Jeff Howe

If someone is objectively looking for something to separate Arch Manning, John Mateer and Marcel Reed in the pecking order for SEC quarterbacks ahead of pivotal seasons in the careers of the signal-callers for Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, respectively, it’s how they performed against the best competition they faced in 2025. Manning faced more ranked opponents last season than Mateer or Reed, with the Longhorns battling six opponents (Ohio State, the Sooners, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Texas A&M and Michigan) that ended the season inside the Associated Press Top 25. Mateer faced five such foes (the Wolverines, the Longhorns, Ole Miss and Alabama twice) while Reed squared off against three (Notre Dame, Texas and Miami). Manning, who led the Longhorns to a 4-2 record in those games, has the edge over Mateer (2-3) and Reed (1-2) in his performance against ranked opponents. And it’s not as close as the Sooner or Aggie faithful might think. Manning: 125-for-196 (63.8 percent completion rate), 1,315 yards (219.2 yards per game), 9 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and a passer rating of 133.25 Mateer: 99-for-167 (59.3 percent completion rate, 1,140 yards (228 yards per game), 4 touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a passer rating of 118.53 Reed: 62-for-108 (57.4 percent completion rate), 777 yards (259 yards per game), 2 touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a 114.69 passer rating According to CFBStats.com, of the 13 qualifying SEC quarterbacks who played against at least three ranked opponents last season, Mateer and Reed ranked 12th and 13th in passer rating, respectively. They tied Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers for the most interceptions against ranked opponents. Only the 13 touchdown passes by Georgia’s Gunnar Stockton topped Manning’s number of scoring tosses (tied with Aguilar for the second-most touchdown passes against ranked opponents among SEC quarterbacks). Manning, Mateer and Reed are capable runners with differing styles. Their numbers on the ground against ranked opponents were, however, in the same neighborhood; Manning (44.5 yards per game and three rushing touchdowns) had the edge in yards per carry (7.42), Mateer (26.8 yards per game and 1.79 yards per attempt) had the most rushing touchdowns (four) among the three and Reed (3.97 yards per attempt and no touchdowns) led the way in rushing yards per game (45). Still, what’s going to make the difference in where the ceiling resides for Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M in 2026 is the success their respective quarterbacks have when they're asked to make critical plays from the pocket, along with protecting the football. Without question, based on last season’s results, the highest level of trust in one of the three getting the job done when it matters should be in Manning. *** When identifying members of the 2026 recruiting class best positioned to contribute early as true freshmen, linebacker is a fascinating position to examine. Will Muschamp cited depth, or lack thereof, at the position as one of the biggest questions his defense faced in spring practice. While the Longhorns might not need Tyler Atkinson, Rocky Cummings or Kosi Okpala to log significant snaps, the perceived gap between the duo of Cummings and Okpala and Atkinson is much tighter than anticipated. That's a good sign for the position’s future. Atkinson was the blue-chip signee among the group. Although he had a quiet spring, relative to expectations, the 6-foot-1, 216-pound Atkinson has plenty of time to get his feet underneath him and figure things out as he develops behind Rasheem Biles, Justin Cryer, Ty’Anthony Smith and Brad Spence. Cummings looked more and more like a tremendous evaluation by the Texas staff as spring practice progressed. It says a lot that he was committed to Cal when Justin Wilcox, long recognized as one of the top defensive minds in college football, with a track record for producing quality linebackers, was the head coach of the Golden Bears and signed off on the 6-foot-4-inch, 226-pound Carlsbad (Calif.) product's offer. The same can be said of Okpala, who had Penn State among his final choices, along with Miami. Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor was Okpala’s lead recruiter for the Hurricanes, further validating the 6-foot-3-inch, 239-pound Katy Mayde Creek product’s potential as a disruptor off the edge. While Muschamp didn’t recruit any of the three to Texas, the trio has a chance to be special in their specific roles under his tutelage. *** The news that D’Onta Foreman is reportedly going into coaching will keep the Longhorns’ 2016 Doak Walker Award winner close to the game after putting together one of the more remarkable NFL careers a product of the Forty Acres has enjoyed. It would’ve been fair to write Foreman off after tearing his Achilles tendon toward the end of his rookie season with the Houston Texans in 2017. It made even more sense to think Foreman had a short NFL shelf life when, in the span of less than three weeks, he was waived by the Texans (poor work habits were cited as the primary reason, including reportedly showing up late for meetings), picked up by the Indianapolis Colts, suffered a torn bicep in training camp and was waived by general manager Chris Ballard, who, like Foreman, played high school football at Texas City. After spending time with the Tennessee Titans in 2020 and the Atlanta Falcons in 2021, it was Foreman’s second stint with the Titans when he started to show the form he had when he rushed for 2,028 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Longhorns, breaking Ricky Williams’ single-season school record for rushing yards by a junior (1,893 in 1997) and joining Williams as the only Texas running backs to record a 2,000-yard season (Williams ran for 2,124 yards en route to winning the Heisman Trophy in 1998). Foreman ran for 132 yards and a touchdown in a Week 17 win over the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 2, 2022, helping the Titans clinch the AFC South title with one of his three 100-yard games on the season. Forman’s best NFL season came in 2022 with the Carolina Panthers, when he rushed for 914 yards and five touchdowns. Over seven NFL seasons, Foreman played in 63 games (24 starts) and rushed for 2,558 yards and 14 touchdowns. Incredibly, 53 of those games (23 starts) and all but 326 of his career rushing yards and one of his rushing touchdowns came after two significant injuries, both of which threatened to derail Foreman’s career. As someone who was in the room in Galveston with Foreman and his family on the night the Texans took him in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2018 draft, it was satisfying to see Foreman extend his playing career and prove himself as a capable NFL running back, when it would’ve been easy to throw in the towel. All told, the lowest-rated recruit in the Longhorns’ 2014 recruiting class, who had to climb a hill academically to get to campus, turned out to be a much better player than anyone could’ve expected. View full news story

