We are the Joneses - The Official Texas Longhorns Athletics Thread
- Thread starter satam55
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#33 in recruiting
The excuses are pathetic. Coach Strong manged a top 15 class in his transition class.
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20th actually in rivals. 16th in 247. And the only reason Strong's class was in the top 20 was because he had more recruits. Herman actually has a higher star average than Strong did in his transition year.
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I didn't expect Dobbins because you had to get him before January. He enrolled last month at OSU. Herman didn't fill out his staff until January. I hear you on Little and Chaisson, though. Herman had no shot at Wilson.
No offense, but michigan had one season of a losing record, in hoke's last year. Combine that with a coaching transition, and harbaugh scraped to the 51st class.
Yall have had 3 seasons of losing records + a coaching transition and you were expecting a big time class?
I live in Austin and herman is right...this aint the glory days of mack brown being able to load up rivals.com and offer the top 25 instate kids
Once yall are sending kids to the NFL and staying in the top 10 cfb rankings, its gonna be a wrap again.
Yall have had 3 seasons of losing records + a coaching transition and you were expecting a big time class?
I live in Austin and herman is right...this aint the glory days of mack brown being able to load up rivals.com and offer the top 25 instate kids
Once yall are sending kids to the NFL and staying in the top 10 cfb rankings, its gonna be a wrap again.
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Yall have had 3 seasons of losing records + a coaching transition and you were expecting a big time class?
.
And this here proves you right. It also shows I was right too on Dobbins.
From EJ Holland behind the scenes look at the recruiting class.
National Signing Day has come to a close, so now it's time to empty out the notebook. Here is everything we can share on what went on behind the scenes this recruiting cycle.
— La Grange running back J.K. Dobbins was always considering Texas behind the scenes. He made a secret unofficial visit during the summer and was in constant communication with former assistant Anthony Johnson. Dobbins told me he would reconsider Texas if Tim Beck were hired in December. But by the time the Longhorns hired Beck following Ohio State's College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Clemson, it was too late.
— Eno Benjamin was all set to pick Texas, but he just waited too long. Daniel Young was always going to be a take, but things changed when the Longhorns landed a surprise pledge from Toneil Carter. Benjamin had a Texas hat on the table when he picked Arizona State, but the Longhorns no longer had room for him.
— Speaking of Carter, his recruitment had a couple of twists. Carter was committed to Georgia and was set to enroll early but scheduled an official visit to Texas. However, his brother did not want him ending up in Austin, and Texas ultimately canceled the trip. After Georgia decided it wouldn’t be able to take him as an early enrollee, Carter and his brother reconsidered Texas as an option and his trainer advised that UT would be a good landing spot. Carter was never fond of UT, but he loved Tom Herman.
— I was told by a number of sources that if Texas had offered Jalen Reagor early, the Longhorns could have landed him. But the old staff waited too long, and the new staff was never able to make a dent. Texas tried to make a push, but Reagor didn't want the coaches to make an in-home.
— Omar Manning flipping to Texas from TCU was all but done in January. But Manning soured on the Longhorns after a meeting with the new Texas coaching staff during his OV. Those around Manning preferred Texas and were encouraging him to pick the Longhorns, but TCU is where he personally wanted to be.
— Charleston Rambo did seriously consider Texas and was in the process of scheduling an official visit. However, Oklahoma told Rambo that it didn’t want him making his way to Austin, so he opted not to.
— Walker Little was set to pick Texas way back in the spring and would have landed in Austin if the Longhorns had won more games in 2016. The first in-home visit with the new staff didn't impress the Little family the way it needed to. Although the staff had a better final in-home visit, the Little family just wasn’t too fond of their personalities and decided Stanford would be the better fit overall.
— Taquon Graham really did think about flipping to Oklahoma. He told me off the record in December that it was a possibility. But the Longhorns actually got an assist from TCU. According to a source, the TCU staff continued to negative recruit Texas when they visited him at school after his official visit. Graham was so turned off that he just decided to shut the entire process down and stick with Texas.
— We were told Oklahoma and Baylor also used negative recruiting against Texas to an extent. But no coach went as far as Gary Patterson. It wasn't just with Graham. Patterson also blasted the Longhorns to cornerback commits Josh Thompson and Kobe Boyce.
— Marqez Bimage actually got his Texas offer a week before he publicly put it out on Twitter. He planned to commit to Texas soon after but decided to build up a little bit of drama before ultimately pulling the trigger.
— Denton Ryan defensive end Earnest Brown planned to take an official visit to Texas early in the fall. But once the Longhorns started to lose games, he opted to just stay committed to Northwestern.
