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I don’t want this fact to get lost, so I’m going to lead with it this morning. Chris Ogden, the Texas basketball GM, was Rick Barnes’ first high school recruit. Yesterday, his son, Bo, officially became the first high school recruit of Sean Miller’s tenure with his pledge to the Longhorns. The Texas blood clearly runs deep in the family. Hopefully the success of Miller’s era at Texas can exceed that of Barnes. After all, Bo is a better prospect than Chris ever was. (Yes, that’s a fun little dig at the father that I think he’ll appreciate.) 😉 ** One more thing on hoops: Gerry Hamilton and Jeff Howe will be interviewing Texas coa…

Recruiting: 15 official visitors scheduled for June 13-15 The Texas staff is fresh off a very successful official visit weekend that has resulted in three commitments, with more expected out of the weekend. The Longhorns now sit at 11 pledges in the 2026 cycle with two very big weekends coming up. This weekend, Texas is scheduled to host at least 18 visitors with 16 being 4-star's or better in the OnTexasFootball rankings. June 13-15 (15) ... Jalen Lott, WR/ATH, Frisco (Texas) Panther Creek OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star++ OV date: June 13-15 Competition: Oregon and USC Jabari Mack, WR, Destrehan (La.) High - *LSU commit OnTexasFootba…

OTF has confirmed Gilmer OT Ismael Camara will be in Austin for an unofficial visit next weekend. The 6-foot-6, 340 pounder will drive down to Austin on Saturday the 20th after finishing up Saturday/summer school. The bulk of the visit will take place on Sunday. This will be Camara's last visit before the summer dead period sets in which will prevent prospects from visiting college campuses until September. Camara's last time on the Forty Acres was in mid-May when he stopped by for a visit while in town supporting his Gilmer classmates that were competing in the State Track Meet. Camara previously made headlines after he canceled all of his summer official visi…

Team Notes from Practice No. 10 *** Health Update – TE Michael Masunas was on the practice field Tuesday, and from what I gather he was not in a green jersey. Great sign after a little time last week. – WR Cam Coleman may have gotten a bit dinged up on Friday during the scrimmage, but he was without a green jersey and participated on Tuesday in team drills,. – WR Ryan Wingo puts on a green jersey for any type of routes with a defense in front of him. – DB Zelus Hicks is out of a green jersey. ---- From what I gather, there is a lot of mixing and matching with perceived first team guys and second team guys on Tuesday. The tight…

Derrek Cooper Update from visit to Chaminade-Madonna Hollywood, Fla. - OnTexasFootball spent a couple of hours at Chaminade-Madonna High Tuesday to check in on the season and recruitment of OTF 5-star running back Derrek Cooper. OTF conducted a video interview with Cooper and Chaminade-Madonna Dameon Jones that will be published later today, so I'm going to put this update in bullet points. Coach Jones talks a lot about Cooper, and Dia Bell with the Lions having played American Heritage the last four years. 1. Two people close to Cooper/the recruitment believe he's locked in with Texas. 2. One of those people doesn't believe a bigger NIL offer from …

Texas Hoops Report: Practice and scrimmages The Texas Longhorns continue to practice in preparation for the 2024-25 season with the season opener 24 days away. The Longhorns held Pro Day in front of 35 NBA personnel members October 8, and as expected Tre Johnson is very high on draft boards headed into his freshman season. But Johnson wasn't the only player to impress. OTF provides some news and notes from recent practices, including the Pro Day. Word gathered from Pro Day The NBA scouts and personnel love Tre Johnson. As much as his scoring ability, his toughness and fearlessness have stood out since arriving in Austin. And that has carried over to …

Watching Alabama, A&M and Ole Miss go down yesterday while also seeing Texas dispense with yet another SEC team by double digits should give all of us and sense of just how complete this Texas team is. I still don’t know if this is a great Texas team (only the playoffs cantell us that), but it is certainly a complete, well-coached and consistent one. Outside of the loss to Georgia, Texas has only played one other SEC game to a single score, and that came only after Vanderbilt scored a last-minute touchdown. It’s a Texas team that - despite a poor performance against Georgia - has been remarkably consistent. Winning the games you’re supposed to win…

Most likely to win a National Championship in 2026-27 Thought I would get the pulse of the OTF community to start the week. There are six sports that are the most publicized and watched in the college athletics world. So the task for all is to rank them from one to six as most likely to hoist the big trophy in 2026-27. 1. Softball - Back-to-back National Champions with the new face of the college game in Teagan Kavan returning, and the NPOY Isa Torres transferring in. Texas has the top two players in the college sport. Then there is Katie Stewart, transfer catcher Samantha Swan, Kayden Henry, other key returnees, a lefty pitcher transfer and a talented freshman …

