TexAgs High School Game Thread: Week Four
It's week four, and the TexAgs recruiting team is spread out across the Lone Star State to take in a few high school football games. Many of Texas A&M's top targets are in action this week. Check back here for updates throughout the weekend.
Around Texas: A round-up of recruiting news in the Lone Star State
As spring rolls on, scholarship offers continue to fly in from all over the country, many of the state's top prospects are narrowing their lists and some are making early decisions. Jason Howell has all the latest developments inside.
Houston Under Armour Camp Notes and Thoughts
I watched the OL/DL for much of the 1-on-1 session so I'll start there1. Keondre Coburn sent the biggest message to me. There's been some talk that Coburn may be a bit overrated by some in the media - NOT FROM ME!!! - but there has been some talk that he's too squatty and not quick and all that good stuff. Well, today in one rep he put all that nonsense to rest when he went up against who I feel was the best interior OL of the entire camp and multiple camps I've attended - LSU 2019 commit Kardell Thomas - and he discarded him with authority. Then on the next rep he again beat Thomas pretty handily. Now this is not meant to be a slam against Thomas because he has been making short work of pretty much anyone else I've seen him go against. It is meant to show just how good Coburn performed. He came off the ball low and quick. He established an inside position with his hands. Then he put one of the best I've seen so far on skates. 2. If there was any doubt about how good Kenyon Green is it just needs to stop. He was phenomenal throughout the day. His reps against Joseph Ossai during one 1-on-1 session really stand out. His pass protection was on target and his punch took the breath out of Ossai. On one rep Ossai threw Green off with a very nice spin move, but Green did not panic. No, he recovered and was able to push Ossai out of the play. It really was one of the better things I saw in 1-on-1 drills today. The LSU commit worked at left tackle throughout the day and he was my favorite OL from the day.3. For the third camp in a row Casey Phillips was a bad man. Baylor got a steal yesterday. He's the real deal. He has been keeping a close eye on the Aggies so who knows what happens if the Aggies do make a push. But right now I'd say the Bears picked up one of the top OL I've seen so far this spring.4. I thought Nelson Jenkins had a very good day. He definitely looks the part out there and he was one of the more impressive interior guys on the day. 2019 DE Marcus Stripling had some really nice moments. One 2019 sleeper I mentioned was Henderson DE Keivie Rose. That guy had some really nice reps to stand out of the pack.5. Katy OL Connor Galvin is still skinny, but his lower body does look like it has field out well over the last couple of months. 6. Over in the skill players cornerback Anthony Cook jumped out to me on defense. He was in the hip pocket of guys all day long and in the short time I watched he had a pick and two pass break-ups. Now he did receive the benefit of some errant throws but he was there to make the plays and others had the same opportunities and did not fair as well. He'll be a guy we'll discuss again soon when it comes to the 2018 rankings. He was all over it today.7. Jalen Preston and Al'vonte Woodard had big performances today. They definitely showed why they are so highly regarded. 8. Friday Night Lights is going to be one star-studded event. That does not surprise, but it should be stated again that Friday Night Lights will be full of talented prospects.
