– Texas recently offered Mansfield Legacy (TX) DE/DT Taurean Carter. I caught up with Carter recently and he told me that he plans to take a visit to Texas on June 16th for Tom Herman’s big summer recruiting event.

It will be Carter’s first time on campus, and will give Texas the opportunity to wow him. Carter is taking the process slowly, as bigger offer are just coming in. The biggest recent ones have come from Texas and TCU.

One other note is that Carter is cousins with Aledo (TX) CB Jeffrey Carter. And the two would love to play together in college. Taurean told me “that’s the plan”. That could be something to keep an eye on down the line. – (Andrew)

– Cibolo Steele’s 2020 CB Jaylon Jones has let me know he will be taking a trip to Texas this Sunday. I expect him to get an offer sometime soon. He’s too good to not get one and – on top of that – he’s built in the exact mold that the staff likes in DBs. – (Will)

– It was a great week for Herb Hand. Javonne Shepherd looked like he was having fun while he was throwing the football back and forth with Herb Hand at the camp. It seems like Texas did more than throw the ball around with Shepherd to convince him that Austin is the place to be.

Javonne Shepherd told us that he had a great talk with Tom Herman and that Texas “might be home… It feels like family here. I feel good [hanging around Texas].”

And with that, Texas has bounced into the #1 spot for the North Forest OT Javonne Shepherd.

Shepherd says that the two schools that are in contention with Texas are Texas A&M and Georgia. He told us he is no longer visiting A&M this weekend. He’s gonna see some other schools and plans to get to College Station at some point this summer. He will also try to make it to Georgia and Alabama this summer.

Javonne Shepherd is close friends with D’Shawn Jamison and Al’vonte Woodard, and you better believe they’re in his ear now more than ever. – (Will)

– Corner Back Jeffery Carter dropped his Top 4 recently, and Texas made the cut.

For awhile it didn’t seem like Texas was in this one. But I was tipped off that the Longhorns may have a better shot than most thought at this time.

The other surprise was that Oregon didn’t make the cut. That just shows how many twists and turns this recruitment has had. As many expected Carter to commit to Oregon when he took an official visit a few months ago. Since then, the Ducks have landed two Top ten CB’s, and are no longer in it with Carter.

Oklahoma has always been in it, and remember that Carter made an early commitment to the Sooners.

Texas A&M was the school that had the momentum with Carter following his Oklahoma decommitment. And some expected him to flip to the Aggies. One thing that may keep the Aggies out of this one is that they’re likely to land CB’s Marcus Banks, Erick Young, and Bobby Wolfe this summer. Not sure how Carter will feel about joining a what would be a 4-man CB class.

Then there’s Alabama, who he plans to visit this summer. And if he’s okay with leaving the Texas region, Bama could very well end up being the choice.

I mentioned recently that Carter’s cousin, Man. Legacy (TX) DL Taurean Carter told me he and Jeffrey would like to play together in college. The one school they have in common that’s left is Texas. So that’s something to watch.

All I would say is to expect some other twists and turns in this recruitment. But it sounds like Jason Washington and Texas might be in a better spot than some realized with arguably the #1 CB in Texas. – (Andrew)

– Earlier this week, 2021 defensive end prospect Landyn Watson made his way to Austin for an unofficial visit

Watson is a 6’2″ 225 lb rising Sophomore (yes I said Sophomore) out of Hutto, Texas, who already holds offers from Baylor, Houston and UTSA.

I was able to briefly catch up with Landyn and he let me know that this was his first trip to campus, and he came away with some very impressive reviews.

The first thing we discussed was what stood out to him the most while he was on his visit. Landyn said “One thing that stood out to me is how the coaches are involved their players, both during, and after their years in college.” To me, that indicates he is well aware of life after college and how a program supports and embraces their players following their careers.

While he does not hold a UT offer yet, he understands how early it is in his recruitment. Watson told me, “I’m not sure Texas will offer me this early in my recruitment process, but I know I am someone they are very interested in”. He continued by saying “I was able to speak with Coach Herman for a little bit. He liked my size and knows I will get bigger and stronger”. He went on to say “I also got to sit down with Coach Giles and watch some film. He told me he could truly see me playing at The University of Texas in many different positions, including defensive end and outside linebacker”.

Watson also picked up something that many recruits would otherwise think nothing of. Watson said “Coach Herman really caught my eye though. He was working out with another coach and Coach Jim Jones told me that Coach Herman works out everyday, just like the players do, to show them that he will put in the hard work as well”.

Landyn has some additional planned visits for the remainder of the summer. He plans on visiting TCU this weekend along with camping at Oklahoma State on June 10th. Watson also mentioned the possibility of stopping in Norman to check in with the Sooners.

In speaking with Watson, I came away feeling as I had just spoken with someone much further along in the recruiting process. He had well thought out responses and was very easy to converse with. I note this because in my opinion, he is an example of a recruit who has a very good understanding of what he is looking for down the line and will not be swayed by gimmicks and flash, and that is an incredible gift to have at such a young age. – (Charlie)

– The father of 2019 Oregon CB commit, Marques Caldwell, tells me that they will take an unofficial visit to Texas this upcoming Tuesday.

Texas offered Caldwell during this last spring evaluation period and are hoping to close out their CB recruiting by bringing Caldwell into the fold.

Caldwell has an OV set for Oregon later this month. So, while I expect something to happen with Caldwell’s recruitment soon, I don’t expect it to happen before the Oregon OV. – (Super K)

– I reported that Trinity Christian (TX) Safety, Lewis Cine,will take an official visit to Texas on June 15th. I also reported that he has a Top 3 of Penn State, Texas, and Michigan. After talking to Cine and some other people, I’d say his Top 3 is also in that order.

Cine is going to have a busy couple of weeks in June. As he’s going to officially visit his three top schools over the month. He will be at Penn State this weekend, Texas on the 15th, then Michigan will be on the 22nd. He said he wants to make a decision before his senior season, and one could come after those three visits.

Though he has his last two official visits in mind as well. Cine told me Georgia and Florida will get the last two visits, but the dates haven’t been ironed out just yet. – (Andrew)