When preseason training camps get started and new rosters are posted online, it's always interesting to look at Juco rosters and see a lot of familiar names of guys who either didn't qualify to attend the four-year school they signed with in February, ones who left their former school after a year and are seeking to get back onto the field and rebuild their stock at the Juco level for a year or two before getting back onto a major college roster, or guys who flashed some talent in high school but a mix of academic issues, lack of elite measurables, or bad choices has left them in Juco for a second or third year with one last chance to show coaches at four-year colleges what they can do.
Here are some names that jumped out at me while looking over various Juco rosters, a few of whom may draw interest from Texas or its Big 12 rivals this fall or next.
Kilgore College
RB Tyreik Gray (Houston Bellaire Episcopal/Houston Lamar/Houston) - was a top-10 in-state RB in the 2015 class, IMO. Signed with Houston, played in one game as a true freshman before leaving the program last November.
WR Cameron Fisher (Bay City) - was a legit TE/WR prospect as a 10th/11th grader at Brazosport, if I remember right. Transferred to a bad Bay City team and didn't do much as a senior. Thought he had potential back then. He's a soph at Kilgore CC now.
WR Zecharius Nash-Kelly (Round Rock) - 6'2" but without breakaway speed, liked what I saw of him in H.S. though. Had 1,170 receiving yards over his last two seasons.
DB Edward Hayes (Coldspring-Oakhurst) - A promising safety recruit, signed with UL-Lafayette this year but apparently didn't qualify.
Blinn College
QB Aaron Sharp (Humble Summer Creek/UCLA) - A 200m state champion as a JR (he beat Antwuan Davis and Robbie Rhodes) and lefty QB who put up great passing numbers but didn't run a lot in HS. Not sure when he left UCLA.
RB D'Anthony Hopkins (Cuero) - Insanely productive RB in HS who signed with UTSA in 2015 but didn't qualify. Good speed for a 6'2" 220 guy.
WR Dandre Reed (San Antonio Churchill) - Speedy 5'9" 175-lb guy who played both RB and WR and produced some 2,400 total yards over his last two seasons. A 2016 grad, I thought he was one of SA's most underrated recruits.
TE Devonaire Clarington (more high schools than @Justin Wells) - Every subscriber here knows his saga
TE Johnathan Thomas (Montgomery) - Good two-way TE who I liked as a blocker and caught 25 passes for 350 yards and 8 TDs as a senior in 2014. Height may have limited his offers, listed at 6'2" 240. Played in 7 games for Blinn last year but didn't catch a pass.
OT Hanner Shipley (Marble Falls/LSU/ACU) - Enrolled early at LSU in 2015, transferred to Abilene Christian in August 2015 and played in six games there. Now listed as a 6'5" 300-lb OT.
DT Javier Edwards (Aldine Davis) - enormous D-lineman, listed at 6'3" 320, former teammate of Texas LB Jeffrey McCulloch; credited with 29 total tackles for Blinn in 2015.
LB Thomas Hutchings (Cedar Park) - Was one of the state's best LBs as a senior, lack of prototypical size (5'10" 205) for the position probably contributed to his lack of offers. Was a RB for Blinn last year but is listed at LB now. @Ian Boyd was President of his fan club.
LB Norman Reeves (Schertz Clemens) - was an athletic safety in high school who I thought was slow to diagnose plays and took some bad angles as a JR but improved a lot as a SR. He was a DB for Blinn as a freshman last year, now listed as a 6' 200 LB. In H.S. he put up good shuttle times and could do a 10' broad jump.
DB Kendall Sheffield (Fort Bend Marshall/Alabama/WilliamsDavid's fantasy team) - Elite hurdler in HS and former five-star CB who left Alabama this month.
Navarro College
QB Kenneth Arthur (South Oak Cliff) - good high school player, I saw him throw at the 2013 Dallas Elite 11 camp. I asked if he was related to SOC alum and NBA player Darrell Arthur, he said he didn't know.
QB Devlin Isadore (Aldine Eisenhower) - I remember him being on the recruiting radar in HS. Was Navarro's primary QB in 2015, completed just under 55% of his passes for 2,173 yards, 20 TDs and 10 INT.
RB Xavier Turner (Birdville) - Gained over 6,000 yards from scrimmage and scored at least 96 career TDs in HS. Had decent size at 5'10" 200-210 pounds but better football speed than track speed. Signed with Incarnate Word in 2014 but didn't qualify. Rushed 64 times for 377 yards at Navarro in 2014, wasn't on the roster in 2015, now is back with the team.
