Texas Football: JUCO DB target Marcell Anderson visiting this week

The dead period for in-person visits lifts on July 24, giving way to the biggest late-summer visit week on the recruiting trail for Texas football. Texas’ visitor list for the last week of July is mostly highlighted by touted blue-chip recruits from the 2025 class. But a handful of 2024 and 2026 recruits will also visit Austin this week.

There is also one visiting recruit for the Longhorns this week from the JUCO ranks. The lone JUCO visitor currently on this week’s visitor list is the 6-foot-2 and 196-pound Hayward (CA) Diablo Valley College cornerback Marcell Anderson.

Anderson tweeted on July 12 that he will be visiting Texas on July 25. TFB Texas also confirmed on its visitor list for this week that Anderson will be making the trip to Austin.

JUCO DB Marcell Anderson visiting Texas football on July 25

This will be Anderson’s second visit to Austin of the offseason. He also visited Texas unofficially for the first Junior Day of the offseason on Jan. 21.

After he sees Texas on July 25, Anderson is set to make the trip north of the Red River to Norman to see the Oklahoma Sooners on July 26. He’s also visited the Colorado Buffaloes multiple times this offseason.

Anderson is an intriguing JUCO DB with good size, speed, and versatility

While Anderson has not officially received an offer from Texas yet, he is someone on offer watch in the 2024 class late this summer. He looks to have a lot of the tools and versatility that head coach Steve Sarkisian, co-DC Pete Kwiatkowski, and the Longhorns want in defensive back recruiting.

Texas values the ability to cross-train defensive backs, which Anderson would be able to do. He also has the length and ranginess Texas wants in a cover corner.

Anderson played safety at Chabot College, his last JUCO, before transferring to Diablo Valley College this year. But he’s looking to play cornerback at the Power Five level. He also contributes on special teams with the coverage units.

Anderson’s film shows that he is a rangy safety that brings a lot of pop in the pads. He’s a sure tackler that diagnoses plays well and contests space effectively. Anderson showed multiple plays where he locates the ball carrier and has enough speed to chase them down for the tackle.

He’s adept at playing downhill to track down the ball carrier in run defense and in the open field in pass defense.

This stems from Anderson’s insane straight-line speed, as he is a stout track runner at the JUCO level. According to his track times at Chabot from Direct Athletics, Anderson ran a blazing-fast 10.56-second 100-meter dash at the 2023 Northern California CC Championships. He also ran a best time of 21.89 seconds for the 200-meter dash at the Northern California championships this spring.

In coverage, Anderson shows good timing and anticipation. He shows the patience to read the quarterback’s eyes and jump routes effectively. Anderson also has the length to match up well one-on-one against bigger wideouts in pass coverage.

Texas could offer Anderson if it needs the depth at DB in the 2024 class this fall

After missing on four-star Temple (TX) Lake Belton cornerback Selman Bridges and Lancaster (TX) defensive back Corian Gipson in the last couple of weeks, the Longhorns had to reset the big board at DB in the 2024 class.

Other top DB priorities in the 2024 class, such as five-star Waco (TX) Connally cornerback Kobe Black and high-four-star Marrero (LA) John Ehret cornerback Wardell Mack are now must-get recruits for the Longhorns late this summer. But Texas has also started to identify other DB targets in the 2024 class that could be necessary to fill out depth for this position group in case things don’t work out with the top priorities heading into the fall.

Anderson and three-star Denton (TX) Guyer cornerback Eli Bowen are two DB targets in the 2024 class the Longhorns are staying in contact with late this summer. Bowen already holds an offer from the Longhorns and has visited Texas multiple times this offseason.