Recruit Reactions From ‘Elite Day’

– Andrew King

Clear Creek (TX) offensive tackle Chad Lindberg

Arguably the top offensive tackle in the 2020 class, Chad Lindberg, was back in Austin on Saturday. I briefly chatted with him following the visit.

The guy Lindberg spent the most time with on the visit was Lake Travis (TX) Texas quarterback commit Hudson Card. Lindberg and his mother actually went to lunch and spent time with Card and his mother before the visit. Lindberg told me having a relationship with other commits is something that will definitely have a factor in his decision. And it’s clear that Lindberg has become Card’s number one priority.

Lindberg also spent some time with the other offensive line recruits, specifically Texas commit Logan Parr and North Shore (TX) offensive tackle Damieon George. Lindberg told me “I’ve known Logan for awhile and I talk to Dameion a lot, so it was cool seeing them.” He also added that the coolest part of the visit was meeting Matthew McConaughey.

Lindberg has two more visits coming up in the next month. LSU on February 2nd and Stanford in late February. He said the schools he has the most interest in right now are Texas, LSU, Stanford, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Clemson. But right now I think it’s a three-team race between Texas, Stanford, and LSU, in that order as of today.

Lindberg isn’t sure when he will make a decision. He’d like to take all five of his official visits in the Spring and have a decision made before the start of his senior season to avoid any “drama”. But he’s not sure if that will happen. He told me Texas will definitely receive an official visit, and the Longhorns only helped themselves with the star offensive tackle this weekend.

Port Neches Groves (TX) offensive tackle Jaylen Garth

Garth was back in Austin this weekend, and he seemed to have a good time. He told me he spent a lot of time with Texas offensive line commit Logan Parr and offensive line targets Chad Lindberg and Jake Majors. Garth said they all have a group chat and have all gotten to know each other, but Saturday was fun because it was the first time they were all together.

Texas has been in a good spot with Garth for awhile. A big reason for that is Texas quarterback Roschon Johnson being his high school teammate and Garth called him a “big brother” figure in his life. The fact that he’s getting close with guys like Parr is only helping Texas’ chances.

Garth told me he’ll likely visit LSU and Texas A&M over the next wave of junior days. And I think those two are Texas’ biggest competition right now.

Quick Hitter | Team Notes | Whittington, Moore, OL, Hudson

– Will Baizer

– I am hearing from multiple places that early enrollee Jordan Whittington, who was initially recruited as a slot, will start off working mainly with the running backs.

It seems the Longhorn staff was also paying attention to the State Championship. This should also make sure that once Jake Smith arrives on campus, the two are not stepping on each other’s toes a la Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Reggie Hemphill-Mapps.

– Speaking of Lil’Jordan Humphrey, sophomore receiver Josh Moore will be tasked with replacing him. Luckily, he’s shown an ability to get separation in the college game that has translated quite well from his high school days. Those around the program are optimistic about his return from surgery and are telling me he should have a big spring.

– A redshirt freshman who continues to receive high praise is offensive guard Junior Angilau. I’m told he’s another guy who has the mentality that Herb Hand wants in his guards, has the best feet at the guard position, and is powerful to boot. He and Denzel Okafor are my early front-runners for the guard positions.

– The right tackle position is still up in the air. I’m continuing to hear good things about the development of redshirt freshman offensive tackle Christian Jones. It appears the staff really likes his work ethic, and off the field, he has the right attitude to put in a lot of extra work. I’m not saying he starts this year, but he is a project that is coming around nicely and may play sooner than later.

– I checked in with a source on redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Patrick Hudson. The 6’5, 330lbs swiss army knife was taken to the Intensive Care Unit back in September after suffering from “exertional heat cramps” due to rising body temperature during a hot and humid day. It is not over, but as of now, I do not see Patrick Hudson returning to the team any time soon if at all. Medical retirement seems to be where this thing is going.

Lakia Henry | Visit Plans

– Andrew King

I reported a few weeks ago that Dodge City CC (KS) outside linebacker Lakia Henry was planning to officially visit Texas over this past weekend. That obviously didn’t happen with Texas hosting a lot of 2020 and 2021 recruits over the weekend. But things aren’t dead with Henry and Texas.

I spoke with him recently and he told me that he plans to officially visit Ole Miss this weekend and Texas the following weekend. Then he plans to make his commitment on signing day.

This recruitment is a little bit interesting. As Henry decommitted from Tennessee, there were some rumblings about him being a grade risk. I haven’t 100% confirmed anything but this could be a similar situation to Gary Johnson, who played at the same junior college. There’s an SEC junior college academic requirement that requires recruits to pass one extra math class to be eligible to transfer to the SEC. Gary Johnson had this issue and it was the reason he decommitted from Alabama and ended up signing with Texas.

Arkansas is a school that Henry is high on and he’s officially visited Fayetteville. But if the SEC math requirement is the only thing holding him back, that would likely eliminate Arkansas and Ole MIss. And if Texas wants him, they’d be in a very good spot. This situation could change over the next few weeks, but that’s what it looks like right now. Henry also has three years to play two seasons at whichever school he chooses.



