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a few quick notes

  • from a guy I just spoke to a few hours ago. He was having a late lunch so he had to keep it quick but here are a few things he had to say about the class thus far:

    * Ricky Seals-Jones was number one on their board, even though they thought they absolutely needed Swoopes. Three different position coaches told Mack he was the best big athlete they have seen at the HS level in Texas in the last 20 years. Would have offered him without hesitation at 5 positions (WR, TE, LBer, DE and even Safety). Going to be a few coaches on the defensive side of the ball that won't give up trying to convince him to come to their side. If he keeps growing watch out.

    * Going to be a year where UT frankly makes a few players and their families upset by not offering. Really focused on getting the right players and making the right choices with the limited ships. Still expects 3-4 guys to pull the trigger soon, but expects to shut it down for a while after that. Really want to keep 3-4 spots open going into the fall like they did this year and that will be the trend going forward.

    * After the junior days, want to focus on OOS evaluations for a few weeks. Really only focused on a few kids right now, but have received interest and/or tape from over 100 kids OOS. So many connections brought in from the new staff. Mack has shown a lot of trust in his new staff. Obviously, they want to focus on in-state kids first.

    * I did ask him who he thought the best recruiters on the staff were. He said outside of Mack, he said when Wyatt and Major team up together it's pretty hard for a skill position player to say no. Those two work wonderfully together. Said if Mack had to have one recruit at RB or WR, those two guys would be in charge. But he said he's been most impressed with Searls' ability to come in and change the type of player Texas wants and goes after on the OL. His ability to break down players on film has been very impressive. Nobody spends more time in the film room than him whether it's recruiting or trying to make his current line better. But having said that, no coach lights up a recruit like Diaz in terms of his ability to show the kid what he plans to do with him at the next level. Guy never stops talking when he gets excited and the recruits and their fathers really get excited about it. We had a father come in on the junior day and said no coach from any other program came close to Diaz in terms of breaking things down for his kid about where he would be playing and how.

    * Said this might be the best start in terms of quality of players that Texas has had under Mack. Almost all of the players commited can play multiple positions. This goes in line with what I was being told this past summer and fall about Texas wanting the best athletes available. They can really afford to do that in this class since the needs aren't as high as the last two years. Mack couldn't be happier with the state of the program right now in terms of recruiting. Said they think the gap has never been wider in terms of UT's ability to recruit against other programs. Have gone up against LSU, Bama, OU, Auburn and others and have more confidence than ever in what they have to sell to a player, especially with the new staff here. Texas HS coaches have really responded well to the new staff.

    I'll have a few more notes later......

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    "Mack Brown has developed pockets in Texas where he is neither wanted nor welcome."- alanz

    el mahico

  • woot looking forward to it. Really appreciate your insights mahico.

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    XoGisele

    BuddyHolly ●

  • el mahico said...

    from a guy I just spoke to a few hours ago. He was having a late lunch so he had to keep it quick but here are a few things he had to say about the class thus far:

    * Ricky Seals-Jones was number one on their board, even though they thought they absolutely needed Swoopes. Three different position coaches told Mack he was the best big athlete they have seen at the HS level in Texas in the last 20 years. Would have offered him without hesitation at 5 positions (WR, TE, LBer, DE and even Safety). Going to be a few coaches on the defensive side of the ball that won't give up trying to convince him to come to their side. If he keeps growing watch out.

    * Going to be a year where UT frankly makes a few players and their families upset by not offering. Really focused on getting the right players and making the right choices with the limited ships. Still expects 3-4 guys to pull the trigger soon, but expects to shut it down for a while after that. Really want to keep 3-4 spots open going into the fall like they did this year and that will be the trend going forward.

    * After the junior days, want to focus on OOS evaluations for a few weeks. Really only focused on a few kids right now, but have received interest and/or tape from over 100 kids OOS. So many connections brought in from the new staff. Mack has shown a lot of trust in his new staff. Obviously, they want to focus on in-state kids first.

    * I did ask him who he thought the best recruiters on the staff were. He said outside of Mack, he said when Wyatt and Major team up together it's pretty hard for a skill position player to say no. Those two work wonderfully together. Said if Mack had to have one recruit at RB or WR, those two guys would be in charge. But he said he's been most impressed with Searls' ability to come in and change the type of player Texas wants and goes after on the OL. His ability to break down players on film has been very impressive. Nobody spends more time in the film room than him whether it's recruiting or trying to make his current line better. But having said that, no coach lights up a recruit like Diaz in terms of his ability to show the kid what he plans to do with him at the next level. Guy never stops talking when he gets excited and the recruits and their fathers really get excited about it. We had a father come in on the junior day and said no coach from any other program came close to Diaz in terms of breaking things down for his kid about where he would be playing and how.

