LongviewLobo01

There are a lot of things that could happen not just with us, but with other schools around the country. It's so hard to predict how things will finish. Just trying to put together a possible list of what Texas ends up with was hard enough yesterday believing that Malik and DeAndre were going to commit elsewhere. And it's even more difficult now with all the momentum from their pledges. We're at 21 commits right now I believe. Burt is a soft at best, but let's assume he sticks. That means there are probably at most 10 spots available and probably not even that many. Guys we are looking pretty hard at: Soso Jamabo Nick Brossette Ryan Newsome Carlos Strickland Gilbert Johnson Devoniare Clarington Chris Clark Daylon Mack Kris Boyd Holton Hill Mark Fields Tim Irvin Devanta Davis That's 13 right there that I thought of off the top of my head. And doesn't include guys like Kyler Murray, Kendall Sheffield, Demarckus Lodge or others who might pop onto the radar down the stretch. The staff is going to have to make some very difficult decisions over the next 5 weeks to figure out who they want and the number crunch that could occur moving forward.

Malik Texas McNeal UCLA

The best thing is that it's a position that I'm not worried about. Wickline is a coach that has proven he can take OL and turn them into players whether they were highly recruited or not.

Breaking on Twitter.

To take this a step further, Bedford laid out the lack of development of defensive players under Sumlin dating back to his time at Houston through his time as the aggy HC. It's apparent that their plan of attack was to show Jefferson what he would be stepping into if he went there using cold hard facts. It's one thing for a coach to sit there and say he's going to develop you better, but it's completely different when Bedford and to an even greater extent Strong can sit here and rattle off player after player after player that they have signed and developed into an NFL draft pick when their competition hasn't done it anywhere he's been. I still don't think that Jefferson commits to us Friday. I think Sumlin has brainwashed him to an extent as being the guy who's going to turn around the aggy defense. But the fact that Strong and Co have gotten us back as close as we are in a relatively short amount of time tells me all I need to be told. These guys can recruit and they're going to be hell come 2016 and beyond when coaches like Sumlin don't have a relationship advantage like they've had this year.

There's no doubt in my mind that the SEC wants nothing to do with helping Texas. They have to protect their investment in aggy. There was no way that they were going to pit aggy against us in any bowl. aggy has way more to lose than we do in that situation. Right now they are still riding the wave of momentum from joining the SEC and JFF. Even though they struggled this year, they still have the upper hand when it comes to recruiting in this state. Losing the game to us would completely end that advantage. Beating them on the field would negate anything Sumlin says. He couldn't walk into a recruits house any longer and say come play for us because we're in the SEC and we're better. The beatdown that would have occurred in that game would have ended them. LSU wasn't an option for a similar reason. Although LSU had a "down" year according to their standards, they still have the name and nationwide reputation. Us playing and beating them would give Strong a signature win heading into the end of this recruiting cycle. The SEC wasn't going to let that happen either. They know that Texas getting back to where Texas was 5 years ago is not a good thing for the schools who recruit here, namely aggy and LSU so they aren't going to do anything to help us. Thus we get Arkansas. A team that finished at the bottom of their division, but was playing much improved football by the end of the season. A game that if we win doesn't give us a recruiting boost, but if we lose ends our season on a sour note. A true lose-lose situation. I'm ready for Mike Slive to retire from the SEC, but I'm also just as ready for us to get out of this joke of a conference.

Shocking just because I didn't expect Houston to be able to go out and possibly get a guy like Muschamp. Usually they get solid coordinator's with ties to Texas. Guys like Tom Herman, who's also been rumored. This would be a great place for Muschamp to resurrect his career. Solid recruiting base and a relatively soft conference. Get a solid OC to come with him and open it up on that side of the ball and there ya go. He could be winning 10-11 games a year in short time and then get a better job from there. Remember, the last two coaches before Levine were Briles and Sumlin and both parlayed success at UH to better gigs. I could see him winning there and then getting back into the SEC in a couple of years if a guy like Spurrier retired or someone gets let go or moves on.

LB is a major concern. We lose pretty much all of our guys who played this season. Jinkens is the only guy returning who saw much time. Santos is back, but it doesn't look like the staff is too enamored by him. That's why guys like Kirkland and Cherry and Malik committing and enrolling early would be so crucial.

That's a shocking development.

