Texas recruiting notes 2019

[closetojumping 62215]

1 hour ago, Machinator said:

He's a good developmental corner. Someone here previously comp'd him to Kobe Boyce, which I agree with. If we don't get him, I trust the staff and Jason Washington can identify and bring in someone similar if we miss on Banks. I'd like to have him, but I don't see it as a major miss if we don't get him.

Pretty sure that was me, but fact check it if you like. My bigger point is simply in support in the thinking behind this post. There's nothing wrong with Banks. He'd be excellent depth at Texas and he could turn into a starter. If he doesn't, he's a good character player with enough athletic skills to compete on special teams and graduate. We're not going to capture an elite CB in Texas for this cycle, mostly because there isn't one, but also, the next best things are either fucktards that shouldn't/won't get offers or they're turned off by our depth chart. We're going out of state at CB and if we don't land the targets, we'll find some projects or certain depth. 

I'd tap the brakes on writing Banks off. You guys put a lot of value in fucking crystal balls. A crystal ball is allegedly supposed to be a prediction of where a player winds up, but they've been bastardized into becoming barometers for where a player might commit. Especially at this time of year. Also, EJ Holland is a fucking twit and he has no clue on what the UT strategy is. They do not give one fuck if Banks decides to commit for some reason to ATM. They'd like to have him, but it needs to make sense in the grand scheme and no single player is going to change their approach, short of a RoJo issue. 

[Tired of Lurking 637]

44 minutes ago, Newy25 said:

Just to be clear, I did not call someone"s dad a faggot. I called the poster outright a faggot. 

Appreciate the shoutout!

[markstanco 12504]

I hate it when yall fight

[South Austin 52128]

5 minutes ago, markstanco said:

I hate it when yall fight

But your mother and father both still love you dearly.

[UncleBuck 6444]

no single player is going to change their approach, short of a RoJo issue. 

 

*gasps

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[futureman 22414]

3 hours ago, Hank Scorpio said:

I'm going to take it as a good sign that the guy who calls people faggots on the internet doesn't think I'm funny. 

shut up, faget 

[BigBenBamboozle 1948]

I’m a nihilist, and I think some of y’all are mean.  Lighten up, Francis.

[Katfid54 8591]

3 minutes ago, BigBenBamboozle said:

I’m a nihilist, and I think some of y’all are mean.  Lighten up, Francis.

At least it's an ethos. 

[futureman 22414]

10 minutes ago, BigBenBamboozle said:

I’m a nihilist, and I think some of y’all are mean.  Lighten up, Francis.

oh, that must be exhausting. 

[ImissWallyPryor 9045]

10 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Obligatory: I checked your mom's box last night and we both felt better.

Grave robber!

[NorLa Horns 1458]

1 hour ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

Grave robber!

Modern day inbalming is the shit nowadays. Lil ky , and it's a dead mommy slip and slide. 

[Funk Doctor Spock 11920]

Holy fuck we need a commitment 

[SquishMitten 10398]

I think he means no history of football players being engineering or similarly rigorous majors. 
But it’s not like there’s piles of engineers on other football teams, either. 

Then you’ve never met Aggy. One of their greatest delusions is that they have a far superior engineering program than us. That lie is stated so matter-of-factly that many Horns even believe it to be true.

[Bigbend1812 12884]

What the hell?  This is worse than the Malik thread.

[billfromlaketravis 11358]

EJ never fails to disappoint in his “After Dark” column. He basically said Aggy has done a better job recruiting Banks and his mother. Zilch about Texas backing off. Nothing about LSU passing. No new or inside information. 

 

Edited May 16, 2018 by billfromlaketravis

[nivek3 83]

Down time between commitments.

[Bevo 13524]

40 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

EJ never fails to disappoint in his “After Dark” column. He basically said Aggy has done a better job recruiting Banks and his mother. Zilch about Texas backing off. Nothing about LSU passing. No new or inside information. 

 

But, he travels around the state and meets guys.

[HenryJames 65887]

1 minute ago, Bevo said:

But, he travels around the state and meets guys.

He meats guys.

[satyanash 14281]

E.J. After Dark

— I switched my Crystal Ball pick from Texas to Texas A&M for four-star cornerback Marcus Banks. This one was a little strange — something that seems to be a constant theme with in-state recruiting this year. UT cornerbacks coach Jason Washington has been working on this recruitment for more than a year, and there isn’t really anything he could have done differently, especially considering the fact that we expected him to commit to Texas in March before he pushed things back. I’ve heard that A&M really made an impression on Banks and his mother, who is playing a huge factor in his recruitment, on their recent official visit. A summer official visit to Texas could turn the tide, but nothing has been set at this time. Washington will see Banks on Friday and is going to continue working on him.

