It may be late in the process, but lifetime Longhorn fan Dalton Santos probably won't hold that against Texas. (Photo courtesy of Under Armour).
When the new Texas coaching staff was finally put in place roughly a year ago, one of the major tasks that faced the new arrivals to Austin was completing several month's worth of evaluations for the 2012 class in a matter of weeks.
If there was one player that fell through the cracks created by the transition, it was Van linebacker Dalton Santos, a middle linebacker prospect who committed to Oklahoma State during the fall of his junior season, then switched his pledge to Tennessee, and is now considering other options after turnover on the Volunteer staff.
Months after defensive coordinator Manny Diaz apologized to Santos for missing on the initial evaluation, Texas appears to be atoning for that mistake, offering Santos on Sunday, with an in-home visit scheduled this week and an official visit next weekend.
A lifelong Longhorn fan, Santos had this to say about the interest from Texas ($):
This is great, no doubt about it. Texas is Texas. It gives me something to think about, for sure, because I grew up a Texas fan and I live in Texas.
The belief at this time is that Santos is likely to switch his commitment to Texas and become the fourth linebacker in the 2012 class. With the Longhorns falling out of several recruitments late in the process, Chet Moss possibly moving to fullback full-time, and a weak middle linebacker class in 2013, it appears that the coaching made the late decision that the Longhorns need a long-term back-up to Steve Edmond, slated to take over in the middle next season for the departing Keenan Robinson.
Dalton Santos Highlights (via 247SportsStudio)
The Under Armour All-American built relationships with some of the other Texas commits during the week in Orlando even though he wasn't on the radar at the time and holds offers from a number of national programs.
While Santos doesn't have the top-end speed to play outside linebacker, he plays fast in pads and is a prototypical downhill linebacker with a nasty disposition. A physical tackler willing to take on and beat blockers, Santos can diagnose plays quickly whether filling against the run or dropping into pass coverage.
Only a three-star recruit by Rivals, ESPN has Santos rated as the 92nd-best prospect in the country, good for a four-star rating.
0 recs | 73 comments
He was very impressive down here at Under Armour.
Bud Elliott - January 23, 2012
Thanks
Was just about to ask that question.
Horncasting - January 23, 2012
Can Mack make his offer contingent on losing the faux hawk?
CMDR - January 23, 2012
Awful, awful hair.
This has nothing to do with his ability, it just needed to be said.
dimecoverage - January 23, 2012
Haha, well he is 18 and from a small town....
Austin should give him that 6th fashion sense he’s obviously missing
SneezyBeltran - January 23, 2012
Is it really any worse than Camrhon Hughes' hair?
Plus, remember when David Ash auditioned to play Woody’s protege in Kingpin?
burntorangehorn - January 23, 2012
nappy weave and the hair helmet....
longhorn35 - January 23, 2012
(and speaking of fauxhawks, meet RB Malcolm Brown!)
burntorangehorn - January 23, 2012
the mid-top fade...
longhorn35 - January 23, 2012
With MC Hammer stripes
burntorangehorn - January 23, 2012
Sorry to get this topic going, but it is just the female brain screaming at me, “NOOOOO.”
dimecoverage - January 23, 2012
Here - I've noticed that you're a fan of fine footwear as well
You’re welcome!
beast in bama - January 23, 2012
Once again, my brain screams no.
dimecoverage - January 23, 2012
If he commits
Santos and Edmond are gonna be knocking the slobber out of a lot of B12 RBs…. Not gonna be fun to run against either of them.
TxHorns989 - January 23, 2012
Does he redshirt?
UPB13 - January 23, 2012
Not with our depth at MLB,
he likely plays plenty of snaps as a true freshman.
40A - January 23, 2012
Great way to finish the class!
Is the kid from Skyline ready to start right away at LB or is he needing a RS year!? It sounds like De La Torre needs to sit a year for size. But this kid Santos seems to have good size and ability! Does he play right away?
BigTexFan202 - January 23, 2012
Santos
could contribute on special teams immediately, but would be unlikely to crack the linebacker rotation early. Same for all the other 2012 linebackers.
Wescott Eberts (GoBR) - January 23, 2012
With the depth at MLB
you don’t expect him to spell Edmond?
