Texas Recruiting Notes 2021

[Teryor 4476]

Stampede 

Spoiler

With just a little over one week remaining until National Signing Day, Steve Sarkisian's staff is working to close the deal on this 2021 class before moving on to the 2022 and 2023 classes. Coaches have been recruiting hard tall throughout the week and are now set to meet with the rest of the staff this week.

No stone is being left unturned in the search for more talent whether it be from the high school ranks, the transfer portal and anywhere else. Where are the Longhorns looking to add more talent? Who are the names to know that could be a factor int the next week?

In this week's edition of The Stampede, Horns247's weekly gathering of recruiting intel, we drop a boatload of notes on how Texas can close this class heading down the stretch.

— Tennessee running back transfer candidate Eric Gray made a visit to Austin on Friday. Gray was able to see the city and walk around campus to get a feel for what Texas had to offer. Gray gave the Texas staff strong feedback on the trip and was able to see the sites thanks to a high school friend who attends Texas. Gray feels Texas could potentially be a good fit for him and the staff believes he’s a nice compliment to what Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson bring to the field. Gray was slated to visit Oklahoma over the weekend and made it to Norman form what we know.

Tennessee sophomore running back Eric Gray (Photo: Tennessee Athletic Communications)
There is some talk that OU isn’t sure whether or not they want to take him, and Texas seems to be putting the press on. I was told that members of the Texas staff have some optimism when it comes to Gray, and they feel they can potentially close him as long as he doesn’t get scared off by the rising star of Bijan Robinson. I was told Gray wants to make a decision very soon and it could come as quickly as today. A source I talked to late last night said that while Oklahoma has been lukewarm on him, they felt he would choose them if the Sooners pressed. I’ve heard he wants an opportunity to compete for the lion's share of carries and there is some concern about how many carries there would be to go around considering Bijan Robinson’s rising star.

— By all accounts, four-star Cy-Fair running back LJ Johnson hasn’t made any sort of decision yet, and I think he’s truly torn when it comes to Texas and Texas A&M.  We still hear from sources close to Johnson that expect him to end up at A&M, but the level of confidence with Texas is back on a steady rise.  In fact, one source I spoke with this week expressed a lot more confidence when it came to the chances of landing him.  

"<b
(Photo: @LJ_Johnson_Jr)
We reported last week that Johnson was likely to make a visit to Austin, and he didn’t during the week. I was told Johnson and his family had to take care of some personal issues near the end of the week, but sources still expect him to take a campus tour visit pointing to this week as the likely timeline. Johnson can enroll early as long as he does so by February 2, so it will be interesting to see what he does when it comes to getting into a school early.

—Three-star Tyler (Texas) Legacy defensive end Garfield Lawrence has been trending to Texas since being offered, and he made a trip to Austin with his head coach Joe Willis. I was told the visit couldn’t have gone better and Lawrence was excited by everything he saw. Lawrence will take a similar visit to Houston today as the Cougars have been the other school putting up the biggest fight for the rising 2021 defensive end. I entered a 247Sports Crystal Ball pick for Lawrence to land at Texas last week, and there’s nothing to shake my confidence going forward. The Longhorns were always going to be a major factor if they pushed for Lawrence, and I expect him to be in the class at this point.

(Photo: Billy Embody, 247Sports)
 

—Texas is making a big push with four-star Parish Episcopal offensive lineman Austin Uke. Kyle Flood has been all over Uke since landing at Texas, and he’s looking to turn the heat up this week. Flood is trying to connect with Uke tonight for a Zoom call and presentation from the engineering program which is where Uke wants to focus his studies on moving forward. With Herb Hand in place, the interest in Texas was fading, but Uke told me over the weekend that Texas is closing ground and gaining esteem in his eyes. Uke and his family wants to find a quality education and quality football option, and he’s focusing on Stanford, Oklahoma, Texas and Northwestern down the stretch. He’s trained by Donald Hawkins who has been embraced by Steve Sarkisian, so Texas will have a friendly voice in their corner. Uke told me that he wants to find the best fit no matter the school but staying close to home would be his preference if he can get what he wants. If the Longhorns can make this push under Flood, they could close the door and add some quality to the offensive line class in 2021.

— The same can be said for four-star Mansfield Legacy DL David Abiara. There was a time back in the summer where it looked like Texas could jump over Oklahoma and push to flip him from Notre Dame. Now that Texas is putting the pedal down with Abiara, it should be a fairly easy sell to close the door considering that he was previously leaning to Washington and Pete Kwiatkowski is now at Texas. Adding Lawrence and Abiara down the stretch provides Texas with two quality defensive Iine prospects they can gamble on as developmental prospects who could deliver long term.

(Photo: Collin Kennedy, 247Sports)
 

— It appears Blake Gideon is looking for some last-minute options at the safety position in 2021. Texas doesn’t have a lot of time, but Gideon has been hard at work turning over stones to find some prospects. Two names I’ve heard that Texas has looked into are Denton Ryan safety Ty Marsh and Nacogdoches safety Dillion Williams. Marsh made a huge name for himself this season making a ton of plays on a loaded Ryan defense. He was at his best during the playoffs where he looked to be a honey badger on defense always around the ball and making big plays. Williams is more of an unknown. He holds no offers that have been posted, but sources in Nacogdoches have said the COVID-19 shutdown hurt his ability to get to camps and get his name out for exposure. His film checks out and he’s got a good frame, but it’s unclear if Texas will actually move with a scholarship offer.

— The staff is set to meet as a complete unit for the first time this week. They will decide on an overall recruiting philosophy and likely start to put a board together and divvy up territories. Recruiting areas will also be decided, so we should have a better idea of which assistants will work what areas. As of now, coaches are pretty much just recruiting their position and I expect that will continue to happen going forward. Area coaches are still needed to keep an ongoing relationship with those high schools, but the heavy lifting will likely be done by the position coaches in most cases.

