Time to offer Blake? SA Brandeis defensive back Colin Blake has been on the Texas radar for some time -- and for good reason. With excellent size for the safety position at 6-3, a reported 34-inch vertical leap, and virtually unlimited upside given that he only recently returned to football after focusing his attention on basketball during his first two years in high school, Blake is one of the fastest-rising prospects in the state.
And it may finally be time to give out that final defensive back offer. With Georgia's Geno Smith likely to make his decision in the coming days with Texas on the outside looking in, having not received a visit from the talented corner, and Louisiana's Landon Collins looking like a longshot as well, Blake is hands-down the top available option.
In the state of Texas there seems to be little disputing that -- WO-S's Justin Thomas is an excellent player and may have the best ball skills of any cornerback in the state, but has some grade concerns and stands only 5-9. Likewise, Brownwood's Kevin Vaccaro impressed the coaches at the J5 camp, but is also on the short side. Were either two inches taller, they would be no-brainer offers for virtually every major program in the country, not to mention the state.
As it is, Blake has the combination of talent and upside to command an offer in the extremely near future. Texas seems lucky at this point to remain under serious consideration by Blake given the lack of an offer -- the 'Horns are lucky he's not so prideful as to eliminate the school form contention for that simple fact. Some kids are that prideful.
In fact, after narrowing down his list some time ago, it seems as if the interest from the Longhorns at least helped prompt Blake to back off from making a quick decision and see what for the staff to make a decision. How long that remains the case isn't clear. So while it doesn't sound like he would commit immediately upon receiving his offer, he speaks highly enough of the 'Horns ($) ("burnt orange is a good looking color") that Texas would have an excellent chance of receiving a commitment if the staff does finally decide to pull the trigger.
From this vantage point, the only question is, what the heck is the hold up? The answer, of courses, is that the staff is waiting on some decisive movement from Smith and Collilns -- like Smith committing to Auburn or Alabama and with Collins perhaps simply some more time passing without a visit.
The thing is though, that whole thing about Blake being good enough to command an offer means he's good enough to move on quickly because Smith is as good as committed elsewhere and Collins ranks as an extreme longshot at the moment.
Texas may be "major player" for Agholor. Last week, Tampa Berkeley athlete Nelson Agholor made his way to Texas to take in TCU before dropping down to Austin. Here's most of what you need to know about the visit from Recruitocosm:
A reporter out of Florida tweeted that Agholor was "gushing" about his recent visit to Austin and that the Longhorns could be a "major player." His visit apparently went very well and the UT program met his high expectations. He even joked about wanting his picture up in the defensive backs’ meeting room alongside those of Michael Huff, Earl Thomas, etc. A one-on-one meeting with Mack Brown was reportedly one of the highlights and Agholor described the opportunity as "really nice."
In an interview with Rivals, Agholor noted that he does not currently have a leader, ($) but the Texas staff made an important decision during the visit, extending the opportunity for Agholor to play on the offensive side of the ball if he so chooses. With DGB looking increasingly likely to commit to Oklahoma (or somewhere other than Texas) unless something changes drastically to vault the Longhorns from the depths of relative non-contention, the obvious talent of Agholor with the ball in his hands makes it more than worthwhile to allow him that opportunity.
Everything else being equal, it would be unwise to falling out of Agholor's recruitment just for not allowing him the chance to play where he desires would be unwise Or flat-out stupid, depending on the vehemence with which you roll. With a talent like Agholor, get the kid inked and then worry about his position.
Even so, Duane Akina made it clear that he sees Agholor as an outstanding defensive back prospect. Coming from a guy with Akina's reputation, Agholor had to take notice, knowing that if he commits to Texas and doesn't work out offensively, he can always fall back on being coached up to being an NFL-caliber defensive back.
The task of getting the explosive athlete out of Florida didn't suddenly became easy, but Texas obviously gave Agholor another option to seriously consider. The next opportunity to make an impact? Probably an official visit in the fall and though Agholor isn't even to the point of crossing schools off his list, the Longhorns do appear to be in good shape to receive one of his five officials.
Offer for Davis. The on-again, off-again visit for star defensive end Torshiro Davis finally went down, as the Louisiana native was able to make the trip to Austin for J12 and reportedly impressed during the visit with his speed. Not a shock there given his highlights. In fact, it's surprising that a prospect of his caliber would even workout after such a long trip -- sounds like a competitor.
So with neither possible in-state target -- Katy Morton Ranch's Danielle Hunter and McKinney Boyd's Jamal Palmer -- choosing to camp at Texas, Davis appears to be the final defensive end target on the board for the Longhorns. Of course, as 247's Jeff Howe commented to me the other day, defensive end is a position where there's typically at least one late-emerging prospect in the state every year. Brandon Alexander, Tevin Mims, etc. Anyway, back to Davis..
Unable to offer during the camp, Mack Brown called Davis to offer him a scholarship on Sunday evening and Davis plans on returning to Austin on an official visit during the fall. However, Davis much more familiar with LSU -- the school to which he is currently committed -- and Alabama, the other two likely official visit destinations.
As much as the Longhorns seemed to make a favorable impression on the lightning-quick defensive end, his lack of knowledge about the school and his connections to in-state LSU will make it difficult to pull him away from the Tigers. No change there.
But for Texas fans coveting a pure edge rusher in the class, it's good news that Mack Brown and his staff will continue the pursuit. Might as well remind the Tigers at least once a year that they have a neighbor to the west and that neighbor happens to be a pretty big deal.
Offensive line recruiting in a holding pattern. Carthage's Greg Brantley committed to Oklahoma State. Port Arthur's Memorial's Tre'von Armstead has gone silent since attending J12. Friendwood's Seaver Meyer isn't Texas good. Celina's Jordan Roos performed well at camp, but he's an interior line prospect.
With little happening on the in-state scene -- and little likely unless something breaks with Armstead -- it looks like a holding pattern for Texas with offensive line recruiting. That holding pattern entails waiting for the possible visit from Arizona five-star Andrus Peat, who has planned on traveling to Austin for some time, but has not yet set up the trip, though Notre Dame will host Peat in the coming days.
As for John Theus, an official visit remains the next and only opportunity to made an impact.
At this point, the staff will continue to evaluate in state players and pray that a near miracle happens with Theus or Peat. Kennedy Estelle's commitment lessens the immediate pressure for numbers, so the staff can afford to exercise some patience. If Peat doesn't make it in during the summer visit, however, there's a pressing enough need for another tackle in the class to necessitate serious consideration of an in-state offer to at least provide depth on the outside if nothing else.
To that extent, Brantley and Armstead still remain the top possibilities there.