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The Texas men’s track and field squad limped (literally) to a 34th place finish last night. One of the hurdlers who was expected to score points for the Horns was injured. That puts a greater emphasis on today’s action at the women’s T&F championships where the Director’s Cup will also be decided. According to Director’s Cup expert Dr. Brett Wilkinson, the Texas women must finish 11th or better to secure the Director’s Cup for Texas for the fourth time in five years. Otherwise, USC likely takes home the Director’s Cup. Texas is slated to finish anywhere from 10th-14th, so it’s coming down to the wire. ** I can’t recall a time in covering recru…

Texas finished its ninth practice of the spring last night. It was a scrimmage setting with dozens of current high school coaches on hand because of the coaching clinic Texas is hosting. Some notes: - While Colin Simmons is clearly the team’s top edge defender, two other defensive ends were singled out for their play yesterday-Lance Jackson and Colton Vasek. Vasek has been a steady (and healthy) performer this spring. - Dia Bell had another strong practice. The true freshman made multiple throws and a scramble that were noted by onlookers. One thing one source told us is that both Bell and KJ Lacey “move well”. When asked for more details, he…

Sources tell On Texas Football that the real roster NIL number for Texas in 2026 is somewhere between $35-$36mm. So many have prognosticated that the figure would reach well in to the $40 millions. That’s simply untrue. And here’s what those folks never, ever accounted for. No single player in college football is pushing more of his own school-based NIL to his teammates than Texas quarterback Arch Manning. And Manning is doing so to the tune of multiples of millions of dollars. Those folks also didn’t actually listen to Steve Sarkisian or take him at his word. As Sark has said many times publicly, Manning is taking a heavy NIL discount in order to…

Arch Manning is expected to start, according to published reports. Just a week after suffering a concussion in overtime against Mississippi State, the redshirt sophomore quarterback was removed entirely from the SEC injury report last night. Only safety Michael Taaffe remains on the list and is termed “doubtful”. While Manning’s return is welcome news, it also brings up a couple of questions about his play in this contest: 1. How likely is he to run in this game? Manning’s legs have been key in multiple situations this year, especially in the red zone. He’s also been an effective scrambler at times. 2. How likely is he to stand in there against the bli…

Quick catch up from yesterday. - Baseball clinched a double bye for the SEC tournament with their win over Missouri last night. The Horns will finish no lower than tied for 2nd in regular season SEC play. The 2nd place finish comes a year after winning the regular season SEC title. Not a bad first two years in the dugout for coach Jim Schlossnagle. Texas is looking to get the series sweep against Mizzou later today. Moment of the game: Catcher Carson Tinney hit an absolute bomb over the centerfield wall for a grand slam. - Women’s softball run-ruled Wagner yesterday in the first round of regional play. Next up: the Horns take on Wisconsin at noon today…

Cornerback John Meredith gives the Horns 16 verbal commitments for the class of 2027. He’s yet another in a recent run of blue chip prospects who have selected the Horns in the last couple of weeks. This decision is a direct win over the Aggies who have been crowing about their own recruiting class (and rightfully so). Folks want to know how Texas and A&M, and even Texas Tech, are doing so well simultaneously. The answer is simple: the Horns and Aggies, and even the Red Raiders to a certain extent, are not relying solely on homegrown talent to fill their rosters. Of the top five ranked Longhorn commitments by the recruiting industry, only Meredith …

Happy 4th! Hope we have some fireworks today. ** Couple of team notes on America’s 250th birthday. - I had a brief conversation with a source inside the building and asked who was looking good this off-season. A couple of names were mentioned: Arch Manning, Raleek Brown and Justus Terry. On Manning: has looked really good in workouts. Is dialed in. Expecting a big year. On Brown: “People will be surprised how many touchdowns he scores this year.” I immediately asked what that means for Hollywood Smothers. “He’s gonna be a guy, too.” On Terry: The most talented interior DL on campus. As long as he stays healthy, expect a big jump from him this…

It’s finally here. Time for the home opener. Texas vs San Jose State kicks off at 11am. No, the Spartans aren’t the Buckeyes. But it’s still football and it’s at DKR. These sorts of games are real opportunities for the team to iron out the wrinkles at game speed. Let’s get Arch operating with confidence, continue to create lanes in the run game, perhaps identify a big-play threat, and hopefully the Horns continue to play stifling defense as well. Those are the ways I would define “success” today, at least from the first units. Of course, we’ll also be paying close attention to the finer points of the game (like punt return) and the younger players…

