Let's just say a few of the quiet things out loud.
Quinn Ewers is going to be the starting quarterback of the University of Texas in 2022.
Ewers was going to be the starting quarterback of the Longhorns whether Casey Thompson stayed or not. We can talk about fair competitions, fighting for jobs and meritocracies until we are blue in the face, but Ewers didn't come to Texas and Steve Sarkisian didn't bring Ewers to Texas for him to ride the bench.
Here's another quiet part that needs to be spoken freely ... if Ewers is the guy that so many people, including Ewers, believes that he is, the Longhorns will have him for the next two seasons before he departs for the NFL. Talk to anyone with an ounce of insight on Ewers and they will tell you the same thing.
Texas has two seasons with him. Of course, injuries can happen. A meteor could hit earth. Maybe he just won't be good enough.
However, if he's not a bust (which would be very problematic on a number of levels), he'll be cashing more than NIL checks when the 2024 season rolls around. All of this matters because it's really important that everyone understands the timelines that exist with the critical players inside this program. Just like we know that the Longhorns almost certainly only have one more season of Bijan Robinson to work with before he departs, knowing how much clock remains on the Ewers Era ... even before it officially stats ... is something everyone is better off by understanding.
When my man Anwar Richardson wrote earlier today that the Longhorns are officially in a tear-it-all-down-built-it-back-up rebuild job, he was 100-percent right. I'm piggybacking off of his column to outline why everything the Longhorns do for the next 12 months needs to be done with one eye on the 2023 season.
The big challenge for Sarkisian over the course of the next 12-18 months is going to be trying to get this program in a position to challenge for a conference championship at the exact moment when his potentially special starting quarterback is still on campus.
It's that simple.
That's not to say that the Longhorns can't pull a 1998 Tennessee, which witnessed the Vols win a national championship the season following Peyton Manning's departure, but you'd probably like to take advantage of having a potentially special player while you have him.
Speaking of the 2023 Texas Longhorns, this is a very, very early look at the starting line-up two seasons from now.
QB: Quinn Ewers (Junior)
RB: Johnathan Brooks (Junior)
WR: Xavier Worthy (Junior)
WR: Brenen Thompson (Sophomore)
WR: Troy Omeire (Junior)
TE: Ja'Tavion Sanders (Junior)
LT: Kelvin Banks (Sophomore)
LG: Hayden Conner (Junior)
C: Jake Majors (Junior)
RG: Neto Umeozulu (Sophomore)
RT: Camron Williams (Sophomore)
DE: Alfred Collins (Senior)
DT: Byron Murphy (Junior)
DT: Jaray Bledsoe (Sophomore)
Edge: Justice Finkley (Sophomore)
MLB:Jaylan Ford (Senior)
WLB: David Gbenda (Senior)
Nickel: Terrence Brooks (Sophomore)
CB: Jahdae Barron (Senior)
CB: Kitan Crawford (Senior)
S: Jerrin Thompson (senior)
S: J.D. Coffey (Junior)
What are our thoughts on this line-up? Too young? Needs a few upgrades? Where are the question marks?
From my perspective, a big part of the transfer game in the next 12-16 months needs to center on upgrading the developing 2023 starting line-up as much as anything else.
Frankly, if we can say one more quiet part out loud, it might be that if the Longhorns aren't winning at the level Sarkisian was hired to win at before the end of his third season in Austin, there might be a new head coach choosing the quarterback that gets to be Tee Martin in 2024.
As Ewers goes, so goes Sarkisian. The clock was ticking the moment he arrived.
No. 2 - About Ewers season in Columbus ...
Over the course of the last few weeks, I've had a chance to speak with a handful of people connected to the Ohio State program in an effort to learn a little more about the five months that Quinn Ewers spent inside the Ohio State football program.
Here are the main takeaways from my conversations.
* Ewers never quite got settled in Columbus. The Buckeyes entered the season with three other quarterbacks on the roster and Ryan Day seemed to bristle at times this season over so much unexpected focus on his No. 4 guy.
One source said: "Any snap to Ewers would have been one that Kyle McCord or Jack Miller would not be getting, so someone was going to be unhappy. Ewers finally did see a little action late in the season (Michigan State) when Miller was suspended on suspicion of a DUI (later plead down to lesser offense)."
* Just as there is at Texas, there was a major fan obsession in Columbus over Ewers, which apparently bewildered Day, who couldn't understand why he was constantly being asked about his No. 4 guy.
* The general feeling is that Ewers never completely felt comfortable with the offense, but a big part of that was that the Ohio State staff was far more focused on the season at hand instead of the quarterback of the future.
"It was an impossible situation because once he declared he was coming, the train was already in motion and Ewers was never going to get much of a shake."
