Since you're all about "Your Team"


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First time in Austin, any must haves while here for the weekend? All categories: breakfast, lunch, dinner… anything.

Thanks and Hook ‘em!

Planning to take my 20 yr old daughter and 18 yr old son to Cabo this summer. They both like to be in the water.

I've heard mixed reviews of the beaches. Are the beaches good for swimming? Any areas there I should focus on?

This morning EA announced they were invited every college player to allow their NIL to be used in game. Payment would be $600 and a copy of the game. Looks like Quinn opted in

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Will be fascinating to see how what happens with the second charge. It will be the same single year that was already punished.

I still predict they end up with 10 total between the two breaches.

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President Biden is planning to make a rare visit to the southern border on Thursday, his press secretary said, traveling to Brownsville, Texas, on the same day that former President Donald J. Trump has already scheduled a border trip.

Wanna see a list that’ll piss you off? Lol
Top 15:

1: Baker Mayfield
2: Cam Newton
3: VY
4: Tim Tebow
5. Joe Burrow
6. Deshaun Watson
7. Kyler Murray
8. Lamar Jackson
9. Marcus Mariota
10. RGIII
11. Trevor Lawerence
12. Colt McCoy
13. Johnny Manziel
14. Kellen Moore
15. Sam Bradford
https://www.espn.com/college-footba...ng-college-football-top-80-quarterbacks-2000s

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Check the comments.

Let the wild speculating begin!

A year ago this weekend, I decided to let everything hang out in making 10 Futurecasts of the top prospects in the Lone Star State from the Class of 2024.

Now it's time to do it with the Class of 2025. Yet, before we start making future forecasts, let's look at the 10 I made last February.

1. Lake Belton Wide receiver Micah Hudson to Texas (Oops)
2. Duncanville edge rusher Colin Simmons to LSU (Oops... but yeah!)
3. Brownsboro wide receiver Gekyle Baker to Texas (Oops)
4. Waco Connally CB Kobe Black to Texas (Hit)
5. Duncanville running back Caden Durham to Oklahoma (Oops)
6. Melissa defensive end Nigel Smith to Oklahoma (Hit)
7. Copperas Cove offensive lineman Michael Uini to Texas (Oops)
8. IMG Academy running back Jerrick Gibson to Texas (Hit)
9. Roswell, Ga. Offensive lineman Daniel Calhoun to Georgia (Hit)
10. 2025 North Shore cornerback Devin Sanchez to Texas (Oops)

The first thing I would tell everyone about looking at last year's early predictions is that if you find yourself in panic mode right now over the 2025 recruiting year ... r-e-l-a-x. If there's anything that I could produce that would show you just how much things can still change between the start of March through the summer/fall/National Signing Day, it's last year's projections.

Folks, things change. Significantly.

One moment you think Hudson is going to Texas, the next moment there's commotion over a spring visit gone bad and things were never the same. One moment, Simmons looked like an LSU strong lean and the next moment he's committing to Texas in the summer and never looking back. Hell, one moment Texas is recruiting kids like Baker and Uini and the next they aren't.

Knowing that I'm probably going to be wrong on half of these, let's get to it.

1. Lewisville offensive tackle Michael Fasusi to Texas

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I've been expecting this recruitment to turn into a Texas/OU battle and while I might favor the Sooners in February by a very slight percentage, I'm giving the Longhorns the benefit of the doubt on this one that they'll make up all the ground they need and then some before we get to the end of the summer.

2. Galveston Ball safety/linebacker Jonah Williams to Oklahoma

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The Aggies have seemingly botched the hell out of this recruitment. There's a part of me that believes that the Aggies might get back into this one in a big way or even the Longhorns, but it's hard not to lean into OU's February momentum.

3. Mater Dei running back Jordan Davison to Texas

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Sark is going to own Mater Dei before he's done with it.

4. Katy Jordan wide receiver Andrew Marsh to Texas A&M

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It feels like it's going to come down to down to the Longhorns and Aggies, but the fact that he's got family connections to A&M and he's from Katy ... a notorious A&M territory ... has me going with the Aggies right now. Plus, he chose to visit College Station on January 20 instead of Austin when Texas held its only Junior Day of the month.

5. Bellville defensive tackle D.J. Sanders to Texas A&M

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Rivals analyst Adam Gorney said this last week about Sanders: "Everything is pointing to Texas A&M in Sanders’ recruitment. Texas is also a contender but the overwhelming feeling is that the Aggies have all but locked up the four-star defensive lineman from Bellville, Texas, just an hour down the road from College Station."

6. Jasper tight end Kiotti Armstrong to Texas

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The visit to Austin on January 20 was just the beginning. I've got my money on Jeff Banks finally landing a war daddy at the position, especially after Armstrong's teammate Tyanthony Smith signed in December.

7. Port Arthur defensive end Michael Riles to Texas

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This one feels like UT's to lose at the moment.

8. McKinney linebacker Riley Pettijohn to Texas

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McKinney is about to be Longhorn territory after it seemingly belonged to Oklahoma for two decades.