— I was told that Pete Kwiatkowski and Jeff Choate tried to go big game hunting in the last few days. It was a longshot, but they reached out to the nation’s No. 1 player JT Tuimoloau. Kwiatkowski knew Tuimoloau well from his time as the primary recruiter for the Sammamish (Wash.) Eastside Catholic defensive end. I was told the family kicked around the idea of looking into Texas, but it was just too far down the line for him to get involved with a completely new program. He will stick to the Top 5 he originally established. It sounds like he will likely come down to Ohio State and Alabama as he nears a decision.

(Photo: Matt Cashore, 247Sports)
 

— The Longhorns are getting aggressive when it comes to adding to the defensive line. One prospect to watch is Notre Dame transfer Ovie Oghoufo. The junior prospect played sparingly for the Fighting Irish over the last two years, but he could be an option as an edge rusher Texas is looking for to beef up the depth and talent at the position. Oghoufo has a link with Texas now that Terry Joseph is on staff, and I’m told the Longhorns are near the top of his list when it comes to schools he’s considering. It sounds like a decision could come soon.

— I talked to a few coaches who had contact with Steve Sarkisian. Those sources called him a breath of fresh air to the program in contrast to the dealings they had with Tom Herman. While Herman came off a bit abrasive at times, I was told that Sarkisian’s laid back nature and welcoming attitude. The biggest thing I’ve heard has been how inclusive Sarkisian is with his willingness to take feedback from others.

 

[Viper 12109]

9 minutes ago, Teryor said:

Stampede 

While Herman came off a bit abrasive at times

[RGBIII 22840]

TFB

Spoiler

One of Sark’s first orders of business was to bring in one of the original Alabama Saban personnel guys in Drew Hughes. Sark plans to build out a personnel and recruiting department similar to the one Nick Saban has at Alabama.

When coach Herman got to Texas he beefed up the recruiting but from what we are told Sark is going to expand it even more.

You may see a “front office” twice the size of the previous one. In fact, I’m told that Texas plans to hire not one, but two directors of high school relations.

So, for those of you who have asked if there will be some high school coaches hired, I think that is certainly a possible. Texas is going to pay the personnel guys enough that they will be able to attract quite a bit of talent. From what I’ve heard, the salary increases for guys in the office sound pretty significant.

 

[UncleBuck 6455]

4 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

TFB

  Reveal hidden contents

One of Sark’s first orders of business was to bring in one of the original Alabama Saban personnel guys in Drew Hughes. Sark plans to build out a personnel and recruiting department similar to the one Nick Saban has at Alabama.

When coach Herman got to Texas he beefed up the recruiting but from what we are told Sark is going to expand it even more.

You may see a “front office” twice the size of the previous one. In fact, I’m told that Texas plans to hire not one, but two directors of high school relations.

So, for those of you who have asked if there will be some high school coaches hired, I think that is certainly a possible. Texas is going to pay the personnel guys enough that they will be able to attract quite a bit of talent. From what I’ve heard, the salary increases for guys in the office sound pretty significant.

 

*fills out application

[Ricky's one-hitter 9120]

5 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

TFB

  Hide contents

One of Sark’s first orders of business was to bring in one of the original Alabama Saban personnel guys in Drew Hughes. Sark plans to build out a personnel and recruiting department similar to the one Nick Saban has at Alabama.

When coach Herman got to Texas he beefed up the recruiting but from what we are told Sark is going to expand it even more.

You may see a “front office” twice the size of the previous one. In fact, I’m told that Texas plans to hire not one, but two directors of high school relations.

So, for those of you who have asked if there will be some high school coaches hired, I think that is certainly a possible. Texas is going to pay the personnel guys enough that they will be able to attract quite a bit of talent. From what I’ve heard, the salary increases for guys in the office sound pretty significant.

 

He needs to have made these hires already. And, actually, if he's going to double the recruiting staff, why the FUCK would you let the guys go that he's already let go? Why give yourself the task of hiring two full staffs in lieu of just adding to the already functioning recruiting staff at a time when you're losing the momentum battle to two schools whose primary territory you share? I don't get it. The plans are good news, the execution is lacking

[RGBIII 22840]

2 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

He needs to have made these hires already. And, actually, if he's going to double the recruiting staff, why the FUCK would you let the guys go that he's already let go? Why give yourself the task of hiring two full staffs in lieu of just adding to the already functioning recruiting staff at a time when you're losing the momentum battle to two schools whose primary territory you share? I don't get it. The plans are good news, the execution is lacking

I mean, these hires shouldn't just be slapped together. This a long term deal, I would rather well thought out hires without the Herman stink on them than to churn through these guys year over year. I also fail to see how a back office support staff is going to make a single difference with these prospects that we are currently targeting. These guys are there to help find and evaluate the talent, they aren't talking to guys like LJ Johnson nor making a difference between us and aggy. You can pretty much just read this board and know who needs to be contacted currently. 2022 signing day is pretty fucking far away, I think we can give Sark a couple days for this

[RichUT 1832]

He needs to have made these hires already. And, actually, if he's going to double the recruiting staff, why the FUCK would you let the guys go that he's already let go? Why give yourself the task of hiring two full staffs in lieu of just adding to the already functioning recruiting staff at a time when you're losing the momentum battle to two schools whose primary territory you share? I don't get it. The plans are good news, the execution is lacking

Maybe because he interviewed them and they were not on the same page philosophically? Maybe because he already has other people in mind that he can now focus on hiring because his coaching staff was a bigger priority?

Jesus fucking Christ. This isn’t hard shit to figure out. Let the dude do his damn job.

[Laxtonto 12090]

7 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

He needs to have made these hires already. And, actually, if he's going to double the recruiting staff, why the FUCK would you let the guys go that he's already let go? Why give yourself the task of hiring two full staffs in lieu of just adding to the already functioning recruiting staff at a time when you're losing the momentum battle to two schools whose primary territory you share? I don't get it. The plans are good news, the execution is lacking

More than likely he let go all of the leakers, Herman holdovers and those that either don’t fit or have a conflicting role with people he wants to bring in.

[texifornia 57033]

3 minutes ago, Laxtonto said:

More than likely he let go all of the leakers, Herman holdovers and those that either don’t fit or have a conflicting role with people he wants to bring in.

