24/7 saying A&M may offer soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Needs More Bourbon
Printable View
24/7 saying A&M may offer soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Needs More Bourbon
And it caused a hilarious meltdown on the Aggie site.Quote:
Originally Posted by TFloss32
GREAT READ on CHARLIE STRONG with Bergeron Update
One of the byproducts of a head football coach who has a full sweat going by 6 am every day (because of a 6-mile run at 4:30 am), is the coach having a constant presence in a 6 am study hall for roughly a dozen players last semester.
So when the entire team wasn’t working out at 6 am, there were heads in books at 6 am, and Strong and his coaches were right there with them.
With finals completed last week, the results of those 6 am study halls and a coaching staff willing to invest that same time, side by side, appear to have paid off in all the right ways.
Players considered on the fence as far as buy-in dating to last year – players whose names are well known because of previous academic or off-field turbulence – Daje Johnson, Desmond Harrison, Kennedy Estelle and Jalen Overstreet – all turned in strong spring semesters.
And Joe Bergeron, who may have questioned authority at every turn in the past, now seems to realize Charlie Strong and his coaching staff aren’t just talk. The word is Bergeron has so turned around his attitude and approach - to everything - after last semester that coaches expect him to be a team leader.
That may sound like fluff. But Bergeron had a reputation as a locker room lawyer, a guy whose anger might cause his mouth to get him trouble - especially with coaches.
The sense when Bergeron was basically excused from football by Strong to focus on his academics during spring football was Bergeron could bolt. Transfer. Even though he’s going into his senior year.
Strong wasn’t going to let that happen. Not if Bergeron truly wanted to listen. And Bergeron wanted to listen.
Strong has said he can’t count how many times he’s had black players in his coaching career who were not used to male authority - away from home - because those players were raised in a single-parent household by their mother.
Getting those players to understand why they might resist men telling them what to do is another matter. And that’s why Strong himself spends so much time around his players, pushing, prodding, dictating, teasing, laughing but ultimately listening.
They have to know he cares. He and his staff, led by strength coach Pat Moorer, are going to move the finish line in terms of grind, sweat and expectations. But because of the personal investment by Strong and his staff, the players know all the tough love is to improve a kid’s life. Not his football. His life.
Strong doesn’t harp on making sure kids are in class and paying attention as some form of punishment (when other students at UT may skip classes on a whim).
At his other coaching stops - at Notre Dame and South Carolina under Lou Holtz, at Florida under Ron Zook and Urban Meyer and as head coach at Louisville - players eventually find out Strong’s mission is a personal one to give players the tools for a successful life - whether or not they ever make it as a football player.
And Strong doesn’t let up. The 6 am study halls aren’t a shitty part of the job for him. It’s the most important part of the job for him. When Shawn Watson told me Strong “parents” his players. This is the tough love aspect of the job where Strong wins the hearts and minds of his players by going into their personal foxhole.
No one wants to go to a 6 am study hall. But in that time before sunrise, player and coach are getting to know each other in ways neither expected. The player’s bullshit excuses are exposed for what they are. But if the coach exposes it in a way that pushes, pulls but ultimately praises the player, then the player knows it’s real.
In the end, that player will go through hell for that coach. And if he ultimately makes a decision that leads to failure, that player will know he not only failed himself, but he failed someone who went all in to help improve that player’s life. Not his football. His life.
I absolutely love Strong's approach, I really hope it translates to success as he could be here for several years and become the next great coach at Texas.
Update on Ennis DE James Lockhart
If Mack Brown and his staff were still in charge at Texas, four-star defensive end James Lockhart (Ennis, Texas) thinks things would be drastically different between he and the Longhorns.
As it stands, UT has a commitment from rising star Charles Omenihu (Rowlett, Texas) and is in the market for at least one, possibly two more defensive ends.
But with plenty of attention spreading to other prospects (Takkarist McKinley and Motekiai Maile), Lockhart doesn’t feel like he’s receiving the attention he believes he should warrant if Texas is serious about him.
“The relationship with the new coaching staff is a little different,” he said. “I know when Mack Brown was there they recruited me harder than they do now. I know last week they were in town. They came and watched me practice. But as far as talking with them, I talk to them very rarely now.”
