Horns make strong impression on Knox, Gresham
Saturday's Longhorn home win over New Mexico saw a good number of prospects make their way to Austin to take in the action. A few Texas commits from the 2012 class made it in, as did a couple top uncommitted prospects in that class.
Not to be outdone, the class of 2013 was also well-represented, including visits from teammates Daniel Gresham, a Longhorn commitment, and Demetrius Knox. The Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal duo both gave the trip strong reviews, and they both enjoyed a similar experience when walking through the tunnel onto the field before the game began.
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"It was a great experience overall. When went through the tunnel down on the field, I didn't even anything to Demetrius and he didn't say anything to me, but in the movies they talk about first time you walk on the field and you get chills. He said that happened to him and I said the same thing. The first time being there for me so it was amazing," Gresham said.
"The highlights were the atmosphere," Knox added. "It was crazy. For the first time, I got chills. And the coaching staff and players treated us like we were family already."
After the game ended, Knox and Gresham stayed around the football offices until well after midnight, mingling with the UT players, hanging out in the Longhorn players' lounge and spending time with the Texas coaching staff, including Mack Brown.
Gresham said it's not uncommon for him and Knox to receive a bundle of letters from certain schools on any given day that it's tough to sort through all the literature. Just recently, Knox pulled in about 20 letters from one school and Gresham 15 from another ... all in one day.
"We went up to the coaches' offices and watched film of the game," Gresham said. "Coach Brown was telling us 'I want to stay in touch as much as I can, but I don't want to bug you. I'll Facebook you every now and then. I want you to know I care about you and Texas cares about you, and when someone blows you up and sends you 130 letters, that doesn't mean they care about you more than I do. I'm just letting you breath." Me and Demetrius liked that a lot."
Gresham, a running back who committed to Texas on August 7, spent time around UT running backs coach/co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite. He was introduced to Joe Bergeron, Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray, and Gresham said one of the highlights of the night was watching Earl Campbell, one of his favorite players ever, walk onto the field as an honorary captain.
Knox, the top-rated offensive line prospect in the state of Texas for the 2014 class, remains uncommitted. The visit made such an impression on the 6-5, 300-pounder that it even crossed his mind to put an end to the recruiting process.
"Mack Brown just told us how much he wanted us. He said that he thinks we can make a big impact for their team and help win a national championship," Knox said. "I really wanted to (commit) but I knew it was for the best if I waited."
For Gresham, a future Longhorn, watching the game gave him a glimpse of what it will be like to play for Texas. It was a moment that really stuck with him ... and with Knox as well.
"It was just amazing - the stadium, the fans. The thing that kind of caught me by surprise, when the game started, I looked up and I could see Demetrius out of the corner of my eye. We both just started laughing. 'Bro, they're playing New Mexico, and there are 100,000 people here. Think if they're playing Baylor or the OU game,'" Knox said. "The fans helped out a lot. Walking down, some random fan came up. He was like 'Demetrius Knox, hope hope to see you down here. Daniel Gresham, we have big things in store for you.' It felt good that they knew who we were, that there fans are that committed to the team."
As for Knox, he continues to keep his options open, but he does have the Longhorns clearly out in front.
"UT is still No. 1 for me. Nobody is touching them," Knox said.
Knox and Gresham plan to attend several Longhorn games this fall. Knox said he plans to be at UT's home games against Baylor, West Virginia and TCU, as well as attending the Texas-OU game in Dallas.
"But I'm not going to commit during the season," Knox said.