SBNation.com User Blog: GoHornsGo90

DB Jalen Campbell Commits to Texas; #3 in 2015 Class

GoHornsGo90 — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 23:15:40 -0000

Flour Bluff Corpus Christi DB Jalen Campbell became UT's third commit in the class of 2015, joining OL Aaron Garza and DT Bryce English.

After winning the Defensive Skill MVP at a recent Rivals camp, the 5'11", 175 lb. DB's stock was bound to take off. Not sure anybody thought it would take off this quickly though. Jalen was initially offered at UT's Sophomore Day, and wrapped things up Saturday evening right before the Spring Game.

Haven't gotten to see too much of him on film yet (problem with these sophomore types), but he looks like a coverage CB all the way to me. Loves baiting QB's into interceptions and knows what to do with the ball after he takes it away.

For what it's worth, Geoff Ketchum and Dustin McComas over at Orangebloods absolutely love the guy and were raving about him more than possibly any prospect at the Rivals camp.

Wescott will likely be along with a more in-depth breakdown eventually, but suffice it to say Texas' decision to aggressively go after sophomore recruits for the first time in history has paid incalculable dividends so far. For many of these kids (like Campbell), Texas is their first offer, first visit, and opposing schools no longer have the opportunity to disparage the Horns before a prospect even sets foot on campus.

At least for now, we're back to setting the terms in the recruiting game. As it should be.

Hook 'Em, and enjoy the Spring Game...provided you're able to watch it. Some Campbell highlights are linked below.

Jalen Campbell Highlights

Flour Bluff Corpus Christi DB Jalen Campbell became UT's third commit in the class of 2015, joining OL Aaron Garza and DT Bryce English.

For what it's worth, Geoff Ketchum and Dustin McComas over at Orangebloods absolutely love the guy and were raving about him more than possibly any prospect at the Rivals camp.

At least for now, we're back to setting the terms in the recruiting game. As it should be.

Hook 'Em, and enjoy the Spring Game...provided you're able to watch it. Some Campbell highlights are linked below.

Jalen Campbell Highlights

Florida SG Demarcus Croaker commits to the Texas Longhorns

GoHornsGo90 — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:12:43 -0000

It took a bit longer than originally expected, but Florida SG Demarcus Croaker finally committed to Rick Barnes and the Texas Longhorns on Tuesday afternoon. He joins Houston PG Isaiah Taylor as the second (and final) piece of the 2013 backcourt class.

Croaker is an extremely underrated recruit nationally (132 overall according to the 247sports composite rankings) who's primarily being overlooked because he's a bit undersized at the off-guard spot and played on an absolutely stacked AAU team with top-10 ranked Florida signees Kasey Hill and Chris Walker and former UT recruit (and KU signee) Joel Embiid.

Let's break down what actually adds up to a pretty big commitment.

Bio

Name: Demarcus Croaker

Position: SG

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 175 lbs

High School: Jones (Orlando, FL)

What he does right

Well...pretty much everything. Most importantly, he's an insane scorer. Including dropping 46 earlier this season, which you can see highlights of here. Croaker is a veritable freak athlete (41-inch vertical) and will be on plenty of highlight reels throughout his tenure at Texas.

He's also a very good ball handler who could easily spend some time at the point if need be. I don't think I'd call him a combo guard, but he can definitely get into the lane and drop dimes when his teammates are open. Demarcus started out with a reputation as a pure slasher/athlete type, but his shot has improved enormously this season, to the point where he had a game where he went 7/7 from deep.

He has a sweet stroke, and is the rare three-level scorer nowadays that can score at the rim, from midrange, and from behind the arc. He's probably not a pure shooter quite yet, but his pull-up game is pure butter.

Potentially most important is the rumblings that the coaching staff views Croaker as having lockdown potential on defense, meaning he won't be riding the pine J'Covan Brown/Jordan Hamilton style with Barnes' incessant preference for defensive production over offensive production. This is backed up on his film, which shows a player that's lightning quick and extremely explosive both with the ball and on defense.

Simply put, if the desire to be a great defender is there, he'll be one. I apologize for the extremely vague description of his skill set, but from what I can tell, he honestly doesn't seem to have many tangible weaknesses from his highlight film.

Needs improvement

As I alluded to earlier, there's just not much here to improve on. He's a little short for a 2 guard, but at 6'3" he's no shorter than Julien Lewis, who I've never seen struggle much due to his height. There just aren't that many NBA-sized shooting guards in college hoops nowadays. And if they are, they're often playing the 3 spot for their college teams.

Aside from his height, academics have been the other factor in keeping Croaker's recruitment and ranking under the radar. If he here two inches taller and had qualified earlier academically, we'd be talking about a guy Kentucky, Florida, and UNC would be going to war over. Instead of a Texas commitment over Murray State.

So he needs to not slack off school-wise after fighting so hard to get into college in the first place. A few nit picks are continuing to improve the range and consistency on his jumper and get stronger going to and finishing with his left hand. Neither are drastic concerns. More of polishing points.

Lastly, he's got a good deal of lean muscle on him, but like most freshman he'll have to continue adding weight to what could eventually be an extremely powerful frame. Especially if he wants to be a lockdown defender and finish consistently at the rim.

What it means

In case it wasn't patently obvious, I love this pickup for Texas. I think Croaker is a top-50 type in talent, as well as almost assuredly not being one and done due to his height. When you look at the landscape of college hoops nowadays, a lot of the dominant players are scoring 2-guards that are a tad too short or a tad too un-athletic to leave early for the NBA.

You can never have too many pure scorers, especially with a coach like Barnes who isn't known as a proficient instructor of offensive basketball nuances. Croaker is the kind of player who overcomes those deficiencies. He's a multi-faceted weapon on O who can create his own shot or score off the curl cuts Barnes has fallen in love with of late.

And he shouldn't be a weakness as a three-point spacer either. Assuming no transfers, Croaker will likely start as our third off-guard behind McClellan and Juice. Because of his offensive acumen, I expect him to pass his fellow Demarcus -- barring a significant off-season improvement on the scoring end by the latter. Barnes is obviously infatuated with Holland's effort and attitude, but Croaker should be able to offer reasonably comparable defensive production, while providing an infinitely more explosive presence on offense. And in case anybody was wondering, yes, I'm glad we got him instead of Keith Frazier, despite our need for another (read: a) pure shooter.

Texas Longhorns spring football 2013: Secondary overview

GoHornsGo90 — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 03:59:18 -0000

Departures: Kenny Vaccaro

Additions: Chevoski Collins, Erik Huhn, Antwuan Davis

Projected depth chart:

Position	No.	Player	\|	No.	Player	\|	No.	Player
CB	21	Duke Thomas	\|	16	Bryson Echols
Free Safety	25	Josh Turner	\|	29	Sheroid Evans
Strong Safety	17	Adrian Phillips	\|	2	Mykkele Thompson	\|	26	Adrian Colbert
CB	23	Carrington Byndom	\|	--	Antwuan Davis
Nickel	6	Quandre Diggs	\|	31	Leroy Scott

Storyline: Remember when Tyrann Mathieu finally smoked himself right out of LSU, and everybody was lauding Texas as the best defensive backfield in the nation (raises hand)? And when UT fans were hungrily comparing and contrasting last year's DB crew with the 2005 unit that put five defensive backs into the NFL (raises hand)? Then the games started, and we were treated to a comical litany of errors involving a surprising inability to make a decent form tackle.

Now Kenny Vaccaro has departed after what can only be ironically characterized as both an overachieving and disappointing career. Overachieving because he wasn't one of the guys most recruiting "gurus" (raises hand) expected to be a star. Disappointing because...well...watching Texas football the past four-ish years has been the visual manifestation of Dick Vitale trying to sing "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston.

The loss of Vaccaro stings for a multitude of reasons. The first is that, along with Alex Okafor, he was far and away one of our top two players for the entirety of the season. Another is that there are few players in Texas history that could be more counted on to show up ready for a knife fight at the kickoff of a big game. Vaccaro never looked outclassed, out-toughed, or out-efforted in his last two years as a Horn...because he wasn't. Those guys give their own teammates confidence and opposing coaches nightmares.

The less obvious negative is seeing him rocket up draft boards to occupy a nigh unanimous spot as the top safety. Sound moronic? Let me back up to explain better. There was a pervading notion during the season that Vaccaro was masking many of our less-apparent (yes, I promise you there were more) deficiencies on defense. That was so beaten to death that many started to think perhaps he was just having a down year. Now all the NFL scouts are watching film on him and saying the exact opposite-Kenny actually did a ton for our defense that even big-time football fans couldn't pinpoint. Long story short, none of that bodes well for our defense or secondary next year without him.

Which allows me to segue nicely into next year's secondary.

According to people who understand the intricacies of football a whole hell of a lot better than I could ever hope to, Diaz switched to the MOFC (Middle Of Field Closed) Cover 1 (one deep safety, man under) look that we saw so frequently last year in order to reconcile the disparity between his exotic zone blitz looks and Akina's mandate that we get to call ourselves "DBU" by playing aggressive man coverage.

Personally, I hate playing Cover 1 in the Big 12. It leaves you too vulnerable to the deep ball when your cornerbacks inevitably get burned by the best QB and WR play collegiate football has ever seen. It also gives you only one player as a last line of defense when a receiver shakes a tackle. Or a running back flies through your second level untouched because your linebackers don't understand rudimentary concepts of how to read keys on defense or how not to blitz blindly into an abyss of blockers or have no idea how to take on those blockers once they get there or don't really seem to have any actual LB coaching at all not naming any names. Texas.

Lord Carrington Byndom is working on his third year as a starter at CB, and you pretty much know what you're going to get from him by now. He's not going to show up every game, but if you stick him on the bigger receiver as opposed to the fast guy, he'll usually lock him down pretty well for the most part. I thought last season he vacillated between lackluster and all-conference with no real rhyme or reason for either outcome. And I think if he takes the job more seriously he could be First Team All-Big 12.

Fellow three-year starter Quandre Diggs will probably (read: hopefully) take over Vaccaro's safety/nickelback role, where his playmaking ability should really shine. He has the requisite compact frame to be an enforcer at safety, the ball skills to make picks and cover 1 on 1, and the supple hips to stay with slot receivers. Diggs reminds me of both the aforementioned Mathieu and the alluded-to Aaron Ross. Both were stud CBs who weren't all that outstanding at covering, but made a ton of game-changing plays with picks and forced/recovered fumbles, and in the ST game.

Much maligned safety Adrian Phillips was supposedly injured for most of last year. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt...if he comes out and plays like he was supposed to last season, before looking like he was utterly allergic to wrapping up or knocking his own players out of tackling position. He'll likely man the other safety spot.

Diggs' vacated CB spot will likely go to freaky, long athlete Duke Thomas. He didn't get much run last year but looked solid when he got on the field, and supposedly the coaches love the kid's potential. He needs to step up, because there's not much proven behind him at CB.

Battle to watch: Hopefully you'll see an absolute war at safety, because even though he improved toward the end of the season, Phillips simply wasn't close to good enough last year. Mykkele Thompson will likely start as the nickel safety when Diggs shifts down to the nickelback role, but he was equally as bad in the running game as Phillips was. I'm hearing they might move him to CB, which literally made me laugh out loud. Guy should have been moved to offense two years ago.

My favorite guy at the position right now is Josh Turner, who showed out well most of the time he was actually put on the field (especially compared to his compatriots). Unfortunately, he barely seemed like he could get on the field, despite being the only defensive player on the team to do anything at all against Baylor. He's a ballhawk, but needs to continue to get stronger.

Wild cards include freak track athlete Sheroid Evans, who also might move back to CB, and...freak track athlete Adrian Colbert, who definitely will never play CB. Evans has battled nagging injuries for his entire tenure at UT and should genuinely be able to play both DB spots if he can stay healthy. Colbert is a hammer with a gigantic frame and inhuman closing speed.

Also, don't discount the younger Vaccaro brother, Kevin. He's got a similar body type to his brother, but he's three inches shorter. If he can bring the same disposition and fire as his older sibling, he should be able to find his way into the rotation early.

The final word: So what does it all mean? Well, I don't think many UT fans will be harboring delusions of grandeur for any position on defense this year after expecting a Bama/LSU-type unit from last year's group. But I also don't think it's unreasonable to expect all-conference type seasons from both Byndom and Diggs, a bounce-back year to respectability from Phillips, and the rest of Duane Akina's group to grow into competent contributors that make the occasional play, reliably wrap up ball carriers in reasonably standard situations, and aren't jumping around as the ball gets snapped while trying to figure out where they're supposed to be and what defense we have called.

DL Robert Nkemdiche Wants Some Texas Love

GoHornsGo90 — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:55:09 -0000

DL Robert Nkemdiche Wants Some Texas Love

Nkemdiche, widely regarded as the top player in the 2013 (and who many people thought was the top player in the country last year as well), has expressed a bit of interest in the Horns. As Eric Nahlin mentioned a few weeks back, Stacy Searels has been recruiting Nkemdiche for Georgia since he was in 9th grade and has built a good relationship with the young man. Robert can play DE and DT and is absolutely ripped at 6'5", 260 or so. Can only hope that UT goes after him.

Kendall Sanders: 2012 Texas Recruiting Spotlight

GoHornsGo90 — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:51:24 -0000

Vitals

Name: Kendall Sanders

Position: WR/CB

Height: 6'1''

Weight: 175

Speed: 4.40

High School: Athens High School, Athens (TX)

Rating (Rivals): Four out of five (6.0)

Offers

Texas (Committed 12/2/2011)
Texas A&M
TCU
Baylor
Texas Tech
Arkansas
Missouri
Michigan
Mississippi
Notre Dame
Oklahoma State

Overview/recruitment

Sanders is this year's Quandre Diggs—a two-way star in high school who could easily play either way in college, probably projects better to defense, and had Texas fans agonizing for months over why we hadn't offered yet despite both players making it quite clear they wanted to attend UT. Like Quandre, Kendall eventually got his offer and ended up committing the same week as Marcus Johnson. And UT fans breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Scouting Report

Kendall Sanders (senior highlights) (via 247SportsStudio)

Strengths

For the sake of this evaluation not going on forever, I'm only going to comment on Sanders as a WR, where he is expected to begin his career once he gets to the 40.

Jukability: A trait UT WRs and RB have been sorely lacking over the past few seasons that has been assuaged with the additions of guys like Johnathan Gray, Daje Johnson, Marcus Johnson, and, of course, Sanders. Although he's not a violent cutter like a Trey Williams, Kendall has an innate ability to slink and slither all over the field while somehow avoiding even being touched. He will be a monster in the screen game and on end-arounds, especially since he played a lot of running back in high school.
Top speed: Excellent top gear and he makes it look effortless and graceful in the open field. Once he gets by the last defender, it's over because nobody at the high school level can catch the guy. Just a very natural long strider who can get up to top speed in a ridiculously short amount of time. There are guys that supposedly run good 40 times without pads on that don't look that fast on film. Sanders isn't one of them.
Multi-faceted...ness: When I see Kendall play I think of Percy Harvin. Harvin was listed as a WR at Florida, but in addition to catching the ball on actual pass routes, he was always getting touches in the backfield and on various screen passes. I think Sanders will be that kind of player for Texas. Especially with Thomas Johnson gone to A&M.
Special teams ability: Sanders is definitely the kind of guy who could swing a game in a heartbeat in the third phase. With his elusiveness, nose for the endzone, vision, and breakaway speed, don't be surprised if you see him returning kicks or punts in the near future. He's probably better suited for the former, where he can see the field clearly and build up a head of steam while lining up his path, while a shorter, more compact player like Daje Johnson who can cut on a dime would be more successful in the PR game. JMO on that one.

