Look at you.
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I saw the thread on Shaggy Bevo yesterday about this. Just to clarify for everyone that's curious, Recruitocosm is NOT plagiarizing off of the stuff they see on here. I actually contributed some of what I know to that article and that's why it looks familiar. It's partially my stuff and they had my permission to post it. I haven't told y'all this, but I met the guys over there a while back and we've shared some info back and forth. I may do some daily or semi-daily work for them in the future but I haven't completely decided on that (yesterday was a bit of a trial run). It would be a combination of anaylsis, opinions and info from sources I share with them. I'd like to hear what y'all think about that. Either way, this thread will continue.
Look at you.
You disapprove?
Nothing official at this point, my friend.
Some Monday morning updates to get us all caught up...
*Biggest news has to do with another DB popping up on the radar. DB Colin Blake of San Antonio Brandeis received not one, but two visits from Duane Akina on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. Blake has seen his stock rise throughout the spring and he fits the mold of your typical late bloomer prospect. About two weeks ago he had TCU and Texas A&M atop his list and wanted to make a commitment at the end of spring training, but with so many new schools (including UT) entering the picture, it looks like he's going to slow things down a bit. As most of you know, OU offered about two weeks ago. They're pushing really hard for Blake right now considering one of his good friends and teammates, OL Kyle Marrs, is already committed to the Sooners (he was their first commitment of the 2012 class). Anyway, Akina will be attempting to get Blake to Austin for the June 5th summer camp for further evaluation. With DB Bryson Echols and ATH Orlando "Duke" Thomas already in the mix at DB and considering both are under six feet tall, I'd imagine Akina really wants size for that last DB spot. If size didn't matter, a guy like DB Justin Thomas (who stands at about 5'9") of West Orange-Stark who has that "lock down" potential would have already received an offer. Blake measures at 6'3"/185 currently and presents that package of size and athleticism UT is looking for. In addition to that, Blake is very new to the game. His junior season of football at Brandeis was his first since middle school. He played strictly basketball his freshman and sop re year(s). Here are the remaining candidates for that last DB spot:
Nelson Agholor, Berkeley Prep (Tampa, FL)
Daniel Brooks, Rockdale
Corey Coleman, Richardson Pearce
Ryan Reid, Sherman
Kendall Sanders, Athens
Justin Thomas, West Orange-Stark
Leo Thomas, San Antonio Sam Houston
Kevin Vaccaro, Brownwood
*Speaking of ATH Nelson Agholor...there's a rumor out there right now that Akina may want to ride this one out and not offer any additional DBs until he knows for sure that he doesn't have a shot with Agholor. I'm not so sure that's a smart idea seeing as how this appears to be a Florida/Florida state battle, but hopefully a visit to Austin is in the works at some point this summer. An interesting sidenote...Agholor supposedly has a teammate with family in Texas (not sure where) and he could make a trip with him this summer and somehow stop by campus depending on how close he is.
*OL Curtis Riser of DeSoto supposedly was dominant this past weekend at the Nike NFTC in Houston. He received MVP for the offensive linemen and won the majority of his match-ups during 1 on 1 drills. This is great news to hear considering he had his knee scoped earlier in the year and he's still recovering from that surgery. Riser projects as a guard at the college level.
*Major Applewhite made an interesting stop on Thursday. He went to evaluate DE Taiwan Johnson of Manvel. We haven't talked about Johnson in a while because UT's contact with him has been very limited and the staff has other DEs ranked above him right now. Despite Johnson's offer list growing what seems like every day, don't expect an offer to made any time soon. Here are the other candidates for that weakside DE spot UT is trying to fill:
Torshiro Davis, Woodlawn (Shreveport, LA)
Danielle Hunter, Katy Morton Ranch
Channing Ward, Aberdeen (Aberdeen, MS)
*Like DT Eddie Goldman of Washington, D.C., it looks like OL D.J. Humphries of Charlotte, NC is another out-of-state prospect we can scratch off of the list. According to Humphries' coach at Mallard Creek HS, UT hasn't made contact since early April when they had discussed a visit to see Humphries work out. He's made it known that he wants to play SEC ball so UT was spinning their wheels with this one. It appears the staff has already started focusing their attention elsewhere.
