2021 Recruiting - Football

I feel like a red-headed stepchild (apologies to red-headed stepchildren, people and God love you) and it's so weird that we would provide a healthy amount of PT for any elite o-linemen and for some unknown reason they don't come here. Opportunity on top of opportunity.
I'm thinking we need a coach who has NFL o-line coaching experience. Don't mess around. Pay him handsomely.
Surely, a few of them will transport out.

 

You are correct that we can provide playing time and that typically would be a draw. However mediocre results from Herman and a really poor image of Herman outside the burnt orange sun glasses just hurts with some elite prospects. I have posed this issue before and the diehards keep coming back with "look at the ratings of our recent classes". True we have had good ratings but very poor in class balance. Sure we signed 300+ wide receiver types and an equal number of DB's that have boosted our class rankings but how many can play and how many have busted?? Balance and results are what draws the recruits and a coach who doesnt display immaturity on TV or newspaper certainly would help. Like the rest of you who love the Longhorns, its disappointing to see our head coach act an *** toward a player from another team or even to the fans/players on our side. Herman is a huge uplift from Charlie but he is not Mack Brown circa year 2000. Just look at the class Mack is building and the same way he did it there before, here at UT and now back at UNC. Herman is not a rock star with alumni and with the Brock's that must have been apparent to break a 3 generation tradition. Hookem Horns!!

 

One word for you - SHERMAN

I don't care how long he coached at A&M, the one thing he did was find and develop great OL. Last I heard he was coaching some private school up east. Throw $300,000 at him as a consultant or make him an assistant. We cannot do better.

 

He means when Strong was hired. They were the only two possibles

 

He is a good coach, imo

 

Any consideration or speculation of Franklin after Strong was fired was a ruse to conceal the dealings and time of Herman's hiring.

 

I like you but you are arguing with yourself on this. No one said we tried to replace Strong with Franklin.

 

I think one of the up and comers is Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee. He is all South and probably wouldn’t be a culture fit here but that guy landed in a cesspool in Knoxville and has turned that program around in no time. I know everyone thinks Dabo is the heir apparent to Satan and will return home to Bama but don’t rule out Pruitt when that job comes open. He played at Bama and coached at Bama.

geez- my 2nd post of the day about that GD cheating outfit in Tuscaloosa- somebody shoot me.

 

Very true on Sherman. He wasn’t much of a head coach, but he knew OL as well as anyone in the college game. He could really identify and develop OL talent. As for me, I’m not on the fire Hand wagon, but if we need a new OL coach, Sherman is the guy.

 

Gunnar! (6'5)

 

Mike Roach on Milroe, Sanders & Bowman

There have been some rumors regarding Texas commit Jalen Milroe and a wandering eye when it comes to his commitment. I checked with sources over the weekend and was told that there wasn’t anything to worry about at this time. Several people near Milroe acknowledged that Bama still stays in constant contact, but Milroe seems to be dedicated to loyalty. I personally think there may be some frustration over the way the receiver and offensive line class is coming together, but Milroe is also trying to remedy that by helping recruit. Nick Harris will have a full report out later today, but Milroe is working on Texas targets like Pompano Beach (Fla.) Monarch WR Jaden Alexis. We will continue to monitor this situation as it’s always disturbing when another program is courting one of your prospects, but as of now, nobody close to Milroe thinks he’s close to flipping.

Speaking of Texas commits, I was able to connect with sources near Texas commits Billy Bowman and Ja’Tavion Sanders. I asked these sources flat out if I should ever worry about those two commitments and was told very bluntly, “no.” I was told both Bowman and Sanders are locked into their recruitments and working on recruiting others to Austin. I was told that Sanders specifically is tired of talking about it and doesn’t even answer other coaches. Once the recruiting process ended for him it was over. Certainly good news for Texas fans out there with two of the more important prospects in the country. ​

 

Rivals -- Fact or Fiction: Losing Brockermeyer twins won’t hurt Texas

Farrell’s take: FICTION. Losing Tommy and James Brockermeyer hurts. I don’t care how big a diehard Texas fan you are, there’s no way to spin this. These are Texas legacies during a pandemic where more and more prospects are staying home, and yet they still leave for Alabama. I know it’s not a loss to a conference rival and every recruiting loss to Alabama can be explained away by Nick Saban’s amazing recruiting but this stings. The OL is a big need for Texas and these two would be multi-year starters in Austin. There was no better time to keep them home and Tom Herman couldn’t do it.

