HornSports Staff
HornSports.com
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- Oct 20, 2013
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The point on a brisket is typically the fattiest cut. Pitmasters often trim the point and select edges off a whole brisket and return them to the smoker.
Are burnt ends tough, chewy worthless cuts of meat, or are they a heavenly bites of smoky goodness? I suppose it depends on who you ask...
Rather than discard trimmings and fat, we chose to savor all the information that flows through the site. So, sit down and help yourself to some burnt ends.
***DO NOT FORWARD***
2016 CB Cairo Attaway (Midway High School, Waco) is already being contacted by Texas. Attaway attended a camp in Austin last June, and told HornSports he has recently talked with Coach (Chris) Vaughn and Bruce Chambers.
Early rankings have Attaway as high as #4 and as low as #15 among Texas cornerbacks. After Spring camps, expect to see Attaway solidly in the Top 10 defensive backs in Texas. With a deep and talented group at DB in 2016, that ranking will be a strong testament to his talent.
Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and Missouri are among the schools reaching out to Attaway.
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It hasn’t been talked about too much, but a Bellmont conversation solidified a truth to the new regime (in both the football offices and the athletic department). When talking about the team’s bowl schedule (practices in Austin, travel to Houston, media availability, etc.) an innocent comment was made:
“With these new coaches, everything has been different. I wish I could tell you what to expect, but this is our first bowl with this staff too, so I’d be guessing if I told you anything.â€
That’s interesting as a standalone. New coaches = new policies for things like a bowl game. It’s not something that gets considered or talked about at all, so it’s worth mentioning. Plus the conversation got even more interesting:
HornSports: “Good point. I didn’t think about that. Now that you mention it though, it kind of goes along with the general lack of inside information since this group took over…â€
Bellmont: “That’s the truth. This staff and Steve Patterson don’t know who they like or trust yet. The result of that is that nothing gets shared. Go back to most of the dismissals, or even the David Ash news. Nobody knew much of anything beforehand. It’s so different now.â€
In this age of instant information, the lack of leaks is impressive. Frustrating, but impressive.
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With only 10 days until the anticipated announcement of Malik Jefferson, insiders are coming out of the woodwork with different versions of “intelâ€. Over the last week alone, we’ve heard that Texas leads; A&M leads; an A&M booster is paying him; he’s going to UCLA as a “compromiseâ€; and a couple of other doozies that are good for a laugh.
Filtering through all of the information, the one thing that is consistent across several reports is that Malik’s mother is pro-UT and admires how Charlie Strong is running the program. Having a mom in your corner is never a bad thing in recruiting, especially when dealing with a strong family unit like the Jefferson clan.
The last bit of info that we were given, which came right before Malik visited UT last weekend was that Texas coaches were confident about landing Jefferson and even told a few folks close to them that they “liked their chancesâ€. We haven’t been able to reach that source since Jefferson’s visit, but when we do, you’ll be the first to know.
One final note…we’re running a feature on Malik Jefferson mid-week this week. After you read it, you can decide for yourself what to believe since there are so many conflicting reports.
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When the best player in the state of Texas is on your team, it’s easy to get overshadowed – even when you’re a 4* recruit. Such is life for Deandre McNeal, who has been playing with Malik Jefferson since the two were in grade school.
Even though McNeal stars on offense, defense, and special teams for Mesquite Poteet, the college scouts and reporters always want to talk to Jefferson first. We decided to bypass all those experts and go straight to the Poteet staff to ask about McNeal – and we got more than we asked for…
“Here’s the thing – in two years it will not surprise me at all when Deandre is a better player than Malik.â€
HornSports: "I’m sorry, coach. I must’ve heard you wrong. I think you have your players mixed up."
