irish, nobody seems to think Notre Dame has much of a chance. “No way he goes to ND, IMO,” is what one person sent me. There’s even some grapevine chatter that Notre Dame feels Texas will ultimately win out.
In terms of a Texas and OU battle, the Sooners’ chances with Ojomo shot up like a rocket after his official visit, and for a brief stint, there was even talk that OU may have surged into the top spot. With the shine from that visit wearing off a bit, this one feels to me like it’s pretty much a toss-up heading into this weekend’s UT visit. If things are even prior to his time on the Forty Acres, or close to it, I’ll put my money on Texas and feel pretty comfortable about it.
If Texas can land Ojomo and hold onto Coburn’s commitment, which I expect, this will suddenly be formidable one-two recruiting punch for Texas on the interior of the defensive line.
--- Lawrence Keys – Texas continues to look for a slot receiver in this class, and Keys would definitely fit the bill. The New Orleans McDonogh 35 playmaker visited Notre Dame last weekend and did tell the N.D. site for Rivals that the Irish were his leader following that visit. There’s ground to be made up by Texas, but in talking to Keys this week, I didn’t get the impression that the gap is at all insurmountable.
Keys talked about what he’s looking forward to seeing in Austin this weekend ...
“First things first, the academic program. Second, I just want to get a chance to see their entire campus,” Keys said. “I’ve been up there once, but I only saw the football facility. I want to get the chance to see everything.”
So what would Texas have to do to overtake Notre Dame?
“Actually, just show me what’s the real Texas Longhorns. What would make me want to go to Texas? Show me the academic program, let me see the facilities, impress my mom. That’s about it.”
Keys still plans to visit SMU on the weekend of February 2. Texas wide receivers coach Drew Mehringer did an in-home on Wednesday and Notre Dame was scheduled to go by on Thursday. During Mehringer’s visit, it was mostly talk about the itinerary for the upcoming visit, but the Texas coaches continue to stress how badly Keys is needed.
“They just told me about their need in at that (slot) position,” Keys said. “I can come in, actually play as a true freshman.”
Texas has a chance, but the biggest hurdle the Longhorns will have to overcome is the fact that Notre Dame has been aggressively recruiting Keys for much longer than Texas has (the Irish offered in February, Texas in December).
“I’ve been in touch with Notre Dame ever since they’ve offered me. They’re the one school that’s been there,” Keys said.
Again, Notre Dame’s lead is not so big that Texas can’t close the gap and even emerge as the leader after this weekend, but Texas will need to make a strong impression on both Keys and his family. They usually do on these visits, so it’ll be very interesting to get Keys’ thoughts following the weekend stay in Austin.
******
It won’t be an official visit, but another visitor of interest will be Luke Brockermeyer.
The son of former UT all-American Blake Brockermeyer, Luke will take an unofficial visit to Texas on Saturday after receiving recent interest from the Texas staff. Texas d-coordinator Todd Orlando stopped by Brockermeyer’s school (Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal) last week and talked to him about coming in for a visit. Brockermeyer, who is committed to Rice, took his official visit to Rice last weekend so he’s going to make his way up to Austin on Saturday. Prior to Rice, he visited Oregon State.
“This is probably going to be my last visit unless something else comes up,” Brockermeyer said. “Probably next week, I’ll probably just make a final choice and stick with that.”
Brockermeyer could be in line for a scholarship offer from Texas, or he could be asked to come in as a preferred walk-on (that decision hasn’t been made, from what I’ve been told). He’s hoping things get sorted out this weekend. If an offer isn’t presented at some point, and Brockermeyer is asked to come in as a walk-on, he said he’d be open to the possibility.
“It’s definitely something I would consider,” Brockermeyer said. “I just want to go (this weekend), get a vibe for things. I can’t really say yes or no, but I definitely would consider it.”
The 6-3, 215-pound Brockermeyer hasn’t received a ton of recruiting attention, but when you put on his film, you see him making plays off the edge as both a stand-up and hand-on-the-ground rusher, running down plays from the backside and knifing through traffic to make tackles. He also plays some offense, but Texas is recruiting him exclusively at outside linebacker. Brockermeyer said he’d like to put on some good weight, get up to around 235 pounds. If he can do that and keep his speed and athleticism, he could be a steal for somebody.
“I was a wide receiver my whole life, kind of wide receiver/tight end,” Brockermeyer said. “My junior year, I moved to the defensive side of the ball. I kind of played rush linebacker. That’s been my home the past two years, rushing the passer, dropping back into coverage, making plays in the backfield, making tackles for loss or sacks.”
