2012 Texas Longhorns Recruiting Thread (+ related news)

[TFloss32]

*2013 WR Derrick Griffin of Rosenberg Terry confirmed that he will be camping with UT this summer. There is a June 12th camp for the younger prospects. Griffin has the potential to be a "Top 100" type in both basketball and football. Complete stud. Numerous universities (including Texas) are already recruiting him to play both. He may end up going straight basketball if he continues to grow. He's currently listed at 6-6 or 6-7 and around 220 lbs...as a sop re in high school!

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketb...Griffin-107457

*Manny Diaz and Oscar Giles were in Brenham today to check on LB Tim Cole and DT Malcom Brown.

[DesignatedT]

I wanted to add that DE Denzel Devall of Bastrop, LA will be attending the June 5th summer camp with his coach. He also says Texas is currently in his "top five" and will only go higher should things progress.

This guy is a great prospect. With A&M recently getting DE Jerald Hawkins from LA that brings the LA total for the 2012 class to 4. Sherman is really taking advantage of how LSU recruits there own state and is really recruiting it hard. A&M is also still in the running for Denzell Devall and Brandon Phillips who are very good players and Landon Collins who is an absolute beast out of LA . Surprised Texas hasn't recruited him harder.

As for our class filling up so early, I am loving it. I think we have about 26 scholarships to offer and we are at 22 right now and I think it is great because there isn't really 1 prospect that I don't like. Also, realistically a few of these guys probably won't make it to campus due to de-commits/academics and such. Sherman is doing an excellent job with this program right now.

[TFloss32]

New basketball commit for 2011. Sterling Gibbs, PG, was committed to Maryland before the coaching changes. Important commitment due to Corey Joseph's departure.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketb...ng-Gibbs-69635

Still a possible 2 people left for the 2011 class, Deandre Daniels and Olu Ashauolu. Olu left Louisiana Tech and I think has one year of eligibility left and Daniels is down to Texas and Kansas. Cross your fingers for Daniels.

Pop-

Some boys over at OrangeBloods think Daniels is announcing for Texas today, FWIW. I've seen a couple of articles from outside sources that think the same. I don't pay much attention to basketball recruiting because all of the "one-and-dones" so it's hard for me to get excited. Supposedly Kabongo is recruiting his ass off for UT right now.

[TFloss32]

This guy is a great prospect. With A&M recently getting DE Jerald Hawkins from LA that brings the LA total for the 2012 class to 4. Sherman is really taking advantage of how LSU recruits there own state and is really recruiting it hard. A&M is also still in the running for Denzell Devall and Brandon Phillips who are very good players and Landon Collins who is an absolute beast out of LA . Surprised Texas hasn't recruited him harder.

As for our class filling up so early, I am loving it. I think we have about 26 scholarships to offer and we are at 22 right now and I think it is great because there isn't really 1 prospect that I don't like. Also, realistically a few of these guys probably won't make it to campus due to de-commits/academics and such. Sherman is doing an excellent job with this program right now.

Designated T-

Hard to know right now where Texas stands with Devall right now. I've seen reports from Aggie sites that directly contradict what is being said on Longhorn sites (surprise, surprise!). The kid is obviously interested in Texas to the point where he called Bo Davis to talk about an opportunity, but I don't know if he'll end up showing for the June 5th camp in Austin like he says. Lots of different storylines with him depending on who you ask. Alabama is now in the picture so that could really change things as well.

[ThePop]

Deandre Daniels supposedly pushed his announcement to tomorrow. This is getting ridiculous, and the cause of it is most likely due to a disagreement with his father. Apparently Daniel's father favors Kansas while Daniels himself likes Texas (which is why he committed to Texas a while back). With all this uncertainty, even if he committed now it would be difficult to see him sticking with it. Regardless, lets hope he makes the right choice.

BTW, some random news. Vince Young is returning to UT to get his degree, good for him.

[TFloss32]

Stacy Searels and Major Applewhite were at Pearland Dawson today to check on OL Kennedy Estelle. Still status quo with him. 2013 RB James White was getting a look as well. He could end up being one of the priorities for next year's class.

