The name Hudson Powell may mean nothing to anyone right now, but that seems likely to change soon.
On Thursday, Powell became the latest member of the Texas Longhorns football team for the 2024 season, accepting a preferred walk-on slot. Powell was a local product, graduating from Austin (Texas) Regents School, a prestigious (if relatively new) private school in the same hometown as the University of Texas.
That's where the relatively everyday nature of his commitment ends. That's because Powell is an absolute monster.
Excited to commit to Texas Football as a PWO this fall. #HookEm@jmjonesUT @TexasRecruiting @mikeroach247 @justinwells2424 @cjvogel_otf @RSA_Athletics pic.twitter.com/tgax3VFIFK
— Hudson Powell (@HudPowell10) July 25, 2024
A wide receiver in high school, Powell enters college at 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, which has him project as more of a tight end project than a wide receiver. Those measureables are impressive enough for an 18-year-old, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. That's because Powell also possesses an 82-inch wingspan, scored a 34 on his ACT and -- brace for it -- ran a laser-timed 4.53 second 40-yard-dash.
If you're wondering, that 40 time would have been the second fastest among tight end prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. This kid is 18.
He also has soft hands and nimble footwork to bring in grabs like this one:
Touchdown @RSA_Athletics
— Walker Lott (@walker_lott) November 18, 2023
Quinn Murphy rolls out and finds the big man who goes up and gets it to put Regnts on the board.
7-0 RSA | 9:24 2Q@TXPSMedia | @HudPowell10 pic.twitter.com/2NaydUnPiS
So how did a prospect like Powell, whose older brother is already on the roster at Colorado State, go under the radar, receive precisely zero stars from any of the recruiting services, and end up as an August walk-on? Some of it has to do with his alma mater. Regents School plays in Texas' private school division, TAPPS, which is considered far less competitive than Texas' legendary UIL, public school competitions.
Even so, a player of Powell's size, who was also apparently a silver medalist in the triple jump and high jump, and finished with 17 total touchdowns in a wildly successful season, would seem to be worthy of some kind of recruiting attention, no?
That all seems to add up to the very unique position Powell and Texas fans found themselves in late last week, as they sized each other up for the first time. One of two scenarios has likely just played out: 1) Powell had his heart set on his hometown team the entire time and gave other suitors the cold shoulder until he could arrive on campus and join the team, or 2) this will go down in history as one of the all-time great, "coach sees an enormous kid walking across campus, asks if he's ever played football, and finds the next Clay Matthews or Jim Leonhard.
The proof is in the pudding, and Texas fans are awfully excited to find out just who Powell turns out to be.