— If Banks does end up siding with Texas A&M, two in-state cornerbacks to know are Oregon commit Marques Caldwell and fast-rising Fort Bend Hightower product Isaiah Essissima. Caldwell visited Texas for junior day and has high interest in the program. If the Longhorns were to offer, they would be in a prime position to flip him. Essissima is an intriguing prospect and has blown up with P5 offers this spring. Washington will also see both on Friday.

— Texas defensive line coach Oscar Giles stopped by Fort Worth Nolan Catholic to see four-star defensive end/outside linebacker NaNa Osafo-Mensah. So where do things stand heading into his weekend decision? While Osafo-Mensah said some great things in the interview our Mike Roach had on the site, we are continuing to hear from those around him that Notre Dame holds the edge. I have my Crystal Ball on the Fighting Irish and am sticking with that pick right now.

— There have been some questions about some grad transfers along the offensive line. I have checked in with a source, and yes, Texas is evaluating some grad transfers up front. While there is nothing substantial to report at this time, don’t be surprised if one or two of the guys remaining on the market turn into real targets.

[satyanash 14281]

1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

EJ never fails to disappoint in his “After Dark” column. He basically said Aggy has done a better job recruiting Banks and his mother. Zilch about Texas backing off. Nothing about LSU passing. No new or inside information. 

 

So far, the idea that we backed off is still technically message-board speculation. E.J. risks alienating the kid by writing that in his report without substantial proof.

And it sounds like a cop-out without context: "Oh, we didn't really want him anyway." He's a kid we don't really mind missing out on, that's not the same as us backing off. The latter implies that there's some issue with the kid, which isn't the case.

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) The Nationalization of Recruiting: How Much Should Texas Recruit Out of State?

A sizable number of Texas football fans believe that the Longhorns need only recruit state of Texas athletes (> 90% or more) to maximize the program, supplementing occasionally with a few legacies, a sprinkling of JUCOs and the random who recruits himself to Texas. Homegrown recruits should certainly form the core of the program, but the perception of a healthy in state vs out of state ratio is skewed by prideful regionalism and a failure to appreciate the level of talent that can be acquired elsewhere. There's also a lack of awareness of the practices of our peer institutions.

Navel-gazing is a bad idea that ignores the current realities of college football. I'd put a healthier number at around 30% or more for out of state athletes. And our talent abundant peers offer us some insight as to why...

How Do Other Talent Abundant Peers Recruit?

Any college coach would give a pinky toe to have Texas as their recruiting base. They'd offer the same to be placed in Florida, Southern California, Georgia or Ohio. Obviously at a primary (or the only) football school in each. The reason is local talent. Unsurprisingly, these five states comprise the Top 5 producers of NFL talent. Conveniently, Texas has six major college football peers anchored in comparable talent enclaves: Florida, Florida State, Miami, USC, Georgia and Ohio State. They're useful, if imperfect, comparators for examining out-of-state vs in-state recruiting emphasis.

I omit Pennsylvania (Penn State), Louisiana (LSU) and Alabama (Saban U) from this analysis, despite abundant talent (the states are ranked 6th-8th in NFL talent) and the fact that each school greatly enhances my argument. Louisiana and Alabama have fantastic top line talent and significantly outperform Texas per capita in NFL players, but there's a volume issue. Like LSU in Louisiana, Penn State is the only Pennsylvania game in town, but again, volume. I had to cut it off somewhere. Besides I don't want to win THAT easily. 

How do the six schools I selected attack out-of-state recruiting? Here's a two year data trend from these schools (and that trend holds beyond two years) with respect to out-of-state vs in-state recruiting. The first number is signed OOS recruits, the second is overall class size, followed by percentages:

2017

Ohio St 14/21, 67% OOS
FSU 12/24, 50% OOS
USC 10/24, 41.7% OOS
Miami 9/24, 37.5% OOS
Georgia 9/25, 36% OOS
Florida 6/23, 26.1% OOS

Total 60/141, 42.6% OOS

2018

Ohio St 21/26, 80.8% OOS
FSU 12/21, 57.1% OOS
Florida 9/19, 47.4% OOS
Georgia 11/26, 42.3% OOS
USC 6/18, 33.3%
Miami 5/23, 21.7%

Total 64/133, 48.1% OOS

The above twelve total classes range in national ranking from #1 to #14, so we're not dealing with anyone totally bombing and queering the data in any direction. Half of the classes were Top 5 or better. Eight of these 12 classes were Top 8 or better and the overall mean was a #6.5 national ranking. This is elite recruiting, by any reasonable standard. 