If you look at the supporting cast, it's either Burrow, Baker or Tebow. VY had good players around him, but nothing close to what those three had. I think Cam was the only draft pick on that 2010 Auburn offense. There's no way I'm eliminating Joe Burrow. His 2019 season was too good. In this case, I'll happily flip a coin between Baker and Tebow.

This was expected. The good thing about Nolan Cain is that he's in a position where he doesn't have to take the first job that he's offered. His role as the No. 2 man at Texas is a coveted gig. As for the Houston job, I'd like to see it go to Sean Allen. He's a UH alum, knows the state very well and was a good coach while on David Pierce's staff at Texas.

Texas associate head coach/recruiting coordinator Nolan Cain interviewed for the vacant head coaching job at the University of Houston, On Texas Football has learned. Both parties decided to go in different directions; Cain was one of 10-plus targets on the Cougars’ radar to replace long-time head coach Todd Whitting, who parted ways with the school after 16 seasons. OTF has also learned that other schools are interested in Cain as a head coaching candidate. Houston isn’t expected to be the last program to try and poach Cain from Jim Schlossnagle’s staff, a group of coaches currently preparing for Friday’s SEC Tournament quarterfinal against a to-be-determined opponent. Cain, who also serves as the team’s third base coach on game day and works with the program’s catchers, followed Schlossnagle to the Forty Acres after three seasons at Texas A&M (2022-24). Cain helped assemble a 2025 recruiting class that brought 2026 SEC Freshman of the Year Anthony Pack Jr. and first-team All-SEC relief pitcher Sam Cozart to Austin. Pack and Cozart were instrumental in helping Texas (40-12, 19-10) finish the regular season in second place in the conference standings. The Longhorns also concluded a 52-game campaign with a No. 5 national ranking in the D1Baseball.com Top 25. Thanks to Cain’s efforts on the recruiting trail, Texas became the first SEC program since Florida in 2009 and 2010 to produce the SEC Freshman of the Year in consecutive seasons, with Dylan Volantis claiming the honor in 2025. View full news story

I’m #TeamForeman forever!

