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The Big 12, the ACC and others can bellyache all they want about the SEC and Big 10 pushing them around at the negotiating table when it comes to number of playoff spots and other aspects of the future of college football. But last night was a prime example of exactly why the two premier conferences feel justified in doing so. The SEC finished with 15 picks in the first round of the NFL draft. The Big 10 had 11. That’s 26 of 32 in the first round. The Big 12 and ACC had just 2 each. Hell, Texas alone, with three first-round picks, had more than those two entire conferences. Ohio State, Georgia and Michigan did, too. The message to recruits is…

Three Longhorns heard their name called on Thursday evening in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft – WR Matthew Golden, LT Kelvin Banks and CB Jahdae Barron. Texas now has six first round picks in the first round of the last three NFL Drafts, a mark that has increased each year and one that has been a sight for sore eyes in terms of NFL production. All three draftees shared words after their draft selection, which was disseminated via the University after the first round concluded. *** Round 1, Pick 9 – New Orleans Selects LT Kelvin Banks On getting the phone call: It felt great. It was awesome, kind of like everyone has always said, it’s …

I mentioned earlier that safety Derrick Williams is still not “fully” back although he has been practicing some. One player who has been full-go this week is receiver Ryan Wingo. Wingo was held out for a lot of spring on a precautionary basis. His hamstring tightened and Texas just didn’t want to risk it, preferring to give it full time to resolve. Well, it’s resolved and Wingo has been back this week. Additionally, we are told that receiver DeAndre Moore is also suited out for practice. But he is not doing many live drills or 7-on-7 work following his off-season toe surgery. Sark understandably continues to err on the side of caution with key players and i…

Time for some news and notes (a lot of it on the freshmen): - KJ Lacey continues to look the part of a future starter at the D-I level. Lacey has a good presence, delivers the ball on time and has some escapability to him. He does not have the arm strength of Arch Manning or Trey Owens, but he has some wily-ness that makes him difficult to defend at times. - James Simon is ahead of Ricky Stewart of the two freshman RBs. Christian Clark is still running third team behind Tre Wisner and Jerrick Gibson. Some are saying Gibson’s body is leaning out some this spring, which is giving him a little more bounce in his step. - Parker Livingstone is the team’s go-to r…

Four-star++ LB target locks in Texas OV Marietta (Ga.) Kell linebacker Brayden Rouse will make an official visit to Texas June 13-15 coming on the heels of last weekends unofficial visit. Johnny Nansen and Kenny Baker were by Kell High in January, and have worked diligently to get the Longhorns in position for the long-limbed athletic outside 'backer. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounds now has four OV's locked in. He begins at Alabama May 30-June 2, then goes to Michigan June 6-8 and Texas the weekend after and Tennessee June 20-22. The Volunteers have been considered the team to beat at various points in the recruitment. June official visitor list ... …

Spoke with some team sources this morning and was told that normal Friday night starter Jared Spencer will NOT be pitching this weekend. As I said yesterday, Spencer will see a specialist today and is expected to be out for the "foreseeable future" and no timetable has been given on his return. --- So who starts this weekend? As of Thursday morning, this is the expected lineup: Friday - Ruger Riojas Saturday - Luke Harrison Sunday - Jason Flores It's worth noting that Sunday could possibly change, but as of now I would pencil him in. --- Many of you have asked about Jonah Williams and if he'll play this weekend. As of right now that is st…

What to know on OTF 5-star RB Derrek Cooper ahead of his visit Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna running back Derrek Cooper is scheduled to be on campus in Austin this weekend. The OnTexasFootball 5-star prospect is making the unofficial visit with his mom and step dad. This will be the first visit to Texas for the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder. OnTexasFootball spoke with a person very close to the recruitment on Tuesday to get the latest ahead of the visit. Cooper recruiting notes from the source ... 1. Places Georgia 1st and Miami 2nd headed into the Texas visit. Cooper is a one-time Bulldogs commit, and has been on campus multiple times. 2. Has fiv…

Texas Hoops: Battle for Wilcher; team notes Sean Miller and staff are in a battle for St. John's transfer combo guard Simeon Wilcher. Texas has been the favorite to land the 6-foot-4 CG that started 25 games for the Big East Champion since entering the portal. Maryland and Ole Miss are among the teams battling hard vs. the Longhorns. Maryland, in particular, due to the family relationship with Buzz Williams have been a thorn in the last 16 hours. Chris Beard is also trying his best to get Wilcher to not commit to the Longhorns. More on the remaining needs for the 2025-26 team below. Two team notes ... Two players have looked really good in recent work…

