2012 Texas Longhorns Recruiting Thread (+ related news)

[TFloss32]

Surprised Gray has eliminated Tech from his list this soon considering he was a Tech legacy and all that. Good news for us. Hopefully we can land 1 out of the 2 (Gray and/or Williams).

It will also be interesting to see if Anthony switching to TCU could effect Grays recruitment there.

Gray hasn't necessarily "eliminated" Texas Tech, but he's not going to be spending four years in Lubbock. It's a Texas/TCU battle. The Anthony commitment to TCU is definitely interesting. I'm not sure what they have planned for him...maybe they'll line him up in the slot. After thinking about it some more, I'm not really sure it hurts or helps TCU. If Gray chooses TCU in the end, he'll be the feature back the day he steps on campus. The difference in being at Texas is he won't have that responsibility and I think that's what the Gray family is looking for. They want him paired with someone like RB Malcolm Brown who can allow for a smaller workload and prolong his durability.

[TFloss32]

Update on TE Griffin Gilbert of Lake Travis...I apologize for editing the post on him above like three times. My frustration with the scholarship offer blinded my ability to really evaluate what was going on. After reading some more, it turns out that offer is for a grayshirt...which makes A LOT more sense. All that means basically is a commitment from Gilbert would count towards the 2013 class' numbers and not 2012. He would commit to Texas with the rest of the 2012 class, but he wouldn't enroll in school until the Spring of 2013. We'll see what happens as he mentioned he'd like to make a decision fairly soon.

[DesignatedT]

A&M got #16 QB Trevor Knight from SA Reagan.

[TFloss32]

A&M got #16 QB Trevor Knight from SA Reagan.

He's probably the best overall QB in Texas. Nice pick-up for the Ags.

[yavozerb]

He's probably the best overall QB in Texas. Nice pick-up for the Ags.

I know in earlier posts you had mentioned some players actually have agents, like trey williams. Is this the same thing now being reviewed by the ncaa on oregon in the seastrunk signing from last season?

[Whisky Dog]

I know in earlier posts you had mentioned some players actually have agents, like trey williams. Is this the same thing now being reviewed by the ncaa on oregon in the seastrunk signing from last season?

It's exactly the same thing. The Oregon payments were two guys with a hand in Texas recruiting with the main one being Will Lyles. Lyles is basically a guy who started an "elite athlete performance training" company and started organizing 7 on 7 camps and other football camps across the state/country. What is being found out and alleged is that Lyles uses these camps to gather the elite football players and test to see which ones don't have a father or father figure I their lives. He then goes to talk to momma and the athlete about how crazy the recruiting biz is and how to go about things so they don't get ripped off and deceived. Once he gains their trust he's basically steering their recruitment to the likes of Oregon, Auburn, SC, LSU, etc in exchange for cash. Oregon was stupid enough to actually file the 25k payment to Lyles in their budget and yahoo got ahold of it.

A lot of people speculate that in most cir stances the recruit and his family may either not know about the payment or not know the amount. He may kick back a little to the family and keep the lion's share.

[Whisky Dog]

Also, a bit of Gray news: according to James Gray he and Jonathan will be in Austin tomorrow to watch Spring practice. Apparent the elder Gray was at TCU's spring practice today or yesterday while Jonathan is in school.

[TFloss32]

Lots of news going around this morning...

*Forgive my knee-jerk reaction to the TE Griffin Gilbert news yesterday...I just wasn't very happy about that. Turns out he followed through with his desire to commit early and pledged to TCU yesterday. I think UT dodged a bullet here as scholarship numbers are tight and Gilbert projects to be a lower tier Division I type of player.

*Texas has sent out yet another offer to a stud out-of-state prospect. I'm not sure if he's being offered as a WR or DB and it's unclear at this time who his recruiter is. My guess right now is it's Duane Akina. He'll definitely be a member of the Rivals 250 when it comes out later this year and I've read that he could be as high as the #2 prospect in all of Florida behind OT John Theus of Bolles in Jacksonville (who Texas has also offered). This one can be filed in the "longshot" category as of right now. UT will need to get him on campus to have a puncher's chance.