Weaknesses

Strength: On tape, Kendall looks like he could use more lower-body strength to be able to slip tackles around his hips better. His arms are pretty skinny too, although he does showcase a couple of nice stiff arms. It's doubtful he will redshirt, so he'll likely have to play his first season at a much weaker physical state than the guys he's going up against. That's no slight against him, it's just a commentary on true freshman having to play early. We saw it last year with guys like Shipley and Malcolm Brown that haven't had enough time to sculpt themselves after arriving on campus, which frequently leads to nagging injuries at the collegiate level.
Raw receiver skills: Unlike his fellow signees Cayleb Jones and Marcus Johnson, Kendall generally isn't going to be labeled with the "technician" tag at WR. A lot of that is because Athens needed him to play all over the field in order for them to accumulate yardage, which often meant getting the ball in his hands as soon into the play as humanly possible and watching him work wonders. His hands look very good though, as he showed great natural pass-catching ability on two interceptions in the Army AA Bowl.

My Take

Sanders is a monster playmaking talent on both sides of the ball, and a kid any UT fan should just be happy we finally offered. Expect him to be on the field early in the season in some capacity, although it remains to be seen just how much he plays with guys like Davis, Shipley, Quise, Harris, Onyay, and possibly the other receivers in the class ahead of him in the rotation. Could be a guy that contributes on special teams like Mykkele Thompson did last year. While many Longhorn fans would have loved to have seen him at CB, the need at slot receiver is certainly far more pressing with Quise and Hales graduating after this coming season, Thomas Johnson gone to Aggie, and a seemingly fully-stocked cupboard of young CBs waiting in the wings.

Finally, I must offer my sincere apologies to Kendall for taking so long to get this out. School is a lot of work sometimes, and with the Super Bowl and the MU/KU game this weekend, I was pretty busy. Also sorry for having this done so late after NSD, as I know most of y'all have already turned your eyes to JD1 this weekend. So psyched!

2012 RECRUITING FEATURES / NEWS

* Expectations of Early Enrollees
* Dorial Green-Beckham Eliminates Texas
* DE Bryce Cottrell Switches to Texas
* Interview with DT Malcolm Brown
* Texas Commits at International Bowl
* Do the Longhorns Have a Championship Caliber Class?
* Thomas Johnson De-Commits from UT

2012 RECRUITING SPOTLIGHTS

QB Connor Brewer, QB Jalen Overstreet, ATH Daje Johnson, WR Cayleb Jones, WR Marcus Johnson, OT Kennedy Estelle, OT Camrhon Huges, OG Curtis Riser, DE Caleb Bluiett, DE Hassan Ridgeway, DT Malcolm Brown, DT Paul Boyette, DT Alex Norman, LB Tim Cole, LB Peter Jinkens, LB Alex De La Torre, LB Dalton Santos, S Adrian Colbert, CB Orlando Thomas, CB Bryson Echols, K Nick Jordan

Kevin Vaccaro: 2012 Texas Recruiting Spotlight

GoHornsGo90 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:43:27 -0000

Vitals

Name: Kevin Vaccaro

Position: S

Height: 5'9''

Weight: 175

Speed: 4.50

High School: Brownwood High School, Brownwood (TX)

Rating (Rivals): Three out of five (5.5)

Offers

Texas (Committed 12/11/2011)
Louisiana Tech

Overview/recruitment

Vaccaro has been a long-time UT fan and was always going to commit to the Horns if offered. Initially, he was only offered a grayshirt, but the need for a safety in the class (remember, Vaccaro committed the same day as Colbert) and his brother's potential departure a year early prompted Texas to bring in Kevin on an official visit over banquet weekend. To the surprise of many, Texas ultimately offered the "Bowie Knife," who quickly committed to the Horns and now perpetuates the violent brand of football the Vaccaro name brings to the game.

Scouting Report

Kevin Vaccaro (senior highlights) (via 247SportsStudio)

Strengths

Closing speed: Like his brother, Kevin plays with animal-like ferocity when he's en route to the ball carrier. I always say the number one trait you want from a safety or linebacker is closing speed, which is a corollary to the frequently opined "40 times are overrated" and "football speed is what counts." KV2 is a pin missile
Man coverage skills: For a guy primarily designated as a safety, Vaccaro is very good in one on one situations as well. His small stature and agility allow him to turn his hips relatively seamlessly and keep up with route-runners. I think his quickness and physicality would translate well to sometimes operating in the nickel
Aggression: Vaccaro isn't afraid to deliver the bone-jarring hit to the ball carrier in the running game, nor is he someone you want to cross when throwing, well, crossing patterns over the middle of the field. He's very good at dislodging WRs from the ball and provides an intimidating presence over the middle
Athleticism: Kevin has good acceleration and gets up to top speed very quickly, as evidenced by his impressive work on offense in his film. I like his "supple hips," as Doug would jokingly say

Weaknesses

Size: Height, height, height. Yeah, you guys know the story. He's almost assuredly shorter than his listed 5'9", and we're just going to have to deal with it. It may limit him getting on the field, and it may not. If he were his brother's height, he would have been a JD1 commit. Other than that, he's pretty much a stud
Pure speed: I guess Kevin doesn't have elite top-end speed? Whatever, I'm reaching here. It's a non-issue

My Take

Would Kevin have been offered if Kenny weren't waffling on returning for his Sr. season? We'll never know. What I do know is we got a very solid and underrated player who is vertically challenged. So let's please not turn this comment section into a complete Negative Nancy-fest because KV2 flashes on film big time. Or if you are going to hate on the offer, at least watch the film first. Besides, nobody works harder than a program kid with a chip on his shoulder. I'm looking forward to seeing Kevin bust his ass once he gets to campus.

Adrian Colbert: 2012 Texas Recruiting Spotlight

GoHornsGo90 — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:48:19 -0000

Vitals

Name: Adrian Colbert

Position: S

Height: 6'1''

Weight: 193

Speed: 4.40

High School: Mineral Wells High School, Mineral Wells (TX)

Rating (Rivals): Three out of five (5.7)

Offers

Texas (Committed 12/11/2011)

Texas A&M

TCU

Baylor

Texas Tech

Overview/recruitment

It's always exciting when a late prospect arrives on the radar who nobody's heard of before. When that prospect has some of the best film in the country and plays a need recruiting position in the class, you're ecstatic. When that prospect also already has an established relationship with your track coach and was planning to commit to your school as a track athlete before blowing up as a football star, you start to wonder if there's some divine intervention going on. Fortuitously for UT, that's exactly what happened with Colbert. His film popped up on the Net, everybody and their grandmother went crazy over him, and he eventually flipped to UT after visiting in December.

Scouting Report

Adrian Colbert (senior highlights) (via 247SportsStudio)

Strengths

Size: Colbert is the kind of size you build in an SEC laboratory for a safety. Not to mention an NFL laboratory. He's got a monster frame to add muscle onto and should easily be able to play at 215 or more
Pure speed: The guy was the state 400-meter champ. 'Nuff said
Closing speed: Assuming you watched any of the video above, this won't need much explanation. Elite, elite closing speed. He plays like he's shot out of a cannon when he comes up in run support. A true downfield run stuffer at safety
Ball skills: Despite being an elite run stuffer at safety, Colbert is also very solid in coverage. Although he likely doesn't possess the hip flexibility to turn and run consistently as a cornerback or nickel back, his pure speed allows him to keep up with WRs down the field and his time spent on offense has gifted him with a good pair of hands and the juking ability to house an interception
Violent streak: Colbert would be a favorite of broadcaster Chris Spielman, who's always explaining that tacklers should explode through the ball carrier and picture him bursting into a million little pieces. A tad scary, but I guess it worked for him. It seems to work for Adrian as well. Guy doesn't so much 'tackle' as 'detonate.' Like 2013 LB Brett Wade, when he hits you, you stop moving. Forward, at least
Wrap-up tackling: Even though he's a huge hitter, Colbert doesn't forsake fundamentals, almost always wrapping up and driving his legs till the ball carrier is on the turf. No launching shoulder first hoping to score a knockout blow while compromising accuracy

Weaknesses

Not really any discernible ones from film. I believe Hookem.com may have mentioned a minor lack of production on defense in one game viewed live, but he was also playing offense in addition to safety.
Competition: Mineral Wells is only 3A ball, so there could be an adjustment period to going against opponents at his level of athleticism every play.

My Take

Colbert is my second favorite defensive player in the class and my favorite player overall because he's such a high-ceiling freak athlete, lifts weights at six in the morning in the offseason, and tweets under the sick handle ACtooCold1. Plus he goes by Flash, which is...well...'too Cold." A three-star ranking from Rivals is beyond laughable; Colbert is probably the third best safety in the nation after Landon Collins and Shaq Thompson. That's like being Larry Fitzgerald to Calvin Johnson and Andre Johnson in the NFL. No shame, son. No shame. I fully expect Colbert to be a star safety at UT, though he might have to wait his turn behind Mykkele Thompson and Sheroid Evans. Also plan on him contributing early in an impactful manner on special teams. And possibly knocking a few people out along the way.

2012 RECRUITING FEATURES / NEWS

* Expectations of Early Enrollees
* Dorial Green-Beckham Eliminates Texas
* DE Bryce Cottrell Switches to Texas
* Interview with DT Malcolm Brown
* Texas Commits at International Bowl
* Do the Longhorns Have a Championship Caliber Class?
* Thomas Johnson De-Commits from UT

2012 RECRUITING SPOTLIGHTS

QB Connor Brewer, QB Jalen Overstreet, ATH Daje Johnson, WR Cayleb Jones, WR Marcus Johnson, OT Kennedy Estelle, OT Camrhon Huges, OG Curtis Riser, DE Caleb Bluiett, DE Hassan Ridgeway, DT Malcolm Brown, DT Paul Boyette, DT Alex Norman, LB Tim Cole, LB Peter Jinkens, LB Alex De La Torre, LB Dalton Santos, S Adrian Colbert, CB Orlando Thomas, CB Bryson Echols, K Nick Jordan

Hassan Ridgeway: 2012 Texas Recruiting Spotlight

GoHornsGo90 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:39:52 -0000

Vitals

Name: Hassan Ridgeway

Position: DE

Height: 6'4''

Weight: 250

Speed: 4.70

High School: Mansfield High School, Mansfield (TX)

Rating (Rivals): Four out of five (5.8)

Offers

Texas (Committed 2/16/2011)

Texas A&M

TCU

Overview/recruitment

An offer that was met with some skepticism at the time, Ridgeway looked athletic but not particularly dominant as a defensive end. Many fans chalked the offer up to minimal defensive end depth and struggles in the recruitments of the more heralded Mario Edwards and Devonte Fields (myself included). And then his senior film was released. Whatever looming questions may have been there before quickly vanished and Texas fans were instead left to conjecture just how high Ridgeway's stock would go up by the final rankings. This one turned out to be one hell of an evaluation from the staff, so mad kudos to them for getting on Hassan early and minimizing whatever doubts possibly crept into his mind about taking further visits (there was some talk he was intrigued by A&M for a while, and would check College Station out).

Scouting Report

Hassan Ridgeway (senior highlights) (via 247SportsStudio)

Strengths

Bull rush: Hassan has serious beast strength for his age, which allows him to blow opposing tackles back at the quarterback while he's trying to take his drop, or merely toss them out of the way en route to the ball carrier. Once he locks his long arms onto you and gets his feet going, it's basically over. Very Alex Okafor-ish.
Frame: The dude was simply made to play football. He has an Adonis-like build that should be able to carry as much weight as the coaches could conceivably want to put on a defensive end. He's already big, but I expect him to pretty easily put on enough weight to be able to swing inside and play defensive tackle on passing downs. Some sites are saying he's a future DT full time, but I think he'll make his money on the edge.
Football IQ: Ridge seems to be a very smart football player on film. He takes great pursuit angles, never seems to overrun the play, and looks good in the zone read game—a common weakness exposed in young defensive ends and a primary point where he'll be tested in a spread-happy conference like the Big 12.
Athleticism: Just a joy to watch in the open field. That may seem like a funny comment to make about a defensive lineman, but the kid can really run in space, changes directions rather seamlessly, and just explodes into ball carriers in the backfield.
Holding the edge: Obviously if I think he has the potential to sometimes spin down to DT, it's assumed he's pretty good in the running game. Long arms, brute strength, and patience are all prerequisites for not getting blown off the ball while not necessarily trying to beat your opponent at the LOS. Hassan has all three.

Weaknesses

First step: I don't think anybody would ever qualify Ridgeway as a speed rusher or a weakside defensive end. That's just a waste of his skill set and not where he excels. Like with Mario Edwards, it's hard to ascertain how often a player is asked to hold his ground and contain the QB, and how often he just isn't that quick off the ball. I tend to think that if a player has a decent first step, their coach is going to showcase it. Ridgeway is more fast (at least for a DE) than quick, and this is an area where he could become more consistent.
Pass-rushing diversity: Right now, like many high school linemen, Ridgeway has the bull rush and not much else in his repertoire. He did show a profound ability to "get skinny" and split a double team with ease in the Army All-America Bowl, however.

My Take

Hassan's athletic ability and speed, combined with his natural strength and frame, are what make him, in my opinion, a special talent. This is the kind of guy that the SEC dominates college football with. Bigger than you. More athletic than you. Plays like he hates your guts. Texas has been missing these kinds of BAMF's under Mack Brown, but we seem committed to SEC-style defense now and Ridgeway provides just that with run-stuffing ability and versatility in droves. Manny Diaz wants to "stop the run" first and "hit the quarterback" second. That's Ridge in a nutshell and Diaz will have some serious fun tinkering with his natural abilities.

BFLT and I have been discussing UT potentially moving to this new style of DL that are athletic and big enough to both pass-rush and stop the run—basically four hybrid lineman that can seamlessly line up on each spot on the line. Think Marcell Dareus or South Carolina's Melvin Ingram. The other three on that line were supposed to be Arik Armstead, Javonte Magee, and Mario Edwards, but 1/4 ain't bad, I guess.

College Hoops is Back—the Top 10 Teams

GoHornsGo90 — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:20:20 -0000

This year’s college basketball season looks to be one of the most competitive ones in recent history. Fear of an NBA lockout kept many of last season’s top underclassmen from making the jump to the next level. Add to that an influx of young talent in a strong freshman class, and you get a season that promises to be quite fun.

We (GoHornsGo90 and Reggieball) decided to try to put together our version of a preseason top 10. It turns out we had a few disagreements, but somehow managed to arrive at some sort of consensus. These disagreements were helpful though, as it allowed us to work through some of the issues that we see with the various teams.

College hoops is back, which means it's a good time to stake a stab at ranking the preseason Top 10 teams.

First, it's worth saying a bit about our ranking approach. We used a few pieces of information to guide us. It is hard to not be biased by the AP preseason rankings, so we admit this bit of biasing up front. Additionally, we used a simple tool called the "mindless predictor rank." The mindless predictor is based on research from last summer.

