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I've had CJ's statement on my mind since he made it almost a week ago. It's a great place to be because the wins mean you're adding blue-chip talent that can help you win a championship, but the losses mean that one of the opponents standing between you and a championship just got better. When you're big-game hunting in the NIL/revenue sharing era of college football, last-second losses can happen. Sure, Sark might need to adjust some things as time goes on, but I'm giving the staff the benefit of the doubt, even on tough days like today. I've got faith in them continuing to get the players Texas needs to remain in the title hunt in the SEC and the CFP. The bottom line is I'd much rather Texas be battling Texas A&M, LSU, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oregon in high-stakes recruitments than trying to poach from Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech to field a competitive roster. Texas has a head coach with the stomach for the fight, which hasn't always been the case in my time covering recruiting.

What would be new names at running back, we should know?

Running back always a dime a dozen in the portal and can easily backfill with a local high school low 4 star/3 star to fill a spot worst case scenario. Staff already has 2 DTs from the Southeast and looking good for a 3rd to commit this week. Biggest problem in recruiting for a decade plus has been the trenches and choosing to look at the bright side that it appears we’ve finally fixed our glaring weakness.

These are crazy times when recruiting can flip on a dime. Gonna be fascinating to watch all of this unfold, not only in short-term, but paying super premium for unproven incoming recruits, how does culture evolve or crumble? A small part of me says ‘hats off’ to A&M for finding right mix of messaging (ie. multiple 7-figures NIl guaranteed over next several years combined with message around playing time early) that resonated with Edwards enough to cause him to cancel OV. That’s some closing mindset. The bigger part of me (maybe old school and naive) says Sark has a proven track record of building an elite team, recruiting the right way for the long term. A&M has built top classes in the past only to have 75% of the recruits defect within 2 years. I trust Sark will continually evaluate if he needs to adjust his approach (timing of NIL offers, approach to valuation by player, etc) without sacrificing culture or longterm. We missed on KJ which sucks but I look forward to seeing where things land in the end. Our team is loaded for 2025 and 2026!! Hook em!! 🧡🐂🤘🏼

OTF four-star+EDGE Dre Quinn (Buford, Ga.) is expected to make the call on Thursday in a recruitment that’s come down to a battle between Texas and Clemson. Quinn’s decision is the first of many scheduled to be made in the coming weeks by Longhorn targets. The group of blue-chip recruits planning to pull the trigger includes defensive lineman Vodney Cleveland (Birmingham, Ala./Parker) on Saturday, running back Ezavier Crowell (Jackson, Ala.) next Thursday, offensive tackle Malakai Lee (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha) next Friday, linebacker Xavier Griffin (Gainesville, Ga.) next Saturday and Frisco Panther Creek wide receiver Jalen Lott on July 8. Texas has some margin for error within most position groups ahead of the remaining summer decisions. The staff can withstand a loss or two, and the conditions could still be ripe to secure elite, difference-making positional hauls. Not all recruiting losses are created equal. Some will hurt more than others. There’s no way, for instance, to cushion the blow the Longhorns were dealt on Tuesday, when Carthage running back KJ Edwards committed to Texas A&M. If Crowell picks Alabama, Auburn or Georgia over the Longhorns, Chad Scott's running back board would reset heading into the fall. An uncertain running back outlook aside, CJ Vogel recently hit the nail on the head regarding the current state of recruiting on the Forty Acres. “You’re fighting for the right guys,” he said during last Wednesday’s “Longhorn Livestream” during a discussion regarding the possibility of the Longhorns’ 2026 recruiting class being the program’s third in a row to finish ranked among the top three in the country. I’ve been employed in the Texas market covering recruiting since 2008. Never has the hunt for talent been more widespread, with the Longhorns battling against perennial SEC and College Football Playoff contenders for prospects. The staff’s efforts in the Northeast have Texas in the mix for offensive tackle Grayson McKeogh (Wyndmoor, Pa./La Salle College), defensive lineman Damari Simeon (Richland, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) and EDGE Luke Wafle (Princeton, N.J./The Hun School). The Longhorns are scheduled to welcome two California visitors to campus this weekend, tight end Keawe Brown (Corona, Calif./Centennial) and EDGE Richard Wesley (Chatsworth, Calif./Sierra Canyon). The Longhorns haven’t been shy about mixing it up for recruits within the SEC footprint, either. They’ve made their presence felt from Louisiana, through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and into Florida. Two of the biggest prospects left on the board are defensive lineman Kendall Guervil (Fort Myers, Fla.) and EDGE Trenton Henderson (Pensacola, Fla./Catholic), who will begin their official visits to Texas on Friday. Steve Sarkisian’s organization didn’t suddenly decide to ramp up its recruiting efforts throughout the Southeast. It’s a benefit to joining the SEC that Sarkisian and the Longhorns have tried to maximize, particularly with consecutive trips to the CFP semifinals, allowing Texas to conduct business from a position of strength. “I think the move into the SEC has probably been more beneficial for us,” Sarkisian said at a Touchdown Club of Houston luncheon in May. "A lot of people are changing conferences right now, but this one really resonated with us.” He mentioned how the program’s ability to recruit from within the Lone Star State and head eastbound along the Interstate 10 and Interstate 20 corridors changed the staff’s approach. “It's easy for those kids, it's natural for those kids to want to come to Texas,” he said. “There's a ton of players, so as much as we value recruiting the state of Texas, which is critical for our success, this made sense for us to work directly east, as opposed to the Big 12.” The Longhorns won’t win every cutthroat recruiting battle for the top talent from a part of the country that’s buoyed almost every national championship-winning roster over the last 25 years. Still, Texas has won enough to claim a place at the top of college football’s talent acquisition food chain. And with a stomach strong enough to withstand the ebbs and flows, Sarkisian has everything he needs to keep the Longhorns there for the foreseeable future. “I love the competitiveness of the SEC, but also love the recruiting aspect of the SEC,” he said. “We're able to go into Georgia and sign three or four players a year. We're able to go into Louisiana, we're able to go into Florida — very talent-rich areas to go along with what we have here in the state of Texas. “It’s been a win-win for us on those two things.” View full news story

