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Here are those two USC seasons with Sark as the play-caller when the Trojans had three 500-yard rushers in back-to-back seasons: 2007: Chauncey Washington (969 yards, 5.0 YPC); Stafon Johnson (673 yards, 6.9 YPC); Joe McKnight (540 yards, 5.7 YPC) 2008: Stafon Johnson (705 yards, 5.1 YPC); Joe McKnight (659 yards, 7.4 YPC); C.J. Gable (617 yards, 5.8 YPC)

Anyone making the trip to Knoxville? I live in Tennessee, but come to Texas for more games every year. Now that Texas is in the SEC, the away games are closer. I'll be up in Knoxville the night before. If anyone needs recommendations or want to tailgate, let me know!

Will we see any Michael Terry III this season?

With Texas set for its first preseason practice on Wednesday, there are four things on my mind. — Typically, when reports about live portions of practice come out from behind the burnt orange curtain, the defense is ahead of the offense. I’m preparing for that to be the case this month, especially given the time several key cogs in the offense missed during spring practice. A lot of that focus has rightfully gone to the offensive line, where Laurence Seymore will attempt to win the left guard job while playing between Trevor Goosby (who spent most of the spring recovering from shoulder surgery) and Connor Robertson. Beyond the left guard battle, however, camp will be a great opportunity for Goosby, Arch Manning and Ryan Wingo to knock the rust off while learning how to operate with the new pieces around them. It’s not like the offense is starting at a deficit because there's no substitute for the live snaps and overall experience that Goosby, Manning and Wingo have in Steve Sarkisian’s system. Still, with everybody healthy and ready to go, Sarkisian has a full slate of practices to ensure his offense is better prepared to step on the field than the unit was at this time last year, the importance of which can’t be overstated. I don’t know if anyone reading this can handle the offense trudging through any portion of the September schedule, let alone the first half of the season before finding its groove. — The competition to enter Sarkisian’s circle of trust at wide receiver and the battle between Michael Masunas and Spencer Shannon to be the No. 1 in-line tight end shouldn’t be overlooked. The same can be said for the running back pecking order, where not enough is being said about Derrek Cooper pushing Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers for playing time. Cooper’s stature (6-1, 212) is more in line with the type of bell-cow running back Sarkisian has typically preferred to see emerge. He drew rave reviews as a pass protector during spring practice and Cooper has the kind of physical running style and forward body lean that could be a key ingredient to resolving the offense’s long-running short-yardage and red-zone issues. The 2026 Texas ground attack could mirror what Sarkisian had at USC in 2007 and 2008, when he called plays for an offense that produced three running backs with 500 or more rushing yards in back-to-back seasons. Or Cooper could be the latest in a long line of Longhorn freshman running backs who grabbed the bull by the horns right out of the gate, leaving those outside the top three spots on the depth chart fighting tooth and nail for the remaining consequential snaps. — For all of the talk about a disruptive defensive line presence emerging to go along with Colin Simmons, a healthy Maraad Watson could go a long way toward solidifying the rotation and allowing Will Muschamp to get creative with how he utilizes an embarrassment of riches at EDGE. The 333-pound Watson worked with the nose tackles and with the tackle group in the spring. If he’s truly a 330-plus-pound defender who can play multiple shades, Watson would become one of Muschamp’s most valuable chess pieces. In theory, Watson could play next to Ian Geffrard when the situation calls for Texas to beef up the front. Watson could also be paired with Alex January and Hero Kanu on standard downs and then be lined up with Justus Terry and Muschamp’s plethora of edge defenders on more predictable passing downs. For me, Watson is in a group with Cooper, Terry, Brandon Baker, Jermaine Bishop Jr., Ty’Anthony Smith, Brad Spence and Bo Mascoe as players who can raise the Longhorns’ ceiling. — When the On Texas Football staff picked the player they were most excited to see in camp for our latest "Sideline Debate," I almost picked Xavier Filsaime. As good as Graceson Littleton was as a true freshman, I can’t get over Sarkisian going out of his way to mention Filsaime as a nickel candidate while addressing the Muschamp hire last December. While surgery after the Citrus Bowl had the 6-foot-1-inch, 193-pound Filsaime on the mend during spring practice, he fits the physical profile of the bigger-bodied nickel Muschamp has typically preferred. While I don’t think Muschamp will experiment with Littleton at safety (even though I think he’d thrive there in Muschamp’s scheme because of his instincts and ball skills), the idea of Littleton getting freed up to solidify an area of concern with Filsaime occupying the nickel role is intriguing, to say the least. Regardless, if Filsaime approached Muschamp’s arrival and the return of Blake Gideon to the Forty Acres like a man who has a new lease on life, he has a chance to remind people why several elite defensive back evaluators (Corey Raymond, Nick Saban and Brent Venables among them) thought so highly of him during the 2024 recruiting cycle. View full news story

