Momma never said the NIL world would be easy.
As we approach the second anniversary of this brand new world in which college athletics resides, a number of realities have been become clear over time. Perhaps none are more clear than the reality that the need for more money is a 365-days-per-year mantra.
"I used to think before NIL existed that if it ever did, Texas would dominate," one source told me over the phone this week. "It's not like that."
Before we go any further down the NIL rabbit hole as it relates to what still stands in front of UT in terms of challenges, it needs to be stressed that from an organization standpoint, the folks in charge from a UT perspective have done an incredibly strong job. The set-up and creation of the Texas One Fund was such a wildly successful creation that it has served as an inspiration to pretty much every university in the country as the model they should copy. Once upon a time, the infrastructure was a problem and it isn't today, which is no small victory.
"There has never been a better time for a Texas fan to have a direct impact on making Texas the most historically elite athletic program in the country," Texas One president Patrick "Wheels” Smith told OB this weekend.
If Texas starts competing for national titles in football under Steve Sarkisian, there should probably be a statue of Texas alum Scott Freeman put somewhere around the stadium because so much of the successes that have occurred in the last year have been through his hard, tireless, never-ending work. Behind the scenes, people know that he has been instrumental in Texas accomplishing what it has accomplished.
Yet, the reality of the NIL world is that it resembles putting fingers into a dyke that has hundreds of holes with water coming out of them.
There are always more recruiting classes. There will always be more transfers that are looking for NIL pots of gold. There's almost no time to celebrate the wins because there's always another situation that needs addressing by the time you finish celebrating.
"There is no other fan base or alumni group in the country that can match Texas," Smith said. "This does take action and a groundswell of this incredible fan base to take action and to give."
One source with knowledge of the situation went a little further with regard to the urgency of taking action within the fan base,
"We've got a lot of people that aren't giving that just think a bunch of rich guys will take care of it," the source said. "Meanwhile, the rich guys all seem to think that some other rich guy other than them will take care of it."
From an NIL perspective, Texas needs the following.
a. More enthusiasm from smaller donors. Whether it's $20 or $200 per month, the Longhorns need thousands of monthly donors. Things aren’t there yet.
b. It needs some of its wealthiest fans and alums to get more seriously involved.
For its part, the leadership at the Texas One Fund is doing everything it can do to educate Texas fans on all of the good that it has created with Texas athletes, who get out and do charitable work in the community as part of the fund's key initiative.
"With the Texas One Fund, our student athletes are making a direct contribution off the field and in the community with charitable work," Smith said. "Do you realize what it means to a foster child to have Texas football and volleyball players show up at their birthday parties? It’s life-changing and it’s making our student athletes better as well."
Ultimately, Texas needs more enthusiasm on the NIL front and it's not outlandish to suggest that it's going to become difficult to compete on a national level in any sport without it. Take what's happening in women's basketball right now with Kim Mulkey's LSU basketball program. There's been a monsoon of financial enthusiasm in NIL donations towards her program and you better believe it has had an impact in the recent transfer market success the program has enjoyed.
That's just one example. There are schools throughout UT's new home in the SEC that have an enthusiasm edge on the Longhorns when it comes to NIL donations.
To the school's credit, every single head coach in every sport is making incredible efforts to generate that enthusiasm. Part of what Steve Sarkisian has been doing this month while barnstorming the state is talking to Texas alums about the need for more contributions on the NIL front. He's out there hustling in the streets to elevate the fund-raising.
Same with Rodney Terry. Same with Vic Schaefer. Same with all of the coaches. When I asked a source this weekend if there was any dead weight in the athletic department among head coaches who simply don't want to put in the work, I was told that everyone is doing his or her part without hesitation.
I'm not telling you that you need to give more money. Frankly, that's not my job. I'm merely telling you what's what.
There remains a lot of work to do.
"We're not dealing with the Tooth Fairy," another source in the UT athletic department told me. "We don't get to put a wish list under our pillows and then find the money the next morning when we wake up. It's time for people to stop talking about getting involved and actually get involved."
No. 2 - Micah Hudson talk ...
So, I made this Tweet over the weekend and my mentions went to hell in a handbasket.
My mentions were a mess from Tech fans, who apparently believe that I made the comment out of fear.
Lulz.
The reality of the Hudson recruitment is that if it becomes a game of Show Friends, Tech has a real shot when you consider his dad played at Tech, his girlfriend is scheduled to go there and he has a real affection for the Tech coaches.
