Quick Hitters | JUCO Willie Tyler & Grad Transfer RJ Proctor

– CJ Vogel

Joining some of the most coveted high school prospects in the state were two targets at a position of need with college experience already under their belt

Willie Tyler III

The 6-foot, 7-inch JUCO left tackle from Iowa Western Community College was on campus this weekend.

Tyler said the “visit went great” and cited the atmosphere around campus and the city as something that really stood out to him.

Like many recruits, Tyler spent his afternoon receiving tours of the facilities, as well as meetings with the coaches and academic advisors. He had quite a busy day on campus and did almost everything there is to do that is football related. I can imagine some of them decided to do some sports betting online because they all love football so much. They enjoy raising the stakes for these games.

Coach Herb Hand is playing an instrumental role in Tyler’s recruitment: “We have a good relationship, and it gets better every time we converse and I feel like this visit really boosted our relationship a lot with how much we talked and bonded.”

I get the sense that if the staff envisions Tyler has a sure-fire take, there is no doubt he will be a Longhorn come fall practice.

He will alert a team of his decision by the end of the month and make a decision on March 17.

RJ Proctor

We’ve mentioned RJ Proctor several times in the past as a guy to watch as a grad-transfer addition. The former Virginia Cavalier would be a solid plug-and-play piece for an offensive line that saw departures at both guard spots.

Proctor said he spent most of his eating, golfing and “coolin’ it with the boys” during his official visit.

When on campus, he spent a lot of his time with Herb Hand and Tim Beck. Though he did add several current players , including Denzel Okafor, Christian Jones and Junior Angilau, were with him for majority of his time.

Proctor is still set for a March decision, though he may pull a trigger early “whenever [he] falls in love fully with a school.”

Following the visit, Texas still stands as a top school for Proctor.

Weekend Visitors

– Super K

***As most of you know, Texas will host 5-star running back, Kendall Milton this upcoming weekend.

Intersting trio that will be be back in town this upcoming weekend…

***Recently offered 2020 CB and one of my favorites in the class, Joshua Eaton will take a return trip down to Texas. He and the others have track meets in Austin this weekend.

***2020 DB, Bryson Washington (C.E. King) will also make a return trip to Texas this weekend.

***And lastly, 2020 DB Xavion Alford (Shadow Creek) will be on return trip to Texas this weekend, as well.

Texas is sitting in such a good spot for so many prospects in this class it’s going to be interesting how they prioritize everything.

Updates | Jahari Rogers Favorite Visit & More

– Super K

***I’ll have a full write up with quotes coming from my conversation with 2020 ATH and recent Texas visitor and offer, Jahari Rogers (Arlington).

I did want to pass along something that caught my attention. Rogers has recently taken visits to Texas, TCU, OU and LSU.

As many of you know, he is an OU legacy. His grandfather played for the Sooners.

So it surprised me a bit to here him say that his best visit so far of the four schools was Texas.

This one is a lot tougher to call than I had originally expected. I’d imagine the Sooners win out in the end but it’s not certain. What is certain is it’s going to be harder than I would’ve originally thought.

***It sounds like Texas has begun communicating with 2020 Sooners DB commit, Darion Green–Warren (Mater Dei).

In speaking to folks around DGW, I’m told that coach Jason Washington has been in touch and an offer could happen within the next week.

If it does, it sounds like the family will likely visit for the Spring Game.

***Also, to add to CJ’s note about JUCO OT and recent visitor, Willie Tyler, he let me know that the staff plans on giving him an answer as to whether he has an offer or not in the next couple weeks.

I surmise they are waiting to see what happens with some of these graduate transfers before making a decision on Willie.

I am told that the staff did like the way Tyler looked. So, I would assume he past the Yancy exam.

Terrell’s Texas Talk | Football Position Groups, Social Media Changes & More

– Darius Terrell

In preparation of Spring Football practice firing back up next month, we’ll take an in-depth look at a position group on each side of the ball as a bit of a primer for our first taste of Texas Football since New Year’s.

The only Freshmen that will be included in the preview are Freshmen that are enrolled and participating in Spring Football practices.

