Gatorade POY Gray anchors UT's class

AUSTIN — Still trying to shape his program back into a national championship contender, Texas coach Mack Brown signed another highly rated recruiting class on Wednesday, a group anchored by a record-setting running back and notable for its last-minute additions.

Texas annually signs classes rated among the best in the country, but the Longhorns are just 13-12 over the last two seasons since playing for the national championship in 2009. The question for the latest group of 28 players will be whether they can push the Longhorns back among the elite after two straight losing seasons in Big 12 play.

“Everybody has a good recruiting class. It never changes ... What will happen in four years, in five years” will prove where this group ranks among all the others, Brown said.

The biggest name in the 2012 class is Johnathan Gray, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound tailback from Aledo who set a national record with 205 career touchdowns. Gray, the son of former Texas Tech standout James Gray, was named the Gatorade national player of the year.

Texas signed two junior college players, a rarity in Brown’s 14 seasons with the Longhorns. Offensive tackle Donald Hawkins of Northwest Mississippi Junior College and defensive tackle Brandon Moore of East Mississippi Community College have already enrolled and will be expected to immediately compete for playing time in those positions.

Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION — New Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin signed 19 players in his first recruiting class after being hired Dec. 10 to replace the fired Mike Sherman.

Sumlin retained 11 players the former staff recruited and added eight new recruits. He left some spaces open to add players after he evaluates his team and see where he needs more help as the Aggies prepare to leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.

He said recruiting for A&M was a very different experience than it was when he was coach at Houston.

Sumlin’s recruiting class was also buoyed by Texas A&M’s move to the SEC, beginning next season.

The Aggies signed defensive ends Polo Manukainiu, Julien Obioha, Alonzo Williams and Tyrone Taylor and snagged former Missouri commitment, 6-foot-5, 290-pound defensive lineman Edmond Ray.

Baylor

WACO — Baylor is getting defensive after one of the best seasons in school history.

After tying a school record with 10 wins last season, the Bears on Wednesday signed a class of 23 players. That included 13 defensive players — four linemen, four linebackers and five defensive backs.

Baylor last season tied plenty of offensive records with Heisman Trophy quarterback Robert Griffin III, who announced last month that he is bypassing his senior season for early entry into the NFL draft.

The Bears got their 10th win and first bowl victory in 19 years with a 67-56 win over Washington in the Alamo Bowl, which shattered the previous record for points in regulation of a bowl game. That game also set a bowl record for total offense with a combined 1,397 yards.

The signing class was highlighted by two nationally recognized defenders from Texas, lineman Javonte Magee of Sam Houston High School in San Antonio and linebacker Brian Nance from Trinity High School in Euless.

Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. — After a season marked by a series of players leaving the program and a failure to live up to a preseason No. 1 billing, coach Bob Stoops brought in a recruiting class unlike any other since he’s been at Oklahoma.

The Sooners got letters of intent from six junior college transfers and a receiver who spent a year at boarding school, bringing in more than their usual share of players with experience beyond high school.

The holes popped up over the course of the season, with reserve running backs Jermie Calhoun and Jonathan Miller transferring out. Tight end Austin Haywood joined them in the middle of the season, bringing into question the depth at a position losing seniors Trent Ratterree and James Hanna.

All four players who made a campus visit over the final recruiting weekend ended up signing with Oklahoma: cornerback Zack Sanchez, offensive tackle Will Latu, defensive end Mike Onuoha and receiver Courtney Gardner. Latu, Williams and Gardner were among the six junior college players hauled in by the Sooners.

Oklahoma State

STILLWATER, Okla. — The first 12-win season and first Big 12 championship in Oklahoma State history paid immediate dividends on the recruiting trail.

Coach Mike Gundy said he noticed a difference when he arrived at high schools to recruit players, particularly over the past few weeks since the Cowboys beat Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl for their first BCS bowl win. One glance at the school’s Pistol Pete logo, and strangers knew what school he represented.

Gundy added 22 new recruits Wednesday on the first day players could sign letters of intent with college football teams. The class leaned toward offense, with four receivers and four offensive lineman but also four defensive ends.

Kevin Peterson reversed a recent trend, reversing his commitment to Oklahoma and signing with the Cowboys instead. All-American receiver Ryan Broyles and starting cornerback Demontre Hurst are among the high-profile players to switch in the opposite direction in recent years.

Missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Five years ago, Dave Yost was running a summer football camp for high school students in Springfield, Mo., when soft-spoken Dorial Green-Beckham showed up three hours early and introduced himself.

When Missouri’s offensive coordinator asked Green-Beckham which high school he attended, Green-Beckham said he’d just finished seventh grade. Two years later, Yost offered him a scholarship at the ripe old age of 15.

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound wide receiver from Hillcrest High School, one of the top prep recruits in the country, announced Wednesday that he will attend Missouri. The coaching staff found out along with everyone else as assistants huddled around TVs hoping the years of recruiting would pay off.

Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Two things became abundantly clear when Charlie Weis introduced his first recruiting class at Kansas: He’ll go anywhere to reel in talent, and he wants to eat well when he gets there.

The new coach of the Jayhawks unveiled his first recruiting class Wednesday, which he pulled together in barely two months on the job. It includes high-profile transfers Dayne Crist, Jake Heaps and Justin McCay, along with eight junior college transfers Weis hopes can help immediately.

Kansas finished 2-10 last season, which led to the firing of Turner Gill.

Weis believes he landed a hidden gem in Taylor Cox, a running back from College of Siskiyous in Northern California who holds school records for yards rushing in a game (325) and career (2,744). But that’s precisely the kind of player Weis had to recruit.

Kansas State

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State coach Bill Snyder has a bit of a variety show on his hands with this year’s recruiting class.

Fullback Glenn Gronkowski’s family has a football background, pure and simple. Among his brothers are New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski — who is preparing for Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Giants — and Chris Gronkowski, the starting fullback for Indianapolis.

In all, there are 13 offensive players and 11 defensive players, and two more classified as “athletes” who could play either side of the ball.