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Friday Morning Recruiting Nuggets The Texas Longhorns are set to host a big recruiting weekend around the spring game (assuming it's played). That includes at least one portal visit, and over 15 scheduled targets visiting in the 2025 and 2026 cycles. Bill Norton in Austin Arizona transfer defensive tackle Bill Norton arrived in Austin Thursday night for a weekend visit. Norton, 6-5.5 and 325 pounds, is expected to reunite with Johnny Nansen and defensive lineman Tiaoalii Savea for one more season barring the unforeseen. Norton played in high school at Christian Brothers in Memphis, signed with Georgia and was a reserve on two National Championship te…

Arizona transfer DL Bill Norton has arrived on campus for his weekend visit to Texas a source tells On Texas Football. OTF originally broke the news earlier this week that Norton would visit the Longhorns after entering the portal. As of Thursday evening, I can confirm he has arrived in Austin for his trip that will last beyond the spring game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Texas of course is still interested in adding additional defensive linemen, with Jay Toia of UCLA and Damonic Williams of TCU having joined Norton atop of the Longhorns watch list at the position. Norton is one I have heard to keep a very close eye on, but it should not provide any pause into …

Both Jay Toia (UCLA) and Damonic Williams (TCU) are legitimate portal targets for the University of Texas, On Texas Football has learned. Toia announced his intention to enter the transfer portal today as a grad transfer from UCLA. Williams announced his intentions to transfer from TCU yesterday. Williams says he will visit Oklahoma for the Sooners' spring game this weekend. Texas could get a visit as soon as early next week. Toia has started 24 games for UCLA. The Horns are looking to re-tool a defensive tackle room that lost two All-Americans from a year ago, with Byron Murphy and T'Vondre Sweat expected to be taken in the NFL draft later this month.…

New legislation in the state of Virginia allows state institutions to pay for the NIL of student athletes. However, that legislation is at odds with current NCAA rules, which do not allow universities to pay for a student-athlete's NIL. Are Virginia and Virginia Tech going to defy NCAA rules and still expect to play for NCAA championships? What effect will this have on other states, what effect will it have on other lawsuits as a whole? I am told that there have already been discussions in Belmont about the Virginia ruling today. The legislation is yet another assault on the facade of amateurism in the NCAA. View full news story

UCLA DL Jay Toia has announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal. Our sources say Texas will be interested here. Toia started all 12 games for UCLA a year ago, racking up 28 combined tackles and a sack. Toia played 359 snaps a year ago for the Bruins, with 139 of those snaps coming inside the A-gap. The former UCLA lineman lined up 185 times at the B-gap as well. This will be a name to keep an eye on as Texas continues its search for an additional interior defensive lineman. View full news story

Thursday recruiting thoughts on spring game visitors OnTexasFootball begins your Thursday morning with some thoughts on some of the prospects scheduled to visit for the spring game. Keelon Russell, QB, Duncanville (Texas) High - *SMU commit OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star Thoughts on Russell: A Texas offer would serve as a dream offer. Russell is one of two QB's the Florida Gators are focused on in the 2025 cycle. SMU understands they are up against it in this recruitment. Alabama is hanging around. James Simon, RB, Shreveport (La.) Calvary Baptist OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star Thoughts on Simon: LSU taking Alexandria (La.) High's JT Linsdey to …

Here's where we are: Yesterday, redshirt sophomore DE J'Mond Tapp announced he would be entering the NCAA transfer portal. Tapp's entrance makes four Longhorns to do so in the last week. The others are: - LB S'Maje Burrell - OL Peyton Kirkland - DE Billy Walton ** Walton's decision to leave is the only one which may generally affect the plan for the Longhorns in 2024 and on a go-forward basis. The redshirt freshman from South Oak Cliff had shown some encouraging signs and was definitely going to see the field this season, with a likely path to even more time in 2025. ** With four losses so far, that puts Texas at the NCAA …

A recent Steve Sarkisian interview with ESPN's Chris Low resulted in a line that Texas fans should be giddy about. Sarkisian told ESPN he briefly thought about the Alabama head coaching vacancy, but due to the direction of the Longhorn program under his watch, he did not give it too much consideration. Sarkisian then says he believes the Texas Football program is on the cusp of "going on a run that will be epic." Pretty cool quote from the Texas head coach who will be entering the SEC this fall for year one in America's best football confernce. Full Story: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39965358/sarkisian-bama-thoughts-flee…

