CJ Vogel

Good player. Might not be the elite guy that was expected when he was coming into and out of his freshman season.

I have not heard as much about Clark. But he should be on a similar timeline as Baxter.

Welcome to the Round Up. It's a blistering 14º in Chicago currently where I am up for the weekend, but the cold won't stop me! Anyways, a quick rundown on some coaching candidates for the open Texas RB position and updates on some Longhorns recovering from injury during the winter conditioning months. *** RB Candidates Texas Special Assistant to the HC Chris Gilbert – A man already in Austin, Texas with plenty of understanding of the current recruiting sphere insdie of Moncrief, this hire makes sense when you also consider Gilbert also comes with on-field coaching experience while at North Texas (TE). Ole Miss RB Coach Kevin Smith – Perhaps my favorite option when considering the three major factors I am looking for when replacing Tashard Choice: Development, Recruiting, Presence in the South. Smith has all three. Baylor RB Coach Khenon Hall – I have heard a lot of positives in regard to Khenon Hall at Baylor. He has great ties to the state of Texas and has been considered a recruit-favorite from coaches I have talked to recently. Florida RB Coach Jabbar Juluke – One of the more well-known coaches at the running back position, Juluke has been the RB Coach at Florida since 2022 and helped produce Dameon Pierce of the Houston Texans. Of course, he also has huge ties to the state of Florida as well, a place Texas has had plenty of success recently when recruiting the position. Oregon State RB Coach Ray Pickering – A former staffer of Steve Sarkisian's and now RB coach at Oregon State, Pickering has ties to Mississippi and connections to 5-star WR Tristan Keys already. He would help in the southeast Nebraska RB Coach EJ Barthel – Barthel comes with ties to the NFL having spent two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, but also some ties to the northeast. Of course, he is currently at Nebraska where he has been tied to the hip of Matt Rhule since the Panthers tenure. Oregon RB Coach Rashaad Samples – Of course, what list would be complete without the mention of Samples. One of the hottest recruiters in the country with plenty of ties to the state of Texas. Will Texas go this route? I tend to lean it is unlikely, but of course I won't count out anything with Steve Sarkisian. *** Quick Injury Updates – Texas RB CJ Baxter has been recovering well from his knee injury suffered in fall camp of 2024. I have heard the progression has gone very well and there is a chance Baxter sees some on-field work towards the backend of spring ball. That won't mean he will be 100% as a contributor for those spring practices, but cleated up and running on the side field would be a great sign for his ultimate return in 2025. – It was reported by CBS that Texas EDGE Colton Vasek would undergo shoulder surgery towards the backend of January. Right now, his status for the spring is a bit up in the air, though I have heard he has been very active in his recovery. I don't expect to see Vasek fully cleared and ready to return to the field by then, but some light working out would be a great sign. I will dig a bit more to see what else I can find, but right now, a bit of a question mark in terms of overall expectations for Vasek this spring. View full news story

Jahdae Barron.

Love it. 25 NFL Combine invitees in the past two years, the second most of any school in the country behind just Michigan (27).

Lole maybe the only one that would categorize as a surprise.

Really put a damper on the 14 draft invitees, huh?

2025 NFL Combine invites by SEC school: 15 – Georgia 14 – Texas 11 – Ole Miss, South Carolina 9 – Alabama, Florida 8 – LSU 6 – Tennessee 5 – Arkansas 4 – Auburn, Kentucky, Mizzou 3 – Oklahoma, Texas A&M 0 – Miss State, Vanderbilt

The full NFL Combine list has been released and there will be 14 Longhorns represented in Indianapolis at the end of the month. QB Quinn Ewers RB Jaydon Blue WR Isaiah Bond WR Matthew Golden TE Gunnar Helm OL Kelvin Banks OL Hayden Conner OL Jake Majors OL Cam Williams DL Vernon Broughton DL Alfred Collins EDGE Barryn Sorrell DB Jahdae Barron DB Andrew Mukuba Texas continues to stack NFL Combine and Draft success and this year is no different. A great chance to break and re-set the program record for players selected in a single Draft.

