2018 Recruiting - Football

The class of F'ing some $h^t up!

 

Cade Brewer as a true frosh is showing great athleticism and situational awareness. Reminds me of another tight end from the Austin-area ... Bobby Micho. Maybe Brewer is not going to be an NFL tight end, but he will get snaps and be very productive for the Longhorns.

 

Leitao might work out as well

 

Seems like a lot
No stars
No college offers (or none listed)

 

All the sites seem to be conceding now he is coming back for a non-OV this weekend

 

Rondale Moore film
Pretty interesting offense his school runs

 

Still on for November 11 (Kansas game)

 

Did he commit or just visiting?

 

Well as much as I was hoping we would get him, I feel good who we are currently getting.

 

Badara Traore: As you know by now, this weekend, Texas will host JUCO OT, Badara Traore (ASA College). Sources on the Texas side tell us that Traore is an absolute take.

That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Traore is raw but he’s an exceptional athlete and Texas needs to upgrade their offensive line as soon as humanly possible. Guys like Ehlinger and Carter will be sophomores and coming into their own next year. The last thing you want is to have an offensive line that prevents them from shining.

I checked with a source at ASA and this will be Traore’s first in-season official visit. He visited Auburn over the summer. Source also said that the only other official Traore is certain to take is one to LSU.

I’m told he’s still deciding which schools will get his final two official visits, assuming he actually takes them.

Based on the above it seems pretty clear that this is currently a battle between Texas, Auburn, and LSU. Little doubt Texas will show Traore just how much they need him and try to get an early commitment out of him.

He is expected to enroll in January. – (Super K)​

http://texas.thefootballbrainiacs.com/2017/10/open-post-weekend-october-20th-22nd/

 

Always a chance he could pull a Jordan Elliott
His OV up there is at a time when there could be snow on the ground

 

Stranger than fiction

 

I stole this from someone on a Longhorn FB group. He gives a little description with each potential recruit.

“Texas is hosting several key recruits for its big matchup against Oklahoma State on Saturday morning, including a handful of official visitors.

Here is a full breakdown.

Official visitors

QB Cameron Rising, Newbury Park (Calif.) — Rising flipped his commitment from Oklahoma to Texas in April, but that hasn’t stopped other schools from pushing for his services. Oregon was thought to be a threat, but the Ducks recently picked up a quarterback commit. Arizona State and LSU, however, remain in the mix. Still, Rising seems pretty solid in his commitment to the Longhorns, and his verbal pledge should grow even stronger following his official visit this weekend.

WR Rondale Moore, Louisville Trinity (KY) — Moore gave Texas a verbal commitment in June following an outstanding summer visit. Tom Herman and his staff really won him over during his time in Austin. But there has been some movement in his recruitment since then. Purdue has risen up as a major threat to flip him. Moore made a visit to Purdue last week and has a number of connections to the Boilermakers’ coaching staff. Texas is going to do everything it can this weekend to keep him in the fold.

OT Badara Traore, ASA College (NY) — The nation’s top junior college offensive tackle is making it to Austin for the first time in his recruitment. Traore had been in communication with the Texas staff for months before receiving an offer from the Longhorns last month. Texas has become a legitimate player in his recruitment in a short period of time, and the door is open for the Longhorns to make a huge impression. Offensive tackle is a big remaining need in this class, and Traore would have an opportunity to start from Day 1. Traore is also considering Auburn, LSU and Oklahoma.

OLB Nik Bonitto, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) — Texas recently put an offer on the tackle for Bonitto, so getting him on campus in a short period of time is already a win for the Longhorns. So does Texas have an actual shot to reel him in? Right now, it’s hard to envision Bonitto ending up at Texas when it’s all said and done. But things could change following this visit. Louisville is considered the heavy favorite in his recruitment with Oklahoma strongly in the mix as well.

Unofficial visitors

QB Roschon Johnson, Port Neches-Groves (2019) — Johnson made a verbal commitment to Texas over the summer and is the Longhorns’ lone pledge in the 2019 class.

WR Tommy Bush, Schertz Clemens — Whether Texas takes another wide receiver or not is still up for debate, but Bush does hold a UT offer and is high on the Longhorns heading into his winter decision.

TE Malcolm Epps, Spring Dekaney — Epps committed to Texas over the summer and has been one of the most solid prospects in the class. He is busy recruiting others to UT.

OL Tyler Johnson, Conroe Oak Ridge (2019) — Johnson is one of UT’s top overall targets in the 2019 class. Texas is an early frontrunner in his recruitment along with Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

OL Branson Bragg, Crandall (2019) — The nation’s top offensive center is making it back to campus and could be a key piece to the puzzle next cycle. UT seems like the clear leader at this point in the process.

DT DeMarvin Leal, Converse Judson (2019) — Leal is a monster in the trenches and is already one of the nation’s most coveted defensive line recruits. Texas is in a good spot early on.

DE Joseph Ossai, Conroe Oak Ridge — Ossai made an official visit to Texas a few weeks ago, so getting him back on campus is huge. Notre Dame, Texas and Texas A&M are his finalists.

ATH Jordan Whittington, Cuero (2019) — A five-star prospect, Whittington has already narrowed his list down to Florida, Texas, Texas A&M and UCLA. Texas seems to have the overall edge.

K Cameron Dicker, Austin Lake Travis — Dicker doesn’t get a ton of headlines, but he is an important part of UT’s 2018 class and should have an opportunity to compete for the starting kicker job next year.”

