Roughly 48 hours sits between the 2021 Texas football recruiting class and the start of the critical Early Signing Period, beginning on Dec. 16.
Just two days remain before the start of the Early Signing Period for fourth-year head coach Tom Herman and his 2021 Texas football recruiting class. With the Early Signing Period beginning on Dec. 16, there’s a lot that Herman and his staff have to get figured out on the recruiting trail in a very short period of time.
Texas didn’t have much consistency or success at all on the recruiting trail for their 2021 or 2022 class since the 2020 college football season began. The inconsistencies both on the field and on the recruiting trail is what put so much pressure on Herman’s hot seat in the last couple of months. But it does appear now that Herman will return for the Longhorns as head coach in 2021.
It’s hard to tell at this moment if Herman returning next year will have an overall positive impact on the recruiting trail heading into next offseason. Only time will tell with that.
But what needs to happen now for Herman and the Longhorns is a solid finish to this cycle ahead of the Early Signing Period. Texas currently holds 17 commits in their 2021 class, as of the early afternoon of Dec. 14. And the highest rated commit in the 2021 class is the elite five-star Denton-Ryan athlete Ja’Tavion Sanders.
According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, the 2021 Texas recruiting class ranks at No. 17 in the nation and holds steady in the second spot in the Big 12 behind the Oklahoma Sooners. It’s not completely out of the question that the Longhorns get a top 10 ranked class in the nation when it’s all said and done for the 2021 cycle. But it would take a massive rally for Herman in the next couple of months to do so.
One way that Texas can get a boost to their 2021 class is by trying to flip a few commitments. If Texas can do that before or during the Early Signing Period, here’s a look into three potential targets to pursue further.
3) Potential ESP Texas football 2021 flips
A potential flip target of the Longhorns 2021 recruiting class of late for this cycle is the four-star 5-foot-11 and 165 pound Kentucky Wildcats commit and wide receiver Dekel Crowdus. This blue chip widout product hailing out of the Frederick Douglass football program in Lexington, KY, could help fill a positional need in the 2021 class for Herman and wide receivers coach Andre Coleman.
At the moment, Texas holds just two wide receiver commits in their 2021 class. They also don’t have a single blue chip wide receiver commit in this class, which could be the second straight cycle that happens for Herman and Coleman. Stopping that trend could be key to restocking the talent at the wide receiver position in the near future.
https://twitter.com/CrowdusDekel/status/1225124759345778689
Moreover, Crowdus could be a solid underrated target to flip if the Longhorns don’t wind up landing a pledge from the sizable 6-foot-4 and 205 pound Kosciusko product Antonio Harmon. Crowdus got his Texas scholarship offer back on Feb. 5, 2020. He now has more than 20 schools on his offer sheet.
The other highlighting schools on his offer sheet includes the Auburn Tigers, Baylor Bears, Florida State Seminoles, Oklahoma, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Tennessee Volunteers, and Virginia Tech Hokies.
Moreover, Crowdus ranks as the nation’s No. 301 2021 high school prospect, No. 51 wide receiver, and No. 3 prospect out of Kentucky (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranks him as the No. 47 wide receiver and No. 3 prospect out of Kentucky.
2) Potential ESP Texas football 2021 flips
A big time loss on the recruiting trail for this cycle for Herman and the Longhorns at the wide receiver position was the highly coveted four-star Aledo product JoJo Earle. Back on April 23, 2020, the defending National Champion LSU Tigers landed the commitment from the Aledo, TX, native Earle over the likes of Texas and the Texas A&M Aggies.
But there are whispers that head coach Ed Orgeron and his staff could be seeing Earle stay in contact with other competing schools on the recruiting trail like Texas and the Florida Gators (per Horns247 report, paid content). Texas and Florida were just two of the schools that were pursuing Earle very hard prior to him committing to LSU back in spring.
Earle holds offers from 27 schools on his offer sheet, as of the early afternoon of Dec. 14. Other highlighting schools on his offer sheet includes the Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Bulldogs, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon Ducks, TCU Horned Frogs, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC Trojans, and Washington Huskies.
Moreover, Earle ranks as the nation’s No. 48 2021 high school prospect, No. 5 wide receiver, and No. 10 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranks him as the nation’s No. 77 high school prospect, No. 11 wide receiver, and No. 11 prospect out of Texas.
Being able to flip Earle’s commitment from LSU to Texas would be one of the biggest wins in a long time on the recruiting trail for Herman and his coaching staff.
1) Potential ESP Texas football 2021 flips
Another prospect that Texas is reportedly trying to work their way in more with of late ahead of the Early Signing Period that is already committed elsewhere is the underrated three-star Franklin weak-side defensive end Gharin Stansbury. This talented but unheralded Louisiana native started to pick up a lot of steam on the recruiting trail of late.
Stansbury gave his pledge to head coach Herm Edwards and the Arizona State Sun Devils back on July 19, 2020.
There’s an emerging trio of important three-star defensive end targets for the Longhorns ahead of the Early Signing Period. Those three are Cherry Creek strong-side defensive end Arden Walker, Holy Cross strong-side defensive end Barryn Sorrell, and the 6-foot-5 and 220 pound Arizona State pledge/weak-side defensive end Stansbury. But Stansbury is the only one of those three that is committed to another school at the moment.
It was just Nov. 7, 2020 that Stansbury picked up his Texas scholarship offer. He’s also received big time offers from the likes of Tennessee and Penn State in the last six weeks. There’s 18 schools now on Stansbury’s growing offer sheet. The other highlighting schools on his offer sheet includes the Indiana Hoosiers, Houston Cougars, Kansas Jayhawks, Toledo Rockets, and SMU Mustangs.
Moreover, Stansbury ranks as the nation’s No. 873 2021 high school prospect, No. 48 weak-side defensive end, and No. 23 prospect out of Louisiana (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranks him as the No. 40 weak-side defensive end and No. 20 prospect out of Louisiana. Stansbury’s recruiting ranking doesn’t leap off the page at you, but he would be a solid addition to the 2021 class if Texas could flip him from Arizona State.