*Latest on OL Michael Starts of Waco La Vega...he came out for the first time last week and publicly mentioned that he prefers to play defense on the next level (many of us suspected that). He then followed that up by saying he's still willing to play wherever his coaches feel is best for him. Being that UT is the only school recruiting him for the OL specifically, you would think Texas' chances have decreased significantly. Not the case at all. He says Texas is still at the top of his list with other schools like Baylor and Texas A&M. Starts had the opportunity to have a phone conversation with Stacy Searels last Monday and they discussed his next visit to Austin which is supposed to go down some time this month. Darrell Wyatt is sharing this recruitment with Searels. UT has their two best recruiters on this one, so if UT ends up losing out it won't be because of a lack of effort or experience.
*More on DE Denico Autry of East Mississippi CC...turns out the offer he spoke of from Manny Diaz is not "official," but more of a conditional offer. He'll have to meet certain requirements (mainly grades) before he receives an invite to Austin. Autry's coach is pushing for him to get to Austin somewhere down the road, but understands that his GPA will be a big factor in determining his future. Autry plans on graduating in December and will likely be a candidate for spring ball at the next college he attends. He'll have three years to play two seasons and that gives him the opportunity to redshirt if necessary.
*For those that have been wondering, nothing new to report on ATH Kendall Sanders. According to him, he hasn't heard from the staff since Duane Akina and Darrell Wyatt stopped by his school a few weeks ago. Below is a good write-up from Recruitocosm explaining the latest on him and ATH Daniel Brooks of Rockdale:
http://recruitocosm.fantake.com/2011...daniel-brooks/
I wanted to add that DB Colin Blake was excited when Duane Akina dropped by his school two days in a row. He was quoted saying that he knows how many DBs Akina has put in the league (three more this year alone) and he'd have a great opportunity to turn pro under his tutelage if he went to Texas. The Longhorns have some catching up to do on this one if they are serious about Blake.
OL, Curtis Riser, DeSoto
DT, Vincent Taylor, San Antonio Madison
Taylor is a 2013 DT that Texas will be after. He was also in Houston this weekend for the Nike NFTC. He already has plans to be in Austin for the June 5th summer camp. For those that didn't watch the Cibolo Steele/San Antonio Madison match-up last August on ESPN, Taylor was arguably the MVP of the game. He single-handedly controlled movement on the line that entire night.
The Rivals 100 came out this morning. WR Dorial Green-Beckham leads the way at #1 and ATH Nelson Agholor was promoted to five-star status. Seven UT commitments and many other targets on the list. It was a pleasant surprise to see DE Hassan Ridgeway ranked at #91.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...ings/rank-2867
Good article on RB Johnathan Gray now that things have calmed down a bit for him:
http://www.ihigh.com/vypefw/article_65617.html
johnathan gray at 14 and trey williams at 24.
Here's a quick breakdown of the notable recruits on the Rivals 100 for those who don't want to sift through the list. I highlighted the UT commitments in red.
#1…Dorial Green-Beckham- Hillcrest (Springfield, MO)
#2…Mario Edwards, Jr. – Denton Ryan
#3…DJ Humphries - Mallard Creek (Charlotte, NC)
#4…Eddie Goldman – Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.)
#7…John Theus – Bolles (Jacksonville, FL)
#9…Nelson Agholor – Berkeley Prep (Tampa, FL)
#13…Noah Spence - Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, PA)
#14…Johnathan Gray – Aledo
#15…Andrus Peat – Corona Del Sol (Tempe, AZ)
#17…Landon Collins – Dutchtown (Geismar, LA)
#21…Cayleb Jones – S.F. Austin
#24…Trey Williams – Spring DeKaney
#26…Malcom Brown – Brenham
#31…Zach Banner – Lakes (Lakewood, WA)
#35…Kennedy Estelle – Pearland Dawson
#50…Thomas Johnson – Dallas Skyline
#54…Kendall Sanders – Athens
#66…Dominique Wheeler – Crockett
#73…Brian Nance – Euless Trinity
#77…Kwon Alexander – Oxford (Oxford, AL)
#82…John Michael McGee – Texarkana Texas
#89…Camrhon Hughes – Killeen Harker Heights
#91…Hassan Ridgeway – Mansfield
#97…Torshiro Davis – Woodlawn (Shreveport, LA)
#99…Tim Cole – Brenham
I'm sure a lot of you noticed that QB Connor Brewer didn't make the list which seems baffling considering his resume. He didn't have a great showing at the Nike combine on the USC campus a while back, so I think these rankings are a reflection of that. He has some more camps he'll be attending this summer that will give him the opportunity to move up. Not a lot of love for QBs in general this year.
