As defensive backs coach Duane Akina continues to evaluate in-state prospects before extending the first offer to a defensive back from the state of Texas, he's also working feverishly to get some of the out-of-state targets on campus.
Consider the latter mission accomplished with one of those targets:
Huge recruiting news: Cole Luke just texted that he'll be at the UT spring game. #1 CB on the staff's board.
— Eric Nahlin (@EricNahlin) March 21, 2012
As the analyst formerly known as Tipsy Gypsy mentioned, Luke is the top cornerback on the board for the Longhorns. An Arizona product out of the same high school that produced Christian Westerman, Luke is a 6-0, 165-pounder and four-star prospect receiving national interest with 13 offers, including heavy interest from Oklahoma, and should add a Texas offer to that list if he does indeed make it to Austin.
Luke impressed during a recent combine ($):
The lone Rivals250 prospect at the event, Luke lived up to his billing. He showed that great hips and footwork in drills and was dominant in 1-on-1s. He was a little banged up at one point and that probably hindered his performance in the fastest man competition. He was the best performer in the obstacle course and took home one of the two Excellence in Leadership Awards. Has a chance to be the best player in Arizona for this class when all is said and done.
In pads, Luke has the leaping ability and ball skills to translate his awareness and instincts into interceptions. He high-points the football like someone who has played receiver before. Like fellow Texas target Vonn Bell, the Goergia safety, Luke can turn those interceptions and other turnovers into touchdowns with some dynamic ability with the ball in his hands.
Fluid, with ideal reactive quickness and body control, Luke basically has all the attributes of one of the top cornerbacks in the country, including the willingness to defend the running game with physicality belied by his 165 pounds -- like a taller Carrington Byndom.
He has better size than Bastrop's Antwuan Davis, even though , his top-end speed may not be better than the Austin-area track star, and he's faster and a better pure cornerback prospect than Fort Bend Dulles' Maurice Smith, though Smith's resume of national interest and offers is rapidly approaching that of Luke.
The extent of Luke's interest in Texas after visiting could determine how long the staff wants to wait for him and the timetable for a possible offer to Davis, Smith, or West Mesquite safety Kameron Miles, the third in-state target high on the Texas board.
The visit is only the first significant step in the Texas recruitment of Luke, but it's a big one.