Another one! The Longhorns stay red hot out of the portal with the addition of former Syracuse DL Maraad Watson! The fifth (!) defensive lineman addition since the conclusion of the 2024 season is perhaps the most talented. Watson was a Freshman All-American last season for the Orange, where he recorded 493 snaps. Watson spent more of his time as a 3-tech for Syracuse, weighed in at 315 pounds and figures to be a guy that will rotate in with Alex January on the Texas defensive line this upcoming fall. When we discussed the need for a big fish on the defensive line, Texas has since added two with Lavon Johnson out of Maryland and now Watson from ‘Cuse. …

The portal opened just one week ago today. Think about all that has happened since. Texas has added four players in just seven days (five in nine days). All are key additional pieces and all are at positions of need. You get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, there was a plan. A plan that was thought about and strategized behind the scenes for months. Hats off to Brandon Harris and the entire personnel department staff. What they accomplished in such a short period of time is the envy of college football personnel departments. ** Another fact to contemplate: Not a single portal visitor who visited Texas this portal period took a visit e…

In a roller coaster of a game, the Longhorns came from behind and beat Texas State 14-11 last night. First, I want to start with this... One thing to realize about mid-week games is that Texas doesn't approach them the same way they do weekend series. At all. In the grand scheme of things, they aren't anywhere near as important, they aren't going to hurt you a ton if you lose and obviously you want to rest your key guys as much as possible. This isn't football where it's do or die week in and week out. During yesterday's game, Texas State was putting out weekend guys versus Texas, who put guys on the mound who don't pitch much. Texas is pitching t…

Note on 4-star++ Jalen Lott OnTexasFootball believes there is a shift in the recruitment of Jalen Lott (Frisco, Texas/Panther Creek) by the Texas staff. After Jalen Lott sat in on a wide receiver room meeting when on campus earlier in April, it became apparent the 5-foot-11.5, 170-pounder was very excited to be in the WR meeting with Chris Jackson and leaning toward wanting to play wide receiver. Lott is scheduled to speak with Steve Sarkisian today, and Sarkisian is expected to begin the recruitment as an offensive player first. OTF believes Texas and Oregon remain the top two for the Longhorns legacy. Jalen Lott OV's ... LSU May 30-June 2 …

Texas Hoops: Three scholarships remain; one key need Sean Miller and staff have three more scholarships possible to fill on the 2025-26 roster. The Texas roster is appearing in a number of way too early top 25 rankings. That includes a couple of ranking with Texas at No. 18 and No. 20, but that will likely only come to fruition if Miller and staff hit on the next two guard spots. Miller immediately addressed the needed height and length in the program in short order. The current Texas roster now features six players that stand 6-foot-8 or more. The four portal transfers thus far stand 7-foot, 6-foot-10, 6-foot-8 and a very athletic 6-foot-7. Add in three young b…

There have been plenty of conversations this spring in regards to which position room has the most depth, tightest competition, most overachieving youngsters or which room physically looks the best. And for the most part, those superlatives have found their way to the defensive side of the ball. Of course, the defensive line has essentially role played a fallen Hollywood star who has a crippling botox addiction with the way they continue to try and facelift the room with portal addition after portal addition. One room that has flown under the radar comparatively speaking is the EDGE room. With the return of Colin Simmons, there wasn't much concern here. Re…

The Texas football team is headed to the practice field literally as I type this. This morning will be the 13th of 15 allotted practices this spring. The Horns will practice again on Thursday then finish up with a final practice Saturday morning. On Saturday, Texas coaches and players will also take part in a fan participation event at the stadium following practice. ** Here are some notes from the spring: At QB, Arch Manning is the clear no. 1. Trey Owens is the clear no. 2. Manning has been far from perfect. He’s had his ups and downs. However, the thing that keeps being recounted to us is that he is considered a team leader and he is comma…

April 26 visitor list The Texas staff is scheduled to host more than 25 visitors this weekend, with a number that could reach over 50 combining the 2026 and 2027 classes. OnTexasFootball begins the week with an early look at some key visitors this week in the 2026 cycle. There are as many as 10 targets in the cycle stepping foot on campus for the first time this week. April 22 or 23rd ... Justice Fitzpatrick, CB, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star++ OV schedule: Georgia May 30-June 2, Miami June 6-8, Texas June 13-15, maybe Ohio State June 20-22 April 26 weekend ... Derrek Cooper, RB, Hollywood (Fla…

