Questions, questions and more questions.
Depending on who you're talking with, the amount of questions about the 2024 Texas Longhorns going into the spring might range from minimal to ... well ... my list.
I've always got questions. I can't help it. I'm a natural question-asker. Most of them aren't of the major variety. A lot of them exist because I'm just so damn nosey.
Let's just go through 20 of them.
1. Will Quinn Ewers start rounding third base from very good player to great player in the next month?
I'm not sure this is something that we'll learn in the next month or so, but it's the question that follows the most important player in the program. As Ewers works on building chemistry with mostly an entirely new set of weapons, it will be impossible not to wonder if he's taking the big step that Vince Young took from 2004 to 2005 or the one that Colt McCoy took from 2007 to 2008. But, if the Longhorns are going to have the seasons they want to have in year one of the SEC, such a step needs to occur. A very good Ewers could limit the program in 2024 to very good.
2. Can Arch Manning close the distance on Ewers?
No matter how hard the national media wants there to be a quarterback competition, it's not going to happen. Yet, it doesn't mean that the Longhorns don't need Manning to get closer and closer to the levels needed to be the starter. If the improvement is there, my guess is that we'll definitely hear about it.
3. What is the running back pecking order after CJ Baxter and Jaydon Blue?
There's a pile of players (Savion Red, Tre Wisner, Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark) behind the top two guys and I'm not sure what the pecking order will look like in a few weeks. Can Red hold off the young bucks? Can Wisner hold off the young bucks? Who emerges as the lead guy among the true freshmen? Like I said ... I've got questions.
4. Will it become obvious who the No. 1 receiver in the offense this year will be?
Johntay Cook and Isaiah Bond would appear to be the obvious possible answers, but it hasn't happened yet. Will it be answered before the players head into the summer?
5. What will the pecking order at wide receiver look like beyond Cook and Bond?
There's so much talent at wide receiver and no one really knows at what stage of development most of it currently rests in? Is Matthew Golden a definite starter? Will either of the young second-year slot receivers give the coaching staff a lot to think about? Are any of the true freshmen ready to play ... now?
6. Is true freshman Jordan Washington the No. 3 tight end?
The Longhorns have two tight ends from the Class of 2023 that did so little to assert themselves as future starting-level players for this program in year one that it's pretty easy to jump right to the player from the 2024 class that could give this position more options beyond Amari Niblack and Gunnar Helm. Also, is Malik Agbo a full-time big blocking tight end?
6. Just how good are Cam Williams and Trevor Goosby?
Is Williams truly ready to be the starter at right tackler and is Goosby anywhere close to being ready to possibly challenge him?
7. Are any of the offensive linemen from the Class of 2023 (outside of Goosby) going to push for a spot on the two-deep?
At this point, the answer seems to be that the rest of that five-man class is going to be fighting for reps on the scout team in 2024.
8. Is Alfred Collins ready?
There's a lot riding on him emerging as an alpha/All-SEC player in this year's defensive tackle rotation. Nothing about his career thus far suggests he's ready to be the guy that replaces two of the best the school has seen in the last two decades. Can he be 70% of those two? 60%? What does it mean if it's only 50%?
9. Is Vernon Broughton ready?
To be a plus-player? Someone that the coaches can count on for 300 snaps? I have doubts.
10. Are any of the other defensive tackles ready?
Honestly, the "Are they ready?" question mark is one that we could apply to every single interior defensive lineman on the roster.
11. Is Ethan Burke going to get reps at Jack?
There's a question mark about how the Longhorns are able to get all of the defensive end talent on campus on the field and moving Burke to the spot that Barryn Sorrell possesses would open up the pathway for Trey Moore and Colin Simmons. If that doesn't happen, are there enough reps to go around?
12. Just how good are Trey Moore and Colin Simmons?
I'd pay a service fee to be able to watch a dedicated stream of just those two guys working out all spring.
13. Is there more to Justice Finkley and J'Mond Tapp going into their third season?
Both have shown some flashes, but not enough at this point. With young players breathing down their neck, can they take the next step?
14. What does Johnny Nansen have planned for Anthony Hill?
Speaking of players that I'd pay to be able to watch for the next month-plus ...
15. What the hell are we supposed to think about the rest of the linebacker position?
I don't quite know what to think of Kendrick Blackshire, David Gbenda or any of the second-year players that didn't so much as make a dent on the depth chart in 2023.
16. Is Jahdae Barron going to play outside of the slot?
Whatever happens with Barron will have a very big trickle-down impact to the rest of the secondary.
17. What kind of players are Jelani McDonald and Colton Vasek?
I have no idea what to expect from either of the super blue-chip prospects going into their second years.
18. Which of the true freshmen are ready to play right away?
Of the nearly 20 true freshmen that arrived in January, which are ready to make a dent? Will there be any surprises? Top 5 classes tend to bring some dudes that are ready.
