Commitment Spotlight - Brenen Thompson

The Texas Longhorns' recruiting class for 2022, already ranked 5th in the country according to the 247Sports Team Rankings, is filled with 14 four-star commits. Not only did Sarkisian and company add a 15th, but they added quite possibly the best one yet on Wednesday.

Texas, say hello to Brenen Thompson.

Thompson is a four-star wide receiver out of Spearman, Texas playing for the Spearman Lynx. The 5’10 wideout is a speedster, who most recruits and analysts alike agree will be electric at the next level. Per the 247Sports Composite, he’s the 14th ranked player in the state of Texas and the 11th ranked player at his position in the nation. Per those same rankings, Thompson is the highest-ranked recruit Texas has landed in its 2022 class. Coach Sarkisian has struck again.

Thompson joins Armani Winfield as the lone other wide receiver commit in the class. After beefing up the defensive line, it’s clear what direction Sarkisian and company are heading in to fill out the rest of the class.

The speedy wide receiver this year had made visits to Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, and Oregon along with Texas. He held offers from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, and Oklahoma among others. At the end of the day, Thompson is staying home.

Earlier this year, Thompson was clocked at running a 10.38 and a 21.27 in the 100 and 200-meter dash respectively. His 21.27 was good enough to win the Class 3A 200-meter state championship. Thus, Thompson, despite being injured, has been dubbed as one of the fastest athletes in this class. He’s now Sarkisian’s newest weapon at Texas for years to come.

Player Information:

Name: Brenen Thompson
Position: Wide Recevier
High School: Spearman
City, State: Spearman, Texas

Measurables:

Height: 5’10
Weight: 165

Three Best Traits

Pure Speed - If it wasn’t clear from the text above, lining up Thompson out wide and saying hike is like firing a bullet out of a gun. Thompson uses his acceleration to get off the line and embarrass opposing defensive backs from the get-go. Even if a defensive back manages to stay with him through his first move, good luck trying to keep Thompson maintained in man coverage any longer than that. From a sheer athlete perspective, he is near one of a kind.

Diversity - At Spearman, Thompson lined up all over the field. He took snaps at wide receiver, running back, and cornerback. Needless to say, he did it all for the Lynx. He’s ultimately just a fun weapon for Sarkisian to utilize in a variety of ways. Just give Thompson the ball in open space and watch for great things to happen.

Athleticism - While most everyone who earns a Division-I scholarship can list athleticism as a strength, Thompson’s athleticism puts him in the top 1% of the top 1%. He’s a guy who’s so fast and so naturally gifted you have to game plan for him if you’re an opposing defensive coordinator. The list of guys who can do the things that Thompson can do on the football field is very, very small.

Areas for Improvement

Experience at the Highest Level - Spearman, being 3A, is a small school. Thus, he didn’t have too much competition at the 3A level. Now, this criticism does go both ways as it’s equally as impressive seeing what he does with such little help around him. Still, one has to wonder if the lack of competition could delay his progress at the next level. 

True WR Ability - In High School Thompson was used as an offensive weapon and has many good qualities for a wide receiver. But since he played so much elsewhere on the field he didn’t have time to focus as much on route running and ball skills. There’s no doubt however that this is something Sarkisian’s staff can work on with Thompson as soon as he enters the Forty Acres.

Summary

Ultimately, this is a giant win for the Longhorns. Thompson should very quickly become a household name in the Sarkisian offense. The stacked class that is the Longhorns' 2022 Class just got even more stacked. Despite the loss of Quinn Ewers and others, Sarkisian and this staff have gone above and beyond to ensure this is one of the better Texas recruiting classes in recent memory.

Final Verdict

Texas’ 2022 class is about to take the next step. It was already top-five, but with Thompson’s commitment it could rise to as high as number two in the nation ahead of SEC powerhouses such as Alabama and Georgia. Of the 22 total commits Thompson is just the seventh on offense for Texas. He joins fellow four-star running backs, Jaydon Blue and Jamarion Miller along with his future quarterback Maalik Murphy. Rounding out the offense is the aforementioned Winfield along with multiple interior linemen, Cole Hutson and Conner Robertson. The future of Texas football is looking glaringly bright, and when they make the move to the SEC, they’ll have the weapons to compete.