Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (A lot on the Mind)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
In no particular order....FBI, NCIS Hawaii, the 3 Law and Orders on regular TV. Criminal Minds: Evolution on Paramount+. Yellowstone. Those are just off the top of my head.
Agree on both....but with "B" what is CDC supposed to say besides he suspended him without pay. I don't know what else I needed him to do or say at that time. Next will be he fired him which I expect a real statement from him.
Could part of the “delay” be that the leaders did t want to detract from the VB teams final four appearance?
Thanks for the write up and Merry Christmas..
I guess Christmas comes early to OB (like Wednesday).
I guess Christmas comes early to OB (like Wednesday).
Ozark ar #9??? ??♂️
Following the commitment of Anthony Hill this week, it's been hard not to think about what happened almost 23 years ago during Mack Brown's first full year as head coach in Austin.
Back then, it was the commitment of a five-star out of state quarterback, who just happened to have a famous quarterbacking father, which unofficially signaled to the rest of the country that Brown's program was going to be a force in the future.
It was followed by a commitment from an in-state five-star linebacker (who eventually moved to defensive end), which unofficially signaled to the rest of the country that the program's high-level recruiting would also include the best of the best on the defensive side of the ball.
Those two recruitments represented Mack Brown's championship intent, an intent that was eventually realized in 2005.
Fast-forward more than two decades later and it feels like history has repeated itself.
It's not quite a like for like. For instance, this is Steve Sarkisian's second full season in Austin, not his first. No one really pays attention to who USA Today names as its players of the year these days. Also, timing of the commitments aren't quite the same, as Simms and Reding both announced their commitments to Texas in January.
Details, details, details...
What is the same is that Sarkisian has the nation's best prospect, who just happens to come from quarterback royalty, like Simms, except that instead of having a famous quarterbacking father, Arch Manning has two famous quarterbacking uncles and a famous quarterback grandfather.
Meanwhile the parallels between Redding and Hill might be even stronger. Just like with Redding, Hill is a five-star linebacker who plays his high school ball for one of the powerhouse programs in the state. Like Redding, Hill is supposed to be the kind of defensive prospect that the Longhorns weren't supposed to have the recruiting chops to land.
Like Simms and Redding, the 1-2 punch of Manning and Hill is symbolic of where the Texas football program is supposed to be heading, not where it currently resides or where it has resided in the past.
Occasionally, some of you will jokingly ask me if you have permission to dream big, a reference to infamous words written in 2016 when the Longhorns jumped out to a 2-0 start and a No.11 ranking.
My response is to always say that it's ok to dream big.
Perhaps more than dreaming big, it's more appropriate that I tell you to party like it's 1999.
Simms and Redding...er... Manning and Hill are definitely worth having a major celebration.
Let's just hope it doesn't take another six years for the championship celebration that is supposed to follow.
No. 2 - Put a (Championship) Ring On It
There's not enough love in the world that can be given to the 2022 Texas Volleyball team after it won the program's first national championship in a decade on Saturday night with a complete dismantling of fellow-No.1 seed Louisville.
This was a team that came into the season with a national-title-or-bust attitude. Nothing else would do for this group. Meanwhile, it carried the pressure of being the No.1 team in the country for almost the entirety of the season. In landing the No.1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, it had to brush off the reality that only one No.1 overall seed has won the championship in the last decade.
Apparently, pressure does indeed make diamonds because this team ate pressure for breakfast, as evidenced by the fact that when all the money was on the table on Saturday night, this team played as well as it has at any point in the Tournament in sweeping the Cardinals.
We're talking about a team that deserves to go down in history as one of the best championship teams in the history of Texas athletics.
It's leader Logan Eggleston will be remembered as one of the best athletes in the history of Texas athletics after dominating in the championship game, which earned her Tournament MVP honors to go along with the National Player of the Year honor she received earlier in the week.
"To become one of the greats in any sport, you've got to win a championship," Texas head coach Jerrirr Elliott said after the match. "And Logan did that now. So she puts herself on an extremely elite level. What she's done for this university, to take advantage of every resource possible, what she's given in every aspect ... I wouldn't be surprised if we have a statue at some point for her on campus."
At the very least, expect her number to be retired. Yet, when you consider that she's now positioned herself to be remembered as the best player in the history of the program, maybe a statue is in order.
