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Texas recruiting notes 2019

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closetojumping
closetojumping

There's more than just 2019 stuff in this update, but I'm not being paid to post, so I'm dumping it all here and you guys can do with it/disseminate it/ignore it as you like. Regarding the UA guy

Carl Winslow
Carl Winslow

word 😂 brooks not being a take clemson starting rb pistol whipped & robbed his own teammate he lead clemson to a national championship & 3 playoff appearances recruit to wi

RadiologyHorn
RadiologyHorn

Now Mpagi is better than Leal???!???    Guys tell me you’re trolling. Please tell me this isn’t real. I feel like I’m in a Seinfeld bizarro world episode. I can’t take this shit anymore. Whe

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Fud

Fud 9,528

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9 minutes ago, jdhorn92 said:

New tweet,  but very old ( few months) picture. Point was to show that he’s now 315lbs vs 275 in pic. Relax people. 

Wonder when this picture was taken?

Shepherd weighed 317 at the Houston opening Feb 25th, and then 346 at the Opening Finals June 30th

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OregonHorn

OregonHorn 96

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18 hours ago, Napoleon said:

 

Oregon is much farther, because getting from the Oregon campus to the airport takes 2 fucking hours! (And that's with Christmas Day traffic!)

 

There are multiple nonstop flights from Eugene to LAX daily for under $200.  The airport is 10 minutes from campus.

But Austin >>> Eugene in all ways other than traffic, outdoor recreation, and summer temps.  Eugene is turning into one great big homeless camp.

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RabidM

RabidM 2,664

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Some of the comments on the FWK\Shepherd business are flat out embarrassing.  If the FWK is really for sale, we just need to write a bigger check.  If that's the game, we need to play it. The NCAA ain't doing shit.  Shepherd is committed to us, at least for now. Talking shit about a current commit is a bad look.  He flaked on multiple aggie visits.  He hasn't even visited them since committing to us.  Why don't we wait until he does something worth criticizing before we shit on him?  Practically everything you're upset about concerning Shepherd is coming from $9.95'ers or a 3rd party twitter account.  

Edited by RabidM
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Fud

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3 minutes ago, RabidM said:

Some of the comments on the FWK\Sheppard business are flat out embarrassing.  If the FWK is really for sale, we just need to write a bigger check.  If that's the game, we need to play it. The NCAA ain't doing shit.  Sheppard is committed to us, at least for now. Talking shit about a current commit is a bad look.  He flaked on multiple aggie visits.  He hasn't even visited them since committing to us.  Why don't we wait until he does something worth criticizing before we shit on him?

Since we're buying Sheppard, we should looking at buying Shepherd while we're at it 

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RabidM

RabidM 2,664

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23 minutes ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

Hell .. if we're buying, then let's shop alongside Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State.

Serious question: Considering the state of the NCAA. what's the downside outside of losing moral superiority?  I'm not advocating for it, (paying a trainer for visits is a little different), I'm just curious.  

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Machinator

Machinator 32,097

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(Ian Boyd) Inside the Gameplan: My 5 favorite offensive signees

defenders that the offense has to avoid or else by dedicating numbers and leverage to take something away. The offense can take a good deal more initiative in determining where the focal point of a given play will be.

Because of that, an offense can be built more heavily around role players provided what the role players are effective at executing includes the necessary counters to opposing strategies. For instance, in the 2018 Texas passing attack the TE and the Z receiver needed to be capable of beating zero coverage if teams were going to move everyone over to carefully bracket Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Collin Johnson. If they could clear that fairly low hurdle then all was good.

Another theme of 2018 was Texas (and Iowa State) learning that having a physical, run-centric approach to offense is great but it’s even better if it’s primarily geared towards helping the passing game. That’s the best way to keep up with the Oklahoma's and other Air Raid teams of the Big 12, you have to be able to score.

Tom Herman has also revealed an additional preference for style beyond having a physical, running QB that can make the situational run game a brutal weapon rather than a problem to mitigate. In particular, Herman likes to attack opponents mentally with hybrid personnel that can allow the offense to thwart the rules of modern, position-based defense. Defenses today are designed to try and match routes from zone and pick players for each position that can match the types of athletes likely to run routes into their respective zone. Attacking that style on offense is all about hybrids, matchup weapons, and versatility. While you worry about the exact projection and fit of various recruits on either side of the ball per 247’s nebulous positional designations the game is moving beyond that paradigm.

