When it comes to booking your next outdoor excursion, look no further than Salty South Fishing Charters in southern Louisiana. Based out of Houma, LA, Salty South offers inshore fishing trips for both Trout and Redfish with top of the line tackle and lodging.
Contact Austin to book your trip today!
(985) 264-5003
saltysouthfishingcharters@gmail.com
===========================================================================
Did you ever stop to ask yourself, why do we celebrate Christmas in December? Of course we all know that Christmas is a Christian celebration of the birth of Christ. But the bible doesn’t actually mention when Jesus was born. In fact, most historians would say Jesus’ birth likely wasn’t in this month.
So why then did early Christians pick this time to celebrate their savior?
The truth to that answer is actually lost in time. However, Christians are not alone in celebrating this time of year. Just about every culture in the world has some sort of celebration this time of year.
Why? Because today (December 21st) is the winter solstice – the start of winter – the shortest day of the year. That means we have made it through the darkest period and are now moving toward the light.
There are some who believe Jesus really was born on December 25 and his birth was providential proof that he is the savior who brings light to the world. Others believe early Christians incorporated the story of Jesus into celebrations of the winter solstice in order to evangelize and spread the message.
Researchers believe ancient pagans celebrated the winter solstice, including with festivals at Stonehenge. In Germany, prior to Christianity, there were Yule celebrations at this time. There is the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah or the “Festival of Lights” to celebrate the miracle of the oil (the Maccabees had only enough oil to light the menorah for one day, but it burned for eight). In China, the Dongzhi festival marks the winter solstice with three days of celebrations. In Iran, it is called Shab-e Yalda. The ancient Persian festival celebrates the victory of light over darkness and people eat watermelon and pomegranates – the legend being that eating the fruits of summer will protect you from illness in the winter.
The point of all of this is that now is a time of celebration – no matter what you believe. Light defeats darkness yet again.
And so it is most appropriate that today is the day we celebrate National Signing Day in college football.
High school kids across the country have signed national letters of intent to play football for the school of their choice. And with each and every NLI that comes in over the fax machine (which I believe was also used in ancient pagan celebrations), there is new hope that the class of recruits will bring light to programs long lost in darkness.
CELEBRATING TEXAS’ CLASS OF 2023
It’s not exactly fair to characterize the Longhorns’ 2022 season as one of “darkness,” but certainly there is a lot of room for improvement. But there is a lot of bright, shining lights in the class of 2023 recruits should help improve the talent level of the Longhorn football team.
The best part is, a lot of that talent will be arriving on campus in just a few weeks. Take a look at the early enrollees for the class of 2023.
EARLY ENROLLEES:
Arch Manning, QB, New Orleans (La.) Isidore Newman
Cedric Baxter Jr., RB, Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater
Johntay Cook II, WR, DeSoto (Texas)
Jaydon Chatman, OL, Killeen (Texas) Harker Heights
Connor Stroh, IOL, Frisco (Texas) Wakeland
Andre Cojoe, IOL, Mansfield (Texas) Timberview
Payton Kirkland, OT/IOL, Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips
Sydir Mitchell, DL, Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic
Colton Vasek, EDGE, Austin (Texas) Westlake
Derion Gullette, EDGE/LB, Teague (Texas)
Anthony Hill, LB, Denton (Texas) Ryan
Liona Lefau, LB, Kahuku (Hawaii)
Malik Muhammad, CB, Dallas (Texas) South Oak Cliff
The obvious place to start here is Arch Manning. The uber-talented scion of football’s first family of quarterbacks arrives with much fanfare but very little actual pressure (beyond whatever he puts on himself). Oh sure, the expectations for his time on the 40 Acres are sky high. But Manning is not expected to come in and beat out Quinn Ewers for the starting job next year. The spring, fall and all of next season will be a time for him to adjust to campus life, the college game and hopefully become so ingrained in Sark’s offense that he should be able to flawlessly take over when his time is called.
Johntay Cook, at a minimum, will provide depth at the receiver position if not get starter snaps.
Cedric Baxter, much like Manning, won’t be expected to come in and start. Jonathon Brooks should be the starter (and I’m expecting big, big things from him). Baxter should still get his share of carries next season and will be a damn good complement to Brooks and Keilan Robinson.
