Ten more days.
As someone who believes the Texas defense is going to be one of the best units in all of college football for the second straight season, but is really unsure what to make of a Texas offense that could be improved at quarterback in the most important areas and not as strong as last year at any other position, the 2025 season could be defined by what happens when the Spring Portal opens up for 10 days on April 16.
When a high-level source told me in January that the Longhorns were "all-in on 2025 like Ohio State was for 2024," this feels like the moment that source would have been talking about.
Team retention has been secured. Needs exist. Scholarships are going to be available. If Texas is going to emerge as a national championship-caliber team in 2025, it has to make a number of critical additions in the next month. As the team is currently constructed, it has the makings of a team that makes the 12-team playoff, but not one that would likely advance to the same level as the 2024 Longhorns. It's that simple.
So, let's start with an updated look at the numbers. The Longhorns are sitting at 81 scholarships and you can expect at least a handful of departures in the Portal. There's been talk of one offensive lineman leaving for a few months and as
@Anwar Richardson has twice reported in the last eight days, there's a feeling that something has to give with four scholarships being dedicated to kickers/punters. It feels like the Longhorns will be sitting somewhere in the area of 75-78 scholarships when the Portal closes, which would give them between 7-10 scholarships to play with.
If you were wondering why Texas was kicking the tires on Stanford edge David Bailey, the projections show that the Longhorns will have enough wiggle room that they can address every issue on offense and still have room for a defender/special teams star or two.
So, with no real need to worry that numbers are going to be an issue, let's just talk about where the biggest positions need an injection of Portal juice.
Two starting level wide receivers
You can't be all-in on 2024 without making sure you don't leave anything to chance when it comes to ensuring that Arch Manning has enough proven, no-doubt-about-it dependable players at the wide receiver position. If one of the freshmen receivers is ready to go to the moon in year one, fantastic, but you can't count on that at this point.
Given that every agent on the planet will not be doing their jobs correctly if they haven't explained the kind of leverage good players have at this moment in the Portal, I fully expect really good players to enter the Portal.
Texas has a few talented options that are ready to contribute, but are any of them ready to be first-team All-SEC level good?
No, and the Longhorns could use a couple.
One or two tight ends
Considering the Longhorns under Sarkisian like to operate with multiple tight ends on the field more than 40 percent of the time as an offense, this one isn't rocket science.
Jordan Washington isn't enough. Spencer Shannon isn't enough. Incoming freshman Nick Townsend isn't enough.
If another Max Clare makes himself available this month, I expect the Longhorns to go the distance in a way they didn't with Clare.
At least one offensive line starter
We know the Longhorns went after USC transfer Emmanuel Pregnon back in December and made a very strong financial offer, so as much as Kyle Flood has never been about bringing in transfers since his arrival in 2021, we know he would have taken Pregnon.
This is an offensive line that can use upgrades all over the field outside of left tackle, so the failure to so will feel like a need being unaddressed.
One starting-level running back
See section No. 2 below.
Even if the Longhorns added two WR, one TE, one OL and one RB, they'll almost certainly still have room for the other two phases of play, whether they want another defensive tackle, defensive back depth, a proven return specialist ... or potentially all of them
So, buckle up. We're almost in the stretch of the calendar that might decide what happens in Columbus four months before it happens.
No. 2 - Is Christian Clark's rise this spring a mirage? ...
As a college prospect, only Rivals listed Texas second-year running back Christian Clark as a national prospect, ranking him as a mid- 4 star and the No. 181 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class.
I thought he was better than that. Personally, I rated him as a super blue chip prospect and on a much higher level than fellow 2024 running back signee Jerrick Gibson. It's probably safe to say that no one in the recruiting industry believed in Clark's ability to be a star at the high college level more than I did.
It's why I hate to raise my hand and admit to some slight confusion over Clark this spring. From my perspective, the timeline of the last 12 months looks like this ...
a. Clark enrolls last January and went through the spring without making such an early impact that it wasn’t a sure thing that he would play as a true freshman. Still,
@Anwar Richardson reported on March 24th: "It might be time to buy your Christian Clark stock (assuming Ketch does not own all of it). The buzz surrounding this freshman running back is getting louder."
b. Going into August, Clark was probably a co-No. 4 running back, along with Jerrick Gibson, yet behind CJ Baxter, Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner. Truth be told, although I'm not completely sure why, he was probably No. 5 behind Gibson.
c. On August 12, Clark is lost for the season to a ruptured Achilles
d. Heading into the spring, there had been rave reviews behind the scenes about his progress in rehab and there was a sense that he would see some action in spring drills, but in a very cautious way with respect to his return from injury.
Two weeks in camp, Clark is the only running back on the team generating any real buzz. That's not to say that there hasn't been an occasional name drop containing modest praise, but the talk everywhere is Clark, Clark, and more Clark.
How has he emerged as the name on the tips of everyone's tongues coming off of an incredibly serious injury when he's not even 100-percent back when you consider that everyone that was ahead of him seven months ago outside of Blue is still on the roster?