I’m writing this in my car before exiting and going deeper into the mob scene that is Texas vs Ohio State. ** The vibe here is tremendous. Tailgates abound. They have parties in every nook and cranny. There’s also a magnificent stadium as a backdrop to all the tailgates as well as the creature comforts of a big-time game, like ESPN’s College Gameday, all right off the main drag. This is a big-time atmosphere, no doubt about it. ** One thing I would like to add: Ohioans take their football seriously. It’s very much like the state of Texas in that regard, maybe more similar to Texas than any other state in the country. Football is importan…

Mack Brown sat in on the Saturday Conversation with me. We discussed the future of college football, his time at Texas and his future plans. Hope you enjoy! View full news story

Saturday news and notes: At the softball celebration last night, I came away with a few interesting thoughts. - First, I’ve seen enough of team sports through the years that I feel like I can easily tell when the camraderie of a team is particularly strong and genuine. Watching the players interact last night, when the cameras weren’t on them, felt a little special in that regard. These young women are truly each other’s best friends and support each other in a genuine way. We talk about culture a lot when it comes to sports, the softball team has a winning culture if I’ve ever seen one. It’s special. - My favorite moment of the celebration c…

We’ve talked about the relative lack of size at linebacker given Rasheem Biles and Ty’Anthony Smith are both expected starters. However, according to our CJ Vogel, Juice Cryer, a much bigger, more natural inside linebacker, has not been so easy for Smith to unseat in week one. If you recall, Smith was on the mend during spring training while Cryer, a Florida State transfer, participated fully in the install of Will Muschamp’s defense. While it’s too early to say one or the other will eventually win the job, we can at least say there’s a battle for it through week one of camp. ** Cole Hutson returned to the team officially yesterday and was back on…

I sat down with Paul Finebaum for this morning’s Saturday Conversation. We both agree. The future of college football is healthy. The ecosystem it exists in is not. We talked about that and more, including his expectations for the Longhorns in 2026. Finebaum expects the Horns and Georgia to be the cream of the SEC crop. There’s more from Finebaum here: ** A couple more things: 1. We’ll be making a major announcement tomorrow that will benefit every OTF OG who loves knowing more about the Longhorns. We’re excited to get things kick-started tomorrow. 2. The Dallas Under Armour camp is tomorrow. OTF will be there. More…

Last night, Texas secured its fifth Director’s Cup in six years. For those unaware, the Director’s Cup is a season-long competition among all athletic departments and every sport a university sponsors. Points are awarded to various sports based on their finishes in NCAA national competition. The Longhorns sealed it last night by scoring points in Track & Field giving the Horns an insurmountable lead over Stanford. Texas can add to its overall point total tonight by winning the first game of the College World Series against Georgia and guaranteeing no less than a 5th place finish in baseball. ** Yet the purpose of this article is not how m…

Fellas, I hope you all appreciate how much better the OTF website is nowadays than what it was just a few short months ago. While Gerry, CJ, Jeff, Blake and myself tried to give you as much info and interaction as we could, there is no doubt in my mind that the additions of Hank and Jordan are taking us to another level here—not only in information, but also interaction on the message boards with you. I’m very thankful they decided to join us. And I’m also thankful that so many of y’all have either stuck with us this entire time as OG’s or joined us more recently. I truly believe we’re building something special at OTF for all true Longhorn fans. …

The ruling last night in Colorado from a federal judge that gives all class of 2022 athletes an additional year of eligibility (aka five years to play five seasons) AND create what amounts to a transfer portal for those players has the college football world frenzied this morning. Personnel departments around the country are scouring NFL rosters, monitoring players who might be cut, and considering their own former players who went undrafted by NFL teams. "This is crazy," one college football GM (not at the University of Texas) told me this morning. "Every time you think you have a handle on the roster, something like this happens, and the world changes immediat…

Yesterday, I posted how former Longhorns who entered the transfer portal this off-season are doing at their new schools. The community's responses dealt with a variety of players. But one player stuck out to me more than others, and I think it did to a number of you as well. It's the case of Tre Wisner. Are Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers better overall running backs than Tre Wisner? The answer is likely yes. For the sake of brevity, let's put it this way. If the NFL Draft were to happen today, both Brown and Smothers would likely go ahead of Wisner. But that doesn't tell the whole story of Wisner. When I think of Tre Wisner in compa…

Every so often, I’m going to write a column called Things I Heard. It says what it means. These are things I heard yesterday. ** - Cam Coleman looks unbelievable physically. - Michael Masunas is expected to be by far the best blocking TE Sark has had in Austin. Look for the Horns to utilize that. - There is “no doubt” that the RB room has taken a significant step forward. Hollywood Smothers really legit. Derrek Cooper is working with purpose. - Impressed with the work ethic of Rasheem Biles on defense. - “Very high” on Bo Mascoe. - Jordan Coleman looks ready to compete for a starting spot somewhere, especially if Laurence Seymore do…

Well, Texas took another three star recruit on Friday. Austin Anderson defensive back Yaheim Riley is not among the top 100 players in the country by any service. Even more, he’s not even ranked among the top 100 players in the state by at least one. So what in the world are Steve Sarkisian and Brandon Harris thinking? I mean, Texas should only be going after four and five stars. Right? Wrong. Just ask Cam Williams, Cole Hutson and Ethan Burke from the 2022 recruiting class. Or ask Tre Wisner and Trevor Goosby from the 2023 class. How would this Longhorn roster look without Alex January, Parker Livingstone, Ty’Anthony Smith, Nate Kibble and others fro…

The Longhorns made two new scholarship offers yesterday. North Forney athlete Legend Bey, who has been committed to Tennessee since the summer, was offered by receivers coach Chris Jackson and head coach Steve Sarkisian yesterday. Bey plays quarterback in high school but with 10.6-second 100-meter speed, he likely plays wide receiver in college. He is one of the state’s most electric players. Texas did not offer earlier in the process because Bey initially wanted to play quarterback. But things appear to have changed. Bey recently returned from a visit to Ohio State. We’ll see if Bey decides to visit the Longhorns before signing day. The other off…

Couple of Practice Takeaways *** @Jeff Howe, @Rod Babers and myself filmed a quick video on this topic Saturday afternoon, take a look for more of an explanation. *** Couple of takeaways from the secondary following the scrimmage Friday night. – First, freshman CB Samari Matthews came away with an interception. Matthews' name has continued to popup from practice the last week-plus. – Two main themes from the scrimmage: Pre-snap alignment/leverage and communication. The two guys that were singled out to me as main communicators in the back end were Derek Williams Jr. and Jelani McDonald. Of course, that makes sense as your starting safet…

Notes: - Yale OL Mike Bennett has concluded his visit. He is expected to visit Oregon and Indiana. Texas is very interested. - LB Rasheem Biles and RB Hollywood Smothers remain on their trips to Austin. - DB Edwin Joseph, who visited Texas earlier this week, has committed to Ole Miss. As we’ve said, Texas is really focused on the front seven on defense currently. That’s not an excuse for missing on Joseph or anyone else, but it is indicative of the overall thought process and resource allocation. - WR Cam Coleman is expected to stay on his visit in Tuscaloosa to watch Alabama vs Texas in basketball today. View full news story

Saturday AM Recruiting Update The recruiting battles for top defensive and offensive line prospects will carry all the way until signing day, December 4. Malakai Lee ... Texas and Lee continue to have weekly conversations. The Michigan 4-star++ pledge remains Texas' top target at offensive tackle that the staff is still pursuing. Kamehameha High's last regular season game is October 24, which means a possible visit to Texas in November could work from a schedule standpoint. If Texas A&M 4-star commit Zaden Krempin (Prosper, Texas/High) had a change of heart, Texas would answer that phone call. Corey Wells ... Texas continues to battle Auburn …

Saturday AM recruiting: 5-star to visit Texas; OV dates The Texas Longhorns coaches have concluded the month of January on the road with the dead period set to begin February 3 (runs through march 2). Five-star WR to visit ... Wide receivers coach Chris Jackson made a school stop at Hattiesburg (Miss.) High this week to see 5-star Tristen Keys. The visit with the Hattiesburg High head coach, Keys and a family member went very positively according to a source close to the recruitment. The meeting led to an offer from Texas, and keys now making plans to visit this spring and follow up with a June official visit. Keys and Texas came together due to a fr…

Saturday and Sunday should be fruitful The expected return and announcement by Matas Vokietaitis set the 2026-27 roster build in motion. He was task No. 1 for the staff, and he was very highly coveted by blue bloods and power programs in the SEC, ACC and Big 10. With the return now set, it's time to build the roster around him. OTF believes this weekend will and could be very fruitful for Texas. Any portal player added in the coming day or days is a future pro, and likely future NBA draft pick. That's the level of prospect Texas is in on right now. OTF believes Texas will likely end up starting five future pros in 2026-27. Sean Miller and staff are battl…