By Steve Habel, Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas usually is at the front of the line when it comes to class ranking for recruiting, but over the past five years that prowess in February has provided mixed results on the field once the lights come on for real in August or September.
So when new Longhorns’ coach Tom Herman finished assembling his staff in the middle of January, he gave his coaches a mandate: find us players that will fit in, will fill a specific need and that are above reproach in character, while persuading the best talent available to believe in the process Herman is pushing.
That push produced an 18-player class signed [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]Wednesday by the Longhorns that has been ranked 26th best in the nation by 247sports.com and 28th by Rivals.com and Scout.com, a far cry from the No. 8 spot (247sports.com) Texas claimed last year.
“We wanted to make sure that we were bringing in quality young men that we had relationships with, that we knew could fit our culture, our way of doing things,” Herman said. “We did extensive background research on all of these individuals and are really, really excited about where they fit in terms of the needs that we saw on this roster.”
Texas ended up with the second-ranked class in the Big 12, far behind conference champion Oklahoma, which was eighth in one ranking and sixth nationally in two others.
“Let’s make one thing very clear: we recruit and sign kids at the University of Texas that we think can play for us and win us national championships,” Herman said, “and that’s what each of these kids was assigned to do. Some may help us in the first year, some may be a couple years developed. But we don’t sign back-ups at the University of Texas. We don’t sign role players at the University of Texas. We sign guys that we know and believe through our evaluation process can help us win championships.”
The class consisted of three defensive backs, three defensive linemen, two linebackers, two tight ends, two running backs, two offensive linemen, two wide receivers, a quarterback and a kicker.
The Longhorns’ class was made up of seven four-star players (as ranked by 247sports.com): quarterback Sam Ehlinger (of Austin Westlake), running back Toneil Carter (Houston Langham Creek), wide receiver Damion Miller (Tyler John Tyler), defensive end Ta’Quon Graham (Temple), defensive backs Montrell Estell (Hooks) and Josh Thompson (Nacogdoches) and linebacker Gary Johnson, a junior college transfer from Douglas, Ala., by way of Dodge City (Kan.) Community College.
The additional 11 players signed by Texas earned three-star rankings from 247sports.com: linebacker Marquez Bimage (Brenham), defensive back Kobe Boyce (Corinth Lake Dallas), tight ends Cade Brewer (Lake Travis) and Reese Leitao (Jenks, Okla.), defensive linemen Jamari Chisholm (Valdosta, Ga./ NE Oklahoma A&M College) and Max Cummins (Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal), offensive lineman Samuel Cosmi (Humble Atascocita) and Derek Kerstetter (San Antonio Reagan), wide receiver Jordan Pouncey (Winter Park, Fla.), kicker Joshua Rowland (Madison, Miss./Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) and running back Daniel Young (Houston Westfield).
UT’s ranking by 247Sports is its worst finish since the service’s recruiting rankings began in 1999. It’s also the first time the Longhorns didn’t sign a top 10-ranked player from the Lone Star state; nine of the top 12 ranked players from Texas left the state to play collegiately.
“I don’t frown upon the rankings,” Herman said. “I think they’re real. But to have a realistic expectation of a transition class that only signs 19, 20 guys to be in the top 10 … I mean, that’s silly.
“Are we going to be there next year? Absolutely. But, man, am I proud of how the staff went about their business of finding these guys that may have that extra something that rankings can’t and don’t ever or will ever see.”
WHO’LL BE BIG SOON:
QB Sam Ehlinger / Austin (Westlake): Ehlinger was the Texas 2015 Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior when he led his prep team to the State 6A finals but was injured (three times) last season. He already is with the team as an early enrollee and likely will push incumbent Shane Buechele (who started all 12 games in 2016 for the Longhorns) from day 1.
LB Gary Johnson / Douglas, Ala. / Dodge City (Kan.) Community College: Herman said the Longhorns have a need for a “mike” linebackers and considers Johnson the top junior college player at the position. He’s likely to start immediately in the middle, which means transcendent talent Malik Jefferson, one of the highest-ranked players in former coach Charlie Strong’s three recruiting classes, can move to outside linebacker, where he is better suited.
WHO GOT AWAY:
Texas got just one of the three high-profile players that waited until signing day to announce their commitments. The Longhorns failed to sign two four-star players: Austin (Westlake) OL Stephan Zabie, who chose UCLA, and Galena Park (North Shore) DE K’Lavon Chaisson, who decided to play for LSU in an 11th-hour reversal.
Texas did land Pouncey, a three-star player, who picked the Longhorns over Miami and Tennessee.
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