The offensive linemen coming in January will all be well-served for the future by getting into the strength and conditioning program this winter and learning from Coach Kyle Flood.
On the other side of the ball, new addition Anthony Hill is the bell cow of the 2023 class. The Denton Ryan linebacker should be able to step in as an immediate starter alongside Jaylan Ford (assuming he returns). There was a marked improvement with the defense in the 2022 season and finding someone who can approximate DeMarvion Overshown’s talent will help in 2023.
Sydir Mitchell is criminally underrated. I’m expecting the defensive lineman from New Jersey to have a standout career at UT.
Colton Vasek could provide some much-needed oomph as an edge rusher. He is more talented than his former Westlake teammate Ethan Burke (and just ask @Alex Dunlap what he think about Burke).
Malik Muhammad showed just how talented he is while helping lead South Oak Cliff to another state title. Muhammad is a true lockdown corner. I’m not sure how long it will take for him to step in as a starter but the talent is undeniable.
Sarkisian’s recruiting ability has been very impressive. We expected that coming in, but when you look what he accomplished with the 2022 class (his first full season recruiting) and what is coming in for the 2023 class, then you see the foundations for an extremely talented team moving forward.
Texas should be set for a number of years at quarterback (the most critical position in the game) and offensive line (the second most critical position group). Combine that with elite talent at wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker and the secondary and you can see how this team should be competing for conference titles in the last year (or years?) of the Big 12 and even into the start of SEC play.
The offensive line alone will be key to making Texas competitive in the SEC.
A CLOSER LOOK AT A COUPLE OF LINEMEN …
Connor Stroh and Trevor Goosby are two of the more talented offensive line prospects signing with Texas. I spoke with their private coach, Patrick Lewis Jr. this summer as they were preparing for their senior seasons.
I decided to check in with Lewis again to get his thoughts on how they progressed during their final season of high school football before they arrive on campus.
“They were already blessed with the physical tools, the physical attributes to dominate the game of football,” Lewis said. “But I think you know, in their final years in high school, you saw a season where they put it all together.”
Stroh put on a lot of bad weight following an ankle injury his sophomore season. But he’s been working out hard since then to reshape his body.
On the field, it’s been all about playing with more aggression.
“He still hasn’t figured out how big and how dominant he can be,” Lewis said. “So he still hasn’t reached the ceiling yet. When he finally figures it out, he’s gonna be good.”
Lewis thinks Stroh will benefit greatly by being an early enrollee.
“When I was in college, Luke Joeckel, came in, in January before the rest of his class and he was able to gain a lot of momentum,” Lewis, a former Texas A&M lineman said. “He came in, he got all spring to go against Vaughn Miller. He was able to get in learn the playbook.
“He gets to learn the system. He gets to learn how to practice so when he gets to fall camp he'll be good.”
Trevor Goosby arrives with little fanfare but go back and look at this quote from Lewis about Goosby this summer.
"Trevor is just an A+ athlete," said Lewis in July. "If you look at him in person, he's probably one of the most natural left tackles walking the earth right now."
Lewis said Goosby continued to show out over his senior season and definitely got better, but still has a lot of room for growth.
That sentiment was backed up by a DFW area coach who played against Melissa this year. He called Goosby “the real deal.”
Goosby is not an early enrollee, but let’s be honest, he wasn’t going to come in and supplant Kelvin Banks at left tackle anyway. Lewis said Goosby understands he’s going to be behind the freshman all-American.
“Of course, he will probably have to sit and develop, which is fine,” Lewis said. “He understood that the day he committed. I don't think he’s worried about that. Him going to Texas and Connor going to Texas shows that they're not afraid to compete. They have to compete their butts off because that's a deep room but I don't think they’re too worried about it. I think they're more excited about getting down there and starting the process.”
And because it’s never too early to start looking ahead to the next great rays of light … Lewis said he has another client who is going to be a steal for someone, Desoto offensive lineman Ronnell McLain.
“He’s young,” Lewis said. “He ain't nowhere near close to being to being a finished product and whoever gets that kid is gonna get a steal.
“He’s got great feet, he fits the run game. Being young like he is, the one thing we have to work on is that I want him to finish a lot more. He does a good job at finishing but I want him to finish even more. I want him to have that attitude that when he walks onto the field, be the baddest guy out there.”
