echeese
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View from the Cheap Seats-2022/2023 recruiting summation
Sark can recruit.
Sark can recruit.
Years ago, my friend Gerry Hamilton said the best way to really evaluate recruiting classes was to look at recruiting over rolling 2 year periods. As we highlight below, make no mistake, Sark can recruit with the best of them. He tops a #5 class in 2022 with a #3 class in 2023. With the exception of TE, he has not only landed great talent, but he has also filled the depth chart at every position nicely. We have not seen this level of talent acquisition since the glory days of Mack Brown. Single biggest reason for optimism on the 40 acers is Sark’s ability to recruit topflight talent. And so far the too early indications are that Sark and staff can develop said talent as well. Look no further than the hire of Chris Jackson as the WR coach, a man known for his technical teaching skills, eschewing more notable recruiters.
The bonus of the 2023 recruiting season was stealing 3 top notch defensive recruits, one commit from the dirt burglars, another from our friends in Collie Station and a post signing day commit from a TCU Safety to go with a WR stolen at the last minute from Louisville. It’s not enough to have a Top 3 class, Sark made it sweeter kicking sand in the face of several rivals. Sark also nabbed the best offensive and defensive player in Louisiana, a state that produces great talent.
One very interesting note, Sark made it a real focus point to recruit kids from winning programs. Plenty of players who either won State titles or went deep in the playoffs.
We will use the 24/7 composite rankings for this write up for both rankings and positions. They take 24/7, Rivals, and ESPN’s rankings to create their composite
QB
2022
Quinn Ewers
#1 player in the Nation #1 QB Portal. TRANSFER
Top player in the nation as a Junior, skips Senior year to enroll early at tOSU after originally committing to TEXAS. Up and down 1st year at TEXAS. Sark’s #1 development project. Expected to take a big step up as QB1 in 2023. Lead Southlake to the State Finals his last year there.
Maalik Murphy
#179 Nationally, #12 QB and #13 in California. Very talented passer who lead his team to the State Finals. Redshirted as he hit campus injured.
2023
Arch Manning
#1 player in the nation so obviously ranked the #1 QB and top player in Louisiana, state semifinalist. He is the future.
Not sure Sark could have done any better with his QB recruiting. He targeted Arch and no one else in the 2023 class and it paid off. Arch also proved to be a major bell cow with the 2023 recruiting class. Land a top QB, others want to come play with him and he did not fail us. Ewers is QB1 for 2023. Yes, Sark used coach speak to claim there is competition this spring. We will believe it if we see it. 2023 is Ewers year. If Ewers does not jump to the show in the 2024 draft, things might get really interesting. Expect Arch to be limited to his 4 games and take a red shirt year as he adjusts from a smaller school to Power 5 competition. He is the future. Maalik? He’s stuck in the middle and barring injury likely does not see the field. Hate to see it as all reports are he’s a great leader and a very good passer for the scout team. The last two TEXAS QBs that transferred headed to Utah, have we become their minor league?
Grade: A+
RB
2022
Jayden Blue
#195 Nationally #15 RB #31 Texas. Looked good in limited reps in 2022. Expected to be part of a 3 headed RB group in 2023.
2023
Cedric Baxter
5 star #2 RB in the Nation, #26 overall player. Kid comes with everything, good size, speed vision and footwork. Early Enrollee and will be competing for serious playing time right away.
Tre Wisner
3 star, #36 ranked RB in the nation. District Co-MVP. He’s got great speed but a smaller back. There was some speculation he might shift to slot receiver, but the WR room is pretty full today.
RB Grade: A
Baxter hit campus at the right time as TEXAS loses a Top 4 All Time Running back and his excellent back up to the show. RB room seems to be in good shape and look for Baxter to get plenty of 2023 reps.
WR
2022
Brennen Thompson
4 Star #131 Nationally #20 WR #21 Texas. Speed speed and more speed. Saw limited action in 2022 and will be part of the competition for WR3 and PT this fall.
Savion Red
3 stars Not Nationally ranked #107 WR #203 Texas.
Sark may have found a hidden gem. Saw time in 2022 though likely best known for his on camera tantrum during a game. Kid brings speed and appears a decent route runner.
