Texas Football: 3 worst 2021 recruiting misses for Tom Herman

2) Costliest 2021 Texas football recruiting misses: Tommy/James Brockermeyer

The fortunes on the recruiting trail for the Longhorns 2021 class really started to go downhill last offseason, in mid-July, when they missed out on the pledges of the ultra-highly coveted Brockermeyer brothers. Alabama really stole multiple commitments from the Longhorns in the last few months alone.

Saban and the Crimson Tide landed the commitments of the elite five-star All Saints Episcopal offensive tackle Tommy Brockermeyer and the nation’s top ranked center prospect, four-star OL James Brockermeyer, specifically on July 17. The Brockermeyer brothers were Texas legacies (from their father and Texas Ex OL Blake Brockermeyer) and are two of the most important in-state recruiting targets in quite a while in the trenches for this coaching staff.

But in the end, Herman and offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Herb Hand couldn’t keep the interests of the Brockermeyer brothers to the Forty Acres. It seems like the lack of NFL-caliber development in the trenches for the Longhorns in recent years was what drove these two talented offensive linemen to pick Alabama over Texas.

James ranks as the nation’s No. 183 2021 high school prospect, top overall center, and No. 32 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). And Tommy ranks as the nation’s No. 5 2021 high school prospect, and the top overall offensive tackle and prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). Tommy also sits well inside the top 100 prospects since the turn of the century in the 247Sports recruiting rankings.