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Enron Mail |
Jerry Scarbrough's True Orange
The newsletter for the true Texas Longhorn faithful Volume 10, No. 19, July 17, 2000 Horns Snare 10 Early Commitments; Several Other Top Prospects Leaning UT's = Way Coach Mack Brown and his staff have signed the best recruiting class in the Big 12 the last two years and they are well on their way to making it three in a row. The Longhorns have 10 early commitments, including two national top 100 prospects and a junior college star who was a national top 100 prospect two years ago. And all three of those headliners are offensive linemen, which is an area where the Longhorns needed to strike it rich this time around after signing only three of the big guys in their last class, which was loaded with skill position players. The national top 100 prepsters are Jonathan Scott of Dallas Carter, and Abe Robinson of Jersey Village. The JC star is Alfio Randall, 6-6, 300, 5.1, of Blinn JC. Randall was one of the nation's top prospects at Houston Yates an= d signed with Texas in February of 1999 before failing to qualify academicall= y and heading to Blinn. Randall, who says he will graduate in December, plans to enroll at Texas ne= xt January. For a team that listed the offensive line as its greatest need heading into this recruiting season, that trio is a great way to start. But the Longhorns also have pledges from three other offensive linemen who were highly recruited, including one from Mike Garcia of Galena Park, who h= ad committed to Texas A&M and was the Aggies' prize early pledge before visiti= ng UT and deciding to switch to the Horns. The other two offensive line recruits are Roman Reeves of Livingston and Wi= ll Allen of Cypress Falls. The offensive line class of recruits in Texas this year is the best I have seen since I started doing this 10 years ago. There are at least 10 offensi= ve linemen who are top notch, and all five of the UT pledges come from that group. The other recruits who have committed to the Longhorns are middle linebacke= r Yamil Lebron of Killeen Ellison, safety Kendal Briles of Frenship and defensive backs Brian Carter of The Woodlands and Braden Johnson of Euless Trinity. Here's a little information on each of the Horns' early commitments: Offensive Line (6) Jonathan Scott, 6-7, 290, 4.9, Dallas Carter, has more than 25 scholarship offers and more are coming in all the time, despite the fact that he was th= e Longhorns' first commitment, back on June 7 at Texas' first summer camp. He has the great first step that makes all the difference in trying to cut off an outside speed rusher. He is on all the national top 100 lists and is as good an offensive tackle prospect as there is in the country. Abe Robinson, 6-6, 270, 4.9, Jersey Village, is a tight end who projects as an offensive lineman in college. He is one of the state's top prospects and is on most of the national top 100 lists. Robinson is a power blocker with quick feet. He had offers from 12 other schools, including Florida State, when he committed to Texas on June 13. Alfio Randall, 6-6, 300, 5.1, Blinn JC, was one of the first players to commit to Texas in 1998 and has never wavered. He says he will graduate fro= m Blinn in December and enroll at UT in January so he can go through spring practice next year. He was the state's top offensive line prospect at Houst= on Yates his senior year because of his quick feet and punishing blocking styl= e. Mike Garcia, 6-5, 280, 5.2, Galena Park, was an early A&M commitment before he and his mother took an unofficial trip to Austin. He is as aggressive as any offensive line prospect in Texas. A nice guy off the field, he holds blocks and punishes defenders. He specializes in the pancake block. Will Allen, 6-5, 300, 5.2, Cypress Falls, was the Longhorns' second commitment. Like Scott, he committed after the first full summer camp at UT= . A three-year starter at Cy Falls, he is a very physical player who has the quickness and strength to play guard or tackle. Roman Reeves, 6-6, 295, 5.2, Livingston, is as impressive a physical specim= en as any of the UT recruits. He has the ability to dominate his opponents and the quickness to head them off. Linebacker (1) Yamil LeBron, 6-2, 240, 4.7, Killeen Ellison, apparently was the middle linebacker UT defensive coordinator Carl Reese wanted all along. He said Reese told him at the Longhorns' summer camp that he liked his size, speed and ferocity and wanted him to play middle linebacker. He is a tough run stopper who also has the speed to cover backs on pass plays. Defensive Back (3) Kendal Briles, 5-10, 175, 4.5, Wolfforth Frenship, was the Class 4A offensi= ve player of the year last season after leading Stephenville to the state championship. Playing QB, he completed 207 of 356 passes for 3,115 yards an= d 28 TDs and ran for 1,331 yards and 16 more scores. That adds up to 4,446 yards and 44 touchdowns. Nebraska wanted him as an option QB, but he opted for a