College Football's Most Important Offers of the Week

The rise of Texas head coach Charlie Strong began on the recruiting trail, dating back to his days as a hotshot assistant at Florida and South Carolina. 

Even when he was at Louisville, Strong recruited the state of Florida—and specifically the talent-laden portions of Dade and Broward counties in South Florida—with tremendous success.

Last week, the new Longhorns boss and his staff hit the South Florida area with a specific purpose.

Texas offered eight 2015 defensive backs from the area: 4-star safety and FSU commit Calvin Brewton, 4-star safety and Alabama pledge Shawn Burgess-Becker, 3-star corner and Ohio State commit Carlton Davis, 4-star corner Davante Davis, 3-star corner Ronnie Hoggins, 3-star corner Sheldrick Redwine, 4-star athlete Tim Irvin and 4-star safety and Miami commit Jaquan Johnson.

Hoggins—who leads the nation with 13 interceptions through five games—told Ryan Bartow of 247Sports (subscription required) that Texas has emerged as the new leader for his services.

“I was shocked,” Hoggins told Bartow. “That’s big-time football. Me growing up watching them on TV. I love the way they produce defensive backs. They’ve been bringing out DBs out of their school.”

Per Ourlads, the Longhorns have two seniors and a junior starting in their secondary this year.

Given their aggressiveness at finding defensive playmakers on the back end, the shift in their approach is a telling indicator of one of the Longhorns’ most pressing needs heading down the stretch of the 2015 cycle.

2016 Florida WR in Demand

While senior defensive backs in the Sunshine State were among the week’s most coveted prospects, one standout junior pass-catcher from Florida earned five new offers.

Three-star receiver Tre Nixon was offered by Georgia, Illinois, Michigan State, Missouri and Ohio State.

"

Just received an offer from the University of Georgia!! #Blessed #16 #SEC pic.twitter.com/eqj2cdClMK

— Tre Nixon (@tre_nixon1) October 13, 2014"

The 6’0”, 160-pound receiver caught 30 passes for 636 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore.

Given the rash of recent interest in Nixon, expect more offers to keep coming in for one of the top juniors in the Sunshine State.

Rainier Ehrhardt/Associated Press

Clemson, South Carolina Battle for Fast-Rising 2016 OL

At the beginning of last week, Javon Kinlaw was an unranked offensive lineman with one offer from home-state power South Carolina.

Now, as Barton Simmons of 247Sports notes, he’s been rated as a 4-star and the No. 18 player overall in the 2016 class.

According to ESPN’s Gerry Hamilton, Clemson has jumped into the race to land the 6’7”, 285-pound prospect with immense upside.

While the two Palmetto State powers represent Kinlaw’s only official offers, it’s only a matter of time before he blows up on the national scene.

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

No. 1 Doing Work on Recruiting Trail 

With the Magnolia State being the current epicenter of the college football universe, it’s no surprise that Dan Mullen and the No. 1 Mississippi State Bulldogs would hit the recruiting trail aggressively during their bye week.

The Bulldogs offered a pair of underclassmen classified as athletes.

Texas 4-star junior standout Christian Wallace earned a Bulldogs offer, per Brian Perroni of 247Sports.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs also dipped into Tennessee to offer 2017 4-star two-way star Maleik Gray, according to Woody Wommack of Rivals. Gray also picked up an offer from LSU, per Simmons.

Additionally, the Bulldogs offered 2016 4-star corner Donte Vaughn, according to Chris Smith of Vandy247.

With the momentum riding high from the Bulldogs' fast start to the 2014 season, the surge of interest from top-flight recruits is sure to increase.

Best of the Rest

Notre Dame is the newest offer for 2015 4-star safety Rashad Roundtree. The Irish also offered 2015 3-star receiver Lawrence Cager.

According to Rusty Mansell of Dawgs247 (subscription required), Georgia offered 3-star safety DreGreenlaw—who recently decommitted from Arkansas State.

Texas also offered 2015 4-star tight end Devonaire Clarington.

Ohio State offered 2015 3-star corner and current Clemson pledge Juwaun Briscoe. Urban Meyer and his staff also tendered 3-star running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, according to Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts. Per Luke Stampini of GatorBait, Florida also offered Briscoe.

According to Scout’s Corey Bender, Michigan State offered 2015 5-star corner Tarvarus McFadden. The Spartans also offered 2015 3-star receiver Isaiah Renfro, per Adam Gorney of Rivals.

LSU has offered 4-star JUCO defensive end and South Carolina commit Marquavius Lewis, per Sonny Shipp of 247Sports.

Alabama offered 2016 4-star defensive end Justin Madubuike.

South Carolina is the newest offer for 2016 3-star offensive lineman Parker Boudreaux. The Gamecocks also offered 2016 running back Tyrek Tisdale, per Bender.

Baylor is the latest offer for the newest 5-star recruit in the 2016 class in corner Saivion Smith.

2016 4-star linebacker and USC pledge Daelin Hayes picked up offers from LSU, Arizona State and Boston College.

USC offered 2016 4-star safety C.J. Pollard, per Blair Angulo of Rivals.

Per ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren, Maryland is the latest school to offer 2016 4-star defensive end Terrell Hall. The Terps joined Virginia Tech as the newest schools to offer 2016 4-star receiver Brad Hawkins, according to Bartow.

2016 defensive back Nigel Knott received an offer from Tennessee, per Paul Jones of 247Sports.

2016 4-star corner Nygel Edmonds picked up an offer from Penn State, per Chris Smith of 247Sports.

Per King High School (Detroit) assistant coach Terel Patrick, Michigan and Wisconsin are the latest offers for

2016 4-star receiver Donnie Corley.

TCU offered 2016 3-star receiver Theo Howard, per Scout’s Brandon Huffman.

LSU offered 2014 4-star offensive lineman Devery Hamilton, per Adam Friedman of Rivals.

2017 4-star athlete Jamyest Williams picked up offers from Wisconsin and Illinois.

Per ESPN’s Derek Tyson, 2017 4-star corner Shaun Wade earned offers from Ole Miss and Wisconsin.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow @SanjayKirpalani