2012 Texas Longhorns Recruiting Thread (+ related news)

[TFloss32]

Thought it was worth noting that OU recently offered ATH Corey Coleman of Richardson Pearce and CB DeVante Harris of Mesquite Horn. Both guys are candidates for that last DB spot.

[TFloss32]

Article on DT Quay Evans of Morton, MS. Looks like UT has made his "Top 6" without an offer. Oregon and USC are on the list, but I don't see those schools as realistic possibilities. That leaves a list of Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State and Texas. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Evans actually committed to Ole Miss a while back and decided to decommit for some reason. UT may have a legit shot with Bo Davis heading up his recruitment as they have a great relationship from Davis' days at Alabama.

http://www.clarionledger.com/article...-braces-frenzy

[TFloss32]

*CB DeVante Harris of Mesquite Horn has committed to Oklahoma.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Harris-113226


*OU has also offered CB Colin Blake of San Antonio Brandeis.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...n-Blake-124103

[TFloss32]

Quick update on 2013 DT Robert Nkemdiche of Loganville, GA...if you don't remember me mentioning him a while back, I've posted his Rivals profile below along with a nice write-up from ESPN. He will most likely be a "Top 10" kind of prospect for the 2013 class and possibly even the #1 prospect overall. Nothing groundbreaking to report, but he gave Texas a nice shout-out recently in this quote about his recruitment:

"It's getting crazy already," Nkemdiche said of his recruitment. "I'm hearing from almost everyone but I would like to hear more from Oregon and LSU. I just like those two programs and how they use their defensive lineman. Right now I'd say Alabama, Auburn and Georgia have my early attention. Georgia Tech and Texas as well. I've been hearing a lot from Texas already, which is big since I know they don't recruit out of state much."

It's hard to even get excited about this one because he's such a high profile recruit living in SEC territory, but I like that the UT staff is pursuing him so early and that gets me pumped up. That's not a strategy we've really seen thus far in the Mack Brown era. Schools don't usually have a chance with the national studs if they're late to the party, so it's encouraging to see the staff working so hard on the recruiting trail and at least giving themselves a chance to land big names.

Nkemdiche apparently comes from a very solid family. His situation reminds me a lot of the Achos. His father is a doctor in Atlanta and his mother is a politician back home in Nigeria (she attended Michigan State). The only knock on Nkemdiche (from a UT perspective) is he currently lives with his high school coach who is an Alabama alum. UT may very well have a shot due to their emphasis on the importance of family and the value they place on education.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...emdiche-113275

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recru...ory?id=6425681

[TFloss32]

Per a report this morning from Gerry Hamilton of 24/7 Hook 'Em, five-star DE Noah Spence of Harrisburg, PA wants to hear more from Texas. Spence mentioned that he would look at Texas "real heavy" if they offered and also said the first thing he's looking for in a school and coaching staff is the "family atmosphere." Hamilton had the opportunity to meet with the Spence family last night and stated afterwards that Noah is "wide open" in his recruitment and isn't attached to a certain school. He commented that Spence comes from a great background and has solid character. He's not the type of kid that wants Texas to recruit him simply to bolster his offer list. His father works as a probation officer and mentioned that he likes the Texas program. Hamilton thinks the UT staff will be in Harrisburg at some point in May and feels this is a kid that a big-time program can steal away if they put in the effort.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...h-Spence-93798

[TFloss32]

LB Jamal Palmer of McKinney Boyd is another prospect that Darrell Wyatt checked on last week. Palmer is a guy that hasn't received a lot of press thus far, but UT is obviously interested enough to stop by. I don't think he'll end up being a prospect that Texas is looking for to help close out this class because he's a bit of a tweener (plays both LB and DE), but we'll see where it goes.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...l-Palmer-89922

[TFloss32]

DE Devonte Fields of Arlington Martin has committed to TCU and OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai of Haltom has committed to Texas Tech. Fields is a guy that could've filled the role of that quick defensive end UT is looking for to close out this class, but for some reason he and UT could never get on the same page. I don't think there was a strong enough interest from either party. OU was a heavy favorite in his recruitment for a long time, so needless to say I was happy to see this news today.

