Texas 2012 Recruiting

2012 Texas Longhorns ... Head Coach: Mack Brown

Texas Longhorns

2011 Record: 8-5

Sep. 3 Rice W 34-9
Sep. 10 BYU W 17-16
Sep. 17 at UCLA W 49-20
Sep. 24 OPEN DATE
Oct. 1 at Iowa State W 37-14
Oct. 8 Oklahoma (in Dal) L 55-17
Oct. 15 Oklahoma State L 38-26
Oct. 22 OPEN DATE
Oct. 29 Kansas W 43-0
Nov. 5 Texas Tech W 52-20
Nov. 12 at Missouri L 17-5
Nov. 19 Kansas State L 17-13
Nov. 26 at Texas A&M W 27-25
Dec. 3 at Baylor L 48-24
Holiday Bowl
Dec. 28 California W 21-10

2010 CFN Prediction: 10-2
2010 Record: 5-7

Sept. 4 at Rice W 34-17
Sept. 11 Wyoming W 34-7
Sept. 18 at Texas Tech W 24-14
Sept. 25 UCLA L 34-12
Oct. 2 Okla (in Dal) L 28-20
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 16 at Nebraska W 20-13
Oct. 23 Iowa State L 28-21
Oct. 30 Baylor L 30-22
Nov. 6 at Kansas St L 39-14
Nov. 13 Oklahoma St L 33-16
Nov. 20 Florida Atlantic W 51-17
Nov. 25 Texas A&M L 24-17
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 Texas Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. DT Malcom Brown
6-2, 280, Scout.com 1st ranked, five-star defensive tackle. A beast on the defensive line, he is physical, fast and relentless. Tough to block one on one because he knows how to use his hands and knock away the lineman's hands. Can make tackles from sideline to sideline because he is relentless. Good on pass rush because of his quick first step and strength allows him to get upfield quickly.

2. RB Johnathan Gray
5-11, 195, Scout.com 2nd ranked, five-star running back. Gray has blistering speed and he does not waste any time hitting his top gear. He is a one cut and done type of back. He puts his foot on the ground, makes a cut and then he is gone. He looks lean, muscular and appears to have room to add some more good weight. He is a north and south runner that doesn’t dance in the backfield. Along with having good speed, and size, Gray also has good vision. He is a touchdown machine.

3. OG Curtis Riser
6-5, 300, Scout.com 2nd ranked, five-star guard. A steady performer on the line. He rarely makes a bad play and that makes cutting his highlights difficult because every play is a positive. He gets his fair share of pancake blocks and plays hard until the whistle. He plays tackle in high school, but will make the move to the interior on the next level. When watching film you can see that he has the feet and quickness to play tackle. He is technically sound and should see the field early.

4. WR Cayleb Jones
6-2, 185, Scout.com 3rd ranked, five-star receiver. Jones is as fearless a wide receiver going over the middle as any in the country. He has sticky hands and is capable of making highlight reel catches on balls thrown high. He elevates well and is spectacular at making the tough catch in traffic. He plays bigger and stronger than his listed 6'2/185, partly because how big a target he becomes leaping for passes. Is good enough at safety he could stay there if he was needed.

5. OT Kennedy Estelle
6-7, 305, Scout.com 7th ranked, five-star offensive tackle. Estelle is a big offensive tackle with a great wingspan. Just looking at his frame it almost seems like he was born to be destined to play offensive tackle. He is a hard worker and seems to really enjoy being around the game. He is a true road grader in the sense that he gets downfield and wants to finish off his blocks, but he has a lot of potential to be an excellent pass protection specialist as well.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... Production. Mack Brown opens the door and gets any in-state five-star talent he wants, but considering the top five-caliber recruiting classes year after year after year, the wins have to start coming. This year’s haul has no shortage of can’t-miss prospects with the secondary getting the most talent. The safeties will be strong, but the corners will be even better a slew of prospects coming in that would be instant starters for just about anyone else.

