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How I would rank the top ten quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft ahead of the Combine in Indianapolis next week. *** There is a pretty sizable drop off after the first two quarterbacks in my eyes. Then McCord and Dart have their own space, followed by Ewers. It is an odd Draft from a QB perspective. But we will see how it all plays out in Indianapolis. Notable omission includes Seth Henigan, I really liked what he brought to the field in Mobile for the Senior Bowl. Let me know what you think?

With the Under Armour All-America Game and the Navy All-American Bowl complete, 247Sports and ESPN published their final player rankings for the 2025 cycle on Wednesday. — After the release of the Top247 for 2025 and the ESPN300, Texas still has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country according to the 247Sports Composite and the On3 Industry rankings. There were some noticeable moves in the final rankings from two of the four major sets of prospect rankings (On3 hasn’t released its final rankings while the final Rivals250 was published last week) regarding the historic haul assembled by Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns. — Texas had 15 signees ranked in the Top247, the most since 2010 when Mack Brown's staff landed 20 Top247 recruits. The same goes for the ESPN 300, which included 18 Longhorns, a total topped in recent classes only by 19 in 2018. — Cornerback Kade Phillips highlighted the Top247, finishing the cycle among the 32 five-star prospects in the class. The 6-foot and a 1/2-inch, 185-pounder with a personal best long jump of 24 feet 7 1/2 inches had his wing span measured at 6 feet 8 inches in San Antonio. Phillips is No. 23 overall in the Top247, joining safety Jonah Williams (No. 6), defensive lineman Justus Terry (No. 13) and wide receiver Kaliq Lockett (No. 21) as five-star prospects. — Along with the four five-star signees, the Texas class has 10 recruits ranked inside the top 100 in the Top247: defensive lineman Lance Jackson (No. 39), wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (No. 52), tight end Nick Townsend (No. 74), linebacker Bo Barnes (No. 78), cornerback Graceson Littleton (No. 81) and Michael Terry III (No. 85). —Justus Terry and Williams finished the cycle as two of 21 prospects ESPN ranked as a five-star recruit. Terry (8) and Williams (No. 9) were ranked among ESPN’s top 10 prospects. — The ESPN 300 included nine Longhorn signees among its top 100 prospects: Ffrench (No. 26), Lockett (No. 30), Michael Terry III (No. 31), Phillips (No. 33), Jackson (No. 67), Barnes (No. 84) and Littleton (No. 98). Townsend was ranked No. 125 in the ESPN 300. — The Top247 reflects the strength of the interior defensive line class for Texas. With Myron Charles (No. 138) and Josiah Sharma (No. 214) making the final Top247, the Longhorns are one of three programs along with Auburn and Georgia to land three Top247 defensive tackles in 2025 (Nos. 3, 17 and 24 at the position with Justus Terry, Charles and Sharma). — On the edge, Jackson and Smith Orogbo (No. 157) made Texas one of five programs (Georgia, Miami, Missouri and Ohio State are the others) to sign multiple Top247 edge defenders. — With Daylon McCutcheon (No. 190 in the Top247) joining Lockett and Ffrench in the final rankings, the Longhorns and Missouri were the only two programs to land three Top247 wideouts in 2025. 247Sports ranked Townsend as the No. 6 tight end in the class with Michael Terry III, expected to be a multi-purpose offensive player for Texas, ending the cycle as the nation’s No. 2-ranked athlete. — Running back James Simon (No. 198) is the other Longhorn signee who made the Top247. Orogbo (No. 105), safety Zelus Hicks (No. 114), quarterback KJ Lacey (No. 115), offensive lineman Nick Brooks (No. 142), McCutcheon (No. 147) Charles (No. 182), Simon (No. 298) and running back Rickey Stewart (No. 300) rounded out the ESPN 300 recruits in the Texas class. — ESPN ranked the following signees among the top prospects at their position in the class: Williams (No. 1 safety), Michael Terry III (No. 1 athlete), Justus Terry (No. 2 DT), Ffrench (No. 2 WR), Lockett (No. 3 WR), Townsend (No. 4 TE), Phillips (No. 6 CB), Jackson (No. 7 DE), Barnes (No. 10 OLB), Lacey (No. 10 pocket QB), Orogbo (No. 11 DE) and Hicks (No. 11 safety). View full news story

For Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle and the Longhorns, the benefit of opening the 2025 college baseball season in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Arlington’s Globe Life Field is getting their flaws exposed right out of the gate. After Friday’s 4-3 loss to Louisville in 10 innings, Schlossnagle didn’t sugarcoat the sting No. 19 Texas felt while processing the unsavory lessons learned. The Longhorns were one out away from a season-opening victory, but the Cardinals got a two-run, pinch-hit single from Garret Pike in the bottom of the ninth, sending the game to extra innings. Center fielder Lucas Moore completed the comeback victory for coach Dan McDonnell’s club with a bases-loaded, two-out single off of Andre Duplantier II in the bottom of the 10th. “We're not opening the season with some school from the north that hasn't played much baseball. We’re opening the season in this tournament,” Schlossnagle said during his postgame, on-field interview with Keith Moreland. “We'll learn from this, but it certainly hurts right now, that's for sure. Texas scored its only runs through nine innings in the top of the second on Will Gasparino’s two-run home run. Schlossnagle tipped his cap to a Louisville pitching staff that fired 16 strikeouts and limited the Longhorns to a 2-for-17 night with runners on base and a 1-or-5 outing with runners in scoring position. “They pitched awesome,” Schlossnagle said of the Louisville arms. Starting pitcher Patrick Forbes bounced back from serving up Gasparino’s home run with a vengeance, striking out 11. The righty fanned Gasparino in the top of the third with two outs and the bases loaded, wiping out a golden opportunity Texas had to break the game open. The Longhorns committed two errors, while the bullpen couldn’t close the door on the Cardinals in the late innings. Regardless, a few new faces on the Forty Acres provided bright spots. Lefty Jared Spencer surrendered four hits and struck out six over 5.2 shutout innings in a successful starting debut. The Indiana State transfer’s slider befuddled the Cardinals, helping Spencer get through his outing on just 67 pitches (48 strikes). Ruger Riojas was charged with Louisville’s two ninth-inning runs. Still, the right-handed UTSA transfer struck out four in 2.2 innings of work, including punching out right fielder Eddie King Jr. with two outs and runners in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Adrian Rodriguez wasn’t rattled by a three-strikeout debut, coming through in the top of the 10th with a solo home run to right field. There were more than a few things to like in a losing effort, but Schlossnagle wants a different result when Texas takes on Ole Miss on Saturday (7 p.m., FloSports). “We're a work in progress, like most teams,” Schlossnagle said. It's just tough we had to go down tonight.” View full news story

Does Texas need to address the tight end position when the spring transfer portal window opens in April? The answer is nuanced, but I don’t think the Longhorns' strategy will make or break the offense in 2025. Spring practice will be Jordan Washington’s opportunity to emerge as someone who can be counted on when the rubber meets the road in the fall. Steve Sarkisian has coached productive, NFL-caliber tight ends as a college coach (Austin Seferian-Jenkins at Washington, O.J. Howard and Irv Smith Jr. headline the tight ends Sarkisian worked with at Alabama and Ja’Tavion Sanders at Texas, with Gunnar Helm expected to be drafted in April). Washington has a chance to be the most complete tight end to play in Sarkisian’s offense. The 6-foot-4-inch 250-pounder with a basketball background was brought up during Friday’s “Longhorn Livestream” with myself, Rod Babers and Gerry Hamilton. Gerry mentioned how Langham Creek coach Todd Thompson used Washington as an in-line tight end, a sniffer and in the backfield. Sarkisian praised Washington’s ability to stretch the field, ball skills, and length when he introduced the 2024 signees who signed during that cycle's Early Signing Period. With 10.5-inch hands and a tremendous frame that’s already started to fill out, Washington has a chance to be an athletic, physical tight end north of 260 pounds who never has to leave the field. Nick Townsend won’t be on campus for spring practice, but the future in Jeff Banks’ room is bright with the two Houston-area products leading the way. If the staff knew Amari Niblack would move on after the season, Texas might’ve pushed harder for Purdue’s Max Klare, who transferred to Ohio State. The Longhorns could use another tight end on the roster, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of putting a playmaker around Arch Manning. If the Longhorns don’t find the right tight end in the portal, utilizing a sixth offensive lineman (a role Texas didn’t feature in 2024 as much as it did in 2022 or 2023) or Spencer Shannon emerging as a capable in-line blocker would allow Sarkisian to keep 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) as one of his featured groupings. Additionally, Sarkisian’s use of two-back sets and multiple-wide receiver packages means the Longhorns could pursue a transfer too good to pass up without feeling like they’re robbing Peter to pay Paul. In short, Texas shouldn’t pass on a proven running back or wideout in place of another tight end. Every offensive personnel decision must be executed with maximizing Manning’s time as QB1 in mind, which is why the Longhorns should approach spring practice and the portal window with an open mind. View full news story

