I don't know how high I am on Tennison. I watched him several times last season and he really struggled with drops. Even some of the fans in the stands were talking about it...to the point where they expressed surprised when he caught them.
A source gives 24/7 an update on DE Taquon Graham of Temple:
“Texas is back in the lead,” the source said. “Junior day reassured him that the staff really wants him. Communication just wasn’t there with the staff changes and A&M offering (Brick) Haley. But they told him they really wanted him, so junior day changed a lot. His mother and brother loved it, too.”
the kansas blowout of texas had an effect...............kansas/baylor battle...............
shaka
Update on CB Kary Vincent of Port Arthur Memorial (24/7):
“My dad hassled me a little bit (when UT offered), but I grew up a Texas fan,” Vincent said. “Really, it was because of Jamaal Charles. He’s from Port Arthur, and I loved watching him. I also loved playing with Texas on the NCAA video game. When you played with them, you were unstoppable.”
“I thought they were going to offer maybe in the spring or when I visited,” Vincent said. “When my coach told me to call Coach (Vance) Bedford, and he said I had an offer, I was really excited. I guess Coach (Clay) Jennings put in a good word for me.”
“Coach Jennings is a really cool dude,” Vincent said. “I talked to him a few days ago, and he told me that he’s really excited to be back in Texas and things like that. I’m really happy for him."
“He’s a coach that really cares about his players both on and off the field. He’s a guy I would like to play for. He told me that he loves my personality and wants to get me up there for a visit soon.”
24/7 reporting Texas has offered LB Tyler Taylor of Buford, GA.
http://247sports.com/Player/Tyler-Taylor-85532
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/4619358/tyler-taylor
DT Damion Daniels of Dallas Bishop Dunne talks about receiving his UT offer (24/7):
“When I got the offer, I started doing flips off the wall… I mean, well, basically,” Daniels said with a laugh. “I just lost it. I was so excited. I couldn’t believe that it was real when my coach told me about it.”
“I talked to Coach BJ on the phone, and he just told me that he wants me to get down there for a visit,” Daniels said. “I’ve been there before, and I love everything about it. I’m looking forward to talking with Coach (Brick) Haley and Coach (Charlie) Strong.”
“I see a big turnaround for Texas coming up,” Daniels said. “I think Coach Strong is going to make it happen for sure. They are on the rise. I like the program overall and the academics offered there.”
WR Omar Manning (Lancaster)
http://247sports.com/Player/Omar-Manning-82004
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/5270195/omar-manning
LHN All-Access video of winter workouts:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:14885891
Per 24/7, Coach Jennings has started talking to CB Myles Jones of Magnolia West.
http://247sports.com/Player/Myles-Jones-89386
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/4098969/myles-jones
Quotes from WR Omar Manning of Lancaster (24/7):
“After my track workout, my coaches got me on the phone with Coach (Clay) Jennings, and he passed it over to Coach (Charlie) Strong,” Manning said. “We had a pretty good conversation. He told me that I had an offer and that he wants me to visit soon.”
“I’m really interested in Texas,” Manning said. “I was pretty excited about the offer. I would say my interest level is high. I like the tradition of the program. I think they are going to get things turned around with the new coaches.”
“I’m just listening to all the schools right now,” Manning said. “Alabama, TCU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Arizona State and Texas have all been recruiting me hard. I’m just looking for a family environment. That’s a big factor.”
More from OL Grayson Reed of Cypress Creek (24/7):
“Texas has always been in my top,” Reed said. “This was my first junior day. Now that I’ve seen everything and talked with the coaches, they are up at the top. (Texas is my leader), but I’m still open to other schools.”
“I was with Coach Mattox the entire time,” Reed said. “I really like him. He’s a really cool guy. I liked being with him. He told me that since I’m really versatile, I could play anything along the offensive line. That’s pretty cool.”
“I got here a little early and talked to Coach Strong,” he said. “We talked about everything. He just told me to focus on my senior season and not worry too much about college. He made it clear that they really want me.”
OrangeBloods reporting TE Blake Whiteley and LB Dalton Santos are listed as injured going into spring training on Monday.
Santos recently hurt his toe, but no word how limited he'll be.
Whiteley is still recovering from the knee injury he had in last year's fall camp. He won't be back until summer at the earliest.
Per TFB: Charlies Strategy
In terms of his recruiting strategy, Charlie Strong is the anti-Mack. Brown made early offers and wanted early commitments. Charlie strong sometimes seems like he’s deliberately trying to not to offer and not to get commitments. At least that’s how it may feel to Longhorn fans.
If it feels like that to you, the reason is because, to some degree, it is true.
I spoke to Texas (and everyone else’s) top defensive back target, Jeffrey Okudah earlier this week after his visit to Austin. Okudah said he had a chance to sit and down with coach Strong. He said that coach Strong talked to him about the fact that he doesn’t want early commits. According to Okudah Strong says he prefers for guys to wait.
That certainly isn’t the first time we’ve heard this. Other recruits have noted having the same type of conversation with coach Strong.
I’ve thought about this recruiting strategy and while I think Texas still has some things that need to be refined on the recruiting trail (many will be naturally remedied with guys like Mattox and Gilbert), I find the delay strategy intriguing. It intrigues not only as a substantive idea unto itself but also in what it says about Charlie Strong and his faith in his ability to be successful…even if it’s in the final hour.
