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    CJ Vogel
    A few recruiting updates ahead of the weekend.
    *** 
    Texas will be hosting 2026 Forney RB Javian Osborne for an unofficial this weekend. Osborne has been a frequent visitor to Texas during his recruitment and was lsat campus for the Junior Day on January 20. Orborne rushed for 2231 yards and 39 rushing touchdowns in 2023. 
    While Texas has a verbal pledge in the fold from Aledo RB Raycine Guillory Jr. the recruiting of running backs in this class has not slowed.
    *** 
    Four-star 2025 OL Lamont Rogers is expected on campus Friday. Rogers was down in Austin last week for the Elite 11 and All-22 though did not stop by campus to see the staff. The Mesquite Horn prospect just visited Missouri a week ago. 
    Texas has a bit of work to do here. Missouri, Texas A&M and Tennessee are schools to keep close eyes on at the moment. Rogers does have an official visit to Texas locked in for June 14–16.
    ***
    Texas Relays are this weekend at the Mike A. Myers Stadium behind DKR. The perfect blend of high school, college and professional track organizations will be in attendance for the four day event. A few high school prospects to keep an eye on that will be partaking in the track & field events this weekend:
    Duncanville WR Dakorien Moore Hitchcock WR Kelshaun Johnson Denton Ryan OL Ty Haywood
    CJ Vogel
    Texas will be hosting a handful of prospects on campus this weekend.
    However, a new name has surfaced as one that will also be making the trip to the 40 Acres. 2027 Waxahachie QB Jerry Meyer III will make his first trip to Austin.
    Meyer, who just moved in from Las Vegas, has not yet seen his recruitment blow up despite throwing for a Nevada state record 58 touchdowns and leading his high school to the class 2A State Championship a year ago.
    Regional schools have begun reaching out to Meyer following his move to the DFW area. Oklahoma, Baylor and Utah are other schools that have begun ramping up communication as well.
    There is also the possibility of a reclassification to the 2026 cycle here. 
    Gerry Hamilton
    The Longhorns are not practicing today, but will return to the field Friday for practice. 
    So on this off day for the team, thought it would be a great time to deliver a few notes OnTexasFootball has picked up in recent days. 
    * Trey Moore has been talked about the top/best pass rusher on the team in some circles already. That's because he has both finesse and power moves with twitch. What hasn't been talked about as much is his ability to be effective in the run game. One area he has impressed early on is his ability to set the edge. 
    * Freshman Wardell Mack has made positive impressions at cornerback due to his advanced understanding of press coverage from a technical standpoint. He does some things naturally in press coverage that will help him maximize long term. 
    * Left guard Neto Umeozulu was said to have had his best run of practices at Texas leading up to the Sugar Bowl. That began the last week of the regular season too. The spring thus far, it's been more of the same. Consistency in the film room and on the field. 
    * Colin Simmons is showing the ability to be disruptive in spurts without being assignment sound. All of that is expected through a few spring practices as an early enrollee. His ability to create some chaos in the backfield is evident. 
    * Ryan Wingo has been talked about plenty already. The continued theme OTF is hearing is a real skill set with ball skills. 
    * Andrew Mukuba was mentioned on Monday by Steve Sarkisian. OTF was told he is a "savvy" player that has picked up the Texas playbook very smoothly. Texas is very happy with Mukuba in coverage, and the willingness to be physical. 
    * Brandon Baker and Daniel Cruz may not be mentioned as much the first couple of weeks of spring practice due to the experienced depth and left guard battle, but Texas is very pleased with the two early enrollee OL's. Both are good in the OL room, and are proving to be keepers on the field out of the gate. 
    * Freshmen safeties Xavier Filsaime and Jordon Johnson-Rubell have shown physicality early on. Filsaime has been talked about more in that manner early on, but JJ-R has also answered the that call. Both are said to be purposeful players that have flashed at both safety and in special teams thus far. 
    CJ Vogel
    Texas is five practices into spring football now – two practices have concluded with full pads. The Longhorns will practice again on Friday, but there will be no media availability then due to the Texas Relays this weekend.
    On top of another smooth practice, there was a part of me that felt comfort in the direction of the program that resulted in what I heard off the field from David Gbenda and Quinn Ewers. Before I get into that part of things, I will share a couple of notes that stood out from practice this morning.
    ***
    I watched a lot of the tight end group today. It is rare to hear Jeff Banks in a complementary mood but there was praise from the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at times today. First, on the individual sled where Amari Niblack, Spencer Shannon and Jordan Washington each received a congratulatory remark from Banks for getting the drill correct on the first go-round.
    As Amari Niblack continues his climb up the Texas depth chart, it is certainly noteworthy that the QB that is consistently throwing to him in routes on air is Quinn Ewers. Arch Manning is often lined up with Juan Davis and Jordan Washington during his rounds.
    *** 
    There has been some talk about wide receivers having to slow down for passes on deep balls on twitter. Listen, in situations that don't warrant high-speed precision like routes on air, it is difficult to hit a guy perfectly in stride 40-yards down the field on each given throw. The deep ball has looked much better this spring and I will leave it at that rather than nitpicking if a receiver catches it on his backshoulder or out in front.
    One part of practice I really liked was Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning literally racing one another to get to the individual QB drill about 130 yards away from where they were on the field during special teams. It is little things like that that stands out to me. 
    ***
    I think Colton Vasek has a real shot at contributing this year. While the path to the field is not necessarily a walk in the park, he has looked great in spring ball so far. He is lengthy, athletic and can bend. I think there is more athleticism here than Ethan Burke and the frame continues to build. Buy stock now.
    ***
    But to part of today that I enjoyed hearing about:
    It is noteworthy that David Gbenda was the first player from the defensive side of the ball to speak with the media this spring. The elder statesman in the room has the respect of the coaching staff and his teammates.
    Gbenda mentioned Barryn Sorrell, Jahdae Barron, Michael Taaffe and himself as leaders on the defensive side of the ball early on. 
    Derion Gulllette and Tyanthony Smith were singled out as two youngsters who were standing out to him. Of course, Smith was the lone linebacker in the 2024 class this past cycle.
    The other part of Gbenda's time with time with the media that stood out to me was his remarks when I asked him about motivation he took from the Sugar Bowl. Gbenda told me straight up he was "pissed off" about the loss. Being what he called "12 inches" short of playing for a title, has stuck with him through the winter and into today. That sentiment is echoed throughout the rest of the program as well.
    ***
    As for Quinn Ewers, I sensed calm and confident version of Ewers. Multiple times Ewers brought up how comfortable he was in Sarkisian's system as a third year player. 
    Ewers also spoke about his decision to return to school. Citing he did not want to rush the decision or his time in college after skipping his senior season to enroll at Ohio State, then not playing as a true freshman and eventually transferring over to Texas. This is the first time I got the sense Ewers was completely at peace with his surroundings.
    Ewers mentioned he had an idea midway through the 2023 season that he would return to Texas for another season. A week following the Sugar Bowl, Ewers had bought in completely to returning and eventually made the decision about 10 days after.
    As for leaders on the offensive side of the ball, Ewers named Jake Majors in the middle of the offensive line and Johntay Cook as the most experienced returning wide receiver on roster – certainly worth mentioning.
     
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