We are a mere 12 days out from the Texas Spring game, which is a way of saying we're entering the homestretch of the 2023 spring football practice sessions.
It seems like a really good time to take a step back and assess the biggest position battles, question marks and storylines within the Texas program.
Let's not waste any more time or words because this might take a while.
1. Quinn Ewers IS the starting quarterback.
If there was ever any true doubt about the state of the quarterback positioning entering the spring after head coach Steve Sarkisian had indicated a competition would take place at the end of the season, Ewers has done a really good job of pouring water on it.
The turnovers are down, the intensity of his preparation is up and the byproduct of those two things is that Ewers seems to have boxed out any and all conversation about whether the job is his or not... it is.
Of course, what all that translates to can't be answered until September and October, but it's hard to nitpick much of what Ewers has done throughout the off-season.
2. Arch Manning IS winning the back-up quarterback battle.
Sarkisian isn't going to come out and say this, whether he believes it or not, because keeping all three around for the fall (at a minimum) is very much at the center of his thoughts on this subject material, but that's not really my job.
My job is to tell you what's what and from my perspective, Manning is the guy who has been healthy, more consistent and making the most steady progress from March through April.
That doesn't mean that the battle is over, but it does mean that if there was a game tomorrow and Ewers wasn't available, Manning would likely get the call.
3. The running back situation remains completely wide-open.
The good news is that Texas has a lot of options that give you optimism.
When healthy, Jonathon Brooks, Jaydon Blue, C.J. Baxter, Keilan Robinson and Savion Red give this team five players that can excite all of us from an intrigue standpoint at the very least. Yet, it feels like the position isn't quite as cut and dry as Brooks being the starter if/when he's healthy.
Sarkisian believes that he will have a 1,000-yard back this season, but I'm not so sure that...
a. It will happen.
b. Who it will be.
The smart money is still on Brooks being running back 1A when the season begins, but all bets are off once the games begin. It'll be a running back by committee until Sarkisian is given a message through acton that it doesn't need to be.
4. The wide receiver position is flat out better in 2023 than 2022.
By the end of last season, the wide receiver position was such a mess that it felt like Texas had two guys that it could count on in Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington, yet in the bowl game the team couldn't even count on Worthy.
Well, four things have occurred that have helped...
a. Worthy is healthy.
b. AD Mitchell has arrived.
c. Johntay Cook has arrived.
d. Casey Cain is getting better.
Oh, and the quarterback play around them has been improved.
5. The offensive line is a work in progress.
In a world where Cole Hutson is healthy, the Longhorns probably have six players that it can feel comfortable playing when the season begins.
That doesn't mean that it has six plus-players to work into those five spots, but the coaches definitely have six players they feel like can be serviceable.
You'd like that number to grow to 7 and then 8... and who the hell knows... maybe even nine before the season ends.
You'd also like the number of truly plus layers to grow from two (Kelvin Banks and Christian Jones) to as many as possible above that number.
The offensive line is in the best position ins been in for a very long time, but there's still a lot of work to be done.
6. Ethan Burke is winning the Buck/Edge position over Justice Finkley.
If this were a 12-round boxing match, we'd probably say that we're only about 5 rounds into the contest, but we'd also probably say that Buck leads 50-45 r 49-46 on all of the judge's scorecards.
There's an element of playmaking that Burke seems to be flashing that surpasses the other players that he's competing against right now, including Finkley, who is rock solid at holding down the edge and playing at the point of attack.
The hope is that someone or even multiple players would step up in trying to replace Ovie Oghoufo in the starting line-up at this position. So far, Burke has been the closest thing to that happening.
7. Linebacker is the biggest wildcard on the team.
Here's what we know... Jaylan Ford is really good.
Here's what we don't now... everything else.
The coaches swear that David Gbenda has made big strides, but none of us can know what that translates to in five months. Same with any and all Jett Bush discussion. Is Morice Blackwell ready to truly be leaned on? Is Anthony Hill ready to carry a lot of weight as a first-year player.
It's a big Elmo should shrug from me at this point.
8. The secondary is loaded with able bodies.
While it remains to be seen just how a five-man nickel package will look in actuality when the team enters the season, the Longhorns don't lack players capable of filling all of the spaces when push comes to shove.
Where does Jalen Catalon fit in? How about an eventual healthy Jaylon Guilbeau? Will any of the cornerbacks be moved to safety in the name of getting the best five on the field at the same time?
Perhaps none of these questions have definite answers, but the fact that the Longhorns have Ryan Watts, Jahdae Barron, Terrence Brooks and Gavin Holmes available to hold down the corner and nickel spots (at a minimum) translates to this team being potentially very good in the secondary before healthy
No. 2 - Ranking my concerns ...
