2010 Texas Football Class -- The GoBR Awards
Biggest get -- The Crowning Six (tie)
It's impossible to decide between the top six players in the class -- Mike Davis, Darius White, Jackson Jeffcoat, Reggie Wilson, Jordan Hicks, and Tevin Jackson. Call it lazy, but all of these players have the chance to leave an indelible impact on the Texas program.
Most likely to contribute (offense) -- Mike Davis
This pick is all about his polish as a receiver -- there is little that he needs to learn about the position before he can make an impact at Texas. The only concern is his ability to protect the football, but it shouldn't be difficult for Davis to quickly make strides in that direction with some, ahem, strongly worded instructions from the coaching staff.
Most likely to contribute (defense) -- Jackson Jeffcoat
It's hard to predict how the Buck position will shake out -- will Alex Okafor play there extensively and is Dravannti Johnson ready to contribute now in his third year in the program? Regardless, Jeffcoat has the polish and advanced technique to contribute immediately at the college level -- that's why he's no. 1 on the 2010 GoBR Texas 25.
Most likely to contribute (special teams) -- William Russ
Hunter Lawrence showed up on campus as a freshman and earned the role of kickoff specialist and Russ could do the same if his leg is truly as strong as advertised. Honorable mention here goes to Jordan Hicks, Tevin Jackson, and Aaron Benson, who should all have a chance to make a major impact on special teams.
Most critical position for future success -- defensive back
Following the departure of playmaking Earl Thomas and with the departures of both Browns and possible Aaron Williams after the 2010 season, several of the defensive back commits will have to contribute in 2011, particularly the two true cornerbacks -- Carrington Byndom and Adrian White. Both should receive playing time in preparation for 2011.
Most explosive (offense) -- Chris Jones
Darius White is better able to change direction, remarkable for someone with his size, but Jones may be the fastest player in the class regardless of position and accelerates with remarkable suddenness.
Most explosive (defense) --Tevin Jackson
Jackson has excellent top-end speed for a linebacker, but what is even more impressive is his short-range burst, much more important for someone at this position when playing downhill than top-end speed. On defense, explosiveness is about blowing up offensive players and Jackson takes advantage of his power angles, short-area burst, and 230 pounds of mass to exert a great deal of force on his opponents.
Meanest -- Tevin Jackson
This one isn't even close. The money quote from Jackson -- "I want to kill everybody." Throughout the summer, he made numerous other similar statements, apparently frustrated that he couldn't lay the wood to running backs in the flat and receivers over the middle. Now, he's not exactly being literal there, hopefully, but it's a mentality that bespeaks focus, intensity, and toughness. On Signing Day, he reportedly commented that "real men wear burnt orange." And who would really be willing to disagree with him on that point?
Most confident -- Mike Davis
Here's what Davis said ($) before the Under Armour game:
I feel there isn’t a DB out here who can cover me. They’re highly ranked and I’m highly ranked so it’s the best against the best. It makes me better and makes them better.
Now, that might sound arrogant or coky and maybe it is a bit, but the bottom line is that Davis went out and proved that he was correct during the week of practice and during the game, with Jeff Howe calling him the most consistent receiver ($) on his team.
Best story -- Reggie Wilson
On the Inside Texas recruiting podcast, Ross Lucksinger and Jeff Howe point out the maturity, perspective, and eloquence Wilson possesses, no doubt a result of his remarkable background as a young man that placed an incredible amount of responsibililty on him at a young age. There's no question that Wilson has the mental and emotional makeup to be an absolute success at Texas.
Most underrated (offense) -- Darius Terrell
Not the fastest wide receiver, but he has good height, excellent hands, and an understanding of body position and high pointing the football from his experience as a basketball player. Though he would not be a strong prospect at the slit end position, he could be a major match up problem in the flex tight end spot and received some work there as a senior, giving him a head start there when he gets to Texas.
Most underrated (defense) -- Adrian White
Once upon a time, White was considered one of the top prospects in the state, but fell because of inconsistency. Since he played so consistently well at the Under Armour game, it's safe to now call him underrated.
