Posted: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:12 PM - 11,007 Readers
By: ESPN - Gerry Hamilton
The Texas Longhorns are at it again.
Less than two weeks after signing the No. 2 class for 2010, Mack Brown and his staff now have more than half of the Longhorns' 2011 class after receiving 13 verbal commitments, including eight members of the ESPNU 150 Watch List, over the course of 72 hours.
The commitment parade began on Friday afternoon, the day before the Longhorns' 13 junior day, as Watch List WR Jaxon Shipley (Brownwood, Texas/Brownwood) became the first to commit to Texas' 2011 class. Shipley, the younger brother of senior receiver Jordan Shipley, is one of the Lone Star state's top receivers with a combination of speed, leaping ability and quickness in and out of breaks that creates separation consistently.
Austin area prospects Taylor Doyle (Lake Travis, Texas/Lake Travis) and linebacker Chet Moss (Cedar Park, Texas/Cedar Park) followed Shipley on Friday. Doyle, 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, was a high school teammate of Texas freshmen Garrett Gilbert and Paden Kelly. Doyle, also a member of the Watch List, had offers from Auburn, Texas Tech, Houston, Arizona and Baylor.
Moss picked Texas over offers from SMU and Rice, where his father played.
With three on the board, Texas entered Saturday with a bevy of ESPNU 150 Watch List prospects scheduled to be in Austin.
On Saturday, Texas snagged Watch List quarterback David Ash (Belton, Texas/Belton). The 6-4, 205-pounder picked the Longhorns over offers from TCU and Houston.Watch List WR Miles Onyegbule (Arlington, Texas/Arlington High) joined Shipley as receiver commits, and tight end M.J. McFarland (El Paso, Texas/El Dorado) rounded out the pass catchers. Onyegbule selected Texas over offers from Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas and Baylor among others. McFarland picked the Horns over San Diego State, Arizona and UTEP.
The offensive line is a position of need for the Longhorns in 2011 and they moved quickly to strengthen that area with OT Josh Cochran (Hallsville, Texas/Hallsville) and OG Marcus Hutchins (DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto). Cochran had offers from TCU, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State among others, while Hutchins, a Watch List member, picked Texas over Arkansas, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Arizona, Baylor, Houston and Kansas.
Texas also picked up a talented fullback/H-back prospect in Joe Bergeron (Mesquite, Texas/North Mesquite). At 6-foot, 225 pounds, Bergeron attracted offers from Tennessee, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and others with a combination of terrific hands and feet, a physical mentality and the versatility to play a number of different roles.
On the defensive side of the ball, Texas snagged two Watch List defensive backs in corner Leroy Scott (Houston, Texas/South Houston) and safety Sheroid Evans (Stafford, Texas/Dulles). Scott had offers from childhood favorite LSU, TCU, Baylor and Houston, while Evans, one of the top junior sprinters in the nation, was offered by USC, Michigan and Baylor among others.
ESPNU 150 Watch List defensive tackle Desmond Jackson (Spring, Texas/Westfield) also pledged to Texas. The 6-1, 273-pounder has a great first step and a non-stop motor.
The last of the bakers dozen to commit is athlete Mykkele Thompson (San Antonio, Texas/Stevens). Thompson, 6-1 and 175 pounds, will begin his career in the secondary, but could play receiver as well.
Among the prospects that were offered Friday and Saturday, but didn't commit, are linebacker Steve Edmond (Daingerfield, Texas/Daingerfield), defensive end Jermauria Rasco (Shreveport, La./Evangel Christian), offensive tackle Christian Westerman (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton High), defensive end Cedric Reed (Cleveland, Texas/Cleveland), linebacker Anthony Wallace (Dallas/Skyline), offensive tackle Sedrick Flowers (Houston, Texas/North Shore), running back Malcolm Brown (Shertz, Texas/Cibolo Steele), defensive tackle Marquis Anderson (Shertz, Texas/Cibolo Steele) and running back Aaron Green (San Antonio, Texas/Madison). All are ESPNU 150 Watch List prospects.
