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    CJ Vogel
    The Elite 11 took place on Sunday at Austin Westlake HS a few miles from downtown Austin.
    Of course, the big name in attendance was Texas commit KJ Lacey who received an invitation to the Elite 11 Finals in California later this summer. 
    Elite 11 Finals invites: KJ Lacey, Kevin Sperry, Keelon Russell
    Lacey of course stuck around in Austin Monday morning for the spring practice. 2027 Shreveport (LA) QB Peyton Houston also stuck around to view practice this morning. Houston holds six offers at the moment – Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, TCU, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Grambling State.
    But here are my biggest takeaways from the day of throwing:
    ***
    KJ Lacey
    I really enjoy watching KJ Lacey in action. He has a smoothness to his game that is evident when you watch him in person. More so than anything, when Lacey is outside of the pocket he really has a natural release on passes down the field when he rolls to either side of the field. Lacey is a pure thrower and displayed plenty of arm talent. Like Quinn Ewers, I question his fast ball, but when he gets in a rhythm you rarely see misses on passes down the field.
    On top of anything else that happened on the field Sunday for Lacey, he confirmed he is locked in with the Longhorns and is looking forward to his three additional trips to Austin this spring/summer.
    Keelon Russell – SMU Commit
    The drills yesterday really allowed for me to get an idea of Russell as a thrower of the ball. I know he is a playmaker and can create explosive plays as a QB. Russell did well yesterday, well enough to earn MVP of the Elite 11 festivities.
    I will add I think there is a bit more life on passes thrown by Russell than others in attendance. He has a big arm and certainly uses his frame to his advantage as a quarterback. Russell has some fine tuning to do on the technical side of things, but he has plenty of potential. 
    2026 Jake Fette – Del Valle (El Paso) HS
    For my money's worth, Fette had the most impressive arm of anyone in attendance. The El Paso native debuted as a 5-star on the initial On3 2026 recruiting rankings. The ball truly zips out of his hand upon release. 
    Fette told me he is very high on TCU and Texas Tech for the time being. The Tech staff has done a fine job of evaluating early and prioritizing him so far. Fette told me Texas did not stop by in the winter, however he is expecting AJ Milwee to make the trek west this spring to see him throw in person.
    2027 Weston Nielsen – Bastrop HS
    I was able to watch Nielsen in person for a weight session earlier this offseason where I got a first glance at his athleticism. This might sound a bit out of the blue, but Nielsen reminds me of former Westlake QB Cade Klubnik, just a notch or two lower on the athleticism scale. Nielsen will need to improve his footwork in the pocket, but his arm talent is undeniable at this age.
    Nielsen will camp with the Longhorns on June 1 – Milwee stopped by Bastrop this winter and will return in the spring to see him throw. He currently holds 11 offers. 
     
    Bobby Burton
    From Gerry & CJ.
    - Manny Muhammad left practice early with what appeared to be a tweaked hamstring.
    - Neto Umeozulu worked at first team LG with Hayden Conner at second team C. Cole Hutson also worked in some with first team at LG.
    - Second team OL (left to right): Trevor Goosby, Malik Agbo, Hayden Conner, Connor Stroh, Jaydon Chatman
    More to come...
     
    Bobby Burton

    Monday News

    By Bobby Burton, in Articles,

    Texas practices at DKR this morning.
    There will be a 30-minute viewing window for media. CJ and Gerry will both be there for OTF. We'll also be hosting a livestream immediately following practice so please stop by around 9:45 or so for more.
    *
    Heading into the second week of practice, there are a couple of things to watch.
    1. Movement at wide receiver, edge, tight end and safety. Those are the primary places where portal entries have currently been running behind others.
    Only Isaiah Bond has cracked the starting lineup as of Saturday afternoon.
    That leaves us to see exactly what happens this week with Trey Moore, Andrew Mukuba, Matthew Golden, and Amari Nibalck.
    A year ago at the same time, during the second week of practice, is when newcomers started moving around on the depth chart.
    2. Another depth chart move that could be forthcoming is Alex January. We'll see if he moves up and surpasses Sydir Mitchell. Same can be said for Brandon Baker at right tackle over Andre Cojoe. Both are possible, if not likely, moves.
    3. The health of the team is key. Texas was lucky much of last off-season and into the early season of 2023 to remain relatively healthy. That will again be something to be on watch for. Freddie Dubose and Colton Vasek have been dealing with some lingering issues. Mitchell has also been under the weather to a degree. If Texas wants to have a big 2024, then health is going to be something to monitor every step of the way.
    CJ Vogel
    One of the prospects with the most intrigue at today's Elite 11 in Austin was 2025 Duncanville QB Keelon Russell.
    The 6-foot-3 gunslinger was mighty impressive today in the throwing circuit the Elite 11 puts quarterback prospects through. In fact, Russell earned an invitation to the Elite 11 Finals in California.
    Russell will attend the Texas spring game April 20 which raised some eyebrows considering the current verbal commitment from KJ Lacey to Texas. While the face time with the Texas staff will wait until April, Russell did update his recrutiment a bit with a focus on where Texas sits in his recruitment.
    Steve Sarkisian went by Duncanville for a game in the fall to see Colin Simmons, Alex January and Dakorien Moore though that provided the first opportunity for the Texas head coach to see Russell as well. While the two sides have chatted at times in the past, the first real communication did not come until recently.
    Russell added Sarkisian and the Texas staff called him the other day – a development on the front of Texas in this recruitment.
    "When the Texas staff called me the other day, they were saying all of the boxes are checked for me," Russell said. "Only thing left was to come see them in person so they could see what kind of guy I am."
    When Russell does get to campus for the spring game April 20, it will be very interesting to see if Texas does in fact extend an offer. If it does, it could indicate a number of things in the larger 2025 QB picture. But more specifically with Russell, it would create quite the opportunity for his recruitment.
    "I am looking forward to building a relationship with all of the staff," Russell said. "I am looking forward to getting an offer from them, it would change a lot."
    Russell said he and KJ Lacey have spoken previously and the two have thrown together in camps in the past. The topic of a two quarterback class has not been brought up too often this cycle, though if that is the direction the staff wants to go in, Russell said he would be open to competing in a two QB class.
    If and when Texas offers, expect the Longhorns to skyrocket up the list of programs for Russell.
    "Texas, like I said, was one of my dream schools," Russell said. "I feel like them (offering) is going to set (a standard). But they have KJ, so I don't know how much that will play a part. I say that because, I would go to Texas realistically. It is my dream school."
    Russell wants to get out to Oregon and Alabama this summer. He has an official visit to Ole Miss set for next weekend as well.
    All eyes in this recruitment turn to April 20 and whether or not the Longhorns end up extending an offer to the Duncanville QB.
     
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