Texas Football is back.
Following a two-month hiatus after an 8-5 season, the third version of Steve Sarkisian football will begin on Monday in shorts and no pads, which will mostly be the name of the game until the team returns from Spring Break (March 13-18).
In the meantime, I thought it might be a good idea to lead off this week with a few words of advice and a profile of the 10 players that will define just how successful workouts will be over the next six weeks.
Let's start with the advice.
1. Don't overreact to anything that you read about happening in a practice. If your favorite quarterback throws three interceptions in a scrimmage, take a deep breath and say to yourself, "It's just a single practice. It's just a single practice. It's just a single practice."
2. All reports on closed practices come from sources that tend to focus on the good more than the bad. Always keep that in mind.
3. Nothing that happens in March or April means more than what will happen in August and nothing that happens in August matters more than what will happen in September. Oh, and almost nothing that will happen in September will matter more than what happens in October. That's me using a lot of words to ultimately say ... see point No. 1 ... don't overreact.
Between now and the week of the season opener, this Texas staff will get a chance to see this team in practice 30 times (15 in the spring and 15 in August). That's a pretty large sample size for these coaches to draw conclusions from with regard to finding starters, defining roles and building a team it hopes will compete for a Big 12 championship.
Here are the 10 players that I believe will define the spring.
1. Sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers
@Anwar Richardson is right
when he says that this spring is all about Ewers. This team will not win a Big 12 championship if Ewers doesn't take a massive step forward this off-season. Honestly, I don't need to hear from sources that Ewers looks like Patrick Mahomes. I just need to hear that his mastery of the offense continues to improve, along with his work habits, while his big mistakes (turnovers) are limited compared to his younger quarterback teammates. The Ewers of April needs to be better than the Ewers of December, while the Ewers of May needs to be better than the Ewers of April, and the Ewers of August is better than the Ewers of the spring. His evolution is a process. Keep that in mind all spring. Continued improvement and evolution is what matters.
2. Freshman running back CJ Baxter
The Longhorns have a pretty good idea of what they have in projected starting running back Jonathon Brooks as he enters his third season. If he stays healthy, he should be good for better than 5.5 yards per carry and 1,000 yards on the season. What we don't know is what super-blue chip freshman C.J. Baxter is capable of in his first season. If he can channel a little bit of 2001 Cedric Benson, 2005 Jamaal Charles or 2021 Bijan Robinson, this offense could be cooking with grease at the running back position. Without Baxter being a lightning rod in this offense, it's hard to say with a straight face that the running game will be remotely close to what the position gave the offense in 2022.
3. Junior wide receiver A.D. Mitchell
On paper, he's everything this offense missed on the outside at wide receiver opposite of Xavier Worthy last year. You can make a case that a healthy Mitchell in this offense last year might have been the difference between winning the Big 12 and not.
4. Sophomore offensive guard D.J. Campbell
The interior of the Texas offensive line simply wasn't good enough last fall, even if it wasn't awful. The Longhorns have the best pair of tackles in the Big 12, but if Campbell can raise his level of play a notch or two from his freshman season, you can really start to see this line making real strides as a unit. Kelvin Banks flashed that 5-star talent throughout last season. Now it's time for Campbell to do the same and being able to do so will be just what the doctor ordered for the line.
5. Sophomore edge Ethan Burke
Someone has to step up at the edge position and it's hard not to think that the most productive of the freshmen defensive linemen from last season will be at the front of the line. Someone needs to be better than Ovie Oghoufo.
6. Junior defensive tackle Byron Murphy
Murphy went through a little bit of a sophomore slump a year ago after a standout freshman season. Now it's time for him to step up and replace the high level of play that Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo brought to the table as seniors. Yes, T'Vondre Sweat will be a big piece of the puzzle, but the player inside the program that people seem to think has a chance to rise to first-team all-Big 12 level of play is the former three-star from DeSoto.
7. Freshman linebacker Anthony Hill
It's not rocket science. Someone has to fill the void left by DeMarvion Overshown and the sooner Hill gets comfortable in his new role, the sooner we can safely pencil him in for 600+ snaps this season.
8. Junior linebacker/defensive back Morice Blackwell Jr.
I'll be honest ... I'm not sure what to expect of him this season and where to fully expect it. That's part of what this spring will help decide.