— Baton Rouge (La.) Madison Prep defensive end Bryan Jones was scheduled to make his official visit to Texas on the final weekend of the cycle. But he had some grade issues, and the cancellation was mutual.
— Texarkana Liberty-Eylau defensive end Lagaryonn Carson didn’t exactly back out of his verbal pledge to Texas. He missed a bunch of school and was suspended from his team indefinitely for it. Carson qualifying was never going to happen. We were told around this time last year that Carson was having various off the field issues that could complicate his future enrollment at Texas.
— We reported that Texas wide receiver signee Damion Miller had some grade issues. However, Miller has really picked it up in the classroom and should qualify as long as his SAT score meets expectations.
— The K'Lavon Chaisson recruitment was bizarre. Multiple sources told us Chaisson silently committed to Texas shortly after Tom Herman arrived, which is why we felt so confident. Things started to change after his official visit to LSU, but a couple of days before his announcement Chaisson told the Texas commits that he was still coming. That Hook 'Em alert this week on Twitter was for Chaisson. He even told his trainer on Monday to buy a Texas shirt to prepare for National Signing Day announcement in favor of the Longhorns only to text him on Tuesday morning to tell him instead to buy an LSU shirt for the ceremony. It seems Chaisson was truly undecided heading into Wednesday.
— The family of Ondario Robinson wanted him to end up at Texas and not Texas A&M, which is why he continued to delay his decision. At the time, Robinson wasn’t a take for the Longhorns, and the family finally budged and let him commit to the Aggies.
— Marvin Wilson never really did consider Texas after Charlie Strong was shown the door. If Strong had stayed, Wilson would have picked UT. However, Wilson and his family weren’t really willing to give Tom Herman and the new staff a shot. Losing Strong hurt with Wilson the most out of any prospect.
— Plano East inside linebacker Anthony Hines loved Texas from an academic standpoint and had a great relationship with Strong. If he wasn’t fired, I believe he would have picked Texas. Hines and his family preferred Strong over Kevin Sumlin. But with Texas in chaos, they felt A&M, a program they really liked overall, was the best fit.
— There was a point in time where I really felt Texas had a legitimate shot to land Dylan Moses. I got close to his father during the process and he gave some great stuff on Strong and UT. However, once the losing started happening, Texas fell by the wayside.
— There is no doubt in my mind that Baron Browning would have picked Texas had Strong won more games. Browning basically told the old staff he was coming, which is why I was so confident throughout the process. Browning blasted Texas for firing Strong and told me he wasn’t fond of Herman, so the Longhorns completely fell out of favor.
— Texas was in a great position to land Levi Jones early in the season but once Strong was fired, the family decided to move on. Jones’ father was very vocal against parting ways with Strong.
— It’s no secret that Jeffrey Okudah and his camp didn’t like former secondary coach Clay Jennings. If fact, I was told Jennings actually misidentified Okudah the first time he went out to see him. Okudah did like Texas early, but Jennings hurt the Longhorns’ cause in a big way.
— Kary Vincent was always going to make an official visit to Texas after hosting Herman for an in-home visit. Herman did a great job recruiting him, but LSU is where he really wanted to be.
— The reason there was a communication breakdown between Texas and Kendall Sheffield was his academic standing. Sheffield won’t graduate until May and still has some work to do in the classroom.
— Texas did want Javelin Guidry at the end of the process, but he preferred to stay closer to home and told some people close to him that being around snow at Utah played a role in his decision. As weird as that sounds, we did confirm that snow was a determining factor along with early playing time and location. But overall, we feel the strength of the competition and the ability to climb the depth chart made him shy away from the Longhorns.
National Signing Day has come to a close, so now it's time to empty out the notebook. Here is everything we can share on what went on behind the scenes this recruiting cycle.
— La Grange running back J.K. Dobbins was always considering Texas behind the scenes. He made a secret unofficial visit during the summer and was in constant communication with former assistant Anthony Johnson. Dobbins told me he would reconsider Texas if Tim Beck were hired in December. But by the time the Longhorns hired Beck following Ohio State's College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Clemson, it was too late.
— Eno Benjamin was all set to pick Texas, but he just waited too long. Daniel Young was always going to be a take, but things changed when the Longhorns landed a surprise pledge from Toneil Carter. Benjamin had a Texas hat on the table when he picked Arizona State, but the Longhorns no longer had room for him.
— Speaking of Carter, his recruitment had a couple of twists. Carter was committed to Georgia and was set to enroll early but scheduled an official visit to Texas. However, his brother did not want him ending up in Austin, and Texas ultimately canceled the trip. After Georgia decided it wouldn’t be able to take him as an early enrollee, Carter and his brother reconsidered Texas as an option and his trainer advised that UT would be a good landing spot. Carter was never fond of UT, but he loved Tom Herman.