Team Concerns For 2012: Linebacker. The recruiting class is bringing in the normal allotment of killers, but the linebacking corps needs to be replenished from last year’s class. Keenan Robinson and Emmanuel Acho are done, meaning Tevin Jackson, Steve Edmond, and Kendall Thompson – three top gets from 2011 – have to step up. Overall, this was a young, YOUNG, team that needed a year to rebuild and reload. Now everything should be in place.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: Enough is enough. The defense that led the Big 12, and finished 11th in the nation despite playing in a conference loaded with top offenses, will be fantastic. It’s deep, talented, and full of next-level playmakers even with tackle Kheeston Randall, MLB Keenan Robinson, and WLB Emmanuel Acho gone. End Jackson Jeffcoat should be in for a huge year, while Quandre Diggs and Carrington Byndom form a good corner tandem for a great secondary. And then there’s the offense. David Ash is expected to take the starting quarterback job by the horns, but he’ll have to fight to keep it. Malcolm Brown has the ability and potential to be the program’s best back since Cedric Benson, while the receiving corps of Jaxon Shipley, Marquise Goodwin, and Mike Davis could be the best Texas has had in a decade. The O line that started four underclassmen should be a rock. The biggest loss might be clutch kicker Justin Tucker.

The 2011 Class Was Heavy On … Malcolm Brown. It’s Texas, so there’s the normal dizzying array of four and five-star talents across the board – the secondary, defensive line, and receiving corps are LOADED with this class - but the two things that truly matter are 1) the offensive line and 2) Malcolm Brown. The running back-by-committee thing hasn’t worked too well since Jamaal Charles left, and the hope is for the 220-pound Brown to be the fast thumper who can take over the ground game. Will the Longhorns finally have the front five to pave the way? Garrett Greanlea and Sedrick Flowers aren’t going to be ready right away, but they’ll need to be anchors as soon as possible. Fun stat: every recruit is from Texas.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 2. That Class Was Heavy On ... Phenomenal talent. The Texas haul of players would've been gushed over even more if it wasn't for Florida's epic class. The offensive backfield got a few players, but there's superstar power everywhere else with Mike Davis and Darius White leading a terrific group of six receiver recruits. DE Jackson Jeffcoat was the big pre-Signing Day story picking the Longhorns over Florida, Oklahoma and USC, while Reggie Wilson is every bit the star end prospect. Mack Brown stole Ohio linebacker Jordan Hicks away from Ohio State, Florida, USC, and Alabama, and got Tulsa safety Demarco Cobbs from Alabama and Oklahoma's clutches. Corner Adrian White should be in the NFL in five years.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 3. That Class Was Heavy On ... defensive linemen. The Longhorns loaded up with elite players all across the board with the bulk of the star power coming on the defensive front. Alex Okafor will be a killer after he spends a few years in the weight room, and Calvin Howell and Derek Johnson will battle it out for the honor of being the next great Longhorn defensive tackle. Kyle Kriegel is a potential pass rushing terror, while Dominique Jones is a tweener who’ll see time on an All-Big 12 team before he’s through.

Holiday Bowl
Texas 21 … California 10
- CFN Thoughts on the Game

Texas: The Longhorns held Cal to seven rushing yards and generated six sacks. … Davis Ash completed 14-of-23 passes for 142 yards and a score. Case McCoy didn’t play. … Malcolm Brown ran 13 times for 35 yards. … Jaxon Shipley caught four passes for 14 yards, and completed a four-yard pass for a score. … WR Marquise Goodwin caught three passes for 49 yards and a score and ran twice for 33 yards. … LB Emmanuel Acho made eight tackles with a broken up pass and a tackle for loss. … DE Jackson Jeffcoat made two sacks with 2.5 tackles for loss.

California: The Bears turned it over five times. … QB Zach Maynard completed 19-of-33 passes for 188 yards and a pick. … Isi Sofele ran 20 times for 52 yards and a score. … Keenan Allen made nine catches for 82 yards. … LB Mychal Kendricks made ten tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. … DE Trevor Guyton made five tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss. …

(AP) SAN DIEGO -- The next time Texas coach Mack Brown sees Joey Harrington, the memory shouldn't be quite so painful.

