2011 Texas Longhorn Recruiting

[TFloss32]

Jerry Gray also stopped at South Houston HS last night to check on 2011 CB Leroy Scott. He also wanted to meet 2012 CB Kenneth Marshall (he's been rumored to be an OU lean for a long time).

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...Marshall-99671

[TFloss32]

Big news of the morning is on 2011 DE Brandon Alexander of Brenham. Rumors have been rampant that he's already informed members of the Texas staff, UT players and high school teammates that he's going to be a Longhorn. It obviously hasn't been confirmed, but UT apparently made an incredible impression on him over the weekend considering they had major ground to make up on other schools (especially A&M). A&M had their in-home visit yesterday and Mack Brown will be at Brenham HS today. Now, the non-Longhorns who read this thread will probably roll their eyes at me and think I'm biased when I say this, but when Coach Brown visits high schools it's a big deal. It's basically mini-celebrity status. I've read numerous accounts of schools literally shutting down when he comes to visit a recruit. Brown makes it a point to visit with the principals, teachers, coaches, etc. and time is always set aside for autographs and pictures. I don't expect anything less when he strolls into Brenham HS this morning. It reminds me a lot of when he visited Plano West HS in 2010 to see DE Jackson Jeffcoat. Brown's visit will go a long way in UT's recruitment of Alexander (especially when Alexander sees how Brown is treated by everyone) and Texas rarely fails to come out on top in a situation like this. It's also important that 2012 DT Malcom Brown and 2012 LB Tim Cole will be at school to witness this visit. I'm sure Coach Brown will make it a point to sit down with them too. It's imperative that Texas maintains their pipeline to Brenham HS with even stronger classes of players coming down the pipe in the next two to three years.

[TFloss32]

If you already read the report above, I meant to say Mack Brown will be at Brenham HS today (Wednesday). I keep thinking today is Tuesday. I changed it above.

[TFloss32]

Bo Davis was in San Antonio yesterday to talk with 2011 DT Quincy Russell. He also made a point to visit with 2012 DT Javonte Magee. Magee is thought to be a lock for an offer from UT and it helps that Russell is already in the mix for the Longhorns. Magee will be at Baylor's Junior Day this weekend. There's no word yet on when he'll decide to commit to a school. It's worthy to note that he's not a native Texan. He's a transplant from Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina. He's never been definitive about a favorite school, but things may change if SEC schools come calling.

[TFloss32]

Here's a cool write-up from Recruitocosm predicting the 2012 class:

http://recruitocosm.fantake.com/2011...s-by-position/


*Starting to read that 2011 DE Brandon Alexander could commit to Texas as early as today. Hopefully we'll hear some good news later this afternoon once Mack Brown leaves Brenham HS.

[TFloss32]

UPDATE: Manny Diaz, Bo Davis and Oscar Giles are all at Brenham HS as well. Looks like UT is throwing the kitchen sink at Alexander today.

[TFloss32]

Stacy Searels went to visit 2011 OL Spencer Drango of Cedar Park HS yesterday. Drango is a four-star talent and not necessarily considered to be better than guys currently on board, but he is a D1 prospect with good size who's currently committed to Baylor. No word if Texas is going to offer yet.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...r-Drango-87848

[TFloss32]

A couple of updates and reminders:

*The in-home visit with 2011 DE Brandon Alexander went as expected and Texas is thought to have a significant lead in his recruitment. With that said, Alexander is going to honor his official visits to Baylor today and Arkansas over the weekend. Hopefully we'll hear some good news by the time he gets back to Brenham.

*Sounds like 2011 OL Spencer Drango of Cedar Park is seriously considering Texas' idea of him becoming a Longhorn. Drango's father mentioned that they'll use the next few days to talk about things as a family before deciding on an official visit to UT. Drango is apparently struggling with this decision because while UT is his dream school, he wants to remain loyal to Baylor as he's been committed to them since July. This one will develop quickly since National Signing Day is less than a week away and there's no time to mess around.

