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Texas is currently on a four-game win streak. That's tied with Georgia for the third longest current win-streak in the league behind only A&M and Alabama. During that streak, we've seen a team that is maturing, especially on offense. And we've seen a team that is consistently showing a spine when times get tough. No, the journey hasn't been perfect, including Saturday's win over Vandy. But no team's season has been. Georgia has been tied or behind in five of their six conference games going into halftime. Alabama put up a stinker versus a hapless Florida State to start the year. A&M won by three in Fayetteville against a Razorback squad who remains …

While several players went home over the long weekend before returning yesterday afternoon, Texas receiver Ryan Wingo stayed in Austin to receive ongoing treatment for the thumb he dislocated against Vanderbilt. Wingo had made major progress during last week but he wanted to stay back in Austin to keep receiving treatment to make sure he’s as close to 100-percent as possible. Wingo and safeties Michael Taaffe, Jelani McDonald and Xavier Filsaime are all still working through injuries this week. ** With no Texas game to discuss, several folks on the message board started debating the decisions made during the off-season regarding the offensive line. …

If you’re going in to an office this morning, and happen to have an Aggie co-worker, make sure to grin and tell them hello. 😉 ** Texas now waits for the CFP committee’s Tuesday night rankings release. Neither the AP nor the Coaches Poll gave much credence to the Horns’ win over Texas A&M. Texas jumped just a couple of spots in both. I’m not sure how that happens. Sure, almost every team (except the Aggies) ahead of them won. But it would seem that soundly defeating the no. 3 team in the nation should cause some of the committee members to re-think their original bias against Texas. Remember one line of committee thinking was that Texas only beat OU…

Hopefully Notre Dame getting left out of the playoffs forces changes to the college football playoff. But given Notre Dame’s apparent automatic-in if they’re in the top 12 next year, the impetus won’t come from the Irish. Instead, it’s going to have to emanate from the commissioners of the SEC and Big 10. They hold the keys. The commissioners have at least an extra month to re-work the CFP for next year. I hope they get it to at least 16 teams, if not 24. ** The value placed on bowls is obviously diminishing. Sure, it’s a good opportunity for teams and players to further hone their craft through 15 practices and a game. But some programs…

The run on Longhorns headed to the portal has slowed precipitously. There’s been no real movement since the middle of last week. Which begs the next question. Will there be another run after the bowl game? Probably so. Behind the scenes, there have been multiple discussions from players contemplating their next steps. But what I think we’re down to now is a group of players who would rather be at Texas than elsewhere and who are yet to be resigned to not being a major contributor next year. In other words, the players in the portal currently are ones who saw no real path forward to meet their personal goals. The ones who have stayed stil…

I’ve read a lot of conjecture about why Texas would add a scholarship quarterback like Troy transfer Matthew Caldwell. Well, it’s actually pretty simple. There are two driving factors. 1. Caldwell, who started the final five games for Troy last year, has lots of playing experience. He makes it a real competition for Trey Owens for the no. 2 QB spot. As a reminder, Sark wants competition everywhere. It’s not Sark’s job to make it easy on any of his players. And this is not Sark pulling the rug out from under Owens. If Owens were slated to start, perhaps so. But that’s not the case. Caldwell is a one-year player who Texas wants to push the entire QB room…

After an amazing start to conference play, Texas baseball has come back down to earth. The Longhorns have lost five of their last six conference contests by a combined run total of 42-17. Yet the Horns still have a two-game lead in conference. Texas needs to win two of three against Oklahoma this coming weekend to secure the regular season crown. More concerning is the post-season. Texas has looked like a shell of itself the last two weekends, striking out too often at the plate while the starting pitching has routinely lost its matchups. It’s been a very good year for first year coach Jim Schlossnagle. Let’s see if the Horns can put the pieces back togethe…

The SEC Spring Meetings officially kick off tomorrow morning in Destin, Fla. On Texas Football will be there. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian will be speaking to the media at roughly 11am. Other Texas coaches like Sean Miller and Vic Schaeffer are also expected to be in town, as well as athletic director Chris Del Conte. But the center of attention will likely be SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. Sankey will actually meet with the media briefly this evening as a precursor to the festivities. Here’s what’s on the docket for Sankey this week (and it’s a lot!): - The House Settlement hangs in the balance. - New college football playoff format for 2025. …

