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Texas Recruiting Notes 2025: Duck Around and Find Out

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I’m not interested in getting political, but your description of circumstances can get immediately fucked. Negged for attempting to absurdly minimize the assassination attempt on a presidential candid

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How about Kenny Baker getting some love for the development of Broughton. I  think he just played the best game of his life and two years ago I wondered if he would eventually transfer. He totally dom

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-2 more DTs and possibly a 3rd if it is the right one.  -Top end LB or bust -Hilson and Terry are in unless something weird happened recently. -If they take K Johnson, it is strictly to

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Elmer_Fudd

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Looking at the offer list and who's committed elsewhere, only names that seem likely are Moore, Utley, Antoine, or the USC linebacker commit.  Others I though of could be Russell decommitting from SMU, or maybe Sanchez??

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12 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Looking at the offer list and who's committed elsewhere, only names that seem likely are Moore, Utley, Antoine, or the USC linebacker commit.  Others I though of could be Russell decommitting from SMU, or maybe Sanchez??

Seriously, what more did you want Scruggs to say? 

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Horn Under a Bad Sign

Horn Under a Bad Sign 20677

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LSU is a backwater school in a shitty town in a hellhole of a state. 

Dakorien Moore needs to play on a bigger stage with big-time talent like Arch Manning, who most certainly will be on the cover of EA's College Football 26 as well as every magazine and sports website in America. 

Two years with Arch and Moore will be set for life. 

 

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Teryor

Teryor 4558

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Scruggs- Road Report: Storylines aplenty as Longhorns gear up for big recruiting summer

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I've been on the road the last few days. On Monday I saw Ruston, on Tuesday I saw Jasper, Port Neches-Groves, and Port Arthur Memorial, and on Wednesday I saw Spring Dekaney and Shadow Creek. 

In between school stops is a lot of time in the car and a lot of time talking on the phone, and not a ton of time to write or transcribe interview audio. That said, whenever I get the chance I'll post the stories with quotes from all of the Texas targets I've seen over the last few days, but for now let's get right into some recruiting notes from my time on the road. 

Ruston — Monday, May 13

— First off, Aidan Anding was phenomenal in practice and it was his first time back in pads since Ruston won the Louisiana State Championship back in December. Ruston started spring ball weeks ago, but Anding hadn't joined the team yet as he was busy competing in the Louisiana 5A State track meet where he took home second in the long jump with 23-9 and sixth in the 200M with a run of 21.73. The meet was on May 4th, but the Ruston coaching staff felt it was right to give Anding a week to get his legs under him with some rest. It's important to note Anding rolled right into track following a successful season on the hardwood where he averaged 14.8 points per game as he helped lead the Bearcats to the fourth round of the Louisiana 5A State Basketball playoffs. He showed up in basketball the Monday after Ruston won state in football as well, so there isn't really much of an offseason for the Pelican state native.

With Ruston having Louisiana rules that obviously differ from Texas' UIL rules, I legitimately watched Anding and the Bearcats practice in full pads for over two and a half hours which made for a fun and refreshing afternoon on my end. As I said earlier, Anding was great in practice and came away with a couple INTs and several PBUs. 

While I did write in this week's stampede that a source in north Louisiana views Miami as the main competition, there is some more to this recruitment than was previously known about. For example, it's technically breaking news that Anding will officially visit TCU after the Horned Frogs had never been discussed in the past. TCU will now host Anding June 7-9 as that was his only open weekend in June as he has long had OV dates set for Miami (May 31-June 2), Arkansas (June 14-16), and Texas (June 21-23). 

Although TCU is the new, trendy team to the race and the Horned Frogs actually happen to recruit the state of Louisiana at an exceptional level for what they are as a program, I do think it's a safe bet that they'd finish in fourth place currently. Arkansas is a school that earned some points in Anding's book following his first visit to Hogtown as Anding found himself to be a big fan of the scenery and vibes of the city of Fayetteville. However, there is awareness around the recruitment about the current state of Arkansas' program and how much of the coaching staff's future could be riding on this upcoming season. I think Miami is and will continue to be the main competition for Texas, but I ultimately believe that the Longhorns will end up receiving Anding's commitment when he comes to a decision following his official visit slate.


