Jc Dobbs

I've sometimes thought how difficult recruiting can be. If a recruit is supremely talented but has character baggage you just have to take a pass and let another program's coaches and AD worry about him. When a Head Coach goes to sleep every night he's gotta be concerned about 100 or so young guys from ages 17-24 doing goodness knows what that evening. Yikes. I've been very impressed with the players and recruits I've seen at Texas under Coach Sark and his staff.

Yep, ole' Dakota Rain is ok, but that's about it. IF he was surrounded by outstanding teammates he'd be ok+1, but he isn't, so he's not. As an old Cowboys fan, this is painful to watch. Steelers fans can't be happy either. At least I have my Cowboys memories...as a high school senior I got to go to SB VI in New Orleans, Dallas 24 Miami 3. But geez, that was awhile ago. I'm 70 now, and the last great Cowboys teams came when I was 40. Yikes. Cowboys have worked themselves into the worst place to be in the NFL -- the middle. Not bad enough to get the #1 pick but not good enough for the playoffs. Hook 'Em Horns! Texas #1 !

I have frog fans in my extended family. Over the last few years they have been insufferable because they talk as though TCU has been a blue blood successful football program. I remind them that their success came about due to CDC and Gary Patterson. Sonny has shown how TCU has reverted to its' real position in CFB after he ran out of GP's recruits and developed players. I also remind them how bad the frogs were for decades before GP arrived in Ft Worth. This season they gave up 66 points to SMU and just lost to Houston at Amon Carter Stadium. Yikes. How long will TCU ride with Sonny? PS...I haven't even mentioned Coach Schloss to the extended family. I'm waiting for the first trip to Omaha with his edition of the Longhorns.

In the past, recruits who went to Catholic high schools/prep schools often had moms with a fondest wish for their sons to graduate from Notre Dame. If the son played football for the Irish, well, it was a nice bonus but not as important as earning that ND degree. After Faraimo visited Texas, I was optimistic about him and the Longhorns. However, as his recruitment has developed, I've been reminded of those strong family desires and how hard it is for some young men to go against Mom's wishes. I don't have any personal information about Faraimo, but if he goes to ND it might be those family dynamics are still at play. I'm sure Gerry will let us know when it's all done in December.

Thanks for posting this Gerry! Brings back some wonderful memories... The legendary Keith Jackson on the call... The original Cotton Bowl Stadium, seating capacity 76,000 open concept so the prevailing south breeze kept things a bit more pleasant on 90 degree afternoons in Dallas ... The great Vince Young leading the Longhorns... Who knew Rhett Bomar ( from the DFW area) would be Jackson Arnold (from Denton) at about the time Arnold was born?! Besides Adrian Peterson, who had an injury, the two teams reflected the importance of recruiting... Texas was loaded with great players and OU wasn't... A reminder of the great and unique atmosphere of Texas - OU at the State Fair of Texas! Hook 'Em Horns!

My late father played baseball as a young man and got as high as Double A in the old St Louis Browns organization. We drove from Dallas to see the Colt .45s play the Cardinals at the old stadium on the Gulf Fwy just to shake hands with Stan Musial before the game... turned out he really did know Musial. After the Astrodome was built we'd drive from Dallas twice a season and spend the weekend in Houston for a couple of Astros games. We went to see Willie Mays and the Giants. Mays hit a record HR that afternoon and ducked the hundred or so kids and parents wanting his autograph after the game... I'll always remember Mays wore a sport coat with an ascot... and he didn't even wave at all the adoring kids. Twenty years later in 1985 my newlywed wife and I lived in Houston and we went to see Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton in a pitcher's duel. A sellout of course. Game was tied 0-0 to start the 7th inning. Well, a nerdy Mom and Dad were sitting on the row behind us and they decided to start the birthday party for their kid. Complete with gifts being unwrapped from the half-dozen guest kids with birthday cake and they all talked non-stop. Paid no attention to the game. My wife couldn't take it any longer and we left the scoreless game with Ryan and Carlton on the mound. We listened to Milo Hamilton with the call on the radio on the way home. That's still the most frustrating experience I've ever had at a game. The next season I took my Dad to the '86 All-Star Game at the Astrodome. The following season my Dad was diagnosed with cancer and I took him to Game 4 of the World Series in St Louis when the Cardinals played the Twins. My last best memory with him as he died four months later at age 62. Former athlete, he didn't smoke and didn't drink and wasn't obese. Doctors said it was just "bad luck." As you might expect, I had played Little League and high school baseball and American Legion ball, but I lost interest in the game and focused my interest on being a Longhorns football fan. Hook 'Em Horns!