— I was told by a number of sources that if Texas had offered Jalen Reagor early, the Longhorns could have landed him. But the old staff waited too long, and the new staff was never able to make a dent. Texas tried to make a push, but Reagor didn't want the coaches to make an in-home.
— Omar Manning flipping to Texas from TCU was all but done in January. But Manning soured on the Longhorns after a meeting with the new Texas coaching staff during his OV. Those around Manning preferred Texas and were encouraging him to pick the Longhorns, but TCU is where he personally wanted to be.
— Charleston Rambo did seriously consider Texas and was in the process of scheduling an official visit. However, Oklahoma told Rambo that it didn’t want him making his way to Austin, so he opted not to.
— Walker Little was set to pick Texas way back in the spring and would have landed in Austin if the Longhorns had won more games in 2016. The first in-home visit with the new staff didn't impress the Little family the way it needed to. Although the staff had a better final in-home visit, the Little family just wasn’t too fond of their personalities and decided Stanford would be the better fit overall.
— Taquon Graham really did think about flipping to Oklahoma. He told me off the record in December that it was a possibility. But the Longhorns actually got an assist from TCU. According to a source, the TCU staff continued to negative recruit Texas when they visited him at school after his official visit. Graham was so turned off that he just decided to shut the entire process down and stick with Texas.
— We were told Oklahoma and Baylor also used negative recruiting against Texas to an extent. But no coach went as far as Gary Patterson. It wasn't just with Graham. Patterson also blasted the Longhorns to cornerback commits Josh Thompson and Kobe Boyce.
— Marqez Bimage actually got his Texas offer a week before he publicly put it out on Twitter. He planned to commit to Texas soon after but decided to build up a little bit of drama before ultimately pulling the trigger.
— Denton Ryan defensive end Earnest Brown planned to take an official visit to Texas early in the fall. But once the Longhorns started to lose games, he opted to just stay committed to Northwestern.
— Baton Rouge (La.) Madison Prep defensive end Bryan Jones was scheduled to make his official visit to Texas on the final weekend of the cycle. But he had some grade issues, and the cancellation was mutual.
— Texarkana Liberty-Eylau defensive end Lagaryonn Carson didn’t exactly back out of his verbal pledge to Texas. He missed a bunch of school and was suspended from his team indefinitely for it. Carson qualifying was never going to happen. We were told around this time last year that Carson was having various off the field issues that could complicate his future enrollment at Texas.
— We reported that Texas wide receiver signee Damion Miller had some grade issues. However, Miller has really picked it up in the classroom and should qualify as long as his SAT score meets expectations.
— The K'Lavon Chaisson recruitment was bizarre. Multiple sources told us Chaisson silently committed to Texas shortly after Tom Herman arrived, which is why we felt so confident. Things started to change after his official visit to LSU, but a couple of days before his announcement Chaisson told the Texas commits that he was still coming. That Hook 'Em alert this week on Twitter was for Chaisson. He even told his trainer on Monday to buy a Texas shirt to prepare for National Signing Day announcement in favor of the Longhorns only to text him on Tuesday morning to tell him instead to buy an LSU shirt for the ceremony. It seems Chaisson was truly undecided heading into Wednesday.
— The family of Ondario Robinson wanted him to end up at Texas and not Texas A&M, which is why he continued to delay his decision. At the time, Robinson wasn’t a take for the Longhorns, and the family finally budged and let him commit to the Aggies.
— Marvin Wilson never really did consider Texas after Charlie Strong was shown the door. If Strong had stayed, Wilson would have picked UT. However, Wilson and his family weren’t really willing to give Tom Herman and the new staff a shot. Losing Strong hurt with Wilson the most out of any prospect.
— Plano East inside linebacker Anthony Hines loved Texas from an academic standpoint and had a great relationship with Strong. If he wasn’t fired, I believe he would have picked Texas. Hines and his family preferred Strong over Kevin Sumlin. But with Texas in chaos, they felt A&M, a program they really liked overall, was the best fit.
— There was a point in time where I really felt Texas had a legitimate shot to land Dylan Moses. I got close to his father during the process and he gave some great stuff on Strong and UT. However, once the losing started happening, Texas fell by the wayside.
— There is no doubt in my mind that Baron Browning would have picked Texas had Strong won more games. Browning basically told the old staff he was coming, which is why I was so confident throughout the process. Browning blasted Texas for firing Strong and told me he wasn’t fond of Herman, so the Longhorns completely fell out of favor.