Basically, it is possible to correlate a team's success with two factors: the number of minutes of playing experience that the players on that team had accumulated in previous seasons, and the amount of minutes a team gives to former RSCI top 30 ranked recruits. Using the results from that article, our mindless predictor formula is Rating = {minutes of experience} + 1100 x {number of RSCI top 30 players}

We used this formula to calculate ratings for each of the AP top 25 teams,as well as some of the top AP vote getting teams that fell out of the top 25. Using these ratings, we sorted things to give the mindless predictor rank.

Then we took that information, used our gut feelings, wild guesses, and extrapolations about what might happen, and argued over the rankings. We both agree on certain teams (North Carolina) and disagree on others (Connecticut and Louisville). We have tried to capture some of the sources of our disagreements in the discussion below, without having to show you too much about how the sausage gets made.

And with that, let's get to the Top 10 teams, after the jump...

1. North Carolina
AP rank = #1
Mindless predictor rank = #1
Minutes of experience = 8730
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 8

What we like: They are the preseason #1 in the AP, and in our mindless system as well. They return a ton of talent. No one stacks up top recruits like Roy Williams. They will play hard at both ends of the court, will run and gun on offense, will take care of the ball, and will rebound. Tyler Zeller runs the floor like few guys who are seven feet tall and is hard to stop in the post. Harrison Barnes has loads of talent, and probably struggled with unrealistic expectations last year before coming on toward the end of the season in a big way. Kendall Marshall is the best floor general in the country and will be the most important player on the team. John Henson is a swatter in the post next to Zeller, and the Heels add super recruit James McAdoo to bolster what has often been a thin front court. Fellow super recruit P.J. Hairstonprovides the long-range bombs that would have been UNC's only weakness this year. This team is sickly deep with talent everywhere but at the PG spot, where Marshall MUST stay healthy. We both agreed that North Carolina belongs at #1.

What we don't like: Although they are the consensus number one choice, it is important to remember what North Carolina was like last year. By the Kenpom.com ratings they were the #12 team in the country. This is really good, of course, but it is not like this team has a previous history as some sort of dominant juggernaut. We are expecting a very competitive season this year, so it doesn't seem likely a single team will be holding the #1 spot for the entire season or anything like that. If North Carolina had one weakness last year, is was that they struggled knocking down shots. Of their returning players, only Zeller was really efficient in terms of shooting percentage from the floor. They were basically aroundthe NCAA median when it came to effective field goal percentage (a useful composite of two point and three point shooting percentages). And they really struggled shooting the three.

2. Kentucky
AP rank = #2
Mindless predictor rank = #10
Minutes of experience = 6151
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 5

What we like: You might have heard somewhere that John Calipari is a good recruiter. Freshman Anthony Davis is perhaps the most talented player in the country. Coach Cal also returns a couple of key players from last season's Final Four team. Doron Lamb is a dangerous scorer and Terrance Jones is expected to be one of the better all-around players in the country at combo forward. Freshman Marquis Teague at PG should be at least as good as NBA first round pick Brandon Knight and fits the dribble-drive offense much more soundly than Knight. Kyle Wiltjer and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will provide some serious talented depth to a UK frontcourt that, like UNC, has consistently lacked in that department over the past few years. This is the nightmare that people have been hoping to avoid from a Calipari coached team-yet another number 1 recruiting class that combines with a few of the sophomores from the class before who didn't enter the draft. Another thing you also have to like about a Calipari-coached team is that you know they will work hard on defense.

What we don't like: The mindless predictor system is less enthusiastic about Kentucky. (Can something be both mindless and enthusiastic?) We worry about a team of freshman and sophomores in a year where college basketball is loaded with strong and talented teams of upperclassmen. How will these kids transition to the college game? Last season, we saw two freshman with high expectations: Harrison Barnes and Jared Sullinger. Sullinger was perhaps the best player in the country, while Barnes struggled with his shot at the outset of the season. You don't know how these guys will do in college until you see them play.

3. Syracuse
AP rank = #5
Mindless predictor rank = #5
Minutes of experience = 9860
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 3

What we like: Last year, Kenpom.com had Syracuse at #11, and they have almost everyone back, including key playmaker Scoop Jardine, experienced combo guard Brandon Triche, and star small forward Kris Joseph. This is a good and experienced squad that adds two RSCI top 30 freshmen (Michael Carter-Williams and Rakeem Christmas).  Syracuse is a team with size that will defend the rim. We hope Fab Melo takes a big step forward in the middle of that zone this year, although the reviews on his improvement so far have been less than stellar. And when Scoop throws a lob to Fab for a dunk, is that one of the best name combinations ever? Sophomores C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters are budding stars.

What we don't like: Zone defense, and all the problems that it brings with it. Syracuse can get bounced by a less talented team that chases rebounds down and attacks their zone effectively with a full week of practice in the tournament. This has happened at a high clip in the Big Dance lately. In addition to that, Syracuse is simply not a good three-point shootingteam. All of their starting perimeter CAN shoot, but they're slashers at heart. Same goes with the primary backups. Makes it hard to come back from large deficits, as well as allowing defenses to collapse in the paint against you and stagnate your offense.

4. Ohio State
AP rank = #3
Mindless predictor rank = #15
Minutes of experience = 6952
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 3

What we like: This is a team with some phenomenal front line talent. Jared Sullinger is obviously great, and sophomore combo forward Deshaun Thomas is a player who should have a breakout season. William Buford was a key player for Ohio State last season, and he returns as well. He's a pure scorer from all over the court. Aaron Craft should step forward in his second season as a floor general and defensive stopper. They were the best team in basketball last year, return their best player, and add a solid recruiting class

What we don't like: Despite returning their best player, Ohio State will have to make up for a great deal of lost production from last season's team. David Lighty was one of their major ball ballhandlers and playmakers.   Jon Diebler was perhaps the most dangerous shooter in all of college basketball. He was #1 in the NCAA in TS%, and shot better than 50% from three. That is a big loss that is not easily replaced. Diebler had a true shooting percentage 0.72 last season. The player expected to take many of his minutes this year is Aaron Craft, who last season had a true shooting percentage of 0.577. Ohio State as a team last year had a trueshooting percentage of 0.589, but if you take away Diebler's contribution the rest of the team had a true shooting percentage of 0.569. This is still a good total, but the difference with and without Diebler amounts to roughly 2 points per 100 possessions. (In case you couldn't tell, that was Reggieball). Dallas Lauderdale is also gone. His defensive presence in the middle will be missed, and will have to be replaced by freshman center Amir Williams. Ohio State played at an elite level on defense last year, but will they do that again without Lauderdale guarding the rim? He had a 10% shot block rate on his own. No one else on that team really blocked shots, although Sullinger has supposedly slimmed down and can contribute to that area better this season. Finally, not all of Ohio State's studfreshman class made it past the Clearing House.

5. Connecticut
AP rank = #4
Mindless predictor rank = Unranked
Minutes of experience = 6012
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 2

What we like: We like Jeremy Lamb. His game is very solid-he can do a little bit of everything. Kind of a Richard Hamilton player in that he probably isn't going to be a superstar, but will drop 20 on you without you knowing it's occurring. And we like Andre Drummond to become the next great Connecticut big man. He's a freak of an athlete at center, and nobody in the country does more with those guys than UConn. The best Jim Calhoun teams are big and physical inside, with intimidating rebounders and shot blockers. Connecticut has talent at every position (including Texas favorite DeAndre Daniels), and has some real size inside.

What we don't like: The mindless predictor does not like Connecticut. Let's be honest, while Connecticut won the NCAA tournament last season, they had a pretty up and down year. They won the tournament in a year where most of the top teams busted out. If Connecticut had not made their tournament run last year, would they really be rated as high as they are by the AP? Kemba Walker carried a huge load on offense, was the unquestioned team leader, and finished the first book of his life (no, that is not a joke. And he graduated from UConn in three years...) last season. He is gone. We are not crazy about Shabazz Napier, with his 0.507 true shooting percentage, getting more shots as a result. Just because you play as a young guy behind a superstar does not make you the next superstar by default. Chris Duhon says "hi." Calhoun has a history of letting his guards become black holes on offense. Think of guys like Khalid El-Amin and Jerome Dyson.

6. Vanderbilt
AP rank = #7
Mindless predictor rank = #2
Minutes of experience = 13106
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 1

What we like: The mindless predictor rates Vanderbilt quite high at #2, although themargin between them and the next couple of teams isn't that great. (The gulf between North Carolina and everyone else in this approach is really large.) We certainly don't think they are the #2 team in the country.   Still, a lot of upperclassmen makes a strong case for success. Vanderbilt has four very good and experienced players in Jeffrey Taylor, Festus Ezeli, John Jenkins, and Brad Tinsleyand complementary pieces all over the court. This is a team that was extremely good offensively last season and can really shoot the ball.

What we don't like: Vanderbilt was #35 in last season's Kenpom ratings. Basically, all but one of our top 10 teams was substantially better than Vanderbilt was last season. While they were very good on offense, they need to improve on defense (the #88 ranked defense on kenpom.com) if they want to stay in the top 10 this year. College basketball is seemingly dominated by a handful of the same programs year after year, and Vanderbilt needs to show that they are ready to step into that upper echelon, at least for this year.

7. Florida
AP rank = 8
Mindless predictor rank = 3
Minutes of experience = 10040
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 3

What we like: If the NCAA game is about guard play, then Florida is loaded for bear this year. They no longer have Vernon Macklin inside, but they return Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker in their backcourt, and beast/freak/monster Patric Young in the frontcourt. Freshman guard Brad Beal is very highly thought of and has Ray Allen written all over him. Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario is a talented scorer and rounds out the best scoring backcourt in the country. Florida is also the #3 team in the mindless predictor ranking.

What we don't like: We worry that Walker and Boynton are both undersized catapults and don't add a whole lot other than scoring. Boynton isn't all that efficient (TS% 0.524 last year), and might end up shooting the ball too much. Mike Rosario is taller but in the same vein as a pure scorer. And they really lack interior depth. They seem to have many players with similar skill sets, none of which are even remotely related to defense.

8. Duke
AP rank = #6
Mindless predictor rank = #7
Minutes of experience = 7815
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 4

What we like: While we were somewhat divided on our view of Duke, this team is going to be pretty good. Seth Curry and Andre Dawkinsare the kind of super efficient guards that stat geeks love. The (now three) Plumlee brothers provide the size inside along with Ryan Kelly. Coach K has once again brought in one of the very best recruits (Austin Rivers, son of Doc Rivers), as well as a second RSCI top 30 guy (Michael Gbinije). We know that Duke will be one of the very best defensive teams in basketball, simply because they are every year.

What we don't like: We are a little surprised that Duke came out this low in the mindless predictor rank. It just shows just how competitive this season should be. The analysis looks at two things: experience and the number of players who were in the RSCI top 30 in their recruiting class. Duke scores very high in these two areas, but not as high as some other teams.

Duke doesn't have a real point guard, so they are going to have to fake it. They managed to fake the point guard spot after Kyrie Irving's injury last season, but this year they no longer have the good fortune of having senior jack of all trades Nolan Smith. Instead, the freshman Rivers will likely have playmaking duties, and
his priority has never been to distribute the ball to teammates.

In many ways, Florida and Duke are opposites of each other. Florida has all the guys who want the ball in their hands and to pull up whenever they want and add a star freshman who fits Duke's style. Duke has the spot up guys and add a star freshman who fits Florida's style. Florida's backcourt is better (the best, most likely), but Duke's interior is deeper, has more potential, and is less of a liability. We could easily see flip-flopping these two.

9. Pittsburgh
AP rank = #10
Mindless predictor rank = #16
Minutes of experience = 7787
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 2

What we like: Ashton Gibbs is a fantastic shooter. He made 49% of his three point attempts last season. We know Pitt will be tough and physical on the boards, as Jamie Dixon's program is one of the very best when it comes to rebounding at both ends of the court. We really like freshman center Khem Birch, yet another talented Canadian prospect. He leads a very talented and athletic frontcourt.

What we don't like: Jamie Dixon's reputation as a coach that can't win big games exceeds that of pretty much everyone else right now. And they don't score very as high in the mindless predictor system. Also, they are going to have to make up for the loss of the ferocious Gary McGhee and senior leaders Brad Wannamaker and Gilbert Brown. After Gibbs and PG Travon Woodall, the cupboard is pretty bare in the backcourt.

10. Xavier
AP rank = #14
Mindless predictor rank = #11
Minutes of experience = 11536
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 0

What do we like: If you believe that college basketball really favors guard play, then you have to like Xavier's chances. Tu Holloway is a star. He helps a team win in all sorts of ways. He is highly efficient on offense (TS% of 0.602 last year on 24.7% of his team's shots), sets other guys up as a playmaker, and even chases down a lot of defensive rebounds (DR% was 13.6% last year). He's joined in the backcourt by fellow Mark Lyons, another double-digit scorer. 7-footer Kenny Frease is a very good player down low. Chris Mack is a hell of a coach who has a talented and experienced team that does almost everything well.

What don't we like: Of all the teams in our top 10, Xavier was the weakest last season. Kenpom had them at #45 last year, although at least some of that was because opponents shot for a weirdly high free throw shooting percentage against them. Also, one of us lives a mile away from the Xavier campus, and we worry that we might be overrating them a bit based on familiarity.

Teams that we didn't include, but we discussed

There were several teams that we talked about, but that didn't make the final cut. In some cases, these were teams that we disagreed on a lot.

Louisville
AP rank = #9
Mindless predictor rank = #6
Minutes of experience = 10794
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 2 (Blackshear is not counted)

Louisville is one of the teams we disagree on the most.

What we like: A proven coach, a team loaded with upperclassmen, and a top 30 RSCI recruit in the incoming class in Chane Behanan. The mindless predictor thinks they will be really good, even with the loss of stud freshman Wayne Blackshear. Last year's team was ranked #14 in the kenpom ratings. Aesthetics can be a problem with Pitino teams. They often look pretty ugly. But things generally work out for them. Louisville will get it done on defense.

What we don't like: They are going to miss Terrance Jennings. Louisville just doesn't seem talented or big enough for the top 10, especially without Blackshear.

Florida State
AP rank = Unranked
Mindless predictor rank = #8
Minutes of experience = 11096
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 1

What we like: The AP doesn't even have these guys in the top 25. The mindless predictor put them at #8. The chief thing Florida State has going for them is loads of experience. Also, they have been the top defensive team in the country in the kenpom ratings in each of the last two seasons. These guys are just damn hard to score on. Think about the level at which Texas played on defense during last January. Florida State has been playing defense at that level for two full seasons. It can get a little bit ugly at times on offense.

What we don't like: Zero returning double-digit scorers. This team can really struggle on offense, and the loss of Chris Singleton will be big. Putting them in the top 10 would be a big reach.

Memphis
AP rank = #11
Mindless predictor rank = #4
Minutes of experience = 9966
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 3

What we like: The mindless predictor likes Memphis. The AP has them at 11. They have a lot of experience and have three guys who were once RSCI top 30 recruits. Freshman Adonis Thomas is very highly regarded and they return a star backcourt with Joe Jackson and Will Barton.

What we don't like: They weren't very good last season, to be honest (Kenpom had them ranked at #87). Last year, Memphis was a team that was turnover prone and couldn't shoot. This is a problem. The mindless system doesn't know that. Do the AP voters?

Baylor
AP rank = #12
Mindless predictor rank = #9
Minutes of experience = 9683
Players from the RSCI top 30 = 2

What we like: The mindless predictor has them higher than Kentucky, Xavier, Ohio State, Kansas, and Connecticut. Perry Jones is quite a talent, and they landed another big recruit in Quincy Miller. They will be really big inside. The AP has them at #12. They're verytalented, have great length and height up front, and are athletic. Could help be on the way at guard in the form of Juco POTY Pierre Jackson and BC transfer Brady Heslip?

