In the fast-paced world of high school recruiting, anything is possible — even after players submit their National Letters of Intent. So it’s a fight to the finish, and any (legal) efforts to flip players who are committed to other schools are fair game.
With the loss of 4* quarterback Zach Gentry to Michigan (Jim Harbaugh’s first power move as head coach), the Texas Longhorns knew it had hit the recruiting trail hard to find a replacement.
Enter Kai Locksley. The 6’4, 190-pound Baltimore native has been the rumored top target of Longhorns’ head coach Charlie Strong for a few weeks now. And while Locksley is the No. 6 ranked ATH in the nation at the moment, he’s slated to come in as quarterback — a much needed position in this year’s class.
Locksley called Strong before releasing the news, where he said his new coach was “ecstatic.”
“He was like, ‘You’re joking around. Why’d you make me wait this long? [I’ve] Been trying to get you to say that for two weeks. Why [are] you playing around?'” said Locksley. “He was happy to have that main piece in his recruiting class.”
Locksley made his official visit to 40-Acres in Austin, Texas on Jan. 23. Despite receiving over 20 offers from major programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Maryland, he announced his decision to flip from Florida State to Texas via Twitter:
Mike Locksley — Kai’s father — is the offensive coordinator for the Maryland Terrapinss, but he also coached with Charlie Strong as defensive assistants at Florida from 2003-2004,so there is a level of familiarity there.
In an interview in 2014 with Katherine Dunn of the Baltimore Sun, Locksley said he wanted to major in broadcasting at Florida State to make sure that if he didn’t go pro, he’d still be in the sports business. And while Locksley’s academic intentions are at Texas remains unknown, his intentions and enthusiasm seem to be in the right place, which definitely adds to the momentum for Longhorns’ fans leading into Wednesday.
*Section Photo credit to 247sports.com; Featured Photo (above) credit to Brian Krista, Baltimore Sun.
