National Signing Day 2015: 5 Takeaways from Longhorns' Class

Texas head coach Charlie Strong signed his first complete recruiting class Wednesday, and the talent he obtained could help put the Longhorns back toward the top of the college football ranks.

The second-year head coach signed 28 prospects to his 2015 recruiting class, and the majority of the signees have the chance to make an immediate impact at Texas.

"I cannot say enough about our staff and the great job they did recruiting," Strong said Wednesday. "Comparing where we were in November and December to where we are now shows the total effort the staff put into it."

Strong and his staff battled all the way to finish line in hopes of landing some of the nation's most elite football prospects. The Longhorns finished in a positive place with some recruits and missed on a few others.

Overall, national signing day was a success for Texas, which continues to rebuild the football program under a fresh regime.

Here's a look at five of the biggest takeaways from the Longhorns' 2015 recruiting class.

The End of the 5-Star Drought

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Texas signed two recruiting classes without picking up a 5-star commitment. That drought ended this year when 5-star linebacker Malik Jefferson committed to the Longhorns.

Obviously star rankings do not always equal success at the college football level, but Jefferson is one of the most talented recruits to come out of the 2015 class.

Rivals.com lists Jefferson as the No. 1 outside linebacker in his class, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear the 5-star had more than 30 offers from around the country. He narrowed his list down to three in December: Texas, Texas A&M and UCLA.

Many recruiting pundits expected Jefferson would commit to the Aggies, but the linebacker threw a curveball when he announced he would take his talents to the University of Texas. 

Getting Jefferson was huge for Texas in more ways than one. One of the biggest takeaways was the amount of momentum Texas gained on the recruiting trail following his announcement.

"Anytime you are in the recruiting process you have to find a marquee player. That was Malik Jefferson for us," Strong said. "When he jumped on board, it jumpstarted us. He was then able to sell the program to other recruits. There were some recruits who were on the fence, but once they saw Malik come on board then some of the others followed."

An early enrollee, Jefferson will go through spring practice with the team and could have the opportunity to make an early impact on defense. Most of all, he adds much needed depth to a core of young linebackers.

Building for a Stout Defense

Credit: 247 Sports

Strong is known as a defensive mastermind, and his recruiting proves it. The Longhorns picked up 13 commits on the defensive side of the ball, and many of those could contribute to Texas as true freshmen.

Strong added a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball, particularly at linebacker and defensive back, which are two positions where the Longhorns need depth.

Jefferson is only one of the standout linebackers in this class. The 4-star linebacker, Cecil Cherry, is arguably one of the most underrated linebackers in 2015. The Lakeland, Florida, native is a hard-hitting player who gets to the ball quickly and tackles with ferocity when he gets there.

Another highly ranked linebacker is 4-star Anthony Wheeler. The Dallas-Skyline product appeared to be an Oklahoma lean for a number of months, but Strong and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary never gave up on Wheeler. In the end, the Longhorns won the battle against the Sooners.

Texas also added much-needed depth to the secondary with this recruiting class. The Longhorns lost three defensive back contributors following the 2014 season and will be looking at some of the young guys to step up and fill the void.

The 4-star safeties, DeShon Elliott and DaVante Davis, have the chance to compete for a starting role that is left open with the graduation of Mykkele Thompson. The Longhorns also added a last-minute flip in former Oregon safety commit P.J. Locke.

Cornerbacks Kris Boyd and Holton Hill were the most recent defensive backs to pick the Longhorns. The duo announced their commitment on Time Warner Cable News in Austin last Friday, which filled a major area of need for Texas.

Strong and his staff did a solid job of signing talented players at positions of need.

How Big Were the Longhorns' Misses?

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The Longhorns finished national signing day as the No. 12 recruiting class on Rivals.com, No. 11 on 247 Sports and No. 7 by ESPN, which is a much better finish than last year. Texas signed a number of talented recruits, but there were a handful of guys who picked against the Longhorns.

One of the most discussed is Allen quarterback Kyler Murray. The 4-star dual-threat quarterback and son of Texas A&M great Kevin Murray announced his commitment to Texas A&M last July. However, Murray practically broke the Internet when he tweeted a picture of a Texas jersey on Jan. 21, which caused questions of how solid Murray was in his commitment to the Aggies.