Aidan Anding (Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
I'm not quite ready to enter in a crystal ball prediction, but Texas was by far and away the school that was brought up the most by those in and around Ruston when Horns247 stopped by practice on Monday. Terry Joseph's ties to Anding's home state and his relationship with the rising three-star are some of the reasons for my liking to Texas' position to land Anding, as is the proximity to home factor that Texas has over Miami. Official visits will loom large in the recruitment as he's only been able to visit his four finalists once a piece, but again I do think Texas is the most likely landing spot of the four schools in the mix.

With Anding being a state of Louisiana prospect, there's sure to be some questions about the potential impact if an LSU offer was to come. I did some digging and asking around on Monday, and at this point I think it'd probably be too late for the Tigers to get in the mix. With the defensive coordinator being none other than six time pro-bowler and 2003 LSU national champion defensive tackle Kyle Williams, the Ruston staff has a ton of ties to LSU. That said, they've been informing the LSU staff about Anding for forever, but yet he's continued to go without landing the offer which has caused frustration. You can obviously never say never with it being LSU and a state of Louisiana kid, but that's probably the most encouraging news you could read as a Texas fan that'd be nervous about that potential scenario.

Anding doesn't have an exact timeline, but he intends to make his decision in the period between the conclusion of his official visits and the start of his senior year. Also if Anding ends up choosing Texas when the time comes, Longhorns fans will be able to see him play high school ball in the Lone Star State this fall. Ruston's first three weeks of the season include games vs. Midland Legacy, Longview, and Stephenville. They'll play Midland Legacy at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington and then the Longview and Stephenville games will both be played at Longview's Lobo Stadium on back-to-back weeks. 

Other names of note at Ruston — They have a 2027 wide receiver who's a monster that unfortunately wasn't at practice the day I stopped by. Ahmad Hudson is the name. 6-foot-7, 220 pounds who's just as effective on the hardwood as he is on the gridiron. He holds offers from Louisiana Tech and Grambling State for both football and basketball, and then also has an offer from LSU in football as well. Their quarterback is rising senior Joshua Brantley who's an incredibly intriguing well put together athlete prospect at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. He'll be a safety in college and could really end up turning into a special defensive back at the next level. He tore up the defense throughout practice each time he tucked it.

JASPER — TUESDAY, MAY 13

Kiotti Armstrong (Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
— There isn't much new to the recruitment of the nation's No. 3 ranked tight end, Kiotti Armstrong. He has June official visits set up for Auburn, Baylor, Texas A&M, and Texas. More OVs will be taken in the fall to programs like LSU, Ole Miss, and a few others, as Armstrong fully intends to come to a decision sometime in the fall, and not this summer. 

Texas and Texas A&M continue to be the two programs brought up the most by those in and around Jasper, and that's likely to continue the further this recruitment goes. Texas having Armstrong's former teammate and close friend Ty'Anthony Smith already on the roster will continue to help the Longhorns' chances, but it is worth mentioning Armstrong visited Texas A&M much more than any other school this summer. 

Other names of note at Jasper — They have a 2026 WR named Raja Garza-Adams that holds a UTSA offer already and after seeing him a couple times in 7on7 this spring, I think he'll be a damn good receiver at the group of five level. Demetris Dean might be the most quiet prospect in the Top247 and he has a pretty unique recruitment with Houston looking like the most likely landing spot. I didn't get his name, but there's also a 2027 linebacker at Jasper that the Bulldogs' coaching staff thinks will be their next national recruit following Ty'Anthony Smith and Kiotti Armstrong. On Tuesday I was only able to see them in the weightroom so I wasn't able to see him moving around, but he certainly looks the part of an FBS linebacker prospect.

PORT NECHES-GROVES — TUESDAY, MAY 13

Jackson Christian (Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
— I've already posted just about everything from my time talking to Jackson Christian on Tuesday. Click HERE for some in-depth quotes from him on his commitment to the Longhorns. 