What a joke

If I could transport Foreman into an era where we had an o-line and a good OC, it would be the second thing I’d change in this century of Texas football. First thing would be Colt going down in the NC game against Bama.

Lotta tough talk from Cig who cancels his tough out of conference games. Let’s see how he does now that his 25 year old average grown ass man James Madison transfer squad is gone and he is no longer the underdog. McMurphy is a world class sh*t poster on X. Gotta love it.

Also, the first time he has seen a difficult schedule.

Receipt saved

They have needed another Lh bat for 3 years

Cain left Texas and spent a year at UNLV before playing his final season last year at Liberty. He went undrafted and seems to be out of football. It appears that he's since started an organization called Bayou Boys that focuses on providing camps and resources for kids in his hometown New Orleans. Cain held his second annual camp in July and had several other former college and NFL players there coaching including fellow NOLA native and Texas RBs coach Jabbar Juluke. Pretty cool. You can check their website and social media out below https://www.bayouboys.org https://www.instagram.com/bayouboysorg?igsh=ODIzNGMwY2ttaWhs

Yes. I talked to one Big Ten source that said they don't think that recruitment is done. Not saying anything is happening there at this point on Texas' end but the UT staff is keeping in contact.

Courtesy of Jaylan Ford's mother. Pictured is Ford, Vernon Broughton, Kelvin Banks Jr., and Casey Cain.

They're going to keep tabs on him for sure. I don't think I'd call it aggressive, at least not right now.

How about everyone cool down and let the seniors play? The NCAA already poisoned the well by saying that fourth-year seniors weren't covered. And the judge said other rules weren't affected, so if you aren't already in the portal, too bad. I do not see what the big deal is. Every other class can play, and nobody promised them 5-for-5 when *they* signed. Much ado about nothing.

3 Thorpe winners and 3 1st round draft picks will do that.

Let’s land the both!!

I didn't realize that #7 had reached #60 status.

DJ Jacobs also has a younger brother named Dawson that's a DL in the 2028 class. Not quite as highly ranked, but a good 4-star IDL prospect with offers from every school in America. I'd expect both brothers to take visits together this fall. It'll be interesting to track because DJ will frame those visits as mainly being for Dawson, and I'm not saying they're not, but it'd be stupid to believe these schools won't make an effort to flip the No. 1 EDGE in America if he's on their campus and it'd be just as stupid to think Jacobs won't hear them out in some capacity. DJ has said he's locked in with Ohio State but he's still engaging with several programs like Miami and Tennessee and Texas is obviously in the race as well. Jacobs has only been on campus once in the past for an unofficial visit for the Texas A&M game so a return visit to Austin would be huge.

Thanks Hank. Is Texas still being aggressive in pursuing Monshun Sales?

Are we still keeping in touch with Fakatou?

Why do you keep calling it BS? Barron was the last one to wear it. I think everyone *now* tries to recognize it as the number in the secondary.