The women's game in college is already rising like a comet. Once Kaitlin Clark and other phenoms enter the WNBA, it's popularity will increase exponentially. I love women's hoops.

Per ESPN. Rumors have been picking up the last several weeks.

Thought I would pass along a set of notes on Alabama wide receiver transfer Isaiah Bond...

1. The Texas staff loves Bond's potential, but they don't believe he's arrived as a player who is close to being the finished product.

2. The adjustment from being in the Alabama program vs. being in the Texas program has taking some time. The ways of Alabama aren't exactly the same as the ways at Texas and it can take time to convince a guy that a different way is the way to go. It seems like everyone is pleased with the progress that has been made and expect that more progress will be made.

3. Bond is going to be a big, big contributor to the offense.

4. Bond will wear No.7 after wearing No.17 at Alabama. He's officially listed on the team roster at 5-11, 180 pounds.

Seeing my dude ran a 4.22? sheesh kid

I haven’t been drinking for 8 hours straight. Only for 7.

A few offensive line notes to pass along...

a. The word we're hearing on Neto Umeozulu is that everyone is still waiting for the light switch to turn on coming into the spring. Everyone is hopeful that it happens this spring, but there's a sense/understanding that it hasn't happened yet.

b. Cam Williams had one of his best weeks of the off-season this past week going into spring break. One person we spoke with believes the competition created by Trevor Goosby has helped push Williams forward. Whatever the case, Williams ended off-season conditioning going into spring workouts on a positive note.

c. One last thing about true freshman Brandon Baker. One person told us that from a demeanor/personality standpoint, Baker is probably more like Cam Williams than Kelvin Banks because he's a quiet kid that just puts his head down and does his work/whatever is asked of him. The staff believes Baker is going to be terrific in time.

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Nah - Even They're Based

This should help with improving overall test scores at UT. Previously, those who elected to have their test scores considered, scored considerably higher than those who didn't.

• 42% of the nearly 73,000 freshman applications for Fall 2024 asked to have their standardized scores considered in a holistic review (to “opt in”), while 49% of students applying under the state’s auto-admit rule (in the top 6% of their high school class) made that request.
• Those who opted in had a median SAT score of 1420, compared with a median of 1160 among those who did not.
• The higher standardized scores translated on average to better collegiate academic performance. Of 9,217 first-year students enrolled in 2023, those who opted in had an estimated average GPA of 0.86 grade points higher during their first fall semester, controlling for a wide range of factors, including high school class rank and GPA. Those same students were estimated to be 55% less likely to have a first semester college GPA of less than 2.0, all else equal.

Short and sweet.

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@tzrider

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What a disgrace!!!! Cheaters!!!

The latest on Troy Huhn and others:

If so, does this app automatically adjust for Daylight Savings Time? I couldn't find the answer using Google search nor on YouTube.

TIA for anyone that knows the answer.

Just a note to file away.

For all of the discussion about the wealth of edge players that the Longhorns suddenly have at its disposal, a source told Orangebloods on Friday night to not sleep on true freshman Zina Umeozulu.

According to the newly updated Texas roster, Umeozulu currently tips the scales at 6-5, 255 pounds. From what we've been told, he's been killing it in off-season workouts and is yet another young player that this coaching staff can't wait to see in spring workouts.



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I love the way we sent Texas Tech off:

57-7 in football

81-69 in basketball at Tech

Series baseball win at #14 Tech in which we scored 33 runs

I used to think of them as a spirited little brother and a fun team to compete against. Today, I say f*** those guys, and I'm glad we left a lingering impression on them in our final matchups.

This one felt pretty good.

Not only because the Horns beat the Sooners pretty soundly by a score of 94-80, but it was also because Texas had a big question mark coming into the game regarding Dylan Disu's health. Well he answered that question with a 16 point, 6 rebound performance.

Let's get into this one.

This game summed up in a GIF...



With the theme of this matchup being senior day, Dylan Disu was listed as a game time decision after a knee sprain that he suffered against Baylor. I figured that Rodney Terry wouldn't want to risk reinjury. Well this is why I'm not a medical professional, as Disu dominated the first half.

While Disu and the bench's performance was excellent in the first half on the offensive end, the defense, not so much. The transition defense for the Horns was one of the worst I've seen in recent memory. It's a little discouraging but it's something that's easy to clean up. After I went back and charted the open three point attempts that were not attempted through half court sets, I counted 8 that were from second chance opportunities, or transition. That has to be fixed.

Back to the positive.

The real story line of this one wasn't the play of Disu (which was fantastic), the bench (which was fantastic), or Abmas (which was not fantastic). It was the Tyrese Hunter show. This was probably the best Tyrese Hunter performance at Texas that I can remember since the Horns beat Gonzaga at the Moody Center last year. Hunter finished with 30 points on 9-13 shooting including 3-4 from three, shot 9-9 from the free throw line, 7 assists, and 3 steals. If Texas can get a consistent scoring output from Tyrese Hunter on a game in game out basis, Texas will be in fantastic shape headed into tournament play.