*Mack Brown will be making his East Texas tour today. He'll stop off in Carthage to see 2011 LB Kendall Thompson, Daingerfield to visit 2011 LB Steve Edmond and lastly Hallsville to see 2011 OL Josh Cochran.

*Also a reminder that 2012 QB Connor Brewer of Chaparral HS in Scottsdale, Arizona will be in Austin this weekend for an unofficial visit. He mentioned he's excited to meet with Bryan Harsin in person and says he plans on talking with him a lot throughout his recruitment. He's also looking forward to more of an extended visit compared to his first time in Austin back on October 30th when he was in town for the UT/Baylor game.

[TFloss32]

Stacy Searels stopped by Athens HS this morning to visit with 2012 ATH Kendall Sanders. No word yet if he's been invited to Junior Days, but I assume Searels being there is a good sign that Texas will be pursuing him. He's likely to be projected as a defensive back in college.

[TFloss32]

I'm taking 2012 DE Mario Edwards, Jr. of Denton Ryan off of the Junior Day list because it's been stated that he won't be attending ANY Junior Days for ANY school. He's familiar with Mack Brown and the UT program so I wouldn't worry about it at this point. This one is a Texas/Florida State battle all the way.

[TFloss32]

We have our second legitimate out-of-state prospect on the board for the 2012 class. Stacy Searels has extended a Junior Day invite and verbal offer (dependent upon him showing up in Austin) to the following player:

OL, D.J. Humphries, Mallard Creek (Charlotte, NC) (6-5, 265)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...mphries-111707

[TFloss32]

Some pretty cool news I just read. Apparently Mack Brown called 2011 DE Jermauria Rasco's mother at some point this week and asked if they could take an official visit to Austin before National Signing Day. Ms. Rasco said they didn't have enough time because of other visits so Coach Brown decided to take his crew to Shreveport, LA tonight for a visit. He, Manny Diaz and Oscar Giles will get one last shot with Rasco this evening. It was looking like things had cooled off with this one, but there may be an outside chance since Coach Brown has personally taken the reigns. Rasco will take his official visit to Florida this weekend before ultimately making a decision. I think Texas is a darkhorse in this one, but we'll see what happens. Keep in mind Ms. Rasco is moving to Texas after her son graduates.

[ThePop]

With that kind of effort, it makes it seem that Mack and crew have lost Alexander and are giving all they got for Rasco. Hopefully i'm wrong, as I think Alexander would be the easier target.

[DesignatedT]

Really interested to see what Alexander does. Signs point to Texas now but the guy was very interested in A&M early on in his recruitment, he might not be as quick to commit to Texas as some think. I really hope he comes to A&M with all the good things I have heard about the kid. Hopefully we find out soon what the verdict is.

[TFloss32]

With that kind of effort, it makes it seem that Mack and crew have lost Alexander and are giving all they got for Rasco. Hopefully i'm wrong, as I think Alexander would be the easier target.

The encouraging thing is I don't think these two prospects are linked in any way. Rasco has nothing to do with Alexander, IMO. I think it's just a matter of UTs staff giving max effort in hopes of landing one. Defensive line is a thin position right now and Texas would gladly accept both guys if it were to somehow work out that way.

[TFloss32]

Here's a third out-of-state prospect to familiarize yourself with. I read tonight that Texas could pursue 2012 DT Eddie Goldman of Washington, D.C. Apparently Texas already has two things working for them with this prospect. First, Bo Davis was recruiting Goldman while at Alabama so there's already a relationship there (the extent of it I don't know). Secondly, Goldman's high school coach played his college ball at San Diego State with one of UT's grad assistants. There's already been contact there and apparently UT's staff could visit Goldman as soon as this Spring. Just another one to keep an eye on. And my dear Lord look at that offer list!

DT, Eddie Goldman, Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.) (6-4, 307)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Goldman-97728

[TFloss32]

Really interested to see what Alexander does. Signs point to Texas now but the guy was very interested in A&M early on in his recruitment, he might not be as quick to commit to Texas as some think. I really hope he comes to A&M with all the good things I have heard about the kid. Hopefully we find out soon what the verdict is.

