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*****
If Dakorien Moore's recruitment were all a video game, it would be like Sark and the Longhorns re-spawned right in the heat of the final level with three new lives.
Ever since Moore decommitted from LSU last month, it has really felt like Texas has had the momentum with Moore, and it still does to a large degree, but I've always thought that chalking a player of Moore's abilities (a virtual Top 3 overall player in the state of Texas for this cycle, and a clear-cut best of the bunch regardless of position to many in the know) as a lock to any school has felt like putting the cart before the horse.
These days there are so many factors from NIL to agents and everything else on top of the usual concerns for players such as depth charts, facilities, the shape of the program and comfort with the culture. Things really have to fall right for you in a lot of ways to land the top studs even when you're on a bit of a heater as Texas feels like it is heading into Year 1 in the SEC.
Adam Gorney wrote yesterday in his recruiting Rumor Mill of Moore's OV to Ohio State that:
"The history and tradition of elite wide receivers and first-rounders of course made an impression on the five-star receiver who recently backed off his LSU commitment but the academics were a big key in Columbus.
Moore will be able to structure the “perfect” major for himself and then the team brotherhood, networking capabilities and head coach accessibility were all major draws.
What also stood out was how much Moore and his mom loved the “city vibe” in Columbus as the chatter is that Texas has the edge but Ohio State “set the bar pretty high.”
It's easy to see how tOSU would set the bar high, and let me just say, I'm not worried about the city of Columbus being the driving factor here in bringing the Buckeyes into play. If we're putting up cities head-to-head, 99 out of 100 people would choose Austin and the one who didn't you'd probably wonder about.
I've personally wondered aloud for years what Brian Hartline is doing in that town though, to recruit and then RELIABLY churn out elite receiver after elite receiver over the last half-decade. It's like there's something in the water.
Parris Campbell and Terry McLaurin (2019)
KJ Hill (2020)
Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave (2022)
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (2023)
Marvin Harrison Jr. (2024)
In the upcoming draft, Emeka Egbuka will probably be yet another first-round pick. The next man up after Egbuka is yet to be determined in Columbus but Carnell Tate looks like a strong option to break out in 2024. If we know one thing, it's that someone probably will, given recent history.
Dakorien Moore is set to visit Texas two weekends from now, June 14th, alongside guys like Daylon McCutcheon, Andrew Marsh and Kelshaun Johnson.
If Texas is to eventually land the uber-talented Moore, it's an accomplishment I will see as truly outstanding because it will show how much things have changed since the days when Garrett Wilson left Lake Travis for Ohio without really giving Texas a true shot.
Hey, maybe that's what getting Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell drafted in Rounds 1 and 2 of this year's draft will do for you. Maybe that's what a CFP berth in 2023 will do for you ... maybe it's what an entrance into the SEC, a developing pipeline to Duncanville and the promise of getting to be the top weapon of the likely future face of college football in Arch Manning will do for you. In fact, it's what all those things will do in combination with one another. The fact that Texas still probably leads in this deal is a testament to those foundational aspects that have been built under Steve Sarkisian. In recruiting, these are the weapons and the ammo you need.
But excuse me if I don't just blow off interest from Ohio State as fodder not to be worried about with any elite wide receiver's recruitment. If it comes down to Texas versus Ohio State in this battle, it's a good thing Texas has all of that ammo we've discussed cached away, because Ohio State is one tough final boss to take out before you beat the game.
*****
Book Reviews
Summer is upon us, so it's back to reading SZN. I'm in the middle of a book right now that is very likely to finish with a high star-ranking on the Daily Short list, but I needed to get caught up on some others that I have read/listened to over the last two months on Audiobook first. This first review will likely be one of the more unpopular ones I have done among the OB bookworms, as I've seen it recommended heavily in the forums by numerous people. The only other two books that I've seen called basic masterpieces on Orangebloods that I truly did not enjoy/could not even finish were American Gods by Neil Gaiman and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Neither of these books made the list, although Amor Towles is an otherworldly master of prose and his other book, The Lincoln Highway was an all-timer.
The Passage by Justin Cronin
From the Publisher: An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival,The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.
Alex's Thoughts: Flyers! (iykyk) Does this book peter out and die on you or what? It starts out with a sci-fi vibe in modern-day America as the post-apocalyptic setup for the rest of the book plays out, and while it has an air of "zombie"-genre to it, I can't say that I thought the book was going to be bad as I made it through the first quarter of it or so. The parts with Amy's tribulations, and the zoo, and Wolgast and Sister Lacy -- the first introduction to the death-row inmates who are used in a haunting and ghastly experiment: That was riveting stuff. Once the book fast-forwards 93 years to the isolated colony in California, and the old FEMA attachment, the heads of household, the stinky old blind guy who listens to the radio signals, the young wrench who is the only one who seems to understand that the batteries are about to go out, Peter's elderly aunt who makes the disgusting tea -- right about the time Amy comes to the colony and throws things into a little bit of chaos -- I had had enough. I think they'll probably end up leaving the colony with Amy to go somewhere else and brave the virals because I have no doubt Amy has the ability to fight them (or at least not die), but the mid-story lull and character development stuff in the colony just totally lost me. I apologize but the book does not make the minimum 3.5 star rating and DOES NOT MAKE THE LIST!