Today, Tinney was named Perfect Game USA's Co-National Player of the Week and the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Week.

Here's the release from UT: Texas Longhorns Sam Cozart, Anthony Pack Jr. and Dylan Volantis earned invitations to participate in the 2026 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp this summer. The prestigious camp features 56 of the premier non-draft eligible college players, participating in three days of exhibition contests against teams from the Appalachian League followed by a five-game Stars vs. Stripes intrasquad series. The Collegiate National Team, which will be named on July 5 after the conclusion of Training Camp, will then compete in the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship at Taichung City Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung City, Taiwan, from July 11-15. USA Baseball will announce the full Collegiate National Team and Training Camp roster at a later date. A 6-foot-6, 260-pound right-hander, Cozart has posted a 6-0 ledger with a 1.59 ERA and eight saves in 20 appearances. The All-SEC First Team selection has registered a 0.64 WHIP and a .112 batting average against over 45 1/3 frames. A High Point, N.C. native, Cozart has totaled 66 strikeouts, while issuing just 12 walks. Among Division I hurlers (min. 45 inn.), the freshman sits first in WHIP and third in ERA, trailing only UC Santa Barbara's Jackson Flora (1.03) and USC's Mason Edwards (1.49). In SEC play, Cozart paced all pitchers (min. 25 inn.) in ERA (1.01) and WHIP (0.64), while tallying a co-league-high seven saves. A 5-foot-10, 190-pound outfielder, Pack Jr. slashed .360/.479/.559 with seven home runs and 45 RBI during the regular season. His team-best 20 stolen bases are the most by a Texas freshman since Drew Stubbs swiped 28 bags in 2004. In SEC action, Pack Jr. led all qualifying hitters in batting average (.400) and on-base percentage (.511). The SEC Freshman of the Year also tied for second in hits (44), tied for third in walks (23), tied for fifth in doubles (10) and stolen bases (12), and finished sixth in OPS (1.111). Pack Jr. became the first SEC freshman to hit .400 in league play since Mississippi State's Jake Mangum accomplished the feat in 2016. A USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, Volantis has notched an 8-1 record and a 2.05 ERA, which ranks first in the SEC and sixth nationally. Meanwhile, the sophomore boasts the conference's third-lowest WHIP and 12th-best mark in the country. His 105 strikeouts are the third-most in the SEC and tied for the 17th-most nationally. The All-SEC First Team honoree has held opposing hitters to a .188 clip over a team-high 74 2/3 innings. As of May 19, Volantis paces all active Division I hurlers (min. 75 inning) in career ERA (2.01). The complete list of Longhorns who have previously participated with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team is below. 2024: Max Belyeu 2021: Aaron Nixon, Tanner Witt 2013: C.J Hinojosa 2011: Corey Knebel, Hoby Milner, Eric Weiss 2007: Jordan Danks 2006: Preston Clark 2005: Drew Stubbs, Kyle McCulloch, 2004: J. Brent Cox, Drew Stubbs, Taylor Teagarden 2003: Huston Street 2002: Huston Street 2001: Ryan Hubele, Omar Quintanilla 1999: Phil Seibel 1996: Kip Harkrider 1992: Calvin Murray 1989: Kirk Dressendorfer 1985: Curt Krippner 1984: Greg Swindell 1982: Mike Brumely, Mike Capel 1981: Burk Goldthorn, Spike Owen 1979: Kevin Shannon 1974: Rick Bradley, Keith Moreland, Richard Wortham

I love that almost National Treasures autos are on-card. I’m hoping losing the NFL license means Panini will go all in on making their collegiate products top notch.

