By John Swofford, Recruiting Writer
Vince Young leaving Texas to jump to the pros left a huge void on the sidelines. That left no quarterback leadership, experience, and less talent than the magnificent VY. When Ryan Perriloux jumped ship to LSU, that left an even greater disparage at the quarterback position. In 2006, it is obvious that Mack never wants to experience this again. In the 2006 and 2007 classes, Mack has commitments and signings for four QB's of different styles. We already know that Jevan Snead is going to play this year and may even wind up making a few starts. But where does that leave his recruiting classmate Sherrod Harris?
Sherrod Harris is a good talent. He has the potential to be great, but needs some work before he can make the jump to superstar. Like Vince, Sherrod is also a highly mobile QB. In his Sr. year he ran a 4.45 40 and has the strength of a linebacker. He bench presses 315 lbs and squats a small Volkswagen.
It's hard to say where he will be on the depth chart once he arrives in Austin. Because he didn't graduate early, like Snead, he isn't able to suit up with his teammates. However, he has been traveling the 200+ miles from Arlington to Austin every weekend to study film and learn the playbook. He won't be too far behind Jevan in the learning curve once he steps on the 40 acres late next month.
The only knock on Sherrod that I've seen or heard is his arm. He's definitely got strength, but the accuracy has been a question mark at times. Sound familiar? He's 6'2" and 200+ lbs. so is comparable in size to Young. I know he's 3" shorter, but he also has a higher release point so the 3 inches is made up on delivery.
A little about Sherrod, the man. Geoff Ketchum, of Orangebloods.com has this to say "Really, Harris is the kind of guy that you'd want your daughter to marry." What more needs to be said? He's a smart, respectable, and dedicated young man. In fact, he was trying to help the coaches in recruiting Ryan Mallett. His direct competition. He just wants Texas to be better. And the guy is smart. He posted a 4.0 GPA and a 1310 SAT score. He has the ability to learn and expand the playbook.
Since Sherrod is planning on red-shirting, it's possible that we won't see anything from him in 2006 unless an injury sidelines either Colt or Jevan. But expect him to compete for the job in 2007. If he doesn't make the cut at QB, he definitely has the talent to move out to a receiver position. I wouldn't be surprised with that either. By far, this is my favorite player Mack has recruited in some time. I don't know if he'll end up where I hope he will (leading Texas to another National Title), but he's definitely the kind of guy you can root for.
--JS--