I love Carrington as much as the next recruitnik, but him being retained doesn't exactly jibe with that.

[UncleBuck 6455]

23 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

 ....in lieu of just adding to the already functioning recruiting staff at a time when you're losing the momentum battle 

Jesus H Christ, did you read what you just typed?

 

[UncleBuck 6455]

"Why replace all of these recruiting positions/begin improving the department at a time when recruiting is losing momentum..."

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by UncleBuck

[Red Five 40877]

Re: Eric Gray. Yeah, I don't think this is a marriage that will work, if he's looking to get the lion's share of carries. I was wondering how a pitch of "compete with Roschon for 5-7 carries a game" would go over. 

[UncleBuck 6455]

29 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

I mean, these hires shouldn't just be slapped together. This a long term deal, I would rather well thought out hires without the Herman stink on them than to churn through these guys year over year. I also fail to see how a back office support staff is going to make a single difference with these prospects that we are currently targeting. These guys are there to help find and evaluate the talent, they aren't talking to guys like LJ Johnson nor making a difference between us and aggy. You can pretty much just read this board and know who needs to be contacted currently. 2022 signing day is pretty fucking far away, I think we can give Sark a couple days for this

If you can improve the positions/department, you don't wait a whole fucking year. Recruiting is 365.

Edited January 25, 2021 by UncleBuck

[Bevo 13590]

49 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

You may see a “front office” twice the size of the previous one. In fact, I’m told that Texas plans to hire not one, but two directors of high school relations.

Ohhh, this could be good. Decent chance I'll have a connection.  

[SydneyCarton 48134]

If recruiting is 365, then it makes sense not to take off any unnecessary weeks/months when putting together a coaching and recruiting staff. There's not much Sark could have done about the former, but the latter, yeah. A recruiting coordinator could have or should have been one of his first hires. But easier than that would have been to retain the existing staff (which has been highly regarded for recruiting as well as evaluation), bring in the new guys, and if necessary replace them over the course of the year with guys you think do a better job. One of Herman's strongest contributions to Texas was his support staff. And yes, those guys fucking recruit. Anyone here saying otherwise apparently forgets that people like Rashaad Samples were actually considered recruiting assets for this staff while at Texas. Or any time anyone makes a fucking Polynesian Tie joke. Or is someone going to tell us that Bryan Carrington doesn't actually recruit and doesn't make a difference to recruits vis a vis other schools? Come the fuck on.

This is a position where I'd have preferred to hit the ground running, let the guys we had work to earn a full time position, and re-tool as you go. Not put the fucking car in neutral, pull out the fucking keymap, and start charting multiple different routes to get to your desired location. What he's done here is literally the opposite of his All Gas No Brakes philosophy. That being said, I'm not going to bitch and moan too much about it, because we're stuck with the way it's gone and as far as missteps go, this one isn't nearly as bad as a Shawn Watson hire. But I'm also not going to sit here and behave akin to some "Trust the Coach, if he says Mike Stoops is the guy then what the fuck do you know?" bullshit, intellectually lazy, football board fucking stupidity either. 

Edited January 25, 2021 by SydneyCarton

[UncleBuck 6455]

14 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

But I'm also not going to sit here and behave akin to some "Trust the Coach, if he says Mike Stoops is the guy then what the fuck do you know?" bullshit, intellectually lazy, football board fucking stupidity either. 

This isn't about trusting the coach for me, this is about trusting my eyes, and my eyes show me that recruiting is ass right now. There is not better time to overhaul it, and I don't expect it to be done on a snap. 

And we're pretending as if he took the entire recruiting staff and department and threw it out as soon as his plane landed, and here a few weeks later is just now getting back around to it. There were/are still pieces left in place, enough to bridge the gap as things are being finalized. And from the looks and sounds of it, it hasn't yet appeared to have created any recruitment issues. 

But I've been wrong before, so...

Edited January 25, 2021 by UncleBuck

[Ricky's one-hitter 9120]

5 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

If recruiting is 365, then it makes sense not to take off any unnecessary weeks/months when putting together a coaching and recruiting staff. There's not much Sark could have done about the former, but the latter, yeah. A recruiting coordinator could have or should have been one of his first hires. But easier than that would have been to retain the existing staff (which has been highly regarded for recruiting as well as evaluation), bring in the new guys, and if necessary replace them over the course of the year with guys you think do a better job. One of Herman's strongest contributions to Texas was his support staff. And yes, those guys fucking recruit. Anyone here saying otherwise apparently forgets that people like Rashaad Samples were actually considered recruiting assets for this staff while at Texas. Or any time anyone makes a fucking Polynesian Tie joke. Or is someone going to tell us that Bryan Carrington doesn't actually recruit and doesn't make a difference to recruits vis a vis other schools? Come the fuck on.

This is a position where I'd have preferred to hit the ground running, let the guys we had work to earn a full time position, and re-tool as you go. Not put the fucking car in neutral, pull out the fucking keymap, and start charting multiple different routes to get to your desired location. What he's done here is literally the opposite of his All Gas No Brakes philosophy. That being said, I'm not going to bitch and moan too much about it, because we're stuff with the way it's gone and as far as missteps go, this one isn't nearly as bad as a Shawn Watson hire. But I'm also not going to sit here and behave akin to some "Trust the Coach, if he says Mike Stoops is the guy then what the fuck do you know?" bullshit, intellectually lazy, football board fucking stupidity either. 

Exactly where I'm at.

Let's also not forget that Sark has, realistically, 2 years to build with playoff expectations in the 3rd becasue, a) that's what we should expect and b) he's an alcoholic that has fallen off the wagon enough to expect that to happen at some point at Texas. Struggling here with boosters breathing down your neck is a perfect justification for showing up wasted to practice. 

So, the '22 class is pretty fucking important for Sark. He needs to land Freshman starters. Prospects that might fit that description in positions of need are committed or close to committing elsewhere, and we have no momentum to counter. Remember VB, summer '19? Camp settings when you're behind are fucking brutal and will compound the problem. "We'll flip who we want after we show them the product on the field!", right? Demas didn't flip, Josh White didn't flip, JoJo didn't flip, Landon Jackson didn't flip, etc. Real trust the corches stuff. 

