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HornsNation's Max Olson did a Q&A with Plano West DE Bryce Cottrell, who switched his commitment from Oregon after being offered by Texas. He'll be a freshman for the Longhorns in the fall.

Here's an excerpt:

HornsNation: How did you end up a Longhorn?

Bryce Cottrell: Well, I've always wanted to play for the Longhorns since I was a little kid. My mom and my grandma and all them were Texas Longhorns, so it was kind of meant to be. I remember getting a phone call from Mack Brown a week and a half before signing day and they told me they were offering a scholarship. It was one of the happiest days of my life. That's a dream come true.

Read the entire interview here.

Coppell's Nick Jordan might not have any time to watch and learn during his freshman year at Texas.

With the kickers the Longhorns have on campus struggling this spring, the job could be Jordan's for the taking.

HornsNation's Carter Strickland took a look at the Texas kicking situation Wednesday. Here's an excerpt about Jordan.

Jordan has the credentials. He was considered one of the top five kickers in the country, played in the U.S. Army All-American game and missed only five field goals in high school.

“We saw him kick out on a 60-plus-yard field goal, and he pulled it a little bit left,” Brown said. “But so we have seen him with a very strong leg.”

Read the full post here.

Fort Worth Arlington Heights junior lineman A'Shawn Robinson confirmed in a text message to HornsNation that he's committed to the University of Texas.

"He committed this morning and called coach Mack Brown," Robinson's mother, Abigail, told HornsNation. "We talked about it last night. I didn't know if he was going to do it today."

The 6-foot-4, 310-pounder can play offensive or defensive line, though he told HornsNation earlier this month he'd prefer defense. Robinson picked Texas over Alabama, LSU, TCU, Baylor and several other offers.

"We took time and thought about it and talked it over," Abigail Robinson said. "He had visited other schools, and he wanted to compare them and see what was the place for him. I'm excited he picked Texas, so he can just focus on what he's got to do in high school."

Robinson is joined in Texas' 2013 class by Celina lineman Jake Raulerson and new commit Jake Oliver, the Dallas Jesuit wide receiver who committed on Wednesday morning.

Jake Raulerson's voyage from Celina to Austin included 5,200 miles on the road, routine meals at Cracker Barrel and nights at Motel 6 and plenty of country music.

The junior Celina offensive tackle, perhaps the state's top recruit in the class of 2013, put plenty of time and money into his college research before committing to Texas last week.

William Wilkerson takes a closer look at Raulerson's recruiting trail over at HornsNation. Here's an excerpt:

Because Jake isn't a senior, all of the trips he took had to be paid for by him and his family. Prospects aren't allowed to take official visits (when schools pay your way) until their senior season.But the Raulersons thought it would be beneficial if they took the time, and spent the money, to let Jake experience these programs first-hand so he could make a commitment with a clear conscience, having left no stone unturned.

"I believe that it gave me an edge," Jake said. "It helps. Some families don't have the opportunity to go to all of these places (on unofficial visits). It helps. If you are from Texas and one of your favorite schools is Florida, Alabama or Tennessee, it's a long way from home. If you never get the chance to be able to see it, then you lose your advantage if you go there and commit and don't like it. It's because you never got the chance to look at it."

Jake was well aware of the monetary sacrifice that his family made for those trips, so he made sure to get his money's worth.

"I made sure I looked at every detail of everywhere I went," he said. "The coaches, the campus, the atmosphere. You could ask me one little thing about the schools, and I could tell you what I liked, didn't like. It gives me the upper hand in knowing what is right for me."

And for that, Jake is forever grateful.

Read the full story here.

DeSOTO, Texas -- DeSoto offensive lineman Curtis Riser put pen to paper on Wednesday and became a Texas Longhorn.

“It was always between Texas and LSU in my mind,’’ said the 6-foot-3, 283-pounder who committed to the Horns on Junior Day. “Austin was more of a place I could see myself living.‘’

At DeSoto’s signing ceremony, coaches lauded Riser for playing his senior season six months after his second knee surgery, even though he had a commitment to Texas already in his pocket. Coaches said that showed Riser’s dedication to his teammates.

“The knee feels great now,’’ Riser said. “I looking forward to getting down to Austin and show people what I’ve got.’’

AUSTIN, Texas - - ESPNU 150 athlete Daje Johnson (Pflugerville, Texas/Hendrickson) has finally committed to the Longhorns.

Johnson, the No. 14 athlete and No. 141 player overall, was offered a scholarship by Texas during his official visit on Saturday and accepted on the spot. In doing so, he became the 25th member of its 2012 class and the 18th with at least a four-star grade.

There appeared to at least be a chance of that happening when he scheduled his official visit to Austin last week. Johnson has always liked the Longhorns and even made the initial effort to see if they had any interest in him by asking Texas coach Mack Brown via text early during the 2011 season.

