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I’ll start with what was ultra-obvious to me on the first day: Texas is an extremely talented squad. Extremely. Yes, that was expected. But I’m not sure even folks who have been watching Texas this long understand just how rare this is. Everywhere you look on the practice field, it feels like there’s a player who is almost assuredly going to be playing pro football one day. If there are three players gathered together, at least one is a future NFL pick and, odds are, two will be. I sat there and watched Cole Brevard, Maraad Watson and Josiah Sharma in a three-man drill yesterday. All of them are pro-caliber prospects, each are at different st…

Day One Impressions: - Michael Taaffe broke the team down to start practice. Last year, it was Quinn Ewers on day one and Barryn Sorrell on day two. - Last year, we would have graded the punting unit a D or so. With the new punter, Texas has a chance to get a A or A+. More distance, significantly more hang time. It is literally like the difference between daylight and dark. Texas now has a punter with an NFL caliber leg. - Josiah Sharma has a chance to be a special player at Texas. - Emaree Winston has a tremendous catch radius. - Jack Endries is well put together physically, but he is not physically imposing. Good hands, exacting route runner. …

First Day of Fall Camp Reactions *** First Team Offense QB – Arch Manning RB – Tre Wisner ... and CJ Baxter WR – Ryan Wingo WR – Parker Livingstone Slot – DeAndre Moore TE – Spencer Shannon LT – Trevor Goosby LG – Neto Umeozulu C – Cole Hutson RG – DJ Campbell RT – Brandon Baker ... and Andre Cojoe Second Team Offense QB – Trey Owens RB – Christian Clark and Jerrick Gibson WR – Kaliq Lockett WR – Jaime Ffrench Slot – Ryan Niblett TE – Jordan Washington ... and Jack Endries LT – Jaydon Chatman LG – Nate Kibble C – Connor Robert…

I spent most of Wednesday’s practice window open to the media with the offensive line. Even during a training camp in which Kyle Flood is trying to replace four departed starters, the group looked so focused, hungry and in tune with the flow of practice that you’d never know such turnover existed. There’s a long way to go before the line is a finished product. Wednesday’s practice was the start of what’s sure to be a grueling 31 days leading up to the Ohio State game. Still, the way Cole Hutson (center) and Neto Umeozulu continue to run with the opportunities they’ve waited for and Trevor Goosby set the tone with effort and execution in drills, the line looked m…

Level of Position Comfortability on Day One of Fall Camp As simple a breakdown as the title would insist. Quarterback: 9/10 If 2024 was a total 10, then the 2025 season comes in just a tick below. The addition of Matthew Caldwell figures to be one the staff likes behind the scenes and will push the QB2 battle throughout camp. Arch Manning remains healthy and all is well for the 2025 season. Running Back: 8/10 Quintrevion Wisner is RB1 entering camp for the Texas Longhorns. The SEC's only returning 1,000 yard rusher will get first team duties as the return for CJ Baxter inches closer and closer. Fortunately, there is a significant increase i…

Just in case you missed it, there were two major notes that emerged from yesterday: - Michael Taaffe has spent some of summer working at nickel. If Taaffe somehow wins that job, it would allow Texas to have starting experience at every single secondary position, albeit a couple in new spots. Manny Muhammad and Jaylan Guilbeau at corner. Derrick Williams and Jelani McDonald at safety. Taaffe at nickel. We spent a lot of off-season wondering what Texas might do in the secondary, how all the pieces might fit to maximum effect. Well, this is one permutation that, if it works, would be huge for “experience” in the secondary. Granted, I think it’s a tal…

Before the first practice ... The Texas Longhorns will take the field for the first practice of the 2025 season in three hours. Before Steve Sarkisian blows the whistle for the first time this season, I thought about some categories that the OTF community may like to sound off on. First player to arrive at practice (non specialist) ... Two seasons ago, Jordan Whittington and Xavier Worthy were first to practice every day media was allowed to be at a practice viewing. Last year, it was DeAndre Moore Jr. This year, I'm going with a trio of DeAndre Moore Jr., Emmett Mosley and Arch Manning. Most important player in 2025 ... Arch Manning,…

