Texas Offers 2020 CB Joshua Eaton

– Super K

2020 CB, Joshua Eaton (MacArthur) has seen his recruitment explode as of late picking up offers from Virginia Tech, Texas Tech, Florida, Oklahoma and others.

He can now saw he has a Texas offer. Cool video here of coach Jason Washington offering Eaton.

Eaton is one of my favorite cornerbacks in this class. He has track speed, great length and height and he plays both ways.

He’s also a multi-sport guy. I was at his basketball not too long ago and threw down a dunk for me after the game…

Played a whole game but 2020 TX CB, Josh Eaton (@JoshuaEaton_1) still had enough in the tank to throw one down after the game.



Eaton has picked up offers from the #Sooners #Gators #Hokies #Utes #RedRaiders and more just this past week.



Big, long CB & sub 22 sec 200 guy pic.twitter.com/q6oW5XtMTG — Super K (@SuperK_TFB) February 9, 2019

Look for Eaton to continue to pick up offers. I fully expect him to be one of the more highly coveted and ranked cornerbacks in this class.

Junior Days Notes |Mookie, Washington, Crawford, Eaton, Harris, Brockermeyer

– Will Baizer

2020 ATH Mookie Cooper (Trinity Catholic – St. Louis, MO) TEXAS

We caught up with brand new commit ATH Mookie Cooper, as he spoke to the media for the first time since officially committing to Texas. Apparently, what flipped the switch for Mookie Cooper was the consistency of the feeling he got here in Austin, “Just coming up here again and being up here again, every time I come up here I just feel the love even more. Then I was just like I want to get it over with why not just do it today.”

It’s been no secret that Cooper has had an affection for the Longhorns, and many had an idea that he may commit. Apparently, so did Cooper, “I had the idea. I told Marcus [Washington] that I might (commit) and when I got here, I just went on and made it happen.”

As we stated in the commitment story, Bryan Carrington is a big reason that St. Louis pipeline is so wide open for Texas, so it seemed only fair that he was one of the first to celebrate the commitment with Cooper, “I told Carrington first, Coach Herman had just got in. I told [Carrington] last night. I think Coach Herman already had the idea today. He was asking me and I was just smiling really hard. I just told him, and he was like ‘yeahhhh’ and was excited.”

Now that the commitment is off his chest Cooper seems visibly relieved, “I’m calm, some coaches took it a certain way. I feel like I don’t have to react to any of it anymore. It happened. It’s my decision, and I’m happy with it. I’m just good. My mom’s happy and everybody else is happy.”

Cooper has now turned his attention toward helping fill up the class with other top-end talent focusing on Ja’Quinden Jackson and Michael Henderson: “Mikey, we just became cool, he knows Marcus and then had met me and we just clicked after that. Ja’Quinden, he was at the Future 50 with me so he threw a couple balls to me.”

Mookie Cooper is now the third St. Louis player in three classes for the Longhorns (I’m pretty happy with that trend). Having those St. Louis guys down in Austin gave Cooper a bit of ease of mind before committing, “They helped out because I wouldn’t be up here by myself. You might feel some type of way going to a far place all alone, but it helped in the situation knowing I got somebody already up here that I can be close with. So yeah it played a good role in it.”

The Longhorn coaches are expecting Cooper to play their H-back position when he gets to campus. As he put it he sees himself as, “The slot receiver, they call it the H-back, he can play as a slot but can also get some motion and get some jets going to the backfield sometime. More of just like a back that can run routes too so yeah I feel like I can fit perfectly in it, have a good time doing it.”

And Longhorn fans will get a kick out of who he compares himself to. Former Longhorn commit , Rondale Moore, “Because he is very explosive, and he is one of the more smaller guys. You know people might feel small guys can’t do things, but he is very explosive and makes big plays happen.”

Unfortunately, Cooper still hasn’t decided if he will completely shut down his recruitment, “Actually, I haven’t talked to the coaches about that yet. I have no idea. As of right now, I don’t know.. I don’t honestly know the answer to that question.”

2020 CB Kitan Crawford (John Tyler – Tyler, TX)

The newly offered 6’0 190-pound cornerback out of John Tyler high school in East Texas, made his first trip to Texas this weekend as well, “Coming on the campus I really didn’t know anything about it. Now that I got onto campus, it’s really interesting, and I want to come back some more.”

