Texas Longhorns

Texas has long stuck to its tradition when it comes to offering recruits early.

Nearly all recruits have to wait until February of their junior year and attend a UT junior day in order to receive their offer.

On Thursday, Texas made a big step toward changing that philosophy.

The Longhorns have accepted a commitment from 2014 athlete Lorenzo Joe (Abilene, Texas/Cooper).

“I just got off the phone with Coach [Bo] Davis and he let me know that I can go ahead and go public and let people know I’m committed,” Joe told HornsNation.

Joe originally gave his verbal pledge to Texas after being approved for a 2014 offer at the Longhorns’ June 10 camp. At the time, UT coaches told him he’d have to wait until February for that pledge to become official.

But Thursday, Texas coaches swiftly changed course in their long-held beliefs on early offers. Even Joe was surprised when he got the call from Davis.

“It feels so good to finally tell people,” Joe said. “I don’t have to tell people my recruiting is going slow anymore.

“To finally get it off my chest now, it feels good. I’m so excited. I’m sorry I had to lie to y’all.”

Joe, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior-to-be, is being recruited by Texas to play wide receiver. He’ll serve as Abilene Cooper’s starting quarterback this fall.

“They came down during spring to check me out and watched my highlights and came to my school,” Joe said. “I went to their camp and tried to perform, and they liked what they saw.”

As a sophomore, Joe caught 48 passes for 762 yards and nine touchdowns and also rushed for 200 yards and two more scores. He received an offer from Texas Tech earlier this summer.

But when Texas coaches told him in June he’d get one, Joe committed without hesitation. He didn’t need a year to think it over.

“Texas was always the school growing up,” he said. “It was the right thing to do.”

Texas coaches also made an official offer Thursday to their No. 1 quarterback target, Denton (Texas) Guyer dual-threat passer Jerrod Heard. He told HornsNation he’ll wait until next summer to make a decision.

Colleague Travis Haney continued our series at ESPN.com on college football's best position units by ranking the nation's top 10 defensive lines.

Only one Big 12 team made his list, and it's the Texas Longhorns.

No question here. Texas is in a league of its own in the Big 12 when it comes to the defensive line. Ends Jackson Jeffcoat and Alex Okafor are the league's two best, and Okafor was named Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the media.

The Longhorns checked in at No. 3 on Haney's list, behind only Florida State and LSU.

The kicker for Texas? Jeffcoat and Okafor get plenty of attention, but the depth at defensive tackle might take this line to the next level.

Ashton Dorsey returns along with sophomore Desmond Jackson, but juco transfer Brandon Moore and incoming freshman Malcom Brown could have a big impact. If that rotation starts collapsing pockets up front, flushing quarterbacks into the flats, Jeffcoat and Okafor are going to be racking up big, big numbers this year. Look out for former running back Chris Whaley on the line, too.

Texas is going to have a fearsome front four all season, regardless of who's on the field, well-deserving of a spot in the national top three.

TCU and Oklahoma may have the next-best defensive lines in the league, but nobody's got one like Texas does this year. We'll see how much damage the Longhorns do.

Time will tell how much tougher the Big 12 got with the additions of TCU and West Virginia.

For 2012, though, the difference is clear.

The Big 12 added the nation's No. 11 (Mountaineers) and No. 17 teams (TCU), according to the most recent USA Today coaches' poll.

Missouri? The Tigers are nowhere to be found on the poll, receiving just three votes. Texas A&M received 28 to finish outside the Top 25, too.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 had six teams in the Top 25 poll to begin the season, setting the stage for what should be a brutal run in 2012.

The SEC took up half the spots in the top 10 and edged the Big 12 out with seven teams in the top 25, but the Big 12 was second with its total of six.

As for where those teams will begin 2012? Oklahoma is about right at No. 4, the Big 12's only top-10 team. The SEC had five teams in the top 10, including the top two teams, LSU and Alabama.

West Virginia seems a touch low at 11, but the Mountaineers have plenty to prove. They'll have plenty of chances to climb in the Big 12, where Top 25 opponents will be on the schedule just about every other week, as opposed to the Big East, where they were a rarity. West Virginia's played just eight teams in the Top 25 since 2008.

K-State? Feel free to cry disrespect once again. You've got every right to do so. The Wildcats are two spots behind Oklahoma State, despite bringing back the core of last year's 10-win team. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, will have to adjust to life without two of the Big 12's best players, Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon.

Disrespect? Absolutely.

Texas checked in at No. 15, which is a couple of spots higher than I expected, but not really what I'd describe as "too high." When you've got one of the nation's saltiest defenses, that's going to earn respect. The running game will be solid, too, but Texas is no doubt a top 5-10 team if David Ash proves to be among the top half of the Big 12's quarterbacks.

That's a big ask. We'll see if he does it.

Here's the full poll for the Big 12:

4. Oklahoma
11. West Virginia
15. Texas
17. TCU
19. Oklahoma State
21. Kansas State

Others receiving votes:
31. Baylor (23 votes)
47. Texas Tech (one vote)

Texas might have answered one of its largest questions before camp has even started.

