Beaumont Central running back Devwah Whaley is down to three finalists -- the Arkansas Razaorbacks, Georgia Bulldogs, and Texas Longhorns, according to WholeHogSports.com.
The Razorbacks will receive an official visit next weekend and the Longhorns will host Whaley on December 12, according to ESPN's Gerry Hamilton. The 6-0, 209-pounder already took an important official visit to Athens in September and has journeyed to College Station and Norman this fall, though it seems those schools have been elminated at this time. However, Whaley on Monday denied that he's eliminated the Aggies.
A consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 131 player nationally, Whaley is the No. 4 running back in the country and the No. 13 player in Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. The three finalists come from a list of more than 20 schools to offer Whaley a scholarship, including Alabama, Arizona State, Baylor, Houston, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, and others.
Other than Katy's Kyle Porter, whose mysterious recruitment has mostly flown under the radar because he doesn't give interviews, Whaley is currently the only uncommitted true running back offered by the Longhorns. Southlake Carroll athlete Lil'Jordan Humphrey is often listed as a running back, his primary high school position, and Texas is in a strong position with him, but he projects as a wide receiver or potentially even an H-back in college.
Making Whaley's final three was hardly a given at other points in the process when it appeared that schools like Oklahoma and Texas A&M were in a more favorable position, so this is probably the highest Texas has been on his list in some time. A close friendship with freshman safety PJ Locke could be providing some minor benefits, as the two are former high school teammates, but the biggest boost could potentially come from an offer to and flip by Georgia wide receiver commit Davion Curtis. The staff is currently evaluating Curtis after the recent decommitment of Tren'Davian Dickson and that's important news because Curtis and Whaley and extremely close and there is a belief that if Curtis ends up in the Texas close, Whaley could join him.
However, until there's some movement with Curtis, the current runaway perceived leader for Whaley remains Georgia, as has been the case for the nearly two months since his official visit:
However, the job security of Mark Richt could eventually become a factor in Whaley's recruitment, as there has been increasing dissatisfaction with the 15-year head coach that reached a crescendo when the team lost three of four games in October, culminating in a humiliating 27-3 defeat by Florida at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
Since then, Georgia has righted the ship with wins over SEC doormats Kentucky and Auburn, with games against Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech looming to close the season. Perhaps if Richt wins both of those games, he will further increase his job security, but it's still not out of the question that the Bulldogs make a change at the top.
If that happens, Texas would have a major opportunity to make a move with Whaley.