DID HE REQUEST TO ENTER THE PORTAL?!?

[AZ Longhorn]

Well, here we are. Past the deadline for players to request to enter the portal (unless they're on one of the two teams playing for a natty). 

Our mysterious Guard has either requested to enter the portal, or he didn't. And if he didn't, there's no going back now. 

Yes, there would be many other things that have to happen before he could wind up on the 40. His previous team can delay two business days before fulfilling his request, which would put us into late Wednesday or early Thursday (sorry guys). And of course, even if he requested to enter, at any point he could decide to stay where he was. Then, if he does officially get entered into the portal, Texas would have to sign him against all other teams, including his original team. 

But we are past a significant branching of possibilities. If he has not already requested to enter the portal, all other possibilities are off the table. There are only two possible worlds at this point, and I want to know which one we're in! 

So: did he request to enter?

[TheRoJoShow]

Nah

[uthorn1374]

Seaton on line 1.  Have to pay the premium if your mysterious guard didn’t enter.

[Lnghrn]

Mysterious guard could be playing in a game next week

[AZ Longhorn]

7 minutes ago, TheRoJoShow said:

Nah

Do you say this because we have heard from legit sources that he definitely didn't? Or is this the rumor going around? Or is this a statement based on the lack positive evidence that he did? Just curious, thanks

Edited 17 hours ago by AZ Longhorn

[CoachBobbyFinstock]

By some miracle I hope it’s Bray Lynch at Indiana who graduated from Westlake. Maybe he wants to come home after winning a title.

[AZ Longhorn]

5 minutes ago, Lnghrn said:

Mysterious guard could be playing in a game next week

Thus the caveat. That would be a big clue... let's see if we don't receive a straight answer from the mods over the weekend or on Monday before the game. 

[HookedOnTF]

Well, watching Xavier Lucas, Damon Wilson, the recent kid who "flipped" to Michigan after allegedly being an on campus "short-term signee" at Utah, the Husky QB "j/k" boomerang, etc....

Maybe our guy is just lawyering up for a June move?!

[940horn]

It’s time for you to go to bed

[AceHorn23]

After checking with sources, found out that it was actually a "point " guard that was considering jumping in the portal. Sources can't release the name of said player, at least for now. 😁

[AZ Longhorn]

11:15 CST cross-update from Bobby’s Saturday thread (because it can be hard to find information here, topical threads are nice). This is all straight from Bobby at this time.

1. The mystery Guard we’ve been hearing about is NOT playing in the champ game. Hubbard from IU would obviously be nice, but that’s not what they’ve been talking about. 
 

2. Bobby doesn’t know whether the Guard decided to request to enter or not. It’s not just that Bobby knows but can’t say publicly, but Bobby actually doesn’t know what this guy decided (at this time). 

[hookem1014]

1 minute ago, AZ Longhorn said:

11:15 CST cross-update from Bobby’s Saturday thread (because it can be hard to find information here, topical threads are nice). This is all straight from Bobby at this time.

1. The mystery Guard we’ve been hearing about is NOT playing in the champ game. Hubbard from IU would obviously be nice, but that’s not what they’ve been talking about. 
 

2. Bobby doesn’t know whether the Guard decided to request to enter or not. It’s not just that Bobby knows but can’t say publicly, but Bobby actually doesn’t know what this guy decided (at this time). 

Did the staff really pass on multiple quality guards because they were hoping for a specific one to hit the portal? I refuse to believe that was the strategy smh. Especially for the #1 priority in the portal. Guess we won’t know for sure til next week

[Tommy]

This strategy kinda worked for Siani. Did not know of the guy's existence, then saw the Texas commitment post before I even saw his portal post. Maybe staff is doing a similar thing of going after a top 5-10 rank under-the-radar guard not yet in the portal. 