Anthony Fera will transfer to the Longhorns, giving Texas an experienced kicker in a spot where it had none.

Fera has two years of eligibility left after transferring from Penn State and will be eligible for the 2012 season. Fera’s scholarship counts against Texas’ 85 as per the NCAA’s ruling on the PSU scandal.

Fera, a Houston St. Pius X prospect who hit 14-of-17 field goals last season, gives the Longhorns a legitimate threat on field goals. Jordan Tucker graduated after a season in which he hit 17-of-21 field goals, and his departure left the Longhorns with a huge void. William Russ and Ben Pruitt battled for the job in the spring but the results were less than impressive.

Texas does have incoming freshman Nick Jordan. It also brought on walk-ons Nick Rose (Dallas/Highland Park) and Michael Davidson (Houston/Strake Jesuit). Grant Sirgo redshirted as a walk-on in 2011.

Alex King, who is exclusively a punter, transferred from Duke at the start of the summer.

With the addition of Fera, Texas now has seven potential place-kickers. Three of those players, Fera, Jordan and Russ, are on scholarship.

While Texas has had success with true freshman kickers before -- Dusty Mangum was 18-of-26 in 2001 -- the Longhorns, due to a lackluster passing game, figure to be a team in need on a strong and reliable leg.

Jordan has the strength, and the range from 60 yards and in. But the reliability part is what worried Texas. Fera, due to his experience, might be slightly more reliable in pressure situations. Fera was perfect from inside 40 yards. That bodes well for Texas, which had the worst red-zone touchdown efficiency in the history of the Big 12 in 2011.

Penn State kicker Anthony Fera will transfer to Texas, a source confirmed to ESPN.com’s Joe Schad.

The redshirt junior kicker has two years of remaining eligibility and will immediately compete for the Longhorns’ starting placekicking and punting duties.

The Houston St. Pius X grad and Cypress, Texas, native decided to join the Longhorns after visiting UT on Sunday and Monday.

In his first season as a two-way kicker, Fera connected on 14 of his 17 field goal attempts and averaged 42 yards on 64 punts in 2011. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from ESPN.com as a sophomore and second-team recognition from coaches and media.

Fera joins a Texas team in need of experience at kicker following the graduate of kicker/punter Justin Tucker.

The Longhorns added transfer Alex King, a two-year starting punter at Duke, in the summer and also have sophomore Will Russ, redshirt freshman Ben Pruitt and true freshmen Nick Jordan and Nick Rose competing for kicking jobs.

Fera is the seventh Nittany Lion player who has elected to transfer following the NCAA’s sanctions against Penn State.

On Tuesday, PSU lost starting running back Silas Redd to USC, quarterback Rob Bolden to LSU and tight end Kevin Haplea to Florida State.

Linebacker Khairi Fortt also elected to transfer to Cal, safety Tim Buckley chose N.C. State, and defensive tackle Jamil Pollard reportedly left for Rutgers.

July is nearly over, and as we head into August, it's time to update the Big 12 recruiting scorecard. You can see each full class by clicking on the team name, but you'll need ESPN Insider access to see the full coverage.

Here's where the Big 12 stands for the respective 2013 classes, which can't sign letters of intent until February.

Remember, this card is in pencil. Players are free to switch commitments until they sign a letter of intent with a school.

1. Texas Longhorns

Total commits: 14
ESPN 150 commits: 7
Key commits: QB Tyrone Swoopes, C Darius James, OT Jake Raulerson, OT Kent Perkins
Class update: Texas lost a commit since our latest update, but are still holding strong in the national rankings, safely inside the top 10. Of the Longhorns' 14 commits, 12 are four stars or higher.

2. Oklahoma Sooners

Total commits: 12
ESPN 150 commits: 2
Key commits: RB Keith Ford, DE D.J. Ward, QB Cody Thomas
Class update: Thomas fell out of the ESPN 150 since our latest update, but the Sooners added OT Matt Beyer to reach 13 commits. They're currently ranked No. 14 in ESPN RecruitingNation's national class rankings. The biggest recent news for the Sooners came Tuesday night, however, when the class' best commit, Florida native and RB Greg Bryant, decommitted. Bryant was the nation's No. 2 running back and No. 30 overall recruit.

3. Baylor Bears

Total commits: 19
ESPNU 150 commits: 1
Key commits: WR Robbie Rhodes, QB Chris Johnson, OLB Raaquan Davis, RB Johnny Jefferson
Class update: Baylor added six commits since our last update, and are the only other Big 12 team in the top 25, at No. 23. DT Byron Bonds, ATH Wesley Harris, S Alfred Pullom, OG Darius Moore and juco transfers OT Simo Kulmaviita and TE-Y Gus Penning all committed to Briles' Bears in the last month. Nice haul.

4. Oklahoma State Cowboys

Total commits: 15
ESPNU 150 commits: 0
Key commits: WR Fred Ross Jr., WR Marcell Ateman, DT Vincent Taylor, CB Darius Curry
Class update: The Cowboys added five commits since our last update. Even though OSU has zero commits in the top 150, it has three in the ESPN 300. Curry committed back on July 9, and WR Ra'Shaad Samples, OG Jaxon Salinas, DE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and ATH Jerel Morrow all pledged to join the Cowboys next fall since our last update.

