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Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian will have a busy day in the Houston area Friday. He’s going to be flying around town in a helicopter. Stops for sure include: Galveston Ball to see 5-star safety commit Jonah Williams. 12:30 will be Hitchcock High to see Texas A&M 4-star+ WR commit Kelshaun Johnson, and check in on Nebraska DL commit Malcolm Simpson. He will then head to Hastings to see 4-star++ EDGE commit Smith Orogbo. Orogbo has knee surgery next Wednesday that will likely keep him out of spring practice. He will be ready to in the summer/August. And is also scheduled to be at Dekaney High to see 4-star++ commit Nick Townsend. Texas also continues to look at 4-star USC pledge Tanook Hines. There will also likely be one more stop.

We are separating the Texas-OU rivalry into two threads with the off week. This week, it's the OU Hate Week Thread. Post anything and everything you have on the Sooners and your hate! Next week will be game week thread.

OTF on the road: Wednesday recruiting notes OnTexasFootball made a trio of school stops Wednesday in the Houston area. We will hit on two of those stops. Dekaney High OTF attended practice at Dekaney High in Houston/Spring. OnTexasFootball is very close to ranking Nicolas Townsend a 5-star prospect. The 6-3.25, 232 pound Texas commitment is arguably the most versatile football player in the country. He's a top 50 level prospect at TE or OLB. His combination of athleticism, football intelligence, physicality and ball skills is truly elite. How many positions has Townsend lined up at this season? Short snapper, long snapper, punt return team, kickoff return team, tight end, outside receiver, running back, wildcat quarterback, MIKE backer and outside linebacker. Townsend will attend the Georgia game October 19. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and Jeff Banks are scheduled to be by Dekaney High's game Friday vs. Westfield. Texas invited USC WR/ATH commit and OnTexasFootball 4-star Tanook Hines to a game this season. The Horns continue to take a senior look at a number of prospects, and Hines is one of those. Ole Miss, Texas A&M and others continue to try and recruit Hines. Word around Dekaney High is Texas is the one school that could make a big move with a push. Hastings High OneTexasFootball 4-star++ EDGE and #Hookem commit Smith Orogbo was off to a tremendous start this season before a knee injury cut his season short. The injury is considered something he was born with vs. a ligament injury on the field. Per Smith, he doesn't have ligament damage. Smith is choosing to have surgery (next Wednesday) now and get ready for the summer at Texas vs. trying to play through the pain this season, and not have surgery until he reports to Texas in January. Orogbo, 6-3.25 and 214 pounds, is scheduled to receive a visit from Steve Sarkisian and Jeff Banks Friday.

A couple of notes to pass along from the recruiting trail. *** – On the topic of 2025 WR Daylan McCutcheon, I spoke to someone plugged into the area who said if there was a leader in the clubhouse to flip McCutcheon at the moment, it would be Texas. That may or may not be a surprise given he was on campus for the Mississippi State game and officially visit on June 14, but that was the word passed along. McCutcheon has been committed to Florida State since July 13 and is starting to hear more from schools like SMU and TCU in recent weeks. – I spoke briefly with 2026 Mansfield Lake Ridge OL Felix Ojo who mentioned he would be back on campus for the Texas-Georgia game. Ojo also says his communication with Kyle Flood and the Texas staff has remained in contact with Ojo several times each week according to the 6–7 prospect. – On the out of state front, a name to know is 2026 DB Simeon Caldwell out of Jacksonville, Florida. The 6-3 defensive back is a national top-100 prospect per the ranking services and is a candidate tor receive a visit from the Texas staff when the Longhorn coaches get on the road later this week. Caldwell told OTF he won't be able to make it to campus this month, however there is communication between the two sides there. – Going up to the northeast, Texas hosted NJ EDGE Jermaine Kinsler on June 1 for the Elite Camp and right now the two have remained in contact as the season has progressed. Kinsler told OTF he was "probable" but not 100% sure to make the Texas-Georgia game in Austin on October 19.

The Texas coaching staff will be on the road the last part of the week. There will be several stops for the staff, including Sark on Friday. Known games right now Chris Jackson will be in Jacksonville (Fla) to see Jaime Ffrench. And also watch a couple of younger kids - one 2026 LB/S Simeon Caldwell (The Bolles School). Nick Townsend tells OTF that Jeff Banks will be at the Dekaney vs Westfield game Friday.

