Garrett Gilbert and Paden Kelley sign their Letters of Intent (Image: Statesman.com)

Garrett Gilbert and Paden Kelley sign their Letters of Intent (Image: Statesman.com)

Wednesday is [tag]National Signing Day[/tag] and we’ll have frequent updates throughout the day on the 40 Acres. This is the first day high school senior recruits can sign a binding letter of intent to play college football. The Longhorns have 20 commits in the 2009 class with 8 already on campus and 12 expected to send in their LOI tomorrow. We’ll have updates when those letters come in as well as the important news on the two remaining targets, linebacker Jarvis Jones and corner Dre Kirkpatrick.

Follow @40AcresSports on Twitter (after the jump) and keep track of other #signingday news as well.

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Posted January 3rd, 2009 by Brian
Filed under: Feature, Football, Recruiting

Robert Timmons, Marcus Davis, and Alex Okafor will play for the Horns (Rivals.com)

Robert Timmons, Marcus Davis, and Alex Okafor will play for the Longhorns (Rivals.com)

Today’s US Army All-American Bowl is the first of two high school all-star games this weekend that will give Texas fans the opportunity to see some future Texas Longhorns play against elite competition. Back in 2002 this game was our first chance to see how special a young man named Vincent Young might be. Today, seven commits and a few possible blue chip targets will play at noon today on NBC for the West squad.

The defensive line will be full of Horns with tackle [tag]Calvin Howell[/tag] and ends [tag]Alex Okafor[/tag] and the uncommitted stud Devon Kennard likely spending a lot of time in the East backfield. I also want to see how running back [tag]Chris Whaley[/tag] looks and if a big back can fit into Texas’ spread offense.

Here are the Texas commits and targets to keep an eye on during the game:

Name Number Position Commit? Ranking
[tag]Tariq Allen[/tag] 43 Linebacker Yes 1 star1 star1 star1 star
[tag]Marcus Davis[/tag] 28 Cornerback Yes 1 star1 star1 star1 star
[tag]Calvin Howell[/tag] 99 Defensive Tackle Yes 1 star1 star1 star1 star
Devon Kennard 42 Defensive End No 1 star1 star1 star1 star1 star
Dre Kirkpatrick 13 Cornerback No 1 star1 star1 star1 star1 star
[tag]Alex Okafor[/tag] 80 Defensive End Yes 1 star1 star1 star1 star1 star
[tag]Garrett Porter[/tag] 78 Offensive Tackle Yes 1 star1 star1 star1 star
[tag]Greg Timmons[/tag] 81 Wide Receiver Yes 1 star1 star1 star1 star
[tag]Chris Whaley[/tag] 25 Running Back Yes 1 star1 star1 star1 star

View the full US Army rosters.

We’ll have thoughts on these guys and the rest of the game this weekend.

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Texas 2009 commit [tag]Chris Whaley[/tag] is one of the top recruits in the state and top running backs in the country. With 4.5 speed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds (and still growing), Whaley possesses a rare combination of speed and power for a high school back. He’ll be a great complement to the speed backs (Vondrell McGee and Fozzy Whittaker) when he first gets on campus and could be Texas’ next big time running back.

Check out his highlights below:


Chris Whaley Highlights from YouTube.com

Can’t wait till he gets onto the Forty Acres.

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AC100 On Campus: Chris Whaley. Good Athlon Sports video piece on the future Texas running back.

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Posted March 8th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting

It’s barely March but it looks like [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] is close to wrapping up his 2009 recruiting class already. After starting out strong with Garrett Gilbert and six other commits at the team’s first junior day, the Horns have since added eight more of the state’s top football players to bring the total tally up to fifteen.

Two of the biggest commits were at linebacker, where Irving’s Tariq Allen and Grand Prairie’s Patrick Nkwopara made their pledge to play for defensive coordinator [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag]’s defense. Both players were top targets of the Texas defensive coaching staff and appear to fit their mold perfectly for a linebacker, speed guys who aren’t afraid to knock your head off. If you’re a Rivals subscriber, watch Allen’s videos and you’ll be very excited about our future middle linebacker.

