On Monday, Isidore Newman from New Orleans (La.) becomes a teammate of five-star quarterback Arch Manning and touted tight end Will Randle had returned home from their four-day trip to Texas, on the field head coach Nelson Stewart broke up the new footballs before they got a good lift in the weight room. After a great weekend, the switch was flipped again to get ready for spring camp.
“They just got back to work,” Stewart told 247Sports.
The Longhorns have worked hard to juggle the two. Manning is the No. 1 247Sports Composite recruit in the country and Steve Sarkisian and his staff were one of the first schools to also award a scholarship to Randall. They visited Austin together in the summer and then attended a game in the fall. This was her most thorough look yet.
“I think the last time they were there they were wearing hard hats, so they weren’t really at the facility,” Stewart said. “I think they absolutely loved that. The facility is phenomenal. They went to the Dell Tournament match play and it was great.
“I think, as we discussed, they just wanted to go as players. There wasn’t much lightning. They could watch and install drills and interact in the meetings, and Arch would take notes. So much of the recruiting was on the front end with Texas. I think it’s the next phase of that. Another great weekend and it knotted nicely because I know Will Randle loved Coach (Jeff) Banks. It was the first time he saw it and the tight ends blew him away with the energy and hard work.”
This past weekend, Manning got a great feel for the life of a Texas player.
“He said he really enjoyed the time with Sam Ehlinger and Colt McCoy‘ Steward said. “I asked Quinn Ewers and he said Quinn looked great. He loved it. He loved being in it, loved the room. Sounds like something special is being built there. He loved organizing the training, he loved the installation and he really liked watching AJ (Milwee) and Sark work.
“Texas was exactly what it was, they really loved the staff and it was a validation weekend. There’s an authenticity and Texas worked really hard to build it and that’s what it’s all about.”
This was the second visit of the spring for Manning, who was in Georgia two weekends ago. He’s traveling to Alabama next weekend.
“I would say possibly Florida, LSU and Ole Miss, that’s the other three,” Stewart said of other potential visits. “He will try to see those schools in the coming weeks.”
Stewart also reiterated that there is no timeline for a college decision.