9. Cy Fair defensive lineman Landon Rink to Texas

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There's no way this Longhorn legacy goes to OU or A&M, right? Right?

10. Summer Creek defensive end Chad Woodfork to Texas

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If the No. 2 team in his recruitment is Tech, this should favor the Longhorns unless his dad played for the Red Raiders.

No. 2 - Let's talk about the defensive line ...

While there's a lot of justifiable discussion about the need for the returning members of the Texas defensive line to raise their levels of play, the Texas coaches will be able to set their watches to the expected contributions from the likes of Alfred Collins, Ethan Burke, Barryn Sorrell and newcomer Tia Sevea.

From my perspective, it's what sits behind those players that possesses the biggest set of questions. Five different third-year players from the Class of 2022 will enter the spring looking to state a strong case for inclusion into this year's plans for that group or perhaps they'll fall into the group of players we're half expecting to enter the transfer portal in the coming 10 months.

As players heading into their third seasons, the entire group should still be treated with a certain amount of patience, primarily because a handful of them appeared to be three-year projects from the moment they signed with the Longhorns. Yet, year three has arrived and it's time to start making some waves, even if we’re just talking about baby waves.

Let's take a look at the group.

Redshirt sophomore Jaray Bledsoe (6-4, 274 pounds)

2023 Performance Levels: Played in 9 games and finished with 2 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and one fumble recovery

2023 Orangebloods Defensive Productivity Rankings: Sub-Replacement Level (No. 26 on the team)


(Via PFF)

What needs to happen this spring: The first question that is going to be asked of every interior lineman in the program is whether he can play nose tackle, and that includes Bledsoe, who didn't play a single snap at the position in a season that ended seven weeks ago. Bledsoe's best position is at the three-technique, but he'll have to climb over two players in Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton that played 3-4X as many snaps as Bledsoe at that position last year. So, can Bledsoe play some nose tackle? There's room for someone to make a move into the two-deep this spring. If not, Bledsoe needs to circle Broughton's name and make a move for his spot on the two-deep.

Redshirt sophomore Aaron Bryant (6-2, 301 pounds)

2023 Performance Levels: Played in 7 games, recording one assisted tackle.

2023 Orangebloods Defensive Productivity Rankings: No production (No. 37 on the team)


(Via PFF)

What needs to happen this spring: Bryant's snap log doesn't look much different than Bledsoe's, except Bryant actually played 5 total snaps at nose tackle. If you're Bryant, your goal has to be putting a stake down at nose tackle and earning a spot on the two-deep. How likely is that? Well, the good news is that the pathway is wide open. The bad news is that there's no sign that he's good enough to earn that role. Bryant's goal has to be to prove that he's up for the task.

Junior Justice Finkley (6-2, 250 pounds)

2023 Performance Levels: Played in all 14 games and finished with 15 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and a forced fumble.

2023 Orangebloods Defensive Productivity Rankings: Sub-Replacement Level (No. 17 on the team)


(Via PFF)

What needs to happen this spring: There's not really a path for a starting spot for Finkley as long as Sorrell is still on campus, but playing time could become even harder to come by if Burke starts taking snaps at DE, while Trey Moore and Colin Simmons take snaps at Edge. Finkley has to do two things: a) start playing at a higher level and b) make sure that he doesn't get boxed out of significant playing time by the duo of Sorrell/Burke. If he can continue to make strides, he could once again be the top reserve behind Sorrell.

Redshirt sophomore J'Mond Tapp (6-3, 266 pounds)

2023 Performance Levels: Played in 7 games and recorded 8 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

2023 Orangebloods Defensive Productivity Rankings: Sub-Replacement Level (No. 24 on the team)


(Via PFF)

What needs to happen this spring: Tapp needs to find the light switch in a big way because it's tough to know where he's going to make an impact if Moore and Simmons make the big push at Edge that is expected. Tapp has received reps at both end spots, but there's a logjam of bodies in front of him unless he's able to make a big jump in performance levels.

Redshirt sophomore Zac Swanson (6-4, 270 pounds)

2023 Performance Levels: Played in only one game.

2023 Orangebloods Defensive Productivity Rankings: No Production (No. 37 on the team)


(Via PFF)

What needs to happen this spring: Everything. He's last on the totem pole at the moment.

No. 3 - Historical Breakdown: In-State Defensive Tackles ...

Given the deep dive we're taking on the defensive line in this column, I thought I would show everyone a look at the defensive tackle position from a historical standpoint using the Rivals rakings.

Let's look at the five-stars.

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2002 - Rod Wright (Texas)
2004 - Frank Okam (Texas)
2005 - Demarcus Granger (Oklahoma)
2012 - Mario Edwards (Florida State)
2012 - Malcom Brown (Texas)
2013 - A'Shawn Robinson (Alabama)
2016 - Ed Oliver (Houston)
2017 - Marvin Wilson (Florida State)

Current 5-Stars in college football: 2023 David Hicks Jr. (Texas A&M)

Breakdown

* 75% were drafted by NFL teams and 87.5% played in the NFL

* The only player that didn't play in the NFL (Granger) was on his way to having that type of career before injuries and off-field issues seemed to cause it to stall out.