No. 3 -Texas football scattershots ...
a. The Jaylan Ford is staying for his senior season storyline might come to fruition when the dust settles, but there was more speculation this weekend that he is still considering his NFL options than there has been for the last few weeks going back to the home-finale against Kansas. Just a heads up.
b. Expect Bijan Robinson to announce his intention of not playing in the Alamo Bowl at a press conference on Monday. It's kind of crazy that there haven't been any bowl game announcements up until now for either Robinson or Roschon Johnson when you consider that neither is practicing and Bijan has had his picture taken all over the place outside of Austin. Maybe the Washington coaches haven't noticef...
c. DeMarvion Overshown officially announced that he won;t play in the Alamo Bowl on Sunday, thus ending his career at Texas. Overshown is an interesting conversation piece because while he's without question been a very good player for the Longhorns, it feels like a little bit of meat was always left on the bone as it relates to his reaching his ceiling as a player at the collegiate level. I wonder if he ends up being a guy whose pro career surpasses his college career.
d. Congrats to Michael Taaffe. If there was ever a preferred walk-on that was going to earn a scholarship, it was this him. How fitting is it that he was given his scholarship on championship weekend in the Texas high school playoffs? That's when he put himself on the map in the first place.
No. 4 - A Peek Into The Comings and Goings In The Portal ...
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No. 5 - UT's All-Time Prospect Team ...
Someone mentioned this over the weekend as an idea and I have to say, I really enjoyed working on this. In fact, thoughts about Shane Hudnall were racing in my head as I slept Saturday night.
Who is Shane Hudnall?
Keep reading to find out if your brain can't completely remember the full details of the 1999 recruiting class.
Let's begin.
Quarterback
Runner-Up: Arch Manning (2023) - New Orleans (La) Isadore Newman
Thoughts: This is a no-brainer for me at the top spot, while I tossed and turned over whether Manning or Chris Simms deserved to be in the runner-up spot. The fact that Shea Morenz (1992), James Brown (1993), Chance Mock (2000) and Garrett Gilbert (2009) were five star-level prospects and couldn't so much as get a sniff at the top spots speaks to how insane the quarterback recruiting has been for the Longhorns for much of the last 30 years outside of the stretch between 2010-2022.
Running Back
Cedric Benson (2001) - Midland Lee
Runner-Up: Bijan Robinson (2020)
Thoughts: Benson wasn't technically ranked higher than Robinson back in 2001 when Rivals ranked, but that's mainly because the person running Rivals didn't listen to me enough when it came to the players in the state of Texas. The truth is that no running back in the history of recruiting has ever arrived at Texas with more clout, expectations, and excitement than Benson. Considering I had him only behind Tommie Harris and Derrick Johnson as prospects in Texas and regarded him as a national Top 10 prospect... well... that's the ranking I'm leaning on. The others were stupid.
Wide Receivers
BJ Johnson (2000) - South Grand Prairie
Roy Williams (2000) - Odessa Permian
Runner-Up: Bru McCoy (2019) - Santa Ana (Ca.) Mater Dei
Thoughts: It's pretty incredible to think that the top two spots in this class both came in the same recruiting class, but when Johnson and Williams were ranked 1-2 in the state rankings that year, it wasn't by accident. The only question was which of the two deserved to be ranked No.1 and everyone in the industry chose Johnson, who was so out of this world good as a high school player that he was getting Peter Warrick comparisons as a prospects. Of course, it took 5 minutes to realize once they were on campus that Williams was the clear No.1 guy. The two ended up combining for 393 receptions, 6,255 yards and 52 touchdowns in four seasons together. Those numbers will never be topped by any pair of incoming duos.
Tight End
Runner-Up: Ja'Tavion Sanders (2021) - Denton Ryan
Thoughts: Hills and Sanders have a lot in common because just as many people viewed Hills as a future defensive end during his recruitment as they did Sanders two years ago. It's wild to think his career nearly got off the ground because of a severe case of drop-foot. I feel like special mention needs to go out to Bo Scaife (1999), who was rated as a five-star before he tore his ACL in the state title game in December of 1998.
Offensive Tackles
Leonard Davis (1997) - Wortham
Runner-Up: Kelvin Banks (2022) - Summer Creek
Thoughts: I'm just ignoring the ranking that Rivals placed on Banks and we'll lean on where everyone else had him ranked. Yes, it's still not high enough to replace Davis (a one-of-a-kind prospect that we will likely never see again or Allen, who was somehow ranked as a national top 10 prospect. How did that happen? Allen wasn't nearly the player that Banks was, but we all fell in love with that punch to the head he used to hit defenders with and didn't ask enough questions. I blame the Allen ranking on there not being enough camps and events around at that time, which would have allowed everyone to have a better feel for his true upside as a prospect had they existed.
Offensive Guards/Center
Dan Neil (1992) - Cypress Creek
Runner-Up: Antwan Kirk-Hughes (1998) - Waxahachie
Thoughts: You can make a case that Kirk-Hughes and Neal should be flipped on the basis that both were top three prospects in the state when they came out of high school, but Neal has to be on the list in my my mind because he was a mini-legend before ever stepping foot on campus after his high school career.