If the recruitment becomes a game of Show Business, the Longhorns will win. No offense to Hutto's Will Hammond (2024 Tech quarterback commitment) or Jake Strong (2023 Tech quarterback signee), but neither of those guys is Arch Manning. Or Maalik Murphy, for that matter.
One school will be playing in the SEC, while the other plays in a watered down Big 12.
One school offers up the chance to play against the best of the best on a weekly basis, while the other plays in games that nobody will really care to watch.
There are reasons why no recruit with the status of Hudson has ever signed to play with Texas Tech.
Ultimately, you have to think Show Business wins out over Show Friends. If Hudson doesn't know that by now, he'll know later in the year when he looks at the Tech recruiting class and realizes that an army of one in college football is only going to take you so far.
No. 3 - For the record ...
I'm still stuck between two records when it comes to projecting the record for the Longhorns during the 2023 season.
Depending on the day, I've got Texas going 9-3 or 10-2. I'm leaning toward picking Texas to win the Big 12 title, but I'd be lying if I said there's not some hesitation.
I'll make my final call in August after I've had a chance to get a feel for where things stand in the final weeks before the season starts.
Ultimately, I wonder if ...
a. Quinn Ewers takes the next step.
b. Sarkisian takes the next step.
c. Texas plays consistently very good football and doesn't play down to its competition.
d. Texas doesn't get screwed by Big 12 officials in at least one game in such a way that it leads to a loss.
No. 4 - Curiosity Got The Cat ...
I found myself on Ebay this weekend looking at the football cards that are out for Texas football players Quinn Ewers, Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy. Here's a look at what the marketplace looks like:
Quinn Ewers
Most Expensive Sold Card - (Less than $85) 2022 Leaf Flash Green Sparkle Rookie Card 7/7 PSA 9 Mint POP 1
Best Available - (Auction ending Tuesday) 2022 LEAF EXOTIC TIE-DYE PRIZM AUTO 5/6
Xavier Worthy
Most Expensive Sold Card - ($26) 2022 Leaf Exotic Xavier Worthy #/8 Mosaic Tiger Encased On Card Rc
Best Available - (124.00 OBO) Onyx 10/10 with special inscription
Bijan Robinson
Most Expensive Sold Card - ($400) Laser rainbow 1/1 Auto
Best Available - ($699 OBO) - 2022 Wild 5 Card Draw Bijan Robinson Auto Black Holo Foil 1/1
No. 5 - KD's Legacy ...
In the aftermath of former Texas basketball star Kevin Durant's season coming to an end this week in less than heroic fashion, I've found myself going mad at some of the discussion that has taken place with regard to his legacy as a player.
What drives me crazy isn't the hot takes as much as the idea that in 10 years from now anyone is going to give a damn about what happens in this series against the Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs. It's the kind of stuff that national media types like to bring up for discussion/content, but the reality is once a career ends, no one spends time in the weeds.
Ultimately, Durant will be judged like every other great player ... by the totality of his accomplishments. How many rings did he win? How many MVPs did he win? How many Finals MVPs did he win?
Take LeBron James' career for example. The man is a 19-time all-star, a 13-time first-team All-NBA player and a four-time MVP... yet his career and place in history is often summed up by his four championship rings. No one specifically cares about the loss in the Finals to the Mavs or that he came short with the Cavs so many times before moving to Miami or any of his losses to the Warriors. What matters is that he has four rings.
The same is true with Kobe Bryant. Few can tell you where he ranks on the all-time scoring list (4th). What people can tell you is that he finished with five rings. What people don't really bring up are his failures along the way. No one ever mentions the game seen loss to Phoenix when he took only three shots in the second half of a 121-90 loss. Those are the types of details we lose our minds over in real time and then forget as the years go by.
All that matters is what the final resume has on it. The process towards getting there is pretty non-important. The same will be true of Durant. He doesn't have enough titles to be talked about the true rarified air of Jordan, LeBron or even Kobe, but he will be discussed in the tier just below them as one of the greatest scoring/small forwards of his time.
Take a look at this resume.
That's Larry Bird ... the man generally viewed as the second-best small forward in the history of basketball.
Now, take a look at this resume.
That's Durant. He has one less ring and two fewer MVPs, while he has four more scoring titles and one more all-star game appearance. The only thing that losing last week did to Durant's legacy is that it took away one of his final opportunities in his career to close the gap on Bird in a couple of the categories that will define his career.
