Texas Recruiting 2013: My Guys Recruiting Draft Lookback

After debuting last fall to rampant critical acclaim (or something like that), the My Guys Recruiting Draft is back for another season, this time featuring picks by myself, GoHornsGo90, HaroldHill, and The Audit Horn. Some new faces making selections, but it's the same format, except for a snake-style fantasy draft picking system. Watch for the first round on Monday morning.

Last year, while many of the top targets were already known, this season, it will a bit easier to identify the top targets because they already have offers, with five commitments even in the fold. There's much greater clarity regarding the overall board this time around, so there shouldn't be any major misses.

There's been a lot of discussion about whether or not the Longhorns made the right decision by moving up the timetable for extending offers by nearly six months, so the look back that is about to follow should provide some perspective on the level of risk involved in these picks, with the caveat that the writers had the benefit of roughly half the high school football season to make the picks.

Follow after the jump for the complete draft list, as well as some thoughts on hits and misses:

1. Whitewright quarterback Tyrone Swoopes (GoBR)
   
2. Fort Worth Arlington Heights defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson (BFLT)
   
3. Celina lineman Jake Raulerson (GHG90)
4. Sealy athlete Ricky Seals-Jones
5. Dallas Kimball defensive tackle Justin Manning
6. Dallas Jesuit wide receiver Jake Oliver
7. Bastrop cornerback Antwuan Davis
8. Orlando (FL) Dr. Phillips safety Marcell Harris
9. Kennedale linebacker Brett Wade
10. Weimar offensive tackle Ja'Braylin Thomas
11. Lake Highlands offensive tackle Kent Perkins
12. DeSoto all-purpose back Dontre Wilson
13. Livingston athlete Chevoski Collins
14. Rosenberg Terry wide receiver Derrick Griffin
15. Plano Prestonwood tight end Christian Morgan

Fast forward almost a year and, while there were a few misses, many of those players still remain as the best in the state, even if some, like Manning and Griffin, have either fallen off the radar (Manning) or were never seriously on it (Griffin). Of the current top 10 in the state by Orangebloods, only Harker Heights' Darius James and Cy Woods' Deoundrei Davis were not included in this draft, with the former a pretty significant omission and the latter not on the radar at that point.

The worst pick, by far,? That of Thomas, who ended up committing to Houston. The word is that despite his massive size, he just doesn't have the disposition required to dominate in the running game. Made even worse by the fact that it required passing over Perkins, arguably the best offensive tackle in the class. And the fact that James wasn't selected. Oops.

Other omissions include Cy Woods linebackers Deoundrei Davis, who wasn't on the radar, Fort Worth Southwest wide receiver Robbie Rhodes, who was a bit more on the fringes as he went through his breakout junior season, Belton tight end Durham Smythe, and defensive ends like Lancaster's Daeshon Hall and Torrodney Prevot, neither of whom were on the radar. Players will emerge on the radar, but not too many fall off.

Unquestionably, there are players who emerge during their junior seasons, and spots have to be kept for those prospects. But even with the acceleration of the process, there still aren't that many commitments in the 2014 class, so it's not like the class is getting full, which would endanger spots for those players.

Otherwise, of the14 in-state players on the list, only Collins and Wade are now outside of the top 25 on the most recent LSR, so few of the real studs in the class were misidentified -- the top players are mostly clear at this point, even though they have yet to play their junior seasons.

But back to the draft -- here's the draft order this year, which reverses every round:

1. HaroldHill
2. Myself
3. GoHornsGo90
4. The Audit Horn

With all that being said, anyone care to speculate about the first pick, which will come down from HaroldHill? Or criticize your boy for drafting Thomas? Or shoot, any thread is a great place to complain about the Longhorn Network.