The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
UT turns in another tremendous recruiting class
02.06.2002 | Football
AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Texas posted a school-record 11 wins, registered its first Top 10 ranking (No. 5) since 1983, won the Big 12 South Division title and extended its streak of nine (or more) victory seasons to four in a row (a first at UT since 1961-64) in 2001. UT, one of only four schools nationally that are currently riding a streak of four straight nine (or more) victory campaigns, also has earned four straight Top 25 finishes for the first time since 1972-75. Clearly the string of success is a direct reflection on what head coach Mack Brown and his staff have done in assembling and developing a series of highly-regarded recruiting classes over the past four seasons.
And, now, on National Signing Day 2002, it should come as no surprise that fifth-year head coach Mack Brown and the Longhorns have taken a step toward their goal of remaining among the nation's elite. Texas hasn't finished the season ranked among the Top 10 in back-to-back years since 1977-78 and you have to go back to 1969-70 to find consecutive Top five finishes. The 27-man class (two of which graduated early, have enrolled at UT and will be available for spring drills) that signed National Letters of Intents to join UT's squad of veterans in quest of that goal on Wednesday, Feb. 6, has once again been pegged as one of the nation's premier classes.
"We're really excited about this class," said Brown. "This is our fifth recruiting class at The University of Texas and each year we seem to be more excited about each class. We continue to build on our depth and the type athlete and person we bring in overall.
"We have worked extremely hard to build a winning program with nice kids that are graduating and I believe the 27 student-athletes that signed with us today will continue that trend. These are all outstanding young men that we believe can be great representatives of our program and help us continue to improve as a football team."
Among the 27 talented signees, 17 earned all-state honors, five were tabbed Parade All-Americans (including that publication's Offensive Player of the Year), and four (three first-team/one second-team) earned USA Today All-America honors. On top of that, 17 of the 27 signees were honor roll students and nearly all of them have been involved in community service efforts as high schoolers.
Brown, once again, expanded the foundation of his program by building primarily with products from the state of Texas. Twenty-two of the Longhorns' 27 signees in 2002 are from the Lone Star state.
"Texas will always be our lifeblood in recruiting and I want to thank the state's high school coaches once again for allowing us to come into their schools and encourage their young guys to visit the University of Texas," Brown said. "We will always look hard at the guys in-state first and if we can't find the perfect fit, then we will go out of state to fill our needs."
The signees from Texas clearly appreciated that commitment.
"I'm really happy to be staying in Texas," said Vincent Young. "UT is a beautiful school that is close to home. It had everything I was looking for - great coaches, players, fans and an outstanding academics program."
Narrowing the list of state-wide and national prospects to the group that ultimately signed with UT was once again among the toughest challenges that Brown and his staff faced.
"With a limited number of scholarships to offer, balancing your numbers can be one of the most difficult challenges in the recruiting process," Brown said. "That's an important thing to understand because you have to realize that you can't fill all of your needs in one year. This is something we've been putting together over the last five years.
"A lot of times there will be big years for certain positions and it's important that you work to fill your needs based on the areas where the most talent is available."
Texas again was very successful at narrowing its list. Brown welcomed 32 prospects to Austin for on-campus visits, offered scholarships to 31 of them, before receiving national letters of intent from 27.
Among the Class of 2002, Texas signed a quarterback, a pair of running backs, 11 offensive and defensive linemen, five linebackers, three defensive backs, a tight end, three wide receivers and one of the state's top athletes.
Quarterback Vincent Young (Houston, Texas/Madison HS), Parade magazine's National Offensive Player of the Year, heads a trio of backfield performers who signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. He is joined by a pair of all-state running backs in Albert Hardy (Houston, Texas/Galena Park HS) and Selvin Young (Houston, Texas/Jersey Village HS).
Topping the group of defensive linemen are DE Larry Dibbles (Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster HS), a first-team All-USA selection by USA Today, Marco Martin (Mesquite, Texas/Mesquite HS), a Parade All-American, and Rodrique Wright (Houston, Texas/Alief Hastings HS), a first-team All-USA selection by USA Today and a Parade All-American. They are joined among a talented group of defensive line prospects by first-team all-state performer Tully Janszen (Keller, Texas/Keller HS).
Leading the list of offensive linemen is Justin Blalock (Plano, Texas/East HS), a first-team All-USA selection by USA Today. He is joined by first-team all-state performers Lyle Sendlein (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral HS) and Brett Valdez (Brownwood, Texas/Brownwood HS), as well as all-area honoree Neale Tweedie (Lucas, Texas/Allen HS). Kasey Studdard (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch HS) is an all-state performer who is projected as either an offensive or defensive lineman.
