Texas Football: National Signing Day Week Recruiting Update

With less than 48 hours until national signing day, some loose ends remain for the Texas Longhorns. Charlie Strong and his staff have worked tirelessly to try to hold together the 2014 recruiting class. But after suffering four big decommitments in January and having former head coach Mack Brown tell recruits to take visits elsewhere, the Longhorns class is still up in the air. 

Here are three storylines to keep an eye on heading into national signing day.

1. Will John Bonney sign with Texas?

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Rivals.com 3-star safety John Bonney has taken recent visits to Auburn and Baylor but made headlines on Monday when he told Houston ABC affiliate KTRK that Mack Brown told recruits to look around following his resignation.

"I was on my official visit when Mack Brown resigned," Bonney told KTRK (via Jerry Hinnen of CBS Sports). "He told us to go look around, and he'll even talk to other coaches for you because he really just wanted the best for us as players."

Jason Suchomel of Orangebloods.com (subscription required) reported on Monday that Bonney was in Austin for an unofficial visit this past weekend where he told another recruit that he will sign with Texas on Saturday. 

From the sound of it, Bonney's commitment with Texas is still intact, for now.

2. Will Poona Ford follow Strong to Texas, or will Missouri win this battle?

Hilton Head defensive tackle Poona Ford took a visit to Missouri over the weekend and plans to make his decision on national signing day, according to Orangebloods.com (subscription required).

The 3-star defensive tackle was originally committed to Louisville but opened up his commitment when Strong and much of his staff made the move to Austin. Strong and his staff made a good impression on Ford when he visited Texas on January 17, but his weekend visit to Missouri may have given the Longhorns late competition.

Ford is in demand for a Texas class that does not have a single verbal commitment from a defensive tackle heading into national signing day.

3. Can Texas convince defensive tackle Chris Nelson to make the move from his home state of Florida?

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Three-star defensive tackle Chris Nelson was also a former Louisville commit who opened things up after Strong took the job at Texas. The Lakeland, Fla., DT visited South Florida on January 17, Texas on January 24 and was on Central Florida's campus on January 31, according to his Rivals.com prospect profile.

Nelson appeared to enjoy his visit to Texas and was pleased to hear he could make an immediate impact for the Longhorns.

"It went great. We just kind of saw everything. The facilities stood out the most," Nelson told Jason Suchomel of Orangebloods.com (subscription required). "They just told me to come in and play a role on their football team."

Although he enjoyed the visit, his mind is not yet made up. Similar to the situation with Ford, Texas' lack of defensive tackle commitments makes Nelson a high-priority recruit. 

Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar