• Palo Duro receiver Montrel Meander commits to Texas
  • Juco OT Desmond Harrison commits to Texas
  • How to Clean up College Football
  • Open market football recruiting
  • 5-star running back Malcolm Brown commits to Texas
  • Video: Newest Longhorn commit Steve Edmond is a bad dude

Posted April 30th, 2014 by Brian
Filed under: Basketball, Quick Hits, Recruiting

myles-turnerESPN’s number 2 player in the country Myles Turner has just committed to Texas on ESPNU. He chose the Longhorns over Kansas and Duke among others.

Huge commit for coach Rick Barnes who already had a good core team coming back for the 2014-15 season. Turner is a legit 7 footer who can play inside and outside. Barnes should be able to put Turner, Cam Ridley, and Johnathan Holmes on the court at the same time. A lot of comparisons to former Horn LaMarcus Aldridge.

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Posted February 5th, 2014 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting

Texas Football head coach Charlie Strong speaks with the media about the 2014 signing class:

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Posted February 5th, 2014 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting

Per Horns247, former USC quarterback Max Wittek could be transferring to Texas and eligible to play this year.

“The Trojan signal caller plans to graduate this spring and has been actively looking for a landing spot to finish up the remaining two years of his collegiate career. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, that spot for Wittek is most likely going to be Texas.”

Talk about huge news for the most important position on the field and a position where the Longhorns are in desperate need of ANY depth. Wittek wasn’t great in limited opportunities as USC’s quarterback, but as a prep signal caller Rivals had him as a top 3 QB in the country and a 4-star recruit.

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Posted February 5th, 2014 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Live, Recruiting

Running list of all letters of intent from future Longhorns as they come in today.

19 LOIs Confirmed (10:51am)

DL Jake McMillon
WR Lorenzo Joe
QB Jerrod Heard
WR Roderick Bernard
WR Armanti Foreman
RB D’Onta Foreman
RB Donald Catalon
CB Jermaine Roberts
S Jason Hall
LB Edwin Freeman
WR Garrett Gray
LB Cameron Hampton
DT Chris Nelson
OL Elijah Rodriguez
WR Dorian Leonard
DE Derick Roberson
S John Bonney
OL Terrell Cuney
RB Kevin Shorter

Early enrollees

OT Alex Anderson
LB Andrew Beck
TE Blake Whiteley

List sourced from Horns247, Orangebloods, and LHN.

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Posted February 4th, 2014 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting

There’s been much hubbub the last several days as Texas fans reacted to the rumors that Texas coach Mack Brown told commitments visiting during the football banquet weekend that he was forced out that they should “look around”.

Mack responded to those reports via Twitter:

Some of you have asked about my visit w/recruits & their families after I stepped down. Let me assure you it was all positive towards Texas! Our new AD Steve Patterson was there with me and I told the entire group that Texas would hire a great coach, it is a wonderful place and they absolutely should still come.

The initial reports started based on comments from Houston Lamar safety John Bonney who today backed up Brown’s version of events. Bonney said that Brown told recruits that they should come to Texas if they committed to Texas, but if they committed just to play for him that “I certainly encourage you to look elsewhere because I won’t be your coach.”

Overall it sounds like Brown was honest with the kids and did not encourage them to look around but simply stated the obvious that the situation had changed and the players should be thoughtful with their decisions. That’s exactly the kind of honesty and respect with high school recruits that got so many 4 and 5-star recruits to sign with Texas over the previous 16 years.

The first National Signing Day of the Charlie Strong era is tomorrow. He’s kept most of the class together and hopefully signing a couple defensive tackle recruits to close out the class. Stay tuned to @40acressports and the Texas FanGuide app for updates.

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Posted February 4th, 2014 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting

After an official visit this weekend, 2014 offensive tackle Elijah Rodriguez has changed his commitment from the Colorado Buffaloes to the Texas Longhorns. Rodriguez is a three-star prospect from Houston Cy Creek who had been under the radar until a big senior season had schools like Florida State and LSU recently trying to pry him away from Colorado.

Texas offensive line coach Joe Wickline is said to be a big fan of Rodriguez’ toughness and agility in a 6-6, 280 pound frame. Wickline went after Rodriguez when he was at Oklahoma State but struck out. Rodriguez might have continued to stick with his CU commitment but he is a lifetime Longhorn fan whose grandfather played for Texas under Darrell Royal.

Rodriguez recruiting profiles: 247 Sports, Rivals.com

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Posted June 27th, 2013 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting

Texas City brothers running back D’Onta and electric inside wide receiver Armanti Foreman of Texas City have committed to Texas.

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Montrel Meander

Palo Duro WR Montrel Meander gives the Longhorns a speed threat for the 2013 class.

Welcome to the 40 Acres Montrel Meander. Meander, a 6’3″, 180 pound WR/S from Palo Duro High School in Amarillo became the fifteenth 2013 commitment after a last minute official visit to Austin. Meander had long been committed to Washington State, but flipped this weekend in favor of the good guys.

