06-23-2012, 07:56 AM
Montgomery was not a super-elite prospect. He was the #30 WR for Rivals and a four-star, but not among their top 250 players. For ESPN, he was the #35 WR and a four-star, but again not one of their top 150 players. He was a low four-star for 247. Scout liked him best, as the #27 WR.
That year, Shipley was regarded as the ninth-best wideout in the country by Rivals and the sixty-second best player overall; he was considerably less well-regarded by ESPN, as the #36 WR and a four-star; Scout, however, ranked him as the #6 WR; 247 thought he was the 30th best player in the country and #5 WR.
That being said, Texas did take another wideout who was ranked worse than Montgomery; however, he was 6'3" or 6'4", meaning Texas could have been looking for a tall WR to fill out their class.
Anyway, Texas didn't really want Montgomery. They didn't invite him to their junior day, nor did they offer him. That's pretty persuasive evidence for me that they didn't want him.* They would've gone after him if they did; they think they can get just about any Texan they want, and their record reflects that. But that's fine, of course; there are too many good Texan football players for them all to go to Texas, and we happen to have gotten our fair share of those players. I'd prefer to supplement those guys with Texans that Texas wants, but we can't have it all.
* (Curiously, none of the Texas schools offered Montgomery.)
That year, Shipley was regarded as the ninth-best wideout in the country by Rivals and the sixty-second best player overall; he was considerably less well-regarded by ESPN, as the #36 WR and a four-star; Scout, however, ranked him as the #6 WR; 247 thought he was the 30th best player in the country and #5 WR.
That being said, Texas did take another wideout who was ranked worse than Montgomery; however, he was 6'3" or 6'4", meaning Texas could have been looking for a tall WR to fill out their class.
Anyway, Texas didn't really want Montgomery. They didn't invite him to their junior day, nor did they offer him. That's pretty persuasive evidence for me that they didn't want him.* They would've gone after him if they did; they think they can get just about any Texan they want, and their record reflects that. But that's fine, of course; there are too many good Texan football players for them all to go to Texas, and we happen to have gotten our fair share of those players. I'd prefer to supplement those guys with Texans that Texas wants, but we can't have it all.
* (Curiously, none of the Texas schools offered Montgomery.)