OU lands former Purdue WR Deion Burks, how does that impact the Longhorns?
It's hard to know exactly how interested the Longhorns were in Burks, as 247 had reported he was scheduled to visit this weekend, while I have been told since Burks entered the Portal that the Longhorns coaching staff preferred other players.
The bottom line is that Texas certainly didn't show a lot of urgency around Burks, while Oklahoma did. What happened on Tuesday with Burks committing to the Sooners isn't rocket science. It's a very good pick-up for the Sooners, as Burks was a second-team All-Big 10 receiver in 2023 after finishing with 47 catches for 629 yards and 7 touchdowns.
"The SEC was one of my things," Burks told ESPN. "I played in the Big Ten. The SEC is a challenge. How do you match up with these guys? That will eliminate a lot of questions in scouts' heads. The SEC is definitely great competition, and it's the conference that players want to play in."
So, what does this mean for the Longhorns?
Well, a big piece of the puzzle may have revealed itself officially on Tuesday night when Houston's Matthew Golden made a move that was reported last week officially official.
Within the hour, his former high school teammate and current Texas running back Jaydon Blue seemingly responded.
I've been reporting for the last week that of the players that reportedly were set to enter the Portal, Golden was preferred over the rest. From what I know, the order probably looked like this: a) Golden b) Juice Wells c) Burks.
Don't be surprised if this moves quickly now that he's officially in the Portal and I would suspect there's a good chance that the Longhorns will try to get him in for a visit this weekend. As for Wells, there's a sense that he could end up at Ole Miss and that the Longhorns simply haven't made him a priority.
More than anything, the lack of activity at receiver probably points to the idea that there's a very good chance that the Longhorns are hoping that the quality of the Portal increases in the coming days with names that haven't yet entered. My guess is that this will make more sense in the coming days when more curtains are pulled back in the Portal.
Has THE DT in the 2023 Portal Class Revealed Itself?
Houston DT Jamaree Caldwell has been a name that has been whispered as a possible Portal DT that the Longhorns could have an interest for a few weeks. That possibility became more possible on Tuesday when he officially entered the Portal, per multiple reports.
Caldwell was a second-team All-Big 12 selection by the coaches this season after recording 6 1/2 sacks as an interior lineman for the Cougars.
The 6-1, 325-pound Caldwell was a redshirt junior for the Cougars, who has played 20 career games and recording 38 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks in his career. Two of those sacks occurred against the Longhorns back in October.
This is absolutely one to keep an eye on.
OUch
One of the biggest surprises of the entire Portal window occurred on Tuesday when Oklahoma offensive lineman Cayden Green revealed that he plans to enter the Portal.
The 6-5, 325-pounds true freshman started five games this season for the Sooners and projected as one of the five most important players in the program as it heads into the SEC and it caught everyone in Norman flat-footed when he no-showed OU's first bowl practice.
“Honestly, we haven’t heard anything about that, really,” quarterback Jackson Arnold told the local media. “That’s for the coaches to say. I don’t — I honestly don’t know anything about that, really.”
There are reports that OU coaches will try to talk Green out of his decision to leave, but as things stand, it's a total gut punch for the Sooners.
Last edited:
