Gary Johnson: I was told that JUCO LB commit Gary Johnson will arrive at Texas this summer as a true JR. So that means he will have 3 years to play 2 seasons at Texas. The staff expects him to make an early impact.
K’Lavon Chaisson: Texas hosted what could be their crown jewel in the 2017 class in 5-star OLB/DE K’Lavon Chaisson. I felt Texas had the edge going into the weekend and I still feel that way today. Multiple family members joined Chaisson on the visit, but none were more important than his mother who I was told is a major factor in his decision.
One little thing I found interesting was that 13-year NFL vet and former Texas DL who went to the same high school as Chaisson in
Cory Redding was in Austin over the weekend and was around the facilities. I’m sure that wasn’t just a coincidence on the part of Redding and
Tom Herman.
This is still a Texas-LSU battle.
Javelin Guidry: Even though it looks like a public announcement won’t come until February 1st, I still feel very good about Texas chances here. Guidry told me, “The visit was great and I really learned a lot. Talking with Coach Herman and Coach Washington about how I’d fit in and just about the program in general stood out to me.” Guidry also told me they’ll start him out learning both the outside CB spot and nickel. He’s known for his elite speed (10.43 100m), and it looks like the staff wants to take advantage of that as he also said they want to use him on offense some on the edge to create big plays.
I spoke with Guidry’s father and... the decision is clearly coming down to Utah and Texas. However, I think this race is much tighter than most would have expected and I won’t be surprised to see Guidry go with Utah. Guidry’s father mentioned, “Had coach Herman and the Texas staff reached out to Jav as soon as they arrived at Texas I think it would have been a done deal but not hearing from them allowed more time for him to continue to build a stronger and stronger relationship with the Utah staff and see how he can fit in there.”
Both programs clearly need Javelin. Guidry’s father says that Utah lost a lot of defensive backs to graduation and the staff at Texas is very unsure about the current crop of true cover guys on the Texas roster (I agree btw), “They said, ‘we don’t have that true cover guy like a William Jackson that can follow a guy around all game.'”
So, the Guidry’s like the opportunity to get on the field early at Texas. They also like the new energy at Texas, “They’ve got former players like
Aaron Ross who will be around and
Michael Huff to be around the players. It’s a new energy, it’s going big. Whatever they (the new Texas staff) have asked for they’ve been given. He’s being given what he needs to create long term success.”
In my estimation should Texas pick up Guidry it would be an excellent get. Guidry is an instant upgrade in speed at the cornerback position (something Texas needs) but he’s also the son of a former D1 cornerback so he's well versed in the game. Because of his athleticism and football IQ the likelihood of Guidry picking up the details of Orlando’s complicated system and implementing them at game speed as a true freshman is higher than most.
Jordan Pouncey: If you’re on twitter it’s clear you noticed how much Winter Park (FL) WR Jordan Pouncey enjoyed his Texas official visit. Going into the weekend it was safe to say Texas was running #2 behind the hometown school in Miami. But I’ve been told the gap has been closed, as Pouncey grew up a huge Texas fan and the visit was “almost like a dream come true for him’ as one person I spoke to put it. Though the hometown pull is very real in this one and we’ll see how it goes moving forward.
[TFB]