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    Jeff Howe
    Does Texas need to address the tight end position when the spring transfer portal window opens in April?
    The answer is nuanced, but I don’t think the Longhorns' strategy will make or break the offense in 2025.
    Spring practice will be Jordan Washington’s opportunity to emerge as someone who can be counted on when the rubber meets the road in the fall. Steve Sarkisian has coached productive, NFL-caliber tight ends as a college coach (Austin Seferian-Jenkins at Washington, O.J. Howard and Irv Smith Jr. headline the tight ends Sarkisian worked with at Alabama and Ja’Tavion Sanders at Texas, with Gunnar Helm expected to be drafted in April).
    Washington has a chance to be the most complete tight end to play in Sarkisian’s offense.
    The 6-foot-4-inch 250-pounder with a basketball background was brought up during Friday’s “Longhorn Livestream” with myself, Rod Babers and Gerry Hamilton.
    Gerry mentioned how Langham Creek coach Todd Thompson used Washington as an in-line tight end, a sniffer and in the backfield. Sarkisian praised Washington’s ability to stretch the field, ball skills, and length when he introduced the 2024 signees who signed during that cycle's Early Signing Period.
    With 10.5-inch hands and a tremendous frame that’s already started to fill out, Washington has a chance to be an athletic, physical tight end north of 260 pounds who never has to leave the field. Nick Townsend won’t be on campus for spring practice, but the future in Jeff Banks’ room is bright with the two Houston-area products leading the way.
    If the staff knew Amari Niblack would move on after the season, Texas might’ve pushed harder for Purdue’s Max Klare, who transferred to Ohio State. The Longhorns could use another tight end on the roster, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of putting a playmaker around Arch Manning.
    If the Longhorns don’t find the right tight end in the portal, utilizing a sixth offensive lineman (a role Texas didn’t feature in 2024 as much as it did in 2022 or 2023) or Spencer Shannon emerging as a capable in-line blocker would allow Sarkisian to keep 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) as one of his featured groupings. Additionally, Sarkisian’s use of two-back sets and multiple-wide receiver packages means the Longhorns could pursue a transfer too good to pass up without feeling like they’re robbing Peter to pay Paul.
    In short, Texas shouldn’t pass on a proven running back or wideout in place of another tight end. Every offensive personnel decision must be executed with maximizing Manning’s time as QB1 in mind, which is why the Longhorns should approach spring practice and the portal window with an open mind.
    Jeff Howe
    — I think Texas needs to add another interior defensive lineman in the spring transfer portal window, even after landing Ohio State’s Hero Kanu on Wednesday.
    Kenny Baker and Pete Kwiatkowski need as many options as possible to adequately replace more than 1,900 snaps with the departures of Vernon Broughton, Alfred Collins, Jermayne Lole and Bill Norton. Of equal importance, for me, is giving playing time to the program’s three true freshmen (Myron Charles, Josiah Sharma and Justus Terry) by choice, not force.
    For years, the Longhorns were stuck in a vicious cycle of throwing young players into the deep end, hoping they’ll swim. Steve Sarkisian’s regime broke the cycle at quarterback and along the offensive line, and the transfer portal can fill gaps in the talent pipeline at a time when attrition rates are high.
    Texas signed five defensive linemen in the 2022 and 2023 cycles: Aaron Bryant, Jaray Bledsoe, Sydir Mitchell, Kris Ross and Zac Swanson. None of those guys are on the 2025 roster, but the portal additions of Kanu, Cole Brevard and Travis Shaw means Alex January and Melvin Hills Jr. aren’t solely tasked with making up for the outgoing tackles.
    It’s easier to be known as a good developmental program when players get an appropriate amount of time to develop.
    After playing behind four veteran tackles throughout the season, January only logged five snaps (according to Pro Football Focus) in the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State. Still, he made an impact, recording a PFF single-game grade of 67.7, the second-best of his true freshman season.
    That’s one example, but it’s important because January could be the only defensive line recruit between three recruiting classes (2022-24) considered a hit. Bringing in one more interior defensive lineman would give the Longhorns more time to let January, Hills and the three true freshmen grow into their roles and earn their playing time.
    — I think the 2024 group of incoming wide receivers (Jaime Ffrench, Kaliq Lockett and Daylon McCutcheon enrolled for the spring semester) can get the position to a point where it becomes much less reliant on the transfer portal.
    Texas hit a grand slam with Xavier Worthy in the 2021 class. Excluding Worthy, however, how things have played out for the eight other wideouts recruited by the Longhorns over three cycles (2021-23) is why Sarkisian and Chris Jackson will be on the hunt for a difference-maker in the spring portal window.