Skenes stopped hitting when he got to LSU. Ohtani is a once-in-a-lifetime type of player. There are always exceptions. I was speaking more about guys at Texas and prospects coming from high school to college.

I get developing a skill set. The more he does that, the better off he’ll be in the NFL. But on critical downs, I want him running toward the football, not away from it.

Oct. 2, 1993 Texas 55, Rice 38 Bert Emanuel was the quarterback for Rice. Some guy named Anthony Holmes ran for two touchdowns for the Longhorns (I wonder whatever happened to him?). That day was all I needed to understand where my allegiances resided when it came to college football in the state of Texas. Whatever doubt was left, Stonie Clark erased it on the goal line against OU the next season.

Texas has had guys recently like Trey Faltine and Tanner Witt who could’ve done it, but I can’t see anybody doing both at the level Brooks did. Guys are too specialized at a young age to pick one or the other that guys talented enough to do it don’t develop the skills like they should, and the universal DH in MLB has killed off the need for pitchers to hit.

My first favorite Longhorn in any sport!

Along with those, any time I can get the 🐐's name (Kieschnick) published in an article, my 9-year-old self enjoys it!

I enjoyed working with Barton Simmons (now Vanderbilt's GM) at 247Sports. But man, when I had Brian Perroni go back in and change Elliott's ranking to a four-star after the Top247 was finalized, I was rightfully ripped a new one (and, FWIW, I told Perroni to blame me if he got any flak for changing the ranking).

I'll continue to emphasize the importance of Texas having homegrown prospects at quarterback, left tackle and EDGE. It's a positive factor in building the 2026 roster that isn't discussed enough. You can think of recruiting now as NFL teams that hit on draft picks. Yes, you have to pay for elite players. But an established relationship is more conducive to negotiating a deal all sides deem fair (and that's before getting to the uniqueness of Arch's situation, relative to other quarterbacks of his ilk). It would've cut way deeper into the allocated funds in January if Texas had to go on the open market to get anything close to what it has in Arch, Goosby and Simmons.