Army Combine News, Notes, Video Clips, and other stuff
Alright let's jump right in here.-First, we posted a note earlier about Texas A&M 2018 OL commit Colten Blanton. He tweaked his hamstring during the testing phase of the combine so he opted to stay out of the position and one-on-one portions of the combine. He will stay through tomorrow for the game and plans to meet up with Texas A&M 2018 commit Jordan Moore and his brother Joshua Moore. It also sounds like they Cuero 2019 Jordan Whittington will be around as well.- Dallas Carter 2018 DE/LB Jarell Cherry and West Mesquite 2018 DB Dayven Coleman remain names for Aggies to keep an eye on out of the Dallas area. Both have been talked about by me as possible targets for the class and they are on the radar.- Frisco Wakeland OL Rafiti Ghirmai has remained in contact with coach Turner, and he plans to make it to Texas A&M for Junior Day soon. He has seen his offer list grow recently with Iowa State the most recent offer. SMU is also coming on strong . He is going to take visits to SMU and Oklahoma soon, and he believes a visit to Baylor is also coming up. He really enjoys talking with coach Turner and believes him to be a great coach.- I posted the Larry Clark stuff on here for selfish reasons but he is SEC good and will play someone. I'm not sure the Aggies will have room for him though. Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Oklahoma are a few schools who have already reached out.- The guy who jumped out of the pack in a huge way today was LSU commit Kardell Thomas. The 2019 OL from Baton Rouge was flat out ridiculous. I had not seen him in person since he was a freshman and he was impressive then. I didn't know he was at the camp today, but it was clear to me he was the prize of the bunch along the o-line. Connor Galvin https://twitter.com/jason_howell/status/817490481533911044https://twitter.com/jason_howell/status/817479953692422144https://twitter.com/jason_howell/status/817477579632496640Thomas Shelmire https://twitter.com/jason_howell/status/817489142049280000Trey Stratford https://twitter.com/jason_howell/status/817480569596559362Larry Clark https://twitter.com/jason_howell/status/817490182144397313https://twitter.com/jason_howell/status/817477580991463424Brannon Brown https://twitter.com/jason_howell/status/817488805359943685https://twitter.com/jason_howell/status/817477581985513472
A few notes for the Army Combine tomorrow
The Army Combine is tomorrow morning and TexAgs will be there for the action. Texas A&M Colten Blanton will be the guy most are interested in. I was told commitment Jordan Moore and his brother Joshua Moore will not be compete at the combine but they may decide to show up and watch the event. They do plan to attend the Army All-American Bowl on Saturday. I also mentioned Dominic Livingston was expected but I'm not too sure if he will be there either. Regardless there are more than a few guys to watch. Below are a few notesNotes on Colten Blanton- Colten had a few reasons for choosing Texas A&M. It was close to home. He called coach Jim Turner "probably the best O-line coach in the nation." - He likes the physical style of play he sees from the o-line- He made his decision early because it hit him one day in class that he didn't want to go on any other visits and he knew where he wanted to go to school- Texas, Clemson, and Florida State do continue to try and pursue but he says "but I'm 100-percent an Aggie."- He knew the Monday after an in-season game day visit to Texas A&M that he knew he was going to Texas A&M.- Colten will attend the Jan. 22 Junior Day in College StationNotes on Katy 2018 OT Connor Galvin- Texas State has been texting him the most, and then Texas and Texas A&M's Jeff Banks has been in touch.- Galvin said A&M's great fan support reminds him of Katy- He feels like Texas, Texas A&M, and Duke could be close to offering. - He checked in at 6-7, 250. - He is one lean guy with some room to add some really good weight. A few other notes of interest about the Army Combine tomorrow- Andrew McGowan, WR, Sinton will be in attendance. He arrived in San Antonio decked out in Texas A&M gear along with his dad. He stands in at about 6-3 and is listed at 190. He took an unofficial to A&M during the season, and he trains a lot with Jordan Whittington"s brother, Quincey Whittington.- Franklin will be represented by 2018 OL Casey Phillips and 2019 S Jared Pedraza. - College Station's Quandree White and Marquez Perez will be there too.- Frisco Wakeland 2018 OL Rafiti Ghirmai will also be in attendance. He picked up another offer today with Iowa State doing the honors.- One guy I'm looking forward to seeing is Schertz Clemens WR Tommy Bush. He's a big 2018 WR who is starting to generate some attention- And I will finally get to see Blytheville (Ark.) 2018 OL Larry Clark in action. He checked in today at 6-5, 298-pounds. He already has offers from Kansas and Central Arkansas, with interest coming from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Louisville and others. I wrote about him in Around the SEC a few weeks ago, and look for his offer list to grow considerably.