[Battrayal]

37 minutes ago, hookem1014 said:

Did the staff really pass on multiple quality guards because they were hoping for a specific one to hit the portal? I refuse to believe that was the strategy smh. Especially for the #1 priority in the portal. Guess we won’t know for sure til next week

who are the multiple quality guards we passed on? Serious question. Looking at the list of all the guys who have signed already, its a bunch of question marks and meh. I get that our OG play was so bad last year that meh is attractive, but thats what id qualify sikorsky as (meh, with upside). I may be missing them or not know about everyone, but doesnt seem like there are "multiple quality guards" we passed on that would be surefire starters, though I am totally open to those names and will join you if thats the case.

I honestly like the approach of filling with one meh (with upside) and seeing if theres a chance to get a true difference maker. If we filled it with like Tshabola (who was bad last year for OSU) early then we might put ourselves out of the running for a better player. Especially since those guys probably were asking for wayy more money than their play dictates, which obviously us as fans dont see, but the staff does.

IDK i just see the level of investment the coaches have for this year (Cam/RB tandem/Siani are NOT cheap) and have to trust that they wouldnt trot out such a big hole as last year. All indications are that they recognize the issue from last year and need to correct it. But im with you that it sucks that its not fixed right now!

[AZ Longhorn]

9 minutes ago, Tommy said:

This strategy kinda worked for Siani. Did not know of the guy's existence, then saw the Texas commitment post before I even saw his portal post. Maybe staff is doing a similar thing of going after a top 5-10 rank under-the-radar guard not yet in the portal. 

100%. But that is only a possibility if the guy requested to enter the portal by midnight last night. Thus the interest in whether he did, so we know if this is even a possibility any more. 

Edited 4 hours ago by AZ Longhorn

[drag worm]

13 hours ago, uthorn1374 said:

Seaton on line 1.  Have to pay the premium if your mysterious guard didn’t enter.

The vaunted “four tackle” offensive line. 

[hookem1014]

3 minutes ago, Battrayal said:

who are the multiple quality guards we passed on? Serious question. Looking at the list of all the guys who have signed already, its a bunch of question marks and meh. I get that our OG play was so bad last year that meh is attractive, but thats what id qualify sikorsky as (meh, with upside). I may be missing them or not know about everyone, but doesnt seem like there are "multiple quality guards" we passed on that would be surefire starters, though I am totally open to those names and will join you if thats the case.

I honestly like the approach of filling with one meh (with upside) and seeing if theres a chance to get a true difference maker. If we filled it with like Tshabola (who was bad last year for OSU) early then we might put ourselves out of the running for a better player. Especially since those guys probably were asking for wayy more money than their play dictates, which obviously us as fans dont see, but the staff does.

IDK i just see the level of investment the coaches have for this year (Cam/RB tandem/Siani are NOT cheap) and have to trust that they wouldnt trot out such a big hole as last year. All indications are that they recognize the issue from last year and need to correct it. But im with you that it sucks that it’s not fixed right now!

Texas lost very experienced players in Cole Hutson and DJ Campbell. As of right now they’ll be starting Brandon Baker at RG who has never played guard and a redshirt freshman in one of the Coleman twins. There’s plenty of guards in the portal who have had 1000+ snaps at guard in the P4 level that Texas passed on that more than likely would start over current players with 0 snaps at the position. If that one player Texas has been waiting on doesn’t enter then what’s the plan? Let’s hope a Siani situation happens in the next few days. As of now Texas has signed only one OL who will be a contributor in 2026. 

[Little Nibbles]

If @Bobby Burton ain’t worried… @Little Nibbles ain’t worried!