Brockermeyer said both his mother and father have been “awesome” in helping guide him through the recruiting process while still letting him choose his own path. They’re not going to push him in any one direction, but he did say his dad would “love it” if things worked out with him and Texas.
“If I got an offer, I think it would be pretty much a done deal, but we’ll see,” he said.
******
Nothing new to report right now on wide receivers Jalen Preston (Texas A&M commitment) and Tommy Bush as of press-time.
A&M did an in-home with Preston on Thursday night and the early word is that it went “really well.” Preston will take his official visit to A&M this weekend, and as of now, is still slated to visit Texas next weekend. A&M will surely try to lock Preston down this weekend and talk him out of taking that final visit, so it’ll be interesting to see if he sticks to his guns on the UT visit. If he does, that could be pretty telling.
Texas coaches Tom Herman and Drew Mehringer did an in-home with Bush on Wednesday, but the Schertz Clements product told OB on Thursday night that he’s still undecided on whether or not he’ll take his fifth and final official visit, and if so, where it will be to.
******
(From Alex Dunlap)
I spoke with dozens of various sources in the scouting, evaluation and player-personnel world over the last three days in Mobile, Alabama during Senior Bowl practice week about the former Texas Longhorns entering the 2018 NFL draft. In a rare departure from recent seasons, we actually have quite a few to discuss in this crop, a trend that Texas fans surely hope will continue. Here is the info-dump of off-record intel gathered:
On Poona Ford:
He had a good-to-very-good week of practice by my eyes and many in attendance (scouts and media alike) seemed to feel like he held up well. The South roster that Ford plays on is coached by the Houston Texans and DC Romeo Crennel who is known for his 3-4 defenses. However, Senior Bowl coaching staffs don’t have much time in three practices to get into any of their true schemes and generally just run with looks that are multiple and easily adaptable to most all players. With this in mind, Ford’s alignment through the week was usually as a one-shade or nose-tackle type.
When the game kicks off Saturday, I would not expect to see Ford in with the first group, or maybe even the second. It isn’t because he didn’t do his job well but rather because he was a late-add and some of the other players have been running out with the ones and twos all week in front of him. I’d expect, as far as interior defensive linemen go, for Da’Shawn Hand (Alabama) and Andrew Brown (Virginia) to be the first group up and then Ford will mix in with Greg Gilmore and Christian LaCouture (both of LSU) after that.
Ford was most impressive in the run-aspect of the practices which shouldn’t be surprising, although he did have flashes in the pass-rush drills at times as well. It’s just that these flashes were nowhere near as frequent as those that came versus the South OL during inside-run periods. Ford showed off the same explosion that fans are used to seeing from him as a senior and there were times he put very good offensive lineman on skates when they tried to reach block him in zone. Ford is just too low to the ground and his upfield motor is too good. It made it more telling that Ford was able to do this against players who will be going early in the draft such as Georgia OG Isaiah Wynn and a major Senior Bowl riser in Humboldt State’s Alex Cappa who is as nasty as you’ll see.
As for Ford’s draft stock, I reported earlier in the week that one former NFL GM told me he thought Ford would go in the third or fourth round. As I’ve spoken with more scouts through the week, I’m starting to think that is sort of his ceiling if he has a ridiculous combine. I think a more reasonable projection is the fifth round. One thing that everyone agreed on is that Ford can’t play in 3-4 system as a pro. They want him to play in a 4-3 defense where he can one-gap and penetrate upfield instead of holding up OLs and two-gapping from side to side as they think his short height plus his long arms will get him buried too often. In all, Ford started out with an invitation to the Shrine Game which he parlayed into a Senior Bowl invite with a great week of practices. He’s made himself money over the course of the last two weeks any way you slice it and has put in great work.