Gorney’s take: FICTION. This is a major loss for Texas but really not all that surprising if you look at recent trends. It’s hard to believe, but the Longhorns have not done all that well with elite in-state recruits in recent recruiting cycles. In the Mack Brown days, he would hold a junior day and basically load up the entire recruiting class mainly with in-state prospects. That hasn't been the case under Herman. No one expects Texas to get all the top guys, but they need to start getting some if they want to build themselves back into national title contenders. ​

 

247 / Barton Simmons / Ranking college football's best QB rooms

- Texas #4
- ou #16
- aggy #19

4. TEXAS
Projected starter: Sr Sam Ehlinger (Sr.)
Depth: Casey Thompson (Soph.), Hudson Card (Fr.), Ja’Quinden Jackson (Fr.)
You know about Ehlinger. He's as experienced as any quarterback in college football, but Texas added two Top 100 talents behind him in the 2020 class in Card and Jackson. The youth, diversity of skillset and talent set up Texas to absorb some hits this fall and there’s confidence that at least one of those guys emerges as another top-tier talent beyond 2020.

16. ou
Projected starter: Spencer Rattler (rFr.)
Depth: Tanner Mordecai (rSoph.), Chandler Morris (Fr.)
The unknown here is what’s holding the Sooners back. We expect Rattler to be really good when he hits the field and Mordecai and Morris both present promising options as backups but collectively the room has only attempted 41 college pass attempts.

19. aggy
Projected starter: Kellen Mond (Sr.)
Depth: Zach Calzada (rFr.), James Foster (Soph.), Haynes King (Fr.), Connor Blumrick (Jr.)
aggy has a lot of arms at its disposal, and a lot of big arms at that. Calzada and Foster have cannons and Haynes King was a highly touted recruit in the 2020 class. But all of the backups are unknowns and Mond is an adventure as the starter. ​

 

Thanks Kristy

 

Some quotes from Blake Brockermeyer via Jeff Howe

“I think everyone thought (Texas) was going to be the pick. But we have nothing but respect for Coach Herman and Coach Hand and the University of Texas. My wife and I and Luke bleed burnt orange. We love everything about it. But it’s not our decision to make. It’s always been about them and their decision. My role as a father is to provide them with knowledge and education on how to make that decision, the best decision that they can make.

You’ve got the greatest coach in the history of college football and the biggest stage that there is. Just with the development of their offensive line and their consistent dominance of college football. It’s not hard to argue with that. Texas has had kind of a rough stretch the last 10 years or so.”

“I think it’s a tough decision for them because there will be a lot of people that hate me and hate them and think there’s some ill-will we’re trying to do. But it’s their decision to make and that’s it.” ​

 

Conner shows up around :40

 

Derrick Harris

 

I wish I could believe that this was written in all sincerity, and I would not be skeptical if it came the day or the day after their commitment. However, now they are getting the complete blow-back from Longhorn Nation and trying to make like they are innocent bystanders.

Sounds like Hand was the guy who the boys had an issue with. If the elder Brock had an issue with Herman a call to CdC would have taken care of that issue.

 

Yeah, i dont believe him either. Smells like damage control

 

The Brock twins were five (they’re 17 now) when Texas played in their last BCS final. That memory is up in smoke for them.
Satan and Bama will be in the final four every year that they are there. Think about that.
TH needs some serious skins on the wall NOW. Like the B12 title this season to get local top 5 star talent To look at the Horns on a regular basis.

