Texas Football Recruiting: Looking Ahead to the Longhorns' 2016 Class
Texas head coach Charlie Strong finished his first complete recruiting cycle last Wednesday when he received the letters of intent from 28 future Longhorns in the 2015 class.
National signing day was a success for Texas and ended with the Longhorns at the top of the Big 12 team rankings for 2015.
As we bid farewell to the 2015 recruiting season, it's time to shift the focus to 2016.
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Texas is expected to lose 14 scholarship players following the 2015 season, which means the Longhorns could be looking at a small signing class next year—barring any additional roster attrition.
Strong and his staff have more than 30 offers out to some of the nation's elite prospects in the 2016 class. Texas plans to host its first junior day on February 28, according to Orangebloods.com, and one could assume the Longhorns will hand out more offers following the event.
Current Commitments
| Collin Johnson | Wide receiver | 4-star | April 17, 2014 |
| Reggie Hemphill | Wide receiver | 4-star | October 4, 2014 |
| Demarco Boyd | Linebacker | 3-star | January 30, 2015 |
The Longhorns have currently secured three verbal commitments in 2016. The first of next year's class came last April when 4-star wide receiver Collin Johnson announced his pledge to the Longhorns. The talented prospect is the son of college football Hall of Famer and former Texas defensive back Johnnie Johnson and is the younger brother to 2015 4-star running back and future Longhorn Kirk Johnson.
Johnson has interest from many schools across the country, which may cause some Texas fans to be concerned that the 4-star receiver could waver from his commitment. But the Valley Christian (Calif.) athlete wants to play college football with his brother and is excited to continue his family legacy at the University of Texas.
"I remember when Coach Strong extended an offer, my brother and I took a moment to take it in. I remember watching Texas football growing up and had no idea that I could be a Longhorn one day. Once it happened, it was a dream come true," Johnson said.
"Coach Strong is like a father figure to me. I really look up to him and I want to do everything I can to help him get this program back on the map. I will help him in recruiting and basically in every aspect I can to help Texas."
The youngest Johnson is the No. 10-ranked wideout in his class and could be that big-play receiver Texas has lacked in recent years.
The Longhorns have secured another wide receiver verbal commitment in 4-star Reggie Hemphill. The 2016 wideout initially committed to Texas prior his sophomore year in 2013 but opened the recruiting process when Strong and his staff replaced the previous regime.
Strong has since won over the Manvel, Texas, receiver, and he recommitted to the Longhorns in October. Things can always change when dealing with young recruits, but as it stands right now, Hemphill appears to be solid in his pledge to the Longhorns.
The most recent addition to the 2016 class is 3-star linebacker Demarco Boyd. The Gilmer, Texas, athlete committed to Texas the same day his older brother, Kris Boyd, announced his commitment to the Longhorns' 2015 class.
Demarco Boyd is another pledge who is unlikely to waiver from his verbal to Texas. The 6'0", 223-pound linebacker wants to play college ball with his brother, who signed his national letter of intent with Texas last Wednesday.
2016 Priority No. 1: Quarterback
The Longhorns have a long way to go before filling up the 2016 class, but the most important task should be adding depth to the quarterback position.
Texas will have three scholarship quarterbacks for 2015: Tyrone Swoopes, Jerrod Heard and Kai Locksley. Strong has room to add a transfer option to the mix, but no offers have been officially made.
The Longhorns are planning to make the shift to a spread offense next season and need to find quarterbacks who will fit the offensive mold.
| Malik Henry | Dual-threat QB | 5-star | Florida State |
| Shea Patterson | Dual-threat QB | 5-star | List |
| Dwayne Haskins Jr. | Pro-style QB | 4-star | List |
| Shane Buechele | Dual-threat QB | 4-star | List |
| Bladrick Veal | Dual-threat QB | 3-star | List |
Texas currently has offers out to five quarterbacks in 2016, which shows this position is a top priority for the coaches. However, the Longhorns do not appear to be in the driver's seat with any of the offers. The staff needs to do everything imaginable to secure a quarterback commit in next year's class.