career as a safety at Texas. His father, Art Briles, was his coach at Stephenville and now is on the coaching staff at Texas Tech. Braden Johnson, 6-2, 200, 4.5, Euless Trinity, is a talented athlete who wi= ll move to QB for the Trojans this year after making All-District as a hard-hitting safety last year. He is a centerfielder in baseball and runs o= n the school's 400-meter relay team. He has a big frame and could be a candidate to become an outside linebacker in the future. Brian Carter, 5-11, 180, 4.5, The Woodlands, was a two-way star last season= , catching 35 passes for 340 yards and four TDs, then switching over to defen= se and intercepting three passes. He was one of UT freshman QB Chance Mock's t= op targets at The Woodlands last season. All of the recruits who have committed to Texas except Randall and Garcia came to one of the UT summer camps. * * * * RECRUITING NOTES: The state's top QB prospect, Matt Nordgren of Dallas Bish= op Lynch, was in Austin today (Monday) visiting with UT offensive coordinator Greg Davis. His family owns a ranch near Blanco and Nordgren really likes t= he Horns. The only other top QB prospect who is strongly considering Texas is Bret Rawls of Shreveport Evangel, but the Horns only plan to take one QB an= d Rawls is such a good baseball prospect that it would be risky making him th= e only QB recruit. One big plus is that Nordgren wants to commit early. He ha= s been to several camps alread, including one at Texas, and wants to visit several more before making a decision. But if he does commit early and does commit to Texas, the Longhorns can forget about recruiting QBs. If he commi= ts early to someone else, then it will be on Plan B, whether that is Rawls or = a sleeper like Tye Gunn of La Grange, a strong-armed kid who is big and fast and only gets to throw five or six times a game for the run-oriented Leopards. . . The Longhorns probably will sign about 20 to 22 recruits. Wit= h six offensive linemen, three defensive backs and one linebacker already committed, the remainder probably will go to one QB, one or two RBs, zero o= r one FB, zero or one TE, one or two WRs, one or two more OLs, three or four DLs, one or two LBs and two or three DBs. . . At RB, record-setting Cedric Benson of two-time state champ Midland Lee plans to take an unofficial visi= t to Texas in late July or early August. He is a long-time Longhorn fan who says he might commit on his visit. . . The most important report left on th= e board is DT Tommie Harris of Killeen Ellison. Why? There are two reasons. First, he is a great prospect, probably as good a defensive line recruit as there is in the country. Second, he is the only great DT prospect who is strongly considering Texas and the Horns need to sign a top DT or two. Thom= as Derricks of Dallas Jesuit is a good DT, but he has no interest in Texas. After that, the list includes several promising young DTs who need to have big senior years to become top prospects. Texas is chasing two Louisiana stars =01) Marcus Spears of Baton Rouge Southern Lab and Marquise Hill of N= ew Orleans De La Salle =01) but they have not show any major interest so far. = The UT coaches want to sign two DEs and two DTs, but they might opt for three D= Es because there are more top DEs. . . The top prospects remaining who I think are at least 50-50 shots to sign with Texas are Nordgren, Benson, Harris, O= L Jami Hightower of Jacksonville, DEs Kevin Everett of Port Arthur Jefferson and Eric Hall of Clarksville, Tenn., LB-DE Lance McFarland of Jefferson, LB Derrick Johnson of Waco, CB Cedric Griffin of San Antonio Holmes, safety Dewayne Brandon of Temple and CB-Athlete Quan Cosby of Mart. It's a Great Time to Subscribe To The Fax/E-Mail Service Get Instant Year-Round Fax/E-Mail Updates. I Did Three Last Week With Hot Recruiting News ! Save As An E-Mail Subscriber ! The True Orange Fax/E-Mail Service is the way to keep up with Longhorn football and Longhorn recruiting =01) instantly. Follow Mack Brown and the Longhorns with frequent fax updates. There are at least 99 timely faxes a year, primarily about football and football recruiting. To subscribe, sen= d your check to True Orange, Box 26530, Austin, Texas 78755, and copy or clip the coupon below and fill in the blanks. If you want it mailed, or by E-Mai= l, just include the right numbers. o I'm enclosing $99 for the 99-fax package for the next year o I'm enclosing $130 (a $14 saving) to renew my subscription to True Orange and to subscribe to the 99 faxes. o I'm enclosing $79 for the 99-fax package for the next year by E-Mail (a $= 20 saving) o Here's $110 to renew my subscription to True Orange and to subscribe to the 99 faxes by E-Mail (a $31 saving) o Here's $99 to subscribe to True Orange by E-Mail and to subscribe to the 99 faxes by E-Mail (a $42 saving) Name Fax No. (or E-Mail or mailing address) 900 Number Updated Often I update my 900 number at least three times a week with recruiting and oth= er football news. The