What we don't like: They were #77 last season in the Kenpom ratings. LaceDarius Dunnis gone; can anyone else on this team shoot? And they need to fix their turnover problem. This was not a very good team last year. Who is going to get those big guys the ball? Baylor is an enigma wrapped ina mystery buried in a paradox. We don't think they have the guard play to be great, but we are waiting to see some of their new guys. Despite their size, they were only OK on defense last season (ranked #72 defensively by kenpom.com). The next great defensive team coached by Scott Drew will be the first one. In fact, he's really just not that great of a coach overall...

Your thoughts? Who did we leave out in the top 10? Who is too high?

Rick Barnes on a Roll: Ioannis Papapetrou to UT ($)

GoHornsGo90 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 01:30:37 -0000

Rick Barnes on a Roll: Ioannis Papapetrou to UT ($)

Apologies for not being on this more quickly, but it's a Saturday and I'm pretty tuned in to CFB all day. Rick Barnes is locking it down on the recruiting trail right now. I haven't been able to find any highlights of Papaetrou yet, but I'll have a write up when I find some. Papa makes #5 in this class for Barnes and adds the tall, wing shooter UT has coveted.

The Elusive 2nd 2012 QB

GoHornsGo90 — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:29:32 -0000

It's a rare accomplishment when a team goes into offseason workouts with four QBs who aren't seniors and manages to emerge with only one the next season. But that looks exactly like what's going to happen to UT next year, what with Connor Wood already having transferred, Garrett Gilbert declaring he's going to transfer, and Case McCoy expected to transfer. This, of course, would leave us with true sophomore David Ash, who should be redshirting this season, and true freshman Connor Brewer, who should be redshirting next season. We've also got high school QB's Miles Onyegbule and Mykkele Thompson for emergency duty (and likely for some future trick plays or wildcat action).

So it looks like Texas will definitely pick up another QB in the 2012 class, and, oddly enough, we might need a guy that isn't expecting to be a star here, and thus won't transfer (Jarrett Lee, holla!). Connor Brewer doesn't seem to have a problem with this at all, as the coaches spoke to him about him a few weeks ago. He understands our plight.

The coaches, especially Harsin, have been doing their due diligence in scouring the state for a second potential QB. We'll get to the ones on the radar so far after the jump.

Del Barnes (Henderson)

Barnes is the definition of silky-smooth at QB. He throws a very catchable ball that still has zip on it (instead of pegging it at receviers' knees, like Gilbert) and has beautiful, beautiful touch on his deep throws. Guy can drop it into sand pail from 40 yards away no problem. He's very Russell Wilson in the pocket. By this, I mean that he has excellent pocket presence and primarily scrambles to throw (and scrambles well) while keeping his eyes open for receivers downfield. Like Wilson, he also carries out his playfakes with extreme discipline, an underrated part of the job that I've thought UT QBs have slacked off on in recent years. Unfortunately, also like Wilson, he doesn't have great height— only standing about six feet tall. Could be the perfect under-the-radar recruit to relish a UT offer over playing time, but that's just a guess. Harsin is expected to see Barnes play soon.

Del Barnes Highlights (early senior) (via 247SportsStudio)

TJ Millweard (Forth Worth All Saints)

Former Hokie commit turned Sun Devil, Millweard is the exact opposite of Barnes in that he has perfect measurables as a QB at 6'4", 230 lbs. From grainy Rivals video, he looks to have a very big arm both in velocity and in distance. I was also shocked by his athleticism for such a big guy—very good acceleration, top speed, and fluidity in the run game. After watching his tapes, I'm kind of surprised he isn't a more mainstream recruit. Most 6'4", built, fast QBs with big arms are pretty highly thought of. Maybe competition is a problem? I'm not sure. He also seems to have good pocket presence, though he wasn't pressured much. Only negative I saw at all from him is he crouches down too much when he throws, which makes him at least an inch or two shorter in his release point that he should be. He's already a tall guy, though, so that's not really a big complaint. Harsin has been to one of his games.

Tommy Armstrong (Cibolo Steele)

Malcolm Brown's former teammate was always an incredible athlete for a QB, but in his senior season he's supposedly refined his passing skills and now projects as a QB in college instead of a WR/ATH. Pretty impressive for a guy basically nobody thought would be a QB in college last year when he was running the option with Malcolm Brown. He might be hard to pry away from Nebraska, as his skillset matches perfectly with their offense. He's fast, slinky, strong with the ball, and can throw it a mile. Doesn't seem overly interested in Texas right now, though, per Hookem.com

QB Tommy Armstrong #10 *COMMITTED TO NEBRASKA* Cibolo Steele HS (JR Highlights) (via CountdownCityPreps)

Jalen Overstreet (Tatum)

Overstreet is a dual-threat QB who is very raw at the position. He really need to work on his release, as it is a bit dart-like at the moment (no, that does not make him a star just because Vince Young had a dart-like release as well) and looks to have average arm strength. For a dual-threat QB, I was also underwhelmed with his pure speed, burst through the hole, and lateral quickness. He is well put together and a strong player (a bit Tebow-esque in stature), but I don't think Texas will consider him too seriously because I don't think his athleticism compensates for his mediocre passing ability. He does seem to have decent touch on the ball, though. A bigger version of Reggie Ball to me.

Jalen Overstreet (early senior highlights) (via 247SportsStudio)

Ford Childress (Kinkaid)

A West Virginia commit that would be difficult to pull away from the Mountaineers with his family connection to WVU Oliver Luck (yes, Andrew's dad), Childress has been lighting up the private school scene so far this year. Hard to get a read on his skills from his highlight tape, as the camera is zoomed in so far it's difficult to tell how long a lot of the passes are. He basically looks like he's standing tall and delivering to his first read every single play with zero pressure. Hey, it is private school football. He's 6'4" and has the problem I referenced earlier that Gilbert has—throwing a downward-angled ball that is almost impossible to catch and run with because of the trajectory. Seems to have a bit above average arm strength, but again it's difficult to tell how far he's throwing the ball from the film. Sub-par athlete for a QB. Slow, ungraceful, and we're not talking Denton Ryan or Desoto level athletes here.

Ford Childress - Quarterback - Class of 2012 - Kinkaid High School (via KHSFootball2010)

Final Analysis:

It will be fascinating to see how the coaching staff tries to sell this one. From all the attrition, it's going to be pretty obvious the staff is trying to establish a hierarchy with whomever they bring in here, so they need to find a guy who's burnt orange through and through. Millweard looks like a big-time player to me and he'll put up huge numbers in that sick ASU offense modeled after Oklahoma State. I don't think he'll want to play second fiddle to anybody. Barnes, on the other hand, won't get the same level of offers due to his measurables and could be content to play in a back-up capacity for the Horns while eventually challenging for the job later in his career. Hell, if he's as much like Russell Wilson as he looks on film, I'd take him in a heartbeat. That guy should probably be the Heisman frontrunner right now, if RGIII didn't exist. Your thoughts, BONizens?

Texas Basketball Recruiting: Prince Ibeh Commits to the Horns

GoHornsGo90 — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:34:25 -0000

Now we're talking. Texas basketball is finally starting to get that momentum back. After the commitment of Connor Lammert to the Horns a few weeks back, and the commitment of Prince Ibeh yesterday, the vibe around UT hoops is starting to manifest itself a little more readily.

ESPN Basketball Recruiting moved our 2012 class up to number 2 overall, behind only Arizona, and even ran a short blurb about how we should be in national title contention by 2013. The writers there seem to be extremely high on Ibeh and absolutely love his potential—especially paired with the more refined Cameron Ridley.

Recruiting is so much about momentum it's impossible to quantify. You need a positive feel around your program. Particularly in basketball, almost all the top recruits know each other from AAU play, so they are more likely to jump on board with other kids that they like, fit with skill wise, or think will help the program win. I think Texas has recaptured that.

Prince Ibeh

Posiiton: Center

Bio: 6'10", 225 lbs.

High School: Naaman Forest

AAU Team: G.A. Pistons/Texas Titans

Strengths: The first thing that jumps out about Ibeh on tape is his ridiculous size and length. For once in my life, I think I'm actually low-balling a recruit's height. Usually you expect a basketball player to be an inch or two shorter than his listed height, but Ibeh looks like a legitimate 6'11" on film. His length is something to behold; guy has arms that seem to go on forever.

Which brings me to his biggest weapon: shot blocking. Many think Ibeh is the best shot blocker in his class. A couple years after having the best shot blocker in college basketball in Tristan Thompson, Rick Barnes will again have the chance to boast an elite talent in this area. Aside from having almost unheard of length, Prince is also extremely patient when blocking shots. He isn't a fly swatter, necessarily, often preferring to keep the ball in bounds and start a fast break for his team. That's not to say he doesn't mind sending one into the third row every now and then.

A true gamechanger as the anchor of the defense that allows perimeter defenders to suffocate opposing guards without fear of allowing an easy layup. Ibeh will definitely plant himself in the back of the minds of offensive players hoping to score at the rim.

Prince has a very good frame that will hold 250+ no problem, which should make him a beast as an on-ball defender on the low block.

Offensively, Ibeh is currently limited to dunking the ball off of passes from teammates (page Myck Kabongo) and on put back dunks. Thankfully, he excels at this. Good athleticism and explosion around the rim that you just haven't seen see from guys like Matt Hill, Clint Chapman, and Lexi Wangmene. He also seems to have soft hands. Thank god.

There isn't much film of it, but Ibeh should be a very solid rebounder with his size, length, and athleticism.

Weaknesses: Right now, Ibeh has no consistent offensive game to speak of. No ball handling skills, no shooting skills, and no back-to-the-basket game. His ranking is a projection of where scouts expect him to be eventually, assuming he can develop some offensive skills. As Reggieball argues, developing post skills is extremely rare in college basketball. As I further argue, it's even rarer under Barnes. There's no need to belabor the point. He needs to get better or he's a huge liability on offense, much like Balbay was.

He's also not the pinnacle of coordination, which is common for a tall and lanky prospect that has only recently emerged onto the recruiting scene.

Final Thoughts: Although it wasn't the star-studded (other than Cameron Ridley) cast many envisioned a few months ago, Barnes has done a very good job in gathering a diverse interior group that compensate for each other's strengths and weaknesses. Ibeh is the diametric opposite of Connor Lammert as a big man, the only similarity being neither has a strong post game. Ridley fills this hole perfectly. It will be interesting to see how Barnes fits Lammert and Ibeh around Ridley, along with guys like Jaylen Bond and Jon Holmes.

As I alluded to earlier, Ibeh's offensive capabilities are going to be contingent upon having playmakers get him the ball. If Myck Kabongo sticks around another year, we're going to get to see a lot of very fun alley-oops and violent slams inside from Ibeh. J'Covan should be able to fill this role as well, assuming he returns for his senior season.

Finally, Prince is an AAU teammate of Julius Randle and Matt Jones, two of the best 2013 players in the country and two of UT's top targets. Randle is arguably the top player in the country as a power forward, while Jones is a sniper of a SG from deep. Ibeh's commitment can only help our cause with them, and we'll need it as they are both national recruits.

Texas Basketball Recruiting: Connor Lammert Commits to Horns

GoHornsGo90 — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 23:52:07 -0000

Per multiple sources, 2012 San Antoniono F Connor Lammert has committed to Rick Barns and the Texas Longhorns. As BFLT said, this might be the biggest 3* recruit in Barnes' history in order to reinvigorate the program with some positive momentum after the absolutely crushing losses of wings Marcus Smart and Danuel House on the recruiting trail.

Aside from the commitments of Javan Felix and Jaylen Bond over the summer and Sterling Gibbs last spring, UT's basketball program has been reeling since the early departure of Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton, and Cory Joseph and missed opportunities (read: roller coaster of emotions) with DeAndre Daniels, Olu Ashaolu, and Tony Woods.

So while Lammert isn't the big time prospect fans have become accustomed to of late under Barnes, he does inject some life into a program that honestly hasn't had a lot of positive news lately. Analysis of Connor after the jump.

PF Connor Lammert

Bio: 6'9"; 215 lbs.

High School: San Antonio Churchill

AAU Team: D-1 Ambassadors

Strengths: Lammert is your traditional swing-four a la Connor Atchley, although he is much better built and a more physical player. He can rain shots from all over the court and looks effortless from three-point range on in. His face-up midrange game is lethal and is very refined for such a young player.

Aside from his shooting ability, Connor's next biggest asset is a very impressive feel for the game. He's a solid passer with good vision and likes to get his teammates involved. He's also a decent penetrator from the perimeter, where he spends a vast amount of time. These two strengths go hand in hand, and you'll frequently see Lammert penetrate and dish to a wide-open teammate after the opposing team commits to him. I love bigs that have high basketball IQs and a guard's feel for the game, and that's what we're getting in Lammert.

Connor also seems to have decent bounce and touch around the rim, so don't expect as many of the finishing problems that a lot of Texas bigs have had in the past (Wangmene, Hill, Klotz, etc.). Well, I guess Wangmene is currently giving us those problems. But yeah, Lammert finishes with decent authority and can dunk in traffic, albeit against smaller players on tape.

Weaknesses: My biggest complaint with Lammert is he's a completely offensive player who isn't going to give you much on the defensive side of the ball. He's not a shot blocker like Atchley was and he doesn't look like much of a rebounder either. He's a fluid player for a big, but only has decent athleticism.

Another problem is the level of competition on his tapes—horrendous. A lot of the guys he's playing against look like middle schoolers and I don't think there was anybody taller than 6'4" that guarded him.

Finally, Lammert basically has no post moves right now. He's a face-up guy all day long and spends enough time on the perimeter that I'd take no issue with somebody projecting him as a SF offensively. For a big guy, he just doesn't really offer anything inside.

Final Analysis: Lammert is a sure-fire four-year player at Texas, which I'm certain some of you appreciate. We'll use him religiously in pick and pop situations like we did with Atchley, and hopefully Kabongo will stick around for another year to be his D.J Augustin. Myck is basically the perfect guard to play pick and roll/pop with as a big because of his incredible feel on the court, vision, and ability to turn the corner on a pick before the defense can recover in a switch/hedge situation.

Connor's also a great complement to fellow 2012 commit Cameron Ridley, a much more traditional interior player who should be able to cover up a lot of Lammert's defensive and rebounding deficiencies, as well as providing a low-post scoring presence.

Connor Lammert Duncanville GASO Highlights - 7/2011 (via hiscal2020)

Danuel House and Chicken Knowles Commit to Houston

GoHornsGo90 — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:36:39 -0000

Danuel House and Chicken Knowles Commit to Houston

Texas was recruiting House, who has seen his stock explode over the summer and was thought to favor the Longhorns. This comes on the heels of losing top recruit Marcus Smart earlier in the week to Okie State. Just a brutal, brutal time for basketball recruiting for the Horns. Barnes is really struggling lately with in-state recruits as he seems to be focusing more and more on OOS prospects.

Needless to say, I'm not overly optimistic about the Harrisons, Matt Jones, Julius Randle, or Keith Frazier for the class of 2013, as they are all national recruits who are being recruited by the very top programs in the country. We will see, though.