David Ash added his name to the list of quarterbacks who've caught a touchdown pass in the Holiday Bowl and he also threw for one score to lead Texas to a 21-10 victory against California on Wednesday night.

Ash caught a 4-yard pass from wide receiver Jaxon Shipley in the second quarter to join BYU's Steve Young, Texas A&M's Bucky Richardson and Oregon's Harrington as quarterbacks who've caught touchdown passes in the Holiday Bowl.

The Longhorns had the ball first-and-goal when Ash handed off to running back Malcolm Brown who then handed off to Shipley as if the Longhorns were going to run a reverse. Ash slipped into the end zone and caught Shipley's pass to give Texas a 7-3 lead. Shipley has thrown three touchdown passes this season, all while lining up at wide receiver.

Brown joked on Tuesday how much it still bugged him that Harrington caught a TD pass in the Ducks' 35-30 win against Texas in the 2000 Holiday Bowl. The Oregon offensive coordinator then was Jeff Tedford, who has been Cal's coach since 2002. Harrington now works for the Longhorn Network.

Brown credited the play to co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin, who previously had coached and played at Boise State.

"Bryan Harsin grew up in that Boise system and that's the stuff Jeff did with Oregon back in the early 2000s," Brown said. "And it's one of the reasons why I hired Bryan. He believes in running the football, he believes in being physical, but he's got toys in the pocket that he's going to take advantage of things when he can."

"If you're not moving the ball, he's got some imagination in the offense to make a play," Brown said.

That play helped salvage a little bit of the Holiday Bowl's reputation for high-scoring, wide-open games.

"We knew they were going to throw something like that out there," Cal defensive end Trevor Guyton said. "It was only a matter of time before they did it. They got us. No excuses."

Ash had another impressive play in the third quarter when he threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Goodwin, who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch in full stride. That gave the Longhorns a 14-10 lead.

The Longhorns (8-5) were even more impressive on defense, getting five takeaways and sacking Cal's Zach Maynard six times, both season highs.

The Golden Bears (7-6) are winless in five games against the Longhorns, dating to 1959.

Texas put it away on Cody Johnson's 4-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, which was set up when Maynard was sacked and fumbled, which was recovered by Chris Whaley at the Cal 44. Goodwin ran for 37 yards and Johnson had a 3-yard gain before his touchdown run.

Cal briefly took the lead at 10-7 after Isi Sofele's 6-yard run to cap the opening drive of the second half.

Ash's long TD pass to Goodwin came four plays into the next Texas drive.

"We had our chances and gave the ball away," Tedford said.

Cal fumbled six times, losing four. The other turnover was an interception by Quandre Diggs, the younger brother of former Texas star cornerback and current San Diego Chargers starter Quentin Jammer.

"They did a good job of stripping it. They got it out today," Tedford said. "They got their hands on the ball, their hats on the ball and stripped it. There's really no explanation for something we've worked on."

Maynard was under pressure the whole game.

"We kept getting caught in second-and-long, third-and-long," the QB said. "It's hard to build a decent pass game and run game. ... It's hard to overcome those turnovers. It's hard to build momentum."

Dec. 2 at Baylor 48 … Texas 24  

CFN Analysis: On the plus side, with so many injuries at running back, Texas still ran for 201 yards and Case McCoy proved he could throw a little bit with 356 yards and three touchdowns. … But the four picks were a disaster. … The Longhorns needed the defense to dominate to make up for the problems on offense, but that didn’t happen. The Manny Diaz D isn’t supposed to allow so many big plays. … Jaxon Shipley caught four passes for 121 yards, and Marquise Goodwin caught five passes for 129 yards and a score. … No, Mack Brown didn’t retire after the game. 

