Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas’ long spring and summer of discontent has arrived.

Or should it be malcontent? After all, there has been quite a sampling of police blotter activity as of late. Oh wait, those transgressions occurred while the Longhorn players had a modicum of adult (read: coach) supervision. Soon they will have none. When the spring semester ends the Texas players will be set free to roam the world on their own. And, while they are at it, become better football players.

It’s the last part of that two-part equation that is very nearly impossible because in order to become better, typically coaching has to be involved. And in the summer, per NCAA rules, no coaching, except that given by the strength staff, is allowed.

Being a coach, naturally, Mack Brown would like to change that.

"We’re trying to work with the NCAA to see if there could be some type of contact, because we all feel like we need more," Brown said.

The NCAA recently changed the summer rules as they pertain to basketball, allowing for up to eight hours per week -- a limit of two per day -- of varying types of coaching. Brown is angling for that type of flexibility in the summer rules for football. He might get it, but not soon enough for this year. And Brown and Texas need it this year.

"You’d hate to have those three young quarterbacks know [co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach] Major [Applewhite] is in the office, and they can’t walk in and ask him to watch film with them," Brown said. "That’s just not right. They’re trying to get better and they want to come in."

So, in place of being able to coach the player over the summer, Texas is working furiously to evaluate each player, his short-term and long-term needs and disseminate that information to the players prior to the NCAA's summer rules slamming down the no-contact iron curtain.

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Team needs: Texas hit the recruiting trail this year seeking improved depth on the offensive line and at linebacker. Its line got almost no production from backups in 2012, and an inexperienced linebacker group started six players last season and endured struggles throughout. With only nine seniors in 2012, the Longhorns don’t have many other holes that need to be filled by this class of recruits. The most irreplaceable cogs are safety Kenny Vaccaro and defensive end Alex Okafor. Both are potential first-round NFL draft picks whose production will be tough to match.

Help is on the way: The offensive line questions have been answered. Texas is set to sign one of the nation’s best classes up front with five commits, including No. 1 center Darius James (Killeen, Texas/Harker Heights) and No. 4 tackle Kent Perkins (Dallas/Lake Highlands). Contra Costa (Calif.) College tackle Desmond Harrison joined the class this week. Texas also landed ESPN 300 outside linebacker Deoundrei Davis (Cypress, Texas/Cypress Woods), who enrolled early and should contribute as a freshman.

Other key commits: Two more early enrollees, ESPN 150 lineman Jake Raulerson (Celina, Texas/Celina) and Butte (Calif.) College tight end Geoff Swaim, should play right away. Texas also has pledges from ESPN 150 defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson (Fort Worth, Texas/Arlington Heights), receiver Jacorey Warrick (Houston/Cypress Falls) and cornerback Antwuan Davis (Bastrop, Texas/Bastrop). The Longhorns will pair Warrick with Jake Oliver (Dallas/Jesuit), who broke the Texas state record for career receptions.

Other key targets: Holding on to Robinson is crucial. He has taken official visits to USC and Alabama and could make a late-second flip on signing day. With a pledge from Harrison, the biggest remaining priorities are finding another running back and wide receiver. ESPN 150 receiver Sebastian LaRue (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica) and Ole Miss running back commit Peyton Barber (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) could visit in January.

Texas kicked off on Monday what could be a fruitful final few weeks of 2013 recruiting by picking up its first verbal commit since October.

The Longhorns have landed pledge No. 14 from Contra Costa (Calif.) College offensive lineman Desmond Harrison.

The three-star prospect chose Texas over Arizona State, USC, Oklahoma and offers from more than 20 schools.

“This feels real good,” Harrison said. “I feel like I just made the best decision. It was a tight decision. It really boiled down to Arizona State and Texas, and they really made it difficult. It just felt like Texas was the best for me.”

Harrison had been leaning toward choosing Texas for a while, but the final decision was tougher than he’d expected.

“It was a last-minute decision,” he said. “Everything came down to the end. I was still thinking about it today."

A 6-foot-8, 310-pound lineman who is being recruited to play left tackle, Harrison took an official visit to Texas on Dec. 7 and is the program’s second junior college pledge, joining Butte (Calif.) College tight end signee Geoff Swaim.

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