Welcome to the Round Up. It's a blistering 14º in Chicago currently where I am up for the weekend, but the cold won't stop me! Anyways, a quick rundown on some coaching candidates for the open Texas RB position and updates on some Longhorns recovering from injury during the winter conditioning months. *** RB Candidates Texas Special Assistant to the HC Chris Gilbert – A man already in Austin, Texas with plenty of understanding of the current recruiting sphere insdie of Moncrief, this hire makes sense when you also consider Gilbert also comes with on-field coaching experience while at North Texas (TE). Ole Miss RB Coach Kevin Smith – Perhaps my favorite option when considering the three major factors I am looking for when replacing Tashard Choice: Development, Recruiting, Presence in the South. Smith has all three. Baylor RB Coach Khenon Hall – I have heard a lot of positives in regard to Khenon Hall at Baylor. He has great ties to the state of Texas and has been considered a recruit-favorite from coaches I have talked to recently. Florida RB Coach Jabbar Juluke – One of the more well-known coaches at the running back position, Juluke has been the RB Coach at Florida since 2022 and helped produce Dameon Pierce of the Houston Texans. Of course, he also has huge ties to the state of Florida as well, a place Texas has had plenty of success recently when recruiting the position. Oregon State RB Coach Ray Pickering – A former staffer of Steve Sarkisian's and now RB coach at Oregon State, Pickering has ties to Mississippi and connections to 5-star WR Tristan Keys already. He would help in the southeast Nebraska RB Coach EJ Barthel – Barthel comes with ties to the NFL having spent two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, but also some ties to the northeast. Of course, he is currently at Nebraska where he has been tied to the hip of Matt Rhule since the Panthers tenure. Oregon RB Coach Rashaad Samples – Of course, what list would be complete without the mention of Samples. One of the hottest recruiters in the country with plenty of ties to the state of Texas. Will Texas go this route? I tend to lean it is unlikely, but of course I won't count out anything with Steve Sarkisian. *** Quick Injury Updates – Texas RB CJ Baxter has been recovering well from his knee injury suffered in fall camp of 2024. I have heard the progression has gone very well and there is a chance Baxter sees some on-field work towards the backend of spring ball. That won't mean he will be 100% as a contributor for those spring practices, but cleated up and running on the side field would be a great sign for his ultimate return in 2025. – It was reported by CBS that Texas EDGE Colton Vasek would undergo shoulder surgery towards the backend of January. Right now, his status for the spring is a bit up in the air, though I have heard he has been very active in his recovery. I don't expect to see Vasek fully cleared and ready to return to the field by then, but some light working out would be a great sign. I will dig a bit more to see what else I can find, but right now, a bit of a question mark in terms of overall expectations for Vasek this spring. View full news story

AUSTIN, Texas — Riding a three-game losing streak and their NCAA Tournament hopes fading fast, the Texas men’s basketball team needed Saturday’s 82-78 win over No. 15 Kentucky in the worst possible way. Coach Rodney Terry watched his club battle back from a five-point deficit with 3:51 remaining to end the skid. Texas (16-10, 5-8 SEC) also got one step closer to the likely magic number of eight conference wins needed to feel good about its March Madness chances on a night when freshman phenom Tre Johnson set career highs with 32 points and nine rebounds, while Tramon Mark poured in a season-high 26 points (9-for-14 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range). “I thought our guys really guarded really hard tonight, played probably as hard as we've played all year long, defensively, and found a way to grind this one out,” Terry said. “This is a grind-out game, and I give these guys a lot of credit for working the game really hard and working it for 40 minutes.” I’ve got three key takeaways from watching the Longhorns finish off the Wildcats down the stretch en route to a much-needed win in front of 11,060 fans at Moody Center. — Johnson’s big night came despite going 1-for-8 from beyond the arc. What helped his cause and lifted Texas to the victory was the combination of Johnson and Mark going a combined 12-for-14 from the foul line in the second half. Kentucky (17-8, 6-6) overcame a 1-for-11 shooting slump to take a 65-60 lead with 5:35 to play when Terry called a 30-second timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Mark was fouled by Koby Brea on a 3-pointer. While he couldn’t convert the four-point play, it halted the Wildcats’ momentum and was the counterpunch the Longhorns needed to get back in the game. The team's sense of urgency down the stretch was palpable. Once Texas got into the double bonus, the intent was clear: either get Johnson or Mark to the basket or get the ball into the paint to force the issue and get to the foul line. When the dust settled, the Longhorns were 17-for-21 from the stripe in the second half. It was a stark contrast from a 2-for-2 showing in the first half. — No two Longhorns exemplified the gritty nature of the win than Kadin Shedrick (five points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals) and Jayson Kent (six points and eight rebounds). Amari Williams, the Wildcats’ 7-foot center, was a problem for Texas, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Still, Shedrick and Kent stayed in the fight, with Shedrick getting a tip-in and a clean block of Williams on the other end to extend the lead to four points, 74-70, and preserve inside of the game's final 90 seconds. “The first 35 minutes of the game, I was kind of struggling to get things going. I wasn't playing up to my expectations. I was getting frustrated with myself,” said Shedrick, who threw down a two-handed slam with 4.5 seconds left on the clock for the exclamation point on the win. “I give credit to my teammates and my coaches for keeping me locked in and helping me remember that I'm going to make a play down the stretch to help us win the game.” The play down low wasn’t a masterpiece, but the Longhorns won the rebounding battle (41-40) and had a plus-4 edge in points in the paint (38-34). On a night when, as Terry said, "[Texas] just had to find a way,” the Longhorns did. — The 1-for-11 slump contributed largely to Kentucky’s 37.9-percent shooting performance in the second half (11-for-29 from the field). The Wildcats committed 10 of 15 turnovers after halftime, with the Longhorns stringing together enough stops to overcome their dismal 1-for-9 stretch from the field in the second half. Kentucky coach Mark Pope pointed to his club's lack of execution late in the game as the difference between the Wildcats and Texas on Saturday. Part of that was the job the Longhorns did, using their aggressiveness on defense as fuel to get things going on the other end of the court and close out a quality opponent in a must-win situation. “If it's the last few minutes and the game [is] close, we're thinking we’re going to win regardless, even if we're down by a lot,” Johnson said. “When all five guys are locked in on defense, I have no problem, no doubt in my mind that we can make any comeback.” View full news story

