2019 Recruiting - Football

247 on Jake from State Farm, AZ. The missing piece for the Herman offense. I like that they mention Moore, Waddle (+Ayers at UH who was terrific), and how missing them caused us to descend on Jake like a horse of locusts this season. We were not going to let the missing link get away this time --

" .... As good as the Texas offense has been through the first 13 games ... the current version of the Tom Herman pro-spread offense isn’t a finished product. One piece missing throughout the first 26 games of the Herman era on the Forty Acres has been a dynamic, multi-faceted slot receiver who fits what Herman desires to have at the position.

With all due respect to the job Lil'Jordan Humphrey has done in putting together one of the best seasons ever for a Texas wideout, Herman’s offenses flourished with a different type of slot receiver dominating the touches on offense. What Herman had at Ohio State with Philly Brown, Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall, at Houston with Demarcus Ayers and what he came close to getting in 2018 with both Rondale Moore and Jaylen Waddle, he hopes to have now in four-star prospect Jake Smith (Scottsdale, Ariz./Notre Dame Prep).

..... (Jake) should have Herman and the offensive staff as giddy as can be about what they can do when they get their newest weapon on the field........... Humphrey put together his impressive season while playing inside, outside, taking direct snaps as a quarterback and returning both kickoffs and punts, but Smith fits the description better than any player currently in the program for what Herman wants in a slot receiver based on what he himself said about the position in his first spring on the job.

“It’s kind of the uniqueness of our offense,” Herman said. “It’s gotta be a guy that can beat man-to-man coverage, can find windows over the middle [against] big linebackers and be able to motion into the backfield and be able to hand the ball to as well.”

Not all of those elements have been seen in such a way that Herman has shown throughout his career calling plays he can scheme up. With Smith signed, sealed and soon to be delivered (he will enroll next summer), Herman might not have to wait much longer before he can unleash a relatively untapped prong of his attack.

Had Moore not flipped his commitment from Texas to Purdue or had Waddle not sided with Alabama over the Longhorns, Herman would’ve had his man in the saddle for the 2018 season and based on what they did at their respective programs it could’ve changed quite a bit in terms of the big picture. Moore had 1,367 yards from scrimmage for the Boilermakers, averaged 11.3 yards every time he touched the ball on offense and scored 13 touchdowns; Waddle didn’t record a rushing attempt for the Crimson Tide, but he caught 41 balls for 803 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games while also taking a punt to the house as a true freshman.

What Ayers did for Houston in 2015, the year Herman led the Cougars to a 13-1 record and a win over Jimbo Fisher and Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, gives a good indication for how such a weapon can be used in Herman’s offense. Ayers had 125 official offensive touches on the season (97 receptions, 26 rushing attempts and three passing attempts), recording 1,838 yards from scrimmage, averaging 10.9 yards every time he ran or caught the ball and accounted for 12 offensive touchdowns (nine receiving, one rushing and two passing).

In a perfect world with the right guy, the slot handles the ball a lot in Herman’s offense. There weren’t many better in the country among 2019 recruits at doing something with the ball when they had in their hands than Smith, who can completely change the outlook for the Longhorns on offense if he truly is the right man for the job....."​

Texas turns to four-star WR signee Smith to be slot solution
 
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Dionysus said:
Javonne Shepherd seems like high maintenance/drama dude to me
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I read that he's going to take an official visit to aggyville too. Herman and company better start scrambling. I wouldn't count on this one 'til the signature is on the dotted line.
 
Clean said:
I read that he's going to take an official visit to aggyville too. Herman and company better start scrambling. I wouldn't count on this one 'til the signature is on the dotted line.
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Amen on the drama/high maintenance take. If this was not such a position of need, one would have to question if he is worth it.
 
Has there been any talk of a freshman redshirt for Jake Smith?

I can’t imagine this guy not being on the field right away.
 
RB Noah Cain, IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) - 10 AM on ESPN2
OL/DL Antoine Whitner, IMG - 11 AM
RB Trey Sanders, IMG - 12:20 PM on ESPNU
 
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I don't know where Shepherd will sign, but I have seen many guys like him, and few of them pan out. This kid has all the tools to be a 1st round NFL draft pick, but he doesn't seem to have it between the ears and that is a bad sign. He is also been waffling and playing games in his recruitment, this tells me how serious he is about his future.

At this point I'm really hoping Texas is going after a few more guys because I would not bet on him panning out as a player.

Three types of recruits I don't trust, those who talk smack to other players about schools they have yet to attend, those who can't make up their minds and those who play games. Those are the recruits who seldom pan out.
 
Dionysus said:
Javonne Shepherd seems like high maintenance/drama dude to me
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***Get those kids off the lawn comment alert***

My take is let him go. He has all the information he needs to make a decision. Everybody knows the Aggy culture. It does not require a visit now to prolong the decision.

