Recruiting Note | Kelee Ringo Visitng

– Charlie S

*** As we first reported yesterday in an Insider Note on the Donor Board, 2020 defensive back Kelee Ringo out of Scottsdale, AZ (Saguaro) is currently in Austin on an unofficial visit.

Ringo’s high school is on spring break and he decided to come spend some time at Texas. Not a bad thing for the Horns at all.

Updates | 2020 QBs Card and Jackson

– Will Baizer

One of the top players in the state and one of Texas’ top prospects in the 2020 class is Duncanville’s 6’2″, 220-pound quarterback, Ja’Quinden Jackson.

The big-bodied quarterback is a menace with the ball in his hands. He’s faster than he appears on film with a 4.52 forty-time, but a very patient runner. Behind his 220-pound frame, he isn’t afraid to bull guys over but uses that as a last resort as he prefers to use his smooth running ability to weave between defenders.

During the camp last weekend, Jackson displayed a rocket of an arm, as I heard a few media members awe at the speed he whipped the ball out of the pocket, but he also displayed some great touch and accuracy on his deep balls. Here is a video of every throw I recorded of Ja’Quinden Jackson last weekend:

If Jackson wants to be a quarterback at the next level, one thing I would clean up with his game would be his touch on intermediate passes and on the run. From what I’ve seen, it seems that he has a bit of trouble distinguishing the touch between deep/short passes and intermediate passes.

If Jackson isn’t a quarterback at the next level, I don’t see a position on the field (that’s not on the line) that doesn’t fit him. He’s a threat with the ball in his hands, and he has the makeup to be a very high-ceiling defensive player at linebacker or safety.

Whether or not he is a quarterback at the next level seems to be something that he is open to as well, as long as it is on his own terms: “I can [play other positions], but I don’t want to go in there and do something that I haven’t been doing…”

While Texas is recruiting him as a quarterback, they have made it clear that they want to get him on campus and see what happens by recruiting him there for the position of “…Just come here and play, but I think it’s mainly quarterback.”

Jackson is very insular in his recruitment. Still, he has made it clear throughout the process that Texas is one of the schools that has kept his attention. When I spoke to him, that sentiment seemed to still stand: “They’re up there. They’re in my top ten. It’s a fun environment. They have a great program. It’s just a great school, and they had a great year of football.”

I asked Jackson to name some of the other schools that are really recruiting him heavily. Those schools were: “Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Baylor, LSU, and Georgia.”

Texas’ first commit of the 2020 class and quarterback, Hudson Card, appears to be another impression evaluation job by Tim Beck and Tom Herman. Card measured in at 6’3″ and 179-pounds.

While he only had a 4.82 forty-time, his shuttle was an impressive 4.03. These two numbers very much describe how Card looks on the field with the ball in his hand. He is a striding runner who won’t impress you with his north-south speed, but he is very twitchy and able to use that to make guys miss with a side-step.

Dropping back to throw, Hudson Card possesses something that, if you don’t have, takes the best of the best quarterback coaches to teach. Accuracy and touch. Those are the reason’s Hudson Card was invited to the Elite 11. He displayed phenomenal accuracy at all levels of the passing game along with some great touch and recognition.

There are a few areas of Hudson’s game that could use some work such as filling out his frame, his track speed, and his footwork. On the field, he looks like a string bean. Yancy McKnight will likely fix this easy. The harder fix will be his footwork. Sometimes he gets heavy feet in the pocket which means he doesn’t always get his feet to his target. This is likely a rhythm thing he developed, but getting his feet to his target will help the delivery of the ball to that target.

There is not much to give in ways of updates on Hudson Card as it is hard to be more solidly committed than he is currently. He seems to be as fine with the idea of having multiple quarterbacks in the same class as he was when Malik Hornsby’s name was being thrown around, and he’s taking an active roll in recruiting, “I think out class started off really well. Obviously, you have three lineman and Mookie Cooper as well. We’re now working for Chad Lindberg and Zach Evans… We all talk to each other on a daily basis.”

Hudson Card will not be visiting anywhere else at this time other than Texas for Spring practices and the Spring game.

After the last two quarterback class saga that played out this past January, I understand some Longhorns’ fans apprehension to the idea of another two quarterback class (especially now that we in the age of the almighty Portal). Here is my personal take on the matter.

There are two major differentiators in this scenario than there were in the last.

1. There may be actual competition

When these guys get onto campus, it will likely be Sam Ehlinger’s Senior year (assuming he stays all four years). After they redshirt, the door will be open to a real quarterback battle between whichever quarterback(s) is in the 2021 class, the (theoretical) two quarterbacks in the 2020 class, and Roschon Johnson. Unlike what we saw last season where Sam Ehlinger ran away with the job, there will likely be an actual competition at the quarterback

2. The QB’s Texas is going after are athletes

Unlike Cameron Rising and Casey Thompson, Hudson Card and Ja’Quiden Jackson are athletes. I mean that as a positional term.

Hudson Card has a good build for a wide receiver and excelled at the position his first year in high school. While his forty-time is a bit of a turnoff, his 38″ vertical and shuttle speed make up for it. Hudson would likely be a better quarterback, but if that doesn’t work out he can be a good receiver.

Ja’Quinden Jackson is easier. He is a guy who, if he doesn’t work out at quarterback, can fit in almost any position and is fine with playing another position.

Early Enrollee Jersey Numbers

– Andrew King

Spring Practice began for Texas, so here are the jersey numbers for the early enrollee freshman.

