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(Anwar)
* Texas sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers was eager to get back on the field to face TCU on Saturday.
I previously reported Ewers had a 75-25 chance of playing after checking in with my sources on Tuesday. In addition, I was told on Thursday morning that Ewers would be allowed to throw downfield passes during practice. He had been limited in practice and not allowed to throw more than 20 yards. Ewers’ performance on Thursday would determine his availability for Saturday’s game against TCU.
Well, I was told Ewers “killed” it in practice on Thursday and was able to make all the throws. Ewers did not experience any pain during practice. By the way, here is one more piece of information that is guaranteed to make you smile. I asked one source if Ewers is 100 percent healthy heading into Saturday and was told no.
What percentage was I given?
Yep.
Eighty-five percent.
* Getting Ewers back on the field benefits him and Texas this season. According to my sources, NFL scouts wanted to say Ewers play again this season to alleviate potential concerns about his injury history. Ewers needed double hernia surgery during his junior year of high school. He sustained broken ribs during the high school playoffs. Ewers missed multiple games last season due to two sprains in his clavicle. In addition, Ewers has been recovering from an AC joint sprain in his shoulder. If Ewers wants to turn pro after this season, being back on the field will help eliminate the NFL concerns. In addition, if Ewers leads Texas to the playoffs, it will give the quarterback more college football games on his resume.
*****
(Ketch)
* I checked in with a source with knowledge of Kobe Black's recruitment and all indications that I have is that things continue to look good for the Longhorns. Basically, no news is good news.
* In a memo that the NFL sent to all 32 teams this week, draft-eligible underclassmen will now be eligible to participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl, HBCU Legacy Bowl and Senior Bowl. This could prove to be an important rule change as it relates to a couple of Texas underclassmen that will be making NFL decisions in the next two months. According to one source I spoke with this week, multiple Texas underclassmen could receive invitations to the bowl games. One name specifically mentioned was junior defensive tackle Byron Murphy.
* As a reminder, there's hope from the Texas side of things that Murphy can be convinced to remain with the Longhorns for another year. It remains to be seen whether Murphy will stick around, but there's hope that a big NIL package and the success of T'Vondre Sweat's return to the 40 Acres for another season might keep the star defensive tackle in Austin for another year. Murphy will be perhaps the biggest underclassman priority for the Longhorns from a returning standpoint.
* One concern behind the scenes that was mentioned to me this week is that there's an anticipation that quite a few underclassmen that will be eager to explore the NFL after this season when it becomes time to announce their future intentions and that the volume of players that might turn pro could be at a level that it potentially helps nudge a player or two that's on the fence to turn pro because the expectation could be that 2024 will be a bit of a rebuilding season with so many players declaring pro.
"Would Ewers come back if all of the players around him are gone and would the players around him come back if they think that Ewers is gone," one team source told me this week. "Someone might need to be our Pied Piper if we're going to keep some of these guys."
* Keep your eyes peeled in the next few weeks with names that enter the Portal. I've been told that the Longhorns will be very aggressive when it comes to targeting players that could improve the team immediately, especially if the declaration for the NFL are numerous.
* Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney spoke with Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day edge player Solomon Williams this week and in the update that came out just a couple of hours ago, it looks like the Longhorns have some work to do because they weren't even mentioned by Williams. Per Williams, Texas A&M is still a top team on his list, but Alabama is the team pushing them the most. “Great game by Bama putting LSU away at the end,” Williams said. “What stood out was Dallas Turner playing very well and setting the standard for the night for the outside ‘backer room. Coaches just kept emphasizing the need of a pass rusher who can play all three downs.”
*****
(Suchomel)
We’re right at six weeks from the first day of the early signing period, so we’re officially hitting the home stretch of the 2024 recruiting cycle. Let’s go position by position and take a look at where things stand …
Quarterback
Needs – 1
Commitments – 1
Cy Fair’s Trey Owens is the longest-standing UT commitment in the class, and he might be the most solid commit in the class. Owens doesn’t get the headlines that other Texas QB recruits received (or are receiving), but he’s putting up stellar numbers this fall in leading his team to a district championship. On the year, 75+ completion percentage, 2,318 yards, 32 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. He’s thrown 22 touchdowns in his last six games without a single interception. That’ll work.
