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(Anwar)
* Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said Maalik Murphy enjoyed his best practice performance on Thursday. From what I can tell, Sarkisian was not just saying it to give Murphy a confidence boost before BYU on Saturday. I was told Murphy “Has been on fire” during practice this week. In addition, one source said Murphy has not been dealing with any injuries and has been extremely accurate. There is a lot of confidence inside the building about Murphy having success in his debut as a starter this weekend.
* In addition, I was told Sarkisian will simplify what they do for Murphy to be successful. Everyone inside the building is frustrated with how the team performed during the second half against Houston. There is also some frustration with the offensive line. However, Sarkisian has spent this week figuring out how to help Murphy succeed, and there is optimism that the coach has a winning formula.
* Texas went back to basics during practice this week because the staff is unhappy with their team’s performances during the past two games. They participated in more one-on-one drills, good-on-good, and I was told, “Not a ton of cute schedules, just brute force.”
* I checked on the timetable for Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers’ return and everyone was pretty mum. From what I can tell, everyone close to the situation wants to play this close to the vest. One person told me Ewers will return when he can throw a pass 80 yards. I was not told what his arm strength is at this moment.
* In my opinion, the success of this team without Ewers will determine if he rushes back to play this season. If Texas continues to win without Ewers and is competing for a Big 12 Championship, Longhorn fans may see the starting quarterback again before the regular season ends. If Texas drops a few games and the only thing at stake is Alamo Bowl vs. Texas Bowl, Ewers must decide if it is worth risking his NFL future to play again this season. The best-case scenario for Longhorn fans is Murphy guiding this team to wins in Ewers’ absence.
* I sensed a little annoyance when discussing WR Ryan Wingo’s commitment on Wednesday with those within the program. The people inside the building prefer to praise receivers coach Chris Jackson, Brandon Harris (director of recruiting), and Sarkisian for obtaining Wingo. They resent seeing reports that NIL dollars are why Wingo committed to Texas. It looks like that is a touchy subject.
*****
(Suchomel)
* Obviously, the big development this week was the commitment of 5-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo, who picked the Longhorns over Missouri (and a few other also-rans). More good news on the Wingo front … he’s planning to be back in Austin next weekend to watch the Longhorns host Kansas State.
* A lot of credit has been given to Steve Sarkisian for Texas landing Wingo, deservedly so. Wingo himself said Sark’s offense and the way Texas gets its receivers the ball was a big factor in his decision. One person closer to Wingo said Texas wide receivers coach Chris Jackson deserves a big pat on the back as well.
“It was back and forth. I just think coach Jackson, he’s done a magnificent job with Ryan, especially coming in late,” the source said. “I would just say he built an open relationship with him. Jackson just stayed on him. They just have a great relationship.”
* When Wingo moved up his commitment date, everyone assumed that meant he was going to commit to Missouri since he’d visited Mizzou a couple times recently. Apparently, that was a misread by everyone, including yours truly.
“The biggest part of the reason he wanted to get it done was to just concentrate on football. Playoffs start on Friday,” the source said.
* Missouri isn’t going to go away in this one, obviously. I asked a source how he expects Wingo to handle the Tigers’ continued efforts …
“I’m not sure, honestly. He’ll just take it day by day.”
* Some direct quotes from Wingo on his big decision …
On why Texas: “I think that Sarkisian offense. He gets his playmakers the ball early, efficiently. I think that’s the biggest thing.
On when he knew: “I knew for sure this last week. It did come down to Mizzou and Texas, today (Wednesday), really. But I kind of had it in my head where I was going.”
On telling Missouri: “It was super hard to do that, for sure. Especially since they’ve been recruiting me for so long, like three years. They offered me in the eighth grade. It was super hard for me.”
On his friendship with Arch Manning: “He’s going to be the quarterback up there. You want to go with a good quarterback. That’s a big thing. He’s a super-good dude. We had sat down and had dinner together on my OV. He’s a pretty cool dude.”
