2017 TE Major Tennison commits to the Texas Longhorns

When the Texas Longhorns extended an offer to 2017 Bullard tight end Major Tennison, his subsequent decision didn't take long to follow, as the 6'4, 245-pounder only needed several hours to officially join the class on Wednesday evening.

A consensus three-star prospect, Tennison is the No. 473 player nationally, the No. 16 tight end, and the No. 75 player in the state of Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He also held offers from Oklahoma State, SMU, and Texas Tech.

Tennison's commitment comes during an important recruiting stretch for the Texas coaches, who have been out recruiting during the bye week. One of those visits paid off in a big way.

"It feels unbelievable," Tennison told Horns247. "Coach (Jeff) Traylor came by to the school earlier in the day then he told me that I had an offer. I talked to my parents about it, and they were really supportive of me picking Texas, so I committed. It's hard to pass up UT."

As a lifelong Texas fan who visited for the Rice game and also witnessed the upset in the Cotton Bowl last Saturday, Tennison's deep affinity for the program made it an easy decision once he received his offer.

Since tight end is always a difficult position to fill, Tennison's pledge is a big one for the Horns and position coach Jeff Traylor. Making it even more significant is the fact that the two elite tight ends in the state -- Cy-Fair's Brock Wright and Waco La Vega's Kedrick James -- both committed to other programs several months ago.

Here's what BON's Jonathan Wells wrote about Tennison back in the spring:

If that's not a great name for a warrior-poet, I don't know what is. His Bullard team played in the same east Texas district as Gilmer, so new Texas tight ends coach (and former Gilmer HC) Jeff Traylor should already be well aware of him. He was measured at 6'5 last spring, may have since grown taller, and his weight is estimated to be in the 220-225 pound range. As a sophomore in 2014 he was named the Offensive Newcomer of the Year for district 5-4A Division II, and Bullard's Maxpreps page (the stats for which may be incomplete) credited him with 20 receptions for 379 yards (19 yards/catch) and 5 touchdowns.

In addition to his football accomplishments, he has also already been a varsity standout for Bullard in basketball and track in his young high school career. In basketball he was named district 16-3A's Newcomer of the Year as a freshman in 2014, and later that spring he ran a leg of Bullard's 4x400 meter relay team in track, running a top split time of 54.8 seconds. I went to a large 4A (now 5A) high school and ran track with several very good track athletes, some of whom could run sub-55 second mile relay splits in their 9th grade year. None of them were 6'5" or 210+ pounds. This kid's got some wheels.

Bullard's fifth-year head football coach Shannon Wilson, who previously served as defensive coordinator at perennial powerhouse Southlake Carroll, says the last tall kid he coached who could move as well as Tennison was Jackson Richards, a former Carroll defensive lineman who started 28 games in four seasons at Texas Tech (2011-2014).

His 1:47 sophomore highlight video shows him lining up mostly in the slot/flex, but he was also lined up out wide at times to create mismatches with much shorter cornerbacks. He doesn't look as physically developed at this point as the other three guys in this post, but he still has a long way to go in filling out his frame and putting on good weight for tight end or defensive end, his two most likely positions in college. I believe Tennison could really blow up as a recruit between now and the end of the 2015 season.

Tennison is the third 2017 commit for Texas, joining Austin Westlake quarterback Sam Ehlinger and Tyler John Tyler wide receiver Damion Miller.