I do think Texas has the lead right now, but it's always in the back of my mind that A&M has been recruiting him longer. This is UT/A&M all the way and I think the Baylor and Arkansas visits are just Alexander being thorough, having some fun and finishing out the process. We'll know within a week what he's going to do.

[TFloss32]

Couple of things for Friday morning....

*Stacy Searels made his way up to Texarkana yesterday to visit with 2012 OL John Michael McGee. He projects as an interior lineman in college. As of right now, Texas has not invited him to either Junior Day.

*The in-home visit with 2011 DE Jermauria Rasco went well and Ms. Rasco said she was "truly impressed" with the character of Manny Diaz and appreciated Mack Brown being the same person throughout the entire process. She also mentioned not to read too much into them not taking an official visit to Texas because they've been there numerous times before and are very familiar with UT. "What more could do they do for us or show to us?" is what Ms. Rasco had to say. It was more about Jermauria visiting schools that he had yet to see. With all of that said, I think Texas is trailing and would expect Rasco to commit to LSU or Florida State in the coming days. Things may have turned out differently if the UT coaching staff didn't see such a high turnover. Losing Will Muschamp was a big factor.

*The UT football team has their first casualty of the new year. It's been reported that LB Tariq Allen (a redshirt freshman) has left the team. No word on the reason why. He was an Army All-American out of Irving.

[TFloss32]

Here's a fourth out-of-state prospect that's been talked about a lot. Unlike the previous three (Connor Brewer, Eddie Goldman and D.J. Humphries), I'm not so sure if Texas will pursue him. He's a name to at least pay attention to and Manny Diaz might have been recruiting him for Mississippi State.

DT, Nick James, Long Beach (Long Beach, Mississippi) (6-5, 335)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...ck-James-89615

[TFloss32]

*Mack Brown will be in San Antonio today to finish his recruiting tour. He'll stop by Stevens HS to see 2011 ATH Mykkele Thompon and then go to Cibolo Steele HS to check on 2011 RB Malcolm Brown.

*2011 DT Quincy Russell will be headed to Austin today for his official visit. He missed last weekend's official visit due to his knee surgery.

[TFloss32]

I wanted to bring up a rumor that's been discussed seriously this week, but apparently has been around for the past few months. TE coach Bruce Chambers is possibly taking another job with Dallas ISD or Arlington ISD as soon as National Signing Day comes to a close. So, who's the replacement? Rumor has it that Tim Brewster was in Austin this week. For those of you who aren't familiar with him, Brewster was the TE coach at Texas from 1998-2001 before going on to the NFL for five years. He had been the head coach at the University of Minnesota since 2007 until he was fired mid-season in 2010. Longhorns' DB Nolan Brewster is his son (an extra incentive for him to come back to Austin). He's known as being an excellent TE coach but is most famous for his recruiting ability. He was one of the major players in getting Vince Young to to come to Texas along with other studs in that famous 2002 class. He would be a huge get and yet another key addition to this awesome staff. If any of you haven't noticed, Texas hasn't deemed anyone a special teams coach yet. This is where Brewster would come in along with coaching TEs.

[TFloss32]

Here's a piece from Recruitocosm on the Bruce Chambers rumor. Looks like he could be leaving Texas in a week or so.

http://recruitocosm.fantake.com/2011...m-brewster-in/

[Whisky Dog]

I really hope the rumor getting out doesn't effect out class. Obviously Mack didnt want Chambers to leave before NSD for a reason.

[Whisky Dog]

I really hope the rumor getting out doesn't effect out class. Obviously Mack didnt want Chambers to leave before NSD for a reason.

[TFloss32]

Here's a name to add to possible WRs for 2012. Jerry Gray was in East Texas yesterday to visit him at school. I think a Junior Day invite is around the corner.

ATH, Dominique Wheeler, Crockett (6-2, 175)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...Wheeler-122216