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    CJ Vogel

    In The Pipeline | Secondary

    By CJ Vogel, in Articles,

    The final segment of the In The Pipeline series takes a deeper look at the revamped secondary. Whether it be via the portal or the high school ranks, the Texas secondary room has turned a new leaf as the move to the SEC nears.
    One thing is for sure: Texas added a ton of athleticism and speed in these position rooms since January 1. 
    Cornerbacks
    On Roster: Terrance Brooks, Malik Muhammad, Gavin Holmes, Warren Roberson, Wardell Mack, Santana Wilson, Kobe Black
    Coming Soon: TBD
    For 2024: What was a bit of a question mark in 2023, now becomes a strength of the team in 2024. Texas should not have to wait very long to name their starting cornerback duo for next season as both Brooks and Muhammad return. Gavin Holmes was solid in his rotational snaps a year ago, there is no shortage of confidence from him as well which is a great sign to push the competition envelope. I expect we see Warren Roberson in 2024, the staff likes his athleticism. Where the freshmen group fits in is interesting to me. Lots of length and speed joining the room, but which of the bunch is physically ready and mentally prepared for college ball? The spring will give us a better idea.
    Beyond: Terry Joseph's room has reloaded the depth necessary at corner. Texas also likes to rotate at this spot and get a number of guys snaps in just about every situation during the season which bodes well for getting youngsters acclimated. Right now, the vision is very bright for 2025. It is no guarantee that Brooks departs or returns, but either way, there will be capable bodies and what should be a CB1 in Muhammad by the time he becomes a junior. The 2025 recruiting cycle is interesting to me, if Texas can land Dorian Brew, the rich get richer, however if not, where does that next envelope-pusher come from for the competition of the room?
     
    STAR
    On Roster: Jahdae Barron, Jaylon Guilbeau, Austin Jordan
    Coming Soon: TBD
    For 2024: How big was it that Jahdae Barron opted to return for the Texas defense? I'll answer that: huge. Barron received solid draft grades, right around the 5th or 6th round is where I had heard he was expected to go, however he comes back to Austin looking to carry out a fully healthy campaign for one last go-round. The addition of Andrew Mukuba provides versatility to the secondary, but I see Barron remaining close to the ball where his IQ makes the biggest difference in his game. We saw a lot of Guilbeau his freshman season before injury derailed his development. Does he stick around after spring ball? I like Austin Jordan, but wonder what impact he will have during his time on campus.
    Beyond: When Jahdae departs, this position becomes a bit of a question mark for me. Which of the freshmen get run at STAR this spring? That might be the indicator of what happens here if I am being honest. I would like to think Jaylon Guilbeau finds his role here and thrives. He has great instincts around the football and will be entering his senior season in 2025, but I question his health overall. Jordon Johnson-Rubell projects as a deep safety, his size is not a great match here, but I love his football IQ and think he could play that Quandre Diggs-nickel role if asked. A bit of a question mark moving forward. One thing I would love to see is Jelani McDonald take over this role. He already fits the build of a hybrid safety and linebacker and at STAR you get the best of both worlds with his skillset.
     
    Safety
    On Roster: Derek Williams, Michael Taaffe, Andrew Mukuba, Jelani McDonald, Xavier Filsaime, Jordon Johnson-Rubell
    Coming Soon: TBD
    For 2024: Yes please! This is a fun unit. There is a tremendous combination of experience and youth combined with plus athleticism and an increased level of speed on the field. Adding Andrew Mukuba to the roster was huge. A three-year starter with big time accolades helps the Longhorns add a piece they were missing here. Derek Williams is my pick to join him in the starting lineup for the beginning of the season. Taaffe will get run as will freshman Xavier Filsaime. How much? That is to be determined because that role will not be handed over easily with Jelani McDonald in the way. Regardless, a healthier and more complete looking DB room entering 2024.
    Beyond: I would expect Mukuba to depart after the season and potentially Taaffe. Best part of this room is its youth. We have talked about is expected to be an improved on-field product next season, though what isn't mentioned is the youth in which this room is expected to take in. Derek Williams, Xavier Filsaime, Jelani McDonald and Jordon Johnson-Rubell as the safeties over the next 2-3 years sounds like a dream for Blake Gideon. Development will be key, but there is plenty of raw talent to build upon at the moment.
     