ATH, Nelson Agholor, Berkeley Prep (6-2, 180)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...Agholor-115476

*Thanks to Whisky for posting about this above...looks like RB Johnathan Gray of Aledo will making it into town tomorrow to catch his first spring practice at UT under the new regime. Mr. Gray mentioned that his work schedule is rather busy in the near future so they wanted to make sure they were able to make a visit just in case they couldn't at a later date. I fully expect them to make the annual Orange/White Spring Game on April 3rd.

*Another potential visitor for Saturday's practice is highly sought after OL Michael Starts of Waco La Vega. Stacy Searels has asked Starts and his father to come in town this weekend for another visit. Starts mentioned that Searels has been a big factor in his recruitment so far.

*The drama with ATH Kendall Sanders of Athens continues. We all know he decided to skip the second UT Junior Day last weekend. His reasoning behind it was he either felt bad about going because he's committed to Oklahoma State or he wasn't happy about what UT was offering him (remember...he wants to play WR). He mentioned this week that he'd be "very open" to visiting Austin this spring if the UT staff makes it a point to invite him to campus. This one is a bit of a head-scratcher because he was just asked to come to campus last week where he probably would've received an offer, yet he turned down the opportunity to do so. He could've switched his commitment to UT already (the school he really wants to be at). It's almost like he's playing hard to get until the staff offers him as a WR. Well, he could be waiting a while because Mack Brown doesn't usually contact committed prospects.

*Lastly, thanks to Designated T for the Aggie news. QB Trevor Knight of San Antonio Reagan has made a commitment to Texas A&M. Solid get for the Ags as he's arguably the best overall QB in the state of Texas.

[Whisky Dog]

Thanks for the info on Sanders, Tfloss. That's some weird stuff. Not to be mean to the kid, but his actions here are really reminding me of what the hot chick does - messing around toting with the safe guy who's all over her while trying to get what she wants from the guy she really likes. I know Athens is currently in the regional semifinals game va Sealy in 3A so he's got a lot going on right now too. I'm interested to see how this goes.


Another note on the street agent thing: this is absolutely fascinating to follow as a CFB fan. One angle I just thought of is in regards to Trey Williams. By all accounts we backed way off Williams once he put Will Lyles out there as his "confidant". Now that Lyles is being exposed nationally by Yahoo it's be interesting to see if guys like Williams and Matt Davis don't run the other direction from Lyles as fast as possible to avoid being involved with that mess. If this Yahoo story turns into something big and this does play out I think UT might start recruiting Williams again to go along with Gray. Will be interesting to see.

[TFloss32]

I also wanted to comment on the street agent news that's coming out. Yahoo! broke the ice yesterday and now various news sources like Sports Illustrated are just piling on. It has the potential to get real ugly, but something needs to be done. Here are a few articles to familiarize yourself with guys like Will Lyles, Baron Flenory (played football at New Hampshire under Oregon HC, Chip Kelly) and David Barham. Read these when you get the chance as it's a good breakdown of how these guys operate.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...r-oregon030311

http://recruitocosm.fantake.com/2010...or-will-lyles/

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6179423

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...html?eref=sihp

http://recruitocosm.fantake.com/2011...orces-at-play/

Will Lyles and Pete Carroll




Recruits Involved with Lyles

QB, Matt Davis, Klein Forest (2012)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...tt-Davis-94383

RB, Michael Goodson, Klein Collins (Texas A&M, 2006)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Goodson-32755

RB, LaMichael James, Texarkana Liberty-Elyau (Oregon, 2008)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...el-James-58306

RB, Trent Richardson, Escambia (Pensacola, FL) (Alabama, 2009)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...chardson-72330

RB, Lache Seastrunk, Temple (Oregon, 2010)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...eastrunk-75256

RB, Dontae Williams, Aldine (Oregon, 2010)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...Williams-81877

RB, Trey Williams, Spring DeKaney (2012)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...illiams-104073