No matter how you slice it, Texas had one of the most explosive offenses in the country in 2024. Steve Sarkisian’s attack finished among college football’s top 35 offenses last season in yards per play (6.21). No offense generated more plays of 20 yards or more than the Longhorns, leading FBS with 108 while finishing No. 3 in the country in 20-yard gains per game (6.75), trailing only Miami (7.62) and Ole Miss (7.39). While the offense’s average yards per play declined from 2023 (6.67), Texas generated more than an additional 20-yard gain per game en route to a 13-3 record compared to the previous season (5.57 20-yard gains per game). A veteran quarterback and an experienced offensive line made the conditions ripe for the Longhorns to torch defenses, but that’s only part of the equation. Sarkisian’s offense is designed so that the ball finds different guys at different times. That team-first mentality accounts for the other half of the formula that kept Texas chugging along after losing its top five producers of 20-yard gains from one season to the next with Jonathon Brooks (14), Xavier Worthy (14), Ja’Tavion Sanders (12), Adonai Mitchell (11) and Jordan Whittington (9) counting among the school-record 11 selections in the 2024 NFL Draft. Based on the offense’s leaderboard for 20-yard gains in 2024, the Longhorns must replace their four most explosive players: Matthew Golden (22), Gunnar Helm (15), Jaydon Blue (12) and Isaiah Bond. It’s a daunting task, but the returns of DeAndre Moore Jr., Ryan Wingo and Quintrevion Wisner (10 plays from scrimmage of at least 20 yards) cushion the blow, especially when looking at everybody’s production per touch. Golden led the Texas offense by recording a 20-yard gain once every 2.64 touches. The next most explosive Longhorn on a per-touch basis was Wingo, who ripped off 20 yards or more from scrimmage on one out of every 3.4 touches. Bond (a 20-yard gain once every 3.45 touches), Moore (3.9), Helm (4), Arch Manning (8.33), Blue (14.67) and Wisner (27) rounded out the explosive play production. The scrambling ability of Manning, who had three runs of 20 yards or more on just 25 official attempts, and the potential he’s flashed on designed runs bring an explosive element by way of the quarterback running game in a style not seen on the Forty Acres since Colt McCoy. Three of Wingo’s 20-yard gains came on the ground. Until Blue’s 77-yard touchdown secured a first-round College Football Playoff win over Clemson, Manning and Wingo had a hand in the offense’s four longest plays from scrimmage: a 75-yard Manning-to-Wingo touchdown pass and Manning’s 67-yard touchdown run against UTSA; a 56-yard pass from Manning to Bond against ULM; and Wingo’s 55-yard run against Michigan. With Wingo, Moore and Wisner back, Manning taking over behind center and C.J. Baxter returning from injury, the Texas offense has plenty of big-play potential. Sarkisian's creation of advantageous situations for the playmakers who must touch the football and those players coming through when called upon will go a long way toward determining whether or not the Longhorns are in the national championship mix again in 2025. View full news story

The full NFL Combine list has been released and there will be 14 Longhorns represented in Indianapolis at the end of the month. QB Quinn Ewers RB Jaydon Blue WR Isaiah Bond WR Matthew Golden TE Gunnar Helm OL Kelvin Banks OL Hayden Conner OL Jake Majors OL Cam Williams DL Vernon Broughton DL Alfred Collins EDGE Barryn Sorrell DB Jahdae Barron DB Andrew Mukuba Texas continues to stack NFL Combine and Draft success and this year is no different. A great chance to break and re-set the program record for players selected in a single Draft.