Texas Football Gameweek: Ranking The Positions

GoHornsGo90 — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 23:09:18 -0000

After months and months of pouring over countless offseason reports of how Mack Brown and Texas would deal with the stunning epiphany that we can't just sleepwalk to 10-win seasons and BCS berths every single year, gameweek has finally arrived like a breath of fresh air after spending the day in an Oklahoma trailer with two siblings/cousins who haven't bathed since Barry Switzer was roaming the sidelines.

As a little appetizer to the outstanding content you'll see from my colleagues throughout the rest of the week leading up to gameday, I'm going to be taking a look at the strengths and weaknesses of each position group, as well as ranking them based on how I expect them to perform in the upcoming season.

Let's get to it, after the jump!

1. Linebacker

The Breakdown: Unilaterally thought of as the strongest and deepest position on the team, as well as being the most experienced. Depending upon whom you ask, Keenan Robinson, Emmanuel Acho, or Jordan Hicks are the best LB at the position. Meaning, basically (read: hopefully), that we're loaded.

Robinson could be iffy as a run-stuffing MLB, but when it comes to theoretical pass coverage, this group is second to none in the country. Theoretical in the sense that I'm covering my ass in case something like last year's debacle happens again. Acho is a big time playmaker and Hicks is the most talented and well-rounded of the three, so we've got all the bases covered except a guy who will thump up the middle.

If needed, that service will be provided by talented (but over-indulgent at the buffet line) true frosh Steve Edmond. Switching over from safety is chicken-legged sophomore Demarco Cobbs, the best blitzing LB on the team. Further depth will be provided by rapidly improving RS frosh Aaron Benson and mean SOB true freshman Tevin Jackson, who finally made it through the NCAA Clearinghouse (otherwise known as, "How to F*** Up a Kid's Life in Three Easy Steps"). There couldn't be less concern for LB at Texas going forward. We truly are loaded with young talent right now.

You guys saw the strengths and weaknesses of these cats last year and how they eventually broke down with the weight of trying to carry the offense week in and week out. If that doesn't happen this year, the LBs should have a huge year and all three starters will challenge for all-conference recognition. Our LBs should excel against conference foes like Baylor, Mizzou, and OU that love to go sideline-to-sideline with their offenses and struggle against teams like Kansas State, Texas A&M, and ~~Nebraska~~ that favor a more physical brand of downfield running.

Expected Level of Play: 9/10

2. Defensive Line

The Breakdown: Many of you are probably wondering how the DL is so high despite the frequently bemoaned lack of a second DT next to mainstay Kheeston Randall. While that is indeed a legitimate worry, recent reports have been glowing for Calvin Howell; he seems to have definitively captured the position. We're left hoping Howell's talent prevails and his concussion issues remain dormant. Randall is a do-it-all DT who can play the nose at times or be more of a backfield disruptor, but he's not the kind of guy that will be able to tear a defense apart when the DT next to him is basically being ignored like last season.

DT depth is gradually being added by sophomore Ashton Dorsey, gap-attacking true freshman Desmond Jackson, and converted DE Greg Daniels.

Aside from increased confidence in the DTs, the Horns boast possibly the best DE combination in the country in Alex Okafor, who many have called the off-season MVP on defense for the Horns, and uber-talented technician Jackson Jeffcoat. Okafor is a run-stuffing DE with freaky arm length and fantastic strength (after playing DT last year) who has improved his pass-rushing abilities over the offseason. Jeffcoat is a pass-rushing wunderkind who was limited last year due to nagging injuries and never got to make the kind of impact he expected out of camp. If neither is first team all-conference, we're in deep shit. Expect both to challenge for that honor.

Reggie Wilson is the third guy in a deep rotation, but while he is a good pass-rusher, he still needs to add strength. Chris Whaley was finally moved to DE where he has impressed with his strength about two years after seemingly every UT fan called for it to happen. Anybody else think it's sad that a RB-convert has no strength issues but needs to improve burst while an actual DE recruit needs to add strength? Mind-boggling eval, IMO. The Whale will also spend some time at DT. I wouldn't be surprised if Mack Brown already told Stacy Searels to pencil in Whaley as the starting LT next season. True frosh Cedric Reed has impressed in the offseason and evoked images of a young Okafor. He'll battle Whaley for the fourth DE spot all year long.

We're absolutely locked in with pass-rushing talent right now, so expect to be getting pressure on the QB all year long. But it's fair to say we'll probably still struggle with the power running game up the middle unless Howell is a revelation or Diaz finds a way to hide our interior with middle blitzes.

Expected Level of Play: 8/10

3. Running Back/Fullback

The Breakdown: A few weeks ago, this would have been WR. But with the not-so-glowing reports of inconsistency and drops from receivers lately, I've bumped the running backs up to the top spot due to rave reviews out of camp for the three-headed monster of Fozzy Whittaker, Joe Bergeron, and Malcolm Brown.

Whittaker is the guy that's talked about as taking the reigns of the RB position ever year in the offseason, before sustaining some form of nagging injury that he just can't seem to get over. Even more so than in previous years, though, Fozzy has been drawing huge praise as the top offensive performer of camp as well as one of the foremost leaders of the team. He's absolutely ripped now, which hopefully will help combat his propensity for injury.

Brown was the most heralded running back recruit in the country, but Bergeron came in and quickly asserted himself as the surprise of summer camp after Dominic Espinosa. Coaches call him the most complete back on the team, as he can block, catch, run with power, and is capable of playing RB, FB, and H-Back. Don't kid yourselves, though, Brown is still the most talented runner on the team and will be expected to be the future bell cow for the Horns for years to come.

Speed demon D.J. Monroe, assuming he's finally learned the playbook, should excel in Bryan Harsin's imaginative offense that finds new holes for oddly-shaped pegs instead of trying to jam them into poorly-conceived, generic presets. Same goes for RB/WR Desean Hales, who will play a role similar to Monroe. Depth will come from talented and fast slasher Jeremy Hills and grinder Traylon Shead.

Cody Johnson is finally at the fullback position he should have been moved to three years ago if we had any other competent running backs on the team that could stay healthy. Bergeron should play there a bit too when we want to get feisty with the ingenuity.

Expected Level of Play: 6.5/10

4. Wide Receiver/Tight End

The Breakdown: Bobby Kennedy's receivers last year and the prior few years (other than Jordan Shipley) permeated arrogance and complacency. Combined with a general dearth of talent or playmaking ability and you get a WR crew that Lake Travis might not start all of. Fortunately, Darrell Wyatt doesn't take shit from anybody, and he has a lot more talent to work with than Kennedy did in the past few years (which I attribute a lot to some lazy evals by BK himself).

True freshman Jaxon Shipley was the talk of the camp all summer long and he will be a star sooner than later. Great hands, crisp routes, and a big time work ethic make Lil Ship the expected savior of a receiving corps plagued by drops and ambivalence last season. Speaking of drops, fellow starter Mike Davis was expected to be the top offensive threat for the Horns this year, but he's displayed a stunning propensity for stone hands in the last couple weeks of practice. While I love Mike's route-running ability and "gamer" attitude, I was never sold on his hands like many others were, so this doesn't particularly surprise me.

Young guns Darius White and John Harris are fighting for the final starting WR spot at the X. White is the show-stopping talent in the Roy Williams mold who hasn't put it together QUITE yet, while Harris looks like a rich man's John Chiles with more post-catch ability.

True freshman Miles Onyegbule will fight for time at the fifth WR spot, where he could provide a big possession target. If Miles is anywhere remotely as good as people have claimed he is in workouts, I'll be the first in line to the "Crow Stand" for a big ole portion.

Overall, this is an exceedingly more talented group than we saw all of last year, but while it's reasonable to expect a glut of huge plays downfield and glitzy jukes in the screen game and over the middle, also expect to again see a high amount of drops due to the general inexperience of the group and Garrett Gilbert's mindboggling inability to throw a traditionally catchable football. I swear, that guy would be the best dodgeball player in history. Nobody else can throw that hard at somebody's knees.

When it comes to TE...well, who really knows? I can guarantee you it will, by necessity, be better than last year because Harsin actually incorporates offensive schemes deemed logical by sane human beings. He also loves utilizing TEs of all sorts, which Texas does have. What we DON'T have is a single tight end that can do it all, which is almost impossible to comprehend considering we have like half the TEs in the conference.

Dominique Jones and Barrett Matthews will be your blockers, with the former primarily lining up on the line and the latter frequently motioning from the backfield. In a pretty big upset, Jones was named the starter at TE.

Much more excitingly, D.J. Grant and Blaine Irby have overcome brutal injuries to give us a pair of honest-to-goodness receiving threats at the TE spot. Grant is expected to provide the biggest impact overall, while Irby will provide the necessary "Sydmill Harris speaks six languages," "Brad Buckman's father played golf with Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw," and, of course, "Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley are roommates" anecdote for television broadcasters throughout the season with his resurgence after not being expected to be able to walk correctly. In all seriousness, anybody who doesn't shed a tear when Irby makes his first catch against Rice this weekend is a sociopath. I'm only half-kidding...

Expected Level of Play: 6/10

5. Offensive Line

The Breakdown: If you haven't checked out burnt in ny's excellent post on the OL, please don't do so now because it will only make whatever I try to tell you sound mundane, ill-informed, and excessively amateurish. In fact, that's the effect of all his stuff. So only read it at my peril!

So, Texas hasn't had even relatively competent OL play since 2006, after which we brought in a bunch of nice-guy wussies who wouldn't help their QB up after a sack if their lives depended on it. But...they all got great grades and smiled beautifully in pictures. Luckily, Stacy Searels seems to have injected some pride and ass-holery into our OL that, in combination with Harsinwhite's new dedication to the running game and a couple shiny new toys at RB, should allow us to produce a power running attack that will take pressure off of whomever ends up at QB throughout the course of the season.

The starting OL from left to right is Tray Allen, David Snow, Dominic Espinosa, Mason Walters, and Trey Hopkins. Yes, we are actually starting three guards and two centers, all of whom are likely better at run blocking, ergo my expectation for a strong rushing attack. Conversely, I'm not expecting too much out of this group in obvious passing downs other than QB pressures and sacks, which is why Harsin and The Major will be dialing up numerous screens, double screens, flare passes, delay draws, etc., on third down this season.

Hopkins has been praised all off-season as the best offensive lineman on the team, while Walters has been credited with both solid play and having stepped up as a leader of the offense. "Espy" is the surprise of the offseason, having usurped the starting center role in his first year of play. Allen gets his last chance to prove the recruiting hype at the all-important LT spot, which couldn't worry me more in passing situations, while Snow is athletic and generally solid against DTs not named Suh and McCoy.

Big boy Thomas Ashcraft is another road grader off the bench who doesn't move particularly well. Young and talented Paden Kelley would be the starting LT if he didn't spend more time in the dog house than Mike Vick. Ba da, ching! Garrett Porter hasn't quite put it together yet, but he'll back up the guard and center spots. After that top eight, I don't expect to see anybody getting much run (or, in this case, block) outside of garbage time, assuming we have any of that this season.

Expected Level of Play: 6/10

6. Defensive Back

The Breakdown: Even Roman Polanski thinks our defensive backs are young this season. Our top corner back is a true freshman we almost didn't offer. If that tells you nothing about some of our recruiting evaluations in the past few years, you probably think Alex de la Torre is the second coming of Tommy Nobis. If you're nodding your head right now, I'm talking to you and you need to read some more of GoBR's recruiting wisdom on the double.

Quandre Diggs is the true freshman I'm referring to, and he's a natural cover guy who also enjoys getting physical in the run game. That's fortunate because while Carrington Byndom, who will start opposite him, is a good cover corner as well, we'll try to keep him as far away from the LOS as possible.

In Kenny Vaccaro and Adrian Phillips, we have two guys that can play CB, both safety spots, and the nickel, and have been cross-training as such all offseason. Vaccaro will start at safety with Phillips backing up every DB spot on the field. My understanding is Vaccaro slides over to the slot when we go nickel with Phillips moving to his safety spot, which makes him a de facto starter with the amount of five-DB looks teams are forced to play in the pass-happy Big 12 (-2/-3).

Both Vaccaro and Phillips are good athletes who will stick their noses in the running game. Kenny-V in particular will look to detonate opposing players with regularity. Still, both guys are still relatively inexperienced and unproven at this point.

Blake Gideon mans the free safety spot because he's a strong safety who can't tackle or blitz with efficacy. He's been here for four years now, and I still haven't been able to nail down a specific football skill that he possesses, though Mack Brown and Blake's fans tell me he's a great leader. I'd personally rather have a good football player as my last line of defense in an aggressive, gambling scheme like Diaz employs, but at this point it's fait accompli and I accepted that a long time ago.

If Blake can improve his coverage abilities this year, it would really help the confidence of our young guys on the edges to know they have help over the top if they get burned. And believe me, in this league against guys like Broyles, Blackmon, Fuller, Wright, and Moe, they will get burned with regularity.

A.J. White is probably the next corner off the bench and true frosh Josh Turner should get some burn as well. Nolan Brewster is the fourth safety and should get time as a backup as well as in the dime package.

I expect a season from this group very similar to what we saw in 2008. We're long on talent and potential, with the added bonus of likely the best pass rush in the league. But we're short on experience and, aside from QB, this is the last place (not to mention conference) you want to be short.

Expected Level of Play: 4.5/10

7. Quarterback

The Breakdown: The conspiracy theory that Mack, et al., manipulated the practices and second scrimmage so that Garrett Gilbert would look like the best QB on the team is already going around, and I, for one, would not be remotely surprised if that were the case. Mack is terrified of a mass exodus by the QBs if he named Ash the starter, despite him likely being the guy that gives us the best chance to win right now with his combination of arm strength, accuracy, and ability to make off-schedule plays with his legs.

Mack didn't show much confidence in Gilbert in his press conference today, basically saying he won the job due to having played in more games and not because he actually outplayed anybody in camp or became a better leader or really anything remotely positive at all. Greaaaaaatttt...

Gilbert will start, McCoy is his depth chart backup, and Ash is the guy everybody wants to see on the field. Ash will likely be the guy if Gilbert sustains a multi-game injury or just flat-out sucks. Case will be the guy if Gilbert is out for a single game with a tweak or something and mop-up duty. Wood is expected to transfer, and he appears to be on a visit to CU as I type.

What I'm most psyched about is the fact that Ash supposedly has his own package of plays, which should get him on the field reasonably early in the Rice game this weekend—I hope.

With Gilbert as the starter, I'm expecting to see very much of a caretaker role until he solidifies himself as the starter in the team's eyes. I believe we'll lean on the running game, the machinations of Harsin, and the defense to win games in the first third of the season before we start to give the QB more free reign over the offense. Make no mistake, though, the lack of ability for the OL to pass block could and should hamper Gilbert's (and others') progression and consistency in the passing game. After last year, though, how much worse could it really be?

Expected Level of Play: 4/10

And there it is, BONizens. Three things you really don't want to have at the bottom of your position rankings in the Big 12—QB, DBs, and OL. Ouch. It's obviously all speculation for now, but how would you guys rank the units?

4 more days until you get to breathe again!

Texas Basketball Recruiting Summer Evals: Harrison Twins, House, and Others

GoHornsGo90 — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:13:17 -0000

Count me as one of the hoops junkies that digs ESPN's expanding coverage of the summer AAU extravaganza. Instead of having to read through report after report on Rivals and ESPN, scour the Internet for minute long highlight videos, and wait for the McDonald's AA game to get a firm grasp of the talents of future NCAA and NBA stars, I can just watch for myself now and make my own deductions.