A quick late night recruiting snack. *** First on the topic of five-star ATH Michael Terry III. I wanted to reiterate the confidence boost from our @Gerry Hamilton from last week. There has been a surge in confidence from the Longhorns' side in the past couple of days based off of conversations I have had in Austin and San Antonio. When I visited Alamo Heights a last week, the plan in place was a decision later in the cycle in December. That very well could be the case, but I think there will be a clear clubhouse favorite after the Georgia week where Texas will host the five-star San Antonio athlete for an official visit. Nebraska has been the top contender in this fight, however with where things stand currently, they will need a wave of momentum to take back the top spot. Texas holds a comfortable lead at the moment.

A quick look at the latest redshirt tracker for the Texas freshmen class. After five weeks of the 2024 season, the latest: *** No surprises on the burned redshirts so far – Ryan Wingo, Colin Simmons, Jerrick Gibson, Kobe Black, Alex January and Ty'Anthony Smith have all burned their redshirts through five weeks. As has punter Michael Kern. Perhaps a surprise here, DB Xavier Filsaime has not suited up in two of the past three weeks for Texas on the sidelines. Filsiame is on the redshirt course per a source. Only two games on the participation tracker for the McKinney blue-chipper. In that same breath, you can expect to see Jordon Johnson-Rubell's redshirt to be burned in Dallas. The staff really trusts his football IQ and has been impressed with how quickly he can diagnose what is in front of him. Other fringe redshirters include Brandon Baker, Parker Livingstone, Jordan Washington and Wardell Mack.

A quick look at the numbers that made this win possible for the Texas Longhorns on Saturday. *** Defensive Snap Count 75 possible defensive snaps. 72 – Barron 69 – Muhammad 67 – Hill Jr. 64 – Mukuba 59 – Guilbeau 49 – Broughton 47 – Moore 44 – Collins 43 – Sorrell, Taaffe, Gbenda 41 – Simmons 37 – McDonald 36 – Holmes 23 – Lole 21 – Burke, Blackwell 19 – Norton 9 – Vasek 8 – Lefau 6 – Jordon Johnson-Rubell 4 – Alex January Few takeaways: – 41 snaps is the most we have seen by Colin Simmons this season by a wide margin. He is on the Anthony Hill Jr. path where eventually it will be tough for him to be sideliend at all. He might already be there. – This is the start of Vasek seeing meaningful snaps. – Jordon Johnson-Rubell will not be redshirted, the staff really trusts him. – Tia Savea might be redshirt candidate. *** Offensive Snap Counts 64 possible snaps 64 – Helm, Manning, Majors, Banks, Conner, Williams 54 – Golden 52 – Bond 43 – Campbell 34 – Wisner 31 – Moore 25 – Davis 21 – Hutson 20 – Blue 18 – Wingo 10 – Gibson 7 – Cook 4 – Bolden 1 – Niblett – Gunnar Helm seeing every snap. He has been irreplaceable this year. *** Texas All-Time As an SEC Member A look at the record of the Texas Longhorns since joining the SEC. All-Time: 5-0 In SEC Play: 1–0 Not too bad! *** Top 15 Everything Scoring Offense: 11th (45.0) Scoring Defense: t-2nd (7.0) Total Offense: 8th (513.4) Total Defense: 6th (234.8) Tennessee, Texas, Indiana and Ohio State are the only four programs to be ranked top-15 in all four of those categories this year. Tennessee, Texas and Indiana are the only schools to have no trailed a single minute this season. *** Arch Manning Start 1 to Start 2 It was a magnificent development for Arch Manning in his second career start. Of course, after the UTSA game, perhaps expectations were a bit too high for the first time starter against ULM, but there were considered leaps in performance that led one of the best individual performances by a quarterback in all of the country this season. Completion Percentage ULM: 51.7% MSST: 83.9% ADOT ULM: 14.2 MSST: 8.4 Passes Beyond 20+ Yards ULM: 10 MSST: 4 Rushing Yards ULM: -4 MSST: 33 INT ULM: 2 MSST: 0 Overall, it was a fantastic performance from No. 16.