Finally, there’s the OL which still sets the floor for an offense. Texas finally fielded a unit that allowed them to explore their ceiling in 2018 but this is an area that has confounded the program for as long as I’ve followed Longhorn football. The gap in achievement between Texas and Oklahoma this century is most easily illustrated by looking at the differences in the OL. Championship programs are often praised for the famous QBs and skill players that roll through but then you look deeper and you find a parade of All-Conference and NFL linemen that consistently fill out their depth charts.

Here’s my favorite Texas recruits from NSD1 in terms of accumulating the sort of pieces that can be used to build a modern offense.

No. 5 Jordan Whittington

Whittington is your next Lil’Jordan Humphrey, a big slot that is essentially an exploration of what the modern TE position can look like. You won’t hear that elsewhere since Whittington doesn’t play in the box as a blocker and currently checks in at “only” 6-1, 205. Here’s the deal though, Whittington has a thick frame that will likely continue to add weight up to 220 or so, he’s quicker than fast (probably 4.7 40 but 4.1 shuttle guy), and he’s very physical.

Here’s a shot of him playing up on the line as a receiver:

giphy.gif

He’s up on the line where he can be pressed, which means that the other wideouts don’t have to be, and he has little problem winning past the line and getting to his spot down the field. Then he wins a jump ball and finishes the play by needlessly stiff arming a dude to the turf. This is a guy that you can use in the slot as a chain-moving matchup weapon. He projects really well to running the same kinds of option routes that Humphrey has been murderous on and he has the quickness and physicality to not only hold up running around in the middle of the field but to administer punishment.

No. 4 Brayden Liebrock

Liebrock is a slam dunk prospect whether he learns to block a DE effectively or not. He’s a Mark Andrews clone with his ability to run routes at a high level, even against good skill athletes on the perimeter, at 6-5, 220.

giphy.gif

You can tell from his four-star rating and everyone’s general confusion about how good exactly Lil’Jordan Humphrey is (fourth round, seriously?) that the importance of having big, matchup nightmares that can’t be handled in man coverage running up the seams is still lost on many evaluators. There’s also the regularly overlooked value of having a big athlete on the perimeter to bully opponents in the screen game, which is obviously an enormous part of the college game, and to play on the line so that the outside receiver can play off and avoid press coverage. This has been a useful trick in Norman for getting tiny speedsters like Marquise Brown and Dede Westbrook free from press coverage.

All of that value is only magnified if Liebrock also learns to play like Andrew Beck, taking on DEs solo on tight zone or power. In that event his ability to suddenly flex out would leave defenses out of answers because his regular usage on the field wouldn’t prevent Texas from playing another matchup nightmare in the slot, like Jordan Whittington.

No. 3 Tyler Johnson

Texas needs a lot more Tyler Johnsons, or at least more OL that Herb Hand and Yancy McKnight can work to transform into big, zone-blocking technicians. In the same way that healthy defense requires constant refueling with DB recruits that can fill out a defensive backfield and spin down to linebacker, offense has to have fresh meat for the grinder up front.

Tyler Johnson is about as good as they come in terms high end talent for the OL and could be the LT of the future. He’s highly athletic with the sort of quick feet you need to survive on the edge along with the necessary anchoring size/strength and reach. He’s about 6-5, 300 or so already so he’ll obviously get his chances to play early anywhere he can crack the depth chart.

Here’s an instructive clip on some of the more promising attributes of Johnson:

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This is inside zone blocking and Johnson dominates a 4i that tries to loop outside into him and puts him on skates. You can tell that he has quick feet and very little difficulty leveraging his athleticism and power in combination to dominate DL. We’ll see how long it takes for him to truly master the kick step but he’s big and strong enough to have a chance at guard until that day comes. Big frame, quick feet, good reach, basically a model of what you look for in building an inside zone-based OL.

No. 2 Roschon Johnson

Since breaking down some Roschon Johnson’s junior film I’ve suspected that the QB torch at Texas would likely pass from Sam Ehlinger to the Port Neches-Groves star once no. 11 has moved on from Longhorn football. The qualifications for a Tom Herman QB basically go toughness, football IQ, and then accuracy.

Obviously the QB needs to be able to hit targets in the passing game to make the offense work properly and there’s a baseline of passing game skill that has to be achieved that is always inching higher, but Herman QBs are differentiated moreso by their toughness and understanding of the game then achieving higher levels of skill. The goal of flooding the field with hybrids and hammering home a million versions of inside zone for the OL is to be able to clear up the game for the QB and allow him to get the offense into one of a few concepts that they can execute at a high level and to go hammer mismatches.

