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Texas Recruiting Notes 2020


Reese Bennett

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I think Murray’s a pretty good comp for Evans, except Evans is a lot heavier and ready to  carry the load from Day 1. IIRC Murray was more of an APB to start out. So I’d say a further along DeMarco Murray.

also, y’all are acting like Evans runs a 4.8 right now. He ran a fucking 4.51 last year at a camp. He has good, not great speed. His long speed won’t be an issue. Things like quickness, agility, and balance are way more important than 40 time. Alvin Kamara  ran like a 4.56 after months of training for that event at the combine. 

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I was looking at that comparison too.  The obvious traits that they have in common are good vision in traffic and both have good lateral movement.  Cedric was more of a lower your shoulder and absorb contact before making a lateral cut.  Evans seems to shift just before contact leaving the defender in poor position to bring him down.  Neither seem fast, but both gain positive yards coming out of their first cut.  
I’m also kind of leaning toward Demarco Murray simply because he Evans does tend to run more upright.  He does have very good vision, excellent lateral movement, he can find open space very quickly, but he does lack the speed of Jamaal Charles.  Evans is definitely in the top 5 games running backs to come out of Texas high school football in the past 25.  I hope he chooses Texas.

Melvin Gordon
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IT

J.J. HESTER - 2020

We're probably not talking enough about Tulsa, OK., receiver, Javian "J.J." Hester. I watched his film before he attended the Junior Day and figured there was a good chance he'd receive an offer. That he did. 

He's a smooth receiver who could play Z or X. He launched a 36.5" vertical as a sophomore a year ago. His 4.71 40 was solid but I bet with added strength to his 6-foot-3, 175 pound frame, he'd get demonstrably faster.

He was smiling from ear to ear when he visited. It reminded me of seeing De'Gabriel Floyd standing outside of Moncrief. His first answer, where he meant to be more measured caught my attention.

Where did the offer put Texas?
"Um, I won't say exactly where but they're most likely going to be at the top."

Who else are you liking?
"Right now, Michigan, Baylor, I'll just name them for right now."

You said Coach Herman was funny, what did you think of Coach Mehringer?
"He's funny too, I think Coach Herman is funnier, though. They're both good guys, I like them."

Hester said he talked to Mookie Cooper some, as well as "Lil'Jordan Whittington." Ha ha, he would be Lil'lil'Jordan Whittington if he moved back to receiver.

Hester noticed the type of offensive firepower Texas is stockpiling. 

Wide receiver recruiting will be interesting within the cycle. Texas already has the H, and has three prime X candidates in Troy Omeire, Johnny Wilson, and Demond Demas. At Z the staff is looking at Hester, Quentin Johnston, and perhaps Kelvontay Dixon.

 

LUTHERAN NORTH TRIO ON THE RADAR

With the Tom Herman era comes familiarizing ourselves with new recruiting territories like Arizona, Washington, California, and....St. Louis.

In the 2019 cycle the staff landed Marcus Washington; already in 2020 the staff has landed Mookie Cooper. They're looking for more in Stan Musial country.

Lutheran North High School alone has three players who have piqued the staff's interest. Bryan Carrington has been in contact with coaches at LN and would like them to visit. Per a coach at the high school, I think there's a good chance they'll visit Texas soon.

These first two guys make evaluating fun because they could play a number of positions. They also wouldn't look out of place on any roster in the country.

LB/DL Antonio Doyle, 6-foot-4, 230 - 2020: Plays linebacker and is being followed by Todd Orlando but if that 6-4 is legit (it looks close) then he's a better version of NaNa Osafo-Mensah from the 2019 class and is destined for the defensive line. Good mobility and initial quickness for that size. Texas looks good for defensive line prospects but he should be at the top of the contingency list if off-the-field stuff checks out. This kid has some uncommon stuff going on.

ATH Itayvion Brown, 6-foot-3, 210 - 2020: He's a respectable .8850 on the composite but he's a fun one to project. He plays wide receiver well; he plays outside linebacker well, and he's received offers for both. However, I might be seeing a Michael Henderson replacement. He's a wide kid that will weigh 240+ if he wants. Quick off the line with ball skills too. 

DE Travion Ford, 6-foot-4, 215 - 2021: Already holds Bama, LSU, and recently received A&M. Would be a B-backer in this scheme. 

