Manvel wide receiver Regggie Hemphill has been committed to Texas for 14 months. Actually, Hemphill committed to Texas more than two years ago, but he officially opened up his recruitment briefly after UT underwent a coaching change before re-committing in October of last year.
Hemphill has been happy with his decision ever since he made it, and he’s now looking forward to winding down the recruiting process and taking his official visit to Texas in January. Will it be smooth sailing for Texas down the home stretch, or are other programs still giving chase?
Key quote: “I just have my official visit coming up on January 15,” Hemphill said. “I’ll probably get some guys committed that day. There’s supposed to be a lot of guys there that day.”
Other visits still possible: Going back to the summer, Hemphill has said he’ll likely take other visits (he did take an unofficial visit to Ole Miss over the summer with some friends). Schools like Ole Miss and Southern Cal were mentioned as possibilities, but it sounds like Hemphill now could be considering visiting schools closer to home.
“The only other schools I’m talking to are Texas Tech and UofH. Those two are trying to get me in,” Hemphill said. “I might take them.”
Hemphill said he has talked to the Texas coaches previously about taking other official visits, and the UT staff has told him to “enjoy recruiting” while he has a chance.
Bit of a frustrating season: Hemphill was hoping to put up big numbers as a senior in 2015, and while he did have a solid season, he didn’t turn in the kind of production he was hoping for. The 6-1, 175-pounder caught 31 passes for 557 yards and 5 TDs after hauling in 36 for 725 and 14 TDs in 2014.
“This season was kind of, I don’t know, I want to say slow. Last year was probably my best year,” Hemphill said. “This year I just wanted to win a ring.”
Despite a slight drop-off in stats, Hemphill feels he did progress as a player.
“I got stronger, faster, found out different ways to run a route,” Hemphill said. “I tried not to make everything look the same. “
Two main targets: Hemphill said he’s been doing some recruiting already, mostly with defensive back Brandon Jones and athlete Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Both players remain pretty open, but with all the recent turmoil with the A&M program and the Aggies expected to be one of UT’s top competitors for Jones, Hemphill believes Texas has improved their standing with the talented DB.
“I think that made him come closer with us, with UT,” Hemphill said.
My thoughts: Hemphill is an interesting case. He consistently talks about visiting other schools, yet he constantly represents Texas on twitter, with his words, with his attire and with his action.
If Texas puts the hard press on him during his official visit in a few weeks, I don’t think the Longhorns really have anything to be worried about with Hemphill’s commitment. In fact, if the coaches don’t want him taking other visits, I expect they’ll be able to talk him out of it.
“Those are good schools, but I just want to take a visit, see if I like it or not,” Hemphill said of Houston and Texas Tech.
We’ll know the answer on the visits soon enough, but this one doesn’t have the feel of something that should have Texas fans losing sleep.
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