Johnson is a smart football player, smarter than was sometimes apparent in his senior year when PNG regularly turned him into a wildcat triggerman that would focus on carrying the rock 20-30 times in order to overpower opponents. The PNG offense was built around a few main concepts, notably the power run game, but they had a million ways to run it and would carry a few opponent-specific versions of their favorite plays into each week with Johnson expected to know how to utilize them to attack opponents. They had RPOs, dropback passes, and then of course the single-wing runs for Roschon that essentially turned him into the feature back.

Check out the workload he logged over three years as the starter for the Indians...

image.png

Obviously Port Neches-Groves wasn’t doing much on offense other than what Johnson could do for them. It’s also notable that his senior team wasn’t as strong either at the skill positions or along the OL where his B12-caliber teammate Jaylen Garth (6-4, 270 pound junior LT) missed most of the season.

Maybe the most impressive stat here was the volume of carries and throws that Johnson was able to log as the feature of the entire offense. Three consecutive seasons with a 230+ carry workload is no joke and is a promising testament to his ability to handle something like 10-15 carries per game or 150 per year while at Texas.

He’ll need to grow as a passer, mostly in terms of mechanics, and will inevitably pack on some helpful weight that pushes him towards 220 or so. The hope will be that he can be a savvy and precise distributor while adding an overwhelming extra dimension as a runner in the option game and on third downs, much like Ehlinger.

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No. 1 Jake Smith

Smith is probably the best talent coming to Texas. The national Gatorade player of the year had a senior year that included 1112 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns along with another 741 rushing yards and 15 more touchdowns. That breakdown is a perfect example of where football is headed, in which the pass sets up the run and hybrids are prized for their abilities in the passing game that set up rushing opportunities.

giphy.gif

One of the funny things about this highlight is that the ball comes out late but Smith is so wide open that it doesn’t matter. With a QB that trusts Smith enough to throw to a spot rather than waiting for the route to break open, this kind of concept becomes pretty much unbeatable without a double team. In the future Texas will probably continue to use slot receivers of the Lil’Jordan Humphrey mold who are matchup problems on the hash marks and who can line up on the line of scrimmage so that Smith can line up off the line.

Imagine a Z receiver that can run vertical routes down the field but also motion in for sweeps and runs, or stack behind the slot and try to get free running down the field. With Smith on the field Texas could have an 11 personnel package in which they motion the RB out and watch a LB chase him before bringing Smith in and forcing the defense to try and play a CB in the box. Or they could start him in the backfield and then motion him out if the defense tries to match him with an LB.

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How this would work would depend on how defenses chose to match up but in this hypothetical, if Smith simply knew how to run tight zone as a RB then they could use that threat to move him around only to move him back out. The defense then has to figure out how to motion into a defense that doesn’t risk a LB chasing Smith and getting demolished on a vertical go route without also surrendering a horrible matchup against Lil’Jordan Humphrey (or another slot).

There’s a lot of possibilities for a hybrid with freak athleticism like Smith. It’s a good bet that his ability to threaten the defense with his ability to score from virtually any position on offense will be one of the most dominant features of an upcoming Texas team.

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Ty Webb

Ty Webb 35

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1 hour ago, Bevo said:

I know it is the day after Christmas but from where is the name derived?

I'm in London right now observing my first Boxing Day. My understanding is that traditionally servants worked on Christmas Day and would receive a gift (box) from their master that they would open the following day when they celebrated with their own family. Now it seems more about shopping and soccer. 

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billfromlaketravis

billfromlaketravis 11,328

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6 minutes ago, Shaggy3.0 said:

Even if we decised to play the bagman game, I’m sure Texas would fuck it up. Our people lack the appropriate street skills. Tom’s office would be all like

1b516a95554502ecaee38fa90ca59292.jpg

Pretty much this. 

I'll counter with Texas grads are so tech savvy, I'm sure they could play the game with crypto currencies. We don't need to cheat, we just need to win. 

 

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Shaggy3.0

Shaggy3.0 1,695

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Mr. Newton, if you want to have your lawyer review and sign off on this first, we completely understand.  We’re structuring this as a consulting agreement, so you’ll be an independent contractor and responsible for your own withholding.

What?  Ain’t going to be no lawyers, taxes or consulting.  I said put $200,000 cash in a bag, leave it on the back porch and don’t tell anyone about it. 

I know, I know, but we ran it by our general counsel and the bean counters, and they had some comments ... you know how that goes.  And I’m glad you mentioned the cash, because we’ve been huddling up here, and we think a much better opportunity would be to roll that over into a REIT or some private equity ventures ...

Fuck it, we are going to Auburn!

