2020 Recruiting - Football

There is a split among the recruiting sites of where we stand with RB Bijan Robinson after the big weekend.
247 and IT like our chances.
But Rivals thinks tOSU.

 

Another RB target, Jase McClellan apparently made a secret visit to Austin back in May that went unreported until now.

 

Top is Inside Texas on some of the DBs, and below that is the land thieves perspective on Washington --

"The 2020 Secondary Haul. Texas landed John Tyler four-star corner Kitan Crawford on Friday night, inched closer to Arlington four-star ATH Jahari Rogers, and might’ve won over C.E. King four-star safety Bryson Washington. Too bad Ransom didn't visit this weekend, imo."
* * * *
The feedback with Jahari Rogers was positive from people around the program, especially his time spent with Michael Huff. We still feel confident it’ll be Texas for the Arlington High product, but he wants to announce after July 4th, which coincidentally (?) is the date reserved for....
- Bryson Washington, the head-hunting DB from H-town has been vocal this will be a Red River decision. OU got the first official and took the lead. UT got Washington back on campus two weeks ago for an unofficial with Hudson Card and the crew. That might’ve evened the odds. The final act was Bryson on campus for his official this weekend. A very productive, informative trip for Washington, who wants to major in criminal justice. With his impending announcement soon, there should be burnt orange fireworks when he declares.​

 

Some quotes from 2020 DL Jalen Logan-Redding (6’5, 227) after his 3rd trip to Austin, this time with the family --

“It was players having fun. 2020, 2021, 2022 all just trying to bond. Getting to talk to Coach Herman and Coach Giles again, seeing him win the hot wing eating contest was funny. I loved they showed that they cared about having us on campus. It was just great to be back on campus.”

“He (Giles) wants me. Coach, he’s a very good guy. He wants to build character around his players. He wants to develop his players. He wants to make sure that he can do the best he can for them. I appreciate that.”

“This is going to be one of my top schools. The rest should be on Twitter, and it should be coming soon.”​

Something else on him from his local paper --

" ..... Redding has terrific athleticism and length packed into his frame and as a weak-side defensive end, his speciality is to pass rush, getting to the quarterback, and keeping the outside contained.

“I use my speed and quickness to get into the backfield to get to the ball carrier or to get to the quarterback,” he says. “I use my body length, arm length, and my power to create separation between me and the O-lineman to fulfil my responsibilities.”

Redding was able to get some valuable varsity time as a sophomore last season and was among the Bruins’ most important players for a team that went 9-2 overall.

“Last year, starting varsity was huge for me,” Redding says. “I impacted the game by making big plays such as having tackles for loss, getting sacks, forcing fumbles, and sacking the quarterback. Looking back on the year, I could say I was a team player but there are still areas that I can work on and improve for the upcoming season by continuing to work on my speed and strength.”...."​

RISING PROSPECT: Jalen Logan-Redding (2020)
Jalen Logan-Redding, Rock Bridge, Weak-Side Defensive End

 

Mike Roach of 247 on a couple more of the visitors --

Four-star Manor DL Princely Umanmielenis still planning on making a decision in October.At this point, he’s heard just about every pitch there is from the schools recruiting him, and he’s focused on building relationships.The biggest battle Texas is fighting in this recruitment is its scheme and three-man front.It sounds like Texas is countering this pitch well, but official visits will play a big role in swaying Umanmielen.
—Courtland Ford made a visit to Texas over the weekend.The Longhorns checked in on him during the spring, and they’ve had some contact.Ford is close with Texas commit Ja'Quinden Jackson, and the former LSU commit is evaluating his options.Ford had two knee injuries during his high school career, but he’s done a great job re-shaping his body and getting down to a more controllable weight. Ford could be a guy that Texas offers after seeing a little more of him​

The Stampede: Intel from a loaded Texas recruiting weekend

 

Even more hats here

 

Here is Jason Suchomel of Rivals/Orangebloods on a few of the recent visitors --

Spoke with Vernon Broughton a few minutes ago. Broughton finished up his fifth and final visit to A&M yesterday and said in the next week or two, he'll sit down with his family and come to a decision. Texas is in his final grouping and the Longhorns helped their chances with a recent unofficial visit that Broughton took, but as it stands right now I just don't see that one falling UT's way. Broughton did say he's genuinely undecided so there's still time for some movement here, but my gut right now would be on A&M after they got the last visit, or maybe Ohio State as a wildcard pick.
2021 CB Tony Grimes looks like a million bucks. He visited A&M, OU and Texas last week (Texas for the Heat Wave) and couldn't stop smiling when he and I were talking about UT and Jason Washington. Grimes said he liked Texas so much he might come back in late July, possibly for the Stars at Night camp.
J.J. Hester told me about a month ago that Texas was on top of his list and he confirmed that news again today. Michigan and Baylor are among the other schools that are high on Hester's list, but Texas is the team to beat right now. He keeps in close contact with Drew Mehringer. No firm timeline on a decision ... he said he could just do it when it hits him, or he might take all five official visits
WR Mookie Cooper has been trying to get back to Austin but his plans have been falling through. He said he'll try again after the dead period. He also said Texas will definitely get an official visit in the fall. Cooper just came off a USC visit and said it went well. Though he technically has a top five, Cooper told me he really has two schools in his head on which he's focused right now. Not sure if Texas is in that final two, but I get the sense the Longhorns have ground to make up.​

