Godz40acres
Happy Feller
Per Rivals:
Hilton Head (S.C.) High School head coach B.J. Payne spoke about some prospects who are on UT's radar.
"He's about 5-11 and 165 now," Payne said. "He started school when he was 4 years old. Technically, he should be a sophomore. He'll play the first seven games next year as a 16-year-old senior. That's why his projections are through the roof for how good he is.
"You're familiar with Sheroid Evans? According to Poona, he's the only player on the Texas roster faster than Morrow. Last year, as a 15-year-old, he ran a 4.32 at Ohio State and at 4.36 at South Carolina. He's an elite playmaker as a corner or as a returner. I think he had six returns for TDs last year. He's an elite speed guy. Unbelievable athlete. He's one of those kids good at all sports. He's a Poona-type kid, can just do anything. His ceiling is through the roof since he's so young."
On Morrow's size... "He has a 38" vertical. He's a true shutdown, lockdown corner. He was 5-9 1/2 at some combines last year at 15. I just measured him the other day at 5-10 3/4."
As a returner... "I know a little bit about Texas football. He would be the most dynamic returner since Metcalf, which is pretty special. If you watch his highlight film, he sets people up. He's going one way, he'll stop on a dime and go the other way."
"He's that true hybrid kid that everyone is looking for now. Is he going to be a big safety or a fast outside backer? With the way defenses play now, he's that dream hybrid at those positions. He's 6-2, 195 with a long wing span. He wants to be 210 by this summer. He has like Poona-length arms, just freaky long. He has tremendous upside again. He hits all the check marks. He has the size, looks the part, when he walks by, everyone says 'Who is that?'. He has a couple things he needs to work on in his game, and we put a lot of responsibility on him. He's physical but he needs to get a little more physical. His dad played at East Carolina. He's starting to pick up a lot of steam. He's going to go to the Rivals camp, a Nike camp, and these guys are going to shut guys down."
"When you try to compare him to somebody, he's a Tavon Austin, De'Anthony Thomas type. That's the type of player he is. He's like (Alton) Howard at Tennessee or an Oregon guy. He's that guy in the slot that's a terrible match-up for other teams. He's smaller but loves running between the tackles. He accounted for about 1,500 yards for us last year. He played the first three or four games in the slot, then our guy in the tailback spot wasn't getting the job done so we put him back there and ran him. He's a low 4.4 kid.
"The unique thing about Tyler, he has five immediate bloodline family members that played at least 5 years in the NFL. His dad, three uncles and his cousin is Michael Jenkins, who was drafted in the first round by the Falcons.
"He's just really good. He was a 22-foot long jumper as an eighth grader. He has the pedigree, has the work ethic. In two-a-days, we'd be out there at 7 a.m. I'd be in my office at 5 and 6 p.m., he'd be out there running routes with his dad."
"They've reached out and expressed interest in those guys. All three are very interested in Texas. I'm trying to figure out a way to get everybody out there for the spring game, see if we can do that. With Poona being there, and him having a close relationship with our program, that's a huge draw. One thing about Charlie Strong and that staff, they're going to do everything they can to own the state of Texas, but they have pipelines to other places and they're not afraid to cherry pick." [emphasis added]
"They're extremely happy with Poona. He had his shoulder scoped before he got out there. He did everything he could but he couldn't lift weights for about four months with coach Moorer. He hurt it two-a-days and played the entire (senior) season with it.
"The best thing for Poona, Malcom Brown took him under his wing. That was perfect for poona. Malcom is married with kids, and it was perfect for Poona to get mentored by him for that year."
Hilton Head (S.C.) High School head coach B.J. Payne spoke about some prospects who are on UT's radar.
CB Jestin Morrow
"He's about 5-11 and 165 now," Payne said. "He started school when he was 4 years old. Technically, he should be a sophomore. He'll play the first seven games next year as a 16-year-old senior. That's why his projections are through the roof for how good he is.
"You're familiar with Sheroid Evans? According to Poona, he's the only player on the Texas roster faster than Morrow. Last year, as a 15-year-old, he ran a 4.32 at Ohio State and at 4.36 at South Carolina. He's an elite playmaker as a corner or as a returner. I think he had six returns for TDs last year. He's an elite speed guy. Unbelievable athlete. He's one of those kids good at all sports. He's a Poona-type kid, can just do anything. His ceiling is through the roof since he's so young."
On Morrow's size... "He has a 38" vertical. He's a true shutdown, lockdown corner. He was 5-9 1/2 at some combines last year at 15. I just measured him the other day at 5-10 3/4."
As a returner... "I know a little bit about Texas football. He would be the most dynamic returner since Metcalf, which is pretty special. If you watch his highlight film, he sets people up. He's going one way, he'll stop on a dime and go the other way."
S/LB Jermiah Maddox
"He's that true hybrid kid that everyone is looking for now. Is he going to be a big safety or a fast outside backer? With the way defenses play now, he's that dream hybrid at those positions. He's 6-2, 195 with a long wing span. He wants to be 210 by this summer. He has like Poona-length arms, just freaky long. He has tremendous upside again. He hits all the check marks. He has the size, looks the part, when he walks by, everyone says 'Who is that?'. He has a couple things he needs to work on in his game, and we put a lot of responsibility on him. He's physical but he needs to get a little more physical. His dad played at East Carolina. He's starting to pick up a lot of steam. He's going to go to the Rivals camp, a Nike camp, and these guys are going to shut guys down."
2017 WR Tyler Hamilton, who has a verbal UT offer
"When you try to compare him to somebody, he's a Tavon Austin, De'Anthony Thomas type. That's the type of player he is. He's like (Alton) Howard at Tennessee or an Oregon guy. He's that guy in the slot that's a terrible match-up for other teams. He's smaller but loves running between the tackles. He accounted for about 1,500 yards for us last year. He played the first three or four games in the slot, then our guy in the tailback spot wasn't getting the job done so we put him back there and ran him. He's a low 4.4 kid.
"The unique thing about Tyler, he has five immediate bloodline family members that played at least 5 years in the NFL. His dad, three uncles and his cousin is Michael Jenkins, who was drafted in the first round by the Falcons.
"He's just really good. He was a 22-foot long jumper as an eighth grader. He has the pedigree, has the work ethic. In two-a-days, we'd be out there at 7 a.m. I'd be in my office at 5 and 6 p.m., he'd be out there running routes with his dad."
Texas' interest level
"They've reached out and expressed interest in those guys. All three are very interested in Texas. I'm trying to figure out a way to get everybody out there for the spring game, see if we can do that. With Poona being there, and him having a close relationship with our program, that's a huge draw. One thing about Charlie Strong and that staff, they're going to do everything they can to own the state of Texas, but they have pipelines to other places and they're not afraid to cherry pick." [emphasis added]
A bit on Poona Ford
"They're extremely happy with Poona. He had his shoulder scoped before he got out there. He did everything he could but he couldn't lift weights for about four months with coach Moorer. He hurt it two-a-days and played the entire (senior) season with it.
"The best thing for Poona, Malcom Brown took him under his wing. That was perfect for poona. Malcom is married with kids, and it was perfect for Poona to get mentored by him for that year."