    * Said this might be the best start in terms of quality of players that Texas has had under Mack. Almost all of the players commited can play multiple positions. This goes in line with what I was being told this past summer and fall about Texas wanting the best athletes available. They can really afford to do that in this class since the needs aren't as high as the last two years. Mack couldn't be happier with the state of the program right now in terms of recruiting. Said they think the gap has never been wider in terms of UT's ability to recruit against other programs. Have gone up against LSU, Bama, OU, Auburn and others and have more confidence than ever in what they have to sell to a player, especially with the new staff here. Texas HS coaches have really responded well to the new staff.

    I'll have a few more notes later......

    Thanks for your info and hang loose...

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    Bandit18

  • Very nice.

    PHLHorn

  • Mahalo EM.

    This post has been edited 2 times, most recently by HookemDTX on 2/27/2012 at 3:59 PM

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    HookemDTX

  • Thanks el mahico. Great insights. Looking forward to future posts.

    VaHorn ●

  • I guess we just have enjoy the moment because it sounds like our assistants are going to offered big time promotions in the near future. Diaz is going to be a star. Man I wish we could keep these guys for two+ more seasons.

    Flounder32 ●

  • Sure sounds like Diaz will be a great head coach someday.

    ErikEstrada

  • thanks mahico. hopefully your last point leads to us winning some big time oos recruiting battles.

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    Canadianhorn ●

  • Gracias!

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    MartiMar

  • Mack definitely hit a homerun when he assembled this new staff. Quality across the board in all phases: coaching, evaluation, recruiting.

    This post was edited by texaztom on 2/27/2012 at 4:55 PM

    texaztom

  • Might be a dumb question, but will Texas keep recruiting guys after all our available ships dry up? Lets say we get to 18, but then a few more spots open up late in the year, will we have been continually recruiting guys?

    I definitely think this is the best start we have gotten off to in Mack's tenure. Hope the train keeps on rolling.

    LonghornPratt28

  • Thanks for posting over here. Very appreciated.

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    GetHooked

  • Great stuff as always, EM. Thank you. Gun to your head, how do you think our WR class shakes out?

    LargefootSmith

  • Good stuff! Thanks!

    jcone ●

  • Damn good stuff to hear! Looks like Texas has gotten it right with recruiting. Great to hear so many positives about Searles and Wyatt. I remember last year when some UT alum friends questioned their hirings but without a doubt, those two are definitely tearing it up on the recruiting trail.

    This post was edited by burntorangeme on 2/27/2012 at 5:50 PM

    burntorangeme

  • Nice
    Thanks EM

    Slobbertooth ●

  • LonghornPratt28 said...

    Might be a dumb question, but will Texas keep recruiting guys after all our available ships dry up? Lets say we get to 18, but then a few more spots open up late in the year, will we have been continually recruiting guys?

    I definitely think this is the best start we have gotten off to in Mack's tenure. Hope the train keeps on rolling.

    going to be a lot of moms and dads upset this year.

    signature image

    "Mack Brown has developed pockets in Texas where he is neither wanted nor welcome."- alanz

    el mahico

  • LargefootSmith said...

    Great stuff as always, EM. Thank you. Gun to your head, how do you think our WR class shakes out?

    dangerously close to being done. If a certain recruit waits any longer he may miss his chance. Just too limited this year to take 4 WRs. Honestly, if Jacorey Warrick wasn't so versatile, not sure he gets offered that quickly.

    This post has been edited 2 times, most recently by el mahico on 2/27/2012 at 6:18 PM

    signature image

    "Mack Brown has developed pockets in Texas where he is neither wanted nor welcome."- alanz

    el mahico

  • thanks for the insight EM. I know a lot of these uncommited guys want to take visits for visit'ss sake but surely their coaches or parents are aware of the door closing. One in particular should know.

    dentonhorn

  • bow el mahico

    Like manna from heaven, good sir! Thanks for posting

    11/24/11: 27-25, 76-37-5, a winning record at Kyle Field, and bragging rights 'til Gabriel blows his horn. Well...bye.

    Orange Marrow

  • Great read...Thx Mahico

    Love the initial part RE RSJ. Looks like the "internal" recruiting between our coaches may be more exciting than the "external" recruiting (which hasn't been to shabby either!).

    Nice to see our recruiting can compete with anybody. The key, now, becomes the quality of coaching and player development. Put those two into play and we can really compete at that elite level...and beyond. I can't recall ever being this excited and optimistic.

    Bring it on!

    Fcbib

  • el mahico
    Thanks for sharing again

    GoHorns 1

  • Thanks a bunch EM! Appreciate the information.

    Devils Cut

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    DaytrippingHorn ●

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