Texas Football: Longhorns Land Surprise Commitment From Metroplex LB
Texas fans woke up to some great news on the recruiting front on Sunday morning with the verbal pledge of three-star linebacker Morice Blackwell Jr.
The Arlington Martin product is the No. 32 outside linebacker, No. 67 player in the state of Texas and No. 498 overall prospect in the 2021 class according to 247Sports.
"Thanks to God for the talent he has blessed me with and all the University’s that extended and offer to me. I’m blessed to have many options but after a lot of prayer you have decided to commit to The University of Texas Austin," he said on Twitter.
Blackwell had offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Utah, Texas Tech, SMU, San Diego State and Tulsa.
Watching his film: Blackwell is one of the most productive players in the Metroplex over the last two years. As a sophomore he had 112 tackles, 10 for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass broken up. He followed that up with an even better junior campaign that had 128 tackles, 13 for loss, two sacks, three passes defended, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
He's a little undersized at less than 200 pounds, but he more than holds his own in the middle of the field against some of the best competition in the state right now. He looks to be a natural fit as a sideline-to-sideline type linebacker at the next level in Chris Ash's scheme. Though he's just a three-star prospect the fact teams like Alabama and Georgia have been showing interest shows you just how hight his ceiling will be at the next level. This is a great get for Texas.
What it means for the Longhorns: Many thought Blackwell was headed to Baylor, but Coleman Hutzler scored a nice recruiting win in the middle of a battleground area. Linebackers who can cover in space are going to be a key to making Ash's scheme work against Big 12 defenses.
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