Bevo Sports

Texas 2009 commit Chris Whaley is one of the top recruits in the state and top running backs in the country. With 4.5 speed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds (and still growing), Whaley possesses a rare combination of speed and power for a high school back. He’ll be a great complement to the speed backs (Vondrell McGee and Fozzy Whittaker) when he first gets on campus and could be Texas’ next big time running back.

Check out his highlights below:

Can’t wait till he gets onto the Forty Acres.

AC100 On Campus: Chris Whaley. Good Athlon Sports video piece on the future Texas running back.

It’s barely March but it looks like Mack Brown is close to wrapping up his 2009 recruiting class already. After starting out strong with Garrett Gilbert and six other commits at the team’s first junior day, the Horns have since added eight more of the state’s top football players to bring the total tally up to fifteen.

Two of the biggest commits were at linebacker, where Irving’s Tariq Allen and Grand Prairie’s Patrick Nkwopara made their pledge to play for defensive coordinator Will Muschamp’s defense. Both players were top targets of the Texas defensive coaching staff and appear to fit their mold perfectly for a linebacker, speed guys who aren’t afraid to knock your head off. If you’re a Rivals subscriber, watch Allen’s videos and you’ll be very excited about our future middle linebacker.

The team also got help in the defensive backfield by picking up commits from cornerbacks Eryon Barnett from Euless and Kenny Vaccaro out of Brownwood. Vaccaro is one of the state’s most heavily recruited DB’s and held offers from the likes of Florida, Oklahoma, and Stanford when chose the Longhorns. Barnett was a virtual unknown before committing to the Horns but Texas offered quickly and he certainly passes the eyeball test so he looks like a player who will shoot up the rankings once the scouting services get film of him.

Texas also did an excellent job filling needs from the top in-state options. Defensive end and tight end were both positions the Horns needed to fill holes at in this class. At defensive end the two big fish are still out there, Alex Okafor and five-star Devon Kennard, but the Horns added two very capable prospects in Dominique Jones and Kyle Kriegel. The tight end commits look like the two best in the state in Trey Graham and Barrett Matthews. I’m particularly excited about Matthews, whose versatility, athleticism, and toughness allow him to play an H-back role or maybe even end up on defense. It doesn’t hurt that he plays for Galena Park North Shore, a school that has now put out three top Division I tight ends in a row.

The fifteen current commits are listed below:

Name	Position	Rating*	LSR**	Hometown
Tariq Allen	LB		65	Irving
Thomas Ashcraft	OL		13	Cedar Hill
Eryon Barnett	DB		NR	Euless
Marcus Davis	DB		15	League City
Garrett Gilbert	QB		2	Austin
Trey Graham	TE		NR	Waco
Dominique Jones	DE		NR	Kilgore
Paden Kelley	OL		31	Austin
Kyle Kriegel	DE		64	Elysian Fields
Barrett Matthews	TE		59	Galena Park
Patrick Nkwopara	LB		NR	Grand Prairie
Garrett Porter	OL		30	Odessa
Greg Timmons	WR		10	Aldine
Kenny Vaccaro	DB		53	Brownwood
Chris Whaley	RB		8	Madisonville

*Note: Most of the star ratings are just estimates based on the video I’ve seen of the recruits and Orangebloods.com’s state rankings.

**Note: LSR is Geoff Ketchum’s Lone Star Recruiting Top 100. The numbers represent the player’s ranking as of 2/13/2008.

Texas’ first Junior Day of 2008 over the weekend resulted in seven young men giving Mack Brown their pledge to become Longhorns in 2009. It started a little early last week with quarterback Garrett Gilbert’s commitment and the last one came in yesterday as lineman Thomas Ashcraft called the staff to tell them he’d be a Longhorn.

The future of the offense looks bright as Horns picked up commitments from the top quarterback (Gilbert), top running back (Chris Whaley), and top wide receiver (Greg Timmons) in the state of Texas. Those guys will have Ashcraft and two other top offensive linemen blocking for them up front. Cornerback Marcus Davis is the defense’s lone commit so far, but the highly recruited player out of the Houston area is a heck of a start.

Here’s the list of 2009 commitments so far:

Name	Position	Rating*	LSR**	Hometown
Thomas Ashcraft	OL		13	Cedar Hill
Marcus Davis	DB		15	League City
Garrett Gilbert	QB		2	Austin
Paden Kelley	OL		31	Austin
Garrett Porter	OL		30	Odessa
Greg Timmons	WR		10	Aldine
Chris Whaley	RB		8	Madisonville

*Note: Several of the star ratings are just estimates based on the video I’ve seen of the recruits and Orangebloods.com’s state rankings.

**Note: LSR is Geoff Ketchum’s Lone Star Recruiting Top 100. The numbers represent the player’s ranking as of 2/13/2008.