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The month of July has arrived, which means we are just one more flip of the calendar away from Texas Football returning for the 2025 season. As we sit today, the countdown to kickoff remains at 60 days to the meeting in Columbus with the defending national champions. On a side note, at times these past few months this offseason has felt like both the longest and shortest in recent memory. But anyways, the light as the end of the tunnel is getting brighter by the day. As we enter July, a quick look at the calendar for what is ahead for the team. *** For the current week of the 4th of July, the team is home and away from Austin. Most will return home, and some others may take a small trip during the off time. Of course, the team itself has been participating in summer conditioning for a month and when they return from the 4th of July, there will be about four weeks remaining of conditioning until fall camp begins. Speaking about fall camp, the Longhorns started true football activities on July 31, 2024 a year ago. A full one month before the meeting with Colorado State kicked off at DKR on August 31, 2024. I have Wednesday, July 30 circled as the day to watch for the beginning of fall camp this year. *** In case you missed my conversation with QB Arch Manning in Thibodaux, Louisiana, there was some solid feedback in regards to standouts on the offensive side of the ball and it matches what we have reported over the offseason as well. TE Jack Endries has clearly caught the attention of Manning since arriving in June. The former Cal tight end has collected more than 1,000 yards through the air over the last two seasons of football on the west coast. He now joins the Longhorns with hopes of continuing the big time numbers put up by Ja'Tavion Sanders and Gunnar Helm over the last three years. On the offensive line, Manning said the vocal leader of the group comes from the center spot, Cole Hutson. Having covered Hutson a good bit in high school, this does not come as much surprise. Hutson possesses the necessary type of passion and feistiness that is coveted on the interior. One name I can say I was not expecting when speaking with Manning about offseason standouts was freshman WR Kaliq Lockett. Don't get me wrong, I think that is a huge sign of approval from the Texas quarterback and perhaps a nod that he should be checked in on more, it just was not a name I was expecting to hear. Still, a great sign for the young Sachse native. *** Some Team Notes A couple of nuggets from the month of June – – RB CJ Baxter continues to inch closer towards the field. His participation in offseason workouts has increased and the intensity of workouts has increased. Still, there remains some ground that needs to be covered before he is deemed 100%, and even then I think there remains some necessary mental work to trust the knee again. Will Baxter be suited up for day one of fall camp? I don't know for certain. If he is, he will certainly be wearing a green, non-contact jersey. – Sticking at running back, redshirt freshman Christian Clark has had a great summer. Clark was able to get live reps in the spring after returning from a torn Achilles tendon and has parlayed that into a successful month of conditioning. Clark has been receiving plenty of run with the second unit in offseason sessions and if I had to handicap the RB room today, Clark would be the first in line right behind Wisner. – Defensively, the name Brad Spence continues to positively pop up in conversations. – In a fun nugget, I have heard there has been a bit of an ongoing competition for offseason drills between Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr. The two are often seen paired with one another in conditioning drills, with jawing going back and forth on who places better in drills or workouts. Both DFW products have been locked in this summer as one would imagine. – The term glue guy gets thrown around a lot in basketball for a guy who doesn't do a whole lot of scoring but will fill up the box score in many other departments, in football it is much tougher to find that and for this guy I don't even think it's fair considering the production a year ago. But I don't know if there is a player on the roster that is admired and respected in the locker room as much as RB Tre Wisner. The ultimate teammate is how he gets described at times.