Ohio State is not a misprint. Ohio State, despite being the only real football option in a populous football mad state that has around 80 active NFL players recruits 74% of its talent from out of state, with an emphasis on Texas and Florida elites. That's unprecedented in Ohio State football history, as you might guess. Urban Meyer could easily recruit more than half of his team from home and still win the Big 10, but he's trying to win titles, not be a regional bully. For the purposes of my argument, this is a dunk from the free throw line. If you don't like my dunks and just want to throw Ohio State out altogether... just because... the overall percentages still sit at 38.3% in 2017 and 40.2% in 2018 for remaining peers.

These are all teams that should be content, at least theoretically, to eat their meals at home. But they like take out. The composition of the classes suggests that they all go after each other pretty hard in addition to adding players from places as disparate as Hawaii, North Carolina, Illinois, Iowa and Texas. Georgia/Florida state crossover recruiting (pitched battles between Georgia, FSU, Florida for the same recruits with Alabama, LSU, Ohio St and Clemson also weighing in) is a well understood phenomenon (and why I argue to Go West) and can influence the numbers, but that doesn't explain the stubbornness to contest across distant state borders when they have many solid in-state options. Nor does it explain USC (probably UT's best pure peer comparator by geography/talent comps) taking 38% of its crop from out of state when the Trojans are almost unchallenged in a football talent hotbed. Or consider that Kirby Smart locked down 2017/2018 Georgia elites with his #1 and #3 nationally ranked recruiting classes while still taking nearly 40% of his class from out of state.

These programs are interested in player distributions. Not state geography. Hyper localism is dead. More than ever, ambitious coaches know where and what talent is available. It also demonstrates the national (or at least super regional) nature of recruiting when locality once reigned. Notre Dame always lived in this world, but we're seeing aggressive out of state recruiting from schools already located in talent enclaves. It's a function of TV, social media, super conferences, expanded analytics staff, easy initial scouting via HUDL, Youtube and ESPN combine testing and easy travel options.

Texas isn't immune from these trends despite protestations to the contrary and our belief that we're a unique special snowflake immune to the laws of the Recruitocosm and football physics. The fortunate few in college football located in talent rich areas are trying to expand their world, not retreat into it. Expand your football universe or be marginalized.

In Part II, I'll dig into the state of Texas, Tom Herman's approach (spoiler: we're recruiting OOS, people) and how Mack Brown skewed Texas fan's understanding of the current reality.

[Fud 9545]

10 minutes ago, satyanash said:

— I switched my Crystal Ball pick from Texas to Texas A&M for four-star cornerback Marcus Banks. This one was a little strange — something that seems to be a constant theme with in-state recruiting this year. UT cornerbacks coach Jason Washington has been working on this recruitment for more than a year, and there isn’t really anything he could have done differently, especially considering the fact that we expected him to commit to Texas in March before he pushed things back. I’ve heard that A&M really made an impression on Banks and his mother, who is playing a huge factor in his recruitment, on their recent official visit. A summer official visit to Texas could turn the tide, but nothing has been set at this time. Washington will see Banks on Friday and is going to continue working on him.

Interesting

[texifornia 56488]

5 minutes ago, satyanash said:

So far, the idea that we backed off is still technically message-board speculation. E.J. risks alienating the kid by writing that in his report without substantial proof.

And it sounds like a cop-out without context: "Oh, we didn't really want him anyway." He's a kid we don't really mind missing out on, that's not the same as us backing off. The latter implies that there's some issue with the kid, which isn't the case.

Not sure it's backed off as much as LSU and us tried to slow play and aggy came in full-bore. Not a big loss either way.

And yeah, relentlessly parroting the party line is how EJ keeps his sources with kids/trainers.

[Fud 9545]

7 minutes ago, satyanash said:

So far, the idea that we backed off is still technically message-board speculation. E.J. risks alienating the kid by writing that in his report without substantial proof.

