PICKS OF THE LITTER

AS A WRITER for Hookem.com and the host of the Recruiting Roundup radio show on 1300 AM The Zone, Jeff Howe keeps close tabs on football recruiting throughout the state of Texas. He bases his career on understanding the game of football — inside and out.

In addition to recruiting, Howe follows high school and college football, as well as the scouting aspects of the NFL draft. Despite nine years on the job, Howe says that there’s rarely a dull moment. Horns Illustrated caught up …

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with Howe just after 2013’s National Signing Day and captured his thoughts on the recently signed class.

What do you think of Texas’ 2013 class?

It’s a solid class. It’s hard to follow up the 2012 class because that class didn’t have any holes — everything Texas could’ve wanted, they got. The 2013 class is good, but it’s tough for fans to get excited when the offensive line is clearly the best part of the class. It’s hard to quantify how much an offensive lineman brings to a team. All 15 guys in this class has a legitimate chance to become a starter and that hasn’t always happened in the past.

Last year, the Longhorns had 28 signees. This year, they signed 15. Why the drop?

If you don’t look at recruiting year-in and year-out the number might look small, but the size of the class is about right. Texas took a big class last year and a good-sized class the year before. The maximum number they could’ve taken was 16 or 17. And they took the right guys this year.

Coach Brown will say this, and I agree with him, the only thing worse than missing on a guy is taking a guy that can’t play. If a guy takes a scholarship and can’t give you anything, it puts you behind the eight ball in the era of 85 scholarships. The class size this year isn’t a big deal.

What did coaches do well this year?

The coaching staff has been proactive in recruiting out of- state and JUCO guys. From top to bottom, Brown’s staff enjoys recruiting and being out on the road doing their job. The staff evaluates well. They are picky with offers — they’re not going to offer a kid a scholarship just for the sake of offering. They’re going to offer kids that they think can play at Texas.

How can the coaches improve?

There were a few de-commits this year. Winning will stop de-commitments. And when the new recruiting rules go into effect this August, they need to be prepared. More contact with the students will be allowed, and they have to hire the right people to contact the kids.

Which player will make an immediate impact?

The two JUCO players. Some people think that Desmond Harrison is one of the most physically gifted offensive line prospects Brown has ever recruited. There’s a hole at tight end that Geoff Swaim can fill. Other than that, you’re looking at special teams.

Thankfully, because of the depth from the ‘10, ’11 and 12 classes, the program has a strong core, and barring injury there won’t be a need for the freshmen. Guys like Chevoski Collins, Antwuan Davis, Deoundrei Davis — if he’s healthy — and Naashon Hughes will likely contribute on special teams.

What do you think of the new offensive line?

When we talked a year ago, we discussed how the 2013 crop had four offensive linemen with legitimate NFL potential. Texas got two of those guys in Darius James and Kent Perkins. Rami Hammad is someone who fits what Stacy Searels wanted. Searels wanted a physical run blocking offensive guard.

Desmond Harrison extenuates the class because he wasn’t even thought about at this time last year. Jake Raulerson has a chance to become a good center down the road, with all the tools he brings to the table.

How does this class continue the DBU trend?

Chevoski Collins has a great skill set and versatility — he’s a bit like Adrian Phillips. He covers you at corner, safety, nickel and possibly dime. Collins is one of those defensive backs Duane Akina likes because you can plug him in anywhere.

If you look at Antwaun Davis physically, he’s what Akina would want if you asked him ‘build me your perfect defensive back.’ Erik Huhn is a throwback safety, which you may think wouldn’t work in the Big 12, but they ran a Cover-2 defense at Steele, and he did a great job. He’s got good, but not great speed, and is a finisher. You hear college defensive coordinators talking about forcing turnovers all the time; Huhn and Collins can finish plays and create turnovers.

What about Tyrone Swoopes?

Swoopes is an interesting kid because he’s raw … he’s going to need time. The expectations placed on him weren’t fair to begin with, especially comparing him to Vince Young. He’s one of the best kids I’ve dealt with since I started doing this. His baseline mechanics as a quarterback aren’t as bad as some of the reports may say.

He’s going to have to work on understanding the passing game — he struggles there because they ran a fairly basic offense at his high school. With most quarterbacks, the coaches have to break them of bad habits. Because Swoopes is raw, Major Applewhite will be able to build him from the ground up.

What intangibles does this class have?

Nobody has talked about the fact that these guys have chips on their shoulders and are coming with something to prove. A lot of them dealt with injuries. The JUCO guys had to take a different route to get here. You look at the environment Kent Perkins grew up in — he had to fight and scrape for everything he has gotten in life.

Swoopes came in with unrealistic expectations when the recruiting process started and now his stock has bottomed out. These guys have that something extra to want to succeed here. Even more important than just getting kids that want to be at Texas, it’s getting kids that want to get here and play well. This class has that.

Who will fans salivate over in 2014?

Jerrod Heard, the quarterback at Guyer, stands out. He’s legitimately got that IT factor, having won the state championship last year. I like Roger Bernard from Sharpstown because he can score from anywhere on the field. You’ve got a running back in Duke Catalon out of Houston Eisenhower, who’s probably going to end up as one of the top backs in the state. He’s a good blend of speed and power. With a football in his hands, he’s one of the most natural runners that I’ve seen in a while.

One kid that has a chance to raise his stock over the course of the year is defensive end Derrick Roberson out of San Anontio Brennen. He’s 6’4” and 235 pounds, and had 14 sacks in 11 games as a junior. If it’s a quarterback driven league, you need guys that can get after the signal caller and he’s that guy. Statewide it’s an awesome year for defensive backs. Defensive back is one of those positions that regardless of how far down the pecking order Texas has to go, they’re going to end up with three or four kids that can play. 

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