19. What's the pecking order in the return game?
Just curious.
20. Who punts?
Are the coaches really going to rely on a true freshman that isn't even on campus yet?
Like I said, when it comes to questions, I've got enough for all of us.
No. 2 - The next big-thing ...
The commitment of Lance Jackson to the Longhorns nearly 2 months ago barely caused a ripple on the national scene. On the day he committed, his national rankings looked like this: Rivals (118), ESPN (122), 247 (133) and On3 (134).
Those rankings are already changing (On has him at No. 39 nationally, while 247 has bumped him up to No. 72 nationally) and the urgency with which those rankings will change only increased on Sunday at the Under Armour event in Houston on Sunday after Jackson tipped the scales at 6-6, 263 pounds, while moving around the field like a jungle cat.
He's the first player that the Longhorns have landed a commitment from in the last 15+ years who makes me think we might be looking at Alex Okafor 2.0. Of course, Okafor checked in at the NFL combine at 6-4 1/2, 264 pounds, so maybe he's not the right comparison, although if you line up photos of them together side by side as high school prospects, they look pretty similar.
Both were very long and fairly lean as prospects with a ton of room for physical growth and plus-athleticism to pair with it. Outside of Okafor, I'm not really sure who else you would compare him to. The only super blue-chip defensive ends that the state has ever produced that were listed taller than 6-5 and weighed more than 250 pounds are former 2019 stud Demarvin Leal (didn't even measure 6-4 when he measured at the NFL combine) and 2024's Joseph Jonah-Ajonye.
That's it.
Whatever Jackson ends up becoming, there's a very good chance that it won't be anything that we've previously seen around these parts.
No. 3 - Three things on the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament ...
a. Well, the Longhorns wanted to avoid an 8/9 seeding to such an extent that you would have been thrilled with a 10-seed. Instead, the Longhorns got a 7 seed and get to play a 10 seed, which feels like about as good of a landing spot as anyone could have hoped for. Playing the winner of the Virginia/Colorado State play-in game means that the Longhorns will have their hands full. I haven't watched a second of either team this season, but Colorado State sounds like a team that would arrive with a chip on its shoulder.
b. Beating Tennessee in a second round is doable. Let's keep it real ... any team coached by Barnes can fall short in the Tournament relative to its seeding. This is a Tennessee team that beat A&M by 35 and lost to the Aggies by 16 points in a span of a couple of weeks. Sitting on a two-game losing streak coming into the Tournament ... you might not bet on the Longhorns getting to the Sweet 16, but it's doable.
c. The season is going to come down to whether Max Abmas and Dylan Disu can play well on the same nights and whether outside shots will fall at a quality rate. This team will play hard. The defense will likely be pretty good. Can the best version of this team show up when the stakes are the highest?
No. 4 – Three thoughts on Texas landing a No. 1 seed!!!!
a. I'm kind of stunned that the Longhorns ended up getting a No. 1 seed after losing the regular-season title to Oklahoma. I just didn't think it was on the table after USC beat Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament title game. I've been thinking that Texas and USC would be in the same region all week.
b. A third-round game against Gonzaga in Portland for a chance to go to the Elite 8 could be a serious challenge. That's got a chance to be a borderline home game for the Zags.
c. This is very doable if the Longhorns can get dominant play from Madison Booker and not get killed by another team's hot outside shooting. This is very doable, though.
No. - 5 - Texas Baseball isn't much fun right now...
I'm not going to pile on after a weekend series loss to sub-.500 Washington left the Longhorns 11-8 and thankful that this weekend was a Big 12 series.
All I'm going to say is that Texas baseball is supposed to be fun and this team is not fun.
No. 6 - Tommy Brockermeyer ...
It's a damn shame that former five-star prospect Tommy Brockermeyer was forced to retire from football this week due to non-stop injury battles he's faced since high school.
Once upon a time, he seemed like the perfect left tackle prospect. He moved so well. He was such a natural. In an alternative universe, that guy is an all-American and putting himself into a position to enjoy a decade in the NFL.
Injuries just killed him. When we talk about things that can sidetrack a five-star talent, injuries are right at the top.
As someone who ranked him as the No. 1 prospect in the 2021 class, I have to admit that I should have done a better job of including the medical concerns in his evaluation. The torn labrum that he suffered as a junior that basically wiped out an entire season should have been a red flag for those of us in the evaluation game
I can't speak for everyone else in the industry, but I've spent enough time asking myself about why I ignored the injury concerns when he was a prospect that I actually have an answer... flat out confirmation bias. I got my initial lofty evaluation stuck in my head and just refused to budge from it.
All I can tell you is that I hope to use it as a learning experience. Brockermeyer will end up being the biggest bust of any player I've ever ranked in nearly 30 years and it was completely avoidable. I just needed to pay attention to the massive red flashing signal. Mistakes happen. That one can't happen again.