number is 1-900-288-8839. It costs $1.59 a minute. You must be 18 to call. Coach's Corner Defensive coordinator Carl Reese is always a great interview because (a) he is an expert at his craft and (b) he is good at putting complex defensive schemes in terms we can all understand. I interviewed him recently about his defense and his expectations for the 2000 season. With most of the guys returning from a defense that was one o= f the nation's best in 1999, he is upbeat, but he wants and expects to see major improvements in several areas. Here are the highlights of our conversation: Q: "Coach, you lost both your defensive ends. At the end of the spring, you seemed pretty happy about the way Cory Redding was playing, but you said yo= u thought the guys on the other side were a lot better pass rushers than run stoppers. The way the 2000 schedule shapes up, it looks like most of the teams Texas plays are better passing teams than running teams, so do you think it could be an advantage to have a better pass rush, even if one side isn't as strong against the run? A: "We were looking at the schedule the other day and it looks like about half the teams we play next fall are going to be four wide-outs who throw t= he ball a bunch.And our ends can come of the edge better than they have. That could help us against some teams like Stanford, Oklahoma and Texas Tech, three teams that are going to let it go (pass a lot) from the beginning. Bu= t I worry about that cotton-picking run because I don't want to let teams be two-dimensional. I like to start, with any defense, by being stroing agains= t the run." Q: "You have already had some outstanding defenses at Texas. Do you think this year's defense will be your best one at Texas? A: "From a talent standpoint, it could be. The secondary has more depth tha= n its had. Of course, the guys still have to come through. We have got to get= a great year out of Quentin Jammer at cornerback, but, going into the season, we have the deepest secondary we've had. We're a little thin at linebacker, but we know what we have there and they can all run. We know what we have a= t tackle with Casey (Hampton) and Shawn (Rogers), and we've got some backups. The glaring weakness is at end, particularly against the run. We want to ha= ve the complete package at end =01) guys who can stop the run and rush the pas= ser. Cory Redding still had to work on the run some, but as far as giving an all-out effort, he does, and he'll improve as he gets some more experience. He is our best end against the run, but we want him to get better. We need some of the other guys to step up on the other side, and maybe one or two o= f them will. If they do, this could be a pretty good defense." Q: Stevie Lee really looked good at tackle this spring, in my opinions, particularly considering the fact that he was playing high school football last fall, then graduated early and enrolled in January. What do you think about him and his chances of helping you this fall? A: "I think Stevie Lee is going to be a real football player. And you're right =01) he should have been walking the halls of his high school in the spring. What I really like about him is that we would work him against the first-team offense, and some of those first-team offensive linemen would knock him back. But the next play, he would come right back. He learns fast and he competes hard. We play to play him quite a bit. From what he and (redshirt freshman Marcus) Tubbs showed this spring, they will be the backu= ps to Casey and Shawn at the start of fall practice. We have some other player= s who could move up, too, and there will be some competition because the guys who are the top backups this year will have the best chance to take it over the next season when Casey and Shawn are gone." Q: "What do you think is the key to having a better defense this year?" A: "The secondary will be the key. They have the best chance to step up. That's the key, overall. They improved last year and played good at times, but we still didn't have a great defense because we gave up big plays too often to be a great defense. We're going to stress this year that we can't give up big plays because you can't be a great defense if you do that." Q: "What is you definition of a big play?" A: "Any pass over 20 yards and any run over 12 yards is a big play. If we c= an stop giving those up, we'll be better than we have been." Q: "Every time anybody talks about the strength of the Texas' defense, it centers around your two tackles. How important are they, and what do you expect from them this season?" A: "Both Casey and Shawn are strong, physical guys. When they go all out, they can dominate. They really work well together, too. It is really important that we be sure they give us a great year. They have proved they can be great run stoppers, but we're going to try to push them into being good pass rush guys, too. Their reall challenge now is to go out and produc= e again as run stoppers and get