On Sark’s reaction when Wingo told him: “They’re happy. They’re ready for me to come up there and get to work.”
* It’s kind of a holding pattern for offensive lineman DeAndre Carter. The Mater Dei offensive lineman continues to debate whether he’ll stick with Auburn or flip to Texas.
In talking to people this week, Texas certainly feels like it has a legitimate shot but I didn’t get the impression that Carter has given any sort of strong indication that the Longhorns lead. Texas has a lot to sell, obviously, but Auburn has been in a good spot with Carter for quite a while. The Tigers are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, so that can only help UT’s chances.
Recent intel on this one had Carter favoring Auburn with influential people close to him favoring Texas, but that was before the most recent loss by the Tigers. A decision could come at any time.
* We had heard there was a chance Kobe Black might visit A&M this weekend after the Waco Connally standout didn’t make his OV to College Station earlier this month. As of Thursday night, we’re not expecting him to visit A&M this weekend, but this one has shown it can change pretty quickly.
The Aggies continue to work to get Black on campus on a weekend when his family can join him. That could certainly make things interesting if that visit happens, but we continue to like UT’s position in this one.
* Some players that have confirmed they’ll be at the UT game on Saturday …
2024
Parker Livingstone – Lucas Lovejoy – UT commitment
Daniel Cruz – Richland – UT commitment
D'antre Robinson – Orlando (FL) Jones– UT commitment
Aeryn Hampton (maybe) – Daingerfield – UT commitment
Santana Wilson (maybe) – Scottsdale (AZ) Desert Mountain – UT commitment
2025
QB KJ Lacey – Saraland (AL) – UT commitment
WR Jacorey Watson – Shadow Creek
WR Andrew Marsh – Katy Jordan
WR Drey Garner – San Diego University City
TE Keiundre Johnson - Terrell
DL Chad Woodfork – Summer Creek
DB Jaboree Antoine – New Iberia (LA) Westgate
2026
RB Tradarian Ball – Texarakana Texas High
DE KJ Ford - Duncanville
2027
QB Trent Seaborn – Alabaster (AL) Thompson
TE Zane Rowe – Denton Guyer
*****
(Ketch)
* It'll be interesting to see what happens on the Missouri side of the Wingo recruitment because while the Texas side of things expects Missouri to keep pushing to land Wingo, there seems to be a sense that Missouri will have to decide whether it can/should continue to push forward. From an NIL standpoint, there's a sense that whatever Missouri was able to piece together going into Wednesday is what it can probably do from an NIL standpoint. There's simply not a magic NIL rainbow for the Missouri program to keep going to for a pot of extra gold. There might be an increased offer, but there was definitely a sense from those we spoke with on that side of the story that Missouri has gone as far as it can/might want to go.
* In the aftermath of the commitment from Wingo, there's not been a lot of movement on the Micah Hudson scene as it relates to the Longhorns. In fact, Texas A&M continues to be the program Texas Tech needs to worry about the most, especially after Hudson visited College Station last week during the Aggies' bye week. That's twice in the last three weeks he's made a visit to A&M, although he continues to maintain that he's firmly committed to Texas Tech.
* North Shore 2025 5-star cornerback Devon Sanchez made his fourth visit to Ohio State last weekend and there's a growing sense that Ohio State has the upper-hand in his recruitment over Alabama and Texas A&M. In fact, he joked with our Ohio State site in the Rivals network that he gave consideration to committing while o the visit, but admitted he still has visits he wants to take, including one to Alabama in a couple of weeks.
*****
(Aaron/Zach)
* Texas picked up a big commitment from 2025 OF Anythony Pack Jr. Here are a few nuggets on that addition.
* Quote from Anthony Pack Jr on his commitment to Texas - “On my visit everything exceeded my expectations. Not only the baseball team but the school felt like a huge family and I wanted to be a part of that. It felt like home.”
