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OTF in Miami: Live update on 5-star DL James Johnson Miami, Fla. - OnTexasFootball spent two hours at Northwestern High today. OTF will have a YouTube video interview with James Johnson in the next couple of days. First bit of news is the 6-3, 280-pounder is scheduled to be back at Texas September 20 for the Sam Houston State game. The same weekend 5-star RB commit Derrek Cooper will make his official visit. Texas remains in a very good spot with Johnson. He gave the game day visit a “10”, and the same for his June OV. Johnson spent time talking with Kenny Baker and Steve Sarkisian last weekend. He also spent time with friend Myron Charles, as well as…

Recruiting: 5-stars and 4-stars Starting Tuesday morning with a few recruiting notes. We have both football and basketball to update, beginning with football. Defensive line update … As you guys read, I stopped by Miami Northwestern High to see OTF 4-star++ James Johnson. My takeaway was that Johnson wants to be at Texas. Think he continues to like the idea of doing something different for college vs staying in state. Unless that changes or can be significantly convinced otherwise, I like Texas. The recruitment of 4-star Corey Wells (Petal, Miss./High) is certainly not as positive. The Texas verbal visited Auburn over the weekend with his brother a…

We will see just how cautious Texas is this upcoming weekend against UTEP, but there is a real possibility Texas sidelines a couple of key pieces this weekend. *** Steve Sarkisian told media on Monday RB Tre Wisner would be considered DOUBTFUL for Saturday's game. Wisner has been dinged up for a couple of weeks, and these non-conference games are looked at as an opportunity to get fully healthy. “I’d probably say today, he’s doubtful,” Sarkisian said. “I’m not ruling him out. At this juncture of the season, I’m just not in a rush to push guys back out there if they’re not as close to 100% or closer. I just know how long this thing goes. I know what it’s goi…

Hopefully some of you film nerds will find interest in this post. But I wanted to get an ongoing track of how successful the Texas offense is in personnel groupings, as well as a track of motion success in the pre-snap. These numbers have taken some time, and while I do not have the official splits, this is the most accurate approximations I have been able to record on personnel groupings and pre-snap motions. *** Personnel Packages For the first time this season, Texas trotted out a 13 and 14 personnel package on Saturday against San Ohio State. Based off my rewatches, Texas only lined up in 11 or 12 personnel in week one against Ohio State – and…

Gerry Hamilton calls football recruiting a “talent maximization” game. Sure, a recruit has to have some requisite physical skills. But the real difference in a recruit making it or not comes from a combination of commitment to craft, football smarts, work ethic, and more intangibles than I can list. Take the case of Sydir Mitchell. At 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds, Mitchell has all the physical traits and then some. He signed with Texas in the class of 2023, the only defensive tackle the Longhorns would ink. He had ample opportunity to grow, to develop, both physically and mentally, at Texas. He even showed some signs of progress in his two years on the 40 A…

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 …

First and foremost, the last couple of days, there has been some arguing on this message board that has gone too far. Name-calling, baiting, overly aggressive tones, etc. The bottom line is this: Good people can disagree WITHOUT hurling insults. That is the expectation here. Please remember that. ** UTEP leads the country in sacks and is in the top ten in tackles for loss. Arch Manning will get his fill of different fronts and pressures in this game. That is a very good thing IMO. The more he sees now, the better he’ll know how to react during conference play. This week, Arch needs to take care of the ball, move his feet a…

Show Me Improvement vs. UTEP Saturday will be the third time this year we get to see Arch Manning lead the Texas Longhorns onto the field in the 2025 season. Through the first two games, I think it is fair to say there remains plenty of room for the Texas offense to grow into its final version of itself. Of course, that is the biggest objective of the next two weekends – improve step by step. Texas has time to mature into the offensive unit I believe can compete for a National Championship, but it must take advantage of every opportunity on the field ahead of the big dogs on the schedule and this weekend is no exception. So, a few areas I would love to…

