Texas Recruiting 2013: Outstanding Offers

The flurry of commitments in February and March has now gone dry in the last month and a half, as the Longhorns have failed to reel in another pledge since Belton tight end Durham Smythe joined the Dream Team 2013 in early March.

Of course, Texas still hasn't had an offered player in the 2013 class commit to another school either, though a couple of potential targets committed elsewhere before ever visiting campus, with A&M pledge Isaiah Golden, the athletic defensive tackle now at Carthage, standing as the most shining example there.

With all that being said, it's time to take a look at where the Longhorns stand with the 2013 prospects currently holding offers.

Dontre Wilson, DeSoto all-purpose back -- Still locked in to a May 25th decision at the Eagle spring game, Wilson is down to Texas and Oregon.

Here's the recent assessment of where things stand with him:

It's not clear why exactly Oklahoma State is no longer in contention, but Mack Brown and company do have the benefit of making the last impression on Wilson before his commitment, as the 5-10, 170-pounder made his way down to Austin for the Texas Orange-White game in early April, has not made any visits since, and does not plan to make any before announcing his commitment.

The problem for Texas? The sense from Wilson is that he considers himself to be a potential every-down back in college and Oregon is more likely to give him that opportunity than Texas, as position coach Major Applewhite oversees a depth chart that projects to be bursting at the seams with talent in 2013 and beyond due to strong recruiting efforts there in the 2011, 2012, and 2013 classes.

Beyond the depth chart and a more ideal offensive fit at Oregon, proximity is the one factor that could play heavily in favor of the 'Horns in Wilson's recruitment. There have been rumblings that one or both of his parents would prefer for him to stay in the state to play his college ball and that could well be the factor that eliminated Oklahoma State. However, since Wilson hasn't said much publicly in the last several months, it's difficult to get a true read of where he stands on that issue.

One other thing to keep in mind -- the last three Texas running backs to sign with Oregon have all left the program (Lache Seastrunk, Dontae Williams, Tra Carson). As much as the success of LaMichael James there could help Oregon, especially since Wilson met with James while in Oregon over his spring break, the weight of those other defections at least provide a counterpoint.

Time to just sit back and wait until Wilson makes his decision public less than a month from now.

Ra'Shaad Samples, Dallas Skyline wide receiver -- There's been a lot of talk regarding Samples being high on Texas A&M. However, he was not in attendance at the Aggie spring game over the weekend and has talked about visiting Ohio State this summer, so it does not appear that a commitment to A&M or any other school is imminent.

Here are some of his most recent thoughts on his potential visit plans ($):

I will try to make some visits this summer. I'm not in any rush to make a decision. I will probably get to some in-state places for second visits and try to go to a couple of out of state ones too like Notre Dame and USC. I may see Texas Tech and A&M again. When I went down to A&M, it was a junior day and it was quick. I want to spend a day on the campus. I want to see them practice but I probably will miss out on that. I'll attend some games next year. I will probably see Texas. I really want to see Tech play and Oklahoma State play. I try to go to a lot of games every year.

Samples did add that he plans on making a decision some time before his senior season, as he wants to be focused on finishing his career strongly at Skyline, so official visits seem unlikely at this time.

The Longhorns are still in a solid position right now, but there aren't any public comments from the Skyline star to indicate that any team is in the lead. The bigger question might be whether Texas will wait into the summer for Samples to make a decision before possibly extending offers to players like Fort Worth Southwest's Robbie Rhodes and West Mesquite's Eldridge Massington, both of whom have or will receive visits from the Texas coaching staff this spring.

Justin Manning, Dallas Kimball defensive tackle -- Um, it's probably time to officially strike Manning from the list of possibilities after a public argument with Texas signee Peter Jinkens on Twitter that spanned several days, included Manning staunchly defending Oklahoma, and even featured Manning sending his address to Jinkens during Round 2 of the fight (started by a trolling Aggie, no less) so the Skyline linebacker could come over and fight him.

It was heated, to say the least, including plenty of language (some censored, some not as the beef deepened) not fit to post in this forum.

Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and a physical confrontation didn't go down, but there were a few moments in there when it seemed like the two could make some emotional, prideful decisions that would threaten their respective futures.

So, yeah. Anyways.

Twitter beefs aside, had Oklahoma not waited until March to offer Manning, it's highly possible that he could be a Sooner already. At this point, it seems like only a matter of time until he does make that call to Bob Stoops to give the Oklahoma head coach some good news.