The quotes he gave me are some of my favorites that I've ever gotten from a prospect. Christian is incredibly straightforward and gives a lot of thought to his responses and is the pledge I'm least worried about potentially decommitting from Texas' 2025 class. I also happen to have a lot of family that hails from Port Arthur and attended PNG back in the day and their offensive coordinator from the last two years actually happened to coach me in middle school, so Christian and I did a lot of catching up off the record which made for a really fun and unique school visit.

Other names of note at PNG — They have a 2026 offensive tackle prospect named Aaron Wolford that some in southeast Texas think could end up being better than Jackson Christian. He has a differing body type than that of Christian as Wolford stands at 6-foot-4, 280 pounds. He's really talented and I love him as a prospect, but unfortunately he does not have the body type that Kyle Flood and Texas tend to target at the position and with that being said I'm not sure how much interest the Longhorns might have. Because of his situation, it's not easy for Wolford to make it to camps, visits, or showcases so it's likely he could continue to fly under the radar from a national perspective. That said, whichever school decides to really push and put time and effort in with Wolford in relationship building is likely to reap the benefits of a well hidden power four offensive tackle prospect. There's a funny story about how Wolford landed his second offer from Texas Tech. The Tech staff watched one of PNG's non-district games on Texan Live to watch Christian who they had already offered. The thing is, Christian suffered an injury which sidelined him that game which shifted Wolford from right tackle to left tackle. Tech wasn't made aware of the situation, and called Christian after the game to tell him how good of a game he had and that they loved the way he played. Christian broke the news to them that that wasn't him and that it was actually Wolford, to which Tech asked for Wolford's contact info before calling and offering him later that night. Fun stuff.

PORT ARTHUR MEMORIAL — TUESDAY, MAY 13

Tank King (Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
— It's early but I feel pretty good about the chances of Tank King turning into one of the biggest recruitments in the state for the 2026 class. The early in-state 2026 class has been weak at linebacker so far, and with King being one of, if not the best 'backers of the in-state group, he's sure to be coveted. King's two dream schools growing up were always Texas A&M and LSU (and really more so LSU), but the Tigers haven't offered yet. I and many others around the recruitment eventually expect that offer to come and potentially shake up the recruitment, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Texas A&M has done by far and away the best job out of any school in the recruitment up to this point. The Aggies were King's first big-time offer and it came from the Jimbo Fisher staff last summer. When Elko came in, his staff made King priority No. 1 for the 2026 linebacker board and in talking with coaches at Memorial, it's the Aggies who have been by the school the most this spring out of any of the programs recruiting the Memorial program.

The communication level between Texas and King is higher than it usually is between the Longhorns staff and 2026 prospects at this stage in their process, which shows you of the priority that Texas views King as Johnny Nansen and Steve Sarkisian have done a good job at establishing a relationship since they offered earlier in the spring, but if the recruitment was to end today Texas would finish second behind the Aggies. Texas has historically done a good job recruiting Memorial with wins in the form of Jamaal Charles and Jaylon Guilbeau among others, but with King not deciding until the summer of 2025 I'm not sure how much of an impact Texas' ties to the school will end up having but feel like Texas will at least be in it till end. There's obviously still a long way to go, but it's already feeling like this one will come down to Texas and Texas A&M with LSU also in the final group if the Tigers ever decide to offer.

Other names of note at Port Arthur Memorial — Michael Riles was once a name to monitor for Texas' defensive line class in 2025, but it's been an extended period of time since the two sides communicated as Riles was more of a Bo Davis guy and less of a Kenny Baker guy. He put out a top six that included Nebraska, Texas A&M, UCF, Texas Tech, Florida, and Oklahoma State but in talking with him and people at Memorial, it's likely the decision ends up coming down to Oklahoma State and UCF. UCF has a ton of ties to the school with Kam Martin being the Knights' running backs coach and his little brother (Amante Martin) being in Memorial's 2026 class. Speaking of the younger Martin, he's 100% a power four running back prospect but unfortunately he could end up with less options than if he was in another class as the 2026 running back class is by far and away the best in-state class of running backs that I've ever covered. Brock King is another prospect they have in 2026 and he's one of the better defensive back prospects you'll find in the in-state 2026 class. Michael Milson is another 2026 prospect that's intriguing on the offensive line. They have a 2027 class that'll be deep as well, and it's led by safety Jamarcus Hudson who's 6-foot-3, 190 pounds already and will one day play in the SEC. They also have a 2026 WR named Keavon Roberts who had no offers when I found him back at a 7on7 tournament in March but now holds three offers from Houston, UNT, and UNLV. He's a jumbo athlete at 6-4 that has a deep basketball background and could really blow up this fall with a strong junior season. 

