Weekend Recap: March 11

2013-03-11 08:00:00

Recruiting rule changes, 2014 commitments and coaching changes highlight the recap.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

It's Monday, and if you spent your weekend away from the computer -- you know, actually doing things -- don't worry: we're here to catch you up on everything you need to know about the weekend that was on the Texas football scene!

(And, as always, if you see something missing, let me know via e-mail or Twitter.)

Without further ado, your TexasFootball.com Offseason Weekend Recap for March 11, 2013.

Recruiting

Obviously, all eyes during the vast, vast offseason are on recruiting, and specifically the early-goings of the 2014 recruiting season. And, sure enough, there were a couple of commitments from the weekend that we’ll get to in a moment. But first, another adjustment to the ongoing drama that is the NCAA recruiting regulations.

Back in January, the NCAA put in place 25 new regulations for the recruiting game, which included such measures like the deregulation of text messages and social media, and the addition of dedicated recruiting staff to a coaching staff. The regulations – which were the subject of DCTF’s inaugural Recruiting Digital Edition (available for iPad, iPhone, Android devices and Kindle Fire) – were most certainly not without their critics. In fact, they were greeted with more scorn than praise.

Late last week, the NCAA decided to put those recruiting changes on hold, suspending the changes until further notice. The reason: the blowback from member schools that programs with overwhelming resources – like, for example, Alabama – would blow other schools out of the water with significantly deregulated practices.

It’s still a work in progress, and this will most certainly change sooner as opposed to later, but for now: things seem to be staying the same as they have been in the past few years.

On to the commitments across Texas, as promised, where one is staying in state and one is heading out.

Staying in Texas: San Antonio Taft WR P.J. Anderson, who pledged on Saturday to play at Texas State. The Taft Raiders were nothing to write home about in 2012, stumbling to a 3-7 record, but Anderson was one of the shining stars, hauling in 40 passes for 562 yards and 4 touchdowns. Anderson has good speed and runs pretty good routes, but still has some little things to pick up to become a truly top-tier receiver. Still, this is a quality pickup for the Bobcats.

Heading out of state: Round Rock tackle Robert Castaneda, who pledged on Thursday to Kansas State. Castaneda has tremendous size at 6-5 and 300 pounds, which is why he was getting some interest from teams like Baylor, LSU, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. He was a key cog for the Dragons in their run to the playoffs, and now, he’ll be heading to Manhattan.

HS Coaching Changes

Only a couple of coaching changes to report this week, but don’t think that this is slowing down. We’ve still got a lot of open jobs across Texas, and everyone needs a coach.

-Late last week, Lampasas – who was without a coach after Jimmy Randolph resigned to spend more time with his family – filled their vacancy by hiring Medina Valley’s Brian Emerson. It’s a little surprising, considering Medina Valley is a 4A and Lampasas is 3A, but Emerson has a proven track record: he won the 2001 2A Division I title with Blanco before moving to Medina Valley, where he went 65-53 in 11 seasons with the Panthers. Lampasas is coming off a 1-9 season, but remember: they’re just a year removed from going 10-2. This is a quality program, and they’ve got a quality coach in Emerson.

-Clear Springs has been without a coach since Clint Hartman left to coach his alma mater San Antonio East Central, but no longer: Frank Maldonado has been promoted from his spot as defensive coordinator. Maldonado has been the defensive coordinator since CSHS opened in 2007, so he’s got credibility with the program. He’s got big shoes to fill, though: Hartman led the Chargers to the playoffs every year since 2009.

-There’s been a surprising amount of turnover in tiny Idalou – which, by the way, has an excellent song written about it – in the past few years. The Wildcats won the 2010 state title, then saw coach Johnny Taylor retire. In stepped Don Long, who coached Idalou over the past two seasons…but now he’s resigned. Once again this time, Idalou is staying in house, promoting Jeff Lofton from his assistant’s spot. It’s a cool story for Lofton, a 1997 graduate of Idalou High, and he’ll have a big task ahead of him to keep IHS’ winning tradition alive.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.