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Recruiting: Two decisions on deck Texas is back in the top 5 recruiting classes once again, and there are two more decisions prior to the state of the season that could vault the Longhorns even higher. Texas still has the potential to sign a class of 27 or 28 prospects. If that happens, the Longhorns will likely be in the mix for a second strgith No. 1 ranked class. Davon Benjamin, DB, Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian The 4-star++ versatile defensive back will announce either August 2 or the 5th, with the the second being the current announced date. Oregon has been considered the favorite for the majority of his recruitment. Texas and Michigan a…

The Ramblin' Wreck of Georgia Tech has crashed into the Texas coaches office and taken off with associate head coach and safeties coach Blake Gideon. As first reported by Matt Zenitz, Georgia Tech will name Gideon their new defensive coordinator. Gideon was hired by Steve Sarkisian in 2021 from Ole Miss where he was the special teams coordinator. In the four years at Texas, he helped turn around a safeties room from a unit that allowed one of the highest bust percentage in the country to a back-to-back College Football Playoff Semifinal unit. Texas will look to make a new addition to the coaches staff, something Steve Sarkisian has done a tremendous job of …

Steve Sarkisian was interviewed by Matt Hayes of the USA Today. The article was published this morning. The entire article is linked here: In reading the piece, Sark clearly attacks the reactionary ways of the NCAA and the lack of “guardrails” in its governance. Some highlights: - Sark would prefer a 4-team championship model than 24, in part because he believes no one can watch and decipher all of the games to come up with the “right” teams. Instead, he would just have the four conference champions play one another. Sark has even gone so far as to recuse himself from the coach’s poll because he feels like he can’t possible watch other games. …

Texas RB CJ Baxter is set to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal when it opens January 2nd. ESPN's Pete Thamel was the first to break the news that the Texas running back will opt out of the bowl game and enter the portal when it opens on January 2nd. I can add this had been a growing possibility since the Kentucky game in Moncrief. In SEC play, Baxter attempted 30 rushing attempts for just 85 yards. While Texas will await a decision from Tre Wisner as well, the plan all along was to be active in the portal for a contributing running back. View full news story

This morning, we should all wake up thankful. Thankful that Brett Yormark and the Big 12 are in the rearview mirror. Yormark’s latest performance came at the Big 12 preseason media days that began yesterday. Yormark announced that it is no longer the “Big 12” officially, not when it comes to football. It’s actually the “Monster Energy Big 12 Conference”. Furthermore, every conference football field and jersey will be emblazoned with Monster Energy incorporated into the logo. The value given to schools for this? The total deal approaches $20 million. That sounds like a lot… until you divide it by 16 teams. Can you imagine Chris Del Conte selling a …

On Texas Football has learned that Ohio State transfer DT Hero Kanu is on his way to Georgia today for an official visit. Kanu visited the Longhorns over the weekend, which was followed immediately by an official visit to Florida yesterday. We are told Kanu is expected to make a decision about his future on Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Texas A&M was also thought to be involved but it doesn’t appear the Aggies will receive an official visit. Kanu is 6-foot-5, 305 pounds. He would be the third transfer DT for the Horns this campaign. Of course, Texas must replace its top four rotational players at DT next year as well as two others who left th…

* Sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo returned to practice today. Wingo had been sidelined since last Wednesday after succumbing to dehydration. * As you all know, the team practiced this morning. I'm told they're going through a walk-thru later today as well. It's all football all the time right now for the guys in camp. View full news story

That's a big human added to the portal class! Texas lands former North Carolina DL Travis Shaw out of the transfer portal, first reported by Matt Zenitz. Shaw, who is 6-5, 335 pounds, played all 13 games for North Carolina this season and has seen over 600 snaps in the three years at Chapel Hill. Shaw saw 337 snaps this season and recorded 20 tackles and 15 run stops per PFF. View full news story

What I mentioned in this column yesterday morning became public by yesterday afternoon. Sophomore running back Jerrick Gibson has left the program. Gibson’s role never quite took off at Texas. While some will point to his tendency to fumble, I think it’s actually more definitive than that. Gibson just wasn’t as good as Tre Wisner and is not appreciatively more talented than Christian Clark or James Simon. So when you add his propensity to fumble on top of it, Gibson just had no real advantage other than his size over the other runners. Size just isn’t enough to ever be a front-line guy at Texas. Yet Gibson probably still harbors hope of a being a …

