2021 Recruiting - Football

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Mike Roach on Earle

I checked in today with a source near LSU commit JoJo Earle. I was told there is a belief Earle might be open to looking around and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take his share of visits in the fall. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Texas is still in sporadic contact with Earle. This may be a long game but Texas needs to just keep working on chipping away and maybe they can put themselves into position if he opens things up.​
 
TFB thinks we are in good shape with Mukuba. They think it is down to us and Clemson (with LSU as the possible outlier)
IT is pretty much saying the same thing

ps - with regard to recent natl events, Herman has had a better last 2 weeks than Dabo
 
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Latrell Neville de-committed from Virg Tech
Once a Comp 4-star, he is now a 3-star
Wiltfong has already CBd him the Nebraska
 


"Defensive Line -- The Longhorns have a good start to the defensive line group. They inherited the best pass rusher in the state in Ja’Tavion Sanders and an emerging edge rusher prospect in Derrick Harris. Texas landed a commitment from Jordon Thomas earlier in the spring. Thomas could stick as a strong side end or push inside to tackle depending on how his large frame grows. The Longhorns will continue to chase options to add edge-rushing types and interior prospects to their roster.

DeSoto’s Shemar Turner remains the big prize as things stand right now. The four-star prospect just recently cut his top five which included Texas along with Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia and LSU. Despite a stacked SEC field, I’m told Texas is in a great position in his recruitment. Jay Valai is involved in this recruitment along with Chris Ash, Mark Hagen and Oscar Giles. Texas is putting a ton of resources into this recruitment right now.

Highland Springs (VA) DL Kelvin Gilliam is another player Texas will push to get on campus, but they sit behind a few other teams at this time. Marcus Burris is focusing on three programs in Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M, but the Sooners seem to have the advantage there as well. McKinney ‘s Jonathan Jones is another player Texas liked enough to offer and it sounds like they moved the needle for him when I checked in.

The same can be said for Garland Lakeview Centennial DL Ikechukwu Iwunnah. Texas also recently offered Notre Dame commit David Abiara, but I haven’t heard of much movement on that front. The bottom line is, Texas has a ton of options up front to finish out this group.

The Longhorns could look into some more options at the edge rushing position as well. One name I’ve heard is Oregon commit Terrell Tilmon. The Longhorns hosted the Mansfield Timberview edge early in the spring and they’ve been keeping in contact with him ever since. "​
 
Eric Nahlin/Inside Scoop thinks LSU commit DE Landon Jackson will likely take his OVs and is still "in constant contact" with the Texas staff.

His Texarkana teammate DL Marcus Burris appears to be trending to ou
 
Joe Fan said:
Former commit TE Lake Lake McRee is getting some CBs to USC, which is where both Orlando and Naviar are now. They already have committed native Texans Quaydarius Davis and Brandon Campbell, plus some other guys we offered like QB Jake Garcia and Julien Simon
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TE Lake McRee of Austin Lake Travis to USC.
 
Mike Roach put in CBs for the Brothers Brockermeyer to Alabama
Confidence level 7
He was recently at their school

" ...... I was able to talk with the family and some sources to get a full picture of where things stand within the recruitments. I originally thought these recruitments would push into the fall with visits, but I think it’s more likely a summer decision happens. From talking with Tommy, I think he’s completely over the recruiting process. He wasn’t that into it to begin with and the calls are starting to become overwhelming. I get the feeling that James likes the process more, but if Tommy makes a decision, I see James doing the same around the same time.

Last spring, I reported that Texas was not a lock by any means and Alabama would be a serious contender if they offered James. While the boys have listed Auburn and LSU as other finalists, I get the feeling this is a head to head between Tom Herman and Nick Saban. I entered 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions for Texas shortly after both boys were offered. While Bama seemed to gain an edge over the last year, I decided to sit on my picks until I felt compelled to change them.

After gathering as much information as possible, I feel strongly enough that both brothers are leaning towards Alabama and I’ve changed my pick to reflect that. I was told that the decision is not final, but the Tide have separated from Texas as of right now. Coming off of a Sugar Bowl victory, Texas was in a prime position to land the legacies. Last season’s results and the massive coaching turnover stalled momentum for Texas and allowed the Crimson Tide to capitalize. In checking with sources around the family, I’m told that Herb Hand recruited them harder than any other coach, but Texas is at a deficit when it comes to pitching NFL development....'
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As bad as OL recruiting looks for Herb Hand, at least Milroe looks good and is getting better. He has a terrific work ethic and is more physically sound for that position than Heard ever was or Roschon Johnson for that matter. He does appear to have some footwork issues but he has time to fix that.

IMO you have to give Herman credit for vastly improving the talent and depth of our QB room. It was just 4 years ago under Charlie Strong that we had a WR and a TE battling it for the starting QB spot. Charlie was desperately hoping 180 lb Shane Buechele would be able to start as a true freshman. Now, after Sam is done, we will have Card and JQJ trying to hold off Milroe. It's good to see us recognize a problem area and fix it. Too bad we have been unable to do that across the board.

 
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Nahlin is likewise none too pleased with Hand's latest OL recruiting efforts --

" ....... Herb Hand arrived in Austin with promise and the reputation for being a very good recruiter. My guy in the Southeast who is a straight-shooter had me feeling confident about the hire. From what I know of Hand, he’s likable, relatable, and genuine. That almost always translates in recruiting.

