Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Texas edge J’Mond Tapp is the fourth Longhorn to enter the transfer portal during the spring window.
Texas edge J’Mond Tapp is the fourth Longhorn to enter the NCAA transfer portal during the spring window. Continue reading “Texas EDGE J’Mond Tapp enters the NCAA transfer portal”
These guys have the chance to make an early impact this fall.
Texas did a masterful job this offseason making upgrades to the roster. Steve Sarkisian and his coaching staff have utilized both the transfer portal and the high school ranks to add some key pieces to the program.
We got a taste of what some of the early enrollees could do in the spring game as the transfer group of Quinn Ewers, Isaiah Neyor, Jahleel Billingsley and Ryan Watts all flashed playmaking ability. Freshman defensive lineman Justice Finkley and running back Jaydon Blue earned plenty of praise from Sark throughout spring ball as well.
The remaining group of the newcomers have arrived and are eager for the start of summer workouts. Transfer pickups Agiye Hall, Tarique Milton and Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey join the No. 5 ranked recruiting class in the 2022 cycle. The final group of fresh faces could be what Texas is missing to compete for a Big 12 title this season.
Here is a list of five summer additions ready to make an early impact for the Longhorns in 2022.
The arrival of the fifth-ranked signing class breeds lots of excitement around the program.
The remaining members of Texas’ 2022 class are beginning to make their way to campus for summer workouts.
Last season, Texas watched wide receiver Xavier Worthy and defensive lineman Byron Murphy see significant playing time as true freshmen. The new group is expected to have many competing to make an early impact this fall.
Texas put an emphasis on strengthening the trenches on both sides of the ball in the 2022 cycle.
Five-stars Devon Campbell and Kelvin Banks highlight Texas’ uber-talented offensive line group coming in.
Four-star edge rusher J’Mond Tapp is quick off the line and could help Texas at a major position of need. He joins early enrollees Justice Finkley and Jaray Bledsoe on the defensive front.
The arrival of the fifth-ranked signing class breeds a great deal of excitement around the program. Players were all smiles moving into their long-awaited new homes.
Don’t forget about this group in 2022.
The offensive line recruiting stole all of the headlines in 2022, and for good reason. Big 12 Recruiter of the Year Kyle Flood hauled in two five-stars that could be in line to start immediately, among the impressive class.
In that very same class, the Texas defense secured two of the top edge rushers in the class. They both landed inside the top 12 according to 247Sports composite player rankings.
Perhaps what is even more impressive is that the Longhorns staff ventured into SEC country to snag both of them. This could be an omen for the future when Texas finally leaves the Big 12 Conference behind for the SEC.
Starting with the No. 12 player, Texas signed Justice Finkley out of Alabama.
Based on his measurables, Finkley looks ready to make an immediate impact on the Longhorns’ defense. He feels very much like a Joseph Ossai-type player for Texas. That might be a huge boost in the arm of the defense. Last season no player was able to record more than 2.5 sacks.
Texas also added J’Mond Tapp out of Louisiana, he came in ranked at No. 11. According to 247Sports his NFL comparison is Tampa Bay edge rusher Jermauria Rasco. Both players have an early projection of rounds 4-7 in the NFL draft.
Under the tutelage of Pete Kwiatkowski, who produced several NFL edge rushers at Washington, that could change over the course of their collegiate careers.
Much like the offensive line, Steve Sarkisian and the staff realized they had real issues on the defensive side of the ball. More specifically a disadvantage at pass rusher. No Longhorn recorded more than 15 quarterback pressures over the 12-game season for Texas.
Former Alabama edge rusher Ben Davis was the highest-graded pass rusher according to Pro Football Focus, but he recorded just five pressures. The team got more production out of linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. The team’s leading pass rusher in terms of pressure returns with Alfred Collins. Provided the edge rushers get more attention, that should give him plenty of one-on-one opportunities.
With Finkley and Tapp in the rotation, perhaps we see a bump from the position group that was overmatched in 2021.