The transfer portal is open for basketball and will run through April 21. The Texas Longhorns are coming off momentous finish to Sean Miler’s first season on the Forty Acres, reaching the Sweet 16 and nearly clinching a berth in the Elite Eight. There’s optimism about the direction of Texas men’s basketball and that energy should carry into the transfer portal as Miller and his staff build out their Year 2 roster. In case you missed it, OTF’s Gerry Hamilton has a complete portal thread going on the OTF message board, including Texas’ needs and the latest buzz around the program going into portal season. Here, OTF keeps track of the Longhorns’ roster as t…

Texas has suffered its second casualty in the 2025 class in as many days as 2025 California OL John Mills has announced he will flip to Washington. This was the verbal pledge I had referred to earlier on The Winning Drive and in the comments today on the recruiting threads. Mills had previously committed to Texas on June 24th, though has tremendous ties to the Washington program and opts to stick closer to home for his college football days. View full news story

My score prediction is out. By now, I am sure most of you have seen it. I get it. It probably isn't what you want to hear or see. But one thing I am not going to do here is lie to you. But allow me to at least explain myself a bit. Starting offensively for the Longhorns. Texas has to run the football with success. Yet, why am I to believe they will? This is not an area of consistency for the Longhorns and it has not been the entire season. In two of the last three games, the Longhorns have failed to rush for 45 yards for the entire game. Yes, I am aware that they ran for nearly 290 yards against Clemson and their front, but right now, I picture th…

Scrimmage No. 2 Takeaways *** • It was a much cleaner day for the offense. Across all three teams, there was only one turnover, which was on a bobbled exchange from the center and quarterback. • The offense moved the ball much better, and quicker than a week ago as well. By all accounts, the offense won the day. • Still, the defense had some success in the red zone against the offense. • The field goal unit was much improved this week as well. Will Stone handled the kickoff duties. • OT Jaydon Chatman was the first tackle on the field, over Nick Brooks, when Trevor Goosby left the scrimmage. • RB CJ Baxter continues to increase his wor…

I’m here in Gainesville, Fla., this morning. Just drove past the bronze statues of Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow in front of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium where the Longhorns will face the Gators tomorrow afternoon. Texas and Florida, both teams, are at a crossroads for this season. Neither team has matched their preseason hopes. While the Horns are 3-1, Texas has not really looked like a top ten team. A top 10 defense? Yes. But not a top ten team, not yet at least. The Gators, meanwhile, have all but written the eulogy for coach Billy Napier with a 1-3 start, including an inexplicable home loss to South Florida. A victory over the Horns woul…

Hoops to start most talented team ever at Texas? The Texas Longhorns have assembled something never seen on the Forty Acres in basketball headed into the 2026-27 season. Sean Miller and staff are set to start five future NBA Draft picks this season. That's something Texas has never come close to. OTF takes a look at the Texas Longhorns expected starting lineup, along with some player comparisons and future draft pick projections. And we will also look at some past starting lineups to illustrate just how talented this team will be. Texas 2026-27 expected starting lineup Isaiah Johnson, lead guard/PG, 6-1, sophomore - 1st round pick in 2027 or 2028 draft.…

BREAKING: DL Hero Kanu to Return to Texas for 2026 Season *** After walking on Senior Day ahead of the regular season finale against Texas A&M, defensive lineman Hero Kanu was thought to be off to the NFL. However, On Texas Football is reporting that Kanu is returning to Texas for the 2026 season. Kanu started all 12 games for the Longhorns this season, racking up 435 total snaps, 4.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and 31 total tackles. After three seasons at Ohio State, mostly in a reserve role, Kanu transferred to Texas ahead of the 2025 season and ended up logging the most time on the field of any defensive lineman on the roster. Additionally,…

Recruiting thoughts to start the week I'm back in Texas after 12 days on the road. There was a lot learned, a number of sources spoken with and more. 1. Texas is a cool school/hot team on the trail. Dia Bell talked about, top prospects are back to responding to the question of if they would have interest in visiting Texas with "Of course, it's Texas". Kids in the Southeast Region of ages 16-18 know Texas as being in the last two CFB Playoffs, players winning awards, a lot of NFL draft picks and seeing recognizable players signing with and playing at Texas. 2. Texas leads for 4-star++ DL Kendall Guervil (Fort Myers, Fla./High). 3. Texas leads or is r…