Twelve different coaches have led the Texas football program since the launch of the weekly Associated Press poll in 1936. Of the 10 who lasted at least four seasons, none have more wins through their first four than Steve Sarkisian. With a 38-17 record, Sarkisian’s win total matches that of Mack Brown (1998-2001), who had a 38-13 mark heading into the 2002 season. Sarkisian is part of a group of Longhorn coaches in the AP Poll era — with Blair Cherry, Ed Price, Darrell Royal, Fred Akers, David McWilliams and John Mackovic — who won an outright conference championship within their first four seasons. Sarkisian and Cherry are the only coaches from that group to coach Texas to multiple AP top-five finishes by the end of their fourth season, with Sarkisian’s 2023 (No. 3) and 2024 (No. 4) final rankings counting toward the program’s 22 all-time top-five finishes. Although Sarkisian has accomplished a lot while improving the program’s win total from five (2021) to eight (2022) to 12 (2023) to 13 (2024), history suggests the best is yet to come. For the most accomplished coaches in school history (Royal, Akers and Brown), their fifth season is when business started to pick up. Brown achieved the first back-to-back 11-win seasons in school history, going 11-2 in 2002, a season the Longhorns punctuated by thumping LSU in the Cotton Bowl, 35-20 (the Tigers returned most of the 2002 roster for the 2003 season, which ended with Nick Saban’s first national championship). The program enjoyed nine consecutive seasons of 10 or wins under Brown, whose 2005 national championship-winning season came in his eighth as Texas coach; Brown coached Texas through a memorable six-season stretch (2004-09) in which it went 69-9 with two Big 12 titles, a Rose Bowl win over Michigan at the end of the 2004 season, a Fiesta Bowl victory over Ohio State to cap a 12-1 season in 2008 and a trip to the BCS title game during the 2009 season. A forgettable 42-11 loss to Arkansas, after vaulting No. 1 in the AP Poll, and a 14-14 tie against Houston kept Akers’ 1981 club from claiming a share of the national title, but a 14-12 win over Bear Bryant’s third-ranked Crimson Tide in the Cotton Bowl lifted Texas to a No. 2 final ranking. It was the program’s best finish since splitting the 1970 national title with Nebraska (a Cotton Bowl loss to Notre Dame dropped the Longhorns to No. 3 in the final poll, although the UPI declared the Longhorns No. 1 at the end of a 10-0 regular season). Over his fifth, sixth and seventh seasons running the program (1981-83), Akers coached Texas to a 30-5-1 record and an outright Southwest Conference title in the 1983 season, which ended with a brutal 10-9 loss in the Cotton Bowl to Georgia. When it comes to near misses at a national championship, Sarkisian has a lot in common with Akers. Seven years apart, Akers led the Longhorns into a Cotton Bowl played on Jan. 2 with the national championship hanging in the balance, only for his team’s title hopes to be dashed, with titles Texas could’ve claimed going, instead, to Notre Dame (1977) and Miami (1983). Sarkisian has led the Longhorns to the brink of the College Football Playoff National Championship in each of the last two seasons, a pair of opportunities all for naught, with Texas getting painfully close to college football’s top prize before succumbing to Washington and Ohio State, respectively. If the Longhorns went to battle with a healthy Jonathon Brooks in the Sugar Bowl two years ago, or if CJ Baxter’s knee injury didn't end his sophomore season before it started, Sarkisian might’ve already gotten Texas over the hump. The mission to win the school’s fifth national championship begins in 61 days, an appropriate number considering the link between Sarkisian, Royal and a running back injury muddying a title-winning picture. The 1961 season, Royal’s fifth at the helm, saw the Longhorns race out to an 8-0 start, climbing to No. 1 in the AP Poll for the first time since 1946. With Jimmy Saxton leading the offense, Texas won its first eight games by an average margin of 26.6 points; a 28-7 Red River rout of Oklahoma was the closest anybody came to nipping Royal’s bunch. Long before Marcell Dareus simultaneously launched Alabama’s dynasty under Saban and brought an abrupt end to a golden era of Texas football under Brown with an ill-timed blow to Colt McCoy’s shoulder, Saxton was on the receiving end of arguably the most controversial hit in school history. Whether Bobby Plummer’s knee intentionally connected with Saxton’s head at the end of a 45-yard gain is irrelevant; the shot forced Saxton to miss enough of the game to render the offense helpless in a 6-0 loss to the Horned Frogs, a defeat Royal reportedly said was the toughest he endured during his coaching career. The first consensus All-American running back in school history, Saxton was the third-place finisher for the Heisman Trophy and held the school’s single-season record for yards per carry (7.9), which stood for 59 years until Bijan Robinson’s 8.2 yards per rushing attempt in 2020 established a new program standard. A 25-0 win over Texas A&M and a 12-7 victory over Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl helped the 10-1 Longhorns end the season with a No. 3 ranking from the AP, but Royal wouldn’t claim his first of three national championships until two years later. Texas was arguably the best team in college football for four seasons in the middle of Royal’s 20-season tenure (1961-64), compiling a 40-3-1 record with three SWC titles, a national championship and four consecutive finishes in the top five of the AP Poll. If not for Saxton's injury and a one-point loss to Arkansas in 1964, Royal might've ended the 1960s with four outright national titles to his name. Until the Wishbone revived Royal’s career and led the Longhorns to 30 consecutive victories, the program’s run of success beginning with Royal’s fifth season could count as arguably the most prosperous Austin has ever experienced. Texas is 61 days from kicking off Sarkisian’s fifth season, which has a chance to be another campaign in what’s shaping up to be the next historic run of Longhorn football. View full news story

