#cloUT21: The Class of Recruiters

– CJ Vogel

The criticisms of Tom Herman slow playing in-state recruits have been heard and they have been answered. With seven commits already in the 2021 class, Texas is ahead of the curve for the class and they are reaping the benefits of having the extra recruiters in the bag.

When thinking about the vocal leaders in the class it’s easy to point to QB Jalen Milroe and OL Hayden Conner as the two leaders for the class, but the recruiting goes beyond just the two Katy prospects. This weekend’s Elite Day allowed for other members of the class to be let loose and show uncommitted recruits of the 2o21 class what Texas is all about.

One of the bigger takeaways I had from this past Saturday is the current Texas commits doing their best Bryan Carrington impersonation and making an impact on the top uncommitted talent on campus. Most specifically, names like Billy Bowman Jr. and Derrick Harris Jr. popped up several times when regarding active members of the 2021 class recruiting for the Longhorns.

A top target on the minds of the committed group was Cy Fair RB LJ Johnson, who heard from former middle school teammates Jalen Milroe and Hayden Conner and surprisingly Derrick Harris Jr.

“(Derrick Harris Jr.) just told me ‘why not Texas?’,” said Johnson following his visit. “It can set you up for life after football, it’d be a good place to play, and stuff like that.”

The two must have really hit it off during their time together, after all, Harris Jr. told us in his post-visit interview that he and “Jalen are about to takeover.” The two of them certainly have a solid head start and which has allowed them to be a more confident about potentially adding to their class, even leading to a bold prediction by Harris Jr.:

“LJ Johnson is going to be the next commit, I’m telling you right now. We’re gonna get him.”

Johnson wasn’t the only uncommitted prospect that Harris Jr. was working on. He and fellow linebacker Terrence Cooks spent the afternoon together for the most part with both of them being linebackers, which allowed the two to create quite a bond.

“Derrick from New Caney, that’s my dog! I just met him today, that’s my dog. I’m coming back here for my official visit, it’ll be me and him,” said Shadow Creek LB Terrence Cooks. “I rock with him, he’s a cool dude.”

Texas was able to make a big impression on Cooks this weekend and Harris Jr. was a big reason why. Coming into the weekend, Cooks told us that he didn’t know much about Texas at all, though left with them being right at the top of his short list.

Of course the list doesn’t stop there. Hightower WR Latrell Neville, Katy Taylor OL Bryce Foster and the aforementioned Johnson, have been playing football with and against current commits Jalen Milroe and Hayden Conner dating back to middle school which gives them an inside edge as recruiters.

“As far as today, Latrell Neville, Bryce Foster and some of the offensive guys that were there,” said QB commit Jalen Milroe when asked who he had his eye on at the event. “LJ Johnson from Cy Fair, just getting him to come (was big). Just the relationship that we’ve had over the years.”

“All three of those guys that I named, I’ve played with them (in the past). We all have that history, playing with them in college would be cool.”

Milroe even tried to get Everman TE commit Juan Davis in on the recruiting action, urging him to go talk to an uncommitted prospect at the facility.

Of course, Hayden Conner is constantly working on high school teammate Bryce Foster, with one clear message:

“It’s just family. It’s me and Jalen (Milroe), we’ve played together forever. We won a national championship together at FBU, we’ve played together forever. This is home. Eventually, he’s going to realize that.”

Conner added that he will be turning up the pressure to get Foster’s name in the ring as the next Texas commit.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, Landon Jackson name dropped Billy Bowman Jr. and Milroe as Texas commits working on him.

“We have a group chat with a bunch of guys from Texas and Jalen Milroe and Billy Bowman are both trying to get all of us here,” said Jackson. He added that both Texas commits are pushing the message that things “are about to change and about to get real.”

