Matt Cotcher
Under Contract
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2014
- Messages
- 4,968
in Recruiting By Mike Roach
The Longhorns had an eventful weekend on the recruiting front filled with ups and downs that had fans glued to social media and recruiting sites. The Texas staff hosted several committed and uncommitted prospects in Austin, but some of their attention had to be directed towards the situation brewing on the Auburn campus.
After originally committing to the Longhorns at the U.S. Army All-American Game, Tim Irvin decided he would visit Auburn before enrolling early at UT. On Sunday confirmed reports are that Irvin switched his commitment to the Tigers. To add insult to injury, Irvin indicated he would be hosting current Longhorn pledge Davante Davis on his official visit to Auburn this month.
Irvin’s defection wasn’t the only one as news broke mid-day on Saturday that Burton athlete Louis Brown was also opening his recruitment back up. Brown tweeted that he didn’t feel Texas was the place for him. There has been a lot of speculation regarding the reason for Brown’s decision ranging from grades to a request to gray shirt. Brown did not go into detail regarding his recruitment though multiple outlets reported the decision might have been mutual. The loss isn’t one that will be felt immediately but it could hurt down the road as Brown has the athletic potential to be a big talent at defensive end.
Texas fans also had to be upset when they learned Cy Falls defensive tackle Du’Vonta Lampkin took a trip to College Station. Lampkin has been rumored as one to watch, but the future Horn tweeted that that 6th St is better than Northgate, and that he had his car towed while at A&M. Lampkin also told ESPN’s, Damon Sayles that he was 100% to Texas and was just on the trip to have some fun.
The news wasn’t all negative for the Texas staff - they hosted committed prospects and welcomed some early and future enrollees. DeShon Elliott, Patrick Vahe, and Kirk Johnson were all in town on official visits and appeared to be recruiting hard for the Horns. 2016 commitment Collin accompanied his older brother, Kirk Johnson, on his visit. All of the current commitments reportedly really enjoyed their trip - Elliott tweeted that the visit was the best weekend of his life.
The entire group dined at Vince Young’s steakhouse, enjoyed the Texas hoops win over West Virginia, and gained insight into the day-to-day life of a Longhorn student athlete. This weekend also marked the arrival of Malik Jefferson to Austin (he’s an early enrollee). Jefferson’s teammate, Deandre McNeal, also came to Austin.
The important recruiting work revolved around the three big time prospects that aren’t committed to Texas who were on campus this weekend. By all accounts, the DB duo of Kris Boyd and Holton Hill enjoyed the time they had on campus. Having the talented pair of cornerbacks visit together may pay dividends, as the two certainly were able to envision life on the 40 Acres while playing on the opposite sides of the Texas defense. Boyd and Hill keep things pretty tight lipped, but both responded positively on Twitter to the visit and looked to be having fun in the pictures posted of them from the weekend.
Of all the weekend’s visitors, LSU commitment Nick Brosette might have had the most fun during his time in Austin. Brosette tweeted that Austin felt like home, and that his visit to Texas gave him “a lot to think about.†Brosette will take one last trip to LSU next week before making a decision near signing day.
While Texas didn’t receive any commitments they have to be pleased with the positive impression they were able to make. The loss of Irvin and Brown (and potentially Davis), could be offset by securing commitments from the likes of Boyd and Hill.
With the announcement of Aledo receiver Ryan Newsome upcoming and two big recruiting weekends still ahead, Texas has the opportunity to close on some big time talent down the stretch.
