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Texas Recruiting Notes 2020


Reese Bennett

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Just now, Fud said:

What I'm getting at is from the games I watched (two against shitty schools, two against WL and NS), I hardly ever saw him have to process the play post-snap if the primary read that he was going to from the snap wasn't there, and when it wasn't there, he wasn't as accurate. 

understood and agreed. thats the step forward LT saw from Charlie Brewer from Jr to Sr season. it will be fun to watch if Card can do the same. By all accounts, he has superior physical tools in every way to Brewer. 

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58 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

Question about Card,  great stats last year,  how much of that was the fact that he was throwing to Wilson?  Is he legit?

 

50 minutes ago, Fud said:

More than throwing to Wilson, it was most of their schedule being garbage that they can run the score up against.

 

34 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Wilson missed half of last season with injuries. Card's numbers were mostly from throwing to the other guys.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to say "Fuck Garrett Wilson"

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15 minutes ago, EZ$ said:

Is it wrong that I expect this??

Probably. I think it's much more likely we have 3-5 guys with 6-800 yards and 6-8 TDs than 1 guy with 1300. Additionally, CJ will get his in chunk yardage, but he's not breaking off an intermediate catch and housing it. That's going to limit his TD opportunities to mostly red zone targets. It's going to extremely difficult for a guy who can't burn you to wrack up that much yardage. 

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47 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Probably. I think it's much more likely we have 3-5 guys with 6-800 yards and 6-8 TDs than 1 guy with 1300. Additionally, CJ will get his in chunk yardage, but he's not breaking off an intermediate catch and housing it. That's going to limit his TD opportunities to mostly red zone targets. It's going to extremely difficult for a guy who can't burn you to wrack up that much yardage. 

I think we’ll be better in the air this year and LJH almost had 1,200 yards last year....and CJ himself had 985.  I agree that there will be a lot of quality WRs to feed, but I don't think the 1,300 and 10+ TDs would be crazy....especially if he’s healthy and shows continued improvement. 

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1 minute ago, EZ$ said:

I think we’ll be better in the air this year and LJH almost had 1,200 yards last year....and CJ himself had 985.  I agree that there will be a lot of quality WRs to feed, but I don't think the 1,300 and 10+ TDs would be crazy....especially if he’s healthy and shows continued improvement. 

Yes, and I think LJH did a much better job of breaking tackles and generally getting YAC than Johnson did. I also expect CJ's targets to go down this year. But of course I'm cheering for the guy. But he's not replacing LJH in the slot, he's a straight up jump ball guy on the sideline. I think you're asking for a tall order. Unless the improvements you speak of mean he takes .2 off his 40 time. 

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2 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Yes, and I think LJH did a much better job of breaking tackles and generally getting YAC than Johnson did. I also expect CJ's targets to go down this year. But of course I'm cheering for the guy. But he's not replacing LJH in the slot, he's a straight up jump ball guy on the sideline. I think you're asking for a tall order. Unless the improvements you speak of mean he takes .2 off his 40 time. 

He needs the running game to be great to put up those types of numbers. Which is possible if we get the OL figured out. 

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1 hour ago, EZ$ said:

I think we’ll be better in the air this year and LJH almost had 1,200 yards last year....and CJ himself had 985.  I agree that there will be a lot of quality WRs to feed, but I don't think the 1,300 and 10+ TDs would be crazy....especially if he’s healthy and shows continued improvement. 

Even if he gets those numbers, I'm not sure how high he would go. He's still not that fast, creates little separation and isn't a run after the catch threat. Maybe he could get himself up to third round, but it would be surprising if he went much higher than that. We'll see though. I'm rooting for us to find out how high he can push his draft stock with a great year. 

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1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

Yes, and I think LJH did a much better job of breaking tackles and generally getting YAC than Johnson did. I also expect CJ's targets to go down this year. But of course I'm cheering for the guy. But he's not replacing LJH in the slot, he's a straight up jump ball guy on the sideline. I think you're asking for a tall order. Unless the improvements you speak of mean he takes .2 off his 40 time. 

Johnson should see fewer targets because

a) Texas has more experienced depth than last year, more rotation

b) Texas is hopefully more explosive on offense with a healthy Ingram and Moore, Whittington, and Smith.

c) Ehlinger continues his progression and starts finding the #3-4 reads in the play.

