Texas 2012 Football Recruiting: The Top In-State Recruits That Can't Slip Away

The Longhorns are back at it for the 2012 recruiting class, securing 13 pledges for the class already. Known as the key school to start the trend of Junior Days, offering early and evaluating players before their senior season, Texas is a recruiting juggernaut.

Now in the 2012 class, the Longhorns have some top-tier pledges, including QB Connor Brewer, WR Cayleb Jones and linebacker Peter Jinkens. But there are still a few prospects that are too good and too crucial for Texas to let slip through the cracks and head to A&M, Baylor, TCU or even dreaded Oklahoma.

Mack Brown is one of the best recruiting head coaches of all time, and he will certainly need to work his magic to ensure the Longhorns get these guys.

Here they are...

6. Trey Williams, RB

Although Williams is a little guy, he plays like a big guy. At 5'8", 175 pounds, he never lets defenders get a clean shot on him and is as quick, explosive and elusive as they come.

Williams is a stick of dynamite with the football and will be a dynamic change-of-pace guy in college. Imagine a tandem in Austin of Malcolm Brown beating defenses to death as the game wears on and Williams menacing them by making them chase him around.

That certainly is an interesting thought for Longhorn fans.

Williams has to be a big target for the Longhorns, not as an every-down runner, but as jack-of-all-trades playmaker that can also impact the return game as well.

5. LaDarrell McNeil, DB

McNeil is a 6'1", 190-pound defensive back prospect that is among the best defensive players in the state. He can interchange at both safety spots in the middle secondary, going from strong to free safety.

He affords a defensive coordinator the freedom to employ multiple packages and coverage schemes on the back end because of his size and athleticism. McNeil sniffs out runs in the ground game, fills alleys quickly and wrap tackles well.

He can then rotate to the back end vs. the pass, get off hashes and roam deep thirds as a free safety. He has 4.5 speed to close on receivers and flashes solid cover skills to be used as a goal-line corner.

He has too much versatility to have Texas not pursue him.

4. Javonte Maggee, DE

Maggee is a 6'5", 260-pound strong-side defensive end prospect that can also flip inside to defensive tackle in sub packages. He has solid strength to anchor vs, offensive tackles on the edges, shed blocks and make plays vs. the run.

As a rusher, he flashes some ability to convert speed to power and a burst at the snap. I like the way Maggee fights to pressure at all times against the pass and projects as a swing defensive lineman in college.

Maggee is one the top defensive ends in the state, and you can never have enough good pass rushers. Especially in the Big 12, or more so college football as a whole, since many teams run the shotgun spread offense in today's game.

3. Brian Nance, LB

Saying Nance is productive is an understatement like saying the sun is hot. He had almost 175 tackles last year as a junior, making stop after stop and play after play. His defense knows he is a playmaker and they do a great job of holding traffic up to keep him free and clean.

He's 6'3", 210 pounds and can play all three spots in the 4-3 scheme Texas plays. Nance is also instinctive enough and smart enough to grasp Manny Diaz's scheme, which should have Mack Brown and Longhorn defensive staff salivating at the mouth for his pledge.

Look for Nance to be among the hottest linebacker recruits in the country this 2012 cycle and look for the Longhorns to be on his trail hard.

2. Johnathan Gray, RB

At 5'11", 195 pounds, Gray is an uber-productive running back that will go down as one of the best in Texas high school history. He may be the top back in the country and is the complete package at the position.

He holds traits such as great vision, quickness, breakaway speed and playmaking ability. It's as if Gray looks to score a touchdown on every play, and he can. He charges through holes, jumps linebackers on top of the second level and has the speed to split the safeties deep on long runs.

Gray needs to hone his craft on blitz pick-up and chip help in pass protection, but having two dynamic runners in him and Malcolm Brown, along with a change-of-pace guy in Trey Williams, is a dream team backfield.

1. Mario Edwards, DE

Edwards is a 6'4", 275-pound wrecking ball off the edge. He has good strength, but has excellent speed and burst off the edge. He uses his long arms and length to stay clean from blocks and has excellent range to chase and pursue from all over the field.

He will grow into a complete strong side end, as he gets stronger and even now flashes the strength to toss and shed blockers around. He bends well for a rusher of size off the edge and is athletic enough to be used as short-area zone coverage defender on exotic coverages and packages.

The race seems to be down to Florida State, where his father Mario Sr. played and where Mario Jr. is allegedly leaning, and in-state Texas.