Arch Manning’s Texas visit and decision timeline, Texas Tech’s big task: Texas recruiting notebook

Editor’s note: Arch Manning announced Thursday via Twitter that he has committed to Texas.

Arch Manning already had a busy June. The No. 1 prospect in the 2023 class took official visits to Alabama, Georgia and Texas and participated in a seven-on-seven camp at LSU.

The quarterback’s visit to Austin, Texas, over the weekend is likely his last for a while. The summer dead period, which runs through July 24, begins Monday, and Nelson Stewart, his coach at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, told The Athletic that the coming weeks are a time for him to get with his family and figure out where he is in the recruiting process.

“There’s no impulsivity to him,” Stewart said. “There’s no rush. When he knows, he knows.

“Obviously he’s been going through this for seven years. We’re in the fourth quarter. It’s just about attention to detail and supporting him.”

The Longhorns, who have maintained a strong position in his recruitment, did well on Manning’s visit, as they have during the multiple stops he has made on the Forty Acres prior. “He had a great trip,” Stewart said. He said the same of the visits to Alabama and Georgia. Manning, the son of Cooper and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, has been asking questions, getting a feel for the campuses and continuing to develop relationships with the coaches.

The last part is where head coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterbacks coach A.J. Milwee have excelled. Stewart praised their accessibility and joked that he talks to Milwee more than his wife. The pair talk to Manning weekly. Stewart called Sarkisian “authentic.”

“There are real relationships,” Stewart said. “Texas is in this because they work tirelessly.”

Though communication has been consistent, Stewart noted that Texas has done a good job of giving Manning space to work through his decision. The same applied to Manning’s teammate, 2023 tight end recruit Will Randle, who also spent the weekend on campus and committed to the Longhorns on Sunday morning.

Randle camped at Texas a year ago. Stewart said Sarkisian called him from Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium while Randle was working out last June, gushing about how impressed he was. Randle’s commitment on Sunday created buzz because of his relationship with Manning, but their decisions are separate. Stewart said Randle, a three-star, “fell in love,” with Texas.

At Newman, Randle plays tight end, H-back, edge rusher and on every phase of special teams. “He’s the best total player we’ve ever had,” Stewart said. Stewart credited Sarkisian, Milwee and tight ends and special teams coach Jeff Banks for their work recruiting Randle, who also considered Virginia, Alabama, Tulane and LSU.

As for Manning, Texas is willing to wait as long as necessary. He’s the only quarterback Texas has offered, and Sarkisian said last month that he won’t panic if a player’s decision isn’t swift. Alabama took a commitment last month from four-star quarterback Eli Holstein, but Stewart said that “Arch is gonna compete wherever he goes” and that he doesn’t believe that such a development will make or break the recruitment. Georgia is still in heavy pursuit.

While Manning’s exact timeline is still unclear, the process that began when Manning was in sixth grade is nearing its end. Stewart said there have been no major developments and any new information will come from Manning himself. As he mulls his decision, Manning will continue playing summer seven-on-seven, getting ready for the annual Manning Passing Academy and locking in on his high school football season.

“When he’s ready, he’s ready,” Stewart said. “This is his private time. We’re just trying to give him the distance to formulate his own thoughts.

“We’re not through yet, but getting closer.”

Texas Tech tries to hold on to early success

This weekend is a big one for Texas Tech.

Tech’s final round of June visitors includes two blue-chip prospects: four-star 2023 cornerback commit Calvin Simpson-Hunt and uncommitted 2023 four-star edge rusher Colton Vasek.

Since Joey McGuire took over as head coach in November, the Red Raiders have been smashing even the most optimistic expectations. Currently, Texas Tech is No. 4 in 2023 rankings, according to the 247Sports Composite, thanks to an aggressive early offer approach.

The Red Raiders are one of five finalists for Vasek, the nation’s 22nd-ranked edge rusher and 175th overall prospect. He officially visited this month the other four contenders: Clemson, Oklahoma, Texas and Oregon. Adding the Austin (Texas) Westlake star would be huge for the Red Raiders, but the tougher challenge could be holding onto the already committed Simpson-Hunt.

Excited to be in Lubbock this weekend. Final OV!!!@JoeyMcGuireTTU @CoachAhYou @CoachZFitch pic.twitter.com/ii310yfOQt

— Colton Vasek (@ColtonVasek) June 20, 2022

The second-highest ranked prospect in Tech’s 2023 class, Simpson-Hunt just wrapped up an official visit to Ohio State, one of several blue bloods that offered him this spring, months after his December commitment to the Red Raiders. By all accounts, the Buckeyes and coach Ryan Day and safeties coach Perry Eliano left a strong impression on Simpson-Hunt and his family.

This is the quandary in Texas Tech’s early recruiting success. The staff was the first to offer Simpson-Hunt — before he even had a recruiting ranking — and landed his commitment as a result. Now, Simpson-Hunt is the No. 173 prospect in the country, and Tech must fight those who followed to hang onto his pledge until the December signing period.

Texas Tech coaches head into the visit confident that, if they can hold onto Simpson-Hunt’s commitment through this month, they’ll remain in good shape. The Waxahachie, Texas, product canceled a scheduled June official visit to Notre Dame, and communication from the Alabama staff, which offered Simpson-Hunt in May, has waned of late. Simpson-Hunt has also made spring unofficial visits to Florida, Oklahoma and Oregon.