[DirkDoesWork]

Landon Collins would be a ing HUGE pull for Texas. It's amazing to me how much more this new assistant staff recruits OOS (- Duane Akina) than the previous idiots. Texas doesn't necessarily have to recruit out of state, but I've always wanted them to do it more. If Spence is looking for a "family atmosphere," than he's looking at the right school.

[DirkDoesWork]

I've been on a lot of Texas and Texas A&M forums and threads. Most of them have been absolute cesspools and holes, but this is pleasantly surprising. It's nice to see Texas and Texas A&M fans getting along...until the season starts.

[TFloss32]

Landon Collins would be a ing HUGE pull for Texas. It's amazing to me how much more this new assistant staff recruits OOS (- Duane Akina) than the previous idiots. Texas doesn't necessarily have to recruit out of state, but I've always wanted them to do it more. If Spence is looking for a "family atmosphere," than he's looking at the right school.

I wouldn't get my hopes up for either guy as things are in the beginning stages, but the bottom line is it's encouraging to see the new staff be such aggressive recruiters so far (both in-state and out-of-state). Elite talent can't come to UT if they aren't offered. If you offer and seriously pursue 10 out-of-state studs every year and only end up landing one or two, it's completely worth it.

[DirkDoesWork]

I understand that. It's just great to see the staff trying to go nationwide. If we can pair a nationwide presence in recruiting with the base we already have in Texas, it could mean great things.

[TFloss32]

Word out there tonight is that ATH Bralon Addison of Fort Bend Hightower has de-committed from Oklahoma State. Looks like he'll be joining his boys RB Trey Williams and QB Matt Davis in College Station soon. This one was just a matter of time so we'll wait and see when he gives his commitment to A&M.

[ThePop]

Expected. Now Kendall Sanders should follow in his footsteps (though commit to UT)

[rjv]

okie state getting screwed but c'est la vie. addison can be a nice addition to the a&m secondary.

[TFloss32]

Some Monday morning updates...

*Duane Akina will be making a trip to Tampa, FL today to check on ATH Nelson Agholor at Berkeley Prep HS. Their spring practices start this afternoon. I would file this one in the "longshot" category for now. UT will need to get Agholor on campus to have a chance in his recruitment. The overall consensus right now is this will end up being a Florida/Florida State battle, but we'll see how long UT sticks with it.

*While in Florida, Akina will also stop by South Lake HS in Groveland to see 2013 DB Marcell Harris. This news came out yesterday, so there aren't any details to report at this point other than UT will be recruiting him as a safety. Harris attends the same high school as 2011 DB Nick Waisome. If you remember, UT had contact with Waisome in the beginning stages of his recruitment last year, so there is familiarity and a previous relationship with the South Lake HS coaching staff. See Harris' Rivals profile below:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Harris-111777

*Nothing groundbreaking to report on DT Javonte Magee of San Antonio Sam Houston, but LSU did make a visit to his high school last week. With Magee being a Louisiana native, LSU offering in the future could really shake things up in his recruitment. Even though his mother may have something to say about him going to college eight hours away from San Antonio, I do believe that LSU is a place Magee has always wanted to be. He continues to reiterate that he has plans to make a visit to Baton Rouge whenever he can. If that somehow doesn't work out, Baylor is still a very real possibility because of his high school teammates, OL Ralphael Green and S Leo Thomas. See the recent quotes from Thomas and Magee below:

"Javonte, we're thinking of going to Baylor together but we don't know for sure yet. We're putting our emphasis on Baylor. But we're also still waiting for LSU," Thomas said.

"We're trying to go to the same college. We're really close, like family. We want to go to the same school," Magee said.

