Jump to content

Texas Recruiting Notes 2025: Now We Have a Machine Gun


texifornia

Recommended Posts

 

FYI.

This kid - committed to Bama - is from Lacey's school.

 

image.png.f68052de5db9a7e01292e62f60f039d5.png

 

image.thumb.png.9a3f60e52ab661c301f443a8491bb38d.png

 

On Lewis.

image.thumb.png.a4ef507be5c4fd6e0f9a9f6f2153da00.png

 

Edit:  Someone posted this to 247.  From the WR listed above.  Note the capitalized WE.  Likely just BSing, but hey ...

 

user generated

 

 

Edited by Getafix
  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • texifornia changed the title to Texas Recruiting Notes 2025: Asked and Answered
19 hours ago, Getafix said:

 

Bryce Young 2.0? Elite QB KJ Lacey talks Texas commitment

Hank South

 

  Hide contents

 

Bryce Young 2.0? Elite QB KJ Lacey talks Texas commitment

Hank South
 

AUSTIN — Texas landed a special talent at quarterback on Saturday afternoon in Top100 passer KJ Lacey of Saraland (Ala.). How special you might ask?

“The first time I met Coach Sark, he was like ‘Man when I looked at your tape, I wrote down on your notes ‘Bryce Young 2.0,' Lacey told Horns247 shortly after his pledge. “He recruited Bryce since the sixth grade. He said y’all’s personalty is just alike, on and off the field. That was one of his main attractions towards me. He can see me at Texas. He loves what I’m doing at Saraland.”

And what Lacey is doing at Saraland can’t be understated. The Top100 signal caller guided the Spartans to a Class 6A state championship win, passing for just over 3,100 yards and 40 touchdowns, to just five picks. Programs across the country took notice of Lacey’s efforts, offering in droves. It was developments over the course of the last few weeks that Texas emerged from the pack as the pick.

“I came a couple weeks ago and everything was just perfect,” Lacey said. “I came by myself, though. My parents didn’t come. I came back home, told my parents about everything, and they said man, that sounds like it’s the place for you. So I (would) just keep on communicating with the coaches and everything, figure out everything I needed to know. I came back and talked to Coach Sark and Coach Milwee and I was in a meeting with Coach Sark and I told him then. He was fired up.”

Lacey officially had a top nine he released earlier in the week that included some heavyweights. But there was no bigger challenger than Alabama when it came to landing Lacey’s commitment. In fact, it was Alabama that prior to Texas’ surge, was the favorite.

“Alabama was on top for me,” Lacey said, reflecting on earlier this year.

So, how did Texas pull this off?

“Really just the relationships with everybody I have up there,” Lacey said. “All the coaches, as soon as I walk in the door everyone’s like, ‘Oh KJ, what’s up, what’s up, what’s up?’ You walk in and the attention is around you. Everyone is really close. I talk to Coach Sark, Coach Sark is really cool. I love Coach Sark. Just what he does with quarterbacks and his offensive schemes. Basically they were like when you leave Texas you’ll be NFL ready. They were like you’ll learn every part of being a quarterback. That was really the main thing.”

And for an in-state recruit to leave home, there’s typically at least some pause. Having both his parents and sibling on this trip to Austin helped, though.

“For me, it was kind of easy, really,” Lacey said. “With everybody around me, my family. Being in Alabama, everybody is like when are you committing to Alabama? But the relationships and the communication, everything was there with Texas.

“My parents, everything I told them when I came back the first time, they said it was real and 100 percent authentic. … Texas just stood out the most by far over everyone.”

Quarterbacks typically commit earlier in cycles so both the player and staff can build the class around them. Lacey is teammates with a very high-profile recruit in five-star Alabama wide receiver commit Ryan Williams, the No. 4 overall player in the country, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

“I’m going to work on that soon,” Lacey said of recruiting Williams. “I already have, really. I’m definitely going to try to get my boy to Texas. I’ll be with him almost everyday, really. Hopefully it’s kind of easy. We’ll see how it goes.”

And beyond just Williams, Lacey is going to turn his efforts towards others as well.

“Everyone that I knew up there, even people I didn’t know, they were talking about the (commitment),” Lacey said of other recruits. “They were like, ‘Alright we’re going to talk.’

“I”m going to have the people I’m trying to get and I’m pretty sure they’re going to tell me people I need to recruit. Whoever I need to go get, I’m going to go get them.”

As for his own recruitment, Lacey didn’t rule out keeping the door open for other programs. He’s a 2025 recruit so you would expect schools to remain after him.

“I’m not 100 percent sure,” he said of taking visits elsewhere. “Once I get everything figured out, I’ll communicate that with everyone. I’m not sure if I’ll have anymore visits.”

Lacey did say he has nothing planned for the rest of June at the moment. He will be in Tuscaloosa, however, for the Texas-Alabama game in September.

Texas fans need not worry, though. Lacey is turning his attention to repeating atop the state standings this fall.

“Don’t wanna lose any games for sure,” he said of his junior season goals. “I want to stack up on my stats from last year. State championship, for sure. No matter what happens — state championship.”

