Texas Recruiting 2011 -- The Misses

In 2011, the Longhorns offered 31 scholarships, receiving commitments from 23 prospects before suffering the de-commitment from Christian Westerman. Here's a list of those recruits with Texas offers who committed to other schools.

Brandon Alexander, Brenham defensive end

Destination -- Texas A&M

What happened -- Late last week, Alexander looked like a strong Texas lean and was reportedly telling teammates and friends that he was headed to Austin. After taking an official visit to Arkansas, Alexander committed to Texas A&M on Tuesday, with some reports that his guardian, David Barnham, wanted him to become an Aggie. Regardless of whether that report is true or false, the fact of the matter is that A&M started recruiting Alexander before the 2011 football season and Texas didn't get in on him until after his senior season. In other words, the Aggies worked longer and harder to get his commitment.

Potential impact -- The Longhorns need bodies at the defensive end position -- one reason that H-back Chris Whaley may be making the switch to the defensive side of the ball. While Alexander probably wouldn't have been able to contribute in 2011, he would have helped Texas by providing some numbers there. In addition, with top 2012 target Mario Edwards looking like a serious Florida State lean, finding another defensive end in the 2011 class was important.

Additionally, losing Alexander to A&M could have a major impact on his Brenham teammates, specifically the four 2012 stars who have been offered by the Aggies: DT Malcolm Brown, LB Tim Cole, ATH Troy Green, and OL Adrian Bellard. The Aggies were already in strong position with all four, but Alexander's commitment could help push them all to College Station.

Sting rating -- 10 out of 10. Five is the baseline. +1 because of his athleticism. +1 because of need. +1 because of missing out on Rasco. +3 because of the possible impact on his Brenham teammates. +1 because it's the Aggies. -1 because he wasn't a likely contributor in 2011. -1 because Texas got in on his recruitment late.

Christian Westerman, Hamilton (AZ) offensive tackle (de-commited)

Destination -- Auburn

What happened -- The retirement of Mac McWhorter, the length of the hiring process for Texas, and the "very special" relationship that Westerman built with Auburn offensive line coach Jeff Grimes over "8-10 months" was simply too much for Texas in the end.

Potential impact -- Huge. Westerman was arguably the best commit in the entire class and looked like a future left tackle with the ability to play outside some day in the NFL. Westerman's commitment also might have cost Texas Matt Hegarty, amplifying the pain of losing him.

Sting rating -- 9 out of 10. Five is the baseline. +1 for need. +1 for being arguably top commit in class. +1 for pure talent. +1 for de-committing too late for Texas to replace him in the class. +1 for not giving Stacy Searels a chance. -1 for those diamond stud earrings.

Jermauria Rasco, Shreveport Evangel Christian defensive end

Destination -- LSU

What happened -- Will Muchamp left. Even with Muschamp, the Longhorns faced a difficult task in getting Rasco out of the state and never really had a chance after Coach Boom took the head coaching job at Florida, even with a late push from the staff that included an in-home visit by Mack Brown, Manny Diaz, and Oscar Giles late in the process. The inability to get Rasco on campus for an official visit didn't help either.

Potential impact -- Reasonably significant. Texas is almost as short of defensive ends as it is of tackles, so it's a serious position of need and Rasco is probably more ready to contribute than Cedric Reed. The potential move of Chris Whaley to defensive end helps out the numbers, but it's not a given that Whaley will be ready to contribute at the position sooner than Rasco.

Sting rating -- 8 out of 10. Five is the baseline. +1 because it's a result of losing Muschamp. +1 because of need. +1 because he's ready to contribute.

Matt Hegarty, Aztec (NM) offensive lineman

Destination -- Notre Dame

What happened -- After receiving five commitments from offensive linemen at or around the Junior Days, the Texas staff decided to take one more commit at the position than previously planned with outstanding offers to Hegarty and Christian Westerman. Westerman committed first, leaving no available slots for Hegarty, who eventually committed to Notre Dame because of family connections to the school.

Potential impact -- At the time, Westerman was the more highly-rated recruit, so the prevailing sentiment was that Texas got the better end of the deal by landing the better prospect. However, after Westerman de-committed, the whole dynamic changed and the focus turned to a commit like Taylor Doyle who began to look like a questionable take in light of the fact that Texas was in a strong position with Hegarty when Westerman made his decision.

Sting rating -- 8 out of 10. Five is the baseline. +3 for missing out on Westerman. +1 for desperately needing tackles. -1 because there really wasn't any way to take Hegarty after Westerman committed.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Gig Harbor (WA) tight end

Destination -- Washington

What happened -- Seferian-Jenkins surfaced early on the radar with a trip to Texas as a sophomore and then ended up looking like a remote possibility because of the national nature of the recruiting process -- kid basically had offers from everyone. Seferian-Jenkins reached out to the staff, however, and made it down to Austin for a visit, receiving his offer in the process. Publicly, he was vocal about his affection for the Longhorns, sounding like a lock to commit and even taking a picture with the Texas commits at the Gridiron Kings 7-on-7 event in the summer.