Stock up -- Mike Davis
Not the best speed, but he knows how to get open. Garrett Gilbert will love this guy.
Stock down -- Taylor Bible
There's no guarantee that Bible will get himself back into shape to contribute at Texas and there are lingering concerns about his injury history as well. A tremendous talent, Bible has a great deal of work to do before he can once again be considered one of the top defensive tackles in the entire class.
Biggest recruiting miss (offense) -- Offensive tackle position
Luke Joeckel was probably destined for A&M as soon as his brother commited, but what happened with prospects like Evan Washington, Cedric Ogbuehi, Daryl Williams, and Shep Klinke? Besides Washington, there was never any buzz about these players and Texas despite the fact that offensive tackle was a need position. Missing out on Jake Matthews hurt as well.
Biggest recruiting miss (defense) -- Eric Humphrey
A big-time talent who blew up with the release of his senior film, Humphrey could have ended up wreaking havoc in the middle of the Texas defensive line, even though he would have a great deal of competition at the position. Great get for Oklahoma.
Most impressive national players -- Dominique Easley and Ronald Powell (tie)
Easley was absolutely dominate and unblockable in the Under Armour game, using his excellent quickness to shoot gaps. It might be easy to simply label him a tweener and wonder whether he will play defensive end or defensive tackle in college and some of that will depend on how he develops physically, but it's probably more insightful to view him through the lens of the where he will line up on the line -- he has the ability to play the three technique and five technique and could probably even be used as an edge rusher because he is that quick
Powell showed off his blazing speed on his fumble return for a touchdown in the Army game -- simply incredible speed for a defensive end. He also caught a touchdown pass from Connor Wood while playing tight end. There's a reason he finished no. 1 in the entire class by Rivals.
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Jarvis Humphrey...
Yeah, I’d call him a miss but I can’t really blame him and he was a few classes back.
Think you meant Eric Humphrey
Most underrated / Sleepers in this class
I tell you who looks pretty impressive (at times in their film) to me are Greg Daniels and DeAires Cotton.
Surprised me a little. I know that the film that we get to see has been edited and only shows plays where the player looks good, but those two guys really looked good on the film I saw.
Also, I agree on Bible. He will not contribute much if he shows up looking like he looks right now. He looked overweight and slow at the AA game.
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
Bible is reportedly working hard right now
to get into shape, but I wonder why he let his conditioning slide so much — there’s nothing about a shoulder injury that should keep you from doing cardio.
Definitely like Cotton a lot and he fills a big need. It’s much more likely that he ends up starting next to Bible or Dorsey at some point than Bible and Dorsey starting together. Unless Bible can’t get his weight down and becomes a zero or one tech. And Daniels is a big, strong, extremely solid player.
by GhostofBigRoy on Feb 5, 2010 5:51 PM CST up reply actions
I don’t know what tyoe of shoulder injuru he had, but it is possible for a shoulder injury to hurt a lot while doing cardio, cerainly sprints.
by UT_BKC on Feb 5, 2010 6:18 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Or at least not eating as much given the stakes (steaks?)
It’s bewidering how guys, even current players like Cody Johnson, can come in overweight expecting to play. It puts them a year behind. Bible’s got talent but it might be difficult for him to regain his speed at this point. If that’s true he might want to look at OT.
"If worms carried pistols, birds wouldn't eat 'em"- Darrell Royal
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Feb 5, 2010 7:16 PM CST up reply actions
More than likely he just got complacent
Between my senior season of high school football and my freshman year in college I let my conditioning slide quite a bit. I played offensive line and I allowed myself to gain 30 pounds simply because I felt that since I had got a scholarship I had made it. I found out real quick into my freshman year how much i wish I would have taken care of my conditioning. I went from being in contention for the starting center position to having a knee injury that kept me out for much of the season. I fully contribute my lack of conditioning for that injury as well. I can’t say that this situation applies to Bible as he is a much better played than I was (I played NAIA) but it kind of sounds pretty similar to my situation. I hope he takes care of his business, though.
"I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field."
-Walter Payton
StairMaster....
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Pretty easy for those 2 to get lost...
