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It isn’t the first time the Texas Longhorns could have a player on the roster with a bloodline that leads back to the glory days of the Dallas Cowboys — yes, I know that seems like forever ago — and it likely won’t be the last.
According to reports– including the tweet from Burnt Orange Nation’s Wes Eberts below– Mack Brown has offered a scholarship to four-star Ponte Vedra, Florida linebacker Dillon Bates:
https://twitter.com/SBN_Wescott/status/300692730353426432
If the last name rings a bell to those of you in the Lone Star State, it definitely should. Bates is the son of Dallas Cowboys special teams legend Bill Bates, who donned the silver star for 14 seasons from 1983-1997. Bates nominally was a safety for Tom Landry’s teams, but made his legend with huge hits on special teams both on kick coverage and kick return coverage.
At 6’3″, 218 pounds, the younger Bates has established quite the reputation as a versatile linebacker that would fit nicely in the ever-evolving Longhorns defensive schemes should he keep his commitment and make his way to the Forty Acres in 2014. According to the major scouting websites, Dillon Bates also has substantial interest from a wide variety of Division I programs — 26 in all — but the Longhorns as of now appear to be the only school to extend an offer.
Should Bates sign with the Longhorns, he’ll join another player with a Dallas Cowboys great as a father, Jackson Jeffcoat, the star Texas defensive end whose dad Jim Jeffcoat is without argument one of the best defensive players in Cowboys history.
Regardless, the offer made to Dillon Bates suggests Mack Brown is more convinced than others that he could make a big impact– and quickly. Hopefully, for Texas fans, that dice roll will pay off.
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Kris Hughes is the College Football Network Manager for Rant Sports. You can follow Kris on Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook
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