- Manny Muhammad left practice early with what appeared to be a tweaked hamstring.

- Neto Umeozulu worked at first team LG with Hayden Conner at second team C. Cole Hutson also worked in some with first team at LG.

- Second team OL (left to right): Trevor Goosby, Malik Agbo, Hayden Conner, Connor Stroh, Jaydon Chatman

More to come...

There will be a 30-minute viewing window for media. CJ and Gerry will both be there for OTF. We'll also be hosting a livestream immediately following practice so please stop by around 9:45 or so for more.

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Heading into the second week of practice, there are a couple of things to watch.

1. Movement at wide receiver, edge, tight end and safety. Those are the primary places where portal entries have currently been running behind others.

Only Isaiah Bond has cracked the starting lineup as of Saturday afternoon.

That leaves us to see exactly what happens this week with Trey Moore, Andrew Mukuba, Matthew Golden, and Amari Nibalck.

A year ago at the same time, during the second week of practice, is when newcomers started moving around on the depth chart.

2. Another depth chart move that could be forthcoming is Alex January. We'll see if he moves up and surpasses Sydir Mitchell. Same can be said for Brandon Baker at right tackle over Andre Cojoe. Both are possible, if not likely, moves.

3. The health of the team is key. Texas was lucky much of last off-season and into the early season of 2023 to remain relatively healthy. That will again be something to be on watch for. Freddie Dubose and Colton Vasek have been dealing with some lingering issues. Mitchell has also been under the weather to a degree. If Texas wants to have a big 2024, then health is going to be something to monitor every step of the way.

The 6-foot-3 gunslinger was mighty impressive today in the throwing circuit the Elite 11 puts quarterback prospects through. In fact, Russell earned an invitation to the Elite 11 Finals in California.

Russell will attend the Texas spring game April 20 which raised some eyebrows considering the current verbal commitment from KJ Lacey to Texas. While the face time with the Texas staff will wait until April, Russell did update his recrutiment a bit with a focus on where Texas sits in his recruitment.

Steve Sarkisian went by Duncanville for a game in the fall to see Colin Simmons, Alex January and Dakorien Moore though that provided the first opportunity for the Texas head coach to see Russell as well. While the two sides have chatted at times in the past, the first real communication did not come until recently.

Russell added Sarkisian and the Texas staff called him the other day – a development on the front of Texas in this recruitment.

"When the Texas staff called me the other day, they were saying all of the boxes are checked for me," Russell said. "Only thing left was to come see them in person so they could see what kind of guy I am."

When Russell does get to campus for the spring game April 20, it will be very interesting to see if Texas does in fact extend an offer. If it does, it could indicate a number of things in the larger 2025 QB picture. But more specifically with Russell, it would create quite the opportunity for his recruitment.

"I am looking forward to building a relationship with all of the staff," Russell said. "I am looking forward to getting an offer from them, it would change a lot."

Russell said he and KJ Lacey have spoken previously and the two have thrown together in camps in the past. The topic of a two quarterback class has not been brought up too often this cycle, though if that is the direction the staff wants to go in, Russell said he would be open to competing in a two QB class.

If and when Texas offers, expect the Longhorns to skyrocket up the list of programs for Russell.

"Texas, like I said, was one of my dream schools," Russell said. "I feel like them (offering) is going to set (a standard). But they have KJ, so I don't know how much that will play a part. I say that because, I would go to Texas realistically. It is my dream school."

Russell wants to get out to Oregon and Alabama this summer. He has an official visit to Ole Miss set for next weekend as well.

All eyes in this recruitment turn to April 20 and whether or not the Longhorns end up extending an offer to the Duncanville QB.

It's time for the latest edition of the Best Class Scenario for the 2025 class. 

The Texas Longhorns are in search of a fourth straight top 5 ranked recruiting class. Based on the 30 plus prospects that have scheduled official visits, and the remainder expected to announces visit date, Texas has at least a 50-50 shot at reaching the 

There are 29 names currently on the list with a combination of 24-25 creating a near lock scenario for a fourth straight top 5 class. There is one newcomer to the list on the defensive side of the ball. This list will shift and move once the March and April unofficial visitor returns are known.

*Note: This list is my opinion on the BCS for 2025.

Quarterback (1)

K.J. Lacey, Saraland (Ala.) High #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Ole Miss and Auburn

Running back (1-2)

Jordon Davison, RB, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Ohio State, Alabama and Oregon

Rickey Stewart, RB, Tyler (Texas) Chapel Hill
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Baylor, SMU and Oklahoma State

Wide receiver (3-4)

Dakorien Moore, Duncanville (Texas) High - *LSU commit
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 5-star
Note: Texas will recruit the LSU pledge #throughthewhistle. 

