Jeff Howe

On Texas Football coverage of SEC Media Days is brought to you by Vonlane, Flat Creek Estate Winery, Advanced Pain Care and South Point Dodge. *** ATLANTA — Texas has left the building, but OTF is still at the College Football Hall of Fame, ready for day No. 3 of SEC Media Days. On the heels of a memorable Tuesday for Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns, Wednesday’s activity begins with Alabama and Mississippi State this morning, followed by Florida and Oklahoma in the afternoon. Kalen DeBoer kicks things off when he takes the podium at 8:05 a.m., with Jeff Lebby (9:50 a.m.), Billy Napier (noon) and Brent Venables (1:45 p.m.) rounding out the coaches' press conferences on the main stage.

On Texas Football coverage of SEC Media Days is brought to you by Vonlane, Flat Creek Estate Winery, Advanced Pain Care and South Point Dodge. *** ATLANTA — With Texas scheduled to make the rounds at SEC Media Days, Tuesday was going to be a big day. It became memorable when OTF 5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson committed to the Longhorns a few hours before OTF 4-star++ defensive lineman James Johnson switched his commitment from Georgia to Texas. OTF tracked the Texas contingent at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta and reacted to a massive afternoon on the recruiting trail. If you missed anything, we’ve got you covered with links to the OTF’s content produced throughout the day. SEC Media Days live thread for Tuesday: https://ontexasfootball.com/news/articles/scoop/sec-media-days-live-thread-tuesday-r2144/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-163607 Michael Taaffe’s touching tribute to Texas flood victims: https://ontexasfootball.com/news/articles/scoop/watch-michael-taaffe-with-a-touching-tribute-at-sec-media-days-r2146/?do=getNewComment&d=1&id=2146 Which new Longhorns have stood out during the summer?: Tuesday’s edition of Coffee & Football: Watch With Us! Tyler Atkinson makes his decision: BOOM! Tyler Atkinson commits to Texas: BOOM! James Johnson commits to Texas: DOUBLE BOOM! Analyzing a 5-star Tuesday for the Longhorns: Sark’s media scrum: Sark’s formal press conference: Arch Manning’s media scrum: Arch Manning’s press conference with electronic media outlets: Media scrum with Anthony Hill Jr. and Michael Taaffe: Anthony Hill Jr.’s press conference with electronic media outlets: Michael Taaffe’s press conference with electronic media outlets: Recapping the day’s events on Tuesday’s Longhorn Livestream:

On Texas Football coverage of SEC Media Days is brought to you by Vonlane, Flat Creek Estate Winery, Advanced Pain Care and South Point Dodge. *** ATLANTA — When SEC Media Days wraps up on Thursday, 48 players representing the conference’s 16 programs will have met the media at the College Football Hall of Fame. The league’s coaches are bringing quarterbacks, wide receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs with them. Unfortunately, the running back position won’t be represented over the four-day event, however, including Tuesday when Steve Sarkisian, quarterback Arch Manning, linebacker Anthony Hill and safety Michael Taaffe make up the Texas contingent in Atlanta. Sarkisian’s 2025 roster is chock-full of blue chippers. The three media days representatives, along with Colin Simmons and Malik Muhammad, account for an FBS-leading five members of Pro Football Focus’ College 50. Quintrevion Wisner didn’t travel with the Longhorns to Atlanta and he’s not getting a lot of love from national publications heading into the 2025 season. Still, the returning leading rusher in the SEC (1,064 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per attempt last season) has the respect of the defenders who’ve faced him. “He’s a competitor and a great running back,” Vanderbilt’s Randon Fontenette said of Wisner, who rushed for 79 yards on 17 carries in a 27-24 road win over the Commodores last season. One of seven FBS running backs to finish the 2024 season with at least 200 rushing attempts (226) and 50 targets (57) according to PFF, Wisner caught five passes for 39 yards in the first five consecutive games Texas won en route to a berth in the SEC championship game. Wisner was at his best once the Longhorns reached the SEC portion of the 2024 schedule. In the last 12 games of the season, Wisner rushed for 992 yards (4.8 yards per attempt) and four touchdowns, including two in a College Football Playoff first-round win over Clemson. Whether that resonates with the media members in Atlanta enough to translate into preseason All-SEC votes will play out later in the week. Regardless, Wisner produced at a high level after carrying the football only 12 times as a true freshman in 2023, which commands respect. Especially considering what Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said Monday regarding inexperienced running backs. “It’s hard to grind out yards in the SEC,” he said. At the very least, Wisner has earned the respect of Lea’s players because of what he did against them. Wisner helped Texas rebound from a loss to Georgia with a productive outing against the Commodores, a game in a string of them that went a long way toward cushioning the blow of losing Jonathon Brooks to the NFL and CJ Baxter to a preseason knee injury. “Nothing but respect for him as a player,” Fontenette said. “He has that twitch. He has that change of direction. He’s really agile and that makes him dangerous.”