Just to clarify, Green and Thomas still do not have offers from Baylor (they may receive one by the end of summer). The only offer either of them hold currently is from North Texas. Thomas has sent his film in to the coaching staff at LSU, but I don't see him receiving an offer from the Tigers. The only way the trio ends up going to school together is if they all end up in Waco. Magee's recruitment gives me the same feeling as that of 2011 RB Aaron Green. He doesn't strike me as a guy that has a genuine desire to go to UT despite his claims that the Longhorns are at the top of his list. Because of this, Magee may end up being a guy that the staff recruits sparingly instead of him being viewed as a priority (especially with three DTs already committed).

*To follow up on ATH Daniel Brooks of Rockdale...his coach has come out and said he feels Brooks chances of de-committing from OU (or even looking at other schools) are not good at this point. Brooks' coach mentioned that if UT does decide to seriously pursue him, an offer would have to be extended first and foremost. He stated that he didn't think Brooks would work out for another team or attend any camps in hopes of gaining an offer when he feels comfortable with his commitment to OU.

*Lastly, things are still quiet with OL Michael Starts of Waco La Vega. He's been busy with track lately, but he and his father are doing their best to iron out plans to visit several schools this summer. Mr. Starts mentioned Texas and OU would likely be getting visits this month and they will be attempting to visit Auburn, Michigan and Notre Dame at some point as well.

[TFloss32]

2011 DT Marquis Anderson of Cibolo Steele (Oklahoma commitment) was arrested this past Saturday at a mall in Norman, OK for petty larceny. He apparently had another run-in with the law when he was around 14, but it was swept under the rug for one reason or another.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextr...0_NORMAN173907

[TFloss32]

*An interesting development...OL Vadal Alexander of Buford, GA was quoted saying he does have plans to get to Texas this summer. Alexander joins a handful of other out-of-state studs who've said they'll be on the UT campus in the upcoming months. Ideally the staff would like to have all of these prospects at the June 5th summer camp in order to have them around current commitments like QB Connor Brewer and RB Johnathan Gray, but they'll obviously host these guys whenever is best for them.

*UT stopped in Van Alstyne yesterday to check on 2013 OL Alex Mayes. There's a long way to go with this one, but the Mayes family is all TCU. Mayes' father and grandfather both played football for the Horned Frogs. Things could change with an offer from Texas, but that's where this recruitment is headed as of right now.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...x-Mayes-104735


*Bo Davis still has plans on visiting DE Torshiro Davis of Shreveport, LA during the spring evaluation period. As most of you know, Bo was recruiting Torshiro while at Alabama and Torshiro himself has come out and said that he was going to commit to the Tide early on in the process had Bo not left for Texas. Torshiro is scheduled to be in Austin for the June 5th summer camp. See recent quotes from him below:

"I haven't heard when he's (Bo) coming by, but I talked to coach Davis the next day after the o-line coach (Searels) had come," said Torshiro Davis. "He basically told me he wants to offer me a scholarship. If he offered me, he wanted to know if I was going to come and does he still have a chance or am I set in stone for LSU?"

"LSU is not set in stone just yet. I want to make sure I feel LSU is the best school for me," Davis said.

"I've heard a lot of good things about Texas, but I haven't seen it first-hand yet," Davis said. "I've just heard about the way they play football, the way they go after the ball. They're non-strop and don't take any plays off."

"At that time, when I committed, LSU was the only school I knew anything about," Davis said. "So I went ahead and committed. I didn't know it would be like this."

"I have to find somewhere that I'll feel comfortable for the next four years of my life," Davis said. "I'm not just looking for a school, I'm looking for an adopted family. I don't want to wake up the next day and wonder why did I come here?"

[TFloss32]

Some Aggie news...RB Dennis Smith of Wimberley is likely to de-commit from Texas A&M soon. Smith is known for his legal and family problems and I think he's beginning to see the writing on the wall as the A&M coaching staff hasn't contacted him in a while. He currently holds offers from Iowa State, North Texas and Texas State. UNT and Texas State have apparently offered him the starting job as a freshman so there's an incentive for him to commit to either of those schools in the future. The recent commitment of RB Trey Williams will likely influence his decision as well.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...is-Smith-88610

[ThePop]

"I have to find somewhere that I'll feel comfortable for the next four years of my life," Davis said. "I'm not just looking for a school, I'm looking for an adopted family. I don't want to wake up the next day and wonder why did I come here?"

