As they say here in the south “we fittin to find out”
Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (Let's get freaking bold!)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
Dang Mrs. T, you get to hang out on OB while the Mister cooks? Nice job! 😛
#9: You left out the name of the player that laid waste to the SEC Tournament, tossed UConn and Tech on the trash heap and has a wallet with BAMF on it: Walter Clayton, Jr. - hoop assassin.
So, you might have heard ... third-year sophomore tackle Trevor Goosby is kind of a bad ass and has looked fantastic through three practices this spring.
On one hand, it probably shouldn't be a huge surprise, as Goosby was the second-team offensive lineman of note throughout the spring, summer, fall and late in the season when he filled in at tackle in the wake of injuries to starters. It would be a major disappointment if he didn't look like the best offensive lineman on campus after his development in the previous 12 months, prior to the start of spring football.
On the other hand, he's a guy that ranked as a 3-star by three of the four recruiting rankings and no one rated him as a super blue chip prospect. Hell, I had him ranked as the state's top offensive tackle prospect and a Rivals250 type player, but even I only had him ranked as the No. 35 prospect in the state.
On top of that, there's some weird Kyle Flood history that I've never quite been able to wrap my head around. Prior to arriving in Austin, Flood had never taken a player with Goosby's consensus recruiting profile (non 5- or 4-star) and turned him into an NFL player. When he was at Rutgers, he was 0 for 28 on all of the Rivals 3- and 2-star prospects that he recruited and developed for the Scarlet Knights when it came to developing them into NFL draftable players.
In his short time at Alabama, most of his success came with super blue chip level prospects like Jedrick Willis (5-star), Alex Leatherwood (5-star), Landon Dickerson (High 4-star 6.0) and Evan Neal (5-star) - all super blue chips. The one exception to the rule was former high three-star guard Deonte Brown, who developed under Flood into a sixth-round pick and represented the only 3-star prospect of Flood's first two decades of coaching college linemen to emerge into an NFL drafted player.
As I constantly pointed out during Michael Fasusi's recruitment, the attractive thing about Flood as a developer is that he's the Jedi master with the stars. He doesn't just turn super blue chip linemen into NFL players, he turns them into top-of-the-draft millionaires. Hell, he did that at Rutgers with Anthony Davis, who was his only super blue chip prospect he signed while at Rutgers. He's the safest pair of hands in all of college football for a 5-star offensive lineman.
Yet, when Flood arrived at Texas, he hadn't yet recruited and developed a single non-4 star or 5-star into an NFL player in his entire career. It's kind of a crazy factual statement that is impossible to believe, like learning that Elvis Presley was a natural blonde and only dyed his hair black.
While you might think this little odd piece of ongoing trivia would die this month with the drafting of former high three-star Hayden Conner, who played every season under Flood, the truth of the matter is that Conner was already recruited and signed by the time Flood accepted a position on Steve Sarkisian's staff in January of 2021.
Since arriving at Texas, these are the 3-star prospects that Flood has signed: Conner Robertson (2022), Connor Stroh (2023), Andre Cojoe (2023), Peyton Kirkland (2023), Nate Kibble (2024), Jackson Christian (2025), Jordan Coleman, Devin Coleman and ... of course ... Goosby (2023)
Therefore, as crazy as it is, Goosby has a chance to represent the first 3-star prospect of Flood's career that he has both recruited and developed into an NFL player.
More than that, I'm going to say the quiet part out loud ... Goosby has a chance to be a more coveted NFL prospect than Banks, who is expected to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft in April. Listed on the Texas official website at 6-7, 314 pounds, Goosby better fits the physical profile of a starting left tackle than Banks, who is probably the best offensive lineman the program has seen in the last 20 years.
Personally, I think it was a mistake to bench Goosby prior to the Ohio State game in the name of getting a less than 100 percent Cam Williams back on the field. I think we all understand why they wanted Williams back in the mix, but the truth of the matter is that I'm not convinced that he's a better player than Goosby when he's 100 percent, let alone when he's less than that. In the play that decided the season, the Longhorns would have been better off with Goosby protecting Quinn Ewers from Jack Sawyer than Williams. I'll forever believe that.
Here are my big, bold Sunday night hot takes to begin this week's column:
1. Goosby will be the best lineman in the SEC this season.
2. Goosby will be a top-15 draft choice in the 2026 NFL Draft.
3. Goosby will be remembered as the biggest success story in terms of development in Flood's entire career.
Discuss.
No. 2 - Let's talk wide receivers ...
One of the great stories of the spring so far has been the emergence of redshirt freshman wide receiver Parker Livingstone.
