The 2023 Texas Longhorns aren't the favorites to win the Big 12 this season because of the 2023 recruiting class.
Yet, if the Longhorns finally win their first Big 12 championship in 14 seasons on the gridiron, it might just be the guppies from this most recent recruiting class that puts the team over the top.
Everywhere you looked on Saturday in UT's first official scrimmage of the month, freshmen were leaving their footprints.
* Running back Cedric Baxter was working with the first-team offense, as was wide receiver Johntay Cook.
* Linebacker/pass rusher Anthony Hill was mixing in with the first-team defense.
* Cornerback Malik Muhammad intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown while working with the second-team defense.
* Quarterback Arch Manning outperformed redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy by putting together perhaps the best practice of his short UT career, mixing in accurate passing to go along with a show of his athleticism with a long touchdown run.
* Former three-star edge Billy Walton was all over the field while playing with the third team, showing more early in his career than more highly-touted players from previous classes have been able to do. You can see him knocking on the door of second-team reps a little more than one week into camp.
* Linebacker Liona Lefau put a lick on tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders that forced a fumble.
* Left tackle Trevor Goosby mixed in with the second-team offense at left tackle.
This might be a roster humming with talent, but make no mistake about it, the freshmen are making it better. The running game, passing game, pass rush, and depth in the secondary are already significantly aided by the arrival of the recruiting class ... and again ... it's August 13. It's super early, but it's not topping a No. 3 overall recruiting class from acting like it's Cartman on patrol.
No. 2 - The Emerging Five-Star ...
When Alex Dunlap first reported last Monday that sophomore offensive lineman D.J. Campbell moved into the right guard position with the starting offense, it was easy to pause in an effort not to make too big of a deal about it.
After all, it could have simply been a move for one practice, and returning starter Cole Hutson could have easily returned to the spot in 24 hours' time. Yet, as last week went along, Campbell continued to work with the first-team offense, while Hutson worked with the second-team at both center and right guard.
On Saturday, Campbell remained in the first-team line-up and performed very well, according to people that were on hand to watch the proceedings.
From my perspective, the rise of Campbell is one of the best pieces of news in camp so far. I'll be honest when I tell you that if Campbell wasn't making a serious move ahead of Hutson, it would be fair to somewhat question whether a lot of us overrated Campbell in the recruiting process. Instead, it looks like he's right on time, as his second season should be around the time that he starts to put it all together.
Truthfully, the Herculean effort from Kelvin Banks last season distorted what the time frame for five-star offensive line studs should look like, which is a credit to him and an embarrassment for Rivals (for taking that fifth star away from him). If we look back at the best five-star offensive linemen in the history of the Texas program, it was the second season that witnessed the launching points for players like Justin Blalock, Jonathan Scott, Leonard Davis, and Dan Neil, all of whom became starting offensive linemen for the Longhorns in their second year on campus.
Campbell is starting to make that right guard spot his own and in the process, you can start to see Kyle Flood's vision for this offensive line in 2023 start to take place.
No. 3 - Camp Impressions: Week Two ...
* I'm not sure it's possible to know what it means, but Arch Manning definitely outperformed Maalik Murphy on Saturday, even if the dynamics of what they were facing weren't apples to apples. It won't likely dictate what happens next in the battle for the backup quarterback spot because I still expect Murphy to be the official backup quarterback this season, but it feels like the first real salvo from the freshman five-star. The next couple of scrimmages will be interesting to see at the backup quarterback spot.
* It feels like Jaydon Blue is losing ground to CJ Baxter and Jonathon Books at running back, which probably puts him at fourth in the pecking order when you count Keilan Robinson.
* As for Baxter, if splitting first-team reps is his floor right now as a true freshman, you can see where he's headed. Brooks is going to have to be some kind of player in games to hold him off the entire season.
* Shout out to Casey Cain, who was taking some first-team reps on Saturday. The position is loaded with talent, but he always puts himself in a position to be picked by his coaches, so he is obviously doing things right.
