this is a positional summary of the way UT's recruiting is shaping up. the only players I'm listing are players who have either verbally commited to Texas or have listed their interest in Texas as being High. ** all rankings are national ** commitments: brian pickryl - 2nd ranked DE marquis johnson - 3rd ranked WR aaron harris - 4th ranked ILB neale tweedie - 4th ranked OG garnet smith - 6th ranked OLB david thomas - 7th ranked TE chase pittman - 7th ranked DT sonny davis - 1st ranked juco DT billy don malone - 19th ranked pro-style QB earl anderson - 20th ranked DT matthew melton - 22nd ranked S brett valdez - 23rd ranked OG tully janszen - 27th ranked DT lyle sendlein - 29th ranked DT marcus myers - 31st ranked OLB brian robison - 40th ranked ILB remember, these are commitments, and these rankings are national. now, for those who list their interest in Texas as being high: justin blalock - 1st ranked OG rodrique wright - 1st ranked DT marvin byrdsong - 2nd ranked OLB a.j. nicholson - 3rd ranked ILB albert hardy - 4th ranked FB dabryan blanton - 4th ranked ATH marco martin - 4th ranked DT micheal williams - 8th ranked DE robert timmons - 20th ranked WR [1st in TX] rufus alexander - 21st ranked OLB fletcher sessions - 26th ranked OLB [mcgee's teammate at Tyler] pagitte mcgee - 36th ranked OLB [sessions' teammate at Tyler] ricky wilson - 42nd ranked ATH again, the rankings [unless otherwise noted] are national, and the interest is high. for most of these players, indicating an interest level of "high" means that the school is probably in their final 2. a few points of interest: - anybody notice anything about the D-Line coming to Texas? the Longhorns may never be run on again. the 2nd-ranked DE is committed. the top-ranked DT is a strong possibility, the 4th-ranked DT is a strong possibility. even if they don't come, you've still got the 7th-ranked DT and the top-ranked juco DT committed. and then, the 8th-ranked DE is another strong possibility. that could get scary. - also, do you think teams had much success running the option or screen passes against Tyler John Tyler with the 26th and 36th best OLBs in the nation on the same team? and now, here's the kicker. . . players this list does NOT include are players like vincent young [the 1st-ranked dual threat QB in the nation] who have not formally declared their interest level in any school [they are playing their recruitment poker-faced] but who are known to be looking seriously at UT. another player in this category is lorenzo booker, the 2nd-ranked all-purpose back in the nation. what's not to like?
I'm thrilled with all the pickups, but I think the key piece would be picking up Vincent Young. From what I've seen, this guy looks absolutely incredible... big arm, fast, smart, and physically ready for college ball. I love the defensive pickups, but like the 1999 class, picking up the top QB in the nation would make it one of the best classes in a long time. Last I heard Texas and Miami were pretty much dead even in the lead for Young, with FSU close behind. He might not can play next year, but who knows. I still believe Simms will do well next year, and Young would definitely be ready the year after that. If we could actually have a QB with awesome physical tools who isn't at risk of a meltdown, this would be one incredible powerhouse, considering the defense that is here and is coming.
Can you compare Reggie McNeal and Vincent Young? There was some talk that UT wants to move Young to CB, and that is one reason why he has yet to commit. Have we offered? Why would a kid like McNeal go to an unstable offensive program like Texas A&M? Last I heard Dino Babers was interviewing at San Diego St. Do we have too many QB's if we ink Young? Simms, Mock, Nordgren, Young, Trahan, Malone and Jeffrey (emergency). Other thoughts, getting the top player in OK must really chap Stoops. I think Pickryl played at the same high school as Rocky Calmus.
definitely. if we get Young, I don't see how you could top this class. benson could bridge the gap between the simms/legend/b.j. offense and the vincent young/marquis johnson/robert timmons [?] offense. I don't think it is possible for brown to keep getting recruiting classes like this and to not win a conference/national championship. "forward progress, Vincent Young saves all. . ."