* The bottom line is that Ewers didn't/wasn't able to distinguish himself at all while he was on campus and followers of the OSU program aren't quite sure what Texas is getting from Ewers after only having him for a few months.
No. 3 - Thoughts on the addition of Tashard Choice ...
Love it. I actually, I LOVE it.
If you're going to lose one of the nation's best running backs coaches, it's best to hire a guy that many around the nation believe is headed for that territory.
A few things to know about Choice after listening to little birdies all weekend chirp about his quality.
1. He's young and hungry. At 37 years of age, Choice has the same dream as Drayton, which is to become a head coach. That's not going to happen unless he kills it at a major program like Texas.
2. His players respect and relate to him. Georgia Tech star running back Jahmyr Gibbs is a guy that Choice recruited, developed and has poised to eventually play on Sundays. I haven't seen a single person affiliated with the Tech program that doesn't think he's a rock star in the making.
3. He's going to be a very good recruiter for the Longhorns. Even though Georgia Tech isn't an easy school to recruit for, Choice signed several four-star running backs during his three seasons with Tech, including Gibbs, who was the nation's No. 70 overall prospect and took official visit to Florida, LSU and Ohio State.
I think he's going to prove to be one of Sarkisian's better hires.
No. 4 - Let's talk Casey Thompson for a brief moment ...
It's hard to pin down what exactly the Longhorns are losing with Thompson.
On one hand, Thompson had a better statistical season throwing the football (154.7 efficiency rating) than Sam Ehlinger ever had at Texas in four seasons.
On the other hand, Thompson struggled at every turn in the final half of the season with a mangled thumb on his throwing hand, which led to him being replaced late in the year by Hudson Card and cited specifically by Sarkisian as a microcosm of a team that didn't qualify for a bowl.
On one hand, Thompson played the best game against Oklahoma in the history of the Texas program at the quarterback position and led the Big 12 in touchdown passes.
On the other hand, Thompson was still prone to making major mistakes and seemed to have as many problems seeing linebackers lurking in his passing windows as he did with his injured thumb.
As things stand, his one season as a starter is so hard to quantify that there's absolutely zero consensus with the bet that Jason Suchomel and Alex Dunlap made back in 2018.
The bet was that Thompson had to be a good starting quarterback. Stats be damned, can any starting quarterback at Texas be a good starting quarterback if he can't lead the team to a bowl game or keep his job?
No. 5 - A look at the scholarship board ...
* Casey Thompson and Ishmael Ibraheem have been taken off the list. For those that missed it, Ibraheem has been suspended indefinitely from team activities after being charged with a revenge porn crime.
* We're not listing Ronald Lewis at this point as a member of the 2022 incoming class. If he signs in February or locks in that he will actually sign in February, we'll add him to the freshmen numbers, but the smart money is on him signing elsewhere at this point.
* I'm seeking official word from the NCAA on the status of both incoming grad transfers and existing grad transfers, but haven't yet heard back. As soon as I do, I'll let you know.
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No. 6 – More burnt orange randomness …
... There are strong suspicions that changes to the coaching staff aren't completely done and we should all keep an eye on the Texas wide receivers spot.
... Is Marcus Carr ever going to take off at Texas? If he can't, can this team really be a threat on the second weekend of the Tournament?
... It took exactly two games to see that Dylan Disu is one of the best players on Chris Beard's roster, which makes his continued acclimation into the team framework so critical.
... The Longhorns came into Sunday's game with the following triple slash line: 48.3/36.0/75.6. It doesn't even feel like this team has totally figured itself out yet, but shooting the basketball is still a strong-point, along with very good defense. The makings of a really good team are truly present.
... It was hard to watch Nebraska and Wisconsin play for the national championship in volleyball on Saturday night without feeling that the Longhorns let a national title that was there for the taking slide through their fingers with one really spotty weekend of play.
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) The best way to take advantage of Ewers as a quarterback is to make sure that a very youthful Texas squad for the next few years isn't being asked to go through the gauntlet of the SEC instead of the Big 12. Let your big guys grow up, recruit more of them, let OU save some pennies and continue to be very vague about the future SEC joining date for recruiting purposes.
(Buy) That's exactly what I expect to occur.
(Sell) This is a young man that has a lot on his plate and a lot to consider, but at the end of the day he wants to play in the NFL one day and I don't think he'll stay if he's able to find a home that gets him closer to continuing that dream that spinning his wheels in the Texas program. I can't imagine Card feels any better about Ewers joining the program than Thompson did.
(Sell) Going 5-7 and not likely being able to answer questions about the true long-term upside of this program before he makes a decision is a much, much, much bigger problem. The presence of Ewers actually would allow Manning some time to settle in before the fan base goes completely crazy over his presence ... at least on paper.
(Buy) Oh yeah ... the attrition isn't over.
(Buy) The coaches are clearly looking to add another wide receiver to the program and I think one arrives via the portal.
