Analysis: Three-star TE Lake McRee commits to Texas

The Bat Signal went up on Monday evening and the verdict was in a few hours later. Lake Travis (Texas) tight end Lake McRee committed to Texas over Texas A&M on Tuesday giving the Longhorns a prominent victory on the recruiting trail over a local prospect that was also strongly considering the Aggies.

McRee, a three-star tight end on the fringe of a fourth star heading into his junior season, is one of the best at his positions in the Lone Star State. A native of Austin, McRee opted to stay home. His high school teammate and quarterback, Hudson Card, is already committed to Texas.

During the spring evaluation period, the Texas staff was at nearby Lake Travis High School eyeing their future signal-caller when McRee grabbed their attention. McRee picked up an offer from the Longhorns in late April after the tight end visited Austin for the Texas spring game.

At the time of his commitment, McRee claimed offers from not only Texas, but in-state rivals such as Texas A&M, Baylor, SMU and TCU, in addition to Arizona, Arkansas, Arizona State, Purdue, North Carolina and Southern Cal.

While McRee made early visits to SMU and Oklahoma -- which showed interest but elected not to offer -- the tight end made a string of visits both to Texas and Texas A&M leading into his July 9 decision. McRee was in College Station as recently as last month for the team's prospect camp.

The Horns and Aggies were at the top of the list for three-star tight end but McRee decided to remain close to home and join his teammate Card at Texas. The Longhorns have traditionally recruited Lake Travis very well and McRee is another extension of that trend.

McRee is a well-rounded tight end capable of being a dynamic pass-catcher and blocker when he arrives at Texas. He plays a majority of his snaps at Lake Travis in an H-back role, where he catches a ton of passes in the flats or in the middle of the field on short routes. McRee has soft hands and is a reliable pass-catcher, and with good size (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) he's also a dynamic runner after the fact. That's right -- the big man has the ability to trip up defenders in space.

In the passing game, McRee can line up as an in-line tight end or split out wide or in the slot. He runs the field very well and has an impressive catch radius to bring in difficult grabs and make catches away from his body. McRee plays faster than his recorded 40 time (5.0 seconds) and has some wiggle ability. He adds another element to the passing game as a safety valve or red-zone weapon.

McRee is an excellent blocker and is continuing to grow and develop in that area. He's routinely an effective run-blocker, but flashes enormous upside in this category with some timely pancakes on film. He does some of his best work out in space, using his athleticism to open up lanes downfield. As Texas works to continue to restore a high-octane rushing attack, McRee will need to continue to add some muscle to his frame to keep making strides as a blocker.

McRee is in the discussion as the state's top tight end for the Class of 2021 and is one of a handful of prospects at the position to hold offers from both Texas and Texas A&M. An early pledge to the Longhorns will force Jimbo Fisher and co. to shift its focus elsewhere, especially after McRee flirted with the Aggies for a good chunk of the summer.

Other names that need to be put on Texas A&M's radar moving forward include Mesquite Poteet's Devon Martin and Houston Dekaney's Var'Keyes Gumms.The Aggies have yet to offer either one of these other in-state tight ends.