Considering their peers at their respective positions. I think over at BC it was said that Cotton is kinda like George Harrison next to Lennon and McCartney. Similar situation for Daniels at DE.
Overall just an excellent D-line haul, though. Texas is turning into the NFL d-line factory and that’s a development that I’m okay with.
Great post per usual - how bout 2 more
1. Most likely academic all – american?
2. Most likely for a dubious exit a la collins, jones, joseph etc
by realmccoy on Feb 5, 2010 5:41 PM CST via mobile reply actions
1. Trey Hopkins — The Galene Park North Shore standout is also one of the top students in his entire class.
2. Hopefully no one. I don’t see any behavioral red flags with any of these kids. Obviously, every class experiences attrition and at least one of these kids will end up making a bad decision or two, but there isn’t anything to be concerned about right now, at least from what I know.
by GhostofBigRoy on Feb 5, 2010 5:48 PM CST up reply actions
Tevin Jackson
I could see him being most confident too, although I see nothing wrong with the Mike Davis pick.
His pictures even look scary on rivals! I don’t want to mess with him on or off the field! Hopefully he gets his grades up and stays focused on the right things to avoid any trouble
Pretty much....
…. true of every UT recruiting class’ O-Line.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
most underrated
how about John Harris? Just a bit smaller than White and maybe just a bit slower, but when’s the last time any of the other guys cleared 6’10"?
Had Harris in my top 25
and I’m not sure either of the three Rivals rankings did, so I would say that I like Harris more as a player than most.
by GhostofBigRoy on Feb 6, 2010 2:26 AM CST up reply actions
Espinosa
I admit that I haven’t watched film on everyone, but I did enjoy watching Espinosa’s film on Youtube the other night. He played DT in some of the film and on one play he just grabbed a guy’s shoulders and threw him aside like garbage. He must be really strong. At Center he was just leveling guys and even got out on some screens and continued to motor after guys to hit. I think he has that gameday mean streak we want to see. Espinosa repeatedly pancaking McFarland is going to be awesome to watch.
I love Darius White and Demarco Cobbs also. The class is so solid, even the guys we don’t talk about as much like Byndom and C. Jones are just incredibly talented. Can we keep ’em all, please, pretty please?
In that press conference with Mack the other day, just about every clip showed Espinosa pancaking somebody. The kid plays with a mean streak that we really need on that offensive line.
And he pursued an offer with equal tenacity.
We got a good kid here.
I think Mack’s presser the other day showed a very happy Mack Brown. He said it was fun this year which is awesome to hear. Seems like the class with kids like D. White, Jeffcoat, Hicks, Wilson and Shead that are clearly very mature and very well mannered young men—he can worry about coaching football and not babysitting. Sounded like Shead has been raised by two very strong parents (his dad the principal and his mom the district disciplinary person). No doubt that Shead is a Yes Sir, No Sir type guy.
Wasn't D White
Somewhat flaky and hard to understand for awhile? I know he was solid as a rock once committed though.
D White was a longhorns lock for awhile, then he started talking about other schools and cooling on Texas in alot of interviews. Many thought that it was cause his teammates weren’t shown respect during the recruiting process and got nametags like “Friend of Darius White” when they were D-1 prospects. He eventually came around.
by Displaced Longhorn on Feb 5, 2010 11:28 PM CST up reply actions
In my opinion
I think the major expectations from everyone, especially those in the Texas fanbase, thinking that he was going to commit at any time bothered him a bit too — like he felt his lost his agency in the whole thing and needed to back away a bit and make sure that he was making the best decision for himself and not other people.
by GhostofBigRoy on Feb 6, 2010 2:28 AM CST up reply actions
Lack of OL recruiting
is a BIG concern. This was/is, arguably, the weakest hole (pun intended) on the team heading into 2010 and the under-performance in this area might impact us the next couple of years. Given that, is it possible we see a transfer or two at some point in time given the vacuum? What about the recruiting performance of McWhorter? Was this a situation where we had good potential OL talent on the board but passed due to the available 4/5-star talent in other areas?