* Three of the last 5 five-star defensive tackles since 2005 have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft and another (Edwards) was selected in the second round.

High four stars:

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2005 - Roy Miller (Texas)
2007 - Andre Jones (Texas)
2008 - Jarvis Humphrey (Texas)
2009 - Jamarkus McFarland (Oklahoma)
2009 - Calvin Howell (Texas)
2015 - Daylon Mack (Texas A&M)

Current High 4-Stars in college football: None

Breakdown

* 33.0% were drafted by NFL teams and played in the NFL.

Mid Four Stars

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2008 - Chancey Aghayere (LSU)
2010 - Ashton Dorsey (Texas)
2010 - Taylor Bible (Texas)
2013 - Justin Manning (Texas A&M)
2013 - Isaiah Golden (Texas A&M)
2013 - Kerrick Huggins (Oklahoma)
2014 - Deshawn Washington (Texas A&M)
2015 - Darrian Daniels (Oklahoma State)
2018 - Keondre Coburn (Texas)
2018 - Calvin Avery (Illinois)

Current Mid 4-Stars in college football: 2020 Vernon Broughton (Texas) and 2022 Jaray Bledsoe (Texas)

Breakdown

* 10.0% were drafted by NFL teams and played in the NFL.

* Active college players: 2020's Vernon Broughton (Texas) and 2022's Jaray Bledsoe (Texas), 2019's Joshua Ellison (Texas A&M/Memphis), 2021's Marcus Burris (Texas A&M), Jadon Scarlett (Texas A&M) and 2023's Markis Deal (TCU)

Low 4 Stars

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2004 - Walter Thomas (Oklahoma State)
2005 - Vince Oghobaase (Duke)
2005 - Vincent Williams (Texas A&M)
2006 - Brandon Antwine (Florida)
2008 - Rod Davis (Texas A&M)
2008 - Kheeston Randall (Texas)
2010 - Eric Humphrey (Oklahoma)
2011 - Marquis Anderson (Oklahoma)
2011 - Jordan Wade - (Oklahoma)
2011 - Desmond Jackson (Texas)
2011 - Quincy Russell (Texas)
2012 - Paul Boyette (Texas)
2013 - Andrew Billings (Baylor)
2013 - Hardreck Walker (Texas A&M)
2014 - Zaycoven Henderson (Texas A&M)
2016 - Chris Daniels (Texas)
2016 - Kendall Jones (Alabama)
2019 - Joshua Ellison (Oklahoma/Memphis) - (Draft eligible)

* Active college players: 2021 Marcus Burris (Texas A&M), 2022 Jadon Scarlett (Texas A&M), 2023 Markis Deal (TCU) and 2024 Dealyn Evans (Texas A&M)

Breakdown

* 11.8% were drafted by NFL teams and played in the NFL.

High 3 Stars

2004 - James McClinton (Kansas)
2006 - Ra'Jon Henry (Texas Tech)
2007 - Chris Perry (Miami)
2008 - Damion Square (Alabama)
2009 - Joey Searcy (Minnesota)
2009 - Thaddeus Randle (Nebraska)
2009 - Siosaia Tuipulotu (Utah)
2010 - Rodney Williams (Houston)
2019 - Torrea Peterson (Oklahoma)
2010 - Cory Coleman (Texas Tech)
2010 - Damon Williams (Oklahoma)
2010 - David Johnson (TCU)
2010 - Diamonte Wheeler (Oklahoma State)
2010 - Donavan Johnson (Iowa)
2010 - Daniel Nobel (Oklahoma)
2011 - Isaiah Norton (Colorado State)
2011 - James Castleman (Oklahoma State)
2012 - Alex Norman (Texas)
2012 - Donald Hopkins (Houston)
2013 - Charles Walker (Oklahoma)
2013 - Vincent Taylor (Oklahoma State)
2014 - Trey Lealaimatafau (LSU)
2015 - Bryce English (Kansas State)
2015 - Joseph Broadnax (TCU)
2015 - Kingsley Keke (Texas A&M)
2015 - Du'Vonta Lampkin (Texas)
2016 - Jordan Elliott (Texas)
2016 - Marcel Southall (Texas)
2016 - Michael Williams (Stanford)
2016 - Ross Blacklock (TCU)
2016 - Brayvion Roy (Baylor)
2017 - Damion Daniels (Nebraska)
2017 - Corey Bethley (TCU)
2017 - Joshua Rogers (Texas A&M)
2017 - Zaccaeus McKinney (Oklahoma)
2018 - Moro Ojomo (Texas)
2018 - Dominic Livingston (LSU)
2019 - Taurean Cartr (Arkansas)
2019 - Enoch Jackson (Arkansas)
2021 - Byron Murphy (Texas) - Draft eligible

Active college players: 2022 Cedric Roberts (Oklahoma), 2022 Kris Ross (Texas), 2022 Connor Lingren (YCU), 2023 Samu Taumanupepe (Texas A&M), 2023 Ansel Nedore (Texas Tech), 2023 Jayden Cofield (Texas Tech), 2023 Riley Van Poppel (Nebraska), 2023 DK Kalu (Baylor) and 2024 Alex January (Texas)

Breakdown

* Drafted by NFL teams: Vincent Taylor (6th round), Kingsley Keke (5th round), Jordan Elliott (3rd round), Ross Blacklock (2nd round), Brayvion Roy (6th round) and Moro Ojomo (7th round)

* 15.4% (6 of 39) of all high three-star prospects were drafted by NFL teams and 18.0% played on NFL teams.