[RichUT 1832]

12 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

If recruiting is 365, then it makes sense not to take off any unnecessary weeks/months when putting together a coaching and recruiting staff. There's not much Sark could have done about the former, but the latter, yeah. A recruiting coordinator could have or should have been one of his first hires. But easier than that would have been to retain the existing staff (which has been highly regarded for recruiting as well as evaluation), bring in the new guys, and if necessary replace them over the course of the year with guys you think do a better job. One of Herman's strongest contributions to Texas was his support staff. And yes, those guys fucking recruit. Anyone here saying otherwise apparently forgets that people like Rashaad Samples were actually considered recruiting assets for this staff while at Texas. Or any time anyone makes a fucking Polynesian Tie joke. Or is someone going to tell us that Bryan Carrington doesn't actually recruit and doesn't make a difference to recruits vis a vis other schools? Come the fuck on.

This is a position where I'd have preferred to hit the ground running, let the guys we had work to earn a full time position, and re-tool as you go. Not put the fucking car in neutral, pull out the fucking keymap, and start charting multiple different routes to get to your desired location. What he's done here is literally the opposite of his All Gas No Brakes philosophy. That being said, I'm not going to bitch and moan too much about it, because we're stuff with the way it's gone and as far as missteps go, this one isn't nearly as bad as a Shawn Watson hire. But I'm also not going to sit here and behave akin to some "Trust the Coach, if he says Mike Stoops is the guy then what the fuck do you know?" bullshit, intellectually lazy, football board fucking stupidity either. 

Keep me honest, but the timeline I recall is that news broke about Chang leaving on the 16th and Drew Hughes was made official on the 17th. So we're up in arms about the role being "vacant" for 24 hours? 

As I see it, Sark acted quickly to keep the staff functional and made a critical hire in Hughes, who will head up this aspect of the staff. There have already been plenty of reports of Hughes following and reaching out to recruits, so I am sitting here with the belief that we are no worse off than we were before. If there is evidence to the contrary I would be happy to consider that. For all we know, Chang was given the chance to stick around as part of the expansion of the support staff and he didn't like the idea of working under Hughes. That's a very real possibility, as I can't imagine he loved the optics of taking a step backwards.

The specific point that I took issue with is that we should have already expanded the size of the support staff in parallel with filling out the on-field coaching staff. Criticism to that effect feels mis-placed to me, as I believe the basic premise of just keeping the old support staff and adding everyone else on as incremental is ill conceived. It's not as simple of a process to overhaul an organization as people are suggesting. 

[SydneyCarton 48134]

2 minutes ago, UncleBuck said:

This isn't about trusting the coach for me, this is about trusting my eyes, and my eyes show me that recruiting is ass right now. There is not better time to overhaul it, and I don't expect it to be done on a snap. 

And we're pretending as if he took the entire recruiting staff and department and threw it out as soon as his plane landed, and here a few weeks later is just now getting back around to it. There were/are still pieces left in place, enough to bridge the gap as things are being finalized. And from the looks and sounds of it, it hasn't yet appeared to have created any recruitment issues. 

Then i'd argue you're not looking and listening hard enough. Did the myriad of posts talking about how difficult the 2022 recruiting landscape is going be just not register with you? The biggest overhauls to a recruiting staff are obviously the coaches, and I don't think Sark could have gone that much faster then he did, outside of chasing some stupid fucking coaches. Fine. And yes, some of the recruiting infrastructure was retained. But recruiting was dead in the water because Herman was dead in the water and everyone knew it. Some players, good ones, didn't hear shit form Texas for three weeks. Maybe hiring your new head of recruiting to retool everything as one of the last hires on your staff was a bad idea, particularly when players aren't hearing shit, the coaching staff isn't complete, and there's no one really Ra-Ra-ing your message to kids. 

Also, I laugh in fucking general at the notion that there's just One Time to retool a recruiting staff. Or a coaching staff. They're something that should always be improving upon. Keep everyone, add staff, and let the guy you hire to head it figure out whos talented and who he wants to cut . There's no fucking rule that says he has to have a complete staff in place for support on February 1st or he doesn't get to have a complete staff at all. 

[Thiefery 5015]

1 minute ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

. "We'll flip who we want after we show them the product on the field!", right? Demas didn't flip, Josh White didn't flip, JoJo didn't flip, Landon Jackson didn't flip, etc. Real trust the corches stuff. 

Whoa who is saying that's the pitch?  There's been updates from both IT and 247 about Sark and co reaching out to recruits since he's been on the job.. same with the staff.  They got formally introduced Friday and you see multiple re-offers.  

[SydneyCarton 48134]

14 minutes ago, RichUT said:

Keep me honest, but the timeline I recall is that news broke about Chang leaving on the 16th and Drew Hughes was made official on the 17th. So we're up in arms about the role being "vacant" for 24 hours? 

As I see it, Sark acted quickly to keep the staff functional and made a critical hire in Hughes, who will head up this aspect of the staff. There have already been plenty of reports of Hughes following and reaching out to recruits, so I am sitting here with the belief that we are no worse off than we were before. If there is evidence to the contrary I would be happy to consider that. For all we know, Chang was given the chance to stick around as part of the expansion of the support staff and he didn't like the idea of working under Hughes. That's a very real possibility, as I can't imagine he loved the optics of taking a step backwards.

The specific point that I took issue with is that we should have already expanded the size of the support staff in parallel with filling out the on-field coaching staff. Criticism to that effect feels mis-placed to me, as I believe the basic premise of just keeping the old support staff and adding everyone else on as incremental is ill conceived. It's not as simple of a process to overhaul an organization as people are suggesting. 

As I said earlier, my feelings on this can't be categorized as "Up In Arms." I'd have gone another way with this. And citing official hires/fire dates isn't really how this shit works. That's like saying Texas wasn't looking for a replacement till after Tom Herman was officially fired. Do you believe that as well?? Chang could have been given an affirmative weeks earlier, and he wasn't. He was left twisting in the wind, and I can't speak to his performance during that time, but there's plenty of anecdotal evidence from recruits that they didn't hear much for a couple weeks. I'm sure some blue chips didn't miss communication at all, however, because things will vary. 

