The Texas Longhorns are looking to finish strong before National Signing Day on Wednesday with three visitors on campus taking official visits this weekend -- DeSoto (Texas) running back Dontre Wilson, an Oregon commit, Memphis (Ten.) Central defensive end Frank Herron, who is committed to LSU, and Amarillo (Texas) Palo Duro wide receiver/safety Montre Meander, a Washington State pledge.
The visit from Wilson wasn't planned until the news broke during the middle of last week that the Longhorns were going to get his final official visit instead of Oklahoma State. A consensus four-star prospect ranked among the top all-purpose backs in the country, Wilson has remained committed to Oregon despite the departure of Chip Kelly to the NFL. Wilson also visited Ohio State last weekend. His father said afterwards that he was 50/50 between the Ducks and Buckeyes, but the Texas coaches managed to convince him to trip down to Austin.
Of the three, the biggest surprise visitor is the five-star defensive end Herron, an Army All-American and top-100 player nationally who was recruited by new Texas running back coach Larry Porter when Porter was the head coach at Memphis. News didn't break about his visit until he was already on campus.
The Longhorns will start Celina (Texas) lineman Jake Raulerson at defensive end, but they don't have a true defensive end committed and have not since Lancaster (Texas) edge rusher Daeshon Hall decommitted back in June of 2012.
Last year the Longhorns managed to steal another highly-rated defensive end from the Tigers when Shreveport product Shiro Davis flipped to Texas on National Signing Day, shocking both Tiger and Longhorn fans. However, despite the connections between Herron and Porter, the odds of Herron following in the footsteps of Davis are not especially high.
The final visitor is also new to the Texas radar. Meander is a recently-minted four-star prospect by 247Sports and committed to Washington State as a safety less than two weeks ago after an official visit. The 6-3, 190-pounder is being recruited by the 'Horns as a wide receiver, which may give them an advantage if he wants to stay on offense in college and remain closer to home. He received his Texas offer on Friday night.
Last year, the Longhorns closed strong in the days before Signing Day by securing commitments from linebacker Dalton Santos, all-purpose back Daje Johnson, and the aforementioned Davis.
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