Evaluating the 2012 Texas Longhorns Recruiting Class: Wide Receiver

Marcus johnson is my favorite
 simply because he was hated on so hard on the orangebloods boards by posters and ketch himself when nobody knew who he was and his cousin kept bring his name up on the boards

Johnson’s kick return highlights are particularly tasty to me.

Cayleb Jones is intriguing because he is unlike anything we have right now. I am still concerned that Texas’ biggest needs as a team (flanker, tight end, quarterback) were not immediately addressed in this class. We have a lot of great prospects in this class but our gaping holes are going to have to be filled with player development from the current roster…other than right tackle.

It’s like the Viet Cong created a wide out.

I predict four straight years of obscure “fog of war” jokes on game threads that will leave him and his relatives baffled.

I don’t care about breakaway speed or a 4.3 forty. JUST CATCH…THE DANG…BALL!

Parlin, I’ll never forget the utter confusion on Daniel Gibson’s face when a student came to a game in a ninja costume, called Gibson “Daniel-San”, bowed after made shots and yelled things like, “This not practice Daniel-San, this for real!”

As far as our WR’s; I like Jones and figure his frame and “short-area athleticism” will help him to master the techniques needed to at least beat college press-coverage. There is a shortage of Namdi Asomugha’s in the Big 12 and the closest we get will only line up against him in practice. Marcus seems a good fit for what we are trying to do.

Presumably one of our big time incoming athletes like Johnson, Sanders, or “Duke” will end up here. I agree with Newy, it doesn’t seem like there are any immediate answers in the class, just guys that could become difference makers in the future.

That’s fine with me though. We have more coming back than I think people remember. Injured players who showed a lot of promise, year 2 of White Ghost 2.0, and possibly a focused Darius White or Mike Davis.

You speak to the categorization issue in humorous terms but I think it is another consequence of our staff’’s approach to both recruiting and utilization of talent. As has been said about Raulerson, they are bringing in guys whose position is “football player” and are willing to deploy them in multiple and novel ways. It enlarges our effective roster by giving more guys chances to contribute.

This is great for morale and for recruiting. Great for fan experience too as such a team is far more fun to watch. There were numerous times this past season when I sat up during games and asked “what crazy damned thing is Harsin (or Diaz) going to do next?”

I don’t give a damn about depth charts and categories. These guys can ball. This flexible and creative approach gives them more ways to do that.

I doubt Darius White gets refocused. I am excited about John Harris though.

our gaping holes are going to have to be filled

This phrase echoes through the empty stands of Fenruary in the Tranny Cheerleader VoiceTM…

If yu look back to JGray’s highlights you will see his receivers setting great blocks 10 and 20 years downfield, giving him the final path to the endzone. Do you see these guys doing that?

Professor,

We sorely missed Harris last year as much for his blocking as anything.

Oh yeah, Darius White was escorted out by Cobbs’ fists, forgot.

I acknowledge your freak out in advance and I share your frustration that my thoughtless categorization may sabotage the 2015 depth chart collage you’re making.

Pfft. After last season’s WR performance (‘HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THIS PROLATE SPHEROID HURTLING IN MY DIRECTION KNOCK IT DOWN KILL IT WITH FIRE - OH IT’S ON THE GROUND THANK GOD WE’RE SAFE‘), I was thinking more like 2012 in at least some capacity, unless Cayleb Jones is given a copy of SUPER SQUATS upon arrival at the 40 Acres, in which case we’ll see him later at TE when McCoy is a senior.

Wait, you just said not to do that. OK, I’ll stop.

[dunce hat]

I’ve seen enough of Jones in person to know what we’re getting. Scipio pretty much nailed it. His ability to catch the ball away from his body is elite, as is his ability to catch it at top speed and his ability to adjust to the ball. He isn’t fast and that doesn’t concern me. The only thing that concerns me is that he hasn’t really shown a lot of improvement from his sophomore year to senior. I think that is because of QB play frankly, but it stil lingers.

