cautiously optimistic about Jordan Hicks and Jackson Jeffcoat committing to the real UT tomorrow...
The bigger news is Mac Brown able to snatch an Ohio kid out of his state. Incredible.
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/news/story?id=4869265
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Hicks,
the nation's top-ranked outside linebacker, chose Texas over Ohio State and Florida. He recorded 80 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions during his senior season. It is the first time that Longhorns coach Mack Brown has attracted a player out of Ohio.
I'm pretty certain Hicks was born in Texas and spent a lot of his childhood there. So it's not exactly like Mack pulled a born and bred Ohio prospect down to Texas.
I would imagine if you make a name for yourself playing Ohio HS football and considered the best at your position in the nation, regardless where you were born, the odds of paying for Ohio St is pretty high.This was an interesting read:
http://www.burntorangenation.com/2010/1/13...own-to-the-wire
A decision appears imminent from Westchester linebacker Jordan Hicks, the consensus top linebacker in the country and second-ranked player by ESPN.
National recruitments extending to National Signing Day or the weeks prior are filled with tension and fan expectations, dreams and fantasies of the player wearing those beautiful school colors -- even Okie lite fans love their Halloween orange.
The final days are also filled with rumors, innuendo, speculation, and rampant speculation. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that rumors have been flying about the Interwebs concerning Hicks and his eventual destination. Over the last several days, he's been rumored to be a lock for Austin, headed to Florida, and set to commit to Ohio State -- and that was Tuesday alone. Given the nature of message boards and the way that information spreads in our world today, it's extremely difficult to separate fact from fiction, speculation from rampant speculation and to determine how much credit to assign to each particular rumor of the moment.
With that in mind, let's break down what's really going on with Hicks -- what is known and what isn't.
Star-divide
The Longhorns had the last word with the Lakota West star linebacker, as Will Muschamp met with Hicks for a reported three hours on Saturday at his home. Hicks hasn't gone into any detail about what was discussed during that visit and it's doubtful that much information about their conversation will really ever emerge. However, it's interesting that Muschamp spent so much time with Hicks and his family -- in terms of scheme and how Hicks would fit into the Texas defense, there doesn't seem like a great deal to discuss.
Hicks is such a talented player and the Texas scheme so similar to that run at his high school that learning the defense shouldn't be a problem if Hicks chooses Texas, particularly if he does decide to enroll early. However, to enroll early at Texas he would need to make a decision within the next several days, as the spring semester begins on January 19th, now less than one week away.
Whether or not Hicks could acclimate quickly enough to the Texas system to contribute in the fall could have been a major topic of conversation -- participation on special teams would certainly be a given, but how Muschamp plans to use linebackers Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson, as well as the progress of players like Dustin Earnest, Ryan Roberson, and Tariq Allen, as well as Dravannti Johnson, who is probably best considered as a hybrid defensive end/linebacker, was probably more important to Hicks. Following that line of speculation, in terms of how Hicks weighs his feeings for Texas, the depth chart and potential for early playing time is likely a bigger concern than any potential adjustments in scheme, which would be minimal.
For Muschamp, this is his first major national recruitment not only as the Texas defensive coordinator, but also as the head-coach-in-waiting. As such, it will represent the first deep insight into his ability as a recruiter and, more importantly, as the "closer" on the defensive side of the ball. In many ways, Hicks is the
One other factor that works strongly in favor of the Longhorns is not exactly news at this point but bears repeating -- Hicks' mother, Kelly Justice, worked with Texas strength and conditioning coach Jeff Madden at Colorado, giving her a familiarity and possibly even a friendship with the man who would be responsible for maximizing the physical gifts of her son.
The bigger news is Mac Brown able to snatch an Ohio kid out of his state. Incredible.
at Allen blackmailing Alabama to get Maynard a spot. Guy'll never see the field.
at Allen blackmailing Alabama to get Maynard a spot. Guy'll never see the field.
at Allen blackmailing Alabama to get Maynard a spot. Guy'll never see the field.
I wish him the best, but I can't see him really getting on the field against a D-1 opponent barring a ton of injuries....which I think everyone knows. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought he had a legit shot at getting in the game though.
