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(From Jason)
The Longhorns hosted four official visitors last weekend (more on those guys in a bit) and it’ll be another active weekend coming up, with Texas set to have five official visitors on campus this weekend (plus a number of key unofficial visitors). A preview …
RB Bijan Robinson – Tucson Salpointe – One of the top overall targets on the Longhorns’ board, the Rivals100 back will be back on campus for the second time after visiting the weekend of the Orange-White game. Texas surged to the top of Robinson’s list following that spring game visit (he recently openly named UT his leader) but other schools like Ohio State and USC are still very much in the picture. Robinson visited Ohio State last weekend and in talking to people connected to that program, there’s a feel that the Buckeyes did close the gap some but they also know that Texas will likely re-gain its advantage if things go well this weekend, as they should. Robinson took a midweek visit to USC to get that trip in before the dead period and the Trojans are a bit of a wildcard here (as could be UCLA if he wants to visit there). At any rate, this one continues to trend well for Texas and while Robinson has said he probably won’t decide until the fall sometime, a summer decision isn’t out of the question. Robinson will be at the Five-Star Challenge next week so we’ll get a chance to sit down with him there.
ATH Jaden Hullaby – Dallas Bishop Dunne (Texas commitment) – Hullaby committed to the Longhorns back in March and while he’s kept a fairly low profile since then, he remains solid with his commitment. He’s been on campus a couple times since his pledge and has said he’s sticking firm with his decision despite interest from other schools.
DB Jahari Rogers – Arlington – There was a time early in the process when people were speculating that Rogers was all but locked in to go to Oklahoma since he has some family ties there (grandfather played for Barry Switzer). Rogers had always told me he liked OU, but he never came across as a guy who was for sure going to wind up in Norman (Quote from a couple months ago: “A lot of people have been saying that. But their eyes will be opened in a couple months.). People have now come around to just how serious of a player Texas is in this race, and the Longhorns will have their chance to all but close the deal if things go well this weekend. Rogers has said he’d like to make a decision this summer and with the Longhorns getting his last official visit, this one continues to trend well for Texas with the Rivals250 member.
DB Kitan Crawford – John Tyler – Crawford has always been pretty open about Texas’ lofty standing on his list. The Longhorns are now in his official top three with Oklahoma and Tennessee. All signs point to UT winning this race and it should happen soon.
DB Bryson Washington – Houston C.E. King – This visit could ultimately determine where Washington will play college ball. He’s down to Oklahoma and Texas. He’s already taken his OU official visit. He took an unofficial visit to UT very recently and now the Longhorns will have a chance to make the last impression with this weekend’s official visit since he plans to announce his decision on July 4. After talking to Washington following his unofficial visit on June 9, he said Texas and OU are still neck and neck but my gut tells me the Longhorns still have a bit of ground to make up. We’ll see what the vibe is coming out of this weekend’s visit.
Notable unofficial visitors who are expected on campus this weekend …
QB Ja’Quinden Jackson - Duncanville
WR Johnny Wilson – Calabasas (CA)
OL Jaylen Garth – Port-Neches Groves
OL Logan Parr – San Antonio O’Connor
OL Courtland Ford – Cedar Hill
DE Alfred Collins – Bastrop Cedar Creek
DT Octavious Oxendine – Radcliff (KY) North Hardin
DB Xavion Alford – Pearland Shadow Creek
LB Justin Flowe (Maybe) – Upland (CA)
DB Kelee Ringo (Maybe) – Scottsdale (AZ) Saguaro
LB Reid Carrico – Ironton (OH)
LB Clayton Smith – Texas High
LB Jordan Crook – Bishop Dunne
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One of the big storylines from this week was the unofficial visit to UT by top defensive line target Vernon Broughton on Wednesday night. Broughton, the Rival100 member out of Cy Ridge, is set to take his final official visit this weekend to A&M. Most have considered Texas to be at or near the top of his list for a long time, only to see the picture get more cloudy as he took his other official visits. For UT to get him on campus one last time before Monday’s dead period was a huge development for the Longhorns.
According to Broughton, who gave us some time via a text interview, the meeting showed him once again how valued he is by the Texas staff.
“I think most importantly, I’m a big part of what Texas is building! They continue to stress I’m a need, not just want! They are just lacking a few pieces to the puzzle before bringing home that national championship trophy, and I want to be a part of that!,” Broughton said.
The 6-6, 285-pound Broughton has been a regular visitor to the UT campus, including taking his official visit in early May. Like his previous visits, Broughton said this one made a strong impression.
“All my visits (to Texas) have been first class. Texas is an elite program and the bottom line it was just personal!,” Broughton said. “I felt like they had my undivided attention and I had their undivided attention.”