* I kind of expected to hear Ryan Niblett's name a little more through the first couple of weeks of camp.
* It's interesting to see Malik Agbo getting run as the sixth man when the team puts an offensive lineman on the field at tight end in its jumbo packages.
* Feels like it's been kind of a quiet start to training camp for Cam Williams. I'm not saying he's struggling or anything close to that, but I can't recall him being singled out yet by anyone I've talked to or anyone that anyone else has talked to at this point.
* I'm fascinated to see the defensive line rotation when the season starts because there's no way to get around the fact that there's been more camp buzz about Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton than Byron Murphy or T'Vondre Sweat. Seeing both players get first-team reps on Saturday could be an indicator of a lot of things.
* Anthony Hill is going to be a major factor in the defense this season. Turn him loose, PK!
* Shout out to the secondary for limiting the Texas wideouts in the scrimmage and forcing multiple sacks from quarterbacks that couldn't find open receivers. That bodes extremely well for the season.
No. 4 - The A.D. Mitchell lesson ...
One thing to keep an eye on when we get to December and January is how aggressive Texas will get in the Portal with an eye on the 2024 season.
From what I can gather, the addition of Georgia transfer A.D. Mitchell has served as an eye-opener for what is possible from a talent acquisition standpoint when the right amount of planning and NIL money meet the perfect opportunity. It might not happen in terms of large numbers, but the Longhorns will look to strike in the Portal where it makes sense.
One position we'll almost certainly see the Longhorns target in the Portal is wide receiver, especially if both Mitchell and Xavier Worthy depart following this season. That feels like a no-brainer.
If I had to guess, don't be surprised if tight ends, defensive linemen, and linebackers could be on the shopping list if the right targets become available.
No. 5 - The next five-star commit ...
I don't know when it might happen, but the word on these here recruiting streets is that the Longhorns and Santa Ana (Ca.) Mater Dei offensive lineman Brandon Baker are looking like a pair that will be going to prom together.
Oh, it's still very possible that Baker will take a visit to Nebraska in the fall, but the vibe I'm getting is that it's not going to matter.
Yet, the bottom line from what I'm hearing remains the same ... Baker will end up at Texas.
Therefore, yes. I've put in a Futurecast for Baker to the Longhorns, which I believe is the first in the entire industry.
A few things to keep in mind ...
a. NIL will be a very big piece of Baker's decision. Everyone knows this.
b. Because he lives in Cali, he's able to have direct conversations about possible NIL opportunities right now.
c. Texas is essentially 2022 Aaron Judge at the moment.
No. 6 - This will blow your mind ...
You never know what you're going to see on OB, but I have to admit that this post from @AgaveHorn stopped me cold in my tracks on Friday.
The subject was the Texas One Fund and where donations are currently going.
Holy hell.
Not one person has ever suggested that Texas is a baseball monster in NIL the way LSU proved to be this year and yet Texas baseball had more monthly donors than football as recently as ... Thursday.
Good for Texas Baseball. They need even more donors. Don't think for a second that my comments are an attempt to undermine the program that is asked to do more with less (in terms of scholarships) than any other program on campus.
Yet, I would contend that nothing showcases the need for more donors to get involved in NIL on the football side of things than the fact that it only became the No. 1 sport for monthly donations AFTER the Colin Simmons commitment.
As I reported last week, the golden NIL goose isn't going to keep laying golden eggs without more contributions. It's not a huge issue in 2023-24, but it's going to become an issue in future years without a completely different attitude from small and large donors, alike.
Simple as that.
No. 7 - About Rodney Terry ....
As someone that had very serious doubts about Rodney Terry's ability to construct a roster at a level fitting of the Texas basketball job, I can do nothing but give the man a tip of the cap for the work he's done so far in talent acquisition.
The man has landed big fish in the portal and with the commitment of 5-star shooting guard Cam Scott on Friday, he's again proven that he can recruit elite high school players as well.