 

Putting some numbers to the trend in recruiting generally

Since 2015, the Longhorns have signed 16 in-state Top-10 composite recruits, or abut a quarter of them. And 7 of those were all in one class (2018). For in-state 5-stars its even worse -- we signed only 4 of 25 (~16%) of Texas 5-stars over the last 6 classes. This is not good.

From 2000-13, Mack Brown landed 59 top-10 in-state players (out of 140 possible) or ~42%. He landed 28 of 66 five-star players. Only once in 14 years did Brown fail to land an in-state 5-star (2008). Strong-Herman combined failed to signed an in-state five-star in 4 of the last 7 classes.

While this record is not good enough and helps explain our substandard on the field performances, it must also be noted that some things have changed in the recruiting world since Brown. One of them is that aggy opened the door for SEC-recruiters and their unique recruiting tactics. Thank you to aggy for that. Another change is that cell phones and wifi were not near as ubiquitous under Brown as they are now. That technology has acted to break down long-standing regional and state boundaries. The world is a smaller place now.

 

I think the open recruiting of Texas commits by his sons is at the root of the ill-will. If they just went to Alabama because of the reasons mentioned by Blake, then so be it, but to pursue other Texas commits instead of just sitting on your own decision indicates there's more to the decision than Saban.

 

I think the Brockermeyers are a class act. They have not and will not lay it out there for all the world to see. They are not seeking to hurt The University of Texas, a school they dearly love. I admire the way they have handled the pressure and the leaches who try to make a living writing about recruiting.

It is only natural that the twins would help their school of choice try to recruit other blue chips, particularly those who tried to recruit them to various schools, including Texas. Saban would naturally approve, as should any coach worth a damn.

During my lifetime, we have had various coaches at Texas whom I would not have wanted my children to be associated with. As a result, I have advised family members of friends (including some on this board) to explore other options, including OU, oSu, Arkansas, Alabama, LSU, among others.

Was there a problem with Herman, Hand, et al? Was there a problem with the way the school responded to the social unrest? I don't know, and I don't need to know. What I do know is that throughout this recruiting ordeal the Brockermeyer family has been besieged by wannabe journalists, yet the family has been a bastion of class and dignity, while our fan base not so much.

The other things I know is that Herman:

1) Couldn't get his longtime college friend to come work with him at Texas.

2) Just lost a huge legacy to a school with which the family has no affiliation.

3) Is doing a piss poor job of keeping the best talent in Texas, while spraying offers all over hell's half acre. How is his relationship with Texas HS coaches? Is there one? (Is his recruiting strategy that throw enough **** at the wall and some will stick?)

4) Herman is not getting the job done on the field. ZERO conference championships, 1-3 vs OU.

The Brockermeyer family is not our problem.

 

Bystander,

I am committed to Texas. I call, tweet, text, facebook you daily trying to get you to join me in Austin. Isn't turnabout fair play? Is there anything wrong with you choosing Alabama and trying to get me to change and join you in Tuscaloosa? Friends through recruiting trying to influence each other. Nothing sinister involved, and certainly not a "family conspiracy".

 

Reminds me of the church billboard that read “This ain’t your mamas church”.

this ain’t like your mamas and daddy’s Texas. It ain’t the Texas I’m used to either and football is just a part of that equation.

 

Not calling it a conspiracy. I'm stipulating it's a free country, that Alabama is an easy choice if it's only about you and not love of a place or university (legacy) and that the jury is out on Herman. But to strike the clear blow on the program and then pursue further deep cuts is asking for ill-will.

I'm aware that players recruit others all the time. That's the game. These folks are now "attacking" the program. I suppose that generates the "you're agin" me feelings.

Bottom-line, they shouldn't be surprised at the negative feelings.

 

No Texas fan should take out their frustrations on Luke.

Blake would have been better of not responding to Howe. His next issues are how to support all 3 boys in 2021 and 10 September 2022 when Alabama comes to Austin.

Sabre's #3 and #4 are spot on.