The recruiting doens’t stop at the 2021 class either. Billy Bowman Jr. is in the ear of 2022 teammate CB Austin Jordan who recently received a Texas off last week on social media.

no sirrrr😂😂 he knows better — Billy Bowman Jr. (@Billy2Bowman) January 21, 2020

Regardless of coaching turnover, the 2021 Texas class has the potential to be very special, and the help they are getting on the front of current commits is unmatched in my time covering recruiting. If things go right on the field this fall, this class has the potential to be one of Texas’ best ever.

Texas Offers a Pair Of 2021 QBs

– Charlie S

The Longhorns dropped a couple 2021 quarterback offers late last week.

*** Texas offered Sawyer Robertson (6’3.5″ 190) out of Lubbock, TX (Coronado)

Roberton currently holds around a dozen or so offers which include offers from Mississippis State, Washington State, SMU and Louisville.

*** Texas also offered Garrett Nussmeier (6’1.5″ 171) out of Flower Mound, TX (Marcus)

Nussmeier currently holds around two dozen offers which include offers from LSU, Mississippi State, Penn State, Arizona State and Miami.

All Glory to God!! WOW!!! Thankful to have received a offer from the University of Texas!! #hookem 🤘🏻 pic.twitter.com/5UW48lKzkS — Garrett Nussmeier (@Garrettnuss13) January 24, 2020

Texas currently has Jalen Milroe already committed at the quarterback spot, however, both Nussmeier and Robertson bring a different skill set to the picture as they are pro style QBs while Milroe is more of a dual-threat guy.

Injury Report | Ayodele Adeoye

– Will Baizer

Per Texas, linebacker Ayodele Adeoye sustained a foot injury that will require surgery. He will undergo surgery to repair the injury next week, be out for the spring season and is projected to return for Longhorn summer workouts.

Princely Umanmielen | Trending

– Super K

2020 DL, Princely Umanmielen took an official visit to Florida this past weekend.

He was on campus at Texas last weekend and there was some growing confidence that Princely may end up back at Texas.

Behind the scenes though, new Baylor HC Dave Arranda, had been doing some work and I was told Umanmielen really took to Arranda right away.

So going into this weekend, I still felt it was going to be a battle for Texas to pull Princely.

It sounds like he really liked the Florida visit. However, I do believe his family would prefer he stay closer to home.

In general, I believe this one is probably trending away from Texas.

Collins is the other primary defensive line target and we hope to know more on him later this week. But it’s hard to imagine a Texas legacy in the area leaving.

Positional Changes | Team | Quick-Hitters

– Super K

***As you know the team started winter workouts last week

***There has been plenty of talk out there of positional changes coming.

***The defensive front will be pretty straight forward. Guys like Ossai will move to WDE. Graham will remain a B-gap player. And Bimage will go to SDE.

***But the big changes we expect will happen at the second and third levels.

***In this press quarters defense, they’ll need to find a secondary that can play man coverage across the board.

***I do believe the staff will play this by allowing players to go through winter workouts and maybe even begin spring ball at the positions those players think they should be playing. But I think they’ll send the message pretty quickly that if said players want to get on the field, they’ll need to move positions.

***Someone like Overshown is a prime candidate to move to down to backer. He instantly brings length and athleticism to the linebacker room and would be a liability in isolation in the secondary.

***Sounds like the staff really likes Josh Thompson starting out on the outside. They’re looking for press cover corners and Thompson brings side and speed.

***I think both Green and Watson fit the bill, as well. Watson is young but he’s probably the best combination of size and speed. Cook would seem to but his speed could be an issue. I think he will be a guy they may look at moving at some point in the spring.

***Jamison’s athleticism seems to have caught the attention of the new staff, as well but, again, I think Thompson will begin the spring at the top of the depth chart outside.

***Tyler Owns is another guy to keep an eye on who could require a positional change. Like Overshown, he’s starting out at DB. But I think the staff would prefer to show some of these guys that what they’ll be asked to do doesn’t fit their skill set, as opposed to telling them.