40A - January 23, 2012
I would hope that one of the existing LB's would go in first
Can one of T. Jackson, Benson or Thompson play MLB?
Also, there was a rumor that Tariq Allen was back.
Horncasting - January 23, 2012
Benson is listed
as 6-2, 233 . . . KThompson an inch taller and 5 pounds heavier, Jackson also 6-2 and 230. Jackson seems larger to me . . . he and KT (and Steve Edmond) are in their first season on campus, so a weight gain is not out of the question.
I recall reading that Thompson was, at one time, under consideration for the buck position — but I guess that’s kind of gone, at least as far as playing a DE who weighs less than 250. Benson has always played OLB; I don’t see him in the middle.
Edmond’s listed weight is 255. We can probably live with one true MLB, if he stays healthy . . . I don’t see a power rushing team on the non-conference schedule, and most Big 12 teams are strongly spread or pass-oriented. Where we need a MLB is short-yardage and goal-line plays.
Otherwise, I’m happy with 2-3 LBs who can run. And who like contact!
edsp - January 23, 2012
I just don't know if those guys can stand up in the middle very well.
Keenan did a heck of a job as an undersized MLB but there were plenty of moments where he had no shot going inside, and disappeared. I guy this talented at shooting the gap and is big enough to withstand blocks? Why not give him a shot on some downs.
40A - January 24, 2012
What's his size, now, and projected?
And could he not fill the backup MLB’s role this season? Edmond did that as a true freshman.
(Though my first choice for that job is Tevin Jackson, an early candidate to be one of “my guys”)
edsp - January 23, 2012
I expect Santos to play at 260 eventually.
It’s certainly possible that he could win the back-up middle linebacker job as a freshman if he commits to Texas as expected, but he would have to jump some older players on the depth chart and I’m not sure I see that happening.
Wescott Eberts (GoBR) - January 23, 2012
Jumping older players on the depth chart . . .
Does the NCAA actually permit this?
edsp - January 23, 2012
Another 260 MLB?! Wow
He certainly looks big in the highlights. He looks like he’s got really good technique and vision.
beast in bama - January 23, 2012
Middle Linebackers
Why are we stocking up on these guys? We expect one or two of Santos, De La Torre, and Cole to play outside in this league? I have trouble seeing that.
At 6’4" 260 that makes him a defensive end in this league. I have no trouble with the take but I’m struggling to believe that Diaz is trying to load up on SEC Mike’s in this league. Especially since his last two Mikes, Keenan Robinson and Chris White, were converted OLB’s he moved inside for speed.
RolloTamasi - January 24, 2012
It would be a pleasant surprise
if DLT played at all, much less starting and taking another LBs spot. We have very little depth at MLB behind Edmond. Cole is not a MLB. Now, in Manny’s system there is room to play around with the LBs, but if we land Dalton, we would only really have 2 TRUE MLBs.
40A - January 24, 2012
Edmond, Moss, and DLT are the only other MLBs on campus.
Assuming Moss and DLT are either future FBs or depth guys who aren’t going to start, then there is no real MLB potential starter behind Edmond.
Benson, Thompson, Jackson, Cole, Jenkins, all OLBs or in the case of Thompson and Jackson, spin down candidates.
I think its true that a MLB will only play situationally against most Big 12 teams, but against teams like Kansas State, having a true run stuffer holding down the middle of the field makes a huge difference, and I don’t think Manny was comfortable rolling into 2012 and 2013 with only one of those guys on campus.
CMDR - January 24, 2012
Not buying it
We had zero trouble in run defense with Keenan Robinson as our Mike. Nor did Diaz have any trouble stuffing SEC run offenses with converted Will Chris White at Mike.
There just isn’t any need in this system or conference for a Rolando McClain. Cole does not look fast enough to play outside. Maybe he can play Will but we’ll see.
Edmond, if he starts, is a luxury. We don’t need a back-up run stuffer who can’t do the things a Mike will be asked to do on 75% of our defensive snaps (totally made that number up). Jordan Hicks can play middle linebacker for us.
RolloTamasi - January 24, 2012
Than why pursue Santos?
We had trouble in run defense with Robinson at MLB, I’m not sure why you are saying that. There were plenty of times Robinson was stuffed up the middle.
40A - January 24, 2012
When?
