Former Baylor OT signee JP Urquidez signs with Texas

The Texas Longhorns added another former Baylor Bears signee in the 2016 recruiting class, as Copperas Cove offensive tackle JP Urquidez signed with the Longhorns on a Saturday visit.

After close to a month of waiting and several trips to the Baylor campus in an attempt to speak with members of the football staff, Urquidez and his family finally received the release from his National Letter of Intent on Friday.

It only took one visit for the consensus four-star prospect to make his decision. Urquidez joins the nation’s No. 4 wide receiver, Devin Duvernay, as recent additions to the 2016 Texas recruiting class.

The 6’5.5, 300-pounder originally committed to Baylor last June over Texas and a number of other offers. When new offensive line coach Matt Mattox arrived in December, he re-initiated contact with Urquidez, but was unable to secure a visit.

Ranked as the No. 244 player overall, the No. 22 offensive tackle, and the No. 37 player in Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Urquidez is now the second pure tackle in the 2016 class, joining 2016 Under Armour All-American Jean Delance. It’s a need position for the Longhorns long term, so the addition of Urquidez is important from that standpoint. However, he doesn’t currently project as an instant-impact player.

Here’s the scouting report on Urquidez from Ian Boyd:

How he fits at Texas: Urquidez has the quickness and frame to be a left tackle for Texas, and if given time to continue to fill out his frame and add strength he would thrive with Matt Mattox where he could use his footwork to set up defenders before latching on and controlling them. It’s not clear if he’ll become a mauler at the point of attack but he’s very capable of getting movement on double teams and staying in front of edge players. Urquidez has drawn mixed reviews but I think he’ll be really good once he learns some technique and adds some strength because all of the tools are there. Sometimes he shows really quick feet, other times he gets guys thanks to his reach and then relies on that rather than finishing blocks with his feet. Sometimes he shows real aggressiveness and power, other times he lacks punch. I think he could be a lead tackle in their system with some time and confidence-building work in practice and in the weight room.

Unless the two signees aren’t able to qualify academically, Texas is now at the scholarship limit of 85 for the fall unless there is more attrition from somewhere on the current roster.

It’s likely that the staff anticipates some movement since Duvernay’s twin brother Donovan is also expected to join the class, which means that it could be difficult to find a spot for the nation’s No. 2 offensive guard, Patrick Hudson, who is visiting Oklahoma on Saturday, according to multiple reports.

With the addition of Urquidez, Texas now ranks No. 8 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings, having moved past USC.