A couple of mid-week trips as the recruiting cycle awaits its next period in the month of March. The first to Georgetown East View HS, home of 2026 LB Tieson Ejiawoko and the next out to Bastrop HS Wednesday AM to see 2026 DL Tiki Hola. *** 2026 Georgetown East View LB Tieson Ejiawoko A January offer by the Longhorns is one to keep an eye for the 2026 cycle. Texas officially joined the race for the Texas Tech commit on the January 25th Junior Day. Prior to that, Pete Kwiatkowski made the trip out to East View and only four day after, Johnny Nansen made the trip as well. Steve Sarkisian has just started to get involved her as well. Ejiawoko is currently listed at 6-foot-3-inches and 227 pounds. He plans to throw shot and run track this fall. He did mention the goal this spring was to hit 50-feet in the shot put. While the Texas Tech commitment is firm, the Longhorns are going to be a tough team to beat here. The proximity to home is key, as well as the Longhorns' on-field success. Ejiawoko mentioned the Longhorns going to back-to-back College Football Playoff Semifinals as something that caught his eye. Currently, Ejiawoko has just two official visits locked in: June 13: Texas June 20: Texas Tech Other schools that are worth monitoring are TCU, Arizona State, UTSA, UTEP. Texas A&M visited twice in the spring, but did not offer, something that is worth mentioning. All in all, a prospect I think that has a very high, untapped ceiling. Texas will be a player here moving forward with a very solid chance to sway the commitment before it is all said and done. *** I will be headed to Bastrop tomorrow and have some updates in the morning.

Just a smidge over ten weeks away from the 2025 NFL Draft and 16 days away from the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. While we sit a wait for the actual progressions to take place, I wanted to theorize with you all to find perfect Draft fits for each Longhorn hopeful. Whether it be scheme fit, style of play of success from previously drafted players, I thought this would be a fun practice. Starting position by position, let's get to it. *** QB Quinn Ewers – Los Angeles Rams There were only a few teams that I see as fits for Quinn Ewers, which is fine when you consider 18 quarterbacks are making north of $30,000,000 per year currently. There is an obvious connection with Ewers and Sean McVay, but even more than that, the fit with Matthew Stafford and his career timeline line up perfectly for a natural succession process in LA. Puka Nacua provides a great intermediate route winner and there is familiarity with Jordan Whittington already. This is my favorite of the 32 possible destinations for Ewers. RB Jaydon Blue – Cleveland Browns Someone is going to see what Jahmyr Gibbs has done for the Detroit Lions and take a flier on Jaydon Blue. The receiving ability matched up with elite, breakaway speed will have some team calling is name pretty early. The oft-injured Nick Chubb and emergence of Jerome Ford makes for a fine tandem, but neither possess the soon-to-be 4.3 speed of Blue. Both can knock out the inbetween the tackles work, while Blue's third down playmaking ability complements very well. WR Matthew Golden – Dallas Cowboys Sorry to any Texans fans in the chat, and I promise my Cowboys Blue isn't the lead reason for this marriage here. The Cowboys desperately need a No. 2 next to CeeDee Lamb. When comparing other playoff-level teams and their No. 2 option at wide receiver with the Cowboys, there are very few option worse than Brandin Cooks and 259 receiving yards in 2024. The Cowboys need someone to alleviate the pressure put on Lamb and Golden's ability to win one-on-one routes does just that. WR Isaiah Bond – New York Giants Similarly to Golden, I love the idea of Bond coming into the league as the No. 2 option to Malik Nabers. It is clear the Giants have themselves a solidified top option after 1200-yard season in year one, but now a speedster to open up the middle of the field will go a long way. Not to mention, at pick 1.3, it is very likely the Giants go with Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, both of whom were very solid in the deep passing game in college. TE Gunnar Helm – Denver Broncos Perhaps as surprising as any development in 2024 was the play of rookie QB Bo Nix. The Broncos are set at wide receiver with Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims, but are completely lacking at the tight end position. Adam Trautman's 188 yards led the Broncos at the tight end position in 2024, Denver finished 30th in the league in receiving yards by tight ends as well. For as well as Nix was able to scramble to create, I couldn't help but think a safety blanket over the middle would solve a lot of issues for the young QB. LT Kelvin Banks – Chicago Bears Perhaps the worst left tackle play I have watched since Chaz Green allowed 6 sacks in a single game to Adrian Clayborn back in 2017 came from the Bears in 2024. The Bears have their quarterback of the future and surrounded him with playmakers on the outside. The issue is, too often there was no time available to get the ball out that direction. That changes – or at least starts to change – with Kelvin Banks. OC Jake Majors – Indianapolis Colts Probably the toughest position to try and pick for Majors. Who needs a center? Who needs a center right away? Will Majors be a guy that plays right away? I would imagine the Colts do what they can to retain Ryan Kelly, who is an UDFA this offseason, but regardless, the best situation with an opening at the position gets the nod for Majors. RT Cam Williams – New England Patriots The Patriots relied on an undrafted Demontrey Jacobs for the final half of the season in 2024, which likely isn't the long-term plan for protecting Mac Jones in year two. Just like Banks, these teams with young quarterbacks need to find a sustainable level of protection and Williams fits the mold right away. DL Alfred Collins – Kansas City Chiefs The Chiefs have the blue print already laid out for a former five-star, second round pick who has measurables around 6-foot-6-inches and 300 pounds with Chris Jones. This is not to compare the two and their play, but more everything else. Collins is now north of 320 pounds but the rest remains the same. I like this fit perfectly for the Chiefs and Collins. DL Vernon Broughton – Minnesota Vikings Minnesota's defense in 2024 took a big step forward and in large part, it is due to the efforts of Brian Flores, their defensive coordinator. Brian Flores is a zero-blitz mastermind which means that a pass-rushing interior defensive lineman like Broughton would be matched up in 1v1 situations plenty. DB Andrew Mukuba – Pittsburgh Steelers I trust a Steeler defensive back more than most of my good friends. They are well-coached, very disciplined and can lay the wood. It has been the case my entire life and it won't change as long as Mike Tomlin is still in charge. Currently, the Steelers run out a tandem of Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott, though Elliott's contract expires after 2025 and a cheaper, longer option next to the $33M Fitzpatrick will make over the next two years makes sense financially. CB Jahdae Barron – Washington Commanders As a Cowboy fan, hate watching the Commanders and their new, shining toy at quarterback was far too often a Sunday ritual this season. However, one thing was very clear when watching the Commanders – their cornerbacks were atrociously soft and poor in coverage, a perfect fit for the reigning Thorpe Award winner. Per PFF, out of 80 cornerbacks with more than 600 snaps in 2024, Washington CBs ranked 66th, 78th and 79th.

