40 Acres Sports

Name: [tag]Tray Allen[/tag]
Position: Offensive guard
Ranking:

Hometown: Grand Prairie, TX
School: South Grand Prairie
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 305 lbs

Background

Tray Allen is the premier recruit in this class. A dominant offensive lineman in the mold of Justin Blalock and probably the most upside of any lineman signed in the last several years by the Longhorns. Can line up at either offensive tackle or guard but is probably more suited to play inside and that’s where his NFL future likely lies. Great in pass protection and a dominant run blocker. Excellent strength and agility (he’s also a basketball player) and already has solid technique.

Allen is Rivals‘ top overall prospect in Texas and their number two offensive guard. Scout has him as their number six player in the country and the top rated guard. A great kid who is excited to be a Longhorn.

Immediate Impact

Allen has the talent to see the field in 2007 but the offensive line is one of the hardest places for true freshman to make a difference. This past season J’Marcus Webb played in eleven games as a backup tackle but Mack Brown would probably prefer to redshirt all linemen. He’s unlikely to earn a starting spot on the line, but guard depth is lacking and if Allen can beat out Chris Hall or Charlie Tanner he could see playing time.

Future

Should be a three year starter up front. A player to build the offense around. If he fulfills his potential he’s the next great UT All-American and top NFL draft pick. Future anchor in the trenches.

We’ll be updating this list as we get news (mostly from Rivals) of which players have officially signed their letters of intent and if everything goes as planned will be the newest Texas Longhorns in August. The first two players to become Longhorns were Ian Harris out of San Antonio and Cody Johnson from Waller. Keep checking back here because we’ll update this list as we hear more names.

Confirmed Signings

• Ian Harris
• Cody Johnson
• Kyle Hix
• Tray Allen
• Michael Wilcoxon
• Russell Carter
• Aundre McGaskey
• Tyrell Higgins
• Sam Acho
• James Kirkendoll
• Brandon Collins
• G.J. Kinne
• Ahmard Howard
• Keenan Robinson
• Malcolm Williams
• Blaine Irby
• Earl Thomas
• Christian Scott

Early Enrollees

• Curtis Brown
• John Chiles
• Michael Huey
• Andre Jones
• Ben Wells
• Fozzy Whittaker

Update: Just added Blaine Irby and Earl Thomas to the list which leaves only Christian Scott remaining. The stud safety just was the last player to commit to the Horns (just this weekend) and it looks like he’ll be the last one to fax in his letter of intent as well. Hopefully he’s not having any second thoughts. (10:38 am)

Update: Christian Scott’s letter is in and confirmed by both Rivals and Inside Texas (thanks Eric!). That means all 24 recruits, 18 today plus the 6 already on campus, are signed and will officially be Longhorns either this summer or in the fall if their grades are in order. Congrats to the class of 2007 and welcome to the family. (11:58 am)

Just a reminder that the US Army All-American Bowl will be on NBC today at noon. The game takes place in San Antonio at the Alamodome and features some of the best high school football players in the country.

This will be most Longhorn fans first opportunity to watch any of the 2007 football commits in action. Bevo Sports will have some thoughts on the game and possibly some video later this weekend. There will be 13 Texans on the West squad and the Longhorns have six commits and a few targets playing in the game. Here’s the guys to keep an eye on during the game:

Texas Commits

• Tray Allen, West #56
• Curtis Brown, West #3
• John Chiles, West #5
• Michael Huey, West #70
• Blaine Irby, West #19
• Andre Jones, West #89

Texas Targets

• Ron Brooks, West #81
• Joe McKnight, West #4
• Christian Scott, West #23

Others to Watch

• John Brantley, East #12
• Matt Simms, East #2

The first Rivals100 list is out for 2007 and it had a decidedly burnt orange hue. Nine Texas Longhorn commitments are on the list and three receive five-star status. Guard/tackle [tag]Tray Allen[/tag] is the highest ranked Horn at number eight, followed by the two quarterbacks [tag]John Chiles[/tag] and John Brantley at twelve and thirteen respectively.

Not a ton of controversy (and keep in mind this is an early list that will definitely change) over the rankings but there are a couple of things that stand out. Hempstead wide receiver Terrance Toliver is a tremendous raw talent but hasn’t put up big numbers despite playing at a small school. Definite potential but a bit of a reach as the nation’s number ten overall prospect. Interesting to note that Toliver has big time talent but Mack Brown has decided not to pursue him, there’s usually a reason for that.

The omission of future Texas linebacker [tag]Keenan Robinson[/tag] from the list is a little surprising, Robinson’s camp performances have been impressive and he’s been rising quickly. His latest performance at last weekend’s Texas Junior Day had people talking. There are reports that he’s a near lock to be on the next top 100 list.

To put things in perspective, the Longhorns have more top 100 commitments than any other school has total commits. With three, or possibly four, more spots available, it’ll be interesting to see how the coaching staff decides to use those final scholarship offers.

One of the top overall players in the state of Texas and top national offensive lineman [tag]Tray Allen[/tag] will announce his choice of schools today at a press conference scheduled for 12:30pm. The future 5-star from South Grand Prairie was thought to be an Aggie lean early on but left the Texas spring game on the verge of committing to the Longhorns. He told Rivals.com this week that Texas remained his leader despite his recent unofficial visit to Texas A&M. Allen also holds offers and is interested in USC and Oklahoma, among others.

Allen was planning on waiting and letting things play out before making a choice. The only school on his list that needs him to make an early decision is Texas. The Horns probably only have five more spots left in this class and have already taken five highly rated offensive linemen. If Allen wanted to be a Longhorn he couldn’t wait too long or it might be too late. Neither OU or USC have a single lineman onboard and Texas A&M only has one, with his talent he could’ve taken it all the way down to Signing Day next February and his offer would’ve still been on the table.

A commitment from Allen would give the Longhorns the top five linemen in the state and six from the top ten. He could also be a boost in landing Dallas Lincoln’s Richetti Jones, the state’s top defensive player and another possible 5-star. The two young men have mentioned they’d like to go to the same school and Texas has long been thought to be Jones’ favorite as well. A commit from Allen might be the thing that gets Jones to finally pull the trigger as well.

My prediction: Texas. With his recent comments and the timing of his decision, Longhorn fans should definitely have a good feeling about this.

Update

It’s official, Tray Allen will be a Texas Longhorn. Listening to his mini press conference and his phone interview with Rivals Radio right afterwards, sounds like another fine young man. Well-spoken and excited to be a Longhorn. (1:00 pm)