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AUSTIN, Texas — Matthew Caldwell arrived at Texas last summer with a lot of football under his belt, knowing full well he wasn’t going to be the starting quarterback for the Longhorns. “As a guy who's played nothing but FCS ball until I went to Troy, and then the opportunity to play at a Power Four, especially like Texas under a coach like Coach Sark, I'm not going to pass that up,” Caldwell told reporters after working out at Texas Pro Day on Tuesday “You know, playing is one thing, but for me to come here and experience this, like, I would have never dreamed of this. Or you do dream of it, but until you have the opportunity you just keep your head down and work. And that's what I did. And then eventually coming here and getting those opportunities, you just still try to make the most of them.” Caldwell’s father told OnTexasFootball he originally intended on transferring to Auburn when he hit the portal last spring. They visited the Plains but Hugh Freeze and the staff didn’t seem to put much of a priority on bringing in another transfer quarterback. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day then spent an entire day on the phone talking back and forth with Caldwell, trying to get him up to Columbus. The Alabama native didn’t like the idea of life in Ohio outside of football once the season came to an end. Then came a call with Steve Sarkisian late that same night, offering him a shot to come play at Texas. Caldwell called his dad and told him to pack his bags because they were going to Austin. “I’m very grateful for Coach Sark, Coach Milwee, Coach Bimonte,” Caldwell said. “I’ve been developed more over the past eight months to a year than I have in four years of playing college football.” And for NFL scouts wondering how Caldwell may fare under pressure, the two opportunities he was thrust into games weren’t for the faint of heart. Once trailing at Florida after Arch Manning’s helmet popped off, Caldwell entered the game cold and completed a 26-yard pass to Ryan Wingo to keep a critical fourth quarter drive alive. Then against Mississippi State after Manning left the game with a concussion in overtime, Caldwell threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V. “His teammates loved him,” Sarkisian said on Monday. “And (he’s) a gamer. I mean, the guy completed two passes last year. One's a critical pass at Florida to give us a chance to win the game. The other one's a touchdown pass to beat Mississippi State in overtime that he audibled the route on.” Texas is trying to recreate the Caldwell addition this offseason, adding a veteran quarterback out of the portal in MJ Morris, if nothing else for depth. “Matthew was an awesome addition a year ago,” Sarkisian said. “And I don't know if it's going to hit right every year to get a Matthew Caldwell. His rapport with Arch I thought was tremendous, not only on game day, but throughout the week, getting ready for the ball game. Highly competitive guy, great team guy on the sidelines.” But of course Tuesday was pro day, and NFL teams typically don’t draft reserve quarterbacks. Caldwell’s father says teams have told him that Matthew is their first call as an undrafted free agent, if he’s still available. Sarkisian reflected on a familiar situation he’s had in his career that could suggest a team takes a late flyer on the athletic, strong-armed Caldwell. “Back in the day when we were at SC, we had a guy that never started a game in Matt Cassel,” Sarkisian said. “But we didn’t not work with him. We continued to push him. We continued to try to develop him. He did a great job at pro day. He did a great job in his interviews with the teams, the individual sessions and whatnot. And the New England Patriots drafted the guy in the seventh round, and then he went on, I think he had about a 10-year career in the NFL. Never started a game for us at USC. So I think it serves notice for all of our guys … we're going to keep coaching our guys, we’re going to keep trying to develop our players to give them a chance to fulfill their dream. I mean, Matt Caldwell is no different than Quinn Ewers or an Arch Manning. He laid in bed at night throwing the ball up in the air thinking he was putting on an NFL helmet. So for him to get this opportunity at pro day, I mean, I hope he goes out there and lights it up. He deserves that opportunity.” Caldwell flashed his physical traits on Tuesday, running in the low 4.6s (his dad tells OTF he has 4.5 in him), recording a 34-inch vertical, and a 10-2 broad jump. Caldwell threw passes to fellow transfer tight end Jack Endries, walk-on wide receiver Rett Anderson, and safety Michael Taaffe. There were throws he wished he had back, but also with a three-man receiver rotation, fatigue was setting in for the pass catchers as well. “Couple throws you want back on air,” Caldwell reflected. “But you know, beggars can't be choosers. I thought it went well. I'm glad everybody had a good day today. It looked like energy was high for everybody. I think the receivers did great. Michael Taaffe stepped up for me, so I'm really appreciative of those guys coming out here and doing what they didn't have to do for me.” Like Sarkisian said, Caldwell’s teammates loved him. That was clear with Taaffe offering to run routes for him, including laying out for a deep post pass in the end zone. The one-year Longhorn endeared himself to the roster, and that’s something he believes is a strong suit of his that NFL teams should know about. “I think I'm a really good leader,” Caldwell said. “I think connecting with guys is kind of what I like to do and I love to do. Getting the ball out of my hand and getting it in the playmaker's hands is my strong suit. I just like to make everybody else around me look the part. And playing with guys at Texas (who are) better than anybody I played with in my whole career, it makes me look a lot better, too.” For his collegiate career that spanned from Jacksonville State, to Gardner-Webb, to Troy, to finally Texas, the Auburn, Ala. native passed for 3,143 yards and 22 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. He also ran the ball for 230 yards and nine additional scores.