(Buy) Did you know that 95.202 officially showed up for the Kansas game?
(Buy) Nothing has been announced, but I'm expecting to hear exactly that in the next couple of weeks.
(Sell) The good news is that the Longhorns don't need the Sooners to take a giant step backwards. Texas just needs OU to take a step backwards of any kind. That means they aren't owning the conference each year until both teams head to the SEC.
(Buy) Not only was this team 5-7, but it wasn't getting the benefit of the doubt from big-time players since months ago, but started getting the benefit of the doubt after doing nothing on the field to earn it. It's wild that this class happened. If they get Campbell, I'd bump it to 10 out of 10.
(Sell) I think the Longhorns might wait until after the Alabama game before the full youth movement along the offensive line takes place.
(Sell) The 2022 recruiting class for the Longhorns won't add up to a hill of beans if it isn't surrounded by classes just like it in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Then all of those classes need to be developed. What makes this class so important for the Aggies is that they have landed the No. 6 (2021), No. 6 (2020) and No. 6 (2019) ranked classes in the three previous seasons. They'll likely have more than a dozen five-stars from that group to build from.
(Sell) At the end of the day, Cameron Williams isn't regarded as a state top-100 pick by 247 and I think he's a national top 150-200 type of player. He's my pick. When I look at Burke, I see a really good player with a frame that could turn him into a monster in a few years, but he's also a high-risk player because I don't believe he's a super hyper-twitch athlete and he might need a few years of development before he hits. I think we're talking about a low four-star. high three-star type of guy and Rivals currently has him rated as a high three star.
(Sell) I think Texas will look to sign one really bad-ass if they can and save that scholarship for help elsewhere. As things stand, the Longhorns will have Worthy at one spot outside, Whittington/Brenen Thompson in the slot and a wide open spot available at the other outside position.
(Buy) Much less eventful. It would be almost impossible for it not to be.
(Sell) Define 'huge"?
(Buy) I'll take a double shot of buy on that one.
(Buy) Not budging on that one at this point.
(Buy) And then he can bring Biletnikoff Award Winner Jordan Addison with him, since he no longer has a big-time quarterback with Kenny Pickett headed off to the NFL ... What if the wide receiver that was promised to arrive with Ewers turned out to be a player like Addison?
No. 8 - Scattershooting on the sports weekend ...
... I can't say I watched a single live play of any bowl game from the weekend, but Jake Haener returning from the Portal to lead Fresno State to win a win over UTEP might be peak #CFB2021.
... Shout out to D'Onta Foreman for recording his second 100-yard game in the last three games - against New England and Pittsburgh. Our guy might be staying in the league for a while after the 2021 season after looking like he might have been out of chances.
... What the hell am I supposed to make out of Houston taking Jacksonville to the woodshed? How exactly did that benefit the Texans?
... The Cowboys aren't going to make the NFC title game unless their brand of football improves significantly.
... That was one hell of a tackle by Joe Haden to win that game for the Steelers.
... I'd really like a re-do on my decision not to draft Jonathan Taylor.
... What the hell happened to Kyler Murray and the Cardinals? How do you explain losing by three scores to the Lions? Woof.
... Tyron Woodley's entire career will be mostly remembered for this.
No. 9 - Top 10 Christmas Song ...
Confession: I didn't know about Mariah Carey's all-time classic until I saw the little girl sing in Love Actually. The damn thing was released when I was a freshman in college and I was all over Mimi's music at that time in my life, but I just don't have any memory of it when it came out.
I guess I wasn't into Christmas music.
But, I'm 45 now and I have 7-year old twins. You better believe I do Christmas music in 2021.
Therefore, let's do a list.
1. All I Want For Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey)
2. Christmas Time is Here (Vince Guaraldi Trio)
3. Rockin ' Around The Christmas Tree (Brenda Lee)
4. This Christmas (Donny Hathaway)
5. White Christmas (Bing Crosby)
6. The Christmas song (Nat King Cole)
7. Last Christmas (Wham)
8. Christmas , Baby Please Come Home (Mariah Carey)
9. Santa Baby (Eartha Kitt)
10. Jingle Bell Rock (Bobby Helms)
No. 10 - And Finally...
I just wanted to take a moment to give an attaboy to the entire Orangebloods team for what I thought was a pretty incredible week of coverage on the site.
Over the course of the last year, we've doubled in size as a working staff and every single person from Jason dominating his beat without needing to peddle fool's gold to Cole working the highways to make sure we were the action was taking place to Anwar joining me for almost 6 hours of live broadcasting to Michael, Ari, Blake, Keenan and Serenity all helping behind the scenes with producing, booking, working social media and almost everything in-between... I thought we had a total team effort that I was not only really proud of, but I'll remember for the rest of my career.
