CJ Vogel

Unrelated but cool, Steve Sarkisian will throw out the first pitch on Friday of the Texas-Texas A&M series opener.

Several Texas players will be made available to the media Thursday morning following practice No. 14. Texas practiced inside of DKR for its second to last session of the spring. Fan Fest will take place Saturday morning with a practice preceding the festivities at DKR.

Eight hours away from the first pick being announced.

Let me know where y'all think I am way off. Will be fun to revisit in a few years!

A thing about a guy like me, I will rank anything. Any sport, any topic, any debate, I want to be a part of it. With that said, I wanted to start the conversation on Draft Day of my five favorites at each position this cycle: *** Quarterback Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders Miami QB Cam Ward Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart Ohio State QB Will Howard Texas QB Quinn Ewers I give Sanders the nod for his ability to play constantly under pressure. Yes, some self sacks were evident in 2024, but rarely does a top of the draft quarterback go to a place where protection is plentiful and I will roll the dice with the quarterback who put up numbers with guys like me protecting him all season long. As for Ewers, too many questions about the long ball, his mobility in the pocket and overall ceiling for me. Running Back Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty Ohio State RB TreyVeon Henderson North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson If Jeanty does not have a very solid NFL career, there should never be a reason to draft a RB in the first round ever again. Fortunately for Texas, Jaydon Blue will be the fifth running back draft in three years. What a run. Wide Receiver Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan Missouri WR Luther Burden Texas WR Matthew Golden Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka Iowa State WR Jaylin Noel Tet McMillan screams Mike Evans to me. Big body with 4.5 speed and great hands. I love a height mismatch that can move. As for Luther Burden over Matthew Golden, 1800 yards in the last two seasons of SEC play gets the nod. Burden recorded 4.41 speed as well and I would argue he is just a bit better after the catch that Matthew Golden. Tight End Penn State TE Tyler Warren Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin Jr. Michigan TE Colston Loveland Miami (FL) TE Elijah Arroyo Texas TE Gunnar Helm For folks who have not seen Tyler Warren play football, you are in for a treat in the NFL. Helm gets the nod over LSU's Mason Taylor for me. The athleticism after the catch and sure-handedness all season long proved to be a huge weapon in the Longhorn offense. The most prolific single season for a Texas tight end in program history finds himself a new home in the late 3rd/early 4th. Offensive Tackle Texas OT Kelvin Banks LSU OT Will Campbell Missouri OT Armand Membou Oregon OT Josh Conerly Jr. Ohio State OT Josh Simmons For three years we watched Banks dominate at left tackle. Against first rounder after first rounder. He is the best tackle in this draft an time will prove that to be correct. Interior Offensive Lineman NDSU OL Grey Zabel Alabama OL Tyler Booker Ohio State OL Donovan Jackson Georgia OL Tyler Wilson Arizona OL Jonah Savaiinaea Zabel absolutely dominated the Senior Bowl and was my favorite prospect in attendance after the three days in Mobile. Defensive Line Michigan DL Mason Graham Oregon DL Derrick Harmon Ole Miss DL Walter Nolen Michigan DL Kenneth Grant Ohio State DL Tyliek Williams The Texas offensive line took both Michigan defensive linemen to the woodshed week one in Ann Arbor. Perhaps the best showing of the season from the Texas OL unit. Alfred Collins could end up going as DL5–DL8 on Friday night. EDGE Room Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter Marshall EDGE Mike Green Georgia EDGE Mykael Williams Ohio State EDGE JT Tuimoloau Tennessee EDGE James Pearce I don't love this edge class outside of the top three. Miss me with both Texas A&M edges, especially Shemar Stewart who folks are fawning over despite having zero production at any point in his entire collegiate career. I am not very high on James Pearce either, I believe his body limits his overall ceiling. But Abdul Carter would be my pick if I possessed 1.1. Linebacker Georgia LB Jalon Walker Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell Oklahoma LB Danny Stutsman UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger Ole Miss LB Chris Paul Jr. Jalon Walker was maybe pound for pound the best defensive player Texas faced this entire season and fortunately, the Horns won't have to see him in Athens next fall. I know many will see Stutsman and laugh, but he is a darn good football player and checks every box of the measurables and interview process. Cornerback Texas CB Jahdae Barron Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison Michigan CB Will Johnson East Carolina CB Shavon Revel Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston Jr. Barron won the Thorpe for a reason. Now, he has 4.39 speed to fall back on and the production at multiple positions to boast versatility at several positions in any NFL secondary. I think folks sleep on Benjamin Morrison a bit out of Notre Dame. A true man-to-man cornerback will be a nice get for years at the next level. Safety Georgia S Malaki Starks Texas S Andrew Mukuba Notre Dame S Xavier Watts Penn State S Kevin Winston Jr. South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori If Andrew Mukuba had about ten more inches on his frame, he would be the undisputed top safety in this class. Instead, the frame works against him and he is seen as an undersized option for the NFL. Nick Emmanwori tests like he was made in a lab, but the football side of things needs to improve.

HS kickers will be significantly cheaper as well.

Most legit kickers do not. Some schools who use a kid right out of third period will.

Junior season highlights: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/17846293/675e176bd015438050ad442c

Texas will be hosting 2026 St. Thomas K Michael Taylor II this weekend for the Fan Fest and final practice of the spring. Taylor was at Texas A&M last weekend and LSU on April 12. However, he visited the Longhorns on April 4 where he took in a practice under the lights. With Gaston Gramatica now committed to USF, Texas will look to add a kicker prospect to its June official visit list.