6’3” about 295 I’d say

2026 Bastrop DL Tiki Hola has narrowed his schools down to five – Oregon, USC, Notre Dame, Texas and SMU. So far, he has three official visit dates set for the summer: May 2-4: SMU June 6-8: USC June 12–14: Notre Dame Texas has yet to finalize an official visit weekend just yet, but there have been conversations with Kenny Baker and the staff about setting up an OV weekend. Hola mentioned he has a great relationship with Kenny Baker and that has continued to be a big part of his recruitment. It is worth mentioning that Hola has not been to campus since the Pool Bash back in July. Notre Dame has made things really interesting here, Hola spoke highly of Marcus Freeman and how much he is involved with his recruitment. USC and SMU are not to be overlooked either. Texas will have a chance when it is all said and done, but I got the vibe from my trip that they will need to overcome a school or two to get the job done here. Junior Hudl: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/18354729/6748f738242cc67520747253

I am personally a big fan of Weston Nielsen, the 2027 QB at Bastrop. Personally, he reminds me a bit of Cade Klubnik, can move, throws on the run and is a gamer. Nielsen will clear 50:00 in the 400m this year. Texas A&M has been a constant here, but watch for Illinois, Miami and Arizona State to all make moves. Sophomore Hudl: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/19770901/66f98550dc4a6052470d91d8

Big fan of 2027 Bastrop LB Austin Moilan. He has grown to 6-2 and 205 already and will enter his sophomore spring season on plenty of college radars. Arizona State has offered. He attended SMU and TCU camps in the winter as well. Is recruited early on as an outside linebacker, but ultimately could be moved to middle if he is capped growing.

Quick stop this AM at Bastrop High

Only bright spot of this season is Tre Johnson being so enjoyable to watch.

Man, same bug that hit football and women's basketball I bet. Frustrating.

I forgot to mention, but Ejiawoko has been committed to Texas Tech since August of 2024. They were among the first schools to offer him and he has a very strong relationship with TTU HC Joey McGuire and LB Coach CJ Ah You. There are some schools that are recruiting Ejiawoko has an outside back/edge rusher and others as strictly a middle linebacker. Texas in the latter group.

Johnny Nansen with Tieson and his family on the recruiting trip for the Junior Day.

Ejiakowo's junior hudl: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/18204197/677b5b0c7f2c3fb0135cde8f

A couple of mid-week trips as the recruiting cycle awaits its next period in the month of March. The first to Georgetown East View HS, home of 2026 LB Tieson Ejiawoko and the next out to Bastrop HS Wednesday AM to see 2026 DL Tiki Hola. *** 2026 Georgetown East View LB Tieson Ejiawoko A January offer by the Longhorns is one to keep an eye for the 2026 cycle. Texas officially joined the race for the Texas Tech commit on the January 25th Junior Day. Prior to that, Pete Kwiatkowski made the trip out to East View and only four day after, Johnny Nansen made the trip as well. Steve Sarkisian has just started to get involved her as well. Ejiawoko is currently listed at 6-foot-3-inches and 227 pounds. He plans to throw shot and run track this fall. He did mention the goal this spring was to hit 50-feet in the shot put. While the Texas Tech commitment is firm, the Longhorns are going to be a tough team to beat here. The proximity to home is key, as well as the Longhorns' on-field success. Ejiawoko mentioned the Longhorns going to back-to-back College Football Playoff Semifinals as something that caught his eye. Currently, Ejiawoko has just two official visits locked in: June 13: Texas June 20: Texas Tech Other schools that are worth monitoring are TCU, Arizona State, UTSA, UTEP. Texas A&M visited twice in the spring, but did not offer, something that is worth mentioning. All in all, a prospect I think that has a very high, untapped ceiling. Texas will be a player here moving forward with a very solid chance to sway the commitment before it is all said and done. *** I will be headed to Bastrop tomorrow and have some updates in the morning.

Playing Mukuba as a middle of the field safety helped as well. Clemson had him at nickel, which, had him too close to the line of scrimmage which took away his ability to read the QBs eyes and react the way he did so often at Texas. Basically took him away from a full half of the field while at Clemson.

Earliest I have seen Blue and Ewers since before the season.