Recruiting Roundup

The loss to Oklahoma didn't have as much impact on some of the top players as
I thought it would.
I talked to MLB Aaron Harris of North Mesquite, OL Justin Blalock of Plano
East and DE Larry Dibbles of Lancaster after the game.
They are the three of the brightest superstars in the Dallas area who are
strongly considering both Texas and Oklahoma.
Harris, who is the bruising middle backer the Longhorns so desperately need,
said, "It was a great game. Both defenses played great."
Asked if the outcome would have any bearing on his decision, he said, "No, I
just want to go some place where they play great defense, and both teams play
great defense."
He said he also plans to visit Texas A&M, Florida and Florida State.
Blalock said the game was exciting and said he sees a chance to play pretty
early at either school, "and that's one of the main things I'm looking for."
He said he isn't close to making a decision, but still is very interested in
Texas.
Dibbles, the kind of physical and fast defensive end the Longhorns covet,
said, "It was a great game and could have gone either way. The outcome won't
influence my decision one way or the other."
He said he still is looking at Texas and OU, as well as several other schools.
* * * *
Billy Don Malone of Paris North Lamar, who committed to Texas several months
ago, continues to have an outstanding season. Playing on a team that is not
blessed with outstanding talent or speedy wide receivers, he continues to be
one of the top passers in the Dallas area.
He completed 14 of 26 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown Friday in a 29-20
victory over Winnsboro, with no interceptions. He also scored on a 1-yard run
and had 21 net yards rushing on 7 carries.
Malone is a quarterback who sees the field and looks for the most open
receivers.
That ability was what made Major Applewhite so effective for Texas before
severe injuries to both knees gave Chris Simms the starting job.
I think it is the most important talent a college quarterback needs to be
successful.
It's really pretty simple to understand that a pass to an open receiver is a
lot easier to complete with a lot less risk of interception than a pass
thrown to a covered receiver.
Malone also has a strong arm and very good mobility, to go along with his
outstanding field vision. He is a lot better than most gurus think.
* * * *
The Longhorns, with 15 commitments, probably will take another 11 or 12
recruits.
They can take more than the normal 25 limit in this recruiting year because
DE Chase Pittman will graduate in December and enroll in January, which will
allow him to count against last year, and some other players the Horns are
recruiting also could enroll in January.
The key recruits still on the UT radar screen, in addition to the ones
mentioned earlier, are QB Vincent Young of Houston Madison, RB Albert Hardy
of Galena Park, TE Eric Winston of Midland Lee, WRs Robert Timmons of Flower
Mound Marcus (who might get an offer if he stays out of trouble for the rest
of the year), Biren Ealy of Cypress Falls and Anthony Wright of Klein Forest,
OL Tony Ugoh of Spring Westfield, DEs Brian Pickryl of Jenks, Okla.,and
Travis Leitko of The Woodlands, DTs Rodrique Wright of Alief Hastings, Kasey
Studdard of Highlands Ranch, Colo., Marco Martin of Mesquite and Loren Howard
of Scottsdale Saquaro, Ariz., CBs Ricky Wilson of Port Arthur Lincoln and
Jonathan Wade of Shreveport Evangel, Safeties Brodney Pool of Houston
Westbury and Matthew Melton of Tyler and Athletes Eddorian McCullough of
North Garland and DaBryan Blanton of Forney.
Here are the Longhorns' 15 early commitments:
Quarterbacks (1)
Billy Don Malone, 6-2 1/2, 185, 4.7, Paris North Lamar
Tight Ends (1)
David Thomas, 6-3, 210, 4.55, Wolfforth Frenship
Wide Receivers (2)
Marquis Johnson, 6-3, 200, 4.48,  Champaign, Ill., Centennial
Dustin Miksch, 6-0, 167, 4.35, Round Rock Westwood
Offensive Linemen (2)
Brett Valdez, 6-4, 310, 5.2, Brownwood
Neale Tweedie, 6-5, 255, 4.9, Allen
Defensive Ends (1)
Chase Pittman, 6-5, 263, 4.7, Shreveport Evangel
Defensive Tackles (4)
Sonny Davis, 6-1, 320, 5.0, Austin Lanier  and Gulf Coast, Miss., JC
Earl Anderson, 6-3, 265, 4.8, San Marcos
Lyle Sendlein, 6-4, 260, 4.8, Scottsdale Chaparral
Tully Jantzen, 6-4, 255, 4.8, Keller
Linebackers (3)
Garnett Smith, 6-3, 221, 4.54, Arlington Houston
Brian Robison, 6-3, 243, 4.6, Splendora
Marcus Myers, 6-3, 220, 4.5 Pflugerville Connally
Athletes (1)
Clint Haney, 5-11, 185, 4.27, Smithson Valley
* * * *
Nine of the players - Johnson, Pittman, Smith, Davis, Anderson, Sendlein,
Valdez, Tweedie and Thomas - have been on one or more national top 100 lists.
Davis was on all the lists last year.

