2015 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE
COVERING UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SPORTS
MARCH/APRIL 2015 WWW.HORNSILLUSTRATED.COM
BRECKYN HAGER P FOLLOWS FATHER’S TRAIL
NEWSOME’S P LAST MINUTE DECISION
FLORIDA P THE FIVE
ALREADY HERE: THE SIX EARLY ENROLLEES LOCKSLEY ADDS DEPTH AT QB
JOHNNY WALKER RECALLS HIS RECRUITMENT
$4.95 USA
(V. 22, NO. O. 3) DISPLAY Y TH THRU HRU MAY Y 2015
#LETSRIDE MALIK JEFFERSON HEADLINES LONGHORNS’ 28-PLAYER SIGNING CLASS
36 Malik Jefferson arrived this spring, ready to work and reach his highest potential.
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CONTENTS FEATURES
24 FOOTBALL
Big Men on Campus In our annual recruiting issue, we introduce the first-ever class to truly carry head coach Charlie Strong’s thumbprint. After a tireless campaign that included flipping nine players from other schools to play for Texas, Strong and his staff signed 28 players on Feb. 4. With a number of blue-chip players and the nation’s top linebacker, the 2015 recruiting class gives Texas the tools to push forward after this past year’s disappointing season. Will this class guarantee future success? Only time will tell. We take an up-close-and-personal look at Malik Jefferson, Breckyn Hager, Ryan Newsome, Kai Locksley and the Florida Five, while Horns247.com writer Jeff Howe breaks down the remaining 19 recruits. We also provide Strong’s thoughts on his newest players and important facts you should know about each one.
36 FOOTBALL Holding the Line The youngest of three boys, Malik Jefferson looked to his older brothers for guidance on and off the field. In the process of earning their respect and understanding the value of hard work, Jefferson also focused on reaching the standards set by his parents. Taking all of this into account, Jefferson developed into an admirable young man with talent to catch the attention of the nation’s top schools.
DEPARTMENTS FI RS T LO O K
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M A RK YO U R C A LE N D A R
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RO U N D U P
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S P I RI T O F T HE M O N T H
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M E D I A VO I C E S
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T HE HA B E O N T HE HO RN S — Steve Habel
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FI N A L S C O RE
COVER PHOTO: JAKE DEAN
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JAKE DEAN
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FIRST
LOOK
Parker French surrendered just three hits and one unearned run in six innings as the Longhorns took down the Minnesota Golden Gophers 13-2 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Feb. 20. French’s command was on point from the start; he tossed first-pitch strikes to the first 10 batters he faced, and he remained in control of the game through the duration of his outing. The senior right-hander received excellent run support from the offense, which had the leadoff man reach base in all eight innings, and scored 13 runs on 17 hits, eight of which went for extra bases.
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MARK YOUR
CALENDAR
APRIL 2015 APRIL
3–5
BASEBALL
UT at Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla 3 – 7 p.m., 4 – 6:30 p.m., 5 – 1 p.m.
3–4
SOFTBALL
UT vs Texas State 3 – 6 p.m at San Marcos, 4 – 1 p.m. at Austin
5–7
17–19
Final Four Tampa, Fla. TBA
UT vs Kansas 17 – 6 p.m., 18 – 2 p.m., 19 – 1 p.m. Lawrence, Kan.
W BASKETBALL
W GOLF
UT vs UTSA Matchup San Antonio All Day
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BASEBALL
UT vs Wichita State 7 p.m. SOFTBALL
UT vs Texas A&M Corpus Christi 4:30 p.m.
10–12
BASEBALL
UT vs Oklahoma 10 – 7 p.m., 11 – 3:30 p.m., 12 – 3:30 p.m. SOFTBALL
UT vs Oklahoma 10 – 4:30 p.m., 11 – 1 p.m., 12 – 12 p.m.
PREVI OUS S PREAD: UT ATHLET ICS PHOT OGRAPHY, THIS S PREAD CLOCKWISE FR OM TOP LEFT: PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS, PAT RICK MEREDIT H/UNIV. OF TEXAS, BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS
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Ping USA Invitational Tempe, Ariz. All Day
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UT at Baylor Waco 1 p.m.
11–12 M GOLF
Western Intercollegiate Santa Cruz, Calif. All day
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BASEBALL
Stephanie Ceo and the Longhorns Softball team host Texas Tech April 24-26.
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M TENNIS
UT vs. Texas Tech 3 p.m. W Tennis U T V S . O H I O S TAT E
1 p.m.
4–5
WHAT’SS GOING ON IN LONGHORN SPORTS WHAT
BASEBALL
SOFTBALL
UT vs Iowa State 17 – 6:30 p.m., 18 – 4 p.m., 19–1 p.m.
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M TENNIS
UT vs TCU Fort Worth 1 p.m.
18–19
W ROWING
Clemson Invite Clemson, S.C. (Lake Hartwell) All day M GOLF
NCAA Regional Preview Lubbock All day
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Lauren Slatten plans to bring the heat during conference play.
W TENNIS
UT vs. Kansas 1 p.m.
23–26
M/ W TENNIS
Big 12 Conference Championship Waco All day
24–25
W ROWING
Dale England Cup Bloomington, Ind. (Lake Lemon) All day
24–26
27–29 27 –29 29
Big 12 Conference Championship San Antonio All day
Big 12 Conference Championship Tulsa, Okla. All day
BASEBALL
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UT vs TCU 24- 6:30 p.m., 25 – 4 p.m., 26 – 1 p.m. Fort Worth SOFTBALL
UT vs Texas Tech 24 – 6 p.m., 25 – 2 p.m., 26 – 12 p.m. Lubbock
UT vs Sam Houston State 6 p.m.
M GOLF
BASEBALL
UT vs Prairie View A&M 6 p.m. INFORMATION SUBJECT TO CHANGE. CHECK WWW.TEXASSPORTS. COM FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION
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M TENNIS
UT vs Baylor 5 p.m. SOFTBALL
UT vs UT Arlington 6 p.m.
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UT vs Kansas State 1 p.m.
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Augusta Collegiate Invitational Augusta, Ga. All Day
Tezira Abe and the Longhorns tee up for the Big 12 Championship on April 24.
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ROUNDUP CONGER’S CLEAN SWEEP // FOOTBALL STAFF ADDS TWO // A LOOK AT GUSTAFSON’S CAREER
P AT R ICK M ER E DIT H/UN IV .O F T E XAS
A WAVE OF RECORDS: All-American sophomore Jack Conger set NCAA, American and U.S. Open records in the 200-yard butterfly during a time trials session during the Big 12 Championships on Feb. 25. Conger finished the event in 1:39:31 and eclipsed the NCAA record of 1:39.33 set by Michigan’s Dylan Bosch at the 2014 NCAA Championships. The swim also beat Bosch’s U.S. Open record as the fastest 200-yard butterfly swim recorded on U.S. soil, regardless of the swimmer’s nationality. Conger’s swim topped the American record (1:39.65) set by Michael Phelps on March 7, 2010, in Annapolis, Md. Conger is the first Longhorn to set an American record while swimming collegiately since 2008 when Olympic gold medalist Dave Walters claimed the U.S. mark in the 200-yard freestyle at the Texas Invitational.
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THE REVOLVING DOOR of celebrities paying visit to Texas athletics programs continued this February as comedian and actor Kevin Hart stopped by the Longhorn football facilities. First it was Justin Bieber joining the men’s basketball team for a shootaround and then Matthew McConaughey stopped by football practice. Now it’s Hart, who spent the day at the Moncrief Athletic Center working out with several football players. Hart spent a good amount of time at the facility, working out with strength coach Pat Moorer and interacting with several of the players. New arrival Malik Jefferson tweeted out a video of Hart pushing a sled as he and his teammates looked on. Hart, who was in Austin to do a series of four shows in four nights, was sure to thank the Longhorns for the hospitality before he took off for Phoenix. “Major thank you to the Longhorns for allowing me to use their gym facilities today,” he tweeted. “It was amazing.”
— JJEFF HOWE (@ JeffHowe247) JeffHow
LAUGH AT MY PAIN:
Comedian Kevin Hart dropped in at the football facilities for a workout with strength coach Pat Moorer during his fourshow tour in Austin.
THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: UT ATHLETIC S PHOTOGRAPHY, UT ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY, JIM SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS, JIM SI GMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS, BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS, BETHANY W ALTER /UNIV. OF TEXAS
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ITH THE RECENT hiring of former LSU defensive line coach Brick Haley (who will fill the same position at Texas) and former Gilmer High School head coach Jeff Traylor as the new tight ends coach, the Longhorn coaching staff is likely now complete. Before spending the past six seasons with LSU, Haley was an NFL assistant with the Chicago Bears. “We’re excited to bring Brick onto our staff,” head coach Charlie Strong said. “He has a great reputation for developing defensive linemen and has developed so many great players over the years.” Seen as one of Texas’ strengths, defensive line coach Chris Rumph left Texas to coach at Florida. Replacing Rumph will undoubtedly be a tall task for Haley, but he seems excited about the challenge. “It’s a great day,” Haley said. “Growing up it was always a dream to coach college football in [Texas], and the greatest accomplishment would be to coach college football at the University of Texas. I can’t wait.” Traylor’s experience at the high school level does not match Haley’s college and NFL experience, but with three state championships in his 15 seasons at Gilmer, and having never posted a losing record, Traylor has an impressive track record coaching players on the field. “Honestly, I was extremely happy in my hometown [of Gilmer],” Traylor said. “There were only a couple of schools I would consider leaving for, and one of those schools called. Having an opporBRICK HALEY tunity to coach at Texas is a dream come true.” Given Traylor’s success at Gilmer, one of the state’s marquee football programs, Traylor might also play a crucial role in recruiting in-state football players. Strong alluded to as much when speaking of Traylor. “Jeff’s a tremendous football coach who has built a program at Gilmer that has had unbelievable success,” Strong said. “He has a great deal JEFF TRAYLOR of knowledge and experience and having coached in this state for so long, really knows Texas. East Texas has so many great players that it really helps us to have a guy like Jeff on staff who knows the area so well.”
“Peo “People, in the name of everything ev hholy, there aare TWO Longhorns Lo with similar wit names name in the ddraft: draf f RB Malcolm Ma Brown , B DT Malcom D Brown” B
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CELEBRITY SIGHTING
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T HI S PAGE FROM LEFT : JESS E DR OHEN, JESSE DR OHEN, JIM SIGM ON /UNIV. OF TEXAS
LUCKY NO. 1400
TRES BARRERA went 5-for-6 with six RBIs to lead the baseball team past UTSA, 14-2. On the 40th anniversary of the first game ever played at UFCU DischFalk Field, the Longhorns earned their 1,400th victory at the ballpark thanks to an offensive eruption. The 14-run outburst marked the first time a Texas offense has scored 14 runs in a game since April 7, 2012, and the 20 hits were the most since May 30, 2009. Barrera’s five hits included a three-run home run, an RBI double and two RBI singles. It marked the first time a Longhorn had six RBIs in a game since Kevin Lusson did on May 23, 2010, and the first time a player had five hits in a game since Michael Torres on March 20, 2008. The first three batters in the lineup — Ben Johnson, Collin Shaw and C.J. Hinojosa — each had three hits, and combined for five RBIs and four runs scored. Johnson and Hinojosa also added doubles to their lines. “We’re hitting better than ever,” head coach Augie Garrido said. “So we’re going to be thankful for what we have and work on what we don’t have.”
