Tag: 2022 class

Texas beginning to trend for four-star defensive lineman Jaray Bledsoe

With the momentum Bo Davis has created, Texas could be closing in on four-star defensive lineman Jaray Bledsoe.

Nobody has done a better job on the recruiting trail early in the Steve Sarkisian era than defensive line coach Bo Davis. He has already locked down three commitments, the latest being four-star Aaron Bryant on Thursday afternoon.

There are a couple of other targets still on the board for Texas, one of those is four-star Jaray Bledsoe. Only taking visits to Austin and College Station over the course of the summer, everything seems to be trending toward another classic Lone Star Showdown.

With all of the momentum Davis has created, it seems as if Texas could be closing in on Bledsoe, getting a much-needed win over Texas A&M. Two predictions have come in for the good guys as well.

Nick Harris and Mike Roach, both of Horns247, have inserted crystal ball predictions for Bledsoe in favor of the Longhorns. Each with a confidence score of seven.

Bledsoe recently switched high schools, moving to Marlin, TX. Being a 2A program, seeing an interior defensive lineman listed at 6-foot-4, 270-pounds at such a low level is scary.

You can see videos of the four-star dominating in scrimmage below:

Before heading to the SEC, Texas knows they need to beef up on both of the lines. Davis has done his job, with a couple more prospects pending. Bledsoe could be the cherry on top alongside Bryant, Kristopher Ross, and Zac Swanson.

On the 247Sports composite, Bledsoe is the No. 21 defensive lineman in the country and No. 123 in the country. Within the state of Texas, he ranks as a top 25 player, squeezing in at No. 23.

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Four-star DL Aaron Bryant commits to Longhorns over Georgia, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M

On Thursday, Aaron Bryant announced his commitment to Texas over Georgia, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M.

Nine days before the season and Texas’ recruiting has finally taken a positive uptick. It was a rough summer for Steve Sarkisian and the staff but ending with a win can carry momentum into football season.

On Thursday, Aaron Bryant announced his commitment to Texas over Georgia, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. The four-star defensive lineman makes the 18th pledge in the cycle, moving the Longhorns to the No. 10 class in the country, jumping Clemson.

All four previously mentioned schools received visits during the summer, with Ole Miss receiving two. Georgia, Texas, and Texas A&M were all official, while the hometown program’s were both unofficial.

Defensive line coach Bo Davis was able to win out in the end. Beating three future conference members is something to note, especially from the northern part of Mississippi.

On the 247Sports composite, Bryant ranks as the No. 335 overall prospect and the No. 9 player from his home state of Mississippi. He is the No. 46 defensive lineman within the cycle. He was bumped up to four-star status on Thursday.

Talk about BOMC…

Bryant joins an already stacked defensive line class for Texas. Kristopher Ross and Zac Swanson are already in, making it a widely successful first cycle in Austin for Davis. Snagging potential defensive tackles from the states of Arizona, Mississippi, and Texas shows his range.

Needing to build depth in a major way at the interior part of the defensive line, Texas is far from finished at the position. Four-star Justice Finkley is down to Alabama, Colorado, and Texas with a commitment rumored to be soon.

Jaray Bledsoe should be the priority, though. The four-star seems to be one of the many Texas vs Texas A&M battles throughout the 2022 class.

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Top Texas target, five-star CB Denver Harris teases commitment date

Denver Harris’ decision could be coming within the next month. In a video with On3 Recruits, he teased a possible late September commitment.

Heading into the 2021 season, there is no defensive recruit more important remaining on Texas’ board than Denver Harris. The five-star cornerback out of North Shore High School is one of the top prospects in the country and has a top four of Alabama, LSU, Texas, and Texas A&M.

As things stand, this seems to be an Alabama vs Texas battle. Harris will be choosing between staying in the state or heading to Tuscaloosa, which has a rich history of sending defensive backs to the NFL.

That decision could be coming within the next month, as well. In a video with On3 Recruits, Harris teased at a possible late September commitment.

“Yeah, I might just bust out a commitment Sept. 22,” Harris said as he ran away laughing.

Official visits have been taken to both Austin and Tuscaloosa during the summer. Whether or not the five-star cornerback will make another round of visits before his decision is unknown.

Watch the full video here:

Being able to land Harris seems simple enough for Steve Sarkisian. Being able to win on the field is going to attract the top talents to Austin. Dropping early-season games will only continue the downward spiral that is recruiting right now.

