Burnt Ends – 12/12/16

The point on a brisket is typically the fattiest cut. Pitmasters often trim the point (and select edges) off a brisket and return those pieces to the smoker.

 

 

 

Are burnt ends tough, chewy worthless cuts of meat, or are they heavenly bites of smoky goodness? It depends on who you ask…

 

 

 

Rather than discard the trimmings and fat, we choose to savor all the information that flows through the site. So, sit down and help yourself to some burnt ends.

 

 

 

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We’ll start with the latest on the coaching staff front, as the puzzle is starting to come together. The Texas staff added another member when Rutgers Offensive Coordinator Drew Mehringer was announced as a new Texas assistant. Preliminary reports indicate Mehringer won’t be the play-caller in Austin, but he will possibly hold a “Co” tag. The Mansfield native played at Rice when Herman was there, and those close to the new Texas Head Coach tell us that Mehringer is among his most trusted young protégés. While Mehringer had some tough times in Piscattaway this season, there is a lot of excitement surrounding his hire. Mehringer is known as a relentless worker with a bright offensive mind.

 

 

 

With Mehringer in place it looks like Texas is down to running backs and quarterback/OC positions available. Multiple sites have reported Chicago Bears assistant Stan Drayton (currently with the Chicago Bears) or Iowa State running back coach Louis Ayeni. Drayton was an ace on Urban Meyer’s Ohio State staff, and Ayeni is viewed as a rising star in the coaching world. Houston DC Todd Orlando is expected to join the team as the Defensive Coordinator, and a search could take place for an Offensive Coordinator. Ohio State OC Tim Beck seems to be a name everyone is talking about, and it could bring some other value. Beck is the primary recruiter for a number of Texas prospects committed to the Buckeyes, including JK Dobbins. Dobbins is an early enrollee, but if Texas could get Beck in place before the 2^nd semester starts they’d have an outside shot at flipping the superstar back.

 

 

 

We’ve checked around to see if a Texas high school coach like Joey McGuire might be added to the coaching staff. While it’s a popular opinion and a lot of wishful thinking on the part of Texas fans, there isn’t anything serious surrounding the Cedar Hill head coach. McGuire is close with Herman, but Texas is running out of spots on the staff. McGuire does come from a defensive background, and he could be a secondary assistant in the event Craig Naivar sticks at Houston as Applewhite’s Defensive Coordinator. All indications at this point say that Naivar will come to Austin after the Houston bowl game. McGuire would be a fantastic hire from a recruiting and coaching standpoint, but Herman is building a staff full of strong coaches with good recruiting backgrounds.

 

 

 

We checked around on Tim Brewster, and things on that front have gone silent. A few weeks ago we were told it was nearly a done deal, but it might have been leverage in an effort to earn more money at Florida State. Nothing is final until the staff is together, but there are a lot of indications that Brewster will stay in Tallahassee.

 

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We had the opportunity to catch up with Texas commit Kobe Boyce this weekend at a skills clinic in DFW to get the latest on the recruiting class and new Texas staff.

 

 

 

On Coach Washington: “Energetic. I love his attitude towards things. It seems like everything he says is 100%. He’s always fired up. I need a coach that’s fired up like that”.

 

 

 

On recruiting other players: “We know the coaches can’t just do the recruiting, the players have to do it too”.

 

 

 

On the best recruiter out of the committed players: “Sam (Ehlinger). It’s just the way he approaches it. Sam gets deep with guys. He says things I don’t even think about saying. It’s cool to see. We are in group chats together and he’s the enforcer. He’ll just be like hit up this dude and hit up this dude, we’ve got to get them down here”.

 

 

 

On playing early and preparation: “I’m going to my gym after school and trying to get big in the right places. I have to maintain my speed, because that’s my key. I’m trying to stay lean, but at the same time keep my speed”.

 

 

 

On what he’s looking forward to on his official visit: “I’ve seen the campus and everything but I’ve never experienced it with everyone there. I’m looking forward to the environment”.

 

 

 

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Tom Herman received the first commitment of his tenure at Texas in the form of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College kicker Joshua Rowland. As many Longhorn fans know, kicker has been a position with many issues over the last few seasons, and Rowland is a plug and play option for the next two seasons. We caught up briefly with Rowland last night to talk about his commitment. “I loved every part of the campus and all the football facilities while I was on my visit . It felt like the perfect fit for me,” said Rowland.

 

 

 

Rowland told us that the coaches pitched him immediate playing time at a position of need. “The coaches told me that they really believe in me, and believe that I could be great there. I told them I was ready to take on the role and responsibility of being their kicker.”

 

 

 

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It’s that time of year again where we pull out our crystal balls and look into the future to try and predict the Texas class.

 

 

 

In this week’s edition of the signing day forecast we give you our take on the crystal ball to track the top targets on the Texas board. Each week we will give you a look at how these recruitments are trending and give you our prediction and a confidence rating based on a scale of 0-5.