On Monday, it’s revealed that Arch Manning has talked with Bama quarterback Ty Simpson about common SEC opponents. On Tuesday, fired Florida coach Billy Napier shows up at the Georgia practice the week of the Bulldogs’ game against the Longhorns. In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t make up these sorts of storylines as a writer because no one would believe they’re true. But here we are. They’re both very real. Welcome to the SEC. It just means more. 😉 ** Gerry’s been on the road this week covering a couple of late recruitments we’re keeping an eye on. Josiah Vilmael, the 6-1 corner with track speed out of Fort Bend Travis, and Brysten Martin…

Texas gets to kick its feet up and relax this weekend, a welcomed few days of rest and recovery following five consecutive weeks of football. As a result, the Longhorns and Texas fans everywhere will get to sit back and watch the carnage of college football take place for at least one more weekend. A few games I will be watching and some of the implications that will come as a result. *** No. 7 BYU at No. 8 Texas Tech – 11:00 a.m. on ABC If Texas Tech wins: The Red Raiders would pencil themselves into the Big 12 title game, and the conference game between Cincinnati and BYU would determine their opponent. Worst case is Tech wins this weekend, then…

I hope you guys get a chance to watch or listen to the Saturday Conversation sometime today. It’s with Tim Brewster, the former Longhorn assistant known for recruiting Vince Young and a host of other Longhorns, including our Rod Babers. Coach Brew not only talks about his time at Texas but also the current landscape of NIL from a coach’s perspective. ** One week from today will be the Horns’ biggest junior day of the year. In preparation for that, Texas coaches spent some time in the state of Texas on Thursday and Friday but also traveled West, including spending time in California and Hawaii. As expected, the reception Texas is getting from …

The Texas state track meet starts today in Austin on the campus of the University of Texas. If you have never been and live anywhere remotely close to Austin, I encourage you to go, especially for one of the night sessions this weekend. Do it at least once in your life. The state track meet is one of those special events that stick with you. It’s similar to the old Texas state championships in basketball that were held at the Drum. Fans and athletes from across the state stream into Austin with hopes of returning home with a gold medal. You’ll see yellow school buses, car windows laden with white shoe polish and a lot of smiles on anticipatory faces of the …

Who Texas will fight for in the 2026 class The Texas Longhorns entered August with a top 5 level recruiting class with work left to be done. While Steve Sarkisian and staff await the decision from 4-star+ edge rusher Jake Kreul (Orlando, Fla./IMG Academy), where the class ultimately finishes will come down to how successful Texas is flipping a number of top targets committed elsewhere. OnTexasFootball provides the list of prospects Texas will put up a senior season fight for ahead of the December early signing period. Offensive tackle ... Texas remains all in on Michigan 4-star++ commit Malakai Lee (Honolulu, Hi./Kamehameha). Kyle Flood and staff …

*** Starting with the Texas QB. Texas' social media accounts posted a picture of the Longhorns' quarterback throwing a football in practice this morning. While yes, Arch is throwing more, especially in the routes on air portion of practice, he is not participating in 7-on-7 or the 11-on-11 team settings just yet. It was mentioned to me after practice on Saturday that Manning stands directly behind the quarterbacks in both settings taking mental reps with a view from the pocket. Manning is fully suited up and remains involved, but the overall inclusion in live settings remains a couple of days off it appears. – One source mentioned the Texas quarte…

An OTF reader/viewer asked us the other day what exactly Texas is doing to mitigate the risk of something like the the gambling problems of Texas Tech transfer QB Brendan Sorsby from happening at Texas. So I asked, and I was given a straight-forward answer. ”We use a geo-fence,” a senior athletic official explained to me this morning. ”And it’s not just for our athletes, it’s for our full-time personnel, too. We get a ping on our phone anytime something like that happens.” The official said they are unsure how many other universities use such a system. But it’s something the Longhorns are committed to long-term. As for Sorsby, if he is somehow cle…

Just a few random nuggets I wanted to pass along for the evening as we get closer and closer to kickoff. *** Number Changes – Ryan Niblett will be wearing the No. 21 this upcoming season for the Longhorns, moving from #18 he wore last fall and in the spring. Junior quarterback Joe Tatum is now listed as the No. 18 on the offensive side of the ball. – New Texas RB Velton Gardner will be wearing No. 24 for the Longhorns this season as well. He is officially on the Texas roster as well. *** Texas Wants the Heat I spoke with a source earlier this afternoon who hinted at the Texas team wanting something a lot of the fans and attendees on…