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ROUNDUP
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STANDING OVATION: Players continue to recognize and respect the accomplishments achieved by former coach Cliff Gustafson.
HONORING CLIFF GUSTAFSON
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ASEBALL COACH Cliff Gustafson lied to Darrell K Royal in 1968 by
saying he was making $500 less than he really was so he wouldn’t scare off Texas’ athletic director. Royal eventually offered Gustafson the Longhorns job. More than a half-century later, Gustafson — who attended the dinner honoring him as a National College Baseball Hall of Famer with his new wife, Ann — joins Augie Garrido as one of the best coaches in college baseball history. Gustafson wasn’t much on pitch counts or excuses for losing. He took baseballs home to stitch them up and poured over scorebooks. He’d hold practices from 1 p.m. until past dark and he drilled his teams on everything from the squeeze bunt to hitting the cutoff man. And Gustafson won — all the time. An amazing 1,427 times for a .792 winning percentage that still ranks first among Division I coaches. He won with pitching and defense. He coached when going to Omaha was the standard. He went there 17 times in 29 seasons. He won there twice. One time, when he finished second in 1989, his team had no business even being there. Texas stood for college baseball and was so revered that ace Kirk Dressendorfer didn’t even list the Longhorns among his top three choices because he didn’t think he was good enough. He still remembers Gustafson sending the pitchers to left field for conditioning drills, and Dressendorfer tagged along with 20 other pitchers. “Gus,” Dressendorfer said, “you made me better than I thought I could be.”
SW I M M I NG & DI V I NG
MAINTAINING THEIR REIGN THE UT TOWER was drenched in orange lighting on Feb. 28 in recognition of the men and women’s swimming & diving teams’ Big 12 Championship titles. The top-ranked men won their 36th consecutive conference title under 37-year head coach Eddie Reese, 32-year associate head coach Kris Kubik and 21-year diving coach Matt Scoggin. Under third-year head coach Carol Capitani, third-year assistant Roric Fink and Scoggin, the women won their third consecutive Big 12 team title.
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BASKETBALL
HONOR ROLL A CONFERENCE-LEADING eight Texas student-athletes were named to the 2015 Academic All-Big 12 Conference Women’s Basketball Team. Texas’ first-team honorees include Krystle Henderson, Kelsey Lang, Imani McGee-Stafford, Celina Rodrigo, Brady Sanders and Brianna Taylor. Empress Davenport and Nneka Enemkpali received second-team honors. Sanders is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree, while Enemkpali is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honoree. McGee-Stafford and Rodrigo earned first-team honors for the second consecutive year. A total of 39 women’s basketball student-athletes were named to the list with 24 selected to the first team and 16 on the second team. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
CONTINUING TO IMPRESS: For the third consecutive year, Taylor Hoagland earned a position on the USA Women’s National Softball team.
HEADED DOWN THE RIGHT PATH: Head coach Rick Barnes’ 600th win is just a checkpoint on the path to bringing home a national or conference title.
A MILESTONE VICTORY
HE LONGHORNS, whom many picked to unseat Kansas as the Big 12 champion, have struggled and now find themselves near the bottom of the conference. After defeating TCU to earn his 600th Division I victory, head coach Rick Barnes was all smiles. Barnes has seen and done a lot in his career. He watched as future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan slipped right through his grasp at Providence, as the school’s president wouldn’t let Barnes sign Duncan without a scholarship open, despite the fact that two of his players were in the process of transferring. He confronted the late, legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith face to face in the ACC tournament about Clemson’s hard, physical play. He then guided two Longhorns, T.J. Ford and Kevin Durant, to National Player of the Year honors while taking Texas to 15 NCAA tournaments in 16 years. While the regular season wins keep piling up, the big ones still elude him. He’s 20–20 in the NCAA tournament, making just one Final Four appearance (2003). He’s won just one postseason conference tournament championship at Providence in 1994. For Barnes, 600 isn’t a goal, but a part of the path.
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ONE AND DONE?
FRESHMAN Myles Turner has struggled as of late, scoring just 21 total points over a four-game span. Despite his lack of production, some pundits continue to project him as a first round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. At 6’11”, 240 pounds, Turner certainly has the size and skill set to excel at the next level, and a recent statistical piece from ESPN has his pro potential higher than it has ever been. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton recently
ranked NBA prospects by projected Wins Above Replacement (WARP), and Turner landed third on the list. When asked whether he planned on turning pro after this season, Turner responded, “Am I going to be one and done? I always say the same thing. I don’t know; the season isn’t over yet.”
THREE-PEAT: Brady Sanders earned her third Academic All-Big 12 First Team honor this season.
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GOLF/ALUMNI
GIRLS VS. BOYS SURVEYING THE SITUATION: After coaching the men’s team for several seasons, Ryan Murphy is adjusting to leading the women’s team.
THIS SPREAD CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: JESS DROHEN, JESSE DROHEN, UT ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY, JIM SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS, DON BENDER
BUTTERFLY EFFECT: Jack Conger caught the swimming world’s attention with his performance at the Pro Swim Series event.
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HE GAME MAY not be different, but the players certainly are. This became apparent when firstyear women’s golf head coach Ryan Murphy walked into the locker room where his eight players were playing the video game “Just Dance.” “That was a big adjustment,” Murphy said. “The guys definitely weren’t playing that in the locker room.” After being named the women’s coach last May, Murphy said, “There are
M ISCELL A N EOUS
BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE
differences between men and women, but the game remains the same.” Murphy, who was an assistant with the Texas men’s team from 2008-14, couldn’t be more excited to grow the women’s program, which boasts three Big 12 conference titles and 24 NCAA Women’s Championship appearances. This fall season was a “mixed bag,” according to Murphy. There were signs of greatness, like when the Longhorns broke their 18-hole scoring record during the final round of the Schooner Classic and then capped it off with the lowest 54-hole mark in program history. But there were also some moments when the team was off.
“The fall was about learning who my players are — learning their tendencies and their games,” Murphy said. “There’s a learning curve but I’m learning fast.” Murphy said he did notice a deficiency in wedge play in both the women’s and men’s game and wants to improve that with his current team. “Tee to green we’re pretty good but we weren’t converting the opportunities,” Murphy said. “We’ve honed in on that.” With the spring season warming up, the team’s ultimate goal is still attainable: add another Big 12 Championship to Texas’ collection.
GETTING THE BEST seats for Texas sporting events is now based
on a new loyalty points system tied to how much a fan donates or spends on tickets. The university announced on March 3 that the plan would not affect current season-ticket holders or their seats. The system, however, will be used to reward top loyalty earners when new seats or special event tickets become available. Special events include bowl games or other postseason or high-demand events.
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COVER STORY
ONE OF THE most talented players in the NBA, lifetime Longhorn Kevin Durant currently plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder. His skills made him to be a popular player both on and off the court. With his scoring titles, shoe line, MVP award, Olympic gold medal, and multiple collegiate awards earned while playing for the Longhorns, many fans are interested in more of his personal life. The March issue of GQ Magazine goes into many areas where Durant has dodged questions in the past and reveals some of the stories many will find fascinating. — RANDY MALTZ
The 2015 football season tickets will be the first to take into account loyalty points. Totals are based on full season-ticket history, seat-related contributions and philanthropic gifts. Renewing foundation and season-ticket members earn points from past contributions and purchases since 1986 (the year the Longhorn Foundation was established). Five points are awarded per $100 contribution for philanthropic gifts received since Sept. 1, 2014. One point will be awarded per $100 contribution for all ticketed sports since 1987.
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FROM LEFT: JES SE DR OHEN, CO UR TES Y UT ATHLETIC S PHOTOGRAPHY, J AM ES S CHLEIC HER
MEDIA VOICES
JOHNNY WALKER REVIEW FORMER LONGHORN JOHNNY WALKER REMINISCES ABOUT HIS OWN RECRUITING EXPERIENCE AND HIS TIME ON THE BASEBALL FIELD. to Texas for my recruiting trip, the Longhorns were having the alumni baseball game. I ran into Roger Clemens and he basically knew all about me. This floored me because he’s one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He told me, “You know this about UT — they have a football program and they want you to play baseball. So why haven’t you committed yet?� He just asked me point blank. I responded, “Well, yeah. I want to come to Texas.� I came to Texas because of the baseball program, the conversation I had with Clemens and the fact that he knew who I was and what I had accomplished. I had another recruiting trip where I went to Arizona State, and it just so happened ASU was also hosting its alumni baseball game. I met with Barry Bonds and Reggie Jackson but they didn’t know who I was. The overall conversation was great but they didn’t know anything about me. Clemens, on the other hand, was giving me my stats. I met coach Cliff Gustafson on my official recruiting visit. He knew everything about me as far as baseball, which I thought was phenomenal. He let me know his expectations then. He said I could definitely come and play for him.
ALL PHOT OS THIS PAGE: UT ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY
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HEN I CAME
“There are guys that have played football and baseball here and I think you’re one of the guys that can do it,� he said to me. “But you’re going to have to earn it.� I had to earn everything on the baseball field. I sat at the bottom of the roster and they didn’t have a number reserved for me. I had to work my butt off and make the baseball team every year. I came back after Christmas break and had two weeks to make the team. I had to compete against all the guys who played all summer and worked all fall to make the team. I can recall times when I was in the batting cage from sun up to sun down. I remember Gustafson coming out and saying, “We have to turn off the lights.� And because I knew it would take 10 minutes to turn off the lights, I would respond, “Coach, I have eight more minutes.� After my sophomore year, things weren’t going as well from a football standpoint and the coaching staff wanted me to solely play football. “No. Absolutely not,� Gustafson said when he heard. “He’s going to keep playing baseball and if you don’t let him play baseball, I’ll never help you recruit another dualsport athlete again.� The next year was history. I started toward the end of the year and was later drafted. Gustafson went out of his way to say no. He went to bat for me and I’m grateful that he did.
JOHNNY WALKER’S RESUME t Played football and baseball at Texas from 1987-90 t 5XP UJNF "MM 4PVUIXFTU Conference t $BVHIU UIF HBNF XJOOJOH SFDFQUJPO UP CFBU 0LMBIPNB JO 1990
“
NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. HE’S GOING TO KEEP PLAYING BASEBALL AND IF YOU DON’T LET HIM PLAY BASEBALL, I’LL NEVER HELP YOU RECRUIT ANOTHER DUAL-SPORT ATHLETE AGAIN. – COACH CLIFF GUSTAFSON STANDING OFF WITH FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF
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MEDIA VOICES
JEFF HOWE GIVES HIS OPINION ON HOW STRONG AND HIS STAFF PULLED TOGETHER THE 2015 SIGNING CLASS.
What aspects make this staff so strong at recruiting?
Look at the schools they have been at; Chris Vaughn is a and host good example since he’s been in the SEC at two schools. of the Recruiting Blitz radio show on AM Anyone who follows recruiting in the SEC knows it’s a 1300 The Zone, Jeff Howe keeps close battle up until the bitter end. He’s also been at Memphis, tabs on football recruiting throughout a place where you have to evaluate well. Even for guys the state of Texas. He bases his career on like Brian Jean-Mary and Charlie Strong, you have to be his intimate understanding of football — extremely thorough because you’re just not going to get inside and out. In addition to recruiting, the same caliber kid as the big SEC schools get. The hard Howe covers the game at the high school and college levels, as well as the NFL draft. In the now MALIK JEFFERSON never-ending cycle of big-time football, Howe says there’s rarely a dull moment. Horns Illustrated caught up with Howe to get his thoughts on Texas’ 2015 class.