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10 hours ago, Horns1012 said:

What I also saw/heard that was worth a second glance - Demas came in at 6'1.8. His 247 profile has been at 6'4 for forever

Makes sense. This is him next to 6-6 Javonne Shepherd and again next to 6'2.75 Michael Thomas. Both taken in the past year.

Houston-North Forest HC Clifton Terrell and his 2 Supers Demond Demas 6â4â 180 WR,Javonne Shepherd 6â7â 300 LT. My opinion both players sure

Image result for demond demas

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9 hours ago, cmontexas said:

McClellan hasnt had to carry nearly the workload Gray did back in the day. Gray starred at a time where he was the only real D1 athlete on the team and Aledo played a bunch of close games. When Steve Wood took over they opened up the offense and started throwing a bunch more. These days Aledo is loaded with athletes whose families move in to get their little athletes on the best team in Tarrant County.

The issue I see with McClellan is he was just as good or better his freshman year as his junior. May be a guy who developed and peaked early

Southlake says check the wall....

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48 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

I think Murray’s a pretty good comp for Evans, except Evans is a lot heavier and ready to  carry the load from Day 1. IIRC Murray was more of an APB to start out. So I’d say a further along DeMarco Murray.

also, y’all are acting like Evans runs a 4.8 right now. He ran a fucking 4.51 last year at a camp. He has good, not great speed. His long speed won’t be an issue. Things like quickness, agility, and balance are way more important than 40 time. Alvin Kamara  ran like a 4.56 after months of training for that event at the combine. 

He just appears slow when he is about to score. I think what makes him unique is balance and finding open space with a good first cut that seems to be moving forward when he makes it.  Grant it these are highlight reels and I only watched like 3 minutes.  

In addition his footwork during drills at the last camp he was at is very fast and he gets his knees up hip high.  I’m not sure how important this truly is, but I would assume that he generates quite a bit of drive when he wants to plant and go out of his cuts.

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TFB Open Post: https://texas.thefootballbrainiacs.com/2019/02/open-post-tuesday-february-26th/

Notebook | Team Notes, Hester, Another Visitor & Henderson
– Super K

***I know some of you are probably wondering how the players are looking in player-led 7v7. I did check on this and was told that they aren’t doing that this winter.

Because Sam is experienced, they feel it’s better that the players focus this winter on foundational stuff: getting bigger, faster, stronger and conditioning.

In terms of young guys standing out, everyone I’ve spoken to says it’s just too early to tell. They haven’t done enough football stuff to say.

*** (From Will) We’ve heard from a source that early enrollee defensive end Peter Mpagi took a spill on one of those electric scooters a week ago. He is in a boot and walking on crutches.

We don’t think this is too serious of an injury, but it is time he will miss in the weight room.

***I caught up with recent Texas offer, 2020 WR, JJ Hester (Tulsa Washington).

Hester visited Texas this past weekend and really wasn’t expecting a Texas offer.

In fact, he was on the visit to accompany a friend of his in 2020 OK Preps RB, Sevion Morrison.

But he says Mehringer made the offer. He was definitely excited about it. It certainly wasn’t his first. JJ picked up early offers from schools like Ohio State and OU last year. He came away from Austin impressed and says he will be back.

I’ll pull my quotes on him for you all later but I can tell you that right now some of the toughest competition for these Oklahoma kids is Arkansas. Morris’ staff has done a really good job in the state and they have the proximity advantage over both Texas and OU with the Tulsa kids.

***Spoke with 2020 ATH, Mikey Henderson last Thursday as well. He recently took a return visit to Texas and was at Oklahoma Friday and he verbally committed to the Sooners later in the weekend.

This one still has a long way to go until signing day and we will keep an eye on his recruitment as Henderson was/is a priority target for Texas but they are obviously playing from behind now.

Updates & Quick-Hitters | Kendall Milton, Kitan Crawford & More
– Super K

***Yesterday, Darius, myself and Will had a chance see some excellent players at the Under Armour Camp in Dallas.

I have to say, one of my favorites by far was 2020 DB, Kitan Crawford (John Tyler).

Crawford may be the best defensive back I’ve seen in action in this class. He looked bigger than his listed 5’10. Looked more 5’11 or 6’ to me. He’s built like a Texas DB, very muscular and rounded. Reminds me Boyd or Josh Thompson.

He’s a guy who appears completely comfortable with his technique and athleticism. He’s reading his wide receiver. He can break and close space. His ability to mirror a receiver in short routes, is phenomenal.

Really really like him.