A quick rundown of the confirmed visitors for this weekend's game at DKR against UTSA. This thread will be updated as more and more names are confirmed before kickoff. *** Texas Commits TE Emaree Winston – Calhoun (GA) High TE Nick Townsend – Dekaney (TX) High LB Elijah Barnes – Dallas (TX) Skyline High 2025 Uncommitted Prospects DL Joseph Mbatchou – Loganville (GA) Grayson ... Florida Commit ATH Michael Terry III – San Antonio (TX) Alamo Heights 2026 Prospects QB Cole Taylor – Pflugerville (TX) High RB Javian Osborne – Forney (TX) High TE Jaivian 'Scoop' Martin – Pflugerville (TX) High …

Defensive line recruiting update OnTexasFootball has talked with a trio of sources to put together the latest on defensive line recruiting. USC commit Jameion Winfield ... Texas defensive line coach Kenny Baker was by Richardson (Texas) High Monday to take in practice and make an in-home visit. The 6-foot-3.5, 300-pound 4-star++ prospect remains solidly committed to USC, but remains scheduled to make an official visit to Texas June 13-15. This is a recruitment that Texas will keep plugging away at well into the 2025 season. Sunshine State star James Johnson (Miami/Northwestern) ... OTF spoke with a source close to the 4-star++ defensive tackle. …

We are creeping up to the beginning of the football season and everyone should be excited for that! It feels like this week has flown by as well, as here we are at Thursday again. So for your Friday appetizer, here are a few team notes combined with some notable visitors expected in for the Texas-Georgia game October 19. *** Team Notes – I reported earlier in the week TE Juan Davis received some looks at the RB spot this week to help provide an option for the Texas coaching staff due to multiple season-long injuries sustained already through camp. That remains the case, however it was Davis who initiated the move. I was told Davis voluntarily of…

Add another #BigHuman to the 2025 Texas class! Kyle Flood and Steve Sarkisian go out of state to add OT Nick Brooks out of Grayson, Georgia as the fifth offensive lineman in the 2025 class. Texas did a tremendous job early in this recruitment and the official visit to Austin really helped distance themselves from the pack. Texas did a great job of preventing Georgia and USC from coming in late, though this will be a battle until signing day with Brooks now living much closer to Athens. The Longhorns now have five offensive linemen in the class of 2025, as Brooks joins the Coleman brothers, Jackson Christian and John Mills. Texas is up to 17 commitments…

The Texas Longhorns have secured their first defensive line portaler of the spring and their second of the offseason. Bill Norton, formerly of Arizona by way of Georgia, has committed to Texas following a weekend visit for the spring game. Norton entered the portal April 13 and immediately took interest in the Longhorns. Of course, it certainly helped the Longhorns' case that former Arizona defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen is now on campus in Austin, as he was key in helping Steve Sarkisian pull in both Tia Savea and now Norton. Texas continues to look to add to its DL room with the pursuit of UCLA DL Jay Toia and TCU DL Damonic Williams both still in pl…

Former Converse Judson and Oregon defensive lineman Johnny Bowens tells me he is finalizing a date to visit Texas. Bowens was recruited by the Longhorns in the class of 2023 and ultimately ended up choosing the Ducks over Texas A&M and Texas. The 6-foot-3 and 290-pound interior defensive lineman was a 27-6A first-team selection his senior season at Judson. Right now we are monitoring a possible return to central Texas. View full news story

Behind the scenes: There is a large NIL fundraiser scheduled for Friday and Saturday. There’s a golf scramble on Friday morning followed by a Brooks & Dunn concert on Saturday night at DKR. The two-day event also includes a silent auction. This is the first full-fledged fundraising effort from WME, the marketing agency who was hired by the athletic department earlier this spring to raise funds for NIL. ** Texas football recruiting continues to go exceedingly well. I know it may not seem like it to some because there hasn’t been a rush of commitments. But right now, it’s all about lining up the pieces of the puzzle, making sure th…

Five-star visitor locked in for Thursday OnTexasFootball mentioned the potential of a Thursday unofficial visit by Galveston (Texas) Ball High 5-star ranked safety Jonah Williams. Around noon Saturday, OTF spoke with a family member of Williams', and the 6-3, 205 pound two-sport star will be on campus in Austin July 25 with at least one parent. Williams, a left handed outfield and pitcher, is currently in the Atlanta area playing in a wood bat tournament for top high high school baseball prospects in the 2025 cycle. He threw 109 pitches in a recent start, topping out at 94 MPH. Williams is a legitimate MLB Draft prospect in June of 2025, and whatever col…

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…