Jaylon Guilbeau and J’Mond Tapp are standing out at the All-American Bowl this week.
The two future Longhorns that are partaking in the All-American Bowl have been doing nothing but making plays the last couple days.
Four-star cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau and four-star defensive lineman J’Mond Tapp have been included in On3’s list of players that were standouts on the second day of practice.
This comes as no surprise as videos surfaced of Tapp getting to the quarterback frequently, while also filling in during some defensive back drills due to a shortage at the position. Guilbeau has been no slouch either, as he has been locking down receivers and even picked off former Texas target Devin Brown, who is now slated to attend Ohio State.
The two were both among the West’s top players which can be seen on the second slide of the post below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYXc2Ccl37-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
While Guilbeau and Tapp are currently the only Longhorns signees at the event, there are a couple recruits in Earnest Greene and Larry Turner-Gooden that will be deciding during the game on Jan. 8 and Texas is among each of their top schools.
Steve Sarkisian and his staff would likely love to add both of them in order to strengthen the already deep No. 5 class in the nation.
Texas or LSU? J’Mond Tapp decided to be the first of the top-10 Louisiana high school football recruits to commit to an out-of-state school.
A quick scroll through the 247Sports page of the top Louisiana high school football players in the class of 2022 shows LSU dominance: Tigers commit. Tigers commit. A player not committed, but every prediction from the recruiting site projects him to chose LSU. Tigers commit.
But suddenly, in the sea of purple, there’s a longhorn.
That’s four-star defensive end J’Mond Tapp, who committed to Texas in late August. He had been speaking to LSU recruiters since his sophomore year, but this year, he became the one to break the trend of Louisiana high school players choosing to geaux to LSU.
Tapp spoke to the Daily Advertiser recently about his decision.
“I ain’t going to lie to you, LSU would have been my school if it was out-of-state,” he told the local outlet. “I don’t want to stay in-state.”
Tapp became more interested in Texas after visiting the school in June, the Advertiser reported.
The city’s atmosphere played as big a factor in Tapp’s decision as the football program itself.
“That’s where I’ll be for the next three to four years, so it’s more about the environment, the city and the place,” Tapp said. “(Austin) is more of a city that you would think of. You know how like you’re in your own place for so long, that you can only imagine what other places are like? That’s what it’s like.”
For Tapp, exploring a new environment was a critical part of his search. The University of Texas provided that opportunity for him.
[listicle id=101487468]
It hasn’t been a bad year for the LSU Tigers in recruiting, but it hasn’t been great either. Especially at edge rusher.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz5s7cf4w69e0n player_id=none image=https://lsutigerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
It hasn’t been a bad year for the LSU Tigers in recruiting, but it hasn’t been great either. Especially at edge rusher.
According to Koki Riley of The Daily Advertiser, the Lousiana product chose the Longhorns over the Tigers due to location.
J’Mond Tapp had been in contact with LSU since his sophomore year at Ascension Catholic. He’d gotten to know the Tigers football coaching staff better recently and went to plenty of games in Death Valley growing up.
But there was one unavoidable problem with the Tigers.
“I ain’t going to lie to you, LSU would have been my school if it was out-of-state,” the four-star defensive end said. “I don’t want to stay in-state.”
The Tigers were thought to be in the lead to land the No. 9 ranked edge rusher according to 247Sports composite rankings. Just two months away from the early signing period and the team is still without a commitment at the position.
Of their 11 offers to edge rusher prospects in the 2022 class, six have committed elsewhere. The only one that seems to be within reach is Omari Abor of Duncanville. The Tigers have stiff competition for his pledge with Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, and Texas A&M.
LSU did sign two edge players in the No. 3 nationally-ranked class a year ago with Saivion Jones and Landon Jackson.
The Texas Longhorns and Steve Sarkisian recently extended an offer to four-star defensive end J’Mond Tapp.
The Texas Longhorns and Steve Sarkisian recently extended an offer to four-star defensive end J’Mond Tapp. Continue reading “Texas is now targeting four-star defensive end J’Mond Tapp”