9. Sophomore cornerback Terrance Brooks
I'm scooping up all of the stock in Brooks that I can get my hands on. If there's one young player in the secondary that has a chance to emerge as an all-Big 12 player this season, I think it's Brooks, who just happens to be one of the mostly decorated defensive back recruits in school history. After making three starts as a true freshman, it's time for Brooks to assume his place as a star on this defense.
10. Senior safety Jalan Catalon
Is he the 2020 version of himself or the 2021-22? The answer to that question might tell us who the playmaker in the back end of this defense in 2023 might be.
No.2 - Gary's departure ...
Unlike a lot of people, I'm just not that concerned about the departure of Gary Patterson from the Texas program.
Don't get me wrong, Texas Football would be better off with Patterson than without him, but I tend to view his presence a little like I view the one-year stays of Greg Robinson and Dick Tomey in 2004. I think you basically hope to learn as much from him as possible in a year and absorb all of his excellence ... and then you move on with his contributions forevermore built into the Texas Football DNA.
As it relates specifically to the improvement made on the defensive side of the ball in 2022, it's important to remember that Pete Kwiatkowski was the person paid a lot of money to run that unit on game days. He called the shots. Yes, some of Patterson’s contributions were baked inside of what the Longhorns did in 2022, but the majority of the credit deservedly goes to Kwiatkowski.
I'm just not sure how much more the Longhorns would have been able to squeeze out of Patterson's involvement. If it wasn't absorbed in a year, it probably wasn't ever going to be absorbed.
Here's hoping Patterson enjoys the hell out of himself on the links this year. He's earned a year of nothing but a lot of golf.
No. 3 - One thing to keep in mind about the next six weeks ...
When spring football is over in mid-April, the Longhorns are going to need a few departures to help the team.
a. Get under the 85-man limit.
b. Create some room for potential May transfer additions.
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No. 4 - Thoughts on the Combine ...
... I'm not sure Bijan really helped his stock this week. He came in as the obvious No. 1 running back and he leaves just the same. The 40-yard mark was perfectly fine (although I thought he'd run slightly faster) and the rest of the testing was also perfectly fine.
I might finally be coming around to this comparison that Doc_Texas first made on Bijan:
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... I'd like to have seen Roschon Johnson run faster than a 4.58 and a 4.65, but his 10-yard splits of 1.52 was the third-fastest among all running backs and tied with Bijan Robinson.
... Dan Reeves?
... Moro Ojomo would seem to be a guy from the Longhorns that made some money this week. Someone is going to love him and take him early in the fifth round.
... What would D'Shawn Jamison have to do at his Pro Day to get himself drafted before the seventh round?
No. 5 - Moody Center is UT's Pound Town ...
It was hard not think about what might have been on Saturday in the aftermath of UT's destruction of Big 12 champion Kansas. What if Texas could have tapped into that Moody energy on Wednesday against TCU? It would have left Texas in a position to share the regular-season championship with Bill Self's team. It's a hell of a thing to finish an 18-game conference schedule marathon with a single game of difference between first and second place. I suppose you get what you deserve and deserve what you get, but I really wanted this group of players to enjoy the satisfaction of winning a title.
Oh well, time to move on to the post-season and to the games ... I'm sorry, but it's true ... that matter.
Five more things on the men's hoops team...
1. How important is that new arena?
Texas at home this season: 17-1
Texas on the road this season: 4-6
2. Is the single most impressive performance by any team in the country that 116-103 win that Kansas State had at Moody on January 3? Two months later and I still cannot believe that happened.
3. I hope Rodney Terry was able to soak in that win yesterday. He absolutely deserves it. He's my Big 12 Coach of the Year, even if I wouldn't dare hire him as the full-time coach. He was the exact steady hand that this team needed following the Chris Beard disaster.
4. You know what's more important than in-game, in-season coaching? Having old men like Marcus Carr (6th season, Timmy Allen (5th season), Christian Bishop (5th season), Sir'Jabari Rice (5th season), Brock Cunningham (5th season) and Dylan Disu (4th season) on the floor every night, combining to average nearly 60 points and 23 rebounds, night in and night out.
The credit that Beard will get all season is that he built the roster in a manner that 500 different coaches (shout out to Jerry Jones) could have guided this team to a decent amount of success.