So I want to offer up a few thoughts on why this deliberately delayed recruiting strategy is interesting and perhaps even compelling and what it may say about coach Strong. I will note that I don’t know that this kind of a strategy would work in states that don’t have large recruiting pools but it seems to be working in Texas.
– His Offer on His Timeline: One of the first questions most coaches ask a scout or a high school coach about a prospective player is, “what other offers does he have?”. It’s a widespread question and in my opinion is indicative of a schools inability, whether due to lack of resources, confidence or otherwise to do their own evaluations. One group of coaches you’ll rarely, if ever, hear ask this question is coaches from the University of Alabama. The question is mostly irrelevant to them. They offer who they like…when they want. Sometimes Alabama is early and sometimes they are late. They’re on their own timeline.
Strong employs a similar strategy. In fact last year when everyone was offering Okudah prior to spring, Texas was one of the later schools to offer in the spring. But Texas was also the first school to offer Lagaryonn Carson. Strong works on his own timeline and does his own evaluations.
Last year in camp, the Texas staff loved CB Rajah Preciado. Preciado was the only db that could run with Damion Miller (Miller still got him at the tail end of two deep routes but no one can truly stop Miller). At that time Preciado’s biggest offer was Fresno State. The Texas staff didn’t care. Prior to going back to the offices after the camp, Vaughn and Bedford had agreed that if Preciado measured out at 5’9 or taller (flat footed, flat back) Texas would’ve offered. He measured in at 5’8.5. So while Preciado was not offered, it had nothing to do with his lack of offers. If God had given Preciado half an inch of height he would’ve signed with Texas.
– Time to Evaluate: To the point above, offering on your own timeline whether early or late affords you the opportunity to really get to know a player and watch his development. And while this may seem to contradict my point above about doing your own evaluations (probably because it does), sometimes delaying offers allows other staffs time to discover problems/issues with a recruit that you don’t.
If we’re talking about taking time with offers, it gives you time to watch a players development and watch how their character unfolds as they handle the recruiting process. It also gives you time to see how some new players will emerge during their senior season who may end up being better than the recruits you had on your board.
– A Tidal Wave of Momentum: When specifically talking about seeking delayed commitments, Strong has been able to create tidal waves of momentum on signing day. And as that happens, recruits who you’d think Strong had no shot at can get swept up into that momentum. There were guys in the last cycle that, at a certain point, I thought Texas had come in too late on. But to my surprise, those players ended up signing with Texas. And while those particular recruits will point to very real reasons they chose Texas, I can’t help but believe that the energy and momentum that Texas had going into signing day was a huge part of it. When you get a few commits here and there, it’s less stressful for the fans but Charlie seems to prefer to create this ball of tension and energy towards signing day and it seems to work.
– He’s the Hunter, Not the Hunted: Towards the end of the recruiting cycle, everyone is trying to flip everyone else. But what do you do when a kid isn’t committed? You can’t flip him. You can recruit him and perhaps earn a commitment from him but you can’t flip him. Strong seems to like being the predator. He likes to have the guys he feels good about stay uncommitted…as if to make them wait on that moment till they can no longer be preyed upon. Meanwhile, he targets commits and instead of being of Texas being the girl you’ve been dating for a long time…Texas becomes the “new girl”. And everyone likes the new girl.
In a time when players are changing their mind more than ever, this strategy, at least for Texas, seems like a brilliant psychological move in how to deal with the emotions of young people. Recruit them but don’t let them commit until there’s no turning back. That way you…
– Remain Fresh: Coaches often talk about recruiting to players using the dating analogy. Whether it’s…”well we aren’t ready to offer because when we do it means we’re committed to you so it’s like dating vs being in a relationship…” Or something like that. Or when a player commits they get the…”this is a marriage” speech.
But papers aren’t signed till signing day so however that analogy goes, there’s no “marriage” till those papers are signed. So you’ve got to stay fresh till the end. Easiest way to do that, it seems, is to delay that exciting moment where a player is able to say “I commit”. Because often, a few days or weeks after that exciting moment comes the…”hmmm I wonder what else is out there?” moment.
– Make the Offer Special: I know that in the last recruiting cycle, Strong and his staff had a deliberate strategy of wanting to make the Texas offer special…to make it meaningful. And one of the easiest ways to do that is to make a it a little more rare. Whether an offer comes early or late, they are trying to make it special.
– This Strategy Takes Balls: I don’t know what all this is going to mean for Texas on the field but I’ve got to hand it to Strong, he’s got guts. In my experience people who have principles in life and stick to them despite what others say tend to be successful more often than not.
Strong has tried the patience of many Longhorn faithful but his resume suggests that the man knows what he’s doing. People question his recruiting every year and every year he ends with an epic bang. Texas fans are hoping that like his final hour miracles in recruiting, Texas will have similar success on the field.
OL Chuck Filiaga of Murrieta, CA confirms he's moving to Dallas:
http://www.recruitingnewsguru.com/br...s-high-school/
OL Will Farrar of Fort Bend Travis committed to UCLA today.
Per 24/7, UT has offered LB Christopher Allen of Baton Rouge, LA.
http://247sports.com/Player/Christopher-Allen-57196
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3449332/christopher-allen
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