Isaiah Neyor
4-star Transfer.
One of the most coveted portal players in 2022. Expected to be the starter opposite X but ACL injury ended his season. If he’s 100% this fall, expected to be in a crowded WR mix.
Tarique Milton
3 Star Transfer. Saw very limited 2022 reps. From ISU
2023
Johntay Cook
5 star, #24 nationally, #4 WR and #5 in state. Early enrollee
State Champion who tore up the Under Armor games and was basically un-defendable. Cook should push for early PT. 6’ 180 lbs. Has it all, route running, good hands, speed, and an excellent change of gears in and out of brakes.
Ryan Niblett
4 Star #63 Nationally #11 WR and #11 in Texas. 5’10 170.
Another player who runs great routes and has high top end speed. On the small side
DeAndre Moore
4 star #98 Nationally #17 WR and #8 in California. Early enrollee
Sark stole him late from Louisville. A take the top off player with great speed (sense a pattern here?, Sark loves him some speed). Early enrollee who will compete for PT in 2023.
Adonia (AD) Mitchell
4 Star PORTAL. 6’4” 200 with speed.
Transfer from Georgia where he had 4 catches for 65 yards and 2 TDs in the playoffs. Sark just found his likely 3rd starter. Excellent fighting for the contested ball. Only knock, he has missed time for injuries. From Fort Bend so he’s coming home. 2 years of eligibility left.
Grade A+
Sark loading up on his WRs which makes sense. WRs are very much key to the Sark offense. Additionally, JWhitt and Xavier likely heading to the show after this season. The talent here is ridiculous. Landing AD in the portal should be huge for 2023 as he pencils in at one starter with X and JWhitt. With last year’s transfer Neyor returning from injury and likely 3 of the 4 2023 recruits pushing for early PT, the WR room is getting crowded.
TE
2022
None
2023
Will Randle
3 star, #44 TE in the Nation. Arch’s HS teammate.
Spenser Shannon
3 Star #36 TE 6’7” and 240.
This is a project with great size and good athletic ability.
Grade: D The weak link of Sark’s 2 year roll.
OL
2022
Devon (DJ) Campbell
5 Star #10 Nationally #1 OG #3 Texas.
Part of the 2 deep and projects to start in 2023.
Kelvin Banks
5 Star #33 Nationally #3 OT #8 Texas.
Day 1 starter and 2nd Team All BigXII as a true freshman. Already projects as a 1st round draft pick in 2025. Left tackle is set at TEXAS for the next 2 seasons.
Neto Umeozulu
4 stars #91 Nationally #4 IOL #16 Texas
Red shirted but expected to be in the 2023 2 deep. Shirted
Malik Agbo
4 stars #269 Nationally #23 IOL #5 Washington Shirted
Cole Hutson
4 stars #362 Nationally #13 IOL #43 Texas. Starter at right guard in 2022. Lost his job due to injury.
Cameron Williams
4 stars #407 Nationally #34 OT #56 Texas. Part of the 2 deep in 2022. Was expected to claim the starting RT spot but Christian Jones returning for his COVID year. Still might win the job.
Conner Roberson
3 stars #600 Nationally #27 IOL #89 Texas. Red shirted in 2022 but saw action in 4 games. Potential cross train to center.
2023
Jayden Chapman
4 Star #188 Nationally #9 OG #34 Texas. Early enrollee Projects as a guard.
Trevor Goosby
3 star #398 Nationally, #29 OT #90 Texas.
The only player without huge size (280) but excellent feet and a 6’6” frame to grow. Regional state playoff qualifiers beaten by South Oak Cliff which added 2 players to the TEXAS roster this year.
Payton Kirkland
3 star #523 Nationally #41 OT and #91 in Florida. Early enrollee Another massive human. 6’6” 350 lbs out of HS. Projects as an OT
Conner Stroh
3 Star #605 Nationally #46 OT and #92 in Texas. Early enrollee
Another big kid (6’6” 345) from my son’s Wakeland High.
