Gerry Hamilton

A dozen Texas targets that will be national and rivalry battles The Texas Longhorns will compete in more national recruiting and regional rivalry battles in the 2025 cycle than ever before. Some of that is Texas continuing to expand the national recruiting footprint, and some of it is the top tier national talent in state at several positions. OnTexasFootball looks at a dozen recruiting battles in the 2025 cycle that will cover both scenarios. Michael Fasusi, OT, Lewisville (Texas) High The OnTexasFootball 5-star left tackle will be one of the key recruiting battles for Texas in the cycle. Is Fasusi a "must win"? Nope, not with John Turntine III right behind him in the 2026 cycle at the same position. Make no mistake though, Texas wants Fasusi badly. And so does Oklahoma and Texas A&M. And that alone makes for a tremendous recruitment to follow. Texas and Oklahoma is where the decision will likely come from ultimately. They have been the top two for months. The Aggies have ample pressure in the 2025 cycle to win key in-state battles on the offensive line as it's the position in need of the most help in the program. Brandon Brown, DL, Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie The OnTexasFootball 4-star and Texas pledge will make the visit rounds nationally with California Power 7v7 program. That includes a Texas visit March 22 prior to a June official visit (14-16). The Longhorns will have to play keep away against powerful recruiting programs in USC, Tennessee, Florida (multiple family members played at UF), Miami and others. These are the battles one signs up for on the defensive line in SEC land. Dakorien Moore, WR, Duncanville (Texas) High The OnTexasFootball 5-star and LSU pledge will be back in Austin April 20 for the Texas Spring Game. The day that the news hit that Keelon Russell was planning to attend the Spring Game with Jeff Banks making the invitation, it was expected that Moore would also be in Austin. There will be visits and flirting with Ohio State, USC and a couple of others, but make no mistake this is a Texas vs. LSU recruiting throw down. Dorian Brew, CB, Conroe (Texas) High Dorian Brew has all the makings of a true national recruiting battle. His father ran track at LSU, and was an Olympian. His mother is in the Ohio State Hall of Fame (track). He has Texas all in on wanting to keep him home. USC is in it. Texas A&M is working to be truly in the hunt. He was expected to commit to Ohio State January 24 before backing off that date and slowing the process down. All the makings of a big time national recruitment. And Texas fully understands it. Jordon Davison, RB, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei Texas has been in a good position for the SoCal running back for about a year. With that said, this is a national battle with Alabama, Ohio State and Oregon taking mighty swings. Steve Sarkisian and Tashard Choice will have Texas in position to ultimately win, but the spring and June visits will very much be a national recruiting battle. Jaime Ffrench, WR, Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin Texas has won some key and big recruiting battles in Central Florida and at IMG Academy in the last two classes. The 2025 cycle and Jaime Ffrench is something different, however. This is an area, Jacksonville, where Texas hasn't had success to date in the Sunshine State. And Ffrench is a Sunshine State receiver with Ohio State trying to beat out Florida State and Miami, with Texas trying to pull the upset. This is a gird up your loins type recruitment for fan bases locked into Ffrench. Zion Williams, DL, Lufkin (Texas) High A Lufkin High/East Texas recruiting battle for a defensive lineman with SEC size. That means Texas and Texas A&M will swing away at each other. And then there is LSU, having former Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis adding more intrigue. This is a stick the chest out recruitment, without question. And what is the role of Jamarkus McFarland at TCU. He's distantly related to Williams, and was one of the most memorable Texas vs. Oklahoma recruitments of the Mack Brown/Bob Stoops era. Riley Pettijohn and Elijah Barnes, LB's from DFW Riley Pettijohn putting a 10.98 FAT 100 meters on the board at 210'ish pounds amped up his recruitment even more. All the national players will battle it out. Texas vs. USC vs. Ohio State vs. FSU vs. Texas A&M for Pettijohn. Barnes will be Texas vs. Alabama vs. Ohio State vs. LSU vs. Texas A&M vs. FSU. Texas enters the spring in a pretty good position for both. If Texas won both, that would be a serious DFW recruiting flex by Sarkisian and staff. Jonte Newman, Jackson Christian and Tyler Thomas Texas is locked in a trio of offensive line battles that are very key in the region. As mentioned above, Texas A&M has little margin for error in the 2025 cycle on the offensive line. The Aggies need to walk away with two of the three mentioned above. Texas would like to do the same, as of today. Oklahoma has serious interest in in Jonte Newman, and LSU is going to make a run at Tyler Thomas. View full news

I was waiting for someone to reply with that!! lol

IMO, Texas will also start prioritizing D-line more in NIL moving forward. To this point, it hasn't been where it needs to be IMO.

lol … if Kelshaun runs 10.3-10.4 with zero track training … moving from sport to sport at the 3A level, it would be wildly impressive

Going to be interesting to see what comes of this in terms of suspension in NCAA Tournament

Well played!