Braylon Hodge update Texas linebackers coach Johnny Nansen extended an offer to Michigan State verbal Braylon Hodge(Denver/Cherry Creek) Wednesday night. OnTexasFootball exchanged messages with the 6-3, 215-pounder since the offer was made, both last night and this morning. The Thursday AM update is the scheduling of visits to Texas being ironed out. Per Hodge this morning, September 20 will be a UOV if that one gets locked in. A November official visit is also being discussed, and is very likely. Both Texas and Michigan offered Wednesday. View full news story

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian will meet with the media one final time this weekend ahead of the week three matchup with UTEP. Expect to have some injury updates coming out of today's Zoom Call. View full news story

College Football Live Thread: Week 3 This is a big weekend in the SEC, to start. This will be the first true test for a number of teams on the Texas schedule. Texas A&M at Notre Dame, Georgia at Tennessee, Arkansas at Ole Miss. Vanderbilt looks to beat SoCar in Columbia. Then there is Florida at LSU. View full news story

Steve Sarkisian said he didn’t think any of the players that will miss tomorrow’s game will have long stays on the injured list. But it’s still quite the list, especially at the skill positions on offense. Tre Wisner and DeAndre Moore are expected out. Portal transfer Emmett Mosley V, who we’ve yet to see, remains sidelined, too. That’s your no. 1 running back and two of your top four receivers. No wonder Sark spent a lot of yesterday talking up true freshman Daylan McCutcheon. Here at OTF, we’ve talked about one of the categories of improvement we want to see in this Texas offense is its explosiveness. Well, it’s hard to be explosive when all of your …

Notable Visitors for Texas' home game vs. UTEP *** 2027 Jordan Frohock, WR, Pflugerville (Texas) Weiss 4 Offers: Nebraska, Tulsa, Jacksonville State, UTSA Frohock returns to campus for the 2nd time in as many weeks. Alvin Mosley, WR, Rosharon (Texas) Fort Bend Crawford Ranked 178th overall nationally Texas offered Mosley June 1 at the Elite Camp this summer. Kobe Haynes, WR, Whitney (Texas) High 1 Offer: Baylor Khing Thibodeaux, DL, Garland (Texas) Lakeview Centennial Ranked 148th overall nationally Texas has yet to offer, but Thibodeaux is ranked as the No. 5 DL in the state for 2027. …

Closing in on game day for the Texas Longhorns which means it is almost time to put the ribbon on final predictions and expectations for the third game of the season. Based off of Steve Sarkisian's availability and team intel from sources in Austin, here are my final expectations for the Texas Longhorns. *** – Expect to see a lot of Nick Townsend on Saturday. Jack Endries is dinged up, though is expected to suit up and give it a go for the Longhorns, but how much extended time will he see? My bet is not a ton. As a result, I am circling Townsend as the guy Texas hopes evolves into that 2nd tight end for SEC play. – In the running game, it would …

No. 7 Texas vs. UTEP Game Thread The game ... Time: 3:15 CST TV: SEC Network 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 …

What I want to see vs UTEP... * Other than a 5-minute stretch against San Jose State, we've seen a somewhat bottled up Texas offense to this point Against UTEP, the Texas offense needs to inch closer to letting it loose. We need to see repeated, consistent scoring, not just once every third series. And we need to see big plays coming from within the regular scope of the offense, not just deep passes downfield which can be too hit or miss. * Better third-down conversion. And furthermore, Texas setting itself up for better third-down conversions. The average yards-to-go on third downs this season has been 7+ yards. That's essentially averaging third…

Texas vs. UTEP … Week 3 of 2025 September 13, 2025 **** The second of three games at DKR for the Longhorns. This weekend is all about improvement and seeing the team take steps in the right direction. 1st Quarter Texas starts with the football, and on the first play of the game, CJ Baxter gets dinged up on an inside zone RPO. Christian Clark comes in and makes an immediate impact with a 23-yard gain. First drive of the game and we see some Jerrick Gibson as well. Well another game, another turnover on downs and another failed opportunity to begin with points on the board before the opposition sees the football. It is a come…