* Played in the NFL: Square, Taylor, Keke, Elliott, Blacklock, Roy and Ojomo

No. 4 - ICYMI ...

Three of my favorite videos on Orangebloods Live this week.


No. 5 - All hail, Vic Schaefer ...

Technically, there's still a lot of work to do for the Texas women's basketball team.

Part one of that work is to take out an Oklahoma team on Wednesday that beat Texas in the Moody Center last month. That will put the Longhorns in a position to take at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.

Part two will be harnessing the play from the last six weeks and the potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament that could come with it into a deep Tournament run.

That this team is in this position after losing all-everything point guard Rori Harmon is one of the most incredible season-saving pieces of coaches I've seen on the 40 Acres. This team has very little outside shooting and a bench that doesn't always go one-deep on some nights.

Yet, the Longhorns have serious guts and play out of their minds on defense. They are tough as nails.

They embody their coach

If we're doing a list of the best coaches on the 40 Acres, I'm not sure where Schaefer resides, but the roll call won't take long before we get to his name.

No. 6 - About Rodney Terry ...

Let me just state for the record a few things with regards to Texas head basketball coach Rodney Terry.

a. He was never the best candidate for the head coaching job, but Chris Del Conte and other decision makers let themselves get boxed into a bad spot last spring.

b. This season hasn't exactly been a ball of joy and losing 6 games this season by 10+ points isn't inspiring.

c. The smart money has the team barely making the Tournament and not lasting through the first weekend of the Tournament.

Those things being said, let me reiterate once again that the entire tone of this season will change if the Longhorns make it into the Tournament and win a mere two games over three games. As unlikely as it seems at this very moment, the Longhorns have a pair of players in Dylan Disu and Max Abmas that can carry a team through a pair of early Tournament games.

Before everyone gives up on the season, you might as well hang in for a few more weeks to see if Terry can lead this team to the Sweet 16 for only the second time in half a generation.

If that doesn't happen, I'll be out of things to reiterate and you guys can set stuff on fire, I suppose.

No. 7 – BUY or SELL …

PaulieD said:

b/s Mens BB team will get a NIT bid, and suddenly come alive.

hopefully.

Click to expand...

(Sell) I think they still make the Tournament.

longhornlm said:

B/S Baker starts the 2025 opener

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(Buy) Five-star tackles get on the field in year two. Period. If not earlier.

CodyCarpentier said:

B/S - Undefeated heading into the SEC Championship?

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(Sell) Too many tricky minefields for that.

HornFan16 said:

B/S: It’s as simple as this. If Texas misses the tourney, RT is gone. If they make it, he stays (even if they get bounced in the first round)

Click to expand...

(Sell) He'll get a second year.

MauiHorn said:

B/S - QE‘s biggest improvement in 2024 is his mobility.

Click to expand...

(Sell) I'm not sure I'm expecting that to change much.

Jabo44 said:

B/S. The national media hyping Texas football before they set foot in the SEC will have a negative effect for this team.

Click to expand...

(Sell) If you believe in Sark's culture, then the answer is no.

BCASTANEDA05 said:

B/S: Given the new CFP format and potential further expansion of the CFP, we will have a season within the next 10yrs in which Texas plays a conference opponent 3 times? (Example: TX-OU in October, TX-OU in the conference championship and TX-OU in the CFP)

Click to expand...

(Sell) That feels like an unlikely statistical anomaly that I'm not sure I would count on.

Hurtya said:

B/S - The Horns would be the favorite for the number 1 overall seed with a healthy Rori Harmon

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(Sell) South Carolina is undefeated. They'd be No. 1, no matter UT's record.

MikeCorleone said:

B/S - We don't have enough threads about Chris Beard?

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(Buy) There's nothing like seeing people ignore his apparent lies and poor judgment because ... sports. We need more of that.

ATXHorn94 said:

B/S: Texas softball takes 1 or more games from OU this year.

Click to expand...

(Buy) Yes, damnit. Not two ... just one.

Kings Horns said:

B/S: Making the Elite 8 last year & keeping Rodney is a better trade than getting bounced early last year & hiring a new coach?

Click to expand...

(Buy) Considering how long the program hadn't even made the Sweet 16, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, even if it means the following couple of seasons end short of something memorable. Plus, there wasn't really a sure-fire go-to-hire.

azhorns said:

B/s - CJ Baxter rushes for more yards than Jonathan Brooks’s 2023 total of 1,139 yards.

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(Sell) I'm taking Blue as the future 1,139-yard runner.