Defensive Tackle
Runner-Up: Malcom Brown (2012) - Brenham
Thoughts: It's kind of crazy that in the last 30 years, the Longhorns have only signed three five-star defensive tackle prospects and two of them arrived in back-to-back years.
Defensive End
Runner-Up: Eddie Jones (2006) - Kilgore
Thoughts: Just like the defensive tackles, the Longhorns have only had a handful of five-star defensive end prospects over the last 30 years and yet they signed two in back-to-back years just before the floor dropped out from underneath the Mack Brown era. Austin Westlake's Colton Vasek is set to become the first national top 50 prospects that the Longhorns have signed at the positon in the last 13 years.
Linebacker
Derrick Johnson (2001) - Waco
Runner-Up: Jordan Hicks (2010) - West Chester, Ohio
Thoughts: That is some trio of linebackers. As with Benson, I'm ignoring what Rivals did with its 2001 rankings because I had Tommie Harris and Derrick Johnson listed at 1-2 in my rankings and I twisted and turned over who I thought should have been No.1. In fact, outside pressure (of being considered a homer) is ultimately the thing that kept me from going with Johnson. It's the first and only time I've ever let such a thing happen in my career. It still bothers me.
Cornerbacks
Runner-Up: Tarell Brown (2003) - North Mesquite
Thoughts: In looking back at all of the commitment lists from the last 30 years, it's kind of stunning that Brown and McCulloch were the only two five-stars in the bunch. How did that happen? Meanwhile, you make a very strong case that Malik Muhammad should and will replace Brown in the runner-up positions.
Safety
Runner-Up: Andrew Kelson (2004) - Houston Lamar
Thoughts: See cornerbacks above. Sterns being the only five-star safety that the Longhorns have landed in three decades also kind of blows my mind. I haven't spent any time thinking about it, but I would have assumed there would have been at least one more. To be fair, I had Williams ranked as a five-star and the No.1 prospect in the state in 2008, but I personally viewed him as a cornerback, which is the position he played at Texas and in the NFL.
Kicker/Punter
Shane Hudnall (1999) - Tyler Lee
Thoughts: You probably don't remember Hudnall because he transferred to TCU after one semester in Austin, but he's an answer to a great trivia question. When Rivals launched in 1999 it actually ranked the No.1 kicker in the country with a (6.1) five-star grade, which is what it gave Hudnall. It's the same ranking it gave to Chris Simms and Cory Redding. The policy of giving the top kicker in the country such a high grade was changed the next year. It means that Hudnall is the highest-ranked kicker/punter in the history of recruiting. For the record, Hudnall moved to wide receiver once he transferred to TCU and caught 13 career passes for 102 yards and zero touchdowns in his career.
No. 6 - Can This Continue?
A little more than a week ago, Texas head basketball coach Chris Beard seemingly had the world in the palms of his hands.
In owning his dream job, he had a national championship contender on the floor of a brand spanking new arena. Recruiting was sizzling. He was scheduled to make another 25+ million over the next 5+ seasons.
Then last Sunday night/Monday morning happened.
And when we say last Sunday night/Monday morning happened, let's be clear about what we're talking about. Beard was arrested for abusing his fiancée.
Oh, there's been an attempt to soften what is alleged by fans who want the Beard basketball dream to stay alive, but let's be clear about what is alleged to have happened. According to the woman he asked to marry him, he allegedly choked, bit and threw her around.
The charges suggest violent, disgusting behavior and in the week that has passed, nothing has happened to suggest something really ugly didn't happen that night.
His alleged actions cannot be excused. I don't care if she broke his glasses or if if she did something that infuriated him or (fill in the blank).
The appropriate response is to walk away. It's that simple. The wildly inappropriate response would be to become an abuser.
It's left the Texas athletic department and the basketball team that came to play for him in an impossibly uncomfortable situation. Every time I flipped over to the Stanford game on ESPN on Sunday, I found myself cringing over the idea that I might be tuning in at a moment when this national story would be discussed.
There are 21 regular-games left this season and the next one is Wednesday. Is the idea supposed to be that we just keep doing this? Cringingly hoping to avoid the uncomfortable mentioning of this awful situation? Hoping upon all hope that some miracle can occur that would absolve him of any wrong-doing?
Like the tape that he allegedly claimed to have that would prove his innocence that he apparently doesn't want to show to the police or his employers?
The players on this team deserve to have a season that doesn't involve its supporters cringing just because they want to watch them play. Yet, the status quo is a cloud that can't go away. Hell, by no means should it go away.
The truth is that this can't go on much longer and the school almost certainly knows it.
No. 7 - State Championship Weekend Ramblings ...
... How good is the high school football being played in South Dallas? Holy cow.