The team also got help in the defensive backfield by picking up commits from cornerbacks Eryon Barnett from Euless and Kenny Vaccaro out of Brownwood. Vaccaro is one of the state’s most heavily recruited DB’s and held offers from the likes of Florida, Oklahoma, and Stanford when chose the Longhorns. Barnett was a virtual unknown before committing to the Horns but Texas offered quickly and he certainly passes the eyeball test so he looks like a player who will shoot up the rankings once the scouting services get film of him.

Texas also did an excellent job filling needs from the top in-state options. Defensive end and tight end were both positions the Horns needed to fill holes at in this class. At defensive end the two big fish are still out there, Alex Okafor and five-star Devon Kennard, but the Horns added two very capable prospects in Dominique Jones and Kyle Kriegel. The tight end commits look like the two best in the state in Trey Graham and Barrett Matthews. I’m particularly excited about Matthews, whose versatility, athleticism, and toughness allow him to play an H-back role or maybe even end up on defense. It doesn’t hurt that he plays for Galena Park North Shore, a school that has now put out three top Division I tight ends in a row.

The fifteen current commits are listed below:

Name Position Rating* LSR** Hometown
Tariq Allen LB starstarstarstar 65 Irving
Thomas Ashcraft OL starstarstarstar 13 Cedar Hill
Eryon Barnett DB starstarstarstar NR Euless
Marcus Davis DB starstarstarstar 15 League City
Garrett Gilbert QB starstarstarstarstar 2 Austin
Trey Graham TE starstarstar NR Waco
Dominique Jones DE starstarstar NR Kilgore
Paden Kelley OL starstarstarstar 31 Austin
Kyle Kriegel DE starstarstar 64 Elysian Fields
Barrett Matthews TE starstarstar 59 Galena Park
Patrick Nkwopara LB starstarstarstar NR Grand Prairie
Garrett Porter OL starstarstarstar 30 Odessa
Greg Timmons WR starstarstarstar 10 Aldine
Kenny Vaccaro DB starstarstarstar 53 Brownwood
Chris Whaley RB starstarstarstar 8 Madisonville

*Note: Most of the star ratings are just estimates based on the video I’ve seen of the recruits and Orangebloods.com’s state rankings.

**Note: LSR is Geoff Ketchum’s Lone Star Recruiting Top 100. The numbers represent the player’s ranking as of 2/13/2008.

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Posted February 12th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting

Texas’ first Junior Day of 2008 over the weekend resulted in seven young men giving Mack Brown their pledge to become Longhorns in 2009. It started a little early last week with quarterback Garrett Gilbert‘s commitment and the last one came in yesterday as lineman Thomas Ashcraft called the staff to tell them he’d be a Longhorn.

The future of the offense looks bright as Horns picked up commitments from the top quarterback (Gilbert), top running back ([tag]Chris Whaley[/tag]), and top wide receiver (Greg Timmons) in the state of Texas. Those guys will have Ashcraft and two other top offensive linemen blocking for them up front. Cornerback Marcus Davis is the defense’s lone commit so far, but the highly recruited player out of the Houston area is a heck of a start.

Here’s the list of 2009 commitments so far:

Name Position Rating* LSR** Hometown
Thomas Ashcraft OL starstarstarstar 13 Cedar Hill
Marcus Davis DB starstarstarstar 15 League City
Garrett Gilbert QB starstarstarstarstar 2 Austin
Paden Kelley OL starstarstarstar 31 Austin
Garrett Porter OL starstarstarstar 30 Odessa
Greg Timmons WR starstarstarstar 10 Aldine
Chris Whaley RB starstarstarstar 8 Madisonville

*Note: Several of the star ratings are just estimates based on the video I’ve seen of the recruits and Orangebloods.com’s state rankings.

**Note: LSR is Geoff Ketchum’s Lone Star Recruiting Top 100. The numbers represent the player’s ranking as of 2/13/2008.

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