Even MB seemed to indicate concern in his presser comments the other day:
One of our priorities for next year will be offensive line. In retrospect, I wish we had signed one more this year. We’re thinner in that position than we are in some other ones. If there’s one thing looking back at what I’ve decided in this class, I wish we as a group had recruited one more offensive lineman. We’ll have to recruit a number of offensive linemen next year.
As we have seen, it’s one thing to have a Gatorade POY and 2-time Heisman Trophy finalist but if you can’t protect them then….unfortunately…..we all know how that story ends.
Interesting that all the talk this week was Coach Boom’s impact on the garnering of defensive talent but hardly any mention of Coach Davis.
GBR, would appreciate a comprehensive review of the up and comers on the OL and how MB works to shore up this platoon.
"Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it's so incredible, it's unbelievable." - Tom Landry
I disagree
We got 4 OL last year that were like the top 4 in the state, and 3 OL the year before. Guys with game experience like Snow, Huey, Hix, Allen, and Poehlman will be joined by last year’s haul of Walters, Porter, Kelly, and Ashcraft.
Mack said he wished we had gotten 1 more, because we only got 2 this year. But they were quality picks, and the fact that we missed Matthews can be made up for next year. I think it just appears worse because a) we didn’t get a true TE either and b) A&M got the 2010 class equivalent of our OL haul last year and c) this outgoing senior class did not perform as good as a group as we want them to.
They say that you recruit to replace your juniors, not your seniors because True Freshman just don’t play that much right away. This is particularly true with OL’s.
The biggest problem with O-Line (to me anyway) isn’t that we are not recruiting talent, or even numbers, but scheme. IT is not working. Whether that is the teaching of it, or the scheme itself, it is not working as well as we want it to. And it has shown in the running game.
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
Although it does suck that Walters is out for the spring....
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
I'm With Stampede
One thing the rankings don’t take into account is how players fit different schemes. For example, you can recruit all 5 star maulers, then fit them into a finesse system that may waste their talent. Tray Allen, Huey, Snow, were all top 100 recruits that have either not been developed, or their skill set did not fit what we were trying to do. I have serious concerns about Mac. Adding to the scariness was the observations of Matthews, who appeared to be a slight Horn lean that went running to the Aggies after seeing what Mac was trying to do.
So then...
you are with me – that scheme and coaching is the problem? or with Stampede that recruiting is the issue?
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
Similar statements...
….. were made about the 2006 class. How’d that work out?
Meanwhile, A&M has taken 15 OL in just 3 classes.
For months now, the message boards have been full of posts making light of our low numbers at OL. This was just a pre-emptive deflection.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Similar statements to what?
you didn’t reply to anyone? Similar to GoBR about this recruiting class? or Stampede about we should have recruited more OL’s?
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
Your first paragraph
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
I am assuming you mean
the first paragraph of the O-line comment, since my first paragraph on this board was about the sleepers in this class…..
And I don’t get what you are saying.
You think we should recruit our O-line more like 6-7 A&M? All they did was take 4 of the 6 OL’s in the State this year…… much like we did last year.
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
I don't think anybody raved about the 2006 offensive line class
The class as a whole, yes . . . and the class has proved to be a significant disappointment.
One list (Texas Rivals, I believe) credited us with getting six of the top 10 players in the state in 2006. Of those six, only Sergio Kindle has really panned out. Eddie Jones and Chykie Brown have a season remaining, and both may start (but they look more like shared-position or second-team guys). Vondrell McGee has played, but he’s no star and is buried in the RB rotation. Jevon Snead and JaMarcus Webb (OT) were one-and-dones.
The O-line group that year was Webb (who was highly regarded); Buck Burnette (4-star, I believe, but not a high 4); Steve Moore, and Roy Watts Jr. The latter two figured as backups at best; Watts left after a year and Moore has not played any significant snaps. Burnette got kicked out.
Now, the 2007 O-line class was highly regarded . . . Trey Allen and Michael Huey were the top two linemen in the state; I’d rank them as terribly disappointing and not so great, respectively. Aundre McGaskey was a 4-star guy who’s gone. Kyle Hix was not as well regarded and has been the best of the bunch.

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