Texas football lands 19 recruits in early signing period

By Steve Lansdale

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas football head coach Tom Herman recorded another first this week. Like the head coach at every other school in the country, Herman announced the signing of players in the new early recruiting period. In his case, Herman announced the Longhorns had signed [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]19 new players who will join the team either in January or in the summer as they begin preparation for the 2018 season.

“This is all uncharted territory for everybody in America, but we feel like we’ve taken a very, very important first step in our 2018 class,” Herman said. “We signed some unbelievable young men, some great players. Make no mistake, great players, but also really, really great young men with unbelievable families, unbelievable support systems, and unbelievable maturity.”

Broken down by position, UT welcomed two quarterbacks, two wide receivers, one tight end, four offensive linemen, two linebackers, six defensive backs, a kicker and a punter. A quick glance at the class:

Linebacker Ayodele Adeoye (6-1, 231) of St. Louis, Mo., played at IMG Academy in Florida. An All-America, all-state and two-time all-conference honoree selected to play in the Under Armor All-America Game and named to the 2017 High School Butkus Award watch list, Adeoye is ranked by ESPN as the No. 3 inside linebacker in the country and the No. 11 player in Florida.

Offensive lineman Junior Angilau (6-6, 297) of Salt Lake City (East) Utah is an All-America and all-state blocker who also played defensive tackle in high school and has been selected to play in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and ranked by ESPN as the No. 16 offensive tackle in the country.

Texas punter Michael Dickson declared Dec. 21 his intention to enter the 2018 NFL Draft … so the Longhorns signed his cousin, Ryan Bujcevski (6-0, 180) of Sydney (Marist Catholic College Penhurst), Australia, who played Australian rules football until he was 17 before moving to Melbourne to train American football.

Defensive back Anthony Cook (6-0, 173) of Houston (Lamar), Texas is an All-America and three-time all-district honoree who will play in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and is ranked by ESPN as the No. 8 cornerback in the country and the No. 4 player at any position in the state of Texas.

Two-time all-state kicker Cameron Dicker (6-0, 185) of Austin (Lake Travis), Texas has piled up 322 points (connecting on 32 of 41 field goals and 226 of 229 extra points) over the last three seasons, and had 131 touchbacks on 322 kickoffs during that time, earning ESPN rankings as the nation’s No. 15 kicker and the No. 154 player overall in Texas.

Another All-America and all-state honoree, wide receiver Brennan Eagles (6-4, 214) of Houston (Alief Taylor) has been selected to play in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, is ranked No. 7 on the Austin American Statesman’s Fab 55 and has been ranked by ESPN as the nation’s No. 17 wide receiver and the No. 15 player at any position in the state.

A 6-7, 225-pound tight end from Houston (Dekaney), Texas, Malcolm Epps is an All-America and three-time all-district selection who was tabbed to play in the Under Armour All-America Game. The No. 14 player on the Austin American Statesman’s Fab 55 list, Epps was named by ESPN the nation’s No. 4 tight end prospect and the state’s No. 22 overall player.

All-America defensive back B.J. Foster (6-1, 192), of Angleton, Texas, is a two-time all-state honoree who also was selected to play in the Under Armour All-America Game. A versatile player who is among the most heralded players in the class, Foster played primarily running back at Angleton, but that didn’t prevent ESPN from naming him the nation’s No. 24 player, the nation’s No. 1 safety prospect and the state’s No. 1 player.

Offensive lineman Rafiti Ghermai (6-4, 294) of Frisco, Wakeland, Texas is a two-time all-district honoree who ESPN ranked as the nation’s No. 17 offensive tackle prospect and the state’s No. 27 overall player.

Offensive lineman Mikey Grandy (6-5, 305) of San Jose, Calif., spent the 2017 season at the College of San Mateo in Palo Alto, Calif., where he was named to the Northern California Football Conference (NCFC) All-Bay 6 Team.

Defensive back Jalen Green (6-1, 174) of Houston (Heights), Texas is an All-America and three-time all-district honoree who was chosen to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, occupies the top spot on the Austin American Statesman’s Fab 55 list and is ranked the nation’s No. 16 cornerback and the state’s No. 18 player overall by ESPN.

Fort Worth (Eastern Hills) linebacker Byron Hobbs (6-4, 209) is a two-time all-district selection who is ranked No. 37 on the Austin American Statesman’s Fab 55 list. ESPN ranked him as the nation’s No. 26 outside linebacker prospect and the state’s No. 40 player overall.

Another Houston (Lamar), Texas defensive back, D’Shawn Jamison (5-10, 174) is a two-time all-district selection who is bound for the Under Armour All-America Game. Ranked by ESPN as the nation’s No. 10 cornerback prospect and the state’s No. 8 overall player, Jamison also is ranked No. 17 on the Austin American Statesman’s Fab 55 list.

Offensive lineman Reese Moore (6-6, 260) of Seminole, Texas, excels on the field and in the classroom, earning all-state honors once and all-district recognition twice for his performance between the lines, and second-team Academic All-State honors for his academic prowess. Moore is ESPN’s No. 19 offensive tackle prospect in the country, and its No. 31 player in Texas.

Herman’s desire to bolster the secondary is clear. Not only did he land ESPN’s top national safety prospect in Foster, but he also added DeMarvion Overshown (6-3, 195) of Arp, Texas … who ESPN has ranked as the nation’s No. 2 safety prospect. The All-America earned first-team all-state recognition from the Associated Press, is ranked as the No. 6 player in Texas by ESPN and is ranked No. 11 on the Austin American Statesman’s Fab 55 list.

All-America and all-state quarterback Cameron Rising (6-2, 209) of Newbury Park, Calif., heads to Austin as the nation’s No. 11 pro-style quarterback prospect and California’s No. 22 overall player, according to ESPN.

Defensive back Caden Sterns (6-1, 192) of Cibolo (Steele), Texas, will take part in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl after picking up All-America, all-state and all-district honors en route to snatching the No. 2 spot on the Austin American Statesman’s Fab 55 list, as well as ESPN’s designations as the nation’s No. 4 safety prospect and the state’s No. 9 overall player.

Herman reached north of the Red River to snag quarterback Casey Thompson (6-1, 189) of Newcastle, Okla., an all-state honoree who has been invited to play with USA Football in the 2018 International Bowl. ESPN ranks Thompson as the nation’s No. 13 dual-threat quarterback and the No. 8 player in all of Oklahoma.

The third Houston Lamar Redskin to sign with the Longhorns is wide receiver Al’Vonte Woodard (6-1, 193), an All-America, all-state and three-time all-district honoree who has been invited to play in the Under Armour All-America Game. The No. 15 player on the Austin American Statesman’s Fab 55 list, he is the nation’s No. 15 receiver prospect and the state’s No. 11 player, according to ESPN.

Herman made no secret of his pleasure with the quality of the players who have signed, but also made it clear that UT’s 2018 class is not yet complete.

“We’ve got three or four — I take that back — maybe two or three left to sign in this early signing period, as well as … taking another maybe eight in February,” he said, “so we are definitely not done. This will be a full, if not overfull, class of maybe 27, 28, 29 — somewhere around there.

“So now, technically, I think we can sign, because we were six short in last year’s class, as long as these are mid-year guys … we can sign up to 31, I think, right now because we can count six backwards to last year’s class.”

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