Texas summer enrollees arrive on campus

Over the holiday weekend, the summer enrollees for the 2022 Texas Longhorns recruiting class arrived on campus, a group including 18 high school players and three transfers, with summer conditioning beginning on Tuesday and classes beginning on Thursday.

The group of summer enrollees will be the first to benefit from a change in NCAA rules that allows coaches the ability to spend two hours per week on the field doing skill development, a major boon to an offensive line class that includes six summer enrollees and may need to produce multiple contributors this fall.

Here’s a look at the arrivals and their expectations for the 2022 season.

Alabama WR transfer Agiye Hall

The mercurial wide receiver caused a stir when he deleted his commitment video and pictures at Texas from his social media, eventually sparking the insane rumor that his name was removed from the roster — it was never added — but whatever the reason for the drama, the Florida product followed through on his decision to join the Longhorns.

Hall will present an early developmental challenge for new wide receivers coach Brennan Marion, who needs to successfully build a relationship with Hall to ensure that he doesn’t wash out of the program and also help him develop technique to match his athleticism.

If Marion can accomplish both of those tasks, Hall has opportunities for playing time with the three post-spring transfers and returning production at Texas entirely limited to Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington.

Iowa State transfer WR Tarique Milton

As a super senior, Milton provides some veteran depth for the Texas wide receiver room, but the biggest question for Milton is whether he can regain the explosiveness that allowed him to produce 35 receptions for 722 yards in 2019. Since battling injuries in 2020, Milton hasn’t been particularly productive and was passed on the Iowa State depth chart late last season, so there are legitimate concerns about whether he’s capable of beating out speedster Brenen Thompson for positioning on the depth chart.

Grand Prairie WR Savion Red

A late addition to the 2022 class on Early Signing Day, Red is a versatile athlete who didn’t test particularly well three years ago and is difficult to project because of how much time he spent playing quarterback for Grand Prairie. Ranked as a consensus mid three-star prospect, Red is a developmental take who will need to be much better than his recruiting rankings to avoid being recruited over.

Spearman WR Brenen Thompson

Weeks after setting the 3A 100m record with a time of 10.24, Thompson arrives on campus with a credible claim as the team’s fastest player, a skill that could quickly translate to the field this fall if Thompson can handle the significant jump in competition from a small panhandle high school to college football. It may not happen by the time the season starts, but Thompson profiles as a player with a strong chance of ending the season as the backup slot receiver.

Federal Way (Wa.) Todd Beamer OT Malik Agbo

At almost 6’6 and somewhere around 320 pounds, Agbo fits the mold of the massive offensive linemen that position coach Kyle Flood prefers, but he’s also an extremely raw prospect who may need multiple seasons of development before he’s ready to contribute.

Humble Summer Creek OT Kelvin Banks

One of the highest rated and most important offensive line signees for the Longhorns in the last decade, Banks has the potential to contribute at left tackle as a true freshman. The lack of development from Andrej Karic in 2021 and his ankle injury during spring practice increased the odds that Texas will need Banks to play this fall, but the development of Hayden Conner as a legitimate option at that position may now loom as the biggest roadblock to playing time for the nation’s No. 3 offensive tackle.

Arlington Bowie OG Devon Campbell

Campbell arrives in Austin as the nation’s top interior offensive lineman in the 2022 recruiting class and the most likely offensive line signee to start a game this season. There’s some belief that Campbell has the ability to play right tackle despite his lack of ideal height at 6’3, but with Christian Jones moving back to the right side, Campbell is most likely to start at guard. If Conner wins the left tackle job, Campbell immediately becomes the odds-on favorite to start opposite Junior Angilau.

Austin Westlake OG Conner Robertson

Barely ranked inside the top 600 prospects nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Robertson is another player likely to need time to develop. The local product doesn’t have as much upside as the larger, more athletic Agbo, but he’s intelligent, he’s a winner, and he faced a much higher level of competition, so he likely has a significantly higher floor.