On to the player evaluations after the jump.

Texas Pro vs. Georgia Stars

Although they didn't have future 2014 top 5 player Emmanuel Mudiay, Texas Pro was still absolutely loaded and went on to win the game in OT.

SG Danuel House, Texas Pro

Bio: 6'6", 195 lbs.

HS: Hightower

House's stock has exploded this summer (from unheard of to basically a consensus 5*) and he was far and away the most impressive player on Texas Pro. Still a raw talent that can play either wing position, House is an electric athlete with innate finishing abilities at the rim. His combination of jumping ability, strength, and focus allows him to routinely convert seemingly impossible layups from ridiculous angles under extreme pressure from the defense.

He also has a good looking shot and can knock down the three-ball, although this is an area where he needs to become more consistent. I was extremely surprised and impressed by his ability to create opportunities for his teammates at the rim in halfcourt situations—he routinely slashed to the middle of the defense only to find a teammate open for an easy dunk inside.

Danuel is also a plus off-ball defender who will contest passing lanes and sprint out for highlight dunks at the other end if the opposing team's offense doesn't handle the ball with care. He does need to tighten up his dribbling ability and learn to look for teammates in fast-break situations more often, but all in all it was a very impressive performance for a player that seems to just be scratching the surface of his potential. House is a take all the way for UT and we seem to be in good position.

C Isaiah Austin, Texas Pro

Bio: 7'0", 200 lbs.

HS: Grace Prep

What a disappointment. I know Austin is one of those guys who has the sky as the limit on his potential (supposedly), but this performance was just downright embarrassing. He missed at least two wide-open, uncontested dunks, which is unacceptable for a 7-footer who has the kind of length that should allow him to dunk without jumping. He continually hovered around the perimeter on offense, afraid to take on big-bodied Tony Parker in the post, and was completely ineffective shooting from distance or driving. By the end of the game, his confidence was so far gone that he refused to even shoot despite basically not being guarded.

The commentators repeatedly tried to make excuses for him, saying it was admirable for him to even be there after since he had recently played another tournament, but those excuses won't cut it in two years when he leaves early for the NBA and is playing three or four games a week. He seems to have added muscle to his twig-like frame, but he's still just so weak he's basically a non-factor as a rebounder or post player against any kind of serious competition. He is a good shot blocker due to his length, but there's really no excuse for him not being an elite one. The fact that he's rated ahead of a guy like Mitch McGary is laughable.

F Danrad "Chicken" Knowles, Texas Pro

Bio: 6'9", 190 lbs.

HS: Homeschool Christian Youth Association

The Chicken is another player whose stock has been blowing up this summer, and with his game it's easy to see why. Like Austin, he's very lanky and skinny, but because he primarily plays as a SF on offense, it doesn't affect him nearly as much. Knowles is a good athlete who has a solid feel for the game and can knock down some shots, but overall just needs to improve his primacy when he's on the court. By that, I mean he needs to affect the game more often because he's such a multi-dimensional talent. More rebounds, more possession of the ball, more time in the post, etc. He needs to become more confident in his handle, as well. He definitely has potential, but he's not quite there yet as a "star" like House has grown into.

I would prefer UT held off offering him for now to see how we do with other prospects at the forward position.

F Alex Poythress, Georgia Stars

Bio: 6'7", 215 lbs.

HS: Northeast (TN)

Poythress blew me away with his no-nonsense style of game and impressive swagger. Built like a rock, Poythress has made the smooth transition from an athletic PF to an efficient SF in short time this summer. He's impossible to stop driving left or right because of his power and is a strong finisher at the rim against all comers. He also displayed a silky smooth stroke from NBA range that splashed the net (I believe he was 4-6 from deep on the day) all game.

One of my favorite things about Poythress, though, is his defensive intensity. He contests every shot at the rim and refuses to allow easy buckets no matter what the odds. His athleticism, strength, and desire make him a plus defender at the 3 and 4 positions, as well as a genuine shot-blocking presence.

Alex did get a bit out of control toward the end of the OT as he tried to put his team on his back when the Stars were down with less than a minute left, but at least he was trying to do what stars do—take over. He also needs to get a tad more comfortable with his handle, especially with his left hand. If he can, watch out because you have a budding collegiate star. Texas has supposedly offered, but I'm not sure how interested Poythress is in the Horns.

Houston Defenders vs. BABC

The state of Texas is just loaded with good AAU teams right now. Aside from Texas Pro and the Houston Defenders, there's also loaded teams like Houston Hoops (L.J. Rose, Rasheed Sulaimon, J-Mychal Reese) and the Texas Titans (Julius Randle, Matt Jones), along with Marcus Smart's gritty Texas Assault team. The Defenders simply out-talented defense-oriented BABC and Nerlens Noel in this game.

PG/SG Andrew/Aaron Harrison, Houston Defenders

Bio: 6'4", 205 lbs.

HS: Travis

I lumped the Harrisons in together because while everybody is caught up in how Andrew is the PG and Aaron is the SG, they have basically redundant skill sets. The recruiting services have finally caught on to the fact that Aaron is basically just as good of a ball handler and slasher as Andrew, although not quite as good of a passer, so we're hearing a lot of talk about how they're interchangeable now.

Offensively, both kids have solid, but not spectacular dribbling ability, very good form on their jumpers, and a high basketball IQ. They are also very unselfish players who really look to get their teammates involved—sometimes even being too deliberate in this motivation. The great thing about having them as a tandem in the backcourt is that you are basically playing two oversized PGs and two well-sized off-guards at the same time on the offensive end, which gives their team a decided advantage in versatility. They are also extremely well built and can use their bodies to bully defenders to the basket.

Defensively, both players relish the challenge of locking down the opposing team's top perimeter player and both utilize their strong frames and good lateral quickness to stay in front of their men. Remember all those games where Texas was trying to juggle J'Covan Brown and Jordan Hamilton's offense with Doge Balbay and Justin Mason's defense? Yeah, all those problems go away when these kids step on the court.

Because of their maturity and versatility, any team that gets these kids is going to have one of the best backcourts in the country from the start of the season. I don't feel like the kids are that interested in UT, and a lot of that is due to their huge interest in going to a "basketball school." They're also enamored of John Calipari and Kentucky, a battle I don't like UT's odds against even with a kid from Austin High. They also have some serious Maryland connections, which could become even stronger once Shaq Cleare officially commits there.

C Shaq Cleare, Houston Defenders

Bio: 6'8", 270 lbs.

HS: The Village School

Cleare is a hulking mass inside who will almost never venture away from the post. He needs to lose at least 20 lbs. right now, because his entire frame is fatty. He's tough to stop once he gets the ball next to the basket, using power post moves to beat back defenders that simply aren't strong or big enough to contain him at this age. There's not really much to say other than that. He has very little jumping ability or athleticism due to his physique, isn't much of a force on the boards, and is not a threat to block against reasonably-sized competition. He looks like a less talented and shorter version of Dexter Pittman to me. Virtual lock for Maryland, where his (large) presence could help draw the Harrison twins.

PF Derrick Griffin, Houston Defenders

Bio: 6'6", 215

HS: Terry

Griffin has said that if he grows another couple of inches he'll stick with basketball. Not a good plan, in my opinion. His only real basketball "skill" is his athleticism, which is absolutely elite. Other than dunking and blocking shots, though, he really can't do anything else on the court. He's got SF size with less skillset than Dwight Howard and benefits immeasurably from the creativity of the Harrisons.

Even if he grew a couple of inches, he'd still only be around 6'7" or 6'8" and wouldn't have a chance to make a career playing ball (at least, in America). Why not stick with football, where you're possibly the number one TE in the country? You can still play basketball as a guy off the bench in college and you have a great shot at making the NFL one day. I see him eventually coming to UT as a TE and playing with the basketball team as well, which would be a shot in the arm to a program that almost never seems to have a full roster nowadays.

2012 Wing Danuel House Highlights

GoHornsGo90 — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 23:00:04 -0000

2012 Wing Danuel House Highlights

House is an AAU teammate of Isaiah Austin and Emmanuel Mudiay on Texas Pro. His stock has skyrocketed over the past half year as he has been the best player on his loaded AAU team and he has a decent chance of eventually earning 5* status if he continues to play like he has recently.

2014 Combo Guard Emmanuel Mudiay Highlights

GoHornsGo90 — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:06:57 -0000

2014 Combo Guard Emmanuel Mudiay Highlights

Mudiay is one of the top prospects nationally in the country and will fight it out with Justin Jackson for top prospect in the state. He plays at Grace Prep with Isaiah Austin and is on the Texas Pro AAU team with Austin and Danuel House.

#1 2013 Basketball Player Julius Randle Highlights

GoHornsGo90 — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:53:17 -0000

#1 2013 Basketball Player Julius Randle Highlights

#1 Player in 2013 Julius Randle Dominates Overmatched Kids in Indiana.

By Ty Kish—CityLeagueHoopsTV

Michael Starts Commits To Texas Tech

GoHornsGo90 — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:26:29 -0000

In one of the least surprising decisions I've seen, OL/DL Michael Starts committed to Texas Tech over Texas, Baylor, and A&M earlier today. Tech and UT were thought to be the top two, but Texas refused to offer Starts as a defensive lineman—the only of his finalists to do so—and that was ultimately the deciding factor in his commitment to Tech. I can't remember the last time Texas was honest with a player about the position he would have to play when said player decidedly wanted to play on the other side of the ball and UT got the signature. Doesn't bode well for us regarding Kendall Sanders, but he seems less against playing DB than Starts was against playing OL, where people said he evoked images of former Baylor tackle Jason Smith.

More after The Jump.

So why did Texas refuse to offer Starts at DL? Two reasons: One is that we desperately need offensive tackles in this class and can't risk a guy ending up on the other side of the ball. The other is that we are already pretty full at DT in this class unless some big-time OOS stud like Eddie Goldman were to show interest.

Where does this leave Texas with offensive tackles? In an interesting position, to say the least. Texas seems to almost assuredly be in the final grouping for AZ OT Andrus Peat (we're in his top 13 currently), in my opinion the second best player in the country behind Dorial Green-Beckham. Harsin and Connor Brewer are working their asses off to get him to visit soon, and it looks like he will eventually this summer. Fellow consensus 5* OT John Theus has also announced that Texas is in his top 6. Theus has an extremely close relationship with super recruiter Stacy Searels from when Searels recruited his brother to Georgia. Sadly, Theus is expected to follow him to the Bulldogs. Other OOS linemen targets include D.J. Reader, D.J. Humphries, and Vadal Alexander. Alexander is the most likely to give UT a shot, but I wouldn't hold my breath on any of them.

In state, Kennedy Estelle goes from already being a must to start thinking of what to sacrifice to your deity(ies) of choice because we are utterly screwed if this guy doesn't come to UT. Fortunately, things are looking good with the massive and unlimited potential tackle who's only played varsity for a year.

Greg Brantley from Carthage, who Texas has been slow-playing for just this reason, now comes very much into play. He's probably jumping for joy hearing that Starts didn't pick UT. Brantley is yet another guy around 6'7" with a big frame. Texas will look at him even if they get commitments from one of the OOS guys and Estelle.

Two other guys to keep an eye on are Seaver Myers (Friendswood) and Baylor commit Tre'Von Armstead (Port Arthur Memorial). Both have blown up of late, and Armstead has supposedly been listening to what UT and A&M have had to say despite a commitment to Baylor three weeks ago. If Texas swings and misses on all of their OOS targets—and believe me I'm glad we're at least going to bat instead of sitting in the dugout—then expect Texas to go after Estelle, Brantley, and one of Myers or Armstead to round out an OL unit with current commits Camrhon Hughes (OT) and Curtis Riser (OG).

Texas Longhorns Basketball Recruiting 2012: Post Players

GoHornsGo90 — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:58:37 -0000

Today I'll be looking at how Texas can shore up a glaring hole inside with the 2012 recruiting class. In case you missed the perimeter-oriented part of the preview, you can find that here. As I mentioned in that article, the 2012 national class is extremely post-heavy, a rare trait nowadays with the evolution of the game to the perimeter due to modern infatuation with the three-point line among other factors.

As you know, Texas is looking woefully thin in the post for the next few years. Tristan Thompson is officially gone to the NBA, leaving RS seniors in the stone-handed Alexi Wangmene and Clint Chapman, who didn't play last year, as the only returning posts on the team. They will be pushed by two infinitely more talented true freshman—stretch four Jonathan Holmes and small forward Kevin Thomas, who could start off his career in Austin as an interior player. Holmes and Thomas will likely join talented, but raw, true freshman center Cameron Ridley as the only "post players" currently projected to be on the roster in 2012. You can find my somewhat outdated player evaluation of Ridley here. Obviously, Rick still has some serious work to do in order to shore up the front line in time for the 2012 season, especially since neither Holmes nor Thomas are expected to spend much time banging in the post in their careers.

Meanwhile, let's take a look at whom the Horns are pursuing down low for the 2012 class.

C Shaq Cleare

Bio: 6'8", 250 lbs.

Hometown: Houston, TX

High School: The Village School

ESPN Rank: 22

ESPN Evaluation

Breakdown: Shaq is a big-bodied low post player that I believe would complement Ridley's more diverse offensive game well. There's been some talk that he would possibly be loathe to join the same frontcourt as Ridley at UT, but that seems to be coming more from his supporters/entourage than Shaq himself. Regardless of the reason, talk connecting Texas and Cleare has been sparse of late. Shaq was rumored to have been favoring Maryland a few weeks back, but I've yet to hear anything about how the retirement of Gary Williams has affected his decision.

Strengths: Cleare's game on both sides of the ball is extremely reminiscent of Jared Sullinger. They're both wide-bodied low post 6'8"-ish guys with very good upper body strength and phenomenal lower body strength who are going to get most of their points around the basket or at the free throw line. Cleare has a great power drop step move that he can employ from both blocks over both shoulders. Once he gets down low, it doesn't really matter what he does offensively because he's such a load that he's either going to make the basket or get to the line—or both. Just a bull inside on both the offensive and defensive end, and a good rebounder on each as well. Has the vision and willingness to find open teammates when double-teamed before quickly resealing his defender inside for an easy layup. Shaq shows good athleticism for his size on both alley-oop finishes and when blocking or contesting shots. An underrated strength for him is how quickly he outlets the ball off of defensive rebounds. He's basically the anti-Gary Johnson in this regard.

Weaknesses: Over the course of his time in college, Cleare will need to continue to develop his offensive game by adding a counter offensive move (such as an up-and-under or a turnaround/fadeaway jumper) off of his drop step, as well as a more refined midrange jumper that can really stretch defenses to the high post. His biggest problem at the next level will likely be keeping his weight down and his conditioning up. Sullinger, with his similar frame, had this very problem of keeping his weight under control in his first season at Ohio State. Yes, it worked out for him, but Cleare isn't at that talent level. Finally, Shaq needs to be careful when he outlets the ball so quickly, as I mentioned earlier, because while this can start a fast break effectively (especially with a guy like Myck Kabongo), at the collegiate level it will often lead to intercepted passes for easy layups.

PF/C Mitch McGary

Bio: 6'10", 250 lbs.

