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Tom Herman grabs National Championship caliber recruiting class

By James Caldwell

AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Tom Herman of the Texas Longhorns watches players warm up before the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Tom Herman of the Texas Longhorns watches players warm up before the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman said the 2018 recruiting class was going to be revolutionary. And, it was.

After a lackluster first class where Herman only had a short amount of time to recruit after taking over for Charlie Strong, Tom Herman reminded everyone that 2018 would be the class to watch out for. The result? The 2018 class has National Championship written all over it.

The 2018 Longhorns class finished No. 2 or 3 in the major recruiting tracking services. Included was one of the best group of defensive backs in the history of recruiting. And, Tom Herman snagged all the top recruits in the state of Texas (according to 247Sports):

  • No. 1 in Texas: B.J. Foster (safety)
  • No. 2: Anthony Cook (cornerback)
  • No. 3: Caden Sterns (safety)
  • No. 4: Jalen Green (cornerback)
  • No. 5: Brennan Eagles (WR)
  • No. 7: DeMarvion Overshown (safety)
  • No. 10: Al’vonte Woodard (WR)
  • No. 12: D’shawn Jamison (cornerback)

That is a ridiculous collection of DBs. Overall, Tom Herman recruited the top five players in the state of Texas and eight out of the Top 12 players in the state.

That doesn’t even include No. 13 and 15 — DT Keondre Coburn and RB Keaontay Ingram — who did not officially sign during the early signing period on Wednesday, but are still hard commits to the Longhorns.

Tom Herman Also Grabbed Key Players at Other Positions

You don’t arrive at the No. 2 or 3 recruiting class without some depth. Beyond the elite-level recruits, the Texas Longhorns also filled needed positions from Texas and outside the state.

Texas grabbed coveted high school linebacker Ayodele Adeoye, who is the No. 4 ranked linebacker in the country, out of IMG Academy in Florida. The key for Texas getting Adeoye was defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, who is salivating at the opportunity to coach Adeoye.

Texas also signed two out-of-state QBs to compete with Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger in the 2018 season. Cameron Rising out of California and Casey Thompson out of Oklahoma provide much-needed depth to challenge Shane and Sam.

But, who is going to protect the eventual QB? The Longhorns desperately need offensive line depth, so Tom Herman found Junior Angilau out of Utah (No. 3 ranked in the state), Rafiti Ghirmai out of Frisco, Reese Moore out of Seminole, and JUCO transfer Mikey Grandy out of California.

Two other players who could potentially make an impact next season are outside linebacker Byron Hobbs out of Fort Worth and tight end Malcolm Epps out of Houston.

Where Does that Leave Texas on Special Teams?

Special teams were on the complete opposite ends of the spectrum in the 2017 season.

The Longhorns had the No. 1 punter in the country, Michael Dickson, who won the Ray Guy Award and declared for the NFL Draft after his monster junior season.

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Then, Texas had a very inconsistent field goal kicking game that arguably cost the Longhorns a game or two this season. (And cost Charlie Strong at least three games during his tenure.)

So, Tom Herman completed the 2018 recruiting class with Cameron Dicker a/k/a Dicker the Kicker out of Lake Travis in Austin and another punter out of Australia, Ryan Bujcevski. Now, no one is expecting Bujcevski to immediately become the Lethal Weapon like Dickson this season. But, if he can just be consistent in his first season as Longhorns punter, he can grow into the big shoes left by the first Ray Guy winner in Texas history.

Overall, Tom Herman landed an elite recruiting class. If he can complete the commitments from Coburn and Ingram, plus add a few more other players before the second leg of the recruiting period in February, then Texas could vault into the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country.

Regardless, this was a major victory for Coach Herman and the future of Texas Football. By the year 2020 — if not sooner — Texas should be back in the national spotlight competing for the National Title.

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