After the wild commitment and de-commitment from San Antonio Sam Houston defensive tackle Quincy Russell, where do the Longhorns head in recruiting at the position, given that Russell was the top target on the board?
Answers after the jump...
Needs: Two
| Name (School) | JD invite? | Offer? | Commitment odds | Favorites | Quick take |
| Desmond Jackson (Spring Westfield) | Feb. 13 | Offered |
Committed to Texas (2/13/10) |
|
3/30 -- Has an outstanding swim move he uses repeatedly. Will probably need to develop another move in college. Some concerns about his ability to play at 280+ pounds without losing his quickness. Film. 2/8 -- A strong, explosive, gap-penetrating tackle in the mold of Dorsey and Bible who was unstoppable at the Army Junior combine. Uses his hands well for his age. His is a family divide -- his father an Alabama fan and his mother a Texas fan. |
| Marquis Anderson (Cibolo Steele) | Feb. 13 | Offered | 25% |
|
4/19 -- Still does not know where he stands ($) with the Texas coaching staff. Says Texas is in top three if still recruiting him. 3/28 -- Recently, Anderson was not aware of whether or not he still had a Texas offer, indicating that the staff may be slow playing him. Not overly impressive on film. 2/12 -- Able to both hit and separate and explode through gaps, Anderson plays with violence. Lacks ideal thickness in his lower body. Not as talented as Jackson, but would be far more than just a consolation prize. |
| Quincy Russell (San Antonio Sam Houston) | Feb. 13 |
Offered |
Committed to Texas (4/05/10) Re-opened recruitment (4/06/10) 33% |
|
4/19 -- Since Russell did not commit to another school after his de-commitment and informed the coaches quickly, it appears that Texas is still recruiting him. Visited Nebraska last weekend ($) for their spring game. 3/28 -- Has a prototypical frame for a defensive tackle. Possesses raw strength and though he could work on his technique, he looks like a better pure talent than Anderson. 2/12 -- Raw but talented -- similar to Cotton, but may have more athletic ability. Impressed at the Texas summer camp last year. Most likely zero or one tech in the class. |
| James Castleman (Amarillo) | Feb. 27 | Not offered |
Committed to Texas Tech (4/19/10) |
|
Undersized at 255, Castleman helped lead Amarillo to the playoffs. Solid regional prospect not quite on the level of the other three. Little information available. |
Outstanding offers: Marquis Anderson, Quincy Russell
Timetable:
- Russell -- Likely some time in the summer.
- Anderson -- Plans trips to Texas A&M, TCU before making decision before beginning of summer.
Moving forward: The major story here since the last update at this position is the commitment and de-commitment less than 24 hours later of Quincy Russell. Caught up in the atmosphere of the spring game and some pressure from Longhorn commits to make a decision, Russell committed, then decided to re-open his recruitment after being unable to sleep that night.
His reversal raises the question of whether the Longhorns are still recruiting him. Last season, the Longhorns took their offer to Ahmad Dixon off the table after he committed to Baylor. However, this situation is different because Russell did not commit to another school and informed the coaches in a timely manner of his decision -- he made a mistake by committing before he was truly ready, but he handled the situation in a mature manner that did not alienate the coaches.
From the sound of his comments, Texas is still in the mix for the talented defensive tackle:
Texas has been real understanding of everything. They're not pressuring me at all. I talk to coach (Duane) Akina on a daily basis.
Russell plans on sitting down with his family and working on making a decision after visiting Nebraska over the weekend, a major contender for his services. A strong sign for Texas is that Russell indicated he would like to stay close to home to remain close to his sick mother. It's less likely now that Russell will become a Longhorn once again than it was before his first commitment, but given his desire to stay close to home, Texas looks like a favorite.
The other offer out is to Marquis Anderson, who continues to seemingly have little contact with the Texas coaching staff. Anderson named TCU and Oklahoma as his leaders on April 19, indicating that the Longhorns are still in the mix if there is a scholarship available. The Texas staff likely contacted him after Russell's commitment to let him know that they were done with recruiting at the position, but apparently Anderson has not spoken with the coaches since Russell de-committed. He also did not seem to know that Russell had actually de-committed, a fact that would take little research to ascertain. Just visit BON!
The smart money says that Texas is still slow-playing Anderson and that he will end up somewhere else unless the coaching staff makes a serious push with him. Given that lack of contact, it looks like Russell is still in play and remains the top target on the board for the Longhorns. With the 2012 class shaping up as having little elite talent at the position, Russell becomes even more of a priority at a position that is difficult to recruit.