The Texas baseball team took it on the chin this weekend. And perhaps deservedly so. The Horns played sloppy ball in both games against UTSA and the problems came home to roost. The lack of timely hitting, free bases awarded by the pitching staff and some spotty play in the field all combined to send the Horns home earlier than expected. But overall it was a good year. The Horns won the regular season championship and most importantly Jim Schlossnagle reestablished Texas as a true contender in college baseball. Recruiting is going extremely well and baseball looks like it’s in good hands for the long haul. ** The Texas football staff made 21 offer…

Eleven commitments by June 9. I didn’t think Texas would be into double digits until later this month. I think the early number being higher is indicative of a Texas program being a more sought after one by recruits than in previous years. But Texas is far from done. And really, the Horns only have nine position-player commitments given the two specialists (one kicker and a deep snapper) among the pledges. ** I like both Dylan Berymon and Kohen Brown as pick-ups in this class. Berymon fits a particular role at Texas. He is an over the ball defensive tackle. It’s a position that can be tough to fill. For instance, Sydir Mitchell was expec…

After the barrage of commitments coming out of last weekend, the question is, where are the commitments from this weekend? Well, Gerry Hamilton is reporting that a couple of players gave the Longhorns their commitments privately (Hi!) but neither have made that news publicly quite yet. So where we sit as of this morning, Texas is at 13 public commitments with one more weekend of official visits to go. Texas recruiting is on track, but there are several pieces remaining. Texas still has work to do at just about every position, save quarterback. ** It feels like we just started our jersey no. countdown from 99. Yet here we are, already at no. 75. …

We expected Vodney Cleveland, the defensive tackle from Birmingham, to announce for the Longhorns on Saturday. He left Austin a week ago Sunday knowing that he would eventually pledge to Texas. It’s a big addition for the Horns at defensive tackle. But the commitment of Richard Wesley, the five star defensive end from Los Angeles, took us all by surprise on Sunday afternoon. We knew Wesley liked the Longhorns and his family had Texas ties, despite a prior commitment to Oregon. However, we didn’t know he was on the brink of committing. In a matter of 24 hours, Texas added two blue chip prospects to a defensive line class that could be shaping up as the …

Texas is 0 for its last six in recruiting. Three of those players, at one time or another, felt like Texas leans: North Shore defensive back Chace Calicut, Georgia linebacker Zavier Griffin and New Jersey defensive tackle Damari Simeon. So what happened between the two parties on the way to the altar? With each it’s a different story. Calicut was drawn to the idea of playing corner. Griffin was somewhat miffed by the idea of the Horns recruiting Tyler Atkinson allegedly and had ties to Tuscaloosa. Simeon received a better NIL offer elsewhere. But no matter the how of losing those recruits, the results - at least the current ones - remain the same. …

Saturday afternoon was a virtual infomercial for Texas football on the NFL Network. Not only was Quinn Ewers on display throwing the ball, but Steve Sarkisian was in the booth discussing the combine. Meanwhile, the hottest topic on every pundits tongue were the superlative performances of a multitude of Texas players. I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve never seen Texas get that much positive discussion on the NFL Network. ** In last night’s Sunday livestream, a viewer asked who next year’s speed merchant might be at the combine for Texas. Right now, I don’t know that there will be one… unless Texas does some work in the portal. And y…

As Texas begins to host recruits on unofficial visits next week, let’s talk recruiting, a specific nuance of it. It’s important to remember that this is just the beginning of the process for many recruits that Texas could potentially favor. And that beginning entails a lot of things. First, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian prefers the long-term approach. He wants to see if a player fits the Longhorns culture not only athletically but also mentally. That getting to know you process takes time. It doesn’t happen in just a singular one-day visit. Sark also tends to be choosy in that regard. After all, Texas, coming off of a no. 1 ranked recruiting class, …

Today is the first day of practice in full pads for the Horns. The team gets going at 9am. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian will meet with the media immediately following practice. ** After gathering intel from the first three days of practice, it’s clear that Arch Manning is stepping up. The redshirt sophomore from New Orleans has been described as accurate, with the ball coming out quickly. But perhaps the bigger piece overall is what one source told me more succinctly. ”He’s got a command of the offense, of how it’s supposed to run, the timing of it. He’s just impressive,” the source said. ** Saturday’s practice was marked by the tea…

Sometimes a coach really makes that big of a difference. Texas, despite losing its best player Max Belyeu just last week, swept No. 3 ranked Georgia in a three-game series this weekend, punctuated by a walk-off homer in extra innings yesterday. Building a roster and a coaching staff, getting the players to put their best foot forward, marshaling all of that together are the very fundamentals of coaching any team at any level. Some coaches just do that better than others. Such is the case with Jim Schlossnagle. A year ago, Texas baseball looked absolutely rudderless. Today, Texas looks poised to be a national powerhouse for years to come and is already …

