Something about this Tom Herman recruiting class doesn't add up

"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
John 7:24

Whatever happens tonight against Mizzou, the hype machine is already out for 2018:

With the signing of Anthony Cook on Wednesday afternoon during the Early Signing Period, the Longhorns officially inked seven of the state’s Top 10 players in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. That smashes Texas’ previous high of five in 2011 and 2012 – the 247Sports Composite's origin dates to 2011. Using 247Sports’ backdated rankings that start in 2000, the 2018 class is still Texas’ best effort in the Lone Star State. Texas, even during Mack Brown’s peak, never signed more than six of the state’s Top 10 players.

Perhaps most notably to the Longhorns' future, they inked more of the state’s Top 10 this year than they had the previous four years combined. Under Charlie Strong – and in last year’s abbreviated period under Herman – Texas signed just six of the top 40 available players in the state.

Herman bested that total in just a single cycle in his first full year as head coach

And the Longhorns aren’t even done. With all of this movement coming during the Early Signing Period, there’s still time for Texas to potentially add more. As it currently stands, the Longhorns are the only team to have inked a top 10 player in the Lone Star state with Jaylen Waddle, Leon O'Neal Jr. and Joshua Moore remaining uncommitted.

Texas’ 2018 class currently ranks third nationally. If that holds, it’d be the team’s best recruiting finish since 2012.

....

This movement is all the more impressive considering the Longhorns finished just 6-6 in the regular season.

We'll go one step further: This movement is all the more impressive considering the Longhorns haven't done anything interesting in nearly a decade.

Which begs the natural follow up question: Is this legit?!?

We have no specific knowledge of wrongdoing, but this all seems awfully sudden.  Football programs that haven't done anything interesting in nearly a decade don't usually bust top 5 in the nation recruiting classes.  Given how corrupt everything else the University of Texas does ends up being, would anyone put it past them?!?

Keep this in mind: Players committing for 2018 would have been 8 years old when Colt McCoy played his last game and 4 years old when Vince Young won the national championship.  And we're supposed to believe that they were swayed by "Longhorn tradition" when none of that has been in evidence recently?!?  We suppose that's not impossible, but neither does it seem entirely likely.

Bottom Line:  If a recruiting scandal blows up in the next few years, you heard it here first.