It's a big deal. Texas desperately needs some of its young wide receiver talent to emerge, especially in light of 5-star Johntay Cook's flaming out of the program in the last six months.
So, here's an attaboy from me to Livingstone. Keep it up, young fella.
Also, before I say what I'm about to say next, let's get out in front of a storyline that suggests Livingstone did something to harm me in a former life. I rated Livingstone as a four-star and No. 38 overall prospect in the state in 2024. The only thing that kept him from being a top 15-25 prospect in the state was a serious knee injury that dinged him a full recruiting tier in my personal rankings (from 5.9 mid 4-star to 5.8 low 4-star). 247 had him as a 3-star/No.96 in the state, while On3 had him as a 3 star/No.84 in the state. Both Rivals and ESPN had him ranked slightly higher than I did (No. 26 and No. 28 in the state, respectively).
I'm a fan of Livingstone. He's a kid with legit NFL upside.
Personally, a starting line-up of Ryan Wingo as a junior, DeAndre Moore as a senior and Livingstone as a redshirt sophomore might be a good enough trip to win a national championship in 2026, but I don't think it's remotely good enough going into the 2025 season. Making the playoffs? Maybe. Winning the whole thing? No.
Understand what the bar is. In each of the last two seasons when Texas was one of the final four teams standing in the sport, it started nothing less than multiple first- or second-round outside wide receivers on both teams. Neither of those teams makes it as far as they did without the likes of Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond. All four of those players were entering their peaks as college players going into each season they starred in for the Longhorns.
That's not where either Wingo or Livingstone are as players coming into the season.
Bond was a starter on an Alabama playoff team that arrived in Austin as a Tide legend following his game-winning touchdown catch as time expired in the Iron Bowl, while Golden was a multi-year starter at Houston who brought All-Big 12 playmaking credentials to the table the moment he stepped on the 40 Acres. Hell, Golden caught 7 passes for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the 2023 Longhorns.
Wingo has never started a game. Livingstone has never caught a pass in a game, let alone started one.
It's one thing to go into a season with national championship-level expectations with one starting receiver that you need to make a massive leap, but asking for both of the outside receivers to make massive leaps at the same time ... by passing the consistent and dependable starter stage of development and going right into difference-making starter ... that's asking a lot. What exactly is going to be asked of Arch Manning this season?
Again, I can't stress this enough when I say that the bar that is trying to be cleared is Georgia and Ohio State. When this team opens in Columbus, is it really going to go into the season with zero real dependable, proven starting outside wide receivers for Manning to work with? Is the expectation that Texas will win every game it plays while the unproven starters on this team work out the kinks of learning how to be at that level?
It's too much to ask of Manning. This coaching staff needs to get him a legit proven go-to guy in the Portal, which would allow Wingo to develop into a No. 2 receiver this fall, while Livingstone develops into the kind of rotation piece that Wingo was a season ago, which would give him 12 more months to develop into a starting-level receiver at the highest levels.
If Texas can't find that kind of offensive weapon in the Portal this spring, I think the staff will have failed to deliver one of the most important needs in this entire off-season from a roster building standpoint, which is finding the most important player in the program (Manning) some toys with guarantees on the box.
No. 3 – Texas Football Scattershooting ...
... It feels like Arch Manning is in total cruise control as the starter at quarterback. He's been in total control through three practices.
... I like hearing that DJ Campbell seems to be taking steps forward as a player. Full pads haven't even been worn, yet he's a player that is being noticed. It was really fascinating to see that Campbell was a guy that multiple high school prospects talked up after watching practice.
... "The running backs have been fine," one source told me on Sunday. Just fine? "Just fine," the source said.
... "Start talking about Santana Wilson," the same source told me. "You were right to love him (as a prospect). He's going to be really good. He gets his hands on the ball and catches it when it hits them. He keeps doing that and he'll pass guys (on the depth chart)."
... Not only are we not hearing ultra-positive things about the kicker, but there's a sense that the two scholarship guys might be involved in a loser-leaves-town match? Rough, but at least everyone knows what's what.
No. 4 - Hire the best, be the best ...
When Texas legend Eddie Reese retired last year, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte didn't mess around.
He went out and hired the head coach of the program that had won a national title just days earlier. He went out and hired Michael Phelps' coach. He went out and hired the very best person available for the job and didn't let anything get in his way.
363 days later, Bob Bowman brought home a national championship to Austin, the first since Reese won his last team title in 2021.