We’re halfway through spring practice and I think a couple of themes are becoming evident. First, Texas is clearly a younger team than the last two Steve Sarkisian has put on the field. Second, this Texas team, while younger, is just as talented overall, if not more so. At every single position on the field, Texas has at least one future NFL player if not more. Texas is extraordinarily talented despite being younger. Three, there are several team leaders emerging. Anthony Hill, Michael Taaffe, Arch Manning, Tre Wisner, Jelani McDonald, Cole Hutson, CJ Baxter and DJ Campbell. Each are leading in a little different way. But it speaks to Sark’s desir…

The fickle nature of the portal was on full display in Norman, Oklahoma, over the weekend. Late Friday, one of the Sooners’ more promising young players, defensive lineman David Stone, officially entered the transfer portal. The former five star showed up in Norman just a year ago with lots of expectations and a hefty NIL price tag. To leave so soon would be a slap in the face to Sooner nation. The issue? The Sooners didn’t pay Stone the NIL he thought he deserved, so he immediately entered the portal. Yet 48 hours later, Stone withdrew his name from the portal after allegedly receiving a different NIL deal more to his liking. Basically, he leveraged h…

“I don’t think spring really could have gone much better,” one source told me on Sunday evening. ”The voices, the leadership is there. Arch is the dude. He is the leader on offense. And the defense, those guys respect him. Anthony Hill, Colin Simmons, Michael Taaffe, Ethan Burke. They are just a good core. You could put Liona Lefau and Jelani McDonald in there, too.” More: ”We had some (young) guys get a lot of run. We found some surprises, kind of got a feel for who is ahead of the pack (at different positions). ”I felt like the offensive line started maturing. There’s a lot to like.” And another note: ”The injuries, almost all of them came …

I was asked a question last night by a friend. He asked if a certain player, who did not play against UTSA, was in the "doghouse". I didn't know the answer for sure, so we checked with a couple of sources, and no, said player is definitely not in the doghouse. But that inquiry led to a few more questions. The answers resulted in a curious observation: I was told there are currently not any players in the doghouse with the Texas coaching staff. Sure, there are players who Texas coaches would like to perform better, become more physical or more dialed in, or simply raise their level of play - that's only natural - but none of them are coming from a …

Just four games into the 2024 season, and the Longhorns have already outperformed preseason expectations. At no point did I think Texas would be ranked the No. 1 team in the nation, not even in a single week, much less in consecutive weeks. While that is the big picture item that has surprised most of us, a number of smaller improvements have actually led the Horns to this point. These are key contributing factors we’ve seen through four games: - QB play and the room generally. Quinn Ewers has improved year over year yet again. Arch Manning is more than good enough to steer the ship in emergency situations. - Jaydon Blue has accepted the mantle as…

Let's get the obvious injury situation out of the way. I am told quarterback Quinn Ewers is expected to make his return against Oklahoma. I'm also told that Ewers could have gone against the Bulldogs had the QB situation been dire. I know the tweet of ESPN's Pete Thamel used the term "70 percent", but Ewers thought he could go against Mississippi State if called upon. ** Overall, the Longhorns escaped the Mississippi State contest relatively healthy. There were no injuries sustained during the game that should limit any Longhorn against Oklahoma. Michael Taffee's injury was described as a stinger. And Texas really liked the fact that they didn't h…

This game is clearly setting up as a referendum on Sark vs Venables. ** Texas lost just two games a year ago. One of them, of course, was to Oklahoma. Avenging that loss, not for the team alone but also for Steve Sarkisian, too, is part of the equation this weekend. ** In five days, I hope to see a Texas team firing on all cylinders. On offense and defense. The Sooners are likely to make it harder on the Texas O in this game, at least early on. Remember, the Sooners were clearly ready for Texas during the first quarter of last season’s contest, intercepting Quinn Ewers’ very first pass. That sort of game prep is something Brent Ven…

The time has come for the game we all circled in the preseason - Texas vs Georgia. No. 1 vs No. 5. In the ABC primetime television slot. Only in the preseason, we thought Georgia would likely be the number one team in the country. And in the preseason, it was the Bulldogs who were favored by the folks in Vegas. Now, the Horns are the nation’s top team and a 3.5-point home favorite. ** Yesterday, I watched the entire Georgia-Mississippi State game after recording it Saturday. Georgia’s offensive gameplan was a departure from what I’ve seen previously. Instead of attempting to establish the run first and foremost, the Bulldogs went to the air e…