Just talked to Vernon Broughton, Bryson Washington, Mookie Cooper, Octavious Oxendine, more | Orangebloods.com

 

Here is the view on Bijan Robinson from Super K of TFB--

I was able to speak with the mother of 2020 RB, Bijan Robinson. We spoke for a good while and I was able to cover a lot of ground with respect to their thoughts on the USC, Ohio State and Texas visits and their plans moving forward.
***My read here is that each school has a lot that they like but there is a particular strength of each school.
***For USC I think it’s proximity and the fact that Bijan’s aunt (his mother’s sister) lives in LA. Also, the fact that USC is Bijan’s childhood dream school. He grew up looking up to Reggie Bush as a player.
***With Ohio State it seems to be a bit of that glitz and glamour – the facilities and the championships.
***With Texas, it’s a number of things but perhaps the thing that really seems to be resonating with Bijan’s family is the culture that Herman has built. Specifically, they are looking for a group of men that will really continue to build on what Bijan’s family has done in developing him as a good, God-fearing young man. I think they see there are great men at each of the top three schools. But, it seems very clear that at Texas they felt that was most pronounced throughout the staff, supportive staff and really the program.
Again, more on this later.​

Bijan Robinson | Quick-Preview | The Football Brainiacs - UT Edition

 

4-star Calif WR Bunkley-Shelton will visit Texas July 26 - should be our post dead-period camp

 

No Bama hat for Alford

 

?
Maybe I'm looking at it wrong.
Looks like a (weird) Bama hat on the bottom left.

 

It does to me too. Looks like it says "Crimson Tide" on it.

 

Dang it
They say he will go there if Alabama offers.

 

Eric Nahlin of Inside Texas says he is sticking with his Texas CB for Bijan Robinson to Texas and says he doesnt buy the Robinson/tOSU rumor that just hit --

"........ A prospect that is very interested in Texas and who spent time with Bijan while visiting another school they're considering said, "Bijan loves Texas." Yet another source had a very similar read to that of ours: essentially, Texas felt really good after the weekend and still felt they were the team to beat when he departed Bergstrom. There had been rumors of him giving a Texas silent but we can debunk those.

I find it really hard to believe that after hearing these things, plus what we reported on Monday and in the weeks and months prior, that he knew he was going to Ohio State immediately after visiting. He was far too engaged on his visit to Texas to have known he was going to Ohio State before arriving in Austin. Robinson, in statements made yesterday, made it sound like he's in no hurry to make a final decision. If that's true, it would be weird for him to give away his intentions to players and reporters. For now, we're going to hold-fast to our Texas prediction but urge the reader to proceed with caution. If we miss, it may be time to re-evaluate how we source information regarding out-of-state prospects. If we're right, and he ends up at Texas, some of you guys are going to have to re-evaluate how you consume information....."​

Reassessing July fireworks in the 2020 class - Inside Texas

 

From the same article linked one post up, some quick blurbs from Nahlin/IT on some other targets --

OL Chad Lindberg: Feeling good here. It makes too much sense for both parties. We think whatever hesitation Chad had towards Texas has waned and he could be part of the sizable group of July commitments.
LB Prince Dorbah: Feeling good here. His best fit on the football field is clearly Texas and the school suits him as well.
DB Chris Thompson: Feeling good here. He took the diligent, measured approach we knew he would but will likely decide in July.
DB Bryson Washington: Feeling good here. Texas did a fantastic job on his visit, particularly safeties coach Craig Naivar. Oklahoma has made this one more difficult than we anticipated but Texas should get the call on July 4th.
CB Kelee Ringo: It's been Georgia for a while now. Shame the next person who asks about him.
CB Jahari Rogers: Feeling good here for the head to head win versus Florida.
DB Lathan Ransom: We haven't written him off yet. Some guys will make it clear they're truly headed to one school over another but he hasn't done that. Again, on Ransom, he and Robinson are by no means tied at the hip. An astute observer said it's like the recruitments of Anthony Cook and D'Shawn Jamison. We're no longer predicting Ransom to Texas, we're just saying it isn't over.​

 

EVANS propects?

 

Not good. The story on his recent 'surprise visit' to Austin is that it was at the bequest of the GP North Shore coaches. That program has always had a good relationship with Texas and they didnt want Evans' behavior to screw it up for his teammates and all the future North Shore kids. So they told him to go to Austin and talk to our coaches. His brother CJ (who is pro-UT) said on twitter he didnt want to go (he later took down the tweet).

 

So how much attention do you give Evans....I would be pushing much more for Robinson and Jace Mc and ?????

 

if true, then best of luck to Evans. Would love to have him, but I want him to do what is best for him. Kid has never said anything negative about UT and always been respectful (as far as I know). It's not a crime to go somewhere besides UT, but maybe it should be! I'm just glad Blow U doesn't seem to be his preference. That would really suck.

Hoping Bijan commits to the good guys. he would have an awesome career here.

 

That is how you maintain control of your program (unlike Sumlin and his QB’s). Yeah, this might be lost on Evans, but it sends a signal to the new kids that you don’t disrespect your benefactors at the expense of hurting your teammates. Good for GP.