5. TCU Horned Frogs

Total commits: 13
ESPNU 150 commits: 0
Key commits: OLB Paul Whitmill, OLB Sammy Douglas, OG Patrick Morris
Class update: TCU added four commits since our last update. OT Eason Fromayan, CB Ranthony Texada, OT Joseph Noteboom and RB Trevorris Johnson all committed in the past month. Only one of TCU's commits (Whitmill) is a four-star prospect, but 10 carry three stars.

6. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Total commits: 13
ESPNU 150 commits: 0
Key commits: ATH Devin Lauderdale, QB-PP Davis Webb, WR Dylan Cantrell, CB Maurice Chandler
Class update: Texas Tech added six commits since our last update, including Chandler and OT Maurice Porter. WR Justis Nelson and OLB Dakorey Johnson also committed. Just two Tech commits are four-star prospects, but six have three stars.

7. West Virginia Mountaineers

Total commits: 10
ESPNU 150 commits: 0
Key commits: QB Chavas Rawlins, ILB Darrien Howard, OT Marcell Lazard, OLB Isaac McDonald
Class update: WVU added three commits since we last updated, including Howard, an ESPN 300 member. McDonald also pledged to Dana Holgorsen, along with RB Zaire Williams. West Virginia still has just one commit (OG Tyler Tezeno) from Texas.

8. Iowa State Cyclones

Total commits: 10
ESPNU 150 commits: 0
Key commits: QB Trevor Hodge, OG Jacob Homa, S Kamari Syrie
Class notes: Iowa State's been doing some serious work, adding six commits in the past month. TE Alex Leslie, ATH Justin Webster, CB Nigel Tribune, RB Tyler Brown, CB D.A. Williams and DE J.D. Waggoner all committed to Paul Rhoads since our last update. However, only two commits have at least three stars.

9. Kansas Jayhawks

Total commits: 6
ESPNU 150 commits: 0
Key commits: TE Ben Johnson, LB Kellen Ash, QB Jordan Darling
Class update: CB Taylor Lewis is the only player to commit to Kansas since our last update.

10. Kansas State Wildcats

Total commits: 4
ESPNU 150 commits: 0
Key commits: ILB Tanner Wood, DE Jordan Willis, WR LeAndrew Gordon
Class update: Kansas State hasn't added a commit in the last two months, but all four commits have at least three stars.

Texas Exes are showing up in force in the pool at the 2012 London Olympics.

Ricky Berens took home a gold medal as part of the men’s 4x200 meter freestyle relay team for the United States. Berens swam the third leg of the race and gave Michael Phelps a four-second lead going into the anchor leg. The U.S. won with a time of 6:59.70, the only team to finish in under 7 minutes.

“Ricky had an outstanding effort in contributing to the gold medal for our country,” said Texas Men’s Swimming and Diving assistant coach Krik Kubik. “He always seems to be able to rise to the challenge, and tonight he most certainly did. The entire relay was superb.”

For Berens, this was his second medal of the 2012 games, he earned a silver medal during these Olympics with the 4x100m freestyle relay. Berens also won a gold medal in 4x200 freestyle relay in the 2008 Beijing Games.

On the women’s side, former Longhorns swimmer Kathleen Hersey posted the fasted time in the 200 meter butterfly to advance to the Olympic finals which will be held Wednesday.

Team U.S.A. basketball picked up another easy win and Kevin Durant again was a key contributor. Durant posted a double-double in a 110-63 win over Tunisia. Durant had 13 points after converting 4-of-10 field goals, including 1-of-4 from three-point range, and 4-of-4 free throws while adding one steal in 23 minutes of action.

Durant also had a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Americans continue pool play Thursday against Nigeria.

Dustin Garrison was overlooked.

OK, so it wasn’t hard to do. He is 5-foot-9.

But the fact that he played and produced for the top team in Texas -- Pearland -- and still remained below the radar was a recruiting head-scratcher. The fact that he ran for 292 yards in his first college game was indication that West Virginia, which offered after the bowl season, has an early lead on how to successfully recruit Texas.

“When I first got the job 18 months ago, we had already started recruiting a little bit, recruiting Texas a little bit,” WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said. “Got a great boss in Oliver Luck. Understands college football, understands geography. He had already expressed some interest in wanting to recruit some in Texas, because everybody else recruits in Texas.”

But Holgorsen didn’t need the West Virginia athletic director's advice to know the importance of the Lone Star State. He spent nine years as an assistant coach at Houston and Texas Tech, plus another year at Oklahoma State recruiting Texas kids.

So he knows there is talent. And he knows he has to get some of it to be successful.

“We will recruit Houston, we will Dallas,’’ said Holgorsen, who already has one Texas commit, guard Tyler Tezeno (Spring, Texas/Klein). “I think we've got to be careful a little bit about how much manpower we put here. Because it's so competitive. Like I said, everybody's recruiting this.”

That includes the Big 12’s other newcomer, TCU. Sure, the Horned Frogs maintained their run with home-state talent. And while their location hasn’t changed, their status certainly has.

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