I am sure plenty are eagerly awaiting the press conference of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian following the Longhorns' victory over UTEP. It was ugly all the way around. As normal, all comments and quotes will be in the comments down below. Tune into the OTF postgame show for analysis and the opening statement from Steve Sarkisian. View full news story

Part of me remains in shock this morning, surprised by the QB play we all witnessed Saturday afternoon. I did not see it coming, not this level of struggle. It reached a level of complete ineptness. There were 10 straight incompletions, some that were true misfires, others that were ill-timed, rushed and three or four yards off the mark, one where he didn’t see what should have been his very first read for a first down on a fourth-down play in the red zone and another fourth down play to a wide open Parker Livingston downfield. The performance left me with so many questions Is Sark not helping him out enough with play-calling? Are the offensive l…

The Texas offense currently can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. That much is clear. So every time I think it might be because of a lack of offensive ingenuity, I remember that this team can’t do the basics very well. Arch inexplicably fumbles a snap in the red zone. Given all of that, how is Sark going to be comfortable calling something that requires more finesse? This is not all on Arch though. The blocking in the red zone remains leaky at best, especially on the right side. Perimeter blocking is still an issue, as are penalties, as are running backs missing running lanes. The offense is dysfunctional. How does Texas manage that? …

A look at snap counts in the week three win over UTEP. *** Defense Out of 61 total snaps. 45 – Jaylon Guilbeau 42 – Michael Taaffe 40 – Jelani McDonald, Anthony Hill Jr., Hero Kanu 36 – Liona Lefau 35 – Malik Muhammad 34 – Graceson Littleton 31 – Maraad Watson, Trey Moore 30 – Colin Simmons 29 – Ethan Burke, TyAnthony Smith 24 – Zina Umeozulu 23 – Cole Brevard 20 – Jordan Johnson-Rubell, Derek Williams Jr. 19 – Wardell Mack 18 – Warren Roberson 17 – Kade Phillips 15 – Lance Jackson 13 – Brad Spence, Travis Shaw 11 – Colton Vasek 8 – Melvin Hil…

A win is a win, but there is plenty to improve upon. *** Good Horn Return Game Life For the first time this season Texas was able to establish a return in the punt game. Ryan Niblett gave three punts a chance on Saturday, totaling 72 yards with a long of 49. At this point, Texas needs just about every yard they can muster in every facet of the game. Good on the Texas return team for setting up the necessary blocks and the execution was the best we have seen this season. It can certainly still improve, and I am begging for more punts to be caught in the air, but this is a step in the right direction. Bad Horn 3rd Downs... Again Tex…

Based on what we’ve seen in the first three games of this year, the Texas football season appears at a crossroads. I didn’t think we’d possibly arrive here until after the Florida game or perhaps after Oklahoma. Yet the outright dysfunction of the offense has accelerated the timeline. The quarterback is not throwing on time - or accurately - often enough. At times, he looks bewildered and/or overmatched. The running game lacks any real punch. And playmakers - where are they and do the Longhorns actually have any? As a whole, the offense appears to lack an identity, unable to impose its will even on lesser opponents. If that sounds a little harsh or ove…

Monday AM Recruiting: Big visit weekend planned This weekend will be the first big visit weekend for the Texas Longhorns this season. Steve Sarkisian and staff are expected a number of 2026 commitments, 2027 prospects and there is the possibility of two or three 2026 prospects committed elsewhere. This will serve as the game visitors thread. Prospects committed elsewhere ... The Texas staff is likely to have two or three prospects committed elsewhere on campus this weekend. OTF is holding off on the potential names on our end, for at least the next few days, as plans can always change with the committed school working to get the visits zapped. 202…