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S A WRITER FOR Horns247.com
You look at the Longhorn roster as a whole and there are a lot of holes, just through attrition and everything else. This class wasn’t going to fill all of the holes, but overall it’s a good start.
I don’t know if the actual time made that big of a difference, but I think this year shows how much work they put into recruiting. If you go back a year ago, they were behind just in terms of evaluation, knowing whom 20
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@ rodb314: Every time I watch dash cam footage from Russia, I’m reminded that Americans aren’t such bad drivers.
CRAIG WAY @craigway1: Who would expect someone who once wore a meat dress to do “The Sound of Music” so beautifully? #Gagarockedit Stop asking the question, “How much can you make in this business?” Learn to enjoy the work first. #AdviceforYoungJournalists
SEAN ADAMS (@thatsean): Seriously somebody explain to me why the University of Houston would be good for the Big 12 to add. #IDontGetIt #EyeOfTheCougar
So the quality of the players and the number of four- and five-star recruits looks good?
How big of a difference did a year make for this staff?
ROD BABERS
Pete Carroll just tried to out-genius The Hoody. He just went LenDale White with Reggie Bush on the sideline vs. Texas all over again.
What do you think of the 2015 class?
Star rankings are subjective; they depend on where you look. What differentiates this coaching regime from the previous one is that they’re much more thorough before offering somebody. When they offered a kid in this class, they did the legwork. Some guys in this class won’t pan out — you never know where your attrition is going to come from. But in terms of quality, every one of these guys has a chance to contribute in some way.
TWEETS
work comes from where they’ve been. Now you apply that same work ethic to a place like Texas, where you can get your foot in the door just because you’re Texas. Not to say it ensures you’ll get these commitments, but trust me you talk to enough college coaches, having a name like Texas, it makes a difference. In the end, it’s taking all the tools you use to make recruiting at a smaller school work, and then applying that to Texas and that gives them more strength.
I think I saw the worst and grossest thing that I have ever seen in my life today on South Congress. I can’t ‘unsee’ this #AdamsTheory
FROM LEFT: COURT ESY DANIEL FAIRS, ALL HEADSHOTS COURTESY AM 13 00 THE ZONE, COURTESY WAYNE HELTON PHOTOGRAPHY
Strong Work
they wanted to offer and knowing that they needed a big class. If you look at how it came together, the work they put in speaks more to how they attacked it. When they flip guys like Ryan Newsome, P.J. Locke, and Kai Locksley at the last minute, they’re battling until the very end. The approach is different from the previous staff, which is something the fans have to get used to, and even covering it you have to get used to it. With this staff, the time doesn’t matter because if they see a guy they like, they’re going after him. They’re not afraid to get in a recruiting battle where they’re going to be told no, and they’re not afraid to try and go flip a kid. At the end of the day it was hard work by this staff to put this class together.
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{
www.youtube.com/ user/ HornsIllustrated
www.facebook.com/ hornsillustrated After being ranked in the top 10 for much of November and December, the Longhorns found themselves in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament. Texas fans took to our Facebook page to sound off about this season. Here were the top comments:
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Got much love for coach Rick but the team just squanders leads at the end of the second and fourth quarters. They play with passion when the game is pretty much decided. Let’s get it together Horns. Hook ‘em! – Ken Perry
Hang tough, Longhorns! The season isn’t over yet. – Noble Johnson
As long as they win 20 games I think they can get in. – Gerald White
Austin tries to implement traffic anyway it can: highways, back roads, movie theater snack lines. highw – CHIAKA CHIA OGBOGU (@cchiakaa11)
Our “Reach” was over
1 MILLION during the week of 2/2-2/8 Averaged over
Come on Longhorns. We can win this thing. We have all the talent in the world to pull this off. We have to play hard. – Mickey Coffman
I love lov this team man! We’re ggoin going to keep growing, getting bett better individually and collectivel tively as a group. I guarantee it.
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Built to Win
THE HABE ON THE HORNS BY STEVE HABEL
THE TEXAS BASEBALL TEAM REMAINS FOCUSED ON ITS RETURN TO OMAHA.
around head baseball coach Augie Garrido there’s never a dull moment. And when the Longhorns play well, his press conference resembles a standup comedy routine. The fact that Garrido and his staff assembled a really good team helps, not to mention the fact the Longhorns have performed to their heightened expectations during the first three weeks of the 2015 season. Texas has won seven games in a row heading into a weather-wracked three-game series against San Diego on Feb. 28-March 1. During that seven-game stretch, the Longhorns outscored their opponents 56-12. In a four-game home sweep of Minnesota on Feb. 20-22, Texas pitching did not allow an earned run and posted shutouts in the final three contests. Then, just to show they can also get things done the hard way, the Longhorns spotted Texas-Pan American a 4-0 lead on Feb. 25 before storming back to score five runs in the final three innings. The Longhorns took the game on a walk-off single by freshman third baseman Bret Boswell that glanced off the glove of the Broncs’ shortstop and
W
HEN YOU’RE
into centerfield. Ten games (and an 8-2 record) do not a season make. The 8-2 start by Texas is its best since 2009 when it began the season 11-0. The Longhorns got off to a similar start in 2014 (7-3) and then hit a rough patch midway through the Big 12 campaign. “There hasn’t been anything conservative about the way we’ve scheduled this first part of the season,” Garrido said. “I’m hopeful that it will give us the experience to get off to a good start in the Big 12 and be able to handle the different venues that we’ll play in.” The Longhorns — who ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation at the end of February (USA Today Coaches Poll) — will surely have their trials and tribulations, but the roster is loaded with players hankering for a chance to show they deserve playing time. “Everybody has confidence in one through nine [in the lineup] that they’re going to go up there and do their job, which is all you can ask at the end of the day,” rightfielder Collin Shaw said. “Every at bat matters and every pitch matters in college baseball.” Entering the San Diego series, the Longhorn offense was second in the NCAA in doubles with 29
and had 37 extra-base hits in just 10 games. Shaw had six of them (all doubles), and has a team-high 10 extra-base hits this season (nine doubles, one triple), after having six (five doubles, one triple) in all of 2014. Leftfielder Ben Johnson is tied for the national lead in hits with 21. “There’s a lot of ‘follow the leader’ in this game,” Garrido said. “Positive things are contagious and and right now, things are going in a very positive way for the whole team.” With a terrific mix of timely and powerful hitting, and a rapidly improving pitching staff anchored by Parker French and Chad Hollingsworth, Texas has the look — and the swagger — of a team that could make a return trip to Omaha and take a run at a national championship. Once in that forum, no one is better than Garrido. And if you think he’s witty and outgoing now, just wait to see him on the dais at the College World Series. Just sayin, ya’ know?
The Habe is Steve Habel, Horns Illustrated’s Senior Editor. He was the magazine’s first staff member, in 1994, and has covered Texas sports ever since.
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STRONG’S NEVER-SAY-DIE ATTITUDE PUSHES TEXAS TO CAPTURE THE BIG 12’S TOP-RANKED RECRUITING CLASS. INTRODUCTION BY STEVE HABEL BIOS BY JEFF HOWE, STEVE HABEL & JACOB PROTHRO
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IN T HE F IRST 14 MONT HS OF HIS COA CHING REGIME AT T HE UNIV ERSIT Y OF T EX A S, two things became readily obvious about Charlie Strong — his tenacity and the fact that he’s unwavering in his attempt to bring pride back to Longhorn football. The most recent exhibition of that dogged attitude was produced on Feb. 4 with the signing of the class of 2015. The class was 28 members strong (pun acknowledged) and hungry to heed Strong’s call to success and for renewed attitude on the 40 Acres. The collective group was ranked as high as eighth in the country (by ESPN) and as low as 12th (Rivals.com). Strong praised not only his coaching staff but also the current players and the campus community for helping produce what’s considered one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. “Our guys did a great job of selling this program,” Strong said. “On Saturdays, some of our professors gave up their day to come out and talk about academics and talk up this program. Everyone joined in knowing what we had to get accomplished during the recruiting season.” Stocked with blue-chip players and one of the nation’s most soughtafter linebackers, it’s clear that the Longhorns will have the talent to make strides back into the consciousness of college football. The Longhorns stayed within the state of Texas for 18 recruits and went to Florida for another five. There was also one each from California, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi and New York. “We know this — the state of Texas will always be our home ground,” Strong said. “We’ll always build from this state. We’ll always know this, but I don’t mind going outside the state to get in a battle. That’s what recruiting is all about. We knew we weren’t going to back down.” Nine players, who were committed to other schools earlier in the recruiting process, changed their minds and ultimately signed with Texas. Six of those players decided to come to the 40 Acres in the last week before signing day, a stout indication of Strong’s ‘never quit’ mentality toward recruiting. From 2006-11, former Texas coach Mack Brown and his staff persuaded only four players to switch as Brown vocally ral-
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lied against that tactic in recruiting. Offensive line (six), defensive back (five) and linebacker (five) were all positions that will have the most incoming players. Texas also signed three wide receivers, three running backs, three defensive linemen and one tight end, one quarterback and a player considered an athlete. Six of the players — including five-star linebacker Malik Jefferson from Mesquite Poteet — have already enrolled in classes and will participate in spring drills for the Longhorns. With the loss of 11 offensive and defensive starters from last season’s team, Texas needed players who could come in and potentially make an immediate impact. Fans should consider the Longhorns’ successful recruiting haul a major step toward that goal. This was Strong’s second signing class at Texas but the first that really carried his thumbprint. “You look at the second year as the foundation class,” Strong said. “We got some outstanding players. Our coaching staff took it personal because some people said they couldn’t recruit and they were losing all these guys. Remember, signing day is the first Wednesday in February. It’s good to get momentum early, but you have to sustain it.” Strong said he delivered a simple message to the recruits. “When I go into a house, I talk about our mission,” he said. “Our mission, No. 1, is to see the young man graduate. No. 2, we need to go win football games. I told them the standard here is to never lose seven games. The third thing is about making them a better person.” “I talk about the core values all the time because I know that’s how [the players] are raised,” Strong added. “I tell them that they have a chance to walk into the best program in the country, and to put their handprint on it and watch it change and be a part of that change.” Now comes the hard part — getting the players to come together as a cohesive team and to play with the passion that Strong (and Longhorn fans) demand. That mission will begin with spring drills in March. Here’s a look at the Longhorns’ 28 signees, with information and quotes from Strong, if available.