If we're ranking our biggest concerns on the Texas football team going into the rest of the off-season, here's how my list would look (in order).
1. The totality of the linebacker position.
2. The quality at the Buck position and the overall depth at defensive end.
3. Depth and truly plus-play along the interior of the offensive line.
4. The kicking game.
5. Does Texas have a player capable of being the lead dog at running back?
Of course, there's a conversation to be had about just how high of a consistent level of play Ewers is going to reach in games, but I think we're looking at a player that makes a sizable jump in year two as the starter. I'm less confident about those other areas.
No. 3 - Wondering about these four players ...
One of the things that's impossible to notice about Steve Sarkisian's program heading into the 2023 season is that the roster has gone from having a lot of guys on it that didn't have a lot of purpose to that not being nearly as much of a problem.
In fact, with the program in need of some trimming before August, it's hard to scan the roster and find a lot of obvious names that either don't have an obvious role on the team or are too young (two years or less of experience) to know whether they'll have a role.
By my count, there are only four players on the roster going to the final 1/3 of spring workouts that are going into their third seasons that haven't carved out definite roles on the two-deep on this team.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Charles Wright: It's not really his fault that Steve Sarkisian keeps landing young bad-ass quarterbacks, but the program adding the likes of Quinn Ewers, Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning has meant that Wright has found himself as the fourth guy in the quarterback pecking order. Barring some really bad things happening on the injury front, it's hard to see how he climbs the depth chart in the next couple of years, although he could find himself one injury away from the two-deep if there's an injury combined with a transfer.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jaden Alexis: The former Florida prep standout is coming into his third season and I have to be honest... not much has been said about him through my sources (or any others). It feels like he's been bypassed in the pecking order by younger players and if we're talking about a top 5 or 6 players at his position on the roster coming into 2023, he's not in it. It'll be interesting to see if he keeps grinding away and hopeful of knocking down the door for playing time, but he's a player that might have to head elsewhere if getting on the field in 2023 or 2024 is a primary goal.
Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Max Merril: The third-year lineman out of Houston Strake Jesuit hasn't been able to crack the two deep and has been bypassed on the depth chart by younger players in consecutive years. That being said, I've heard Merril is happy as a student at Texas and is enjoying the college experience.
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Sawyer Goram-Welch: Although he's been able to get some action at the No.2 center spot behind Jake Majors, he's probably the No.3 guy at the position in a true depth chart going into the season. I'm not sure he's going to be a guy that ever letters at Texas after only playing in five career games up until now (all on the defensive side of the ball).
No. 4 - Spring Scholarship Board ...
Just in case you needed a refresher...
No. 5 - A few recruiting odds and ends ...
... We were all reminded this weekend about the value of the Texas Relays to the football program this weekend when a large group of guys that would have otherwise not been in town this weekend were not only in town, but in a position to visit the football coaches at the football offices. Being able to get five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson and four-star cornerback Selman Bridges on campus (again) was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Texas recruitment of those players. Gotta just keep plugging away....
... All things being equal, I'm all for the Texas coaches landing Idaho 2024 wide receiver Gatlin Blair to the football program and figuring out later whether his 10.18 (qualifying time) or 10.25 (winning time in the Finals) 100-meter speed can translate to on-field success at the next level. What I do know is that this kid has serious wheels.
... I'm just going to keep banging the Caden Durham drum in hopes that someone will listen to me about the Duncanville product. Ohio State landed a commitment from James Peoples this weekend and we know that the Longhorns seriously coveted Peoples as a potential piece of a two-man running back class in 2024, yet Durham is better than People at literally everything. He's more productive against a much more difficult brand of competition and he's probably .6 faster over the course of 100 meters,.
... Peoples is a very nice running back prospect, but I don't think it's a significant loss for the Longhorns.
... Just tell Timpson athlete Terry Bussey whatever it takes to get him in this class. Yes, he's hell on wheels with the ball in his hands and he also has the upside to be a pro as a defensive back. Those are good problems to have in surplus should one set of skills become more important than the other while he's a college player. Just get him.
No. 6 - A lost weekend in Stillwater...
In the span of a couple of weeks, it feels like we've gone from asking one question to another with the Texas baseball team.
Originally, we were simply left wondering whether the team was going to be any good after a slow start out of the gates. The good news is that the answer seems to be, yes. After running off 16 consecutive wins, the Longhorns have put themselves back into the NCAA post-season picture and were within a couple of outs of exiting this weekend with the lead in the Big 12 standings.
Yet, those final couple of outs represented a razor-thin difference between the weekend being a success and ultimately a disappointment, while also begging the next question that will be asked of this team as it heads into the teeth of the Big 12 schedule...
Is the Texas bullpen good enough for this team to take the next step forward - from pretty good or even very good to something that's another level up from that?