It's the difference between being ranked 7th all-time (as Bird was by TheAthletic.com last year) or 13th all-time (as Durant was by TheAthletic.com). Or the difference between 7th (as Bird was ranked last year by ESPN) or 12th (as Durant was ranked last year by ESPN).
These are incredibly fine margins that define the greatest in the history of their sport. Nothing that happens from here on out is going to change the fact that Durant is a consensus top-15 player in the history of his sport as his career comes to an end. What happened at the end of the season when he was 34 years old isn't going to define him any more than it did for Bird when he lost to the Pistons in the semifinals in 1991 (the year Jordan won his first title).
His legacy is mostly set. Let's quit pretending that it isn't.
No. 6 - So, you're telling me there's a chance ...
The Longhorns will go into its final Big 12 Series of the season next weekend against West Virginia at home with their Big 12 regular season title hopes still alive.
All it will take is the following:
a. Texas has to sweep all three games against West Virginia.
b. Oklahoma State has to lose at least one game in its series against the Sooners.
If those two things happen, the Longhorns will either be tied for the conference championship with West Virginia and Oklahoma State (unless the Cowboys lose the series at Oklahoma). If multiple teams finish the season with nine losses, Kansas State could also claim a piece of the conference title if it sweeps Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Oh, if only the Longhorns could get a re-do against OU ...
No. 7 - Good news and bad news ...
The Texas softball team did what it needed to this weekend in the Big 12 Tournament to ensure that it was ranked as a top-8 seed when the NCAA Tournament bracket was released on Sunday night.
After dropping three games last weekend, the Longhorns handled their business in beating Tech in extra innings in the first round and then dropping a 9-1 bomb on Kansas in round two.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that the Longhorns were given the No. 13 national seed, which means that if they can get through Texas A&M, Texas State and Seton Hall this upcoming weekend, they’ll likely have to go through Tennessee in Knoxville to get to the College World Series.
The worse news is that Oklahoma is 51-1 this season and simply won't go away. They didn't go away in the regular season. They didn't go away this weekend. They almost certainly won't go away in the post-season.
It feels like the Longhorns can beat any team they'll face in the NCAA Tournament ... except the Sooners. I only say that knowing that they were beaten by a combined 28-7 score in four games this season. Of course, the Longhorns almost won one of those games. Almost. Knowing that they might have to beat them twice in the post-season in order to win a championship feels a little like David knowing that Goliath would get up quickly from the first rock to the forehead.
It's doable, but it sure would be easier if the Sooners would just go away.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) The Longhorns could struggle to run the ball against Alabama, but I'm not sure that I envision the running game causing the team to struggle throughout the rest of the non-conference.
(Sell) Yes, on Xavier Worthy, Ja'Tavion Sanders and Kelvin Banks as first-team players. Quinn Ewers is very possible.
(Buy/Sell) Yes, I'll take the Longhorns +7 against a team that doesn't really know who will be playing quarterback. That being said, I have the Longhorns at 7-2 in conference play.
(Buy) No hesitation.
(Buy) Worthy, Mitchell and Whittington ... yes.
(Sell) I questioned Charlie Strong's intelligence. I questioned his ability to count by intervals of 40. I called him the Michael Scott of college football and did not mean it as a compliment. I told people that his core values meant nothing when he spoke to the NFL and everyone wanted to believe it meant everything. I feel like you'll find that when coaches underperform at Texas, I call it out for what it is and don't make statements based on whether the reader is going to get in their feels over it.
(Buy) Marginally. Maybe more than that if a few light switches flick on.
(Buy) Of course. Texas allowed 125.7 yards per game and that ranked second in the conference. Only three running backs in the conference averaged more than 100.0 yards per game. No team allowed less than 107 yards per game.
(Buy) Sark will keep the competition open until the middle of August, which will likely keep the loser around for the 2024 season. That's assuming that Ewers starts the entire season and the dynamics of the battle aren't impacted by a Ewers injury.
(Sell) It rushed for 79 yards as a team last year. Thirty-six of those yards came on Hudson Card runs. The Longhorns rushed for 13 yards as a team in the last game we watched against Washington.
No. 9 - Scattershooting on anything and everything ...
... This seems notable...
... I don't have a lot to say about what happened to the Sixers today in game seven against the Celtics. It was dispiriting and so far away from good enough that I couldn't even see good enough by the end of the game. I can't say it was completely surprising.
... Well done, Jayson Tatum. There's not much I can do but give him a bunch of credit.