Two things are paramount in my mind about the whole thing 24 hours later ...
a. Bowman might be the best of an incredibly stacked group of head coaches on the 40 Acres. His having won the last two national titles at two different schools makes for a very compelling case. He's definitely not sitting at the kid's table at Thanksgiving.
b. This is Del Conte's national title as much as anyone else's and it's a testament moving forward to the importance of hiring the best and being the actual Joneses instead of being anything less than that. Vic Schafer was a Bowman-type hire. Mike White was a Bowman-like hire. Same with Jim Schlossnagel. Del Conte has showed us what he's capable of as an athletic director.
Moving forward ... forever and ever in every sport.
No. 5 – It's not now or never, but it's close...
The Texas women's basketball team has reached its moment of truth.
Not winning a share of the SEC regular-season title or being ranked No. 1 towards the end of the season or anything else that has happened since the start of the season could change that the reality for this team that it would be defined and remembered for what happens in the 38th game of the season more than the first 37 games combined.
But, we made it. Here. We. Are.
For the fourth time in his five seasons in Austin, Vic Schaefer has the Longhorns in the Elite 8. It's an incredible accomplishment, but you know what? All-time great Longhorns coach Jody Conradt took the Longhorns to eight straight Elite 8s and a pair of Final Fours from 1982-83 through 1989-90, but the only thing anyone ever talks about or remembers is that she won the national title in 1986.
It's time for Vic's program to take the next step because you can't win a national championship until you get to the Final Four and it's time on the fourth crack at it to get over the hump. The top-seeded Longhorns are better than No. 2 TCU. They have been all season. Now needs to be the time that Vic's Longhorns become a Final Four program.
It needs to happen now or this season will be remembered for coming up short. It's not fair, but those are the unofficial rules. If you get to the same spot four times in five years, but never beyond it ... it's a thing.
This team is one win away from certifiably being the best team in Texas history since Conradt's 1986-87 group went 31-2 and lost to Louisiana Tech AT HOME in the Final Four. Given the schedule, it's hard to think this team isn't better than that one.
Go get your legacy, ladies. It's there for the taking.
No. 6 - Texas Baseball handled its damn business ...
You'll have to forgive me if the looming Missouri weekend series in Columbia created memories of excellent Texas teams of the past going to the same place and ending up with egg on their faces.
Taking two out of three seemed like a very realistic goal, while a sweep felt historically unrealistic.
The 2025 Texas Baseball team had different ideas. To hell with history. You can't beat what you can't catch and the Longhorns decided to pile up 29 runs in 25 innings of play and dare the Tigers to catch them. They couldn't.
The brooms came out in Columbia and my respect for a Longhorns team, which is 23-3 overall and 8-1 in the SEC, continues to grow with each day that passes.
Did I blink and miss Will Gasparino, who went 6 for 12 in the series with 4 homers and 11 RBI, turning into Ivan Melendez? It sure felt that way this weekend. I know Tigers fans must think he's Ken Griffey Jr. in his prime after this weekend.
Here's what we know through nine conference games ... no one in the SEC has been better up until now. Big bad-ass Georgia is coming to the Disch next weekend and the series will be just a notch below what the battles between the football teams were this past season.
Buckle up, there's no time to breathe in this league.
No. 7 - The SEC never stops ...
The No. 1 Texas Softball team hit the road this weekend and will likely feel like it let a three-game sweep of No. 18 Mississippi State get away from it after blowing a lead in the sixth inning of the opener on Friday.
Given the nature of the game, fair enough. That being said, the SEC is every bit the bloodbath in softball that it was in men's basketball this year. Look around the conference and you'll see Oklahoma dropping two at home to Tennessee. Everyone is pretty much beating everyone.
It's just hand-to-hand combat each weekend and the Longhorns can't be completely disappointed about beating a team that was tied for second in the conference until Sunday on the road.
There's a conference/national title out there to be won and this team has as much reason to think it can accomplish both as anyone.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Buy) Now is the time.
(Buy) The Buckeyes have an even bigger reloading/rebuilding job than the Longhorns. Texas has the quarterback edge.
(Buy) Two to one.
(Sell) He''ll rank behind Deandre Moore, Ryan Wingo and a Portal guy to be named later.
(Sell) I'm not sure I think any team is definitely going to be in the finals. I don't know who the hell will be in the SEC Tournament final. The college scene is loaded with bad ass teams.
(Buy) By the end of the decade, we'll definitely be there.
(Sell/Buy) It's a sell on the outgoings, but a buy on the incomings.
(Sell) He won the Pac-12 regular season title five times, went to five Sweet 16s and four Elite 8s. I don't think he tops that.
(Sell) An extra $500K in NIL donations would mean more. I just don't think it would make a huge difference in recruiting to play in Louisiana or Georgia.
