Fourth former Baylor signee joins Texas football program for 2016
By Steve Lansdale
AUSTIN, Texas — When universities around the country announced their football signing classes, media outlets nationwide issued their rankings of which schools had compiled the best groups of incoming freshmen. The University of Texas compiled a solid class, widely considered to be at least among the nation’s top 20. A late surge gave the Longhorns a class regarded by many to be the cream of the Big 12 crop, and the strongest since head coach Charlie Strong and his staff arrived in Austin.
If those rankings were redone now, the Longhorns’ ranking would be considerably higher.
For the fourth time in a week, the Longhorns have signed a player who originally signed with Baylor, but left the embattled school in wake of the scandal that made national headlines this spring. Patrick Hudson of Silsbee, Texas, considered by some to be the top offensive guard prospect in the entire nation, signed a financial aid agreement with UT and is expected to enroll in July in time for the school’s second summer session.
Hudson joins offensive tackle J.P. Urquidez and twins Devin (wide receiver) and Donovan (athlete) Duvernay as former Baylor signees who will suit up instead for the Longhorns.
"We're really excited to have Patrick joining our program," Strong said. "Patrick coming to Texas, along with J.P. (Urquidez) and Donovan (Duvernay) earlier this week, are tremendous additions to an already impressive class of 2016. Patrick and J.P. are two big, physical, talented linemen, and Donovan is an explosive athlete who has played on both sides. We're looking forward to getting them on campus and working with the team."
A fixture on national lists of the nation’s top 100 recruits, the 6-5, 325-pound Hudson was chosen to play in the 2016 Under Armour All-America game after leading the way for a Silsbee High School offense that put up 54.0 points per game. He earned first-team All-USA honors from USA Today. He was named third-team all-state (4A) by the Texas Sports Writers Association and honorable mention by the Associated Press, and earned honorable mention Academic All-State honors last year.