The search for the next Texas defensive backs coach continues on after Blake Gideon took the Georgia Tech defensive coordinators position. One name that has been passed on to me as a candidate for the opening is current Notre Dame DB coach Mike Mickens. Mickens has been on staff at Notre Dame since 2020, where he was the cornerbacks coach until making the jump to the Defensive Backs coach in 2024. In 2020, Mickens coached with Terry Joseph on the staff at Notre Dame. Before Notre Dame, Mickens had stops at Cincinnati, Bowling Green and Idaho, all as cornerbacks coach. He graduated from Cincinnati and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 7th round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Mickens was the lead recruiter for star freshman CB Leonard Moore and was instrumental in the development of Xavier Watts, Kyle Hamilton and Benjamin Morrison.

5-star TE Mark Bowman note Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei 5-star TE Mark Bowman told OnTexasFootball late last night that he does plan to make an official visit to Texas, but hasn't locked in the date yet as the family is navigating the June scheduled. OTF believes the OV will be either June 13 or June 20, as of today. The 6-foot-4.5, 225-pound playmaking tight end is likely to come down to Texas vs. Georgia with Oregon a likely third team seriously in the race all the way until the end. Bowman's father has ties to the Lone Star State, and they have been in Austin for an unofficial visit in the last few months. The family is expected in Austin for UOV this spring as well. Bowman recently reclassified from the 2027 class to 2026. He holds more than 30 offers. He hauled in 32 receptions for 435 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024.

The Longhorns have found themselves in the top six for 2026 Hawaii OL Malakai Lee. The remainder of the top six includes USC, BYU, Michigan, Alabama and Georgia. The 6-foot-6-inch and 320-pound offensive lineman currently holds predictions to Michigan, but is another prime example of the work put in by the Texas staff on the out of state front.

Yahya Gaad commitment timeline update Just received word from Medina (Tenn.) South Gibson 2026 EDGE Yahya Gaad that he is pushing back his scheduled Thursday commitment until late January or early February. He plans to visit Texas again in late January (likely the 25th when Texas has junior day).

Note on Justus Terry OnTexasFootball has learned that 5-star freshman defensive lineman Justus Terry is expected to begin his college career practicing at the “Jack” or strong side defensive end position. Terry is weighing 272-275 pounds currently. He was around 260 pounds when he reported for bowl practices. He will likely transition into a 3/5 over time - likely year two in the program. Those in Austin are extremely high on where Terry is heading into the spring, and will go as a player.

