40 Acres Sports

Former Texas DT Andre Jones was found dead Friday morning in an El Paso hotel room. Jones was 24.

Jones was kicked off the team before playing a down for the Horns after he was arrested along with Robert Joseph for an aggravated robbery charge.

Get more details on Jones’ death in the El Paso Times’ story.

Andre Jones, suspended from Texas football team, will transfer to UTEP. I hope he earns the second chance he’s getting.

Andre Jones sentenced, wants back on team. I hope he finds a place to restart his life, I’m not sure that’s at Texas.

Robert Joseph and Andre Jones plead guilty to felony charges. Joseph gets time served and probation. Jones will serve 30 days in jail.

Andre Jones and James Henry are indicted for their alleged roles in a July robbery. There had been persistent rumors Jones would be cleared, doesn’t look like that’s happening.

Andre Jones released from jail, claims mistaken identity. He says he has an alibi, for his sake I hope he’s telling the truth.

Freshman defensive tackle [tag]Andre Jones[/tag] has turned himself in after an arrest warrant was issued for a felony aggravated robbery charge. The charge stems from a July 27th robbery involving former teammate [tag]Robert Joseph[/tag], who was kicked off the team last month. According to the Austin PD, Joseph and Jones entered an apartment in east Austin last Friday. Joseph waved his gun at residents, including a 14 year old boy. Jones never flashed his gun, but made threats to indicate he was carrying a weapon.

Things are getting out of control this summer with 5 arrests in the last 2 months. I think it is clear that Mack Brown needs to take some serious action. Obviously Andre Jones should be kicked off the team, but Mack needs to find another way to prevent things like this from happening in the future. Recruiting efforts need to change. Discipline policies need to be more severe. Something needs to happen.

One thing I don’t understand about all of this is how some of these players can be so dumb. Do they not watch ESPN? Do they not see Pacman Jones losing millions of dollars because of his actions. Do they not see Michael Vick throwing away $100 million? I just can’t understand what makes you think you can pull a gun on people, steal their possessions, and then expect to still be able to play football. Frustrated just doesn’t express how I feel right now.

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

I’ve been busy and haven’t had time to post about this weekend’s invitation-only junior day and the successful recruiting flurry that Mack Brown and the Longhorns had. The Horns picked up eight commits from some of the best athletes in the state. While I was putting off this post, three more commits rolled in today including a couple of big ones to bring the total to eleven. These early offers are only handed out to the players Brown and staff feel are true standouts. Other recruits will be evaluated more and decisions on them will be made later, so we know how highly they think of the group they offered.

Gilmer wide receiver Curtis Brown is probably the biggest star of the group so far. Big, fast, and physical he could see either side of the ball at Texas. The Horns are really assembling a monster class of offensive linemen, with five commits already onboard including future 4-stars Kyle Hix, Aundre McGaskey, and Matt Nader. They’ll probably hold a scholarship for blue chipper Tray Allen, but otherwise they’re probably done at the position for the year already.

With three of four members of next season’s secondary set to graduate, defensive back is a big need in the 2007 recruiting class and it’s already been addressed. Brown could end up at corner and athlete Earl Thomas is headed for that position as well. Ben Wells has the size to play either CB or safety. Highly rated Lennon Creer is also rumored to be a big Texas lean as well and could join the growing list of future Longhorns soon.

I don’t think it’s hyperbole to call this the best weekend ever in Texas recruiting, and possibly the biggest and best group of kids pulled in by any school in such a short time span.

Check out the full haul from the weekend below…

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