    Sarkisian didn’t recruit Jaden Alexis, Casey Cain or Keithron Lee. Nevertheless, they’re three of five wideouts (Brenen Thompson and Savion Red signed in 2022) who joined the program during Sarkisian’s first two seasons.
    Combining for 16 receptions and 280 yards, three of the five lasted one or fewer seasons on the Forty Acres and none of them occupied a roster spot in 2024. Combine the production of Johntay Cook (16 catches, 273 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games) with what those five did and the numbers (32 receptions for 553 yards and two touchdowns) fall short of what DeAndre Moore Jr. put up in 2024 (39 catches, 456 yards and seven touchdowns).
    When Sarkisian’s staff hits on a wide receiver recruit, they hit it big.
    Ffrench, Lockett and McCutcheon will compete with Aaron Butler, Freddie Dubose and Parker Livingstone for roles alongside Moore and Ryan Wingo (and presumably Ryan Niblett) during spring practice. Those odds favor Texas developing a homegrown receiving corps capable of maximizing Arch Manning’s time behind center.
    — I think the Longhorns need a few pieces besides an interior defensive lineman or a dynamic wide receiver when the spring transfer portal window opens on April 16.
    Texas could answer some major depth chart questions during spring practice. Still, I don’t want the staff to leave anything to chance if there's an opportunity to improve the roster.
    Kicker, interior offensive line, cornerback, safety and running back could be addressed in the portal. There might not be upgrades available in the portal, or the NIL price tag could make certain acquisitions unattainable, but those are the areas of concern that need to be addressed if they’re not answered by the end of the spring game.
    The running game and Manning’s running ability could positively affect the offense’s productivity in the red zone. That said, Sarkisian's lack of trust in the field goal unit by the end of the season compounded the issues (a 79.7 scoring rate in the red zone in 2024 was the program's worst under Sarkisian).
    Ideally, Bert Auburn or Will Stone grabs the bull by the horns and wins the job outright in the spring. If the answer to the kicking inconsistencies isn’t on the roster, Texas doesn’t need to roll the dice and play with fire in 2025 if there’s a suitable option in the portal. Besides the interior defensive line and wide receiver, the kicking situation might be the most critical area the Longhorns need to assess before the spring window opens.
    Jeff Howe
    With the Under Armour All-America Game and the Navy All-American Bowl complete, 247Sports and ESPN published their final player rankings for the 2025 cycle on Wednesday.
    — After the release of the Top247 for 2025 and the ESPN300, Texas still has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country according to the 247Sports Composite and the On3 Industry rankings. There were some noticeable moves in the final rankings from two of the four major sets of prospect rankings (On3 hasn’t released its final rankings while the final Rivals250 was published last week) regarding the historic haul assembled by Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns.
    — Texas had 15 signees ranked in the Top247, the most since 2010 when Mack Brown's staff landed 20 Top247 recruits. The same goes for the ESPN 300, which included 18 Longhorns, a total topped in recent classes only by 19 in 2018.
    — Cornerback Kade Phillips highlighted the Top247, finishing the cycle among the 32 five-star prospects in the class. The 6-foot and a 1/2-inch, 185-pounder with a personal best long jump of 24 feet 7 1/2 inches had his wing span measured at 6 feet 8 inches in San Antonio. Phillips is No. 23 overall in the Top247, joining safety Jonah Williams (No. 6), defensive lineman Justus Terry (No. 13) and wide receiver Kaliq Lockett (No. 21) as five-star prospects.
    — Along with the four five-star signees, the Texas class has 10 recruits ranked inside the top 100 in the Top247: defensive lineman Lance Jackson (No. 39), wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (No. 52), tight end Nick Townsend (No. 74), linebacker Bo Barnes (No. 78), cornerback Graceson Littleton (No. 81) and Michael Terry III (No. 85).
    —Justus Terry and Williams finished the cycle as two of 21 prospects ESPN ranked as a five-star recruit. Terry (8) and Williams (No. 9) were ranked among ESPN’s top 10 prospects. 
    — The ESPN 300 included nine Longhorn signees among its top 100 prospects: Ffrench (No. 26), Lockett (No. 30), Michael Terry III (No. 31), Phillips (No. 33), Jackson (No. 67), Barnes (No. 84) and Littleton (No. 98). Townsend was ranked No. 125 in the ESPN 300.
    — The Top247 reflects the strength of the interior defensive line class for Texas. With Myron Charles (No. 138) and Josiah Sharma (No. 214) making the final Top247, the Longhorns are one of three programs along with Auburn and Georgia to land three Top247 defensive tackles in 2025 (Nos. 3, 17 and 24 at the position with Justus Terry, Charles and Sharma).