... In the semi-final round of the playoffs, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker were eliminated in a 25-point loss, Steph Curry went home in a 21-point loss and Joel Embiid went out in a 24-point loss. Shit happens.
... Embiid is going to be a Hall of Fame player, but he'll never be judged with the greats of all-time until he gets over these post-season hurdles.
... This probably cost Philly the series, but no one will care.
... I'm not convinced that either the Celtics or Sixers get through Jimmy Butler and the Heat.
... I don't know that it's ever going to get better for the Knicks in the next decade than losing in six in the conference semis.
... Dear Ja Morant, be smarter, dude. Be smarter.
... Holy cow, what a performance from a ninth grader!
... The NFL schedules came out and I'm fascinated by how the Cowboys schedule was created. Four of the first six games are on the road, as are three of the last four. In between those games, the Cowboys play five out of seven at home. My initial thought is that the Cowboys will be 8-5(ish) going into their last four games.
... I might be joining the Anthony Richardson Fan Club soon ...
... Ilkay Gundogan is some kind of player and he probably isn't one of the three best players on Man City on any given day. That team is just so loaded.
... Barcelona were non-factors in the Champions League, but finish as champions of LaLiga. I think that translates to a net-win.
... If Austin FC isn't careful, it's going to finish this season as the worst team in the MLS.
No. 10 - The List: Roy Orbison ...
I was in a little bit of a Big O mood this weekend, so I decided to lean on a Top 10 that I did more than a decade ago.
Shout out to the pride of Vernon, Texas.
Last five songs out: Not Alone Any More, Wild Hearts Run Out of Time, She's a Mystery to Me, Blue Bayou and A Love So Beautiful
10. Life Fades Away
Created as part of the soundtrack for the movie Less Than Zero, this might have been the song that jump-started his resurgence in the late-1980s. Unlike a lot of the songs that he made in his final few albums, this feels like an absolute throwback to the early part of his career, but there's a freshness to the song that elevates it above the likes of Dream Baby and onto the list.
9. That Lovin' You Feelin' Again
I'm not sure anything brings out the beauty of Orbison's voice than when it's paired with a beautiful female voice because it helps bring out even more tenderness and a softness that's sometimes very underrated about his singing because of those powerful pipes. He should have made a dozen songs with Emmylou Harris over the years because they sang like they were born to sing together.
8. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
One of Orbison's inspirations in music was Hank Sr. and back in 1970, he did a tribute album that featured his take on my favorite Hank Sr. song of all-time. The whole idea of Orbison covering Hank Sr. songs was a tremendous, yet underrated concept. If you haven't listened to Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way, I highly recommend it because Orbison's interpretations of songs like Kaw-Liga and Jambalaya are something to behold.
7. Handle With Care
The best song on the debut album from the Traveling Wilburys, all of the magic of bringing Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and George Harrison together on a song is brought home by the middle section of the song performed by Orbison. The man was a singing angel sent down to us from the heavens.
6. We'll Take the Night
Most of you have probably never heard this track, but it's one of my favorites because it shows some of Orbison's versatility as a performer. A completely different sound than so many of his recordings, this jam has the feel of a great Bruce Springsteen joint, complete with a saxophone-heavy vibe. The song was recorded in 1987 and went unreleased until 1992, more than three years following his death.
5. It's Over
Can you imagine going through a break-up when this song first-dropped? Orbison could tell amazing stories in his songs and a lot of them never cracked three minutes in running time, but he just had an incredible ability to take you on a roller coaster of emotion through his story-telling.
4. Only the Lonely
This is the song that really got it all started for Orbison, an operatic ballad that forever changed the history of rock and roll.
3. You Got It
One of the saddest aspects of Orbison's early death is that it occurred as he was in the middle of a resurgence in his career and I think a case can be made that he was just hitting his stride when he died in 1988 because he'd finally re-found his voice within modern music. His final two albums were as good as any that he ever recorded and they were released a quarter of a century after the release of his most iconic songs. This is the best track off his 1989 released Mystery Girl.
2. Oh, Pretty Woman
One of the more well-known and beloved songs in rock and roll history. Nearly 50 years after it was first recorded, it still sizzles as an all-time classic.
1. Crying
I don't think there's a song that better speaks to what Orbison was more than this song, which ranks as one of the greatest ever recorded in the last 60 years or so. It might be impossible to improve the original, but his duet of the song with k.d. lang is a masterpiece.
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