Bobby... living in Wyoming I can tell you the Longhorns are fairly popular here... I don't understand the big chunk of Tech in Montana and the Dakotas. In Montana it's "the Grizz" and nobody else and in the Dakotas it's the two FCS championship teams.

The recruits hosted by Bama were treated to a momentum swing or three that was pretty special. Tide fans went from ecstasy to depression and back to ecstasy. Nothing the Longhorns can do about it except play well at home against Georgia and showcase the University and the Football Program.

Burnt Orange Horn -- Thanks for the info. I'm looking forward to a beautiful natural grass playing surface. I wonder if it will influence some recruiting decisions by certain players.

Fasusi...is that you?! You look different in your uniform... No? Oh, I remember now... the Portal DL guy from TCU who wanted the mega outsized NIL $ deal, right ?!

I really thought this season's Longhorns were past this kind of junk from the past. Uh, no, guess not. Unfocused play like pre-snap penalties, holding calls, fumbles and similar stuff. And run fits by the Defense in the wrong Zip codes...

Just saw that Tech beat Cincy at home tonight demonstrating again that the B12 runs through Lubbock...

I'm sure Bobby will know the details of the plan to bring back a natural grass playing surface to DKR Memorial Stadium. I think it's been proposed for the '26 or '27 football season but I'm not sure of the year.

Thanks, Bobby! BTW, you are a "young 'un" to those of us Longhorns alums who graduated in the 1970s ! You've noted the prevailing wind at DKR. The video clip showed how "open" the South end of the stadium was. I once heard Coach Royal say he considered the prevailing South wind in his decision at the coin toss for afternoon games. Royal said he got to know average South wind velocities during each afternoon hour and how the wind was strongest at kickoff and diminished as the afternoon wore on. He thought about his passing and kicking strategies into the wind. He wanted to go from South to North in the Third Quarter to take advantage of the wind, realizing the South wind wasn't as strong by the time the Fourth Quarter rolled around. He said knowing the wind issues was the main home field advantage for the Longhorns and opposing coaches usually didn't consider the wind from the south until about their third visit to Memorial Stadium. Finally, watching that video reminded me of the great fourth quarter field goal Texas made to beat Virginia... I still remember the deep "THUMP" sound of that kick into the strong South wind that afternoon. Thanks to OTF and the OGs for the coverage of this special team and special season. There's nothing like being #1 ... especially when A&M and OU are having to look up at Texas on top of the national ranking. Hook 'Em!

Blake...A couple of things come to mind...1) "Fake it 'till you make it," and 2) "If you know, then you'll KNOW..." Relating this to typical First Year (the archaic term "Freshman" is no longer used) undergraduate students at UT Austin... when enrolled in ENG (insert random UNIQUE number here, first digit must be a 3 - eg, 343, 329, etc.), you walk into the first day of class at PAR(LIN) Hall as an Engineering Major for your required English class and 1) when the Professor asks, you answer with a self-assured word salad being sure to note how much you enjoyed the first reading assignment given in the syllabus you got with the books at the Co-op, and 2) if you don't have a clue about your answer to the Prof's question, speak and act as if you've never been more CERTAIN of anything. * *NOTE this works every time for Engineering students taking required Non-Engineering courses like English. However, it does NOT work in reverse and you'll get kicked out of UT if you try this as an English major in a required course in the hard sciences. In that case, your football Student Tickets will be revoked and will be null and void. FURTHER NOTE no refunds are given for BLANKET TAX ( i.e. Sports Fee) you pre- paid with your parents' credit card. Avoid this mistake at all costs since the only reason you chose to attend UT is to enjoy the Football Seasons for your full seven years of undergraduate school. Finally, Blake, remember to use lots of commas and footnotes in your writing assignments and be sure to watch EVERY Clint Eastwood "Spaghetti Western" movie before enrolling at UT and attending classes before the first football game. Hook 'Em Horns!