On some of the other players:
LB Malik Jefferson - I had dinner with two scouts for an NFC team and brought up Jefferson. One had not gotten to work much on juniors (some wait until after the Senior Bowl to start on juniors) but he said that Jefferson is definitely a guy who flashed to him. The other scout, who’d watched Malik more, said, “that’s because he’s a ‘flash player.’” (Meaning that those flashes of productivity amid periods of silence were a what-you-see-is-what-you-get deal). Everyone is intrigued by Jefferson’s speed, though and fast linebackers all the rage in the league right now. The main complaints I heard from numerous scouts were: his instincts haven’t caught up with his athletic ability, he gets fooled on read-options, he has trouble shedding blocks, effort deteriorating through games, pass-rush efficiency wanes from the outside as opposed to attacking A and B-gaps, What scouts liked were: his pure athletic upside and speed, “special” balance and COD in space, his tackling (an outstanding finisher), his hip fluidity to mirror slot WRs and his anticipation in drops to zone coverage. With a big combine, he can be a first-round pick and some think he’ll go late-first but I have to say the consensus on Jefferson is that he’ll be a Day 2 guy, likely Round 2 as things stand.
OT Connor Williams - Evaluators are all over the map with him, relatively. Some in the media think he could go at 4 to the Browns but there are NFL scouts who hate his limited junior tape. The most interesting nugget here is that most all true NFL types think Williams will play guard at the next level. They love him coming in with the versatility to kick to guard or tackle, but, as one scout said, “it’s like with (current Charger) Forrest Lamp last year, he can play tackle if we need, but we want him to be a guard for us.” We’ve been over Williams’ attributes a million times but scouts love his hand strength, his elite kick slide, his ability to absorb punches from and erase edge defenders, discipline to disengage before being called for holding, footwork and aggressiveness in inside-zone runs and a terrific power step. One director of scouting said he loves his 3.67 GPA especially in a study like finance. One scouting assistant for an independent service said their comp for Williams was Jake Matthews, who has been my comp all along. Some are confident he’ll go in Round 1 while others say he might “sneak in.” At least one person told me he thinks Williams will go in the second round. I like my original and final evaluation of Williams as a late-first, early-second rounder and believe that’s how things will shake out barring combine blowups or disasters.
CB Holton Hill - NFL personnel folks are higher on him than I ever would have thought. “He’s long and his tape was outstanding,” one said, “it’s just the off-field stuff.” When asked how much they worry about off-field issues like possible drug test failures, he said, “much less if he can play like (Hill).” Some scouts said he could even go on Day 2 (second or third round) should he test well in the process and answer questions adequately about his suspension. There are definitely league-types who are more worried than others. One scouting director for a non-Senior Bowl All-Star game said that they have a 5th-round grade on him due to off-field stuff and also what they view as a lack of football IQ. This personnel man said he’s not disciplined in coverage and relies on his natural gifts too much. His style of play and body type was compared to Byron Maxwell and multiple sources said that, as you’d think with such a comp, that he’s best suited to play for a Cover-3 defense that employs heavy press technique. Of all players I snooped around about in Mobile, he was the one I have the most trouble pegging down an early round-projection on given the nebulous nature of his senior season and all the questions that need answering still. I think 2nd to 5th round is a safe range and I think it’s also safe to say he’s a lock to get drafted.
S Deshon Elliott - Two different scouts said that Elliott reminded them of Kenny Vaccaro with virtually everyone I spoke with believing he has the potential to be an eventual NFL starter. Scouts really like him. He’s a savvy blitzed on top of playing center field and they like his timing and anticipation to blitz C-gaps and knife off the edge. With this said, he’s seen as a free safety at the next level and a patroller of the middle third or field-half of the field depending on scheme. He could go as early as Day 2 and I’d put his range anywhere from the late second optimistically to late 4th at the latest. Much will depend on his combine workout as scouts are very interested to see how he stacks up measurable-wise.
So, it looks as if Texas will have at least five players drafted this season, and you can make it six if you include the punter although I did not speak with any scouts about Dickson. I did pick up some tidbits on other players from scouts who are either not leaving or who are not currently seen as being prime draft targets among the dozens of sources I gathered this report through speaking with.
WR Armanti Foreman - I only spoke about him with two scouts and unfortunately both said he won’t be drafted. One said that he lost his job as a senior to younger players and had difficulty locating and holding onto the football on the limited snaps he did play. I am personally still a believer in Foreman and don’t necessarily think the views of these two are representative of how every team feels. With that said, he’s not a hot name in draft circles whatsoever.
RB Chris Warren - Yes, he’s not a Longhorn anymore but I did ask a few people about what they thought of his decision to come out: In short, they think it was cockamamie. They worry about his hamstrings and one said that you’ll get out him what you get out of James Wilder - An ex-pro RB’s kid who may have something going for him in the future as a 3rd down and short-yardage back, but will have to work on a practice squad to get there. Again, undraftable from what I’ve been told and I agree.
