CJ Vogel

Join Rod Babers, Ray Peters and myself tonight for the OnTexasFootball Longhorn Livestream! Some updates on younger front seven prospects, the wide receiver outlook for 2024 and NFL Draft talk. View full news

Speed on the edges is the biggest worry for me when evaluating SEC defenses. Campbell was fine and will be much improved heading into his second year as a starter.

Bobby Burton, Gerry Hamilton and I got together to discuss the most important Texas Longhorns players heading into 2024, talk the latest in 2026 QB Recruiting and more on this week's State of the Program! Give it a watch and let us know where you are leaning on this topic of most important Longhorns for 2024. View full news

It's a crowded room, but I am hoping to see some big time steps forward from Moore this spring as well.

I would definitely anticipate seeing him on the field the field once he gets the hang of the offense.

https://twitter.com/Ikey_Kohler/status/1716547768389386407/video/1 Cool angle that gives an idea of Golden's vertical ability here.

We continue trekking forward closer to the beginning of spring football. It is getting ever so close, but first, there remains some topics that need to be discussed. Today, that topic is with the reload going on in the wide receiver room and how Steve Sarkisian and Chris Jackson might be able to deploy the new group of weapons. *** For this exercise, I wanted to take a look into a number of categories from the 2023 season – alignment by position (slot vs. outside), average distance of target, yards after catch and drop rate. Of course, numbers will be limited for Johntay Cook who is expecting to make a leap into the rotation fully for the first time as a Longhorn this fall, and there won't be official numbers on Ryan Wingo – more so just an education guess based off of high school tape. But to the numbers we go, starting with overall receiving numbers. Isaiah Bond – 48 rec., 668 yards, 4 TD, 13.9 YPC Matthew Golden – 38 rec., 404 yards, 6 TD, 10.6 YPC Silas Bolden – 54 rec., 746 yards, 5 TD, 13.8 YPC Johntay Cook – 8 rec., 136 yards, 0 TD, 17.0 YPC Following the departures to the NFL and the transfer portal after the 2023 season, Texas had just eight career receptions returning to the field among seven wide receivers expected to be on roster (four of which true freshmen). Of course, the additions to this room have been well-document as they should be. Texas is adding big time talent with a wealth of experience. The questions as posed at the top is now, how will Texas use it? First, a look at alignment should give an idea of how each WR was used at previous stops. We know Texas wants position-less wide receivers on roster, but this will give an idea of each player's strength so far. Alignment: Isaiah Bond – Slot (58.6%) | Out wide (40.9%) Matthew Golden – Slot (34.5%) | Out wide (65.5%) Silas Bolden – Slot (18.8%) | Out wide (80.8%) Johntay Cook – Slot (17.8%) | Out Wide (82.1%) Biggest number here is Isaiah Bond's usage from the slot. I was a bit surprised to see Silas Bolden's split. However, if you watch Bolden's tape from Oregon State, he does not play small on the outside. He can go get just about anything and has a much larger catch radius than his frame might insist. Ironically, Johntay Cook's most impactful plays, the 50-yard reception against Baylor and Worthy's long TD vs. Alabama, came when Cook was lined up on the interior as well. Average Distance of Target: Isaiah Bond – 12.8 yards Matthew Golden – 8.3 yards Silas Bolden – 12.2 yards Johntay Cook – 11.1 yards A fair balance of distance per target across the board here. The outlier being Matthew Golden who was not targeted down the field often and instead used much more in the quick, short game while at Houston. Yards After Catch Per Reception Isaiah Bond – 4.6 yards Matthew Golden – 5.9 yards Silas Bolden – 5.1 yards Johntay Cook – 8.3 yards Nothing too crazy here. Though you can see the shorter distance of target for Golden plays into his favor a bit in this category. Johntay's long reception vs. Baylor and catch from Arch Manning help him, though obviously without the same volume. Drop Rate Isaiah Bond – 3.6% (two drops) Matthew Golden – 13.3% (six drops) Silas Bolden – 3.9% (two drops) Johntay Cook – 11.1% (one drop) Golden's drop rate might be a bit of a concern. He was not targeted down the field very often, leading me to believe there may be some concern with the quick routes here. Otherwise, a drop rate below 5.0% is consider good in the college ranks. AD Mitchell's drop rate of 1.8% last season was considered elite. *** So where does this lead us? After seeing Ryan Wingo get run in the slot during the All American week and again on his tape, it would not surprise me to see him used there at times to begin his college career. He is that much of a mismatch on the field to just throw out wide. I do think you will continue to see Isaiah Bond in the slot. But the interesting part is Silas Bolden. The gadget term gets used often due to his height, but he is a true receiver and has proven to produce at high levels of ball when thrown outwide. This is the versatility that Texas will get to deploy next fall. Five really talented wide receivers that will get to torment defenses any chance they can. Steve Sarkisian and Chris Jackson will be salivating this spring when getting to test out the new wheels of the offense. View full news