JOHN BURT WIDE RECEIVER m,h/ 1 frk ¡Ý TALLAHASSEE, FLA (Lincoln)
the
florida five STRONG TAPS INTO HIS OLD STOMPING GROUNDS TO BRING FRESH TALENT TO THE 40 ACRES. BY STEVE HABEL
PREVIOUS SPR EAD: JI M SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS, THI S SPREAD: DANIEL FAIRS
A
DECADE FROM now, some people may say that the five players from Florida who signed letters of intent to play football at the University of Texas were not the original “Florida Five,” thanks to one player who decided against coming to the 40 Acres right before signing day. But the five who signed — wide receivers John Burt of Tallahassee and Gilbert Johnson of Miami, linebacker Cecil Cherry of Frostproof and Miami teammates Davante Davis, a defensive back, and tight end Devonaire Clarington — could prove to be a solid quintet of players who serve head coach Charlie Strong in two ways. The first is as solid contributors on the field; the second is as an indication that the Longhorns have developed a pipeline into Strong’s old stomping grounds in the Sunshine State. “The Florida Five — we’re going to take over Texas,” said Clarington, who without a doubt is the most ballyhooed player to wear a Texas jersey since Jermichael Finley. “We’re going to rebuild the Longhorns.” The Florida Five visited Austin during the same weekend in early November 2014 but didn’t stay in touch afterward. Clarington said that experiencing the Central Texas weather (thank goodness for sunshine), seeing the city and getting to know his coaches all played a major role. Understanding Strong’s goal to bring Texas back into the national spotlight also resonated with Clarington and the rest of the five. “What Charlie Strong did at Louisville, he’s going to do at Texas,” Clarington said. Of the five Florida players who signed, Burt was the final commit after waffling back and forth between the Longhorns and Auburn. Burt ended up at Texas while Tim Irvin, the son of former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, opted for Auburn. Davis is a tall cornerback — the type that Strong wants to build his defense around. Johnson, who spent the 2014 season at Georgia Prep after he was academically ineligible to make it into Georgia (the school he signed with out of high school last season) was ranked as the No. 7 prep player nationally and the No. 2 prep wide receiver. Burt is a big, physical receiver who can run comeback routes, break the first tackle and then outrun the safety to the end zone. He’s strong over the middle for catches in traffic and likes to block. “I’ve been following the team for most of my life,” Burt said. “I have family in Austin, so an opportunity to go to college at Texas is exciting.” Cherry is the low-to-the-ground linebacker who has quick feet, likes to attack the running lanes and is hard to block. The fact that Strong found a way to get five Florida players to play at Texas shows his sway. And that’s a great thing for the future of the Longhorns.
I LIKE COMPARISONS, because if used correct-
ly, they can help express the skills a prospect possesses without getting too long-winded and filling out a report with empty cliches. After watching John Burt (Tallahassee, Fla./ Lincoln) at the Under Armour All-America Game, a comp came to mind that I don’t think is very far off. He reminds me a little bit of Alvin Harper. Like the former University of Tennessee and Dallas Cowboys receiver, Burt is a track guy (13.98 in the 110 hurdles last spring was the 22nd-fastest time in the country, and he’s got a personal best of 39.57 in the 300 hurdles and 6-8 in the high jump) who gets by on deceptive athleticism. Not an overly imposing figure at 6’2” and 184 pounds (Harper was 6’3”, 210 and ran relays at Tennessee while winning an SEC indoor title in 1989 as a 7-2.5 high jumper), Burt, like Harper did in his day, seems to have a knack for manipulating man coverage, exploding to the football and showing strong hands while displaying a willingness to catch the ball in traffic. He’s an outside receiver with the ability to stretch the field and win battles. He’s the player the staff needed to fulfill what John Harris brought to the offense in 2014.
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hgfl a ] ]_
the
florida five COACH
` ] ` ` P
He’s a big backer inside. You like Cecil because he’s a guy who can hunker down.
_
CECIL CHERRY LINEBACKER m,fu/ 1 hkk  ¥� FROSTPROOF, FLA (Victory Christian)
CECIL CHERRY
P Ranked No. 12 inside linebacker nationally and No. 46 overall in Florida by Rivals. P Recorded 160 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks, four interceptions (121 return yards and one touchdown), six passes defended and four forced fumbles as a senior. P Played on the Frostproof varsity team as an eighth grader.
DEVONAIRE CLARINGTON TIGHT END m,l/ 1 hhn  ¥� MIAMI, FLA (Booker T. Washington) SEDRICK IRVIN — who coached Devonaire Clarington during his junior year at Miami Westminster Christian – compared the four-star prospect’s soft hands, hand-eye coordination and upside to that of a young Rob Gronkowski in some ways. That’s high praise, but at any rate, Clarington is Texas’ best hope for a legitimate threat at tight end since before Blaine Irby and D.J. Grant suffered their respective knee injuries. I watched Clarington’s hands closely at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he was working on catching one-handed passes before the game. He looked as natural as could be as an outside receiver. He’s a natural receiv-
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COACH ` ] ` `
P
He’s long and has speed. He played defensive end and tight end, so you know he’s an athlete. He can run away from people. You need someone to stretch the field. He can just get down and knock people off the football.
P Ranked No. 9 tight end nationally and No. 42 overall in Florida by Rivals. P Recorded 53 tackles and six sacks as a senior.
er who was good enough playing with his hand in the dirt on defense that LSU recruited him as a defensive end, so he’s comfortable mixing it up at the point of attack. The total package Clarington brings to the table is almost too good to be true. The 6’5�inch, 229-pound prospect has all of the tools to be the answer Texas has been searching hopelessly for at tight end.
is the bell cow of the crew from South Florida, but he’s got more in common with a Longhorn who is as Texas as can be: Dalton Santos. Like Santos, Cherry was committed to Tennessee before he split from the Vols and picked the Longhorns. Much the way Texas fans fell in love with Santos as a freshman covering kicks, that’s where Cherry’s going to make his biggest contribution early while he adjusts to playing middle linebacker in the Big 12. Also like Santos, Cherry will start his career as a two-down linebacker who should be tremendous against the run in goal-line and short-yardage situations. He’ll work his way onto the field as a middle linebacker, but first and foremost he’ll be called upon to unleash his 244 pounds of intense fury on Notre Dame when toe meets leather for the opening kickoff on Sept. 5 in South Bend.
DAVANTE DAVIS DEFENSIVE BACK m,j/ 1 fnf ¡Ý MIAMI, FLA (Booker T. Washington)
IN A PERFECT WORLD,
THIS S PREAD CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT : COUR TESY HORNS2 47.CO M, COURTES Y GEORGE STORR, COURTESY THE MIAMI HERALD, COUR TESY AR MY ALL AM ER ICA BOW L
P Ranked No. 3 Davante Davis would be in the Miami-Dade redshirted, developed and Top 25 by the Miami unleashed in 2016. Herald. But Texas needs the P Recorded four 6’3”, 191-pound Davis interceptions as a in 2015, so he can likely make an impact on special senior teams before settling in at either cornerback or safety. Davis almost didn’t become a Longhorn; he tried to commit to Florida State at one point in the process. The Seminoles didn’t tell him no when he tried to pull the trigger, but they didn’t exactly tell him yes either. That’s probably why Davis didn’t reciprocate their late interest right before signing day when the Seminoles came calling.
GILBERT JOHNSON WIDE RECEIVER m,ju/ 1 frm ¡Ý MIAMI, FLA (Georgia Prep Sports Academy/ Homestead)
P Ranked No. 7 overall in prep school prospects nationally by Rivals. P Pulled in 28 receptions for 567 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior. P Also played basketball during his junior season, averaging 9.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
NOBODY KNOWS much
about Gilbert Johnson. He finished his high school career at Miami Homestead, where he averaged 20.3 yards per catch and scored 10 touchdowns in what one Florida scout told me was “a bad high school offense” while having to share touches with 2014 five-star Florida State signee Ermon Lane. A meniscus injury kept him off the field for the most part at Georgia Sports Prep Academy, but head coach Michael Carson saw enough to make an interesting comparison. With his high-point ball skills, ability to be a major threat in the red zone and with his size (6’3.5”, 186 pounds), Carson said Johnson reminds him a lot of a receiver he coached against on the high school level – former Florida State standout and a first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in last year’s NFL Draft, Kelvin Benjamin. MARCH/APRIL 2015
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TRISTAN NICKELSON OFFENSIVE LINEMAN m,ru/ 1 jfh ¡Ý LEAGUE CITY (Navarro College/Fork Union Military Academy, Va.) TWO RECRUITS in the class
who have come a tremendously long way since the first time I saw them P Played basketball are Tristan Nickelson and Du’Vonta Lampkin. as a senior and wresAs a high school junior tled as a sophomore (Nickelson) and sophoand junior. more (Lampkin), both were big kids who made walking and chewing gum at the same time seem like a challenge, but things have really come together for the two Houston natives. So much so that their upside could really pay off for Texas if everything clicks.
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Iowa State hated to lose Nickelson because, as a source close to the program told me, Mark Mangino felt like after a year to develop, Nickelson had all the tools not to just start for the Cyclones, but by the time he was done in Ames, he could have been one of the more solid starting tackles in the Big 12. Wickline fell in love with Nickelson early in the fall, and he executed the flip not long after the 68.5”, 312-pound lineman committed to the Cyclones.
DU’VONTA LAMPKIN DEFENSIVE TACKLE m,j/ 1 hnf ¡Ý HOUSTON (Cypress Falls)
P Tabbed Defensive MVP and unanimous first-team All-District 17-6A.
Lampkin played all over P Ranked No. the defensive line at Cy Falls 21 defensive tackle nationally and No. 49 as a senior. He showed legitioverall in Texas by mate pass rush potential in 247Sports. the process, and to be as athletic as he is at his size while P Recorded 81 being able to carry his weight tackles, 16 sacks, 38 makes him one of the more tackles for loss and intriguing takes in the class. eight forced fumbles as a senior. He’s gradually reshaped his body and his coordination has improved drastically since his sophomore year. Like Nickelson, Lampkin likely needs some time to continue to see things come together and work on technique, but he’s got a nice ceiling if he can start to ascend there in due time.
THIS S PREAD FROM LEFT: UT ATHLETICS PHO TOGR APHY, S AM BETENBOUGH/ CYPRESS FAL LS HS, DANIEL FAIRS
P Ranked No. 150 JUCO nationally and No. 22 in Texas by 247Sports.
DESHON ELLIOTT DEFENSIVE BACK m,g/ 1 hgk ¡Ý ROCKWALL (Rockwall-Heath)
THE STAFF is likely hopP Rated No. 97 ing for DeShon Elliott to (No. 5 safety) nationbecome their version of ally and No. 13 in Texas by ESPN. Calvin Pryor (the standout safety from Louisville) at P Rated No. 7 Texas. The 6’0”, 204-pound four-star safety was recruit- safety in the state by Dave Campbell’s ed specifically for that role Texas Football. as a player who can be an in-the-box safety, can play P Despite missing free safety and can cover two games, finished the slot on occasion. second on the team What Elliott showed with 81 tackles, in Florida at the Under which was one shy Armour All-America Game of the team lead as a senior. practices and what I saw from him on the field P Was also secagainst Mesquite Poteet ond with three intersuggests he can be that ceptions, including guy. Everybody knows he’s one returned for a a hard hitter, but in the touchdown, while Under Armour practices I adding two tackles was surprised at how loose for loss, five passes his hips were, how fluid he defended and one is in his backpedal and how forced fumble. he can hold his own in man coverage for being a big safety. He impressed me the most with his ball skills and ability to finish the play. It’s not just the interceptions either — and he managed to snag several of those during the Under Armour practices — but the fact that when I watched him he was getting his hands on the ball a lot. Texas has missed that element in the secondary of late. Elliott looked like a future linebacker early on, but his skill set suggests he’s going to stay at safety with a chance to be a good player. When I met Elliott at a junior day last year, I automatically assumed he was a surefire candidate to spin down to linebacker. That’s not the case now. He’s got the skills to be a tremendous safety even if his frame might dictate otherwise.