If Harris stays true to his Sept. 22 date, Texas will have faced Louisiana, Arkansas, and Rice, with a home game against Texas Tech pending. Starting out 3-0 with two quality wins under the belt could go a long way with the five-star cornerback.

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Three-star DL Aaron Bryant announces commitment date

Aaron Bryant announced his commitment date would be on Thursday, Aug. 26.

Just because the season is less than two weeks away does not mean recruiting is going to slow down any time soon. Texas is trending in a downward direction and will take any kind of positive tick that they can.

A chance will present itself this week with Aaron Bryant. The three-star defensive lineman wants to get his commitment out of the way before Southaven (MS) High School’s season begins on Friday.

Bryant announced his commitment date would be on Thursday, Aug. 26, around 1 p.m. CDT.

Back in June, Bryant released a top five list of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas, and Texas A&M. One school not included that seems to still be in the race is the hometown Ole Miss Rebels.

In a showdown of former Alabama offensive coordinators, this one seems to be Steve Sarkisian vs Lane Kiffin.

 

Bryant has taken two unofficial visits to Oxford this year, while Georgia and the two Texas schools got official visits. If the race is truly Texas vs Ole Miss, and the Longhorns win, Bo Davis will have to continue to recruit Bryant until national signing day.

No position group is deeper in Texas’ 2022 recruiting class than the defensive line. Davis has done an excellent job locking down prospects from across the country, especially on the interior.

Adding Bryant to a list of Kristopher Ross and Zac Swanson would be a successful year one for the defensive line coach. Count those as wins in the states of Mississippi, Texas, and Arizona as well.

On the 247Sports composite, Bryant ranks as the No. 431 overall player and the No. 65 defensive linemen in the country. Within the state of Mississippi, the three-star is the No. 10 prospect.

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Four-star wide receiver Brenen Thompson includes Texas in top three schools

On Friday afternoon, Thompson released his top three schools.

In case you have not heard, Steve Sarkisian is a big fan of speed at the wide receiver position. Lucky for the head coach, Texas is in the thick of it for one of the fastest players in the 2022 class.

Brenen Thompson has numbers to back up his speed, winning a state championship on the track in the 200 meters at 21.27 seconds. He also set a personal record in the 100 meters at 10.38 seconds.

Alongside five-star Evan Stewart, the two wide receivers should be at the top of Texas’ priority list. As mentioned before, speed is needed within the wide receiver room. Both guys will restructure what Tom Herman built over the past four years.

On Friday afternoon, Thompson released his top three schools of Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas A&M. The first two hosted the four-star wide receiver on official visits during the summer, while the Longhorns are set to host Rice weekend.

Going on gut feeling, this feels like another Texas vs Texas A&M Lone Star Showdown. Sarkisian has already struggled to win these with big-time recruits in four-star safety Bryce Anderson.

Everyone knows how Thompson’s mother feels about staying within the state, especially to help the flagship university after five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers commented on top players not picking Texas.

If Sarkisian can impress the Thompson family during the official visit, Texas should be in a good position. Until then, all that can be done is stay the course.

On the 247Sports composite, Thompson is the No. 87 overall player and the No. 11 wide receiver in the country. Within the state of Texas, he ranks as the No. 15 prospect, just behind a trio of Texas A&M commits.

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Where Texas targets, commits rank in the latest 247Sports composite

Here are where Texas’ commits and top targets rank in the updated 247Sports composite.

With Rivals redoing their top 200 prospects, the 247Sports composite has been updated as well, pulling from the three major recruiting websites. Players have fluctuated through the rankings over the years but will carry these going into their season year.

Of Texas’ 17 commits, none are ranked within the top 100. Four-star safety Bryan Allen Jr. is the highest rated at No. 104. Outside of the two special team commits, recent cornerback commit Ronald Lewis round outs the class.

Plenty of five-star targets are left on the board as well.

Wide receiver Evan Stewart jumped to the No. 3 prospect in the country. Cornerback Denver Harris and Devon Campbell stayed within the top 10, while other priority front seven guys retain five-star status.

Here are where Texas’ commits and top targets rank in the updated 247Sports composite.

Four-star TE Jaleel Skinner announces commitment date

Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, and Texas make up Jaleel Skinner’s top five schools. A commitment date has been set for Oct. 9.