[taxsaver]

2 hours ago, hookem1014 said:

Texas lost very experienced players in Cole Hutson and DJ Campbell. As of right now they’ll be starting Brandon Baker at RG who has never played guard and a redshirt freshman in one of the Coleman twins. There’s plenty of guards in the portal who have had 1000+ snaps at guard in the P4 level that Texas passed on that more than likely would start over current players with 0 snaps at the position. If that one player Texas has been waiting on doesn’t enter then what’s the plan? Let’s hope a Siani situation happens in the next few days. As of now Texas has signed only one OL who will be a contributor in 2026. 

on of the Coleman TRIPLETS

[Hookem72]

2 minutes ago, taxsaver said:

on of the Coleman TRIPLETS

I dont think any of the emojis offered can adequately encapsulate my feelings if this is true 

[Battrayal]

2 hours ago, hookem1014 said:

Texas lost very experienced players in Cole Hutson and DJ Campbell. As of right now they’ll be starting Brandon Baker at RG who has never played guard and a redshirt freshman in one of the Coleman twins. There’s plenty of guards in the portal who have had 1000+ snaps at guard in the P4 level that Texas passed on that more than likely would start over current players with 0 snaps at the position. If that one player Texas has been waiting on doesn’t enter then what’s the plan? Let’s hope a Siani situation happens in the next few days. As of now Texas has signed only one OL who will be a contributor in 2026. 

are any of those 1000+ snap guys any good? which ones would you have wanted us to sign (actual question since I dont know about all the players)

the ones ive looked at weren't all that impressive (though hasnt been all of them so would love your thoughts). The couple of plug and play starters we went after hard (brunner/guaranara) but couldnt land. idk what their plan is, but my plan would be to then sign one or more of those guys still left and let em battle it out. 

I feel just as comfortable with that as I do with them signing someone super meh like Tshabola (who may have wanted a starter guarantee) and paying his price tag, since I know a couple of OSU fans who were so happy he left.

Though with our awful guard play at the beginning of last year, that may be an upgrade but I'd rather have waited it out at the time he made his decision.

I think talking about options and line play is way more productive than just saying we dont have a guard

[MarkInAustin]

If you watched Baker late in the season you saw a reliable blocker with good footwork and quickness.  There is no reason at all that a wide built tackle with good footwork and quickness cannot be an excellent pass protection blocker as a guard.  

The Oregon St. guard only allowed one sack and he was protecting a QB with a big arm who was neither a scrambler nor very evasive.  

If pass pro is the be all and end all I think it will be as good or better than it was at the end of last season with what we have. 

I am not making that same optimistic assessment about run blocking because Campbell was sometimes a force.  But the slick little RBs we got can make yardage through quick opening holes that don't stay open long.

Don't worry, be happy~

[Here for the Wins]

52 minutes ago, Battrayal said:

are any of those 1000+ snap guys any good? which ones would you have wanted us to sign (actual question since I dont know about all the players)

the ones ive looked at weren't all that impressive (though hasnt been all of them so would love your thoughts). The couple of plug and play starters we went after hard (brunner/guaranara) but couldnt land. idk what their plan is, but my plan would be to then sign one or more of those guys still left and let em battle it out. 

I feel just as comfortable with that as I do with them signing someone super meh like Tshabola (who may have wanted a starter guarantee) and paying his price tag, since I know a couple of OSU fans who were so happy he left.

Though with our awful guard play at the beginning of last year, that may be an upgrade but I'd rather have waited it out at the time he made his decision.

I think talking about options and line play is way more productive than just saying we dont have a guard

Funny thing is that people here mess their drawers because we missed on two guys from Michigan.  A Michigan that got their ass handed to them by the Ohio State.  At home.  Late in the season.  Our LG was not our biggest issue versus OSU either.  UF was probably the worst LG game, but the issues went beyond that.  Georgia was largely an offensive meltdown.

Few teams, if any, will have 5 above average olinemen.  Even in the portal world, that’s a tough ask.

The vocal majority see a “starting quality” guy enter and think that’s an upgrade.  It doesn’t matter who they played or how they performed versus quality opponents.  We don’t need volatility.  Constant, consistent, due your job effort is needed.  And you know where you won’t see that?  In highlights.

Goosby is to be a star.  He needs to play like one.  Baker needs to play near that status.  Same for the Wake T.  Play like it then everyone else’s job is easier.