I mean, your specific issue pretty much dovetails with my suggestion. Is it realistic to expect him to retool and double the size of the support staff with filling out his on-field staff? Probably not. Which is why hiring a new director would have been damn near the thing I'd have done first or second once Sark's hiring became official. He should have had a name in mind. And it also works in tandem with me saying "Everyone who wants to keep their job has it. Here is your new boss. If you want out of your contract let us know. We'll be expanding the department and evaluating existing employees over the next 12 months." That...is not what happened. But if you have any more specific details or reasoning behind why "overhauling" the organization isn't as simple as adding new guys you like and firing ones you don't over the course of the next year, I'm all ears. Because while I agree that overhauling an organization (if it NEEDS a complete overhaul) isn't a simply process, I'd argue it's all the more reason to get the car moving now and take your time over the next year to, you know, overhaul the organization. 

I'm also somewhat biased because everything I've heard regarding Chang and the recruiting support staff was all glowing, and it was easily one of the couple things Herman did at a very high level at Texas...before he'd usually do something himself to reverse all the positives they brought to the table for us. 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by SydneyCarton

[Hank_Hill 18893]

The dude put together a great on field staff, kept Carrington, and hired Hughes. Not really sure how many interviews and hirings he’s supposed to make in two weeks after being put behind the 8-ball due to our Urban flirtation. He prioritized putting together a coaching staff and now is moving on to step 2.

[UncleBuck 6455]

7 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Also, I laugh in fucking general at the notion that there's just One Time to retool a recruiting staff. Or a coaching staff. They're something that should always be improving upon. Keep everyone, add staff, and let the guy you hire to head it figure out whos talented and who he wants to cut . There's no fucking rule that says he has to have a complete staff in place for support on February 1st or he doesn't get to have a complete staff at all. 

You're right there, and I've considered that since making that suggestion. I get that. Doesn't need to be immediate. 

 

9 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Then i'd argue you're not looking and listening hard enough. Did the myriad of posts talking about how difficult the 2022 recruiting landscape is going be just not register with you?

Obviously I understand this, but I'm not sure the way in which Sark is going about reshaping the recruiting department helps or hurts it that much, because like you said:

18 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

recruiting was dead in the water because Herman was dead in the water and everyone knew it

-----

11 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Some players, good ones, didn't hear shit form Texas for three weeks. Maybe hiring your new head of recruiting to retool everything as one of the last hires on your staff was a bad idea, particularly when players aren't hearing shit

And this I have already disagreed with. There were enough pieces left to continue reaching out to recruits, and we know that they have been. They've been being re-offering kids etc... for well over a week now. Honestly, am I missing something on that (I'm being dead serious, because I see there's been activity)?

But I do agree, a seamless transition is always preferred. Won't argue with that. 

 

 

[Machinator 32099]

IT

Spoiler

PERSONNEL

If Texas paying Jeff Banks north of $1 million didn’t underline the commitment to landing recruits, the pending investment in the personnel department should. We’re expecting an influx in the department of people with strong ties to the state. We were given no names but it sounds like the budget has been increased quite a bit.

Drew Hughes was a strong hire but he’s flying a bit blind as he gets familiar with his new environs. He’ll have plenty of help. Not only did Sarkisian decide to keep Bryan Carrington, Jake Langi, and Brandon Harris, but it sounds like some new names will be added.

If you’ve worked for Nick Saban and Pete Carroll you understand the importance of talent acquisition.

RECRUITING MATTERS

Things still look very positive on Mansfield Legacy DE David Abiara and Tyler Legacy DE Garfield Lawrence. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Lawrence made a student visit to Texas on Saturday and will do the same to the University of Houston today. The Longhorns are considered the heavy favorite with a decision expected this week. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Abiara remains Texas defeating Washington barring a major change. One person close to Abiara, “Would be very surprised if he didn’t sign with Texas.”

Texas has also been in contact with 2021 Michigan State commit Rayshaun Benny. The 6-foot-5, 275-pounder projects to OT or DT at the next level with OT being attractive to the Texas staff. Benny is likely to stick with the Spartans, but is not a lock and has been receptive to the Longhorns.

The Longhorns are also looking into the transfer market on the OL. TCU transfer T.J. Storment has heard from Texas, along with Texas Tech, Baylor, Syracuse, Rutgers, Purdue, North Carolina and Illinois. With the hire of former TCU offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie, Texas Tech has the inside track.

Texas OC/OL coach Kyle Flood reached out to 2021 OT and former Tennessee verbal Colby Smith in recent days, but there has been no activity beyond initial outreach. North Carolina, Auburn and Tennessee are considered the teams in the hunt for the Tar Heel State 6-foot-7, 310-pound tackle prospect.

There has been some chatter Texas could make a run at Georgia Southern transfer OLB Reynard Ellis. To this point, Ellis told IT he has not heard from the Longhorns.

Tennessee transfer running back Eric Gray is said to be leaning to Oklahoma over Texas after weekend visits to both programs. That was the case last night and again this morning according to a person close to Gray in the Memphis area. Gray is likely to decide in the next 24-48 hours according to the source.

The recruitment of L.J. Johnson continues to be puzzling. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound running back is yet to decide between Texas A&M and Texas with classes having already begun last week, and off-season workouts for both teams getting going this week. There is a chance that Johnson may opt to not enroll at the school of his choice until June, but nothing is a for sure in this recruitment at this point.

DB Dillion Williams, Nacogdoches (Nacogdoches, TX) - 2021: At 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds, the little known Williams is on the Texas radar. The staff has inquired about the athletic defensive back from the Piney Woods. Because of Covid and Nac’s poor season, few watched Williams on Friday nights.

The son of a former MLB outfielder, Dillion tells IT baseball is his true love but football might be his ticket. His trainer has him in the 6.2-6.3 60 range, and he has the frame to be molded.