Looking to the Future

Much has been made of the youth of the powerful Oklahoma team. The Sooners
should be better next year, but so should the Longhorns.
Oklahoma returns 16 starters - eight on offense and eight on defense. Texas
returns 14 starters - eight offensively and six defensively.
Three of the Longhorn senior starters on defense are linebackers, but the
best UT linebacker is true freshman Derrick Johnson.
Some of the brightest stars on both teams are very young. Freshman DT Tommy
Harris and sophomore DE Jimmy Wilkerson are OU's two best defensive linemen.
Texas' top two tight ends and top four wide receivers also are sophomores.
Another thing to remember is that these games often turn on strange things.
In this one, for example, UT had the upper hand early, but OU QB Nate Hybl
was hurt and Jason White replaced him and led the Sooners to victory.
One thing that won't change is the Sooners' great secondary. If you want to
go deep, you had better throw a great pass, and if you want to avoid costly
turnovers in the passing game, you must use your head and not take foolish
chances.
Texas could have won this game. The Longhorns can win next year's game if
they improve their offense, and it should improve because all of the skill
players will be back.
The UT defense joined the offense in being awful last year. The offense was
awful again this year, but the defense played great. The offense needs to
steal a page from that book.
If Chris Simms, Roy Williams, B. J. Johnson, Sloan Thomas, Bo Scaife, Brock
Edwards and either Cedric Benson or Ivan Williams step it up a few notches
next year, the Longhorns might get back on top in this topsy-turvy series.
Both teams' defenses should be better next year, so the winner will be the
team that can get the best and most error-free offensive performance.
It's up to head coach Mack Brown and his assistants to figure out how to do
that. He wants to win a national championship, so he's going to have to
figure it out because there is no question that there is no tougher league
than the Big 12.
On the bright side, despite the fact that Bob Stoops won a national title in
his second year and is competing for another one this year, most of the great
coaches in the country took a little longer.
Darrell Royal, the Longhorns' great one, won his first national title in his
seventh year. Bobby Bowden won his in his 18th season at Florida State. Tom
Osborne took 22 years to win his first one at Nebraska, then won it all in
three of the next four years.
The Longhorns just need to get a little better, and they have the time and
resources to do it.
Just don't give up on the guys and the coaches. Remember how bad we were when
they got there. We're on the right track if we stay the course.

Injury Report

DE Kalen Thornton (sprained knee) and TB Victor Ike (bruised ribs) are the
only Longhorns who were injured in Saturday's game.
Team trainer Tom McVan said Sunday both players will be examined again Monday
to determine whether they can play against Oklahoma State.
It looks like injured LB Lee Jackson (turf toe) will be redshirted. He is a
fourth-year senior who has another year left he he doesn't play this season.

Longhorn Notes . .

* The Texas defense gave up a season low total of 206 yards to the Oklahoma
offense. The Sooners were averaging 388 yards of total offense per game
before playing Texas
* This game marked the first time Texas failed to score a touchdown since a
27-6 loss to No. 24 Arkansas in the 2000 Cotton Bowl
* The last time Texas failed to score a touchdown against Oklahoma was in
1972, when the Sooners took a 27-0 victory.

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