GregoryGym69 said:

Buy or Sell: Arch will play in at least 6 games this year due to either QB1's injuries or in mop up duty.

Click to expand...

(Sell) I'll take the under by one.

No. 8 – Scattershooting …

... Steve McMichael is out of the hospital and back at his home. The man doesn't know how to stop fighting.

... Rest in peace, Golden Richards.

... Consider me stunned that Eric Bienemy is close to coaching at UCLA this season.

... I dig court rushes in NCAA basketball, but it's surprising we haven't seen more bad stuff happen over the years when they occur (and I don't mean player injuries).

... I'd love to see the Longhorns get a shot at Caitlan Clark in the NCAA Tournament. She's worth the price of admission and I'm here for the fun.

... Kevin Durant is now the NBA's 9th all-time leading scorer. It blows my mind that he'll be 36 in September. Where did all of the time go?

... It's only one weekend, but Dallas FC looks like the best of the three MLS squads in the state of Texas and Austin FC kind of looked like trash.

... I'm pretty sure I watched 10+ hours of MLS opening weekend.

... Get ready for Oppenheimer domination at the Oscars in 2 weeks. It had yet another dynamite awards outing at the SAG Awards. It feels inevitable.

... Saw Nyad on Netflix this week and thought I was going to dislike it and I actually enjoyed the hell out of it. Not so much for The Color Purple. Some of the musical numbers just couldn't end soon enough. It took nights to finish it.


No. 9 – I love this man …

I've never loved any coach of any team that I've ever supported more than I love Jurgen Klopp. I've got less than 100 days before he's no longer in my life as the Liverpool coach.

Honestly, I'm, not prepared for it. Here's hoping there are a few more moments like Sunday's League Cup Final before he says goodbye.

Please don't go, Jurgen!

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No. 10 - Top 10: Hank ...

Every once in a while I'll get into a Hank Williams Sr. mood. I'll hear one of the classics, it'll make me start thinking of my Little Granny and the next thing you know, I've got my Hank Sr, Spotify playlist on both random/repeat.

This weekend turned out to be one of those every once in a whiles.

Apologies to the youngsters out there, but this week's list is for those that grew up in and around honky-tonks like Mary's Place in Waco back in the day.

Here's the list...

Honorable Mention: Move It On Over, Lonesome Whistle, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, Moanin' the Blues, Ramblin' Man, Lost Highway, I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You) and Honky Tonk Blues

10. There's a Tear in My Beer

When I was 13 and playing baseball on the Giants in Town and Country baseball, my coach (Ruben Banda Sr.) used to sing this song all the time in batting practice. It's stayed with me ever since.

9. Lovesick Blues

One of the songs that made him a superstar.

8. I Saw The Light

It's regarded as possibly the greatest country song ever written about faith. When I was a freshman in high school in 1990, I had a teammate named Abdul that would often break out in this song on the football field and in the hallways of McCallum.

7. Jambalaya (On The Bayou)

No. 1 on the charts for more than three months, everyone from Elvis to Garth Brooks to Fats Domino to Brenda Lee has covered this song.

6. Hey, Good Lookin'

One of his finest songs.

5. Cold, Cold Heart

Legend has it that the song was written after his first wife had to go to the hospital after an at-home abortion. Williams allegedly visited her in the hospital, only to have her refuse his kiss when he leaned over to her.

4. Your Cheatin' Heart

The first song to emerge as a hit after his death, Hank wrote this song about his divorce from his first wife.

3. Kaw-liga

I know that some of you think this is his No. 1 song, but I can't quite rank it that high.

2. Long Gone Lonesome Blues

One of my favorite baseball movies is Long Gone and the sight of William Peterson singing it has stayed etched in my brain forever. It's very much a personal favorite.

1. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

No song better showcases the pain and torture that lived in so much of his music. Elvis Pressley once called it the saddest song he'd ever heard.

Grew up working class, joined a band, made a fortune, married Barbara Bach.

Still rocking at 83. What a life.

MUSING FROM THE DISCH:

History made, history earned. The Longhorns obliterated Houston Christian during the mid-week which saw a numerous young guys get their first hits. As an encore, the Horns followed that up with a weekend sweep of Cal Poly. This was not just any weekend sweep though, as they shut out Cal Poly all three games, a feat that has only happened twice previously in Texas Baseball history. As all of you are aware, it is not easy to make history at Texas when it comes to baseball because they are one of the bluest of blue bloods. In the 1960s against the now defunct SMU Mustangs and in 2002 against UT-Pan American represent the only previous times when the Horns have swept a series and shut out the same opposing team in all three games. That said, here is what we know about this squad through 7 games.