5. Can NIL pay all of these old dudes a few hundred grand each to use their COVID years like Cunningham? Do it for the new coach!
No. 6 - Put a ring on it (Part II) ...
Perhaps it didn't arrive with the style points that beating Baylor in Austin on Monday night might have provided.
But, it arrived, nonetheless.
For the first time since I had hair (19 years), the Texas women's basketball team is the champion of the Big 12. The dragon has been slayed, even if the spoils of the crowning achievement were forced to be shared with its SEC departing partner-in-crime. Sharing the title only partly takes away some of the joy of the accomplishment. After all, ask the Texas men if they'd have taken a share of the title yesterday at Moody when they punished KU.
A title is a title.
In the process, the performance to clinch its share of the title was absolutely sublime. Texas didn't outclass Kansas State in Manhattan as much as they must have caused the Wildcats players to question whether they deserved to be on the same court with the Longhorns.
It was freaking 39-14 at halftime.
Now it's time to get ready for the post-season. Part of me thinks this team should blow off the Big 12 Tournament this week in the name of getting ready for the NCAA Tournament that always defines the season, yet winning the conference tournament could be the difference between a three or four seed.
The last time Texas pulled the Big 12 title (regular season/Tournament) double?
That's right ... 2003 ... when I still had hair.
No. 7 - Rest in peace and power ...
Twenty-six years ago this spring, I sat on a bench near the Round Rock High School baseball practice field waiting to interview head coach John Langerhans as part of a story we were doing on the state-ranked Dragons.
Sitting next to me was the team's power-hitting catcher named Jeff Ontiveros.
"This is my first media interview. I've never had to talk in front of a camera," he said with a sheepish smile.
"You'll be fine," I told him. "You better get used to it. This won't be the last time. If you guys make it to state, everyone is going to want to talk to you."
Little did I know that day that the kid sitting next to me would not only go on to help Round Rock win the state title that year, along with stars Brian Gordon and Ryan Langerhans (
@Langy on Orangebloods), but he would eventually become one of the greatest power hitters in the history of the Texas baseball program.
As the state of shock and sadness sunk in on Saturday morning upon hearing about the passing of Ontiveros at the age of 43, it was impossible not to think about our first meeting.
He wasn't even the best player on that Round Rock team in 1997 and yet his baseball legacy includes a state title in high school, a national championship in baseball and more games played at The University of Texas than any player that has ever lived.
Oh, and he hit a bunch of home runs.
That he's no longer with us is a reminder to all of us to not take a single day we have on this earth for granted. Like Cedric Benson just a few years ago, it's a surreal feeling that such a titan in burnt orange is gone at such at an early age.
He's gone too soon. There's just no other way around it.
All you can do in this world is give out as much love and goodness as you can before you run out of time. Ontiveros was a good dude. Everyone I've known that has ever spoken about him has done so with love, which is about all any of us can ask for.
To give love and to be loved. Jeff Ontiveros was definitely loved. I hope his family feels that in the coming days, weeks, months and years when they think of their beloved family member.
He's already missed, but he will never be forgotten.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) It just doesn't seem like a Philly thing to do. They like defensive linemen in the first round.
(Sell) In the immortal words of Kelly Kapoor...
(Sell) I'm not sure Neyor catches 20. I'll take three of the other four.
(Buy) The SEC already has serious roots in the state of Texas, but this will help Texas become a factor in SEC states that it previously could never quite create.
(Sell) Barring something unforeseen, yeah, I expect him to go pro after this season.
(Buy) It's not close at this point. There's never been anyone quite like him. That 84+ inch arm advantage is just the beginning.
(Buy) Yeah, that feels about right.
(Sell) This coaching staff is 13-12 in two years. No one has earned the benefit of the doubt. Not even Sark as the quarterbacks coach.
(Sell) Nope.
(Sell) I think he needs to be playing football as much as possible, especially until he has created a role for himself, if football is going to be his primary sport. He's giving other players the reps he needs. Just my opinion.
(Buy) Overshown defeats A. Collins
(Buy) Sweat defeats C. Jones
(Buy) Roschon defeats J. Ford
(Sell) Whittington defeats G. Helm
(Sell) J. Sanders defeats E. Burke
(Buy) Bijan defeats in prime Reggie Bush
(Buy) Arch defeats Ewers
(Buy) Banks defeats Coburn
(Sell) X. Worthy defeats Coach Banks
(Buy) Coach Choice defeats J. Brooks
(Sell) I expect him to keep a low profile.