WR, Trovon Reed, Thibodaux (Thibodaux, LA) (Auburn, 2010)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...von-Reed-80215

WR, Terrance Tolliver, Hempstead (LSU, 2007)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Toliver-43493

TE, Martellus Bennett, Alief Taylor (Texas A&M, 2005)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Bennett-27345

OL, Daniel Campbell, Aldine (USC, 2008)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...Campbell-43568

LB, Trevon Randle, League City Clear Springs (LSU, 2011)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...n-Randle-94761

S, Ahmad Dixon, Waco Midway (Baylor, 2010)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...ad-Dixon-82277

S, Craig Loston, Aldine Eisenhower (LSU, 2010)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...g-Loston-53993

ATH, Bralon Addison, Fort Bend Hightower (2012)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Addison-81314

[TFloss32]

Another note on the street agent thing: this is absolutely fascinating to follow as a CFB fan. One angle I just thought of is in regards to Trey Williams. By all accounts we backed way off Williams once he put Will Lyles out there as his "confidant". Now that Lyles is being exposed nationally by Yahoo it's be interesting to see if guys like Williams and Matt Davis don't run the other direction from Lyles as fast as possible to avoid being involved with that mess. If this Yahoo story turns into something big and this does play out I think UT might start recruiting Williams again to go along with Gray. Will be interesting to see.

Whisky-

I read a crazy bit this morning. Did you know that Will Lyles called ATH Bralon Addison's father this week and asked him if he'd like to go on an unofficial visit to Auburn with other prospects like QB Matt Davis? Addison's father apparently came to his senses and turned Lyles down. I think that's why we're seeing UT get more involved in Addison's recruitment now. I've heard they really like him as a DB. Up until this point, no recruiting services have explained why RB Trey Williams isn't being recruited by UT and it's been blatantly obvious for a while. Texas doesn't stop recruiting a potential five-star back (that they've had serious interest in for a long time) in February of his junior year unless something is off. I hope he wises up for the sake of his future even if he doesn't end up at UT. Just get away from Lyles.

UT fans have been up in arms in the past about why they've simply stopped recruiting certain guys with seemingly no explanation. A good example of that was RB Lache Seastrunk's recruitment. He apparently showed up in Austin with Lyles for his unofficial visit in the summer of 2009. Contact between the two parties stopped immediately after that, yet people wondered why UT pulled his offer. LB Anthony Wallace of Dallas Skyline had a similiar situation as contact with the staff ceased at a certain point. Turns out he was rumored to be involved with Flenory and magically ended up at Oregon.

[TFloss32]

Here's another out-of-state prospect that Texas has been contacting. He's saying he thinks Texas will offer soon. UT recruited this school back in 2007 when they were trying to land DT Joseph Barksdale who ended up at LSU.

DB, Terry Richardson, Cass Tech (Detroit, MI) (5-9, 160)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...hardson-109300

[Whisky Dog]

No, I didn't know that about Addison but that's damn good info and good to hear. If SI and ESPN follow through with the Yahoo story then I can't imagine any way Lyles, Flenory, the SEC street agent from Georgia, etc. arent completely blown out of the water immediately. Their whole business is based on flying under the radar so that kind of exposure should ruin them in the street agent game. Then it'll be interesting to see just how deep this goes and how many programs are uncovered. I'd imagine most schools aren't stupid enough to pay Lyles directly $25 k for "recruiting services" that most universities at most pay upwards of $5 k to obtain. The NCAA really needs to meet this head on and decide of this activity is going to be ok or not. If not then they need to drop the hammer nearly "SMU" style to send the message. If they decide it's minor and not a big deal then we can start swinging around our massive ESPN roll and buying the best of the best.

[TFloss32]

If they decide it's minor and not a big deal then we can start swinging around our massive ESPN roll and buying the best of the best.

Mack Brown has proven that he's not going to deal with kids that have representation. Most of the stud prospects that Will Lyles has been involved saw their communication with Texas cut off at some point in their recruitment because of it. I don't see Brown playing that game as long as he's in charge at UT.

