Texas Football Recruiting 2012: Why the Longhorns' Top-Ranked Class Is a Curse

The Texas Longhorns are used to a lot of success. They recruit well, they have a top-notch head coach that has a successful track record and this program wins games. It's really just that simple.

The problem is that it hasn't quite been that way the last two seasons.

Before the last two years, Texas had gone nine straight seasons with double-digit-win seasons. In those years, they won a total of seven bowl games and even reached a BCS National Championship Game. They were a top program that everybody had in the national championship conversation every year.

Nothing has changed the last two seasons except for the win-and-loss records. In the last two years, the Longhorns are a combined 13-12, a record that is simply not acceptable in Texas. In 2010 they finished the year with a 5-7 record. It was the first losing season and first time they didn't qualify for a bowl game since 1997.

This season they qualified for a bowl game, but didn't fulfill expectations. They showed very little consistency from week to week and were absolutely destroyed by their rival the Oklahoma Sooners. Once again, something that is unacceptable if you're the head coach of the Longhorns.

The recruiting is still the same. They still have one of the top recruiting classes every season. This year is no different, as they have arguably the top overall recruiting class. There are 5-star and 4-star players all over this class that have already committed.

But regardless of how talented they are, they're cursed.

You could argue that Mack Brown has done so much for this program that he deserves a few more years to turn things around. But he's one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, making over $5 million a season, and has some of the most talented players in the country. He's also in the Big 12 conference which has been very up and down. Should he really get a pass?

If the last two seasons are any indications of what's in store for this team, it's going to be another bad year for the Longhorns. Another sub-par season wouldn't be good for head coach Mack Brown and he'd likely be looking for employment elsewhere. Then, of course, the recruits that committed this season are handcuffed to uncertainty.

Brown of course could coach his way out and then the last two seasons will be forgotten about. But if he doesn't, this talented recruiting class will be having second thoughts about their commitment to the Longhorns. 

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]