$$$$ is the number 1 factor in recruiting now. There are exceptions but most will take the extra money assuming it’s significant to the recruit / family.

Wait till December 🤷🏿‍♂️

With Tackle being a huge need in this class, a few weeks ago getting 2 of Turntine, Ojo, Lee, Roseborough, or Utu seemed to be a given. Now there seems to be an NIL fueled path to getting none of those 5, but surely not 🤞

Strategy may need to be adjusted moving forward though due to being able to sign immediately with the rev share and locking in.

And Malakai Lee has gotten really close with Georgia.

Men - Street, Earl, VY, Ricky Women - Cat, Clarissa, Sonya Richards-Ross, Skinner Coaches - DKR, Gus, Augie, Eddie HM - Brooks, Swindell, Huston, TJ, and of course Arch...

Yep these schools are throwing haymakers in June. Texas throws their haymakers in November and December. It's like watching a boxing match.

And Tech will make a final run at Ojo with a mega offer. This is what made the Roseborough situation so perplexing to me. Texas shouldn’t let that guy walk with the larger aggy offer UNLESS they are very confident in landing Ojo, Krempin, and Turntine in the class. A bird in hand. Instead, we will sweat bullets as OL who prefer Texas may choose aggy or Tech because they’re getting bigger NIL offers there. At this point, I’m assuming aggy will buy two of Roseborough, Turntine, and Krempin, leaving Texas with one at most. And that leaves us at the whims of Ojo and Cody Campbell.

Does losing out on Lott mean we push for other WRs more? Like Keys, Burroughs or Mack?

He is now tainted goods on the mental eval side. Anyone willing to live in B/CS has issues... *half joking*

Hard to believe we will simply strike out at RB this cycle. Someone will flip during the season.

All the really good ones are off the board.

Aggy booster $$$ printer going brrrrrrr

I bet the Johnny Manziel money sign gif is on loop on Aggy message boards rn

aggy have landed the Maryland SS

Same was said about Baker and Jackson etc etc.

Not gonna trash the kid. $ game and Aggy is spending. But this is a big disappointment no way to sugar coat it. Unless these new contracts post House make it harder to decommit, aka buyouts etc. We will play long ball that seems to work. Sure we have more surprises coming bad and good🤘

Those two at DT would be a very solid combo with Berymon and Wells for sure

It’s just an overall down year in the state imo.