Derrek Cooper note Texas remains in contact with the 5-star RB from Hollywood (Fla) Chaminade-Madonna. The Longhorns simply want Cooper to make an OV during the season for a game weekend. Texas wanted him to make a weekend OV in June, but Cooper’s family didn’t want to cancel a weekend OV to schools that had been recruiting him 1.5-2 years. Cooper announced today on X that he will no longer be announcing a decision July 12. Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and Texas in contention.

Texas RHP Aiden Moffett entered the transfer portal on Friday, OTF has confirmed. Moffett announced his decision to enter the portal on Friday afternoon via X. Sources told OTF on Friday that Moffett's transfer is related to the upcoming MLB Draft. In this summer's MLB Draft League, Moffett is 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA, with one save in five appearances, recording 12 strikeouts in 6.1 innings. An LSU transfer, Moffett made six appearances for Texas in 2025, finishing the season with a 2.25 ERA with one hit, one run and four walks allowed in four innings. Moffett struck out seven batters and allowed six total free passes (two HBPs). With Moffett's departure, here's the updated list of outgoing transfers from the 2025 squad: C Oliver Service C/INF Cole Chamberlain INF Carson Luna INF/OF Sam Richardson INF Jaquae Stewart OF Tommy Farmer IV OF Will Gasparino OF Donovan Jordan OF Matt Scott LHP Chance Covert II LHP Ace Whitehead RHP Aiden Moffett RHP Easton Tumis The following is the updated list of incoming transfers Jim Schlossnagle and the Longhorns have added through the transfer portal: C Andrew Ermis (Temple College) C Carson Tinney (Notre Dame) INF Temo Becarra (Stanford) INF Josh Livingston (Wichita State) UTIL Kaleb Freeman (Georgia State) OF Jack Moroknek (Butler) OF Aidan Robbins (Seton Hall) LHP Luke Dotson (Mississippi State) LHP Cal Higgins (Western Kentucky) LHP Haiden Leffew (Wake Forest)