 

 

 

Athletes

 

 

 

Bryson Smith – Texas offered the Houston commit a chance to play receiver in Austin, and he decided to stick with the Cougars when Major Applewhite was retained.

 

 

 

Prediction: Houston

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 5

 

 

 

 

 

Running Backs

 

 

 

Eno Benjamin – The Texas offer was a long time coming for the Wylie East star, and we expect Benjamin to pick Texas at the Army All-American game.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 4

 

 

 

Daniel Young – The Spring Westfield runner was offered shortly after Benjamin, and Texas has a lot of advantages up their sleeve when it comes to this recruitment.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 3.5

 

 

 

JK Dobbins – Dobbins was prime candidate to flip in the summer, and Texas had their chances down the stretch, but Ohio State out flanked them at every turn. Dobbins being an early enrollee hurts the timetable here.

 

 

 

Prediction: Ohio State

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 4

 

 

 

 

 

Wide Receivers

 

 

 

Omar Manning – The TCU commit had a fantastic time on his official visit to Texas, and this is trending strongly in a burnt orange direction.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 3

 

 

 

Charleston Rambo – I won’t completely shut the door on this one for a few reasons. Rambo has always had an intrigue with Texas, and there are several people in the family that want him in Austin, however there are other people around him that want him at OU. In talking to sources about him we were told it would be a possibility if Texas was involved earlier in the process.

 

 

 

Prediction: Oklahoma

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 3

 

 

 

CeeDee Lamb – Lamb exploded onto the scene this year, and he’s decommitted from Oklahoma once. He maintains a solid commitment to the Sooners, but we spoke to some people who told us a flip could be in the cards. If he visits after the dead period the race is on.

 

 

 

Prediction: Oklahoma

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 1

 

 

 

Tight Ends

 

 

 

Cade Brewer – Once the season ends for Brewer the recruitment will begin to reveal itself. The early returns have been positive for the Longhorns.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 1.5

 

 

 

 

 

Sal Cannella – One expert JUCO evaluator described Cannella as an “absolute freak” when we asked about their thoughts on him. His visit to Austin was big for Texas, and his decision will be made on Wednesday. This one is going to be close.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 1.5

 

 

 

 

 

Offensive Line

 

 

 

Walker Little – The announcement will come on Friday, and it will ultimately come down to Texas and Stanford. A week ago I would have picked Stanford, but one source told us that “Texas knocked the in-home out of the park”.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 3

 

 

 

 

 

Chuck Filiaga – The Aledo lineman plays things close to the vest, and we are told that he enjoyed his unofficial visit to Texas, but in the end a source we spoke with expects him to stick very close to home.

 

 

 

Prediction: TCU

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 2

 

 

 

Grant Polley – The Denton offensive lineman hasn’t said much since he was offered, and we’ll be watching closely to see what happens after the dead period. Right now we are taking a shot in the dark.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 1

 

 

 

 

 

Defensive Ends

 

 

 

K’Lavon Chaisson – Chaisson shut the media out of his recruitment totally, but people close to the North Shore pass rusher have been giving us positive feedback on Texas for quite some time.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Leel: 4.5

 

 

 

 

 

Bryan Jones – Jones hails from Madison prep in Baton Rouge, and is a former teammate of Malcolm Roach. Texas was out of this one until recently, and now they find themselves in a dead heat with Texas A&M. The Aggies have been on this longer, but Texas is surging.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas A&M

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 1

 

 

 

 

 

Defensive Tackle

 

 

 

Marvin Wilson – Wilson isn’t shutting Texas out of things completely, but the door has only the slightest of cracks. The odd thing is there isn’t a real consensus of where Wilson wants to go. His family wants him close to home, but most people are picking Ohio State. Things should heat up here in January.

 

 

 

Prediction: Ohio State

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 2

 

 

 

Zach McKinney – The Weatherford DT doesn’t have an offer yet, but once he gets one we expect him to pull the trigger immediately.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 5

 

 

 

 

 

Linebacker

 

 

 

Marqez Bimage – The Houston commit was offered recently, and he’ll make a decision after visiting in January. Bimage will be an outside edge rusher in the same mold of Breckyn Hager.

 

 

 

Prediction: Texas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 5

 

 

 

 

 

Defensive Back

 

 

 

Chevin Calloway – I think Texas will push down the stretch, but sources in Dallas have told us that they think the Bishop Dunne corner is bound for Fayetteville.

 

 

 

Prediction: Arkansas

 

 

 

Confidence Level: 3

 

 

 

Kam Curl – The Oklahoma safety is truly wide open, and if he visits Texas they could jump into the lead. TCU is also in play here, and they have been for a while.

 

 

 

Prediction: Unclear

 

 

 

 

 

As the weeks unfold after the dead period more names will emerge, and we’ll be able to shape the class for you as we lead up to signing day.