I remember when Ryan Perrilloux jilted us. There is an LSU homer website called Dandy Don that is now being run by Don's son. Back then I was reading it and noticing all the gloating going on over Ryan switching to LSU on signing day. I sent and email to Don asking why people fall all over themselves for someone who was a liar. Don responded and said (paraphrasing from memory): "They're just real emotional about their football over here. They don't think about it like you do." I respected his honest. Ryan flamed out.

We have to stop catering to diva's. He's had plenty of time to decide. I know we need OL in the worst way but sometimes it's obvious that someone is going to be difficult.
 
Austin_Bill said:
I don't know where Shepherd will sign, but I have seen many guys like him, and few of them pan out. This kid has all the tools to be a 1st round NFL draft pick, but he doesn't seem to have it between the ears and that is a bad sign. He is also been waffling and playing games in his recruitment, this tells me how serious he is about his future.

At this point I'm really hoping Texas is going after a few more guys because I would not bet on him panning out as a player.

Three types of recruits I don't trust, those who talk smack to other players about schools they have yet to attend, those who can't make up their minds and those who play games. Those are the recruits who seldom pan out.
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We looking for grad transfers regardless if he signs.
 
Joe Fan said:
Read the 247 stuff above... We are ready to put him in the game in New Orleans
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I dont mean to undersell Jordan Whittington with all the Jake-talk. Because he is also a phenomenal talent as well, with an overlapping skill set with Jake
I imagine the offensive staff room is giggling like little girls about all the possibilities. Both of them on field at same time will give DCs headaches
If Hand gets the OL in order and one or both our our junior WRs comes back, then we just might get this offense cooking
 
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bystander said:
...My take is let him go. ....
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IMO, he is talented and worth all the jibba jabba. He has not exactly had the best support system at North Forest.
But he has a very high upside. So we get him in there with Yancy and a lot more structure, then allow him every chance to fulfill his potential
 
bystander said:
***Get those kids off the lawn comment alert***

My take is let him go. He has all the information he needs to make a decision. Everybody knows the Aggy culture. It does not require a visit now to prolong the decision.

I remember when Ryan Perrilloux jilted us. There is an LSU homer website called Dandy Don that is now being run by Don's son. Back then I was reading it and noticing all the gloating going on over Ryan switching to LSU on signing day. I sent and email to Don asking why people fall all over themselves for someone who was a liar. Don responded and said (paraphrasing from memory): "They're just real emotional about their football over here. They don't think about it like you do." I respected his honest. Ryan flamed out.

We have to stop catering to diva's. He's had plenty of time to decide. I know we need OL in the worst way but sometimes it's obvious that someone is going to be difficult.
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I think it all comes down to, are these kids serious about their future. If you talk smack about schools you are not committed to, then you show that you are more interested in being funny or winning friends with the school you are committed to.

If you commit and start playing games, that tells me you are more interested in having fun over being a player.

If you commit and change your mind over and over, that tells me you can't commit and are either afraid to make a mistake or you just like the process more than the purpose behind the process.

Each of these is a warning sign that the kid is not mature enough to take his future seriously. You don't just move on from them, but you just have to realize what you are getting.

Example - Chris Boyd talked a lot of smack to aggsy fans and played games with them. Early on he didn't do so well and stunted his growth.

Best example I can give is Perrloser and Rouse. Those two were playing games the whole time in their recruitment, look where it got them.

Texas may not get Cain or Sanders, but one thing is for sure, they have gone about their recruitment like a young man should. Same with guys like Jake Smith, Roshon Johnson, and Jordan Whittington.

Those type of guys are the ones I would bet to be successful.
 
Joe Fan said:
IMO, he is talented and worth all the jibba jabba. He has not exactly had the best support system at North Forest.
But he has a very high upside. So we get him in there with Yancy and a lot more structure, then allow him every chance to fulfill his potential
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That's probably why it would be tough for me to be a recruiter. Maybe I'd be different if I actually got to know these kids. You are probably more right than I am. I don't know anything about his background and if it's been difficult then I understand it can have an impact on his mind-set/emotions. The question is this; can he overcome it for the team? Will he over-react to a coach who calls him out? Wasn't he the one who was temporarily kicked off his high school team earlier in the fall?
 
Shepherd is a kid. He's enjoying the recruiting process. He doesn't mind waiting until the end to sign. I'm okay with all of those things.

Of course I want pictures of Sam giving the Hook em Horns as a little kid and of course I want Jake's dog in a long horn sweater. But a guy who enjoys the recruiting process, having fun, and going through the process is just fine with me.
 
I think Javonne is enjoying all the attention. I'll be excited when he's a Horn. But I think it more productive to be ecstatic about Tyler Johnson. I know Herman likes to red shirt linemen, who can be overmatched against big guys who spent time in college weight programs. But Johson looks like a prodigy to me and come September I think the guy in his matchup that struggles won't necessarily be wearing burnt Orange.
 
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