Texas enjoys a busy recruiting weekend in Austin

To say it was a busy recruiting weekend in Austin would be an understatement. The Longhorns hosted both official and unofficial visitors over weekend and the coaching staff took an aggressive approach by extending several offers to the 2021 and 2022 classes.

Both Princely Umanmielen and Ennis Rakestraw made their way to Austin as official visitors, as both prospects gave the Longhorns one last look before making their decision on Wednesday.

Rakestraw and Umanmielen both have the Longhorns in their final grouping of schools heading into National Signing Day, so there is a chance for Tom Herman and his staff to end the cycle on a high note come Wednesday.

Rakestraw has Alabama, Mizzou, and Texas in his final trio, while Umanmielen will decide between Auburn, Baylor, Florida, and Texas.

On the unofficial side of the ledger, several prospects from both the 2021 and 2022 classes made their way to Austin to get some face time with the staff, including Humble (TX) Atascocita offensive tackle Kam Dewberry, Klein (TX) Cain running back Jaydon Blue, and Brenham’s Eric Hemphill III.

The Texas staff was as aggressive as we’ve seen over the weekend, as they carpet bombed the state of Texas with offers and showed that they are stepping up their efforts earlier in the process.

The following prospects all walked away with offers from Texas over the weekend:

• WR Destyn Pazon, Edna Karr (New Orleans, LA)
• TE Elijah Arroyo, Frisco Independence
• DB Jaylon Guilbeau, Port Arthur Memorial
• DB Isaiah Nwokobia, Dallas Skyline
• LB Martrell Harris Jr., The Woodlands
• TE Landen King, Humble Atascocita
• DB Calen Bullock, John Muir (Pasadena, CA)
• DBRomario Noel, Cy-Ranch
• RB Donovan Edwards, West Bloomfield (West Bloomfield, MI)
• LB Morice Blackwell, Arlington Martin

It was tough to keep pace with all the different offers going out over the weekend, but it was interesting to see the switch up in philosophy by the staff and it made me wonder how much of an impact the new staff changes had on this newfound aggressiveness.

I was particularly interested to see that two tight end offers went out for the 2021 class given that Texas already has two tight ends committed in Lake Travis’ Lake McRee and Everman’s Juan Davis. This looks like something to keep an eye on going forward as the cycle progresses.

Overall, it looked like the weekend was a productive one on the recruiting front for the Longhorns and now all focus will turn National Signing Day on Wednesday, as the Longhorns try to close the book on the 2020 cycle before moving full steam ahead to 2021.

Rakestraw and Umanmielen have already been mentioned as being on the docket for upcoming decisions, but the biggest priority left on the board is five star defensive end Alfred Collins, who will also be announcing his decision on Wednesday.

Collins doesn’t say much much, but the buzz seems to be favoring the Longhorns heading into Wednesday, and landing the Longhorn legacy would be a very nice way to close out the cycle.