Since Bob McKay wrapped up a Texas career (1968-69) worthy of induction into the College Football Hall of Fame three decades before Lyle Sendlein began his time with the Longhorns (2002-06), the 2005 national championship team’s starting center had an uphill climb to become the top player in program history to wear No. 62. Still, Sendlein started each of the 26 games on the schedule over his last two seasons on campus before starting 133 combined regular-season and playoff games over nine NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. One of those starts Sendlein made came in Super Bowl XLIII, which pitted him against Texas and Pittsburgh Steelers legend Casey Hampton (the Steelers, with former Longhorns Tony Hills and Limas Sweed also on the roster, won, 27-23). Sendlein’s second career start in burnt orange saw him jump from the frying pan into the fire, in the second game of the 2005 season, playing one of the biggest roles on a star-studded offense when No. 2 Texas went into Ohio Stadium, at night. It upended No. 4 Ohio State, 25-22, kickstarting, in earnest, a run to the program's most recent national title. Sendlein’s redshirt junior season saw him replace departed starting center Jason Glynn, who was with the Longhorns for five seasons (2000-04) and started each of the last 38 games of his career. The Longhorn offensive line (left tackle Jonathan Scott, left guard Kasey Studdard, right guard Will Allen and right tackle Justin Blalock) had experience to share, combining for 89 career starts between the four returning starters from a squad that went 11-1 with a thrilling Rose Bowl win over Michigan in 2004. The 2005 Texas offensive line started the season as a group oozing potential and fulfilled it, ending an unforgettable 13-0 campaign as arguably the best unit in school history. Sendlein helped elevate the line, which paved the way for an offense quarterbacked by Vince Young to record the best single-season marks in school history for points (50.2) and total yards per game (512.1). When it comes to the similarities between the Longhorn offensive lines in 2005 and 2025, a new starting center is roughly where they end. Cole Hutson started 13 games as a true freshman right guard in 2022, so he’s not new to the starting lineup. Hutson also logged 389 snaps in a reserve role last season, including a season-high 52 in the team's College Football Playoff first-round win over Clemson and 35 in the loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. The return bout with the Buckeyes, on Aug. 30 in Columbus, will mark Hutson’s starting debut at center. He’s taking the baton from Jake Majors, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent after starting a school-record 57 games in his career (2020-24). Unlike Sendlein’s situation, there isn’t a lot of starting experience around Hutson. Major is one of four departed starters, accounting for more than 35 percent of the 161 combined starts Texas lost from last season. DJ Campbell (30 career starts at right guard) and projected starting left tackle Trevor Goosby (two starts as a redshirt freshman last season) have 45 combined career starts between them. Those three account for all of the starting experience among Kyle Flood’s group. What the group lacks in starting experience, it makes up for in raw, high-upside talent. If Neto Umeozulu and Brandon Baker continue to trend in the right direction from where they ended spring practice, the group charged with protecting Arch Manning and creating running lanes for a deep backfield has a tremendous opportunity to grow together en route to a possible third consecutive berth in the CFP. While the 2005 offensive line merely added a new starting center to a mix of talented blockers coming together at the right time, the remaining members of a highly-touted 2022 signing class (Hutson, Campbell, Umeozulu and Connor Robertson are on the 2025 roster, Kelvin Banks and Cam Williams are in the NFL and Malik Agbo will suit up for West Virginia after entering the transfer portal during the spring window) and their 2025 linemates will get a good idea of where they stand and what's possible in Steve Sarkisian's fifth season leading the program after traveling to the Horseshoe in 62 days. View full news story