Getting French on campus would be massive. He is a top 2-3 WR in the country at the moment. A few weeks ago he told me the biggest thing standing out to him about Texas was the high-flying offense and the way Sark uses his wide receivers.

This is a great post!

Come join Erin, Rod and I as we dive into a number of pressing issues from the world of college football. Recruiting notes at the top of the show, then we dive into the new 5+7 look look in the College Football Playoff world. View full news

Plenty to talk about today on the Recruiting Breakdown with Gerry and I. Coach Baker gets active on the trail in Georgia with an offer, plus Gerry and I discuss stops on the road we made this morning View full news

Also works as a big time benefit for their chances here.

Really get an idea of the athleticism here. https://twitter.com/JeraldJJMays/status/1719057029052965350/video/1

Sarkisian and Mays together on the sideline before the Rice game to open the 2023 season. Check his Hudl out here: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/17974296/654c1588ab9c2705ec6e48db

Mays this morning during workouts. He gets after it in the weight room.

I stopped by Pflugerville Weiss earlier this morning to catch up with what I believe will be a top target for Texas in the 2026 cycle – Jerald 'JJ' Mays. This was my first time seeing Mays in person and I was thoroughly impressed. He stands right now around 275 pounds, but has plenty of room to go in his 6-foot-4 frame and has already begun gaining weight since the offseason. He mentioned this morning he hopes to get up to 290 pounds by the beginning of next season. By all accounts, Mays is an interior guy at the next level. Plenty of schools project him as a guard while several have pitched center. Interestingly, he will be play left tackle next fall, but he has experience everywhere on the offensive line and even mentioned he enjoys playing center. Mays wants to study computer science wherever he ends up and both of his parents are engineers – safe to say he is a smart kid. The coaching staff at Weiss mentioned that immediately upon my arrival as well. But to Texas. Mays was most recently on campus for the January 20 Junior Day a month ago but has been firmly on the radar for Kyle Flood dating back to the summer of 2023 when he camped on campus. Early on, Coach Flood has made quite the impression on Mays. "I got to Coach Flood at the end of the (Junior Day)," Mays told me this morning. "I really like it there in general. It is in a really nice area and it is always very welcoming. I have always really liked up there at Texas. I love Coach Flood and the way that he coaches, he is so quick and efficient with it, and he is always an energetic person." Mays also mentioned being invited to a spring practice and hopes to make the quick trip to the 40 Acres some time in March. "I feel like they are going to keep going on this upward path," Mays said about the Texas program. "Especially with all of the (recruits) that they have been gaining – I check on 247Sports a lot – they have a really good recruiting class. I think they are going to be really high up next year." It is safe to say Mays is firmly on the radar of a number of programs in the region. He holds offers from Baylor, Houston, Texas State, UTSA and SMU at the moment and the SEC programs are lurking closely behind. Mays will be visiting Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M this spring and into the summer with Ole Miss and Kansas State also on the docket. Still a long ways to go, but Texas will be heavily involved here and will get him back on campus in the near future. View full news

Wynn said he has yet to plan any type of trip to Austin, no surprise with the offer being so recent.

The road to landing Stewart certainly is a bit more challenging without Bo Davis there.

Lots of fun, awesome spots. I was still trying to find my consistent spot up until last year. Tons of fun tailgates around the LBJ Library and can't go wrong with Longhorn City Limits performing out there too.