We're almost done with the Houston-Five, which are the five players that committed immediately after the Houston camp (C Jared Kaster, DT Anthony Smith, WR Dominique Wheeler, LB Ryan Flannigan, and OL Trey Keenan). I know Keenan's not from the Houston area, but just go with it. Focusing on Flannigan, he was originally committed to Baylor and switched his commitment to Texas Tech after the Houston camp. Again, those camps around DFW and Houston have proven to be a boon for recruiting. Let's get to it.
DTN FanPost and/or FanShot: Hat-tip to RedRaid13!
The Measurables:
RYAN FLANNIGAN
Position: LB
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1 | Clip 2
Rivals5.6
Scout
ESPN
24/7 Sports
Ht: 6'1" | Wt: 200 lbs | Forty: 4.56
High School: Marshall (Missouri City, TX)
The Player Speaks: LAJ's Don Williams spoke with Flannigan after his commitment and he talked about a teammate having an influence on his commitment:
"I have a teammate up here, and I really liked the school," Flannigan said. "I can see myself playing here, and I can see myself being at this school and being involved, so I just decided I want to be here."
I'm thinking that this teammate is RB DeAndre Washington, who was at Marshall last year and is currently on campus. Good job on Washington. Flannigan also talked about what he brings to the football field:
"I think what stands out about me the most is my speed and my ability to get to the ball and make plays and get to the ball in the open field," Flannigan said.
Texas Tech now holds commitments from three linebackers that all have similar traits, i.e. around 6-1/200 and run a 4.5 to 4.6. Flannigan fits that mold and although Texas Tech has similar players to Flannigan in Michah Awe and Kris Williams, the staff thought that a third linebacker would be good. Given their size, I think they could all flip-flop between that linebacker or safety spot.
Offers and Rankings: A pretty lengthy list of offers, including Arizona, Arizona St., Baylor, Boise St., Kansas, Houston, Minnesota, Oregon St., San Diego St., West Virginia, etc. There are more offers than I've listed, but I think that Flannigan was a player that was well-thought of by a lot of coaching staffs. Didn't have offers from the big boys, but still an impressive list. Rivals has Flannigan as the 54th best linebacker, while Scout has him as the 42nd, and ESPN as the 39th best linebacker. 24/7 Sports doesn't rank Flannigan as a linebacker.
More after the jump.
The Video: Film don't lie.
Scouting Report: Like a lot of prospects' films, Flannigan is fast and he definitely makes plays all over the field. Really nice instincts and seems to find the ball fairly quickly. You like to have a linebacker that can make quick decisions. I also really appreciated the Rivals video where Flannigan is pitted against running backs and displays some nice moves. He's bigger than most of the backs he faces, but still displays some excellent quickness. Not a lot of film of Flannigan fighting off offensive linemen and that's something that I think his quickness takes care of while at the high school level. He'll have plenty of time to figure that out as he matures.
Ryan, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!
The 2012 Class:
| Position | Commitment | Ht/Wt | School/State | Rivals |
Rivals Rating |
Scout |
ESPN |
ESPN Grade |
24/7 |
24/7 Grade |
| QB | CLAYTON NICHOLAS | 6-3/205 | Cooper (Abilene, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 2 | 4 | 79 | 3 | 88 |
| RB | ||||||||||
| WR | REGINALD DAVIS | 6-1/185 | Tenaha (Tenaha, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 4 | 4 | 81 | 4 | 91 |
| WR | MARCUS JOHNSON | 6-1/180 | Clear Spring (League City, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 89 |
| WR | DOMINIQUE WHEELER | 6-2/178 | Crockett (Crockett, TX) | 4 | 5.9 | 5 | 4 | 82 | 4 | 95 |
| TE | ||||||||||
| OL | CHRISTIAN OKAFOR | 6-6/320 | Westbury (Houston, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 4 | 4 | 79 | 3 | 88 |
| OL | HALAPOULIVAATI VAITAI | 6-5/260 | Haltom (Haltom City, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 89 |
| C | JARED KASTER | 6-4/268 | Rice (Altair, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 2 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 87 |
| DL | J.J. BYNUM | 6-3/275 | A&M Consolidated (College Station, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 79 | - | - |
| DL | MICHAEL STARTS | 6-5/285 | La Vega (Waco, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 4 | 4 | 80 | 4 | 94 |
| DL | ANTHONY SMITH | 6-0/291 | Westfield (Houston, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 76 | 3 | 86 |
| LB | MICAH AWE | 6-0/210 | Mansfield Summit (Mansfield, TX) | - | - | 2 | 3 | 78 | - | - |
| LB | KRIS WILLIAMS | 6-2/200 | Bryan Adams (Dallas, TX) | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| LB | RYAN FLANNIGAN | 6-1/200 | Marshall (Missouri City, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 79 | 3 | 86 |
| DB | LA'DARIUS NEWBOLD | 6-1/180 | Lancaster (Lancaster, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 75 | - | - |
| ATH | KEENON WARD | 5-9/176 | Snyder (Snyder, TX) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 78 | - | - |
| Averages | 2.80 | 4.91 | 3.13 | 3.13 | 73.33 |
2.40 | 65.27 |