No. 7 - Scottie ******* Scheffler ...
When you're the No. 1 player in the world and become the first player in 50 years to go back-to-back as champion of The Players Championship by shooting a 64 in the final round, you get your own section.
Hot damn, Scottie has it cooking. The best in the world right now without question.
Just check out these tweets!
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Buy) I'm buying the idea that we see the best version of Quinn Ewers this season.
(Sell) These dudes rarely make decisions based on their love of the strength coaches.
(Buy) I'll buy the idea that a healthier, more experienced version of Conner equals a better Conner.
You asked for new material....
B/S The UT Beach Volleyball Team gets OB's Horns Up!
(Buy) I need to start giving out some NIL deals...
(Sell) I think the group is probably average.
(Sell) I'll take the field.
(Sell) I'm sure he's hoping this thing turns around. I'm not sure he knows.
(Sell) Texas needed elite quarterback play and it didn't quite have that when it needed it most.
(Sell) Put some respect on the names of the dudes who just left!
(Sell) Ewers will always get his job back, in my mind.
(Sell) I'm not giving the benefit of the doubt on a top 20 pass defense at this point and I think the Longhorns will only take one more defensive lineman through the Portal.
No. 9 – Scattershooting all over the place …
... Golf is a cruel game.
... The Tournament committee has quite a sense of humor by giving us Nebraska and A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
... Will Shaka make it to the Sweet 16? I dunno ...
... Purdue seems to have a clear pathway to the Final Four, but I could see TCU giving them a game in the second round if the Horned Frogs get there.
... I don't even know what to make of what Iowa State did to Houston in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't at least consider that some form of point-shaving occurred. How else do you explain Houston losing by ... checks notes ... TWENTY-EIGHT POINTS!?!?!?!
... Justin Fields was traded to the Steelers for a 6th-round pick and a bag of Flamin Hot Funyuns. That's about as insulting as it gets for Fields, but that's a great trade for the Steelers, right?
... Aaron Donald retires as the best defensive tackle in the history of the sport. Tip of the cap to one of the all-time greats.
... Being a Cowboys fan means being trapped in a sports purgatory where there is no escape. But, hey, we signed 32-year-old Eric Kendricks! To be fair, Kendricks is still a very solid player, but purgatory makes a person very snarky because it's either be full of snark or sad all the time. I choose snark.
... The problem with a 36-year-old Lionel Messi playing in the MLS is that he's 36 years old and will probably end up missing as many games because of injury as he actually plays
... Unreal ending to a wild game.
No. 10 - Top 10: Steve Martin ...
Last week, it was John Candy. This week (by request), it's his partner in crime in Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
True story: I caught Sgt. Bilko at Great Hills Movie Theater back in 1996. It was fine. Not one of my favorites.
Yet, when the movie ended and I was talking out, I bumped into Texas head coach John Mackovic, who made a point to pull me aside and rave about the movie. He was genuinely thrilled. Imagine the most excited you've ever been coming out of a movie theater ... that was Mackovic.
It brings a smile to my face to this day to have been able to see him so human. Every other time I was around him, he was always turned on as the head football coach at Texas. On this one night, he was just a normal guy fan-boying over an average Steve Martin movie. Crazy the things you remember, right?
Let's get to it.
Honorable Mention: The Muppet Movie, The Man With Two Brains, Sgt. Bilko, Shopgirl, Leap of Faith, Housesitter, All of Me, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Cheaper By The Dozen, Little Shop of Horrors, It's Complicated and Father of the Bride II
10. LA Story
Per Wikipedia: "In 2008, L.A. Story was voted by a group of Los Angeles Times writers and editors as the 20th best film set in Los Angeles in the last 25 years."
"I'll take 'Things I Didn't Know' for $500, Alex."
9. Bowfinger
This one has grown on me over the years. Didn't like it much the first time I saw it, but every time I've seen it over the last couple of decades, it gets better and better.
8. My Blue Heaven
The combination of Martin and Rick Moranis is one of the more underrated comedy duos of the late 80s/early 90s.
7. Roxanne
The most underrated movie in his catalog.
6. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Of all the movies that Martin has done in his career, I'd argue this classic with Michael Caine most deserved a sequel.
5. Parenthood
This movie gets better with age. Great cast. Real life problems. Incredibly touching.
4. Father of the Bride
This movie hits differently once you have a daughter. Mine just turned 10 and the wedding scene at the end breaks me.
3. Three Amigos
Have I underrated this classic? Have I slightly overrated it? All I know is that I never get tired of it.
2. The Jerk
There will be some that call for it to be in the No.1 spot, which I understand, but the truth of the matter is that this classic hasn't aged as well (and I'm not talking about how it deals with race). I just don't think the movie is as funny as I did when I was younger. Don't get me wrong, it's still a classic, but it falls a little flat all these years later in a few spots.
1. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
That's right... back-to-back No. 1 spots.
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