He holds offers from Southern Miss and Wyoming, and broke Brandon Jones single-season interception record at NHS this past fall.

With Denton Ryan’s Ty Marsh looking unlikely for the class, if the staff moves on a safety, Williams is one who has caught the staff’s attention.

---

We’ll finish with Texas commit Ishmael Ibraheem. The new staff has reached out to the Dallas Kimball corner from the 2021 class. To our understanding, Steve Sarkisian wants to let Ibraheem’s legal situation play-out before a final decision is made. Ibraheem is a big need and we think he’ll end up at Texas in June, whether he signs on NSD2, or signs at all. He may just show up in June, possibly ahead of LJ Johnson.
 

 

[SydneyCarton 48134]

5 minutes ago, UncleBuck said:

You're right there, and I've considered that since making that suggestion. I get that. Doesn't need to be immediate. 

 

Obviously I understand this, but I'm not sure the way in which Sark is going about reshaping the recruiting department helps or hurts it that much, because like you said:

-----

And this I have already disagreed with. There were enough pieces left to continue reaching out to recruits, and we know that they have been. They've been being re-offering kids etc... for well over a week now. Honestly, am I missing something on that (I'm being dead serious, because I see there's been activity)?

But I do agree, a seamless transition is always preferred. Won't argue with that. 

 

 

There's just a lot of stuff going on that we don't see, and it doesn't include things like twitter likes and DMs. These guys did all the grunt work staying connected with coaches and trainers, and there's all kinds of events going on in Texas where Texas doesn't have any presence at all that they could, although to be fair I'm not sure what of that hasn't been put on hold due to Covid. 

[UncleBuck 6455]

3 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

There's just a lot of stuff going on that we don't see, and it doesn't include things like twitter likes and DMs. These guys did all the grunt work staying connected with coaches and trainers, and there's all kinds of events going on in Texas where Texas doesn't have any presence at all that they could, although to be fair I'm not sure what of that hasn't been put on hold due to Covid. 

All fair and true. 

Edited January 25, 2021 by UncleBuck

[Machinator 32099]

TFB on Gray

Spoiler

***Tennessee transfer running back, Eric Gray visited Austin and Norman, this past weekend.

***Sources on both sides sound confident. I do get the sense that folks in Norman feel a little stronger about their chances with Gray should they push. I think part of that is because OU has already landed one Tennessee transfer player in Wanya Morris and will likely land another in transfer defensive back, Keshawn Lawrence.

***Additionally, OU doesn’t have a guy named Bijan Robinson in their room.

***However, I think the Sooners are still working out their numbers at each position. Texas, like OU, is still in the running for a high school back. In the case of Texas, it’s LJ Johnson. In the case of OU, it’s Camar Wheaton.

***We don’t know yet if OU will be willing to take two backs. However, we do believe Texas would take both Gray and LJ.

 

[Hiphopopotamos 20876]

1 hour ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

He needs to have made these hires already. And, actually, if he's going to double the recruiting staff, why the FUCK would you let the guys go that he's already let go? Why give yourself the task of hiring two full staffs in lieu of just adding to the already functioning recruiting staff at a time when you're losing the momentum battle to two schools whose primary territory you share? I don't get it. The plans are good news, the execution is lacking

Did he fire anyone else in the support/recruiting department other than Chang?  I guess Shipley 'retired'.  Anyone else?

[LTtxfan 49320]

1 hour ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

 b) he's an alcoholic that has fallen off the wagon enough to expect that to happen at some point at Texas. Struggling here with boosters breathing down your neck is a perfect justification for showing up wasted to practice. 

So, the '22 class is pretty fucking important for Sark. He needs to land Freshman starters. Prospects that might fit that description in positions of need are committed or close to committing elsewhere, and we have no momentum to counter. Remember VB, summer '19? Camp settings when you're behind are fucking brutal and will compound the problem. "We'll flip who we want after we show them the product on the field!", right? Demas didn't flip, Josh White didn't flip, JoJo didn't flip, Landon Jackson didn't flip, etc. Real trust the corches stuff. 

 

Lots of folks who battle alcoholism don't fall off the wagon...

[golfclap 6903]

Do you know how many former Saban coaches have said they are going to build a front office "in the Bama model"? All of them. How many have succeeded or built a comparable model? Hell, does anyone remember when Charlie Strong hired Patrick Suddes to implement the "Bama model"? At some point it's going to be more than plans and talk. 

This isn't about Sarkisian as much as it's about Hughes. Chang and several of his very capable guys are gone. There has been one person (Hughes) hired. Those other guys were a direct pipeline to the coaches/trainers/high school coaches/etc ... and remained in constant contact with all of them. Some of them have enormous value beyond the daily grind. Keeping some of the previous staff is all good and well, but if you are going to "double your staff" and want to reach out to the high school coaches, etc ... you don't start by firing guys who actually good at the harder parts (evaluating talent), and/or who have multi-generational ties to high school coaches and/or guys who do it for fucking peanuts because this is their dream job. Some of these guys they let go had continued working throughout the process, some of the guys they kept not so much. The rhyme or reason to each seems to be around who was likable or vibed, not who has done the heavy lifting nor who has shown a level of dedication. 

You guys keep talking specifically about talking to recruits, but that is a TINY portion of the work involved. It's not just kids and those conversations but coaches and trainers who are conduits to the recruit excitement levels. Speaking with each recruit has a good impact, if you can get a guy that coaches 14 teams from 10u to 18u to buy in and be excited you've made a much bigger impact. etc... this is why teams like Bama and Clemson (and Texas) have these large front office orgs because there is a mountain of work to do, a million relationships to maintain, and the ones with the 75 or so highly prized recruits (per class) that the staff directly interacts with are a fraction of the communication and even that undertaking is massive. 

Hughes absolutely should have had people already hired at this point and honestly should have come with 3-4 people in tow. 

