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Texas Recruiting Notes 2021


Reese Bennett

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IT (Nahlin): Recruiting primer - Defense

Spoiler

Last week I wrote about the offensive big board for the 2021 class. This week we’ll focus on the defense.

Whenever a new coordinator is brought in it’s interesting to watch who they offer. You can tell within a small margin of error what a staffs intentions are by who they offer. The offers will corroborate stated intent.

The instate strength of the class is exactly where you need it to be to win at a championship level — on the defensive line. Texas will have to nail that group. Linebacker numbers should be easy to meet. The defensive back-field is equipped with some good players but the talent is only decent by instate standards. The staff has recognized that and is casting a wider net.

Defensive End/Jack (2-3)

Committed: Ja’Tavion Sanders (Denton Ryan)

Targets: Landon Jackson (Pleasant Grove); Tunmise Adeleye (IMG); Jordon Thomas (Port Arthur Memorial); Clayton Smith (Texarkana): Travion Ford (Luther North, St. Louis MO)

Commentary: With the move away from a three-man front Texas has a surplus of interior players and a deficit of edge rushers. Sanders will go a long way towards evening the balance. He’s a borderline five-star. The rest of the targets will be difficult, though not impossible, to pull. Jackson sets up to be a UT/A&M battle long-term. The Aggies have confidence they can shut him down this spring but we’re not so sure. Shades of Joseph Ossai, perhaps? Tunmise moving to IMG certainly didn’t help UT’s chances. Texas is in the conversation because of the four-man front but Adeleye is going to select a winning program and Texas has a lot to prove. Thomas will have his swings between UT, A&M, and LSU. Smith and Ford project towards Jack. There’s some talk of Ash preferring to field two true defensive ends instead of an OLB but that remains to be seen and many Jacks can be comfortable grown into true defensive ends. Smith likes LSU. Ford seems pretty open but he plans on visiting Austin this spring and he was texting with OGOG on Sunday. Ideally Texas won’t have to offer too many more at this position. Sanders being committed already means they can remain patient. Also, UT’s edge players should paint an enticing picture for recruits this season.

Defensive Tackle (2)

Committed: N/A

Targets: Marcus Burris (Pleasant Grove); Shemar Turner (DeSoto); Aaron Armitage (Blair Academy, Blairstown NJ); E’Maurion Banks, (Wichita Falls Rider)

Commentary: These are defensive ends in high school but will most likely grow into interior players. I’m projecting the class long-term. The staff is well within its right to recruit them as ends because they can all move well. The staff made a bit of an impression on Burris on his most recent visit. He wants a smaller environment so the more visits to UT to get used to the size of it the better. I talked to DeSoto head coach Claude Mathis on Sunday and he says Turner is wide open and won’t decide until after the season. I think UT is in a pretty good spot here. He’s an NFL specimen. Armitage knew Coach Ash when Ash he was at Rutgers. There’s a Van Fillinger element here in that Texas could maybe steal him before some other schools truly start pushing. He likes Notre Dame but they aren’t pushing all that hard. Texas should get him for a visit and take it from there. Banks has really good baseline traits but they may have some other questions. As far as true defensive tackles go, there doesn’t appear to be any on the radar yet.

Linebacker (2-3)

Committed: Derrick Harris (New Caney)

Targets: Terrence Cooks (Shadow Creek); Morice Blackwell (Arlington Martin); Romario Noel (Cy Ranch)

Commentary: They’re probably visualizing Harris for Mike. Cooks is athletic enough for Will and he’s a must-get. Blackwell has picked up some solid offers but he may be one they want to get to know better before they start pushing. Remember Ernest Cooper is the 2022 Martin defensive end who might be one of a handful of in-state five-stars in that class. Noel plays safety but looks like a future Will to me. He’s committed to Baylor and taking things slow. Texas has offered some big out-of-state talents but we’re not aware of any traction with them. You have to like their chances with Cooks. If they pair him with Harris they’ll be able to play the long game with either an elite or late bloomer. Expect more out-of-state activity at linebacker.

Safety (2)

Committed: Billy Bowman (Denton Ryan)

Targets: Calen Bullock (John Muir, Pasadena CA); Isaiah Nwokobia (Dallas Skyline); Jantzen Dunn (South Warren, Bowling Green KY); Jaylin Smith (Bishop Alemany, Mission CA); Terrion Arnold (John Paul II, Tallahassee FL)

Commentary: Billy Badass is in his own category of safety/nickel. The great news is he’s firm. The bad news is he’s the biggest roadblock to Deuce Harmon (Denton Guyer) being offered. I don’t know much about Bullock other than he’s in the Deionte Thompson mold. I’ll try and learn more there. I like his tape and I like that he has a teammate they’re also recruiting at cornerback. Nwokobia has good cover skills packaged in a mature build. He’ll visit Texas again this spring. I anticipate some bigger schools jumping in the picture this spring (USC offered last night). I like this offer, but you’d love to see some senior film with him. Dunn is a freak athlete with good length who will visit in March. I would take Smith right now if he wanted to commit. I profiled him in the Scoop. He’ll visit in April. I don’t know Arnold beyond the fact he’s the hardest hitting good basketball player I can recall. His hometown makes me think he’s unlikely to end up in Austin.

Cornerback (3)

Committed: N/A

Targets: Ishmael Ibraheem (Dallas Kimball); Latrell McCutchin (Austin LBJ); Hunter Washington (Katy); Tony Grimes (Princess Anne, Virginia Beach VA); Jamier Johnson (John Muir, Pasadena CA)

Commentary: Ibraheem and McCutchin will duel for best corner in the state this season. I think McCutchin is a little more open than he lets on despite his Alabama commitment. Ibraheem is still getting to know new corners coach Jay Valai. We’re not feeling quite as well as we were a couple of months ago but there’s time to forge a good relationship for Valai. Washington is in no hurry to make a decision. I think that recruitment boils down to how hard Texas recruits him. Grimes is a pipe dream but he’ll visit again. I need to learn more about Jamier Johnson. It’s good to see the Texas staff being proactive in California again.