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I N T HE I R
FOOTSTEPS HAGER LOOKS TO RAISE EXPECTATIONS WHILE CARRYING ON HIS FAMILY’S FOOTBALL LEGACY. BY JACOB PROTHRO
F
OR AUSTIN WESTLAKE senior
Breckyn Hager, football runs in the family. His father, Britt, earned AllAmerican honors and set multiple records at Texas, all before embarking on a nineyear NFL career that included playing time for the Eagles, Broncos and Rams. Hager’s three brothers — Bron, Bryce and Brayven — also played at Westlake before starting college careers of their own. Hager never thought football would play a role in his future because he had a smaller stature compared to his brothers. But things started to change when his father started to push him. Hager quickly learned the value of toughness. “He was always my Pop Warner coach,” Hager said. “He taught me how to be intense from the get-go.” By the time Hager entered middle school in 2008, older brother Bron was playing football at North Texas, Bryce was starting varsity at Westlake and Brayven was a freshman, clearly the next in line to carry on the tradition. Meanwhile, at Hill Country Middle School, people knew of the Hager boys. The family had earned a reputation as hard-nosed football players, and people expected big things out of the youngest one. “All of the coaches were saying, ‘Oh look, it’s another Hager,’ and expected me to live up to the family reputation,” Hager said. Living up to those expectations would prove to be a challenge. His father set the bar high. A high school standout, Britt played through a broken band of cartilage in his hip and the ensuing infection caused by
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P Ranked No. 49 inside linebacker nationally by ESPN. P Recorded 34 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss and five sacks, with three pressures, two passes defended and a blocked FG as a senior. P Father, Britt, was an All-American linebacker at Texas (1985-88) who holds the school records for season tackles (195) and career tackles (499) and played in the NFL for nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (1989-94), Denver Broncos (1995-96) and St. Louis Rams (1997).
cortisone shots. And we already mentioned his collegiate records. Born in Odessa, Britt grew up in the barren lands of the West Texas oil fields, where life revolved around two things — the price on a barrel of crude and how well the Permian’s football team played on Friday night. “If you didn’t play football, you were out in the oil fields working,” Britt said. “They valued hard work and manual labor. It really made me tough,
shaped my work ethic and gave me a can-do attitude.” A three-year starter for Permian, Britt played on three straight district championship teams and helped the Panthers reach the 5A State Quarterfinals in 1983. Named to the All-State team at linebacker, his athleticism caught the eye of then-Texas head coach Fred Akers, who persuaded Britt to come to Texas for his college career. Sporting a mullet and mustache, he started at middle linebacker for two years. He led the nation and set a school record in 1988 with 195 tackles. When the season ended, he was named to the All-American team. Five months later, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted him in the third
ALL PHOT OS THIS SPR EAD: C OURT ESY TIMOTHY WHALING/WEST LAKE H.S.
S PEC IAL CO NTR I B UTO R
round of the 1989 NFL Draft. “[Playing in the NFL] took me from being a boy to being a man,” Britt said. “I used skills that were based on the same principles as those I learned in the NFL to succeed in the rest of my life.” While still playing for the Eagles in 1992, Britt’s eldest son, Bryce, was born. A three-year starter at Westlake, Bryce helped the Chaps reach the state championship his senior year. Like his father, Bryce earned All-State honors. But unlike his father, Bryce didn’t receive heavy recruitment and Mack Brown never came calling. Bryce decided to go and play for Baylor, a school considered a Big 12 basement dweller at the time. But the program turned around under the leadership of Art Briles, and Bryce was there to see firsthand the flip in the hierarchy of football programs within the state of Texas. While his older brother made a name for himself in Waco, Hager started showing that he, too, had the talent to play college football. As a sophomore in 2012, he started on varsity and earned honors on the second-team All-District 15-5A squad. That offseason, he received his first scholarship offer. But something happened that offseason, something that threatened to change his life and his opportunities for the future. “I was trying to do a 360 dunk, just messing around,” Hager said. “I came down wrong on my knee and my kneecap came out of my skin.” Doctors said he’d face a long recovery process and that he may never be the same player again. “They told me it’d be an eight-month recovery process,” he said. “It took me six but it hurt. I just worked through the pain.” Before his junior year, Hager dedicated himself to the weight room. He thought the only way to be better than his brothers was to outwork them, and the results were evident when the season started. “They were always 10 steps ahead of me,” Hager said. “That summer my weight shot up from 180 to around 200 and I started to realize I had the genetics to do something great.” A broken collarbone cut his junior season short, but he still played enough to earn AllCentral Texas recognition and caught the eye of a few prominent college coaches. “I was looking at Oklahoma pretty hard,” he said. “Stanford was showing me some interest, but hadn’t offered. I was waiting for one of those schools out in California to offer me.” At first, Hager wanted to follow the path that Bryce had cut during his recruitment process and go to Baylor. Following the 2014 spring game, he called Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett to let him know that he
BRECKYN HAGER
planned to wear the green and gold. “I chose Baylor [at first] because they were the first big school to offer me,” Hager LINEBACKER explained. “They saw my talent first and I felt m,h/ 1 hgl ¡Ý loyal to them because of that.” AUSTIN (Westlake) But Baylor wasn’t his first choice. He wanted to be like his father. He wanted to be a Longhorn, wear the burnt orange and white and play on the same field his dad once played on. There was only one problem — Texas hadn’t offered him a scholarship. “[Former head coach] Mack Brown was recruiting me, but when he left, I didn’t hear much from [new head coach] Charlie Strong,” Hager said. “[Defensive coordinator] Vance Bedford visited me in the spring and told me that they’d be watching me, but I didn’t believe him and forgot about it.” Bedford kept his word. “They sent a scout to the Temple game,” Hager recalled. “[Shortly after] Coach Strong called me and told me he liked what he saw and that he wants another Hager playing for THERE MIGHT NOT BE a recruit who defines Texas. He offered me a scholarship.” what this class is all about more than Hager faced a difficult decision. He liked Breckyn Hager. Baylor, the upstart program, with the flashy You want players who uniforms and the shiny new stawant to be at Texas? Hager, the dium on the banks of the Brazos. COACH son of lifetime Longhorn Britt But he was raised a Longhorn. STRONG SAYS: Hager, who had the honor of He bled burnt orange. And even The thing I like wearing No. 60 as a linebacker though Texas was in a rough patch, about Breckyn is on the 40 Acres, understands with a new coach and a losing his size. His dad exactly what the tradition at record, he felt the appeal that was was an unbelievable Texas means. the University of Texas. player here and his Hager, who flipped brother had a great “Every morning I look out at career at Baylor. I his commitment from Baylor, the Tower,” Hager said. “Playing can remember going was one of nine commits in here has been my dream for as long in on the home visit the class who were previously as I can remember.” and just looking at committed elsewhere. Strong On the morning of Sept. 24, him and thinking he’s going to get bigand company like position he walked to the top of Chaparral ger. He’s just sitting versatility, and Hager could Stadium, and looked out toward there foaming at the play any of the three linethe Austin skyline where the modmouth saying, “Give backer positions or defensive ern glass towers rise above the me more coach … end. Texas wants players what more do I have flat lands that spread out east of to do.” We’re going who know how to win, and Austin and to their left stands the to get everything out Hager comes from an Austin University of Texas Tower. He of him because he’s Westlake program that’s one dialed a number and told Strong going to come in and of the winningest programs that he was in. work. It’s great to have someone who in the state. Strong wants He’ll begin his Longhorn had a chance growplayers with a chip on their journey in August. Although six ing up to watch this shoulder — Hager’s 247Sports months can seem like an eternity program and know Composite rating of 82 is the for a 17-year-old, Hager says he has what it’s all about second-lowest in the class. with its pride and unfinished business at Westlake. the tradition. Given the production “I feel like I still owe somehis father and older brother thing to this community,” he said. (Baylor All-Big 12 linebacker “I’m going to try and bring home a Bryce Hager) had in college, it would be state title in discus and work with [my trainer] unwise to disregard what Hager can do Angel to get ready to be a Longhorn.” when he hits campus.
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CHRIS WARREN III RUNNING BACK m,h/ 1 hjn ¡Ý ROCKWALL (Rockwall)
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COACH STRONG SAYS:
Chris is a big, strong back. Last year, he had a game of 200 yards or 300 yards and he didn’t have to run over people, because he has enough speed and quickness to get outside and run around them. It’s just so hard to say who’s going to play right now, but he’ll have a chance to come in and play.
P Finalist for the 2014 Landry Award, which honors the top high school player in North Texas.
CHRIS WARREN was just a sophomore when I met him on the track at Rockwall High School late in the afternoon a few springs ago. He had a tremendous presence P Ranked No. about him then, and he’s 4 running back in filled out what was, at the the state by Dave time, a wiry 6-foot-2-inch Campbell’s Texas frame to 239 pounds. Football. He played in an offense with a style similar to P Father, Chris, Auburn’s — up-tempo, played 11 seasons in the NFL primarily with no-huddle but with a very the Seattle Seahawks physical mindset of running (1990-97) and Dallas the ball. That’s what makes Cowboys (1998-2000), Warren the rare big back and was a three-time who can play in any offense, Pro Bowler with the and he gives Texas a runner Seahawks (1993-95). who is capable of carrying the offensive load. He carried the ball 250 times as a senior and averaged 9.4 yards per rush. The one play that impressed me the most of the times I watched him in person was a catch on a wheel route for a long gain in a game against Rowlett. For a back at his size to create separation, accelerate up the field, attack the football and be fluid while making the catch and then ripping off 48 yards down to the 1-yard line was eye-popping.
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TRISTIAN HOUSTON RUNNING BACK l,fg/ 1 fnr ¡Ý GALENA PARK (North Shore) GALENA PARK North Shore had been struggling on the field prior to taking on Baytown Sterling on Oct. 24, 2014. That’s the day Kerwin Roach committed to play basketball at Texas, and after his press conference, I went across the North Shore campus and visited with the school’s football staff for a bit. I asked one of the coaches how Tristian Houston was doing, and the coach told me he’d been a little banged up, but not only was Texas getting a good player, the Longhorns were getting a prospect who bleeds burnt orange. We talked about the Mustangs’ struggles — North Shore was an uncharacteristic 3-4 at that point — and the coach told me things were turning around after a 2-3 start because they had decided to get Houston more involved in the offense.
P Ranked No. 36 running back nationally and No. 65 overall in Texas by 247Sports. P Rated No. 10 running back in the state by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. P Rushed for 1,066 yards and 10 touchdowns on 169 carries (6.4 ypc). P Caught 11 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
HOLTON HILL DEFENSIVE BACK m,h/ 1 frg ¡Ý HOUSTON (Lamar)
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COACH STRONG SAYS:
Holton is a young man that has great size. You like those big corners because they can body up the wide receiver. When jump balls come, you hope they can go up and defend. He can cover and he’s long. I know he can be physical enough where he can make tackles.
HOLTON HILL IS following the same path from Houston Lamar to Texas that Rod Babers (1999), Drew Kelson (2004) and John Bonney (2014) took. Lamar also produced the nation’s top defensive back recruit in 1999 (Gerome Sapp) and is the alma mater of one of the top Longhorns in the NFL today, Brian Orakpo. Hill is looking to make his his own mark. The 6’2”, 180-pound four-star prospect pos-
sesses a unique combination of size, length, foot quickness, fluid hips and ball skills — his 11 interceptions as a senior led the state of Texas. I also watched him return a kickoff for a touchdown against Houston Chavez; he also handled Lamar’s punt return responsibilities in the same game. As a prospect, he grew on me the same way Luke Joeckel did in 2010. Hill, like
P Chosen as a finalist for Greater Houston Defensive Player of the Year by the Houston Touchdown Club. P Tabbed Greater Houston Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Greater Houston by the Houston Chronicle. P Led the state with 11 interceptions and scored four touchdowns on offense and special teams as a senior.