If any of you have been on other sites I've been a part of I love to look at 2 years of classes together. It gives a good idea of what the team is going to look like in the future because after redshirts classes begin blending together. You can also foresee positions that could be a problem in the future due to a lack of activity or kids not making it. Quarterback Jerrod Heard (2014); Zack Gentry (2015) Thoughts: With the redshirt of Heard it's apparent that the staff is not going to rush a QB into playing just because. I did not list Merrick because I am counting him for the 2016 class since he is a greyshirt, but he could add in here. Still think we need 1 more because I personally like to carry 4 QBs at all times, but this position is going to improve moving forward. It has to. Running Back Donald Catalon (2014); D'Onta Foreman (2014); Tristian Houston (2015); Kirk Johnson (2015) Thoughts: It is pretty apparent what the staff thinks about the RBs on campus. Even with the decommit of Stevenson they are still pursuing Warren and Jamabo despite two commits already in hand. A strong running game is crucial to this offense and this staff is going to get them a hoss RB come hell or highwater. Curious to see what happens with Catalon moving forward. Wide Receiver Roderick Bernard (2014); Armanti Foreman (2014); Garrett Gray (2014); Lorenzo Joe (2014); Dorian Leonard (2014); John Burt (2015) Thoughts: After a large class last season, the staff is targeting only a few elite prospects this year. Burt is a very soft commit right now and could switch to Auburn, but the staff is still going after other options. Foreman will be a major part of the offense next year and Leonard and Joe could also see significant action. There will probably be some intense competition at this position and could see some kids switch positions or move on in the future. Tight End Andrew Beck (2014); Blake Whiteley (2014 JUCO) Thoughts: This position has been a black hole for years and although it appeared at times this season as though it could be coming out of the darkness, there's still not a player on the board who you can look to and see as being THE guy. Definitely need to close this class out with a guy like Clark or Carrington. No question about it. Offensive Line Alex Anderson (2014); Terrell Cuney (2014); Jake McMillon (2014); Elijah Rodriguez (2014); Brandon Hodges (2015 JUCO); Ronnie Major (2015); Tristan Nickelson (2015 JUCO); Garrett Thomas (2015); Patrick Vahe (2015); Toby Weathersby (2015); Connor Williams (2015) Thoughts: In Wickline I trust. All three kids redshirted this season from the 2014 class and Wick was able to go out and get a pair of JUCO OTs that could compete for starting jobs immediately. If you did not think that Strong was going to build his offense in the trenches this is all the evidence needed. The star power might not be off the charts, but Wick has made his name taking kids not as highly recruited and turning them into NFL prospects. This position is going to be a major strength (no pun intended) in the coming years. No doubt about it. Defensive End Derek Roberson (2014); Louis Brown (2015); Charles Omenihu (2015); Quincy Vasser (2015 JUCO) Thoughts: There is some big time untapped potential in some of these guys and it will be up to Strong, Bedford and Rumph to develop that. Vasser was a major coup for this staff because he's going to be able to enter the starting discussion immediately as Reed's replacement. Will be interested to see how they tackle this position moving forward. Defensive Tackle Poona Ford (2014); Chris Nelson (2014); Du'Vonta Lampkin (2015) Thoughts: Ford and Nelson were crucial last season and Lampkin is just as crucial this season. There's a certain DT recruit from East Texas that would be a major addition, but I am not holding my breath. As much emphasis as there is being put on the OL, I think there needs to be just as much emphasis on the DL. Maybe the staff likes the guys in front of these, but I figured they would take more than just 3 over these two classes. One thing I will not do though is question this staff on the defensive side of the ball. Not going to happen. Linebacker Edwin Freeman (2014); Cameron Hampton (2014); Breckyn Hager (2015); Cameron Townsend (2015) Thoughts: I am very tempted to put Cecil Cherry on this list, but refrained from doing so. There could be a major change in the names on this list in the very near future. With the open depth chart heading into this year it could mean immediate playing time for anyone who signs this year and especially for anyone who enrolls early. Defensive Back John Bonney (2014); Jason Hall (2014); Jermaine Roberts (2014); DeShon Elliott (2015); Jamile Johnson (2015) Thoughts: The early returns from the freshmen are solid just thinking about what Hall was able to do this year. Solid players committed, but needs more star power and that could be on the way. Very good prospects still on the board and you have to think 2-3 more could be in the cards here.

There were a lot of things about the Big 12 voting that made you scratch your head. Brown not being DPOY I can slightly understand, even though I disagree, but not being the DL of the year was a joke. Hicks not being a 1st team LB despite Texas having the best defense in the league was a joke. John Harris not being a 1st or 2nd teamer was a joke. I'm not a big fan of the Big 12.

What does everyone think of that? I've been pretty vocal in the past about how much I dislike Watson, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. I wanted us to run an up-tempo, spread offense as bad as anyone, but after thinking about the coaches I wanted us to hire (Saban or Fisher), I guess I shouldn't pigeon hole us into a set offense. When I look at offenses with Wickline on the staff, they've been pretty darn effective in the past. A good to great OL makes the play caller's job a lot easier so if Wickline can turn our OL into the top notch group that he usually coaches I think we will be ok. And although everyone loves the Baylor and aggy offenses and how similar they are to the rest of the state, if Texas gets back to winning games and competing for titles, the recruits will come. I'm going to give Strong and his staff the benefit here because they've proven to be adept at coaching players up and developing them so I think we are going to end up being fine. Can't wait to see what the team looks like at the spring game.

Mack is a guy that Texas needs to push for all season long. Rumph and Strong need to live in Gladewater. Not only is Mack one of the best DTs to come out of the state in a couple of years, but he's a Jake Raulerson type leader of the class. I don't think it's impossible to switch him, but we are going to need Strong to have a really good first year and aggy to drop off to have a chance IMO. The fact that we do have a new coaching staff has opened the door slightly. Had we kept Mack and the previous staff we would have had zero shot.

We need depth at the QB position. Wittek was a very good recruit coming out of HS and would be a perfect guy to come in and challenge Ash and Swoopes for playing time. There are only 3 scholarship QBs on the roster right now, and one of them isn't even going to be able to participate in spring drills because he's in high school. Given Ash's concussion problems, completely relying on him is probably not the wisest of moves for the new staff and Swoopes might as well be a redshirt freshman for the lack of playing time he received last year. A guy like Wittek who has seen the field and been around the college game for a few years would be a very welcome addition.