Kelshaun Johnson, WR, Hitchcock (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: USC, Texas Tech and Texas A&M

Kaliq Lockett, WR, Sachse (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: LSU, USC, Ohio State and Texas A&M

Jaime Ffrench, WR, Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Ohio State, Florida State, Miami and Alabama

Tight end (2)

Nick Townsend, TE, Spring (Texas) Dekaney
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Texas A&M, USC, Arizona State and Notre Dame

Emaree Winston, TE, Calhoun (Ga.) High #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star

Offensive line (5)

Michael Fasusi, OT, Lewisville (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 5-star
The competition: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Oregon and Missouri

Jonte Newman, OT, Cypress (Texas) Bridgeland
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Mississippi State

Tyler Thomas, IOL, Dickinson (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 3-star
The competition: Texas A&M and LSU

John Mills, IOL, San Francisco (Calif.) St. Ignatius
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Washington, USC, Michigan and Florida

Jackson Christian, IOL, Port Niches (Texas) PN-G
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Texas A&M

Defensive line (4)

Brandon Brown, DL, Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: USC, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Miami and Tennessee

Zion Williams, DL, Lufkin (Texas) high
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: LSU, Texas A&M and TCU

Josiah Sharma, DL, Folsom (Calif.) Folsom
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Alabama, Oregon, Washington, Georgia and Utah

Chace Sims, DL, Richmond (Texas) Randle
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Texas A&M, LSU, TCU and SMU

EDGE (2-3)

Lance Jackson, Texarkana (Texas) Pleasant Grove #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: MLB Draft 2025

Hayden Lowe, Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian - *New addition March 24
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Miami (Fla), Ohio State, USC, Oregon, Notre Dame

Linebacker (3-4)

Riley Pettijohn, McKinney (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: USC, Ohio State, Florida State, Auburn and Texas A&M

Elijah Barnes, Dallas (Texas) Skyline
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Florida State, Nebraska, Ohio State, SMU and Texas A&M

Anthony Williams, Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 3-star

Matai Tagoa'i, San Clemente (Calif.) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Washington, Utah, USC and Oregon

Defensive back (3-4)

Dorian Brew, CB, Conroe (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: LSU, Ohio State, USC, Michigan and Texas A&M

Kade Phillips, S, Missouri City (Texas) Hightower
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: LSU and Texas A&M

Jonah Williams, S, Galveston (Texas) Ball High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Oklahoma (leader), LSU, Ohio State and Texas A&M

Cobey Sellers, CB, Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Oklahoma (leader) and Texas A&M

Adonyss Currie, CB, Lancaster (Calif.) Quartz Hill
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Washington, Utah, Miami, Texas A&M and Oregon.

Some notes from practice this morning.

***

Starting with a pair of early enrollee freshmen – Daniel Cruz and Alex January. The two provided some really intense battles with one another in the 1-on-1 portion of practice in the trenches. Both are advanced for their age and experience, which leads to some really exciting back and forths. Both have had their moments with January avenging a rep with a smooth swim move.

January's athleticism is quite noticeable after losing 10+ pounds since the conclusion of HS ball.

Sticking with a newcomer in the trenches, Brandon Baker has been tremendous in pass protection. That was a strength of his during his high school evaluation and that has transferred almost instantly to the field in college.

Transfer safety Andrew Mukuba is going to have some work in the box this year. With Derek Williams expected to be the field safety this fall, there is going to be some responsibility for Mukuba near the line of scrimmage, which he has plenty of experience doing. Don't mistake this for the nickel spot, though that is not out of the realm of possibility eventually.

Safety Jelani McDonald has made tremendous noise on special teams. McDonald as a gunner on punt dusted a double team and drew praise from teammates and coaches in the process.

Michael Taaffe made a really impressive play on an out route thrown by Quinn Ewers today.

Texas was without EDGE Colton Vasek for a bit during practice. Vasek was suited out though spent time with the training staff when the team moved into the live team periods. I won't speculate on what the reason was, but he was absent for a period or two.

To the quarterbacks:

The deep ball has been a hit this spring thus far. Not too often is ball hitting the turf on throws 30+ yards down the field – probably could not say the same thing a year ago.

Trey Owens is doing well through three practices. He is at his best when he has a clear idea presnap with where he wants to go with the rock. That is to be expected as he gets acclimated to the system and adjusted to the speed of the college game. What he has done well with thus far is finding his checkdown. Though as we saw with Quinn early on, the development for Owens will come from a second to third read before hitting a RB out of the backfield.

Texas 4-star defensive line commit Brandon Brown (Melbourne, Fla./Eau Gallie) made his first ever visit to Texas on Friday. 

OnTexasFootball caught up with someone very close to Brown on Saturday morning to get the latest after the visit. 

Nuggets from visit

*Brown was on campus for about 5.5 hours Friday. The visit was originally scheduled to be four hours. 

*Brown's mom, older sister (senior in high school) and best friend made the visit as well. Brown arrived on campus a little before his family did. Brown flew into Austin (California Power 7v7), while his family flew into Houston and drove to Austin. 

*The source said Brandon thought Texas "was better than he thought" it would be. And he went into the visit with high expectations. 

*The source was watching for Brandon's reaction to various things on the visit. The reactions were excitement. Nothing negative. Brandon was said to be comfortable with Texas after the visit. 

*Brown and family spent a lot of time with Kenny Baker, and met with Steve Sarkisian for an extended period of time.

