http://images.maxpreps.com/site_images/editorial/article/4/c/2/4c224d36-9327-e111-beac-002655e6c45a/0db5dc4b-cc27-e111-beac-002655e6c45a_original.jpgThere is a football god and he lives in Austin. He toyed with us by giving us Garrett Gilbert and then laughing at our hopes of landing that huge Missouri wide receiver, who shall be held nameless. Now all that is but a distant memory with the announcement that Tyrone Swoopes, 6’4″ quarterback from Whitewright has given a verbal commitment to become a Longhorn in 2013.
This brings to four the number of recruits that have committed to Texas and they are all 6’4″. He also gives Texas the franchise quarterback they have been looking for since Garrett Gilbert bombed in Austin.
Word is Tyrone will be asked to take a leadership role in recruiting the offensive side of the ball. His best buddy, Ricky Seals-Jones, the Sealy WR/TE whose commitment was thought to be coming before Tyrone’s. It may well turn out he was waiting for Swoopes to announce first. He would stop the trend for 6’4 players, he is 6’5. OK so we would then have every recruit 6’4 or over.
Here are some observations on #11 ranked Swoopes by Scout.com:
Strengths: True spread quarterback with the ability to make the big play much like Vince Young, Pat White or Terrelle Pryor. Has great physical size combined with breakaway speed.
Weakness: While Swoopes shows a strong arm there is still work in the finer points from a technical standpoint. Work on progression is a must as Swoopes ofter throws to his first receiver.
Overall: Swoopes is a game changer opponents fear to face. He sits in the shotgun and makes quick reads going to the first receiver almost every play.
Swoopes was recruited by Bryan Harsin and it indicates he is willing to commit to a spread formation based on speed and using a dual-threat QB that is capable of running a red zone offense and the option offense. Simply put this guy gives the co-offensive coordinator more options than he has ever had in a quarterback. With Tyrone we might see the offensive mad scientist that used to pull the strings at Boise St.
The kid is raw and there is some worry by some of his level of talent he played against in high school. My answer to that is the list of team recruit this talented kid. With teams like Notre Dame, yes Doug Notre Dame(forgive inside joke), OU, Stanford, Alabama and nearly every top school in the country. It doesn’t assure success, see Garrett Gilbert, but it is a good place to start.