Nov. 24 Texas 27 … at Texas A&M 25
CFN Analysis: There’s never a reason to get the rivalry game going again. Now Texas has bragging rights for a long, long time. .. Welcome to the Case McCoy moment. He’ll never be his brother legend-wise – unless he wins a national title – but he willed the offense into field goal position with his 25-yard pinball-like dash in the final moments. … Jaxon Shipley is a playmaker who makes a huge difference for the attack whenever he’s on the field. He only caught three passes for 34 yards, but he threw a 41-yard touchdown pass. … Emmanuel Acho was everywhere with 14 tackles and a tackle for loss. … The secondary did a great job considering there wasn’t much of a pass rush. Corners Quandre Diggs and Carrington Byndom were challenged time and again and they came through. … This was a program-maker. A loss would’ve meant a three-game losing streak going into the date at Baylor. 

Nov. 19 Kansas State 17 … at Texas 13
CFN Analysis: How did Texas lose this? The defense came up with one of its best performances of the season with Emmanuel Acho coming up with 12 tackles and the defense finishing with five sacks and 12 tackles for loss, and it wasn’t enough. There weren’t any takeaways to help out the struggling offense. … Case McCoy showed great mobility and the ability to keep plays alive, and now he might get more of a regular look after completing 8-of-16 passes for 80 yards and a score. David Ash completed 7-of-16 passes for 39 yards and two picks. … Nine players got carries, and Malcolm Brown was back running 11 times for 33 yards, but there wasn’t any pop. Against Texas A&M, the offense has to find its explosiveness again to keep up the pace.
 
Nov. 12 at Missouri 17 … Texas 5
CFN Analysis: After the offense came up with its best performance of the year with a blowout of Texas Tech, it couldn’t’ get anything going against Missouri because the O line got whipped. The running game didn’t have anywhere to go. … Malcolm Brown didn’t play on his injured toe, and Jeremy Hills was only able to finish with a team-leading 35 yards on 11 carries. … David Ash and Case McCoy looked like rookies. However, Ash once again as a knack for generating the midrange pass play, throwing for 158 yards on just 13 completions. … The Longhorns are going bowling, but they need to beat Kansas State or else the Texas A&M game will become even bigger. 

Nov. 5 at Texas 52 … Texas Tech 20
CFN Analysis: Texas appeared to be ripe for the picking. Texas Tech was coming off a clunker against Iowa State and was well motivated, and RB Malcolm Brown (foot) and WR Jaxon Shipley (knee) were out. The Red Raiders weren’t bad moving the ball to start, but a penalty negated an early touchdown and that seemed to be all Texas needed. The Longhorns rolled behind a huge day from Joe Bergeron, who rumbled for 191 yards and scored from nine, five, and 12 yards out behind an offensive line that shoved Tech all over the place. Even though David Ash struggled, completing just four passes, the Longhorn attack rolled for 595 yards and quickly made it a blowout by converting 7-of-9 third down chances and by simply being more physical. Sort of quietly, Texas is now 6-2 with a trip to Missouri up next. It’ll take a lot of work and a little luck, but a BCS game is still in play by winning out. 

Oct. 29 at Texas 43 … Kansas 0
CFN Analysis: Call it a step. Whoopdee-doo, Texas ran for 441 yards against a miserable Kansas run defense that hasn’t stopped anyone, but it’s still a nice game for a team that hasn’t beaten up enough defensive fronts. Everyone got to have fun for the Longhorns, with Malcolm Brown taking off for 119 yards and two scores, and Joe Bergeron running for 136 yards and two touchdowns in blowout mode. David Ash further established himself as the starter, completing 14-of-18 passes for 145 yards, but he didn’t throw a touchdown pass and gave away a pick. Whatever. Texas needed a blowout home win and it needed to look like Texas again. Do this against Texas Tech, and then it’ll be time to get excited about the finishing kick.  

Oct. 15 Oklahoma State 38 … at Texas 26
CFN Analysis: Did David Ash do enough to keep the starting quarterback job all to himself? He wasn’t bad against a decent OSU defense, but he wasn’t decisive enough on his throws and he didn’t get anything going deep, but it wasn’t a horrible performance completing 22-of-40 passes for 139 yards with two picks. The story for the offense was Malcolm Brown, who looked every bit the star he’s expected to become with 135 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, while Mike Davis caught ten passes and reestablished himself as a No. 1 target. The defense continues to have problems getting into the backfield and it isn’t nearly strong enough in the secondary to make up for the lack of a pass rush, but overall this wasn’t a bad day.