I know there have been some folks wondering which quarterbacks stood out the most during the weekend in Thibodaux for the Manning Passing Academy. Here are some takeaways from the weekend. *** Washington QB Demond Williams Jr. was named the Air It Out Challenge winner at the Friday Nite Lights portion of the camp. The Air It Out Challenge included four targeted throws – one to the flats, one of the middle, one to the corner while rolling out and a deep shot to a net in the end zone about 35 yards downfield. Georgia Tech QB Haynes King actually had a really good showing in this challenge as well. He went 4-4 on his first run of hitting targets. Quarterbacks that threw on Thursday that impressed: Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson UNC QB Gio Lopez Clemson QB Cade Klubnik Texas Tech QB Behren Morton – One of the big takeaways for me was just wide LaNorris Sellers' frame is. He certainly looks like a full back at times in pads, and seeing him in person only confirmed that his frame is unique for a quarterback. Special player. – LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier looked good in the camp setting. Of course, accuracy and putting the ball where it needs to go has never been his issue. Nuss' concerns stem from pressure, where he folded several times a year ago. – I still think there is some Sam Ehlinger to Sam Leavitt's game. He is a fine throwing of the football, nothing extraordinary, but his real value comes from being a gamer. Someone that will lower his head and will his team to victory. Going to be a really interesting year for Leavitt without Cam Skattebo by his side in the backfield. – Duke QB Darian Mensah is going to be a very fun watch in the ACC this year. Big fan of his. It was fun talking with Oklahoma QB John Mateer at the camp. I had not seen him since he was at Little Elm and committed to Central Arkansas at the time. He told me he never envisioned leaving Washington State, though when the Sooners hired Ben Arbuckle from Wazzu, he knew it was a move that made a lot of sense. Throwing wise, there are some concerns about the height in which Mateer releases his passes from. But ultimately, I don't envision it being an issue. Folks like to point out the competition level at Wazzu last year as a knock on Mateer as well, I don't buy it. He's a very talented football player. – My questions on Georgia QB Gunnar Stockton remained unanswered. I actually did not know he was in attendance for the camp until Friday night. The few passes I watched of his were overthrown or errant. – I am a believer in Alabama QB Ty Simpson in the Kalen DeBoer offense. Simpson looked really sharp this weekend when getting to the top of his dropback. *** On Arch Manning Again, Arch didn't throw on Thursday when the camp counselors first arrived for an hour session with Eli and Peyton Manning. But he did throw on Friday under the lights. How much can you really take from ~8 throws or so? Not much. The quarterbacks were split alphabetically into two groups, which slotted Manning and Mateer in consecutive order. It was very interesting to compare the zip and velocity of passes off of the hand from both. There was more loft to Mateer's passes and more zip to Manning's. Again, take that for whatever you want. Technically speaking, the throwing form for Manning is exactly what you would expect. Pristine and without wasted movements. Arch went 2-4 in the Air It Out Challenge that was mentioned above. *** Quarterbacks not in attendance: Florida QB DJ Lagway – was at Texas HS State 7v7 tournament Oregon QB Dante Moore Ohio State QB Julian Sayin Marcel Reed was in attendance, but he did not throw on the weekend.

OTF is headed to Louisiana for the 2025 Manning Passing Academy this weekend. Arch Manning will represent Texas and we will have updates throughout the week of his performance and media availabilities. Will have the thread updated during my time in Thibodeaux, Louisiana!

4-star++ DL James Johnson announcement thread Miami (Fla.) Northwestern 4-star++ defensive lineman James Johnson is scheduled to announce his commitment today with a decision expected to come down to Georgia, Texas and maybe Miami. The 6-foot-2, 275-pound quick disruptor made official visits to Georgia (May 30-June 1), Miami (June 6-8), Florida (June 13-15) and Texas (June 20-22). Headed into the Texas OV, OTF was told it was 55-45 Georgia leading Texas. Johnson, who made his OV to Texas on his birthday weekend, had a tremendous visit with his mom and at that point it was seen as a neck and neck battle. Early in the week, there was more Georgia chatter than Texas with Miami still fighting. On Thursday, there was a little more Texas chatter. As we head into decision day, this is a recruitment that Texas has gone all in for all week. Johnson transferred to Northwestern High in the spring from North Fort Myers High. Johnson has known Texas lean and 4-star++ DL Kendall Guervil (Fort Myers, Fla./High) for years, as well as Texas freshman defensive lineman Myron Charles (Port Charlotte, Fla./High). Johnson sports an 82-inch wingspan and 10 inch hands. His explosivity on the football field translates to track and field with a 58'0" shot put to his credit as a junior.

Three decisions today for Longhorn targets (all times are CDT): Damari Simeon, DT, St. Augustine Prep (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) Time: 4 p.m. Finalists: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas Link: St. Augustine Prep will stream Simeon's announcement on Instagram The Pick: Ohio State Chace Calicut, S/LB, Galena Park North Shore Time: 3 p.m. Finalists: Georgia, Michigan and Texas Link: Calicut's decision will be streamed live from the OT7 Showcase and Finals The Pick: Georgia Malakai Lee, OT, Kamehameha (Honolulu, Hawaii) Time: 6:30 p.m. Finalists: Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Texas Link: Lee is announcing his decision on the 247Sports YouTube channel The Pick: Michigan

