Burnt Orange Nation, a Texas Longhorns community

It turns out that Eric Humphrey was just a brief flash across the Texas recruiting radar -- the Dallas Episcopal defensive end/tackle will cross over the Red River and become an Oklahoma Sooner, only days after seriously considering a commitment to Texas Tech. For the Longhorns, several factors played into Humphrey's eventual decision. First of all, the Longhorns were not quite quick enough to secure an official visit from Humphrey, whose stock blew up around Thanksgiving after the release of his senior film. The other factor was the scholarship situation for Texas, as the numbers got tight after the commitment of Mike Davis. With the transfer of Marcus Davis and the dismissal of Brandon Collins in the last week, it began to look like there might have been enough room for Humphrey. It's also worth pointing out that it was never clear just how interested Humphrey was in Texas.

After being arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance and driving while intoxicated, Marcus Davis has decided to transfer from the University of Texas. He had been suspended since his arrest. The Longhorns aren't suffering from a lack of depth at defensive back and will lose only Deon Beasley, who did not play much this season. However, Earl Thomas could turn pro and both Browns will graduate after next season, along with the possibility that Aaron Williams could leave early. The loss of Davis will likely be felt the most when Williams leaves, as Davis was the likely candidate to replace AW at the nickel back position, crucial to the Texas defense as they face spread offenses every week. The Longhorns will now have to find a new replacement for Williams. Davis' transfer is helpful in that it opens up a scholarship, potential letting the Longhorns add another player to the 2010 class, with the two main possibilities being Dallas Episcopal defensive end/defensive tackle Eric Humphrey or Lancaster's Tyler Stephenson, a talented and speedy corner committed to Baylor who recently called Duane Akina expressing his interest in the Texas program. In other news, sophomore defensive end Russell Carter is ineligible for the game after bombing a final. Carter was not expected to play in the national championship game.

Two Texas coaches stopped by Dallas Episcopal on Monday to visit with fast-rising 2010 defensive tackle prospect Eric Humphrey, whose stock has soared in recent weeks with the release of his senior film. Area recruiter Bruce Chambers, responsible for securing Mike Davis' visit this weekend and continuing communication with Corey Nelson, made the trip along with defensive tackles coach Mike Tolleson. Will Muschamp is expected to visit next week. The issue for the Longhorns is that Humphrey's visit schedule is now filled up. He took an unofficial visit to TCU last weekend and will take his first official to Oklahoma next weekend. That leaves four official visits left, currently filled by Texas Tech, Colorado, Wake Forest, and Arkansas. For Humphrey to make it to campus in Austin, necessary to receive an offer, he would have to take an unofficial visit or drop one of the four schools planned for future visits -- it's not outside the realm of possibility considering that Humphrey already dropped plans to visit Baylor and substituted another school.