A few visitors that were on campus for this game outside of the ones that were reported. Mostly in the 2026 class. *** Texas did host 2025 Midlothian OL Nelson McGuire for the Miss State game. McGuire holds 24 offers and took official visits to Texas Tech and Arkansas in the summer and has trips to Clemson, Vanderbilt and Auburn squared up for this season. Kyle Flood has yet to offer, McGuire is a possible senior evaluation with a stop in Sulpher Springs possible for the Longhorn staff. *** Of course the highlighted player in the 2026 class was DL Dylan Berymon who spoke with our @Gerry Hamilton after the visit. Get a look at what Berymon had to say to OTF: *** Willis 2026 star athlete Jermaine Bishop Jr. made it to campus. Bishop is one of the top overall athletes in the country. *** 2026 Sulphur Springs OL Vincent Johnson Jr. was on campus for the visit. Johnson Jr. stands 6-foot-5 and north of 300 pounds already. He holds offers from Oklahoma, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, UTSA, UTEP and UNT. Really strong start to the DFW prospect's recruitment. Johnson is one to watch for Texas in the 2026 class. *** A handful of Prosper prospects were on campus for the Miss State game as well. The first being 2026 OL Bryce Gilmore. Already a national top-250 prospect in the country for the 2026 class, Gilmore holds 23 offers at the moment. Texas has yet to offer but obviously there is interest. The other being 2026 DL Jake Johnson who was on our pregame visitors list. Johnson holds North Texas and Washington State offers early. *** 2026 WR Mike Brown out of Legacy the School of Sports Sciences in Houston, Texas was back at Texas again on Saturday. Brown is the son of former A&M linebacker Reggie Brown, who was a first round pick in the NFL Draft. Brown has visited Texas three times since receiving his offer at the Elite Camp on June 1. Texas is going to be a player here for the junior with 10.9 sophomore speed.

Texas HC Steve Sarkisian is at the podium for his weekly presser. Notes and quotes in the comments below.

Today marks the first SEC matchup for Texas as a conference member, which is big in its own right. Both @Gerry Hamilton and @CJ Vogel have you covered on the football recruiting front, as Sark and Co. will host prospects this weekend. They aren’t the only ones, however, as both the baseball and women’s basketball staff will use today to their advantage. Baseball: - Texas will host six recruits again this weekend. They’ve hosted a combined 13 over the previous two games, which went very well, and today will be no different. - Don’t be surprised if this results in more commitments after the visit. - Last weekend Schloss and staff hosted 7 total recruits. They already reeled in multiple commitments from that and I’m told they aren’t done with that group yet. The coaches feel really good about where things stand with a handful of those guys. - The entire baseball staff is putting in extra hours between practice and recruiting. It’s basically full throttle right now for everyone, from the head coach all the way down to the support staff. - On a related note, I’m told fall practice is going really well. Women’s Basketball: - By now everyone knows that the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Aaliyah Chavez, is on campus. I’m told that the visit is going GREAT. This isn’t just from the Texas side of things either. A source, who has no irons in the (recruiting) fire, said the Horns are knocking it out of the park. - Chavez’s visit continues today and she will take in the Texas vs. Mississippi State game later this afternoon.

I know folks have differing opinions on Pro Football Focus, but I did want to share this about QB Arch Manning after last night. PFF gave Manning a grade of 94.2 for his performance against Mississippi State – that was the highest grade given out to a quarterback in all of college football for week five. Not just that, but it is the highest individual game grade given to a quarterback all season by PFF. Pretty high praise for a kid making his second career start and his first ever against an SEC team.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is speaking with the media after the Longhorns victory over Mississippi State. It was ugly and I am sure there will be some changes coming. But a win is a win, especially now in SEC play where they matter a bit more. Notes and quotes in the comments below.

Update: 4-star LB Madden Faraimo OnTexasFootball exchanged messages with a person locked into the recruitment of 4-star++ linebacker Madden Faraimo (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./JSerra Catholic) a little while ago. As expected, Texas linebackers coach Johnny Nansen continues to make an all in recruiting run at the high-end linebacker. According to the source, Nansen and Faraimo are discussing a game day visit this season, but a date has not been locked in yet. The source said Nansen and Faraimo spoke last week, at least once. Faraimo has a top three of USC, Notre Dame and Texas. The Trojans have made the most impactful run thus far this season.

The first steps are being taken for the Longhorns’ need indoor multi-purpose facility on campus, just south of Moncrief and DKR. Construction and demolition works have begun cutting trees and marking the building of the School of Social Work for demolition set to begin in November. Of course the Texas indoor facility is at the Frank Denius Fields and is severely outdated. Here is a look at the rendering for the new indoor facility. I drove by campus this morning for a Quick Look.

Chace Sims, DL, Richmond (Texas) Randle - Texas A&M commit This weekends scheduled official visit by OnTexasFootball 4-star DL Chace Sims (Richmond, Texas/Randle) is likely to be pushed back. When that visit could happen, we do not know. Sims' good friend and long time teammate is having surgery Friday from injury sustained recently this season, and the Randle team is going to have an event for him Saturday. With that said, Texas A&M has been working diligently this week as well to slow down the Texas momentum. We shall see where it goes. Javion Hilson, EDGE, Cocoa (Fla.) High Hilson will not visit Texas this weekend due to Hurricane Helena and travel issues. Hilson, 6-4 and 225, will bump back to the Georgia game. That is when Texas defensive line commits Myron Charles (Port Charlotte, Fla./High) and Josiah Sharma (Folsom, Calif./High) are also expected to be in Austin. Hilson and Charles have become friends throughout the recruiting process.