Then, in a surprise move, AS-J committed to Washington during an announcement ceremony and made some ill-considered comments that basically amounted to stringing Texas along throughout the process in order to draw more attention to Washington, the school he said he had been locked in the whole time.

Potential impact -- It's difficult to asses the impact of losing Seferian-Jenkins at this point because it's not clear whether or not he's going to be able to stay at the tight end position. Texas reportedly told him that they thought he would end up at offensive tackle, a position he's not particularly interested in playing. The impact of losing him also depends on the development of a guy like MJ McFarland and, for that matter, the rest of the Texas TE corps. If the players in the program develop and AS-J ends up at tackle, it won't hurt the Longhorns as much as it might if he becomes an All-Conference tight end and Texas is still looking for production at the position in several years.

Sting rating -- 7 out of 10. Five is the baseline. +1 for sounding like a lock for weeks. +1 for wasting the time of the Texas coaches. +1 for the Gridiron Kings picture. +1 for making comments about stringing along Texas. +1 for his rare combination of size and good hands. -1 for making comments that reflected poorly on him and the honesty with which he approached the process. -2 for possibly ending up at tackle.

David Jenkins, Lewisville Hebron defensive back

Destination -- LSU

What happened -- Basically, Texas was sorta kinda maybe going after Jenkins and kinda maybe possibly offered him around the time of Josh Turner's commitment to the Longhorns. After that, Texas was basically full in the defensive backfield and didn't have room for Jenkins. Not that it would have mattered anyway, as the Louisiana native was most likely destined for Baton Rouge the whole time.

Potential impact -- Jenkins is long and tall for a cornerback, two attributes that are in high demand at the position. However, he might end up at safety, in which case he is less of a loss for the 'Horns. And considering the fact that even the lowest-rated of the defensive backs committed in the 2011 class -- Leroy Scott -- still looks like a good take, the simple fact is that there just wasn't room for Jenkins and the coaching staff didn't exactly make a mistake by allowing that to happen.

Sting rating -- 4 out of 10. Five is the baseline. +1 for his considerable upside. -1 because Josh Turner committed to Texas. -1 because Texas couldn't have/shouldn't have done anything differently at the position.

Aaron Green, SA Madison running back

Destination -- Nebraska

What happened -- The Longhorns slow-played Green as the coaching staff focused their attention on Malcolm Brown. Green was always somewhat of a long-shot for Texas because his older brother is a defensive back at Nebraska, providing the type of family connection that was clearly important for Green. There are also some rumblings that his family doesn't care much for Texas, but that falls under the category of unsubstantiated rumor.

Potential impact -- Green could have provided a nice change-of-pace back to complement the downhill-style of Brown and Jeremy Avery's success as a small back in the Boise State system could have portended good things for Green in the Harsinwhite offense. The loss of Green could end up hurting Texas a bit if the Longhorns aren't able to secure a commitment from a similar, but more powerfully built running back in 2012 in Trey Williams.

Sting rating -- 3 out of 10. Five is the baseline. +1 for his explosiveness. +1 for hit in Boise State-style scheme. +1 for appeal of Brown/Green Thunder and Lightning combination. -1 for lack of size. -1 for possibility of landing Trey Williams. -3 because Texas landed Malcolm Brown.

Anthony Wallace, Dallas Skyline linebacker

Destination -- Oregon

What happened -- Wallace wanted to take his time with his recruitment and the Longhorns had three available spots, one of which was taken by Chet Moss at JD1, another by Steve Edmond in between Junior Days, and the third by Kendall Thompson at the second Junior Day. Despite serious interest in Oklahoma, the Sooners apparently filled their class and Wallace had to move on to other options, eventually settling on Oregon, a team that seemingly came out of nowhere in his recruitment.

Potential impact -- Negligible. Wallace dropped in the rankings as the process went along and was reportedly out of shape his senior season. Basically, the Longhorns landed the three guys they really wanted in Edmond, Moss, and Thompson, so missing out on Wallace should not impact the program moving forward.

Sting rating -- 1 out of 10. Five is the baseline. +1 for Skyline being a pipeline school. +1 for Skyline being a pipeline school at which Texas has had some struggles recruiting. -3 for landing the other three linebackers. -1 for being out of shape as a senior. -1 for liking Edmond and Thompson better as collegiate players.

Marquis Anderson, Cibolo Steele defensive tackle

Destination -- Oklahoma

What happened -- The Longhorns seemingly backed off of Anderson after offering him at the first Junior Day. With two spots available and Desmond Jackson already committed, Texas pursued the other defensive tackle offered at JD1 much harder and eventually landed Russell, making Anderson essentially irrelevant to the recruiting class.

Potential impact -- Negligible. The preference here is and has been for Russell, especially after being unimpressed with Anderson in two viewings during his senior season.

Sting rating -- 0 out of 10. Five is the baseline. -1 for being unimpressed with Anderson overall -1 for receiving commitment from Russell. -1 for Anderson's commitment not effecting Malcolm Brown. -2 for receiving commitment from Jackson.