Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Calhoun is listed as the No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 70 overall player in the 2024 cycle.
Four-star offensive tackle Daniel Calhoun is putting together his summer official visit schedule. Continue reading “Report: 2024 four-star OT Daniel Calhoun planning Texas visit”
Payton Kirkland’s commitment is gaining plenty of social media attention.
Texas continues to stack talent to its 2023 offensive line class. The Longhorns have landed a bit of a surprise commitment from four-star tackle Payton Kirkland.
Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Flood were able to make a strong push in recent weeks to gain Kirkland’s pledge over the likes of Alabama, Florida, Miami, Michigan State and Oklahoma.
Kirkland fits the archetype Texas looks for in an offensive line prospect. He stands 6-foot-6, 345-pounds with solid footwork and athleticism at his size. Coach Flood has seen plenty of success with players built similar in stature.
247Sports composite ranks the Orlando product as the No. 25 offensive lineman in the nation and inside the overall top 300 in the 2023 cycle.
Texas sits comfortably inside the top five of the 2023 recruiting rankings with an excellent foundation of five offensive lineman now in the fold.
Kirkland’s announcement created quite the stir on social media. Here are some of Twitter’s best reactions as the Horns added another key piece to its 2023 class.
One of the nation’s best offensive lineman in the class of 2023 is narrowing down his recruitment to five schools.
One of the nation’s best offensive lineman in the class of 2023 is narrowing down his recruitment to five schools.
Four-star TJ Shanahan is down to Georgia, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M and USC.
The Austin Westlake product is one of the more college ready prospects at his position at the high school level. Shanahan is 6-foot-4, 310-pounds and shows serious athleticism for his size. He has anchored a Westlake offensive line to back-to-back state championship victories.
247Sports composite rankings list Shanahan as the No. 7 interior offensive lineman and the No. 143 overall player in the 2023 cycle.
Texas has the advantage of being close to home in Austin but experts believe Texas A&M holds the lead for the Westlake superstar. The Aggies have four crystal ball selections in following his June official visit to College Station.
Shanahan spoke with On3 Sports about what stands out from each school in his top five schools.
Four-star OL commit Cole Hutson has become one of Texas’ leaders in the 2022 class.
Going to Austin has become a “ritual” for four-star offensive lineman Cole Hutson since becoming a Texas commit. Not just to see his future team play live but also to be one of the main recruiters within the class.
He, four-star edge Derrick Brown, and three-star offensive lineman Connor Robertson have really stepped up as the vocal leaders. There is even a little interclass rivalry going on to see who can be the best recruiter between the three of them.
“Connor (Robertson) does a good, good job,” Hutson said when Longhorns Wire caught up with him last week. “Whenever me and Conner talk, it’s just different. Derrick (Brown) is on Twitter, saying he is the best and everything like that. Love Derrick but I think Connor has him beat by a little bit. It’s funny to see them go back and forth.”
As mentioned, Brown does a lot of his recruiting on social media. Whether it is quote tweeting prospects with a hook ’em emoji or hyping them up when Texas visit photos are posted, the Texarkana native creates a lot of buzz.
But with Hutson and Robertson on campus so often, they talk to the guys face to face. On the field, results may not have gone favorably over the past two weeks. But selling Texas itself and Steve Sarkisian has been the consistent message — especially to the offensive players.
“Trust the process. This is a brand new coaching staff and the more you look at it and the more detail you get, the more you kind of understand he’s (Steve Sarkisian) a genius. Coach Sark, in some of those games, I feel like we should not be a part of but he’s calling plays that are magnificent. You would never expect those to ever be called.”
Oklahoma State was one of the biggest recruiting weekends of the season for the Longhorns. Some of the top prospects in the country were in town, highlighted by five-star quarterback Arch Manning. Hutson said he was able to hang around him, alongside fellow offensive lineman Malik Agbo and Earnest Greene.
“Let’s just say we did a really good job this week with the guys that were there,” Hutson said. “We just really showed what it was going to be like at UT and made them understand what the missing piece was. It kind of clicked in their minds and hopefully later this month or in the near future we get some more guys to come help us to achieve that greatness.”
Seeing other up-front blockers in Austin was something Hutson lit up about when asked. Since his joint commitment with Robertson on July 2, there has yet to be another offensive lineman join the class. Agbo and Greene are two priority targets for who Texas needs to get in the class.
Hutson says it’s more than just football performance, though. Both guys are talented but after hanging out in Austin, their personalities are what really stood out.
“I talked to Coach (Kyle) Flood about it and he felt good about it,” said Hutson. “I really like both of them, personally. We really need them but also, they’re good people and you want good people to be on your team.”
Everything seems to be about more than just football for Hutson. One of the main reasons Texas was such a big attraction for Hutson was because of the coaching staff.
When Sarkisian departed from Alabama, so did some of his top assistants. Offensive line coach Kyle Flood was one of, if not the biggest, name to follow.
Hutson’s relationship with him has been the biggest driving force as to why Texas was his school of choice.
“He’s a great guy, a real honest guy,” said Hutson. “He acts like you’re a normal person. He does not act like you’re a recruit or act like you’re God. He treats you like a normal person. I really like that, plus, the things he has done to develop kids at Alabama and now he’s coming over here.”
Flood has a plan for offensive line recruiting over the next few seasons. If every box gets checked, there is an opportunity for something “really special” to happen in Austin.
Something you can tell Hutson is ecstatic to be a part of.
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