Texas Longhorns pick up commitment from Toby Weathersby

The 6’5, 295-pound Weathersby was one of a number of visitors for a Texas spring practice, a group that included five-star linebacker Malik Jefferson and four-star running back Chris Warren II.

Weathersby received his offer from the Longhorns in late January and had also visited for the first Junior Day in late February.

A consensus four-star prospect, Weathersby is ranked as the No. 15 offensive tackle nationally and the No. 26 player in the state by the 247Sports Composite rankings, Weathersby is considered the No. 157 player in the nation by the Composite. 247Sports itself has Weathersby as the No. 16 player in Texas and the state’s No. 3 offensive tackle, behind Keller’s Maea Teuhema and Rockwall (Texas) Heath’s Trevor Elbert, who are headed to LSU and to Texas A&M, respectively.

The Westfield product also held offers from Florida, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Wake Forest.

The commitment for offensive coordinator Joe Wickline was a little bit unexpected, as Oklahoma had been considered the leader for Weathersby’s services for some time, with seven of the eight predictions in the 247Sports Crystal Ball in favor of the Sooners.

It was also the second head-to-head win for the Longhorns over the Aggies in the last week in the 2015 class, representing the first two in a pitched recruiting battle that heavily favored A&M throughout the start of the cycle, as Elbert’s teammate at Rockwall-Heath, safety/outside linebacker DeShon Elliott, committed to Texas on Tuesday.

A right and left tackle for Westfield, Weathersby carries his 300 pounds extremely well -- on film, he looks about 30 pounds lighter because there’s not a lot of obvious bad weight. Already near a college-ready weight, he doesn’t appear to have a lot of experience as a pass blocker in a primarily run-based Westfield scheme, but he is athletic and capable of using his upper body strength to plant opponents once he gets them turned.

In terms of physical upside, Weathersby has a significant amount, as he has the flexibility to get under the pads of opposing players and the long arms needed to play tackle in pass protection. The developmental ability of Wickline from his days at Oklahoma State makes projections of Weathersby even more favorable because Wickline has an extensive track record of developing similar players.

Weathersby is now the eighth commitment in the 2015 class for Texas, which ranks No. 5 nationally and has now passed West Virginia for the top spot in the Big 12, according to the 247Spots Composite team rankings. He joins Hunstville’s Ronnie Major as the offensive tackle commits in the class, a major need position for the Horns, especially after Buda (Texas) Hays offensive tackle Connor Lanfear flipped to Texas A&M recently.