National Signing Day Update: Meander Commits, Texas Loses Out on Wilson & Herron

The Texas Longhorns' 2013 recruiting efforts saw a lot of action yesterday. A piece of good news was sandwiched around two bad ones. Without further ado:

Longhorns land a third wide receiver in Montrel Meander

Early yesterday evening, news broke that Montrel Meander from Amarillo Palo Duro flipped his commitment, switching from the Washington St. Cougars to the Texas Longhorns. Meander had committed to the Cougars just a couple weeks ago, but visited Austin last weekend before pulling the trigger on the switch.

He becomes Texas' third wide receiver take in the class, in addition to Jake Oliver (Dallas Jesuit) and Jacorey Warrick (Houston Cypress Falls). It appears Meander, who primarily played safety in high school, will be offered as an athlete, but is being targeted to begin his Texas career on the offensive side of the ball.

Fun fact: Meander is from the same high school as former Texas basketball player Justin Mason.

Out of state long shot Frank Herron sticks with LSU

The news that Meander and defensive end Frank Herron from Memphis (TN) Central took surprise official visits to Texas came as a pleasant surprise this weekend. Unlike with Meander, the Herron optimism was short-lived. After he arrived home and talked it over with his inner circle, Herron decided to stick with his original commitment to the LSU Tigers.

Herron's high school coach, Brian Williams, called the visit a "moment of weakness." In the end, it appears that both his family and coaching staff was comfortable with his original commitment, and didn't appear to greatly enjoy Herron's last minute soiree in Austin. Unlike A'Shawn Robinson's recruitment, much to the Longhorns' dismay, Herron's recruitment ended with him listening to his family and sticking with the school he originally selected.

Dontre' Wilson switches schools but Texas still outside looking in

In a televised announcement, running back Dontre' Wilson switched his commitment, changing his pledge from the Oregon Ducks to the Ohio St. Buckeyes. Wilson had taken an official visit to Austin this past weekend, and there was a spark of hope that the Longhorns' longtime pursuit of the speedy playmaker could end in a commitment.

Unfortunately, the last minute visit did not sufficiently sway Wilson's decision to play for Urban Meyer's Buckeyes. Perhaps the biggest hurdle to overcome was Wilson's desire to travel outside of Texas for his collegiate career. New playcaller Major Applewhite did his best to convince Wilson that Texas' offense going forward would feature more speed and playmaking ability, but in the end, Wilson decided to go with a surer thing in Meyer's up-tempo offense.

The Longhorns are now left waiting on the test scores of Ke'Aun Kinner from Little Elm. According to Hookem's Blake Munroe, Kinner will sign a Letter of Intent with Navarro Junior College ($) while still holding out hope that a qualifying test score will land him a Texas offer.

Andrew Billings' decision comes in t-minus...

Lastly, defensive tackle Andrew Billings from Waco will announce his decision in a couple hours, roughly around 3 p.m. The consensus is that Texas is now running third, behind either the Baylor Bears or TCU Horned Frogs. So don't hold your breath, folks.