Joeckel, is a guy I liked at first who got better and better every time I saw him so that by the time his senior year came to a close he had clearly established himself as one of the top prospects in the country. Like several of the defensive backs Texas signed in this class, Hill has ball skills and the ability to finish the play.
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HOLDING THE LINE MALIK JEFFERSON PLANS TO UPHOLD HIS FAMILY’S VALUES AND HIS OWN STANDARDS AS A MEMBER OF THE TEXAS FOOTBALL PROGRAM. a [
A
` X_ ` people credit the men who coached him,
the peers who pushed him and the mentors who molded him along the way, the biggest pat on the back for making Malik Jefferson the man he is today goes to his family. Recruitniks know him as a five-star linebacker prospect. He’s perhaps the most dominant defensive force the state of Texas has produced since Derrick Johnson nearly 15 years ago. Like Johnson, Texas fans hope Jefferson will eventually redefine the way the Longhorns play defense. A 6’2�, 222-pound physical specimen with special playmaking ability, Jefferson used instincts, elite speed and power to punish the offenses of Mesquite Poteet’s opponents during three varsity seasons. Named an Under Armour All-American, he won the Dick Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s top high school linebacker. The 247Sports Composite rankings — a formula used to rank the top high school football prospects in the country based each individual prospect’s rankings across the various recruiting networks — rated him as the nation’s top outside linebacker prospect and the 10th best recruit in the country for the 2015 recruiting cycle. Yet to his older brothers — Michael, 26, and Tarik, 21 — Jefferson is still their little brother. And to his parents, he’s still their son. While being the youngest of three boys has its disadvantages, it also has its perks. The guidance and knowledge he acquired in the process of becoming a young man has molded Jefferson into a potential program-changing player as much as anything else.
welcomed their third son into this world on Nov. 15, 1996. For some parents, raising two boys can lead to a case of parental fatigue and lax rules at home, but not in the Jefferson household.
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P Chosen as the 2014 High School Butkus Award winner as the nation’s top high school linebacker. P Picked Texas Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-USA Texas Team by USA Today. P Placed No. 1 on the Fab 55 by the Austin AmericanStatesman. P Despite missing more than two games due to injury, along with three other second halves, still recorded 81 tackles, including six sacks and 16 tackles for loss, along with two forced fumbles and four blocked kicks as a senior.
One of the disadvantages to having two older brothers was that his parents already knew all of the tricks their boy might try to pull. Jefferson recalls only one instance where he used a fib to get his way — telling his mother he was going to a friend’s house to hang out even though he knew his friend’s mother wasn’t home — and it backfired. “My mom knew,� Jefferson recalled. “She caught me. She cussed me out over the phone and told me to never do it again. And I didn’t.� His parents never had to worry about a lesson slipping through the cracks since they always had backup waiting in the wings thanks to Michael and Tarik. His two brothers ingrained the fact that being born later entitled him to nothing. If he wanted praise or respect, Jefferson had to earn it by doing the right things. “We’re not going to build you up unless you do something right,� Jefferson remembers his brothers telling him constantly. Long before he ever touched a weight, studied backfield keys or learned how to function in zone coverage, Jefferson had to learn how to be mentally and physically tough. _ \ jr
MALIK JEFFERSON LINEBACKER m,fu/ 1 hhh  ¥� MESQUITE (Poteet) THERE’S REALLY NOT much more I can say
about Malik Jefferson that I haven’t already mentioned. I did an evaluation of Jefferson as a player when he committed back on Dec. 19, but what’s worthy for this piece is what I took from my final interview with him last month. A few days before he enrolled at Texas, Jefferson and I had a lengthy interview for the cover story for the Horns Illustrated recruiting issue that will be out later this spring. One of the questions I posed to him was to talk about his biggest fear, a question he answered with a tremendous amount of conviction. “I don’t fear anything,� he said. “I have a lot of faith in what’s going to happen in my ` ] ` ` future and if it doesn’t work out the way people projected it I Anytime you’re in don’t care. I’m going to be suca recruiting processful regardless of what hapcess, there’s going to be a marquee pens on and off the field.� player — that was Jefferson also Malik Jefferson for answered another question in us. When he got an extremely serious manner on board, it got us started. He was able when I asked him where the to sell the program. program will be by the time There were recruits he’s done at Texas. He told me that were sitting on it’ll be two years before the the fence, and then Longhorns really turn the corwhen they saw Malik jump on board, they ner, but it’ll be worth the wait jumped on board once the current regime finds too. For the ones the light at the end of the tunthat weren’t trying to nel. make a decision on where they wanted “Oh, we’re up there, to go, he was able we’re winning every year,� to sell the program. he said. “I don’t see it going They were able to down, honestly. It’s going to call him because keep going up. We’re going to so many players respected him and show kids this is the new era of knew exactly who Texas football and it’ll be what he was. it was in the past when Texas ran the state and Texas was the only school everybody watched. They watch A&M, but Texas was Texas. UT meant a lot to everybody and UT was everywhere.�
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It wasn’t always easy growing up with two older brothers, but as Jefferson later found out the perks far outweighed the disadvantages. As he became older, his brothers were able to share their life experiences about how to handle oneself and how to work hard. The more he saw how right his brothers were in their guidance, Jefferson came to value the one quality that played the biggest role in his recruitment. Trust. Trust remains the reason he gave the Longhorns a shot after Manny Diaz, his initial recruiter, was fired and replaced by Greg Robinson, who couldn’t hold onto the momentum Diaz generated in the recruitment. Trust drew Jefferson to Charlie Strong and Brian Jean-Mary. “They built it in me that whatever goes on in our circle stays in our circle,” Jefferson said of how his brothers view trust. “I think that’s big in my future because people are going to try to break me down and not build me back up.” At the height of his recruitment last fall, when everyone from his peers at school, to other recruits, to members of the media constantly searched for information that might offer the slightest clue as to where the state’s top recruit would play college football, Jefferson stayed grounded. He remained aware of critics and respectful of his friends who wanted the chance to play with him at the next level, but none of those people consumed his time and forced his recruitment out of control. The Jefferson Family Circle of Trust made it to where he could deal with everything coming at him from different directions, and it’s how he’s planning on dealing with life on the 40 Acres. “I’m going to deal with the few people around me,” Jefferson said. “I over-trust people sometimes, but that’s one of the best things [my brothers] told me is to keep things with the people who are closest to me.”
TRUST WAS THE
biggest factor for the Jefferson family during the recruiting process. At the end of the day, trust put Texas over the top. Several of Jefferson’s friends, including five-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack and five-star quarterback Kyler Murray, signed with Texas A&M. Jefferson liked the Aggies, but the inability of head coach Kevin Sumlin to shed light on who he would hire as his new defensive coordinator left too much uncertainty for him to pull the trigger. If it wasn’t so far away, UCLA might have been his choice. His good friend Soso Jamabo, a five-star running back out of Plano West, signed with the Bruins, and head coach Jim L. Mora made an impressive pitch during
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Jefferson’s official visit. When it came down to the nitty gritty, it all came back to trust. Jefferson felt like Strong, Jean-Mary and the rest of the Texas staff had a better sense of who he was and that, as a result, the Longhorns truly cared about him. Jefferson said that despite only a handful of face-to-face meetings with Strong, the firstyear Texas head coach knew him well enough to know what he was all about. “I can go anywhere but this is where I felt the most comfortable,” Jefferson said. “I felt like home was where I could trust the most. I can trust Strong because he was real with me.”
JEFFERSON STAYS REAL
when you ask him about the time it will take before the Longhorns will contend for a championship again. It’s a two-year plan, Jefferson says. The Longhorns will play as one of the youngest teams in the country in 2015 and growing pains should be expected. But Jefferson didn’t choose Texas based on the chance of instant success. It’s a process he’s treating less like a painstaking marathon where he may or may not reach the finish line. “We’re up there … we’re winning every year,” Jefferson said of where he sees the Longhorns by the time his career ends. “We’re going to show kids this is the new era of Texas football and it’ll be what it was when Texas ran the state.” Jefferson knows the road ahead is a tough one but Tarik showed him how hard work pays off. “He was the fat kid in middle school but when he got to high school he worked out so hard,” Jefferson said. “I saw it every second. I took notes on everything he did and what he still does today.” He watched Tarik’s class take the Poteet Pirates five rounds deep in the playoffs as a senior, the furthest the program has ever been in the playoffs. While striving for greatness in an effort to top that achievement, Jefferson helped Poteet win a district title in 2014 while going four rounds deep in the playoffs both his sophomore and junior years. Jefferson hopes college mirrors high school in the sense that Jefferson’s time at Texas isn’t about where the Longhorns wind up. It’s about putting in the work to ensure the program remains moving in the right direction.
TERESA JEFFERSON is a leader. She has battled lupus since 2005, which has left Mike to work as much as he can to support the family, leaving Teresa to run the household. Even with her illness, Jefferson has seen his mother push forward. She took care of Jefferson’s grandfather until he passed away, leaving Jefferson at home to fend for himself
for dinner some nights. By no means does he feel bitter — in fact he feels the exact opposite. He’s thankful his mother showed him what true selflessness means. He credits his mother, who even in less than ideal health, traveled with him to his official visits during the recruiting process, as the biggest reason he’s the person he’s become. That’s the mentality Jefferson took with him to Austin when he left home in January. Nothing he did before he arrived at Texas — the recruiting rankings, the awards, the hype — matters now. He’s now, as he puts it, just another freshman ball player who has to earn his way onto the field. “People mess up and try to grant their power based on who they are in high school or what they’ve done in their past,” Jefferson said. “That all goes away and you can’t sit on that anymore. The best approach is to go in humble.” One of the reasons Jefferson picked Texas was so he could set a trend, so others would follow him to Texas to help make the program better. That doesn’t mean Jefferson wants to be labeled as the savior of the Longhorns. “That’s for your ego and that doesn’t boost me,” he said. “You have to go do what you have to do. People can say you did this and that, but just like at Poteet, I had help. I can’t get all of the credit because I didn’t do all of that by myself.”
THE WEIGHT OF what rests on Jefferson’s shoulders would be enough to crack King Kong’s back. His family has done their best to prepare him for this moment — the time when their collective work is done and he has to go out and truly be his own man. But what if he’s not the next Derrick Johnson? What if he’s not even the next Jordan Hicks? What if Texas doesn’t win? Those are all legitimate questions, none of which will be answered in the foreseeable future. The top can be a lonely place, but Jefferson sees himself starting from the bottom. He’s just an unproven freshman who won’t be handed anything. His family has shown him how humility, trust and hard work can get a man far in life. That’s why, when asked what he fears about the future, Jefferson’s answer isn’t surprising. “Everybody fears getting hurt, or not living up to what they can do, but I can’t fear anything,” he said. “If that happens then it was God’s plan and I’ll move on with life and I’ll be grateful for the opportunity that I had.”
KIRK JOHNSON RUNNING BACK l,ffu/ 1 fnk ¡Ý
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P Named firstteam All-West Catholic Athletic League and the conference’s Most Valuable Running Back in 2014.