 

 

I Texas insiders would hire a consulting firm to assess viability and potential ROI for all “trainers” in TX. A few months later, these consultants would generate an analsysis for Tom’s binder, complete with a Scipio Tex-style narrative to explain all charts and graphs. Another few months will pass until Tom gets the warm and fuzzies about our new strategy. THEN we’d put out a few feelers to see which trainers listed in Tom’s binder will engage us for some money baggin’ fun. Then we get errbody, anybody again. Profit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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texasstrong12

texasstrong12 4,668

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Posted (edited)

SIAP but Herb Hand started following Desmond Bland (Nebraska JUCO commit): 

https://247sports.com/Player/Desmond-Bland-68822/

Also, started following a '19 recruit Ira Henry. 

https://247sports.com/Player/Ira-Henry-46037653/

If we could land somebody like Bland and Justin Murphy I would feel a lot better about the interior OL next year. 

Edited by texasstrong12
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Napoleon

Napoleon 8,589

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1 hour ago, texasstrong12 said:

SIAP but Herb Hand started following Desmond Bland (Nebraska JUCO commit): 

https://247sports.com/Player/Desmond-Bland-68822/

Also, started following a '19 recruit Ira Henry. 

https://247sports.com/Player/Ira-Henry-46037653/

If we could land somebody like Bland and Justin Murphy I would feel a lot better about the interior OL next year. 

Not sure why the "Hard Commit" Desmond Bland didn't sign, but he committed back at the start of June. There must be something up there.
 

That Ira looks like a fit 6'5" 320 lbs, if that photo on his 247 page is somewhat recent.

I've never seen an "Ira" that was over 6', nor over 160 lbs, but this is an Ira I would support giving an offer to and keeping that St. Louis pipeline going.


Why not both?

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bluto

bluto 4,861

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6 hours ago, Napoleon said:

Not sure why the "Hard Commit" Desmond Bland didn't sign, but he committed back at the start of June. There must be something up there.
 

That Ira looks like a fit 6'5" 320 lbs, if that photo on his 247 page is somewhat recent.

I've never seen an "Ira" that was over 6', nor over 160 lbs, but this is an Ira I would support giving an offer to and keeping that St. Louis pipeline going.


Why not both?

Ira Clark was a big man for Texas bball in late 90s

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satyanash

satyanash 14,237

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Horns247 Coffee Corner: Ranking UT commits' in-game performances

As most of you know, I try to see more than 50 games each season. Mission accomplished again this year. However, it’s really tough to get my schedule put together as I have to balance traveling and seeing guys Texas has offered in various classes as opposed to only seeing commits. I also have to prioritize who I’m going to see i.e. major targets or guys nearing a decision. It’s pretty tough, so unfortunately I didn’t get to see every commit in action this year, especially with Texas adding guys late and some suffering injuries. Still, I was able to see 13 off the 23 members of the 2019 class in a live game setting as well as four-star 2020 quarterback commit Hudson Card.

Here they are ranked solely on their in-game performances when I watched them play. This list does not reflect how I would rank them overall.

1. ATH Jordan Whittington, Cuero —Most of you all got to watch on television what I saw live as Whittington racked up close to 400 yards of total offense, scored six touchdowns and recorded 11 tackles en route to setting a state title game record for most rushing yards and leading Cuero to a win over Pleasant Grove. Whittington’s game will go down as one of the best individual title performances in state history.

2. WR Jake Smith, Notre Dame Prep (AZ) — The four-star recruit and one of UT’s highest rated signees put on a show when I went out to Arizona. Smith really blew me away as he recorded 152 yards receiving, 52 yards rushing and scored five total touchdowns in just a little more than a half of play. Smith put up ridiculous numbers all year and was eventually named the National Gatorade Player of the Year.

3. QB Hudson Card, Lake Travis (2020) — Let me preface this by saying it wasn’t against the best competition, but Card had one of the best quarterback performances I’ve ever seen as he completed 18-of-22 passes for 362 yards and seven touchdowns — all in the first half of a blowout win over Weslaco in the third round of the playoffs. Card was accurate, showed great mechanics and carved up an inferior opponent with ease.

4. LB De’Gabriel Floyd, Westlake (Calif.) — Floyd is an absolute freak, man. I actually got to see him twice this year, and he was a dominant force in the middle for his Westlake team. Floyd is extremely physical and moves so well for his size. The dude recorded several tackles in both outings and even returned a kick 75 yards for a touchdown in a close win over Mission Hills (Calif.). Floyd is a monster and will get a chance to play right away at Texas.

