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Steele's Brady, Clemens' Bush in spotlight on Signing Day

While the new early signing period in December has taken much of the drama out of college football recruiting, the first Wednesday in February is still a big day for recruits across the country.
Steele running back Brenden Brady, on the go in a District 27-6A game against Judson last season, rushed for 1,941 yards and 25 TDs in 261 carries as a senior.

UPDATE: Clemens wide receiver Tommy Bush, who had scholarship offers from nearly 50 Football Bowl Subdivision schools, signed with Georgia on Wednesday morning during a National Signing Day assembly in the Clemens High School auditorium.

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Steele running back Brenden Brady started his senior football season committed to Rice, but he won't be faxing his letter of intent to the Owls on Wednesday morning.

Highly sought wide receiver Tommy Bush has offers from virtually every Power 5 school in the country, but nobody has a clue where he will play next season.

Brady, who rushed for 1,941 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior, will make his college decision official Wednesday when he signs with UTSA on the NCAA's National Signing Day.

In the end, Brady opted to stake his college future with UTSA, the first school that offered him a scholarship 14 months ago. Brady committed to Rice last June, but his commitment softened when head coach David Bailiff was fired after the Owls finished the season 1-11.

Brady made an official visit to UTSA on the second weekend of January, and committed to the Roadrunners a week later -- on the same day he withdrew his pledge to Rice.

"I had been talking to them (Rice coaches) back and forth, but I kind of wanted to keep my recruiting open," Brady said Tuesday. "But I also wanted to stay committed to them and give them a chance. It seemed that as soon as the coaches left, a lot of the players started to de-commit right away, never really gave the new staff a chance.

"I wanted to be a little bit different, just because I know the recruiting process is pretty crazy. You never know when you have options and spots close up, and you're left with nothing. I wanted to stay committed to them (Rice) and give them an opportunity to reach out to me and try form a relationship, and for me to get to know them. But, unfortunately, things didn't play out the way I thought."

While Brady announced his college choice via Twitter last month, the most highly sought high school senior in the area has yet to reveal where he will go to school, if he's even made a decision yet.

Tommy Bush, making a catch against MacArthur as a junior, has scholarship offers from more than 50 FBS schools, including Alabama and Georgia.

Bush, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound speedster, has offers from more than 50 Football Bowl Subdivision schools, including Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Florida State and Miami, just to name a few.

Bush has made official visits to Georgia, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Ole Miss., and unofficial visits to Texas, Baylor and "anywhere else he can drive to," Clemens coach Jared Johnston said Tuesday night. "He took a ton of unofficials."

Tight-lipped about his recruiting since before his senior season, Bush is expected to reveal his college choice at Clemens' Signing Day assembly at 10:30 Wednesday morning.

"I have no idea where he's going, or what he's thinking," Johnston said Tuesday night. "Tomorrow, I will find out like every body else in the city, the state and the country. I know that he and his parents set up a process and they want to trust the process. I think they've considered everything and talked to a lot of schools.

"I think Tommy has handled it very well. His demeanor has been the same with each school that's come by. His listened to everybody. I think whenever it's all said and done, whatever he decides, I think it's going to be a well, thought-out process."

Playing in Clemens' run-oriented offense, Bush didn't have eye-popping stats as a senior, finishing with 23 receptions for 302 yards and five TDs. But his speed and size give him tremendous upside.

"He can really stretch the field," Johnston said. "He runs a laser (timed) 4.40 (in the 40) and a hand-timed 4.3. Normally, short guys look real fast. The long guys, they don't look near as fast, but their times are fast. Tommy looks fast. Even at 6-5, he still looks fast.

"That's what's impressive. Tommy looks like he's flying. He also does a great job of handling his business. He works hard. He's always been that way."

Judson defensive lineman Darren Brown, taking the field with his teammates before last season's game against Steele will sign with SMU on Wednesday.

Brady, who maintains a 4.0 grade-point average, had scholarship offers from a cross section of schools, including Harvey, Princeton and Yale of the Ivy League and service academies Air Force, Army and Navy. Duke, Marshall and New Mexico also offered him.

As things turned out, UTSA was the only school Brady visited.

"This is what's supposed to happen," Brady said of his decision to sign with UTSA. "It's in God's plan. I'm glad it happened the way it did. I definitely feel that I am where I'm supposed to be. Honestly, I was planning on visiting a few (schools). UTSA was my first one that I was going to.

"After that weekend, I was blown away with everything UTSA had to offer, and the way they sold the place really well. In talking with my family and giving other schools opportunities, ultimately, UTSA was the best thing for me. I knew right away. Once you know what you want, it's not good to string things out. I just decided to commit to UTSA because I knew that's where I was going to go."

While the new early signing period in December has taken much of the drama out of college football recruiting, the first Wednesday in February is still a big day for recruits across the country.

Brady is among a handful of area high school seniors who will sign letters of intent with FBS schools Wednesday. The others are Clemens offensive tackle Sheldon Benson (UTEP), Clemens defensive end Carter Breu (Air Force), Judson defensive end Darren Brown (SMU) and Clemens defensive tackle Savien Jenkins (UTEP).

Nationally, most of the FBS recruits in the Class of 2018 signed in December. That held true in the San Antonio area, where 19 high school seniors signed with FBS schools early.

Zadock Dinkelmann, who committed to LSU as a 14-year-old eighth-grader in 2013, is expected to sign with Navarro Junior College. Dinkelmann withdrew his commitment to LSU after Les Miles was fired in 2016 and later committed to BYU, where an uncle, Ty Detmer, was offensive coordinator. He withdrew his pledge to BYU after Detmer was fired last year.

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