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After a weekend of offers and commits, you’d think Texas momentum would slow down.
And you’d be wrong.
After garnering three verbal pledges following their June 9th camp, UT picked up four more commits this week.
The first was the biggest. I introduce, Dorian Leonard. The 6-foot-4, 200 pound wide receiver from Longview is an impressive specimen. The 4-star gave UT their fourth WR pledge of the 2014 class, and yet another head-to-head win over Oklahoma in the recruiting arms race.
Committed to Texas today’s
— dorianleonard (@thisdorian) June 13, 2013
He draws instant comparisons to former Lobo and OU WR, Malcolm Kelly. He’s big, strong, and great after the catch. I talked to Leonard on Wednesday at the Texas Tech camp, and he said he wanted to wait until deciding on his college choice.
24 hours later, he’s a Longhorn. He joins Lee Jackson, Vondrell McGee, and Terrence Young as former Longview gridiron stars joining Mack Brown in Austin.
And if UT didn’t need anymore long, vertically stretching wide outs, they grabbed another.
Dallas Lincoln junior pass-catcher, Emmanuel Porter committed to Texas this week. Well, sort of.
First reported by Fox/Scout reporter Erin Hartigan, that he indeed was a Longhorn, with quotes. But a few other media outlets would not confirm, including Porter’s mother.
Then, after a little thought, Porter made it officially official. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound red zone mismatch, probably has the most upside of all the receiver’s group. He’s also the second player Texas has snagged from TCU in as many weeks, joining 2015 safety, Johnny Shaw of Center, TX. Porter also excels on the hardwood, where he’s being sought after for his basketball skills.
Then, Texas goes the JUCO route.
John Thomas, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end from Trinity Valley Community College and Airline HS (Shreveport, LA) plus former LSU pledge, gave his blessing on attending the Forty Acres in the fall. Texas has been striking out with the position as of late, so this could potentially be a huge lift for the offense. Thomas is a pass-catching end, with blocking skills, that excelled in Athens, TX. And the fact he wont need years of growth and experience to contribute is even bigger. He steps in and plays Day 1.
Texas also procured a verbal from one of the top rated punters in the nation, Charlotte, NC’s Corbin Daly.
Bold, but not really prediction:Â Texas City’s twin duo of Armanti and D’Onta Forman will be commits No. 20 & 21. Just have a feeling.
I got a chance to check out Texas-target, Kris Boyd, and junior to be cornerback from Gilmer, at the 7-on-7 Division II STQ tournament this weekend.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound athlete picked up a few offers in the last week after impressive camps in East Texas. He displayed raw talent at the TCU camp in Kilgore two weeks ago, and left with an offer.
Then, he was offered by the Longhorns at their mini-camp in Austin last weekend. It’s safe to say Texas will be in the mix for the two-way stud, his cousin is former Gilmer and Texas defensive back, Curtis Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Plus, it’s DBU. And a league-leading 17 Texas defensive backs play on NFL rosters.
In the D- II 7-on-7 SQT tournament, the 4-star athlete displayed a physicality suited for Friday night lights, rather than non-contact flag football. He’ll play RB on offense, just to give you an idea of his play-making ability. For a junior to-be, Boyd is the truth in Texas high school football.
Former Texas small forward and leading scorer, Sheldon McClellan has transferred to the University of Miami. The sophomore led the Horns in scoring in 2012-13 with 13 points per game, but he is best known for camping in the Rick Barnes proverbial doghouse last season. This transfer comes as no surprise, and should pay immediate dividends for the Miami Hurricanes program.
The number of transfers in college basketball is a high number in general, but the volume leaving every year from Austin is astounding and disappointing. No Barnes diatribe here, other than things have really changed in the men’s hoops program.
Quote of the Week: “I was a little worried. I didn’t know what to expect,†he said. “I didn’t know if it was going to be a good two and a half hours or a bad two and a half hours.†- Corbin Daly, HS punter from Charlotte, and newest 2014 Texas commit
Tweet of the Week: “
BTW, Aggies. Texas just signed over the papers. LSU now owns you.
— Poseur (@ATVSPoseur) June 14, 2013