[TFloss32]

Per OrangeBloods this morning, five-star DB Landon Collins of Geismar, LA will be camping with UT this summer. There's no specific date set at this time, but he will be in Austin come June according to his father.

[DMX7]

Per OrangeBloods this morning, five-star DB Landon Collins of Geismar, LA will be camping with UT this summer. There's no specific date set at this time, but he will be in Austin come June according to his father.

I imagine he has an offer from Texas, right? I don't see one for him on rivals.

[DMX7]

Deandre Daniels supposedly pushed his announcement to tomorrow. This is getting ridiculous, and the cause of it is most likely due to a disagreement with his father. Apparently Daniel's father favors Kansas while Daniels himself likes Texas (which is why he committed to Texas a while back). With all this uncertainty, even if he committed now it would be difficult to see him sticking with it. Regardless, lets hope he makes the right choice.

I can not stand parents who don't let their kid make the decision. Of course he has 1 and done written all over him, but we need him to replace Jordan.

[TFloss32]

I imagine he has an offer from Texas, right? I don't see one for him on rivals.

DMX7-

Hard to know for sure. An LSU site published an article about two weeks ago and Collins was quoted saying he has an offer from Texas. UT usually goes through high school coaches to make offers, but Collins' coach said he hadn't heard from anyone on the staff about a scholarship. It's possible things went through his father. Knowing how UT operates, it may not be "official" but an offer with certain stipulations attached to it (i.e. showing up to Austin for a visit first). We'll see where things go if he gets to campus in June, but I don't view him as a realistic target at this point.

[TFloss32]

Some tragic news...Oklahoma LB Austin Box apparently died earlier today of an oxy overdose. Radio stations in Oklahoma reporting the news.

http://enidnews.com/localnews/x46755...ive-in-El-Reno

[rjv]

Some tragic news...Oklahoma LB Austin Box apparently died earlier today of an oxy overdose. Radio stations in Oklahoma reporting the news.

http://enidnews.com/localnews/x46755...ive-in-El-Reno

where are you hearing that it was an oxy overdose ? i can see the speculation but not sure how anything could even be confirmed pending autopsy results.

sad news indeed.

[TFloss32]

where are you hearing that it was an oxy overdose ? i can see the speculation but not sure how anything could even be confirmed pending autopsy results.

sad news indeed.

rjv-

Nothing official until the autopsy, obviously. I read on an Oklahoma board that this was the cause of death...possibly snorting it. I know he's had legal problems along with injury issues in the past, so it's purely speculation at this point and people are just attempting to connect the dots. A drug overdose is thought to be responsible. RIP.

[TFloss32]

Stacy Searles made a stop at Arlington Heights HS in Fort Worth today to see 2013 DT A'Shawn Robinson. He's definitely of blue chip caliber and will be ranked nationally. He prefers playing defense right now, but the thought is he projects better as an OT on the collegiate level. I think that's where UT wants him. He will be camping in Austin on June 12th.

[TFloss32]

Saturday evening updates to get us caught up...

*DB Geno Smith of Atlanta, GA is another high-profile recruit that has confirmed he'll be visiting UT this summer. Ranked as the #47 prospect in the country by Rivals, Smith has said UT is on his summer agenda and he'll be attempting to make the June 5th camp in Austin. However, he doesn't have his schedule completely worked out yet and Duane Akina told him to make it in whenever he can. Smith basically said a visit to UT is now a matter of "when" and not "if." He's also looking to hit Alabama and USC at some point this summer. Auburn is currently in the lead for his services.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...o-Smith-109646

*Manny Diaz made a visit to McKinney Boyd on Thursday to see a recruit that we've talked about very briefly on this year's thread. LB/DE Jamal Palmer impressed Diaz enough that he received an invitation to UT's June 5th camp and he's confirmed he'll be in attendance. I don't see Palmer receiving an offer any time soon because he's lower on the recruiting board, but it's nice to see the staff being thorough. They're definitely looking for a special player to fill that weakside DE spot.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecr...l-Palmer-89922

