Texas Longhorn Recruits: Week 6 Recap, Week 7 Look-ahead

Week six was a rather ho-hum one for the Longhorn commits. Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger had stat lines readers of these recaps should be used to seeing by now, but there were no truly remarkable "player of the week"-type performances, and with one or two exceptions the commits will be playing against relatively weak competition in Week 7. Texas high school football teams are a little over half-way through their regular season runs, and the first round of the playoffs is a mere five weeks away.

Last week's recap post profiled an up-and-coming football/lacrosse star, and this week I drop a poetry reference and profile a recruit from a California private school. I promise this is still a recap of Texas Longhorn commits, not those of Towson or William & Mary.

2016 commits

QB Shane Buechele (Arlington Lamar)

Last week: Completed 17-of-24 passes for 199 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, and rushed 11 times for 73 yards in a 30-23 win over Arlington Bowie

This week: Thursday, October 8 at 7:00, at Fort Worth Paschal (Clark Stadium)

Notes: Buechele was once again efficient and did not turn the ball over. All three of his touchdown passes came in the first half, the last on a 10-yard strike with 0:16 left in the 2nd quarter to give Lamar a 21-10 lead going into halftime. Bowie chipped away at the lead in the second half while chewing up loads of clock with its running game.

Lamar got as close as the Bowie 31 before getting backed into a 4th and 16 and punting on its first drive of the second half, then on its next drive Lamar got as close as Bowie's 8-yard line before settling for a field goal. Bowie pulled to within a point after a field goal made it 24-23 with 5:39 left in the game. Lamar faced a 4th and 2 from its own 28-yard line on the next possession, but went for it and converted on a 9-yard run by wide receiver Kofi Boateng (an Arkansas commit), and junior running back Rashod Polk ran 63 yards for a TD on the next play, putting Lamar up 30-23 after a missed PAT with 2:22 left in the game. Bowie couldn't get out of its own red zone on its last possession, and the game's final play was a Lamar interception off a Bowie pass on 4th and 8 deep in Bowie territory.

After two straight tough matchups, Buechele and Lamar get a relative break this week in facing perennial district bottom-feeder Fort Worth Paschal, whose roster features TCU commit Dylan Thomas (not to be confused with that other Dylan Thomas; I hope some day a defender tackles Thomas then taunts him by urging him to "go gentle into that good night!" just to see if he gets the reference). The teams in what is now district 4-6A have been district-mates since the 2010-2011 school year, and in that time Paschal has won only three district games in football.

WR Tren'Davian Dickson (Navasota)

Last week: Idle

This week: Friday, October 9 at 7:00, vs. Houston Sterling

Notes: This should be another week of the Navasota offensive juggernaut getting to name its score. In 2014, they defeated Sterling 87-12. Win or lose, Sterling's games are rarely dramatic; over the past three seasons they've had only two games that were decided by less than 13 points, and most have been far more lopsided than that.

WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps (Manvel)

Last week: Caught 1 pass for 48 yards in a 75-14 win over Pasadena South Houston

This week: Friday, October 9 at 7:00, vs. Pearland Dawson

Notes: Manvel spread the offensive wealth around in demolishing South Houston. Five different players attempted at least one pass, twelve players had at least one carry, and the team's eleven receptions on the night were spit among eight receivers. They'll face an exponentially tougher opponent Friday in Pearland Dawson, which is coming off a heartbreaking 28-27 overtime loss to undefeated cross-town rival Pearland. Dawson missed a PAT that would have tied the game and sent it into a second overtime (Texas fans should be able to sympathize). Dawson's only other loss on the season was to Richmond George Ranch, currently the 3rd-ranked team in Class 5A. Spring Westfield, the only team to defeat Manvel thus far, is currently ranked 6th in Class 6A.

WR Collin Johnson (Valley Christian - San Jose, CA)

Notes: Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in his team's Week 3 game and he will miss the rest of the season.

TE Peyton Aucoin (Brother Martin - New Orleans, LA)

Last week:Team lost to New Orleans St. Augustine 47-44.

This week: Friday, October 9 at 7:00, at Sulphur

Notes: Brother Martin suffered its first defeat of 2015 and dropped from 3rd to 6th in the LSWA Class 5A rankings as a result. St. Augustine stumbled out of the gate to a 0-3 record to begin its season, then rebounded to beat defending 5A state champion New Orleans Jesuit in week 5, and 3rd ranked Brother Martin in Week 6.

OL Tope Imade (Arlington Bowie)

Last week: Team ran 58 plays and gained 441 yards in a 30-23 loss to Arlington Lamar

This week: Friday, October 9 at 7:30, vs. North Crowley

Notes: Bowie had a lot of success running the ball in Week 6 against Lamar, totaling 364 yards on the ground, with 310 of those yards gained by senior RB DeAndre Cook. Once again though, Bowie's two FBS commits at wide receiver were barely involved, as they combined to make three catches for 37 yards. Bowie had multiple chances to take an early lead on Lamar, but its first possession of the game ended when Cook lost a fumble at Lamar's 2-yard line, and its second possession likewise ended with a lost fumble three plays after beginning the drive at Lamar's 29-yard line.

DT Gerald Wilbon (Destrehan, LA)

Last week: Team defeated Terrebonne 47-21

This week: Friday, October 9 at 7:00, vs. Reserve East St. John

Notes: Destrehan moved up from 7th to 4th in this week's LSWA Class 5A rankings. Its defense limited Terrebonne to 114 total yards in the win last Friday.