I went down a mini rabbit hole early Sunday morning after what appeared to be Steve Sarkisian's version of a long-drive competition with Arch Manning on Saturday. The Longhorns were bombing passes down the field. It was early, it was often, it was exciting, it was inconsistent. However, it got me thinking – is this the most vertical passing offense we have seen from a Sarkisian offense? What's the reasoning for this sudden boom or bust approach from the offense? Does it fit Arch Manning's skillset more than it does Quinn Ewers? Perhaps. Is it Arch Manning wanting to carry over the highlight reel performance from UTSA? Also maybe. But more than that, is it an inexperienced quarterback forcing deep and not finding underneath options? That's perhaps where I lean the most at the moment. It was also a bit telling in Steve Sarkisian's post-game press conference that he was perhaps a bit regretful in not finding shorter, easier throws for Manning when the offense got a bit stagnant in the third quarter. The word "greed" was mentioned at some point when describing the offensive approach. But anyways, to the point of the article – Arch Manning's first career start was the most vertical offensive passing attack a Texas quarterback has seen under Steve Sarkisian. *** A few quick stats with help from Pro Football Focus: 1. Arch Manning attempted more passes 20+ yards down field in his first start than Quinn Ewers has in any of his 25 career games as Longhorn. 2. Arch Manning's average distance of target (14.8) vs. UTSA was the longest average target distance since Hudson Card at Arkansas in 2021. It is also the longest average of any Texas quarterback with more than 15 pass attempts in a single game. 3. Quinn Ewers has played 25 games at Texas. He has an ADOT >10.0 yards downfield in 10 of his games. So far two extended appearances in 2024, Arch Manning has been north of that mark in both games. *** As a result, I started to dig a bit more into the average distance of target for Quinn Ewers, there were some notable takeaways worth sharing as well. Ewers in those 10 games with an ADOT >10 yards downfield is 6–4, with those three losses coming in the Playoff Game against Washington and 2022 against Alabama and TCU at home and Oklahoma State on the road. Those wins include ULM, Alabama and TCU in 2023, and ULM, Iowa State and Kansas State in 2022. Over the three years with Ewers at quarterback for Texas, the average distance of target has decreased significantly in each season: 2022: 10.5 yards 2023: 8.4 yards 2024: 6.2 yards We have seen Quinn become more and more accurate in each season as well. His completion percentage was 58.4% in 2022, then made a jump to 69.0% in 2023 and was hovering north of 73.4% in the two and a half games Ewers appeared in to begin this current season. For the most part, it was due to the underneath, quick throws that allowed his playmakers to create after the catch. Now, the point of this article isn't to push the narrative that the vertical passing offense is an issue for Arch Manning. It's not. But it is worth noting the risks that come when the vertical shots are not falling. Essentially, living and dying with the three ball in basketball. Texas in the third quarter saw what happened when the well went dry with two consecutive three & outs when the offense failed to connect on anything. Against SEC opponents, that will not fly. Arch was 3/10 on passes beyond 20+ yards against ULM with both an interception and a touchdown in the process. *** So back to Saturday night for Manning. It was a solid night. We covered earlier it wasn't a terrific night by any means. Manning found a rhythm after the first interception then lost it near halftime and around the third quarter. On the season so far for Arch, he has a mark of 25% of his pass attempts beyond 20 yards downfield. A smallish sample size, but it certainly does not feel like the Texas offense we have seen with Quinn Ewers behind center. 2019: Tua Tagovailoa (15.5%) on 252 attempts 2020: Mac Jones (13.8%) on 385 attempts 2021: Hudson Card (15.5%) on 76 attempts 2021: Casey Thompson (16.3%) on 247 attempts 2022: Quinn Ewers (17.6%) on 277 attempts 2023: Quinn Ewers (11.9%) on 367 attempts 2024: Quinn Ewers (8.9%) on 75 attempts 2024: Arch Manning (25.5%) on 44 attempts Again, a smaller sample size, but the volume of deep passes with Manning at quarterback is quite an outlier when comparing previous Sarkisian quarterbacks. As Manning gets more and more familiar with real game experience, the more I expect him to find the check down or opt for easier throws. It just makes sense with the Texas offense and the way these playmakers are able to create after the catch.

