The first round of the "My Guys" recruiting draft can be found here and the second round here.
Here's a look at how those two rounds went down:
- 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)
- Sealy ATH Ricky Seals-Jones (GoBR)
- Dallas Kimball DT Justin Manning (BFLT)
- Dallas Jesuit WR Jake Oliver (GHG90)
Round 3, Pick 1 -- GoBR
Bastrop cornerback Antwuan Davis
Again Blake steals my pick! Once again I'm not happy about it, as Oliver was a guy who really impressed me at the state 7on7 championships this summer, especially with his strength and leaping ability to go up and get the football. Fortunately, I've got a guy in mind who might well be able to lock Oliver down.
When a sophomore wins the overall MVP at a big-time NUC combine as the fastest man with a legit 4.39 40, recruitniks around the country take notice. Easily the top cornerback in the 2013 class, Davis is a track star whose skills translate to the football field.
In watching a game and a half of Davis both in person and on film, he was only targeted once during that entire time -- absolute evidence that he consistently locked down his half of the field. In fact, in a viewing at Red Bull Gamebreakers in Austin, his 7on7 coaches switched him on an LBJ receiver who had already scored two touchdowns against his teammate and Davis shut him out the rest of the way. Apparently Davis has a reputation and it preceded him because the LBJ quarterback never even looked in his direction.
At a well-muscled 5-11, Davis has the strength to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage and the speed to transition and sit in their hip pocket with ease. It would be nice to see some more film on him as a tackler, but the even if he's lacking a bit there, some coaching can take care of that. What a coach can't teach are the natural cover skills that make Davis such a highly-regard prospect.
Gimme.
Round 3, Pick 2 -- BFLT
Groveland South Lake (FL) safety Marcell Harris
My evaluation of Harris here. Harris is the best junior safety in the country. Coach Akina told Harris' coaches that Marcell is the best 2013 defensive back that he's seen. He is a complete safety that plays the run and the pass equally well. He is college ready and could be a 3-4 year starter at Texas. Michael Griffin is the natural comparison here. Lofty praise, but it is warranted.
Florida and Texas are likely Harris' top 2. Harris' father played for Steve Spurrier while he at UF. It will be difficult to get Harris out of Florida, but Texas is on him very early and has built excellent relationships with the South Lake coaching staff. Harris' father told UF's 247 Sports affiliate that he might not have gone to Florida if he had seen Texas first. Harris' parents are said to be very impressed with Texas.
Round 3, Pick 3 -- GHG90
Kennedale linebacker Brett Wade
Great defenses are built on physicality, closing speed, and a willingness to commit violent acts against a fellow human being to discourage him from giving 100% throughout the rest of the game. Once the defense can get the offense to play scared football, it's over. Think about some of the great Steelers and Bears defenses, or even LSU and Bama lately, that hit you in the mouth at the beginning of the game and just keep sapping your will with every bone-jarring hit.
Enter Brett Wade, a man seemingly predisposed to said on-field violence and the object of my second biggest man-crush in 2013 after Maulerson. Wade is a see ball carrier, destroy ball carrier type of middle linebacker with a similar mentality to Steve Edmond, though he isn't as good at taking on blockers as Edmond is currently. Incidentally, Brett Wade and Steve Edmond both possess two first names. They also have weekly tea Sunday afternoons at Austin Country Club, followed by a round of golf and side-by-side massages by two guys named Sven.
Possibly the most arousing thing about Brett is how people he wraps up seem to just crumple in his grasp. No falling forward for two or three extra yards like Texas has seen for so long over the past years (Arkansas' Cedric Cobbs is still falling forward for extra yardage in my most vivid and traumatizing nightmares). He stones people like they cheated on their husbands in ancient Rome. Of course the husbands get made fun of if they DIDN'T cheat on their wives, which is about as tough. I knew gender equality had its roots in history!
Wade has great play diagnosis skills and what I consider the most important trait for LBs-suddenness. He closes like backers you see in the top SEC defenses year in and year out. On the football field, not on shady car loan deals.
I'm also very bullish on Wade's body type. He has a top-heavy frame, which should allow him to add a lot of upper-body strength and take on blockers without necessarily having great leverage. None of this "Juking the blockers and running ourselves ten yards out of the play because I no like contact" bull that we've seen lately.
Minimal (read: zero) film on Wade in coverage is readily available, so it's hard to project just how good he is as an overall LB. From his tape, though, he doesn't look like the most fluid guy turning his hips and I have a hard time envisioning him running with receivers in man coverage. Regardless, he's a pin missile as a blitzer and I would love to see what El Guapo could do with him at MLB just like I would like to see what he could do with Steve Edmond...
Right now, Wade is the top MLB target in the state, possibly the best LB overall along with Paul Whitmill, and has a stated top three of Texas, Texas A&M, and KSU. I'll assume K-State doesn't figure into the final discussion unless Texas and A&M don't offer, which isn't going to happen. So I'll assume K-State doesn't figure into the final discussion. Thus, we've got yet another Longhorn/Aggie battle, which of course equates to another chance to humiliate the Ags on the recruiting trail. Remember the day Malcom Brown and Tim Cole committed to UT? I do. I did flips and shit like I was riding the dolphin from Lonely Island's "I'm on a Boat."