• Are they a finished product? Hell no.
• Are they a solid ball club that will be in the NCAA Regionals? Yes.
• Should there be concern around lack of hitting so far? Probably not, though there is a lot of room for growth.
• Does Texas have the starting pitching to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament? Unsure, but they have an ace in LBJ and two very solid pitchers in Charlie Hurley and Cody Howard.
• Is the 2024 bullpen better than the 2023 bullpen? Yes. There is much more talent and potential in the 2024 edition of the Texas bullpen.
• Will we continue to see lineup changes? Yes. Coach Pierce will continue to tinker until he has the right fit of performance and mentality. When I talked to him on Sunday, he said a lot of it will come down to who is performing and how they are doing mentally. A great example is Max Belyeu got a couple days off as he was pressing and came back with back to back games hitting a home run.
• Will Tanner Witt be a factor for Texas? Yes. What that looks like remains to be seen, but having Witt in the bullpen sessions and dugout is a win in of itself. He is a fierce competitor and can help the young guys understand the work it takes and mentally what it means to be a pitcher at Texas. Right now, he is still working through a small issue physically, but Coach Pierce and staff believe that he will help this team in 2024.

Outstanding support from the Texas fanbase. I struggle to recall better support for Texas Baseball in the month of February. On Saturday, the Horns had an announced crowd of 8,033 which represents the 5th largest in the history of Disch-Falk Field. The four prior larger crowds were back in 1977 and 1991 when Texas scrimmaged Texas Rangers and then the 2022 Regional games in Austin.

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USELESS STAT OF THE DAY:

Quick comparison on some random metrics between 2024 and 2023 (through 7 games):

STAT 2024 v. 2023
Runs For 56 32
Runs Against 16 31
Home Runs 11 5
Walks 32 31
Strikeouts 60 57
Hits 79 48
RBIs 48 24



BIG 12 WEEKLY AWARDS:

Lebarron Johnson Jr and Peyton Powell both earned awards for their performances this week.

Lebarron Johnson Jr was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and Peyton Powell was named Big 12 Player of the Week.



MID-WEEK PREVIEW:

Opponent: St. John's Red Storm (2-2)
Date: Tuesday February 27th
Time: 630pm
Where: Disch-Falk Field
TV: LHN

St. John's Red Storm (2-2) come to Austin after a three game series at Houston in which they went 1-2, losing Friday and Saturday, but bouncing back to avoid being swept by winning on Sunday. Prior to that, St. John's opened up the season at #4 Florida. The Red Storm opened up the season with a 9-5 upset win against Florida. Unfortunately, games 2 and 3 of the series had to be cancelled due to inclement weather. The Red Storm have yet to play a home game this season and won't until March 5th.

St. John's was picked preseason to finish 6th out of 8 teams in the Big East. In 2023, they finished 28-25 (8-12 Big East), which happened to be the first season in which St. John's finished with a winning season under the tutelage of Coach Mike Hampton, since he took over in 2020.


History: The Horns and Red Storm have met four times previously, interestingly enough, all in post season play. Back in 1949, the Horns beat St. John's 7-1 in Wichita, Kansas, the site of the College World Series. For those that don't know their Longhorn history, it also happened to be the year the Horns won their first National Championship. Texas and St. John's next met in 1966 in Omaha during the College World Series, unfortunately falling to the Red Storm 2-0. The Horns ended up losing to eventual National Runner Up Oklahoma State that season. The latest meeting between Texas and St. John's was in 2008 in the Rice Regional. The Horns lost their opening game by a score of 2-1, but bounced back to beat St. John's by a score of 4-3, knocking St. John's out of the NCAA Tournament.

As you can see below, St. John's is not a team that has hit for power this year, nor have have they drawn many walks, though they have hit a fair number of doubles. In addition, the Red Storm is not a team that attempts to steal very often. On the pitching front, they have an inflated ERA due to the fact their staff is has given up an average of 7.5 runs over their first four games. In fact, the fewest runs they have given up in a game was against #4 Florida when they gave up 5 runs.


Rank: Unranked
RPI: #1
SOS: #1


St. John's Team Stats:
Batting Average - .287
OPS - .800
Doubles - 13
Triples - 1
Home Runs - 1
SLG% - .413
Walks - 19
Strikeouts - 42
OB% - .387
Stolen Bases - 2 for 3
ERA - 7.68
WHIP - 2.00
Walks - 23
B/Avg - .341
Errors - 2


Pitching Matchups - Coach Pierce keeps us guessing and has decided to go with Grubbs this week.

TUESDAY–Texas RHP Max Grubbs (1-0. 3.86) vs. St. John's LHP Evan Chaffee (0-0, 54.00)



BIG 12 RECAP:

• TCU (7-0) - Frogs are humming right now, beating Texas State during the mid-week and then sweeping former Top 20 UCLA Bruins
• UCF (5-0) - Knights beat Miami Hurricanes during the mid-week and then swept Stamford over the weekend
• Houston (6-1) - Cougars obliterated Prairie View A&M during the mid-week and then took 2 of 3 against St. John's
• Texas (6-1) - Horns battered Houston Christian and then swept Cal Poly
• Texas Tech (6-2) - Red Raiders lost mid-week to Oregon State, but bounced back by sweeping Texas Southern by a combined score of 68-14
• Oklahoma (5-3) - Sooners lost to Dallas Baptist during the mid-week, but bounced back to take 3 of 4 against Wright State
• West Virginia (5-4) - Mountaineers won 2 of 3 against Charlotte over the weekend, losing on Sunday
• Oklahoma St (4-3) - Cowboys beat Michigan and #2 Arkansas in extra innings, before falling to #6 Oregon State in Arlington
• Kansas State (4-3) - Wildcats lost to Arizona during the mid-week week and then took 2 of 3 against Holy Cross
• Cincy (3-3) - Bearcats beat Northern Kentucky during the mid-week and then followed up with wins against Ball State and Illinois, but got rocked by Coastal Carolina on Sunday
• Kansas (3-4) - Kansas beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi during the mid-week, then beat Texas State, but lost to Washington State and Kentucky in the Karbach Classic
• BYU (2-5) - Cougars were shut out by Cal during the mid-week and then lost 2 of 3 to Cal Davis over the weekend
• Baylor (1-6) - Bears beat Lamar during the mid-week to garner their first win of the season, but then got swept by Indiana over the weekend

BIG 12 RPI/SOS:

• Houston 2 / 2
• TCU 3 / 9
• UCF 4 / 10
• Texas 26 / 45
• Oklahoma St 28 / 34
• Texas Tech 30 / 49
• West Virginia 46 / 69
• Oklahoma 73 / 80
• Kansas St 79 / 74
• Baylor 115 / 32
• Cincy 128 / 161
• BYU 138 / 100
• Kansas 162 / 137

TOP 25 RANKINGS:

1. Wake Forest (6-1)
2. Arkansas (5-2)
3. LSU (7-1)
4. Florida (5-1)
5. TCU (7-0)
6. Oregon State (7-1)
7. Texas A&M (7-0)
8. Tennessee (7-1)
9. Vanderbilt (5-3)
10. Clemson (6-1)
11. East Carolina (5-2)
12. Duke (7-0)
13. Virginia (7-0)
14. NC State (4-2)
15. Texas (6-1)
16. Alabama (8-0)
17. North Carolina (5-2)
18. Texas Tech (6-2)
19. South Carolina (7-1)
20. Indiana (6-1)
21. Campbell (6-1)
22. Coastal Carolina (5-2)
23. Auburn (6-1)
24. UC Santa Barbara (3-3)
25. Dallas Baptist (7-0)

Random this and that around College Baseball:

Texas A&M may be undefeated and rolling this season under Coach Schloss, but at least the Horns do not have opposing players being locked in the bathroom [insert glory holes joke here].

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What a heck of a pitching staff that Arkansas has put together. That 17K performance by Hagen Smith against Top 10 Oregon State was simply stunning. Texas Tech transfer Mason Molina then followed up on Sunday with 10Ks himself.

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In case you missed it, the weekend series between East Carolina and North Carolina was much watch baseball. Two schools that do not like each other and have teams performing at a high level. Damn good stuff!

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I've been watching highlights of the 3 best RB's in UT history in my opinion.
The one thing that always stands out is they keep getting hit and they just keep going after contact.
It's really amazing how much punishment they took. Hit after hit and they kept going straight ahead.
I'm 63 and I've seen them all over the years. They all have their different traits but these three stand above them all. Cedric could have won the Heisman like Vince and Colt. I believe in bias against Texas like I do the Cowboys.
I don't care call me what you want but I certainly believe that there is a bias and those three certainly could have won the Heisman just like Earl and Ricky.
I wish I knew how to put videos up but I don't I'm an old so please forgive me I'm sure that somebody will trash me but that's okay just thought I would share an interesting thought.
I sure wish Cedric was still here.
The west Texas tornado

I'm going with by 40-50% though a slaughter is not out of the question.

Only thing that stops the above is cross-over Dems in an Open Primary

Kevin Costner and Jon Baird written, with chapter one releasing this June and chapter two in August. Looks good, just hope it's not of the same story lines of the Yellowstone or 1883 series.

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I dislike this basketball coach as much as I disliked Strong

New Rivals250: https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals250/2025
The Five-Star Countdown: https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-rankings-week-five-star-countdown-55
New 5-stars breakdown: https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-rankings-week-meet-the-four-new-five-stars-4
Rivals250 biggest risers: https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-rankings-week-ten-biggest-risers-in-the-rivals250-20
Position-by-position look at new Rivals250: https://n.rivals.com/news/tuesdays-with-gorney-new-2025-rivals250-released-4

I originally posted this poll in August 2021. You can view the results here: https://texas.forums.rivals.com/threads/ot-covid-vaccine.530910/

Given that over a year has passed since that poll and we have a bit more information, I’m curious as to whether the results will be similar. If your answer has changed, I’d be curious to hear why. However, please: 1) be respectful; and 2) keep politics out of this thread. If you want to talk politics, click on the above link and do it in the Corral thread. That’s what the Corral is for.


EDIT: I added another option based on feedback. I also am allowing people to change their vote, in case any of you who have voted already want to switch to the new choice.

3 shutouts against Cal poly. Is that any good?

Cliffs Notes: The Longhorns picked up a commitment from Aledo 2026 running back Raycine Guillory on Saturday night.

