Jeff Howe

No, but the immediate priority is the upcoming draft.

The press release from UT on Duru: Declan Duru Jr. has signed an Athletic Scholarship Agreement (ASA) to play basketball next season at The University of Texas, head coach Sean Miller announced Wednesday. Duru, who spent the last five years with Real Madrid in the program’s youth development system in Spain, will join the Longhorns as a true freshman for the upcoming 2025-26 season. Duru (6-9, 225), a forward who is originally from Munich, Germany, played for Real Madrid B and the Real Madrid U19 team last season. He played in seven contests for Real Madrid U19 in 2024-25 and averaged 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game while converting 49.2-percent (29-59) from the floor, including a 41.9-percent mark (13-31) from three-point range. Duru also saw action in 17 games for Real Madrid B and averaged 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per contest. Duru recently helped his native Germany post a 6-1 record and earn a silver medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland (June 28-July 6). He reached double figures in scoring in six of the seven games and averaged 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per contest while converting 52.4-percent (22-42) from the floor. The previous summer, Duru paced Germany to a 7-0 mark and the gold medal at the 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket Championship in Tampere, Finland. During the 2023-24 season, Duru helped the Real Madrid U18 team win the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament. He also paced the Real Madrid U16 team to a pair of Spanish Championships in 2022-23 and helped the Real Madrid U14 squad claim the Spanish Championship in 2021.

What will be interesting is how the staff uses Riojas next season. We mentioned leading up to the season how Schloss and Max Weiner envisioned utilizing Ruger the way they used Evan Aschenbeck at A&M, which is to say he was a true stopper. However, the lack of a reliable No. 3 starter forced Ruger into the rotation and Jared Spencer’s injury kept him there.

Duru has signed his ASA with Texas. He’s officially a Longhorn.

Lewis Obiorah has signed an Athletic Scholarship Agreement (ASA) to play basketball next season at The University of Texas, head coach Sean Miller announced Wednesday. Obiorah, who spent last year playing at Barking Abbey Basketball Academy in London, will join the Longhorns as a true freshman for the upcoming 2025-26 season. Obiorah (7-1, 245), a center from London, England, played for head coach Rikki Broadmore at Barking Abbey in the Elite Academy Basketball League (EABL), which features the top under-19 players in the country. Obiorah earned EABL championship finals MVP honors while leading Barking Abbey to the EABL championship last year. He averaged 10.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game during the 2024-25 season. Obiorah will be competing with Great Britain’s U20 National Team at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket Championship Division B on July 11-20 in Yerevan, Armenia. The above is a press release from the University of Texas.

Blake reported this a while back and we’ve been mentioning it when talking about the Texas pitching staff in 2026, but it’s official (per Kendall Rogers) that the Longhorns are welcoming back Max Grubbs, Luke Harrison and Ruger Riojas for the 2026 season. The plan is for Harrison to be back in the Saturday role next season. *** UPDATE: The return of Grubbs, Harrison and Riojas is officially official

If you’ve been following Gerry’s basketball posts regarding one more piece Sean Miller has been looking to add to the roster for the 2025-26 season and beyond, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. *** UPDATE: Duru is officially a Longhorn (press release is attached below) Declan Duru Jr. has signed an Athletic Scholarship Agreement (ASA) to play basketball next season at The University of Texas, head coach Sean Miller announced Wednesday. Duru, who spent the last five years with Real Madrid in the program’s youth development system in Spain, will join the Longhorns as a true freshman for the upcoming 2025-26 season. Duru (6-9, 225), a forward who is originally from Munich, Germany, played for Real Madrid B and the Real Madrid U19 team last season. He played in seven contests for Real Madrid U19 in 2024-25 and averaged 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game while converting 49.2-percent (29-59) from the floor, including a 41.9-percent mark (13-31) from three-point range. Duru also saw action in 17 games for Real Madrid B and averaged 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per contest. Duru recently helped his native Germany post a 6-1 record and earn a silver medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland (June 28-July 6). He reached double figures in scoring in six of the seven games and averaged 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per contest while converting 52.4-percent (22-42) from the floor. The previous summer, Duru paced Germany to a 7-0 mark and the gold medal at the 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket Championship in Tampere, Finland. During the 2023-24 season, Duru helped the Real Madrid U18 team win the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament. He also paced the Real Madrid U16 team to a pair of Spanish Championships in 2022-23 and helped the Real Madrid U14 squad claim the Spanish Championship in 2021.

It’s unfortunate that Miami and Virginia Tech were on the way down when they joined the league 20 years ago. There was that point in ‘97 when North Carolina and Florida State were as talented as anyone in the country.

The TCU-Georgia title game should’ve told the country all it needed to know about the difference in the LOS talent between the two conferences. The SEC and Big Ten are so far ahead of the other conferences because of LOS talent.

I’ll submit a vote for Kris Clack. Local product, first McDonald’s All-American in school history, helped Texas win the Big 12 in Barnes’ first season and was drafted.

Marcus Wilkins played in the NFL without (I believe) ever starting a game at Texas.

The ceremony starts at noon. The actual commitment is at 2:15.

If John Turntine commits to Texas on the same day Joey Chestnut reclaims the mustard belt, this will be one of the greatest days in the history of our great nation!

The greatest American tradition of them all begins in about an hour!

We’ve mentioned it before, but Texas took Richard Wesley’s commitment to fill the need for a bigger-bodied versatile EDGE in the class.

Bryce Perry-Wright was scheduled to make the call today. He’s now announcing on Saturday.

Happy Independence Day! There are three Texas targets expected to make verbal commitments today. After securing a commitment from OTF 4-star+ linebacker Kosi Okpala on Thursday, the Longhorns’ 2026 recruiting class stands at 16 members. Coming into Friday, Steve Sarkisian’s fifth full-cycle class on the Forty Acres was ranked No. 14 nationally by 247Sports and No. 16 by Rivals. We know when each of the three recruits is expected to make the call. The OTF staff will keep you updated on any changes throughout the day. *** Felix Ojo, OT, Mansfield Lake Ridge OTF 4-Star+ Time: 1 p.m. Finalists: Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, TEXAS, Texas Tech Note: Ojo is expected to announce his decision on X (formerly Twitter). *** John Turntine III, OT, North Crowley OTF 5-Star Time: 2:15 p.m. Finalists: Michigan, Stanford, TEXAS, Texas A&M Note: Turntine's ceremony is scheduled to start at noon. He's expected to announce his decision on X (formerly Twitter). *** Kaydon Finley, WR, Aledo OTF 4-Star+ Time: 6:30-7 p.m. Finalists: Arizona State, Notre Dame, TEXAS, Texas A&M View full news story

Texas wanted Rerick back and the coaches were excited about his future. That was the word the day before the news of him entering the portal dropped. I don’t think this was something the staff forced.

As a second-team AP All-American last season, he could leave school as a two-time All-American.

Tommy Nobis should, without question, be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's a shame he's not in and won't be able to see his bust in Canton whenever it happens.

If you need a break from today's recruiting news cycle, I've got a few things not related to impending decisions on my mind for you to check out.