I would imagine almost anything is tougher with 100,000 in the stands lol Speaking, running, kicking, shooting, etc. Lots of eye balls and pressure there.

Kickers aren't perfect and it's a given misses will occur at some point next season. With that said, just knowing that there is now no question about the strength of the leg at kicker is huge for me. Shipley's career long of 60 yards is significant. No more wondering if "you have enough leg" when crossing the opponent's 40-yard line.

Texas is up to nine portal additions since the conclusion of the 2024 college football season with a majority of those imports coming from a cozy path to a starting gig at their previous schools. Utah P Jack Bouwmeester Arkansas LB Brad Spence Purdue DL Cole Brevard North Carolina DL Travis Shaw Ohio State DL Hero Kanu Stanford WR Emmett Mosley V Cal TE Jack Endries Maryland DL Lavon Johnson Syracuse DL Maraad Watson We have consistently seen the Longhorns target, attract and acquire game-changing talent via the portal since the evolution of the world of NIL and the transfer portal. This year remains no different. There has been a bit of a wrinkle with this year's portal additions than in previous cycles – a firmer approach to finding multi-year contributors. WR Emmett Mosley V and DL Maraad Watson were both true freshman last fall, while guys like TE Jack Endries, DL Lavon Johnson and LB Brad Spence each have the ability to be multi-year guys. All five are projected to be starting-level players for the Longhorns are key positions this upcoming fall. Texas wanted to do just this last year with Matthew Golden, though the incredible ascent on the field resulted in that plan falling just a bit short. However, I think the Texas staff is more than pleased with how it ultimately worked. Still, Steve Sarkisian spoke about the efforts of General Manager Brandon Harris and the Texas player personnel staff have done in the portal. Identifying, inquiring once in the portal and executing visits efficiently have left Texas in a prime position to once again end a season in the conversation as the country's top team. "Brandon (Harris) – you know when we came on here four and a half years ago, was really in kind of a grunt role," Sarkisian told reporters Tuesday morning. "His name wasn't in the news. His role wouldn't make him a whole lot of money. And over time, like most people in our organization, you earn trust, right? And you earn trust by doing your job really well. In his time here, he's kind of grown in the organization with more and more responsibilities. I've got a lot of faith in Brandon that he's going to execute his job really well." On January 19, 2025, it was revealed that Harris signed a contract extension with the Texas Football program with the title of General Manager. The extension of Harris allows for the oversight of the Texas program to remain clear when it comes to personnel decisions and roster construction. All in all, the move is something Sarkisian believes in. "I love building our roster, something that I take a lot of pride in," Sarkisian said. "I think Brandon and I are aligned really well on the vision for what we want our roster to look like, and numbers in certain position and body types and character and all those things." Beyond the efforts of Harris, Sarkisian also singled out John Michael Jones, the Longhorns Director of Player Personnel, as someone who has grown in his role over the years to help assemble a roster that will compete at a national level. "And so I trust those guys to assemble things to put in front of me that we can make really good decisions on on the people we bring into our program, whether they're high school, whether they're college transfer portal guys," Sarkisian said. We have talked about the continuity on the field with the core pillars of coordinators Pete Kwiatkowski, Jeff Banks and Kyle Flood remaining in place, as well as Director of Football Performance Torre Becton. But off the field, the continuation of work with Brandon Harris, JM Jones and key pieces in the backend have helped the Longhorns remain aligned in the roster construction aspect of the game. From balancing specific position groups to projecting scholarship numbers in each room and of course now the check books, the Texas staff is continuing to approach college football's free agency period with an aggressive, yet precise approach that has overall been a resounding net positive. "You know, whether it's how we how we execute our our publicity rights and sharing that with our players, and balancing our roster and balancing our books, because that's all part of what we do now," Sarkisian said. "The brand is very bright."

To echo Bobby. Lott is a different athlete. With him at the WR board, that's the level of athlete Texas wants on the field.

Interior guy at Texas. Some others are recruiting as a tackle.

Thanks for starting the thread.

2026 Prosper OL Zaden Krempin is on campus this afternoon. Krempin was on campus April 5 and returns for a quick midweek trip. He will officially visit the Longhorns on June 13. The focus here is to get as much one-on-one time with Kyle Flood and the staff as possible. Official Visits May 30 – LSU June 6 – SMU June 13 – Texas June 20 – Michigan

I would side with Tennessee getting Nico off the books and finding a functional quarterback ended up on top of this trade.

That's a great question. Hopefully at the same place mine is at lol

That will do it for Sark today.

Sarkisian says he wanted an every down guy with veteran qualities at the tight end position. “Jack is a nice addition for (the younger) guys to look to.”

Sark says the versatility of the EDGE room should help the defense in its totality for 2025. mentions getting Colton Vasek and Zina Umeozulu back will be big for the fall. Says Zina had been putting together a solid spring before getting nicked up. Says freshman DL Justus Terry have been getting some reps off the edge as well. Sarkisian also mentioned Brad Spence & Trey Moore who can spin down from the second level to play off the edge thanks to their versatility … Anthony Hill Jr. as well.

Sark says Owens had some of his best throws in the scrimmage settings, rather than the on-air periods.

Whoops.

Sarkisian says KJ Lacey and Trey Owens fall in the same mold of where they are fine in walk-throughs and 7 on 7’s, but when they play their best when the scrimmage lights turn on and it’s go time.