Torrodney Prevot, Alief Taylor defensive end -- After spending most of the spring visiting Texas, Texas A&M, and LSU, Prevot has consistently listed those schools are his favorites, but does acknowledge that he hasn't had the ability to take any other visits, perhaps a reason why he extended his timeline into his senior season to take some official visits in the fall.

The Taylor defender also plans on attending some summer camps, but has not yet decided which ones ($).

Until Prevot is able to take some visits to other schools that have offered, which could include Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and USC, some of the high-profile programs who currently have offers out to Prevot, the three favorites mentioned above appear to be the favorites.

Those schools could continue to hold an edge because Prevot has taken multiple visits to those campuses, an advantage any other schools outside those three favorites are unlikely to hold following an official visit unless the talented edge rusher visits for a summer camp -- the fact of the matter is that few high-level prospects commit to other schools

Marcell Harris, Orlando (FL) Dr. Phillips safety -- Potentially a hybrid safety/linebacker in college in the mold of Tony Jefferson or Ahmad Dixon, Harris hasn't visited Texas since taking a trip up to Austin while in San Antonio for the US Army Underclassmen Combine back in January, but hasn't taken many other official visits either.

Since that journey to Texas, Harris has only attended a Florida State Junior Day and the Florida spring game. A Florida legacy, the Gators and the Seminoles are probably the major competition for Texas.

As always, the next step with Harris will be to get him back on campus some time this summer, as the hard-hitting safety might not wait until the fall to make his decision. At this point, there isn't an official timetable, but did tell Gator Bait that he would like to "hurry up and make this commitment ($)."

Vonn Bell, Rossville (GA) Ridgeland -- A visitor in Austin for the Orange-White game, the consummate ballhawk's journey into the Lone Star State was part of an approximately week-long trip across the country that also included stops at Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, and Notre Dame.

While Bell did have some positive things to say about his experience at Texas, including his appreciation for defensive backs coach Duane Akina, the Georgia product told Bucknuts that his trip to Columbus to see the Buckeye program was his favorite trip ($).

It sounds like the 'Horns have some ground to make up and it's unlikely that Texas will have another chance to make an impression in person unless Akina visits Ridgeland until the fall, when the school could be under consideration for an official visit. There's a chance Bell could take all five, as he doesn't currently have a timetable and is in the process of narrowing down his list, so he doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry to end his recruitment.

Maurice Smith, Sugarland Dulles defensive back -- It's not exactly a newflash at this point to say, once again, that Texas could have received a commitment from Smith back after the second Junior Day had the staff opted to extend an offer at that point.

Now the Longhorns are in a dogfight that includes recent entrants Florida and Florida State, which both offered in the last week after making trips to the Houston area to see him in person.

It's also not a newsflash to count Alabama as squarely in the mix as well after Smith came away from the spring game impressed with the program and fan support, going as far as to say that the Tide would be his leader. if he had a leader, which he does not. Follow that hypothetical?

Following an unofficial visit to Utah recently (uh, okay...), Smith sounds like he wants to visit the Florida schools and has now been planning for some time to make a decision after his senior season.

Right now, the best thing that could happen for Texas is for Antwuan Davis to commit, as the two have become friends. In the end, if Davis commits and Smith comes back to the proximity of the program and his lifelong love for the Longhorns after taking his visits, then Texas likely stands a good shot of landing his services if he decides that the depth chart isn't the deciding factor in his recruitment.

Antwuan Davis, Bastrop cornerback -- So here's the skinny on the Austin-area product from 11 days ago:

Following a trip to South Bend to take in the Notre Dame campus last weekend, the Bastrop cornerback now has a list of favorites ($) -- Texas, TCU, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Baylor, with the Irish apparently not making the cut. Speaking as a born and raised Hoosier, it's understandable that such a visit would be absolutely underwhelming. Indiana is not a cool state.

The Longhorns still appear to be in pole position with Davis, who is the odds-on favorite to become the 14th commitment in the class for Texas, though he indicated that he doesn't currently have a timetable for a decision. Despite that proclamation, it's hard to see his recruitment extending into his senior season.

What's changed since then? Well, a lengthy visit from Akina to Bastrop days after that update went well for the 'Horns ($):

He seemed like he really enjoyed the workout we went through and he just enjoyed being there. I feel real comfortable around Coach Akina. I don't know why, but I just felt real relaxed and real comfortable with him being there for some reason.

The result is that Davis now has Texas officially at the top of his list and his decision could happen even before Wilson makes his call, so if the speedy track star preparing for the state meet was the "odds-on favorite" as potential no. 14 in the 2013 class, those odds are even more heavily in favor of the 'Horns now.