Sealy athlete Christian Wallace was a standout performer at the Carolina Challenge 7-on-7 tournament and told Rivals that he has a leader -- the Texas Longhorns.
A consensus four-star prospect, Wallace has been a frequent visitor on the Texas campus in the last several months, tripping to Austin for the late February Junior Day and then visiting again for the Orange-White game. Committed to TCU from December until early February, the Longhorns started to trend in his recruitment after his decommitment.
Currently holding eight offers, it's a bit surprising that Wallace's recruitment hasn't taken off to a greater extent this spring, but Alabama did stop by Sealy on Monday and Mississippi State and Oklahoma are also contenders. The Kendell Jones recruitment is a prime example of the game-changing effect of an Alabama offer and visit, so the Crimson Tide are a team to watch if Wallace picks up an offer from head coach Nick Saban. The same for LSU, a school that Wallace followed growing up ($).
Named the top performer at the event by Rivals due to his work at cornerback, the 6'3, 211-pounder also excelled at the Nike Opening Regional New Orleans in late March, drawing the attention of Bleacher Report's Michael Felder:
"If you're Charlie Strong, this is the type of guy you want to become a Longhorns football player," Felder said. "You look at Wallace and he's a tall kid, long athlete. He lined up at corner, but I expect him to play safety at the next level. You watch him play and it's not just the quick feet, it's not just the fluid hips, it's not just the length that he brings to the table -- it's his attitude. He screams, 'I'm a Charlie Strong football player' to me when I watch him play. This is a guy you see go back and pick up every one of his teammates."
Given those strong performances, it's a bit surprising that Wallace dropped a bit in the national rankings since early April. He's now the No. 271 prospect, No. 15 athlete, and No. 38 player in Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite.
However, that shouldn't detract from his potential value to the 2016 recruiting class, because no matter his rankings, Felder is absolutely correct that Wallace is a Charlie Strong type of player, fitting the Texas head coach's preferred mold of tall, rangy cornerbacks with excellent physicality.
Now holding a commanding lead in Wallace's Crystal Ball with 73% of the predictions, Texas will have to maintain that lead for some time, as Wallace plans on taking visits this summer and into the fall before making a decision on National Signing Day.