SPRING DEKANEY — WEDNESDAY, MAY 14

Nick Townsend (Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
— Although Nick Townsend is ranked lower than Kiotti Armstrong, he would likely be the best tight end out of Texas in any of the last five recruiting cycles. He's a special prospect. A wide bodied 6-foot-3, 235 pounder that goes both ways as a tight end and linebacker and owns multiple sub-11 100m times with a PR in the 10.8s that he ran at 235 pounds. Just turn on the tape, it's up there with DJ Sanders for the most entertaining junior year tape in the 2025 class.

USC, Alabama, Texas A&M, and Texas will receive official visits in that order starting with the Trojans on the May 31-June 2 weekend. Alabama, Texas A&M, and Texas are the schools at the front of the recruitment, with the Tide and Longhorns being who I expect the recruitment to come down to. At this point in time, I believe Alabama is the leader with the Longhorns in second place before a bit of a drop off to A&M who's in third place.

The Longhorns sent Jeff Banks, Johnny Nansen, and Chris Jackson out to Dekaney this past week to meet with Townsend and Tanook Hines. The trio of coaches met with Townsend, whereas Nansen didn't take part in Hines' meeting with the coaches. That's on purpose, as in the meeting last week Nansen and Texas happened to offer Townsend the ability to play both sides of the ball if he was to land in Austin. After watching Townsend work out on both sides of the ball on Wednesday, I would be completely fine with him keeping his ranking if he ever hypothetically made the full-time switch to linebacker from tight end. He'd be the best linebacker in Houston in 2025, and there was even a point during practice where Dekaney's head coach commented on Townsend being a natural at linebacker when he was working a defensive drill.

The offering to play both sides of the ball in Austin certainly catches his intrigue, but at this point in time Alabama seems to be ahead of Texas. Official visits will loom large on the decision as up to this point, Townsend has only seen Texas and Alabama once a piece with his trip to Austin taking place at the January Junior Day. With Townsend intending to announce a commitment sometime in July or August before his senior season starts, Texas is set up well with the last official visit during the June 21-23 weekend.

With Townsend being a summer decision, his commitment could certainly have an impact on what Jasper Top247 tight end Kiotti Armstrong ends up deciding on. Texas is almost guaranteed to hold a spot for both, with Armstrong as a tight end and Townsend as a tight end/athlete take. 


Tanook Hines (Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
— USC and Notre Dame are the two programs at the front of Tanook Hines' recruitment, but Texas is creeping back in the picture after going separate ways earlier in the spring. 

With a July or August commitment in mind, Hines will see Baylor, USC, and Notre Dame on official visits, and he'll see Texas on an official visit as well. Dates are still being worked out, but Hines and those at Dekaney were adamant an official visit to Texas would be taking place in the month of June. This is a new development, and it came to be after Hines met with Chris Jackson and Jeff Banks when the Texas staff stopped by Dekaney last week. 

USC and Notre Dame are the leaders at this current point in time, but I definitely see a world where Texas could join that contending group here in the next few weeks. Texas is looking at Hines for receiver, but it's worth noting he will play a lot at safety for Dekaney this fall. That's notable because I think like Townsend, Hines would be good enough as a full-time safety prospect to keep his current ranking. He's also grown at least an inch since I saw him last in July and is probably now somewhere in the 6'1.5-2.5 range, and with Hines finishing in 2nd place in the 6A 200m dash at the Texas State track meet earlier in the month, it makes sense as to why he looks like a million bucks. Hines also comes from a family of athletes and has an older brother currently playing receiver for Hawaii University. 