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56 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

Even if he gets those numbers, I'm not sure how high he would go. He's still not that fast, creates little separation and isn't a run after the catch threat. Maybe he could get himself up to third round, but it would be surprising if he went much higher than that. We'll see though. I'm rooting for us to find out how high he can push his draft stock with a great year. 

To clarify my other post, I don't think CJ will be an early pick. People were saying that bigger receivers go 4th to 7th round and I think that he'll go towards the front of that range. I think he has a higher floor that a lot of other big receivers because he actually uses his length at an elite level already. I get the Lazard comparison, but I think CJ showed a better ability to high-point balls, use his catch radius, and win 50/50s than Lazard did. That's why they're viewed differently as prospects even though they have a similar physical profile and Lazard had better stats. 

Also I think his knee injury was more serious than the staff let on so I hope he stays healthy next year. 

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Clint Buckley's first article for Horns247: Coherent, informative, minimal fluff. https://247sports.com/college/texas/Article/Texas-Longhorns-Football-Recruiting-John-Tyler-coach-Ricklan-Holmes-discusses-Texas-target-Kitan-Crawford-131589235/

Coach's take: Texas target Crawford has tools to be great

John Tyler 2020 cornerback Kitan Crawford (5-foot-11, 200 pounds) has had an eventful offseason, to say the least. Crawford, one of the state’s best defensive backs, has 16 Division I scholarship offers, including one from the University of Texas.

The Lions’ senior-to-be recently listed his top three, which consists of Baylor, Tennessee, and Texas. Horns247 recently caught up with Crawford’s high school football coach to discuss the three-star talent. According to John Tyler head coach Ricklan Holmes, Crawford has all the tools to become an elite player at the next level.

“He’s big, he’s fast, and he’s physical,” Holmes said of Crawford. “With that combination along with the knowledge of our defense, he has great man-to-man coverage, which a lot of corners are about 90 percent good at that. I think he’s 100 percent good at man.

“Zone-coverage wise, he’s able to read and react to formation and route combinations by reading that placement of the receivers. His zone concept of coverage is starting to catch up with his man concept, which is gonna be dangerous on down the line.”

Last season, Crawford made 30 tackles with two interceptions and 12 passes defended in helping John Tyler finish 10-3 and reach the Class 5A Division I quarterfinals. Holmes believes Crawford has taken all the recruiting attention in stride.

“Kitan’s an old soul, he deals with stuff unlike most 16- and 17-year old kids,” he said. "He’s a little bit more mature about it, he understands the process. He knows that everybody loves him now, but when it’s crunch time he knows he’s gonna have to make a decision.”

Crawford recently took an official visit to Tennessee and has made multiple unofficial stops to both Baylor and Texas. Holmes said the original plan was for Crawford to announce his commitment sometime after the school’s May 15 spring game. But because of a few recent offers, that decision might get pushed back to the summer.

“He was talking about making his commitment after spring ball but now I think, because he wants to take more visits and really weigh his options, he’s probably gonna wait until the summertime to do that,” Holmes said.

John Tyler has put dozens of athletes into Division I programs in recent years, and Holmes has come up with the perfection comparison to Crawford.

“The closest person I can compare him to is me,” said Holmes, a John Tyler graduate who played collegiately at Oklahoma State.

“Me coming out, I was labeled as a big, tall, physical corner that can run. And that’s Kitan. My man-to-man coverage was really, really good because of my speed and physicality, and my zone coverage was good but not great. As far as zone concepts, Kitan is better at it right now than I was at this point in time.”

At 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, Crawford is ranked as the No. 46 athlete in the nation and No. 76 overall prospect in Texas, according to 247Sports Composite.

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2 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Johnson should see fewer targets because

a) Texas has more experienced depth than last year, more rotation

b) Texas is hopefully more explosive on offense with a healthy Ingram and Moore, Whittington, and Smith.

c) Ehlinger continues his progression and starts finding the #3-4 reads in the play.

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1 hour ago, Machinator said:

Clint Buckley's first article for Horns247: Coherent, informative, minimal fluff. https://247sports.com/college/texas/Article/Texas-Longhorns-Football-Recruiting-John-Tyler-coach-Ricklan-Holmes-discusses-Texas-target-Kitan-Crawford-131589235/

Coach's take: Texas target Crawford has tools to be great

  Reveal hidden contents

 

John Tyler 2020 cornerback Kitan Crawford (5-foot-11, 200 pounds) has had an eventful offseason, to say the least. Crawford, one of the state’s best defensive backs, has 16 Division I scholarship offers, including one from the University of Texas.

