Round 1 of the draft is here.
The first round went as follows:
- Whitewright QB Tyrone Swoopes (GoBR's pick)
- Fort Worth Arlington Heights OL/DL A'Shawn Robinson (BFLT's pick)
- Celina's OL/DL Jake Raulerson (GHG90's pick)
Round 2, Pick 1 -- GoBR
Sealy athlete Ricky Seals-Jones
Before I get started talking about my second pick, I want to express my consternation at Blake picking up my boy, Maulerson. I know we're all on the same team here, picking for the same team, but I'm upset. I wanted Maulerson, dadgummit! Good pick though, Blake. Just don't let this become a trend. The good thing is that there are plenty of appealing players at the top of this list here.
Many of the top players in the state in 2013 fall into two separate categories -- tall, rangy basketball players, and big, athletic linemen capable of playing either way. RSJ falls into the former category, along with Tyrone Swoopes and Houston Rosenberg's Derrick Griffin. Unlike Griffin, however, the sense seems to be that Sealy's finest has a much stronger chance of ending up playing basketball than the taller Griffin.
If some lucky school does manage to keep Seals-Jones off the hardwood and in pads in college, coaches on both sides of the ball could come to blows for his services -- he plays quarterback at times for Sealy, as well as wide receiver, and safety, while also having the frame to project at tight end or even defensive end. No word yet on rumors that he also calls some plays and serves as the team's trainer.
Give me RSJ as a tight end and the second coming of Jermichael Finley and I'll show you defensive coaches with dark circles under their eyes on gameday having been up all night trying to figure out how the scheme for the kid.
Go ahead, BFLT. Are you going to steal one of the kids that I really like, or just leave that up to Blake?
Round 2, Pick 2 -- BFLT
Dallas Kimball defensive tackle Justin Manning
You know the old saying, a good DT is hard to find. Manning is one of the best junior defensive tackles in the country. Penetration, penetration, penetration. Manning sheds his blocker and explodes into the backfield. Manning appears dominant in both run defense and rushing the passer. He is a complete DT. Manning plays mean as hell and uses his hands well.
I would like to see more film of Manning chasing down plays from behind to gauge his speed. Manning doesn't look great in shorts, and will need some body shaping. I don't have concerns about Manning's conditioning, but he needs to get leaner.
Texas is Manning's top 4. Depending on the source, TAMU or OU leads. Manning's older brother, DeMarcus Granger, played at OU.
Round 2, Pick 3 -- GHG90
Dallas Jesuit wide receiver Jake Oliver
Texas has been on a roll with technically polished receiver commits lately, starting with Mike Davis and continuing with Jaxon Shipley and Cayleb Jones. I can only hope that trend continues with Jake Oliver of Dallas Jesuit, my favorite skill-position player in the 2013 class and probably my top overall player at the moment.
Oliver is a lanky 6'3", 6'4" pure X receiver with fantastic hands, refined route-running ability, elite high-pointing ability on jump balls, and really impressive post-catch juking skills. Also, with his size I don't expect him to have a lot of the problems that UT WRs have had getting of the LOS in recent years. Suh terrorizing our OL in the 2009 CCG like Godzilla stomping through Okinawa was traumatizing and apparent due to sack results, but if the screen had panned out to our WRs getting destroyed in their releases at the snap, you would have had a hard time arguing that Colt would have had anywhere to go even with a clean pocket.
Jake has good straight-line speed, but shines when he catches the ball moving across the field with his lateral quickness and ability to get north/south with good burst. He's also super productive, routinely going for mid-teens catches with 200+ yards and three plus scores. So, yeah...not much to complain about. He's white and highly touted, so most people just assume he's exactly like the Shipley brothers. Not really. Very A.J. Green to me with his body type and skill set. Mildly sacrilegious, I know. If he's anything as good as Green was in college (and the NFL), he's a must-get.
Oliver is an Aggie legacy (father), but says he's open to any school and seems to have no problem whatsoever with UT. Many recruiting gurus are currently placing us squarely in the hunt. I'll be somewhat surprised if this doesn't eventually come down to an A&M/UT battle. If playing time is a concern, A&M will have an ostensible edge with the boatload of talent Texas is bringing in at the WR position of late. That said, Oliver is certainly good enough to play as a true freshman for any program in the country.
Stay tuned for Round 3.