Twice as nice

Since Charlie Strong took over the Longhorn program, the national recruiting effort for Texas extends to all areas of the nation. As further evidence, on Wednesday night, Texas offered a slew of tight end prospects including two teammates from the New Orleans area. New Orleans (LA) Brother Martin High School tight ends Peyton Aucoin and Irvin Smith both talked with new Texas tight end coach Jeff Traylor this evening and were received formal scholarship offers from the Longhorns.

“It’s pretty big”, Aucoin said of the offer. “For such a historic program it feels great. I definitely like the school and I look forward to getting up there”.

Smith was also enthusiastic about the offer. “It’s awesome. It has always been a dream school of mine.”

Neither player has ever been to Austin, though Aucoin said he has family in the Dallas area and is familiar with the state. The Brother Martin teammates said they plan to visit Austin together, possibly before spring football ends.

Although both players hold offers to other schools, neither has begun the process of narrowing down a list of favorites yet. “I like every school, and I haven’t had any favorites yet but as the process goes on they’ll start to narrow down,” said Aucoin.

Smith also reported himself to be wide open, but knows what he is looking for in a prospective school, “A school with great academics, great coaches and people, and somewhere I can call home.”

Aucoin and Smith hold offers from many of the same schools, and the pair have talked about playing together in the future. “It’s a blessing”, Smith said when asked what it meant to be offered with Aucoin. “We have talked about it and would love to go to school together.”

Both prospects bring a different skillset to the table at the tight end position. Aucoin is more of a classic in-line tight end, while Smith plays more of an H-back/wide receiver role.

“I’m a great blocker and I have good hands. I’m extremely physical,” said Aucoin when asked about his strengths as a player.

Regarding his strong suit, Smith replied, “I’m pretty balanced, but receiving and make plays with the ball is probably my biggest strength.”

The next step will be for the pair to make their way to Austin and become more familiar with the Texas program. Expectations are for them to make that visit in the next month – if they like what they see the Longhorns could become a major player in their recruitment.