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Offer List: Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma, Oregon, TCU, Texas A&M and USC

Evaluation: The 5-10, 175-pound Guillory is a big-=play waiting to happen for powerhouse Aledo. Possessing quick feet that allows him to make guys miss in a phone booth, Guillory reminds me a little of Jaydon Blue in that when he gets a step on the defense once he gets to the second level of the defense, he has a chance to take it to the house every time. Guillory is a very good cutback runner that does a great job of sensing where the open space is to run. Averaged almost 9 yards per carry as a sophomore.

Why it matters: It's the first commitment in 2026 class for the Longhorns and it gives Steve Sarkisian a fine offensive piece of the puzzle to begin his work with.

Expectations: It's a little hard to project exactly what the expectations should look like at this point, but Guillory projects as one of the best running backs in his class.

2023 Highlights: Enjoy these sophomore highlights.

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from VDH

As Joe Biden’s political viability implodes, the exasperated Left has yet a new narrative: front-runner Trump and his extremist/semi-fascist/Ultra MAGA 160 million are out for “revenge” and “retribution—and that Trump might well become a “dictator” and “trample” the Constitution. Ok, let’s examine what a supposed dictator Trump might do if he were to be elected this November? 1) Will he hide the fact that in 2024 he attempted to hire a foreign ex-spy to work with Russian sources to create a fake anti-Biden dossier (while sneakily hiding his payments behind three paywalls), seed it with the media, and hatch lies that Biden was a “Putin poodle” and “Russian asset”? 2) Would a Trump president weaponize a vengeful FBI to begin contracting with X and Facebook to suppress stories he feels will hurt MAGA candidates?



Would his FBI alter FISA warrants to go after his leftwing opponents? Would he and his FBI henchmen have leftwing newspapers blacklisted from X? 3) Would Trump’s future Secretary of State round up 51 right-wing ex-CIA “authorities” to swear and lie on the eve of the balloting that the Russians created the Stormy Daniels nondisclosure agreement? 4) Maybe Trump will get his DOJ to go easy on any future accusations of tax fraud on behalf of his sons by weaponizing the IRS. 5) Maybe Trump will dictatorially cancel student loan debt on the eve of the 2026 midterms. Or would he dare by fiat drain the strategic petroleum reserve merely for Republican advantage in the midterms? 6) Maybe a dictator Trump might appoint a special counsel to investigate the entire Biden family.

Retribution would be justified, but what they’re really afraid of is being exposed and prevented from the corruption so near and dear to them.
It is not enough to not vote Democrat, you must be actively anti-Democrat. pic.twitter.com/QUQFT9jzdo
— Mycological (@MycologicalToo) January 19, 2024

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Would his legal counsel consult with local and state Republican prosecutors to coordinate 90 or so more indictments against ex-president Joe Biden? Will he order the FBI to sweep down on one of the Biden residences to hunt for more missing classified files that Biden removed as a senator and vice president? 7) Will he postfacto declare the 2020 riots to be an armed “insurrection” and retroactively start trying, convicting, and jailing the some 14,000 who were arrested and released—on charges of rioting, looting, arson, murder, and assault, in addition to “illegal parading” and conspiracy to burn a federal courthouse, a city police precinct, a historic church? Would dictator Trump keep in preventative detention indefinitely those arrested in 2020 for rioting and violent protest? 8) Maybe dictator Trump will refuse to discuss all medical questions concerning his 78-year age. 9) Will Trump minions in the media and military start talking about rooting out “leftwing rage”, or Antifa and BLM “domestic terrorists” from the military ranks?


Would Trump order the Pentagon to discharge any soldier who refused to get one of his Operation Warp Speed COVID mRNA boosters? 10) Will dictator Trump protect some 500 “sanctuary cities” from ignoring federal laws—as they nullify the endangered species list or federal gun registrations statutes? 11) Would dictator Trump’s America destroy the southern border deliberately and invite in 10 million illegal aliens from countries he thought would ensure new conservative voters? 12 ) Would dictator Trump’s America start seeing red-states removing the names of Democratic candidates from the ballot? 13) Would dictator Trump start jailing ex-Biden officials who refused Republican congressional subpoenas? 14) Would dictator Trump’s America turn over $50 billion in weapons and supplies to terrorists like the Taliban? 15)


Would dictator Trump’s America see an epidemic of big-city lawlessness, as conservative prosecutors deliberately let out felons convicted of smash and grab and car-jacking, and exempted theft and shoplifting from punishment? 16) Would dictator Trump start shaking down foreign governments to send $30 million into the Trump family coffers? 17) Would dictator Trump camp out at Mar-a-Lago for 3-4 days a week, and turn the presidency into a pastime job? So what exactly would a “dictator” Trump do that our “civil libertarian” Joe Biden already has not done? – Victor Davis Hanson

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Is it normal to not numb the gums/mouth when fitting and cementing a permanent crown? I just talked to somebody who had this done. She said it was the worst pain of her life, and that she had a breakdown after the procedure because it was so traumatizing. Seems like numbing would be automatic to me, but I wouldn't know.