The reason for this is lost on Lockhart, the No. 75 player in the country, who stands 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds.
“I really don’t know. I have met Coach [Charlie] Strong during the offseason,” he said. “He came and met me, he and Coach [Bruce] Chambers. I hear other commitments from UT say that the coaching staff loves me, and they think highly of me, but I really don’t talk to them much. I used to talk to them like crazy.”
The good news for Texas is Lockhart hasn’t begun to narrow things down yet, and the Longhorns are still very much in the mix.
“I know they have a defensive end committed there already,” he said. “I’m not trying to brag but he’s not ranked as high as I am. I don’t know what the case is. I don’t know if they feel like they can’t get me. I don’t know. I’m interested in Texas. I haven’t narrowed anything down. But it’s just if they aren’t going to show me interest I will move on. I have other options.”
And not just any options but life-changing options. In addition to Texas, Lockhart has offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas State, Miami, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn State, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Washington State.
“All the smaller schools are starting to back off and the bigger schools are taking a toll,” Lockhart said. “I talk to Alabama a lot, A&M a lot, Florida State a lot. All these big time schools are starting to come in and recruit me really hard.”
All of this attention has only made Lockhart hungrier to be the best. He’s not satisfied with being the top-rated DE in the state of Texas, he wants that No. 1 spot in the country (currently 10th).
“I’m not satisfied. To tell you the truth, I don’t think I’m at my full potential right now,” he said. “I see so much room for improvement. I just think I’m decent. I’m very critical and hard on myself.
“Let’s talk numbers real quick. Last season I had 122 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 21 QB pressures and three forced fumbles. To tell you the truth, that’s really nothing. I’m going to go out and work harder than I ever have and try to go out with a bang my senior year.”
Perhaps that will entice Texas to go after him harder than he says it is. Or not. Either way, Lockhart is all in on trying to become the best player he can be.
And while he hasn’t narrowed anything down just yet, he gets the sense that he’ll do so sooner rather than later considering all the commitments that are happening right now.
“It’s hard. I want to take my official visits,” he said. “But, at the same time, once football season is here, I’m really gambling. Really I’m gambling as it is right now. The end of your junior season is when people start to commit. On top of that, knock on wood, but if I get hurt then there goes a bunch of offers. I’m not doing this intentionally. I really don’t have an idea where I want to go. I have a general idea. But I want to take some visits.”
That includes another visit to UT and then to “Arkansas, Alabama and Florida State.”
“I’ll try to commit in August,” he said. “If not I’ll commit when I play in an All-American game.”
Update on Cy Ridge WR Kemah Siverand
There’s been plenty of Internet fodder about four-star wide receiver Kemah Siverand (Houston/Cy Ridge) and his desire to stay in Texas for college, particularly at either UT or Texas A&M.
When asked to confirm or dispel those rumors, Siverand answered like a veteran recruit who’d been through this a time or two before.
“I don’t want to say that there’s no truth,” he said. “Texas and Texas A&M, I like both schools but there are things I have to look at. You can’t base your decision on just making it in your home state. There are plenty of opportunities outside of the state too.”
So there’s one way of looking at it. Both rivals are in good shape but there could be opportunities outside of the state’s borders that interest him enough.
However, when pressed a bit more about his comfort level with leaving the state of Texas for college you get a sense for where his allegiances really are.
“I don’t have any issues, really,” he said of going out of state for school. “But you never know how that experience is going to be once you actually get to that school. I could enjoy a visit but it’s not always going to be like that.”
Texas, for one, is making it hard for him to leave. As one of the Longhorns main receiving targets, UT is putting a full court press on the 6-foot, 180-pound playmaker. But they are not alone.
“Texas came by last week on Wednesday,” he said. “That day, Arizona State came, Texas A&M was there, TCU was there, and Maryland was there too. All these fingers are pointed at you. You can’t please everybody. It’s hard dealing with all that attention.”
Siverand said he’s been to Texas and Texas A&M too many times to count. He mentioned he’d visited UT’s campus at least five times, including twice for Texas Relays and then at least three or four unofficial visits with his parents and coaches. But there are other schools he needs to visit before he really begins to narrow things down.