Allen OG Neto Umeozulu

An important addition to the recruiting class just before the early signing period, Umeozulu is a top-100 prospect who probably needs to add weight — he’s listed at 285 pounds — before he’s ready to contribute.

Duncanville OT Cam Williams

The largest offensive linemen in a large group of large offensive linemen, Campbell is listed at 6’5 and 360 pounds. As with Campbell, Jones moving back to right tackle is a major development for Williams as it relates to the potential for early playing time and decreases his odds of contributing this fall.

Texarkana Texas High edge Derrick Brown

One of the most outspoken recruiters in the class, Brown is undersized to play on the edge right now at 210 pounds, so he may project better as an inside linebacker, especially given the lack of depth at the position. As Brown gains strength and mass, however, he has some natural pass-rush ability that could help him emerge as a contributor on the edge.

Austin Westlake edge Ethan Burke

A talented lacrosse player who garnered late recruiting attention before flipping from Michigan to Texas in December, Burke has as much potential as any defensive lineman in the class, but will likely need time to develop and add mass before he’s ready to see the field.

Donaldsonville (La.) edge J’mond Tapp

Beating out schools like Alabama and home-state LSU was a major coup for Texas and it could pay off as soon as this fall. Missing on TCU transfer Ochaun Mathis left a major need for a pass rusher off the edge and Tapp has enough strength and quickness to make an impact as a true freshman.

Galena Park North Shore DT Kris Ross

The interior defensive line features a mix of returning contributors and early enrollees, making it one of the deepest positions on the team. As a result, Ross is a strong candidate to take a redshirt season.

Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy College Prep DL Zac Swanson

Swanson has a well-rounded game ahead of most high school defensive lineman, but he’s likely to redshirt at a deep position.

Arlington Martin LB Trevell Johnson

The only high school inside linebacker signed by the Longhorns in the 2022 class, Johnson could have a career trajectory like that of Morice Blackwell, who was recruited as a linebacker before moving to safety.

James Madison transfer LB Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey

Tucker-Dorsey emerged as an FBS All-American with a breakout season as a redshirt junior and received offers from schools like Auburn, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M after entering the NCAA transfer portal, so there’s some widespread belief in his ability to make the jump from the FBS level to the Power Five level despite the fact that he’s undersized at 5’10, 214 pounds. Texas brought him in to back up DeMarvion Overshown at weak-side linebacker, but if Tucker-Dorsey can successfully make that leap, he could afford the Longhorns the ability to spin Overshown down to rush end on third downs.

Denton Ryan DB Austin Jordan

A versatile defensive back with good size and speed, Jordan could eventually project as a safety, but with the position changes this offseason to bolster depth there and suspensions as cornerback, Jordan will likely get a look at cornerback to start his career. The starting spots look locked down, so Jordan’s path to early playing time should hinge on his ability to make an impact on special teams.

Arlington Seguin ATH Xavion Brice

Brice flipped from Oklahoma on Early Signing Day and had a solid offer list considering his ranking as the No. 660 player nationally. Officially ranked as an athlete, Brice was a versatile player in high school who projects as a defensive back at Texas. Expect a redshirt season for Brice unless he excels on special teams.

Austin Regents School K Will Stone

With walk-on kicker Bert Auburn looking shaky at times in the Orange-White game, Texas needs Stone to arrive on campus ready to take control of the starting job formerly held by Cameron Dicker. Stone has the leg and the confidence to become a multi-year starter for the Horns, but he’ll have to prove that he has Dicker’s calmness and ability to deliver under pressure.

Gilbert (Ariz.) Williams Field LS Lance St. Louis

Long snappers don’t often earn scholarships right out of high school, so the expectation is clearly that St. Louis will take over for Justin Mader, a four-year starter for Texas. But walk-on Zach Edwards is steady and experienced, so St. Louis isn’t a lock to start as a freshman.