Texas catcher/infielder Cole Chamberlain has entered the transfer portal, OTF has learned. Chamberlain's profile has already been removed from the program's online roster. Zachary Symm of Orangebloods first reported the departure of Chamberlain, who played in 22 games as a freshman for the Longhorns. Chamberlain went 5-for-37 with two doubles, nine RBI, 15 walks and 15 strikeouts. With Chamberlain's departure, here's the updated list of outgoing transfers from the 2025 squad: C Oliver Service C/INF Cole Chamberlain INF Carson Luna INF/OF Sam Richardson INF Jaquae Stewart OF Tommy Farmer IV OF Will Gasparino OF Donovan Jordan OF Matt Scott LHP Chance Covert II LHP Ace Whitehead RHP Easton Tumis The following is the updated list of incoming transfers Jim Schlossnagle and the Longhorns have added through the transfer portal: C Carson Tinney (Notre Dame) INF Temo Becarra (Stanford) INF Josh Livingston (Wichita State) UTIL Kaleb Freeman (Georgia State) OF Jack Moroknek (Butler) OF Aidan Robbins (Seton Hall) LHP Luke Dotson (Mississippi State) LHP Cal Higgins (Western Kentucky)

Thursday recruiting update 1. OTF still likes where Texas sits with 4-star++ DL Kendall Guervil 2. OTF likes Georgia more for 4-star+ S/LB Chace Calicut 3. OTF believes 4-star++ DL James Johnson could go either way. 4. OTF likes where Texas sits with 5-star OT John Turntine III 5. Confidence remains for Texas with 5-star LB Xavier Griffin. OTF will continue to check to see if that remains, of course. 6. OTF likes where Texas sits with OT Felix Ojo. Early July decision likely. 7. 4-star++ CB Samari Matthews could go wither way with Texas and South Carolina. A little more Longhorns chatter today. 8. Texas very much in it with 4-star++ DB Davon Benjamin. Oregon is all in, however. This one could play out another month or so.

Texas had been trending for Damari Simeon (Richland, NJ/St. Augustine) since the earlier June OV, and up until last night. That has now changed today. Barring a change, OTF believes the Horns will not likely be the pick June 27.

