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Texas Longhorns recruiting: Eventful weekend at the state track meet

The coaching staff hosted a handful of prospects on unofficial visits and saw some potential targets emerge as stars.

Davion Hall at the state track meet
Davion Hall at the state track meet
Wescott Eberts (SB Nation)

Horns_bullet_mediumMeet Jay Bradford. One of the breakout stars of the track meet was Jay Bradford, a 2015 Splendora running back who is yet to receive his first offer. Despite his youth, he won the 3A 100m with a blazing time of 10.49, all at over 190 pounds -- he's no track star with too small of a frame to handle load carries. Oh yeah, and he also won the long jump.

The lack of an offer suggests he may be one of the currently underrated backs in the 2015 class, which features a good deal of top talent. And with the only outstanding offers at this point to large backs like Plano West's Soso Jamabo and Rockwall's Chris Warren, it might make sense for the 'Horns to start targeting a running back who will surely end up at the position in college.

To that end, Bradford took an unofficial visit to Texas while in town over the weekend and while he doesn't yet appear on the 2015 edition of the LSR, he should make the leap onto it in the next update. The question is where the Texas coaches currently stand in their evaluations of the numerous talented running backs in the 2015 cycle. With Bradford playing through an injury last season, according to Inside Texas' Eric Nahlin, the coaches probably want to do quite a bit more evaluation of the emerging Splendora star.

A camp appearance and strong performance would go a long way towards helping Bradford pick up that offer.

Horns_bullet_mediumMeet Ishmael Zamora. Another breakout star from the event was Alief Elsik's Ishmael Zamora, one of the rising receivers in the state for the 2014 class. A physically impressive 6'3, 200-pounder, Zamora won the 5A 110m high hurdles on Saturday and is considered a consensus four-star prospect. He recently picked up his first big offer from Baylor about a week ago and met with the coaching staff while in town for the track meet.

An offer from the 'Horns doesn't sound like it would result in a commitment on the spot or even a place atop his list, but with his recruitment set to take off in the coming weeks, extending the offer now, if the Texas coaches are really serious about him, would play much better at this time than letting several weeks pass and allowing other schools to offer.

Horns_bullet_mediumRequired reading from the weekend. Rather than bombard the front page with a handful of .com recruiting updates from the state track meet, here are the links to all the pieces relevant to the Longhorns:

-- Mount Pleasant wide receiver Kd Cannon didn't have much to say, but he did confirm that offensive fit will be the defining factor in his recruitment.

-- Newton athlete Kevin Shorter still doesn't have a Texas offer and has an SEC school on top.

-- Manvel jumbo athlete Koda Martin got a long recruiting pitch from Jake Raulerson, who looks like he is up to around 270 pounds now. When is Martin deciding and which schools are standing out for him?

-- South Houston wide receiver Elton Dyer is a new name to watch at his position. Where does his recruitment stand in regards to the Longhorns?

-- Other unofficial visitors over the weekend included Beaumont Ozen's Tony Brown, who has met with the staff multiple times now this spring, and San Antonio Roosevelt's Arrion Springs, who continues to consider the Longhorns, but has two out-of-state schools at the top of his list currently in Oregon and Miami.

-- The 'Horns also hosted a 2015 visitor in Fort Bend Ridge Point's Cameron Townsend, an athletic outside linebacker prospect who has an offer and is shaping up as one of the top targets at the position. He wasn't participating, so either made it into town because he wanted to support teammates or just because he wanted to see Texas again.

-- Check out the recap from Inside Texas, as well. It's free. And thorough.

Horns_bullet_mediumTexas offers Davion Hall. It's about time that the 'Horns got into the recruitment of Liberty-Eylau athlete Davion Hall, a top-10 player in the state who projects favorably on either side of the ball. Considered a soft Baylor commitment, Hall's girlfriend is set to play basketball there, forming a pretty strong tie to the program. As long as they stay together, that is.

Why did the Longhorns wait so long? Who knows, but it's probably too late, as Hall told Hookem247 that the offer didn't really change anything ($) in his recruitment. His brief comments to Jeff Howe couldn't have been any more ambivalent.