First film I’ve seen of Johnson. I like him. He has some nice subtle double moves that don’t cause him to break stride. This may enable him to get seperation quickly, Shipleyish. He also has great vision and a unique (for a WR) ability to cut back instead of just bouncing outside. Shifty for a 6-1 guy, if he’s really 6-1. Vietcong indeed.

Thanks for these, Scip. I’m loving them.

I liked Robert Jones as a Cowboy (longtime Cowboy fan), and I love Cayleb. He will contribute. Just watch. So will Marcus.

Hook ’em!

Thanks again for these. With white’s xfer to Missouri (coincidence?) What receivers are left from the bobby kennedy era? Davis and harris? As much as any other position, WR seems in need of a reset button.

Caleb is going to be great for us. Yes, the overriding concern for receivers always seems to be, “does he have enough speed to separate?” I think there is a lot more to the position. After Shipley, Caleb is going to be our next truly skilled receiver. Mike Davis has promise, of course, but like every other position on the field, a WR needs to be sold out to working hard to truly excel in the college game. So we’ll see there. But I expect Caleb to show up and start catching balls. And it’s OK with me if they aren’t ever more than 15 yards down field.

Scipio San, you have deceptive perception. Marcus Johnson should fit in well with Manny’s early 2011 practice discription of Harsin’s offense.

Although i had not projected Jalen Overstreet that far into the future ( Payton Manning) I can see the deadly combination of playing 2A football like Colt, and the I want to play Quarterback attitude of VY. How can the kid miss?

Bartoncreek said:
“only thing that concerns me is that he hasn’t really shown a lot of improvement from his sophomore year to senior. I think that is because of QB play frankly, but it stil lingers.”

Thank goodness Mr. Ash will be throwing to him next year.

Perfesser said:
“receivers setting great blocks 10 and 20 years downfield, giving him the final path to the endzone.”

So true, so undervalued. OU’s WR’s remembered this at the beginning of the year and forgot it later.

With the late season collapse of our receiving corps (excusing Shipley) I fear this is going to be an Achille’s Heel for us this year if these two guys are the only ones projected to contribute at receiver. Jones and Johnson look like nice players with potential, but I don’t see someone who can step on campus and play a big role like Shipley did last year. Unfortunately we’re so thin there now that’s what we’re going to need.

Were there simply no elite receivers in Texas this year, or was Thomas Johnson that guy, or were they simply not interested in us? Getting Torshiro was thrilling and fills a big need, but losing out on DGB hurt us more next season than Torshiro will help immediately.

From looking at the film I actually think Johnson may be more of a contributor early on than Jones. Johnson seems to have more strength and balance to handle the increased physicality of college level CB play. Not sure he can be an immediate major contributor though.

Granted, Cayleb and Marcus are raw talents in need of development and maturity. But, even with their shortcomings, what I see in both of them that I didn’t see in Mike Davis, DeSean Hales and Darius White is motivation, the presence of mind to go after and high-point the pass and surer hands.

Beyond Shipley and maybe Harris, we have a desperate need to field another receiver now who can run crisp timing routes, create separation, catch and maintain possession of the ball – and also provide the occasional deep threat. Junior-to-be Mike Davis is a head case and is well behind the curve in maturity, development, has weak hands and shows no ability to maintain possession after the catch.

Bottom-line, (a) an accomplished ground attack; (b) decent pass pro; and © two Shipley-type receivers to choose from would make either Ash or Brewer look like game managers next Fall. Without (a) thru © our QBs will continue to look like struggling failures on the field.

Jones reminds me of Paul Warfield.

Jones has the intangibles to be a great WR. His hands are money. I like his potential to develop into an elite WR. Hopefully Wyatt can school him on seperation. If he can get that down, other teams will hate him.

Johnson is a sleeper. I have liked this kid all along. His speed is sneaky and he knows how and when to use it. He seems a lot like Cosby…you never knew he was there until he has the ball and is burning you. I like his upside.

I can’t wait to see what a healthy Harris can do! Great blocking WR too. He has good size and speed. Hopefully his extra time he is putting in with Ash pays off. Harris and Shipley could be a nasty duo this year.

This prolly been addressed somewhere, but I’ve missed it: Did Darius White have much (if anything) to do with DG-B ultimately deciding on Mizzou instead of Texas? And I mean, before or after he “left” the team.