From the outside looking in, it was mentioned as a possibility, which it was. He could have had a hard timeline for his commitment, and it was plausible that the staff wasn't ready to take his commitment yet. However, Jason Washington continuing to recruit him dispels that notion. 

[utfan87 406]

2 minutes ago, Fud said:

From the outside looking in, it was mentioned as a possibility, which it was. He could have had a hard timeline for his commitment, and it was plausible that the staff wasn't ready to take his commitment yet. However, Jason Washington continuing to recruit him dispels that notion. 

Jason continuing to recruit him doesn't mean that we suddenly are ready to take his commitment. You must keep a guy warm if you think you'll comeback to him later, it's all about the long game. 

[Fud 9545]

4 minutes ago, utfan87 said:

Jason continuing to recruit him doesn't mean that we suddenly are ready to take his commitment. You must keep a guy warm if you think you'll comeback to him later, it's all about the long game. 

To me, it's a sign that they still think of him as a top target, even if it's obvious that something "little strange — something that seems to be a constant theme with in-state recruiting this year" is going on which led to him cancelling his OV to Texas and essentially shutting down his recruitment 

But I've been wrong before 

[billfromlaketravis 11358]

10 minutes ago, Fud said:

To me, it's a sign that they still think of him as a top target, even if it's obvious that something "little strange — something that seems to be a constant theme with in-state recruiting this year" is going on which led to him cancelling his OV to Texas and essentially shutting down his recruitment 

But I've been wrong before 

Pretty classic EJ hedge, I wouldn't read too much into it. 

[billfromlaketravis 11358]

19 minutes ago, utfan87 said:

Jason continuing to recruit him doesn't mean that we suddenly are ready to take his commitment. You must keep a guy warm if you think you'll comeback to him later, it's all about the long game. 

This. Perhaps "backed off" wasn't the best phrasing for me to use. Texas and Banks appear to be on different timelines. Banks wants to commit soon, this summer, while Texas wants to keep him warm and see what's out there. If they have one spot left for a corner, they should be highly selective. 

Texas has asked Banks to move his official visit twice. That doesn't scream priority to me. 

LSU "backing off" Banks raises some eyebrows. Aranda and Raymond know how to evaluate and they desperately need corners. 

[Fud 9545]

4 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

LSU "backing off" Banks raises some eyebrows. Aranda and Raymond know how to evaluate and they desperately need corners. 

LSU thinks they're getting Hampton, Stingley and Bush, they think they're in the running for Blades, they thought that they were in the running for Steele, and they have a lot of decent plan-b options in-state and in the region

[billfromlaketravis 11358]

5 minutes ago, Fud said:

LSU thinks they're getting Hampton, Stingley and Bush, they think they're in the running for Blades, they thought that they were in the running for Steele, and they have a lot of decent plan-b options in-state and in the region

How did that epic corner recruiting haul go for LSU last cycle? 

They need corners. Period. 

[utfan87 406]

I still have a feeling we are in it for Steele and I would bet he visits right after the fourth of July 

[Pato del Muerto 52338]

Maybe whichever school doesn’t get stingley has banks tabbed as next in line.  If Texas is as honest with recruiting as has been told on here, they would have told banks that.  Maybe he doesn’t want to wait, or want to be 3rd choice behind Watson and stingley. It’s pretty fluid. 

[Fud 9545]

16 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

How did that epic corner recruiting haul go for LSU last cycle? 

They need corners. Period. 

Sure, and they think they're getting them. I was just pointing out that they think that they're in on a lot of top corners. 

[Fud 9545]

6 minutes ago, utfan87 said:

I still have a feeling we are in it for Steele and I would bet he visits right after the fourth of July 

Now that we're starting to target the Southern Cal area more, our fans who follow recruiting probably need to learn to not get their hopes up for USC feeder school kids who USC has prioritized. This includes Steele, who didn't include us in his top eight recently. 

Other Souther Cal, or kids in that region from Arizona or LV are fair game though 

 

[Orange&White 5516]

9 hours ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

Grave robber!

[Machinator 32097]

IT on Banks:

We did some checking on this, and what I can say is this is one of the more odd turns I've seen a recruitment take.

We know Banks gets really excited on his visits. This is why we told everyone to temper expectations after his UT puppy love Twitter spree.

We also know LSU backed off the gas, seemingly leaving the door wide open for UT. 

What we don't know is why Banks re-scheduled then cancelled his Texas official visit. Texas has not backed off recruiting him. Washington will see him this week, in fact. 

