2012 recruiting class woes (article)

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by Godz40acres, Mar 4, 2015.

  1. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    BON blogger, Wescott Eberts, has an interesting article on TEXAS' #2 ranked recruiting class that was dubbed "Texas Gang Or Die" in 2012.

    Per BON:
    The brash 2012 Texas Longhorns recruiting class intended to take the Horns back to the top of the college football world after two subpar seasons and, at least according to the recruiting rankings, looked poised to do just that.

    Unfortunately, if the "Die" part also includes washing out, whether through transfer or as a result of a dismissal, that was the path taken by many of the top prospects in the group.

    Attrition [More discussion of each player in the article]

    OT Kennedy Estelle (No. 3 overall recruit in class)
    Estelle got himself suspended before the second game and was ultimately dismissed less than three weeks later.

    OG Curtis Riser (No. 4 overall recruit)
    [W]hen he transferred to Sam Houston State before the start of the spring semester, it caught no one by surprise.

    WR Cayleb Jones (No. 5 overall recruit)
    [His felony aggravated assault] charges eventually got reduced to a misdemeanor, but Jones still opted for a fresh start by transferring to Arizona that summer, joining his friend [Connor] Brewer.

    WR Kendall Sanders (No. 7 overall recruit)
    [H]e removed any opportunity to break out as a junior due to his involvement in the alleged sexual assault of a Texas student last June with fellow wide receiver Montrel Meander.

    QB Connor Brewer (No. 12 overall recruit)
    [H]e was never able to surpass Brown's favorite quarterback, Case McCoy, and opted to bail once Tyrone Swoopes seemingly passed him on the depth chart heading into his redshirt freshman season.

    RB Jalen Overstreet (No. 20 overall recruit)
    After violating team rules repeatedly throughout the early part of new head coach Charlie Strong's tenure, Overstreet dismissed himself as part of the pre-camp purge last fall.

    Underachievers

    LB Peter Jinkens (No. 8 overall recruit)
    Relegated to a special teams role and spot playing time at the strong-side linebacker position, Jinkens only has one more year left to remove his name from this list.

    OT Camrhon Hughes (No. 9 overall recruit)
    Hughes enrolled early, then suffered an ACL injury during the summer of his freshman season and seemingly lost the body quickness that made him a consensus four-star prospect.

    DB Adrian Colbert (No. 10 overall recruit)
    Colbert could continue to struggle to find playing time unless the light finally flicks on for him this spring.

    RB/WR Daje Johnson (No. 14 overall recruit)
    [H]e struggles so much to stay out of trouble and wasn't a big part of the offense when healthy in 2014 that it's hard to really hold out much hope that he gets things turned around as a senior.
    [Full article here]
     
  2. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    Wow, he later called them a "Texas Gang of Duds". Let that sink in a minute.

    Gray and Brown have been successful and both contributed as have a few others but, what a horrible overall Report Card for that class. Sad on many levels.

    I hope Daje can keep it together, contribute in a big way this season and get off that list... perhaps Colbert & Jinkens will step up too.
     
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  3. 1leggedduck

    1leggedduck 1,000+ Posts

    Seems Daje needed some tough love and Coach Strong had big doses of tough and love for him. I'll stay optimistic on him and predict a huge breakout season with no off field issues. Please.
     
  4. Htown77

    Htown77 5,000+ Posts

    The 2012 recruiting class will be redshirt juniors and seniors this seasons. There has been attrition, but seems premature to call it a bust. I sure hope it is not a bust. If it really is, we are going to be in for a really bad season this year. The post condemns a 28 man class over 10 players. A lot of football players do not start until their junior and senior seasons. The class may very will be a bust, but seems way too early to tell. If we have a good or great season next year, the 2012 class will have a lot if not most of the starting spots. Have we already declared we are not going to win this season in March?

    I hope our 2015 class is not prematurely declared a disappointment a couple of years from now.
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2015
  5. Clean

    Clean 5,000+ Posts

    Unfortunately, this has been a trend. Right up until the program collapsed in 2010, we had highly ranked recruiting classes under Mack. We were coming off an MNC and pretty much had our pick of Texas HS players. But, we picked the wrong ones. Schools with much lower rated classes like aggy and TCU actually had much better talent than we did.

    That's why these classes should be rated after they graduate, not before they play a down.
     
  6. Htown77

    Htown77 5,000+ Posts

    I agree which is why judgment should be withheld on the 2012 class until they actually graduate since many of them have two years of eligibility left and will be first time starters this season.
     

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