For sure, and Randy Bates has been ev aluating/offering kids for years in the Houston area

Disu, Abmas earn spots on Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Award Teams Disu claims Most Improved Player and first-team honors; Abmas named to second team and All-Newcomer Team. IRVING, Texas — University of Texas graduate forward Dylan Disu and graduate guard Max Abmas earned spots on the 2023-24 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Award teams, the league office announced Sunday. The official All-Big 12 awards are selected by the league’s head coaches, and the coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players. Disu was named the league’s Most Improved Player, becoming the first Texas player to claim the honor since it began during the 2019-20 season, and earned All-Big 12 First Team accolades. Abmas garnered spots on the All-Big 12 Second Team and the five-person Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. Disu, who averaged 8.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest last season, returned to action after missing the first nine games of this year (recovery from left foot surgery) and ranks second on the team in scoring (16.1 ppg) and rebounding (4.9 rpg), third in blocks (24) and fourth in minutes (25.5 mpg). He has played in 22 games (17 starts) and converted 50.2-percent (128-255) from the floor, including an impressive 51.3-percent (39-76) from three-point range, and 81.1-percent (60-74) from the free throw line. In Big 12 play only, Disu ranks second in the conference in scoring (17.2 ppg), third in field goal percentage (.502, 128-255), seventh in blocks (1.06 bpg), 13th in steals (1.44 spg) and 16th in rebounding (5.2 rpg). He was the Oscar Robertson Trophy National Player of the Week (Feb. 13) and Big 12 Player of the Week (Feb. 12).Disu’s selection to the All-Big 12 First Team marks the second-straight year that Texas has had a player named to the league’s first team. Prior to Marcus Carr earning that accolade last season, the Longhorns had not had a first-team all-conference player since Isaiah Taylor in 2016. Abmas has played and started all 31 games this year and leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg), assists (4.3 apg) and minutes (35.0 mpg). He has hit 37.1-percent (86-232) from three-point range and 91.1-percent (82-90) from the free throw line and sports a 1.87 assist-to-turnover ratio (133-71) this season. Abmas also tied the UT single-season mark for most three-pointers made in Big 12 play (50-138), joining Kevin Durant (2006-07) and Daniel Gibson (2005-06) in the record book. Abmas has reached double figures in scoring in 28 of 31 games played this year, including nine 20-point efforts and a pair of 30-point performances. He was a three-time selection as Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (Dec. 18, Jan. 15 and Feb. 5) this season. Abmas has moved into the No. 8 spot on the NCAA Division I men’s all-time scoring list with 3,084 points in 154 career games. He also has climbed into the No. 4 spot on the NCAA Division I men’s all-time three-point field goals made chart with 506 career three-pointers. Texas (20-11, 9-9 Big 12) is the No. 7 seed in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship in Kansas City. The Longhorns will open play in a second-round contest against No. 10 seed Kansas State on Wednesday, March 13 at 6 p.m. Central (Big 12 Now on ESPN+).

NCAA Tournament dates and locations ... https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2024-02-07/2024-march-madness-mens-ncaa-tournament-schedule-dates?utm_campaign=mbk-rr-links

FoxSports has Texas a No. 8 seed as well ... https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-basketball/2024-ncaa-tournament-projections

Texas No. 21 in latest ESPN BPI https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bpi

ESPN's Lunardi still has Texas a No. 8 https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/bracketology/ncaa-bracketology-2024-march-madness-men-field-predictions

Big 12 Tournament bracket https://big12sports.com/documents/2024/1/19/2024_MBB_Championship_Bracket.pdf?id=7246

Oh yeah. 47 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and six sacks in 2023

Texas 94, OU 80

Bart Torvik rankings ... Texas up to No. 20 https://barttorvik.com/#

Jerry Palm bracketology ... Texas No. 9 seed (I disagree) https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/bracketology/

ESPN's Joe Lunardi ... not updated since Saturday results ... https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/bracketology/ncaa-bracketology-2024-march-madness-men-field-predictions

Ken Pomeroy rankings ... Texas No. 23 https://kenpom.com/

Updated NCAA NET... https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings

March Madness Report: Texas a No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the Big Dance? Texas Longhorns ended the regular season in style Saturday with a convincing beat down of arch-rival Oklahoma 94-80 behind a career-high 30 points by junior guard Tyrese Hunter. Texas (20-11, 9-9) also earned the No. 7 seed in this weeks Big 12 Tournament with the win Saturday coupled with TCU's upset home loss to UCF. That means Texas will take on No. 10 seed Kansas State (18-13, 8-10), who has a hint of NCAA Tournament life with a Big 12 Tournament run after a home win over Iowa State Saturday. Should Texas beat Kansas State Wednesday at 6 p.m. central, the Longhorns will take on No. 2 seed Iowa State Thursday. The Longhorns head into the Big 12 Tournament playing their best ball of the season, arguably. Texas is for sure playing the best offensive ball of the season having scored 80 or more points in four straight games - 81 in win at Texas Tech, 81 in win over Oklahoma State, 85 in loss at Baylor and 94 in win over Oklahoma. OnTexasFootball takes a look at the rankings and scenarios headed into the Big 12 Tournament. Texas NCAA Tournament seeding scenarios The Longhorns are going to be a No. 7 or No. 8 seed barring a run to the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game. The majority of bracketology projections have Texas as a No. 8 seed, currently. Joe Lunardi has Texas a No. 8 seed. One projection (Jerry Palm), has Texas a No. 9 seed. NCAA Men’s Basketball NET Rankings (March 1) Texas is No. 25 in NCAA NET after the weekend college games The Horns moved up 15 spots in the last two weeks from No. 40 prior to the win in Lubbock. The Longhorns are 5-9 in Quad 1 games, 3-1 vs. Quad 2, 5-1 vs. Quad 3 and 7-0 vs. Quad 4. T-Rank Texas is No. 20 in Bart Torvik’s rankings currently, up from No. 23 prior to the win over Oklahoma. 2024 Ken Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings Texas checks in at No. 23 after being No. 25 prior to the Saturday win, and action in college basketball. View full news

That's where I come out. He's 10-12 pounds heavier/stronger right now than sophomore tape ... he's going to be tremendous junior season ... Top 10 overall academically in his class too.

Closing in on 50'0" shot put toss. He's around 48'0" gliding. Starts spinning this week