I FOUND OUT about Kirk Johnson after hearing P Rated No. about his unofficial visit for the Kansas State 28 running back game in 2013. I got in touch with his father nationally and No. — lifetime Longhorn Johnnie Johnson — and 37 player overall in California by ESPN. after a lengthy phone conversation, I learned a lot about his son. His father told me he felt P Son of Texas that his son’s best position might be safety All-American down the road. defensive back and Johnson worked out at the U.S. Army College Football Hall National Combine in San Antonio a few of Famer Johnnie months later. He was one of the top perform- Johnson. ers at the event, showcasing a nice combination of foot quickness and ball skills. His ability made Tommie Robinson tell the Top247 ball carCOACH STRONG SAYS: rier he needed to start watching video of Marshall Faulk because His father [former that’s how the Longhorns viewed defensive back Johnson’s potential role. Johnnie Johnson] Having played in a Wing-T offense was a great player in high school, college will be a here. change of pace for Johnson.
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P.J. LOCKE DEFENSIVE BACK l,ff/ 1 frn ¡Ý BEAUMONT (Central)
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QUARTERBACK SCRAMBLE IN THE FINAL DAYS OF THE RECRUITING CYCLE, TEXAS FINDS ITS QUARTERBACK. BY STEVE HABEL
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HE LONGHORNS’ need for better quarterback play became more apparent
after Texas’ loss to Arkansas in the Advocare V-100 Texas Bowl. The first step in addressing that issue was to get more quarterbacks under the tutelage of offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and create some healthy competition among the players — something that didn’t happen last season. But heading into the final week of recruiting, the Longhorns didn’t have a quarterback verbally committed. That is, until Kai Locksley, a tall and slender spread-style quarterback from Baltimore, decommitted from Florida State to become a Longhorn this fall. “After many prayers and discussions with my family, I have come to a final decision and officially commit to the University of Texas,” Locksley wrote on Twitter after he made the change on Feb. 2. “I want to thank both schools for the opportunity to play the position I love and both coaching staffs for giving me months of their time.” Locksley is the son of Maryland offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who worked on the Florida staff with Texas head coach Charlie Strong. The signing of Locksley further cemented the Longhorns’ move to a semblance of a spread offense that will better utilize the athletic abilities of all three quarterbacks now in the fold — incumbent starter Tyrone Swoopes, Jerrod Heard and Locksley. Locksley ran for 1,050 yards and 17 touchdowns and passed for 915 yards and five touchdowns in 2014. There were questions on whether Locksley, who was listed as an athlete rather than a quarterback on most recruiting websites, would work at quarterback at Texas, especially after he played wide receiver in the Under Armour All-America game in February. Strong quickly dispelled any doubt about Locksley’s role. “He’s playing quarterback for us,” Strong said. “We had to sell it and convince him that this was the right place for him. We needed a quarterback in this class so making the trip to Baltimore was big for us to sell Kai. I think Florida State was in there the day before we got there.” Locksley came to Austin for an official visit on the second-to-last weekend of the cycle when he was hosted by incoming freshman linebacker and early enrollee Malik Jefferson. It didn’t take Locksley long to rethink his commitment to Florida State and turn to the 40 Acres. Locksley will be a developmental project at first, but Texas coaches hope he can become the type of quarterback and leader that can take the Longhorns over the top, much like Strong did with Teddy Bridgewater at Louisville.
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THE LONGHORNS hope that P.J. Locke is the program’s next great export from the BeaumontPort Arthur-Orange talent pool that has been extremely kind to Texas over the years. Locke has a tremendous amount of versatility and shows the ability to play any position in the secondary, perhaps the only signee other than Kris Boyd who can make such a claim. He recorded 62 tackles, seven interceptions and 10 pass breakups in 12 games as senior, which shows he can make plays on the ball. That’s an extremely valuable P Three-year skill in the Big 12, where starter who played forcing a turnover can make safety, linebacker and cornerback. for that one extra possession in a shootout. P Selected as a Hailing from the same finalist for the 2014 part of the state, Locke grew Defensive Willie Ray up idolizing Earl Thomas. Smith Award, which The lifelong Texas fan got a honors the top high treat as Thomas, who underschool player in the went surgery to repair a torn Beaumont area. labrum, stopped by Locke’s signing day reception and P Ranked No. 25 congratulated the Beaumont safety nationally Central product on his flip and No. 68 overall in Texas by 247Sport. from Oregon to Texas.
RONNIE MAJOR KAI LOCKSLEY QUARTERBACK m,j/ 1 frr ¡Ý BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (Gilman School)
P Ranked No. 146 (No. 9 athlete) nationally and No. 3 in Maryland by 247Sports.
I WATCHED Kai Locksley (Baltimore, Md./
Gilman) throw right next to Zach Gentry when Texas hosted its select camp last July. What I noticed between the Longhorns’ quarterback commit at the time (Gentry) and the recruit who would tell multiple Texas P Rushed for commits in the days that followed that he 1,050 yards and 17 was coming (Locksley) was both were almost touchdowns while passing for 915 yards dead even as passers. With Texas expected to shift its offensive and five touchdowns style to lean more on an athletic quarterback as a senior. and incorporate more elements of a true spread offense, perhaps at the end of the day Gentry, who is headed to Michigan, and Locksley are headed to programs with offenses that ultimately best suit them. As the son of a coach and having been around football his whole life, Locksley likely will pick up the offense and be able to help Texas at an earlier point in his career. Gentry has, in my opinion, the higher ceiling, but the Longhorns might be better off at the end of the day if Locksley can contribute sooner rather than later.
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
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COACH STRONG SAYS:
m,m/ 1 hnq ¡Ý HUNTSVILLE (Huntsville)
Mike [Locksley, the offensive coordinator at Maryland] and I coached together at the University of Florida along with coach [Joe] Wickline. We knew that we needed another quarterback to add some depth. I’m very pleased with him. Kai is a young man who’s very athletic and a guy who can beat you with his feet while he’s throwing the football. I haven’t had a chance to work with him yet, but we’re pleased with what we have.
RONNIE MAJOR might have P Ranked No. the most upside of any of the 37 offensive tackle offensive line signees. I saw him nationally and No. 48 in a spring practice and again in overall in Texas by 247Sports. the fall, and he’s definitely got exceptional size and length, plus P Cousin, Cedric he can bend. But he’s raw, so Reed, was an All-Big he’s a guy Wickline will likely 12 defensive end at stash away as a redshirt, if he Texas (2011-14). makes his grades, where he can mold the 6’6”, 297-pound ball of clay into what the Longhorns hope will be an answer at one of the tackle positions in the near future. I had a lengthy meeting last spring with Huntsville head coach Rodney Southern, where we talked a lot about Major (and a little about Southern’s former Belton quarterback David Ash). Southern remembers being blown away by Major’s size when he met his players for the first time, and he was even more amazed at how Major was able to move during their first workouts. In a nutshell, Southern told me Major was a pup who was a long way from being full grown, but it’s scary to think how good he can be if he hits his ceiling, however high that might ultimately be. This is coming from a coach who was on the staff at Copperas Cove and coached future NFL talents Vontez Duff, T.J. Hollowell and Charles Tillman. He also coached in a state championship game against Matthew Stafford and recalls coaching against lifetime Longhorns Cedric Benson and Derrick Johnson vividly.
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DEANDRE MCNEAL ATHLETE m,fu/ 1 hhr  ¥� MESQUITE (Poteet)
KRIS BOYD DEFENSIVE BACK l,ff/ 1 frk  ¥� X ] (Gilmer) [ [ a the recruit we’re talking about the most other than Malik Jefferson four years from now? It might be Kris Boyd, who I feel has the most upside of any of the defensive signees in the class. People can say what they wish about his recruitment and how things played out on social media, but this is a guy who has never been coached specifically to play cornerback yet still looked like an elite press corner in practice at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Once the 5’11�, 184-pound four-star prospect gets it figured out, he could wind up being the next five-tool defensive back at Texas who takes his path to the NFL through the nickelback position for the Longhorns. When he was going into his junior season at Texas’ summer camp he was raw, but you could see there was something potentially special there. As a senior he’s still raw, but now he’s showing glimpses of just how high his ceiling might be.
P Rated No. 28 athlete nationally and No. 43 overall in Texas by ESPN. P Recorded 41 receptions for 869 yards (21.2 ypc) and 12 touchdowns, while rushing 40 times for 368 yards (9.5 ypc) and 11 touchdowns as a senior. P Registered 56 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception and six passes defended. 42
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WHEN I WENT
to see Malik Jefferson in person for the first time in the spring of his sophomore year, I was on the practice field at Mesquite Poteet. I noticed a lanky kid with a good frame who looked like he might be a player, so I asked then-Poteet head coach Randy Jackson about the young man. He told me it was a player who could play anything from linebacker to tight end, wide receiver to running back and even some quarterback in the Wildcat. His name? DeAndre McNeal. Needless to say, McNeal has since filled out his frame — he’s 228 pounds and will keep growing — and has played both positions in the secondary, linebacker, running back, wide receiver and quarterback. Safe to say, he brings a lot of versatility to the Texas offense. So much so that he could be for Texas what Trey Millard was for Oklahoma as a jumbo all-purpose back. My favorite McNeal story comes from a playoff game against Dallas Woodrow Wilson his junior year, in which McNeal was caught from behind after a long catch and run. He swore to me after the game I’d never see him get caught from behind again, and he worked a lot to improve his speed and quickness thereafter. The next time I saw him in a game was this past season against RockwallHeath. In that game, McNeal took a short pass and turned it up the field 84 yards for a touchdown, outrunning the Heath defense to the end zone in the process.
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P Played quarterback, wide receiver, running back, linebacker, safety and cornerback.
RYAN NEWSOME WIDE RECEIVER
BAIT AND SWITCH AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION, NEWSOME MADE THE RIGHT DECISION TO STAY CLOSE TO HOME. BY STEVE HABEL
URING MACK BROWN’S time at the helm, persuading a player to change his verbal commitment from one college to Texas was all but verboten. But things have changed. Head coach Charlie Strong instead chases players until the “26th hour,” as he’s fond to call upon the extra effort. The tactic added several players to this year’s class, including Aledo wide receiver Ryan Newsome, who, until the morning of National Signing Day, was set to play for UCLA. Ultimately, Newsome’s relationship with Texas running backs coach Tommie Robinson and new wide receivers coach Jay Norvell swayed his decision. “After a lot of prayer and tireless consulting with my family I decided to start my collegiate journey at the University of Texas,” Newsome said. “It has by far been the toughest process of my life, but I feel that it came down to my family and friends being able to see me play and getting to share these precious moments right along with me,” he added. “My heart is where my family is and my family is in Texas.” Newsome is a 5’8”, 165-pound playmaker and a two-time All-State honoree and key member of back-to-back state title teams at Aledo. He garnered first-team 5A All-State honors as both an all-purpose back and kick returner by the Texas Sports Writers Association, as well as an honorable mention as a receiver by the Associated Press in 2014. Strong had some fun during his Feb. 4 press conference outlining the final hours of the process that netted Newsome. “A week ago, at 1:30 in the morning, [Newsome] called me and said, ‘Coach, I’m coming,’” Strong said. “He said he was going to make his announcement the next day. The next day at 10:30, I get a call from [Newsome] and he said, ‘Coach, I don’t know what I’m going to do but you’ll know when I have my press conference.’” “[Newsome] went to the podium and announced UCLA,” Strong continued. “I thought let’s just sit on it for a day or two and I’ll give him a call when I think it’s the right opportunity.” “I then made the phone call and in return, he said to me, ‘you know what coach? I’ll open it back up.’ I asked, ‘Are you sure? I don’t want to wake up tomorrow morning and [hear you] say Coach, I’m not sending you the paper. I’m sending it somewhere else.’” In the end, Newsome signed with the Longhorns. “Sometimes we forget these players are 17 and 18 years old and they’re making this decision,” Strong said. “If you keep battling with them and sell your program, and sell what you have, then that’s really the only thing that you can do.” Expect Newsome to battle for playing time and make an impact whenever he gets a chance to get on the field.
