The Texas Longhorns will get stronger in the trenches for the future with the addition of mauling 2013 Irving (Texas) offensive guard Rami Hammad, who signed with the Longhorns on Monday.
Rami Hammad signs with Texas over Baylor and Oklahoma State
The former Baylor and Oklahoma State pledge signed with Texas after his Semper Fi performance earned a Longhorn offer.
It was a wild January for the 6'5, 320-pounder, who was committed to the Baylor Bears when he headed to the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Los Angeles in early January. Hammad was universally praised as standing out during the practices and the game and earned roughly 15 offers in the days after with his performance.
The best part about it all? The Semper Fi folks didn’t want to release the film of Hammad dominating other prospects out of respect to those dominated.
Now a consensus four-star prospect, Hammad is also considered a top-10 offensive guard nationally by 247Sports and one of the top 30 players in the state by the same service. He held offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, and a number of other programs. Prior to his commitment to Texas, he was also receiving heavy interest from a variety of schools, including Alabama.
Hammad is the rare prospect who actually increased his flexibility from his junior to his senior season, a big reason why he was able to make the big leap forward as a prospect. As a result, he was more agile, more powerful, and better able to out-leverage opponents by getting under their pads.
Throw in the increase in strength and it’s easy to see how Hammad was able to dominate at the Semper Fi game. He’s an interior line prospect all the way in college, but the Longhorns have had issues winning at the point of attack in the interior, so Hammad should help in that regard.
Hammad is part of a strong offensive line class that includes three other prospects considered among the best at their respective positions -- Contra Costa CC Desmond Harrison is the best JUCO offensive tackle by 247Sports, Killeen (Texas) Harker Heights lineman Darius James is among the top several offensive guards, Celina (Texas) lineman Jake Raulerson is among the best centers, and Lake Highlands (Texas) offensive tackle Kent Perkins is among the top several tackles in the class.
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Recruitment timeline: Hammad originally committed to Oklahoma State in June, but flipped to Baylor in November following a visit to Waco. After Hammad’s stock rose following his Semper Fi performance, he committed to Texas after taking an official visit there and cancelling his planned trips to Oklahoma and TCU.
Highlight video:
Rami Hammad 2013 OL - Irving (via TexasPreps)
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