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The third game of the series is live on ESPN2 as the Longhorns look to avoid getting swept in Knoxville. Ruger Riojas, who missed his start yesterday with a combination of working on some things in the bullpen and soreness, is on the mound on Mother's Day. Also, Ethan Mendoza is in the lineup today as the designated hitter. Jayden Duplantier is at second base for the second game in a row as Mendoza recovers from a shoulder injury he suffered in Friday's loss.

Beyond suffering a 5-1 road loss to Tennessee in Friday’s series opener at Lindsay Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, No. 4 Texas faces an immediate future with Ethan Mendoza’s status up in the air. The junior second baseman left the game after an awkward landing while diving for a ball hit in his direction off the bat of Volunteers second baseman Blake Grimmer. Mendoza tried to shake off what Jim Schlossnagle confirmed after the game is a shoulder injury, but he left the field and was replaced in the lineup by Callum Early. Schlossnagle didn’t have anything else concrete on Mendoza’s injury, telling Roger Wallace during his postgame radio interview that the injury is to Mendoza’s throwing shoulder (a team source told On Texas Football late Friday that there was no definitive word on the extent of the injury). “He’s in a fair amount of discomfort. We’ll just have to take it day by day and see if he’s able to — I can’t imagine he’ll be able to throw anytime soon. Maybe, he’ll be able to hit.” While Early stayed in the game for the second and third innings, he was lifted in the top of the fourth for Josh Livingston. Livingston stayed in the game after beating Tennessee’s shift with a bunt single down the third-base side of the infield, occupying first base, with Casey Borba moving to third base and Temo Becerra sliding over to second. It’s a similar configuration to the one Texas (36-11, 15-9 SEC) utilized when Adrian Rodriguez was sidelined after getting the staple in his surgically-repaired hand removed. That’s likely the mix the Longhorns will go with as long as Mendoza is out of the lineup. Mendoza, who struck out swinging in his only at-bat of the game, entered the series hitting .278 (50-for-180) with 12 doubles, eight home runs, one triple, 40 RBI and an .844 OPS. Texas and Tennessee will continue their three-game series in Knoxville on Saturday at 5 p.m. (SEC Network+). View full news story

After losing last night’s series opener, the Longhorns are giving the ball to Luke Harrison for today’s game against the Vols. With Ethan Mendoza out, Texas is going with Jayden Duplantier at second base. Today's game will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus.

No shoes inside. Something I need to enforce at my home.

As expected, Argyle WR Julian Caldwell has committed to Texas Tech. He called the Longhorns staff earlier this week to thank them for recruiting him. We don't expect him to OV Austin at this point. North Forney WR Briceson Thrower remains the top in-state WR target.

The Longhorns and the Volunteers play the first of three games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville tonight at 5:30 p.m. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus.

WR Recruiting Note: Tre Moore OnTexasFootball has learned that Pflugerville Weiss 4-star WR Tre Moore and Texas will not be a match. OTF doesn’t expect the 6-4, 211-pounder to make an OV to Texas June 5-7. Texas is hyper focused on 5-star Easton Royal, 5-star Monshun Sales and 4-star+ Briceson Thrower. OTF expects the June OV list at WR to keep shrinking.

Texas is very active on the road this week handing out new offers. We've posted a number of them already. Here, we'll keep them all in one place for the week.

