40 Acres Sports

John Brantley’s commitment last week gives the Texas Longhorns eighteen for the 2007 class, or five more commits than last year’s hot start and about thirteen more than any other school. Due to scholarship limits, the Horns are probably looking at taking five more in this class. Running back Lennon Creer, offensive tackle Tray Allen, and defensive end Richetti Jones are three blue chippers the Horns are going hard after and have a good shot of landing.

Here are my thoughts on the latest four recruits to commit to play for the Longhorns:

John Brantley IV, Quarterback

First off, from listening to his press conference on Wednesday John and his family are real quality people. His father was a Florida Gator but John III wants what is best for his son, “Johnny’s just decided he wants to be a Longhorn and that’s the beauty of being an American.” Seems there’s a lot of dads thinking the same thing and sending their sons to play for the University of Texas in 2007.

Brantley is 6-foot-3 and still a little lanky, one of the reasons they chose Texas was that he would be allowed a redshirt season to develop and put some weight on. I think about 95% of QB’s could use a redshirt year, so it’s refreshing to hear a young man put so much value in that extra development. The extra year will also put a little more space between him and Jevan Snead and Colt McCoy. Smart kid, big strong arm, and excellent athleticism make him one of the nation’s best quarterback prospects and possibly the next great Longhorn QB.

Judging by the classy way they handled their press conference and the comments from both Mr. Brantleys, I can’t imagine a repeat of what happened with our last out-of-state 5-star QB commit. John Brantley is a man of his word and will sign with the Texas Longhorns in February 2006.

John Chiles, Quarterback/Athlete

Probably the best pure athlete in the state. Chiles has legit 4.4 speed and athleticism that will remind you of a certain former Longhorn quarterback. He’s 4 inches shorter and isn’t the complete physical freak Vince Young is, but is rated the number two player in the state and has special ability. A dual-threat quarterback who needs more development as a passer but has a strong arm and a more prototypical throwing motion than Young.

Chiles will definitely be an impact player for the Longhorns somewhere. He’ll get his chance at quarterback because of his amazing upside, but he could also end up being a gamebreaking wide receiver. John just needs to be on the field somewhere and needs the ball in his hands. I don’t know where he ends up, but I’m excited to see him in the burnt orange.

Cody Johnson, Fullback

Colton “Cody” Johnson is definitely an intelligent kid. He chose to commit to the University of Texas as a fullback over an offer to be probably the fifth or sixth “next LaDainian Tomlinson” for the Aggies. You’ve got to respect a kid that knows he won’t be coming in at the exact position he wants to play but still chose his favorite school.

Watching his film you can easily see why Johnson is often compared to former Longhorn great Ricky Williams, who also spent his freshman year as a fullback. He’s a big, strong kid (somewhere between 225 and 250 pounds) who has good quickness and vision. I think Johnson will get a shot to prove himself at tailback when he gets on campus and if he ends up at fullback he’ll give the Horns a dimension they haven’t had at the position in a long time. I think it depends on how the other guys do, the offense being run, and what the team needs are as much as how Johnson performs.

Malcolm Williams, Wide Receiver

Big, fast, and talented. Malcolm Williams missed half of last season with injuries, but he possesses the prototypical size and athleticism that colleges are looking for in a wide receiver. With Gilmer’s Curtis Brown likely headed to the defensive side of the ball, Williams was the Longhorns’ number one target at wide receiver and that says a lot about what t.

There’s also a chance the Horns look out of state at a player like Brantley’s Trinity Catholic teammate Dion Lecorn. There’s a few more top tier guys in-state, so the fact that the staff hasn’t extended scholarship offers to any of them probably means they’re not Mack Brown guys or they’re done at the position. The Horns have a pretty solid young receiving corps on campus, signed three (or four if you count Deon Beasley) in the last class, and John Chiles might also end up at the position in the long run.

Since Williams plays for Garland and is located near the Bevo Sports compound, we might be able to check him out in person this fall.

Commit List

*Note: The star ratings are just my best guesses based on the little bit of video I’ve seen of the recruits and Orangebloods.com’s Lone Star Top 100.

Trey Hardee puts up 8th best point total of all-time at Texas Relays.

Ocala (FL) Trinity Catholic quarterback John Brantley has just committed to play football for the Texas Longhorns. The national top 100 and probable 5-star recruit chose Texas over offers from Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama, and others. Brantley is actually excited about the opportunity to redshirt and get accustomed to college both athletically and academically. We’ll have more on this and the other recent commits later tonight tomorrow.

Welcome to the Longhorn family John.

Update: Well, it looks like we will not be welcoming John Brantley into the Longhorn family. John Brantley has officially decommited from the University of Texas. Oh well, bring on Chiles.

According to Dallas radio station 1310 The Ticket, LaMarcus Aldridge has recently met with coach Rick Barnes to discuss entering the NBA draft. And as a result of their conversation, Aldridge has decided to start the process of looking for agents.

Aldridge has previously said that he will stay for his junior year, but we all know the chance of that happening was about as good as when Vince Young said he was going to stay. It definitely is a shame though, since Aldridge really could have used another year in college to gain some strength and a better low-post presence.

[tag]Roger Clemens[/tag] picks up his National League Championship ring and then catches for fellow Longhorn legend Vince Young as he throws at the first pitch. As usual, he throws a perfect strike.

Nice overhand throwing motion from Vince, I bet NFL scouts would love that. With his size and athleticism, if he’d have grown up with a baseball in his hand he’d probably have been a remarkable centerfielder. Of course, the Longhorns already win plenty of championships in baseball so I think he picked the right sport.

Does this squash any Barnes to NC State rumors?

Two minutes of highlights from the Texas Longhorns’ spring scrimmage. Jordan Shipley, Jermichael Finley, and Roddrick Muckelroy were probably the most impressive performers from Saturday evening. Both of the young quarterbacks had good plays and bad, but certainly showed promise and glimpses of what they could be able to do with five more months of work. Check out the video below:

The game will be replayed at least once this week Wednesday at 1:30 pm on Fox Sports Southwest so be sure to set your DVR’s if you missed it this weekend.

Tom Hicks and the Texas Rangers honored the 2005 National Champion Texas Longhorn football team today at the season opener in Arlington. Coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] threw out the first pitch and Longhorn coaching legend [tag]Darrell Royal[/tag] was also recognized. Royal and Hicks were influential in bringing Brown to Texas from North Carolina almost nine years ago. Always coaching, Mack didn’t let next season or our quarterback situation slip his mind for even a minute:

“If I put one in the dirt, which I’m not planning on, it will not change my life any, except (the media) will have more fun with it,” Brown joked before the toss. “If one of our young quarterbacks puts one in the dirt, it changes my life. I’m a lot more focused on the throws next fall than the throw today.”

I can handle a few in the dirt Mack, it’s the ones that hit the defenders that worry me.

Roger Clemens was also at the game, which threw the national media and Rangers fans into a frenzy thinking he was interested in joining the Rangers if he decides to pitch this season. I’m still fairly certain that if Clemens pitches this year it’ll be for the Houston Astros.

Former Longhorn and current Oakland A’s closer Huston Street is on the cover of this week’s ESPN the Magazine Baseball Preview edition. The article focuses on the A’s and how thanks to Street, Rich Harden, and Bobby Crosby this year the team has the makeup to make a longer run into the playoffs. They pick them to win the AL West and trump the St. Louis Cardinals in five to win the World Series.

Thanks to tougher sterioid testing/penalties and no (less?) juiced up players, it should be an interesting year in Major League Baseball.

Great shot of Myron Hardy’s diving catch and more.