Small correction on DB Colin Blake...Akina was at San Antonio Brandeis on Thursday and Friday (not Wednesday as I originally wrote).
New OL name on the radar...Tre'Von Armstead of Port Arthur Memorial. This guy has been talked about a little bit here and there, but UT is interested enough that Stacy Searels dropped by his high school on Friday. No offer was extended, but word is Searels was impressed. Texas A&M and LSU are also showing more interest. His profile doesn't show it, but he supposedly has verbal offers from Baylor, Colorado, Missouri and Tulane.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...rmstead-125678
Last edited by TFloss32; 05-10-2011 at 10:17 AM.
Didn't expect Tim Cole to be ahead of Jenkins, and very surprised about Brewer.
i had not caught that davante borque, considered the best RB from louisiana, had committed to the aggies last week. that gives them a nice big back (6-3, 200) to compliment williams. the aggies will have michael, mister jones, ben molina and now williams and borque as their backfield for fall of 2012. no wonder smith bailed.
*TigerBait (LSU Rivals site) is reporting that DB Landon Collins received an offer from Texas last week. Just a refresher on him...Collins was the one who dropped the UT staff a line in mid April and he's been talking with Duane Akina ever since. He does have a desire to get to Austin in the future and that will have to happen in order for UT to have a chance. He currently has LSU and Alabama dead even as his #1 overall school of choice and said he'll be making his commitment at the 2012 Under Armour All-American Game because that date happens to be his birthday. Like I said before, this one will be an extremely tough pull for any school not named LSU because he lives so close to Baton Rouge and his mother apparently goes way back with LSU RBs coach, Frank Wilson. Wilson was the Rivals "2010 Recruiter of the Year", by the way.
*Another out-of-state DB has surfaced in the past couple of days. Many of you might have noticed his name being on the master list for quite some time, but DB Geno Smith of the St. Pius X School in Atlanta, GA is being pursued by the UT staff. He and Duane Akina have been talking to one another since February and Smith had the opportunity to meet Stacy Searels a few weeks ago when he stopped by his school to watch a workout. I'd imagine this was around the same time Searels was in Georgia to see OL Vadal Alexander. Smith has emphasized the importance of UT's track record for putting DBs in the NFL along with other great players they've produced and he's doing his best to sort out plans for a summer visit to Austin with his mother because he simply wants a chance to see campus. Alabama and USC were other schools mentioned as possibilities. Auburn is currently his leader after a recent visit to their campus, but Smith claims he's wide open and will do his due diligence. Besides being very talented, he's also known for being strong academically which is why his offer list is as long as my arm. Like Collins, UT will need to get him on campus to have a shot. It seems that UT is -bent on filling that last DB spot with an absolute stud.
"I'll go wherever in the country that's the best fit for me and opens the most doors for me. Texas opens a lot of doors," Smith said.
*OU continues to offer Texas boys. DB Ryan Reid of Sherman, and one of UT's candidates for that remaining DB spot, received an offer from the Sooners to follow up a visit by Willie Martinez and Brent Venables to his school last week. Reid is the third DB OU has offered in the past two weeks including DB Colin Blake of San Antonio Brandeis and DB DeVante Harris of Mesquite Horn (who committed to the Sooners on 4/29). Reid said this offer has propelled OU into his top two and they could possibly be his #1 school at the moment. His timeline for a decision is later this month or some time during the summer. Darrell Wyatt stopped by Sherman at the end of April, but things have been quiet between Reid and UT since that point.
*Duane Akina will be in Brownwood today to visit DB Kevin Vaccaro (current DB Kenny Vaccaro's little brother).
*I'll leave you with some interesting recent quotes from OL Kennedy Estelle.
"I think I'm going to end up in-state or somewhere around Texas," the 6-7, 300-pound Dawson High player reported. "It's a family thing. My dad wants me to go to Texas."
"They're (Texas) the one I'm looking at," he said. "I'd like to look at other schools, but I haven't talked to any other coaches. I'm always busy with track and I don't have the time to."
"Texas isn't my favorite, but they're on top right now," he explained. "It's safe to say they're leading. I want to look at some other schools, though.”