     
    Bobby Burton
    I've been in the process of writing a piece for this website about the Texas players who are expected to be selected in this year's NFL draft. I wanted to give a deeper look of just how those players were perceived as recruits.
    I'll finish and post that article later this morning; it includes some hard and soft data, and it could spark a conversation that I think will prove interesting and informative.
    Well, as I was researching and writing that article last night, it was announced that the University of Texas had placed another former player into the NFL Hall of Fame. Steve McMichael, who his former teammates at Texas affectionately to this day call "Bam Bam", was one of the Longhorns' most dominant defensive linemen ever and went on to be a key member of the 1985 Chicago Bears defense that many consider among the best ever.
    McMichael came slightly before my time. I saw him play when I was young, but I didn't really know his back story. So I was curious.
    Who was Steve McMichael as a recruit?
    I found this from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times:
    "Besides playing football, McMichael lettered in basketball, track and field, baseball, golf and tennis."
    That's SIX varsity sports. How is that even possible? Golf and tennis?
    Baseball seems to have been his second best sport. As a catcher, he was offered a minor-league deal by the St. Louis Cardinals.
    **
    This morning, I spoke with one of McMichael's former Texas teammates, Les Koenning, to see what I could learn.
    First, the Bam Bam nickname stemmed from the old Flinstones cartoon. Like the Bam Bam in the cartoon, McMichael had "muscles everywhere" and he loved the nickname, according to Koenning.
    But what about McMichael does Koenning remember the most?
    "He was so dadgum tough," Koenning, who was a year below McMichael in school, said. "He was a real type of tough, tough to the core. Strong, too, and just a determination. He had a will to him. He wanted to win no matter what, he was just so competitive, strong and athletic."
    Koenning called McMichael and his fellow defensive tackles Steve Massey and Bill Acker the "heart and soul" of the team.
    Koennnig even laughed about one memory of McMichael that revolved around spring break. It's not a tale of debauchery that you might normally think.
    While Koenning and some of the other players would go home, to the beach, or try to find a job to make some spending money during spring break, McMichael and Acker, who were both from the small south Texas town of Freer, had other plans.
    McMichael went went home every spring break to the "Rattlesnake Roundup", where, you guessed it, he would try to catch rattlesnakes bare-handed.
    Koenning said McMichael also wasn't much for team speeches, at least not ones from the coaches. But he recalled a time where McMichael addressed the team before a game after the coaches had left the room.
    It was a pre-game speech.
    "I want everybody on the kickoff team to stand up," McMichael said. They all stood, and he addressed them in front of the entire team.
    "Listen here, we're gonna beat the shit out of this team. But y'all better start it right. You better go down there and knock the crap out of them or, you and me, we're gonna have a little talk about it after the game, and you're not gonna like that."
    McMichael then sat down. The kickoff team, made up mostly of younger players, remained standing for a few seconds in awkward silence before sitting down.
    Suffice to say, the kickoff team gave maximum effort.
    **
    McMichael's nickname morphed from Bam Bam at Texas to "Mongo" later in life. He was a colorful person. After the Bears, he even took a turn at pro wrestling.
    Unfortunately, like so many former football players of his era, McMichael has been fighting ALS for several years. Former Texas players and friends visit him often.
    But the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a fitting end for a tennis-playing defensive tackle from Freer, Texas, who was a Longhorn through and through. 
    **
    McMichael becomes the sixth Longhorn to become a member of the Hall of Fame. He joins Earl Campbell, Bobby Layne, Tom Landry, Bobby Dillon and Tex Schramm.
    Gerry Hamilton
    Friday Morning Recruiting Nuggets
    OnTexasFootball begins Friday morning with recruiting nuggets and notes.
    The first is OnTexasFootball 4-star EDGE Chad Woodfork out of the Houston area.
    OTF also made stops at Texas High, Pleasant Grove High and Carthage High Thursday. 
     
    Chad Woodfork and Texas
    Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and Jeff Banks made a stop at Humble (Texas) Summer Creek in late January to see OnTexasFootball 4-star EDGE Chad Woodfork. The stop at Summer Creek followed up Woodfork attending Texas Junior Day January 20, where he got to spend some one-on-one time with Sarkisian in the office of the head coach. The message from Texas has been consistent in liking his upside ability as a pass rush prospect with long levers. 
    Woodfork, 6-4.5 and 218 pounds, plans a return visit to Texas this spring. Trips to LSU (January 29 offer), Michigan (January 31 offer) and TCU are expected.   Spring or summer trips to Florida State (January 26 offer) and Ole Miss (February 2 offer) are also possible. 
    Texas is in solid position with Woodfork headed into the spring. It’s not a lock Woodfork’s recruitment plays out until July. 
     
    Texas commit Lance Jackson 
    One coach in the area that has gone against the 6-foot-5, near 260 pound two-sport star believes Jackson’s highest upside could actually be tight end. This East Texas head coach gave Jackson high praise from a hands, catch radius and movement skills standpoint. Texas plans to begin Jackson’s career at EDGE with a frame that can carry 275-280 pounds well proportioned. 
     