And the Saraland standout wants to extend that to Austin.

“I want to come in and win some championships,” he said. “That’s the main thing they were preaching. They were like, this upcoming year will be great. The quarterback room they have, they’re talented. They were telling me they were ready to win some national championships.”

Lacey had the chance to spend time with Quinn Ewers and had dinner with Arch Manning on Friday night.

“He came down to Saraland to throw a couple times with Coach David, QB Country,” Lacey said of Manning. “He was just asking me about how it was over there all the time, the competition we play. He asked if I was going on anymore visits and everything. We were just talking, really.”

Lastly, Lacey let Texas fans in on what they can expect from their future signal caller.

“On and off the field leader,” he said. “When I come on to the field, I’m going to come work. I’m a winner. I hate losing. Love throwing the ball around. And I make good decisions.”

Horns247's Jordan Scruggs contributed to this article 

 

 

Sark years:

Run Through A Brick Wall GIFs | Tenor0

Herman years:

Run Into Wall GIFs | Tenor

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stampede on the weekend

Spoiler

WHAT KIND OF IMPACT CAN KJ LACEY HAVE ON TEXAS RECRUITING? A BIG ONE.
Quarterbacks are the leaders of their team and their recruiting classes when they’re at the prep level. Top100 signal caller KJ Lacey announcing for the Texas Longhorns on Saturday could lead to big recruiting returns, not only considering Steve Sarkisian and the staff have their quarterback recruiting finalized for 2025, but in the form of additional commitments moving forward. Lacey wasn’t shy about saying he’s targeting his five-star wide receiver teammate Ryan Williams, who’s committed to Alabama. We’ll see how that pans out, but considering Williams hasn’t shut his recruitment down in terms of visits, you have to imagine he’ll join Lacey in Austin at least once (if not more) before he puts pen to paper.


(Photo: Shotgun Spratling | USCfootball.com, 247Sports)
When it comes to other prospects, sources close to the program mentioned multiple times the buzz Lacey’s announcement drew among recruits in attendance, as well as others not on the Forty Acres on Saturday. One source noted another 2025 five-star wide receiver in Marcus Harris as a prospect Lacey’s decision could impact heavily. Why is that significant? Well, beyond Harris being the No. 28 overall player in the cycle, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, he’s from California (Mater Dei). That reflects the reach Texas has on the recruiting landscape, as well as the influence Lacey can have all the way in Alabama. The same source noted 2025 five-star running back Jordon Davison, also from Mater Dei, as a prospect Texas could be setting itself up in good position for at the moment.

Beyond the Golden State, the Southeast is loaded with talent among the rising juniors, the state of Alabama being no exception. You can bet Lacey will aide efforts there with up-and-coming recruits like 2025 four-star running back Alvin Henderson, and others. At home, one recruit we’re told Lacey was speaking closely with on Saturday was Duncanville five-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore. There’s no question Lacey’s commitment was an important one, and is another elite QB notch in the belt of Sarkisian that has prospects excited. 


(Photo: Collin Kennedy, 247Sports)
 The 2025 wide receiver from defending 6AD1 state champion Duncanville was the highest-ranked player on campus this season according to 247Sports and the Texas coaching staff made a significant impression on the five-star. Moore has been to Texas plenty of times before, but according to a source close to the DFW wideout, this weekend’s visit was the first time that he and his family truly felt like a massive priority.

Moore was able to bring several family members with him on the trip along with fellow recruits/friends Javion Holiday and Dominic Saidu-Robinson. Holiday is a fellow 2025 recruit that plays safety for Duncanville and has a Texas offer, while Saidu-Robinson is a 2026 WR at Dallas First Baptist Academy and is the son of Moore’s skills trainer David Robinson.

Texas wide receivers coach Chris Jackson was a hit with nearly every recruit he invested time with this weekend and Moore was no different. Nearly every single prospect or source we spoke to mentioned that every wide receiver on campus has benefited from Jackson's NFL background and ability to use that experience as a recruiting pitch.

Lastly on Moore, after a long day at the elite camp and pool party a source told Horns247 that the five-star spent time with multiple members of the Texas football team including former Dallas SOC corner Malik Muhammad. As it currently stands Texas seems to be the school with the most momentum with Moore and his family ahead of his junior season.

IN-STATE DB FEELING THE LOVE FROM TEXAS

(Photo: Courtesy of Cobey Sellers)
 There might not be another recruit in this 2025 class, at least when it comes to uncommitted prospects, that Texas has hit is off with more than four-star cornerback Cobey Sellers. The Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek was personally offered by Sarkisian back in April, the first time a head coach extended an offer to him. The connection he’s now building with both Sark and corners coach Terry Joseph is a very mutual love. Texas is squaring off with Oklahoma and Baylor to add the rising junior, but you’d be hard-pressed to not pick Texas for Sellers at this juncture. 