pickryl did play at Jenks, calmus' high school and the school that has won the last 6 consecutive OK state championships. and we thought cedric and midland lee had done something special [just kidding; of course they did; texas' competition is much stronger]. I've never seen mcneal or young play, but here's what I can tell you. rivals100.com has mcneal listed as an athlete and young as a quarterback. that tells me that mcneal is the more likely one to be converted to a different position. one thing I have seen written about Young [at rivals100, I think] is that he is interested in playing football AND basketball in college. I don't know if that works to UT's advantage or disadvantage, but if I was a high school baller, I think I'd rather hoop at Texas than miami or f.s.u., but it wouldn't be a no-brainer. also, one other word on Young. a family friend of mine has coached in the houston/fort bend area for at least 15, maybe 20 years. he's seen a lot of players. he told my stepdad that Young is, hands down, the most gifted athlete he's ever seen. both mcneal and young have led their teams deep into the playoffs, but I get the feeling that Young has a lot less help. that's just conjecture on my part, though.
The front-seven defensive talent that we're bringing in looks amazing. 5 to 7 DTs?? I hope we can add some more secondary players in there -- Corners and Safeties, but that looks outstanding. I think we need to go find the #1 kicker and punter in America and use 2 scholarships on them (punter for sure).
That idiot on 610 said that we were recruiting Young as a def. back. Bullcrap. I also heard that Young is a lock, fwiw. Brown will have the #1 class this year. It looks good. Time to put that talent to work.
McNeal will have a chance to be treated like an idol at A&M. At UT, he'd be just another one of the guys. We DO NOT have too much talent at QB if you think about it. Simms is unstable and will be gone after next season. Mock, my former roommate has an extremely poor work ethic, and a serious drinking problem. I've seen him single handedly polish off a case of beer in one sitting. High school stud, but has yet to translate it onto the practice field where our defense makes him look downright stupid. Trahan is not a QB, he's a specialist and other than that a linebacker, I guess. Jeffery was an option QB in high school as was Kendal Briles. The wild card will be Matt Nordgren. Supposedly this guy is pretty mobile, and has a cannon for an arm. Don't really know where he fits in the scheme of things. If we get Young, then either Mock or Nordgren should start packing their bags. The one position we are overloaded at is WR. Look at the depth chart: #4 Roy Williams (2 eligibilty years left) #82 BJ Johnson (2) #12 Tony Jeffery (3) #87 Kyle Shanahan (2) #19 Brian Carter (3) Not quite sure where Marquis Johnson fits into this plan. As far as DBs go, we've got 3 studs redshirted this year: Briles, Cedric Griffin, and Rufus Harris. Not to mention #28 Monte Collier, and Philip "the punt blocker" Geiggar. Vasher and Babers are only sophmores. Brooks and Jammer are gone. OL is set for years with 8 guys redshirted this year including, Randall, Winston, Scott, Garcia, and co. who Mack got last year. LB is still up in the air with Tyrone Jones and DD Lewis graduating. Lee Jackson will be back next year, though, as will #11 Derrick Johnson.
Texas is also in the mix for the top-ranked corner in the state. however, I think he'll end up elsewhere. is UT redshirting Nordgren this year? there's no doubt in my mind that he's better than mock, but that's obviously just one man's opinion. one interesting thing about all that D-line talent is that I've seen the same quote about every one of them: "he has a motor that never stops". I don't know if the coaches will do a survival of the fittest thing, or if they will just bring in wave after wave of stud linemen. it looks good either way. as far as a Kicker goes, Texas sent scouts to check out the kid at my school. he is a hoss. he's got a big old leg. he routinely put kickoffs out of the end zone, and he actually put a kickoff through the uprights once. I've only seen one kicker ranked in the state, and he has signed with atm. anyway, I can vouch that this kicker at my school is awesome. however, the game the UT scouts attended was our playoff game. . . the game in which the kicker missed 4 of 4 field goals, none of which were from further than 30 yards, including the game winner from about 20 with 1 minute left. not a good showcase game. I don't know if UT gave up on him based on that one game, but I can tell you that those were the first 4 kicks he'd missed all year. as far as marquis johnson, I don't think he'll have trouble unseating jeffery or carter. they might move carter back to safety. besides, having too many good players is a blessing.
