It is no secret that the Longhorns are extremely selective and methodical in the annual scholarship offers doled out and Mack Brown hasn’t earned the nickname “Mr. February†for nothing. There is a reason Texas is a consistent top 5 finisher and it involves hard work from the Texas coaches, the incessant lure of industry-leading facilities and the smile and charm of head coach Mack Brown.
While National Signing Day is teleological in nature, the recruiting process never ends. Coaches know every game and every decision made, albeit difficult or easy, has an impact on the young men that are considering playing football at The University of Texas.
National Signing Day 2012 wrapped up on February 1st and two days later the Longhorns had their first 2013 commit when 4-star recruit and Celina High School’s Jake Raulerson gave Texas his verbal. Since then the commits have slowly and steadily come in as expected, with only a few bumps in the road along the way. Overall the class is looking quite formidable with the potential to look even more tenacious as we inch closer to February 6th, 2013 – National Signing Day.
Let’s take a look at the commits the Longhorns have secured:
For a class that is expected to offer 18-20 scholarships, which is low compared to other seasons (Texas signed 28 players on NSD last year), the Longhorns have done quite well. They have added quality secondary players to a team that will boast upperclassmen defensive backs next year and they have tightened up the offensive and defensive lines, both of which should be excellent next season. The notable void on the recruiting list is Sealy Wide Receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, who committed to Texas initially and has since decided to retract his verbal while he explores his football and basketball options fully.
With roughly a handful more scholarships to offer, Mack and staff are carefully targeting the team needs. We know Texas has extended formal offers to Offensive Tackle Caleb Benenoch (Katy, TX), Andre Billings, Defensive Tackle (Waco, TX), Defensive End Torrodney Prevot (Houston, TX), Wide Receiver Ra’Shaad Samples (Dallas, TX), and a host of Defensive Backs including Vonn Bell, Chevoski Collins and Cole Luke.
The numbers game in the world of scholarship offers is usually not precise but it has a way of working itself out in the end through attrition and other developments. Remember, Naashon Hughes is a grayshirt commit and Ricky Seals-Jones is the “double-down†in this whole equation. The Longhorns are undoubtedly pursuing other wideouts as a result of the RSJ de-commitment but RSJ a guy Texas, and any other Division I team would kill to have. Rashaad Samples is reportedly leaning heavily toward Texas A&M and guys like Prevot, Bell and Cole Luke do not look to prefer Texas over any other offers with any certainty.
Obviously everyone will be keeping an eye on RSJ but this class has a firm commit from a ton of great players, including Tyrone Swoopes, who is a five-star top 15 national product. Jake Raulerson seems to have established himself as the “glue†to the 2013 class and don’t be surprised if he appears on Twitter or on websites lobbying for recruits to come play for the Longhorns. The 2013 class is rather special because of the talent and personalities and it just might be a year that Texas football is “back.â€Â Hook’ Em.
