Just when things seemed cloudy and uncertain in regards
to the remaining defensive back targets for the Texas Longhorns, the picture
because crystal clear with some big-time news on Saturday afternoon. The news –
the Longhorns landed arguably their top prospect at the position and pulled in
a commitment from one of the biggest names left on the national scene in Josh
Turner.
Oklahoma City Millwood offensive coordinator/recruiting
coordinator notified Inside Texas shortly after 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon
with the news that Turner, a 6-foot, 180-pound Under Armour All-America
athlete, had notified Texas head coach Mack Brown of his verbal commitment.
Turner becomes commitment No. 21 for the Longhorns in a
recruiting class ranked No. 1 in the country by ESPN Recruiting and gives Texas
quite possibly the final piece to a secondary in a huge year at the position.
Offered early in the spring without making a visit to
campus, Turner always had a liking for the Longhorns putting Texas at the top
of his of favorites either with childhood favorite Miami or all alone and ahead
of Big 12 rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma. Turner made a visit to campus for the
spring game and the consensus top prospect in the state of Oklahoma was getting
a tour from the top prospect from the Sooner state in the class of 2010, who
also decided to play his college ball south of the Red River.
“When we first pulled up to the stadium I was like, ‘Wow is this real?’
You only see it on TV,” Turner said after his visit. “It was great. Coach (Duane) Akina
gave us a tour around the building and at night we were accompanied by Demarco Cobbs.”
Turner said he leaned on Cobbs for his opinion on Texas
and even in early April he liked the potential of making Texas his college
choice.
“He seemed like he loved it down there,” said Turner, who took in as
much as he could from the Longhorn defensive backs he talked to during his
visit. “We talked to some of the other players – A.J. White showed us the
dorms. We went over some schemes and stuff like that.
“Overall,” Turner added, “it was a great experience.”
The experience is now something Turner will get to go through every day
with his commitment to the Longhorns now firm. Turner had offers from just
about everybody in the country, but Alabama, Miami, Nebraska and Oklahoma were
the primary schools Texas beat out for his commitment.
The Longhorns could potentially lose three big-time
players at the cornerback position following the 2010 season should junior
Aaron Williams leave early for the NFL and exit along with departing seniors
Chykie Brown and Curtis Brown.
However, Brown and Akina along with defensive coordinator Will
Muschamp and have assembled and outstanding
group of defensive back commitments. Turner is the fourth Longhorn defensive
back prospect from the ESPNU 150 in addition to Sheroid Evans, Leroy Scott and
ESPN’s No. 1-ranked cornerback prospect Quandre Diggs. Turner and Diggs will be
joined in the Under Armour game in January by fellow Longhorn commitments
Desmond Jackson and Christian Westerman.
As of now, the Longhorns have offers out to Cibolo Steele
running back Malcolm Brown, San Antonio Madison running back Aaron Green, Shreveport
(La.) Evangel defensive end Jermauria Rasco, San Antonio Sam Houston defensive
tackle Quincy Russell, and Dallas Skyline linebacker Anthony Wallace. The staff has also expressed heavy interest in Gig Harbor, Wash., tight end Austin
Seferian-Jenkins to potentially finish off the class.