Brent Venables and the OU offense have made a change at quarterback. Freshman Michael Hawkins has been named the starting quarterback for the Sooners. Oklahoma goes on the road this weekend to Auburn where they are currently 2.5-point favorites.

A quick snapshot of who was able to see the field for the Longhorns in the 51–3 victory over ULM from Saturday night. *** Offensive Snap Count 65 – Arch Manning, Kelvin Banks, Gunnar Helm, Hayden Conner, Jake Majors 64 – Cam Williams 53 – Jaydon Blue 46 – Isaiah Bond 45 – DJ Campbell 43 – Matthew Golden 39 – Johntay Cook II 32 – Ryan Wingo, Juan Davis 30 – Cole Hutson 24 – Silas Bolden 21 – Spencer Shannon, Neto Umeozulu, Connor Robertson 17 – Trevor Goosby 15 – Brandon Baker 14 – Jerrick Gibson 13 – Jordan Washington, Trey Owens 11 – Andre Cojoe 10 – Colin Page 8 – Parker Livingstone 7 – Malik Agbo 6 – Thatcher Milton 5 – Ryan Niblett, Rhett Andersen 4 – Reid Watkins, Jaydon Chatman, Joe Tatum, Cole Lourd 3 – DeAndre Moore* Defensive Snap Count 42 – Jahdae Barron 36 – Andrew Mukuba, Michael Taaffe 32 – Jaylon Guilbeau 30 – Malik Muhammad 29 – Vernon Broughton 28 – Alfred Collins 26 – Anthony Hill Jr. 24 – Trey Moore, Liona Lefau, Barryn Sorrell 23 – David Gbenda 22 – Jordon Johnson-Rubell 21 – Gavin Holmes 20 – Colin Simmons, Ethan Burke 19 – Jermayne Lole 13 – Mo Blackwell 11 – Ty'Anthony Smith, Kobe Black 9 – Alex January, Justice Finkley, Tia Savea 8 – Bill Norton 7 – Xavier Filsaime, Jay'Vion Cole 6 – Colton Vasek 5 – Wardell Mack 4 – Jaray Bledsoe 1 – Zina Umeozulu, Warren Roberson, Tausili Akana, Derion Gullette,

Update: Walter Mathis Jr. and Javion Hilson There could be some travel issues due to a Cat 2 or 3 hurricane hitting around the Big Bend are of the Sunshine State Friday. So getting to Austin this weekend for two prospects scheduled to be at the Mississippi State game is looking like an issue. As of this evening, it's likely Walter Mathis Jr. and family will reschedule and attend the Georgia game - per a source in Savannah. Javion Hilson (Cocoa, Fla.) remains scheduled to visit this weekend - as of Monday evening. Being on the Space Coast and flying out of Orlando, his odds are better.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is on the podium this morning discussing the Longhorns' 4–0 start to the season. Looking for updates on Quinn Ewers and the health of DeAndre Moore as SEC play kicks off this weekend against Mississippi State. Texas remains the No. 1 team in the country entering the beginning of conference play. Notes and quotes in the comments.

A quick look at the true freshmen on roster and what the redshirt eligibility looks like four games in. Of course, the NCAA has allowed it for freshmen to appear in up to four games while retaining their redshirt status. Texas is in a position now due to their depth to make long term decisions with freshmen and whether or not the appeal to a redshirt fits what they want to do with each player long term. At the moment, the players at the four game threshold are: EDGE Colin Simmons WR Ryan Wingo CB Kobe Black RB Jerrick Gibson LB TyAnthony Smith DL Alex January P Michael Kern

Florida State WR commit Daylan McCutcheon has confirmed to OnTexasFootball he will visit the Longhorns for the Miss State game next week. McCutcheon took an OV to Texas in June and Chris Jackson has remained in contact briefly since his commitment to FSU in mid-July.

LSU DL commit Walter Mathis Jr. visit update OnTexasFootball spoke with a person close to the Walter Mathis Jr. (Savannah, Ga./Calvary Day). Mathis, 6-1.5 and 288 pounds, and family remain scheduled to make an unofficial visit this weekend for the Mississippi State game. This will be the first visit to Texas for the Peach State prospect. Mathis committed to LSU September 6, 2024. OnTexasFootball rates Mathis as a 4-star++ prospect.

The Longhorns are continuing to big game hunt and their efforts to flip targets committed elsewhere is still ongoing. I chatted briefly with five-star Mission Viejo CB Dijon Lee tells me a visit to Austin for a Texas game remains possible this season. Nothing is set in stone at the moment, but there have been conversations with the staff to get back for a game at some point this fall. Lee committed to Alabama since the end of June after what appeared to be a sneaky push by the Longhorns in this recruitment.