2014 LB recruit Otaro Alaka favors Texas, but will visit Texas A&M as well

texasgamedayr | February 28, 2013 at 1:47 pm | 1 Comment

Texas Longhorns head coach Mack Brown prior to kick off against the Oregon State Beavers at the Alamo Bowl in the Alamodome. (Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports)

The Texas Longhorns disappointed their fans with what has been widely rated as a relatively weak 2013 recruiting class. If it was not weak, at the very least it was incredibly small. Whereas most schools tried to bring in at least 23-25 young men, coach Mack Brown only managed to reel in 15.

After the tough cycle, Brown and his staff began hitting the recruiting trail hard and thus far have been on fire. The Horns have already landed eight verbal commitments and could be close to their ninth.

Houston native Otaro Alaka already has offers on the table from the likes of Boise State, Baylor, Michigan, Nebraska, LSU and Arkansas.

Further, the 6-foot-3, 196-pound outside linebacker has an official visit to Texas A&M planned this weekend.

But even with all of that being said, Texas is still considered the favorite for the young man’s services.

How close did Otaro Alaka come to committing to Texas last weekend? Had he been offered during Texas’ Saturday junior day, the Houston Cypress Falls linebacker says he was ready to make his move.

“I thought about making my decision after spring football,” he told HornsNation’s Max Olson. “But now, I’m having second thoughts. I want to talk to my dad.”

Alaka said at this point he does not think he’ll wait until late May to reach that final decision. Had his father come with him on the Texas visit and UT offered, Alaka said he definitely would have gone home a commit.

Instead, he’ll wait a few more days. It’s safe to say a decision is expected next week. Unless A&M really blows him away, things are looking very good for Texas.

No, verbal commitments are not the type of ‘firm’ commitments they used to be. Until a player actually signs a letter of intent saying he will play for your school, that player is fair game for the rest of the country’s recruiting sharks to prey upon.

However, it is refreshing to see Mack and the rest of the Longhorns staff working hard to dominate the Texas recruiting scene like they are supposed to.

Source: HornsNation’s Max Olson