Some more updates on certain individuals...
*OL
Kennedy Estelle has confirmed for June 5th even though he's left a little wiggle room for June 12th because of his busy track schedule. He's a smart guy; I don't see him skipping J5 and missing out on being around the current commitments (and future teammates). A lot of you will be pleased to know that QB
Connor Brewer, RB
Johnathan Gray and WR
Cayleb Jones talk to him all of the time through Facebook and email so he's not hurting for attention from anyone in the UT program. Status quo with him as far as out-of-state trips as there's still nothing planned. Maybe he'll get that itch to commit this weekend. Be patient with this one as he's a guy that want to make a decision on his own terms.
*Another name who has confirmed for June 5th is DB
Justin Thomas of West Orange-Stark. I've said from the beginning that I didn't think the UT staff would go hard after Thomas because of his lack of size, but it also turns that he has some transcript issues that he needs to address. In addition to that, there's guys like DB
Geno Smith and ATH
Nelson Agholor that the staff simply wants more than him. The recruitments of the aforementioned prospects could cost Texas a chance with Thomas or even a guy like ATH
Kendall Sanders, but I like the gutsy approach as the previous staff would've conceded these recruits to other schools early on in the process. I liken Thomas' situation to that of DB
Quandre Diggs last year; he's Texas good and would be a household name if he were two inches taller.
*2013 QB
Tyrone Swoopes of Whitewright received a second visit from
Darrell Wyatt last week. I don't see why UT would make two separate trips to see Swoopes during the spring if they didn't plan on going after him hard in next year's class. His athletic ability is in a different stratosphere than
Bryan Harsin has ever had the privilege of working with, so it'd be interesting to see how he'd fit into his offensive scheme. If you're looking for a guy that could ease the transition to a new signal caller once QB
Connor Brewer leaves Austin, the UT staff may want to take a hard look at QB
Kohl Stewart of Houston St. Pius X as he possesses a very similar game. With that said, Swoopes is just too good to pass up and I hope he's the main target in 2013.
*Although he has an invite to camp in Austin for J5, DB
Colin Blake of San Antonio Brandeis will not be in Austin due to family vacation plans. There are a lot of rumors out there that's he's favoring this school or that school, but Texas would be in a good position here should they extend an offer. Everyone that saw him work out this spring raves about his size and ability and
Duane Akina is a big fan. Like Thomas, he's a potential victim of the numbers crunch.
*Thanks to BFLT for bringing up this name and I'll add a little more to it.
Stacy Searels was in Greensboro, NC last week to evaluate a new name in OL/DL
DJ Reader. One built-in advantage that Texas has in this recruitment is Reader has an aunt that lives about ten minutes from UT's campus and he's been to Austin numerous times. He's always been enamored with UT and currently has the Longhorns atop his list of favorites despite not yet receiving an offer and having serious interest (and other offers) from SEC schools. Reader's coach claims that he can be had by Texas should they decide to go after him. A decision on an offer wil likely be made by the staff in the next few weeks. FYI...I've also seen him listed at 6'4"/315, so there's a debate on big he actually is. Searels also had the opportunity to stop in Charlotte, NC to check on OL
DJ Humphries. This one isn't happening; he's SEC bound and has been for some time. Florida, LSU and Tennessee are some of his favorites.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-Reader-115590
*You'll notice on the attendance list that yet another name has surfaced for the OL.
Braden Meador of Montgomery will be in attendance this weekend after receiving an invite to J5 from
Stacy Searels. Now, I'm not mentioning his name because I think he'll be a part of the 2012 class eventually; I can say with confidence that he probably won't be. What's interesting about him is what Searels told his coach while in Montgomery. Turns out the coaching staff plans on offering at least one more OL for this class. That's more than likely a good indication of where things are with OL
Michael Starts as the original plan was to offer eight OL and take the first four to commit. If the staff begins feeling bad about their chances with OL
Andrus Peat as well, we could see a second additional offer go out. This weekend will be a great opportunity for OL
Greg Brantley of Carthage and OL
Seaver Myers of Friendswood to show what their made of as one of their numbers will likely be called somewhere down the line.