Running back
Needs – 2
Commitments – 2
Christian Clark remains locked in, so much so that there’s been very little discussion about him this fall. Florida continues to try to sway Jerrick Gibson and while he has taken in a couple games in Gainesville, he tells OB that he’s still locked in with his Texas commitment. Gibson will be in Austin for the Texas Tech game later this month. Florida is trying to get Gibson to take an official visit in early December, but as of this week, we’re not expecting that to happen.
Wide receiver
Needs – 3 or 4
Commitments – 3
Parker Livingstone and Freddie Dubose Jr both committed early, both have been regular visitors for the UT home games and both are very happy with their commitments. Livingstone continues to work his way back from injury but is expected to be 100 percent healthy when he enrolls in January. Ryan Wingo is the newest name on the UT commitment list and while Missouri isn’t going to throw in the towel there, getting Wingo back in Austin for the Texas Tech game could go a long way in the UT staff’s effort to keep him from having a wandering eye.
People will ask about Micah Hudson if I don’t mention him, but there’s not much happening there. We had heard that Hudson might visit UT for the BYU game but that didn’t happen. Izaiah Williams told us that he’d probably give Texas a visit but with Wingo coming on board since that conversation happened, we’re not expecting anything to come of that trip. Similarly, I get constant questions on Terry Bussey but I’m not expecting any action there. LSU is a bigger threat to flip him than Texas but A&M is fighting to keep him in the fold. Bussey was in College Station a couple weeks ago and he may return for another visit this weekend.
Tight end
Needs – 1 or 2
Commitments – 1
Jordan Washington committed to Texas on July 4, but his mind was made up long before that and Washington has never looked back once he announced. There was talk last week that Miami commitment Elija Lofton was going to take a UT official visit for the Kansas State game, but we were told that was not likely to happen. Could Lofton come in sometime in December? Possible, but we’re not expecting that as of right now.
Offensive line
Needs - 4
Commitments – 3
Atascocita’s Nate Kibble and Richland’s Daniel Cruz committed early and they’re both solid. Brandon Baker committed in late September and seems pretty dialed in, including a visit to Austin for the K-State game last weekend. We’d been hearing that DeAndre Carter favored Auburn over Texas despite a late run by UT and that one was settled on Tuesday when Carter announced he was sticking with the Tigers.
Where does Texas go from here? The options are pretty limited right now. Could A&M’s collapse cause Blake Ivy to look around? We’ll see. There are a handful of in-state prospects that are committed to places like Texas Tech, TCU or some out-of-state schools that Texas could target but there’s no clear answer just yet. Texas could look for OL help in the portal but the program has so much young talent on the roster that a portal addition isn’t necessarily a necessity.
Defensive tackle
Needs - 3
Commitments – 2
Alex January and D'antre Robinson both committed in July. January has stayed out of the headlines but Robinson made some waves earlier in the fall when he popped in for a Florida game. Since then, he’s routinely re-confirmed his commitment to Texas and even made his way to Austin for a visit so that one seems to have settled in. Texas would love to add one more interior defensive line and the lines of communication have remained open with a few different prospects.
Baylor commitment Alex Foster was on the books to take an official visit last week but that trip wound up not happening. Foster says he’s still considering both Texas and Baylor, so I’d expect Texas will be able to get him on campus in December if the staff wants to bring him in. When Texas first offered Dimitry Nicolas in late September, he was open to the idea of giving Texas a visit. With Auburn stumbling to a 5-4 mark, I thought that visit might happen but we were told last week that Nicolas is kind of taking a step back from recruiting action … for now. We’ll see if Texas pushes in December to get him on campus. There’s been a lot of talk of late about Texas A&M commitment Dominick McKinley but we haven’t heard that there’s much traction in that one just yet. Texas has invited him to games, but McKinley has yet to attend. We’d always heard that things could heat up with McKinley late in the process if Texas decides to push. Well, we’re getting late in the process and with losses mounting for Texas A&M, we’re keeping an eye on this one … but things have been pretty quiet so far.