Best Class Scenario: May 29 edition The first big weekend of official visits around the country is almost here. That means there will be a surprise commitment or three in the next days, and some recruitments that begin to shift. In the case of the Longhorns, the pivotal month in the 2026 cycle begins June 6-8 with the first of three big weekends in a row. Texas currently sports eight commitments with a class that is on track to be a fifth straight top 5 level finish. OTF newest best class scenario includes 33 prospects, with the understanding that a mix of these 33 would very likely place Texas in the top 3 classes when all is said and done. QB (1)…

Portal positions of need and targets: Friday Texas added running back Raleek Brown and Zion Williams Thursday.. Friday through the weekend is expected to be a busy three days for the staff at various positions. OTF will continue to publish a daily where things stand look at the Longhorns portal efforts with the portal entry window closing in 12 days. Note: TBA ... means to be announced. OTF does know of a number of names here at various positions, and will have more when the timing is right. This is a true battle with other programs to get guys to campus, so discretion is needed at various points in the process. Running back (2)... Raleek Brown, Sa…

Texas is set to hire former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops as a special assistant to head coach Steve Sarkisian, OnTexasFootball has confirmed. Horns247's Chip Brown was first to report. The role had a vacancy after Neal Brown left the staff to take over as head coach of North Texas. The longtime Wildcats coach was let go in December after 13 seasons leading the UK program. He finished his tenure in Lexington with an overall record of 72-80. Kentucky finished in the top 25 twice, with eight straight bowl game appearances at one point under Stoops. He was voted SEC Coach of the Year in 2018. The veteran coach flirted with Texas A&M and their open head coachi…

Texas set up for elite OL haul in 2026 Kyle Flood and the Longhorns are set up for an elite offensive line haul in 2026. Texas is expected to sign a class of five or six in the 2026 cycle, and the list of possibilities are setting up for some tough decisions. OnTexasFootball takes a look at offensive line prospects Flood has been by to see already, and is scheduled to see this week before the dead period begins. Flood's January stops ... Sam Utu, OT/G, Orange (Calif.) Orange Lutheran OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star++ Note: OTF believes Texas has a legit shot here, and could be considered the favorite behind the scene. Kodi Greene, OT, Santa…

A week ago, I was genuinely surprised by the Longhorns’ offensive performance against Oklahoma, as were many of you probably. I thought Texas would win that game, but I didn’t foresee such an encouraging outing from the offense. Fast forward one week, and I didn’t see this unbelievably poor performance coming. Chances are, many of you didn’t either. The only thing the offense did right on Saturday night was not turn the ball over. Other than that, they were downright horrible. They couldn’t run, they couldn’t block, they couldn’t hit wide open receivers, they couldn’t even stay in bounds when they needed to. Hell, in overtime, with the game on the…

No. 22 Texas at Mississippi State Game Week Thread Texas heads to Starkville Friday for a Saturday afternoon game against an improved Mississippi State team under head coach Jeff Lebby. The Longhorns have been poor on the road in SEC play on offense in two games with the performance in Lexington as bad as the program has seen since 2015. The Bulldogs are riding the longest SEC conference games losing streak, but they have been right there with chances beat Tennessee in Starkville and last weekend in Gainesville. The game… Time: 3:15 central TV: SEC Network View full news story

Texas Portal Grade so far: A- The Texas Longhorns are off and truly running in the transfer portal with three players having joined the program for the spring and 2025 season. Steve Sarkisian and staff have added three impact winning level players from the portal thus far with a number that could grow to as many as ten long term. Texas is addressing needs in a big way with one of the nations top punters, a heavy handed zero tech to play over the ball and a fast rising playmaking linebacker. Two-time all-conference punter ... Make no mistake, there aren't many two-time and back-to-back all-conference selection players in the portal. And Texas got…

Following a busy weekend in Austin, where the first fall camp scrimmage drew significant attention, one of the most notable developments has been the return and involvement of running back CJ Baxter. The third-year back was a full participant in the scrimmage and, according to multiple accounts, exceeded expectations with both his performance and usage. While Texas implemented a quick whistle in certain situations, one of the standout moments — already well-documented here at OTF — was Baxter’s goal-line touchdown run, an area that has been a persistent challenge for the Longhorn offense in recent seasons. Perhaps most encouraging was the fact that Baxter was practic…