I’d love to see an offer go out to Deuce Harmon as a defensive back but I understand how his skill-set is a bit redundant to Bowman's.

Some of my position projections may be off but for now I’m working on the assumption that most big corners are safeties and most big safeties are linebackers.

 

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Mike Roach: Four-star CB Ishmael Ibraheem talks official visits, timeline

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Ishmael Ibraheem has a busy spring ahead of him. The four-star cornerback from Dallas Kimball is starting to narrow things down on his list of impressive offers. Ibraheem visited Texas before the dead period set in, and he said he enjoyed his time in Austin. “It was a nice visit,” he said. “They were doing a lot of re-construction on the building and telling me how in 2021 it will be done and everything and how nice the campus is going to be.”

Ibraheem was able to spend time with Texas cornerback coach Jay Valai. Ibraheem said he liked the energy Valai brought to the table. “He’s a young guy, so he’s got a lot of energy,” Ibraheem said. “I like that about him.” Texas is looking for press corners with length, and that description fits Ibraheem. Texas can see that, and their pitch centers around his potential fit in the defense.

“They tell me every time I come there that I’m built for their defense,” he said. “They want to press a lot, and of course that’s something I like to do.” Several other schools are standing out to Ibraheem right now. Michigan recently offered Ibraheem, and he has ties to the area. “Michigan, Georgia, LSU,” he said. “My mom lives in Detroit, and I’ve got a lot of family in Detroit.”

Mississippi State is another program that could get a visit from Ibraheem. With former Texas assistant Jason Washington now in Starkville, Ibraheem is interested in checking out the Bulldogs. “Yeah of course,” he said. “Coach Washington was recruiting me hard. He’s a nice guy and he wanted to work with me, so yes there’s some interest there.”

LSU is another school in the picture for Ibraheem. He’s pondering a potential visit to Baton Rouge in March, and he stays in heavy contact with LSU cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond. “I just got off the phone with coach Raymond the other day,” he said. “They want me to come up March 14th to come look at the school.” Aside from winning a national championship last month, LSU’s tradition and history in the secondary is appealing to Ibraheem. “Their defense,” he said. “They breed DBs. They go to the NFL, so that’s something I want to do.”

After taking a few unofficial visits, ibraheem is now closing in on setting his official visits. He’s looking to get them out of the way early and finish up by the summer. “This spring,” he said. “I’ll probably take three in the spring and two in the summer.”

Four schools on his list are virtually locks to get visits, and he’s still trying to find the fifth. “LSU, Texas, Georgia, Michigan, and I don’t know the last one yet,” he said. “I’ll probably decide in the summer.”

At 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, Ibraheem is ranked as the No. 10 cornerback in the nation and No. 21 overall prospect in Texas, according to 247Sports Composite.

 

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17 hours ago, Hornsfan91 said:

IT Scoop

Garrett Nussmeier, 6'2, 182, Flower Mound Marcus ---

Texas, LSU, and North Carolina; those are the three schools that will get unofficial visits very soon. He's set a commitment date for April 12, 2020. Now, he won't go public for at least a week following, but he'd like to do it around Easter, when he'll be with his family and friends.

The four-star signal-caller from Flower Mound Marcus picked up his Texas offer right after UT hired OC Mike Yurcich. He had a previous relationship with Yurcich from Okie State and Ohio State, and when Yurcich got the gig, he almost predicted an offer.

He knows Texas wants two quarterbacks in 2021. He also knows Jalen Milroe is one of them. Right now, with LSU hiring Scott Linehan to replace Joe Brady, who worked with his father with the Dallas Cowboys, they might have the quiet lead. But Nussmeier spoke highly of Yurcich and Tom Herman, along with Mack Brown and Ed Orgeron.

I'd expect to see Nussmeier in Austin over the next couple months. Along with Lubbock Coronado's Sawyer Roberston, Yurcich has identified who he wants to join the 2021 class.

For LSU, five-star QB Caleb Williams might be the decider. If he doesn't choose Clemson, and picks the Tigers, then UT might lead with Nussmeier. Williams is a domino to watch.
 

I just watched Caleb Williams' Hudl and was not impressed. 

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On 2/15/2020 at 5:06 PM, LTtxfan said:

Anwar:  "Corby Meekins is leaving his support staff role to coach tight ends at Houston"

Wondering how well this current coaching staff is gonna be able to recruit in the Houston area now.  Might be good for Herman to hire another Texas High School coach as an analyst along with Everett Withers??

Mizzu coach taking advantage of adding HS Coach to his staff a consultant... should help his recruiting.

Missouri: Greenwood HS (AR) head coach Rick Jones, who built one of the best programs in the state of Arkansas to eight state titles, is joining the Missouri staff as senior consultant to head coach Eli Drinkwitz, according to multiple reports.

 

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47 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Looks like some of the 247 updates have come out.  James Brockermeyer and Shemar Turner are now 4*'s.  Crownover dropped nearly 250 spots in composite.

Does anyone understand this update? I thought it already included the new Rivals rankings and not everyone who moved was adjusted by 247. ESPN hasn't been updated since November. Did they mess with the composite formula?

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11 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Does anyone understand this update? I thought it already included the new Rivals rankings and not everyone who moved was adjusted by 247. ESPN hasn't been updated since November. Did they mess with the composite formula?

I think they updated the composite for Rivals except for the State rankings part.  Juan Davis moved up 10+ spots in-state on Rivals, but his composite hasn't been updated since last year.

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