Whether one agrees with Pete Prisco’s NFL Top 100 players of 2025, published by CBS Sports on Wednesday, or not, doesn’t matter. Prisco did include one Texas product on the list: Bijan Robinson at No. 39. Prisco ranked Robinson, the 2022 unanimous All-American and the Doak Walker Award winner for the Longhorns, behind only Saquon Barkley (No. 3) of the Philadelphia Eagles, Derrick Henry (No. 14) of the Baltimore Ravens and Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 32) of the Detroit Lions among the league’s top running backs. Still, there’s a lot more to glean from the list than giving a tip of the cap to Robinson, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Specifically, Prisco’s rankings reinforce the importance of the position groups Texas and Steve Sarkisian are prioritizing in high school recruiting. Based on Prisco’s list, 11 of the NFL's top 100 players in 2025 are quarterbacks. Sarkisian was on the Alabama staff in 2016, when Jalen Hurts (No. 52) led the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff title game (Sarkisian was Alabama’s play-caller on offense for a 35-31 loss to Clemson). Hurts is one of five quarterbacks on the list who suited up for a college program currently in the SEC, but Hurts and Dak Prescott (No. 90) are the only two who joined the conference as high school recruits, with Joe Burrow (No. 7) and Jayden Daniels (No. 33) transferring to LSU (Oklahoma was in the Big 12 when Baker Mayfield, No. 57 on the list, quarterbacked the Sooners). Other than Quinn Ewers, Sarkisian has identified his potential starting quarterbacks on the Forty Acres through the high school ranks. Arch Manning is first up in what, hopefully, becomes a line of homegrown Longhorn signal-callers to pass through the Texas program on their way to the NFL. Seven of the 11 quarterbacks on Prisco’s list were drafted from the same college program they signed with as high school recruits: Prescott from Mississippi State, Patrick Mahomes (No. 1) from Texas Tech, Josh Allen (No. 4) from Wyoming, Lamar Jackson (No. 6) from Louisville, Justin Herbert (No. 49) from Oregon, Jared Goff (No. 77) from Cal and Jordan Love (No. 92) from Utah State. That bodes well for the odds of the vision Sarkisian and AJ Milwee have — to evaluate, acquire and develop high school quarterbacks en route to producing top-tier NFL quarterbacks, without relying on mercenaries from the transfer portal — coming to fruition. Outside of the quarterback position, Sarkisian and the Longhorns have a premium on recruits who can adequately protect Manning and the other Texas quarterbacks, along with those who are most capable of disrupting the opponent’s quarterback. Prisco’s Top 100 includes 36 line-of-scrimmage players: seven interior defensive linemen, eight interior offensive linemen (including three centers), 10 offensive tackles and 11 edge rushers. One-third of those players (12) came from a current SEC program, further proving why the conference is college football’s ultimate line-of-scrimmage league. Excluding Robinson and Oklahoma’s six players on the list, the 30 players from the SEC considered by Prisco to be among the best of the best in the NFL reflect which schools have been atop the conference over the last decade. Alabama (10 players on the list), LSU (eight) and Georgia (four) have combined for six national championships in the CFP era (since 2014). Regarding the SEC championship, the last 11 conference titles have been split between the Crimson Tide (seven), Bulldogs (three) and Tigers (one). With Sarkisian’s tenure producing 28 picks over the last three drafts after only 24 Longhorns were selected in the 10 previous drafts combined (2013-22), Texas should be better represented on lists like this one in the future. While developing players who go on to be elite in the NFL isn’t the be-all and end-all for a championship-caliber football program, it would be a byproduct of the Longhorns continuing to trend in the right direction regarding player development. With Sarkisian’s tenure producing 28 draft picks over the last three drafts after only 24 Longhorns were selected in the 10 previous drafts combined (2013-22), Texas should be better represented on lists like this one in the future. While developing players who go on to be elite in the NFL isn’t the be-all and end-all for a championship-caliber football program, it would be a byproduct of the Longhorns continuing to trend in the right direction regarding player development. View full news story

The team underwent photo day earlier in the week and are just starting to post their photos that will be used for promotional bits and in-game hype clips. As well as finding some out numbers from the newcomers.

The latest on the Large Human Flyin Hawaiian ... Per a source close to the recruitment, this is a Michigan v Texas decision on the 27th. Neither Georgia or Bama have confidence as of today. As OTF first reported this morning, the family plans to move to the state where Malakai plays in college. There is a family in the DFW area already. Michigan has been working from a position of strength since the spring. If there is one minus for them, the family isn't super stoked about the cold weather and winters. But not sure that's a deciding factor in today's day and age of recruiting. This will not be a NIL only decision. There is more in play. Lee can envision himself at Texas. Nather Texas nor Michigan have been informed of a decision behind the scenes as of this morning.

Hearing North Shore safety Chace Calicut may be cutting Georgia's way.

OnTexasFootball has been informed that Texas A&M is out of contention for 5-star OT John Turntine III Texas vs. Michigan is where we hear the most noise right now. There is confidence in Austin ahead of July 4th announcement. Michigan does think they are in it. Stanford is the third team on the list.

