Texas Longhorns: texas recruiting misses
Dalton Santos was swayed from Tennessee. Daje Johnson was snatched from TCU. Shiro Davis spirited over the border from LSU.
The first two in that trio have already paid dividends for Texas. Santos became a special teams standout and emergency linebacker. Johnson proved to have the ability to break a game open when given that opportunity. Even Davis entered the fray a time or two as a backup defensive end.
To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas didn’t miss much in 2011.
But the one they did miss hurt the most.
To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
Texas, coming off a national championship appearance, won the recruiting battle for defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat and just about every other player it went after. The Longhorns locked up four of the top five recruits from Texas in ESPN’s 150. The lone miss was defensive back Ahmad Dixon out of Waco. And Texas even had Dixon for a short period. He committed to Texas after junior day in February of 2009 only later to decommit and commit to Baylor. He then decommitted to Baylor in favor of Tennessee only to decommit from Tennessee as he eventually signed with Baylor.
Another year, another recruiting saga.
To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
While the Longhorns have had their share of problems with that class -- 14 of the 20 players signed didn’t exhaust their eligibility -- many of the other products produced by the state either didn’t make it or didn’t make the impact many thought they would.
The state’s top three prospects in 2009 had stunted or less-than-expected careers to date: Russell Shepard (No. 3 overall in ESPN’s 150) was never a star for LSU. Craig Loston (No. 7 overall in ESPN’s 150) suffered through several injuries but started as a junior in 2012. Garrett Gilbert (No. 11 overall in ESPN’s 150) didn’t make it at Texas and has a year left to prove himself at SMU.
To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
Some are good. Some are bad. And sometimes teams don’t even get a chance to make a choice. Players just want to go elsewhere.
With all that in mind, HornsNation decided to take a look at the top players in Texas, as rated by ESPN, who did go elsewhere – aka not the Texas program -- in the past five years. It’s a look back at what could have been.
To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
ABOUT HORNSNATION
Sean Adams
Sean Adams has covered the Texas Longhorns and college football for the last 12 years as a writer and radio host. Sean co-hosts "The Big Show" with Erin Hogan each afternoon on ESPN Austin 104.9 The Horn. He lives with his family in Round Rock, Texas. Email him at thisean@gmail.com.
Max Olson
Max Olson joined ESPN in 2012 after covering the University of Nebraska for the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald and high school and college sports for the World-Herald and Rivals.com. Olson is a University of Nebraska graduate and lives in Austin, Texas. Email him at maxolsonespn@gmail.com.
Carter Strickand
Carter Strickland joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering the University of Georgia for Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the University of Oklahoma for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman and Washington State University for The (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review. Strickland lives with his wife and family in Austin. Email him at cstrickland70@gmail.com.
William Wilkerson
William Wilkerson joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering high school sports, college sports and the Texas Rangers over four years at the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram. William is a University of Texas graduate and lives in Austin. He can be reached at wilkerson.espn@gmail.com.