The Texas Longhorns already have the first commit of the 2013 class on campus, as Celina (Texas) lineman Jake Raulerson has already signed his scholarship agreement and has been in Austin since the start of the spring semester.
Jake Raulerson enrolled at Texas: Will start at defensive end
The bellcow of the 2013 recruiting class is already enrolled in classes at Texas and will participate in spring practice.
Known as the bellcow of the 2013 recruiting class, the consensus four-star prospect is rated as the second-best center in the country by the 247Sports composite and held offers from many of the major programs in the country, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas A&M, UCLA, Washington, and many others. All told, Raulerson had roughly 40 offers before pledging to Texas.
Nicknamed Maulerson because of his tooth-rattling hits on opponents, the 6-5, 260-pound Celina product rarely came off the field in high school, playing right tackle and defensive tackle for the 3A state power. A persistent blocker who earned praise throughout his career for his effort, Raulerson was also noted for his willingness to compete, participating in virtually every camp and combine he could and stealing reps from other players whenever possible.
Here’s the evaluation from his performance at the Army Bowl:
Celina lineman Jake Raulerson -- The fact that Raulerson was willing to play center despite not having snapped a football since middle school says a lot about his attitude. The same competitiveness and willingness to do whatever it takes for his team are qualities that have stood out when he steals reps from other campers or put in work on the recruiting trail to help Texas build the 2013 class.
During practice and the game, Raulerson had some issues anchoring against bigger players -- he’s still only 260 lean pounds. As tough as it was competing at a position where he was at least 15 pounds lighter than every other player there, Raulerson worked hard, never complained, and was named a team captain for the West.
Raulerson will start out at defensive end at Texas, but there’s an increasing sense in Longhorn circles that he would be better of redshirting and spending the spring and fall working along the offensive line and trying to gain the 30 or so pounds that he will need to add to solve those problems of being able to anchor against players with significantly more mass.
Twitter: @JakeRaulerson55
Recruitment timeline: Raulerson was the first commit in the Texas class, having pledged before the first Junior Day in February, and spent the rest of the cycle trying to help the ‘Horns secure other commits.
Highlight video:
Jake Junior Highlights All (via Gatordaze123)
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