Tag: Brenen Thompson

Four-star WR Armani Winfield decommits from Texas

Texas’ 2022 recruiting class takes another hit.

While the Longhorns added to their lead over Kansas State in the fourth quarter, four-star wide receiver Armani Winfield announced via Twitter he is backing off his Texas commitment.

The Lewisville High School product became the first commitment of the Steve Sarkisian era when he committed to the Horns during the national championship in Jan.

Winfield is ranked as the No. 25 wide receiver in the country and No. 32 overall prospect in the state of Texas for the 2022 cycle, according to 247Sports composite.

 

 

This marks the second major loss from Texas’ 2022 recruiting class in the past week. Four-star running back Jamarion Miller flipped from Texas to Alabama on Thursday.

The loss of Winfield leaves Brenen Thompson as the lone wide receiver committed in the 2022 class. With the lack of much receiving threat outside of Xavier Worthy, Texas needs all the bodies they can get.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

Where Texas commits rank in the new On3 consensus rankings

Two players rank inside the top 100!

Steve Sarkisian and his staff are about to be in the thick of recruiting within the 2022 class. There are still plenty of prospects left on the board Texas will be going after, plus a couple who are committed elsewhere.

Everybody is always concerned as to where the Longhorns and their commits are ranked compared to other programs. Three websites have traditionally done that for us, but now, there is a new database rolling out.

On3 has built a new player database with recruits being involved. Alongside their own rankings, they have introduced the On3 consensus — similar to the 247Sports composite. It takes the rankings from 247Sports, ESPN, Rivals, and On3 and combines them into one rating.

For Texas, they have two players inside the top 100. Wide receiver Brenen Thompson (No. 48)  and running back Jamarion Miller (No. 98) are the highest on the offensive side of the ball, while Jaray Bledsoe (No. 196) is top of the defense.

Here is where all Texas’ prospects rank in the new On3 consensus.

Texas Football: 10 most needed recruits

Plenty of the top targets are still uncommitted.

Rewind two weeks ago to after the TCU win. Huge games against the Oklahoma schools were on deck, with Texas having the potential to be in a good position in the recruiting world. Even a split would have done wonders.

Now, hit the live button on your remote and you’ll find two consecutive losses and not as much ammo in the storage locker. Just as they were heading into the football season, Steve Sarkisian and his staff find themselves climbing an uphill battle for some of the top prospects left on the board.

Ok, enough with the sky is falling act.

Time to recover is still there with five regular-season games plus a bowl game left on the schedule. Sarkisian has shown the potential of his team during glimpses. The past two losses have stung but a couple of slight adjustments and those are surefire wins.

With 22 commits in the class already, there are still a few holes to fill with little spots remaining. From offensive line to wide receiver, to defensive back and even more offensive line, Texas has to land a couple of big names over the next few months.

In a perfect scenario, a few moves are made to open up space. Plenty of the top targets are still uncommitted.

Here are Texas’ top 10 most needed recruits to turn around the state of the program.

Social media reacts to Brenen Thompson’s commitment to Texas

Texas picked up Brenen Thompson and plenty of social media buzz over the last 24hrs.

The Longhorns may have caught their biggest fish in the recruiting pond on Wednesday after gaining a commitment from four-star wide reciever Brenan Thompson.

The Spearman, Texas native is one of the fastest players in the nation, and is rated as a top-150 player in the 2022 class. The speedy receiver boosted Texas’ recruiting class to the No. 2 class in the nation, and his commitment had social media going ballistic after his announcement.

There is definitely momentum building in Austin, and many think and hope that Steve Sarkisian and his staff are not yet done getting big-named recruits to join their ranks. Thompson’s commitment sent the recruiting world into a frenzy, and has many current commits, fans, and potential recruits speculating that Texas is building a juggernaut of a class with hopes they can still get players like Evan Stewart, Devon Campbell, Harold Perkins, and Jaleel Skinner among several others.

The Longhorns receivers have been one of the weaker groups up to this point throughout the season, as they have struggled with drop issues and just overall consistency. Sarkisian is making it a point of emphasis in recruiting that this will not be an ongoing issue.

Let’s take a look at the social media reaction after Thompson put on the burnt orange hat and announced his commitment to Texas.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

WATCH: Four-star WR Brenen Thompson dishes on why he chose Texas

Steve Sarkisian is hitting it out of the park right now.

First-year head coach Steve Sarkisian is hitting it out of the park right now on the recruiting trail. Continue reading “WATCH: Four-star WR Brenen Thompson dishes on why he chose Texas”

Texas now has the No. 2 recruiting class for the 2022 cycle

Four-star WR Brenen Thompson’s commitment bumps up Texas’ 2022 class to No. 2 in the nation.

Texas is riding a wave of momentum on and off the field. Continue reading “Texas now has the No. 2 recruiting class for the 2022 cycle”

How Brenen Thompson changes the dynamic of Texas’ wide receiver room

Brenen Thompson is the second piece of Sarkisian’s rebuild of Texas’ WR room.

This could be a one word answer, end of article if we wanted: speed. But it’s my job to go a little more in-depth than that.

Steve Sarkisian wanted, nay, needed speed in his wide receiver room to make the offense work. A total 180 degrees flip from the type Tom Herman recruited (poorly) during his tenure as head coach.