Keynodo Hudson (Nickels) The biggest thing that stood out to me today from Keynodo Hudson was his mentioning that Michael Taaffe had been training at nickel. Hudson described Taaffe as a “cerebral assassin” who possesses great spatial awareness, instincts, and playmaking ability, all of which are traits that he says help Taaffe in the slot. Hudson also mentioned that Taaffe has a little experience there from previous seasons on plays where he rotates down from his natural safety position. Rod Babers also mentioned to me that Michael Taaffe started at nickel initially when he first got to Texas as a walk-on. An intriguing possibility to consider is that playing …

Coaches/Coordinators Speak on Fall Camp Expectations and Preview the 2025 Season We are now just one day away from the 2025 start of fall camp. Exciting times in Austin, Texas. Expectations remain sky high, as they should be. Obviously over the next couple of days, we will have plenty of updates on position battles and updates on individual players, but I wanted to piece together the biggest notes from Tuesday's availibility for a quick primer for the season. *** 3 Return Men Mentioned Special Teams Coordinator Jeff Banks named three Longhorns who will begin fall camp receiving the first looks on punt and kickoff return. RB Tre Wisner, WR Ryan Nib…

Texas Longhorns and the 2027 NFL Draft While the 2027 NFL Draft feels like a million miles away, the early look at the possibilities for the Longhorns are way too much fun to table for a year. In an earlier story on Texas and the 2026 NFL Draft, I listed the players that will likely have decisions to make following the 2025 season. So we will start there, and then go to the the 2027 NFL Draft likely's and possibles. In totality, it's easy to see a Texas 2027 NFL Draft that could have up to 15 Longhorns as possibilities to be selected. Decisions to make after the 2025 season ... Trevor Goosby, OT, Melissa (Texas) High OTF projection headed into t…

Two recruiting notes Texas continues to await two decisions of top uncommitted targets remaining. Those two prospects are OnTexasFootball 4-star++ defensive back Davon Benjamin (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian) and 4-star+ EDGE Jake Kreul (Orlando, Fla./IMG Academy). OnTexasFootball continues to believe that the Longhorns are behind on one, and are the favorite for another. Davon Benjamin ... As of today, cannonball! OTF continues to believe that Oregon is the favorite for the versatile defensive back over Michigan and Texas; with North Carolina and Washington both having hats on the table. OTF spoke with two sources Monday, and they both …

Today is an appetizer. Tomorrow is the meal. Today, we get to speak with Texas coaches, from all of the coordinators to the newly minted assistants, and all of those in between. ** Tomorrow, we get a first look at the 2025 Longhorns. Here are some pre-camp thoughts: - I’m betting long on Christian Clark. Something about the young runner tells me he could be a real factor this year. - I like Parker Livingstone and Emmett Mosley. A lot. Folks who discount either of them, or think they are necessarily a rung down from DeAndre Moore and Ryan Wingo, do so at their own peril IMO. I think Texas has a very, very strong first four. - I think…

While we get ready for training camp, which begins on Wednesday, summer recruiting is close to being finished up prior to the start of the season. As we’ve reported, two players might make their decisions in the next week - defensive back Davon Benjamin and defensive end Jake Kreul. Benjamin’s date is set for Aug. 2 while Kreul has not set anything in stone. Given that, how and who is Texas is going to recruit beyond just the next week becomes the next question. And even more so, what is it going to take to reel in more elite prospects? NIL will be a big piece of that. Of course, Chris Del Conte and his group is working to make the Longhorns the strongest N…

NFL talent Texas will face this season The Texas Longhorns faced plenty of top NFL draft prospects throughout the 2024 season, including 10 first round draft picks in April of 2025. This season, Texas will face many a prospect that will be drafted in the 2026 and 2027 NFL drafts. OnTexasFootball takes a look to start the week with the college football season a month away. Ohio State Caleb Downs, S - lock to be a first rounder Sonny Styles, LB - appears on some first round mocks Carnell Tate, WR - appears on some first round mocks Max Klare, TE - third round mocks Jermaine Matthews, CB - third round mocks Davison Igbinosun, CB - fourt…

Time to Prove It for Many Longhorns this Fall OTF had the conversation in our group chat over the weekend that no matter the projected starting lineup we have in mind entering fall camp, things can always change. Remember just a year ago, it was unknown where Jahdae Barron would start on the field for the Texas defense. He would eventually go on to win the Thorpe. As well as the WR rotation: Would it be Johntay Cook or Silas Bolden or even Matthew Golden who would step up and be that next big piece in the offense? Well, we all know how that worked out. So the fluidity of camp is certainly top of mind for me as we begin hypothesizing the Texas rotations for …