Since visiting UT in May, Broughton has taken official visits to Arkansas, LSU and Ohio State. He’ll be at A&M this weekend, and said this week’s trip to Austin happened because he wanted to get another look at the Longhorns since his official visit made such a strong impression.
“I wanted to see them again. That’s why I choose to visit again,” Broughton said. “It has been a while since my official visit, which was early May. My mother often say, ‘Texas set the bar for my first official visit.’ Meaning they set the standard! I’m also looking forward to returning this fall with my family.”
Broughton has said repeatedly that he hopes to make a decision this summer. He hasn’t set a direct pecking order among the schools he’s considering, but Texas has always been a school that’s high on his list.
“We love Texas, one of the many schools to jump on me last summer,” Broughton said. “Texas has a lot to offer on and off the field - family environment, strong academics, internships, mentorship, brotherhood, and Texas football!”
We’ll see Broughton in Atlanta for next week’s Five-Star Challenge, where we’ll have a chance to sit down with him and get his thoughts after he completes all of his official visits.
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One of the big visits from last weekend came from Rivals100 safety Lathan Ransom, and from everything I’ve heard, Texas knocked it out of the park.
Ransom’s father told us on Sunday that Texas was for sure in his top three. In talking to another key source this week, there’s a feeling that the Longhorns are actually the team to beat with a big Ohio State visit yet to take place this weekend. Another person I spoke with feels it’s Texas in the lead with Notre Dame the strongest competitor. The one constant in all of it – and from multiple sources – is that Texas appears to be the team to beat, and that’s obviously a good sign for the Longhorns.
In talking to Ransom’s father, the family will take a very measured approach and consider which factors are most important. He mentioned things like location, playing time, education (Ransom wants to study communications), and bonds with the players and coaches as possible deciding factors. If those are the important criteria, Texas would seem like the obvious choice since the Longhorns are strong in every area.
Ohio State will have its chance to move up Ransom’s list with this weekend’s visit, but the smart money right now is on the Longhorns to win out with a commitment in either July or August.
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Last week’s official visit from longtime OU commitment Jase McClellan hasn’t been discussed a ton, mostly because McClellan plays things extremely close to the vest. I was able to catch up with the Aledo playmaker to get a few comments, and also spoke to a couple other sources about McClellan’s visit.
“It was just the whole experience I got with the coaches. I got time to spend with the players and just got to see the city for itself,” McClellan said of the highlights.
McClellan has visited UT a couple times previously on unofficial visits and he’d always been pretty open that Texas would get an official visit, so seeing him back on campus last weekend wasn’t a huge shock. He’s been committed to Oklahoma for nearly two full years and said after the UT visit he’s still committed, but still considering all options.
“I’m committed to OU still. I’m just looking at schools where I could possibly see myself,” McClellan said.
The 5-11, 190-pound McClellan said he doesn’t have any other visits lined up, which makes me think this will ultimately be a two-team race. I did ask McClellan if the Texas visit gave him something to think about and he was fairly non-committal in his answer.
“They gave me something to see,” McClellan said. ““They just say to come there, be a part of the future. Be the home-town hero.”
In talking to people who spent time around McClellan last weekend, it was more of the same – he seemed to enjoy the visit but didn’t really tip his hand. One person told me McClellan appeared to be very comfortable on the trip and was cutting up with the other recruits and players in a way he doesn’t always do.
“He’s a hard kid to read. He’s quiet,” another source said. “I’ll say, he looks good in a Texas uniform but I really don’t know. He’s a quiet kid but I really don’t know where he’ll wind up.”
I’d expect McClellan to return for another unofficial visit to Texas at some point.
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Like McClellan, Texas LB target Prince Dorbah was in Austin on an official visit last weekend. Like McClellan, Dorbah is playing it close to the vest.
The Highland Park product has been long-believed to be a Texas lean and based on everything I heard from last weekend, that hasn’t changed.
“I loved the visit. My parents had a great time,” Dorbah said. “The culture was the thing that impressed me.”
Dorbah will visit USC this weekend before the dead period and other schools like Arkansas are still making a push but from everything I’ve heard this week, this one looks good for Texas. Dorbah, per multiple sources, really enjoyed the visit and perhaps equally important, his parents did as well.
This one’s not settled yet and we’ll have to see if the USC visit moves the needle, but one person I spoke with this week who I trust thought this one looks like it will likely fall UT’s way sooner rather than later.
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A quick update on Chad Lindberg for those of you have been asking. The Clear Creek product took a midweek visit to USC this week and will be at Texas A&M this weekend for his fifth and final official visit.
There’s a lot of chatter that Georgia has made a strong move in this one after his official visit there last month, but I haven’t heard from anyone that thinks Texas isn’t still the team to beat there, if the Longhorns continue to push and don’t fill up along the offensive line before Lindberg is ready to announce.