Andre Cojoe
3 Star #803 Nationally #63 OG early enrollee continuing the trend of massive humans, 6’5” 345
The movie Space Balls called it LUDICROUS speed and that appears what Sark and Coach Flood have done is recruited OL at Ludicrous levels. Talk about your class of beef. 2022 produced 2 starters as true freshmen with 2 more in the 2 deep. These 7 should form the core of TEXAS OL going forward. After taking 7 of the best OLs in the 2022 class, Coach Flood takes 5 in 2023 with an eye towards big guys he can develop. We don’t expect to see any of the 2023 players in the 2 deep until 2024 but look for a couple of these guys to grow up and make an impact. TEXAS finally at a point it can redshirt most of their OL recruits. With one exception, these are all very large human beings, and the raw material is there. Good news as TEXAS was bare along the OL.
Grade B+ (A+ 2022 with a C+ for 2023)
Bold strategy Cotton, let’s see how 2023 works for Coach Flood after landing a great class in 2022.
Overall Offense
Major home runs at QB, WR, OL and RB while TE is limited to developmental projects. From this 2 year class, look for 2-4 WRs heavily in the mix this year along with Baxter and Blue at RB. Keep in mind, Sark does not seem to like big rotations.
On to the other side of the ball.
DT
2022
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Jaray Bledsoe 4 Stars #174 Nationally #24 DT #28 Texas[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Kristopher Ross 4 Stars #250 Nationally #39 DT #33 Texas[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Zac Swanson 4 Stars #376 Nationally #46 DT #6 Arizona[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Aaron Bryant 4 Stars #392 Nationally #52 DT #11 Mississippi[/SIZE]
2023
Sydir Mitchell 4 Star #198 Nationally #27 DL #3 New Jersey. Early Enrollee Great big run stuffing Nose tackle. Look for him in the rotation this fall
Grade: B+
Lots of DTs in the 2022 class but none made a significant impact in 2022. Good news, pretty sure they all shirted which is another year of getting bigger stronger and more talented. Not unusual for DTs to take a year or two to "grow into" college football. Staff only took one DT in 2023 but he’s a good one.
Edge
2022
- [SIZE=19.5pt]J’Mond Tapp 4 Stars #107 Nationally #11 Edge #9 Louisiana Red shirted[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Justice Finkley 4 Stars #116 Nationally #12 Edge #6 Alabama[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Ethan Burke 4 Stars #379 Nationally #30 Edge #51 Texas, from memory logged the most snaps of the freshmen edge players. Neither he nor Finkley shirted.[/SIZE]
2023
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Colton Vasek 4 Stars #103 Nationally #16 Edge #19 Texas. Early enrollee Out of state champion Westlake, expected to push for early playing time. Extra sweet as Sark stole him from the land thieves.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Taulsi Akana 4 Star #105 Nationally #17 Edge #1 Utah, he committed on early signing day and was highly coveted nationally[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Derion Gullette 4 star #127 Nationally #19 Edge #24 Texas Early enrollee. Very athletic multi-sport star only knock on him is he played at a small school.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Billy Walton 3 Stars #500 Nationally #41 Edge #65 Texas. Out of state champion South Oak Cliff. Needs to get bigger (only 215), projects as a DE. Great motor[/SIZE]
Grade: A
Used the 24/7 composite for grades and positions so a couple of these players might be considered LBs. TEXAS uses a 3-3-5 base where one OLB is frequently rushing the passer. None of the 2022 edge players made a real impact in 2022. PK loves him some hybrid players and landed some really good ones in this class. Future is bright at the edge spot but this is the position Coach PK needs someone to step up in the worst way.