“The difference is in their potential. Their ceiling. Malik is amazingly gifted. For somebody his size to be able to run and do the things he does…he’s got it and it doesn’t take you long to see it.â€
He continued, “The thing with Deandre is that he’s still growing. He’s still developing. He’s almost as big as Malik now and almost faster too. In 12 months, Deandre could be taller, bigger, and faster than Malik. In fact there’s not much doubt in my mind that he will be, unless he hits a major growth spurt and ends up lots taller.â€
HornSports: "I’ll be honest, coach – I didn’t expect you to say that McNeal is better than Jefferson."
“I didn’t say that. Let’s put it this way…as college freshmen, Malik will be better. As sophomores, it’ll be too close to call. As juniors, I’d give a slight edge to Deandre. By the time they’re seniors, I think everyone will acknowledge he’s better.â€
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We talked with 4* wide receiver DeAndre McNeal today. We’ll have a complete update up soon, but thought a couple things he shared with us were notable enough to include here.
First, McNeal is set to announce his school of choice on December 19th along with his Poteet teammate, Malik Jefferson. On his plans between now and the announcement, he said, “I’ll be visiting UCLA this weekend and going to Mexico to do some humanitarian work – helping build houses.â€
McNeal and the Pirates were upset by The Colony in the Area Round of the playoffs, so we asked McNeal who was the best defensive back he faced this season. Longhorn fans will like his answer. “Oh definitely Texas commit DeShon Elliott.â€
We’ll have more from our interview with McNeal early this week.
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We checked-in with Texas commit Charles Omenihu today to see how things were going for the 4-star DE from Rowlett. Omenihu visited Arizona State last month and tells us he liked the visit and likes the defense the Sun Devils run.
But Omenihu has steadily maintained that he’s solid to Texas. When we asked what he likes about the Texas defense and how it compares to ASU, he said, “There’s so much variety in what I will be able to do on the defense. They move guys around and I won’t necessarily have to be a ‘hands on the ground’ type of player exclusively. I will be able to blitz from different areas and play some standup linebacker. The opportunity to be diverse and show off my skills is exciting.â€
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Justin Martin, a 4* cornerback at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M made plans to visit Austin this coming weekend. When a 6’2â€, 192 pound, junior college phenom says he’ll visit, you pull out all the stops…especially when Quandre Diggs and Mykkele Thompson are graduating.
We had an opportunity to catch up with a recruiting expert that specializes in southeastern prospects, so, naturally, the first thing we asked was about Hunter…
It’s not good news for Texas, as our contact strongly felt that Hunter is bound for the other orange UT, as in University of Tennessee. Hunter is originally from Nashville and has strong ties to several folks inside the Tennessee program.
Also of note, our guy said that it’s LSU, not Ole Miss, that’s Hunter’s second choice. But he described LSU as a “distant 2nd“.
He did protect himself with standard “but anything can happen if he gets on campus in Austinâ€, but it sounded more like a standard disclaimer than actual hope for the Longhorns.
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We’ll close this week’s edition with a few recruiting quick hitters and one team note that SEC haters should love:
- Texas wide receiver target Ryan Newsome is earning a reputation for packing a recruiting “punchâ€. While it is common knowledge that he and Lawrence Central HS (Indianapolis, IN) LB Darrin Kirkland Jr. are friends and have discussed possibly playing together at the collegiate level, Kirkland isn’t alone. A source told HornSports late last night that Newsome holds the attention of a handful of the state’s uncommitted 3 & 4 star recruits. As it was told to us, “Newsome’s decision will have a ripple effect.â€
- As we reported in last week’s installment of Burnt Ends, Tallahassee WR and current Texas commit John Burt has told the Texas coaching staff he is solid to Texas. That hasn’t changed this week. His mom’s preference and his family connections to Austin and (employment at) the University still hold substantial weight in the 4-star receiver’s eyes.
- Prior to Arkansas being announced as the Longhorns’ opponent in the Texas Bowl, the Texas coaching staff was prepared for an announcement that they would face LSU in Houston. According to our source, the SEC told Texas they would be matched with LSU if the Longhorns were extended a Texas bowl invite, but “went back on their word at the last minute.â€
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