McGuire hasn’t shied away from any of it. He told The Athletic in May: “I want (our commits) to go see other places. I want them to be 100 percent sure, especially nowadays in the (transfer) portal world.”

Simpson-Hunt’s original plan was to make a final decision in July, but that timeline could change.

“It may end up bleeding into the season if he’s not 100 percent sure,” said Darius Terrell, Waxahachie’s receivers coach and college liaison. “He doesn’t want to keep playing the dog and pony show with everybody.”

Terrell said Simpson-Hunt’s visits have been all about gathering information and getting a feel for the campuses, not posing for pictures on social media.

“He doesn’t care about the photo shoots … it’s, ‘How do I feel when I’m here?’” Terrell said. “He’s not playing games, he’s not holding out for followers, he’s not holding out for money.”

Including Simpson-Hunt, the Red Raiders host nine of their 2023 commitments for official visits this weekend. They’re hoping the vibe and atmosphere helps firm up Simpson-Hunt for the long haul.

TCU picks up the pace

After arriving at TCU in late November, Sonny Dykes and his staff took a “slow and steady” approach to recruiting the 2023 class. The Horned Frogs finished March with only one commitment and had just three through April.

Things have sped up since. When four-star receiver Cordale Russell — a former SMU commit who followed Dykes to TCU in November but decommitted from the Horned Frogs in February — rejoined the class on May 14, it kicked off a run of nine commitments in a five-week span. Five of those came June 11-18, highlighted by four-star defensive lineman Avion Carter, a former high school teammate of 2022 TCU signee Major Everhart.

The Horned Frogs now have 12 commits in the nation’s 16th-ranked class. Dykes said the methodical approach in the early months on the job was intentional.

“If you take a lot of early commitments, all of a sudden, you have a lot of guys who you don’t know that well,” Dykes told The Athletic. “So most of the kids that we’re starting to get have been on campus for five, six, seven or eight times. We know them, they know us.”

Aside from official visitors, TCU hosted the DFW Showcase mega camp June 4-5, which brought in more than 3,500 recruits and coaches from 80 other schools. The concept began in 2021 at SMU under Dykes as the Dallas Showcase, and he repeated that blueprint in his new job. SMU did a second annual Dallas Showcase of similar scale under new coach Rhett Lashlee on June 3-4.

TCU mega-camp. More than 600 kids per session and coaches from more than 80 schools here. pic.twitter.com/2C3kICbHuW

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) June 4, 2022

TCU has hosted multiple junior days dating back to December, and Dykes estimates visitors have been on campus every allowable weekend since January except one. The exposure to the campus has been eye-opening for some recruits and families who haven’t been to TCU, Dykes said.

The Horned Frogs made heavy use of the transfer portal, landing 14 players since Dykes took over. It’s a similar model to the one he had at SMU, but refined. Dykes said he learned to be patient with high school recruits.

“Don’t reach,” he said. ” You may not get exactly what you want the first go-round, but then you’re going to get a better (evaluation) on a player as a senior or, obviously, the portal is an option.”

Rice invests in recruiting

As recruiting has rapidly evolved in recent years with the advent of the transfer portal and one-time transfer rule, college football recruiting and personnel staffs have grown to meet the need. Count Rice as a program trying to keep up.

Owls coach Mike Bloomgren expanded the team’s recruiting staff this spring and plans to do so further as Rice prepares to join the American Athletic Conference in 2023.

After director of player personnel Jon Williams left last month to join Mario Cristobal’s staff at Miami, Bloomgren brought a former Texas high school coach back home, former Washington State director of recruiting Marco Regalado.

Known on social media as “The TikTok Coach” for a series of viral videos he produced in the early stages of the pandemic, Regalado has quickly established a strong reputation across the state. Bloomgren said when Regalado was a high school coach, he was persistent in sharing his players’ highlights in hopes of earning them scholarships. “He was just so diligent,” Bloomgren said.

The two stayed in touch during Regalado’s time at Washington State and even shared information about prospects. New Rice quality control coach Samie Parker, who worked with Regalado at Washington State, endorsed him. So Bloomgren tabbed him as Rice’s new director of player personnel and recruiting innovation.

Several positions around Regalado are new. Lee Menefee is the director of recruiting operations and high school relations, Jessica Morrey is the on-campus recruiting director and Zak Khordaji is the creative media director. Bloomgren said he’ll hire two more full-time positions in the department on July 1, giving the department six full-timers, which rivals a Power 5-sized recruiting staff.

For a place like Rice that hasn’t always kept up with the Joneses in football investment, it’s a significant step.

“We’re getting there,” Bloomgren said. “We have to. We’re joining the American where that’s the norm. If we want to be able to come in and make a splash, we have to have the talent to do so. Nothing could help our team and program faster than adding these positions to help us bring the right players in.”

Rice added 13 players in the last two months: eight commitments from the 2023 class and five 2022 players via the transfer portal.

Bloomgren said 2023 recruiting is ahead of schedule compared to Rice’s previous cycle. The Owls closed out their June with a camp on Saturday that drew 300 players and had 20 unofficial visitors on Sunday, including all of Rice’s current commits, who enjoyed a pool party at Bloomgren’s house on Father’s Day. Receiver Landon Ransom (Trophy Club, Texas) and linebacker Beau Barton (Van, Texas) gave the Owls two in-state commitments out of the weekend.

(Photo of Arch Manning: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)