Given how effusive Banks has been regarding his fondness for Washington, this whole scenario is quite odd. Recruiting is about relationships, right? Usually, but now it appears A&M is the leader and Texas could even be behind others like LSU and Bama. 

Banks has said he'll announce his intentions at The Opening in Dallas at the end of June or early July. If he doesn't visit UT before then one would think the writing is on the wall.

Like I said, odd.

We'll go into a little more depth in the Humidor if we can.

In the meantime, Texas will monitor other options like Alvin's Marques Caldwell. The 6-footer visited Texas earlier in the spring and has always been high on Texas despite his Oregon commitment. Good player. At one point I thought he was 2018 and still liked him.

Edited May 16, 2018 by Machinator

[irishtexan 11445]

Hmmmm. Weird. I wonder what's going on? 

 

[SydneyCarton 47846]

Yes. What could it possibly be that is going on? So strange.

[Machinator 32097]

Yes, quite strange that a bunch of SEC schools are suddenly ahead of Texas.

[irishtexan 11445]

You mean one SEC school. The State's only premier 4th-place SEC West football team. 

[TrojanPrincess 26]

53 minutes ago, Fud said:

Now that we're starting to target the Southern Cal area more, our fans who follow recruiting probably need to learn to not get their hopes up for USC feeder school kids who USC has prioritized. This includes Steele, who didn't include us in his top eight recently. 

Other Souther Cal, or kids in that region from Arizona or LV are fair game though 

 

This player's recruitment has followed the recruitment of Adoree' Jackson to a "T".  Chris talks to the coaches daily, has been on campus so much, he's on first name basis with security and everyone in McKay.

he recently said that the biggest draw to a school is not focused on football and relationships with other players, he wants to establish long term relationships with alums outside of football, surrounded by future leaders/owners of big corporations "the next Bill Gates"

sounds like a big city guy filled with USC alums.

[victory88 5654]

Yeah we should drop the Chris Steele talk.  That guyshas yet to visit Texas and is committing soon.  

As far as Banks goes, who knows... but he's not an elite guy.  Like someone else mentioned, he's more like Kobe Boyce... a guy you take for depth and try to develop.  He's Texas good but there are definitely better prospects out there.  The Mack Brown regime would have taken his commitment where as Herman and staff will take their chances trying to find guys that are better.  I really like this approach.  There will be more guys we can choose from if we can't find someone better than Banks.  Also, watch his camp videos... he didn't do very well out there against the WRs.  

[UT Lawnghorn 758]

 EJ is doing his best to make it obvious without coming out and saying it. I can only imagine how the 247 base took that. I'm sure there's about 100 posters asking EJ what he means by strange.

This was a guarantee to happen as soon as Jimbo was hired. It's how he operated at FSU and why he pulled so many IMG kids.  Go look at the recruitment of Shavar Manuel in 2016. It has "strange" written all over it.

 

[irishtexan 11445]

It's just so curious that dudes who have been all-Texas and on-campus multiple times go to College Station once and shut things down. It must be the allure of College Station, Texas and that small-town college life that these kids are drawn to. RIght? That's gotta be it.

[GotThatFire 166]

Strange as in “paying for recruits”, or strange as in “letting recruits dump their load up Candi’s ass in exchange for commitments”?

[ShowmeyourTDs 1140]

7 minutes ago, UT Lawnghorn said:

 EJ is doing his best to make it obvious without coming out and saying it. I can only imagine how the 247 base took that. I'm sure there's about 100 posters asking EJ what he means by strange.

This was a guarantee to happen as soon as Jimbo was hired. It's how he operated at FSU and why he pulled so many IMG kids.  Go look at the recruitment of Shavar Manuel in 2016. It has "strange" written all over it.

 

Well, kids do like Candi.

[Pato del Muerto 52338]

8 minutes ago, GotThatFire said:

Strange as in “paying for recruits”, or strange as in “letting recruits dump their load up Candi’s ass in exchange for commitments”?

I doubt they are forced to choose.  

[Lonestar88 4585]

38 minutes ago, UT Lawnghorn said:

 EJ is doing his best to make it obvious without coming out and saying it. I can only imagine how the 247 base took that. I'm sure there's about 100 posters asking EJ what he means by strange.

This was a guarantee to happen as soon as Jimbo was hired. It's how he operated at FSU and why he pulled so many IMG kids.  Go look at the recruitment of Shavar Manuel in 2016. It has "strange" written all over it.