Crawford recently visited Texas and picked up an offer from the Horns to go along with schools like Arkansas, Tennessee, Kansas State and Baylor. And while his offer list is currently very good, he really looks like a guy in person and on film who can play anywhere he wants should he be given the opportunity.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find Crawford after the camp to get a full update on his recruitment but I plan on speaking with him.

Just have to say though, this was a bit of a good scouting, in my opinion, by the Texas staff. In a 2020 class with a lot of talent, it would’ve been easy to stick with the big city offers.

***Had a chance to speak with Kendall Milton for a bit over the phone.

Milton played things pretty close to the vest and sounded exhausted so once things settle down a bit more I’ll see if I can get a little more detail about how things went but a few things stood out to me about our conversation.

-Going into this visit, Milton had a good relationship with the staff but I think if there was an area that needed more development, that would be one of them and I get the sense he got that.

“Being there the extra day I was able to spend a lot of time with coach Drayton, coach Beck and coach Herman so that was really a highlight for me”.

Milton added, “I’m really close with DeGabriel Floyd and he’s friends with Jordan Whittington so I got to hang out with them and Malik Jefferson, he was there also so speaking with him was cool”.

-Going into the Texas visit, I felt the Horns would need to meet or exceed his expectations in order to ensure that he would return for an official visit. Kendall said Texas exceeded his expectations. He says he has not yet decided for certain on any official visits. He told me he still has some unofficial visits to take but I’d be a bit surprised if this past weekend’s visits to Texas and OU isn’t replicated again with officials to both.

-Kendall isn’t just a phenomenal football player with high ambitions off the field, from the first time I spoke with him and his father last year, it was clear he has high goals for himself in the business world. As such the Texas academics stood out to him, in particular the business school. In fact when I asked him about any substantive differences between his visits, so far, he said, “The only real difference is Texas has a strong business school – stronger than other schools”.

Again, we’ll have to wait a bit longer for final word on a return visit for an official but I think Texas did what they needed to make that happen.

***For the second week in a row, Texas hosted some of the top skill guys in the state.

Among them were, as we mentioned in our visitors list, DBs Bryson Washington (CE King), Xavion Alford (Shadow Creek) and Joshua Eaton (MacArthur).

I did speak with Eaton before his visit and he seems to be really liking both Texas and LSU right now. He did say that he doesn’t plan on making a hasty decision and still has some visits he’d like to take.

Washington grew up a big Texas fan and while he also still has some visits to take, I’d imagine Texas is in pole position here.

I haven’t spoken to Xavion about where things stand in a while which is something I will remedy soon.

***Had a chance to see recent Texas visitors, Sevion Morrison and JJ Hester in action yesterday.

As mentioned in the tweet, Hester is very smooth in and out of his breaks. He’s a big kid and eats up a lot of ground quickly.

In speaking to him, this one is an Arkansas vs. Texas battle. Arkansas is recruiting him very hard.

Hester picked up a Texas offer on his trip. Assuming the Horns continue to recruit him, expect him to be back down in Austin for the Spring Game.

*** Texas also extended an offer this weekend to 2020 linebacker Damian Sellers out of Saguaro HS in Arizona.

He did tell me he planned on taking some visits out this way later in the spring so I wouldn’t be shocked to see Texas get him on campus.

Dallas Under Armour All-American Camp Notebook: Offense
– Darius Terrell

I was able to make my way over to Arlington Martin High School yesterday to take in the talent on hand at the Dallas site for the 2019 Under Armour All-American camp. There were numerous Texas targets participating in the event and yesterday was my first opportunity to get eyes on a few of them in person. Let’s get started:

WRs Lead the Way

There was a ton of talent in attendance on Sunday, however, no position had more depth than the Wide Receiver group. The group was very deep and very talented. From a lightning-quick slot guy like Aledo WR Jojo Earle, to tall, rangy X Receivers like Booker T. Washington (OK) WR JJ Hester, to Tight Ends sculpted out of granite such as Denton Ryan ATH Drew Sanders, Dallas did not disappoint.

Frisco Lone Star WR Marvin Mims, Jr. (2020) had the best day of all performers in attendance. Mims was not one of the bigger WRs on hand, (if I had to guess, I would say he’s about 5’11) but he makes up for having average height with long arms, quick-twitch muscles, and a oven-mitt-sized hands. Mims is an explosive route runner and was unstoppable in 1-on-1s as well as the 7-on-7 portion of camp today. He has the ability to play both in the slot and outside, which makes him one of the top overall WRs available in-state this year in my humble opinion. Mims was recently offered by Oklahoma and has offers from pretty much every big-time program in the region, except for Texas. Mims is originally from Baton Rouge, which means that LSU is a team to watch in this one. Mims was rewarded for his standout performance with a well-earned invite to the 2020 Under Armour All-American Game.