The bench for the Longhorns was once again a massive bright spot. The combination of Shedrick, Mitchell and Weaver combined for 31 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. As long as this trend continues and the Longhorns can show that their depth can be a contributing factor, I wouldn't want to see this team as a lower seed in the tournament. Keep it up gentleman. Speaking of bench contribution, let's have a convo about Dillon Mitchell. He looks like a player that is finally starting to play with more confidence, and playing within himself as a basketball player. That was the best game I can remember Mitchell playing a while too. A bigger contribution from Mitchell is found gold, and this is good news for the Horns.

Don't look now, but the Longhorns just won three of their last four. Regardless of how you feel about Rodney Terry, losing guys like Marcus Carr, Sir'Jabari Rice, Timmy Allen, and Christian Bishop is significant as they were such major contributors on last years team. I think he's doing a solid job in trying to rebuild his roster, and is still recruiting at a relativelyt high level. He's got the Longhorns ready to go for the NCAA tournament, and they are playing their best basketball. Let's give him another season before we hit the panic button...The Longhorns eclipsed the 20 win mark in the regular season, are 9-9 in conference play, and are looking at an 8 seed headed into the NCAA tournament. Let's see if they can make a run in the conference and go from there!

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Texas v Oklahoma Box Score

Prediction Record: 4-0

Next up for the Horns is a first-round matchup with Kansas State for the Big 12 conference tournament on March 13th, at 6PM CT on ESPN+.

AROUND THE WORLD:
Houston beat the absolute shit out of Kansas by a score of 76-46.

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Kansas St. takes down Iowa St, 65-58.

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Kentucky knocks off Tennessee, 85-81.

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Thanks for reading!

Saw the movie over the weekend at a very large 450 person theater. Wasn’t Imax but had some upgraded sound system.

IMHO:
Music was 10/10.
Sound was 10/10.
Special effects were 10/10.
Cinematography was 10/10.

Acting was 8/10. Surprisingly to me Timothy C and Zendaya were solid. Josh Brolin was really good. Austin Butlers character was just ok. Other big stars were kind of bit parts.

Storyline isn’t my cup of tea but wanted to watch it on the big screen. Worth the 2:45 watch.

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*****

PROJECTED 2024 SPRING FOOTBALL DEPTH CHART: OFFENSE
(Click Image To Enlarge)



A few quick thoughts:

- As always an "OR" between players means they are interchangeable and probably represents a camp battle-type of situation we'll have to monitor. It does not matter who is listed first. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO IS LISTED FIRST WHEN THERE IS AN "OR" BETWEEN TWO PLAYERS!!!

- Making this one was a good bit harder than it has been in the past. Texas has a lot of good, young options this spring and there aren't too many bad health concerns. There have been spring periods in the past where I was pretty much sure that my entire two-deep projection was exactly right as far as how players would be lining up on Day 1 of practices. This year, I could see a number of things going a few different ways. It's going to be even tougher doing the defense for next week.

- I will be extremely surprised if I have not projected the starting offensive line correctly, at least.

- As far as the tackle depth, Payton Kirkland played some left tackle last spring, but I think it makes sense to send the monster-types who have practiced at tackle (Kirkland and Cojoe both at 350-plus pounds) over to right tackle as depth for another giant in Cam Williams.

- Jaydon Chatman and Trevor Goosby are both more in the 300-pound range, and both actually lined up in mop-up duty last season at various times at the left tackle. With this said, Brandon Baker (who played RT in high school) was called a prototype LT by Sarkisian at his signing day press conference and comes in with much better recruiting stock than either of those guys. If Baker does not start out at No.2 on the depth chart behind Banks (being seen as the heir apparent to protecting Arch Manning's blind side in 2025), I think he will ascend to that perch sooner than later. For now, I'm going to project Baker as the outright No.2 at LT because he walks into the Texas OL room as one of its most impressive players based on his high school performance profile and recruiting pedigree.

- The "OR" between Helm and Niblack at TE should be more like an "AND", but people have given me enough trouble over not understanding what I even mean by "OR" in the past that I feel like adding an entirely new variable would make it more confusing. I mean to say here that Texas plays a lot with two TEs on the field (41% of regular season snaps last year) and those two will lead the way.

- * The star by Niblack's name indicates that he's been missing practices and workouts this winter and we don't know for sure if he'll be ready for spring.

- After those guys at TE, it's anyone's guess and will be something I'll keep an eye on in practice. I'll give Juan Davis the benefit of the doubt as the No.3 given his seniority and experience with Banks, but it would surprise no one to have a mini-breakout from one of the younger dudes given that Davis has yet to show much at this level.

