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Yesterday, I spoke with the radio play-by-play Voice of the Michigan Wolverines, Doug Karsch, for an interview that we will post on OTF later today. Karsch had a lot of interesting things to say overall, but one was a real eye opener. He compared the Michigan defensive front to the old Miami defensive fronts of the 90s. And when he said front, he didn't just mean the DLs but also the LBs. He said the Wolverines keep turning out elite player after elite player. Defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant are just two of the latest. Suffice to say, he thinks Michigan is extremely deep on the defensive front and is even enamored with the linebacker transf…

There are only two recruits in the class of 2025 who are currently uncommitted that Texas continues to pursue: San Antonio Alamo Heights athlete Michael Terry and linebacker Madden Faraimo from Southern California. The rest are all currently committed elsewhere. So let’s talk about “the rest” for a second… Just three weeks ago, Texas had solid recruiting momentum, the snowball was definitely rolling downhill but it wasn’t overwhelming. But right now, I’m here to tell everyone that that snowball has become an absolute avalanche behind the scenes. Recruits are calling Texas, including a couple of national prospects on no one’s radar. Recruits are in…

I was very encouraged to see freshman running back Christian Clark working out with weights earlier this week. That means the talented runner from Arizona is well on his way to mending an Achilles heel tore in fall camp. On Texas Football is told that Texas continues to take a cautious yet hopeful approach with his future. On the positive side, Clark is now expected to participate in some drills this spring training. But the team will keep him out of any contact drills for the time being. While we all like to mention Tre Wisner’s return or the arrivals of Rickey Stewart and James Simon or even the future health and timeline to return of Cedric Baxter, …

Stanford edge prospect David Bailey began his visit to Texas yesterday. That visit concludes later today. Bailey already visited Texas Tech earlier this week. Among a host of other suitors, UCLA may also get an official visit. As we’ve mentioned previously, Texas views Bailey as an elite player. After all, he was the best player on the Stanford team in 2024. He recorded seven sacks even though opposing teams knew he was really the Cardinal’s only defensive threat much of the season. Tech has been aggressive this cycle when it comes to NIL, so the Red Raiders are seen as a true threat. But the hope is that the higher profile and long-term success of Tex…

As of 12:01 this morning, the transfer portal has officially opened. It promises to be the wildest ride of college football free agency that we've ever seen. Around the nation, teams and their personnel departments are literally scrambling to make it all happen. But hopefully it won't be so crazy for Texas. The Horns, far from being in any sort of rebuilding mode, are looking to hold what they have while adding a few select pieces to one of the country's most talented teams. What pieces exactly? Steve Sarkisian has mentioned WR, TE, and the defensive front. Granted, Sark spoke about WR before the Horns landed Stanford transfer Emmett Mosley V on M…

The portal opened just one week ago today. Think about all that has happened since. Texas has added four players in just seven days (five in nine days). All are key additional pieces and all are at positions of need. You get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, there was a plan. A plan that was thought about and strategized behind the scenes for months. Hats off to Brandon Harris and the entire personnel department staff. What they accomplished in such a short period of time is the envy of college football personnel departments. ** Another fact to contemplate: Not a single portal visitor who visited Texas this portal period took a visit e…

Do you remember June 28? I do. It’s the day Josiah Sharma and Myron Charles committed to Oregon and Florida State, respectively. At that point, it was fair to question exactly what Texas might be able to piece together as far as DL recruiting. My how things have changed. In less than three short months, Texas DL recruiting has gone from the outhouse to the penthouse. Texas not only flipped Charles and Sharma, but several other elite options are in play, too. My suggestion: read Gerry Hamilton’s article on DL recruiting from this morning. It’ll give you a sense of just how things are progressing. ** On Saturday night, Jaydon Blue was…

The Texas defense has yet to be truly tested. Michigan was a test, sort of. But a formidable offense, they are not. Before anointing the Horns this season as truly the nation’s best, we need to see them against a stout offense, or at least one with some firepower. I’m pretty sure that’s not going to be Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are down their starting QB and their leading rusher. Yet there is something I really like about this matchup. It’s a nice precursor to Oklahoma. The two teams run somewhat similar styles of offense, predicated on power run, a mobile quarterback and the RPO game. In other words, I’m quite sure the Texas D will no…