KYLE FLOOD BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE IN THE TRENCHES
A number of offensive linemen were on display at Texas’ elite camp on Saturday, with guys like tackles Bear McWhorter and Tyler Thomas earning offers, and others like four-star tackle Juan Gaston, who holds an offer already, traveling out from Georgia. Others names such as rising junior Jaylan Beckley and soon-to-be sophomore Eric Perkins, worked to put their talents on display for the staff. One common denominator when it came to the feedback was the detail Flood goes into with each camper, teaching technique, footwork, hand placement, everything, to those in attendance. It left a very strong impression on those that took part in the workouts, and shows a little sneak peek into why we’ve seen Flood be so successful on the recruiting trail and building the O-line to be a strength for the Longhorns entering 2023. Texas worked quickly on the offensive line Iast cycle and has the opportunity to make a big leap in the trenches in 2024 with Daniel Calhoun, Makai Saina, among others visiting in the coming weeks.

MORE NOTES ON 2025 VISITORS

(Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
 

Shadow Creek 2025 four-star WR Jacorey Watson has visited the Forty Acres more than almost any other prospect in the 2025 cycle, and the frequent trips to Austin have paid dividends for the Longhorns' chances of landing the versatile playmaker. Saturday marked Watson’s fifth trip to Austin in 2023 alone, and the Houston area native described it as “the best one yet” due to the camaraderie at the pool party and the conversations he had with Texas wide receivers coach Chris Jackson. Speaking of Jackson, Watson described the two’s relationship as like “family” before mentioning there hasn’t been a coach he’s talked to more than him in the last few months. At Shadow Creek Watson plays several positions on the Sharks offense, but at Texas, the vision is for the four-star to play a similar role to Xavier Worthy in the way that Worthy lines up at several different receiver positions throughout the course of a game. Colorado, Houston, LSU, and Oregon round out the list of competitors for Watson’s talents, but if Texas can keep their foot on the gas pedal they should continue to trend positively for the Houston area native.

Texas linebackers coach Jeff Choate has started to narrow down his targets in the 2025 cycle, and it’s safe to say that Dallas Skyline top100 linebacker Elijah Barnes is high on the Longhorns defensive board coming out of the weekend. Barnes didn’t compete in Saturday’s camp, but he did enjoy the visit experience including a sit-down, one-on-one talk with Choate where the two got to know each other more while discussing how Barnes would be moved around the Texas defense between EDGE, outside off-ball linebacker, and mike linebacker. It was Barnes’ first visit to Texas and he mentioned being taken aback at the size of Darrell K. Royal Texas-Memorial Stadium and “the overall vibe” of the Texas campus.

Barnes is taking his recruiting process slow at the moment but did say Florida State, Notre Dame, Texas, and Texas A&M are the schools that have his attention the most as he heads into his junior year. Another thing to note is that Barnes’ linebackers coach at Dallas Skyline is none other than Peter Jinkens, who was also a four-star linebacker for the Raiders before signing with Texas as a member of the Longhorns 2012 recruiting class and going on to appear in 44 games in burnt orange.

 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harlem Berry, the #2 RB in the 247 Composite for 2025, was in Austin for Elite Camp this weekend. According to Wells:

Quote

Berry said it was an “amazing visit” to Texas last weekend. He also stated “I love Coach Choice”.

https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-longhorns/news/2025-on3-no-1-rb-harlem-berry-talks-texas-trip-recruitment/

https://247sports.com/Player/Harlem-Berry-46134080/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People love the Lacey pick up. Saban rarely loses recruits from the Mobile area. It's finally happening - the parents have concerns about who will actually be coaching at Alabama in the later 20's.

Ryan Williams, the WR teammate, is a freak. A friend of mine says he's a top 5 sophomore he has ever seen at any position. It's not a slam dunk by any means that that dude signs with Bama even though he's committed.

  • Hook 'Em 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, closetojumping said:

People love the Lacey pick up. Saban rarely loses recruits from the Mobile area. It's finally happening - the parents have concerns about who will actually be coaching at Alabama in the later 20's.

Ryan Williams, the WR teammate, is a freak. A friend of mine says he's a top 5 sophomore he has ever seen at any position. It's not a slam dunk by any means that that dude signs with Bama even though he's committed.

Some people say that Williams and Lacey want to play together in college. I think I read or heard in a podcast that Williams dad played for Auburn, is that correct? Maybe Texas could play that "neutral" school to settle at if Williams doesn't want to be at Auburn and his dad potentially doesn't want him at Bama?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Texas legacy has been most impressive DL at aggy camp.

 

Screenshot_20230609_124025_Chrome.jpg

Screenshot_20230609_124208_Chrome.jpg

Screenshot_20230609_124223_Chrome.jpg

Perroni making deductions based where the kid lives instead of the obvious family ties, or literally any other data point available, is peak Perroni. He just can't bring himself to let them down easy. 

I'm sure it's no slam dunk, but....I don't think he's going to aggy

Screenshot-2023-06-09-143729.png

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • texifornia changed the title to Texas Recruiting Notes 2025: Now We Have a Machine Gun

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...