Longhorn Recruiting: Shane Buechele Commits To Texas

After missing out on Kyler Murray late in the process for the 2015 recruiting class, Charlie Strong his staff knew they needed to lock down a high caliber quarterback early on in the 2016 recruiting cycle. After putting many lines in the water and offering almost a dozen different quarterbacks, Texas reeled in a big fish in Arlington Lamar’s Shane Buechele.

Texas entered the recruiting battle for Buechele’s services with long time rival Oklahoma, and with several of Buechele’s siblings have attended Oklahoma it seemed like Texas was fighting an uphill battle. Despite the Sooners having the family card firmly in hand, the Longhorns were able to land one of the state’s top quarterback prospects for 2016.

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"Texas added a prospect at a very important position today.4-star Arlington Lamar QB Shane Buechele committed to Texas today, he announced. The 6-foot-2, 183-pound passer is the son of former major league 3B and current Texas Rangers bench coach Steve Buechele. He’s the 4th member of UT’s Class of 2016. He joins athlete DeMarco Boyd (Gilmer) and wide receivers’ Collin Johnson (San Jose, CA) and Reggie Hemphill (Manvel).Buechele is the highest rated QB in Texas for 2016 according to our Recruiting Editor Eric Nahlin in his Position Rankings series.There was chatter late Sunday afternoon that UT would be indeed be adding a new member to the junior class. When Texas handed out a flurry of offers in the last week – 11 total to quarterbacks per our Longhorns Prospects Board – you got the sense that coveted signal-caller spot would be filling quickly. And it did.Buechele held offers from Oklahoma – where his brother currently plays baseball – TCU, Texas Tech, and Ole Miss among others. Long thought an OU lean himself, Shane decided to stay on this side of the Red River and display his side of the family athletic bloodlines in burnt orange. A standout on the baseball field, it is unsure if Shane will participate for the Texas baseball team.Excerpt from Recruiting Notebook (7-30-14):Shane Buechele, QB – Lamar (Arlington, TX) (2016)How he fits at Texas: He has a whole lot of what Shawn Watson looks for in a quarterback; intelligence, good footwork, quick feet, and a solid, accurate arm. Only 6-foot-1 at this time, Buechele makes up for that relative lack of height with a classic delivery. He gets the ball up and out quickly. He also reads the field quickly and anticipates well. When you talk about running packaged plays, you need a quarterback who is fast in his head and fast in his delivery and that’s Buechele. He may not become a star in college, but he could play a big piece in a flourishing and balanced offense. If UT runs the ball as hoped, Shane should make a living on the deep ball where his accuracy shines. – Ian BoydCoach says: This kid is a player, plain and simple. I’ve watched his tape a handful of times now and every time I watch I come away more impressed. He can really spin and he has great touch on his deep ball and also has the ability to dial up the velocity to fit it into tight spaces. Does a great job of leading his receivers, he will murder a defense from the pocket and just when you least expect it he will pick some yards with his feet. Decent enough athlete that you have to respect his wheels. You can tell he’s well-coached.How this affects Texas: I’ve had a fondness for Buechele for months now – not just because his dad, 80’s Texas Rangers’ hot-corner holder Steve, was the reason I played 3rd base growing up. Apparently, so has Texas. When speaking to Shane, Watson is the first name he mentions. When speaking to Shane’s HS OC, Watson is the first name he mentions. When Watson visited Shane back in May, he told him an offer was coming this summer. Buechele likes Watson’s spread philosophy and the direction of the UT program. This has the makings of a beautiful recruitment ending in UT netting one of the more sound, accurate signal-callers in the 2016 class. Damn good shortstop too."

With Buechele in the fold, the Horns have a player that will be able to be on the front lines when it comes to the recruiting effort on in state recruits. My primary concern going forward has been Texas not having enough quality arms on campus, and it seems Strong and fixing that issue. There is still a real possibility that Texas takes another quarterback in the 2016 class, and I am all for that since there is not enough quality depth in Austin at this time.

When you are able to sell to recruits the fact that you have decent quarterbacks on campus, more playmakers will be willing to listen to the coaching staff and lately that hasn’t been the case with Texas.

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