 

Jordan Whittington's brother went on twitter months ago and basically said it. 

[Machinator 32097]

TFB Open Post: http://texas.thefootballbrainiacs.com/2018/05/open-post-wednesday-may-16th/

– I was able to exchange a few messages with recent 2019 WR offer Mycah Pittman, out of Calabasas (CA).

As Andrew previously noted, Pittman does have some connections with the Longhorn program as UT commit DeGabriel Floyd played on his 7on7 team, as did 2020 QB target, Bryce Young, who has taken three trips to Texas over the past few months and is high on Texas.

Mycah told me he was offered in a phone call with Wide Receivers coach Drew Mehringer. When I asked if Texas would be a program that would get a good long look, he replied “All schools which have given me an opportunity will get a serious look.”

He also mentioned that he is trying to set up a visit to Texas, saying “Im going to try to get out there, it would most likely be an official if it happens.”

When I asked him what his initial thoughts were about Texas, he said “Great program and facilities, and they’ve gotten a lot of recent commits.”

The last question I was able to ask him was if he has a timeline for his commitment or a top list right now, and he replied “I’m basically playing it by feel.”

We will continue to keep you updated on his recruitment. – (Charlie)

– This past weekend, Texas made the top six for 2019 WR, Marcus Washington (St. Louis, MO). Other schools making the top six were Oregon, Ohio State, Missouri, Georgia and FSU.

You haven’t heard much about Washington because he’s a bit out of the area but Texas has been high on Washington for a while. It sounds like they will finally get their chance to get Washington on campus.

Washington tells me he will take an official to Texas on June 19th.

Washington actually reminds me of Garrett Wilson. I’ve seen Washington in person. He’s got the kind of build I like in a wide receiver, a perfect 100 m sprinter build. He’s quick and fast. Comes off the ball hard and low and like Wilson, he has fantastic feet and wins the 50/50 ball.

None of Texas competition here is regional outside of Missouri. They need to win this battle. – (Super K)

– There has been discussion on if East (UT) OT Junior Angilau would enroll at Texas this summer since before he even signed with the Longhorns. The other option is him taking a two-year mission and enrolling at Texas in 2020.

I talked to a source close to him and he told me “He should be enrolling in a few weeks” at Texas and that he’s delaying his mission right now. That would be HUGE news for Texas as Angilau was the highest rated OL signee in the Longhorns 2018 class. He could either play guard or tackle in Austin.

We will keep you up to date in regards to this situation. – (Andrew)

– Last month, 2019 DE, Zach Williams (Little Rock, AR), took an unofficial visit down to Texas and picked up an offer from the Longhorns.

I spoke with Williams’ head coach, coach Maupin, who is someone I’ve known for a while and someone who has seen quite a few great players come through his program.

In terms of size, Maupin tells me that Williams is a true 6’4 and is a lean 220 lbs with a frame that will comfortably carry 260 lbs in college. On film you see the size and the first step, but you also see the violent hands, and the ability to redirect and chase down the quarterback. Coach Maupin says, “he can do it all on the field and off the field he’s a great great kid. Solid kid and solid family”.

Williams also has the pedigree. He’s the son of former Arkansas linebacker Rickey Williams, who played during the old SWC days. When coach Maupin said that, I probably had the same reaction you’re having right now…he’s going to Arkansas.

Coach Maupin says that is obviously a good possibility given his pedigree and the fact that he’s in-state but says it’s by no means a forgone conclusion, “Dad wants to support Zach. Arkansas is a big draw and they were first to offer. But Dad is letting him go through the process and his dad has even been surprised on the visits. He’s been surprised by other schools and what’s all out there”.

In fact Zach has already been on unofficial visits to Alabama, Florida, TCU, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Texas, and Mississippi State, just to name a few. But the Texas visit was the most recent and it seems the Horns made a heck of an impression.

“He came back from Texas and said they’re number one. I was shocked. He loved it. He said it was like Bama but more modern. He loved the facilities and coach Giles”.

Coach Maupin says he doesn’t believe living in Arkansas is a big draw for Zach, but knows that Arkansas is still a tough out given Zach’s many connections to the program. But Texas did what they needed to do to give themselves a punchers chance in this one.

Next up for Williams, he will take an unofficial visit to Oklahoma. – (Super K)

[Scholz 11933]

Just now, Lonestar88 said:

Jordan Whittington's brother went on twitter months ago and basically said it. 

Yeah, it's not an if anymore.