How good is UT's 09 class?

H

hornpharmd

5,000+ Posts
Rankings and opinions always differ. But with 18 on board so far thought it would be good to take a step back and take a look at the class as a whole.

QB - 1
Gilbert, 6-3, 186, Rivals #15, LSR #2, top ranked QB in state

RB - 1
Whaley, 6-3, 220, Rivals #85, LSR #7, top ranked RB in state

WR - 1
Timmons, 6-3, 193, Rivals #145, LSR #10, top ranked WR in state

TE - 2
Graham, 6-5, 229, LSR #43, #2 TE in state
Matthews, 6-3, 230, LSR #40, top ranked TE in state

OL - 4
Ashcraft, 6-5, 280, Rivals #103, LSR #11, #2 OL in state
Kelley, 6-6, 285, LSR #32, #5 OL in state
Porter, 6-6, 308, Rivals #40, LSR #21, #3 OL in state
Walters, 6-6, 290, Rivals #44, LSR #6, top ranked OL in state

DE - 3
Jones, 6-3, 230,
Kriegel, 6-5, 235, LSR #77
Okafor, 6-4, 216, Rivals #203, LSR #8, top ranked DE in state

DT - 1
Howell, 6-4, 280, Rivals #124, LSR #18, #2 DT in state

LB - 2
Allen, 6-2, 230, Rivals #141, LSR #14, top ranked LB in state
Nkwopara, 5-11, 205, LSR #73,

DB - 3
Barnett, 6-2, 180, Rivals #198, LSR #16, #4 DB in state
Davis, 6-1, 185, Rivals #148, LSR #12, #3 DB in state
Vaccaro, 6-1, 186, LSR #30, #6 DB in state


In state of Texas:
#1 QB
#1 RB
#1 WR
#1, #2 TE
#1, #2, #3, #5 OL
#1 DE
#2 DT
#1 LB
#3, #4, #6 DB

Rivals star rankings are a bit off IMO and we'll see how this all flushes out through the Fall. So far though 1 five star and 10 four stars. Seven guys ranked #1 at their respective position within the state, three guys ranked #2 at their position, and 2 guys ranked #3 at their position. Total of 12 guys ranked top 3 at their position within the state.


Pretty stacked class so far. Amazing OL class, very solid DE and DB class. Would like to see one more WR or RB, 1 more DT, and possibly 1 more LB.
 
I think Gilbert has the potential to be a very, very special player. That 35 for 39 for 350 yds vs Dayton(1st half) in the state semi's convinced everybody on the Dayton side that he was the best high school prep player that they had every seen. The throws to right spot, the movement in the pocket, ability to throw deep while on the run, it was a clinic. I swear the guy could pick off beer cans off a fense at 40 yards, he is that accurate. Barring injuries, I thnk this class will be the cornerstone of title run before it is over.
 
I like Gilbert a lot (assuming he has no long term effects from the surgery).

I like Whaley a lot, though I think he may grow into a LBer (note: I am biased against 220 pound as a high school junior RBs as they have a tendancy to become 240 pounders in college. If he stays at 220-225 he'll be dynamite. Much bigger and I don't think he sees the field much)

Timmons is probably the best WR in Texas in a down year for WRs.

OL is real solid, and I would not be surprised if Porter/Kelley have better careers than Ashcroft/Walters.

TEs are OK, though I don't think Matthews is a TE per se. More of an H-back. It will be interesting to see how Greg Davis uses him.

Surprised Mack took 2 TEs.

I like Okafor at DE. Howell is a nice DT. Looks to be a good consolation prize for McFarland (I think he's LSU bound).

I'm shocked Mack didn't offer Wort or McAllister at LB. Allen is real good though.

Need to see film on Barnett. Davis is real good. Vaccarro is just a guy.

Solid class. Probably finish somewhere around 7-8 in the nation depending how many Mack ends up taking. Real nice class.
 
I said 12 of those guys top 3 at their position within state. The TE's are #1 and #2 and 4 star players or barely 4 star players. To compare, Bundy's top 30 had 9 of those 12 guys (minus the 2 TE's and Porter missing). Very similar there. Rivals has Porter as nearly a 5 star though so yes there can be differences of opinions.

My opinions is that this class is made of many of the top players in the state and their respective positions. This is a big year in state for QB but I am not sure how I feel about Shepard, Rollison, Beaver, Green, Morrison, Karam. Everybody loves dual-threat these days but Gilbert and Mosskowski seem to be a cut above the others. Taking Gilbert who is solidly the #1 QB in state makes this a great QB class. 4 of the top 5 OL in state, definitely the top 2, and easily 4 of top 6 or 7 depending on the list you are reading, makes this an outstanding OL class. May be one of best OL classes we have had and that says alot. Easily top WR in state. Okafor is arguably the #1 or #2 DE in state and Brockers has been slipping. Howell is arguably the #1 DT in state but even at #2 UT is also in on #1 McFarland, so hope we get both. A missile at MLB in Allen. UT didn't get the top 2 DB's, though 1 (Brent) is still on the board. Right now it is a very solid DB class with a speedy cover corner in Davis, a rangy athletic kid in Barnett that Akina is very high on and that we can hope can turn into a special player like Ross did, and a hard hitting guy in Vaccaro that should end up at SS.