The on3 page for them is reporting it is and that its more likely he is headed to LSU

Not clicking the article to find out, but when I see "power ranking" I assume this should be a rating based on the team not their schedule.

Interesting if true

Click bait

Keep us posted DCTF

Mom really enjoyed the visit I hear

OV should be locked in later this week per a source

Texas wanted to see him this spring. He'a dealt with some injury stuff and I think they wanted to get more clarity on where he was with that. They think highly of him. I would expect an OV to get set. I think more inside but he's still growing.

Not committed anywhere yet. Has crazy good length. Probably projects more inside for Texas as I see it now but is very versatile which adds to his profile.

IMO I'm not sure this really goes anywhere. Don't the coaches view him more of a guard than OT?

I don't know much about him. Is he committed elsewhere at the moment? Evaluation?

Man I’m glad I went to sleep up 7-3 lol It is just unfathomable blowing leads like this. 1 times sure you can convince me it’s a unfortunate day, this has now happened multiple times. That is a bad loss.

Interesting. Send me a direct message or email me at ontexasfootball@gmail.com.

I hate doing this publicly and clogging boards, but how do I get any type of account support? I’ve sent in a number of messages in the contact us link and haven’t received a single response over the past month.

We will see this weekend. If they blow a lead again late you have to bring Volantis back to the pen this year. He can be starter next year and hopefully we find a dynamic closer in the portal. Going to be an interesting ride.

That is sad. Tech is a good team, but anybody who is following what is going on this off-season knows Tech is 3rd at best. Next year is the Longhorn's best team in a very long time.

I was at the game. It was ugly.

Understood. Personally I think Volantis to closer is the right move. That’d remove everyone else as part-time closer. We need Grubbs to settle in.

I don’t disagree with what you’re saying, my concern is that there will be “too many roles” and not enough reliable arms.

Wade may be on the move

I’m a big believer in giving guys roles that they can prepare to fulfill. If we don’t know who is the setup guy, the closer, Tuesday guys, are you comfortable the players do? The soft non-conference boosted wins and RPI but has not prepared our non-starters. Confidence and control can be sporadic when your innings are limited and your role is unstable. Sure, we don’t know whether it’ll come together, but it won’t be because we lack capable options. Go look at LSU’s pitching stats from last year. They had several guys that walked quite a few but come playoff time they were able to shrink the staff to guys they trusted or who were pitching well. Judge post season chances based on how those min-tourneys are structured. It can look very different than the regular season. As the season progresses, I do believe we’ll see roles more defined.