... Malik Muhammad can't get to Austin fast enough. There's no doubt in my mind that he's going to play as a true freshman.
... Johntay Cook's cleats for the state title game.
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... Texas commit Tre Wisner has seen his recruiting stock fall this season after the transfer to DeSoto, but no one can say he didn't ball out in his final high school game with everything on the line. The man had 214 yards of all-purpose offense and two touchdowns on only 11 touches. That'll do.
... I'm really happy for DeSoto head coach Claude Mathis. Few coaches in the state have been as genuinely nice to me (and others) over the years. He's just good people and I really enjoyed seeing him have that moment.
... Good for Reginald Samples. That was a long time coming.
... My goodness, when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, Duncanville 2024 superstar edge Colin Simmons did the damn thing. It felt like he was creating havoc on every single play.
... The face-mask that Simmons committed in the fourth quarter was so flagrant that it was actually kind of funny. If there was ever going to be a face-mask call that warranted a 30-yard penalty, that was the one.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) Chris Del Conte will make a very good hire. I don't really doubt that.
(Buy) I still believe in this team... at least that much.
(Buy) I'm starting to think so.
(Buy) Why not? It's hard to know who else will be there at this point.
(Sell) I'm not putting too much stock in the bowl game, no matter what happens. What occurs in the next 9 months that follows is what is most important.
(Buy) Marion's group didn't perform as well as it needed to. Period.
(Sell) It's really close, but I don't know that I can make a strong case for a buy, so I'll be conservative for now. It's really close.
(Sell) Put some damn respect on Richard Barnes' name.
(Sell) I think he probably gets one of those two marks, but maybe not both.
(Sell) I don't know that Texas is going to leave the Big 12 with a bang, so I'm not yet into predicting that it will enter a better conference with one.
(Buy) I'm still giving this staff the benefit of the doubt that there's more going on than meets the eye, but I'd be more interested in some of the guys on the market from the Portal than some of the high school kids Texas is still after.
(Sell) I'll go Anthony Hill and Malik Muhammad, but I'm not quite sure of a third yet, let alone a fourth. Maybe Johntay Cook.
(Sell) It's a 10.
(Buy) Yup.
(Sell) I don't think the bowl game will impact Worthy's decision.
(Sell) It would take a Final Four level season to make that happen.
(Sell) No, I don't see that.
(Sell) The 2022 OL class is better than this linebacker class.
No. 9 - Scattershooting on anything and everything ...
... Billy Napier kicked a field goal with 37 seconds left in the Las Vegas Bowl while down 30-0 to Oregon State to avoid being shut out and preserving the NCAA record for scoring in consecutive games streak that spans back to 1988. Is that the weakest moral victory of all-time?
,,, Phil Bennett's wife means business.
... That was just an ugly loss for the Cowboys in Jacksonville. Not only did they lose on a walk-off pick-six, but they blew a 17 point second-half lead to get there. I suppose the good news is that it's not going to matter because they aren't catching the Eagles and can't do any better than the No.1 wildcard spot. The bad news is that this team ain't winning three straight road games in the playoffs.
... The Chiefs winning the AFC West is an inevitable as the Cowboys losing a game it should win.
... Houston has a hell of a player on its hands with Jalen Pitre
... Apparently, Michael Jordan was busy at an NFL: game this weekend.
... The Colts should be relegated for blowing a 33-0 lead. That just can't happen.
... Ouch.
... You win some, you lose some...
... I'm not sure that I can say anything about the World Cup Final that hasn't already been said. It was so epic that it's not too early to say that it was a match for the ages. What it means for the legacy of Leo Messi probably can't even be measured. He was already the GOAT and now he gets the John Elway walk-off moment on the international stage. It's like we all watched a Disney movie. Simply unreal.
... Tip of the cap to Kylian Mbappe. What a player.
No. 10 - The List: Top 10 TV Shows of 2022...
What a year in television, which has replaced the movies as the must-devour medium of pop culture.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I love my movies, but there's only a handful that I have seen so far that deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as television.
The streaming wars has brought us greatness.
10. The Staircase (HBO)
9. Ozark (Netflix)
8. Severance (Apple+)
7. Euphoria (HBO)
6. Andor (Disney)
5. We Own This City (HBO)
4. The White Lotus (HBO)
3. The Bear (Fx)
2. House of the Dragon (HBO)
1. Better Call Saul (AMC)
Greay write up Ketch. Ozark is top 5 not bottom 5..
Following the commitment of Anthony Hill this week, it's been hard not to think about what happened almost 23 years ago during Mack Brown's first full year as head coach in Austin.
Back then, it was the commitment of a five-star out of state quarterback, who just happened to have a famous quarterbacking father, which unofficially signaled to the rest of the country that Brown's program was going to be a force in the future.