HAPPY HOLIDAYS …
Finally, since this is my last column before Christmas, I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas from my family to yours.
Contact Austin to book your trip today!
(985) 264-5003
saltysouthfishingcharters@gmail.com
===========================================================================
Did you ever stop to ask yourself, why do we celebrate Christmas in December? Of course we all know that Christmas is a Christian celebration of the birth of Christ. But the bible doesn’t actually mention when Jesus was born. In fact, most historians would say Jesus’ birth likely wasn’t in this month.
So why then did early Christians pick this time to celebrate their savior?
The truth to that answer is actually lost in time. However, Christians are not alone in celebrating this time of year. Just about every culture in the world has some sort of celebration this time of year.
Why? Because today (December 21st) is the winter solstice – the start of winter – the shortest day of the year. That means we have made it through the darkest period and are now moving toward the light.
There are some who believe Jesus really was born on December 25 and his birth was providential proof that he is the savior who brings light to the world. Others believe early Christians incorporated the story of Jesus into celebrations of the winter solstice in order to evangelize and spread the message.
Researchers believe ancient pagans celebrated the winter solstice, including with festivals at Stonehenge. In Germany, prior to Christianity, there were Yule celebrations at this time. There is the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah or the “Festival of Lights” to celebrate the miracle of the oil (the Maccabees had only enough oil to light the menorah for one day, but it burned for eight). In China, the Dongzhi festival marks the winter solstice with three days of celebrations. In Iran, it is called Shab-e Yalda. The ancient Persian festival celebrates the victory of light over darkness and people eat watermelon and pomegranates – the legend being that eating the fruits of summer will protect you from illness in the winter.
The point of all of this is that now is a time of celebration – no matter what you believe. Light defeats darkness yet again.
And so it is most appropriate that today is the day we celebrate National Signing Day in college football.
High school kids across the country have signed national letters of intent to play football for the school of their choice. And with each and every NLI that comes in over the fax machine (which I believe was also used in ancient pagan celebrations), there is new hope that the class of recruits will bring light to programs long lost in darkness.
CELEBRATING TEXAS’ CLASS OF 2023
It’s not exactly fair to characterize the Longhorns’ 2022 season as one of “darkness,” but certainly there is a lot of room for improvement. But there is a lot of bright, shining lights in the class of 2023 recruits should help improve the talent level of the Longhorn football team.
The best part is, a lot of that talent will be arriving on campus in just a few weeks. Take a look at the early enrollees for the class of 2023.
EARLY ENROLLEES:
Arch Manning, QB, New Orleans (La.) Isidore Newman
Cedric Baxter Jr., RB, Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater
Johntay Cook II, WR, DeSoto (Texas)
Jaydon Chatman, OL, Killeen (Texas) Harker Heights
Connor Stroh, IOL, Frisco (Texas) Wakeland
Andre Cojoe, IOL, Mansfield (Texas) Timberview
Payton Kirkland, OT/IOL, Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips
Sydir Mitchell, DL, Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic
Colton Vasek, EDGE, Austin (Texas) Westlake
Derion Gullette, EDGE/LB, Teague (Texas)
Anthony Hill, LB, Denton (Texas) Ryan
Liona Lefau, LB, Kahuku (Hawaii)
Malik Muhammad, CB, Dallas (Texas) South Oak Cliff
The obvious place to start here is Arch Manning. The uber-talented scion of football’s first family of quarterbacks arrives with much fanfare but very little actual pressure (beyond whatever he puts on himself). Oh sure, the expectations for his time on the 40 Acres are sky high. But Manning is not expected to come in and beat out Quinn Ewers for the starting job next year. The spring, fall and all of next season will be a time for him to adjust to campus life, the college game and hopefully become so ingrained in Sark’s offense that he should be able to flawlessly take over when his time is called.
Johntay Cook, at a minimum, will provide depth at the receiver position if not get starter snaps.
Cedric Baxter, much like Manning, won’t be expected to come in and start. Jonathon Brooks should be the starter (and I’m expecting big, big things from him). Baxter should still get his share of carries next season and will be a damn good complement to Brooks and Keilan Robinson.
The offensive linemen coming in January will all be well-served for the future by getting into the strength and conditioning program this winter and learning from Coach Kyle Flood.