* Quote from a coach at one of the Big 12 baseball programs on the commitment of Anthony Pack to Texas - “Big Time”
* Quote from a baseball industry expert - “Outstanding pickup from Texas. Anthony is a raw athlete, but possesses extremely quick hands, raw power from a frame that still has room to grow and fill out. One of the best OF in Cali and the nation. The class that Texas has put together for 2025 is top 3 in the nation.”
*****
(Keenan)
Longhorns MBB tips on Nov 6 against Incarnate Word, so here’s a little refresher on the roster, the starters, and each player’s role on the team.
This is the lineup BEFORE Disu's projected return.
G Max Abmas – A transfer from Oral Roberts, "Mid-Court Max," as they call him lives up to his name as a dynamic shooter that always requires a defensive player's full attention. He has yet to average fewer than 21.9 PPG in a season, and is the all-time leading active scorer in D1 basketball currently.
2022-23 (Oral Roberts): 21.9 PPG / 4.4 APG / 4 RPG / 0.430 FG% / 0.373 3P% / 0.919 FT%
G Tyrese Hunter – Hunter struggled last year not really with his play, but with his health; the speedy guard was hampered by cramps all season long, forcing him to the bench during several key moments during last year's regular season. According to Hunter, he is "all good" now after receiving treatment and medication for his cramping issues.
2022-23 (Texas): 10.3 PPG / 3 RPG / 2.5 APG / 0.8 SPG
G/W Ithiel Horton – Another transfer on this Texas men’s team is a big-time scorer and shooter, especially when he gets hot. Horton has played all around the country during his NCAA Transfer Tour. From Delaware, to Pitt, to Central Florida, to Texas, Horton has made a name for himself as a guy that can get buckets on the offensive end, as well as rebound a bit.
2022-23 (Central Florida) – 12.3 PPG / 3.7 RPG /
F Dillon Mitchell – Due to my viewing the open scrimmage and hearing about the closed scrimmage against Colorado, I believe Dillon Mitchell is the favorite to be the team MVP this year. The former fourth-overall recruit in the country surprised some people by electing to come back to Texas; though he didn’t produce on the stat sheet, the athleticism, size, motor, and attitude seemed to have marinated over the summer. What you have is a bonafide superstar combo forward. The key will be his handle and his shot-making.
2022-23 (Texas): 4.3 PPG / 3.9 RPG / 0.636 FG%
C Kadin Shedrick – Shedrick, the UVA transfer center, stands at 6-11, and brings a lot to the table that guys like Christian Bishop have in the past. He’s a good shot-blocker and overall defensive stalwart in the middle, though his rebounding leaves a bit to be desired for a guy with his height and wingspan (just 3.8 RPG last season). Still, he can affect shots at the rim and is a good option defensively in the paint. We’ll see how he manages the load – he has so far played about 15-20 MPG throughout his career, so the numbers don’t paint the whole picture.
2022-23 (Virginia): 6.2 PPG / 3.8 RPG / 0.647 FG%
Transfers
– Max Abmas, G, Oral Roberts (scoring threat, PNR passer, sharpshooter)
– Ithiel Horton, G/W, Central Florida (scoring threat, decent rebounder)
– Kadin Shedrick, C, UVA (defensive big; won’t stuff the stat sheet but doesn’t need to fr his role)
– Ze’Rik Onyema, F, UTEP (strong, athletic forward whose game is inside five feet)
– Chendall Weaver, G, UT-Arlington (wiry, athletic guard with lots of potential but need to develop)
Returners
– Tyrese Hunter, G (scoring threat, lockdown point-of-attack defender)
– Dillon Mitchell, W/F (scoring threat, rebounding, also excellent POA defender AND shot-blocker)
– Dylan Disu, F (scoring threat, rebounding threat, improving post defense)
– Brock Cunningham, F (catch-and-shoot three pointers, post defense, rebounding)
– Alex Anamekwe, F (strong, physical, athletic forward whose game is mostly within five feet)
Prep Players
– Devon Pryor, W, ***
– Chris Johnson, G, ****
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