At this point, it's probably too early to tell. Hell, it might even be a bit of an unfair question following a weekend that witnessed the bullpen pitch its first seven innings in Stillwater without giving up a single run. Yet, in receiving only 3 innings of work from Sunday starter Lebarron Johnson Jr., it was a big ask for the Texas bullpen to keep it together for the next six innings, especially in the latter stages of the game.
Ultimately, it proved to be too big of an ask.
There's part of me that doesn't want to overreact to the situation and yet there's another part of me that knows that from weekend to weekend, it's a question that we'll likely be asking a lot. This is the next phase of the season, from wondering if the team is going to be good to wondering over the next few months, just how good.
No. 7 - Holy Mother of Athletic Freaks ...
It just feels like the Texas women's relay teams deserve its own section after setting national records in the 4X100 and 4X200 this weekend at the Texas Relays.
Julien Alfred is some kind of athlete. Like... she's special. Appreciate her in burnt orange while you can.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Buy) I think Texas would be the betting favorite for all of those players except Colin Simmons.
(Sell) Starting? I was saying this team should play for a Big 12 title this season before the spring.
(Sell) How long do we think Ehlinger is going to remain a pro? I think Ewers' arm gives him a better long-term chance of playing a decade-plus.
(Sell) If they aren't able to crack the starting line-up, they can't really represent much a surprise.
(Buy) I think there's room for him to grow into an early day three slot with a stand out final season.
(Sell) Did we?
(Buy/Sell) I'm not sure that there's a better option out there for him than to return for another season at Texas. He's not going to get drafted in the NBA at this point, so what are we even talking about? I'm not so ready to jump on the back to back Elite 8 train until I can see a full vision of the roster. Even then, it's easier said than done.
(Sell) When you're the single child of a single mother, it changes the responsibilities a little. In my case, I don't even get 24 hours in-between the two dates.
(Buy) I'd say rather easily.
(Buy) Texas should always be able to sleepwalk its way to a Top-10 level class, which isn't all that much different than a Top 25 class. It's not a major accomplishment.
(Buy) You left out Houston and East Texas.
No. 9 - Scattershooting on anything and everything ...
... I get the sense that the Texas softball team have seen enough of Oklahoma this season after being on the wrong end of a three-game sweep.
... Speaking of three-game sweeps, I've seen enough of the Texas Rangers for this season after being outscored 29-11 over 27 innings. Good grief.
... The pitching clock doesn't bother me at all outside of making the game go by really fast. You can't turn your head or you might miss an entire half inning.
,,, Give me U.Conn by 10 in tonight's NCAA Final.
... I could have really done without seeing Kim Mulkey ever winning another national championship.
... Not a single element of the smack talk between the LSU team and Iowa's Caitlan Clark matters to me all. If they want to chirp, let them chirp. It's part of basketball.
... If there's anyone out there in college basketball with any brains, we'll get an Iowa/LSU rematch next year in Clark's final season. That absolutely has to happen.
... Bring on The Masters.
... Bring on the NBA Playoffs. I'm ready for the regular season to be over.
... Of course, Chelsea fired another manager. An entire 5 weeks had passed.
No. 10 - The List: John Cusack Top 10 ...
This one comes in via request. I have a feeling all of our Top 10s are going to look really different.
10. Runaway Jury
John Cusack... Gene Hackman... Dustin Hoffman... yes, please.
9. Grifters
Have I underrated this movie? All I know is that I've seen it and I like other movies ahead of it. Don't judge me.
8. One Crazy Summer
It feels like this played on cable enough times for me to see a young Curtis Armstrong and Bobcat Goldthwait a few hundred times. This movie used to be on ALL the time.
7. Serendipity
If I had a man-card, you guys would take it away from me if I admitted how many times I've watched this movie over the years on cable.
6. Love and Mercy
Low key... a pretty fantastic movie.
5. Con Air
It's more of a Nic Cage movie than a Cusack movie, but no one can say that this movie is boring.
4. Eight Men Out
It on my top 5 list of most underrated baseball movies.
3. Say Anything
Many will argue that it should be the No.1 movie on this list, but I have always had so many questions that have bothered me about this plot of this movie that I just can't rank it higher than. I legit love the final two movies on the list.
2. Grosse Point Blank
An assassin having a.midlife crisis as he returns home for a class reunion, while dan Aykroyd chases him, yelling, "Popcorn!", at every given chance? Oh, and Minnie Driver at the peak of her powers? I'm not so sure that this shouldn't be No.1, but...
1. High Fidelity
It's the quintessential Cusack adult movie that has a peak Jack Black performance, along with memorable supporting parts for Lisa Freaking Bonest and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It's Hall of Fame stuff.
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