Hometown: Chesterton, IN

High School: Brewster Academy

ESPN Rank: 4

ESPN Evaluation

Breakdown: McGary has arisen on the Longhorn radar in the past month—particularly on Inside Texas, who have maintained Texas is in an excellent position to pick up a commitment from the talented post. Mitch's stock has exploded lately as both Rivals and ESPN have bumped him up more than any other player in the 2012 class in their most recent rankings update (to 5th and 4th respectively). Jerry Meyer said of McGary: "Athletic and skilled at 6-10, McGary has been one of the most impressive prospects on the circuit this spring." Despite his talent level and the praise that has been heaped on him from everybody of late, McGary maintains his best assets are being a hard worker, hustling, and playing with heart. Humility you don't see too often in a young, highly-ranked basketball star.

Strengths: You don't see the kind of coast-to-coast ability in a big man you'll find in McGary very often. He's almost impossible to guard off a rebound when he breaks for the opposing team's hoop because of his size and handle in the open court, usually culminating in a rousing right-handed throw down. Speaking of which, it's odd that Mitch finishes on dunks better with his right because he is actually left-handed. Probably an ambidextrous thing where you do some things better with the right and some with the left. McGary is also a good shooter with range to the three-point line and a solid stroke. His face-up ability from the perimeter allows him to easily pump fake and go around defenders for a massive slam or drop-off pass to a teammate. But don't peg McGary as the type of modern big that so often likes to hover around the perimeter and waste his size. Mitch loves to bang in the post with an array of post moves including a baseline spin move on both sides, right shoulder hook, and a turnaround jumper. He has the size, strength, and athleticism to out-duel almost any type of defender and is nothing less than an impressive finisher at this stage of development. He also has soft hands, something UT fans have come to see as a luxury. Finally, McGary is a plus rebounder, plays aggressively, and has a very nice feel for the game for such a young player.

Weaknesses: Not really very many that I can discern. Mitch has put on a lot of weight lately and he needs to be sure to continue to predominantly add muscle, not fat. He'll also need to learn to finish with his left hand better on dunks and his right hand on over-the-shoulder hooks, but those are minor quibbles at best. My inability to find any real weaknesses in McGary's game echoes his meteoric rise in the rankings by each of the major recruiting sites. It's simply very rare to find a big man in high school that has ideal height and doesn't need to add strength (Isaiah Austin), plays inside and out (Cam Ridley), dominates consistently instead of showing flashes (Andre Drummond), is athletic (DaJuan Coleman), and plays hard all the time (Coleman). The parenthetical citations are other top-rated bigs in the class with those problems. Along with wunderkind Shabazz Muhammad, McGary appears to be the most complete player in an extremely high-potential class at this time.

Olu Ashaolu Picks Oregon Over Texas

GoHornsGo90 — Tue, 24 May 2011 17:08:36 -0000

In another cruel twist of fate for Texas basketball fans, UT lost on on Louisiana Tech transfer Olu Ashaolu when he decided on Oregon late this morning. He originally entered the NBA draft to gauge his stock, and decided to remove his name from the draft when he didn't get first-round feedback (yes, BONizens, that is legal). After pulling out, Ashaolu made it publicly known that he would transfer, likely in the hopes that a more notable basketball school would be able to showcase his talents for the NBA for a year.

Olu will be available to play immediately at Oregon because he has already completed his undergraduate degree and graduate transfers are not required to sit out for a year after switching schools.

More after the jump:

This is absolutely brutal for UT fans for two reasons. The first, and most obvious, is that UT is razor thin in the interior next year. We have experience (Clint Chapman, Lexi Wangmene) and talent (Kevin Thomas, Jonathan Holmes), but we don't have a single player with both. Aside from that, Thomas is a perimeter player in the making, Holmes is a stretch four who doesn't have much experience playing against big time competition, Wangmene catches the basketball about as frequently as Russell Westbrook makes a high IQ basketball play, and Clint Chapman played the same amount of minutes for UT as I did last season.

The second reason is that Texas was almost universally thought to be the leader for Ashaolu's hard-working, high-flying, SportsCenter Top 10 services that would have gone together perfectly with Myck Kabongo's skillset.

Speaking of whom, another reason UT fans thought Olu was living in a burnt orange house was a few less-than-prescient tweets by Myck about his fellow Canadian committing to Texas. While the linked tweet references only "reloading," another tweet directly referencing Olu was deleted (presumably at the "suggestion" of UT coaches). A week ago, Kabongo was billed as a modern day Twitter Nostradamus after correctly predicting that Sterling Gibbs was "hooked." After missing on a DeAndre Daniels guess (so far) and striking out with Ashaolu, Harold Camping may be a more adequate comparison.

After the positive momentum the Gibbs commitment created, Texas is again back in a funk after a brutal end to the season and the early departure of Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton, and Cory Joseph.

So what now? Well, Texas basically has two bullets left in their holster to give the program a possible rosy outlook for 2011.

DeAndre Daniels is still "deciding" between Texas and KU after scheduling an announcement both last Wednesday and the following Thursday morning. We were supposed to be the leader then and I haven't heard anything that says differently. Ashaolu to Oregon likely does hurt our chances with Daniels a little bit, or at least dampens his enthusiasm to come here, because it makes it more likely he would be relegated to the four-spot at times—though he strictly wants to play SF.

The wild card in all of this is maligned 6'11" former Wake Forest center Tony Woods, a 5 star recruit out of high school. Woods has already taken a year off from basketball after a troubling experience with his girlfriend ended his tenure at Wake, so he should be able to play right away. He's big, long, and athletic, something Texas has absolutely none of on its upcoming roster. The two top teams for Woods are supposedly Texas and Kentucky (yippee), so I don't blame you if you don't like our chances. Nor do I blame you if you'd rather not recruit him at all.

On the bright side, Woods would be an infinitely bigger piece for the Horns than he would for Cal, as the Cats return star forward Terrence Jones and reserve Eloy Vargas and add 5 star recruits Anthony Davis and Kyle Wiltjer to their interior (along with 5 star Mike Gilchrist, who can also play in the post). Jones and Davis are both sure-fire lottery picks next year (Davis will likely be the top pick in the draft), so there is essentially a 0% of Woods starting for UK while he should at the very least play heavy minutes for UT.

Regarding Ashaolu again, all I can say is "Oh well, back to the drawing board" and hope Clint Chapman has turned into Chris Mihm after a year's hard work of strength, conditioning, and fundamentals training...Here's a video of what could have been. Just imagine Olu is wearing one of the jersey's he's playing against.

Onto The Radar: Torshiro Davis

GoHornsGo90 — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:38:25 -0000

With 16 commits in the fold, Texas is at the point where it's mostly filled its annual quota for each position and will now be looking for top OOS talent, in-state sleepers, and, most importantly, need-position players. Along with offensive tackle, which will hopefully be assuaged in the form of Andrus Peat, Kennedy Estelle, and Michael Starts, the Horns' primary need is a pass-rushing DE.

Texas already has two defensive ends in the fold in Caleb Bluiett and Hassan Ridgeway. Neither provide much burst off the edge—the former is a strongside DE all the way and the latter is a superb raw athlete that could end up playing tight end. On campus, we yet again possess one of the top DE rotations in the country in Alex Okafor, Reggie Wilson, and Jackson Jeffcoat, but after that the cupboard is about as bare as you could imagine. A good season this year could vault the talented Okafor to the draft, with a similar chance for the equally, if not more talented Wilson and Jeffcoat the following year. This is where finishing second with Jermauria Rasco and Brandon Alexander just killed us.

Which brings us to Torshiro Davis, a veritable lightning bolt off the line. Davis is a Louisiana product and current LSU commit, but, fortunately for Texas, new DT coach Bo Davis was recruiting "Shiro" ("White" in Japanese, for those of you less versed in the Anime genre) when he was at Alabama and they have an extremely good relationship. Recruitocosm calls him a "Mack Brown type kid," so you know he's a model citizen. Yet again, Searels, Diaz, and Davis' former SEC connections pay off in the form of getting a kid interested in Texas and encouraging Mack Brown to open up to the idea of recruiting out of state. Yes, yes, I know, you'll believe it when they commit.

More after The Jump.

Now, as we've all heard a thousand times, the key to getting a kid to legitimately consider Texas is getting him on campus. Voila, per Hookem.com, Davis says he will attend Texas' football camp over the summer, so that is a huge, huge egg in our basket. Also from Hookem, we've already extended an offer, so there won't be any need for us fans to spend nights praying to our deity(ies) of choice that Mack relents to his assistant coaches and fully commits to reeling in a kid *cough* Kendall Sanders *cough* *ahem* Quandre Diggs *ahem*. By recruiting an OOS target that is committed to another big-time program, Mack's already shown his willingness to throw his hat in the ring 100% for Shiro.

Bio:

Name: Torshiro Davis

Hometown: Shreveport, LA

High School: Woodlawn

Position: WDE

Size: 6'3", 220 lbs.

Rating: 247—95, 4*; Scout—4*

Ranking: 247—71 Nationally, 7th WDE; Scout—138 Nationally; 16th DE

Strengths:

Truly incredible and elite first step. Gets off the ball faster than a vast majority of defensive line prospects that I've seen.
Excellent straight-line speed. Runs like a linebacker. Has pure speed to chase down plays directed away from him and recovery speed to compensate for sometimes overrunning play in backfield.
Very fluid athlete with good change-of-direction ability and impressive hips, allowing him to take optimal pursuit angles to ball carrier or QB.
Solid tackler in space that shows promising wrap-up ability.
Versatile athlete whose speed should allow him to play 4-3 DE and 3-4 LB in pass-rushing situations.

Weaknesses:

Limited technical pass-rushing abilities; currently relies almost exclusively on speed, burst, and athleticism to beat blockers.
Is currently undersized for a defensive end and doesn't have a great frame in which to add weight. Could struggle handling run-stuffing responsibilities if he plays at only 20-25 pounds heavier, but will certainly risk losing some of his burst if he gets up to 250+.
Could be better suited for 3-4 OLB role in which you have to worry less about stuffing the run and can generally focus more on pass rush and using speed to cover outlet receivers in flats and under-10-yard-box routes.

Player Comparison:

Von Miller (Don't eviscerate me, miketag!)

Outlook for the Horns:

Recruitocosm, in all their futuristic-dystopian-society-controlling brilliance, understands recruitniks eat up percentages like a Soma sandwich with Two Minutes Hate bread. Big Brother gives us a 25% chance at Davis; not bad for attempting to pull a committed recruit out of notoriously shady Louisiana recruiting grounds. Personally, I have a better feeling about Shiro than I do with any other OOS recruit, and though I don't have the sources to back it up, I like our chances to be at least 1/3 with The White Flash. Don't doubt the Messiah, though. He's been spot on lately with The Brenham Duo's Hollywood-worthy recruitment saga and his assurance for months behind Johnathan Gray's silent commitment.

What say you, BONizens? Is he a DE, LB, or hybrid? Does he warrant a Texas offer in the 4-3? Seems like the kind of kid Manny Diaz would salivate at being able to draw up blitz packages for, so I'm sold.

Texas Longhorns Basketball Recruiting 2012: Perimeter Players

GoHornsGo90 — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:44:09 -0000

With Greg Whittington's commitment to Georgetown a while back and DeAndre's Daniels' likely impending commitment to Duke at their banquet this weekend, it looks like Texas is almost certainly done with their 2011 recruiting class. You can take a look at some of my thoughts on that fantastic five-man class here and here.

The fun thing about recruiting, of course, is that it's never ending. That's especially the case in basketball, when coaches are less focused on particular classes at one time and are constantly recruiting nearly a half-decade in advance. While Mack Brown may be working on putting a nice (and early, compared to most schools) finishing touch on his 2012 class while occasionally casting an eye to the 2013 class, Rick Barnes is already formulating his 2012 class knowing who his top targets in 2013 and even 2014 will most likely be. The limited number of scholarships and fact that all players must play on both sides of the ball makes each individual basketball commit so vital to the future success of the team.

That said, let's take a look at some perimeter players Texas is going after in the nationally big-man dominant 2012 class.

PG/CG L.J. Rose

Bio: 6'3", 180 lbs.

Hometown: Houston, TX

High School: Westbury Christian

ESPN Rank: 21

ESPN Evaluation

Breakdown: Along with heralded AAU teammates J-Mychal Reese and Rasheed Sulaimon (who committed to Duke over Texas), Rose has been in the spotlight for some time now. In an oddly bad year for PG's, L.J. is currently ESPN's leader at the position despite only being ranked 21st overall. There's also some doubt as to his collegiate position—ESPN tags him as a "pass first lead guard" while Gerry Hamilton at Hookem.com thinks he's a combo guard all the way. I'm inclined to believe Gerry since he's been able to watch Rose play more due to geographical factors, but he's the only person I've heard describe L.J. as definitely not a point guard. Personally, I think he looks like a PG on film, but I haven't been able to watch him play a complete game so I have a hard time not deferring to Gerry's opinion in this case.

Regardless of his position, Rose is two things you always want out of a lead guard—heady and steady. He's said to possess a very high basketball IQ and doesn't get out of control easily. Rose looks like a very good shooter from deep and possesses a quick and pretty release on his shot. He utilizes a solid and wily handle to beat defenders off the bounce and get into the lane, where he sets teammates up with good vision and accurate passes. Very much like Cory Joseph offensively, but a little faster on the first step and a bit better with the handle. Also like Cory, he's comfortable driving with both hands and can pull up from mid-range to shoot over shorter opponents.

L.J.'s biggest weaknesses are his lack of athleticism and quickness. He's no Derrick Rose in those regards (well, nobody is) and that will ultimately limit his ability to break down defenses at the college and NBA levels—assuming he were to get there. His size should compensate for his lack of explosiveness at the rim, but finishing contested layups is an area where young collegiate players frequently struggle (think JCB, Bradley, and Hamilton last year) and veterans (Kemba Walker, Doge, etc.) thrive as they get more experience in dealing with players at their level of strength and athleticism. He also needs to continue to bulk up, a problem Joseph had this year, which will allow him to dominate collegiate 1's and even some smaller 2's. This should not be much of a problem for Rose as he has a good frame on which to add muscle mass.

ESPN also cites that he needs to be a more vocal leader and continually be in attack mode. To me, the latter is much more important for younger players. Leadership will come with time spent on campus and relationships built with teammates, but an aggressive mentality is important from the get-go because it reflects your confidence as a player. We've all seen what happens to players lacking in confidence under Barnes.

PG/SG D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera

Bio: 6'3", 215 lbs.

Hometown: Indianapolis, IN

High School: North Central

ESPN Rank: 29

ESPN Evaluation

Breakdown: Despite hailing from Midwest recruiting hotbed Indianapolis, the former Xavier commit is showing some serious interest in the Horns. D'Vauntes is expected to make a visit to UT sometime this spring or summer, and if/when that happens Texas will have a very real chance with him. Smith-Rivera is another combo-guard type that doesn't have an exact position and could slide into either the 1 or the 2 in college. While ESPN lists him as a SG on their evaluation page, most recent write-ups have mentioned him as a point man. I don't think he's a PG yet, but we'll see if he can develop his lead guard skills over the next season.

Smith-Rivera is a power guard through and through. At 215, he possesses a bulldog-like build and playing style, frequently taking smaller guards down into the post where he has a huge matchup advantage. Unlike most power guards, though, D'Vauntes has a silky smooth jumper that he can bust from both mid-range and three-point land. In fact, it's one of the technically better shot releases I've seen in that he's straight up and down with his legs and torso, doesn't jump too high, and has a beautiful finishing stroke. These are the kinds of guys who don't have shooting slumps because their form is just too good to let them down consistently. Smith-Rivera uses his impressive build well to bull his way into the lane and create opportunities at the basket for himself and teammates.