National Signing Day occurred on Wednesday without fanfare for Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns. That’s a good thing, considering the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in the 2025 cycle was wrapped up before Texas took on Georgia in the SEC Championship on Dec. 7. The Longhorns haven’t recruited at their current pace since Mack Brown was stacking one elite class on top of another early in his 16-season tenure. The 1999 and 2002 cycles produced the nation’s top-ranked hauls, setting the foundation for nine consecutive seasons with 10 or more victories, two Big 12 titles and a national championship. With that said, Texas fans weren’t on Cloud 9 when Brown and his staff put the 2005 recruiting cycle to bed. When Brown sat down for the first time to break down a 14-man class in front of the assembled press 20 years ago, the questions had to do more with who the Longhorns didn’t get. Two elite out-of-state prospects — quarterback Ryan Perrilloux (Reserve, La./East St. John) and wide receiver Fred Rouse (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln) — spurned Texas at the last minute, choosing instead to stay closer to home and sign with LSU and Florida State, respectively. The Longhorns also lost a hotly-contested battle with Texas A&M for Alief Taylor tight end Martellus Bennett, one of the top prospects in the Lone Star State. When the dust settled, Rivals.com ranked the class No. 20 nationally. Scout.com was a little more generous, ranking Brown’s seventh full-cycle class No. 13, but the second-winningest coach in school history had to let it be known that he had “no disappointment in guys that don't come.” “Things have a way of working out and guys go to the places they need to go to for whatever reason,” Brown said on Feb. 2, a few weeks after Dusty Mangum’s walk-off field goal lifted Texas to a memorable Rose Bowl win over Michigan on New Year’s Day. “We’re excited about the ones we got.” Who the Longhorns got in 2005 made up arguably the best class Brown ever signed. From a pound-for-pound standpoint, it’s hard to argue against a class in which half of the recruits were drafted or played at least one NFL season. We’re not talking about fringe players, either. Cushioning the 11th-hour blows Texas suffered by losing Perrilloux, Rouse and Bennett were Colt McCoy, Quan Cosby and Jermichael Finley. Twenty years later, they’re still among the all-time best Longhorns to play their respective positions. McCoy, Finley, Jamaal Charles and Roy Miller were selected within the first three rounds of the NFL draft. Henry Melton transitioned to the defensive line late in his career and became a Pro Bowler with the Chicago Bears. Roddrick Muckleroy was a two-time All-Big 12 linebacker and a fourth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010. Chris Hall and Charlie Tanner were multiple-year starters along the offensive line, while defensive lineman Aaron Lewis started 13 games over the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The 2005 class proved that it doesn’t matter how a recruiting class looks on signing day if the signees themselves don’t develop. The program’s culture was at a place in 2005 where the 14 newcomers learned the standard immediately and what must be done to protect it daily. Sarkisian and Texas have almost all of the superbly talented 2025 class on campus right now, going through winter conditioning ahead of spring practice. The 22 signees who enrolled early are joining a program that’s made consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff semifinals thanks to outstanding player development. The conditions are as ripe as they were 20 years ago for the Longhorns to maximize their recruiting class. If the trend of exceptional player development continues, the 2025 class will have a historical significance long beyond a recruiting cycle. View full news story