The Drifter by Nick Petrie
From the Publisher: Peter Ash came home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with only one souvenir: what he calls his “white static,” the buzzing claustrophobia due to post-traumatic stress that has driven him to spend a year roaming in nature, sleeping under the stars.
But when a friend from the Marines commits suicide, Ash returns to civilization to help the man’s widow with some home repairs. Under her dilapidated porch, he finds more than he bargained for: the largest, ugliest, meanest dog he’s ever encountered...and a Samsonite suitcase stuffed with cash and explosives.
As Ash begins to investigate this unexpected discovery, he finds himself at the center of a plot that is far larger than he could have imagined...and it may lead straight back to the world he thought he’d left for good.
Alex's Thoughts: I view this book in much the same way I view the books of the Arliss Cutter series by Marc Cameron. Very talented writer, skilled at keeping you turning the page, a solid enough, troubled and somewhat quirky protagonist who is a general badass struggling with his own demons, and the need to come home from war and take care of a woman and children as circumstances occur that threaten their lives. In the Cutter series, it was Cutter's sister-in-law and niece/nephew following the tragic death of his brother, in The Drifter (the first book of the Peter Ash series) it was the wife and children of his fellow marine who had recently committed suicide. I must say that starting a book out, right out of the gate, with Peter under the porch having to go head-to-head with a monstrous and raging rabid, starving dog really sucks you in and it keeps the pages turning from there. There are also some unexpected twists and turns along the way. I recommend the book if you are into mystery/thriller novels in this sort of genre, but Peter Ash is no Sierra Six from the Gray Man or Joe Pickett type of hero. In the end, I enjoyed the book and IT MAKES THE LIST WITH 3.5 STARS!
- Alex's Daily Short Reading List (updated 6-4-2024)
Books I've read or listened to on Audiobook since I've been sharing these reviews on OB (this list is not encompassing of all of my favorite books although it certainly includes a few of them - books I recommend reading/listening to start at 3.5 stars - I will review every book I read, but only list those that I awarded 3.5 stars and up here).
Lonesome Dove (5 stars)
Joe Pickett Series (5 stars)
The Undoing Project (5 stars)
The Accidental Superpower (5 stars)
I Am Pilgrim (5 stars)
Empire of the Summer Moon (5 stars)
Gridiron Genius (5 Stars)
The Cartel (5 stars)
Disunited Nations (5 stars)
Lone Survivor (5 stars)
The Terminal List Series (5 stars)
The Gray Man Series (5 stars)
The Year of the Locust (5 stars)
The Son (4.75 stars)
Seasons of Man Series (4.75 stars)
The Lincoln Highway (4.75 stars)
The 4-Hour Work Week (4.75 stars)
Astroball (4.75 stars)
Project Hail Mary (4.75 stars)
Tier One Series (4.75 stars)
Shantaram (4.5 stars)
Dueling With Kings (4.5 stars)
Wanderers (4.5 stars)
Back of Beyond (4.25 stars)
Blue Heaven (4.25 stars)
The Border (4.25 stars)
Wrath of the Khans - Dan Carlin Podcast Series (4.25 stars)
The Time it Never Rained (4.25 stars)
Hard Country (4.25 stars)
This Tender Land (4 stars)
Supermarket (4 stars)
Ready Player Two (4 stars)
When Christmas Comes (4 stars)
Hollywood Park (4 stars)
Fields of Fire (4 stars)
Terminal Rage (4 stars)
Orphan X (3.75 stars)
The Great Alone (3.75 stars)
Hunting El Chapo (3.75 stars)
The President is Missing (3.75 stars)
The First Conspiracy (3.75 stars)
REAMDE (3.75 stars)
American Wolf (3.75 stars)
The End is Always Near (3.75 stars)
Second Wind (3.75 stars)
The End of the World is Just the Beginning (3.75 stars)
A Strange Habit of Mind (3.75 stars)
The River (3.75 stars)
The House of Love and Death (3.75 stars)
The Sandbox (3.75 stars)
A Bright Shore (3.5 stars)
The Lost City of the Monkey God (3.5 stars)
The Summer That Melted Everything (3.5 stars)
The North Water (3.5 stars)
Deep Survival (3.5 stars)
The Boy From the Woods (3.5 stars)
The Frackers (3.5 stars)
Arliss Cutter Series (3.5 stars)
The Drifter (3.5 stars)
AS ALWAYS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ANY BOOKS YOU WOULD RECOMMEND, PREFERABLY THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON AUDIOBOOK. MANY OF THE BEST BOOKS ON THIS LIST HAVE COME VIA RECOMMENDATIONS ON ORANGEBLOODS.
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