    — On the edge, Jackson and Smith Orogbo (No. 157) made Texas one of five programs (Georgia, Miami, Missouri and Ohio State are the others) to sign multiple Top247 edge defenders.
    — With Daylon McCutcheon (No. 190 in the Top247) joining Lockett and Ffrench in the final rankings, the Longhorns and Missouri were the only two programs to land three Top247 wideouts in 2025. 247Sports ranked Townsend as the No. 6 tight end in the class with Michael Terry III, expected to be a multi-purpose offensive player for Texas, ending the cycle as the nation’s No. 2-ranked athlete.
    — Running back James Simon (No. 198) is the other Longhorn signee who made the Top247. Orogbo (No. 105), safety Zelus Hicks (No. 114), quarterback KJ Lacey (No. 115), offensive lineman Nick Brooks (No. 142), McCutcheon (No. 147) Charles (No. 182), Simon (No. 298) and running back Rickey Stewart (No. 300) rounded out the ESPN 300 recruits in the Texas class.
    — ESPN ranked the following signees among the top prospects at their position in the class: Williams (No. 1 safety), Michael Terry III (No. 1 athlete), Justus Terry (No. 2 DT), Ffrench (No. 2 WR), Lockett (No. 3 WR), Townsend (No. 4 TE), Phillips (No. 6 CB), Jackson (No. 7 DE), Barnes (No. 10 OLB), Lacey (No. 10 pocket QB), Orogbo (No. 11 DE) and Hicks (No. 11 safety).
    Jeff Howe
    I'm elated to be a part of On Texas Football.
    My conversations with Bobby and Gerry recently reminded me of the early days of building the Texas site for 247Sports. What made those days exciting (and, for me, when working in the market was the most fulfilling) was that the bottom line was about building a community where fans who bled burnt orange wanted to be.
    That’s what excites me about continuing to write about, analyze, and report on the Longhorns with OTF. August 2010 wasn’t the ideal time to launch and build an online community and news source for Texas fans, but OTF is experiencing rapid growth at a time when Steve Sarkisian looks primed to lead the Longhorns through a historic run of success.
    With Arch Manning in the saddle as QB1, the bulk of the No. 1 recruiting class in 2025 currently on campus and the 2025 NFL Draft possibly making it back-to-back drafts in which Texas produces double-digit picks, the train isn’t slowing down.
    It’s time to puff out your chest and walk tall if you're a Longhorn fan, making it the perfect time to be a part of OTF. After slogging through the dark ages (2010-2021), I hope everyone reading this is as excited as I am to be a part of something special.
    Whether you’ve followed me for a while or you’re reading me for the first time (thank you for the support, by the way, and I look forward to talking Texas football with the OTF community), one of the things I’ve always been fascinated by (and will often discuss) is the group of players entering their third season in the program.
    Spring practice will be a now-or-never time for the 2023 signees who’ve yet to break through. Thankfully, a good chunk of the class has panned out.
    Of the 18 signees still with the program (including Will Randle), I count 11 who are either proven commodities or who’ve shown enough that we’ve got a feel for what they’ll bring to the table in 2025: Arch Manning, CJ Baxter, Quintrevion Wisner, DeAndre Moore Jr., Trevor Goosby, Colton Vasek, Anthony Hill Jr., Liona Lefau, Malik Muhammad, Jelani McDonald and Derek Williams Jr.
    The third-year guys are a critical group because if you’re evaluating and developing the right way at a place like Texas, you should have a decent number of guys on NFL trajectories. By Year 3, a recruiting class should form a team’s nucleus; if you’re a championship-caliber squad, the core must include elite players.
    Of the 11 mentioned, the biggest concerns are Baxter and Williams bouncing back from their knee injuries and Vasek being healthy enough to remain in a tremendous EDGE rotation with Ethan Burke, Trey Moore and Colin Simmons.
    What about the other eight? Well, they'll determine whether the Longhorns have enough talented depth to make it through SEC play and the College Football Playoff to reach the top of the mountain.
    Can Spencer Shannon provide the kind of presence as an in-line blocking tight end to demand snaps and let Jordan Washington grow into his role?
    Will Jaydon Chatman, Andre Cojoe or Connor Stroh push the older linemen in the program for playing time?
    Is Ryan Niblett capable of filling Silas Bolden’s role as a burner with big-play potential in the slot on offense?
    With Jahdae Barron and Gavin Holmes gone, does Warren Roberson play himself into the cornerback rotation?
    At an exciting time for the program, I can’t wait for arguably the most competitive spring on the Forty Acres in a long time.
     
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