Matt Zenitz of 247Sports has reported Texas EDGE J'Mond Tapp has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Tapp appeared in seven games in 2023 while accumulating eight tackles in his 98 snaps. A member of the 2022 class, Tapp displayed plenty of promise, though with the addition of Colin Simmons, Trey Moore and the return of Colton Vasek, the defensive end room got crowded quickly. Tapp becomes the fourth Texas Longhorn to enter the portal in the spring season, joining S'Maje Burrell, Payton Kirkland and Billy Walton. View full news story

Our CJ Vogel is reporting that Bill Norton, the Arizona defensive tackle who put his name in the transfer portal, will visit Texas for the spring game. As we've been reporting for months, Texas is looking for depth at defensive tackle in this portal cycle. If you're looking for a current roster comparison of Norton, it's Vernon Broughton. Norton is athletic and quick, but anchoring against the run is not his strongest suit. Yet, like Broughton, he's big enough to plug holes for multiple plays a game over the ball. With Norton, Texas would add another big body with experience in a major conference who also played for a good defense. It's also important to no…

Texas recruiting: Yes, maybe or no The Texas Longhorns have 40 prospects in the 2025 cycle scheduled for official visits in June. And that list will grow in the coming weeks. The list of confirmed official visitors and prospects that will announce official's to Texas sets up the chance for a fourth straight top 5 recruiting class. Headed into the spring, Texas remains in a strong position with a number of top targets, while in the fight for a number of others. OnTexasFootball brings the latest edition of yes, maybe or no in the 2025 cycle. Yes is Texas leads or can win the recruitment with a big push, Maybe is a recruitment that Texas has a chance i…

Arizona portal defensive lineman Bill Norton will be visiting Texas this weekend for the spring game. Norton entered the NCAA Transfer Portal April 12 after spending 2023 with Arizona, following four years at Georgia. The former top-100 recruit in the class of 2019 is coming off of his best and most productive season at the college level, in large part due to then-defensive coordinator and now-Texas LB coach Johnny Nansen. It is no secret Texas is looking to add to its interior defensive line room and Norton visiting this weekend shows interest. In 2023, Norton recorded 32 combined tackles, two forced fumbles and three passes deflected at the line of scrimm…

Tuesday afternoon recruiting nuggets Let's get this going before the drive home from work. Jackson Christian visits Texas again Port Neches (Texas) Groves 4-star IOL Jackson Christian was back on campus Tuesday for a second visit to Texas in four days. Christian, 6-5 and 313 pounds, took in the offensive line position meeting prior to watching practice and once again meeting with Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Flood. All signs point to two very positive visits, and there is confidence on the Texas side. Texas A&M continues to make a push, and there are multiple connections to Texas A&M at PN-G High. OTF percentage: 65% Jonah Williams and Texas…

A quick rundown on an under the radar player or two from each position I have heard about in spring practice that is making noise ahead of the spring game. *** Quarterback – Trey Owens The lone newcomer on campus at the position. Owens had a nice touchdown pass this weekend to Parker Livingstone as well. The progression most notable for Owens this spring has been when the first read is not available. This aspect of the game for the QB spot is one that takes a while, though Owens has done a fine job this spring. Running Back – Tre Wisner It feels like anyone who has spoken about spring practice during availabilities has mentioned the former Waco …

Houston area DL to visit for the Texas spring game Richmond (Texas) Randle 2025 defensive tackle Chace Sims made a visit to Texas April 6. It was the first visit to Texas since being offered for the 6-3, 285 pounder. Now the Houston area lineman tells OnTexasFootball he will make a return visit to Texas this weekend. Sims also told OTF that he is in talks with Kenny Baker about a June official visit date. Sims enters the last half of April with 15 offers, including Texas March 5. Joining the Longhorns in offering since the end of the 2023 season are California, Washington, Baylor, Texas A&M, LSU, Kansas State, Kansas, TCU, SMU, Houston and Arizona. …

There were not many 2025 prospects on campus over the weekend, though one that warranted a lot of attention was Jasper's Kiotti Armstrong. Armstrong was last on campus January 20 for the Texas Junior Day and made the return trip to see Texas in-person for its second scrimmage of the day. Of course, it certainly helps having former Jasper teammate, TyAnthony Smith, on campus as well. The big thing for Armstrong on this trip, however, was getting to see the Longhorns in action on the field. "Really just getting to see practice, and seeing how they operate in the scrimmages," Armstrong said as a main takeaway following the trip. "Getting to see how they use th…

The portal officially opened at 12:01 am this morning. That means the Horns can now be openly aggressive in acquiring new talent. It also means the Horns are preparing to lose several players. With the news yesterday that Payton Kirkland and Billy Walton would enter the portal, added to S'Maje Burrell's announcement last week, that makes three Longhorns currently headed to the portal. Texas headed in to the spring with 89 scholarship players (if you include newcomers who are expected to arrive this summer). Texas must be at the NCAA 85-man limit by the start of fall practice. That means a net attrition of -4 is required. Texas is already at -3. More Lo…