Excellent. I feel better about this one than Peat.

[TFloss32]

*Correction on ATH Nelson Agholor...Duane Akina actually stopped by Berkeley Prep in Tampa, FL yesterday (not Monday as originally scheduled). He ended up spending the majority of Monday afternoon at South Lake HS talking to their coaching staff and watching 2013 DB Marcell Harris work out. I'll follow-up with the Agholor visit if I read anything.

*Speaking of 2013 DB Marcell Harris of Groveland, FL...the visit apparently went very well and Akina made quite the impression. He was the first coach to check on Harris during the spring evaluation period and that meant a lot to everyone. It's UT's hope that Harris will get to Austin at some point this summer. It's great to know that the UT staff will have been recruiting and developing relationships with these prospects for several months before offering them official scholarships in February of their junior year. Familiarity with a program is a big thing for most of these kids. See quotes from Harris and the South Lake HS coaching staff below:

"Texas is very high, very high with Marcell," coach Banks said. "It's all new to Marcell, but I know he has a lot of interest in Texas."

“I think the big three in-state (Florida, FSU, Miami) will offer him by July,” Larmond said. “Coach Akina said he will go back to Austin and talk with Mack Brown about offering.”

“Coach Akina said he is the best sop re defensive back he’s seen so far,” he added. “Texas wants to try and get Marcell and his family to Austin this summer.”

“Coach Akina stayed for our whole practice, about two and a half hours. He also stayed about an hour after practice, got on the chalkboard and talked football with us. He scored points with us today,” Larmond said Monday night.

“Texas was the first school to come out and look at me,” Harris said Monday night. “I’m fortunate that Texas came out to see me and that means a lot to me.”

"Texas is a school that I’ve had interest in for a while. They had Will Muscahmp, so their defense was real good,” he said.

“My in-state favorites are the Florida Gators and FSU (Florida State). Texas and maybe Louisville are my favorite out of state schools,” Harris said. “I plan to camp at FSU, Florida and hopefully Texas this summer.”

*The most surprising news of the the week thus far has to do with a highly sought-after prospect from the JUCO ranks. Now, for those of you who've been following UT football and/or recruiting during Mack Brown's tenure, you know that Brown has avoided JUCO players like the plague. It's simply something he's never given a second look for a mul ude of reasons. Anyway, Bo Davis has already made two visits to Scooba, MS to evaluate DE Denico Autry of East Mississippi CC. Autry already has offers from the majority of the SEC and other well known programs from around the country. Apparently UT has put their name into the mix as well. He mentions that he currently holds an offer from Texas, but that most likely wouldn't be official until he got to Austin for a visit. The staff will also be waiting to see what his transcripts look like through summer school and into the upcoming fall semester. I'd be extremely surprised if this somehow worked out in Texas' favor, but apparently Autry is high on the Longhorns.

"I picked up a Texas A&M offer and a Texas offer a couple of weeks ago," noted Autry. "I also have offers from Florida, Mississippi State, Alabama, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee and some others."

"I would say Texas, Mississippi State and Alabama are my favorites and it's between those three schools," said Autry. "Coach (Manny) Diaz of Texas offered me two weeks ago and they already knew of me when he was at Mississippi State. And Bo Davis is at Texas and he is a good guy, too.

[TFloss32]

An article on 2013 DB Marcell Harris from the Orlando Sentinel. Notice the second to last quote.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sport...edium=referral

[DesignatedT]

Just fyi, Texas A&M got commit #20 today Davante Bourque ATH from Crowley, LA. Another great get.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Bourque-92149

[TFloss32]

Just fyi, Texas A&M got a commit from #20 today Davante Bourque ATH from Crowley, LA. Another great get.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Bourque-92149

Thanks, DesignatedT. I've read about that guy but that one slipped by me today. I guess Addison will be #21.

[TFloss32]

Sorry, fellas. I'm a bit behind this morning, but here are some updates...

