Texas Longhorns football recruiting has been in a bit of a strange situation the last several seasons. With teams like Baylor, TCU and even Houston vastly outperforming historical standards, the 'Horns have had to fight extra hard for in-state recruiting supremacy.
Now, Charlie Strong and company may be poised to take back a firm grip on players from Texas, which is the subject of the above 247Sports video with Barton Simmons and Nick Kostos.
Simmons, the site's scouting director, reiterates that Texas hasn't gone anywhere and still recruits at a high level. But now Texas A&M is a mess with transfers galore, and Baylor has suddenly been rocked by a scandal that could put the Bears right back in the Big 12 cellar.
Not only that, TCU is set for a smaller class of only around 15 recruits in 2017, providing yet another opportunity for Texas to dominate the Lone Star State.
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"There's an opportunity for Texas to take advantage and win the state in a dominating fashion," Simmons says. "If they're able to do that, it's not going to be about Charlie Strong fighting for his job anymore. If they can win on the field and win on the recruiting trail in this 2017 class, the narrative is going to change from Strong fighting for his job to Strong having Texas heading to new heights."
Yet another factor for the 'Horns is the performance of true freshman Shane Buechele. If the rookie turns in a star season this fall it could have huge implications for players in this recruiting cycle.
"Winning on the field is going to be all about getting success out of the quarterback position, and Shane Buechele is the guy that's going to have to answer that question," says Simmons. "If you can get success at quarterback out of a true freshman, then not only will that set you up for success this fall, you've got two or three more years with a big-time quarterback in place as you're bringing in really talented players in recruiting."
Bottom line: The tide could be turning for Texas in a major way as the 2016 season approaches.