The Lions’ senior-to-be recently listed his top three, which consists of Baylor, Tennessee, and Texas. Horns247 recently caught up with Crawford’s high school football coach to discuss the three-star talent. According to John Tyler head coach Ricklan Holmes, Crawford has all the tools to become an elite player at the next level.

“He’s big, he’s fast, and he’s physical,” Holmes said of Crawford. “With that combination along with the knowledge of our defense, he has great man-to-man coverage, which a lot of corners are about 90 percent good at that. I think he’s 100 percent good at man.

“Zone-coverage wise, he’s able to read and react to formation and route combinations by reading that placement of the receivers. His zone concept of coverage is starting to catch up with his man concept, which is gonna be dangerous on down the line.”

Last season, Crawford made 30 tackles with two interceptions and 12 passes defended in helping John Tyler finish 10-3 and reach the Class 5A Division I quarterfinals. Holmes believes Crawford has taken all the recruiting attention in stride.

“Kitan’s an old soul, he deals with stuff unlike most 16- and 17-year old kids,” he said. "He’s a little bit more mature about it, he understands the process. He knows that everybody loves him now, but when it’s crunch time he knows he’s gonna have to make a decision.”

Crawford recently took an official visit to Tennessee and has made multiple unofficial stops to both Baylor and Texas. Holmes said the original plan was for Crawford to announce his commitment sometime after the school’s May 15 spring game. But because of a few recent offers, that decision might get pushed back to the summer.

“He was talking about making his commitment after spring ball but now I think, because he wants to take more visits and really weigh his options, he’s probably gonna wait until the summertime to do that,” Holmes said.

John Tyler has put dozens of athletes into Division I programs in recent years, and Holmes has come up with the perfection comparison to Crawford.

“The closest person I can compare him to is me,” said Holmes, a John Tyler graduate who played collegiately at Oklahoma State.

“Me coming out, I was labeled as a big, tall, physical corner that can run. And that’s Kitan. My man-to-man coverage was really, really good because of my speed and physicality, and my zone coverage was good but not great. As far as zone concepts, Kitan is better at it right now than I was at this point in time.”

At 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, Crawford is ranked as the No. 46 athlete in the nation and No. 76 overall prospect in Texas, according to 247Sports Composite.

 

And done without posting gay tshirt and cat pics to twitter every other day!!! This is good. 

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The Stampede: Previewing the first OV weekend of the 2020 cycle

The Longhorns will host their first big official visit weekend of the 2020 cycle this week. Texas is set to host Duncanville safety Chris Thompson, Cy-Ridge defensive lineman Vernon Broughton, and Texas commits Jake Majors, Logan Parr and Jaylen Garth. Texas views Thompson and Broughton as priority targets and bringing in the Longhorns' committed offensive linemen will give them the chance to have an extra set of recruiters on campus.

I wouldn’t expect Broughton or Thompson to shut down their recruitments, but the Longhorns want to make the biggest impact possible. Former Texas commit Mookie Cooper is also expected to be in town for an unofficial visit. The staff isn’t overly confident in their position with him but getting him back on campus is a step in the right direction. Texas recently offered Devon Achane, and I’m told that the Longhorns would only take one of Achane and Cooper.

I still expect the Longhorns to host another official visitor this weekend. I spoke to the prospect, and I’ve been asked to hold off on reporting the name until everything is confirmed. As soon as I can reveal anything there, I will. I don’t expect there to be any other official visitors this weekend. The staff wants to keep things small and personal in order to make the biggest impact with their top targets. We’ll have notes on the OV throughout the weekend, and will have a full wrap-up in next week’s Stampede. (Roach)

***

As Horns247 first reported, Texas hosted graduate transfer linebacker Kylan Johnson for a visit this weekend. I was told that Johnson had a great time on his visit, and he has a very high level of interest in Texas. Johnson played his high school football at Skyline in Dallas, and has a close relationship with Texas assistant Ra'Shaad Samples. I was told that Samples was a big part of the visit weekend with Johnson, and the staff wanted to get to know more about him. As of now, no decision has been made by the Texas staff on whether or not an offer will be extended to Johnson. Johnson converted from safety to linebacker in Gainesville after playing quarterback in high school, and there are some in Austin who feel his skill set fits best in the Big 12. (Roach)

***

There has been a ton of debate over quarterback recruiting. The Longhorns locked down Hudson Card over a year ago, and they have been happy to stand pat at the position. I caught up with sources in Austin last week who professed nothing but immense confidence in Card’s ability and future. I also spoke with Lake Travis head coach Hank Carter last week to find out what makes Card such a special prospect on and off the field. “You’ll never find a better character kid than him,” Carter said. “It’s really a blessing when your best players and most talented players are also someone you can look at to be an example on and off the field. He’s as good as it gets as far as the type of individual that he is.”