“As far as new schools, I just got offered by Washington,” he said. “That went pretty well when I spoke to the coaches. Like I’ve said, I’m just trying to build relationships with these coaches. For the most part I just need to try and get up there and see what the feel is. If I’m going to spend the next three to five years of my life somewhere it has to feel like home.
“I’ve already been to all the schools here in the state except for Baylor and TCU. Baylor just mentioned to me that they wouldn’t be recruiting me because they are stacked at receiver. I’m going to have to visit Texas Tech too. I haven’t visited them yet.”
Aside from a pass-heavy offense, Siverand is hoping to find a coaching staff he can feel at home with and one he feels will be there through the entirety of his career.
“I need a coaching staff that’s going to stay there for my time,” he said. “Because once that coaching staff leaves everything messes up because I wont have the same recruiter, the same position coach, etc. A lot of things get messed up.”
In addition to Texas, Texas A&M, and Washington, Siverand has offers from Arkansas, Louisville, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest.
Texas offered Skyline WR Carlos Strickland.
http://247sports.com/Player/Carlos-Strickland-28086
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1421354/carlos-strickland
On the phone with Coach Strong getting his offer...Quote:
Originally Posted by Needs More Bourbon
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BoSY0K3IcAA2qsX.jpg
love his first step, full speed in 3 steps, and I've never seen that many pancake blocks from a WR in his highlights lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Needs More Bourbon
Oregon offered ex-UT commit CB Jalen Campbell yesterday.
I'd say early enrollee or picking an all-star game.Quote:
Originally Posted by Needs More Bourbon
Per 24/7, Texas is picking up their efforts with LB Clay Johnston of Abilene Wylie.
He is scheduled to be in Austin at the end of the month or for the June summer camp.
http://247sports.com/Player/Clay-Johnston-44697
Pic of RB Jordan Stevenson from Dallas South Oak Cliff's spring game last night:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BoSNEvPIAAAp5hD.jpg:large
Update on JUCO DE Takkarist McKinley of Contra Costa CC in San Pablo, CA (OrangeBloods):
"Each school that offers me, I try to do my research on them, see how it fits me. Out of high school I signed with Cal and I kind of rushed into things. I want to take it slow, see what every school has to say, take my time with it."
"Cal was close to home, 10, 15 minutes. I felt like Cal was a great fit for me. I was from a small-town school, they offered me and five minutes later I called them back to commit. Now I want to take things slower."
"Those are Big 12 schools. Texas has an amazing coaching staff with coach Strong and coach Bedford, all of them. I feel he's going to change Texas back to their national championship days. At Louisville, he had one of the best defensive ends picked in first round of the draft. If he can progress a quarterback into a first-round draft pick, he's doing something right," McKinley said. "At Oklahoma, that's just Oklahoma. They beat Bama in their bowl game. To get offered by them is an amazing experience."
"That's kind of what I ask the coaches, what about your depth chart. Are there any seniors leaving or any upcoming freshman? I know at Texas they have Cedric Reed, by the time I go there he would be gone, so it would be a battle," McKinley said. "I don't want anything to be given to me, I'll have to earn my spot. All I want is an opportunity and I think I'd get that at Texas."
Per OrangeBloods, JUCO DE Quincy Vasser of Navarro College has said Texas will be one of his official visits despite being committed to Georgia.
Brian Perroni says JW Ketchum will play QB for Houston Lamar today at the 7-on-7 tournament in Houston. I guess we can say that's where Ketchum ends up after his troubles at Fort Bend Marshall.
Signed with SDSU.Quote:
Originally Posted by Needs More Bourbon
That's why recruiting is such a bitch to follow anymore. Nobody is legit these days. Only good to follow in late January up to signing day.Quote:
Originally Posted by playblair
Is this about Stevenson, Omenihu or Weathersby?
justinwells2424: Which Texas commit might be wavering? He's right here: http://insidetexas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49820 … ($) #HookEm
Omenihu, but no info other than the tweet by Rowlett HS.Quote:
Originally Posted by Needs More Bourbon
24/7 saying both OL Madison Akamnonu and OL Garrett Thomas will be in town this weekend.
I have found over time the kids with the biggest mouths tend to be the ones that do the least and are more likely to waiver on their commitment.