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Welcome to The Crootletter (sign up to get this in your inbox every morning!). I'm Bud Elliott, SB Nation's National Recruiting Analyst, and in this space I'll be sharing news, rumors and musings on the world of college football recruiting.
I updated my tracker of which schools could land the No. 1 recruiting class early Friday. One school not on the list that over much of the last decade has been in contention for that title is Texas. The Longhorns are currently 34th in the 247Sports ratings, which is nowhere near what Texas fans want.
But things might be looking up for Charlie Strong as National Signing Day approaches. The Longhorns added four-star cornerback Eric Cuffee Thursday. Cuffee was thought to be A&M-bound for much of the fall, but Texas did a good job to work him down the stretch.
The Longhorns also have legitimate chances to sign four-star defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, four-star defensive tackle D'Andre Christmas-Giles, four-star linebacker Dontavious Jackson, four-star linebacker Jeffrey McCulloch, four-star safety Brandon Jones and three-star safety Chris Brown .
Of course, Cuffee and the targets mentioned above all play defense, and Texas needs the most help on offense. Word came Thursday that tight end recruit Irvin Smith cancelled Texas' in-home visit, and it looks like he will be picking Alabama over the Longhorns. That is a bit of a gut punch, as Texas had made Smith a priority forever and Alabama just recently turned up the heat. Texas has just four players in its class on the offensive side of the ball rated four-stars or better, and signed just six last season. That's surprising given how much playing time Texas has had to sell on that side of the football.
If things don't turn around on offense in a hurry, the next coach is going to inherit the best group of defensive talent in the Big XII.
Quickly
Ric Flair will be speaking at Michigan's National Signing Day party. If Jim Harbaugh signs the No. 1 overall player, Rashan Gary, as I have predicted, prepare to hear a big woooooooo! The Wolverines did add three-star tight end Nick Eubanks, the fifth player from South Florida to pledge to the Wolverines this year. And former mega-prospect Brian Cole is leaving the team.
Nebraska landed a very promising offensive tackle from North Dakota, Matt Farniok, beating out Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State -- a good list of offers for an offensive lineman.
The Big Ten is raiding Maryland and New Jersey more than ever. Matt Brownwrites that it is a lot more than simply adding Maryland and Rutgers.
So sure, Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014, and that undoubtedly had some impact, but it also coincided with a storm of the Big Ten's elite adding East Coast focused coaches, instability and changing priorities at other institutions, and what was happening on the field.
Could Maryland keep four-star defensive end Terrell Hall home and away from Alabama?
Stanford added two commits: four-star Texas defensive back Obi Eboh, and offensive lineman Nate Herbig, who recommitted after entertaining Washington and Cal for a time.
I love linking our all-name recruit team. Where do parents come up with some of these names?
Can Arkansas land a top-20 class? Yes, says Doc Harper, and here's how. That sounds great, but then you realize that might be a last-place finish in the SEC West.
Here is a rundown of the top needs left in Alabama's class and who is coming in this weekend for a visit.