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Looking at Texas' national recruiting efforts on the eve of signing day

On3 imageby:Bobby Burton•12/20/22•

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Cedric Baxter, Vince Young (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

There’s a lot of Texas Longhorns recruiting news to be made in the next 24 hours.

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We’re awaiting the decisions of:

– WR DeAndre Moore
– TE Ka’Morreun Pimpton
– EDGE Tausili Akana
– DB Tyler Scott
– ATH Jelani McDonald

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Texas currently sits at No. 6 in the On3 Consensus national team rankings. It’s doubtful Texas moves farther up the ring because those ahead, Alabama and Georgia, are still improving their classes, too.

Depending on how things shake out over the next 48 hours, Texas could be looking at finishing anywhere from 3 to 5 in my estimation. Don’t hold me to that exactly though, because odd things can most certainly happen.

If Texas moves into the top five, it’ll be the second consecutive top five class for the Horns. This is what Texas has needed, to string together elite classes on an ongoing basis.

That is how you start to separate and compete effectively with other highly talented programs.

Add in smart recruiting in the portal, and that is the recipe for long-term program success.

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“National” recruitments are a good gauge of just how well a team is attracting elite talent versus its competitors.

I count eight truly “national” recruitments that Texas has won in this class thus far:

Arch Manning
Cedric Baxter
Johntay Cook
Jaydon Chatman
Sydir Mitchell
Anthony Hill
Malik Muhammad
Derek Williams

That’s a strong group and includes the nation’s top QB, RB and LB.

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But it’s never just the top guys who become key players on the team.

There are also the three stars and low four stars that end up being better than expected.

No doubt, a couple of lower ranked players will invariably impact the Texas program. So who do I think those might be?

Ultimately, I think there will be a few.

But if I had to pick one of which little is expected, I’d go with Spencer Shannon, the tight end at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei.

Shannon feels like a glue guy to me. He’s hard nosed, has great size and seems to love the game of football, choosing it over playing baseball where he was throwing 90 on the mound as a freshman.

Yet he’s one of the lowest ranked players in the class, in part because he’s not a “sexy” prospect. He doesn’t run in the 4.5s or catch 50 passes a year. But I think he projects extremely well on the next level and perhaps beyond.

Keep in mind, I do not think he is a “feature” tight end like Ja’Tavion Sanders or perhaps like Ja’Morreun Pimpton. But I think Shannon can develop himself into a key cog in the Texas offense over time.

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