Also, this is brand new, I’m taking an open poll on suggestions on a name for this segment!

OFFENSE

*Quarterback*

Starter- Sam Ehlinger (6’2 235) Junior

Projected Backup – Casey Thompson (6’1 190) RS Freshman

Reserve- Roschon Johnson (6’1 190) Freshman

What we know: Sam Ehlinger took a tremendous leap from up-and-down Freshman season to a Sophomore campaign that will likely have him showing up as a dark horse candidate on more than a few pre-season Heisman lists entering the 2019 season. Ehlinger posted a total QBR of 78.3 (t-16th nationally) over the course of the season while throwing for 3,292 yards, 25 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions, and completing 64.7% of his passes in the process. Ehlinger also accounted for 482 yards and a school single-season record 16 touchdowns on the ground. Let me throw in the 5 receptions for 51 yards too, to help supplement this 2019 Heisman case! Ehlinger is the unquestioned leader of the 2019 Texas Football program.

What we hope: Battle-tested Junior backup Shane Buechele announced his intention to transfer to SMU a few weeks ago, which created a noticeable void on the Texas depth chart behind Ehlinger. Redshirt Freshman Casey Thompson has seemingly been a topic of discussion all off-season after he, along with fellow Freshman QB Cameron Rising, entered his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal in order to explore other options outside of the program (unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Thompson obviously would decide to return to the program while Rising transferred to Utah). Thompson comes into the spring with a clear path to the title of “Next man up” if anything were to happen to Ehlinger, which if history is any indicator, is very real possibility at some point next season.

What to watch for: Thompson will be accompanied in every film session, weight room workout, and drill on the practice field by his competition for the job, 4-star early enrollee Roschon Johnson from Port Neches, Texas. Johnson was selected as the starter for his team in the Under Armour All American Game and became Texas’ first commitment for the 2019 signing class back in July of 2017. Because both players are very similar in stature and skill set, I could see this being a situation where Texas doesn’t have a definitive answer until we are near the completion of Fall camp. What’s above the shoulders will be the determining factor for these two.

DEFENSE

*Defensive Line*

Starters-

SDE: Taquon Graham (6’4 285) Junior

NT: Gerald Wilbon (6’3 310) Senior OR Keondre Coburn (6’3 330) RS Fr

WDE: Malcolm Roach (6’3 275) Senior

B-Backer: Joseph Ossai (6’4 245) Sophomore

Projected Backups-

SDE: Moro Ojomo (6’2 285) RS Freshman

NT: Keondre Coburn (6’3 330) RS Fr OR Gerald Wilbon (6’3) Senior

WDE: Marquez Bimage (6’2 255) Junior OR Jacoby Jones (6’4 255) Junior

B-Backer: Byron Vaughns (6’4 235) RS Freshman

Reserves-

SDE: Daniel Carson (6’4 300) RS Freshman

NT: D’Andre Christmas-Giles (6’3 315) Senior

WDE: Jamari Chisholm (6’4 300) Senior

B-Backer: Peter Mpagi (6’4 235) Freshman

What we know: Charles Omenihu was voted the Big XII Defensive Lineman of the Year and will likely hear his name called in the first 50 picks of the NFL Draft this April. Omenihu is a success story that Texas can point to in the future as a recruiting tool for showing long, rangy DE prospects what they can become while on campus. Chris Nelson was a Senior leader and 4-year contributor along the defensive front for Texas. Both players will be missed. The good news is that the cupboard is not bare by any means. Malcolm Roach for his Senior campaign while Senior NT Gerald Wilbon and Junior DE Taquon Graham have both started games and played a lot of football at Texas. Junior DE Marqez Bimage provides proven depth and a player that the staff has shown that they trust. Sophomore B-Backer Joseph Ossai was a standout performer in Texas’ Sugar Bowl win over Georgia.

