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THE BOARD: North Texas Football
Neal Brown's second recruiting class has 23 commits — ranked No. 64 nationally and No. 2 in the AAC. Victor Scott headlines with 39 offers and an 85.92 Profile grade.
Tim Stephens
The number
23 — Twenty-three commits, ranked No. 64 nationally and No. 2 in the AAC. The class averages 3.08 stars with a 58.7 average Profile grade and a 0.644 average PRO score. Twenty-one of the 23 commits are from Texas. Brown's first recruiting class — assembled during his first offseason — leaned on the portal. His second class is building the high school pipeline, and the recruiting base is the DFW metroplex and the I-35 corridor.
The fit
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Sign Up FreeThe defensive line is the headline. Five defensive tackles (Johnnie Fitzgerald III, Trason Haley, Mason Johnson, Ayden Koehn, Ola-Oluwa Orebe), three edge rushers (Kailon Walker, Matt Zeigler, Dajuantae Henderson) and a defensive end (Jacobie Wilkerson) give Brown nine defensive linemen in a 23-man class. That is 39 percent of the class dedicated to the front.
Victor Scott (5-11, 195, Lancaster, Texas) is the class headliner with an 85.92 Profile grade, 39 offers and a 0.979 PRO score. Johnnie Fitzgerald III (6-3, 270, Red Oak, Texas) is the second-highest-graded commit at 78.69 with 21 offers. Trason Haley (6-3, 285, Sachse, Texas) grades at 74.18 and Kailon Walker (6-2, 210, West Brook, Beaumont, Texas) at 73.33. Four commits grade above 73.
The skill positions beyond Scott include four wide receivers — Damari Hall (5-9, 165, Crean Lutheran, Irvine, Calif.), the lone out-of-state skill player with 16 offers; Kolton Prox (6-3, 175, Grand Saline, Texas); Isaiah Rasheed (6-0, 175, Atascocita, Humble, Texas); and Ethan Williams (6-2, 190, Travis, Austin, Texas). Two tight ends in Gavin Mandrell (6-5, 220, Denison, Texas) at a 72.55 grade and Davis Lee (6-3, 225, Brock, Texas). G'yrell Smith (5-9, 185, North Crowley, Texas) is the second running back.
The offensive line has three interior linemen — Avery Timms (6-4, 270, Killeen, Texas), Grant Gonzales (6-5, 270, Waxahachie, Texas) and Noah Smith (6-4, 315, Angleton, Texas).
Two linebackers — Cayden Williams (6-1, 200, Willis, Texas) and Kaden Tolleson (5-11, 195, Waxahachie, Texas) — and one cornerback — Mehki Jessie (6-2, 170, Berkner, Richardson, Texas) with 21 offers — round out the defensive side beyond the D-line haul.
The commits
Victor Scott — RB, 5-11, 195, Lancaster HS, Lancaster, Texas. Profile grade: 85.92. Offers: 39. PRO: 0.979. Highest-graded commit in the class.
Johnnie Fitzgerald III — DT, 6-3, 270, Red Oak HS, Red Oak, Texas. Profile grade: 78.69. Offers: 21.
Trason Haley — DT, 6-3, 285, Sachse HS, Sachse, Texas. Profile grade: 74.18. Offers: 14.
Kailon Walker — Edge, 6-2, 210, West Brook HS, Beaumont, Texas. Profile grade: 73.33. Offers: 15.
Gavin Mandrell — TE, 6-5, 220, Denison HS, Denison, Texas. Profile grade: 72.55. Offers: 14.
Damari Hall — WR, 5-9, 165, Crean Lutheran HS, Irvine, Calif. Profile grade: 64.85. Offers: 16. Lone out-of-state skill player in the class.
Kolton Prox — WR, 6-3, 175, Grand Saline HS, Grand Saline, Texas. Profile grade: 63.69. Offers: 9.
Isaiah Rasheed — WR, 6-0, 175, Atascocita HS, Humble, Texas. Profile grade: 62.95. Offers: 9.
Mehki Jessie — CB, 6-2, 170, Berkner HS, Richardson, Texas. Profile grade: 61.72. Offers: 21.
Avery Timms — IOL, 6-4, 270, Killeen HS, Killeen, Texas. Profile grade: 60.3. Offers: 7.
Mason Johnson — DT, 6-3, 270, Lake Ridge HS, Mansfield, Texas. Profile grade: 58.61. Offers: 12.
Matt Zeigler — Edge, 6-3, 240, Copperas Cove HS, Copperas Cove, Texas. Profile grade: 58.37. Offers: 16.
Grant Gonzales — IOL, 6-5, 270, Waxahachie HS, Waxahachie, Texas. Profile grade: 57.87. Offers: 15.
Ethan Williams — WR, 6-2, 190, Travis HS, Austin, Texas. Profile grade: 56.54. Offers: 15.
Cayden Williams — LB, 6-1, 200, Willis HS, Willis, Texas. Profile grade: 56.36. Offers: 10.
Ayden Koehn — DT, 6-3, 265, Cheney HS, Cheney, Kan. Profile grade: 52.32. Offers: 7. One of two out-of-state commits.
Jacobie Wilkerson — DE, 6-4, 245, Allen HS, Allen, Texas. Profile grade: 50.27. Offers: 19.
Dajuantae Henderson — Edge, 6-4, 230, Walnut Grove HS, Texas. Profile grade: 50.18. Offers: 4.
Kaden Tolleson — LB, 5-11, 195, Waxahachie HS, Waxahachie, Texas. Profile grade: 50.14. Offers: 11.
Ola-Oluwa Orebe — DT, 6-3, 290, Boswell HS, Texas. Profile grade: 47.79. Offers: 10.
Davis Lee — TE, 6-3, 225, Brock HS, Brock, Texas. Profile grade: 40.72. Offers: 6.
G'yrell Smith — RB, 5-9, 185, North Crowley HS, Texas. Profile grade: 38.28. Offers: 9.
Noah Smith — IOL, 6-4, 315, Angleton HS, Angleton, Texas. Profile grade: 33.5. Offers: 5.
The targets
Twenty-three commits and counting. This board is updated as commitments become public. Check back for the latest.
Sources: Profile (primary), 247Sports, meangreensports.com, Denton Record-Chronicle (dentonrc.com), Dave Campbell's Texas Football (texasfootball.com)
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