Longhorns land small but powerful 2013 Class

The 2013 recruiting class is in the books and it was an extremely successful haul for Mack Brown and The University of Texas football team.  While the class of 15 signees is a small one compared to last year’s class that saw 28 players ink their names to national letters of intent, it packs a powerful punch.

The Longhorns did not sign a running back in this class but they beefed up a much-needed offensive line, with the signature player being Harker Heights’ Darius James.  James, a 4-star recruit, is a top-100 nationally ranked player and top 10 ranked player in the state (#4 on the HornSports 2013 Top 50).  Expect him to challenge incumbent center Dominic Espinosa for immediate playing time.  James is THAT good and has tremendous upside.  The other offensive line signees are not to be taken lightly, especially Kent Perkins (Lake Highlands HS), JUCO tackle Desmond Harrison and bulldog lineman Rami Hammad, who recently flipped his commitment from Baylor to Texas.

Most, if not all of these guys will be playing on Sundays in a handful of years.

While the merits of the OL are easy to see, don’t forget to acknowledge the prowess in the new group of wide receivers.  With the signing of Jacorey Warrick,  Jake Oliver and Montrel Meander the Longhorns added significant speed to the WR unit.  Warrick and Oliver are both 4-star commits while Meander, a very recent Texas offer and Washington State flip, touts 3-stars and blazing speed.  The WR class should be considered a HUGE SUCCESS for Mack and Texas.

Two early signees on offense include Whitewright HS quarterback Tyrone Swoopes and JUCO transfer tight end Geoff Swaim (Butte Community College, CA).  Swoopes was pegged early on as the second coming of Vince Young, and he very well might be, but only time will tell.  There are rumors swirling that Swoopes has bulked up to near 250 lbs, which would place him at “near Cam Newton size,”  but this is highly unlikely given Swoopes was at 220 lbs. when he committed to UT back in February of 2012.  Swaim looks to fill a significant void in the Texas offense by playing tight end in a unit that has had issues utilizing the position for a number of years now.

It was initially thought that Jake Raulerson would play defensive end but in Mack Brown’s press conference on Wednesday he tabbed Raulerson for the O-line.  Raulerson is versatile and has gained almost 20 lbs. since he committed to Texas a year ago.

If there is a shortcoming on a particular unit with this class it would indubitably be the defensive line.

Frankly, it’s rather thin.

Houston-area product and OLB Deoundrei Davis (Cy Woods HS, Houston) signed early and enrolled at UT in January.  Davis is a top-100 national prospect that could potentially see playing time next season.  Naashon Hughes, previous gray-shirt commit and brother of 2012 Longhorn signee Camrhon Hughes, signed today and will get a full scholarship at Texas.

The defensive back corps in the class features Bastrop High School speedster Antwuan Davis, Livingston’s Chevoski Collins and Cibolo Steel’s Erik Huhn.  Huhn is rehabbing a torn ACL from last season and should be at full strength next season.

When you have a group of committed prospects, the sky is the limit.  This signing class is exactly that.  Mack Brown reiterated in his press conference today when asked about decommitments:

More apparently, every one of the 15 pledges wants to be here and wants to contribute to the success at Texas.  Congratulations to all the new signees and Hook ‘Em Horns!