Texas Football Recruiting: Longhorns Putting Together Another Top Class In 2013

Robinson said that the experience has been positive for him.

“My experience is going good. I’m matching up well with the other athletes out here. We’ll all doing great, trying to beat each other, but also make each other better.”

Sicklerville (NJ) Timber Creek defensive end Dajaun Drennon is with Team USA in Austin just doing what he does -- pressuring the quarterback. It’s earned him a spot on the Texas recruiting radar.

After an effort against American Samoa that saw him spend a lot of face time with the Samoa quarterback, Drennon once again terrorized a Team USA opponent, putting a hurting on the Austria signal caller on two consecutive plays in the second quarter.

As for Hall, until he decides whether or not he’s going to move back to Seattle, it’s difficult to even begin speculating about which school on his list could end up securing the second commitment of Daeshon Hall.

For more on Horns football, visit Texas blogs Burnt Orange Nation and Barking Carnival, plus SB Nation Dallas.

The last three offers for the Longhorns have all been relatively off the radar: Cibolo Steele (Texas) safety Erik Huhn, Waco (Texas) strongman Andrew Billings and now Swaim. But the latter is the most shocking. The tight end is now the 15th commitment for the Longhorns in the class. He had no other offers and is not rated by the services.

The 6’5, 250 pounder explained to Horns Nation how it went down, even though no one knew he was in the mix for an offer or even in town:

Currently committed to Michigan State, but listed as a soft verbal, 2013 Katy Seven Lakes offensive guard Caleb Benenoch has been on the Longhorn radar since the spring evaluation period, when he got an in-person look from Texas offensive line coach Stacy Searels.

Following a weekend camp visit to Austin, Benenoch is now firmly on the radar, having met with Mack Brown following the camp, after which he opted to adopt a policy of media silence for several days. That media silence did not, however, extend to Twitter, where he offered these thoughts on the Longhorns:

In speaking with the Steele offensive coordinator at the state track meet in May, he suggested to Inside Texas recruiting analyst Eric Nahlin and I that Huhn was under serious evaluation by defensive backs coach Duane Akina and one of the top players on the Texas board. However, since Huhn was not a widely publicized attendee at the second Junior Day, his presence firmly on the radar was probably probably underestimated.

In all likelihood, Huhn impressed Akina during in-person evaluations this spring and then further helped his cause with a strong performance at the Sunday camp, though he was not known to be one the attendees prior to his Sunday commitment.

The editorial team over at Barking Carnival took a look at the changing dynamic of recruiting involving Oklahoma and Texas. It seems the two fierce Big XII rivals aren’t fighting quite as many recruiting battles in 2013 as they have in recent year. Specifically, it seems that the Sooners are not going after as many players in Texas for the 2013 class. BC expounds on a few potential reasons for this development, including this excerpt:

Head on over to Barking Carnival to read more about Texas and Oklahoma recruiting!

The 2013 wide receiver class in the state of Texas is top-heavy with tall wide receivers, but there’s a slight wideout at state powerhouse Dallas Skyline who simply knows how to get open -- Ra’Shaad Samples, son of the head coach there, and possessor of 33 offers.

On Thursday afternoon, Samples broke the news of his announcement date on his Twitter feed:

A 5’11, 180-pounder who held 16 offers from some of the top programs in the country, including Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma, Davis saw his commitment take off after recovering from a back injury that sidelined him for the latter part of his junior season.

Various rated as a three- or four-star prospect by the services, Davis is the 14th commitment in the Texas recruiting class and the first defensive back to pledge.

I sat down with Texas recruiting expert Wescott Eberts of Burnt Orange Nation to discuss the ridiculous recruiting run that the Longhorns are on.

Texas’ 2012 class is in the books. It was arguably the top class in the entire country, so I’ll assume you liked it and ask if there was anything about it you did not like.

Naashon Hughes doesn’t have an offer from Texas. But that didn’t stop him from committing to the Longhorns Tuesday morning and spurning the likes of LSU, South Carolina and potentially Oklahoma. Sort of.

Hughes wants to be a Texas Longhorn. He has a brother on the team and loves the school.

Texas football recruiting has been on fire of late, with three Sunday commitments and the Monday decision of Kent Perkins. The biggest worry for Texas fans on the recruiting trail? Deciphering which prospects really hold an offer from the ‘Horns. Another issue -- for Texas recruiting writers -- is figuring out where certain prospects will play. Texas has several kids who could end end up at defensive back or receiver or on the defensive or offensive line. All blue-chippers, of course.

Tough life, Texas.

Perkins visited Texas’ Junior Day over the weekend. He becomes the 10th commit in Mack Brown’s 2013 class, joining fellow four-star offensive lineman Jake Raulerson. There may be some concern over Perkins not being named Jake or some derivation thereof, as only 30 percent of the Horns’ class now features any significant Jakeishness.

Here’s video of Perkins in action:

Texas recruiting has been on a roll of late, so it was a bit of a disappointment when the Longhorns’ second junior day failed to yield any commitments on Saturday. Additionally, several top prospects were unable to make the trip. That’s not uncommon, as it is tough for many kids to secure a ride. Still, Texas fans weren’t particularly happy, even if they understood that Texas was taking it slower as a matter of choice this season.

That all changed Sunday when the second junior day did manage to turn quite a few heads. They just happened to wait a a day to commit.

With the commitment of Tyrone Swoopes, some Texas fans are wondering if there will be a shift in the Longhorns’ offensive philosophy. And for good reason, as Swoopes is an incredible runner and a physically gifted, but incredibly raw, thrower. Vince Young, anyone?

Scott of Barking Carvinal, one of SB Nation’s excellent Texas sites, takes a look at this issue using an incredible amount of video and football strategy information. This article is a must read for Texas fans, and also an interesting read for anyone who enjoys the game within the game. Here’s an excerpt:

Texas just had a successful junior day, extending double-digit offers and gaining multiple commitments soon after. But already, the Longhorns are gearing up for another one this coming weekend. Wescott Eberts of SB Nation’s excellent Texas site, Burnt Orange Nation, has compiled a great list of junior day attendees. Here are just a few:

Make sure to visit Burnt Orange Nation for the complete list.