Marques Caldwell completes the flip, commits to Texas
Prior to Texas offering, defensive back Marques Caldwell was pretty open about his feelings towards the Longhorns program. Caldwell was an early commitment to Oregon, but after he visited Texas for a Junior Day back in February, he mentioned how much he liked the UT program, the respect he had for defensive backs coach Jason Washington, and said if Texas was to eventually offer it might make for a tough decision.
Texas did eventually offer and Caldwell would eventually decommit from Oregon. Today, he officially committed to Texas.
“I like the energy Texas brings. Just to know, Texas is back. Everything is going the right direction with Tom Herman,” Caldwell told Orangebloods.com after Texas offered. “And all the coaching staff, the juice that’s up there right now is crazy.”
The 6-1, 175-pound Caldwell named Texas and Michigan as childhood favorites, so when Texas came calling, his interest was immediately piqued despite having given Oregon a commitment in October of last year. The Alvin product has developed a strong relationship with Texas DB coach Washington and the two have stayed in touch over the past few months. After Washington got a chance to evaluate Caldwell in person this spring, the offer was extended and that quickly put the wheels in motion for Caldwell to flip his commitment to Texas.
A long, rangy corner who can match up well with tall receivers, Caldwell is a versatile player with a skill set that can be hard to find, according to Rivals.com recruiting analyst Nick Krueger.
“I like him. The thing about the DBs in the state, the guys that have sort of looked the best over the course of spring aren’t necessarily as long or as athletic as he is,” Krueger said. “He brings that added element to the class, since there’s not as much of that to go around as last year.”
Texas signed a six-man defensive back class in the 2018 group and already has one cornerback commitment in the 2019 class from Kenyatta Watson, but Krueger said Caldwell’s size and versatility should help him carve out a niche somewhere in the Texas secondary.
“He’s just a really solid player,” Krueger said. “Because of his length, when he’s up in the air for jump balls, there’s a much better than 50/50 chance he’ll get the break-up versus some of the bigger wide receivers he’ll going to be matched up against. If you look at the DBs Texas took last year, he kind of falls in that mold, a guy who can play safety, nickel or perimeter corner.”
A three-star prospect, Caldwell is the nation’s No. 50-ranked cornerback prospect and is ranked No. 62 in the state of Texas overall by Rivals.com.