*Another name has surfaced for the OL...Stacy Searels and Major Applewhite were in Friendswood on Wednesday to evaluate OL Seaver Myers. He ended up receiving a camp invitation from the coaches and he's another guy we can add to the roster for June 5th. Myers could end up being offered down the line as a contingency plan of sorts should guys like OL Michael Starts not work out, but I believe the staff will wait a while on their main targets. OL Greg Brantley of Carthage and OL Tre'Von Armstead of Port Arthur Memorial are also guys the staff views as "Plan B" type of recruits. Both received invitations to camp at UT this summer, but no word if either will attend. Armstead committed to Baylor last week.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecr...r-Myers-120416

*Duane Akina was in San Antonio on Friday making the rounds and he ended up at Reagan HS to see 2013 OL Matt Beyer. He's a big ol' boy at 6-6/275 for only being a sop re, but I'm not sure he'll end up in that top tier of OLs for the 2013 class. I think the staff has a few guys ahead of him in the pecking order right now. An interesting note on Beyer is he's from Minnesota originally. He could decide to head up north if give the chance to do so.

*OL Michael Starts of Waco La Vega added another big name to his list this week when USC extended a scholarship offer. No word at this time if they want him for offense or defense. The Trojans also offered OL John Michael McGee of Texarkana.

*DE Danielle Hunter of Katy Morton Ranch was offered by Nebraska earlier this month. He currently favors Missouri but has made it known that he prefers to stay close to home if possible. Oscar Giles has been by his school during the spring evaluation period but no confirmation if he'll be attending the June 5th summer camp in Austin.

*Some more 2013 names to get familiar with:

WR, Ra'Shaad Samples, Dallas Skyline (5-11, 165)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...Samples-109744

LB, Paul Whitmill, Bastrop (6-1, 200)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...hitmill-127741

DB, Will Barrows, Dallas Skyline (5-10, 160)
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...Barrows-109746

[TFloss32]

Two stud RBs from the 2013 class that have confirmed they'll be camping in Austin on June 12th are James White of Pearland Dawson and Dontre Wilson of DeSoto.

[TFloss32]

OL Michael Starts of Waco La Vega and Texas A&M commitment OL Mike Matthews of Fort Bend Elkins were added to the 2012 US Army All-American Game roster earlier in the month.

[TFloss32]

I wrote last night that DB Geno Smith of Atlanta, GA has had Auburn as his favorite school for a while, but I ran across this interesting tweet from him that he posted yesterday:

"So in the end, it will come down to Alabama, Texas, Notre Dame."

Smith supposedly wants to make a decision before school starts in the fall.

[TFloss32]

Correction on DB Landon Collins from earlier in the week...it looks like an unofficial visit in July is the more likely scenario for him. The staff obviously would like him in Austin for June 5th, but that's the latest.

[ThePop]

We must have one of the best recruiting staffs in the country. It's amazing how many great out of state players are actually serious about Texas.

[TFloss32]

We must have one of the best recruiting staffs in the country. It's amazing how many great out of state players are actually serious about Texas.

Look at how well UT is recruiting off of a 5-7 season. Now, picture how dominant this new staff could be coming off of a season that UT usually enjoys at 10-2 or 11-1.

[TFloss32]

FYI...the 2013 LSR (Lone Star Rankings) came out yesterday on Rivals. I'll post that for everyone later tonight when I have some time to sit down and type it all out. UT is already looking good with some big names.

[TFloss32]

A big-time 2013 prospect confirmed for Texas' June 12th camp today. DT Justin Manning of Dallas Kimball will be in attendance. He's thought to be a major OU lean right now because his brother, DeMarcus Granger, played on the DL for the Sooners from 2006 until 2009. Like DT Malcom Brown of Brenham, Bo Davis will have a recruiting battle on his hands. Manning is currently ranked #6 overall on the 2013 LSR.

[TFloss32]

A video of Bennie Wylie working out with the boys:

http://www.texassports.com/allaccess/?media=245536

[TFloss32]

It was reported tonight that 2013 DB Marcell Harris of Groveland, FL will be traveling to Austin along with his father for the June 12th camp. Harris is supposedly pretty pumped about it. Duane Akina said he's the "best sop re DB" he's seen so far.

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