On the other side of the ball, new addition Anthony Hill is the bell cow of the 2023 class. The Denton Ryan linebacker should be able to step in as an immediate starter alongside Jaylan Ford (assuming he returns). There was a marked improvement with the defense in the 2022 season and finding someone who can approximate DeMarvion Overshown’s talent will help in 2023.
Sydir Mitchell is criminally underrated. I’m expecting the defensive lineman from New Jersey to have a standout career at UT.
Colton Vasek could provide some much-needed oomph as an edge rusher. He is more talented than his former Westlake teammate Ethan Burke (and just ask @Alex Dunlap what he think about Burke).
Malik Muhammad showed just how talented he is while helping lead South Oak Cliff to another state title. Muhammad is a true lockdown corner. I’m not sure how long it will take for him to step in as a starter but the talent is undeniable.
Sarkisian’s recruiting ability has been very impressive. We expected that coming in, but when you look what he accomplished with the 2022 class (his first full season recruiting) and what is coming in for the 2023 class, then you see the foundations for an extremely talented team moving forward.
Texas should be set for a number of years at quarterback (the most critical position in the game) and offensive line (the second most critical position group). Combine that with elite talent at wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker and the secondary and you can see how this team should be competing for conference titles in the last year (or years?) of the Big 12 and even into the start of SEC play.
The offensive line alone will be key to making Texas competitive in the SEC.
A CLOSER LOOK AT A COUPLE OF LINEMEN …
Connor Stroh and Trevor Goosby are two of the more talented offensive line prospects signing with Texas. I spoke with their private coach, Patrick Lewis Jr. this summer as they were preparing for their senior seasons.
I decided to check in with Lewis again to get his thoughts on how they progressed during their final season of high school football before they arrive on campus.
“They were already blessed with the physical tools, the physical attributes to dominate the game of football,” Lewis said. “But I think you know, in their final years in high school, you saw a season where they put it all together.”
Stroh put on a lot of bad weight following an ankle injury his sophomore season. But he’s been working out hard since then to reshape his body.
On the field, it’s been all about playing with more aggression.
“He still hasn’t figured out how big and how dominant he can be,” Lewis said. “So he still hasn’t reached the ceiling yet. When he finally figures it out, he’s gonna be good.”
Lewis thinks Stroh will benefit greatly by being an early enrollee.
“When I was in college, Luke Joeckel, came in, in January before the rest of his class and he was able to gain a lot of momentum,” Lewis, a former Texas A&M lineman said. “He came in, he got all spring to go against Vaughn Miller. He was able to get in learn the playbook.
“He gets to learn the system. He gets to learn how to practice so when he gets to fall camp he'll be good.”
Trevor Goosby arrives with little fanfare but go back and look at this quote from Lewis about Goosby this summer.
"Trevor is just an A+ athlete," said Lewis in July. "If you look at him in person, he's probably one of the most natural left tackles walking the earth right now."
Lewis said Goosby continued to show out over his senior season and definitely got better, but still has a lot of room for growth.
That sentiment was backed up by a DFW area coach who played against Melissa this year. He called Goosby “the real deal.”
Goosby is not an early enrollee, but let’s be honest, he wasn’t going to come in and supplant Kelvin Banks at left tackle anyway. Lewis said Goosby understands he’s going to be behind the freshman all-American.
“Of course, he will probably have to sit and develop, which is fine,” Lewis said. “He understood that the day he committed. I don't think he’s worried about that. Him going to Texas and Connor going to Texas shows that they're not afraid to compete. They have to compete their butts off because that's a deep room but I don't think they’re too worried about it. I think they're more excited about getting down there and starting the process.”
And because it’s never too early to start looking ahead to the next great rays of light … Lewis said he has another client who is going to be a steal for someone, Desoto offensive lineman Ronnell McLain.
“He’s young,” Lewis said. “He ain't nowhere near close to being to being a finished product and whoever gets that kid is gonna get a steal.
“He’s got great feet, he fits the run game. Being young like he is, the one thing we have to work on is that I want him to finish a lot more. He does a good job at finishing but I want him to finish even more. I want him to have that attitude that when he walks onto the field, be the baddest guy out there.”
HAPPY HOLIDAYS …
Finally, since this is my last column before Christmas, I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas from my family to yours.