(Buy) You're asking me if I would rather have a player that caught 42 passes for 592 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a combined 13 catches for 233 yard and 3 touchdowns in a national semi-final against Penn State and a national final against Ohio State, over a player that hasn't yet caught a single pass in his entire career? In the 2025 season? That's the question? If Livingstone matches Greathouse's numbers from last season, that would be a great debut season for him. I expect Greathouse to improve on his sophomore numbers, as evidenced by his performance in his last two games.
(Sell) I don't think Texas runs the table on Ojo, Turntine and Krempin, but it would be cool if it did.
(Sell) Ummmm ... no offense to McDonald and Baxter, but they don't yet belong in the same sentence as Anthony Hill/DeAndre Moore with the No. 0 jersey. Malik Muhammad and Quintrevion Wisner is a good tandem at No. 5.
I'll go (in order): No. 16, No. 1 and No. 0.
(Buy/Buy/Sell) I don't think prioritizing kickers is the issue as much as too often settling on their choices without bringing in competition when it is obviously needed.
(Sell) That sounds like at least one too many, even if not impossible.
(Buy) It feels like when the moment ALWAYS calls for it, this community comes through in a major way. What could create more pride than that? That's the stuff that matters most. One day when we're all no longer on this earth, I hope they remember us as good people that did some good things in the name of helping people in need because being good people still matters.
No. 9 – Scattershooting all over the place …
... Hoo-boy, I love me some Rick Barnes, but I have seen that 15-point/1 of 15 from 3-point range performance in the first half before. When a Barnes offense goes into freezer mode, it's just a brutal thing to sit through. Sometimes you can't shoot your way out of it like a guy at the blackjack table in Vegas that has lost six hands in a row. Sometimes you have to be able to get yourself some easy buckets or to the free throw line. At no point in that half did I think Barnes would/could do anything to help his team out of what was happening to it.
... Until Barnes gets Tennessee to the Final Four, his legacy at Texas is still the crown achievement of his career.
... What Kelvin Sampson has done at Houston is stunningly incredible. Five straight Sweet 16s with three Elite 8s and two Final Fours? He's done something at Houston that Texas has never done. That doesn't even include dethroning Kansas as the big dog in men's hoops in the Big 12. Seriously ... wow.
... Texas Tech had a freaking 9-point lead with 2:55 left in the game against top-seeded Auburn and a trip to the Final 4 awaited them ... and then Florida exploded with the greatest shooting display that I think I've ever seen from anyone not named Steph Curry, Klay Thompson or Reggie Miller. Woof. From 75-66 to 75-69 to 75-72 to 75-75 to leading 78-77 and it was all free throws from that moment on. Four straight threes in the blink of an eye. Tech fans must be shook. They had it ... until the No. 1 seed dialed in for two minutes and the dream was dead. Unreal.
... The Longhorns are a Sweet 16 team with JT Toppin. The Portal matters. Having money matters. Dropping 20 points and 11 rebounds in an Elite 8 game isn't worth its weight in gold, but it's close.
... I have to believe Purdue fans will be haunted by that in-bounds play that cost them the Houston game for a while.
... Duke made Alabama look like a team full of wanna-bes. The Blue Devils officially have my attention as they head to the Final Four. Maybe I got my end-game predictions in this Tournament wrong because they look like the best team in America to these eyes with one more week to the season remaining and Cooper Flagg is peerless at this level.
... Speaking of Duke hoops, the women's team had South Carolina on the ropes, but with the entire season on the line in the final seconds trailing by two points, all it got was an air-ball from 3-point range. Woof.
... In the event you had questions about Liverpool's worthiness of a looming Premier League title, this should answer them. Now let's go get nine wins in our last nine games and leave no doubt.
No. 10 - The List: Top 10 Jeff Buckley ...
Usually, once a year (or more) I'll just find myself diving deep into my love with Jeff Buckley. I just give in and listen to the album Grace about 20 times.
This week was that week.
Every once in a while, you guys just have to humor me and let me do my thing. So, for the first time in about 30 months, I'm updating my Jeff Buckley top 10.
It's possible many of you aren't yet familiar with him. Even if you are familiar with him, there's never a time to leap back into a deep dive. I've said it before, but Buckley is to male singers what Eva Cassidy is to female singers ... an all-time great that was taken from us before they truly ever realized the height of their super powers.
We should have more, but let's cherish what we have.
Let's do this.
View attachment 3672
Last five songs out: Eternal Life, What Will You Say, Just Like a Woman, I Know It's Over (Live at Sony Studios) and Vancouver
10. Lilac Wine
One of seven songs from the album Grace that make the Top 10.