(Continued from this morning) News and notes on the defense: Along the defensive interior, I am told that Cole Brevard and Alex January have stood out so far. Hero Kanu has been fairly consistent. Melvin Hills, Josiah Sharma and Myron Charles are also seeing action. Travis Shaw has been on-again, off-again as he takes precautions with his knee, an injury he played and dealt with most of last season. There's a reason Texas continues to be aggressive in the portal at this position. While Brevard and January appear ready, the depth beyond those two is not ideal. That led Texas to adding Lavon Johnson from Maryland and is the impetus of trying to attract Maraad…

With multiple outlets now reporting it, we can confirm that Syracuse defensive tackle Maraad Watson, who lists at 6-3, 313 pounds, is expected to visit Texas. The visit is slated to begin later this evening. Watson earned freshman All-American honors for the Orangemen in 2024, totaling 30 tackles and 1 sack while being a key piece of a much improved Syracuse defense. Texas has already signed four defensive tackles from the transfer portal. Cole Brevard from Purdue, Hero Kanu from Ohio State, Travis Shaw from North Carolina and Lavon Johnson from Maryland. But with only true sophomore Alex January returning at the position who saw any game action in 2024, Te…

Last night freshman phenom Jonah Williams made his first start for No. 1 ranked Texas Baseball, going 2-of-4 with three RBIs. An impressive starting debut, no doubt, but even more so when you consider the fact that Williams is balancing both spring football and baseball, not to mention coming off an injury that ended his football season early. Williams performance played a crucial part in the Horns victory over No. 8 Auburn, helping them take yet another series from SEC opponents (Texas is the only school to not lose a conference series this season). “What he did last night was wild,” a team source said. “It didn’t surprise me, but to say I knew it was g…

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…

A look at the updated scholarship count for the Texas Longhorns in the midst of the portal window. Texas has been active, with three additions out of the portal alone on Friday. An updated look at the scholarship count for the Longhorns, which currently sits at 83. *** Quarterback (3) Rs. So. Arch Manning Rs. Fr. Trey Owens Fr. KJ Lacey No movement at the QB position. Texas is solid with the current room and will be for 2025. Running Back (6) Jr. Tre Wisner Rs. So. CJ Baxter So. Jerrick Gibson Rs. Fr. Christian Clark Fr. Rickey Stewart Fr. James Simon A talented room, now with…

Recruiting: 50-50 or better Was thinking of the best way to illustrate where the 2026 cycle is currently for the Texas Longhorns, and my prevailing thought were the current best chances for prospects and top targets. When looking at how Steve Sarkisian and staff will build a fifth straight top 5 class, it starts with the prospects that Texas has the best shot to win out for. And then it goes to the targets the Longhorns have the most work to do on. This morning, we will take a look at the prospects OnTexasFootball feels like Texas is 50-50 or better with headed into the big unofficial visit weekend April 25-26. Running back K.J. Edwards, RB, C…

I’ve mentioned multiple times since yesterday that Texas is not done in the portal. Here’s one to keep an eye on. I will add this: he’s not the last one either. View full news story

Often recruiting can look desperate, almost ham-handed, where coaches and player personnel management throw spaghetti at the wall (see: Oklahoma). Not the 2025 Texas Longhorns in the spring transfer portal. Steve Sarkisian, Brandon Harris and the Texas staff have struck with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel. Yesterday the Longhorns earned the signatures of three highly sought portal transfers. Cal tight end Jack Endries entered the portal early Wednesday. By Wednesday night, Endries was already on the Texas campus making an official visit. The most sought after tight end in the 2025 portal window, Endries totaled 56 catches a year ago as the Golden…

Bang! Texas has its tight end for 2025! The Longhorns have landed former Cal TE Jack Endries out of the transfer portal after a two day visit to Austin this weekend. Endries, caught 56 passes a year ago for 623 yards and two touchdowns. He will enter the 2025 season as one of the country’s leading receivers at the tight end position, a huge boost to a Texas tight end room that entered the spring with zero career receptions. The addition of Endries brings a proven piece to the Texas offense at the tight end spot. Of course, the expectation is Jordan Washington plays a large role this fall as well. Texas will also have some options with Spencer Shannon, …