4-star quarterback Shane Buechele is one to keep an eye on as Texas dives further into the 2016 recruiting class. The Arlington, Texas, Lamar quarterback ranks No. 6 in the nation at his position and is the No. 16 recruit in Texas for 2016. A dual-threat prospect, Buechele has the ability to beat you with his arms and his legs.
Buechele holds offers from 10 schools and is the only native Texan the Longhorns have offered at quarterback. He finished his junior season with 2,492 passing yards and 30 touchdowns and rushed for an additional seven scores, according to 247Sports.
Priority No. 2: Offensive Line
| Gregory Little | Tackle | 5-star | Texas A&M |
| Ben Cleveland | Tackle | 5-star | Georgia |
| Patrick Hudson | Tackle | 4-star | Baylor |
| J.P. Urquidez | Tackle | 4-star | List |
| Parker Boudreaux | Tackle | 4-star | List |
A quarterback is oftentimes only as good as the people who protect him. And the Longhorns offensive line was one of the weakest links on the team last year.
Texas kicked off the 2014 season with only two offensive linemen who had starting experience. The most veteran lineman, center Dominic Espinosa, suffered an ankle injury during the first game of the season and was sidelined for the remainder of his final year of eligibility.
The offensive line had a few games where it looked like things were beginning to click. But the number of games where the line struggled seemed to outweigh any positive performances, which makes the position a question mark for the immediate future.
The good news for Texas is it will return seven linemen with starting experience next season. But offensive coordinator and O-line coach Joe Wickline likes to shift around his players and will need extra depth in order to have the type of line he prefers.
Wickline is often regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in the business. He will need to focus on signing some of his ideal linemen to help the position in the future.
Texas currently has offers out to five offensive linemen; three are verbally committed to other schools. Considering the Longhorns targeted 26 big guys in 2015, Texas still has a long way to go before one can deem the 2016 offensive line class as a positive or a negative.
Priority No. 3: Defensive Line
| Joseph Jackson | DE | 4-star | Miami |
| Mark Jackson | DE | 4-star | List |
| Justin Madubuike | DE | 4-star | List |
| LaDarrius Jackson | DE | UR | List |
| Derrick Brown | DT | 4-star | List |
| Ed Oliver | DT | 4-star | List |
| Kendell Jones | DT | 4-star | List |
| Bravvion Roy | DT | 3-star | List |
| Michael Williams | DT | 3-star | List |
Texas gained two defensive linemen on national signing day and will need to add to the position in 2016. The staff has currently offered five defensive tackles and four defensive ends in next year's class and is still in the mix for a number of the uncommitted prospects.
However, with news of former defensive line coach Chris Rumph taking his talents to Florida, Strong will need to find a viable replacement who can win over some of the nation's top defensive line recruits.
The positive news for Texas fans is Strong is a defensive coach and has a lengthy track record of hiring talented defensive assistants during his time as a head coach.
Whoever Strong hires to coach the defensive line will need to be prepared to sell Texas to as many linemen who will listen in order to replenish the talent for next year's signing class.
Building the Foundation
Recruiting is a never-ending cycle. National signing day was less than one week ago, and the focus has already shifted on where Texas stands in 2016. From where things stand right now, the Longhorns are in a much better spot than they were this time last year.
Strong is building the foundation with the hopes of returning Texas back to the top of the college football ranks. The second-year head coach managed to land the nation's No. 12 recruiting class in 2015, and it happened after a losing season.
You may be wondering, how was Strong able to sign a top recruiting class at the end of national signing day 2015, especially when you consider the issues the Longhorns displayed on the football field in 2014? And the answer is simple: The coach is selling the future.
"2016 people are really going to see that Coach Strong is not messing around and you will see guys on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball jump on board," Johnson said of his future head coach. "Coach Strong is a master recruiter. He knows the recruiting game inside and out. I trust him and all of these other recruits trust him as well. People are really going to see it pay off in the next couple of years."
Strong's message to recruits is not on what happened last season or what the previous staff did poorly. He is focused on selling his track record of being able to develop numerous athletes into future NFL draft prospects, and he is looking at the Longhorns' 2015 and 2016 signing classes as the foundation upon which Texas football will be built.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.
Recruiting rankings via Rivals.com.
Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.
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