I didn’t think Samuel Cosmi would be a name that would become relevant for this recruiting class due to numbers being a little tight this cycle, and so many other irons in the fire. This staff has already shown that they will not leave any stone left unturned if they are trying to fill a need that they deem a priority and that is what happened with Cosmi, a player they got in the boat long ago during their time at Houston and have been keeping warm since arriving in Austin.
The staff already found a player in Derek Kerstetter that is likely to kick inside at the next level, but they’ve been hunting for a couple tackle prospects to add to the stable to go along with what they already have on campus. I may be a little biased, but I will never fault a coaching staff for loading up on big bodies each cycle, because the game is won in the trenches. One thing that Texas hasn’t had in some time is good depth along the offensive line, but that is an issue that has been helped along greatly the past couple of cycles.
Texas is now in position where they can take guys like Cosmi, Kerstetter, and Stephan Zabie, because they are now afforded the luxury of redshirting them and allowing them to come along slowly rather than get thrown into the fire before they are ready. Flipping Cosmi from Houston fills a need that the staff has been working hard to fill and they fill it with a player that they are very familiar with. Cosmi recently picked up a TCU offer to go along with Texas, so it seems like bigger schools were starting to come around.
Film Analysis
On tape, Cosmi seems to possess the frame of a tackle, but will need time in a college weight lifting program to add some mass and strength that he needs. He gets after defenders and does tally some finishes on film, but seems to lack the functional strength to have tallied more. One thing I will say is that he moves very well and seems appears to be a decent athlete, and that is something he should be able to maintain as he adds more weight. I would like to see him fire off the ball better instead of rolling out of his stance like he does right now, but that is easily fixable over time. He’s a bit of a fixer upper and will probably need two to three years before you are ready to depend on him full time, but if you’re Texas you have the luxury of depth to be able to spend time on this project and try to get him to his ceiling.
Final Verdict
Cosmi isn’t an instant contributor and he probably isn’t going to be Connor Williams (an under ranked 3-star who was plugged into the starting lineup from day one), but he is a guy who Derek Warehime covets and sees promising potential in or else he wouldn’t have offered him for a second time. I’m all for keeping the trenches on both sides of the ball heavily stocked and getting Cosmi into the boat continues to pad the depth chart with another big body. I am curious to see where his body goes development wise and hopefully he isn’t rushed to the field well before he is ready because he is probably going to need two to three years before he is cracking the starting rotation.