Right now I don't think Shepard is a 5 star QB, he needs to earn it. UT is still in on McFarland and Brent and hopefully adding 1 or both of them could make this class start to really stand out. I do think that a few guys could move up in the rankings as well to make this class stand out in that regard....1 or both of the TE's should move up to 4 star, Kelley should move up to 4 star. I don't see any of these other guys slipping much. Thus you currently have 11 four star or higher and that could actually be 13 four star or higher as guys I think will move up move up, and then if you add a couple more 4 or 5 star players you end up with a class of 15 four star or higher that includes 1-2 five star players. That is a top 5 class even with the bias and low # of 5 stars that Texas gets.

I think this class came out of the gate fast and then slowed way down but as time has gone on this class is turning into a special class that doesn't have many questionable ships in there. This class remind me of the 08 class but a better OL class and better distribution of ships at all the positions. Even more reminds of the 07 class except it won't be as big.
 
If you thought Vince was great and will leave the greatest mark on Texas Football; you better watch Gilbert...Nuff said!
 
I'm not sold on our LB recruits yet - from the video I've seen. Looking foward to the '10 class for some more depth there and for some playmakers on offense to go with Gilbert.
 
Agreed. However the classes from 03-05 had alot of attrition in them and were generally smaller less talented classes. The 06-08 classes have been stacked with talent and the 09 is no different. I think we will all see the results on the field over the course of the next 2-3 seasons.

Mack's philosophy in recruiting has never really changed much except that in 03 to 04 he started shifting towards getting more character guys. I think this has helped in reducing attrition but obviously there is going to be some and you are going to get some bad apples regardless. The philosophy has been to target the states best and perhaps go after 1 or 2 OOS kids a year, though he hasn't been very successful with the OOS recruiting....and that is fine. Thus within Mack's philosophy of targeting the states best this 09 class really can't get much better.....'bout only thing he hasn't gotten is that top ranked DT and top ranked DB.
 
I don't see why we always say Mack can't or doesn't recruit OOS? How about Sendlein, Studdard, Lamarr Houston, Aaron Lewis, the kids from Shreveport. Pickryl was a Parade AA out of Okla. Irby out of CA and Bo Scaife out of Denver. He has always got some guys out of Denver. I think he does well. We have had some jack us around, but have proven to be blessings that we didn't get them. I think Brantley would have stayed if he thought he could beat out McCoy. So, he goes home to sit on the bench behind Tebow.
 
And again 73 it is subjective to a degee. But even in 08 the LSR had Washingto and Good as #2 and #3. Calhoun ended up at #6. The list did not say OU just got 2 of the top 10 at all. But let's not let the actual facts get in the way.

Hales ended up #4 on LSR and was #53 on Rivals, also the #1 all-purpose back on Rivals. The guy is a threat running, receiving, and in special teams. Stonum was a Michigan signee and was #5 on LSR, and also #41 on Rivals. Williams has the top spot in the LSR but was also ranked #36 overall in Rivals and the #1 safety. A guy with size, speed, cover skills, he has it all. Many could and should argue that he is a five star guy.

Now you are going to seriously sit there and ***** that these 3 guys were ranked slightly ahead of one of your guys in the LSR. Please. There has to be some subjectivity in these things and that is why we do want to look at many sources and get many opinions. If you want them all to be the same then likely we won't be getting very good opinions. All 6 of these guys were ranked very high overall on Rivals and very close together
Washington #13
Calhoun #19
Good #29
Williams #36
Stonum #41
Monroe #48
Hales #53
so it is not like it was drastically different. Just a slight difference of opinion. And not that it matters much b/c the guys play different positions anyways.

Now if we're talking about a guy the LSR has top 5 but is not even a Rivals 100 guy then maybe I care more.
 
Okafor seems to have made a huge jump in the eyes of the National rivals writers and its about damn time!

It's no surprise to us, but he is a top 50 player and should be ranked so.
 
Back to the original question....this is already a very good class in some positions where we need it to be...and if a couple of players drop our way, this will turn into an outstanding class...probably not 02 good, but not that far off.
 
I like 4 ol, and Whaley. Ready for fall already to see these guys as seniors and to see some football...any football.. Gosh I hate the offseason.
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