This weekend’s visit to College Station could prove interesting and while this one still feels like Texas has the inside track, it doesn’t at all feel like it’s the slam dunk it was about a month ago.
(From Anwar)
This is still one of the most important recruiting weekends for Texas football coach Tom Herman’s team.
Before Northshore running back Zach Evans revealed his top five schools, Arizona running back Bijan Robinson was a player many people inside the building coveted. Robinson was never viewed as a Plan B in case Evans was not interested. Whenever I had conversations with my sources, Robinson was a player they loved just as much as Evans. Plus, Robinson appeared to be a player who was very interested in Texas.
When Evans previously stated he was no longer interested in attending Texas, it was not a major blow because Robinson remained high on the Longhorns. With Evans focused on other programs, it just meant the Longhorns had more time to pursue Robinson. Everyone within the program believed Robinson was a dynamic running back who could strengthen the Longhorns.
Evans decided to take an unofficial visit to Austin on Thursday. Time will tell if Evans is truly interested in Texas or not closing that door until he makes a final decision.
However, this is a huge weekend when it comes to the recruitment of Robinson.
As you already know, Robinson will take an official visit to Austin this weekend. Texas has an opportunity to obtain one of the nation’s top running backs if everything goes well. When I spoke to my sources this week, everyone was enthusiastic about the opportunity to host Robinson and have another chance to sell the program.
From what I was told, Robinson’s official visit is significant for multiple reasons.
For starters, this is the second consecutive weekend Texas has hosted elite running backs. Last week, Jase McClellan visited Austin this past weekend. McClellan is a four-star running back from Aledo who has been verbally committed to Oklahoma since 2017. It is hard to flip a player who has been committed to a program from two years. However, it is definitely was an accomplishment to get McClellan on campus and have the opportunity to flip his decision.
Nevertheless, Robinson is a blank slate.
Robinson visited Texas a few weeks ago and decided to take an official visit this weekend. My sources were thrilled about that progress because Robinson previously paid to take an unofficial visit before deciding to return.
“You never want out-of-state guys to have their first and only visit to be their official visit,” a source told me. “You want to make sure the interest is genuine at times, and these out-of-state guys find a way to get there on their own dime. When that happens, their interest in Texas is as real as our interest in them.”
Another reason why everyone inside the building is excited about Robinson’s visit is because his mother will visit Austin for the first time. Everyone I spoke with is excited about the opportunity to show Robinson’s mother what Texas can offer her son, and they want to reaffirm everything he saw and experienced on his previous unofficial visit.
We will keep you posted.
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When I checked in with my sources last week, I was told the summer conditioning program under Yancy McKnight was meeting the expectations of everyone in the building.
In case you missed it, here is what I wrote in last week’s War Room:
I checked in with my sources this week and learned the team continues to excel during workouts. They were hesitant to name individual standouts at this moment because the focus has been on improving as a team, but the good news, for Longhorn fans, is this group of players continue to meet the expectations of the staff.
“Collectively, it’s been really good,” once source told me.
One aspect of this offseason that stood out to a source has been the noticeable progress.
I was told every time there has been a break, the players return looking better than when they left. From the end of last season until spring football, a small break until summer workouts, and the expected progress between now and training camp, it is obvious Longhorn players are working hard to improve.
I inquired about grad transfer offensive lineman Parker Braun this week and heard nothing but great things about him.
From what I was told, Braun is up to 298 pounds and one source described him as, “as strong as heck.”
“He fits in great,” a source told me. “Kids love being around him. As far as a teammate, individual and grinder, he’s awesome.”
In addition, it appears there is still going to be a lot of development from a technique standpoint for Braun since he has performed in a different offense at Georgia Tech. Everyone inside the building respects Georgia Tech’s program and its development of players. They are very impressed with Braun’s football knowledge and athleticism.
In fact, when I asked about Braun’s ability to adapt to McKnight’s offseason program, I received very encouraging news for Longhorn fans.
“It has not fazed him,” I was told.
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Here is a small scheduling note for you to file away.
After this recruiting weekend concludes, Texas’ football staff will be on vacation for at least two weeks.
McKnight will continue to oversee the summer conditioning program during their absence. Players will participate in conditioning drills on June 30 and July 1 before receiving the week off to relax. After the respite, players will resume summer conditioning for three more weeks.
Longhorn players will receive five days off toward the end of July before reporting for training camp on August 1.