Estelle clearly isn't in love with Texas as much as his parents are and still wants to make sure he looks around in order to make an informed decision. I think it's one of those things where he wants to make sure it's "his" decision and not that of his mother, father, girlfriend, etc. With his busy schedule getting the best of him, hopefully he'll tire of the process soon and pull the trigger for the Longhorns. I know his parents aren't thrilled with the idea of making out-of-state trips on their own dime this summer. Even though this one is lasting a lot longer than most thought it would, the important thing to remember is the Estelle family is in UT's corner all the way.
Last edited by TFloss32; 05-10-2011 at 09:55 AM.
rjv-
I don't think he's cut ties with A&M just yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did because of the lack of contact from the Aggie staff in recent weeks, his legal problems and the other RB recruits they've already received verbals from. He also has other schools making him guarantees that A&M won't.
I wanted to metion this about 2013 DT Vincent Taylor yesterday, but I wasn't 100% sure. He is another prospect who moved to Texas from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. LSU is his favorite school, but he'll likely be a priority for Texas in the next class.
Here's the link for the Rivals 250 and the breakdown of notable recruits. UT boys in red. The only guys who missed the cut were Bluiett, De La Torre, Echols and Norman.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...ings/rank-2868
#101…Peter Jinkens – Dallas Skyline
#107…LaDarell McNeil – Dallas Maceo Smith
#119…Orlando Thomas – Copperas Cove
#120…Channing Ward – Aberdeen (Aberdeen, MS)
#121…Barry Sanders – Heritage Hall (Oklahoma City, OK)
#123…Connor Brewer - Chaparral (Scottsdale, AZ)
#127…Javonte Magee- San Antonio Sam Houston
#136…Davonte Neal – Chaparral (Scottsdale, AZ)
#144…Matt Davis – Klein Forest
#147…Devonte Fields – Arlington Martin
#148…Michael Starts – Waco La Vega
#155…Bralon Addison – Fort Bend Hightower
#161…Colin Blake – San Antonio Brandeis
#168…Paul Boyette, Jr. – Humble
#169…Quay Evans – Morton (Morton, MS)
#170…Jonathan Williams – Allen
#193…Edward Pope – Carthage
#200…Trae Elston – Oxford (Oxford, AL)
#214…Reginald Davis- Tenaha
#228…Trevor Knight – San Antonio Reagan
#235…Justin Thomas – West Orange-Stark
#244…Curtis Riser – DeSoto
Jinkens has been tearing up the camp circuit the past few months. You'll probably see him jump Cole at some point when the updated versions of the list come out later in the year. The fact that Jinkens will be playing solely LB for Dallas Skyline this year will also help his case.
*Big news from yesterday is Bo Davis made a trip to Shreveport, LA to see DE Torshiro Davis. This was the second visit by the UT staff during the spring evaluation period (Searels visited in late April). Word is Texas is in a favorable position to turn Torshiro's LSU commitment because of Bo's recent recruiting efforts. It's important to remember that the two are very close from Bo's days at Alabama. He still plans to camp in Austin during the first week of June. IMO, he is the out-of-state prospect UT has the best shot with at the moment.
*Little more on 2013 DB Marcell Harris of Groveland, FL...he told GatorBait this week that Florida sits atop his list right now mainly because of his father (he was a letterman at Florida from 1994-97), but Texas is also right there because he's a lifelong fan of the Longhorns and they were the first school to come and out and visit him. Texas has invited him to camp in Austin this summer so we'll see if the Harris family will be able to make that trip.
*Kind of a non-update, but OL Andrus Peat has said he'll be narrowing down his list of colleges in the next two or three weeks. His next list will feature eight to 10 schools. You can be sure Texas will be on it. There's still talk about him making a visit to Austin this summer with QB Connor Brewer.
Another video of QB Connor Brewer with his personal coach. You can see where he's gained some good weight (currently weighing in at about 200 lbs.). Tell me this guy doesn't belong in the Rivals 100. Notice the UT shorts!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq7yeySPA1A
Crazy news this morning per 24/7 Hook 'Em...Bo Davis and Darrell Wyatt stopped by Crockett HS today to see WR Dominque Wheeler who the staff cut ties with shortly after the first Junior Day in February. Contact between UT and Wheeler started up again as early as last week. Gerry Hamilton doesn't seem to believe there is anything more to this than just a regular school stop, but having two assistants there makes me think otherwise. There are rumors of at least one current WR transferring out of the program (likely Greg Timmons), so this visit could have something to do with that. There's also been talk of WR Marquise Goodwin quitting football to train for the 2012 Olympics, but he continues to shoot that rumor down.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...Wheeler-122216
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