It was followed by a commitment from an in-state five-star linebacker (who eventually moved to defensive end), which unofficially signaled to the rest of the country that the program's high-level recruiting would also include the best of the best on the defensive side of the ball.
Those two recruitments represented Mack Brown's championship intent, an intent that was eventually realized in 2005.
Fast-forward more than two decades later and it feels like history has repeated itself.
It's not quite a like for like. For instance, this is Steve Sarkisian's second full season in Austin, not his first. No one really pays attention to who USA Today names as its players of the year these days. Also, timing of the commitments aren't quite the same, as Simms and Reding both announced their commitments to Texas in January.
Details, details, details...
What is the same is that Sarkisian has the nation's best prospect, who just happens to come from quarterback royalty, like Simms, except that instead of having a famous quarterbacking father, Arch Manning has two famous quarterbacking uncles and a famous quarterback grandfather.
Meanwhile the parallels between Redding and Hill might be even stronger. Just like with Redding, Hill is a five-star linebacker who plays his high school ball for one of the powerhouse programs in the state. Like Redding, Hill is supposed to be the kind of defensive prospect that the Longhorns weren't supposed to have the recruiting chops to land.
Like Simms and Redding, the 1-2 punch of Manning and Hill is symbolic of where the Texas football program is supposed to be heading, not where it currently resides or where it has resided in the past.
Occasionally, some of you will jokingly ask me if you have permission to dream big, a reference to infamous words written in 2016 when the Longhorns jumped out to a 2-0 start and a No.11 ranking.
My response is to always say that it's ok to dream big.
Perhaps more than dreaming big, it's more appropriate that I tell you to party like it's 1999.
Simms and Redding...er... Manning and Hill are definitely worth having a major celebration.
Let's just hope it doesn't take another six years for the championship celebration that is supposed to follow.
No. 2 - Put a (Championship) Ring On It
There's not enough love in the world that can be given to the 2022 Texas Volleyball team after it won the program's first national championship in a decade on Saturday night with a complete dismantling of fellow-No.1 seed Louisville.
This was a team that came into the season with a national-title-or-bust attitude. Nothing else would do for this group. Meanwhile, it carried the pressure of being the No.1 team in the country for almost the entirety of the season. In landing the No.1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, it had to brush off the reality that only one No.1 overall seed has won the championship in the last decade.
Apparently, pressure does indeed make diamonds because this team ate pressure for breakfast, as evidenced by the fact that when all the money was on the table on Saturday night, this team played as well as it has at any point in the Tournament in sweeping the Cardinals.
We're talking about a team that deserves to go down in history as one of the best championship teams in the history of Texas athletics.
It's leader Logan Eggleston will be remembered as one of the best athletes in the history of Texas athletics after dominating in the championship game, which earned her Tournament MVP honors to go along with the National Player of the Year honor she received earlier in the week.
"To become one of the greats in any sport, you've got to win a championship," Texas head coach Jerrirr Elliott said after the match. "And Logan did that now. So she puts herself on an extremely elite level. What she's done for this university, to take advantage of every resource possible, what she's given in every aspect ... I wouldn't be surprised if we have a statue at some point for her on campus."
At the very least, expect her number to be retired. Yet, when you consider that she's now positioned herself to be remembered as the best player in the history of the program, maybe a statue is in order.
No. 3 -Texas football scattershots ...
a. The Jaylan Ford is staying for his senior season storyline might come to fruition when the dust settles, but there was more speculation this weekend that he is still considering his NFL options than there has been for the last few weeks going back to the home-finale against Kansas. Just a heads up.
b. Expect Bijan Robinson to announce his intention of not playing in the Alamo Bowl at a press conference on Monday. It's kind of crazy that there haven't been any bowl game announcements up until now for either Robinson or Roschon Johnson when you consider that neither is practicing and Bijan has had his picture taken all over the place outside of Austin. Maybe the Washington coaches haven't noticef...
c. DeMarvion Overshown officially announced that he won;t play in the Alamo Bowl on Sunday, thus ending his career at Texas. Overshown is an interesting conversation piece because while he's without question been a very good player for the Longhorns, it feels like a little bit of meat was always left on the bone as it relates to his reaching his ceiling as a player at the collegiate level. I wonder if he ends up being a guy whose pro career surpasses his college career.
d. Congrats to Michael Taaffe. If there was ever a preferred walk-on that was going to earn a scholarship, it was this him. How fitting is it that he was given his scholarship on championship weekend in the Texas high school playoffs? That's when he put himself on the map in the first place.
No. 4 - A Peek Into The Comings and Goings In The Portal ...
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No. 5 - UT's All-Time Prospect Team ...