Race for the No. 1 recruiting class in 2026 The Texas Longhorns are squarely in the mix for the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle after a very strong last half of July. When looking at the teams that are truly in the hunt for the top ranked class, there six teams with a realistic shot. Those schools are Georgia, USC, Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas and Ohio State. Notre Dame is currently a top 5 level class, but doesn't have the runway to be in the mix for the No. 1 class as it stands today. While Georgia and USC have the top classes currently, they both have at least 30 commitments and don't have as long of a potential runway as Texas, Ohio St…

Let’s keep today’s column relatively simple and straight-forward. What are the primary position battles and questions expected during fall camp? - Back-up QB. Matthew Caldwell or Trey Owens? Word is, Caldwell very much looks the part But let’s see if Owens is prepared to defend the spot. - RB rotation and the timing of it. Trey Wisner is obviously going to play a lot. The questions are the health and timing of Ced Baxter, and the ability of Jerrick Gibson, Christian Clark and James Simon. Baxter is thought to be “ahead” in his recovery, but just how far exactly? Gibson has worked hard this off-season to re-shape his body. We’ll see if that helps his quickn…

Texas and the 2026 NFL Draft The Texas Longhorns have had 23 players drafted in the last two NFL drafts. A lot of the talk this off-season has centered around the 2027 NFL draft being the next big one, in terms of numbers of draftees. After a look this morning, I'm not so sure Texas won't have double-digit draft picks for a third straight year. There are 18 players on the roster listed in the story broken down by three categories. Seniors or exhausted eligibility, three and done and potential decision to make after the 2025 season. Seniors (9) ... D.J. Campbell, IOL, Arlington (Texas) Bowie OTF projection headed into the season: Mid-round T…

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…

What to Expect from 2nd Year Longhorns *** Following the article posted on Thursday morning, there were a few requests to get a look at the Longhorns going into their second season on the 40 Acres. The Longhorns are expecting a heavy dose of contributors from this group. I will attempt to break down the class of 2024 into several groups – All-Conference, Starters, Solid Contributors and Backups. *** #15 QB Trey Owens – Backup To no surprise, the quarterback of the 2025 Texas Longhorns will be Arch Manning. What will be interesting is who is going to be the first quarterback off the bench this fall. The Longhorns added Troy QB transfer Matthew…

Predictions and Expectations for the 2025 Freshman Class The No. 1 ranked class in the country is a little over five weeks away from the start of their careers in Austin, Texas. With an expectation that this class will provide some juice to help assist the Longhorns over the hump and into the National Championship game in 2025, I wanted to run down my current expectations for their first season as Longhorns. 25 new faces, there will be plenty of contributors here in the fall. *** #8 QB KJ Lacey – Redshirt All in all, a redshirt year will be the plan for Lacey in 2025. Texas has been fortunate enough to redshirt its last three quarterbacks – Maalik…

The president of the United States issued an executive order yesterday regarding the future of college sports. The main tenets included eliminating pay-for-play schemes, the future of student employment, Title IX guidance, saving non-revenue sports, and reducing long-term liability of the institutions. I’ll briefly hit on each of these topics below. But before I do, I want to say this: Executive orders are largely performative. What I mean by that is, the orders attempt to set direction for others, from the attorney general, to other members of the president’s cabinet. But they are not the rule of law. In other words, the president can’t unilatera…

Portal additions: Predictions and expectations entering fall camp The Texas Longhorns begin fall camp in six days with the start of the season just 37 days away. The program welcomes 11 new members to the team from the transfer portal this season, with as many as seven expected to be starters this season. OnTexasFootball makes some predictions and lines up expectations headed into fall camp. Defensive line the key ... Maraad Watson, DL, 6-3, 327 The freshman All-American is expected to start, or play starter snaps without question. Texas loves what they have seen to this point. Two years left to play before heading off to the NFL. OTF predictio…

Two weeks ago I posted a Look Ahead to the 2027 Prospects for the offensive side of the ball. Today, we will focus on the defensive prospects in the class of 2027. Sure, plenty can, and will, change from now until the class really gets going with commitments and official visits. But with the season just a few weeks away, it is a great opportunity to start getting guys on the radar for all you recruiting aficionados. *** EDGE DJ Jacobs, EDGE, Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity Catholic Zyron Forstall, EDGE, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy KJ Green, EDGE, Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson Kaden McCarty, EDGE, Cypress (Texas) Cy Falls …