It remains to be seen how Terry will do over the long haul, but you'd have to give him a grade of an A at this point.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) I think Texas will get both, but it's going to take a little more to put the Longhorns into the top five. It's going to be close, but I'll take 6-10 at this point.
(Buy) I'm not sure the coaches are worried about distractions, but the spirit of your question is probably fair. There's no doubt that the coaches want Murphy to be in the No. 2 spot because anything other than that is likely going to lead to his departure.
(Sell) Texas was better at running back, defensive tackle, and linebacker a season ago.
(Sell) I still think the number is 2.5. for that group of five.
(Buy) It might be an indicator of how good the defense could be, though.
(Sell/Sell/Sell) The rare triple sell! Well done!
(Buy) I don't know if this team is going to be great, but the excitement level going into the season is pretty damn high.
(Sell) Cam is always just going to be a monster and I'm not sure Sydir has that kind of discipline yet.
(Sell) Texas still has a lot to prove before we can say something like that.
(Buy) I absolutely believe that a spot in the Big 12 title game will be on the line in that game.
(Sell) I don't think he's going to go that high.
(Buy) There's almost always a player worthy of taking from at least one of the schools each year. #buildthatpipeline
(Sell) I love the question, but give me Baxter's rushing yards.
(Sell) I'd rather have Subway.
(Sell) I'm not buying that it can or will be regulated without some serious litigation occurring as a byproduct.
(Buy) He better.
(Sell) There's no way I'm buying third round at a minimum at this point. That's crazy talk until he puts a good season together.
(Sell) Give me Anthony Hill.
No. 9 - Scattershooting on anything and everything ...
... I loved seeing DeMarvion Overshown play big in his first pre-season game with the Cowboys. He looks like a future starter in the making.
... Roschon Johnson is going to be a hell of a player for the Bears, so can we get him a better number than 30 as a uniform number?
... Deuce Vaughn is going to be fun in this Dallas offense.
... The Sixers have called off trade talks for James Harden going into the season. What could possibly go wrong?
... Welcome back, Premier League Man, I've missed you.
... The Premier League's FFP rules are a joke. Chelsea has basically spent a billion dollars in 12 months and they ain't worried because they've seen Man City hit with 115 charges and absolutely nothing has been done.
... Moisés Caicedo. can EABOD.
No. 10 - The List: Outkast ...
In the year of Hip-hop's 50th anniversary, I feel like I haven't done enough of my favorite groups and artists. Therefore, we break things up with a list of songs from my favorite group and one of my Mount Rushmore rappers (3 Stacks).
I lean most heavily towards the group's very earlier stuff, so I don't want to hear any mess from any of you.
Let's get after it.
Honorable mention: ATLiens, Rose Parks, Funk Ride, Return of the G, Hey Ya, Da Art of Storytellin’ (Part 1), Aquemini, Roses, GhettoMusik, Crumblin' Erb, Git Up, Git Out, Liberation, Morris Brown, Ain't No Thing and Funky Ride
10. Hootie Hoo
It was basically a McCallum High School anthem when I was a senior.
9. Chonkyfire
The description is in the name song ... pure fire.
8. The Way You Move
I know it's as much of an all-time great pop song as much as anything, but I can't help it ... I have always loved this song and it has to be in my top 10.
7. So Fresh, So Clean
It's just a freaking jam.
6. Elevators
""Me and you
Your momma and your cousin, too
Rolling down the strip on Vogues
Coming up, slamming Cadillac doors"
5. Mrs. Jackson
All you need to know about how dope this song is can be found in the truth that it played for at least 10 years as a dance song at Dallas Night Club from the 90s into the 2000s. EVERYONE loves this song.
4. SpottieOttieDopaliscious
It's funky. It's chill as a penguin's backside. It has a marching band in it.
3. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
It might be the most Outkast song of all the Outkast songs.
2. Player's Ball
This is the song that made me a fan for life. It's my personal No. 1.
1. B.O.B. (Bombs over Baghdad)
It's not my favorite Outkast song, but it might be the best rap song of all time. There's never quite been a song like it before or since.