Someone mentioned this over the weekend as an idea and I have to say, I really enjoyed working on this. In fact, thoughts about Shane Hudnall were racing in my head as I slept Saturday night.
Who is Shane Hudnall?
Keep reading to find out if your brain can't completely remember the full details of the 1999 recruiting class.
Let's begin.
Quarterback
Runner-Up: Arch Manning (2023) - New Orleans (La) Isadore Newman
Thoughts: This is a no-brainer for me at the top spot, while I tossed and turned over whether Manning or Chris Simms deserved to be in the runner-up spot. The fact that Shea Morenz (1992), James Brown (1993), Chance Mock (2000) and Garrett Gilbert (2009) were five star-level prospects and couldn't so much as get a sniff at the top spots speaks to how insane the quarterback recruiting has been for the Longhorns for much of the last 30 years outside of the stretch between 2010-2022.
Running Back
Cedric Benson (2001) - Midland Lee
Runner-Up: Bijan Robinson (2020)
Thoughts: Benson wasn't technically ranked higher than Robinson back in 2001 when Rivals ranked, but that's mainly because the person running Rivals didn't listen to me enough when it came to the players in the state of Texas. The truth is that no running back in the history of recruiting has ever arrived at Texas with more clout, expectations, and excitement than Benson. Considering I had him only behind Tommie Harris and Derrick Johnson as prospects in Texas and regarded him as a national Top 10 prospect... well... that's the ranking I'm leaning on. The others were stupid.
Wide Receivers
BJ Johnson (2000) - South Grand Prairie
Roy Williams (2000) - Odessa Permian
Runner-Up: Bru McCoy (2019) - Santa Ana (Ca.) Mater Dei
Thoughts: It's pretty incredible to think that the top two spots in this class both came in the same recruiting class, but when Johnson and Williams were ranked 1-2 in the state rankings that year, it wasn't by accident. The only question was which of the two deserved to be ranked No.1 and everyone in the industry chose Johnson, who was so out of this world good as a high school player that he was getting Peter Warrick comparisons as a prospects. Of course, it took 5 minutes to realize once they were on campus that Williams was the clear No.1 guy. The two ended up combining for 393 receptions, 6,255 yards and 52 touchdowns in four seasons together. Those numbers will never be topped by any pair of incoming duos.
Tight End
Runner-Up: Ja'Tavion Sanders (2021) - Denton Ryan
Thoughts: Hills and Sanders have a lot in common because just as many people viewed Hills as a future defensive end during his recruitment as they did Sanders two years ago. It's wild to think his career nearly got off the ground because of a severe case of drop-foot. I feel like special mention needs to go out to Bo Scaife (1999), who was rated as a five-star before he tore his ACL in the state title game in December of 1998.
Offensive Tackles
Leonard Davis (1997) - Wortham
Runner-Up: Kelvin Banks (2022) - Summer Creek
Thoughts: I'm just ignoring the ranking that Rivals placed on Banks and we'll lean on where everyone else had him ranked. Yes, it's still not high enough to replace Davis (a one-of-a-kind prospect that we will likely never see again or Allen, who was somehow ranked as a national top 10 prospect. How did that happen? Allen wasn't nearly the player that Banks was, but we all fell in love with that punch to the head he used to hit defenders with and didn't ask enough questions. I blame the Allen ranking on there not being enough camps and events around at that time, which would have allowed everyone to have a better feel for his true upside as a prospect had they existed.
Offensive Guards/Center
Dan Neil (1992) - Cypress Creek
Runner-Up: Antwan Kirk-Hughes (1998) - Waxahachie
Thoughts: You can make a case that Kirk-Hughes and Neal should be flipped on the basis that both were top three prospects in the state when they came out of high school, but Neal has to be on the list in my my mind because he was a mini-legend before ever stepping foot on campus after his high school career.
Defensive Tackle
Runner-Up: Malcom Brown (2012) - Brenham
Thoughts: It's kind of crazy that in the last 30 years, the Longhorns have only signed three five-star defensive tackle prospects and two of them arrived in back-to-back years.
Defensive End
Runner-Up: Eddie Jones (2006) - Kilgore
Thoughts: Just like the defensive tackles, the Longhorns have only had a handful of five-star defensive end prospects over the last 30 years and yet they signed two in back-to-back years just before the floor dropped out from underneath the Mack Brown era. Austin Westlake's Colton Vasek is set to become the first national top 50 prospects that the Longhorns have signed at the positon in the last 13 years.
Linebacker
Derrick Johnson (2001) - Waco
Runner-Up: Jordan Hicks (2010) - West Chester, Ohio
Thoughts: That is some trio of linebackers. As with Benson, I'm ignoring what Rivals did with its 2001 rankings because I had Tommie Harris and Derrick Johnson listed at 1-2 in my rankings and I twisted and turned over who I thought should have been No.1. In fact, outside pressure (of being considered a homer) is ultimately the thing that kept me from going with Johnson. It's the first and only time I've ever let such a thing happen in my career. It still bothers me.
