Last summer at The Opening, Longhorn recruitniks were treated to a barrage of testing information emerging from the Nike-sponsored event that featured a handful of commits and targets, including the breakout performance from then-TCU commit Daje Johnson when he set the national SPARQ record.
On Saturday, Alief Hastings defensive end and Texas target Torrodney Prevot boosted his already-exploding stock with an impressive day of testing results that will only continue to increase the national attention he's receiving. A couple weeks ago, he was still waiting on his first offer, now he includes an offer from the Longhorns among 14 others, including LSU and Oklahoma.
Prevot earned only the third invitation currently extended for the 2013 edition of The Opening by posting a SPARQ Rating of 102,81, the top mark so far this year for any defensive lineman tested. At 6-3.5 and 205 pounds, Prevot ran a 4.67 40, churned through the shuttle in 4.28 seconds, notched a 31.9-inch vertical, and launched the powerball 39 feet.
All of those numbers would be impressive for a linebacker. Actually, Prevot looks more like a linebacker right now at just over 200 pounds -- right around the same weight at which Naashon Hughes played safety last year and Deoundrei Davis linebacker -- so the weakside defensive end prospect has a long way to go physically to compete at the college level.
But those pure numbers give an insight into the type of athleticism that Texas coaches and others have seen from Prevot on film. By way of comparison, Prevot posted a better shuttle time than both Peter Jinkens and Tim Cole last year at The Opening, both of whom are linebackers. Better than former target Nelson Agholor and Texas signee Torshiro Davis, as well. Impressive company, for sure.
The concerning thing is his weight. Prevot is a guy who runs track, too, so he's not getting a lot of time in the offseason to add weight. When he finally does get around to doing that, he should be able to add some significant mass in a short period of time, but unless he quits track as a senior, that's not going to happen until he gets to college.
Clearly the coaching staff didn't think it was cause enough to withhold an offer, but it is hard to see Prevot ever being a 260-pounder who could play on the strong side as a power end. And it also seems unlikely that he can gain 50 pounds and still maintain that speed and agility that allowed him to post such impressive times on Houston over the weekend.
Instead, Prevot will likely have to play as a situational pass rusher in a Buck type of role until he can add the mass to hold up better against the running game and 240 pounds is probably a more realistic goal for him eventually. Given how well he moves, he could also be a fit for schools who want him as an outside linebacker.
The raw skills are there and the athleticism is present to the extent that he's worth taking to get him on campus in a college weight program and then creating some packages that feature what he can do and limit the situations where he has to go against bigger linemen to hold the edge.
There's no question that Prevot's current weight and frame limit his upside to some extent, but it's also the case that he translates that athleticism well to the field, which is the ultimate bottom line.
A lifelong Texas fan, Prevot wasn't ready to end his recruitment after receiving his offer. He's planning on extending his recruitment through the spring to continue evaluating his options, though the smart money remains on the 'Horns.