Several Texas early enrollees garner praise from veteran Longhorns

On3 imageby:Joe Cook04/07/23

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Fourteen members of Texas’ No. 3 2023 recruiting class decided to skip the second semester of their senior year and enroll early at the University of Texas, including five-stars Arch Manning, CJ Baxter, Anthony Hill, and Johntay Cook plus top-150 prospects Malik Muhammad and DeAndre Moore.

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Those six players were praised often when Jahdae Barron, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Jordan Whittington, and Jerrin Thompson were at the microphone on Thursday. Each was asked about newcomers who stood out to them. In addition to what they said about the Longhorns’ three transfer additions, here’s what they had to say about members of the 2023 class.

CJ Baxter

Ja’Tavion Sanders: “C4 came in and made a statement. He’s young, but he’s definitely showing he has the capability to come in here and make some noise this season.”

Johntay Cook and DeAndre Moore Jr.

Jerrin Thompson: “Johntay, he came in and he understood this is college. You’ve got to step it up. At first, he was a little shaky but as we got through winter workouts and now that we’re in camp, he understands you’ve got to pick it up and come on with it. He’s getting the feel of things.”

Ja’Tavion Sanders: “With these younger receivers we’ve got like Johntay and DeAndre, they’re definitely going to be assets for us. Especially in this offense we have, I love the way both of them play. Once they get it together, there’s going to be some problems for sure.”

Ja’Tavion Sanders: “Their overall game. I love the way they both get in and out of their routes, how they catch the ball, just everything about being a receiver. You can tell that they’re going to be ready for the season.”

Jahdae Barron: “Johntay, his route running is amazing. D-Mo, he is very fast. He’s fast. I was like ‘dang, he’s fast.’ When he gets out of his breaks, he goes. He’s a freak, he’s really fast.”

Jordan Whittington: “Johntay Cook. I like Johntay. Man, he’s smooth.”

Anthony Hill

Jerrin Thompson: “I like Ant Hill. He’s shown he’s real mature and understands the game a little bit.”

Ja’Tavion Sanders: “Going to high school with Ant Hill, I know what type of player he is. He’s doing the same thing he was doing in high school. I definitely think he came in with the right mindset and the right attitude to come here and make some noise.”

Jahdae Barron: “Anthony Hill, he’s a ball-hawk. He loves the ball. He’s been getting forced fumbles. He caught an interception yesterday. I love Hill. He be going at it in practice and team run, stuff like that.”

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Malik Muhammad

Jerrin Thompson: “He’s energetic. He’s one of those guys who brings energy. He shows he’s happy to be here, and that’s the type of guys you want on the team.”

Jahdae Barron: “Malik is very smart… I really love Malik and him trying to grow, he asks me questions all the time and stuff like that. I may not know it all, but I still ask my questions to (Terry Joseph) and I try to relate them and transfer them and give them to Malik.”

Jahdae Barron: “Him just asking me questions, I did it here with Josh (Thompson). I used to be in Josh’s ear like, what do I do here? What do I do here? I just tell him to ask me and keep asking me. He’s willing to grow, and plus he’s physical. He’s not scared of contact. He wants to go hit.”

Arch Manning

Ja’Tavion Sanders: “I think getting Arch definitely made Quinn (Ewers) step up his game for sure.”

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