What we hope: Malcolm Roach, who flirted with the idea of declaring early, should be an All-Big XII candidate during his final season in Austin. If Roach is able to remain healthy (11 career starts), the expectation is that he has the type of season that everyone has been expecting from him after a true freshman season in which he was honorable mention All-Big XII Defensive Freshman of the Year. Gerald Wilbon (33 games, 1 career start) has provided depth his entire career and gets the opportunity to earn the nod as the starter heading into the spring. Taquon Graham (26 games, 2 career starts) is expected to hold things down on the strong side and help replace some of Omenihu’s production. Graham’s frame has filled out impressively and the hope is that he’s able to take the next step from “serviceable” to “above average”. Redshirt Freshmen Moro Ojomo and Keondre Coburn were both able to gain valuable experience in the 4 games they participated in last season while still maintaining their redshirts. Both players will be expected to start or be heavy contributors.

What to watch for: JUCO DE signee Jacoby Jones will be competing for one of the DE jobs and I’m betting it’s for the SDE spot, competing against guys like Taquon Graham and Moro Ojomo. You don’t go recruit a JUCO guy unless you have an immediate need and JUCO guys don’t come to your school unless they feel like they have a great chance to start. Jones enters the program as a grown man (6’4 250) and could take his game and body to the next level with access to better resources and coaching. Redshirt Freshman Keondre Coburn will have every opportunity to beat out Senior Gerald Wilbon for the starting Nose Guard spot. I think it’s safe to pencil in Joseph Ossai as the guy at B-Backer for 2019. The battle behind him between two players with very similar physical attributes, Byron Hobbs and Peter Mpagi, should be an interesting one to follow.

Next week: Running Backs & Linebackers

Don’t look now, but the Texas Longhorn softball team is off to a 7-1 start and are currently ranked the #8 team in the country according to Softball America. The almost overnight overhaul that has taken place with the program has been remarkable. The credit should be directed towards first-year Head Coach Mike White, a former U.S. National Team pitcher and ISC (International Softball Congress) Hall of Fame member, who had spent the previous nine years at the University of Oregon (2010-2018).

At Oregon, White led five teams to the Women’s College World Series, won five Pac-12 titles, and made nine-straight Super Regionals. White brought not only his own expertise but a ton of talent with him. Standout pitcher Miranda Elish, star Outfielder Shannon Rhodes, Catcher Mary Iakopo, and Utility player Lauren Burke followed White to Austin from Eugene. Softball players do not fall under the same transfer rules as Football, Basketball, Track, etc. so these ladies were able to make the move without having to sit out a season and delay the turnaround.

The program had grown stale under coaching legend Connie Clark and I, for one, could not be more excited to see Texas Softball get back to being a top program after watching Cat Osterman on TV as a kid and going to watch Blair Luna pitch as a student. If you haven’t already, I strongly urge you to check out this team this season if you get a chance.

I’ll end today’s piece by talking about a topic that helps decipher the different generations of individuals that make up this board: Social Media.

A social media app called Twitter was blowing up around 2009 when I joined as a Senior in High School. Somewhere between the time I arrived at college in the summer of 2010 and graduated in the winter of 2014, things had changed on Twitter. Twitter was no longer a toy that kids used to voice their thoughts and opinions, but a tool that was being used by athletes, agents, reporters, journalists, and coaches! Twitter had become a weapon for a new generation.

I was completely unaware of this, maybe because the programs that I was a part of were as well. Charlie Strong hated it and did not encourage his staff to use it. Like my coach at Texas, Mack Brown, he advised his players and staff to stay off of it. Texas had fallen well behind the times. That is until Tom Herman arrived and he brought Derek Chang with him. The first edit that really made me notice the change was an image with Brennan Eagles on the cover of a Travis Scott (he’s a rapper) album.

I knew that the game had changed and that Texas was in it to win it. It is now commonplace for players to release their list of schools, announce their commitments, and other things of the sort through social media, of which Twitter stands tall at the forefront. Texas has as strong of a social media team as any other in College Football from what I’ve seen. That simply wasn’t the case as recently as 2 years ago. This is just another example of Tom Herman not allowing any details to be missed.

If you have a twitter, I highly recommend that you give @TexasFootball @BCarringtonUT a follow. As well as members of our team here at @TFB_Texas if you want to stay up to date on the latest going on with Texas Football!