Oct. 8 Oklahoma 55 … Texas 17
CFN Analysis: Texas still has some growing up to do. The Longhorn offense looks like it has tremendous potential with David Ash, Case McCoy, Jaxon Shipley, Malcolm Brown, and Mike Davis forming one of the best young groups of skill players in college football, but the defense has to be a big, big concern. There wasn’t any pass rush on Landry Jones, and the secondary got picked apart. There won’t be a break the rest of the way facing tough passing game after tough passing game, and the offense has to be ready for a shootout. While young, the O can’t afford to ever turn the ball over five times again. Apparently, the defense isn’t good enough to pick up the slack.

Oct. 1 Texas 37 ... at Iowa State 14
CFN Analysis: Texas has its steadying force at quarterback, and it’s the combination of Case McCoy and David Ash. They both connected on 7-of-12 passes, with Ash throwing for 145 yards and two scores and McCoy throwing for 110 yards in the easy win over Iowa State. The defense dialed up the pass rush a bit after not doing much over the first few games, and with Oklahoma coming up next, the newfound aggressiveness couldn’t have come at a better time. It would’ve been nice to get more out of the ground game, gaining 145 yards, and the defense gave up a few late touchdowns, but after two strong wins, the Longhorns are quickly rebuilding. No, they’re not ready to beat a team as good as OU, at least without a slew of big breaks, but the Longhorns aren’t making a slew of mistakes and the offensive line is playing better than it ever did last year.  

Sept. 17 Texas 49 … at UCLA 20
CFN Analysis: Is that all it took to be back to being Texas again? Did Case McCoy have to be given the starting job? Lost in the mediocre start to the season is that Texas is 3-0, and it might be finding itself at just the right time. McCoy was terrific, completing 12-of-15 passes for 168 yards and two scores, while star recruit Malcolm Brown played like the team needs him to with 110 yards on 22 carries. The defense struggled a little bit with the middling UCLA offense, and the offense gave it up two times, but after getting up 21-0, and with four takeaways, the Horns were able to put it on cruise control. When the offense had to kick it back in again late, it did. This was the type of dominant win the team needed to have over a name team, but if there isn’t a blowout win over Iowa State next week, the panic sirens will go off that this week’s performance might have been an aberration. 

Sept. 10 at Texas 17 … BYU 16
CFN Analysis: What’s Texas going to do with its quarterback situation now? Yes, 2-0 is 2-0, but there are more questions than answers with Garrett Gilbert stinking against BYU and with Case McCoy and David Ash combining forces under center. Malcolm Brown ran well, and beating a team this good is impressive, but the defense isn’t getting any sort of a push up front and the run defense has been just okay. UCLA is beatable on the road as long as the offense doesn’t screw things up and if the quarterback situation is decent, but there are major problems that haven’t been corrected from last year; the offense isn’t working as well as it should. This doesn’t look like Texas is supposed to look. The team is too talented to be this mediocre. 

Sept. 3 at Texas 34 … Rice 9
CFN Analysis: The 34 points might not seem like much, and it took way, WAY too long to put the game away, but this was a positive game for the Longhorns. No, the 13-of-23, 239-yard, one score performance from Garrett Gilbert didn’t help the idea that he simply might not be that special, but his receiving corps looked good and he spread the ball around well. If Gilbert isn’t the guy, then someone else has to step up. Case McCoy missed on both his passes, David Ash connected on his lone throw for two yards, and John Harris hit his only pass for a 36-yard touchdown to Jaxson Shipley. The real key was Malcolm Brown, who might not have busted out, but his 86 yards on 16 carries were promising. The defense was fine, but it wasn’t a brick wall, and overall the youth was a problem with several players figuring out what they were doing, but this wasn’t a bad opener going into the battle with BYU. 

