Rivals250 DB Atanza Vongor down to three after Texas junior day

Rivals250 safety Atanza Vongor has had a little more attention on him as of late with an expected upcoming commitment at the end of next month.

He acknowledged that after his visit last weekend to Texas last weekend that the Longhorns will ‘definitely play a factor in where he goes’ but what kind of a factor that ends up being is open to interpretation. Texas made his recently released top-three, which also includes Baylor and TCU.

“I just had a chance to get a feel for the university,” he said of last weekend’s visit. “I was here back when (Charlie) Strong was here but I didn’t get the full experience. Being able to go all around today was great.”

The feeling with Vongor is that the Horned Frogs could very well be the leader in his recruitment. Though comparing TCU to Texas might not quite be apples to oranges, the deciding factor between the two could essentially come down to personal preference when it comes to the basic ingredients.

“Just the environment, the coaches,” he said. “When you get to talk to the people inside the program and hear how they see it and with what’s happening there - a lot of people can look from the outside looking in, but really when you get what’s happening from the inside, that’s the real stuff.

“So talking to those players at TCU they really like it and they’re having success, and it’s the same thing over (at Texas).”

Baylor clearly has more than a puncher’s chance in the race as well, and it’s worth keeping in mind that he’s maintained significant interest in the Bears through two coaching staffs and the events of last spring. After familiarizing himself with the new regime and direction of the program, he’s comfortable keeping Baylor included in his considerations.

“It’s really good out there,” he said. “Tony Nicholson came from my school and he’s been telling me what about the coaches, Coach (Matt) Rhule, they really know what they’re doing and their progressing and getting better. So they should be good this year.”

Vongor has his thoughts about the Texas coaches, too. After last weekend’s visit, there was plenty to be said about head coach Tom Herman and safeties coach Craig Naivar.

“Just the success that he has had at Houston and Ohio State in previous years,” he said about what he took from his time spent with Herman. “Being able to bring that over here to Texas would be huge, so that’s definitely something I’m going to look into.”

In regards to Naivar, Vongor recalled his sales pitch to the group of defensive backs on campus Saturday.

“He was telling us to come out here and start this revolution,” he said. “Guys like me, B.J. (Foster), Anthony (Cook), to come out here and other kids will see that. I could start something for (Texas) to be a top class in 2018.”

A few schools of thought can be considered when it comes to Vongor’s commitment and subsequent recruitment based on what he said last weekend. He talked about Texas with less certainty than he seemed to have when it came to TCU - or Baylor for that matter - in terms of his immediate opinion of each program. However, he’s making his commitment early enough that dramatic changes in fortune for any of the three teams discussed could reopen a conversation about his final decision.