Meander is an athlete. He can play either safety or wide receiver. As a spread wide receiver he shows excellent straight line speed and could be the deep threat this offense so desperately needs-especially with the departure of the drastically-under used Marquise Goodwin. His route running is raw, but he shows great separation at the line of scrimmage and a willingness to go across the middle and make a tough catch.

As a safety, Meander showed really good instincts and takes good angles when tackling. He shows the ability to cover sideline to sideline, sheds blocks well, and wraps up-all of which are sorely needed in the Texas secondary.

Meander’s number one weapon however, is his speed. The young man can fly. Track speed doesn’t always transfer to football speed, but in this case it does. He has documented track times of 21.55 seconds in the 200 meters, 10.9 in the 100 meters, as well as a 4.46 second 40 yard dash and boasts a 21’3.5″ long jump.

Check out some of Meander’s highlight video:

Will he be a tool for Major Applewhite or for Manny Diaz? He could help either side. My bet is that he ends up at wide receiver at least for the time being.

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[Update: Hammad did in fact commit to Texas. See ESPN’s story. – Brian]

The Longhorns are looking to continue stockpiling big bodies after Monday’s commitment by Desmond Harrison. Coach Stacy Searels is believed to be closing in on yet another top notch offensive line prospect: Irving High School Tackle, Rami Hammad. Hammad’s measurable are impressive: 6’5″ and 320 pounds. Hammad is ranked by Rivals as the 172nd prospect nationally, 28th at his position, and 78th overall in the state of Texas. Hammad took an official visit to the 40 Acres this past weekend that lead to him to end his his nearly three month commitment to Baylor.

Hammad now lists a top four of Texas, TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma and is set to announce at 5:00 PM today. It is believed that Texas is clearly the team to beat for Hammad due to how quickly he backed out of his verbal commitment to Baylor after the weekend visit to Austin.

A quick film study of shows Hammad to be an aggressive and nasty blocker. He will sustain blocks 10-15 yards downfield on running plays and has a strong base in passing sets. He’s not nearly the physical specimen that Desmond Harrison is, but it’s easy to see that he has a mean streak and isn’t afraid to mix it up.

(more …)

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If you were to describe the perfect offensive lineman, it would sound something like this:

  • Around 6’6′ – 6’8″
  • Over 300 Pounds
  • Athletically built-not sloppy
  • Big enough to hold hid ground against the pass rush
  • Fast enough to get to the second level on run plays
  • Strong enough to pancake a defensive end

Desmond HarrisonAll these things can be said about the newest member of the 2013 Longhorn football team, Desmond Harrison. Harrison’s arrival can not come soon enough for a Texas team that desperately needs a dose of nastiness in the offensive line.

The time and effort that offensive line coach Stacy Searels and Offensive Coordinator Major Applewhite expended to land Harrison shows just how much of a priority solidifying the tackle position is for 2013. Having Desmond Harrison on campus makes EVERYONE better and here’s why:

  • Championship teams are built from the inside out-specifically the offensive line.
  • A strong offensive line extends drives: punts become field goals; field goal become touchdowns. More touchdowns leads to more victories. Victories are a good thing. They keep people employed. They keep fan bases happy. They keep stadiums full. They keep bank accounts full.
  • Jonathan Gray and Malcolm Brown have larger holes to run through. Bigger holes mean more rushing yards. High rushing totals allows for play action passing. Ash is a much better quarterback when there is a running game that can put up big numbers.
  • David Ash has more time to progress through his reads and has larger throwing lanes. A comfortable David Ash with wide throwing lanes makes Jaxon Shipley and Mike Davis better receivers.
  • Extended drives leads to a rested defense. If their offense isn’t on the field, that severely restricts the other team’s ability to score points.

Adding Harrison will lead to some changes in the offensive line depth chart. If Harrison is everything he’s expected be, he’s penciled in as the starting left tackle from day one. This will prompt last year’s Juco signee, Donald Hawkins to shift inside to either guard or center. Another possibility at the center position would be Mason Walters. Either would be an upgrade over incumbent Dom Espinosa, who was often over powered by the bull rush and lacked the speed to get to the second level. Not to mention the debacle that was the West Virginia game, but there’s no reason to beat a dead horse here.

Is Harrison a sure fire starting left tackle in the NFL? If I could answer that with any degree of certainty my bank account would look much more attractive than it does now. However, I can saw with a high level of confidence that he has enough God-given athletic ability to have a chance to hold up a jersey at the draft and flash a Hook ‘Em for the cameras.

The question surrounding Desmond Harrison is the same one that has surrounded every other elite prospect that has walked into DKR: Will that talent be developed to its full potential? Will he get stronger? Will he get faster? Will his tendency to play too tall and rely on his freakish athletic ability be corralled and coached into flawless technique paired with unreal athleticism?

I have faith in Stacy Searels, Major Applewhite, and Bennie Wylie. I am supremely confident that Harrison is the real deal and will be an impact player from the first snap of the 2013 season.

Take a look at his film (#68) and see what you think. Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. Let me know what you think his impact will be and who he reminds you of:

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