Like Rose, Smith-Rivera is not the most athletic or quick guy. He's a physically strong player, but as ESPN opines "...as the other kids in his class get bigger and stronger the advantage will decrease." Think Austin Freeman from Georgetown. He also needs to improve his dribbling ability, which is why I think he'll start out as an off-guard in college and play backup minutes at the 1 like J'Covan and/or Cory should for Texas next year.

SF Marcus Smart

Bio: 6'4", 200 lbs.

Hometown: Flowermound, TX

High School: Marcus

ESPN Rank: 35

ESPN Evaluation

Breakdown: Hasn't been much stir lately about Smart regarding Texas for whatever reason, but it still looks like this is going to come down to a UT/KU battle. Marcus is the kind of kid that people lavish all the positive buzz phrases on: hard worker, team player, works his ass off on the court, hustler, scrappy, fearless competitor, winner. While he IS a big time recruit, Smart is the type of player that many of you have been openly pining for since the Royal Ivey's and James Thomas's left. And I can't disagree with you. He'd be a crowd favorite the second he stepped on the court. I read on Hookem that he harassed 6'8" 2013 #1 overall national recruit Julius Randle so thoroughly in one game on defense that Randle tweeted after the game talking about how great Smart was. Smart is probably 6'3". Warrior.

As you have probably ascertained, I am a big Marcus Smart fan. He'll do whatever it takes to win, as evidenced by his averaging less than 15 points per game for his high school team that won the state title. He's a beast physically and can score inside by outworking multiple defenders, especially on second chance attempts. Smart is also very good on the defensive boards and as a defender in general—he has the potential to become a lock-down defender due to his long arms, strong body, good instincts, and tenacity. On the perimeter, Smart can play all three positions and employs good speed, great athleticism, and adequate ball handling to get to the basket and finish. He is a very good passer who has surprising vision and playmaking abilities for a "junkyard dog," throwback type of player. Smart can also make the open three to complement the rest of his offensive package.

There aren't many weaknesses to note for Smart other than refining his somewhat odd looking shot and becoming a bit more consistent from deep. He could tighten his handle up a tad, but that's really nitpicking. Most of the reason for Smart's ranking not being even higher is that he doesn't have the highest ceiling due to being relatively short for his projected position. Oh well, doesn't hurt Texas.

McDonald's All-American Game/Myck Kabongo Thoughts

GoHornsGo90 — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:08:41 -0000

One of my favorite nights of the year for the past eight years or so has been the night of the McDonald's AA game. I've seen tape on many of the top prospects that would be in the game, but you can't really judge the primacy of stud players until you pit them against each other.

Some guys like O.J. Mayo will respond by jacking up 30+ shots at a horrible clip and ostracizing their teammates. Others, like Brad Buckman, will defer to the more talented and prestigious players and pick their spots on the night. The true megastars, like Kevin Durant, will fit seamlessly into the game and still put up huge numbers. Durant had 25 points in the game and was co-MVP with Chase Budinger, who, while good, really had no business being mentioned in the same sentence on that night.

That said, the most important thing I take from the game is how the player perceives himself with regards to his supposed peers. The next thing I look at is his skillset. The third thing is effort and the least important thing to me is stats. I honestly couldn't care less if UNC commit James McAdoo, who was hilariously named co-MVP with Kentucky commit Mike Gilchrist, hit one three and had a bunch of breakaway dunks to total 17 points.

Some player thoughts after the jump:

Myck Kabongo, PG, Texas: For those of you who only glanced at the stat lines and didn't watch the game or those who watched the game and were nonplussed, don't fear. You'll see a much more steady and under-control player when Kabongo is under Rick Barnes' keen eye. The stage and nature of the game certainly brought out the flair in Myck, who had some insane passes and showed off some astounding handle that had the crowd "ooohing" and "ahhhhing" in the opening minutes of the game.

But he also had five turnovers (I actually thought it was more), a few from overly-ambitious passes to teammates, a few from passes where he kind of just lobbed the ball to nobody in particular, and one where he tried to do some fancy behind-the-back move and just lost the ball. He was also 0-6 from the field, including two wide-open missed threes and a few easy missed layups.

Texas fans will be extremely happy to know that Myck nailed both his free throw attempts, his only two points of the game. I expect him to shoot at least 75% from the line next year. ESPN had him with five assists and six rebounds on their last stat run-through, which is generally what you're going to get from Myck—a stat-stuffing game and not too much scoring.

What I liked most about Myck was his mentality. He knew he belonged with the rest of the top players in the country and showed no fear in running the offense for his team and trying to break down (more like embarrass) the opposing guards that were covering him. Great confidence, solid poise, and didn't get upset when he messed up.

Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky: Not sure if anybody remembers, but this kid created a real buzz right after he committed to Kentucky when it was rumored UK gave his father and him $200K for his signature. Well, from what I saw in that game, whatever they paid him clearly was not enough. Due to growing seven inches in the last year, Davis has good perimeter skills to complement his 6'10" height. He's finally starting to fill out and once he does, he'll be absolutely unstoppable. Good handle, decent shot, great athleticism, very good tenacity, stellar shotblocking ability, and a good feel for the game make his potential hard to envision. He was so much better than everybody else in the game and he's improving at an enormous rate. Comparisons to KG sound pretty much spot-on. He will almost assuredly be the number one pick in next year's NBA draft. Davis had 14 points.

Austin Rivers, SG, Duke: I've seen Rivers play nearly 10 times now, so I knew what to expect from Doc's most talented son. Deep range and a nasty pull-up jumper go well with his crafty dribbling ability, huge basketball IQ, and good finishing skills at the rim. He's only a good, not phenomenal, athlete though, so at only 6'3" he'll need to develop his point guard skills to excel at the next level. Will he be Chauncey Billups or O.J. Mayo? Austin had 14 points.

Khem Birch, PF, Pittsburgh: Surprisingly, Myck wasn't even the best Canadian in the game. That honor goes to Birch, who is generally tabbed as the tall, lanky, athletic guy who can block shots like bullet-proof vests but has a raw athletic game. Kid was all over the place in this game though, not only blocking shots, but also crashing the boards with alacrity (nine offensive rebounds). 10 points and 10 rebounds is a solid game for a young man that many scouts will be drooling over in next year's draft.

Bradley Beal, SG, Florida: I'm glad Beal had a really strong game because he was ice-cold when I saw his St. Louis Eagles AAU team take on Rivers' Winter Park team last year. Beal is often described as a Ray Allen-type player because he has a beautiful shot, but doesn't do much fancy stuff off the bounce. He's also capable of athletic finishes at the rim and rebounded well in this game. Beal had 17 points. Florida will have a crowded backcourt next year with Beal and Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario joining returning mighty mites Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton.

P.J. Hairston, SG, UNC: Hairston had 15 points and drained three DEEP threes, including one that looked like it was four or five feet behind the NBA arc. He's also a plus athlete and I like him more than Beal due to his better height (6'6" vs. 6'3/4"). Hairston should jump right into heavy minutes with the Heels, who desperately need his consistent shooting range.

What Are You Most Interested In Seeing in the Texas Spring Game?

GoHornsGo90 — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:55:00 -0000

Ahhhh, the refreshing and brisk smell of Spring. April is just around the corner and cold weather is finally beginning to become an afterthought in Texas (although presently the temperature is a completely unacceptable 56 degrees). With only three games left, March Madness is wrapping up, leaving college sports fans in a general state of depression and constantly pining for that first college football Saturday (or Thursday depending on just how intense you are) when the entirety of both college football and college basketball's seasons were in front of you.

Texas fans are lucky enough to be able to annually latch on to a highly-ranked college baseball team led by HOF coach Augie Garrido, while others jump into the start of MLB or pay more attention to the imminent NBA playoffs.

But some just can't escape the calling of college football, especially in the most desolate of times for the sports fan. Undeniably, Spring football is a tantalizing off-season treat for college football fans. Tantalizing in that it comes in a dry time for sports, as well as that it's almost impossible to actually glean anything relevant or assured from what you read in the papers or online, hear on the radio, or even see during the Spring Game itself. And yet still the allure of college football, even in its most unrefined and basic form, is simply too much for us to ignore.

Texas football is at a crossroads. More than half the coaching staff, including both coordinators has been replaced from a group that won the National Championship in 2006 and came within a hair's width of winning it again in 2009. There are more topics to talk about in Texas football than, well, possibly in a very long time.

Is 5-7 a simple outlier in a continued run of dominance or was it a sign of things to come?

Will new QB's coach and co-OC Bryan Harsin's Boise State offense translate to instant and consistent success in a real conference? Hell, will the co-OC relationship between seemingly selfless Harsin and Applewhite work out? Will it even be the same offense Harsin ran at Boise State?

Will new LB's coach and DC Manny Diaz's apparently blitz-happy defense allow players to react quickly enough to interrupt the predominantly-passing offenses in the Big 12-2?

None of these questions will really be answered until next Fall, but the Spring game should provide something of a barometer for what we'll be seeing out of our team schematically in the upcoming seasons.

So, after that long digression, let's finally get back to the question at hand. What are you most interested in seeing in the Spring Game? I'll start you off with a few of my most anticipated points:

More than anything, ANYTHING, I'm absolutely dying to see what Texas looks like with a complicated scheme on offense. Greg Davis' playcalling was always so focused on simple execution of your own plays as opposed to attacking the weaknesses of the opponent's defense and it drove me nuts. Now, at last, we've got the guy who everybody calls a crazy offensive boy genius and runs the offense that every school in the country wants to run. I think I'm genuinely more interested in seeing how it works than whether it's actually effective, though that would obviously be nice as well.
What is the energy like in the stadium and on the field? Do the players have their swagger back, instead of just cockiness? Are they having fun and ready to put the past behind them, or are do they still have last year's collapse hanging in the back of their minds? Do they have the mindset that we are going to dominate because we are better prepared, in better shape, and have better ability, or just because "We're Texas?" Same questions of the returning coaches. And the fans.
Will we see ANYTHING positive out of the offensive line? From everything I've read, the OL will be an even bigger question mark next year than the cornerbacks, and it's the most important position on the team along with quarterback. Depth is terrible, experience is suboptimal, and I've yet to see a single report that has the tackles outplaying Okafor, Wilson, and Jeffcoat. {Cringe}
Mike freakin' Davis. Reports from everybody say this kid is at such a high level that he's essentially impossible to cover. He's been so good, I swear the reporters just copy and paste the same one-line sentence into a random part of their write-up because it's just getting boring to talk about, but he's so good you still have to at least mention him. Something like, "Mike Davis is uncoverable and shredded whomever was guarding him." Seen similar lines probably a dozen times now.

So now, BONizens, let's hear your expectations, desires, worries, etc. for the Orange-White Game. Come Sunday at 2 p.m., your questions will be answered in the vaguest of ways possible.

Class 4A Final: Bloomington South Downs Kokomo 56-42

GoHornsGo90 — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 02:51:41 -0000

Bloomington South (26-2) got 14 points from Desmond Marks and 13 from Darwin Davis and denied Kokomo its first state boys basketball title in 50 years Saturday with a 56-42 victory in Indiana's Class 4A championship game.

The teams traded blows before halftime, with Bloomington South taking a 22-18 lead into the break. But Kokomo couldn't weather the 34-point offensive explosion on 60 percent field-goal shooting from Bloomington South in the second half.

Kokomo (22-3) doomed itself with 1-of-16 shooting on 3-pointers. Kokomo made seven of eight free throws, but Bloomington South made 15 of 20 effort and also played better team basketball with 11 assists to only two for Kokomo.

Davis, who has committed to Xavier, had 10 assists.

Armon Bridgeforth and Cheyse Swain paced Kokomo with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Kokomo's prestigious history of 71 sectional championships, 34 regional crowns (tied for third all time), eight semi-state crowns (tied for fifth all-time) and 19state finals (fifth all-time) didn't help it capture what would have been only its second state crown and first since 1961.

Chester Runs by Mount Lebanon in Overtime 72-60 to Win Pennsylvania Class 4A Title

GoHornsGo90 — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 01:20:00 -0000

Nationally ranked Chester (31-1) held on in overtime to silence Mount Lebanon 72-60 and clinch the Pennsylvania Class 4A title Saturday night at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park.

After being knotted at 57 at the end of four quarters, Chester (31-1) ran away and hid in OT -- outscoring Mount Lebanon 15-3.

Chester won the rebounding battle 54-32 and its high-pressure defensive pressure forced a generally methodical Mount Lebanon into 17 turnovers. Chester made 10 steals. Both squads struggled in 3-point shooting, combining for a 6 of 37, with Chester only hitting one of those.

Erikk Wright led Chester with 22 points and six rebounds. Lamon Church added 14 points and eight rebounds. Dequann Walker chipped in 13 points and six boards.

Paul Lang and Luke Hagy paced Mount Lebanon (27-4) with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Lang also had eight rebounds.

Chester, a school about 20 miles south of Philadelphia, is ranked No. 22 by MaxPreps and No. 23 by ESPN Rise.

Mount Lebanon is a Pittsburgh-area school with alumni that include Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and wrestler Kurt Angle.

Class 3A Final: Zeller-led Washington Defeats Culver 61-46

GoHornsGo90 — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:01:36 -0000

Washington (23-4) won its third Indiana Class A championship in four seasons Sunday with a 61-46 victory over Culver in Indianapolis.

Cody Zeller, a 6-foot-11 center who has committed to Indiana, scored 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Zeller is the brother of former Notre Dame big man Luke Zeller and current North Carolina center Tyler Zeller, who also led this southwestern Indiana school to state titles in 2005 and 2008.

Culver (19-7) led 18-17 after the first quarter, but Washington went on an 18-6 run in the second quarter to take a 35-24 lead into the half. Culver was never able to cut the lead under nine for the rest of the game.

With Zeller in the lead, Washington dominated Culver inside with a 38-21 rebound margin that led to a plus-15 foul differential. Both teams shot 60 percent from the foul line, but that's where the similarities ended with that statistic. Washington shot 25 free throws while Culver shot just five.

Culver 7-footer Chier Ajou, a New Mexico commit, was held to 10 points and five rebounds before fouling out.

Jermaine Myers led the way for Culver with 17 points, six steals and four assists. Juwan Brescasin added 12 points and five rebounds.

Dylan Ervin scored 18 points and and had six rebounds for Washington, which won its seventh state title in history.

Zeller became the fourth player in Indiana boys basketball history to play on three state championship teams.

Washington won its first state basketball title in 1930.

Class 2A Final: Imhotep Crushes Greensburg Central Catholic 67-34

GoHornsGo90 — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:52:38 -0000

Imhotep (31-3) dominated Greensburg Central Catholic (29-4) 67-34 to claim the Pennsylvania Class 2A championship Saturday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park.

After a relatively even 20-15 opening quarter, Imhotep opened the floodgates in the second quarter in holding GCC to only six points and stretching its lead to 36-21. GCC could only manage 13 points in the second half.

Imhotep won on the boards, outrebounding GCC 49-22, and forced 18 turnovers.

Khryee Wooten led a balanced attack for Imhotep with 12 points. Brandon Austin and Earl Brown each had 10 points in the win. In total, eight players scored five or more points for Imhotep.

Jesse Reed had 13 points for Greensburg Central Catholic, and P.J. McLaughlin added 10 points in the losing effort.

Other than a 54-53 victory over Vaux in the quarterfinals, all of Imhotep's playoff wins were by double digits.