Texas Football Recruiting: Top 5 Needs on National Signing Day
Texas Football has key areas of need on Tom Herman’s first National Signing Day with the Longhorns.
Texas Football needs a few good men. That’s actually true, as the Longhorns have a limited number of scholarships remaining for National Signing Day.
New head coach Tom Herman has been working overtime to find the right high school recruits to fill the remaining slots on the Longhorns roster.
Whereas Charlie Strong walked into Austin with plenty of scholarships to hand out his first year, Herman already has a core group of sophomores and juniors.
It helped that junior sensation D’Onta Foreman declared early for the NFL Draft, which allowed the Longhorns to check the RB box with premiere player Toneil Carter. The Longhorns also have three-star RB Daniel Young out of Houston in the 2017 class.
The QB position is also filled with Texas high school star Sam Ehlinger. Both Ehlinger and Toneil Carter enrolled early at Texas and are practicing with the Longhorns.
It also appears the Defensive Back position is filling up. Texas Football has three top DB commits – Josh Thompson, Kobe Boyce, and Montrell Estell. But, over the past week, other DB candidates Javelin Guidry and Amik Robertson snubbed the Horns.
Surprisingly, the Tight End position has already filled up. The Longhorns have rarely featured a TE in their offense since David Thomas was the unsung hero of the 2006 BCS National Title Game. But, the Horns have commitments from TE prospects Reese Leitao and Cade Brewer for Herman’s new offense.
So, what are the greatest areas of need for Tom Herman on National Signing Day?
Texas Football Position Needs on National Signing Day
(1) Defensive Linemen. This is front-and-center the biggest area of need on Wednesday. The Longhorns have been waiting for the next breakout lineman to join the likes of Malcom Brown in the Super Bowl and Brian Orakpo in the Pro Bowl.
The Longhorns have a verbal commitment from Fort Worth high school star Max Cummins, who is listed at 6’6″ and 255 pounds. Cummins could make an immediate impact unless he red-shirts his first year in Austin.
Also, defensive end Taquon Graham out of Temple, Texas has verbally committed to the Longhorns. Graham is more of a speedy edge rusher at 6’3″ and 255 pounds. Another top recruit, Marqez Bimage, is also an edge rusher and more like an outside linebacker at 6’3″ and 233.
Cummins, Graham, and Bimage will give Texas some versatility with the different packages that new Defensive Coordinator Todd Orlando likes to use.
But, the Longhorns need a big, mean, physical lineman to plug the middle of the line and get after QBs. We’ll see if the Longhorns can land a physical pass rusher and run-stopper on National Signing Day.
(2) Offensive Linemen. You can never have enough depth on the opposite side of the ball.
Three positions on the O-Line are set for the next few years with Zach Shackelford, Connor Williams, and Patrick Vahe. But, Texas Football needs more players to compete for the other two spots and rotate for injuries or fatigue.
The Longhorns currently have one lineman in the 2017 class – guard Derek Kerstetter out of San Antonio. Texas Football needs to pick up at least one more big blocker and pass protector on Wednesday.
Monday Update: A few hours after we published the list, Texas got their lineman – Houston area high school product Sam Cosmi.
Texas Football’s Other Areas of Need
(3) Wide Receiver. The current Longhorns roster is loaded with Wide Receivers, but Tom Herman needs to think ahead to a few years down the road.
WR Damion Miller out of Tyler has already committed to Texas. Also, Montrell Estell could play WR or DB for the Horns. Both are listed at 6’2″ and under.
The Horns have struggled to find a dependable, go-to receiver with height in recent years, so Tom Herman might need to find a tall WR who can go get the ball from Shane Buechele.
Looking at the current roster, Horns fans hope that John Burt will have a better junior year after struggling last year. Also, Dorian Leonard showed promise and Collin Johnson emerged in the second half of 2016. But, if Burt continues to struggle, Texas needs to find another tall WR to help complete the 2017 class.
(4) Linebacker. Like the WR position, Texas’s current roster is loaded with linebackers. The roster is even more loaded with the recent commitment of ILB Gary Johnson out of Dodge City Community College.
However, Johnson is currently the only natural Linebacker in the 2017 class. Taquon Graham and Marqez Bimage are hybrid speed rushers at the outside linebacker/DE position. But, Johnson is a pure LB who can tackle and chase down ball-carriers.
Tom Herman needs to nail down at least one more true LB who can learn from the likes of Malik Jefferson and even an older player like Gary Johnson.
(5) Special Teams. The Longhorns already found a potential kicker for the 2017 season in this recruiting class. JUCO transfer Josh Rowland is on campus as an early enrollee.
However, Rowland is unproven at this level of college football. Texas should look into another kicker to make sure there is competition. Or, find a kicker who can also punt to back up Ray Guy finalist Michael Dickson.
Next: The #1 Reason Why Texas Fired Strong & Hired Herman
Overall, the Longhorns only have a few more slots available for National Signing Day. If they can find some four or five-star recruits to fill the remaining positions, this should easily be a Top 10 National Class headlined by Sam Ehlinger and Toneil Carter.