— Texas was in a great position to land Levi Jones early in the season but once Strong was fired, the family decided to move on. Jones’ father was very vocal against parting ways with Strong.
— It’s no secret that Jeffrey Okudah and his camp didn’t like former secondary coach Clay Jennings. If fact, I was told Jennings actually misidentified Okudah the first time he went out to see him. Okudah did like Texas early, but Jennings hurt the Longhorns’ cause in a big way.
— Kary Vincent was always going to make an official visit to Texas after hosting Herman for an in-home visit. Herman did a great job recruiting him, but LSU is where he really wanted to be.
— The reason there was a communication breakdown between Texas and Kendall Sheffield was his academic standing. Sheffield won’t graduate until May and still has some work to do in the classroom.
— Texas did want Javelin Guidry at the end of the process, but he preferred to stay closer to home and told some people close to him that being around snow at Utah played a role in his decision. As weird as that sounds, we did confirm that snow was a determining factor along with early playing time and location. But overall, we feel the strength of the competition and the ability to climb the depth chart made him shy away from the Longhorns.
247 has some notes on the recruiting season. It's obvious we're going to have to win b/c this staff does not click well with families.
Read these notes. @satam55 @backinmyday @Spade
— Omar Manning flipping to Texas from TCU was all but done in January. But Manning soured on the Longhorns after a meeting with the new Texas coaching staff during his OV.
— Walker Little was set to pick Texas way back in the spring and would have landed in Austin if the Longhorns had won more games in 2016. The first in-home visit with the new staff didn't impress the Little family the way it needed to. Although the staff had a better final in-home visit, the Little family just wasn’t too fond of their personalities and decided Stanford would be the better fit overall.
— There is no doubt in my mind that Baron Browning would have picked Texas had Strong won more games. Browning basically told the old staff he was coming, which is why I was so confident throughout the process. Browning blasted Texas for firing Strong and told me he wasn’t fond of Herman, so the Longhorns completely fell out of favor.
Read these notes. @satam55 @backinmyday @Spade
— Omar Manning flipping to Texas from TCU was all but done in January. But Manning soured on the Longhorns after a meeting with the new Texas coaching staff during his OV.
— Walker Little was set to pick Texas way back in the spring and would have landed in Austin if the Longhorns had won more games in 2016. The first in-home visit with the new staff didn't impress the Little family the way it needed to. Although the staff had a better final in-home visit, the Little family just wasn’t too fond of their personalities and decided Stanford would be the better fit overall.
— There is no doubt in my mind that Baron Browning would have picked Texas had Strong won more games. Browning basically told the old staff he was coming, which is why I was so confident throughout the process. Browning blasted Texas for firing Strong and told me he wasn’t fond of Herman, so the Longhorns completely fell out of favor.
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Yeah I just posted the spoiler. So basically Herman was indeed talking about recruits like Little and Browning when it comes to forming relationships. I mean I guess they didn't hit it off with the families. But I am better it's just that they wanted to play for Strong more than Herman and Strong's core values is what was attractive for parents as well.
Bottom line, losing 7 games each year for three straight years cost Strong his job. 8-4 and Strong is back in Texas.
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Strong going 6-7, 5-7, and 5-7 also hurt Texas with recruits. Make no mistake about it, most big time programs will not accept those results.Firing Strong hurt us with a lot of recruitsHerman better have a great 2018 class.
Parents like folksy. Mack had it, Bobby Bowden had it, Coach Strong had it in his own way. I don't see it with Herman. He comes off kinda quirky to me and I'd bet dollars to donuts the parents of some of these recruits got the same vibe from him. He's very analytical and committed to the process, while Strong just wants to know your valentines plans for your girlfriend. I prefer Coach Strong's way compared to Herman relying on the TXHSFB coaches. That method is dead and Coach Strong knew it. Just wish he won a few more games here b/c he would have been a monster recruiter.
I was just thinking about this brehs. Herman tries to hard to be hip. Maybe that works at a school like Houston and the type of guys you recruit there but at Texas that shyt won't cut it. I white man walks in with a grill to recruit my son to play football and I doubt he makes it pass the front door. If he has kept this same persona I can see it coming across as fake to a lot of these families. The pics from Chaissons home visit or cringe worthy now. Bet they all thought Tom was just a silly (not in a good way) man.
All in all I think this job is bigger than Herman thought it was. Hopefully he adjust or we'll be doing this again in 2-3 years.
All in all I think this job is bigger than Herman thought it was. Hopefully he adjust or we'll be doing this again in 2-3 years.
Can you post the pics?