Stat leaders so far for the Longhorns this season: QBs Arch Manning, 55-78, 901 yards, 9 TDs, 2 INTs, 70.5%, 11.6ypa, 200 QBR Quinn Ewers, 58-79, 691 yards, 8 TDs, 2 INTs, 73.4%, 8.7ypa, 175.2 QBR RBs Jaydon Blue, 51-238 yards, 4.7ypc, 4 TDs, 11 rec, 87 yards, 2 TDs Jerrick Gibson, 46-226 yards, 4.9ypc, 3 TDs, 3 rec, 25 yards Tre Wisner, 32-160 yards, 5.0 ypc, 1 TD, 5 rec, 58 yards WRs Isaiah Bond, 20-364, 18.2ypc, 3 TDs, 2 car, 51 yards, 1 TD Matthew Golden, 18-223, 12.4ypc, 3 TDs Ryan Wingo, 11-247, 22.5ypc, 2 TDs, 1 car, 55 yards Johntay Cook, 8-137, 17.1ypc, 2 TDs DeAndre Moore, 8-127, 15.9ypc, 3 TDs …

I’m told the first two days of practice this week have been crisp. The Longhorns have executed well, been focused and appear ready to go. ** I’m told Quinn Ewers has shown no signs of any lingering injury issues although trainers and coaches are monitoring him closely. ** Expect some surprises in this game coming from both teams. The Sooners offense may go heavy with the zone read in an attempt to control some of the clock and keep things simple for their freshman QB. Their defense may try to deploy some three-high looks that have given Sark and Ewers some issues over the past couple of years. Anything and everything is on the table, includin…

For the first time this season, the opponent will have just as much talent as Texas, if not more. Given that, the outcome of Saturday night will be determined by something more than just talent. It’ll be things like: - Which team is better coached? - Which team has a better gameplan? - Which team executes better in crunch time? - Which players are truly special in a game full of future NFLers? - Which quarterback has the better game? In other words, this will be more like an NFL game than any other on Texas’ schedule. Texas has physically overwhelmed opponents thus far. That won’t happen against Georgia. Instead, Texas wil…

You gotta love this time of year. Not only is Texas in the heat of the race for the college football playoff but the Horns are also in the midst of finalizing the 2025 recruiting class. Gerry Hamilton will be visiting with the Horns’ newest recruiting target, linebacker Kellen Wiley Jr. of Seffner (Fla.) Armwood High School, later this afternoon. With the Horns’ entry into the SEC, it’s a sign of the times that much of the recruiting work that remains for Sark and company is in Florida and Georgia. Texas fans need to get used to the Longhorns tapping into Florida and Georgia more and more in years to come. This will not be a one-year thing. ** …

Even amid a national election, yesterday was a fairly normal Tuesday for us at On Texas Football. Until the early afternoon. Things changed in a blink of an eye for our Blake Munroe and his wife Krista. The staff at On Texas Football received a quick text from Blake. Their oldest son, Colt, was at football practice. He went over the middle to catch a pass. He was tackled, a normal tackle. But Colt writhed in pain and was taken to the nearest ER. Blake was with him. But the story didn’t end there. We found out hours later that that ER wasn’t equipped enough for the care Colt needed. So Colt was care-flighted to a bigger hospital in Fort W…

When it comes to recruiting, it’s good to be Texas right now. With three weeks exactly until national signing day, the Longhorns have a lot of irons in the fire but without much overall concern elsewhere. In other words, Texas is in the enviable position of likely adding key pieces to the puzzle rather than just trying to hang on to what they’ve got. Sure, blue chip receiver Jamie Ffrench is visiting Florida this weekend with a teammate. But Ffrench also told the Texas staff ahead of time and remains firmly pledged to the Horns. Florida just doesn’t seem like a real concern. At the same time, the two official visitors to Texas this past weekend, corner…

When it comes to recruiting, each and every November, Steve Sarkisian seems to have a surprise or two in store for us. By continuing to pursue elite recruits even after being told no previously, the Texas coach seems to have a way to somehow insert the Longhorns into the final decision. Lewisville offensive lineman Michael Fasusi, a five star, is now a possibility. A month ago, he was all Sooners. Yesterday, Gerry Hamilton reported five star defensive back Kade Phillips, long thought lost to LSU, will be visiting Texas this weekend. Gerry also mentioned the possibility of Lufkin defensive tackle Zion Williams, himself an LSU commit, also contemplating …

We had Billy Liucci of TexAgs on the Livestream last night. I thought it was a good interview and good content overall. Luucci said one thing that really struck me and I hadn’t thought about much. In its first year returning, the Texas-A&M rivalry is THE rivalry game of the weekend, the only one with major stakes on the line. After all, Alabama-Auburn has no major impact on CFP or conference championship rankings. Not much is expected of Ohio State-Michigan either. So in year one back on the schedule, Texas-Texas A&M is THE game of the weekend. ** Kelvin Banks and Jahdae Barron are both up for national awards, the Outland an…