Five Texas Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. RB Malcolm Brown
6-1, 220, Scout.com’s 2nd ranked running back. When you watch Brown you feel like you are seeing exactly what a running back is supposed to be. He has great size and runs with authority. When he sees a hole or has to get past a defender he makes one move and then explodes making him an elusive back with size. He also has tremendous balance which allows him to stay on his feet when lower his shoulder to deliver a blow or spinning away from defenders.

2. LB Steve Edmond
6-3, 225, Scout.com’s 2nd ranked middle linebacker. Edmond is a man amongst boys on the defensive side of the ball in high school and he is bigger, faster, and stronger than most of the players that he ever lines up against and he dominates them like a top prospect should. He has excellent size and his range makes him a candidate to be an excellent middle linebacker prospect. In time he could also be a terror on the edge at defensive end.

3. DT Desmon Jackson
6-1, 275, Scout.com’s 5th ranked defensive tackle. Jackson will remind some people of former prep All-American defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. He has a similar game. He is not bigger than most of those who line up across from him, but he is stronger than most of them in the pads. He keeps a great pad level and his explosiveness and pure speed makes him hard to block, earning him the nickname 'Tank'. He make a lot of plays behind the line. He commands a double team. He uses his hands like a pro.

4. WR Jaxon Shipley
6-0, 170, Scout.com’s 6th ranked receiver. He has the hands that you would expect to see when you read the name Shipley on the back of his jersey. He is a talented and efficient receiver and runs some of the best routes that you will see out of any other top receiver. He also has the ability to make some of the more athletic plays. He will need to develop some more strength to combat some of the more physical college level defenders.

5. CB Josh Turner
5-11, 170, Scout.com’s 6th ranked cornerback. Turner stands out at wide receiver and corner in high school but plans to make the move to defense in college. He is a corner who has excellent coverage skills and he will be able to come up and support the run. He has great hips and flexibility and is very smooth. He will need to get stronger for press coverages and he has the type of frame that will fill out nicely. He will only become better as he develops his game in college.

2011 Entire Recruiting Class
David Ash QB 6-3 215 Fr. Belton, Texas/Belton
Joe Bergeron RB 6-1 220 Fr. Mesquite, Texas/North Mesquite
Malcom Brown RB 6-0 215 Fr. Cibolo, Texas/Steele
Josh Cochran OL 6-6 275 Fr. Hallsville, Texas/Hallsville
Quandre Diggs DB 5-10 190 Fr. Angleton, Texas/Angleton
Taylor Doyle OL 6-5 270 Fr. Austin, Texas/Lake Travis
Steve Edmond LB 6-3 235 Fr. Daingerfield, Texas/Daingerfield
Sheroid Evans DB 6-0 185 Fr. Sugar Land, Texas/Fort Bend Dulles
Sedrick Flowers OL 6-3 290 Fr. Houston, Texas/North Shore
Garrett Greenlea OL 6-7 290 Fr. Spring, Texas/Klein Collins
Marcus Hutchins OL 6-5 260 Fr. DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto
Desmond Jackson DL 6-1 280 Fr. Houston, Texas/Westfield
M.J. McFarland TE 6-6 245 Fr. El Paso, Texas/El Dorado
Chet Moss LB 6-2 235 Fr. Cedar Park, Texas/Cedar Park
Miles Onyegbule WR 6-4 210 Fr. Arlington, Texas/Arlington
Cedric Reed DE 6-6 240 Fr. Cleveland, Texas/Cleveland
Quincy Russell DL 6-3 285 Fr. San Antonio, Texas/Sam Houston
Leroy Scott DB 5-10 187 Fr. Pasadena, Texas/South Houston
Jaxon Shipley WR 6-1 183 Fr. Brownwood, Texas/Brownwood
Kendall Thompson LB 6-3 230 Fr. Carthage, Texas/Carthage
Mykkele Thompson DB 6-2 183 Fr. San Antonio, Texas/Stevens
Josh Turner DB 6-0 175 Fr. Oklahoma City, Okla./Millwood