Ahh, another mythical February championship. If he can't do anything with the stud players he's recruited over the past 4 years, what makes any of you think this year will be any different?
If he can't do anything with the stud players he's recruited over the past 4 years, what makes any of you think this year will be any different? Mack didn't have a stud recruiting class in 1997, because he had just taken the job and many players had already committed elsewhere by the time he began recruiting. 1998, 1999, and 2000 were all considered great classes. I think if you're going to judge his record with all his own recruits, then next season will be a better measuring stick.
I understand 1997, but why not 1998-2000? It's not like Mackovic left him with such ****ty players as D.D. Lewis, Casey Hampton, Major Applewhite (and we see what he did with him), Shaun Rogers, Leonard Davis, Quinten Jammer, Kwame Cavil, Aaron Humphrey, Ricky Williams, Ricky Brown, etc., etc. He's had top 10 classes every year outside of 1997, I believe, and he has yet to do much with them...hasn't even won a bowl game (can't count the Cotton Bowl win since those were predominately Mackovic players).
I agree that nothing of consequence has been done with those great recruiting classes. This year is better than last, if we win the bowl game, but still not good enough. I'm just saying that next year we will have even more high school blue-chip talent, and if/when that talent doesn't yield a national championship, then we'll really be able to b****. I do think that whatever coaches are working with Simms and the receivers in practice are doing a poor job. Simms never ever looks guys off, and he does a poor job reading coverages. Our young receivers also have some bad habits I've noticed, like occasionally running the wrong route, not knowing when the ball is coming to them, and mis-timing their leaps for high passes. I have to think that part of the blame in attributable to the coaching staff there.
The Young being a lock thing is supposedly an inside source, well a couple of them. Over the last 2 months, the one constant in his list is Texas. Nordgren came from a small private school, so I don't know about him. MOck is quite the partyer, from what I hear. Jeffrey will not play qb at UT, and I don't think Briles will also. They're both kind of small, but something tells me that Briles could be a good college QB. People that have seen him in high school say he just has "it." I think Babers is a junior.
RM95: I have trouble seeing how Texas is going wrong. They've had 4 consecutive 9 win seasons. That's difficult to do. Almost impossible. Is there a single other program that has done this thse past four years? Brown is not a great on-field strategist from what we've seen. But is that any worse from being an average recruiter and a great on-field coach? If Brown got inferior talent, but overachieved with it, would that make you any happier? It's all part of being a coach. And if Brown compensates for mediocre strategy with ungodly recruiting, that's fine with me. Bobby Bowden has won two championships. Steve Spurrier has won one. Lou Holtz won... 1, right? Winning an MNC is extremely difficult. Brown has been there for four years. If he keeps on fielding this caliber of team, the title will come in time.
Yes, it is easier to take pride in a team that could have easily gone 7-4 based on talent but went 8-2 due to clutch play and persistance, than it is in a team that could have easily gone 10-0 but went 8-2 because of its own self-destruction and ill-prepation. But why not just hire guys that are great with strategy to prepare the teams and call the games, so all you have to do is focus on recruiting. That is what Lute Olsen does for UA basketball, one of the 3 or 4 most successful programs over the last 15 years. Part of being a great leading is recognizing your faults, not getting caught up in "loyalty" over performance, and accepting feedback even if negative so you can improve. Mack has not shown me these ability, and further gets quite reactionary to those that question him about anything related to Texas' losses. That said, if you get enough talent advantage, even a coach medicre at actually coaching , can win it all. After all, Barry Switzer won a Super Bowl with the Cowboys. Mack may not be that far off in this regard., that I agree with.
