The second commitment for the Texas Longhorns on the weekend of their first "Texas Stampede" recruiting event took a little longer to break than the first -- while there were reports of that Euless (Texas) Trinity offensive guard Patrick Vahe had added his name to the 2015 recruiting class on Saturday, Vahe himself didn't confirm the news until Sunday.
2015 OG Patrick Vahe commits to the Texas Longhorns
The ‘Horns now have four members of their 2015 offensive line class.
An early top-100 national player by 247Sports and ESPN, Vahe is also ranked as the No. 8 player in the early composite rankings (the two aforementioned services have put out their rankings), he’s a four-star prospect at 6’3 and 280 pounds who pledged to the ‘Horns without receiving any other offers.
A cousin of Sione and Maea Teuhema, the brothers from Keller (Texas) who committed to Texas in late May, Vahe visited Austin last Monday after declaring the ‘Horns his leader after receiving his offer in early May, facts that put him squarely on the commitment watch list entering the weekend.
He’s now the fourth offensive lineman in the 2015 recruiting class for Texas, which also includes Maea Teuhema, a five-star prospect by 247Sports. In fact, the class for offensive line coach Stacy Searels may nearly be done, depending on whether Texas can land an offensive tackle in 2014, a major remaining need for that group.
Vahe won’t help address long-term depth issues at tackle for Searels, but he does provide a highly mobile guard. Some interior linemen are at their best in a phone booth, dealing with nose tackles because of their ability to anchor and not give ground, while others are at their best on the move, taking out second-level defenders. There’s no question that Vahe belongs among the latter group, showing both his motor and agility in space when pulling on lead plays or screens.
Trinity is a run-heavy team, so Vahe will probably need some work in pass protection as he gets to college, but it’s less of an issue since he clearly projects as a guard unless he grows. And while his cousin Maea can put defenders on their back simply with the extension of his arms, Vahe relies more on his flexibility to create leverage than he does on pure power with his hands, though he does have one highlight in pass protection in which a lightning-quick punch to a defender relieves his opponent of his feet, a remarkable play since the majority of pancakes come in the run game.
Even some well-considered offensive linemen don’t flash hard on film, instead providing evidence of talent and future value, but Vahe’s highlights make it clear why the services are so high on him early, even if his offer list provides a counterpoint.
