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Texas enlists Silsbee native Mark Henry to recruit Patrick Hudson

A giant porterhouse steak did its part, too.

By Wescott Eberts
Patrick Hudson and company at VY's Steakhouse
Patrick Hudson and company at VY's Steakhouse
via @Peti__

When Baylor Bears offensive tackle commit Patrick Hudson embarked on his three-day official visit with the Texas Longhorns, he probably didn't expect to run into anyone else from his hometown of Silsbee (population 6,700).

But he did on Wednesday evening at Vince Young's Steakhouse:

While several people in that picture are familiar to Texas fans, like Patrick Vahe and VY himself, one might not be so familiar. The thick dude in black there? That's former Olympic weightlifter, internationally-renowned powerlifter, and professional wrestler Mark Henry, who happens to hail from, you guessed it, Silsbee.

Henry first came to Austin briefly in 1990 following high school after Texas kinesiology professors and powerlifting coaches Terry and Jan Todd visited Silsbee to see the young powerlifter whose tales of strength had already reached the state's capital. Eight months of training helped vault him to national and international success, including an Olympic berth before his 20th birthday.

Now back in Austin with his professional career as a wrestler over, Henry has a unique perspective not only on what it's like to come from Silsbee, but also how just a little bit of time in Austin can help make a lifelong difference.

How the Longhorns managed to connect the two isn't yet apparent, but it could end up being an extremely shrewd move for Texas. Perhaps it was a result of Young meeting Henry at an Austin WWE event in August of 2014.

Then there's Vahe, who is also playing a pivotal role in the recruitment of former high school teammate Chris Daniels. As a Freshman All-American last year, Vahe understands first hand the type of opportunity that playing along the offensive line at Texas can provide after taking full advantage of his chance last year.

If those factors weren't enough to get the 6'6, 325-pounder considering the Horns, maybe this porterhouse steak did the trick:

For a guy who is pretty quiet on social media and didn't post any pictures of his trip to Austin, that qualifies as quite a reaction.

All in all, it seems as if it could have been an impactful trip for Hudson, who wasn't even seriously expected to make a trip to Austin before National Signing Day. Now it's at least conceivable that he could end up a Longhorn when it's all said and done in a few days.

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