Getting four-star Xavier Worthy was the first step in the 2021 class. Before he fully enrolled at Michigan, Sarkisian was able to get the Fresno speedster to take his talents south. Dividends have already been paid in the form of 16 receptions for 270 yards and four touchdowns.

Brenen Thompson’s commitment is the next piece of the puzzle.

The four-star’s speed alone was enough to attract every top program in the country. His track times are off the charts, running the 100-meter dash in 10.38 seconds and the 200 in 21.27. The latter was good enough to win a state championship.

From a wide receiver standpoint, Thompson is the type you get it out to quickly and let him do these rest. On his junior season tape, Spearman threw a lot of screens or short, underneath routes and let Thompson do the rest. Whether it was being silky and weaving through defenders or just getting the edge and flat out running defenders, Thompson was an issue.

He’s even comfortable coming out of the backfield. Sarkisian will most likely never line him up at running back but with the use of motions, Thompson could end up catching a few swing passes. Jet sweeps should never be out of the equation either.

Thompson is not currently playing football, being out for a “significant amount of time” thanks to an undisclosed injury. The hope is he can run during track season in the spring and enroll at Texas during the summer.

Once he arrives, a changing of the wide receiver room will nearly be complete. The key will turn to development from Andre Coleman and making sure the speed gets used as a pure wide receiver.

There’s a famous video from Sarkisian’s days at Alabama of Jaylen Waddle and Henry Ruggs racing during practice to see who is faster. The latter ended up running a 4.27 40-yard dash at the NFL combine… and was upset with it.

The same culture will be en route to Austin, TX with Thompson on board.

Close your eyes and imagine an 11 personnel grouping during the 2023 season. Keilan Robinson is at running back, Worthy, Thompson, and TBD from the 2022 class (ideally, Evan Stewart) are your wide receivers, and Ja’Tavion Sanders is the tight end.

All around speed. Sarkisian has a type and will not shy away.

Thompson’s addition was the second piece to the critical offensive puzzle.

Texas lands huge commitment from four-star wide receiver Brenen Thompson

Boom! Texas lands its highest-rated commitment from Brenen Thompson.

Wide receiver has been a major hole in Texas’ 2022 class for some time. Having four-star Armani Winfield on board was a great start under Steve Sarkisian but it’s been nine months since his commitment.

Speed was the element missing from the class. Winfield is a great receiver prospect but is missing an absolute barnburner to pair alongside true freshman Xavier Worthy.

On Wednesday, Andre Coleman was able to lock down the first speedster at wide receiver in the Longhorns’ 2022 class.

Four-star Brenen Thompson announced his commitment to Texas on Wednesday via CBS Sports Live. Oklahoma State and Texas A&M were the other finalists for the wide receiver.

We can officially mark this as Sarkisian’s first head-to-head win against Jimbo Fisher in the recruiting world. While Oklahoma State was a finalist, there was never a doubt the four-star was going to leave the state of Texas.

A trip to Texas A&M was on deck for Saturday’s matchup against Alabama before Thompson decided to shut down his recruitment. The official visit to Austin during Rice weekend ended up sealing the deal for Texas.

At the end of the day, wide receivers with elite speed are going to attract Sarkisian. Think of his 2019 group at Alabama in Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, DeVonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle. An attempt will be made to recreate that in Austin.

Not many players in the state are faster than Thompson. His blazing numbers on the track speak for themselves, let alone the football field.

On the 247Sports composite, Thompson ranks as the No. 14 wide receiver in the country and No. 87 overall. Within the state of Texas, he is the No. 11 prospect. He is now the highest-rated commit in the Longhorns’ 2022 class.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes, and opinions.

Four-star wide receiver Brenen Thompson announcing commitment Wednesday

Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas A&M are in the running.

Here we go… This is a big one for Texas.

Four-star wide receiver Brenen Thompson announced he will be committing Wednesday at 7 p.m. CDT. Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas A&M are the three finalists.

According to Nick Harris of 247Sports, Thompson’s decision will be broadcasted on CBS Sports HQ Live.

Adding speed to the wide receiver room has been Steve Sarkisian’s biggest priority since taking over as head coach. Recruiting Xavier Worthy over from Michigan was the first addition. Thompson would be a significant second.

Despite being injured, the four-star posted electrifying numbers in the 100 and 200-meter this past spring on the track. Thompson has been dubbed one of the fastest prospects in the 2022 class.

Thompson’s most recent official visit was to Austin during the Texas Tech matchup. Heading to College Station for Texas A&M’s matchup against Alabama was on the cards. Barring a commitment to the Aggies, it’s safe to say that will be canceled.

A win would mean Sarkisian’s first head-to-head over Texas A&M as head coach. Losing out on Bryce Anderson hurts but with the shape of Texas’ class, getting the speedy receiver is the more important victory.

On the field, Thompson is still out with an undisclosed injury. The hope is to fully recover in time to run track next semester. If Thompson is able to compete in the spring, he will enroll at Texas before fall camp begins.

On the 247Sports composite, Thompson ranks as the No. 87 overall prospect and the No. 15 player from the state of Texas. He is the No. 11 wide receiver in the country.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes, and opinions.