When did we have trouble in run defense this year? Find an example we can pin on Robinson.
I don’t really understand all our choices at Linebacker, I’m trying to make sense of it. My guess is that Santos is a spin down candidate, or Diaz views Cole and De La Torre as potentially wasted scholardships. Even in the case of the latter I’m not sure that Diaz’s ideal Mike is the same as Saban’s. A 250 pound, block consumer.
Diaz covers up his linebackers pretty well from having to deal with stuff like that.
RolloTamasi - January 24, 2012
Just off the top of my head:
OSU averaged something like 7+ yards per carry. Baylor had a good game running. I wish I could go back snap by snap, but I remember times where he didn’t hold up well in the middle. Wasn’t really his fault, he just isn’t your prototypical size in the middle.
I don’t know why they would spin down Santos. He’s a true MLB and with him committing (hopefully) that would give us ONLY 2 on the roster. Even for a team that isn’t going to play a prototypical MLB (which I’m not sure Texas isn’t) you still need to have a couple there.
Why the comparisons to Alabama’s defense? Having a couple true MLBs doesn’t make us like their defense. Who knows on Cole, but on DLT, if he eventually moves to FB full time and is a good special teams player, it wouldn’t be a wasted scholarship.
40A - January 24, 2012
osu
We played Dime that entire game and had 5 guys in the box. Not gonna pin that on Robinson. Same story with Baylor, we were outnumbered against the run. I suppose he didn’t play great against Baylor but given everything that was on his plate I don’t really blame him there either.
My point is that we don’t really need any “true” Mikes. Diaz covers up his linebackers pretty well. I’ll take a 4.6 230 pound OLB playing out of position over a bigger, slower MLB if those are my options.
If we are planning on Santos being a Mike then we must not think much of Cole or De La Torre. Looking at our recruiting class from this year and last I don’t see many of the Acho-type spread linebackers that are what you want in this conference.
RolloTamasi - January 24, 2012
Well,
in dime situations, we need our MLB to hold up against the run…
40A - January 24, 2012
Fair enough
But a big, bruising LB is likely to be exposed in dozens of other situations. Maybe we can hide one guy in coverage but we’ve only recruited one guy in these last 2 classes that you would want in man or field-zone coverage, Peter Jinkens.
I don’t understand why we are signing so many LB’s that would be a liability in coverage in a conference where teams don’t really use fullbacks.
I like Santos, I love Edmond. We wanna play 1 big LB and hide him, that’s fine with me. What’s the plan with the rest of them? Why not recruit almost entirely guys we would trust in coverage and then scheme solutions in the running game?
Does that make sense?
RolloTamasi - January 24, 2012
Well, from analysis from people I trust,
Santos has been pretty good in coverage.
Plus, with Edmond’s conditioning, he won’t be able to play every snap at MLB throughout the game.
40A - January 24, 2012
We'll see
I won’t be shocked to see a linebacker grouping of Vaccaro-Hicks-Hobbs at times this year. Because we play a lot of spread teams.
RolloTamasi - January 24, 2012
I love this kid
Sledgehammer. I think Santos could spell Edmond at MLB this coming season.
billfromlaketravis - January 23, 2012
No. 78?
Not exactly a standard MLB jersey number. Did he play both ways in high school – d line or o line maybe? Looks odd with that number but he does look like he has a nose for the ball and good instincts for a run stopper. Put a 55 on him and let Diaz turn him loose! Yes please, hook ’em.
HazzardousHorns - January 23, 2012
Meh, Jackson Jeffcoat is #44
Cody Johnson was #11, not one of the LB’s on the last depth chart was in the fifties, and Okafor, Reed, and Dorsey all have WR/TE #s. I’m sure there are many more examples of # weirdness, given the way things usually are with Texas numbers.
burntorangehorn - January 23, 2012
i've always felt like
like texas has guys with weird numbers for their position is there any sort of reason for this or just letting the kids pick what they want?
not sure anyone could answer this but i’ve always been curious
cade21 - January 23, 2012
Santos played for Van in High School
Van is a 3A school, which means he played both ways quite a bit but only started at LB.
His offensive position was FB/RB and he was mainly used in short yardage and goal line.