D
l,r/ 1 fml ¡Ý BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (Gilman School) YOU WANT EXPLOSIVE?
Ryan Newsome brings explosiveness in spades to the Texas offense. The Aledo standout tied a national record as a junior with seven punt return touchdowns. He averaged 19.9 yards per reception and 8.7 yards per rush as senior while totaling 19 touchdowns. This comes after a junior season where he averaged 25.3 yards per catch and just under 10 yards per carry while scoring 18 touchdowns for a team that became the first high school team to score 1,000 points in a season. He’s fast enough. He’s explosive enough. He’s dynamic enough. He might be small, but he’s everything Texas needs and doesn’t have enough of on offense right now.
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P A two-time All-State honoree and key member of back-to-back state title teams. P Tabbed firstteam All-Texas as a returner and ranked No. 1 athlete in the state by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. P Made 54 receptions for 1,073 yards and 12 touchdowns, while rushing 54 times for 470 yards (8.7 ypc) and seven touchdowns as a senior. P Competed in track & field.
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CHARLES OMENIHU
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DEFENSIVE END m,l/ 1 hjf  ¥� ROWLETT (Rowlett)
P Rated No. 2 defensive end in the state by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
CAMERON TOWNSEND LINEBACKER m,f/ 1 fnj  ¥� X `` _] (Ridge Point) CAMERON TOWNSEND
deserves props for handling his recruitment the right way. The four-star linebacker from Fort Bend Ridge Point simply did things the old-fashioned way, which is extremely commendable considering the stunts pulled by some of his peers. Townsend identified his favorites, took his visits, narrowed down his list of top choices and committed to Texas in a public but low-key ceremony on Oct. 26 while decked out in a suit and tie and without much hoopla. There was no waffling and no public outcries for more attention — he doesn’t even have a Twitter account — and after he made his decision, he rode it out as a solid verbal until the end. On top of that, his body type (6’1�, 193 pounds) and skill set fits what Texas is looking for at the Sam linebacker spot. He was also a productive member of perhaps the best defense in Texas as a senior; Ridge Point posted four shutouts and seven games in which the defense allowed seven points or less. He’s probably the most assignment-sound defensive recruit in the class, and watching him almost single-handedly account for every tackle on a goal-line stand against Fort Bend Elkins (the Knights scored on a controversial touchdown on fourth-and-goal) showed he’s got the kind of stuff the coaches are looking for.
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COACH
` ] ` ` P
Cameron is a speed guy and a guy who can go cover. A lot of times in nickel coverage, you need a cover guy and he can go cover. He can run and go hit the football.
P Tabbed firstteam All-Texas and No. 4 linebacker in the state by Dave Campbell P Recorded 41 tackles, including 3.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss, along with nine passes defended, one interception and one forced fumble as a senior.
the P Recorded 61 natural ability needed to rush tackles, 11.5 sacks, the passer, but he showed 23 tackles for loss toughness and grit against the and five forced run as a senior. fumbles as a senior. One of the most impressive individual performances I witnessed in the cycle was the clinic put on by Omenihu at the Dallas NFTC in DeSoto last April. He took on all comers and had his way with anyone who lined up against him, including Texas A&M-bound U.S. Army All-American tackle Trevor Elbert. I watched Omenihu as a senior against Rockwall, and the thing that impressed me was his willingness and relentlessness as a run defender. The pass rush potential is definitely there with him, but once he puts on weight and learns how to play with leverage and technique, he could really blossom into a quality defensive end. When scouts talk about a player’s best football being ahead of him, they’re talking about guys like Omenihu.
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CHARLES OMENIHU HAS
IT HELPS TEXAS
tremendously to have Garrett Thomas and Connor Williams in the program for spring football. Thomas (6’6.5”, 296) and Williams (6’4.5”, 291) are big bodies who have a chance to come in and provide immediate depth up front while giving Joe Wickline two pieces he can start developing to help the long-term quality of the offensive line. I feel Williams is the most underrated recruit in the class. He played virtually every snap of Coppell’s playoff loss to DeSoto at both right tackle and defensive tackle, displaying a non-stop motor, consistent aggressiveness, tremendous athleticism for a lineman and the type of skill to make him a starting offensive tackle down the road. Of all of the commits I saw this season (and whether it be a camp or in pads I saw 20 of the 28), Williams surprised me the most. The former tight end could wind up being the steal of the class.
COACH CONNOR P STRONG SAYS: WILLIAMS Connor is a big body
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN m,ku/ 1 hnf ¡Ý COPPELL (Coppell)
that’s very athletic and that’s played tight end. We’re going to look at him at the tackle position. He’s going to put on some weight. Right now, he’s at 285 and doesn’t even look it.
P Rated No. 7 offensive lineman in the state by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. P As a nose tackle, registered 38 tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, five pressures, five forced fumbles and two passes defended
GARRETT THOMAS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN m,mu/ 1 hnm ¡Ý MANY, LA. (Many)
P
COACH STRONG SAYS:
We knew about Garrett because I had friends within his community. He’s another big body. He has to get stronger, but it’s great that he’s in school now and going through winter conditioning.
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P Ranked the No. 31 OG nationally and No. 22 overall in Louisiana by 247Sports. P Recorded 126 pancakes and allowed no sacks as a senior. P Posted a 4.0 GPA as a senior and was captain of the Many Quiz Bowl team.
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2015 FOOTBALL RECRU ITI NG
P Transfer from East Mississippi Community College (EMCC). P Ranked No. 26 JUCO (No. 5 offensive tackle) nationally by Scout. P Helped EMCC to a 12-0 record and the NJCAA title in 2014.
BRANDON HODGES OFFENSIVE LINEMAN m,l/ 1 hnl ¡Ý ABERDEEN, MISS (East Mississippi CC/ Aberdeen HS) TWO OF THE most interesting facts about any of the signees come via two of the junior college transfers I didn’t get to see in action. Quincy Vasser and Brandon Hodges are expected to come in and compete for starting jobs right away, so file these nuggets away. You’ll likely hear them plenty of times from a T.V. guy over the next few years Hodges, who is in for the spring after attending East Mississippi Community College, is from Aberdeen, Miss. He’s from the same hometown as Nicki Wickline, the wife of Texas’ offensive line coach and Hodges’ primary recruiter, so there was some common ground between the two parties right off the bat, which is key in recruiting. Though he doesn’t share a hometown with anyone on the staff, don’t question the toughness of the Nyack, N.Y. native Vasser. Not only did the 6’3.5”, 259-pound defensive end run sprints in high school on the track team, he also played hockey for one season. Hopefully for Texas, the only skates associated with Vasser during his time in Austin are what he’s making offensive linemen look like when he’s driving them backwards into the lap of the opposing quarterback.
QUINCY VASSER DEFENSIVE END m,ju/ 1 hln ¡Ý NYACK, N.Y. Navarro College/Hargrave Military Academy, Va.
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P Rated No. 36 JUCO (No. 7 defensive end) nationally by Rivals. P Compiled 76 tackles, including 24 tackles for a loss and 11.5 sacks, in two seasons at Navarro.
ANTHONY WHEELER LINEBACKER m,h/ 1 hfn ¡Ý DALLAS (Skyline)
COACH
P STRONG SAYS: Anthony is a big back that can play inside or outside. He’s very athletic. When you need a guy to sit down in the middle, he can do that, but if you need him outside to rush, he can do that, too.
P Tabbed state Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Texas and No. 2 linebacker in the state by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. P Recorded 137 tackles, including seven sacks and 21 tackles for loss, along with five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a senior.
MY OPNION ON Anthony Wheeler changed more than any other recruit in the state from his junior year to his senior season. I saw him as a junior in the playoffs against Spring Westfield, and he
looked out of place at middle linebacker to the point that I wondered if he would have a true position at the next level. I saw a completely different player in the fall against Irving Nimitz, where Wheeler looked much more fluid, quick and explosive than he had before. Then came the Under Armour All-America Game where he looked the part of a Big 12 middle linebacker all week in practice and showed the kind of stuff that makes me think he can push Dalton Santos for playing time right away. Some see him as a guy who could potentially spin down, but he showed me enough with his pass drops and overall ability to work in coverage down in Florida to make me think he could be a mainstay in the middle of the Texas defense.
P Tabbed firstteam All-Texas and No. 2 offensive lineman in the state by Dave Campbell
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P Recorded 80 knockdown blocks and allowed only one sack as a senior.
PATRICK VAHE OFFENSIVE LINEMAN m,hu/ 1 hnn ¡Ý EULESS (Trinity) PATRICK VAHE
will bring the kind of nasty attitude and griminess in the trenches Texas has missed for some time. Not only is he athletic and can really move, but he understands how to get into a defender and finish blocks.
He’s the most college-ready of the high school offensive line signees, although Connor Williams is getting a head start in the program. If Vahe’s skills aren’t enough to make Longhorns fans like him, perhaps what he told me about his thoughts on Charlie Strong’s core values after a game I saw him play against North Shore will. “Only a man is going to get through that program,” Vahe told me. “If you want to be a boy then don’t go. Simple as that. I’m going. I want to become a man.”
Horns Illustrated (ISSN 1096-2573), Volume 22, Number 3. Copyright © 2015 by Texan Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Published nine times a year (monthly in January, February, March/ April, May, June, July, October, November and December) in the United States by Horns Illustrated, 1505 Ridgecrest Drive, Austin, TX 78746. Subscription inquiries: Send new or renewal notices or change of address (send both old and new addresses) to Horns Illustrated, P.O. Box 50069, Austin, TX 78763. Allow 6-8 weeks for change of address. Subscription problems: Call 855-246-7677. Subscription costs: U.S. and its possessions, one-year basic rate, $49.95. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, Texas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER – send address changes to Horns Illustrated - P.O. Box 50069, Austin, TX 78763. Tel. (512) 626-8513. Publisher disclaims all responsibility to return unsolicited editorial matter, and all rights in portions published vest in publisher. Letters to Horns Illustrated magazine or its editors are assumed intended for publication in whole or in part without permission from the writer. Any similarity between persons or places mentioned in the fiction or semi-fiction and real places or persons living or dead is coincidental. Single copies: $4.95 in U.S.
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FINAL SCORE
Members of the Texas volleyball team took time out to volunteer at the Special Olympics’ Winter Games at the Austin Sports Complex this past February. The Longhorns interacted with the athletes, helped referee the games and kept score in the volleyball portion of the Games. “The game of volleyball has given me so much; it’s fun to give back,” freshman Kate Palladino said. “It’s great for us to interact with the athletes and help the staff.” The Texas division of the Special Olympics is divided into four regions with 19 area offices. Special Olympics Texas is a year-round movement, holding more than 300 competitions annually on area, regional and state levels. Athletes may begin training as early as six years old.
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COURTESY UT ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY
Playing It Forward