There's really no reason to not have made several hires by now, especially if the goal is doubling the size of the team. It's what ~9 days to NSD and how many JR days (or whatever takes their place during COVID) are happening almost immediately after that? There are massive 7on7 events going on every single weekend and Texas is invisible, which is a negative presence. These events should be absolutely buzzing right now with news of the Sark's offense, Kwiatkowski's schemes, etc... they are not. At all. It's been more than 3 weeks since the Sarkisian hire and based on the recent donor call, he expected Hughes would need 2-3 weeks to get more people in place. That is simply unacceptable. Each recruiting class is a fight and if you go 6 or more weeks fighting with on arm behind your back you are going to take damage, even if you are the bigger stronger fighter. 

it's been poorly executed to this point. Not dire - but really it's an unforced error. 

[Hornius Emeritus 12479]

Quote

Uke and his family wants to find a quality education and quality football option, and he’s focusing on Stanford, Oklahoma, Texas and Northwestern down the stretch.

 

 

 One of these things is not like the others
One of these things just doesn't belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the others?

[westexhorn 2020]

3 minutes ago, golfclap said:

Do you know how many former Saban coaches have said they are going to build a front office "in the Bama model"? All of them. How many have succeeded or built a comparable model? Hell, does anyone remember when Charlie Strong hired Patrick Suddes to implement the "Bama model"? At some point it's going to be more than plans and talk. 

This isn't about Sarkisian as much as it's about Hughes. Chang and several of his very capable guys are gone. There has been one person (Hughes) hired. Those other guys were a direct pipeline to the coaches/trainers/high school coaches/etc ... and remained in constant contact with all of them. Some of them have enormous value beyond the daily grind. Keeping some of the previous staff is all good and well, but if you are going to "double your staff" and want to reach out to the high school coaches, etc ... you don't start by firing guys who actually good at the harder parts (evaluating talent), and/or who have multi-generational ties to high school coaches and/or guys who do it for fucking peanuts because this is their dream job. Some of these guys they let go had continued working throughout the process, some of the guys they kept not so much. The rhyme or reason to each seems to be around who was likable or vibed, not who has done the heavy lifting nor who has shown a level of dedication. 

You guys keep talking specifically about talking to recruits, but that is a TINY portion of the work involved. It's not just kids and those conversations but coaches and trainers who are conduits to the recruit excitement levels. Speaking with each recruit has a good impact, if you can get a guy that coaches 14 teams from 10u to 18u to buy in and be excited you've made a much bigger impact. etc... this is why teams like Bama and Clemson (and Texas) have these large front office orgs because there is a mountain of work to do, a million relationships to maintain, and the ones with the 75 or so highly prized recruits (per class) that the staff directly interacts with are a fraction of the communication and even that undertaking is massive. 

Hughes absolutely should have had people already hired at this point and honestly should have come with 3-4 people in tow. 

There's really no reason to not have made several hires by now, especially if the goal is doubling the size of the team. It's what ~9 days to NSD and how many JR days (or whatever takes their place during COVID) are happening almost immediately after that? There are massive 7on7 events going on every single weekend and Texas is invisible, which is a negative presence. These events should be absolutely buzzing right now with news of the Sark's offense, Kwiatkowski's schemes, etc... they are not. At all. It's been more than 3 weeks since the Sarkisian hire and based on the recent donor call, he expected Hughes would need 2-3 weeks to get more people in place. That is simply unacceptable. Each recruiting class is a fight and if you go 6 or more weeks fighting with on arm behind your back you are going to take damage, even if you are the bigger stronger fighter. 

it's been poorly executed to this point. Not dire - but really it's an unforced error. 

Are we fucked?

[golfclap 6903]

1 minute ago, westexhorn said:

Are we fucked?

Not at all. Texas was simply working from behind already and now working through unforced errors with less ammo. It's early, the season is long - yada yada 

[Ricky Butler 2731]

The passion is back! I love it.

[gmr548 16590]

Uke and his family wants to find a quality education and quality football option, and he’s focusing on Stanford, Oklahoma, Texas and Northwestern down the stretch.

 
 
 One of these things is not like the others
One of these things just doesn't belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the others?

Stanford and Texas suck at football lately, OU sucks at school. Northwestern lock.

[Sgt Hulk 13814]

2 hours ago, RGBIII said:

I mean, these hires shouldn't just be slapped together. This a long term deal, I would rather well thought out hires without the Herman stink on them than to churn through these guys year over year. I also fail to see how a back office support staff is going to make a single difference with these prospects that we are currently targeting. These guys are there to help find and evaluate the talent, they aren't talking to guys like LJ Johnson nor making a difference between us and aggy. You can pretty much just read this board and know who needs to be contacted currently. 2022 signing day is pretty fucking far away, I think we can give Sark a couple days for this

I can’t read any of your posts now without hearing it in your voice.  

[lemonandaturd 4285]

There is a Football Analyst position on the UT website that was posted 10 days ago.  Some of this delay may be due posting requirements to fill state university vacant or newly created positions.   

[Dbeasy 15075]

So besides Chang and the retirement of Shipley, who else was fired?

[RGBIII 22840]

Gotta say, its pretty nice to hear people be actually upset about something instead of the general apathy that this thread has been for the past 6 months

[immamac 42877]

Agreed.

[Burt Macklin 19038]

16 minutes ago, golfclap said:

Not at all. Texas was simply working from behind already and now working through unforced errors with less ammo. It's early, the season is long - yada yada 

Yeah, we need to minimize unforced errors as much as possible considering the pile of shit Herman left in recruiting and the relative strength of most of our competitors, but recruiting overall (as in beyond just 2022) will ultimately work out if these guys can actually coach. We have the talent to get good results in Year 1.  If not, then it will just be another 1-2 year bump and shit falls apart again like the last two regimes.
 

Dear God, I hope this staff can coach. 

[Chef Bezos 75]

2 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

If recruiting is 365, then it makes sense not to take off any unnecessary weeks/months when putting together a coaching and recruiting staff. There's not much Sark could have done about the former, but the latter, yeah. A recruiting coordinator could have or should have been one of his first hires. But easier than that would have been to retain the existing staff (which has been highly regarded for recruiting as well as evaluation), bring in the new guys, and if necessary replace them over the course of the year with guys you think do a better job. One of Herman's strongest contributions to Texas was his support staff. And yes, those guys fucking recruit. Anyone here saying otherwise apparently forgets that people like Rashaad Samples were actually considered recruiting assets for this staff while at Texas. Or any time anyone makes a fucking Polynesian Tie joke. Or is someone going to tell us that Bryan Carrington doesn't actually recruit and doesn't make a difference to recruits vis a vis other schools? Come the fuck on.

