Texas football gets potent, versatile TE in 3-Star commit Spencer Shannon

Early this week, the 2023 Texas football recruiting class added its sixth commitment from a west coast tight end in the three-star Mater Dei (CA) product Spencer Shannon. Texas got their first tight end commit in the 2023 class by landing Shannon in what could be a very deep group at this position in this cycle.

Shannon announced his commitment to second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, tight ends coach/special teams coordinator Jeff Banks, and the Longhorns via a post on his Twitter timeline on the afternoon of June 13. The announcement from Shannon came just after his official visit to Austin last weekend.

The multi-day official visit to Texas for Shannon started on June 10. And this official visit with the Longhorns over the weekend came roughly one month after he took officials with the Washington Huskies and UCLA Bruins.

Texas football adds an important TE commit to the 2023 class in 3-Star Spencer Shannon

Washington and UCLA were the main competitors that Texas had to beat out in the race to land a commitment from the lengthy 6-foot-7 and 240-pound Shannon. He also held offers from the likes of the Cal Golden Bears, Duke Blue Devils, Kansas Jayhawks, Louisville Cardinals, Tennessee Volunteers, and Washington State Cougars.

What Texas is getting out of the California native Shannon is a lengthy and versatile tight end that can thrive as a blocker and a multi-faceted receiving threat. The insane length and physical tools that Shannon brings to the table make him a blocker with a very high ceiling if he can fill out his frame at the collegiate level.

Some work with Banks and strength and conditioning coach Torre Becton will do Shannon a lot of good at the outset of his collegiate career. He likely needs to put on another 10 or 15 pounds at least before being ready to handle Power Five-level blocking assignments on a consistent basis.

Yet, the foundation is in place for Shannon to thrive as a blocking tight end against Power Five competition.

More specifically, Shannon’s film shows a blocker that is able to quickly find his assignments and can handle a wide array of matchups positionally. He uses his length to his advantage and is able to drive opposing defensive ends and linebackers impressively far down the field for a tight end that is still south of 250 pounds.

Shannon also has the speed to get downfield effectively blocking for the run, which is a rare aspect for a tight end of his size that is still getting a feel for the game.

However, Shannon won’t just be of value to the Longhorns as a blocking tight end. He’s a crisp route runner with good hands and a big stride that allows him to regularly beat slower opposing linebackers and safeties in the receiving game.

Shannon is not yet the most dynamic receiving tight end you will find. He runs a decent route tree, but he still has some work to do before he can get his timing down for multiple different schemes and concepts in the receiving game.

The combination of height, coordination, and agility that Shannon brings to the table is not something that you can boast too often out of a three-star tight end. His potential to contribute in the receiving game could be a real difference-maker for Texas a few years down the road.

I would anticipate that Shannon is mostly developed with some simpler route concepts in his first year or two in college to see how much he’s able to blossom in that phase of the game. If he shows ample growth in his first season or two in terms of the development of his route tree, he’ll be a real x-factor as one of the more potent and multiple tight ends in the Power Five with the length he brings.

Meanwhile, I expect him to be a more immediate contributor in terms of the complexity and number of live-game reps he gets as a blocking tight end. Shannon already shows the ability to handle multiple different blocking assignments with Mater Dei High School. That should translate quickly to the offense under Sark and the Longhorns’ offensive staff.

All in all, this is a great addition for the Longhorns to add an underrated three-star tight end with as much upside as Shannon brings to the table. Texas could be getting their most potent tight end in the 2023 class, albeit while likely not being the highest rated.

Shannon still has some work to do before he can really blossom into a dynamic blocking and pass-catching tight end against Power Five-caliber competition. But the very fact that he’s got an NFL ceiling is something that is big for the Longhorns 2023 class at the tight end position.

Texas now has six commits in the 2023 class as the summer visit season is just kicking off this month. Shannon is currently the lone non-blue-chip commit in the Longhorns 2023 class, with five other recruits being rated as four stars.