Published Monday morning, Jordan Scruggs’ first contribution to OTF listed the 10 most wanted recruits left on the board for Texas in the 2027 cycle. In the transfer portal/NIL era of college football, four of the 10 prospects jumped out as arguably the most important remaining targets for the Longhorns: — Ismael Camara, OL, Gilmer — Marcus Fakatou, DL, Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon — Jabaarrius Garror, EDGE, Mobile (Ala.) Vigor — Bryan Swanson, OL, Dallas South Oak Cliff Understanding how championship-caliber rosters are built in college football today highlights the importance of these four prospects, especially when looking at how Steve Sarkisian’s organization constructed the 2026 squad. While the Longhorns had the resources to get virtually everything they needed during the transfer portal window, high school recruiting taking care of three premium positions (quarterback, offensive tackle and edge rusher), with Arch Manning, Trevor Goosby and Colin Simmons occupying those roles, allowed the staff to focus on other areas of need. Including defensive linemen, players at four of the five most lucrative positions in the NFL come with a steep price tag in the transfer portal. Texas has the wherewithal that few other programs have to acquire talent. Still, if the Longhorns’ must-have list included a top-tier, premium-position talent other than Cam Coleman, they might not have had the luxury of souping up the running back room with Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers. If Goosby had left for the NFL, it would’ve driven up the price for Melvin Siani (or another tackle on the open market) or, potentially, caused the pool at another position of need to shrink until the tackle need was fulfilled. There’s no guarantee that the high school pipeline will always be the answer to filling premium positions. Nevertheless, if Texas uses high school recruiting to prioritize quarterbacks and players on both sides of the line of scrimmage who disrupt and protect the most important position on the field at an elite level, Sarkisian’s program has a good chance to remain a step ahead of the pack when future portal windows open. *** DeShon Elliott's name probably wouldn't jump to the top of the list of all-time great Longhorns worthy of induction into the College Football Hall of Fame when his time comes to enter the pool of candidates, even though he meets the criteria (an NCAA-recognized first-team All-American honor). With that said, Elliott’s 2017 season is in the record books as arguably the best season by a Longhorn defensive back routinely omitted from the discussion for such an honor. Only six Texas defenders have intercepted more passes in a single season than the six Elliott snagged in 12 games (he was one of several players who opted out of the Texas Bowl against Missouri, which was a win at the end of Tom Herman’s first season as coach). A Jim Thorpe Award finalist, Elliott is in an exclusive group of Texas defensive backs to be named a unanimous All-American, joining Johnnie Johnson (1978 and 1979), Jerry Gray (1984), Quentin Jammer (2001) and Michael Huff (2005). Whether Elliott joins what's likely three-fourths of DBU's Mount Rushmore in the Hall of Fame down the road or not (Johnson was inducted in 2007, Gray in 2013 and Huff in 2025), the fact that he has a chance to be an active NFL player when he’s 10 seasons removed from the end of his collegiate career (the other requirement for a player to be considered for induction) is an accomplishment in and of itself. Elliott was offered early by Charlie Strong’s staff, one of two tremendous early evaluations on defense in the 2015 cycle (the other was Charles Omenihu, who, like Elliott, is still an active NFL player). At the time, it wasn't certain if Elliott would stay at safety or eventually spin down from safety to linebacker, but he made plays on the back end when he was healthy enough to see the field. After battling through injuries in two seasons under Strong, Elliott blossomed in his lone season as a safety in Todd Orlando’s defense. I’ve enjoyed Elliott’s career arc immensely after getting myself into hot water at 247Sports for circumventing the chain of command to ensure he finished the 2015 cycle as a four-star recruit. I believed in Elliott as a prospect enough to stick my neck out (which, in hindsight, was a reckless move) and, after departing the Forty Acres with a bang, he’s become a quality NFL player as he enters the last season of a $12.5 million extension he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last summer. *** Anthony Pack Jr. was named SEC Freshman of the Year on Monday, a well-deserved honor for what’s on pace to go down in the record books as one of the best freshman seasons for a position player in the history of the Longhorn baseball program. Texas has had four players named Baseball America’s National Freshman of the Year (Greg Swindell in 1984, Kirk Dressendorfer in 1988, Brooks Kieschnick in 1991 and Dylan Volantis in 2025), all of whom were full-time or part-time pitchers. The only thing Pack has done on the mound is torment whoever has toed the rubber for the opposition, entering the SEC Tournament leading the Longhorns in batting average (.360), doubles (16) and stolen bases (20). He’s on pace to be the first freshman to lead the Longhorns in batting average since Erich Weiss hit .348 in 2011. Pack is also in the running to be the first Texas freshman to hit .360 or better (minimum two plate appearances per game) in a season since Omar Quintanilla hit .367 in 2001. He’s six doubles shy of Quintanilla’s freshman school record (22). Eight stolen bases ahead of Adrian Rodriguez for the team lead, Pack is likely to be the first freshman to lead the Longhorns in stolen bases with 20 or more since Drew Stubbs swiped 28 bags in 2004. “Fearless” is the word Jim Schlossnagle has most used to describe how Pack has approached his first season of college baseball. It’s appropriate, considering Pack’s steady ascent throughout the season, which saw him be consistent enough to lead all SEC hitters in batting average (.400) and on-base percentage (.511) during conference play. View full news story

I'll only do it if, once in a while, I can rip a box of junk wax on a livestream. 1990 Score baseball would be good. Scott Bryant's rookie card, Keith Moreland's last licensed card and, obviously, chasing the Bo Jackson bat/shoulder pads card and Frank Thomas rookies!

Pack, Robbins, Volantis, Tinney and Cozart. It's hard to find five players who've meant more to their team than those guys have meant to Schloss and Texas in 2026.