5. DL T’Vondre Sweat, Huntsville —Animal. Sweat might not be the highest rated signee, but he sure played like he was. After a good performance when I saw him earlier in the year, Sweat was a terror in the trenches in Huntsville’s thrilling playoff loss to Fort Bend Marshall. Sweat recorded eight tackles, including four for loss, and several quarterback hurries. Sweat looks comfortable at his new playing weight of 285, which is downright scary.

6. S Chris Adimora, Mayfair (Calif.) —Adimora has some of the biggest upside in the class. The dude has only been focused on football for a couple of years and showed off so many flashes of potential in Mayfair’s playoff win over Ayala (Calif.). Adimora notched an interception, decapitated an opposing player and also caught a touchdown while playing wide receiver. Adimora’s versatility is intriguing, and he could get a shot to play right away in the nickel.

7. QB Roschon Johnson, Port Neches-Groves — Johnson battled through injuries throughout the year, but he came through when his team needed him the most as he passed for 88 yards, rushed for 251 yards and scored five total touchdowns in a win over rival Nederland. Johnson is one of the best running quarterbacks I’ve ever seen, but he’s still raw as a passer. Right now, I would liken him to Taysom Hill.

8. S Tyler Owens, Plano East — When I went out to see Owens, I was expecting to see an extremely raw talent with a long way to go. But that wasn’t the case at all. Owens showed elite level ball skills as he notched an interception and improved technique in a win over Prosper. What stood out the most was his closing speed. Owens gets downhill in a hurry and lays the wood. He could be a steal for Texas.

9. CB Kenyatta Watson II, Grayson (GA) — I kind of feel bad for putting Watson this low on the list. He was absolutely phenomenal in a win over a very good Archer team, which was broadcast on national television. Watson just didn’t see much action come his way as he allowed just one catch while playing off man. Watson has the length, speed and athleticism that Texas loves in its cornerbacks.

10. OL Tyler Johnson, Conroe Oak Ridge — The opening line for Watson can also be used here. Johnson played in just one half of a dominant win over Klein Cain. Johnson bullied opposing defenders and served up a couple of pancakes before being rested. Johnson has great brute strength and looks like a prototypical right tackle. He is extremely consistent and a dominant run blocker.

11. RB Derrian Brown, Buford (GA) —There were so many good performances from commits this year. How good? Brown didn’t even crack the Top 10 despite rushing for 164 yards and two touchdowns in just two and a half quarters of play in a victory over Loganville (GA). Brown is a slasher and should be a great compliment to Keaontay Ingram next cycle as long as he adds weight.

12. TE Brayden Liebrock, Chandler (AZ) — Liebrock was also a victim of other great performances. He was superb in his own right when I saw him in the Polynesian Classic this season as he recorded six receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown in Chandler’s 35-21 win over Faith Lutheran (NV). Liebrock is one of the best receiving tight ends in the country.

13. OL Javonne Shepherd, Houston North Forest —Don’t take Shepherd being down on the list as a negative. For him, it’s all about ceiling. Shepherd trimmed down to 315 this fall and looked the part of a dancing bear in a close loss to Navasota. He still needs to polish up his technique, but the size and athleticism are certainly there.

14. WR Kennedy Lewis, Melissa —Lewis caught three passes for 56 yards in a last second loss to Trinity Christian Cedar Hill. The three-star prospect has great speed to go along with his impressive frame. He made one of the best plays I’ve seen all year on a diving catch. But he needs to be more consistent. While he needs time, Lewis has everything you want in an outside wide out.

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utexas8

utexas8 1,433

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Nahlin has written in the past about the need to 'remove the governor' in recruiting. We seem to bow out of most bidding wars.

 

What does remove the governor mean? The actual governor?

 

That’s what I never understood, Texas makes so much money but refuses to outbid like sanders.

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IDIOTsavant

IDIOTsavant 8,434

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Posted (edited)
8 minutes ago, utexas8 said:

 

What does remove the governor mean? The actual governor?

 

That’s what I never understood, Texas makes so much money but refuses to outbid like sanders.

I assume it's as in, I took the restrictor plate off the red dragon, but keep it on the down low. It's not exactly street legal.

Edited by IDIOTsavant
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Schulz2.0

Schulz2.0 28,710

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3 minutes ago, utexas8 said:

 

What does remove the governor mean? The actual governor?

 

That’s what I never understood, Texas makes so much money but refuses to outbid like sanders.

Oddly, there are people in charge of the university that see Texas as an institution of higher learning that also has a football team instead of a football team running a university. 

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