I’m scattershooting this Sunday while wondering what happened to the original plaque President Richard Nixon presented to Darrell Royal and the 1969 Texas Longhorns after their thrilling 15-14 win over Arkansas. — After rushing for 1,456 yards and 14 touchdowns in his second season with the Atlanta Falcons, Bijan Robinson was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time last Monday. The winner of the Doak Walker Award in 2022, Robinson was selected to replace Saquon Barkley, who is gearing up to lead the Philadelphia Eagles into the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. Next Sunday’s game features three former Longhorns: Moro Ojomo is in his second season with the Eagles, while Charles Omenihu and Xavier Worthy will play significant roles for the Chiefs. Robinson headlined the 2020 recruiting class for Texas, a group finalized on Feb. 5, 2020. Five years ago Wednesday, when the 2025 class will officially be recognized as the nation’s top haul on National Signing Day, Alfred Collins and Kelvontay Dixon put pen to paper to complete the program’s last full-cycle class under former coach Tom Herman. Herman only coached the group for one season. Thankfully, Steve Sarkisian's regime maximized what they inherited, using the class led by Robinson and Collins to build a championship-caliber foundation. — Only six of the 20 signees completed their collegiate eligibility on the Forty Acres. Still, the six who wore only burnt orange in their collegiate careers helped the Longhorns win 33 games in three seasons under Sarkisian, making the College Football Playoff semifinals twice and racking up a host of honors. Along with Robinson, Jahdae Barron (granted a release from the National Letter of Intent he signed with Baylor after Matt Rhule left for the NFL) was a national award winner, becoming the third Longhorn to win the Jim Thorpe Award. Robinson (unanimous All-American in 2022) and Barron (consensus All-American in 2024) are two of the four All-American selections the class produced (Collins was a second-teamer in 2024 and Jaylan Ford was a third-teamer in 2022). An Academic All-American and a finalist for the Campbell Trophy (the academic Heisman), Jake Majors started 57 games in a Texas uniform, more than any other Longhorn in history. If Majors and Vernon Broughton are taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, Texas could top the school-record 11 draft picks produced last spring; Barron and Collins are sure to join Robinson (first round in 2023) and Ford (fifth round in 2024) as draft choices to emerge from the 2020 class. — What about the 2020 signees who finished their careers elsewhere? Hudson Card, (Purdue) Kitan Crawford (Nevada), Andrej Karic (Tennessee) and Jerrin Thompson (Auburn) started for the Longhorns at some point before departing. Xavian Alford, Prince Dorbah and Troy Omeire helped Arizona State win the Big 12 championship and reach the CFP in 2024. Logan Parr also played in the CFP, helping SMU get into the 12-team dance as an All-ACC offensive lineman for the Mustangs. Ja'Quinden Jackson averaged more than five yards per carry in his last two college seasons as a running back at Utah (797 yards and four touchdowns on 161 carries in 2023) and Arkansas (790 yards and 15 touchdowns on 149 carries in 2024), respectively. It’s not the best class in school history. Still, a recruiting haul in which 20 percent of the signees become All-Americans with a projected NFL hit rate of 30 percent (assuming Barron, Broughton, Collins and Majors are drafted or make an NFL roster) is a tremendous group in today’s college football climate. — Kudos to Texas men’s basketball coach Rodney Terry, who recovered from the flu in time to coach the Longhorns to an 89-58 road win over LSU on Saturday. Terry said he was “down and out for about 36 hours” following last Wednesday’s 72-69 road loss to Ole Miss, unable to join the team until the night before the 31-point romp in Baton Rouge. Texas (15-7, 4-5 SEC) got 18 points from Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark and a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double from Kadin Shedrick. Terry credited the coaching staff for the Longhorns' sharp preparation before facing the Tigers in his absence and for the team bouncing back mentally from a loss to the Rebels that was there for the taking. — The most impressive aspect of Johnson’s performance wasn’t scoring in double figures for the 19th time in 20 games (he leads the SEC in scoring, averaging 18.9 points per game) or going 7-for-13 from the field (2-for-4 from 3-point range). The freshman recorded a season-high and team-leading five assists with only one turnover in 30 minutes. — Sources recently told OTF to start expecting more of 6-foot-7-inch sophomore forward Devon Pryor on the court. Pryor was on the floor for 21 minutes against LSU, scoring nine points on 4-for-6 shooting with a career-high six rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass. — I love what Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle said regarding the Longhorn pitchers after Saturday’s Alumni Game. When he was asked about the live arms Texas pitching coach Max Weiner ran out to the mound on a sun-splashed afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Schlossnagle was quick to remind the assembled media that while being chock-full of fireballers in the SEC is a must, the goal is to throw strikes. “Nobody cares about how hard you throw ball four,” Schlossnagle said. — Freshman lefty Dylan Volantis tossed three with no earned runs allowed against the Longhorn pros who stepped into the box. The 6-foot-6-inch, 212-pounder allowed two hits and struck out three before he was lifted for UTSA transfer Ruger Riojas. Schlossnagle said the outing was the worst for Voltants "as far as controlling the strike zone.” — Riojas, who OTF has reported could be in the same role 2024 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Evan Ashenbeck was for Schlossnagle and Weiner at Texas A&M last season, as the team’s top reliever who can enter a game at any point to get the Longhorns out of a jam, made his Disch-Falk Field debut in style by retiring Tres Barrera, Kody Clemens of the Philadelphia Phillies and Zach Zubia, who plays in the Miami Marlins organization, in order. A Wimberley native, Riojas opened the second inning of his dominant three-frame outing by striking out David Hamilton of the Boston Red Sox. “He’s going to be a super-valuable arm,” Schlossnagle said. “He’s such a really good strike thrower.” View full news story

The Dallas Cowboys have hired their next running backs coach... and it is not Tashard Choice. A big win for the Texas Longhorns and Steve Sarkisian who are able to retain one of their top recruiters and position coaches on roster. Choice posted a "Hook 'Em" with his newborn last night on Twitter, which was likely his indication of announcing he would stay in Austin. Regardless, the news has officially broken and the Longhorn RB coach is remaining in Austin.