Longhorn Football Recruiting – Missing Out on a Talented Defensive Back Class

By all accounts, the 2014 recruiting class in the state of Texas could be called “the year of the defensive back”. Six of the top 10 in the composite rankings and 12 of the top 30 in the state are defensive backs.

Today, it seems like every NFL team as at least one former Longhorn on their roster. Furthermore, many of these notable players are defensive backs. The University of Texas is quickly making a name for itself as “DBU” (Defensive Back University), however, defensive back coach Duane Akina has failed to capitalize on the reputation. Jermaine Roberts, a cornerback from Louisiana is the only defensive back commit.

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It ain’t pretty, folks. In fact, some have even called the picture “bleak”. With SEC powerhouses knocking on their door, top targets like Beaumont Ozen cornerback Tony Brown and Lewisville Hebron safety Jamal Adams are less likely to be wearing burnt orange.

Some may be wondering about coach Duane Akina. It certainly can not be from lack of effort on his part. Are prospects just crazy for not buying into the DBU tradition and Akina’s proven ability to put them into the NFL?

To put it simply, the responsibility for this failure starts with Mack Brown. While other schools were starting their recruitment efforts, Coach Brown was unwilling to offer prospects before the February Junior Days following prospects’ junior seasons. Recruiting is about timing. Making prospects wait and wonder why every other major program had offered but the Longhorns wasn’t a good look.

With top prospects like Fort Bend Bush cornerback Nick Harvey releasing top fives that did not include the Longhorns, Coach Brown decided to make changes, but it was too little and too late. Even with Nick Harvey attending the spring game, Texas was never able to make up the ground lost early in the recruiting process.

We know that the failures on the field have hurt the Longhorns recruiting efforts, but most of the damage has come at their own hands. While the staff has made adjustments and corrected some things, the damage is done in terms of the 2014 class. That is not to say that there isn’t an opportunity to finish strong … but lets not hold our breath.

As it stands, it’s hard to consider the current class anything less than a disaster given the in-state talent and complete inability to capitalize upon it in this cycle, a depressing reality at a position where the ‘Horns should have a significant advantage against competitors every year.

Original Article sourced from Burnt Orange Nation

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