Thanks for the write-up, these guys looks great. Are we ever going to get to hear the story of what happened with the “other” Johnson? It’s one thing to waver or be wooed by another school, it’s another thing to drop the school you’ve been committed to for a year and only then begin looking around. Who dropped whom, and why?

If D White had anything to do with DGB going to Mizzou it was probably DGB knowing he would have no competition for the starting job. I’m sure he doesn’t see White as a threat to his playing time or the number of balls thrown his way.

A 4 start who wants to play is much better than a 5 that doesn’t so Marcus is an upgrade over White. What I liked about his video was that he showed he could not only beat defenders deep but also from well in front of them from shallow los tosses and returns. That makes him a play maker and now it will be important to see if he can do it at the next level.

If Caleb gets his upper body stronger, he should go by Dark Knight because he seems like Batman swooping in on catches. I don’t undervalue a guy who goes up for the ball. Caleb reminds me of Mike Williams from USC and I think a 4.5 is very possible. He’s got great hands and good concentration. I think having a pro dad will push his effort as well.

I think you guys are underestimating Caleb strictly on speed. Shipley’s knock last year was that he was going to have trouble separating from bump coverage, and we see how that turned out. He has a lot of room to improve, but Caleb is going to get open and catch the short to intermediate stuff day one.

Watching Caleb play a number of times, he has a real knack for running in traffic after the catch. We also need that taller receiver who will go get the ball. Caleb fits the bill. I improved from a 4.65 to a 4.5 once I got to college and quit growing. Hopefully Caleb will as well.

balltastic: that separation has been questioned…got ragdolled some at the under armour game

Perfesser
Shipley= good blocker
McNamara = good blocker
Harris= good blocker
Goodwin=great blocker (remember “bad call” penalty on de-cleater ) last fall.
Raulerson= the Calvary …. worth two wide reciever blockers from his tight end position.
Conclusion …. our reciever corp will be as stout as our running backs and offensive line. Most improvement needed at center and QB..
Defense will be as solid as the rock of Gibraltar
Hook’Em

The man in the black pajamas…worthy fucking adversary.

Jet: no slight meant against our current WR’s. I was merely curious about the WR blocking in running plays as it looked so crucial to JGray’s really long runs for TDs, and was not addressed in the write up.

Good summary. Looking forward to seeing how they progress in the offense.

Incredulous voice:

You S.O.B.

Are you trying to say the other 24 signees are not athletes?

How dare you!

I doubt Darius White gets refocused.

I sure hope he gets refocused by 2013.

Re DGB and White, in everything I heard during the process (and I heard a lot and some of it ended up being true), I never heard anything re White having any influence in DGB’s decision. I don’t think White played any role whatsoever in discouraging DGB from Texas or encouraging him to go to Mizzou.

Jones has an enormous upside. He’s taller than 6’2 and skinny jeans still look baggy on him. When he fills out at 19 his top end speed will increase. He’s coming fcrom a bad program, so he hasn’t scratcjed the surface.

And I love Kenda?? Sanders. WR all the way, imo.

I would say White chose Missouri because he knew DGB was headed that way. Let him draw the double coverage and hope you can actually start catching the ball.

I should not type on a phone.

Paul Warfield could run his ass off in his day.

Jones doesn’t have to be a guy who can go for 80 every time he touches the ball. Texas desperately needs a physical outside receiver who they can count on catching the ball and can work effectively once they get close to the end zone.

Texas desperately needs a physical outside receiver who they can count on catching the ball and can work effectively once they get close to the end zone.

^
This. While either Jones or Johnson may turn out to be that guy in a couple of years I don’t see either as being able to fill that need in the immediate future. We desparately needed DGB. If none of the Athletes from this recruiting crop can fill that need either, and I have to assume they won’t, we’re going to be relying on returning players. And based on what we saw last year I’m not confident in much production from anyone other than Shipley.

Last night’s super bowl proves you don’t have to have a DGB to be a physical/possession receiver. The incoming group and Ship or Harris could very well give us what we need.