LB
2022
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Derrick Brown 4 Stars #335 #28 LB #46 Texas[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Trevell Johnson 3 Stars #522 #50 LB #74 Texas[/SIZE]
2023
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Anthony Hill 5 Stars #18 Nationally #1 LB #4 Texas. Early enrollee Late steal from the Aggies, walks on campus into a likely starting spot next to Jaylen “I was screwed out of BigXII DPOY” Ford.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Tausili Akana 4 Stars #125 Nationally #4 LB #2 Utah Another late commit, early Christmas present for TEXAS fans. Many had him pegged (Crystal Ball-ed) to the thieves of dirt.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]S’maje Burrell 4 Stars #295 #23 LB #54 Texas, stop me if you’ve heard this before, very athletic.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Liona Lefau 4 Star #391 Nationally #29 LB #2 Hawaii. Early enrollee[/SIZE]
Grade: A
Stellar class of LBs in 2023 highlighted by the #1 LB in the Nation. And the bonus, Sark stole Hill from Aggie on the eve of signing day. After a fairly quiet class in 2022, Sark and Coach PK roared back in 2023. Good news, all very good athletes
Safety
2022
- [SIZE=19.5pt]BJ Allen 4 stars #125 Nationally, #10 S #20 Texas. Shirted[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Austin Jordan 4 stars #251 Nationally #20 S #21 Texas Did not shirt[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Larry Turner-Gooden 4 stars #283 #24 S #24 California. Did not shirt. Played well at times. In the 2 deep mix for 2023.[/SIZE]
2023
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Derrek Williams 4 Stars #48 Nationally #4 S #2 Louisiana. Love a kid who shows up with a great nickname, “The Raptor”. Excellent size at 6’2”, speed and has good coverage skills. Very physical player[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Jelani McDonald 4 Stars #70 Nationally #2 Athlete #7 Texas. Super talented athlete. 3 sport star who played QB as a Jr and WR along with S in HS. Has the talent to play S or CB. State triple jump champion. Excellent ball skills. Like the Raptor, not an early enrollee but expect to see him contributing in the fall.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Warren Roberson 4 stars #258 Nationally #22 S #47 Texas. A 2nd signing day flip originally committed to the Horn Frogs. (note: This is a projection as Roberson is not set to sign until Friday)[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Jalen Catalan TRANSFER 4 stars. An outstanding S at Arkansas who struggled with injures. If healthy, he’s likely a day 1 starter. High football IQ guy with excellent instincts makes up for a lack of great size (5’10” 185) Big hitter[/SIZE]
CB
2022
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Terrance Brooks 4 stars #83 Nationally #10 CB #14 Texas. Pushed his way into the 2 deep early. HS teammate of Ryan Watts.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Jaylan Guilbeau 4 stars #160 Nationally #20 CB #24 Texas. Did not shirt[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Xavion Brice 3 stars #651 Nationally #43 S #97 Texas, Shirted[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Ryan Watts 4 Stars TRANSFER. Day 1 starter, closest thing TEXAS had to a lock down corner[/SIZE]
2023
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Malik Muhammed 4 stars #48 Nationally #4 CB #8 Texas. Early Enrollee. Outstanding CB prospect who played for back-to-back state championships at South Oak Cliff. Very talented and technically sound CB prospect who will be in the fall 2 deep.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Gavin Holmes 3 Star TRANSFER. After being lowly rated out of HS, he was a starter as a sophomore for Wake Forest in 2022. One of the most coveted CBs in this year’s portal. Will be an immediate part of the CB rotation and has 2 years left of eligibility. Originally from Metairie La.[/SIZE]
DB’s Grade: A-
Love who we landed but would have liked one more CB. The safety class is outstanding. Sark has taken a big step back towards DBU.
Special Teams
2022
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Will Stone 3 Stars #3 K, handled Kickoffs for TEXAS in 2022[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Lance St Louis 2 Stars TEXAS’ long snapper. Don’t recall him missing a snap.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=19.5pt]Daniel Trejo Grad TRANSFER TEXAS’ 2022 punter[/SIZE]
2023
Ryan Sanborn Grad TRANSFER From Stanford and will step on campus as P1. 2-time captain of the Stanford team, 2 time All Pac Honorable Mention.
Coach PK and Sark have landed 2 defensive classes which is top to bottom at least on par with their outstanding offensive class. No question TEXAS is stacking talent.
Sark needs another year to compete with the big boys at the very highest levels of CFB but TEXAS is well on the way to stacking the talent needed to compete in the SEC. We’ll call it now. Barring more 2nd half coaching meltdowns, the basement for this team is 10-2 in 2023 at a Conference title appearance at a minimum. Why not, we should have been there in 2022.
