Texas fading with 4-star RB Devwah Whaley as Georgia surges

For the Texas Longhorns to land an elite in-state running back for the third straight year, the Horns need an unlikely surge with Beaumont Central star Devwah Whaley.

Ranked as the No. 4 running back overall according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, the 6'0, 205-pounder looks like he will become a member of the Georgia Bulldogs when National Signing Day 2016 rolls around. Though it's still possible that the Horns will get him on campus before he makes an official decision, a recent official visit to Athens sparked a huge surge for the Bulldogs in his 247Sports Crystal Ball:

In fact, of the 10 predictions for Georgia, all of them have come in the last week.

Even if the Horns do get him on campus, the overwhelming perception is that Texas has been behind other regional rivals like Oklahoma and Texas A&M, so it's posible that head coach Charlie Strong and his staff currently sit in a distant third or fourth place for Whaley's services.

Based on what defensive backs coach Chris Vaughn was tweeting out last week, the current top target at running back is Katy's Kyle Porter:

Headed to the practice field but we are looking for the TransPorter on Katy FWY

— Christopher M Vaughn (@CoachVaughm_DBU) September 25, 2015

When Porter reported his offer from the Horns in the summer of 2014, there was some skepticism about whether it was actually legitimate, but it now appears that is the case. What's much harder to determine is what's actually going on with the consensus three-star prospect, who is ranked as the No. 17 running back nationally.

The 5'11, 190-pounder is a bit of a mystery -- he rarely gives interviews and there haven't been any updates to his recent timeline on 247Sports, though Rivals reported that he visited ($) Oregon last summer, the school that currently leads in his Crystal Ball with two predictions to one for Texas. The predictions for the Ducks both came during the summer after his visit to Eugune.

During that interview at State 7-on-7, he told Rivals that he wanted to wait until after the season to take his official visits, so this is a recruitment that will likely last until close to National Signing Day.

With Kirk Johnson and Tristian Houston both headed towards redshirt seasons, the Horns could probably afford to miss on the 2016 class at running back if numbers become an issue and there's no one out there the staff truly covets. Right now, it's just Porter on the radar, as the only other uncommitted running back out there with a Texas offer is Southlake Carroll's Lil'Jordan Humphrey, who is most accurately labeled as an athlete due to his 6'5 height.