According to him, he’s been a Longhorn fan for a while and the offer, “It meant a lot to me. It’s a dream come true.” But it wasn’t the glam of the visit that got Crawford. The part that stuck out to him was hanging out with Jason Washington, “Talking to the DB coach and getting to know him. Watching the film and seeing how the coach act.”

We’ll be expecting Crawford back on campus later on in March for Spring practices.

2020 S Bryson Washington (C.E. King – Houston, TX)

2020 safety, Bryson Washington, is one of Texas top safety prospects in the state along with Chris Thompson Jr. Texas has pitched Bryson Washington at the Joker and deep safety position. In other words the staff can see Washington being like BJ Foster, patrolling the box, or like Caden Sterns patrolling the deep space.

This isn’t Bryson’s first visit to Texas (maybe his fifth?), but this time was different as he got to have a lot more personal time with the staff. This was especially true for Tom Herman, who spent a good chunk of time personally recruiting Washington, “He was telling me the history of himself because at first you just knew him because he’s the head coach of Texas. He told me things personally about when he was growing up and the love he had for UT.”

Washington let us know that he might be pushing back his intended commitment in July back to early signing day, “When I got more in the process, I got more connections, so it’s going to be a harder decision.”

In my opinion, Texas is the leader in the recruitment with Oklahoma being right on their heels. In Bryson Washington’s own words, “I’d say Texas is beating everybody else, recruiting-wise. They’re showing a lot of love. Texas is doing the most. They’re presenting themselves more. Texas is a great thing right now, and they’re pretty high [on my list].”

Bryson Washington seems to love making his way to Austin and is another who we expect back on campus come this March.

2020 CB Joshua Eaton (Aldine MacArthur – Houston, TX)

When you think of Texas’ defensive back prospects, you think long, tall, and athletic. That describes new Texas offeree Joshua Eaton who received his offer from that cool video in our other post.

On that video, Joshua told me laughing, “That video was pretty cool, and when he told me ‘In Texas we have different things in backpacks. In this one, we hand out offers,’ that was an exciting moment for me. A big surprise.”

Besides that offer, Eaton felt that hanging out with Jason Washington was the highlight of the trip, “Honestly, hanging out with Coach Washington was a highlight. He’s an awesome man. A funny man. He made me feel at home.”

Now that Texas has offered, Eaton told me that Texas will definitely be in the top five when he drops it in the fall. Until then, Eaton will be coming back next month for Spring practices. Along with Texas, he will be visiting USC, Oregon, Auburn, Oklahoma, and a few others.

2020 DE Jason Harris (Higley – Gilbert, AZ)

Texas has been owned a few under-appreciated markets around the country like St. Louis and Phoenix over the last cycle. It seems they look to continue that trend as they brought 6’7”, 220-pound Jason Harris from Gilbert, AZ (around Phoenix), in to visit.

It seems that the trip really caught him off guard, as it surpassed his expectations, “It was a great experience meeting all the coaches. They seem like great people and fun people to be around. It felt like a family environment and I had a great time here… I felt welcome here”

Texas’ success in Arizona has impressed him, “I think it would be cool to play with some guys from where I’m from. The players they brought in have a lot of talent. They’ll be fun to watch here.” It seems they will be using their connections in Arizona to get him in a Texas frame of mind.

Right now Texas is recruiting him as a defensive end. However, Harris is also a highly recruited basketball player getting interest from Arizona, Texas Tech, and a few others.

While the concept of playing two sports at Texas did come up, it didn’t seem like it was strongly emphasized, and it seems that the father will likely push him towards football.

Jason Harris will be a nationally sought after recruit and will also be visiting Oklahoma, UCLA, and Texas A&M.

2021 OT Tommy Brockermeyer (All Saints – Fort Worth, TX)

The son of Longhorn legend Blake Brockerymeyer, the 2021 OT Tommy Brockermeyer came to Texas and was one of the last to leave after having some one-on-one time with Coach Herman.

Speaking of his father, Tommy is looking to build his own legacy away from his father, “I kind of want to have my own legacy. I want to make a decision that is mine… I don’t want people to compare me to my dad.”

According to Tommy, seeing the Longhorn facilities was the highlight of his trip, “I love seeing all the facilities and talking to Coach Herman. He showed us the new stadium. All of that was just so awesome and cool.” However, that wasn’t what will be important to his recruitment, “What’s more important to me is just the relationship and how they develop players.”