Lake Travis’s offense was installed by new offensive coordinator Will Stein. Stein previously worked as an assistant under Charlie Strong and Tom Herman before moving on to the high school ranks. Stein’s offense is very similar to what Texas runs now, and Carter thinks that will make for a quick transition for Card. “It will, but things change,” Carter said. “There’s more intricate detail at the next level, and the speed of the game is different. I think what we try to do offensively and defensively is run concepts that they do at the next level, and I think Hudson will have no problems adjusting to that at UT.”

Leadership from the quarterback position is paramount, and Carter said that the way Card carries himself makes him such a natural leader. “He’s a great leader,” he said. “Sometimes when you have guys who get a lot of accolades or attention, there’s some jealousy among the team. It’s not that way with Hud, because he’s just such a great guy. Everybody roots for him, and everyone’s excited for his future.” (Roach)

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3 hours ago, Machinator said:

Apparently that "secret visitor" Mike Roach was referring to was Chad Lindberg. Apparently Lindberg wanted to keep his official visit on the down-low, though the cat was already out of the bag by then.

Who let the cat out of the bag? 

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18 hours ago, Longhorn94 said:

understood and agreed. thats the step forward LT saw from Charlie Brewer from Jr to Sr season. it will be fun to watch if Card can do the same. By all accounts, he has superior physical tools in every way to Brewer. 

...but did his father and grandfather play at Texas?

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40 minutes ago, NoName said:

...but did his father and grandfather play at Texas?

I do wonder if there is value in legacy players. I found it rather eye rolling when we seemed to give 2 star Elijah Rodriguez a scholarship just because his grandfather played at Texas and he happened to play at a position we were desperate for. But he did actually turn out to be a pretty decent college lineman, so I had to admit that wasn't a bad signing at all. So maybe there is some value in getting somebody who already has a connection to the school in some way? Most of the legacy guys seem to at least have it together enough to contribute, so maybe there is less risk in recruiting them for depth type players? Is there actually a good reason to bring them in?

I don't know. I am not a big fan of nepotism in general.

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27 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

I do wonder if there is value in legacy players. I found it rather eye rolling when we seemed to give 2 star Elijah Rodriguez a scholarship just because his grandfather played at Texas and he happened to play at a position we were desperate for. But he did actually turn out to be a pretty decent college lineman, so I had to admit that wasn't a bad signing at all. So maybe there is some value in getting somebody who already has a connection to the school in some way? Most of the legacy guys seem to at least have it together enough to contribute, so maybe there is less risk in recruiting them for depth type players? Is there actually a good reason to bring them in?

I don't know. I am not a big fan of nepotism in general.

This is an absurdly uninformed take. Nepotism had nothing to do with the Rodriguez take.

Strong and Wickline came in with a month to close the 2014 class with a month to go and Mack burned a bunch of OVs. They had basically 0 OL committed (Cindy doesn’t even count). They needed to identify guys they could realistically flip. 

Rodriguez was a 3* committed to Colorado. He was a great take considering the circumstances and if he doesn’t get hurt for the year in 2017, he gives us two years of solid starting play.

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10 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

This is an absurdly uninformed take. Nepotism had nothing to do with the Rodriguez take.

It was a question. An attempt to become more informed.

Quote

Strong and Wickline came in with a month to close the 2014 class with a month to go and Mack burned a bunch of OVs. They had basically 0 OL committed (Cindy doesn’t even count). They needed to identify guys they could realistically flip. 

Rodriguez was a 3* committed to Colorado. He was a great take considering the circumstances and if he doesn’t get hurt for the year in 2017, he gives us two years of solid starting play.

Fair enough. But there were loads of guys like him out there, it seemed like he was sought out because he had this connection. But perhaps that was a bad example. I was musing more on the value of legacies in general, if there might not be good reasons to take that into consideration.

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