Texas Recruiting: Horns On Verge Of Big Haul

The lack of results on the field in 2015 doesn’t seem to be hurting Texas recruiting efforts.  If several reports are correct, Charlie Strong may be on the verge of landing another prime class in Austin.

The up and mainly down tenure of Charlie Strong as Texas head coach has caused some to question whether he is the right man for the job, but one thing that you cannot question are his recruiting chops.  The man knows how to recruit.

More from Texas Football

• Texas Football: Quinn Ewers joins 7-Eleven Cleat Crew for charity event
• Texas Football: 4-Star A&M OT commit officially visiting for KU game
• How to watch Texas football vs. Baylor: TV, stream, game time
• Texas Football: Predicting each remaining 5-Star commit for Horns this fall
• Texas Football: Top 5 defenders during nonconference play

Last year after securing the commitment of Malik Jefferson, Strong pointed out that often you just need to get that one player in the class who will rally everyone else to him.  In 2015, Jefferson was that player.  This year, it may be Jean Delance.

Delance’s commitment Saturday at the Under Armour All-American Game was a big win for Strong and the Horns.  The best news is that Delance’s commitment may just be the beginning.

Recruiting season is always filled with rumors and predicitions, and until he National Letter of Intent start coming in, anything is possible.  Still, Texas needs all the good news and positive momentum they can get and Strong’s recruiting locomotive is starting to pick up some steam.

The bit of good news also comes from the Under Armour game. Multiple reports indicate that Waco CB Eric Cuffee, who had a highlight reel interception during the game, wanted to announce his commitment to Texas during the game as well but couldn’t get the television slot to do it.

Jefferson, who may be Texas’ second best recruiter, even teased it on Twitter, just as he teased Delance’s commitment.  Cuffee is a 5’11” 188 lb corner who is considered a four star recruit by 247Sports.  He would look mighty fine in a young Texas secondary that is already brimming with talent.

According to 247Sports, Texas is also gaining ground on Texas A&M for the services of Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones.  Jones is considered the number three player in Texas, the top safety in the country and 15th player in the nation.  Landing Jones would fill a major need for a true safety, a position Texas has struggled to recruit.

A&M still holds the lead for his services, but the Aggies seem to be falling apart while Texas has two of their best, Chris Vaughn and Jeff Traylor working on him.

The Longhorns are also considered the front runner for Aldine’s Jeffrey McCulloch. Anyone who watched Texas last year knows that linebacker is still a big need.  McCulloch is considered the number seven OLB in the country.  Though to win McCulloch, Strong may have to fend off Notre Dame, who is pressing hard.

Things look even better for Texas to land the services of Southlake Carroll running back/athlete Li’Jordan Humphrey. Humphrey has scheduled his announcement for January 30th and has narrowed his choices to Cal and Texas. 247Sports is currently predicting that Humphrey will choose Texas. In fact, they show his commitment to Texas at 100%.

If Humphrey does commit to Texas, he will join teammate Obi Eboh in the 2016 class.

However, the most important targets to watch right now may be defensive tackles D’Andre Christmas-Giles and Stephon Taylor. DT is a huge area of need for the Horns and securing one or both would be a major coup for Texas.

Christmas-Giles visited Austin just before the recruiting dead period ended, giving Strong and Brick Haley a chance to make a last impession.  Currently, Texas is showing in third for the services of the New Orleans native and pulling good players out of Louisiana when LSU is involved is a tough sell. Still, Texas is trending upward.

Texas Longhorns

The same can be said for Taylor’s recruitment.  Taylor is also a New Orleans kid, but his recruitment currently appears to be a two horse race between Texas and LSU.

Since Texas recently lost their best DT, Hassan Ridgeway, to the NFL, the opportunity for early playing time is there.  Will that be enough to push Texas over the top with one or both targets?

We shouldn’t rule anything out at the point. We know Strong and his staff will work right up to the last minute to get the kids that they want.

So with National Signing Day a month away, Strong has seemingly righted the ship and could be on the verge of bringing the in that one last big class he needs to complete his rebuild.  That is great news for a program that desperately needs it