Defensive end/Edge
Needs – 3 or 4
Commitments – 3
Texas has three commitments from Zina Umeozulu, Melvin Hills and Colin Simmons. Umeozulu and Hills have been regular visitors at UT games this year. When Simmons first committed, there was some thought that Texas would have to scratch and claw to hold onto his pledge. So far, he’s been about as solid and pro-Texas as you could ever have asked. With Duncanville likely to make a deep playoff run, there probably won’t be much time for Simmons to devote towards recruiting so that’s another positive for Texas.
Tampa Carrollwood Day edge Solomon Williams continues to weigh his options between Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama and Oregon. A decision should come this month, but Williams has always been a bit of a wildcard. Most of the buzz earlier this fall was on Texas A&M having a big lead, but with the Aggies’ struggles on the field that may no longer be the case. Williams did visit Alabama last weekend for the LSU game and Bama will take his commitment, but Bama also recently offered a similar profile player in Jayshawn Ross and he took a Bama OV last weekend. Nobody I’ve talked to – be it sources in Florida, at Bama, at A&M or in Austin – seem to have a clear read on how this one will play out.
Linebacker
Needs – 0 or 1
Commitments – 0
As it stands right now, it looks like Texas will go without a pure linebacker in this class. The staff would welcome Texas A&M commitment Tyanthony Smith if he wanted to come in for a late visit, but he’s been pretty locked in with the Aggies ever since committing. Like every other commit on A&M’s list, any potential shake-ups in College Station could certainly impact things. Five-star Georgia commitment Justin Williams tells us he’s trying to set up a UT visit if he can work it into his schedule, but nothing has materialized just yet.
Defensive back
Needs – 4 or 5
Commitments – 3
Santana Wilson and Jordon Johnson-Rubell remain locked in at corner and safety, respectively. Aeryn Hampton, who could wind up playing on either side of the ball, has flirted with the idea of taking another visit but he’s also shot down any speculation of him wavering, stating that he’s completely locked in with Texas and is ready to enroll in January.
Everyone continues to wait on a decision from Kobe Black. Could happen this week, maybe next week, maybe not until the signing window in December … Black has always been a bit of a wildcard with his timing. We continue to like UT’s position there until we hear differently. He has taken multiple visits to Oklahoma State to see his brother play, and while you can’t completely rule out OSU, that would be a major surprise (his brother is a senior so there wouldn’t be any overlapping of their time in Stillwater). Texas A&M continues to try to get Black on campus with his family, but those efforts have fallen short so far. No news is good news for Texas on that front.
There’s been a lot of talk about Xavier Filsaime ever since he took in the Texas-OU game, but we’re not buying that stock just yet. Florida’s struggles make this one worth watching to a small degree, but Filsaime has never expressed a strong interest in Texas, UT was very late to offer and it’s pretty much a non-story unless he visits Austin at some point. Wardell Mack is another guy that remains on the radar, but if he flips from Florida I’m not sure Texas would be the choice. If there’s a player that would probably be the highest chance of a flip, it’s A&M commitment Myles Davis. Davis may hit the Horns’ last home game against Texas Tech. He’s told OB he’s pretty happy with his A&M commitment, but did say he’d have some things to consider if there was any changes to the A&M coaching staff. If Texas pushes on this one, it could get interesting.
Kicker/Punter
Needs – 1
Commitments – 1
Punter Michael Kern remains locked in. He was in Austin for the K-State game and was named to the All-American Bowl on Wednesday.
******
* Looking for a sleeper pick to be UT’s next commitment? Keep an eye on 2025 tight end Emaree Winston, who was in Austin for the K-State game (his second UT game this year). Winston tells OB he’s pretty much down to Texas, Ohio State and Central Florida and he’s looking to have a decision on November 24. Texas looks good right now, but he’ll visit Ohio State this weekend so that could certainly swing things.
******
(Keenan)
* Yesterday was a big day for Texas hoops recruiting, as they signed two four-star prospects in F Nic Codie (Carrollton, TX) and G Cam Scott (Lexington, SC).
* I sent the update on Tre Johnson yesterday, but I’ll recap it here: it’s between Texas and Baylor, and both sides feel confident. The important note here is that G-League Ignite seems to not be a major threat to either school, which is different from some earlier reports.
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