I think there's a chance Hines could receive serious looks and flip attempts from schools after they see him play major time at safety this fall. If he holds his own at the position which I think he can/will, it would be incredibly interesting to see if Texas would be interested in Hines as a safety. With the state of the defensive back board being where it's at, Hines could potentially be the perfect athlete to plug in as one of the safety takes for the Longhorns in 2025. 

Hines and Townsend will have two of the most intriguing recruitments to track over the next few weeks, and with Texas gaining momentum in the recruitments of both of the Dekaney two-way stars, I do think it's a true possibility Texas could end up with both Hines and Townsend in the Longhorns' 2025 class. 

Other names of note at Dekaney — Whoever ends up signing Jamal Frilot will be getting one of the biggest steals of the in-state 2025 class. He's a bona fide power four tight end prospect that gets overshadowed by Townsend, but he's an awesome prospect in his own right as he now stands at 6-foot-5, 215 pounder. Calvin Carter is a pretty intriguing 2026 EDGE prospect, he's a fluid athlete at 6-foot-3 but he'll need to continue to add weight leading up to his college career. Dekaney has two running backs in the 2026 class that will play FBS ball. One of the pair, named Samaritan Cunningham already holds four offers with his first one coming from Oklahoma. They also have a 2027 kid who's name I'm blanking on that should be a power four prospect whether it's at running back or linebacker. Besides him, there were several other prospects in their 2027 class who have the body type and frame you'd want to see from FBS level prospects as freshmen in high school.

SHADOW CREEK — WEDNESDAY, MAY 15

Chris Stewart (Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
— I've been complaining about it behind the scenes but I wish we had Chris Stewart ranked in the initial 2026 Top247 update on Apr. 24. He absolutely cooked the Shadow Creek defense for the full duration of the Sharks' spring game, though it's worth mentioning Top247 Texas A&M cornerback commit Cobey Sellers is still working back from his surgery and didn't participate in the spring game. Regardless, I've viewed Stewart as a Top247 guy for a while now but after seeing him do what he did on Wednesday, I'm more confident than I've ever been in that notion. 

It's still incredibly open for Stewart as he's a 2026 prospect that's collecting new offers every week, but I continue to like the chances of Texas being in the recruitment until the end. The Longhorns were the first program to offer Stewart a scholarship back in the winter and I think that'll help down the stretch. The in-state 2026 receiver class isn't strong either, and with Keisean Henderson wanting to play quarterback, Stewart could have a serious chance to emerge as WR1 in the Lone Star State. It's still early and there's a long way to go, but based off my conversations with Stewart over the last year I'm not sure I'd expect him to leave the region to play his college ball. 

I was at Alief Hastings and Hitchcock today (Thursday) to see Smith Orogbo and Kelshaun Johnson, and I'll be seeing Caleb Chester and Isaiah Williams at Fort Bend Marshall tomorrow morning as well. On Saturday I'll be catching a couple training sessions and a showcase before driving home to Dallas that night. I'll have a similar story/update out tomorrow evening regarding Orogbo, Johnson, Chester, and Williams. 

 

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Getafix

Getafix 28988

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Thought you guys would get a chuckle out of 'ol DUCKTILIDIE702.

From the Oregon 247 site.

(I don't think either post - especially the first - was facetious,  or that "affect" wasn't an insider joke."

 

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Ah yes ... 

image.thumb.png.d5b4a25d7d2ff8db1428547900f9a155.png

 

 

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MirrOlure

MirrOlure 14959

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This is just dumb.  By this definition, the Pilgrims were quitters. They could have stayed in England but they were dissatisfied with their situation in their current country so they just quit.  And Willie Nelson? A quitter. He was dissatisfied with his situation in Nashville so he just quit and moved to Austin. And guess what? He ended up winning. Platitudes like "quitters never win and winners never quit"  are disproved by history,  which is filled with examples of people who "quit" one thing/place and ended up winning somewhere else.

 

I mean….even Jesus quit
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tokamak

tokamak 6471

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16 minutes ago, Horn75 said:

Is this like the transfer portal “no contact” tag and he knows where he’s going? 🤘🏼

That is exactly what it seems like to me. Someone turned his head in a way that LSU couldn’t match. Hope it was us. 

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