Five-star visitor expected Saturday According to a source close to the North Crowley High football program, the Texas Longhorns will host a 5-star unofficial visitor Saturday. North Crowley High 2026 offensive tackle John Turntine III is expected to be in Austin Saturday for the Longhorns spring game. Turntine III was offered by Texas October 28 while on campus for the game vs. BYU. He returned to campus with his father January 20 for the Texas Junior Day. The OnTexasFootball 5-star enters the spring evaluation period with 20 offers. The offer list includes Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Oregon, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Penn State, Ole Miss, Miami …

Texas has been hit with its second portal casualty of the spring with the news of Payton Kirkland's expected entrance reported first by Hayes Fawcett of On3. Kirkland has been recovering from a knee injury he suffered a year ago and has yet to find a groove back to the field. This spring, Kirkland has often been working alone with the Texas training staff on the back fields at the Denius practice fields. The 6-foot-6 and 366-pound offensive lineman from Orlando, Florida did not appear in a game as a freshman in 2023. Kirkland joins LB S'Maje Burrell as Longhorns who have announced their intent to portal this spring. View full news story

NCAA Transfer Portal Thread The NCAA Transfer portal for undergraduate students officially opens at 12:01 a.m. April. The portal closes at 11:59 p.m. on April 30. That doesn't mean players must have decisions by the April 30 date, but officially be in the portal by that time. Texas needs in the portal are defensive line (2) and possibly punter (1). The Longhorns will also have some attrition to the portal. We will be talking about it all here. View full news story

SEC recruiting battles emerging The Texas Longhorns are engaged in some major recruiting battles with SEC foes in the 2025 cycle. And the cycle is a glimpse into what the future of recruiting is for the Longhorns in the SEC, and southeast region. OnTexasFootball provides a run down of many of the key SEC recruiting battles for the Longhorns in the cycle. Texas vs. Alabama Folsom (Calif.) High 4-star defensive lineman Josiah Sharma is narrowing in on a Texas vs. Alabama head-to-head. Those are two teams that will not battle head-to-head for a prospect in Northern California very often, but Sharma was once a pledge to Washington when Kalen DeBoer and …

Texas has grabbed two commitments in the last week - running back Rickey Stewart of Tyler Chapel Hill and linebacker Elijah "Bo" Barnes of Dallas Skyline. Both elite prospects, both top choices of the coaching staff from the very beginning of the recruiting campaign. Their additions give the Horns six pledges in the 2025 recruiting class. Yet based on what we're hearing, even more pledges are on the way in the near future. So the recruiting train for Steve Sarkisian, one that is purposely deliberate, is starting to roll down the tracks. And every other team better watch out. Why do other teams need to worry? Because I don't see Texas being pushed …

This weekend saw the Texas Longhorns basketball program add three players out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, a noticeable splash that Rodney Terry likely recreated Saturday afternoon as he and the Longhorn staffed paraded around on Lady Bird Lake via barge. It was a confusing and frustrating 2023-24 campaign. As Texas consistently lacked any sort of consistency or identity. Was it entirely Rodney Terry's fault? Likely not. But there was still moments that lead to some questions about his long term status as the Longhorns head coach. However, Terry made sure to leave to room for question about the identity he wants to have for the upcoming Texas basketball team. …

A few more pieces of intel have arrived since the scrimmage on Saturday – including a nugget that highlights a pair of early enrollees. *** – I am told freshman wide receiver Parker Livingstone hauled in a 45-yard touchdown pass from QB Trey Owens during the scrimmage. Livingstone might surprise some folks with his speed, even at his 6-foot-4 frame. As for Owens, there has been a steady increase in consistency as the spring has progressed. Of course, the speed of the game is the biggest change for young quarterbacks in their college career, but Owens has been pleasantly surprising some folks I have spoken with this spring. – I continued to hear positi…

Since yesterday, I've asked some deeper questions and a few follow ups to folks based on what I was told much of yesterday. Some thoughts: - First of all, to a person, everyone said Quinn Ewers looked poised, in control, and delivered the ball with authority. - Second, to a person, everyone said the first team OL dominated the first team defensive line, particularly in pass protection. There were wide lanes in the run game, too, particularly in the red zone. - There were some mixed comments regarding the wide receivers. I was told more than once that there may not have been more than one or two contested catches made all day by the group. No wide recei…