- ** In regard to the two starts by Agbo's name, Malik Agbo is a jumbo TE and sort of plays a different position than the rest. His slotting at the bottom only indicates that, even though he'll surely play more snaps than some of those guys if his role remains similar to last season.

- The WR portion is the toughest by far. This could be really juggled in a million different permutations, and it will be one of the key investigations of spring camp to monitor. The guys who loosely profile as true X WRs by body type (the player who'll be filling the AD Mitchell role) are generally Parker Livingstone (6-4), Freddie Dubose Jr. (6-1), and Ryan Wingo (6-2), but Wingo is the only one of those guys I could see come in and really get in the mix right out of the gate. Johntay Cook played at both the Z and the X last season, but Worthy told me at the combine that Cook would certainly be stepping into his old role this season, so seems like the smart thing to go with that, even though placing Cook at the starting X would make this projection much easier. That leaves us with a problem of having Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond and Johntay Cook as your most likely starting three, but Golden (6-0, 190) doesn't really have the size or play-style of an outside X receiver, and he played Z at Houston. Isaiah Bond played 60% of his snaps at Alabama last season out of the slot, so moving him there seems reasonable.

- *** In regard to the stars by Golden's name, I'm going to slot him initially "behind" Cook, but with the caveat that he seems like he will be involved, and may be moved around some and rotated in through different spots. He did play 35% of his snaps last season at UH out of the slot and like fellow former UH WR Tank Dell, was moved around a bunch in Holgerson's system. Of course, we know that Golden was likely coveted by the staff as much for his return ability on special teams as his offensive playmaking.

- **** In regard to the stars by Savion Red's name, I'm projecting him to operate in a similar gadget and (hopefully not too much of) a wildcat-QB, jack-of-all-trades kind of role.

Wonder how much this goes on?

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

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ALWAYS WIN ON SUNDAY.
Today, the Horns take the field looking to win their first Big 12 conference series of the season. Despite their overall record and anything else, if the Horns win the opening weekend series on the road at Texas Tech, the weekend will have been a success. While Big 12 presumed favorite and previously unbeaten TCU is looking to avoid getting swept, the Horns have the opportunity to put themselves in a solid starting spot In conference play.

The Horns will need more, much more, from starting pitcher Charlie Hurley than they have received the past two games, but they do have a complement of pitchers out of the bullpen to turn to in the event he cannot. This also feels likes a pivotal moment for Hurley as a starting pitcher. If Tanner Witt can continue to progress, another bad performance by Hurley makes it that much more likely that he is replaced by another option.

Offensively, the Horns will be facing a pitcher from Tech that has had some rough performances. They need to stick with their approach and look to get into the Texas Tech bullpen. While the Tech bullpen is fairly rested, there is not a ton of plus stuff there.

In case you missed Saturday’s action, check out the game recap here GAME TWO RECAP


#24 TEXAS LONGHORNS vs. #17 TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
Date: March 10
Where: Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park (Lubbock, Texas)
Time: Sunday at 2pm
TV: ESPN+


RECORDS:

• Texas 8-6 (1-1 Big 12)
• Texas Tech 11-3 (1-1 Big 12)

PITCHING MATCHUPS:

SUNDAY–. Texas RHP Charlie Hurley (1-0, 5.11) vs. TTU RHP Jack Washburn (1-0, 8.49)


LINEUPS:

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AROUND THE BIG 12:

• Baylor looks to avoid getting swept by Houston today
• West Virginia won the series against BYU 2-1
• Kansas is looking to sweep TCU as they have won the first two games
• Kansas State and Cincinnati have split the first two games with the final today
• Oklahoma looks to sweep UCF today after winning a double header yesterday
• Oklahoma State is playing Mercer in non-conference, having split the first two games

I've now seen all of the major category nominations going into Sunday's Academy Awards...

Here are my final personal rankings, along with my predictions.

Best Picture


1. Oppenheimer
2. Poor Things
3. Anatomy of a Fall
4. American Fiction
5. Killers of the Flower Moon
6. Barbie
7. Past Lives
8. Maestro
9. The Holdovers
10. The Zone of Interest

Will win: Oppenheimer

Best Actor

1. Bradley Cooper (Maestro)
2. Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
3. Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)
4. Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
5. Coleman Domingo (Rustin)

Will win: Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)

Best Actress

1. Emma Stone (Poor Things)
2. Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall) 

3. Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)
4. Annette Bening (Nyad)
5. Carey Mulligan (Maestro)

Will win: Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Ryan Gosling (Barbie)
2. Robert DeNiro (Killers of the Flower Moon)
3. Robert Downey Kr. (Oppenheimer)
4. Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction)
5. Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)

Will win: Robert Downey Kr. (Oppenheimer)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer)
2. Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)
3. Jodie Foster (Nyad)
4. Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple)
5. America Ferrera (Barbie)

Will win: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

Best Director

1. Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
2. Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon)
3. Justine Trier (Anatomy of a Fall)
4. Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things)
5. Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)

Will win: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)