Sendlein and Studdard are both second-generation Longhorns. Sendlein's father, Robin, played linebacker at UT (1977-80) and for eight years in the NFL (Minnesota, 1981-85/Miami, 1986-87/Houston, 1988). His brother, Austin, is a sophomore DT/DE for the Longhorns. Studdard's father, Dave, played offensive tackle at UT (1975-77) and for 10 years in the NFL (Denver, 1979-88). His uncle, Les, played offensive tackle at UT (1978-80) and for the Kansas City Chiefs (1982).
"I really liked the direction the program is heading," Lyle Sendlein said. "The coaching staff, facilities and tradition are great. It's just a great school in a great city with great fans. I also wanted to keep our family tradition going."
Defensive ends Bryan Pickryl (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks HS), a Parade All-American, and all-state performer Chase Pittman (Shreveport, La./Evangel Christian HS) both graduated early, have enrolled at UT and will be available for spring drills. Pittman is the brother of Longhorns DT Cole Pittman who was tragically taken from us in a truck accident prior to his junior year on February 26, 2001.
Joining UT's incoming stable of linemen are five highly regarded linebackers. Heading that group is Texas 5A Defensive Player of the Year and second-team All-USA selection by USA Today Aaron Harris (Mesquite, Texas/North Mesquite HS). He is joined by all-state honorees Brian Robison (Splendora, Texas/Splendora HS) and Mike Williams (Lindale, Texas/Lindale HS), as well as all-area performer Garnet Smith (Fort Worth, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) and all-district honoree Marcus Myers (Austin, Texas/Connally HS).
The Longhorns defense also will add a trio of talented defensive backs, led by all-state performers Edorian McCullough (Garland, Texas/North Garland HS) and Aaron Ross (Tyler, Texas/John Tyler HS), as well as all-district honoree Matt Melton (Flint, Texas/John Tyler HS).
Texas also will welcome a trio of talented receiver prospects and one of the state's top athletes led by Parade All-American Marquis Johnson (Champaign, Ill./Centennial HS). He is joined by all-state performer Clint Haney (Bulverde, Texas/Smithson Valley HS), an explosive athlete who could play a number of positions, as well as all-district performers Robert Timmons (Flower Mound, Texas/Marcus HS) and Dustin Miksch (Austin, Texas/Westwood HS). Miksch's father, Ronnie, lettered as a wide receiver at Texas from 1977-78. His uncle, Randy, lettered as a wide receiver at UT in 1977.
Joining the group of receivers will be all-state tight end David Thomas (Wolfforth, Texas/Friendship HS).
Brown believes that luring another tremendous class is a reflection of how hard his coaches and staff worked. He also is quick to point out the importance of the chemistry and efforts of the Longhorns team.
"When you start looking at why we continue to recruit well, No. 1, we have a great product in The University of Texas," Brown said. "It's a great academic institution that has a tradition-rich football history. Our faculty is one of the best in the country. Our facilities are as good as any in the country. We recruited a staff, when we first got here, that knew the area and were good recruiters. We've been able to keep those guys, so we've had tremendous continuity on our staff.
"The most special thing about recruiting is our players. You can get people to campus and their families to campus, but unless the players on campus are happy and feel confident about winning and getting their degree, you aren't going to be able to have young people come to your school. Time and time again when I ask young people why they are coming to Texas, they say 'the family atmosphere here is like no other place we visited.' That's a great testament to our assistant coaches and current players. That is what we are most proud of."
That message was clear from what the future Longhorns said about their decision to choose Texas.
"I feel like I will be leaving a family to join another family," said Marquis Johnson, one of the Horns' five out-of-state signees. "Texas felt like home and it is where I want to spend the next four to five years of my life. The coaches, staff, players and tradition of the school are great."
"All sorts of people have told me Coach Brown is a caring coach who treats his players like his kids," added Marco Martin. "The players all feel that way and Texas has a great family atmosphere."
"The bond between the coaches, players and everyone associated with the program is like an extended family," said Justin Blalock.
"I felt most comfortable with the UT coaches. They treated me like I was part of their family and wanted me not only as a player, but as a person," Brian Robison added.
"The team has a great family atmosphere and everyone is close like brothers," said Rodrique Wright.
Brown's building on that family atmosphere and clearly isn't satisfied with leading the Longhorns back among the nation's elite. As illustrated by the consistent development of his program, he's prepared to stay there now that they are back among the Top 10 for the first time in nearly two decades.
Since Brown took over a UT squad that had plummeted to a 4-7 record in '97 and suffered four losing (five non-winning) seasons in the 10 years prior to his arrival, he has built his program around five recruiting classes, one that was molded in less than two months time (1998). Those classes have positioned the Horns with a talent-base designed for long-term success. Brown's five classes of signees have featured 15 Parade All-Americans, 28 USA Today All-Americans and 75 all-state performers.