Cornerbacks
Runner-Up: Tarell Brown (2003) - North Mesquite
Thoughts: In looking back at all of the commitment lists from the last 30 years, it's kind of stunning that Brown and McCulloch were the only two five-stars in the bunch. How did that happen? Meanwhile, you make a very strong case that Malik Muhammad should and will replace Brown in the runner-up positions.
Safety
Runner-Up: Andrew Kelson (2004) - Houston Lamar
Thoughts: See cornerbacks above. Sterns being the only five-star safety that the Longhorns have landed in three decades also kind of blows my mind. I haven't spent any time thinking about it, but I would have assumed there would have been at least one more. To be fair, I had Williams ranked as a five-star and the No.1 prospect in the state in 2008, but I personally viewed him as a cornerback, which is the position he played at Texas and in the NFL.
Kicker/Punter
Shane Hudnall (1999) - Tyler Lee
Thoughts: You probably don't remember Hudnall because he transferred to TCU after one semester in Austin, but he's an answer to a great trivia question. When Rivals launched in 1999 it actually ranked the No.1 kicker in the country with a (6.1) five-star grade, which is what it gave Hudnall. It's the same ranking it gave to Chris Simms and Cory Redding. The policy of giving the top kicker in the country such a high grade was changed the next year. It means that Hudnall is the highest-ranked kicker/punter in the history of recruiting. For the record, Hudnall moved to wide receiver once he transferred to TCU and caught 13 career passes for 102 yards and zero touchdowns in his career.
No. 6 - Can This Continue?
A little more than a week ago, Texas head basketball coach Chris Beard seemingly had the world in the palms of his hands.
In owning his dream job, he had a national championship contender on the floor of a brand spanking new arena. Recruiting was sizzling. He was scheduled to make another 25+ million over the next 5+ seasons.
Then last Sunday night/Monday morning happened.
And when we say last Sunday night/Monday morning happened, let's be clear about what we're talking about. Beard was arrested for abusing his fiancée.
Oh, there's been an attempt to soften what is alleged by fans who want the Beard basketball dream to stay alive, but let's be clear about what is alleged to have happened. According to the woman he asked to marry him, he allegedly choked, bit and threw her around.
The charges suggest violent, disgusting behavior and in the week that has passed, nothing has happened to suggest something really ugly didn't happen that night.
His alleged actions cannot be excused. I don't care if she broke his glasses or if if she did something that infuriated him or (fill in the blank).
The appropriate response is to walk away. It's that simple. The wildly inappropriate response would be to become an abuser.
It's left the Texas athletic department and the basketball team that came to play for him in an impossibly uncomfortable situation. Every time I flipped over to the Stanford game on ESPN on Sunday, I found myself cringing over the idea that I might be tuning in at a moment when this national story would be discussed.
There are 21 regular-games left this season and the next one is Wednesday. Is the idea supposed to be that we just keep doing this? Cringingly hoping to avoid the uncomfortable mentioning of this awful situation? Hoping upon all hope that some miracle can occur that would absolve him of any wrong-doing?
Like the tape that he allegedly claimed to have that would prove his innocence that he apparently doesn't want to show to the police or his employers?
The players on this team deserve to have a season that doesn't involve its supporters cringing just because they want to watch them play. Yet, the status quo is a cloud that can't go away. Hell, by no means should it go away.
The truth is that this can't go on much longer and the school almost certainly knows it.
No. 7 - State Championship Weekend Ramblings ...
... How good is the high school football being played in South Dallas? Holy cow.
... Malik Muhammad can't get to Austin fast enough. There's no doubt in my mind that he's going to play as a true freshman.
... Johntay Cook's cleats for the state title game.
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... Texas commit Tre Wisner has seen his recruiting stock fall this season after the transfer to DeSoto, but no one can say he didn't ball out in his final high school game with everything on the line. The man had 214 yards of all-purpose offense and two touchdowns on only 11 touches. That'll do.
... I'm really happy for DeSoto head coach Claude Mathis. Few coaches in the state have been as genuinely nice to me (and others) over the years. He's just good people and I really enjoyed seeing him have that moment.
... Good for Reginald Samples. That was a long time coming.
... My goodness, when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, Duncanville 2024 superstar edge Colin Simmons did the damn thing. It felt like he was creating havoc on every single play.
... The face-mask that Simmons committed in the fourth quarter was so flagrant that it was actually kind of funny. If there was ever going to be a face-mask call that warranted a 30-yard penalty, that was the one.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) Chris Del Conte will make a very good hire. I don't really doubt that.