WR Sabian Cannon (Austin McCallum) - Explosive playmaker from under-recruited Austin ISD. Dual-threat QB in HS who rushed for over 3,600 yards and 46 TDs in his last two seasons. Signed with D2 Midwestern State in 2015, now listed as a 6'2" 195-lb RS-Fr.
WR Juanya Pyburn (Blooming Grove) - 2016 grad one of my favorite under-the-radar guys in that class. 6'3" 225, played mostly RB in HS for a 3A school, was named area player of the year in both football and basketball as a senior, also triple jumped 44 feet in track. Nephew of former Texas A&M/NFL receiver Bethel Johnson. Could easily grow into a TE.
OL Cody Hayes (Fort Worth Eastern Hills/Texas Tech) - Took 2nd in the 4A shot put at the state track meet as a senior, signed with Texas Tech in 2013, reportedly had an OU offer. Left Tech in 2014 or 2015 and spent 2015 at Navarro, reportedly signed with UNT in February but is back on the Navarro roster instead. Recently turned 21, not sure how much eligibility he has left.
DL James Judie (Temple) - a high-ceiling DE who Texas had interest in for the 2014 class but he couldn't qualify. Now listed at 6'5" 285.
CB Benjie Franklin (Alief Taylor) - Three-star 2016 recruit, reported to have a Texas offer. Pretty sure @Eric Nahlin was a big fan.
CB Kenan Ivy (Lancaster) - 2016 Baylor signee
CB Darrell Miller (Cedar Hill/Tennessee) - former three-star CB who signed with Tennessee in 2015, played in 5 games that fall, then left the program earlier this month.
Tyler Junior College
OL Jack Berry (Burleson Centennial) - Heard good things about him from one of his HS coaches, think he was a RT then. Listed at 6'5" 320 now.
OL Marvis Brown III (Little Cypress-Mauriceville) - 2015 grad, was committed to SMU at one time but eventually signed with Texas Southern. Started at right tackle for TSU as a true freshman but the coaching staff was fired after that season and he transferred to TJC. Listed at 6'4" 310, has already been offered by UNT and Arkansas State.
LB Bryce Hines (Keller Fossil Ridge) - I thought he was a rangy and good tackling LB in HS, was surprised he didn't get offers. Redshirted in 2015 when TJC had several older and talented players at the position, now a redshirt FR, listed at 6'2" 235.
S DaQuaylyn Thomas (Arlington Martin) - was a speedy but undersized LB in HS, 5'10" 200, will play as an in-the-box safety for Tyler JC
Here are some names that jumped out at me while looking over various Juco rosters, a few of whom may draw interest from Texas or its Big 12 rivals this fall or next.
Kilgore College
RB Tyreik Gray (Houston Bellaire Episcopal/Houston Lamar/Houston) - was a top-10 in-state RB in the 2015 class, IMO. Signed with Houston, played in one game as a true freshman before leaving the program last November.
WR Cameron Fisher (Bay City) - was a legit TE/WR prospect as a 10th/11th grader at Brazosport, if I remember right. Transferred to a bad Bay City team and didn't do much as a senior. Thought he had potential back then. He's a soph at Kilgore CC now.
WR Zecharius Nash-Kelly (Round Rock) - 6'2" but without breakaway speed, liked what I saw of him in H.S. though. Had 1,170 receiving yards over his last two seasons.
DB Edward Hayes (Coldspring-Oakhurst) - A promising safety recruit, signed with UL-Lafayette this year but apparently didn't qualify.
Blinn College
QB Aaron Sharp (Humble Summer Creek/UCLA) - A 200m state champion as a JR (he beat Antwuan Davis and Robbie Rhodes) and lefty QB who put up great passing numbers but didn't run a lot in HS. Not sure when he left UCLA.
RB D'Anthony Hopkins (Cuero) - Insanely productive RB in HS who signed with UTSA in 2015 but didn't qualify. Good speed for a 6'2" 220 guy.
WR Dandre Reed (San Antonio Churchill) - Speedy 5'9" 175-lb guy who played both RB and WR and produced some 2,400 total yards over his last two seasons. A 2016 grad, I thought he was one of SA's most underrated recruits.
TE Devonaire Clarington (more high schools than @Justin Wells) - Every subscriber here knows his saga
TE Johnathan Thomas (Montgomery) - Good two-way TE who I liked as a blocker and caught 25 passes for 350 yards and 8 TDs as a senior in 2014. Height may have limited his offers, listed at 6'2" 240. Played in 7 games for Blinn last year but didn't catch a pass.