LB DeMarco Boyd (Gilmer)

Last week: Idle

This week: Friday, October 9 at 7:30, vs. Melissa

Notes: Both Gilmer and Melissa are coming off a bye week. Gilmer is 5-0 and ranked 2nd in Class 4A. Melissa is 1-4 and has been soundly defeated by each quality opponent they've played. Their four losses came against teams with a combined record of 18-2 (UT fans know what that's like), and those losses were by 35, 41, 21, and 40 points. In other words, this should be a rout.

DB Obi Eboh (Southlake Carroll)

Last week: Was credited with 6 tackles (4 solo) and 3 passes defensed in a 38-37 double-overtime win over Coppell.

This week: Friday, October 9 at 7:30, vs. Richland

Notes: Coppell led 24-7 after a field goal with 3:49 left in the 3rd quarter, but two TDs by senior receiver Zach Farrar (who has several offers) and a field goal made with 0:12 left in regulation tied the game at 24. The teams traded scores in the first overtime period, then in the second overtime Carroll scored a TD and PAT, and Coppell answered with a TD but failed to convert on a two-point attempt to end the game.

Carroll's next opponent, Richland, is 3-3 on the year and probably won't provide a stiff test (Carroll won last year's matchup 38-0), but senior Aaron Denson is one of the best wide receivers Eboh and the rest of the Carroll secondary will face this season. In six games, Denson has 38 receptions for 626 yards and 7 TDs. He'll be playing on Saturdays next year.

2017 commits

QB Sam Ehlinger (Austin Westlake)

Last week: Completed 10 of 19 passes for 151 yards, 3 TDs and no INTs; and rushed 16 times for 137 yards in a 24-9 win over Austin Bowie

This week: Friday, October 9 at 7:30, vs. Austin Akins

Notes: Westlake defeated previously unbeaten Austin Bowie to avenge one of their four losses of 2014 and likely give them a leg up on at least the 2nd place spot in district 14-6A. Lake Travis, which faces Westlake in two weeks, ran the table on the district a year ago and should be considered the favorite to win the district again this season. Through five games, Ehlinger has accounted for 1,674 total yards and 22 touchdowns (13 passing and 9 rushing) and has yet to throw an interception.

WR Damion Miller (Tyler John Tyler)

Last week: Caught 1 pass for 5 yards in a 30-20 win over Lindale

This week: Friday, October 9 at 7:30, at Lufkin

Notes: John Tyler has won two straight games after dropping its first three. Getting their record up to .500 could be tough with their next two games coming against Lufkin and defending 5A Division II state champion Ennis.

Updates on previously mentioned athletes

In a Longhorn recruit recap a few weeks back I mentioned Frank Harris, a junior quarterback at Schertz Clemens. He was coming off a huge week one performance at the time, and he has been fairly consistent at putting up big numbers in the weeks since. Clemens scored 35 or more points in all of its games before a 31-7 loss to Cibolo Steele last week, and through six games Harris has completed just under 58% of his passes for 980 yards, 9 TDs and 1 INT, and has rushed for 962 yards and 12 TDs. With most of the state's FBS programs already having a QB commit for the 2017 class, if an in-state school recruits Harris and gets his commitment, they'll either be getting a steal or a heck of a two-QB class.

Another player previously mentioned was Morton (MS) defensive lineman Charles Cameron, who has been a terror to opposing backfields for the past two seasons. Cameron, listed as 6'2 and 260 pounds, has been credited with an astounding 125 tackles (67 solo) through seven games this season, and he has piled up 20 or more tackles in a game three times. He was credited with 153 tackles in 13 games as a junior, so high tackle numbers are nothing new for him, but he seemingly has taken his game to another level as a senior, though his Hudl page has clips from only a few games this season. At last check, Cameron's gaudy stats had still not earned him a recruit profile page on Rivals, 247Sports, Scout, or ESPN. I should hope that doesn't remain the case for long, because he definitely looks like a FBS-level take.

Last week I profiled budding 2018 star Kirby Bennett, a running back at Allen who's also a highly-rated lacrosse player. In Allen's 52-7 win over Lewisville last Friday, Bennett ran 12 times for 135 yards and a season-high 3 touchdowns.

Out-of-state recruit I like: Phillip White, Jr.

White is a senior defensive end/tight end at Bradshaw Christian High School in Sacramento, California. Standing 6'4" and about 215 pounds, he resembles a lesser Charles Omenihu at defensive end, and at tight end he's a very tough cover for linebackers and defensive backs at the level he's playing. I don't know enough about California high school football to know what the Sierra Delta League is, or if Sacramento and northern California is an under-recruited area compared with parts of the state south of San Francisco, but White looks like a kid who should be playing college ball next year, and at present he does not have a recruit profile on 247Sports, ESPN, or Scout, and Rivals has merely a cursory profile for him.

As a junior he was credited with 109 tackles (44 solo) and 19 sacks on defense (his Hudl page features a 2:37 video with just his sacks from last year), and he caught 13 passes for 300 yards and 4 TDs on offense. So far in 2015 he is not on pace to match his defensive stats from a year ago (he has 36 tackles and only 7.5 sacks), but he has been targeted more in the passing game, catching 11 passes for 205 yards and 2 TDs.

His highlights show very little (if any) of him blocking at tight end, but he's a good enough pass catcher at his size that he'll get looks at that position. He looks pretty thin for a defensive end right now, but if he has the frame to get up to 240-250 or more without losing quickness or flexibility, he may have a collegiate future on defense.

White reports offers from FCS programs Holy Cross and Northern Arizona, and he has received varying levels of interest from Cal, Fresno State, Nevada, San Jose State, UTEP, UC-Davis, and Cal Poly. Whether he ends up playing in the Big Sky, Mountain West, or Pac-12 remains to be seen, and his recruitment will likely come down to where coaches project him and how big they think he can get, but I don't doubt he'll be playing somewhere at the D1 level.

Check out highlights from Phillip White's senior season thus far.