Steve Sarkisian’s Texas organization is prioritizing three areas when recruiting high school prospects and devoting resources for talent acquisition: quarterbacks, top-notch linemen who can protect the quarterback and blue-chip defenders who can disrupt opposing quarterbacks. The approach was driven home on a weekend when Dia Bell (Plantation, Fla./American Heritage) was named MVP of the 2025 Elite 11 competition. The Longhorns added another body to what could evolve into a historic defensive line haul, reeling in Vodney Cleveland (Birmingham, Ala./Parker) while maintaining the lead in the race for Kendall Guervil (Fort Myers, Fla.). Richard Wesley’s (Chatsworth, Calif./Sierra Canyon) surprise commitment was arguably a bigger recruiting boon than if Texas had landed Dre Quinn (Atlanta, Ga./Buford) last Thursday. The Longhorns are one of three teams left standing for Trenton Henderson (Pensacola, Fla./Catholic) and remain in the running for Temple’s Jamarion Carlton. Texas also got the last in-person word with North Crowley offensive tackle John Turntine III ahead of his July 4 decision. Melissa’s Max Wright and Klein’s Nicholas Robertson were on campus with Turntine, who, along with Mansfield Lake Ridge’s Felix Ojo and Malakai Lee (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha), is one of three elite offensive tackles Kyle Flood is aggressively pursuing. It’s fun to listen to Sarkisian, Flood and other coaches on the staff tout the program’s desire to recruit “big humans.” The trope, however, is a way of life. Sarkisian, general manager Brandon Harris, director of player personnel JM Jones and the rest of the organization’s approach to roster building in college football has the staying power needed to keep Texas in the national championship hunt for the foreseeable future. While the Longhorns won’t win every battle for coveted players who line up closest to the football, they’re winning enough of them to keep accelerating the program’s growth from Sarkisian’s forgettable 5-7 debut to producing an FBS-leading 23 NFL draft picks from clubs that won a combined 25 games and reached the College Football Playoff semifinals over the last two seasons. Of those 23 draft choices, 10 of them manned one of the Sarkisian regime’s foundational positions: one quarterback (Quinn Ewers); one EDGE (Barryn Sorrell); four offensive linemen (Kelvin Banks Jr., Hayden Conner, Christian Jones and Cameron Williams); and four interior defensive linemen (Vernon Broughton, Alfred Collins, Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat). Bell is next in line behind Trey Owens and KJ Lacey to succeed Arch Manning. The offensive line has avoided heavy attrition under Flood and has benefited from evaluation wins with undervalued recruits, particularly what can be gleaned from Trevor Goosby's snaps last season and the early returns on guys like Nick Brooks and Nate Kibble. Now, it's time for Kenny Baker and LaAllen Clark to set up their respective rooms for bright futures. Texas is rightfully taking advantage of a 2026 cycle chock-full of difference-making defensive linemen, building the kind of roster that won't need five tackles from the portal to avoid massive gaps in the talent pipeline. Missing out on Carthage's KJ Edwards was a significant loss, especially considering how much Sarkisian values well-rounded running backs in his offense. The battles for Jalen Lott and Kaydon Finley could end with Texas losing to out-of-state competition (Oregon or USC for Lott and Notre Dame for Finley), which wouldn't be ideal scenarios for recruits with strong family ties to the Forty Acres. Still, since NIL resources aren’t limitless, the Longhorns would rather do what it takes to win line-of-scrimmage recruitments and, if necessary, snag as-needed skill talent from the transfer portal. It's more feasible to go into the portal and come out with Matthew Golden or Adonai Mitchell as opposed to using the significant capital it would take to secure a player capable of immediately impacting the trenches, assuming those types of players are available. There’s no wrong way to build a winning program. Nevertheless, it’s hard to argue against Sarkisian’s plan to keep Texas in the top tier of annual contenders to win the SEC and the CFP. View full news story

I spoke with an SEC assistant coach who is involved in the recruitment of North Crowley offensive tackle John Turntine. This coach (and this program) have been recruiting him for quite some time, actually. The coach said that the Longhorns, along with Michigan and Texas A&M, are the three schools with a legitimate shot to land Turntine, which lines up with what @Gerry Hamilton has been saying. When asked which one he felt Turntine would ultimately end up at, he broke it down by percentages. “I’d say Texas leads. I think it’s somewhere around 50% Texas, 30% Michigan and 20% Texas A&M.” Obviously anything can change, but felt it was worth passing along. Turntine is set to announce next Friday, July 4th.

Announcement date of July 11. Texas-South Carolina battle it feels like.