OT Hanner Shipley (Marble Falls/LSU/ACU) - Enrolled early at LSU in 2015, transferred to Abilene Christian in August 2015 and played in six games there. Now listed as a 6'5" 300-lb OT.
DT Javier Edwards (Aldine Davis) - enormous D-lineman, listed at 6'3" 320, former teammate of Texas LB Jeffrey McCulloch; credited with 29 total tackles for Blinn in 2015.
LB Thomas Hutchings (Cedar Park) - Was one of the state's best LBs as a senior, lack of prototypical size (5'10" 205) for the position probably contributed to his lack of offers. Was a RB for Blinn last year but is listed at LB now. @Ian Boyd was President of his fan club.
LB Norman Reeves (Schertz Clemens) - was an athletic safety in high school who I thought was slow to diagnose plays and took some bad angles as a JR but improved a lot as a SR. He was a DB for Blinn as a freshman last year, now listed as a 6' 200 LB. In H.S. he put up good shuttle times and could do a 10' broad jump.
DB Kendall Sheffield (Fort Bend Marshall/Alabama/WilliamsDavid's fantasy team) - Elite hurdler in HS and former five-star CB who left Alabama this month.
Navarro College
QB Kenneth Arthur (South Oak Cliff) - good high school player, I saw him throw at the 2013 Dallas Elite 11 camp. I asked if he was related to SOC alum and NBA player Darrell Arthur, he said he didn't know.
QB Devlin Isadore (Aldine Eisenhower) - I remember him being on the recruiting radar in HS. Was Navarro's primary QB in 2015, completed just under 55% of his passes for 2,173 yards, 20 TDs and 10 INT.
RB Xavier Turner (Birdville) - Gained over 6,000 yards from scrimmage and scored at least 96 career TDs in HS. Had decent size at 5'10" 200-210 pounds but better football speed than track speed. Signed with Incarnate Word in 2014 but didn't qualify. Rushed 64 times for 377 yards at Navarro in 2014, wasn't on the roster in 2015, now is back with the team.
WR Sabian Cannon (Austin McCallum) - Explosive playmaker from under-recruited Austin ISD. Dual-threat QB in HS who rushed for over 3,600 yards and 46 TDs in his last two seasons. Signed with D2 Midwestern State in 2015, now listed as a 6'2" 195-lb RS-Fr.
WR Juanya Pyburn (Blooming Grove) - 2016 grad one of my favorite under-the-radar guys in that class. 6'3" 225, played mostly RB in HS for a 3A school, was named area player of the year in both football and basketball as a senior, also triple jumped 44 feet in track. Nephew of former Texas A&M/NFL receiver Bethel Johnson. Could easily grow into a TE.
OL Cody Hayes (Fort Worth Eastern Hills/Texas Tech) - Took 2nd in the 4A shot put at the state track meet as a senior, signed with Texas Tech in 2013, reportedly had an OU offer. Left Tech in 2014 or 2015 and spent 2015 at Navarro, reportedly signed with UNT in February but is back on the Navarro roster instead. Recently turned 21, not sure how much eligibility he has left.
DL James Judie (Temple) - a high-ceiling DE who Texas had interest in for the 2014 class but he couldn't qualify. Now listed at 6'5" 285.
CB Benjie Franklin (Alief Taylor) - Three-star 2016 recruit, reported to have a Texas offer. Pretty sure @Eric Nahlin was a big fan.
CB Kenan Ivy (Lancaster) - 2016 Baylor signee
CB Darrell Miller (Cedar Hill/Tennessee) - former three-star CB who signed with Tennessee in 2015, played in 5 games that fall, then left the program earlier this month.
Tyler Junior College
OL Jack Berry (Burleson Centennial) - Heard good things about him from one of his HS coaches, think he was a RT then. Listed at 6'5" 320 now.
OL Marvis Brown III (Little Cypress-Mauriceville) - 2015 grad, was committed to SMU at one time but eventually signed with Texas Southern. Started at right tackle for TSU as a true freshman but the coaching staff was fired after that season and he transferred to TJC. Listed at 6'4" 310, has already been offered by UNT and Arkansas State.
LB Bryce Hines (Keller Fossil Ridge) - I thought he was a rangy and good tackling LB in HS, was surprised he didn't get offers. Redshirted in 2015 when TJC had several older and talented players at the position, now a redshirt FR, listed at 6'2" 235.
S DaQuaylyn Thomas (Arlington Martin) - was a speedy but undersized LB in HS, 5'10" 200, will play as an in-the-box safety for Tyler JC
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