9. Forget Her
One of my favorites. So mysterious and moody. He's absolutely soaring by the song's end. Per Wikipedia: "The song was recorded during sessions for Buckley's only completed studio album Grace, but remained officially unreleased until it was featured as the opening track on the bonus disc of Grace: Legacy Edition, a 2004 remastered reissue of the album."
8. So Real
It's such a chaotic, yet beautiful song.
7. Satisfied Mind
This live performance closes the show on the Sketches for My Sweetheart The Drunk.
6. Grace
The first of two singles released from the album sharing the same name.
5. Mojo Pin
The opening song off of Grace, this song is absolutely one of the best songs he performed live.
4. Everyone Here Wants You
The most underrated song in his short songbook. This song has to be any playlist designed as ... ahem ... mood music. So. Damn. Sultry.
3. Last Goodbye
How great is the Grace album? This song somehow comes out third in a ranking of the best songs on the album and every time I hear it, I think I'm crazy for not having it higher.
2. Hallelujah
The song that made Buckley famous. I know there will be cries to place it No. 1 ... believe me, I get it ... but it's not my No. 1, even though it would be very easy to slot it there.
1. Lover, You Should Have Come Over
A new song has moved into the top spot. The bottom line for me is that if I went sent to a desert island to live out my remaining days and could only take one Buckley song with me, it would be this one. Two-plus decades of listening to his music has led me to this place and I will not apologize for it.
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2023 Golden: 38 receptions, 404, yards.
2024 Wingo: 29 receptions, 472 yards.
2024 Wingo: 29 receptions, 472 yards.
Do you see Texas landing a RB or OL in the portal as a starter? Everyone knows they land a WR, TE, and DT.
Best guess on who they land on the OL in this class and at RB? Thanks for all you do. This site and the Longhorns are what gets my mind off this crazy world we live in. You do an amazing job.
Chef's kiss to you, @Ketchum for this writeup. One of your best. Great job on the Nadine situation. THAT'S the type of thing that people are remembered for!
I agree with your WR position take. How do our incoming frosh WRs compare to that phenom frosh WR for Ohio St.? Why can't we have that type of lightning in a bottle here at Texas? On the other hand, OSU has been WRU for the better part of a decade now. With Sark's reputation for offense, I would never have thought we would be desperate for experience at the position. Especially with Arch taking the reigns.
TE, RB, OL, LB, and S are other positions I'd think we could use some proven portal talent infusion as well.
I agree with your WR position take. How do our incoming frosh WRs compare to that phenom frosh WR for Ohio St.? Why can't we have that type of lightning in a bottle here at Texas? On the other hand, OSU has been WRU for the better part of a decade now. With Sark's reputation for offense, I would never have thought we would be desperate for experience at the position. Especially with Arch taking the reigns.
TE, RB, OL, LB, and S are other positions I'd think we could use some proven portal talent infusion as well.
2023 Golden - Only made 8 starts because of injuries and played in 11 games with busted quarterback play.
2025 Wingo - 16 games with an NFL quarterback
But, yes, Wingo could have a big breakout. It's hopeful that he'll be a very strong No.2. That's what is needed as a minimum,
I don't know that any of these freshmen compare to the Ohio Sttate kid, who was a 6-star prospect. He's an alien.
I mean Texas already has two kickers and 2 punters on. scholarship. That's probably more than any team in college football. The planning that went into getting there is shoddy.
Nothing on the WR front yet. There are some rumblings on one of the back-up, the losers of kicking battles, etc...
Can't tell you how happy I was to find this gif. 🤣 🤣 🤣
The one thing that stands out on each of those players you mention above is not only that they were entering their peaks, but they were also all burners. Do we have any players that are super blue chip in terms of speed on the roster right now? Seems like for the most part we have taller, bigger receivers that are fast for their size but like the guys listed above. Is that true? And if so do you anticipate us getting someone like that in the portal to fill that role?
color me interested in seeing Andre Cojoe get #1 reps - wish I was in town to get eyes on that monster opposite of Goosby
The thing you love about Sampson is that he has a clear vision of what he wants to see in his team, and he goes out and recruits it. He doesn't live die in the Portal year to year. He certainly uses it to his advantage, but he gets continuity out of his guys. It's what I hope we can eventually get to with Miller at Texas.
“Cooper Flagg is peerless at this level”.
Someone will say Cooper has planted his flag in San Antonio
Someone will say Cooper has planted his flag in San Antonio
Baker needs to win that job or it was a waste a lot of money.