(Buy) The patience will eventually run out. It's just money, right?
(Sell) I think it plays much closer this season. I'd take OU +6.5 right now, but Texas outright.
(Buy) Ricky every day and twice on Saturdays.
(Sell) I think they all have the seasons that will lead them to the NFL if they can stay healthy.
(Sell) That's too much assuming. It's possible, but I wouldn't say it's likely.
(Sell) No, I don't see that coming at this point.
No. 9 - Scattershooting on anything and everything ...
... The less we say about the baseball team, the better.
... Texas has to find a way to get this kid ... or at least make sure he doesn't go to OU.
... Let's be honest ... Mark Adams was a bad hire for Texas Tech. This is what can happen when you make an emotional hire instead of hiring the best possible candidate. You get a guy that should have never been in the job in the first place and it usually doesn't take long for the truth to be revealed.
... I love watching Kim Mulkey lose. Full stop.
... I would have never guessed there's never been a 100 million opening for a sports movie before this weekend. I need to get to a theater this week.
... If Phoenix Suns fans didn't know what they have in a healthy Kevin Durant, they surely do after his 37 points on Sunday at Dallas.
... Yes, please give the Sixers the Bucks in the playoffs instead of the Celtics.
... If I'm the Houston Texans, I'm not sure how I can overlook Anthony Richardson. Dare freaky greatness.
... UFC 285 is the first pay-per-view I've purchased in a while and I have to say ... it was one hell of a card. If the UFC can provide more of that moving forward, it might just have me back as a hard-core fan.
... I feel so dirty rooting for Jon Jones, mainly because he can be a pretty awful human being at times, but it's impossible not to admire his greatness as a fighter. He didn't just beat Ciryl Gane on Saturday night as much as he humiliated him like he has so many other great fighters. He's freaking scary as a heavyweight.
... Shout out to Alexa Grasso for beating Valentina Shevchenko by jumping on her like a spider monkey and squeezing her face so hard that she turned half of her face into John Candy's face in Summer Rental.
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... I'm down for catching Shavkat Rakhmonov in his next fight ... pay-per-view or whatever. That guy is fun.
... That was some Arnold Palmer Invitational. Don't look now, but Jordan Spieth is playing some pretty solid golf as we edge close to The Masters.
... Inject this into my veins.
... That was some kind of win on Saturday, Arsenal fans. It'll either make what happens at the end of the season that much more enjoyable or that much more painful. Believe me, I've been there.
...
@Anwar Richardson is one step closer to becoming a full-fledged soccer fan. Now he just needs to pick a Premier League team.
No. 10 - The List: Top 10 Football TV announcers of all-time ...
This one comes in per request.
Here are the parameters ... you have to be a play-by-play or color commentary guy to make the list. No sideline reporters. No studio guys.
I'm sure this won't cause a stir ...
10. Robert Griffin
This is one for the future. Yes, he occasionally steps out of bounds with his remarks, but he's a hell of a lot of fun and he's not afraid to be daring. I want more of that from the guys I'm listening to.
9. Dennis Miller
It never made sense that he was on Monday Night Football, but that's part of why it worked. Not always, but at its best, it was pretty funny.
8. Al Michaels
He warrants being on the list because he's an all-timer at his craft. I just don't know that I truly look forward to a game that he's working on simply because he's on the call.
7. Tony Romo
He's fun. He's goofy. He's smart. He sometimes has bad games. It's like he's still the quarterback of the Cowboys.
6. Ron Franklin
My old master of journalism teachings Andy Liscano used to call Franklin by the nickname "The Voice of God." His voice reminds me of the college football games of my youth.
5. Don Meredith
A little before my time, but ... I can't count how many times I've sung this song.
4. Pat Summerall
Quite simply, his voice was the voice of the NFL when the Cowboys were in the middle of a dynasty. It felt like he called every Dallas home game of the 1990s.
3. Keith Jackson
THE voice of college football in our lifetimes.
2. Howard Cosell
He was also slightly before my time, but I've heard the calls. You can make a case he deserves the top spot. He's never truly been replaced on Monday Night Football.
1. John Madden
The man could make talking about the butt sweat of offensive linemen feel like the peak of commentary.
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