Don’t worry, according to Tommy, the Longhorns are well on their way to selling him on relationships and development already. Away from the family, Tommy told us that it is the relationships that stand out at Texas, “I can just tell Texas is a family place. I’m looking for places like that, like family places like that, relationships.”

Tommy is building those relationships within the Texas staff. With development being a huge factor for Brockermeyer, the addition of Herb Hand last year is a boon for Texas, “He’s obviously a great coach. I mean he’s developed NFL players. In his first year here he cut down the sacks by half. It’s crazy.” Tommy used Calvin Anderson as an example of the development that he appreciated from Coach Hand.

Where does Texas stand right now? “It’s definitely up there… It’s obviously up there.”

However, it’s very early in the recruitment and Texas is fighting Michigan, OU, TCU and a few other big schools for the top tier 2021 offensive tackle.

Three Thoughts from Under Armour Houston Camp | Video Breakdown

– Will Baizer

THE STARS OF THE SHOW WERE THE BIG BOYS

That means both sides of the ball. On the 2020 side of things for Texas, you had Princely Umanmielen, Alfred Collins, and Vernon Broughton on defense and offense with Chad Lindberg and Logan Parr.

2020 DL Vernon Broughton is Texas’ top defensive line target for the 2020 class, and here is what he can do for you.

2020 DL Vernon Broughton (@Broughto1Vernon) has been all over the place. Size and explosion on the line. Top #HookEm target pic.twitter.com/KOAYUYti4b — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

He’s explosive off the line and has strength to boot; however, at times he dances way too much at the line, and even had his personal trainer yelling at him that he didn’t need to spin so much:

Still, he is the most gifted defensive lineman in the state for his class. We’ll see if Princely Umanmielen can beat him out of that.

For 2020 DE Alfred Collins he is the type of defensive lineman that the Longhorns are looking for on the edge. Long arms to get the first hand on the offensive lineman and has a good frame. Basically, like Princely Umanmielen, a junior Charles Omenihu. He appears to be able to get under the linemen to get leverage

However, he needs to get some weight on him, so he isn’t as easily taken down like this.

This is a good move, but if he is able to get more leg and core strength, he’ll squat right through that offensive lineman to the quarterback.

2020 OT Chad Lindberg was held out of competition, but his good friend 2020 OG and Longhorn commit Logan Parr was not.

Logan Parr flashed greatness a few times during the day, with about three pancakes I saw live:

DL Devin Grant vs #HookEm commit OL Logan Parr. Parr with a nice pancake. pic.twitter.com/C5yhel009o — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

The guy is a smart player, that is for sure.

I like his game overall, but there are a few clear things he needed to fix today. Two I can think of right off the bat are his hand placement and how he sets himself up.

For hand placement, here is a good clip to show the problem.

DL Devin Grant vs OL Logan Parr rep 1 pic.twitter.com/z7M2XiDgHE — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

Perhaps he’s being taught this at O’Connor (and thus it’s a difference in philosophy), but it appears that in his reps he has his hands too far wide and up. As you can see in the above clip this, the hand placement gives him no control over the man and allows for the defender to get leverage and throw Parr off base.

Here is another example:

In terms of how he sets himself out, observe the following video:

Notice the initial step back off the snap. This isn’t a setup step. What it does is brings his body upright, and allows the defender to get leverage on him for a bull rush.

However, I am nit-picking here. Logan Parr, for the most part, was one of the best offensive linemen on the field all day long (I also liked A&M commit Akinola Ogunbiyi).

THE 2021 LINE CLASS IS STRONG!

In these types of camps, being an offensive lineman is the pits. You can’t rely on your strength, and the defensive line basically knows the snap count. When it comes to these showcases, linemen win reps by having solid fundamentals and the ability to take a hit. That is what I saw out of every single one of the 2021 offensive tackles I will list below.