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(From Dustin)
Photo via TNS
As we near July, it’s a good time to assess where the Shaka Smart and his staff stand for their 2020 class targets. Texas is expected to have a very small class (two is my current projection, but it’s always subject to change depending on what players want spots). Many prospects will release or trim lists at the end of July or in August, and many will take official visits during the fall. Rapid fire summaries:
Brown has visited the Texas campus often over the last couple of years, and has developed a good relationship with current players and the coaching staff. Additionally, his father is a big fan of Shaka Smart. Memphis, North Carolina, and Auburn are also in the running, but Texas is in the best shape currently.
Buckle up. Cunningham’s recruitment is going to turn into a war. He recently released a top 10, which included Texas. Many analysts, including both Corey Evans and Eric Bossi, are projecting Cunningham to Oklahoma State right now. Cunningham’s older brother, Cannen, played at SMU and is currently on the Tulane Basketball staff. Could he be on the move? We’ll see.
Recently, Cunningham said, basically, when he knows, he’s going to commit and isn’t going to drag it out. He also shot down the Oklahoma State projections. From talking to him, my impression is he genuinely doesn’t know right now, and hasn’t completely evaluated his recruiting process yet. I have a hard time seeing him somewhere that doesn’t give him a great opportunity to win. He’s a winner, and values it deeply.
Steward has taken one official visit thus far – Texas. He’s maintained he plans to visit Indiana, Louisville, and Illinois for unofficial visits, but hasn’t planned them yet. He did make a one-day trip to Marquette about a week after his Texas visit.
It’s become clear Texas would prefer to use one of its limited spots on a combo guard with a skill set similar to current Longhorn Courtney Ramey. Steward fits that mold, and so does Caleb Love. Neill Berry and Smart have done a very good job recruiting Steward thus far, and it seems now it’s a matter of closing.
Peavy’s father recently told Orangebloods the family is working to schedule a visit to both Texas and Texas Tech. Once upon a time, LSU was thought to be the leader for Peavy, but now I think Texas and Texas Tech are at the top battling for the do-it-all forward with an outstanding motor. Since Texas offered, no one has recruited Peavy more aggressively than the Longhorns. New assistant coach Luke Yaklich was actively recruiting Peavy while he was at Michigan.
Love recently told Rivals.com he’d like to take an official visit to Texas, and Smart and former assistant coach Darrin Horn spent a ton of time in St. Louis and recruiting Love. After talking with him a few weeks ago, my gut reaction was he had eyes on other programs, like Kansas, North Carolina, and Louisville.
This is what Garcia told Bossi recently: “I am not hearing from them as much lately, but I still talk to Neill Berry every once in a while. I am still very much interested in them, though.”
Basically, I think Texas was in great position at one time for Garcia, who took a visit a long time ago. However, numbers for the 2020 class are tight, and Garcia would fit a similar position as Peavy and Brown. I think Texas pulling back a little in the recruitment is a product of not enough spots and how it would prefer to construct its class. But the Longhorns are still in the hunt, and could emerge as a big threat again.
Mane recently took his first official visit to Maryland, and told our colleagues at TerrapinSportsReport Maryland was in his top group along with Texas and a few other schools:
“They’re definitely in that top group,” Mane said. “I’m still wide open but right now the schools that are recruiting me the hardest are Texas, Oregon, Maryland, Providence, and Wake Forest.”
From what I’ve heard, Mane is very high on Texas’s list, but it’s unclear where the Longhorns stand in the guard’s pecking order. Normally, a first official visit this early signals that respective program is in really good shape.
OTHER TARGETS: Bryce Thompson, Josh Hall, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Moses Moody, Dain Dainja, Caleb Lohner, Hayden Hefner.
Thompson went from a regional high-major prospect, to a five-star and No. 18 overall in the updated rankings. Texas offered a couple months ago, but needs to get him on campus to be a factor. Oklahoma, Kansas, North Carolina, and Michigan State seem like the biggest players for him.
Texas recently offered Hall and Abdur-Rahim. If North Carolina offers Hall, it would be expected to be the team to beat. Texas is recruiting him hard, but there’s a long line of suitors after Hall blew up and jumped into five-star status. As for Abdur-Rahim, it seems Villanova, Louisville, Virginia, Georgia, and Michigan are the main teams.
Moody is a really interesting prospect I like more than the rankings, but it doesn’t seem anyone has really prioritized him yet. Dainja has a high level of skill for a big power forward of his size and position, and is very, very talented. But after watching him play, I’d be surprised if Texas heavily pursues him after it offered. He was the most selfish player I saw, and had awful body language. It takes about two weeks covering Smart to know how much he wants guys that are about the team and how much he values body language.
A year ago, Lohner was poised to become a priority target for Texas. This summer, his play dipped, he left Drive Nation (Nike EYBL) and I’m under the impression Texas isn’t recruiting him anymore. Hefner was offered by Texas a couple of months ago, but it’s unclear who is prioritizing him right now.
