Days after confirming rumors of a pending official visit to Oregon, 2012 Dallas Skyline wide receiver Thomas Johnson is now a former Longhorn commit after notifying the recruiting services that he is planning on visiting Cal and TCU in addition to the aforementioned trip to Oregon and is not seriously considering the Longhorns.
The news comes hours after Johnson flashed at times in the Under Armour game and following a week in which he continually affirmed to reporters that he was a solid Texas commit. Unfortunately, such deceit is simply part of the equation and further illustrates that Johnson's claims weren't particularly worth the breath he used to utter them. So it goes.
It's certainly possible that Johnson simply waited until after the UA game to reveal the news to avoid the attention it would draw and that the Texas staff advised him to move on after he revealed his decision to take one or more visits.
In the end, there's no reason to begrudge Johnson making a decision that he sees as in his best interest, though it is extremely disappointing that he won't be able to show off his considerable talent as a Longhorn. When assessing the decision, it's hard not to point to both the uncertain quarterback situation and the fact that the Harsin offense typically uses only two wide receivers at the same time -- hardly a system to showcase a player in the slot.
So Texas loses out on an immensely talented slot receiver, but there are other prospects Harsin and company could look to add to the 2012 class. Aside from DGB, the foremost among them being Baylor commit Corey Coleman, who has been telling the services that a Texas offer could be looming for some time, and TCU commit Daje Johnson, who projects are more of an all-purpose back, but could be an important piece to the class considering that Oklahoma commit Daniel Brooks doesn't plan on visiting Austin and star all-purpose back Dontre Wilson seeming to favor Oregon early in the recruiting process for 2013 prospects.
Look for something to happen with either Coleman or Johnson in the next several days after limited contact from the Longhorn staff in recent weeks. The preference here is for Johnson, who represents a bigger need than Coleman following the commitments of Marcus Johnson and Kendall Sanders.
And, as hard as it is to say, best of luck to Thomas Johnson wherever he ends up, as he has the talent to become an extremely successful college football player.