This is a position where I'd have preferred to hit the ground running, let the guys we had work to earn a full time position, and re-tool as you go. Not put the fucking car in neutral, pull out the fucking keymap, and start charting multiple different routes to get to your desired location. What he's done here is literally the opposite of his All Gas No Brakes philosophy. That being said, I'm not going to bitch and moan too much about it, because we're stuck with the way it's gone and as far as missteps go, this one isn't nearly as bad as a Shawn Watson hire. But I'm also not going to sit here and behave akin to some "Trust the Coach, if he says Mike Stoops is the guy then what the fuck do you know?" bullshit, intellectually lazy, football board fucking stupidity either. 

IT said this morning we're keeping Carrington, Langi, and Brandon Harris. Think Sark was trimming the fat with some of the dudes he let go. 

[Ricky Butler 2731]

Is he going to hire some California specific guys? Seems like a heavy focus there could pay dividends as the Clay Helton tenure is so volatile.

[MonkeyDoughnut 10331]

29 minutes ago, golfclap said:

Do you know how many former Saban coaches have said they are going to build a front office "in the Bama model"? All of them. How many have succeeded or built a comparable model? Hell, does anyone remember when Charlie Strong hired Patrick Suddes to implement the "Bama model"? At some point it's going to be more than plans and talk. 

This isn't about Sarkisian as much as it's about Hughes. Chang and several of his very capable guys are gone. There has been one person (Hughes) hired. Those other guys were a direct pipeline to the coaches/trainers/high school coaches/etc ... and remained in constant contact with all of them. Some of them have enormous value beyond the daily grind. Keeping some of the previous staff is all good and well, but if you are going to "double your staff" and want to reach out to the high school coaches, etc ... you don't start by firing guys who actually good at the harder parts (evaluating talent), and/or who have multi-generational ties to high school coaches and/or guys who do it for fucking peanuts because this is their dream job. Some of these guys they let go had continued working throughout the process, some of the guys they kept not so much. The rhyme or reason to each seems to be around who was likable or vibed, not who has done the heavy lifting nor who has shown a level of dedication. 

You guys keep talking specifically about talking to recruits, but that is a TINY portion of the work involved. It's not just kids and those conversations but coaches and trainers who are conduits to the recruit excitement levels. Speaking with each recruit has a good impact, if you can get a guy that coaches 14 teams from 10u to 18u to buy in and be excited you've made a much bigger impact. etc... this is why teams like Bama and Clemson (and Texas) have these large front office orgs because there is a mountain of work to do, a million relationships to maintain, and the ones with the 75 or so highly prized recruits (per class) that the staff directly interacts with are a fraction of the communication and even that undertaking is massive. 

Hughes absolutely should have had people already hired at this point and honestly should have come with 3-4 people in tow. 

There's really no reason to not have made several hires by now, especially if the goal is doubling the size of the team. It's what ~9 days to NSD and how many JR days (or whatever takes their place during COVID) are happening almost immediately after that? There are massive 7on7 events going on every single weekend and Texas is invisible, which is a negative presence. These events should be absolutely buzzing right now with news of the Sark's offense, Kwiatkowski's schemes, etc... they are not. At all. It's been more than 3 weeks since the Sarkisian hire and based on the recent donor call, he expected Hughes would need 2-3 weeks to get more people in place. That is simply unacceptable. Each recruiting class is a fight and if you go 6 or more weeks fighting with on arm behind your back you are going to take damage, even if you are the bigger stronger fighter. 

it's been poorly executed to this point. Not dire - but really it's an unforced error. 

I'd rather not rush this thing. 2021's is limited to a few guys right now, 2022+ is where the focus of this "machine" needs to be.  So the real date is April 15th when things open back up and coaches / recruiters can do more than just call a kid. Everyone in place by then and we'll be in good shape.  One bad hire is way worse than one good hire.

[golfclap 6903]

Dear Mrs. Foster, 

You are a moron. WHOOOOOOP! 

Signed, Me. 

 

 

 

[RGBIII 22840]

26 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

I can’t read any of your posts now without hearing it in your voice.  

Live look at me in the studio

 

[JesusSweatDuck 17784]

9 minutes ago, golfclap said:

Dear Mrs. Foster, 

You are a moron. WHOOOOOOP! 

Signed, Me. 

 

 

 

[Dr. Teeth 5845]

10 minutes ago, golfclap said:

Dear Mrs. Foster, 

You are a moron. WHOOOOOOP! 

Signed, Me. 

 

 

 

Don't we also have the reigning outdoor champion as well?

[TexasRenegade 2460]

1. He brought in Hughes to run the program.  Maybe Hughes and Chang didn't jive?  Maybe they didn't like how Chang and company did things and are wanting to go in a different direction.  Maybe Chang is a die hard Herman guy and they are wanting to remove those types form the program. Maybe Chang thinks Herman got a raw deal and gave Sark double rods when they met....We don't have a clue.  However, at this point in time....I am going to trust Sarkisian's decision making on who to retain and who to cull a lot more than I am going to put faith in Herman's original hires.... I mean I love Carrington and he seems to be great, but lets not forget Chang was hired by the same guy who hired the football coaches for the past few years......Again we don't know, maybe Sark wanted to keep Chang but Chang didn't want to stay or work for Hughes or whatever.  Maybe he was burnt out on the recruiting stuff.....who knows.  Maybe Chang has been coasting on the rest of the staff I have no freaking idea.  Is it possible that Sark had the opportunity to retain Chang and chose to can him for an idiotic reason.....Sure......do I really think that is what happened?  No.

[golfclap 6903]

1 minute ago, Dr. Teeth said:

Don't we also have the reigning outdoor champion as well?

yeah, Piperi is just crushing the field.