I have pretty good insights into Hand from people who know him much better. I know he crushed the Calvin Anderson recruitment. I know he crushed the Parker Braun recruitment, coaxing him away from the nearby Florida Gators. He’s 2/2 on high profile grad transfer pursuits. Texas shunned other grad transfers it could have had, as well.

Hand’s track record in high school isn’t nearly as good.

The 2019 class consisted of: Tyler Johnson, Javonne Shepherd, Isaiah Hookfin, and Willie Tyler.

Johnson was a Texas lock from the get-go. I wrote that in these very pages before Hand arrived. Shepherd was a major risk. The staff knew that in real time but didn’t recruit the cycle like they truly understood it. Shepherd wasn’t treated like found money, he was treated like an important piece — like a need. Hookfin was a really good late find who almost got off the hook. Props for reeling him in. That could end up being a very big development. Tyler was a post-NSD find who was necessary because they didn’t recruit the regular cycle very well.

The 2020 class consisted of: Logan Parr, Jake Majors, Jaylen Garth, and Andrej Karic.

From a difficulty of recruiting standpoint, this is like landing three Tyler Johnsons and an Isaiah Hookfin. Parr, Majors, and Garth were layups. Karic, like Hookfin, was a good recovery for a lower profile player.

It’s a solid class, good floor, okay ceiling, and pretty good on paper, but I’m skeptical the best class they could compile just so happens to be the easiest.

At least having that class sewed up early allowed for Hand to get a very good jump on the Class of 2021!

[here he walks thru all the 2021 whiffs, with a pargarapgh on each -- Donovan Jackson, Reuben Fatheree, Savion Byrd, Bryce Foster, Matthew Wykoff, Jonah Miller, and Tommy Brockermeyer]

To a degree I sympathize with Hand. I often write, as recruiters, position coaches are beholden to program perception. But what the hell did we witness versus OU last year? There is a real cost associated with that performance. Some of that blame again lays at Herman‘s feet for the predictability of his offense but recruits don’t care, and if they did, predictable offense doesn’t help the case.

Hand currently has Katy Taylor’s Hayden Conner committed. Conner is a good tackle/guard option, but he’s a player who should be setting the floor of a stellar o-line class, not the ceiling, and certainly not the entire load bearing wall.

It’s still early-ish but Herman’s and Hand’s backs are up against the wall. They not only need to win to help land some elite talent, they need to evaluate extremely well in the event they don’t.
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Recruiting: A Byrd in Hand, Chips off the old Brock, Foster Home, etc. - Inside Texas
 
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Joe Fan said:
Wells retweeting this from May
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FWIW, I dont fully agree with Wells. He is right on the OL though. Some people say we even backed off some possible 2020 OLs we might have signed to make room for the once-a-decade class of elite 2021 OLs. It now looks like we are whiff on all of them, which seems pretty amazing.
I am also not sure what we are doing at WR and RB, esp if we whiff on both Wheaton and Johnson, which is possible.

However, we are having an excellent class at other positions (Sanders, Bowman, Milroe, Thomas, Harris and Blackwell). And it should get even better shortly (Ibraheem and Coffey). So it is not all bad. It is a mixed bag. But if you only focus on the OL, it is pretty farking bad.
 
Joe,

With all due respect, it won't matter how good the WRs are if the QB is on his back.

If we backed off 2020 betting on 2021, that is ********. You take all the talent you can in the OL & DL. A great OL can turn a two star RB into a Hype$man candidate. Of course, that may not be in the MENSA binder.
 
SabreHorn said:
Joe,

With all due respect, it won't matter how good the WRs are if the QB is on his back.

If we backed off 2020 betting on 2021, that is ********. You take all the talent you can in the OL & DL. A great OL can turn a two star RB into a Hype$man candidate. Of course, that may not be in the MENSA binder.
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Can't believe Hand didn't get let go last year, I guess you had to keep some...
 
Joe Fan said:
Mike Roach put in CBs for the Brothers Brockermeyer to Alabama
Confidence level 7
He was recently at their school

"..... the Tide have separated from Texas as of right now. Coming off of a Sugar Bowl victory, Texas was in a prime position to land the legacies. Last season’s results and the massive coaching turnover stalled momentum for Texas and allowed the Crimson Tide to capitalize. In checking with sources around the family, I’m told that Herb Hand recruited them harder than any other coach, but Texas is at a deficit when it comes to pitching NFL development....'
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Two oversights here. First neither Herman nor Hand has had one of their OL recruits for four years yet. But a 3 Star Connor Williams did get developed by mostly the Strong regime and drafted in the 2nd round. It looks like Cosmi may leave early this year for the draft and if Kerstetter plays at RT like he did last year, both of those 3 Star recruits will be drafted also. That is development. Drafting a 5 Star that does not get drafted is more indicative of non-development.

So I think the 'Bama thing is not being judged accurately. Others more familiar with NFL OL drafts I am certain can illuminate this disparity better than I.

Also, it is obvious that Hand can coach technique and McKnight can develop the OL enrolled here physically. Texas has had the fewest OL injuries the last 3 years of any 3 year Texas regime I can remember recently. Again, someone more astute can put a sharper focus on the record.
 
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