Wongworns - January 23, 2012
everything i've read
from his quotes to everyone on messages boards seems to make this look like a done deal. what’s the chance we don’t land him and who would be the teams that could get him if we don’t?
cade21 - January 23, 2012
Highly likely that Santos commits.
I think Arkansas is in it with Santos, Tennessee still has a chance.
Wescott Eberts (GoBR) - January 23, 2012
the guy looks like a maniac...
he reminds me of the crazy inside LB’s that CU had back in the 90’s
longhorn35 - January 23, 2012
I love a gap shooting MLB,
push them to the outside, where the rest of our speed is waiting.
40A - January 23, 2012
From all I have reead
This kid is underrated. He was very impressive at the UA week.
His size, physicality, and attitude are readily apparent when you watch him play.
Would really like this pickup, even though it probably would not get much national credit.
SwimTexas - January 23, 2012
wow
Adding another 4star LB to the ’12 class at this late hour would be amazing. Our D is going to be naty title good for yrs to come.
If Mack and Manny sits down in a room with this kid…book it, santos is gonna be a horn.
jtdoes - January 23, 2012 via mobile
That kid from Van's a truck
jmptexas - January 23, 2012
Good ESPN article on Santos.
dimecoverage - January 23, 2012
Great article...thanks
utexas87 - January 23, 2012
thanks
getting me even more excited about this kid, hope this is as sure as it appears to be
cade21 - January 23, 2012
I hate to say this...
I mean, I really hate to say this…but he reminds me of Bosworth. Fast downhill, sheds blockers, and arrives angry.
Did I mention that I really hate to say this?
JoeT63 - January 23, 2012
Since Brown is recruiting him, he must have an IQ higher than room temp. Therein lies the difference.
dimecoverage - January 23, 2012
saying Bosworth had a IQ of room temp is being REALLY generous
horns1025 - January 23, 2012
I was in a charitable mood today. :-)
dimecoverage - January 23, 2012
a really big version of Britt Hager...
longhorn35 - January 23, 2012
kust needs a mulleett and a fumanchu
longhorn35 - January 23, 2012
spelling fail...
longhorn35 - January 23, 2012
From Santos:
hayzer13 - January 23, 2012
He really said this?
I like this kid, even with that hair.
dimecoverage - January 23, 2012
GBR
Really appreciate all the work you do to keep this site so great.
Like DKR said about Nobis. “he gets there early & angry”.
ole tnhorn - January 23, 2012
He does a great job reading the Guards
Hippie Killer - January 23, 2012
so waiting...
for the obligatory roadhouse references and gifs. “maybe he’ll karate kick a dude off of a golf cart and rip his throat out!!!”
mattw - January 23, 2012
de-boot a guy and stab him with a broken beer bottle
longhorn35 - January 23, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH-dKu6b_Lo
If you want to see Santos in coverage or on the offensive side of the ball check out his final High School game against the Gilmer Buckeyes. CAUTION this video is 35 minutes long.
I was at this game and Santos played a ton of zone coverage because of Gilmer’s passing attack, he didn’t blitz one time in the game. He also played a lot of offense at the FB/RB position.
He can be seen on the opening kickoff (3:05) forcing and recovering a fumble to set himself up for the first TD of the game.
Wongworns - January 23, 2012
Daje Johnson
Just tweeted “STAYING WITH TCU”
babygramps - January 23, 2012
People keep calling him a 4-star. He still looks like a 3-star to me.
According to Rivals, at least.
I’ve got mixed feelings about this kid. De-committing from a good Big 12 program and committing to an SEC one? I’m not sure I like that. Maybe he just wanted to play for “UT” though and Tennessee was the best “UT” he could get at the time. Anyway, there’s just a lot of hype and I’m not sure I buy into it.
LookinForIt - January 23, 2012
When I see that 3-star rating, I just remind myself that Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Andy Dalton were all rated 3-star by some system. Recruiting is a crap shoot. Sometimes they pan out, sometimes they don’t. Hopefully, this guy is as good as advertised.
I definitely like his attitude. :-)
dimecoverage - January 23, 2012
All three of your examples are QB's but I get the underlying position of your argument.
spinmonkey - January 23, 2012
Acho Acho Muck
Horncasting - January 23, 2012
I thought
He had commited to the aggies at one time
BEW - January 25, 2012 via mobile
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