Ray Peters

It’s so easy… and unfortunate… to forget or put out of mind these youngsters who redshirted. Samaje was a great cheerleader for his class, and no doubt worked his ass off like everyone else, learning, getting stronger. I appreciate the patience. Here’s to a great 2024, I hope he gets chances to be a significant contributor and have reason for many backflips.

This kid was a fountain of information! Lotsa funny answers, I see a media future with Zion.

David, I don’t think Brandon’s job will be as broad as the title of General Manager would suggest, like a GM of an NFL team. I’m sure it’s not that. It’s revealed in the tweet in Bobby’s first post, these moves are made “within our recruiting and player personnel staff.” I added the bold typeface to emphasize that’s the apparent scope of Harris’, Jones’s etc. responsibilities. With the onset of the portal and NIL, it became imperative to have a hive mind working to focus on this incredibly important aspect of a program (player evaluation [HS, portal, your own team], recruiting, allocation of resources [people and financial], logistics, working with NIL partners and the associated compliance piece so you don’t run afoul of the law/IRS or that thing ambling along called the NCAA. I’m sure I left out some areas of responsibility as I’m not in the room when things like Junior Days are planned. It’s a lot. There are other powerful people in the organization handling the also massive jobs outside the “recruiting and player personnel staff, “ such as hiring all those staffers, training, nutrition, equipment procurement, medical, public relations/media, marketing, video crew. For the football piece, Steve Sarkisian is obviously at the top of the decision making tree. Assembling his staff is clearly an enormous part of his job. And I suspect he has influence (or could have if he chooses to) with every other piece of the org chart. I’m sure he learned a lot from Saban and Carroll. And though Sark is a nice, engaging guy, he’s no shrinking violet.

How is Rod doing after his wisdom teeth extraction? 🥲

Know what gets your “money cannon” ready? JoyMode!

I mean, Sark is what, 6’1”? I know photographs can lie due to forced perspective, angles, positioning (you get it) but there’s no way around the fact this kid is a giant. Banks must be, “please please please!”

Thanks, Gerry! That’s a large man. Looks like he has a lot to learn as a route runner/receiver, but that’s great to see, means more upside. I love the play about the 2:00 mark of the Hudl, he blocks a dude about 30 yards downfield, then just crumples him to the turf at the end. I chortled.

I would assume Oregon is in good shape, especially with their 34 year old veteran QB.

15-20 pounds in a couple months, sheesh, that’s no big deal. I can do that. Wait… you said muscle? 🤣

Wow, tiers within a conference! That would be crazy to navigate. What about a form of “eat what you kill?” Your share of the payout is determined by your TV ratings, bowl share, playoff appearances, etc. Yes, this means traditional powers like Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Texas, etc. probably make more than the “others,” but if the others rise (it can be done, look at Colorado), their share increases. This would seem merit-based. Just food for thought, I’m sure there are many pitfalls ahead with such a concept.

Ahh, so the players are essentially just employees. Clearly, many (I suspect even “most”) will want the education piece, and even with the acknowledgment this is a massive business and the NCAA is likely left out, the university presidents will fight this concept. But it’s a legitimate idea to argue, and one more puzzle piece to solve.

What a great conversation among well-informed, reasonable people. I’d subscribe to all your newsletters, but don’t have to, since you’re now all here. 😀 So many moving parts going forward, but I suspect the main players around the big table are the commissioners of the SEC, B1G (acting as reps of member institutions) and guys like my old boss Eric Shanks at Fox and whomever is in charge at ESPN/ABC (not sure how involved Iger would be, but he’d certainly be kept in the loop by people like Pitaro/Magnus/Durant). The NCAA would be left out of the room, trying to peer thru the frosted glass and listening for any mention of its name. Its relevance as a player at the very highest level of college football is over, with the knowledge it will get crushed in any court case. A skinny guy named Ed O’Bannon ultimately proved to be the strongest of them all. Again, a lot yet to figure out with conference sizes/membership, championships, other sports… but the big boys have finally steered the vehicle down this particular road, and it’s damned great to know the Longhorns have a primo seat at the front.

I’ve been expecting the SEC/B1G to break away from the NCAA, at a minimum in Football, since it’s been apparent the NCAA is actually toothless. Which is to say, a helluva long time. The networks would jump at a deal to televise those games, and following the money is always the smart diagnostic approach. And welcome to this board, CTJ, your insight and information is always appreciated.

Hey now…

Watch Henderson’s feet, he’s really intentional in his setup and almost never throws off balance. I suspect he’s had some QB coaching, so he may want to stick at quarterback. I’ll be interested to hear what position we see him playing . I’m not seeing a rocket arm, but I also need to remember this tape is from his sophomore season (and in fairness, the ball usually got where it needed to be, on time, due to proper footwork). He had to field a lot of bad snaps, but he didn’t seem to get rattled. Good player, lotsa upside.

Not just an appearance, GH is back on the OTF team, will be with Bobby and Blake every morning on Coffee and Football, work with CJ on recruiting, make other appearances and contribute on this site as well. It’s a great win for OTF, Gerry is a 24-hour a day recruiting maniac!

Are you going to finally reveal your lovely singing voice? I’ve heard it’s like a choir of angels.

It’s on this new thing the kids call “YouTube,” it’s really neat! We usually get underway about 7:10pm, Lifetime Longhorn Rod Babers offers his unique insights as a former player and plugged in member of the Austin media market and C.J. Vogel will bring us up to date on recruiting news/offers/coaches on the road, team updates, etc. Producer Matthew Hutcheson will monitor the chat, which is always lively. I’ll try to find a pathway to integrate it all. So please have some questions and superchats ready, and we’ll have some fun. See you soon.

CJ may check in, but if it helps un-grit your grill, our friends at IT say Rink self-reports at 6’2 1/2” and 285 pounds, weighed during a recent visit to UT.

Appears to be in great shape, and you know he’s going to interview well. Good for him after catching quite a bit of grief as a younger player. Maturity + great coaching = amazing transformation. The Kyle Flood School For Badass Offensive Linemen will be more lucrative than McCombs

And I like having Mukuba on the roster! 😀

I seem to recall he wanted to move closer to Riley and grandkids (I think he has grandchildren). Now, he can resume coaching and still be near family in DFW. (Yes, three grandchildren.)

I’m not going to fib and say I watched all 44 minutes, but I skimmed through and saw several instances of Coach Choice doing his thing. It’s interesting to see his approach, essentially treating these 16 year old guys with peer-like respect, adult to adult. It’s clearly resonating. I also suspect Tashard lets everyone in the room know who’s boss when needed. What a great member of the staff, I hope we can find a way to keep him happy forever.

Welcome to the site! Burroughs is apparently a talented guy, but serious issues at Bama (reportedly a physical altercation with staff) and then not finding a good fit with Miami would seem to make him doubtful to join Texas. Sarkisian wants great culture adds, and I’m not sure Burroughs meets that qualification, no matter the need nor his physical attributes.

None of the other kids in those highlights belong on the same field as that dude. Unique ability to leap, make the catch AND maintain his footing and outrace everyone. And the size to Moss a DB. Will be interesting to follow his recruitment and career, especially if he ends up with the good guys.