Weekend plans, Chapter 3 (By: Aaron Carrara)

[HornSports Staff]

in Recruiting By Aaron Carrara
 
With National Signing Day just 5 days away, the Longhorns checked off two important recruiting targets on Friday in Gilmer’s Kris Boyd and Houston-Lamar’s Holton Hill – both 4-star defensive backs.

Good news from Boyd and Hill helped mitigate Allen quarterback Kyler Murray’s Thursday night tweet which officially ended speculation as to whether or not he would withdraw his commitment to the Texas A&M and flip to the Longhorns on February 4th.
 

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");Despite Murray’s news, Texas Head Coach Charlie Strong wasn’t squandering opportunities to make an impression where it matters. On Friday morning he was in the nation’s capital visiting Florida State quarterback commit Kai Locksley, who visited Austin the previous weekend. With the flip of Zach Gentry from Texas to Michigan last week, Locksley became a true priority for Texas. The Longhorns hold a grey shirt pledge from Cistercian Prep’s Matthew Merrick, but need more competition at the quarterback – and Locksley has the capability to fulfill that role.

Using a quote from Longhorn golf legend Harvey Penick, Texas looks to “take dead aim” at the likes of Daylon Mack, Kai Locksley, Soso Jamabo, Chris Warren and several other recruits on Wednesday, February 4th. This weekend, it is business as usual in Austin as the Longhorns host two committed recruits.

Current Texas commitments taking official visits this weekend:

Ronnie Major (Huntsville High School, Huntsville, TX)

Once an early commit to the Baylor Bears, Huntsville Hornets Offensive Tackle Ronnie Major flipped to the Longhorns after attending a Texas Junior Day last February. At 6-6, 300 pounds, Major has the size to be an impact player on the line at the next level. He possesses power, great footwork and is the mold of player Joe Wickline can turn into a force in the trenches. While there is no uncertainty about his ability on the field, there are concerns over Major’s academic qualifications, as we reported in Burnt Ends on Monday. It’s worth keeping a close eye on him until National Signing Day when things are flushed out for good.

John Burt (Lincoln High School, Tallahassee, FL)

Tallahassee receiver John Burt solidified his intentions to play football in Austin by recommitting to the Longhorns on Monday. The 6-3, 180 lb. 4-star receiver pledged to the Longhorns from his home back in July, saying it “just felt right” to commit at that time. The lure of playing at Auburn eventually caught up to Burt which led to his decommitment from Texas and re-evaluation of his schools of choice. The holding period lasted less than three weeks and was capped off with a tweet solidifying his intentions.
 

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");Burt’s long reach and good size make him an ideal member of the Texas receiving corps. Whether or not he projects as a starter as a freshman remains to be seen, but working with new wide receivers coach Jay Norvell on his route running and adding weight to his tall frame could easily escalate his playing time.

While the storyline this weekend in Austin incorporates two committed recruits, both of which are important to the design of the future of the program, the additional short story involves a checklist of a handful of uncommitted 4 and 5-star prospects that could solidify a top-5 recruiting class for Charlie Strong.