*OL Kennedy Estelle received visits yesterday from Alabama and Oregon. Alabama ended up offering before they left Pearland Dawson HS adding to Estelle's already impresive list. They also decided to offer 2013 RB James White (a guy Texas will target for the next class). Estelle's timeline for a decision looks to be before the start of his senior season after he makes a trip to Auburn/Alabama or Florida State. Unfortunately those unofficial visits are now slated for the summer time because of his commitment to track and spring football.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...s-White-114789

*Update on ATH Daniel Brooks of Rockdale...he came out yesterday and mentioned that he thinks Texas is close to offering. Texas will have to offer first before Brooks decides to come to campus (even though that still might not be enough). Another potential problem is he's not too pushed on playing defense and the Longhorns are in serious need of help in the secondary. I think he prefers that scat-back type of role on offense instead of playing corner. That could be an issue but we'll continue to monitor how this one plays out. Makes you wonder where things are at with ATH Kendall Sanders.

*Here are some quotes from the Berkeley Prep coaching staff to follow up on Duane Akina's visit to check on ATH Nelson Agholor. His family wants to start cutting his list down after spring training comes to an end.

“He seemed to like Nelson very much,” Ciao said. “I don't want to speak for him, but seemed like he was very excited about Nelson as a player and as a worker. It meant a lot to everybody here than he made a special trip down here to see Nelson. We were very excited to have him here.”

“We have a great respect for Coach Brown and is program,” Ciao said. “Any school that comes here to recruit one of our kids is special to us, but it surely was nice to have the University of Texas here.”

“I think they'd very much love to have him on their campus for a visit or a camp,” Ciao said. “After we're done with spring ball Nelson and his family will sit down and make a list of the schools he wants to visit and he'll go from there."

“He's wide open with recruiting,” Ciao added. “There are several schools he's interested in, but he'll really start to look at that after spring.”

“He's stayed very, very humble to this point and he's the type who understands how fortunate he is where school becomes interested in him,” Ciao said. “The hardest part for Nelson will be when he starts to shorten his list down because there are so many great coaches at different schools that he's gotten to know already.”

*A little more to report from 2013 DB Marcell Harris of Groveland, FL. I found out yesterday that his father apparently played for Florida at one point. I don't know what the extent of his career was or how loyal he is to the Gators, but that could come into play in this recruitment. Most of the pictures I've seen of Harris thus far have him in Florida gear. Anyway, some more quotes:

"He's a good 6-2 200-pound free safety. He has good range, speed, good hips and he's a big-time hitter," said South Lake head coach Walter Banks. "We have a lot of schools coming by this week and next week."

"I expected he (Akina) was just going to stay about 30 minutes. He stayed the whole practice, then went into the coaches' office and talked football with us," said Banks. "He seems like a really good guy.

"He spent a lot of time with our coaching staff. It was really good to have him here. I've been here 12 years, that was the first time a Texas coach been on campus. It was a blessing. With Texas being such a brand name, even in Florida, the kids were excited."

"I always really liked Texas ever since I was little. They were always one of my top schools as well as Florida and Florida State," said Harris. "It really means a lot to me that coach Akina came out here. It makes me want to work harder to show them what I can do."

"He's probably going to go on an unofficial visit up there (to Austin, TX) and maybe hit a one- or two-day camp when they start camping," said Banks. "We'll have to look at dates, make sure we're out of school and have no camps, but he's definitely interested."

*Two additional big-time 2013 prospects that you need to file away:

TE, Ricky Seals-Jones, Sealy (6-5, 220)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...s-Jones-124950

OL, Jake Raulerson, Celina (6-5, 232)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...ulerson-116391

Seals-Jones happens to be a family member of legendary RB Eric erson. He'll likely play TE in college. Raulerson will possibly be in that top tier of the 2013 OL class if he can put on some good weight. He's only a sop re, so he's got some time.

[ThePop]

Are you writing for recruitocosm now?
http://recruitocosm.fantake.com/2011...he-highwayman/