*Kenny Baker had a lengthy presentation for Brown. One of the key point of the presentation was a video cut up of Brown. What impressed Brown and the source was Baker had the "good and bad" of Brown on video. Brandon liked that because it showed Kenny Baker was all about Brandon Brown's development. Coach Baker had a list of technical things he wants Brandon to work on this spring and next season. 

*On Steve Sarkisian, "He's down to earth and family oriented. And I like that.". Coach Sarkisian talked about continuing to build the rapport with Brandon and family. 

*A prevailing thought was everyone on the coaching staff and support staff meshes well together It was a smooth and organized visit. 

*Brandon Brown doesn't turn 17 until May 29. 

Brown and the California Power team will make an unofficial visit to Texas A&M this afternoon/evening. Brown's family will make that visit as well. 

Texas four-star defensive tackle commit Brandon Brown has arrived in Austin from Melbourne, Fla. Brown, 6-1.5 and 285 pounds, will not begin his visit to Texas until after 1 p.m. central. His family few into Houston earlier this morning, and is on the drive to Austin. 

Brown is making the visit to Texas along with several California Power 7v7/organization team of note. 

California Power 7v7 players offered by Texas

OnTexasFootball 4-star linebacker Matai Tagoa'i (San Clemente, Calif./High) will be on campus today. Texas is considered the slight favorite over Utah, Washington and USC headed into spring visits. 

OnTexasFootball 4-star offensive tackle Josh Petty (Roswell, Ga./Fellowship Christian School) will be on campus from 2-6 p.m. today as well. This is a key visit to determine if Petty will set up a June official visit. The Petty family has multiple family ties to San Angelo and Big Lake. 

OnTexasFootball 4-star Linkon Cure (Goodland, Ks./High) is also scheduled to be on campus today with California Power. This will be the first trip to Texas for Cure. 

*** 

Texas will be hosting the California Power 7v7 football team this afternoon for an unofficial with the roster before they head to Houston for their tournament this weekend. One name to make note of is 2026 Mission Viejo WR Vance Spafford who will be joining the crew on the trip. Spafford holds three offers – Cal, San Diego State and Washington.

The 5-foot-11 wide receiver from the west coast could be one to watch. Spafford hauled in 1576 yards and 22 touchdowns as a sophomore last fall.

***

Kyle Flood and Pete Kwiatkowski extended an offer to 2026 Princeton (NJ) EDGE Luke Wafle Monday afternoon. Despite just 14 offers at the moment, the early composite rankings have Wafle inside the top 100 nationally for the next class. 

I chatted briefly with Wafle who mentioned wanting to get down to Austin for an unofficial visit this spring/summer. No plans have been locked in, but there is interest in the Texas program and it certainly helps with the ties Kyle Flood has to the region.

***

Another note on a talented 2026 prospect, Destrehan (LA) wide receiver Jabari Mack is finalizing his visit schedule for the spring with plans to getting out to Texas for an afternoon as well. Mack is a top 5 player in the state of Louisiana and is currently rated as the state's top wide receiver as well. Texas General Manager Brandon Harris stopped by in late January when he was asked to fill an assistant coaching role while Texas was in the process of hiring Kenny Baker.

- It's very early, but Billy Walton has looked very active, very smart and could be one of the guys from the class of 2023 ready to take the next step, according to sources. Not the name many of you probably expected to hear first, but he's closer to playing significantly than some may expect.

- Jaray Bledsoe was described as perhaps the most athletic player in the entire program, despite being a defensive tackle. The team has yet to start hitting, but Bledsoe has quietly been taking the right steps behind the scenes for a while now. As someone told me, Bledsoe "has a level of maturity we're starting to see more of". This year could be a real coming out party for him.

- Texas worked extensively on special teams yesterday, much more than their normal period or two in practice. Johntay Cook and Isaiah Bond continue to be 1-2 in the punt return game. Matt Golden and Jaydon Blue are primaries at kick return. Ryan Wingo and Aaron Butler are also taking reps there.

- Gunners are a mix, both Manny Muhammad and Gavin Holmes are working at the position, as well as Tre Wisner.

- Speaking of Muhammad, more than one person has singled out the sophomore from South Oak Cliff as a player particularly poised to take his game to the next level. Muhammad may not be the fastest or the biggest corner, but he is the one who spends the most time in the film room. And he has the ability to take what he sees on film and let it translate to his work on the field.

- DJ Campbell lists at 332. But he may have lost more weight than that. Or at least the weight loss is affecting his quickness. Apparently, he is already looking quicker than a year ago in practice.

- Many thought Cook, Golden, Bond, Silas Bolden and maybe Ryan Wingo would be the top five receivers on the team this year. While that may still be a decent bet, do not sleep on DeAndre Moore and Aaron Butler. The two Californians continued to make their presence known in practice No. 2.

- Amari Niblack moved up in the TE rotation at times on Thursday. Niblack started off Tuesday as the no. 5 TE, behind Gunnar Helm, Juan Davis, Spencer Shannon and Will Randle. I was not told how far up he moved, just "up some" in that rotation.