Some writer at The Athletic trying to figure out Texas recruiting
It almost reads like one of my posts here (except i dont agree with him on Cody Jackson or Latrell McCutchin)
How is Texas looking in the 2021 cycle? — Zachariah F.
I have a really hard time figuring out Texas sometimes because on the surface it looks as though the Longhorns’ class is in good shape and headed for more success. But on the other hand, I feel like there are a lot of missed opportunities. For instance: The Brockermeyer brothers, who just committed to Alabama, are Texas legacy recruits who spurned the in-state school in favor of the out-of-state powerhouse. And as things stand right now, the top three players in the state of Texas are going elsewhere: Brockermeyer is going to Alabama, five-star running back Camar Wheaton of Garland Lakeview Centennial is a heavy lean to Oklahoma, and five-star offensive guard Donovan Jackson of Bellaire Episcopal in the Houston area is headed to Ohio State.
Yes, Texas has commitments from five-star athlete Ja’Tavion Sanders and four-star athlete Billy Bowman — teammates at Denton Ryan High who are both top 35 players nationally. And yes, Texas is basically its own country in terms of size, and it’s harder to keep kids home from a geographical standpoint than it is in other, smaller states such as Ohio or Georgia. But for as good as Tom Herman has been at accumulating talent — and he has been, given the Longhorns were No. 4 in college football last year in the Blue-Chip Ratio — it just doesn’t seem like Texas has truly maximized its potential.
Texas’ 2021 class right now ranks No. 11 nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12. Who is going to criticize that? Not me.
However, sometimes I like to think about what could have been, and Texas, which I always think is on the verge of breaking out on the field, has the resources and the ability to be in the conversation with Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and now LSU for best program in America.
Instead, Oklahoma has won five straight Big 12 titles and is the king of that conference, doing so by taking elite-level talent like Wheaton (soon) and four-star wide receiver Cody Jackson of Richmond (Texas) Foster, four-star weakside defensive end Clayton Smith of Texarkana Texas High and four-star cornerback Latrell McCutchin of Austin (Texas) LBJ, whose high school is miles away from the Longhorns’ campus.
Texas’ class is fine. It will likely finish in the top 10. But could it have finished in the top five