2021 OT Rueben Fatheree is a long dude. If he can get his hands on you first it’s not good for your health as a defensive lineman.

for example, against a top 2021 DL Tunmis Adeleye:

2021 DL Tunmise Adeleye vs 2021 OT Rueben Fatheree, Rep 1 pic.twitter.com/l7iha65ID3 — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

While his height does mean, he stands a bit tall in protection, he is able to use his long arms, strength, and hand placement to ultimately win reps like here:

2021 OT Rueben Fatheree (@deuce_fatheree) with the pancake. pic.twitter.com/SuxT48bz79 — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

However, here is the thing I found with Rueben Fatheree. If you can use his height against him and get inside his arms, you can get him off balance. Exhibit A, the defensive lineman get the leverage underneath Fatheree and is able to get Fatheree off balance:

Rep 1: 2020 DL Timothy Hardiman vs 2021 OT Rueben Fatheree pic.twitter.com/CBpLwPcwcr — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

Exhibit B, the same player gets Fatheree once again but using his height against him. He pulls Fatheree off base, and because Fatheree is so tall, he has trouble getting his hands on the lineman:

Rep 2: 2020 DL Timothy Hardiman vs 2021 OT Rueben Fatheree pic.twitter.com/LHigHVew7A — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

Speaking of 2021 DL Tunmise Adeleye, he already looks like he is going to college next year. I mean look at this size…

Adeleye is both explosive off the line…

While having the strength that his frame lends itself to:

Back to offensive line…

While I do think 2021 OT Donovan Jackson could lose (what looks like) some bad weight, he is another guy who is remarkably talented in the technique of the position.

Watch here as Jackson establishes a great base, never gets too far over his toes, has his hands on half-man and is able to keep them there through the rep. That’s a clean pocket:

But he also has the strength to finish the job. Again, Jackson gets a good step upfield, gets his hands in the correct spots, and uses an armbar to take down his man.

2021 OT Hayden Conner was the guy who I saw have the most consistent success out of all the offensive tackles on the day. His strength and understanding of the game are advanced for his age.

He has a good set base, doesn’t come up on his first step, and lands his first punch in the correct spot. He doesn’t let his hands wander, and is able to deliver the first blow.

Again, the guy is strong. To prove that point, take a look at this pancake block off of the punch of pass protection:

Another 2021 OT showing out as Hayden Conner (@HaydenConner) knocks another guy on his butt. #HookEm target. pic.twitter.com/EuukQt8SP2 — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

Here is the thing about Hayden and the next guy Donovan Jackson. I don’t have any bad reps of them on film or that I saw live. They won every one of their reps against reputable competition. Each of the videos I have of them looks like you see above. If you’d like me to post them, I will.

UNDERWHELMING DAY AT SKILL POSITION

At least for Texas, it was. The two best players on the field for the skill position were hands down 2020 CB Jaylon Jones and 2020 WR Demond Demas.

While I don’t have videos of Jones, when I watched him, he was able t stay in the hip pocket of receivers while also using his length as a corner to his advantage. And Demond Demas did this…

2020 WR Demond Demas (@DemondDemas1) with the circus catch. Wow! pic.twitter.com/PRTCZnsCfk — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

Besides that, 2020 CB Joshua Eaton has a stomach bug, 2020 RB Zach Evans was held out of competition, and the communication between quarterbacks and receivers was shakey.

Nonetheless, Texas’ main targets:

2020 DB Xavion Alford

He didn’t get to do too much today. This was the best play I saw from him today.

DB Xavion Alford (@alford_xavion) positioned himself perfectly for the pick. Just couldn’t bring it in. pic.twitter.com/wijdEE7b4T — Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) February 17, 2019

He shows a good understanding of the situation and read the quarterback perfectly. Just has to finish the play.

That was a pretty consistent feature of his game. He displays a lot of understanding of situations and how to exploit them. I was a fan of his play.

The other major Texas target 2020 DB Bryson Washington had a quiet day. It was full of plays where he was lined up fifteen yards off the ball and asked to stop a short out route. Not happening, even if you’re Ed Reed.

If you want a guy who is built like a receiver in the lab, then 2020 WR Troy Omerie is your man. He is quick in his routes with long arms and legs. Add to the formula his strength and frame and you have Omerie.

Again, the passing play was inconsistent all day long, but the ability to work off the line with this type of strength is an asset at any level of football

However, his ability to exploit his size varies from play to play:

The above play is one where one would expect Omerie to be able to withstand a hit and box out the defender with his size. This is an issue that I’ve seen a few times, so it appears there is a bit of inconsistency there that needs to be cleaned up.

Other than that, I was a fan of his route running as he was able to get himself open when not double covered:

(notice the double clutch on the catch)