 

aggy is not too happy about Ossai
Almost conceding him to us, while blaming Red McCombs for it (again)

Reds literally money whipping the **** out of guys. It's not funny.
Sharp you bastard. Quit talking about renovating Spence Park and make some difficult conversations.
Lot of rich nerdy guys need the come to Jesus meeting​

https://247sports.com/college/texas-am/Board/20/Contents/Ossai-visiting-Texas-again-109208275

 

Imagine our class if we had beaten USC and OSU in OT this year.

 

I'm trying to imagine our season if we had won both games.

 

We are not that far from 6-1 or 1-6.

 

IMO, we are recruiting well in spite of the record and those losses.
It's true we are lacking on the big boys, but I dont think it is because of record. It is because there just are not many in state. Next season looks much better. Missing Walker Little last season was much worse than missing any of the in-state OLs this year.

 

Recruits like we are playing a ton of freshman on offense: QB, RB, TE, OT

 

I mentioned this in the On the Field Wickline thread, but Shackelford and Hudson are the only interior lineman we have that won't be seniors next year. After the 2018 season, we only have 2 total of our 6 needed two-deep depth chart.

According to 247 composite rankings...

Three of the Top 14 Centers in the 2018 class are from Texas. They are committed to UCLA, OSU, TCU in order of ranking.

Two of the Top 13 OGs in the 2018 class are from Texas. They are both committed to aTm.

The 26th, 28th, 30th, and 31st OGs in the 2018 class are from Texas and committed to UDub, TCU (2), and Illinois.

 

That info is certainly deflating, I dont get it. They would have ample opportunity to play early at a notable program at UT. We have a lot of room for them. Are they scared of a challenge. I dont think so because any and all programs present the same challenges. Hey prospects, early playing time!

 

I disagree wholly. I think we are overstuffed on the interior OL and have been screwing up at OT.

Tackles
Williams-Jr (hurt but coming back this year)
Nickleson - Sr (has the size but his footwork is bad and feet are too slow)
Kerkstetter - True Fr (we were told he would be an OT even that he would replace Williams. He is a tough kid, but not sure yet if he is really tackle material. Would probably make a solid OG)
Okafor - True Soph (current starter but is getting destroyed and putting our QB at risk. He has the great arm length you want at tackle but his footwork is not good enough. As of today, he is an OG playing out of position)
Urquidez - RS Fr (current backup has not shown any signs at all that he is the player we were told. Probably another guy best suited for OG)
Cosmi - RS (We have him earmarked for OT. Fingers crossed)
Major - (3-star Wickline recruit who we were told was a sleeper great OT, but took a medical so we will never know. He didnt exactly 'burst onto the scene' as a true freshman).

Interior Line
Vahe True Jr (erratic. Still missing his blocks and whiffing air. Still sometimes gets bulldozed into the QB/RB. He does pull well, imo)
McMillon RS Jr (3-star DL who turned into a pleasant surprise. Not All Conf but maybe our 2nd best OL. Probably our only OL recruit other than Connor who outplayed his glowing TexasFootball bio)
Cuney - RS Jr (3-star Mack Brown Legacy)
Shackleford - True Soph (tough but lots of flags and bad snaps. I might actually put him at OG and let Cuney take OC)
Anderson - RS Jr (Another 3-star Wickline 'stole' at the last minute. May never see field again)
Hudson RS Fr (Was an exciting recruitment story. We were told he was starter material at OT. Has the physical tools to be a star but might not even be OG material. At this point, all we can do is hope)
Thomas RS Fr (Another Wickilne special. May never see field)
Imade RS Fr (moved back and forth b/w Off and Def)
Rodriquez RS Jr (Wickline 2-star who was supposed to be an OT but turned out to be just another interior OL)

OK, so for 2018 at OT, the best we can hope for is Williams-Traore (the JUCO we are after). But the facts are Williams might go pro and we might not land Traore (or he might not be any good at this level or we may run into issues transferring credits as always seems t happen). Which will leave us praying Cosmi is the real deal and hoping Kirkstetter makes the big jump his 2nd year. Otherwise we are in big trouble yet again. We probably are any way. You could argue QB has been our biggest recruiting failure over the past 8+ years but I say its OT. It's nothing but heartache and misery. In case you were wondering, the last two OTs the Texas Longhorns have had drafted were Tony Hills (2008) and Jonathon Scott (2006) [Hills had 1 start in the league while Scott had 35].

Now, let us move on to the interior line. First, until proven wrong, I am listing Okafor and Urquidez as interior linemen, as they probably should be. I will be generous and leave Kerkstetter at OT. If so, that means we have 11 interior linemen for 2018 (not counting incoming recruits). Here is the rule of thumb for interior OLs -- If you are not in the two-deep or redshirting, then you are dead weight counting against schollies. Even if we redshirt all incoming OLs, then we are still 5 over at guard/center in 2018. That hurts. So, again, I say we have been blowing it on the recruiting trail at OT for a long time and it's been killing us.

 

Great write up. Thanks.

 

Thanks Joe Fan for the great OL insight.

 

To be fair, I said after 2018.so all of the juniors and seniors aren't relevant to this discussion.

From what I read, you think we will have 4 interior OL for our six interior two-deep. Hopefully, they transition from their current position well.

Where you and I agree are that there are OL that will likely never see the field. So, counting them doesn't make sense.

We need to be recruiting interior lineman.

 

Hudson is a RS freshman who hurt his knee at Iowa St. Too early to tell his ceiling.