Sark tells his players to focus on getting better every day. If coaches are going to be listened to, they have to walk the walk themselves. And national signing day is a unique opportunity for coaches to make the team as a whole better. One thing we know for sure: each and every signing day, Sark and his staff have lived up to that bargain. Texas WILL get better today. Sark is ever pushing for Texas to take that next step. And like many of you, I’m here for it! ** I love the quality depth of this class. While there are some major standouts for sure, it’s the depth of talent that grabs my attention most. That’s how you build a team f…

With the announcement of defensive tackle Tia Savea heading to the portal, the Longhorns’ need at the position becomes even clearer. Texas loses no less than seven defensive tackles this off-season: Alfred Collins, Vernon Broughton, Jermayne Lole, Bill Norton, Jaray Bledsoe, Tia Savea, and Aaron Bryant. Of course, the Horns signed three highly regarded defensive tackles in this recruiting class. Yet even that is clearly not enough. The Horns will need to add at least three defensive tackles from the portal this off-season to assure themselves of appropriate depth. We’ve been harping on that fact for at least a month now, but the numbers - and the …

Texas baseball is headed to Omaha this morning, a trip the program has made a record 39 times. It will be the first trip under second-year head coach Jim Schlossnagle. This will be Schloss’ eighth trip to Omaha (five at TCU and two at A&M). Schloss will join us this morning on Coffee & Foorball before the team heads out. ** Recruiting. Recruiting. Recruiting. Texas coaches hit the trail this spring and I think they’re getting ready to enjoy some of the fruits of their labor this week. Texas is in excellent shape across the board at multiple positions. Gerry, Jordan, Hank and CJ have chronicled many of those. But I want to add som…

Yesterday afternoon, I wrote about the movement during spring on the offensive side of the ball, what we learned, what we didn’t, etc. Now it’s time to do the same for the defense. Nose tackle Ian Geffrard is indeed the answer Texas was looking for. He’s got SEC experience and may have been a diamond in the rough playing for an underwhelming Arkansas squad. Maraad Watson also showed better in his second year on campus as did Josiah Sharma. Post-spring, this is a more talented position than some would have thought going into it. Defensive tackle Surprisingly, Hero Kanu has effectively asserted himself as a team leader. He was already one of the squ…

Penn State persevered last night. Their D swarmed a Heisman candidate running back. The PSU offense was inconsistent but ripped off enough big plays in the run game and a couple of deep passes. It’s almost the exact same formula our Longhorns will try to duplicate later today. The Horns must: - Limit Cam Skattebo. - Make Sam Leavitt beat you. - Control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. - Limit turnovers. - Hold serve on special teams. ** Even in defeat, Boise State threw some big punches last night. Texas should expect Arizona State to do the same. ASU is a college football playoff team for a reason, just li…

As we get ready for the game on Saturday, I have a couple of team notes. Trevor Goosby returned to almost full practice yesterday after taking last week off from any contact. Goosby had a medical procedure early last week and is progressing well. I’m told that if it’s left up to Goosby, he’s going to play Saturday. But such things are decided by coaches and trainers, not the athletes. As we’ve been reporting since late last week, we believe he’s going to play Saturday. But there remain no guarantees in that regard. Hopefully, Goosby gets the go ahead. ** The rotation along the defensive interior is still a work in progress. What the rota…

Every year, Texas signs a recruit or two that are relatively highly ranked but don’t get the national attention they ultimately deserve. Graceson Littleton was that player a year ago. Perhaps Rocky Cummings or Kosi Okpala turns into that player in the 2026 recruiting class. In the class of 2027, I would pick defensive back Brandon Sherrard if he indeed selects the Longhorns later this morning over LSU and Oklahoma. Watching Sherrard move so effortlessly at his size is one of the reasons that I think he has a long-term future in football. But there’s more to him than that. The idea that he worked out for Texas after already receiving an offer from the L…

You don’t just magically hoist Director’s Cups at the end of the year. Chris Del Conte and his staff work for it. Del Conte and Texas hosts its annual coach’s retreat this week. Almost all Texas head coaches will head about an hour and a half outside of Austin to meet with administrative staff for a strategy session for next school year. Del Conte does this once year. It’s an opportunity for coaches of all sports to mingle and discuss what’s worked, what hasn’t and their needs for the future. If you ever wonder why Del Conte is good at his job, it’s events like these. Getting everybody on the same page and letting the coaches steer the ship in the dire…

Dia Bell may be bigger, may have a stronger arm and may even be a better athlete, but KJ Lacey is clearly the most accurate of the two talented young QBs for the Horns. During Wednesday’s media viewing session, Lacey separated himself from the pack, routinely and almost effortlessly placing the ball on time and on target. Bell, while obviously talented, still seems to be getting used to the speed of the college game and its receivers. ** I thought transfer OL Dylan Sikorski had a somewhat disappointing practice on Monday. On Wednesday, I would say the opposite. You could tell he was really working on his quickness. Sikorski is backing up Jayd…