Then there didn't seem to be much a shot at all after he canceled his visit on Monday.

At that time, Johnson said that Texas had simply waited too long to get in the race and he had every intention on sticking with his commitment to TCU, where he had been committed since March 26.

But Texas stayed persistent. On Tuesday, Johnson received a phone call from Longhorns co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite and a Facebook message from Mack Brown. That was enough to get Johnson to reschedule his visit for this weekend.

You can read the rest of the story here.

Aledo running back Johnathan Gray moved up three spots to No. 2 in the final ESPNU 150 recruiting rankings, which were released Thursday.

That gives the Dallas-Fort Worth area the top two recruits in the nation. Denton Ryan defensive end Mario Edwards Jr., who is committed to Florida State but has been weighing other options, remains at No. 1. Gray is committed to Texas. National signing day is Feb. 1.

Find the final ESPNU 150 here.

Aledo junior running back Johnathan Gray announced Friday that he has given his nonbinding verbal commitment to Texas.

The Aledo junior, considered to be the top high school running back in Texas, announced his decision that he will join the Longhorns in 2012 during a news conference Friday morning.

"When I visited Texas during the spring game, I felt like part of the family,"' Gray said. "Knowing the atmosphere and the facilities, it is where I wanted to go. There is a great group of players on and off the field that I want to be associated with."

TCU and Texas A&M were also reported to be high on the list for Gray, who turned 18 Friday.

Gray, the ESPN RISE Mr. Football USA national player of the year, rushed for 3,221 yards and established a Texas single-season record for rushing touchdowns with 59. He scored 368 points.


In Aledo's 69-34 rout of La Marque in the Class 4A Division II title game, Gray rushed for 323 yards and eight touchdowns.

Duncanville product Perry Jones of Baylor is one of five players selected as a finalist for the 2011 Wayman Tisdale Award, given to the national freshman of the year, the U.S. Basketball Writers Associated announced Friday.

Texas' Tristan Thompson, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and Kentucky teammates Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight are the other finalists. The winner will be announced April 1 in conjunction with the Final Four in Houston.

Jones leads all Big 12 freshmen in scoring (14.1), field goal percentage (56.3) and minutes played (33.05).

Haltom had four players sign national letters of intent Wednesday, including DE Reggie Wilson, who inked with the Texas Longhorns.

Also, RB Dexter Braziel signed with Southwestern Oklahoma State University after consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons for Haltom, and CB Henry Tubman and S Colton Brown both signed with Cisco Junior College.

The nucleus that turned Denton Guyer into a Class 4A power signed with Bowl Subdivision schools early Wednesday morning.

Defensive tackle Taylor Bible headlined the class by signing with Texas. Bible, ranked No. 14 nationally on ESPNU, was a regular on all-American teams across the country.

Offensive tackle Cole Underwood signed with Stanford, becoming the third Guyer tackle to sign with a BCS school in two years.

Defensive back Antonio Burton signed with Louisiana Tech, and receiver Luke Russell signed with Louisiana-Monroe.

Denton Guyer junior quarterback J.W. Walsh committed to sign with Oklahoma State's Class of 2011, ESPN affiliate Web site InsideTexas.com reported late Monday. He was 185 of 286 for 2,599 yards, 27 touchdowns and six interceptions last season. He also rushed for 1,554 yards and 22 TDs.

Walsh also had early scholarship offers from Arizona, Kansas and Houston. Regional powers Texas and Oklahoma were showing heavy interest.

He is the third Class of 2011 commitment for Oklahoma State, joining Plano West offensive lineman Travis Cross.

Plano West defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, the No. 2 overall recruit in the country on the ESPNU 150 rankings, has committed to the Texas Longhorns. His other finalists were Oklahoma and Houston.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Jeffcoat, the son of former Dallas Cowboys player Jim Jeffcoat, had 68.5 tackles, 8.5 sacks and two interceptions as a senior. He was named to the First-Team Class 5A All-State team and was the defensive player of the year in District 8-5A.

Click here for the story.

Sulphur Springs defensive end Kedrick Dial (6-2, 215), a three-star recruit, announced Saturday that he had de-committed from Texas and given a verbal to Baylor. It was the first step in a good weekend for the Bears, who also received a commitment from 6-foot-3 quarterback Tyrell Jenkins of Henderson.

Here's an update on a local athlete from Tom Luginbill, the national recruiting director for ESPN's Scouts Inc. For more information on national recruits, visit their site.

Skyline wide receiver Mike Davis (Scouts Grade: 82; ESPNU150 rank: 55), who is ranked as the 10th-best recruit at his position in the country, isn't done searching for a school.

Davis, who has committed to LSU, will make an official visit to Texas on Dec. 11 and is considering additional visits to Florida, California and North Carolina, ESPN Big 12 blogger Tim Griffin has reported.