better on the pass rush. They need to work to= =20 improve. I haven't been satisfied with the endurance part of it, as far as they are concerned. If I'm sitting there in their shoes, I'm looking to be just as strong against the run and get better on the pass rush." Q: "Speaking of young players, Dakarai Pearson and Phillip Geiggar, your tw= o freshmen at safety, made some big plays in the spring. Do you think they ca= n help you this season?" A: "That Dakarai just improved so much this spring. Everytime I turned on a practice film, I saw some improvement. He just got better every day. He als= o has some leadership capabilities. I think we are going to get a lot of big plays out of him, and we might get some this year. He's going to be a real good strong safety if he keeps working at it. Phillip has a lot of the same qualities. You know, Dakarai has been in the system longer (he's a redshirt freshman) and Phillip should have been walking those same high school halls with Stevie Lee. He's going to be a really good one, too, if he keeps improving. He just needs some experience. He's probably going to get some kick returns and punt returns this year, and he'll probably get to play som= e at safety, too." Q: "Is one of them more suited to strong safety and one more suited to free safety?" A: "Those kids are interchangeable. The strong safety calls the defenses an= d goes to pass strength, so Dakarai probably would play there this year becau= se Phillip hasn't been here as long, but, as they both get more experience, th= ey both can play either one." Applewhite OK; Simms Growing Record-setting Texas QB Major Applewhite's surgically repaired knee is fine and he will be ready to do battle with heralded sophomore Chris Simms for t= he starting job when pre-season football practice begins next month. Simms, meanwhile, has been hitting the weights and is now packing 223 pound= s on his 6-5 frame, up from 208 last season. The UT coaches have said all along they plan to play two quarterbacks this season, and no one in the country has a better pair to alternate. Both are throwing the ball extremely well and both appear to be capable of leading the Longhorns in defense of their Big 12 Southern Division crown. If there is going to be a quarterback controversy at Texas, it's sure nice = to know both of them are outstanding quarterbacks. Some of Texas' conference rivals probably will have a quarterback controversy, too, but it will be over whether any of the contenders are goo= d enough to lead the team to a title. The Longhorns have two championship-calibre quarterbacks. Schedule Revisions; Reporting Dates The Longhorns' season-opener against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 9 will ki= ck off at 11:30 a.m. and be televised live as part of the Big 12 syndication package. Check your local listings for the station that will carry the game in your area. That means Texas' first two games will be televised. The Sept. 16 contest a= t Stanford will be carried live by Fox Sports Net and kickoff at 9:15 p.m. (Central). The Horns also announced the Nov. 24 game with Texas A&M in Austin would mo= ve from the 10 a.m. slot it occupied for the past four years to a 2:30 p.m. start on ABC. The freshmen report to campus on Sunday, August 13. The freshmen will practice Monday through Wednesday, August 14-16, at Frank Denius Fields (corner of 26th and Red River). The veterans will report on August 16. UT's first full-team practice is slated for Friday, August 18, at Whitaker Field. All preseason practices are open to the public. Here's the season football schedule (TBA means time to be announced later): Sept. 9 - Louisiana-Lafayette, 11:30 a.m. (Fox Sports SW) Sept. 16 - at Stanford, 9:15 p.m. (Fox Sports Net) Sept. 23 - Houston TBA Sept. 30 - Oklahoma State TBA Oct. 7 - Oklahoma (Dallas) TBA Oct. 14 - at Colorado TBA Oct. 21 - Missouri TBA Oct. 28 - Baylor TBA Nov. 4 - at Texas Tech TBA Nov. 11 - at Kansas TBA Nov. 24 - Texas A&M 2:30 p.m. (ABC) Dec. 2 - Big 12 Championship, Kansas City, 3:30 p.m. (ABC) If you haven't bought tickets and want to do so, you can call 1-800-982-238= 6 or, if you live in Austin, 471-3333. For priority seating, call 512-471-4439, and for information on stadium suites, call 512-471-4780. Snyder Retires as Tennis Coach Long-time UT tennis coach Dave Snyder has retired. Snyder did a great job f= or the Longhorns and let's all wish him well in retirement. Let's also hope the Longhorns will hire his former top assistant, Dwayne Hultquist, to succeed him. Hultquist, currently the head tennis coach at Florida State, is an outstanding recruiter who can do great things at Texas if he gets the chanc= e. Hultquist, who just completed his first year as the head coach at FSU, got the Seminoles into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in several years. He is one of the top candidates for the job, which probably will be filled within the next 10 days.
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