These five recruits should end up signing with Texas football.
Whenever Tom Herman left Houston for Austin to take over the Texas football program, Longhorns fans were ready to be “back”. But after a few years with their new head coach, while the team has been relatively successful, they still aren’t where they’d like to be. Some of that may come down to X’s and O’s but it also means that to get back atop the Big 12, the Longhorns need to consistently hook great recruiting classes.
As of right now, they’re in a good position for 2021 in that capacity. Texas has the top class in the conference right now according to the 247Sports Composite team rankings and the No. 12 overall class, a group headlined by 5-star athlete Ja’Tavion Sanders and 4-star dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe.
Despite who they’ve already landed, though, the Longhorns still have work ahead to truly round out the class and set themselves up better for the future. Luckily, they appear in line to sign these five recruits still.
Tom Herman needs to bring these five recruits to Texas football for the Longhorns to take a necessary leap forward.
One thing that we’ve seen the Texas defense gravitate towards under Herman is relatively undersized linebackers that possess the ability to cover a lot of ground, even if they aren’t necessarily able to shed blocks or get into the trash in the trenches. Playing in the spread-happy Big 12, it makes sense as to why the Longhorns would go the way that they have.
Subsequently, it also stands to reason why the program would want to bring a player in the mold of Terrence Cooks. The 3-star outside linebacker is only the No. 25 prospect at his position in the class and ranks outside of the top 400 overall. However, that’s not necessarily an indication of his potential but rather what he has to offer right now.
In the simplest terms, Cooks isn’t ready to see the field at the collegiate level right now simply due to his frame. He measures in at 6-foot-2 but with just 210 pounds on his frame. Even in the Big 12 and with teams wanting speedy linebackers, that’s a frame that needs quite a bit more bulk and strength added to it for Cooks to withstand playing at a higher level week-in and week-out.
Even still, he is a nice mover and athlete who has some solid instincts for a young player. Moreover, Texas appears to have the upper hand in his recruitment. Should the Longhorns bring him into the fold and get him in the weight room, he has the possibility to make his 3-star rating look quite silly in a few years.