Texas’ recruiting board is deep from top to bottom at every position except one. After assessing the current roster, Jeff Banks decided tight end was not the biggest need. Only one of the nation’s best would be worth pushing for.

Four-star Jaleel Skinner is the guy Banks has set his eyes on. He ranks as the No. 1 tight end on the 247Sports composite. Originally from the state of California, Skinner transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior season.

After receiving over 20 offers from across the country, Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, and Texas make up Skinner’s top five schools. A commitment date has been set for Oct. 9, the day after his birthday.

Skinner made four official visits during the summer, seeing three of his top five schools. Alabama, Miami, and Texas hosted the tight end, while Florida was seen before getting cut.

A trip to Tallahassee is on the calendar for their matchup against Notre Dame. That will be his fifth and final official visit, leaving Clemson behind.

On the 247Sports crystal ball, Florida State currently leads with nine total predictions. The former hometown Clemson Tigers are still hanging on by a thread with one prediction.

Skinner projects as one of the flex tight ends beginning to take over college football. Listed at 6-foot-5, 210-pounds, the four-star lined up as a wide receiver during his junior season at Greer (SC) High School. In no way is his speed at an elite level, but Skinner will be one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the country during his college days.

Something Sarkisian could use in the offense right away. Especially with all of the 12 personnel he is projected to use.

Where LSU commits rank in the updated Rivals’ top 250 list

10 of LSU’s 15 commits in the 2022 class rank among Rivals’ top 250 prospects.

Head coach Ed Orgeron and the staff were off to a hot start on the 2022 recruiting trail. They were among the top four classes but have cooled off recently. Despite losing a pledge from a top-two safety in Jacoby Mathews, they are still in the top 10 classes for 2022.

Looking at the different rankings, 247Sports composite has the ’22 class as the No. 6 overall class. ESPN ranks the Tigers at No. 6 as well. Rivals has the LSU Tigers as the No. 7 ranked recruiting class in 2022.

The Tigers have a total of 15 recruits committed to the class. Of the 15 commits, 10 fall in the Rivals top 250 prospects.

We take a look at where each of the 10 commits are ranked among their peers.

Five-star CB Denver Harris trending toward Alabama over Texas, Texas A&M

One prospect Texas cannot let leave the state is Denver Harris. Unfortunately, Alabama seems to be trending for the five-star CB.

If there is one defensive prospect Texas cannot let leave the state, it is Denver Harris. The five-star cornerback is one of the best in the country, being ranked the No. 3 cornerback on the 247Sports composite.

Harris is currently down to four schools in Alabama, LSU, Texas, and Texas A&M. The first three got official visits during the summer, while College Station was the first place Harris visited unofficially. There was no sense as to where the recruitment was shifting but lately, Nick Saban has been trending.

Two 247Sports crystal ball predictions have been inserted for the Crimson Tide, one with a confidence level of six, the other with five. Horns247 reporter Mike Roach remains the only one with a Texas prediction.

Losing another top player to an elite, national program would be a huge blow to an already damaged recruiting class. Especially out of a prominent high school defensive line coach Bo Davis seems to have good roots in.

It’s understandable as to why Harris would want to go to Tuscaloosa, though. Alabama has put in countless defensive backs in the NFL on a yearly basis.

Steve Sarkisian and his staff will have to show Harris that Austin is still a viable option by winning in the fall.

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Five-star edge Omari Abor announces top six schools

During an Instagram Q&A, Omari Abor was asked what his top schools were at the moment.

One of the top uncommitted prospects in the country is five-star edge rusher Omari Abor. The Duncanville product has the best schools in the country going after him.

During an Instagram Q&A, Abor was asked what his top three schools were at the moment. He doubled down, releasing his top six. Texas made the cut, alongside Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and USC.

Abor was in Austin recently, visiting during the BBQ/pool party event at the end of July. Steve Sarkisian will have to battle it out with Texas A&M and USC for his final official visit spot. He used four during the month of June.

Oklahoma being left out is quite a surprise, considering Abor took an official visit to Norman during June. The Sooners were the leaders for quite a while but are now in the backseat.

On the 247Sports composite, Abor is the No. 24 overall player and the No. 2 edge in the country. He ranks as the No. 6 prospect in the Lone Star State. If Texas can begin to chip away at Abor, he would be one of the biggest defensive end prospects in recent history.

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