Around Texas: A round-up of recruiting news in the Lone Star State
The high school and college football seasons might be over, but recruiting never stops. It is time to take a look at the latest happenings on the Lone Star state recruiting front as the offseason rolls on.
Liucci 44, Part 3: Ranking the top of Texas in 2022, players 22-12
With the 2021 class signed and sealed, Billy Liucci unveils the third part of his Liucci 44 rankings for the top Texas high school football prospects in the class of 2022.
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Recruiting Country: The latest recruiting news surrounding the Maroon & White
TexAgs Recruiting analyst Ryan Brauninger joined this morning for another edition of Recruiting Country, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting trail following A&M's first commit in the class of 2022.
Games of Interest - Jan. 7-9
Signees Sat. - Denton Guyer (11-2) vs Cedar Hill (11-1), 1 p.m. at McKinney's McKinney ISD Stadium - 6A D2 Playoffs - QB Eli Stowers (Texas A&M), CB Deuce Harmon (Texas A&M - injured)Stream - https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/uil/gama70e5aaf3d ($) Sat. - Galena Park North Shore (14-0) vs Austin Westlake (12-0), 2 p.m. at Katy's Legacy Stadium - 6A D1 Playoffs - WR Shadrach Banks (Texas A&M), CB Denver Harris (2022), CB Jacoby Davis (2023), QB Dematrius Davis (Auburn), OL Jaeden Roberts (Alabama)Stream - https://www.texanlive.com/2021/01/north-shore-14-0-vs-austin-westlake-12-0-1-9-2021-200pm-football-legacy-stadium-state-semi-finals-playoffs/ ($) Sat. - Katy (12-1) vs Buda Hays Consolidated (10-3), 2 p.m. at Baylor's McLane Stadium - 6A D2 Playoffs - TE Fernando Garza (Texas A&M - injured), DE Malick Sylla (2022 - injured), DB Bobby Taylor (2022)Stream - https://www.texanlive.com/2021/01/katy-12-1-vs-buda-hays-consolidated-10-3-1-9-2021-200pm-football-mclane-stadium-state-semi-finals-playoffs/ ($)Prospects of Interest FridayDenton Ryan (13-0) vs. Mansfield Summit (8-4), 7 p.m. at Arlington's AT&T Stadium - 5A D1 Playoffs - CB Austin Jordan (2022), DT Bear Alexander (2022), LB Anthony Hill (2023), DE Ja'tavion Sanders (Texas) Aledo (11-1) vs. Wichita Falls Rider (11-2), 7 p.m. at North Texas' Apogee Stadium - 5A D2 Playoffs - WR JoJo Earle (Alabama), S Bryan Allen (2022 - LSU) SaturdayDuncanville (10-1) vs. Southlake Carroll (11-1), 3 p.m. at Arlington's Globe Life Park - 6A D1 Playoffs - OL Jaylen Early (2022), OL Cameron Williams (2022), DE Omari Abor (2022), OL Savion Byrd (Oklahoma), LB Kendrick Blackshire (Alabama), QB Quinn Ewers (2022 - Ohio State)
High School notes and thoughts from my weekend
Games I saw so we can set the stage. Denton Ryan 17 Highland Park 7Southlake Carroll 59 Euless Trinity 35Cedar Hill 27 Rockwall-Heath 24Duncanville 56 DeSoto 28 Texas A&M targets Let's start with Texas A&M signee Shemar Turner. He is a bad, bad dude in the trenches. He plays with an edge. He is explosive and violent. He is a high intensity, high effort guy, and when you combine that with his physical gifts it's a rare combination. Saturday night he was locked in and he made some strong plays. It was not always flashy as he held the edge or took on blockers, but he had several splash plays in there too. Unfortunately, DeSoto ran into a superior team in Duncanville. It is what it is, nothing to be ashamed of. Turner ended his career leaving all on the field. On the other side of the field, Duncanville 2022 DE Omari Abor handled his business. He flashed quickness off the edge and worked out of a two-point as well as a three at different times in the game. Regardless of how he charged forward, he brought it. He was a constant threat to the DeSoto backfield. He is regarded as one of the top DEs in the state and I can definitely see why. He was active, he is versatile. He has wide shoulders and a skinny waist to go with some long arms, and he has very little bad weight on his frame. Staying on the defensive side of the ball, Denton Ryan 2022 DT Bear Alexander is the guy I was most excited to see this weekend. He did not disappoint either. He is in much better shape than when I saw him this summer, and he is a big problem for Ryan opponents. He is capable of eating space and blockers in the middle, and just as capable of splitting those blocks and making the play. We have him underrated, but I look for him to push his way back up the rankings soon. I saw other Texas A&M targets I saw over the weekend but these three definitely stuck out in my mind. Other names Texas A&M fans need to know are Duncanville 2022 OLs Jaylen Early and Cameron Williams, Denton Ryan 2023 LB Anthony Hill who played both RB and LB, DeSoto 2023 WR Johntay Cook, and Denton Ryan 2022 CB Austin Jordan. All hold Texas A&M offers and all are considered to be among the best in their class. Quick Takes Denton Ryan's defense is the fastest, most physical defense on the high school scene right now. Ja'tavion Sanders gets a lot of the pub and he deserves it, but it is a total team effort. These guys fly around the field and they are looking to knock your head off. Since Bear Alexander's arrival, he has added another dimension to the middle of the defense. More on that later, but for my money give me that swarming Ryan Raider defense. Quinn Ewers put on a show Saturday. It was a quick and efficient effort. He had the lefty throw and dropped some dimes to Brady Boyd, which made plenty of highlight reels, but to me, it was the effortlessness he operated the Carroll offense. He finished the day completing 35 of 39 passes for 450 yards, 6 TDs and 1 INT. It was a strong performance from beginning to end. It feels weird to say it when he had 23 carries for 204 yards and 2 TDs, but the Dragon defense did a good job of keeping Euless Trinity RB Ollie Gordon contained for much of the day. Gordon showed he is going to get his, and his abilities kept the Trojans within striking distance, but the Southlake defense keyed on him and clogged his running lanes as well as anyone I saw this fall. Ja'Tavion Sanders is just a different kind of ball player. His one-handed TD to kick things off for Ryan was a thing of beauty. He could make plays on either side of the ball on college level. The ceiling is higher in my mind for him to be an explosive edge threat in the Big 12, but he would also be a mismatch and special athlete at tight end. Regardless, I look forward to seeing his future, he has an opportunity to be . Every time I see Kaidon Salter I see a gutsy performance. When the game is on the line and he is under center there is always a chance for Cedar Hill. He has a great feel for the pocket, he keeps his eyes downfield, and he can sling that ball a mile with the flick of his wrist. I cannot wait to see the rematch between Guyer and Cedar Hill just so I can see the two of the gutsiest, never-say-die QBs the state has to offer in Salter and Texas A&M commit Eli Stowers. Speaking of gutsiest, never-say-die QBs, I would put Salter and Stowers right up there with Dematrius Davis of North Shore. I don't know how I would rank them in that specific category, but I can tell you if you have one of them leading your team, needing a score to win, you cannot go wrong. Duncanville's Roderick Daniels is one bad dude. He is a fierce competitor with plenty of speed and quickness and he has been a playmaker since his sophomore year at Duncanville. He had 8 receptions for 267 yards and a TD for a 33-yard average receiving on Saturday night. Above all those receptions, his biggest play of the game was his punt return where he got popped, the ball shot across the field, he regained his bearings, turned on the speed, chased down the ball, and then turned the corner on a very fast DeSoto squad. That is truly different. He is going to be fun to watch at SMU and I predict he finds the field very early as a freshman.