Recruiting decisions and Texas NIL notes
Well, the roller coaster I mentioned yesterday hit another high of sorts with the prediction by national analyst Steve Wiltfong of St. Louis blue chip receiver Ryan Wingo to Texas. Wingo is clearly a priority for Texas receivers coach Chris Jackson as well as Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. Sark has been recruiting Wingo for more than two years now.
Wingo, however, has yet to announce a timeframe for his decision. Other teams thought to be under consideration include Missouri, Tennessee and Michigan. Georgia, who was thought to be the leader for Wingo at one point, has faded according to well-placed sources in Athens in the On3 network.
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IMG Academy safety Jordon Johnson-Rubell also received a notable prediction for Texas, this one came from a former co-worker of mine, EJ Holland. EJ used to cover Texas recruiting, but now covers recruiting for Michigan.
Johnson-Rubell is set to announce his decision on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Despite some reports to the contrary earlier in the week from other outlets, Johnson-Rubell is considered a Texas lean over TCU, Michigan, Ohio State and USC.
If Johnson-Rubell announces for the Longhorns, it could be a harbinger of things to come on two fronts.
First, Johnson-Rubell is childhood friends with Lancaster defensive back Corian Gipson. Gipson is thought to be deciding between Texas and Clemson with a decision likely in July. Johnson-Rubell and Gipson have also become friends with Waco Connally cornerback Kobe Black during the process. Black, the five star, is also mulling a decision but his timeline isn’t quite as clear.
Second, and I think an underweighted aspect, Johnson-Rubell would be the second IMG Academy product to pledge to the Horns. Running back Jerrick Gibson, also from IMG, committed to the Horns a week ago Saturday.
The Horns are after two other IMG players – defensive linemen Jayden Jackson and TJ Lindsey.
While it’s unclear just how much sway either Johnson-Rubell or Gibson might have with the other two, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have familiar faces in the locker room.
I don’t know how much a factor Johnson-Rubell’s pledge might mean in either of these instances. However, it’s definitely something worth tracking.
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We’re almost exactly two years to the day when NIL became legal in college sports.
Yet we seem to be no closer to any reasonable resolution. This is what happens when you have a faulty system at the heart of things, and by that I mean the NCAA.
At the same time, patience and prudence has not hurt the Horns on the NIL front to date. Nor will it in the future.
So the NIL statement released by Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte yesterday was a smart move by the Texas brass. There’s no reason for Texas to put itself at risk of NCAA sanctions, which could include the team’s inability to compete for NCAA championships.
In short, Texas is doing just fine as it relates to NIL right now. Opening it up to the wider fan-base via loyalty points would have put Texas NIL into overdrive, and that may be put on hold as the NCAA and its member institutions continue to sort through a mess of the NCAA’s own making.
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