If anyone has lingering concerns about Arch Manning’s postseason foot surgery impacting his availability or effectiveness as QB1 for the Texas Longhorns in 2026, Steve Sarkisian set the record straight on Tuesday. “People are overreacting way too much to this,” Sarkisian said during a live radio interview with Craig Way on Austin’s AM 1300 The Zone. “The guy had a foot issue that we had to get fixed that we didn’t want to do last year, obviously, right before the season and/or during the season. So we waited until after the season. He could’ve been back in spring practice, probably, in week three. But, again, he’s in year four in our system. So him throwing 7-on-7, him throwing routes on air, and that getting KJ (Lacey) and Dia (Bell) and MJ (Morris) more opportunities to get accustomed to playing systematically for us… “Rest assured, Arch Manning is fine,” he added. “He looks great.” While Manning’s status heading into the summer doesn’t seem to be in doubt, there are three lingering concerns about Texas with spring practice in the rearview mirror. 1. The running game Between Manning’s running ability (specifically, the advantage he gives the offense with a run threat the defense has to account for), the elite weapons the Longhorns have on the perimeter spreading opponents out and a deeper, overhauled running back room capable of maximizing runs (picking up yards when the play isn’t blocked perfectly), the conditions are ripe for the Texas running game to leave last season’s lackluster performance in the dust. Still, until we see the offensive line take the field with all of its top hands in the lineup, including Trevor Goosby making a full return from shoulder surgery and Laurence Seymore arriving in the summer as a possible answer at left guard, there should be a shred of doubt regarding the running game’s ceiling in 2026. Even if Derrek Cooper, Michael Terry III and James Simon had their way with Will Muschamp’s defense in the end-of-spring open practice, the fact that it wasn’t done in a game against an opponent in a different colored uniform would’ve required taking it with a grain of salt. The effectiveness of the offensive line and the ability to establish and play with a physical, hard-nosed mentality on offense (one that allows the Longhorns to move the football on the ground when opponents know it’s coming) will remain a question mark until proven otherwise on the field. 2. Safety depth If Manning is the player Texas can least afford to lose, a case can be made for Jelani McDonald over Colin Simmons as the next most valuable Longhorn in 2026. At least the edge room has capable players behind Simmons. McDonald headlines a safety group that exited spring practice with more questions than answers when looking at the big picture. With Xavier Filsaime, Zelus Hicks and Jonah Williams working their way back from surgery, Blake Gideon’s room will look and feel different whenever Texas is back on the field. Although Jonathan Cunningham and Toray Davis flashed throughout spring practice, and Derek Williams Jr. finally looks back to his pre-injury form, the Longhorns need a lot more competition within a position group that didn’t have enough of it during the spring. 3. Special teams unknowns Ryan Niblett’s presence and prowess in the return game are the only proven commodities to speak of on special teams. Texas went into the transfer portal for help at placekicker, punter and long snapper, but we know as much about those acquisitions at the beginning of May as we did in January. Gianni Spetic and Mac Chiumento didn’t make an impactful first impression during the open practice on April 18. They’ve both got a decently high bar to clear to give the Longhorns what they had in the steady, reliable legs of Mason Shipley and Jack Bouwmeester. Special teams can’t be considered a strength or a weakness right now. Like the running game, Jeff Banks’ unit will be under the microscope in the season opener, which is probably the next best glance the public will get of the new-look kicking game. View full news story

The Texas contingent making its way along the West Coast (Muschamp, Nansen, Clark, Baker, etc.) stopped in to see 5-star ATH and USC commit Honor Fa'alave-Johnson on Wednesday, a source tells OTF. Fa'alave-Johnson is ranked the No. 1 athlete in the county (recruited at safety by Texas). He committed to the Trojans in March ahead of originally planning to visit Texas on March 27. The source tells OTF there is no plans to visit Austin "at this time." However, this marks the second time the Longhorns staff has travelled to San Diego to see the five-star prospect. We're seeing the Longhorns dot all their i's and cross all their t's in pursuit of the safety position. This is part of that.

The last midweek game of the 2026 season is underway on SEC Network Plus. Anthony Pack Jr. is getting the day off. Max Grubbs gets the start for the Longhorns against the Roadrunners.

OTF has learned that a number of Texas assistants -- Will Muschamp, Kenny Baker, and Johnny Nansen -- are in California on Wednesday visiting Texas targets and prospects. Two of note at Sierra Canyon: 5-star DL Markus Fakatou & 4-star DL Kasi Currie.

OTF has learned that Texas WR coach Chris Jackson is expected to visit 5-star WR Monshun Sales today.

OTF has confirmed that the 4-star TE will announce his decision on May 15th Texas Georgia Ohio State OTF prediction: Texas

Post Spring Heat Check: Do I think you can win the SEC? Alabama – if everything goes perfectly Arkansas – strong no Auburn – no Florida – not a 100% no Georgia – definitely yes Kentucky – no LSU – yes Missouri – no Miss State – no Oklahoma – i lean yes Ole Miss – i think so South Carolina – not buying in again, no. Tennessee – no Texas – yes Texas A&M – only if QB takes a jump Vanderbilt – nope.

Longhorns Extend Offer to 2027 LB Sean Fox **** Jeff Banks is in the midwest this morning and made a stop through Warren Central High on the east side of Indianapolis where he extended an offer to 2027 LB Sean Fox. The 6-foot-5-inch, 225-pound linebacker has been on a tear this spring, earning offers from Notre Dame, Arizona State, Tennessee, Miami and Georgia. Fox is currently ranked as a composite top-300 prospect in the 27 class, following a junior season where he recorded five sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. Official visits have yet to be scheduled for Fox.

Texas makes the cut for Sierra Canyon (Calif.) DL Marcus Fakatou. Fakatou spoke recently with @Hank South after visiting for the Texas spring game where he mentioned the Longhorns were in the top three for his recruitment. Texas is right in the thick of things for the 6-foot-7-inch, 275-pound defenive lineman.