Texas fans were hopeful and probably praying he would pick the Longhorns and ultimately help end the quarterback woes on the 40 Acres. However, Murray reaffirmed his commitment to the Aggies after an in-home visit with the Texas A&M coaching staff last week.

Landing Murray would have been huge for Texas, but it is not the end of the world. The Longhorns landed a very talented dual-threat quarterback in Kai Locksley. Strong said Locksley will have the chance to compete for the starting role when he gets on campus this summer, and his commitment adds depth and competition to a position that needs it most.

Another highly touted recruit who picked the Aggies is defensive tackle Daylon Mack. The 4-star was verbally committed to Texas A&M for a long time, but when Malik Jefferson announced his commitment to Texas, Mack decommitted from the Aggies.

Mack took visits to Texas A&M, Texas and TCU but ultimately decided to take his talents to College Station.

Missing on Mack could be an issue for Texas because the Longhorns only signed one defensive tackle in this class. However, the tackle position currently has a decent amount of depth returning for 2015.

And that leaves the No. 4 running back in the nation and the recruit with one of the best names in the class, Soso Jamabo. The 5-star running back and Plano, Texas, native had two teams on his mind heading into national signing day: Texas and UCLA. But Jamabo picked the Bruins over the Longhorns during his live announcement on ESPNU.

Signing Jamabo would have been a positive step for Texas, but all hope was not lost for the Longhorns when he committed to UCLA. Texas signed has a lot of talent at the running back position with 4-star signees Chris Warren and Kirk Johnson.

Much-Needed QB Addition

Credit: 247 Sports

Four-star quarterback Zach Gentry was committed to the Longhorns since last May. The El Dorado, New Mexico, prospect looked to be the ideal fit to take over the pro-style type of offense the Longhorns ran in 2014.

But rumors began circulating that an offensive scheme change was eminent and Gentry was not too thrilled with that adjustment. The quarterback flipped his commitment from Texas to Michigan on Jan. 24 and confirmed the offensive scheme change was a main factor in him deciding to decommit from the Longhorns, according to the Albuquerque Journal's James Yodice.

Gentry decommitted less than one week before Murray decided to stick with his Texas A&M pledge. And the Longhorns were left with zero quarterbacks in the 2015 class.

But Strong and staff had been in talks for months with 4-star quarterback and Florida State commit Kai Locksley. The coaches put the full-court press on him over the last few weeks.

Locksley listened and announced his commitment to Texas Monday evening. Adding the dual-threat quarterback to the mix is huge for the Longhorns. 

If anyone has seen Texas play over the last few years, they would know the Longhorns continue to have quarterback issues. Texas has seen four different quarterbacks under center since 2011, and none of those QBs saw much success.

Sophomore Tyrone Swoopes was basically handed the starting role last season because Texas did not have many other options. The only other scholarship quarterback on campus was true freshman Jerrod Heard, but quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson continued to say Heard needed a redshirt season.

Now the Longhorns have three options to battle for the starting role in 2015 and Locksley will have the chance to compete for it. Regardless if he wins the job or not, the Longhorns adding competition to the mix could only help the struggling Texas quarterback situation.

Nationwide Recruiting

Taylor Gaspar

Former Texas head coach Mack Brown rarely left the state to recruit his classes. Strong has taken a much different approach.

The second-year head coach made it a point to find the best available players regardless of where they reside, and he ended with success in his 2015 class.

The Longhorns signed nine out-of-state recruits Wednesday. The number may not seem very large to some, but here's a way to put it into perspective: Brown signed 22 total out-of-state recruits between 2002 and 2013. Strong has signed 15 in two years.

The state of Texas is known for football, but it's not the only state that produces talented athletes. While Brown and his staff had a tendency to stay in state, Strong's signing nine players from across the country shows that he is willing to get his hands dirty and find the best available players nationwide.

And Texas fans across the country should breathe a sigh of relief knowing their team has a head coach who is willing to fight for the nation's elite talents.

Unless otherwise noted all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Recruiting information via Rivals.com.

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.