This was my first time getting an up-close look at Booker T. Washington (OK) standout and recent Texas offer JJ Hester (2020). Hester was impressive. Measuring in at 6’3.5, Hester surprised me with his fluidity in and out of his breaks while also showing off some nice top-end spend during 1-on-1s. Though he worked both in the slot and out wide during the camp, Hester profiles as an outside WR and has a lot of upside at the next level once he gets some time in a college weight room program (he’s in the 170lb range currently). Hester likes Texas a lot.

Carthage ATH Kelvontay Dixon (2020) worked at WR the entire time during today’s camp. Dixon doesn’t stand out physically but had a very solid day overall. Dixon is the younger brother of current Texas RB Keaontay Dixon and was on campus last month. Dixon holds a Texas offer.

Duncanville WR Zeriah Beason (2020) was arguably the most physically impressive player WR that was participating on Sunday. Beason doesn’t appear to be a target for Texas, but someone (Illinois maybe?) is going to be getting a good one.

Denton Ryan ATH Drew Sanders (2020) and Bishop Dunne TE Elijah Yelverton (2020) were the players listed as Tight Ends in the camp, so they spent the day working with the Wide Receiver group. Sanders may be the most chiseled high school athlete that I’ve ever seen. Sooners got a real one here but Texas is still working on him. He looks like an action figure. Sanders was selected to participate in the Under Armour All-American Game as a TE at the conclusion of camp.

Dual-Threat Running Backs on display

Aledo RB Jase McClellan (2020) entered Sunday’s camp as the headliner of the RB group and he did not disappoint. McClellan was impressive going through the bag drills and showed off some fancy footwork. There’s nothing new to report on his recruitment, he remains firmly committed to Oklahoma but is in regular contact with other schools such as Texas and Texas A&M.

Lancaster RB Kevontre Bradford (2020) is a name that Longhorn fans should keep an eye out for as far as a possible offer in the future. Bradford is put together extremely well (6’0 195) and there wasn’t a Linebacker at camp that could cover him coming out of the backfield. Bradford has long, powerful strides that eat up ground quickly. He looked very natural running routes and he never allowed the football to get into his body when catching the ball. I know that everyone is all aboard the Zach Evans express and rightfully so, but if Texas is looking to take multiple backs in the class Bradford looked more than worthy on Sunday. I got a chance to speak to Bradford after camp and he reported Baylor, Nebraska, TCU, and Oklahoma State as the schools currently recruiting him the hardest. Bradford said that he spoke to UT RB Coach Stan Drayton a few weeks ago.

West Mesquite RB Ty Jordan holds a Texas offer and he would be dynamite as a second back in the class. Short-area quickness is the name of the game with Jordan as he isn’t very big (measured 5’7 185) but is thickly built through his lower body and he was repeatedly making LBs look silly in 1-on-1s. He continues to be in contact with Texas.

Miscellaneous

Duncanville DB and major Texas target Chris Thompson, Jr. (2020) wasn’t able to stay for the entire duration of camp, but did enough to warrant being selected as a 2020 Under Armour All-American Game participant. Thompson measured in at 6’2 198lbs and recently named Texas as his leader.

Longview QB Haynes King (2020) was selected to the Under Armour All American Game after apparently putting down one of the faster 40 times recorded for a Quarterback according to Under Armour reps.

Unfortunately, high profile 2020 prospects/targets Duncanville ATH Jaquinden Jackson, Carrolton Ranchview ATH Mikey Henderson, Mesquite Poteet RB Seth McGowan, and Rockwall WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba were scheduled to be present but were ultimately unable to attend the event.

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1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

How many of these guys are really going till NDS1 or NSD2? I feel like some of Ringo, Flowe, or Milton will likely shut things down sooner if they do indeed choose Texas. But that's just a feeling. Does anyone know what they've said on the record of their intentions?

It seems like most of the time, the elite top 20 types enroll early 

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59 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

Yeah. Poor word choice. Surprising maybe? I would have expected adding those four, at this stage in the game, would put you on top, even with two fewer recruits. 

The number of recruits has a HUGE impact on the rankings until the overall numbers get up into the high teens to low twenties.  As you noted, even with a much higher average in that scenario, Texas with 8-9 commits would still be looking up at teams with 10-11 kids.