    Tradarian Ball is smooth 
    What makes Texas High 2026 running back Tradarian Ball a high-end prospect at the position? Ball, 5-10.5 and 183 pounds, is a very smooth mover with versatility. Speaking with Texas High head coach at Texas High Thursday, it the versatility that is key. Ball played a lot in the slot in 2023, putting up 500 yards receiving in addition to over 1,300 on the ground as a sophomore. 
    Texas is considered the current front-runner according to one source in the area - not a member of the Texas High staff. Ball enters the spring evaluation period with 30 offers. Head coach Steve Sarkisian and area recruiter Blake Gideon stopped by Texas High in January. 
     
    Jett Surratt is a two-sport future star
    When talking about two-sport stars in the state of Texas, the football and golf combination isn’t one that happens very often - at all. In the case of Surratt, he’s going to be en elite prospect in both. 
    Surratt, now 6-1 and 177 pounds, has hit a physical maturity spurt in the last year. He was around 145 pounds at one point during his freshman year. After spending three hours in Carthage Thursday, I’m ready to be the first to make Surratt a 4-star prospect. The reasons are very simple: He possesses very high end understanding, feel, anticipation with elite accuracy, feet and calmness in the pocket, toughness and leadership in spades. He currently has offers from Texas Tech, Houston and UTSA. That offer list will grow during the spring evaluation period. One of the school coming to watch him throw this spring will be Texas (A.J. Milwee).
    As talented as he is at quarterback, he’s going to be offered by every golf program that watches him in person. Suratt has won both high school tournaments this season with 65 as his low round. He has extremely high-end ability as a golfer. He’s a natural at golf with club head speed in the 127-128 range and ball speed in the 187-188 range as a 16 year old. For those that don’t follow golf, those numbers are that of few on the PGA Tour. And he’s got a tremendous pair of hands that translate to the short game and putting.  
    Jett Surratt is an OnTexasFootball 4-star prospect in the 2026 cycle. 
     
    Carthage 2026 RB KJ Edwards
    Spent some time at Carthage High Thursday afternoon with the best coach in the Lone Star State, Scott Surratt. What makes Edwards a OnTexasFootball 4-star and national recruit? It’s his ability to press the hole, jump cut and accelerate instantly. Those qualities are elite. Georgia offered in early November, and Oklahoma State and Arkansas offered in January. Texas remains in contact with the Carthage staff.
    Edwards rushed for 1,706 yards and 24 TD’s in 2023. 
     
    Kiotti Armstrong’s TE offers are elite
    Spoke with a source at Jasper High Thursday night. OnTexasFootball watched Kiotti Armstrong at a 7v7 tournament last weekend. He’s currently 6-5, 250 with skinny ankles and a waist of a 6-3, 210 pound type of player. The source said Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, LSU, Florida, Ole Miss and Mississippi State all offered as a tight end. Texas or Texas A&M remains expected to be the eventual winner of this recruitment with the Aggies trying to make a big push knowing the Longhorns surged in January. 
     
    Pleasant Grove has future 4-stars
    Pleasant Grove has produced a number of 4-star prospect in recent years. Up next will be 2027 OL Jaden Withered. Seeing his up close Thursday, he has the size, arm length, flexibility, agility and frame upside to be a national recruit. Withered checks in at 6-4 and 284 pounds currently. 
    An eighth grader, yes 8th grader, was head turning prospect Thursday. Kedrid Smith (6-3, 195) will be a highly recruited prospect if he ascends over the next couple of years. He’s a TE/EDGE player long term with the frame and movement skills. His older sister is LSU Women’s basketball forward Sa’Myah Smith, who played in high school at DeSoto High.
     
    Texas High has two names to know
    Class of 2027 offensive tackle Donquavius Ford will be a national recruit if he continues to ascend toward his ceiling. Ford, 6-6 and 270 pounds, is a fluid mover that can run with arm length. He has early offers from Mississippi State, Arkansas, Texas Tech, SMU, Houston, Arizona State and UTSA. Texas is aware of Ford. 
    Sophomore DL Duncan McGhee (6-4, 280) is another name to know at Texas High in the 2026 cycle. He has early offers from Mississippi State, Baylor, Texas Tech, SMU, Houston and UTSA. 
    Blake Munroe
    It's Friday! Help kick off your weekend the right way, by joining us on Coffee and Football at 8 AM CST to discuss all things Longhorns. Bobby Burton, CJ Vogel, Gerry Hamilton and I will be talking the latest news, taking your questions and more. 
    Today's special guest is former Longhorns baseball player Brooks Kieschnick.
    I'd like to thank BKCW for sponsoring today's show. Contact them today and let them help you escape the insurance trap!
     
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