[TFloss32]

Here's another video with DC Manny Diaz:

http://www.texassports.com/allaccess/?media=234627

[TFloss32]

I wanted to clarify something for our resident Aggies. I've never seen any accusations of dealing with street agents under Mike Sherman's tenure. By all accounts, their program has been clean under him and has never signed a player involved with Lyles during that time. This is why I'm surprised that they're after RB Trey Williams right now. Dennis Franchione could've been a different story because of his SEC ties. You would've never heard it discussed anyway because the Ags weren't that successful under him. TE Martellus Bennett was definitely involved with Lyles, but the word is he and his father made the ultimate decision to attend A&M (Lyles was just a figure in the background). I don't have any information on RB Michael Goodson.

[DesignatedT]

Highly doubt Sherman is doing anything under the table but it could have been a possibility under Fran although I don't think that was the case with Martellus. Martellus had some big reasons for choosing A&M the biggest being his brother Michael already committing to A&M. Also, he became close with Billy Gillespie and was interesting in trying to play basketball for him.

Goodson could be interesting, If I remember correctly he was very interested in USC before choosing A&M which is kind of odd since Lyles was known to be close to Carroll. Lyles could have been trying to push him to USC before choosing A&M or Fran could have been doing something under the table, who knows. Goodson was only offered by 3 or 4 schools though I believe and I'm not even sure he got a Texas offer?

[TFloss32]

Goodson was only offered by 3 or 4 schools though I believe and I'm not even sure he got a Texas offer?

Texas did not offer Goodson. I didn't follow recruiting back then so I don't know what the whole story is on him. I do know that Goodson was another guy in a long line of RBs that UT fans were pissed at Mack Brown for not offering. UT did pick up RB Vondrell McGee of Longview that year and he was highly touted, but he ended up being a bust. Goodson was ranked a little higher than McGee that year (#32 vs. #57 in the country).

[DesignatedT]

I don't have ESPN Insider but this could be potential good news from them. Not sure if it's all speculation or what.

Three more Watch Listers for Aggies?
2:21PM ET
A trio of big timers -- two of whom are high school teammates -- reportedly favor Texas A&M. DT Malcolm Brown, LB Timothy Cole and S LaDarrell McNeil

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/featu...ate%3d20110304

[TFloss32]

I don't have ESPN Insider but this could be potential good news from them. Not sure if it's all speculation or what.


http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/featu...ate%3d20110304

I'd say that's pretty accurate.

[TFloss32]

RB Johnathan Gray of Aledo has confirmed he'll be making a trip to Austin tomorrow to take in spring practice. OL Michael Starts of Waco La Vega will not be in attendance after all.

[TFloss32]

*I wanted to add that RB Johnathan Gray's father did not end up attending TCU's practice yesterday. Hope to hear more after today is over on how the visit went in Austin.

*Here are some pictures from Friday's practice:
http://mackbrown-texasfootball.com/view.gal?id=88559

*Bryan Harsin interview from 1300 The Zone in Austin. Scroll about half way down the page until you see Harsin's picture and clink on the link:
http://www.longhornstation.com/pages/buckonsports.html

[TFloss32]

A little more news on DE Mario Edwards of Denton Ryan...not only will he be going to Tallahassee next week to visit the Florida State campus for a couple of days over Spring Break, but he's already planned a return trip in April to see the Seminoles' annual spring game. For those that don't remember, Edwards' father is Mario Edwards, Sr. who played DB for Florida State and also the Dallas Cowboys at one point in his professional career. Edwards, Sr. will be playing in an alumni flag football game during halftime of the spring game. Like I mentioned before, Texas is behind in this race, but the staff will continue to recruit him until they feel it's no longer beneficial to do so.

[DMX7]

So how did Grey's visit go?

[ThePop]

Tfloss will have real info but all i've read so far is that he spent a lot of time chatting with Malcolm Brown and Cayleb Jones. I don't know when he commits but i'd say we have a heavy lead in his recruitment.