LB De’Gabriel Floyd- 1

QB Roschon Johnson- 2

WR Bru McCoy- 5

LB Marcus Tillman Jr- 13

TE Jared Wiley- 18

RB Jordan Whittington- 21

LB Caleb Johnson- 30

DL Peter Mpagi- 45

OL Tyler Johnson- 72

Notes and Quotes | Offensive Line Commits and Prospects

– Will Baizer

We already know that the 2021 year will be as special a year for offensive tackles as 2020 is special for running backs (very special). There are about seven or nine offensive tackles in the state who can put their claim in for the best 2021 offensive tackle. Luckily for Longhorn fans, Herb Hand has done a tremendous job recruiting every one of them and has Texas is a no-miss situation. The three that I am bouncing between as the best are EHS’s Donovan Jackson, Katy Taylor’s Hayden Conner, and All-Saints’ Tommy Brockermeyer.

Over the past weekend, 2021 Tommy Brockermeyer made a strong case for the top spot, not just in Texas, but in the entire 2021 class overall. Just judging by his build, he is impressive, measuring in at 6’6″, at 283-pounds, a 5.10 forty, and an 80″ wingspan.

In drills that are slanted towards the defensive line, Tommy consistently saw guys who were older than him and guys who have names in the recruiting world, and he dominated:

Including this three rep series where he held down Prince Dorbah to have one or two wins.

Dorbah vs Brockermeyer pt3 pic.twitter.com/gwiSKvhYO0 — Barton Simmons (@bartonsimmons) March 3, 2019

The flaw in his game appears to be the speed rushers. While he has quick feet and fast hands, he appears to like to get body-to-body on his linemen. That is going to backfire at times against speedsters by causing him to lunge out while trying to get hold of the rusher, allowing the rusher to get him off base (as seen above).

When it comes to his commitment, Tommy knows what he wants, “Being an NFL lineman is the main goal for me. Going to a college where they can help me get to the next level.” This appears to be the main thing he focuses on where ever he visits. Those are the stats he is remembering like when he told me that, “The one thing he remembers is that TCU has the most tackles in the NFL right now.”

With his standing on Texas, there is much to update. Herb Hand is still killing it here, especially with the idea of making it to the next level, “He’s been doing a great job down at Texas. First year there, the numbers already went up. He’s produced lots of NFL lineman.” It also helps that, as he told me, almost all the clothes in his closet have SMU (where his dad coached) or Texas (where he played) on them.

He told us that he will be back down to visit Texas on the 11th and 12th for Spring practices, then for Spring Break will be headed to Big 10 land to see Iowa and Michigan.

The 2020 class may not be as strong as the 2021 class, but it is still pretty darn good. Texas commits Logan Parr and Jake Majors were at the camp last week, where I was able to scout them without pads.

When you watch the below video, please remember that even Tommy Brockermeyer (who some are calling the best tackle in the state) has trouble during these camps.

With that being said, in my honest opinion, Texas’ offensive guard commits did not do particularly great.

Jake Majors is one guy who had quite a bit of trouble during the Opening:

The above plays are all the videos I took of him during this camp.

I think the main problem here is very fixable. He lacks the strength to play inside and has trouble getting leverage. These two combined mean he is very easily driven back. For a guy you want to be the center, that’s a problem. Luckily, putting size and strength on a guy is something that has gotten very easy due to leaps in the field of nutrition.

On the other side there is Logan Parr, who while his camp was considerably better than Majors’ and a huge step up from what I saw in Houston, was still lacking:

As you can see from the tape above, it was still good enough to get him an invite to the Opening Finals this summer, but he struggled in a few key areas.

The most obvious area is his strength. He needs more of it to stand up against the bigger rushers who will try to bowl him over.

That rip through move he fell victim two twice is an indication that either his hand placement is an issue, his arms are too stiff, or his stance has him over his feet, so when he gets ripped through he cannot recover. I’m guessing it’s a mix of all three.

This is something that I’ve seen in other offensive linemen as well. It isn’t something like accuracy for a quarterback. These are habits that need to be instilled through practice.

I just did all that evaluation during the camp, and I am sure Herb Hand does not care about it whatsoever. In fact, I know he doesn’t. Herb Hand is not looking for the guy who wins the most reps without pads on, (although 2020 OT Nathan Anderson is a guy to keep an eye on because he has killed it two weeks in a row). He is looking for a few key features:

The frame – Logan Parr and Jake Majors both have similar frames. They are 6’3″, 280-pounds with high rear-ends and moldable bodies.

The brain – From all reports, both these guys are exceptional in the film room. They also have the tape showing very technical ability with pads on.

The motor – Just watching these guys work on the film, it is pretty obvious what he sees. These guys work past the whistle and try to do as much bodily harm as they can before they can be stopped.

Short and sweet, Herb Hand is looking for guys who even if they may not be finished products, have the physical and mental attributes to become good offensive linemen. Just like Jason Washington, he has a type. Then when they get to campus, he wants to coach them up.

Texas fans have seen this with Calvin Anderson and Samuel Cosmi and will see it with Christian Jones, Tyler Johnson, Willie Tyler, and Javonne Shepherd.

Weekend Visitor | Quick-Hitters

– Super K

I’m still out on the road seeing some players but I did get a chance to exchange a few texts with weekend visitor, 2020 LB, Josh White. I also spoke with a source about the weekend visits. As you know, Troy Omeire was on campus as well.

***Both White and Omeire went to Austin on Saturday and actually stayed over till Sunday.

***Josh told me he loves it in Austin and said following the visit, “I’ve got to get home and gotta start making some real decisions”

***Josh has wanted to get things done early and going into this visit, LSU and OU were among the teams to beat. I think it’s safe to say that Texas has solidified themselves in that top group.

***I haven’t spoken with Omeire yet but source tells me that he the visit was a home run. I think the Horns took a big step forward here.

More on these later