Now, for some of the smaller nuggets I found among the most interesting. One director of scouting for a well-known independent firm who many NFL teams and most every NFL agent buys scouting reports from had end-of-season reports prepared for all the players his service thought had a chance of coming out.These included a few Longhorns who will return in 2018:
OG Patrick Vahe - 4th-round grade (!!!!): I almost fell out of my chair. He said, though, that Vahe is a mauler and NFL teams ask about him. He said Vahe’s girth is ideal and that his calves are insane. His feet are average and he has a strong base that should continue to help him with his balance. While he has work to do in pass-pro (I don’t care what scouts say, he has work to do identifying stunts and setting properly to engage against them), he said Vahe has exceptional upfield control in the run game and he wins with his violent and aggressive attitude. I don’t think Vahe would be taken in the 4th round of the 2018 draft had he elected to go pro, but to see a respected service give him that level of respect was a big eye-opener for me. A big 2018 for Vahe could lead to more NFL fanfare than I had previously foreseen.
CB Kris Boyd - 5th-round grade: Scouts love him as a boundary corner at the NFL level and are weirdly kind of hyped up about him as a kick returner. This particular personnel man thought he would test with fantastic numbers in the 40. He loves Boyd’s rare enthusiasm and physicality at the corner spot as well as his ability to identify screens, plant and accelerate downfield with speed to the ball-carrier.
DB P.J. Locke - Priority Free Agent: He said what everyone on OB says. Maybe everyone on the board should go into player evaluation. He worried about Locke struggling with angles in zone coverage and hesitation that leads to big plays for the opposition. He compared him to Quandre Diggs and said at the NFL level, the greater depth Locke has away from the line of scrimmage, the less effective he’ll be. Some food for thought when considering that Locke may project to move to safety next season, a move this evaluator thought was a bad one.
******
(From Dustin McComas)
While the 2018 Texas Basketball recruiting class is already at four solid signees, and appears to be, at least right now, Courtney Ramey or bust, an early look at the 2019 class reveals some promising things for the Longhorns.
Obviously, Austin Westlake center, and five-star prospect, Will Baker is a top priority. He’s visited the UT campus a lot already. His parents like the Longhorns. Baker’s recruitment won’t be a layup for Texas. There’s a reason North Carolina’s Roy Williams and an assistant coach showed up to watch him play earlier this week versus Vandegrift and top 2020 Texas target Greg Brown. However, Texas should be a strong presence in the recruitment until the end.
An early look at some of the other emerging priority targets reveals some good news for Texas. Texas identified and started heavily recruiting Guyer (Denton) forward Jalen Wilson (some rumored him to be a big OU lean, but I’ve heard he’s wide open right now), La Lumiere (La Porte, Indiana) big man Isaiah Stewart, and Porter Gaud School (Charleston, South Carolina) combo guard Josiah James. After seeing Wilson multiple times in person this summer, I felt like he’d eventually be a five-star prospect. Slowly but surely, he’s making his way up national lists. Stewart is doing the same, and just missed the recent five-star cut. And James, who is now a five-star and the No. 18 overall player in the country, has seen his stock soar as much as any prospect in the 2019 class.
Why does this matter? By prioritizing these elite prospects early, Texas is getting a head start before some of the other big-time high-majors throw their hats into the recruitments. These aren’t the only prospects Texas is recruiting or will recruit, but they are emerging as a big chunk of the main priority group. And it seems like Texas is putting itself in position to perhaps sign a really, really good 2019 hoops class.
*****
Texas is at somewhat of a midway point in conference play with a break from Big 12 action this weekend, so I asked around for the vibe amongst the players in the program. Lately on Twitter, Texas players have been actively recruiting for the program, and Mohamed Bamba and Matt Coleman, along with assistant Darrin Horn, watched Westlake versus Vandegrift earlier this week. Tonight, the players, no coaches, were going to a team dinner at Pappasito’s together.
All those public indications reflect what’s true behind the scenes too: Texas has a hoops program right now with a tight-knit group of guys. Despite the inconsistent win-loss results, especially after Andrew Jones’s diagnosis, the work Texas spent on team and culture is resonating behind the scenes. While that might not always show on the court now in performance, a lot of these players - as three and four-year players - are going to be key foundation pieces moving forward and individual players are starting to make consistent progress.
The next step for Texas is winning on the court more consistently, which is, obviously, the most important thing. But from a team-building standpoint, Texas is on the right track.
