Fw: True Orange, May 15, 2000, Part 2

-----Original Message-----
From: TruOrange@aol.com <TruOrange@aol.com<
To: TruOrange@aol.com <TruOrange@aol.com<
Date: Monday, May 15, 2000 12:05 PM
Subject: True Orange, May 15, 2000, Part 2

Part 2

Recruiting Roundup

I started my last recruiting article raving about UT WR recruit Roy William=
s
of Odessa Permian, and I'm going to do it again this time because he broke
the state record in the broad jump Saturday without even warming up.
Williams, who had a previous best leap of 24-4, soared 25-6, on his first
jump in the State Class 5A Track Meet and that broke the nine-year-old
record
of 25-4 1/2 and wound up winning by more than a foot.
He did prove to be mortal later in the meet by finishing second in the high
jump at 6-10 and third in the 100 meters in 10.48. In the high jump, he tie=
d
for the winning height, but had to settle for second due to more misses at
lower heights than the winner.
But those other guys high jumping, broad jumping and sprinting were dwarfed
by Williams' big 6-3, 205-pound frame. He is a rare talent and Horn fans ar=
e
going to be very, very glad he signed with UT.
* * * *
Now, let's talk about this season's top recruits.
With the departure of redshirt freshman QB Adam Hall, who has decided to
transfer, the Longhorns really need to sign a top QB this year. Sophomore
Chris Simms, junior Major Applewhite and incoming recruit Chance Mock will
be
the only scholarship QBs this season.
This is not a great year for QBs in Texas, and the Longhorns have been
looking outside the state, primarily in Louisiana, to try to find one.
That's always risky because LSU usually cherry picks the top players in the
Bayou State.
There might be some hope this year, however, because there are three QBs in
Louisiana who are being highly recruited, and even LSU coaches can't talk
three Lousiana QBs into signing in the same year.
Perrin Rittiner of New Orleans Jesuit probably is the top passer in
Louisiana, but Dayne Ashley of Jena threw for 39 touchdowns last year.
Ashley
also came to the Nike camp at Texas May 7.
Ronnie Prude of Shreveport Fair Park is a great runner-passer combo QB who
could play another position in college if things don't work out at QB.
All three have some interest in Texas, and a top Midwestern QB, Travis
Jackson of Olathe South HS in Kansas, also came to the Austin Nike camp and
was impressive.
There are two good passing QBs in Texas, but Matt Nordgren of Dallas Bishop
Lynch is looking exclusively at out-of-state schools and Mike Pankratz of
Katy Taylor doesn't have Texas in his top three.
The Longhorns also are looking at a lot of out-of-state running backs,
headed
by two big, fast super prospects =01) Eric Shelton of Lexington, Ky., Bryan
Station and Jabari Davis of Tucker, Ga.
Both Shelton and Davis have some interest in Texas. In fact, Davis is known
as "Little Earl" because folks in Georgia say his running style reminds the=
m
of Earl Campbell.
On his highlight film, Davis includes tape of Campbell running for the
Houston Oilers and Ricky Williams running for the Longhorns, so he
definitely
has some knowledge and admiration for the power-runners of the past at UT.
While we're on the subject of out-of-state recruiting, big Florida FB James
Bu
chanan, a tremendous blocker and power runner, says he wants to visit UT,
and
DE Eric Hall of Clarksville, Tenn., is a top prospect who was born in Fort
Hood and is interested in returning to Texas.
I listed all the top out-of-state prospects I've seen on tape who say there
are interested in Texas on page 4 and this page, but the ones I wrote about
are the main ones at this point.
It would be nice if the Horns could get one of the big DTs I listed from
Louisiana, but they don't seem that serious about Texas at this point.
The coaches will find some more top out-of-state prospects during this
months' evaluation period, but they are going to be able to fill most of
their needs without leaving Texas.
* * * *
Sophomore center Greg Barnum has lost his appeal to get an unconditional
release from Tennessee.
Vol coach Phil Fulmer told Barnum he would release him only to a Division
1-AA school, such as Stephen F. Austin, but Barnum wanted an unconditional
release and appealed to a faculty committee, which turned him down last
week=3D