With just under a month until signing day, let's take a look at where the 2015 recruiting class currently stands and what we can expect in the next few weeks.
Following the decommitment from WR John Burt this morning, the class now stands at 25. Charlie Strong now has 6 scholarships remaining to add to a class that is already ranked No.9 nationally and No.1 in the Big 12 by 247 Sports.
As of right now, there is no question that the biggest strength of this class is at the linebacker position. With the likes of Malik Jefferson, Anthony Wheeler, Cameron Townsend and Cecil Cherry, this position not only has the potential to define the Texas defense for at least the next three years, but has the chance to immediately impact the team in 2015. Jefferson and Wheeler both have the talent to be day 1 starters in Austin, and that case is only furthered by the fact the Jefferson will be enrolling early in late January.
In terms of shear numbers, the offensive line should be better in the long run due in large to the depth in this class. Texas needs Brandon Hodges to come in and potentially be an immediate starter, but with a year of development Joe Wickline will have a nice crop to choose from in trying to fix what was a disastrous line in 2014.
As I mentioned, the Longhorns have 6 scholarships remaining. With Matthew Merrick greyshirting, John Burt decommiting, and six early enrollees having their numbers rolled back to the 2014 class, that is how we arrive that the final number of 31. Texas should be considered the favorite for both RB Chris Warren and DB Holton Hill, and barring something drastic I would firmly expect that they take 2 of the final 6 spots. The third spot is likely to be DB Kris Boyd. We know that if he has announced Christmas day as originally planned it would have been to Austin. While he has ties to A&M and Baylor, Texas is going to be hard to beat down the stretch.
Texas will definitely hold a spot for 5 star DT Daylon Mack until he either signs with them or signs somewhere else. The recent Texas A&M commit would be a huge get for Charlie Strong, and the Longhorns are in play as they are one of his final three teams along with LSU and TCU.
That leaves two open spots for a group consisting of Mark Fields, Ryan Newsome, Drew Richmond, Carlos Strickland, Nick Brossette, Soso Jamabo, and Damarkus Lodge. John Burt is also still in play even though he decided to open up recruitment this morning. He will be deciding to be Auburn and Texas, but Auburn has to be considered the favorite at this point. If I'm the Longhorns my ideal final 6 would be Warren, Hill, Boyd, Mack, Lodge, and Richmond or Jamabo. In reality, my guess is as good as yours. One thing is clear though, landing a combination of any of these 6 players would give the Longhorns a potential top 5 class. The depth and talent that the 2015 class holds has the potential to put the Longhorns back in championship contention in a year or two and get them back to the national prominence that they are accustomed too.
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