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3 hours ago, ShowmeyourTDs said:

I was looking at that comparison too.  The obvious traits that they have in common are good vision in traffic and both have good lateral movement.  Cedric was more of a lower your shoulder and absorb contact before making a lateral cut.  Evans seems to shift just before contact leaving the defender in poor position to bring him down.  Neither seem fast, but both gain positive yards coming out of their first cut.  

I’m also kind of leaning toward Demarco Murray simply because he Evans does tend to run more upright.  He does have very good vision, excellent lateral movement, he can find open space very quickly, but he does lack the speed of Jamaal Charles.  Evans is definitely in the top 5 games running backs to come out of Texas high school football in the past 25.  I hope he chooses Texas.

 

What's that list?

Tomlinson, Ced, AD, JC, Evans in some order? I'm almost definitely forgetting someone obvious

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-Kendall [Milton] isn’t just a phenomenal football player with high ambitions off the field, from the first time I spoke with him and his father last year, it was clear he has high goals for himself in the business world. As such the Texas academics stood out to him, in particular the business school. In fact when I asked him about any substantive differences between his visits, so far, he said, “The only real difference is Texas has a strong business school – stronger than other schools”.

Sounds like we're going to Stanford those juco football factory regards in Norman.

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oh baby

Spoiler

Rivals100 DE Vernon Broughton talks top schools, has a leader in mind

Sam Spiegelman

 

Newly minted Rivals100 defensive end Vernon Broughton already has an eye of who’s out in front in his recruitment, but he is no rush to settle down and make a decision.

Broughton, a four-star out of Cypress Ridge (Texas) High School, named Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M as the three schools pushing hardest for his commitment this spring. One of those schools has taken a slight lead in the race.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

On Texas: “They’re doing a good job of making bonds with me and creating a family feel. That’s it.”

On Texas A&M: “They are talking to me every day and really getting to know me.”

On Oklahoma: “I’ve been talking to Coach (Lincoln) Riley and all of them. They’re all cool people.”

On his top three: “Those are the colleges really letting me know that they need me and showing me where I stand with them.”

On biggest factor in his decision: “Getting to know me and my family. That’s it. If you’re cool with me, if you love me, I will love you back.”

Is there a leader? “One of those schools is doing a little better (job) than the other. I’d probably have to say Texas.”

Commitment timeline: “I’m going to make a top five during the summer and a commitment probably later on in the summer.”

RIVALS REACTION

The cat is out of the bag and Broughton confirmed that the Longhorns currently lead for his services. That’s not to say that Texas A&M can’t gain ground over the next few weeks or a visit up to Norman would not shake things up a bit. However, Coach Tom Herman and Oscar Giles have put in a lot of early work with the four-star defensive end, and it’s paying off.

I placed a FutureCast pick in for Broughton to Texas this week and feel pretty strong about it. This decision is less about football as it is about the style in which coaches court him and his family, and that is an area that the Longhorns are winning. While he’s eyeing a summertime pledge, it would not be surprising if the Rivals100 prospect shut things down even earlier than that.

Last line is neat

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On 2/25/2019 at 9:37 AM, satyanash said:

— Four-star tight end D.J. Rogers had some really insightful comments about Texas. He is looking forward to visiting this spring and actually keeps in regular contact with Derek Warehime. Rogers is an extremely smart kid with a high GPA, and he has done research on UT’s academics, which caught his attention.

I've seen him play.  He's a badass.  Big and fast.  I'd rather have him than Smalls.  Smalls is going to be a headcase for whoever signs him. 

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On 2/25/2019 at 9:58 AM, utexas8 said:

2. "Yessir, very prestigious school."
He's also mentioned business school as being a factor that could separate one school from the pack. Texas has about as good of a sell that "football school" can have.

Well yeah, other than about half of the Pac-12.

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2 hours ago, juicytoot said:

I love me some Jamaal, but he was a 4 star. You're using his history at Texas to color his recruit potential.  If you do that, you cannot compare him to someone who has not played a down of Div 1 football.  Charles had 7 offers.  Evans has more than 40.  If both were recruits today, Evans would still be ranked higher.

Jamaal was a beast coming out of High School.  People in Port Arthur thought he was the second coming of Joe Washington.  I believe his first game back from injury senior year resulted in almost 400 yards rushing.  Don't underrate Jamaal Charles' hype coming out of HS.

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