(Buy) I still believe in this team... at least that much.
(Buy) I'm starting to think so.
(Buy) Why not? It's hard to know who else will be there at this point.
(Sell) I'm not putting too much stock in the bowl game, no matter what happens. What occurs in the next 9 months that follows is what is most important.
(Buy) Marion's group didn't perform as well as it needed to. Period.
(Sell) It's really close, but I don't know that I can make a strong case for a buy, so I'll be conservative for now. It's really close.
(Sell) Put some damn respect on Richard Barnes' name.
(Sell) I think he probably gets one of those two marks, but maybe not both.
(Sell) I don't know that Texas is going to leave the Big 12 with a bang, so I'm not yet into predicting that it will enter a better conference with one.
(Buy) I'm still giving this staff the benefit of the doubt that there's more going on than meets the eye, but I'd be more interested in some of the guys on the market from the Portal than some of the high school kids Texas is still after.
(Sell) I'll go Anthony Hill and Malik Muhammad, but I'm not quite sure of a third yet, let alone a fourth. Maybe Johntay Cook.
(Sell) It's a 10.
(Buy) Yup.
(Sell) I don't think the bowl game will impact Worthy's decision.
(Sell) It would take a Final Four level season to make that happen.
(Sell) No, I don't see that.
(Sell) The 2022 OL class is better than this linebacker class.
No. 9 - Scattershooting on anything and everything ...
... Billy Napier kicked a field goal with 37 seconds left in the Las Vegas Bowl while down 30-0 to Oregon State to avoid being shut out and preserving the NCAA record for scoring in consecutive games streak that spans back to 1988. Is that the weakest moral victory of all-time?
,,, Phil Bennett's wife means business.
... That was just an ugly loss for the Cowboys in Jacksonville. Not only did they lose on a walk-off pick-six, but they blew a 17 point second-half lead to get there. I suppose the good news is that it's not going to matter because they aren't catching the Eagles and can't do any better than the No.1 wildcard spot. The bad news is that this team ain't winning three straight road games in the playoffs.
... The Chiefs winning the AFC West is an inevitable as the Cowboys losing a game it should win.
... Houston has a hell of a player on its hands with Jalen Pitre
... Apparently, Michael Jordan was busy at an NFL: game this weekend.
... The Colts should be relegated for blowing a 33-0 lead. That just can't happen.
... Ouch.
... You win some, you lose some...
... I'm not sure that I can say anything about the World Cup Final that hasn't already been said. It was so epic that it's not too early to say that it was a match for the ages. What it means for the legacy of Leo Messi probably can't even be measured. He was already the GOAT and now he gets the John Elway walk-off moment on the international stage. It's like we all watched a Disney movie. Simply unreal.
... Tip of the cap to Kylian Mbappe. What a player.
No. 10 - The List: Top 10 TV Shows of 2022...
What a year in television, which has replaced the movies as the must-devour medium of pop culture.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I love my movies, but there's only a handful that I have seen so far that deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as television.
The streaming wars has brought us greatness.
10. The Staircase (HBO)
9. Ozark (Netflix)
8. Severance (Apple+)
7. Euphoria (HBO)
6. Andor (Disney)
5. We Own This City (HBO)
4. The White Lotus (HBO)
3. The Bear (Fx)
2. House of the Dragon (HBO)
1. Better Call Saul (AMC)
Speak with confidence that the program will be fine and that they are on top of things.
I can't go into details yet, but there's likely something to that.
There's not really a market for it, at least one that isn't limited.
I'd love to have better coverage, but there has to be an appetite for it beyond 10% of the site on most days.
I enjoyed it. Just didn't have it in the top 10 in an incredibly strong year.
I don't disagree but Monday wasn't the day to BS people. Anything else this last week until now would have just drawn more media attention. I have no problem with the approach on this one so far. But something needs to be said soon and it needs to be factual and strong in message.
Has any search started for replacement? Any feelers?
Apple TV. 8 episodes based on a true story. The serial killer in it is played by Fang from Cobra Kai. Excellent show.
If you're going to have the assistant basketball coach handled media duties, you can do the same in support. JMO.
I haven't heard that any search has started.
I haven't seen any of the shows on your list, but that's because 95% of the TV I watch is sports, usually on delay. Occasionally we will get into something like Stranger Things or the Mandalorian, but we just don't watch much TV. I want to watch Andor, but we still have to get through Boba Fett and the Obi-Wan shows. One of these days we might find time, but we have to wait until we can watch them with my daughter and she's in gymnastics 20 hours a week 🤷
Well, CDC was definitely at the VB FF, which is where he should be.
All of the Beard discussions are taking place above his pay grade.