He's from the Columbus area ScreenRecording_05-05-2026 08-34-20_1.mov

It’s debatable where Texas should be slotted in the host of post-spring practice rankings being published, with CBS Sports, ESPN and USA Today placing the Longhorns among college football’s top five clubs in 2026. What can’t be disputed is that Steve Sarkisian’s squad is facing a difficult schedule in his sixth season. ESPN’s Bill Connelly and CBS Sports believe the 12-game slate is the toughest in the country, with Texas set to face eight teams included in CBS Sports’ post-spring rankings, six post-spring ranked opponents from USA Today’s too-early Top 25 and eight of the 20 highest-rated teams in Connelly’s most recent SP+ rankings. The 2025 schedule had a case to be the toughest road slate ever navigated by a Longhorn team. Not including the annual neutral-site tussle with Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl, the Longhorns faced Ohio State, Florida and Georgia on the road. Two top-10 opponents (Vanderbilt and Texas A&M) also made their way to Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium last season. Regardless of where the Buckeyes, Gators and Bulldogs rank, visiting Columbus, Gainesville and Athens in the same season is a daunting task, something the Longhorns found out the hard way. Still, becoming the first FBS team since LSU in 2019 to record three regular-season wins over top-10 opponents, with victories over the Sooners, Commodores and Aggies, was the strongest argument Texas had for why it deserved to be included in the College Football Playoff. This season’s schedule is similarly taxing. The Longhorns will battle Tennessee (Sept. 26), LSU (Nov. 14) and Texas A&M (Nov. 27) on the road, with Ohio State (Sept. 12) and Ole Miss (Oct. 24) coming to the Forty Acres. Throw in the Red River Shootout and Texas has four CFP qualifiers from last season on the schedule, along with two other bowl teams (Texas State and UTSA) in non-conference play and the rest of the nine-game SEC schedule. As the season unfolds, the schedule's degree of difficulty will be judged by where the Longhorns’ opponents sit in the polls. If Texas manages to see at least seven ranked opponents, the 2026 schedule will set a new program standard for strength of schedule. In the 2014 regular season, the Longhorns had six foes ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 at the time of the game, the most AP Top 25 clubs on a Texas regular-season schedule since the AP Poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989. Charlie Strong’s debut included losses to No. 12 UCLA in Arlington, No. 7 Baylor and No. 5 TCU at home, No. 11 Kansas State on the road and No. 11 Oklahoma in Dallas, with the lone ranked win of the season coming at home over No. 24 West Virginia. There have been eight seasons since the start of the AP Top 25 era in which the Longhorns have played five ranked opponents in the regular season, including 2025: — 2024 (at No. 10 Michigan, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 5 Georgia, at No. 25 Vanderbilt and at No. 20 Texas A&M — 2018 (No. 22 USC, No. 17 TCU, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 13 West Virginia and No. 16 Iowa State) — 2015 (at No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 24 Oklahoma State, at No. 4 TCU, No. 10 Oklahoma and at No. 12 Baylor) — 2010 (No. 8 Oklahoma, at No. 5 Nebraska, No. 25 Baylor, No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 17 Texas A&M) — 1995 (at No. 21 Notre Dame, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 14 Virginia, No. 23 Texas Tech and at No. 16 Texas A&M) — 1993 (at No. 11 Colorado, No. 6 Syracuse, at No. 24 Louisville, No. 10 Oklahoma and at No. 8 Texas A&M) — 1989 (at No. 14 Colorado, No. 15 Oklahoma, at No. 7 Arkansas, at No. 15 Houston and at No. 16 Texas A&M) The additional challenge for Texas in 2026, along with the SEC going to a nine-game schedule, is the elimination of multiple bye weeks. Whereas the Longhorns had two last season, the bye week between the Tennessee game and the Oct. 10 showdown with Oklahoma is the only time they’ll be able to put their feet up and catch their breath. Eight straight conference games to conclude the regular season could make the 2026 schedule the toughest non-stop grind since the 2008 season, when Texas took on the top-ranked Sooners, No. 11 Missouri, No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Tech in consecutive weeks. The Longhorns successfully refilled the cup against the Tigers and Cowboys, but didn’t have quite enough in the tank to dispatch the Red Raiders, suffering a loss that cost Mack Brown’s team a chance to play for the national championship. While a 12-team playoff gives Sarkisian’s bunch more margin for error, it won’t lessen the impact that the totality of a historically difficult schedule could have on the Longhorns’ chances of getting back to the CFP and making a run toward the title game. View full news story