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The second offer from the Texas Longhorns to a pure interior offensive lineman went out on Friday when Arlington Lamar offensive guard Chris Owens picked up his invitation to play his college football in Austin:
I am so blessed to receive my 25th offer from the University of Texas #LetsRide #HookEm pic.twitter.com/TCplt3zw6Z
— SwiftCat (@ChrisOwens00) March 6, 2015
The 6'3, 290-pounder is the teammate of recent Texas quarterback commit Shane Buechele, a connection that should aid the Horns as Owens' recruitment progresses. Buechele is ready to take on a lead role as a recruiter, so he'll likely focus quite a bit of attention on Owens.
Throughout the month of February, Owens was one of the hottest prospects in the state -- he now holds offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Boston College, BYU, California, Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, SMU, Syracuse, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, and Washington.
He attended a Junior Day at Oklahoma last month, but the Texas offer sparked the first movement in his 247Sports Crystal Ball:
Ranked as the No. 201 prospect overall, Owens is the No. 5 offensive guard and the No. 30 player in Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
At the Dallas SPARQ Combine last year, Owens measured in a 6'2 and 270 pounds, a height that will keep him from playing outside in college. At Lamar, he plays right tackle, but he has some experience pulling as a blocker, a skill he will need when running Power in college at guard.
What stands out most about Owens is his natural punch and the strength of it -- he's capable of decleating opponents when he shoots his hands. In fact, his ability to to pancake a defensive end in pass protection is extremely impressive (check the :35 mark of his highlights.
Another clip shows Owens getting downfield on a screen pass, a play that highlights his athleticism, as Owens moves well for an offensive lineman and can chop his feet and re-direct even better for someone of his size.
Since Texas doesn't have a lot of spots for offensive linemen in the class, offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Joe Wickline is being pretty selective about offering prospects who can't tackle, which says a lot about how highly he rates Owens on his recruiting board.