It's kind of bat-you-know-what crazy that this is the place that we are in. Whatever happens the rest of the spring, the goal for the coaches has to be to do everything needed to ensure that he's as close to 100 percent when this team travels to Columbus in 147 days. His value grows by the day and the importance of returning him at a cautious pace becomes even more paramount than it would have seemed four months ago.
I still own all my stock in Clark and I'm not selling any of it.
As for the rest of the running backs on the roster ... dude ... what in the world? How is an entire group getting outshined by a guy coming off an Achilles injury?
We know what Wisner is, which is a very good, but not remotely a spectacular player, who averaged 2.7, 2.5 and 2.7 yards per carry in three of his final four games of the year against Georgia, Arizona State and Ohio State, respectively. Beyond that ... it's not a group that inspires a lot of excitement going into this season.
I'd feel a lot better about the state of things if a guy like West Virginia running back Jaheim White (845 yards, 5.7 YPC last season) found his way into the Portal and then to Austin. White, Wisner and Clark feel a lot more like the stuff of a dangerous playoff team than Wisner, Clark and someone from the pack of current players that isn't really standing out at the moment. The return of C.J. Baxter has to be treated like found money and not a key to the season.
Just my 17 cents on the matter of the Texas running backs.
No. 3 – Three Super Positive Things I'm Hearing ...
* All the buzz around Arch Manning is good buzz. There's calm around the position and his performances. He's playing like a player who knows everything that's being asked of him and he's delivering. Very few turnovers. "He's everything we want him to be,” a team source told me this weekend.
* All of the transfer defensive tackles have displayed enough ability through three weeks that there is a little more calm than there was a month ago about the position. "It's a better group than we signed a year ago and those guys ended up being just fine," a source said. Throw in an always-improving Alex January and you've got the makings of an interior defensive line that will get things done.
* Defensive backs Jelani McDonald, Xavier Filsaime and Santana Wilson are names in the secondary that I keep seeing/hearing about. "Filsaime looks like a different player than last year because his head isn't swimming," a source said. "He's just playing football."
No. 4 - Don't mean to serve as a jinx ...
It kind of feels like five-star tackle Felix Ojo is about as big of a lean as a guy in his position can possibly be.
He's just screaming future Texas commitment/signee at some point.
I'm trying to think about what would have to happen for it not to be Texas and all I can come up with is a bathroom meltdown on an in-home visit like ... uh ... Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber.
If you need something to make you smile on Monday morning, just let this one soak in.
No. 5 – Close, but no cigar ...but how close really?
Everything you need to know about the state of the Texas women's basketball program coming out of the 2024-25 season can be summed up by the following truths.
a. Texas was good enough this season to have the ability to beat South Carolina.
b. Texas was also not good enough to avoid getting beaten the other three times it played South Carolina by a combined 53 points and never by less than 17 points.
Don't think for a second because we're openly discussing B that we're not appreciating A enough. This season was an awesome success, probably ranking as the best Texas team in 3+ decades. The Longhorns had enough juice to become co-champion of the SEC. They were ranked No. 1 for stretches of the season.
Texas has emerged as a top-5 program in the sport. It has climbed to the second-highest level in the sport.
The elephant in the room that we'll discuss next is the reality that taking the next step is much harder than taking the ones that Vic Schaefer has taken in his first five seasons, primarily because the talent gap between the likes of South Carolina and UConn to Texas is greater than the talent gap between Texas and the chasing pack of teams that are Sweet 16-ish level of quality.
In two blowout losses inside the state of South Carolina, it was easy to let confirmation bias kick in with the notion that the deciding factor in those losses of 17 and 19 points was home proximity for the Gamecocks, but what happened in Tampa was jarringly obvious. South Carolina had edges everywhere in the way of talent, athleticism and pure basketball skill.
Or as Dawn Staley told the media after the game on Friday night, "We score more points than they do."
Yeah, that's one way to put it.
Texas might have had the best player on the floor on Friday night, but it's possible that UConn had the next best six or seven, although Jordan Lee might squeeze in there somewhere. Beyond that? No one else looked like they would play for the Huskies if they transferred programs. The Texas players play defense like their lives depend on it and the effort is never-ending. Schaefer's teams will always provide that as part of their DNA.
But, more talent is needed. More shooters are needed. More raw athleticism is needed.
Championships in women's college hoops are decided in recruiting at the moment and there's still a level that the Longhorns need to reach before they are likely to ever best South Carolina in a game in April, barring the Gamecocks simply having an off night.
I'm not sure Schaefer is wired to put his hopes on the other team having an off night. He craves to the best. It's just that getting there in this particular sport is far easier said than done.
No. 6 - Texas Baseball handled its damn business ...
Georgia came into Austin this weekend feeling pretty good about itself with a shiny No. 3 ranking and an 8-1 start in SEC play. We're talking about real national championship material.
Texas sent them home with their little Bulldog tail between their legs after being on the wrong end of a broom assault.
The Longhorns were breathtakingly fun this weekend. Key hits. Great pitching. Comebacks. Big bombs. Walk-off winner.
I don't know if this is one of the best teams we've ever seen in Austin, but it's the most fun team that I can remember since Augie was in town.
No. 7 - No.1 Longhorns keep rolling ...
The Texas Softball team didn't always take the easy route to a three-game road sweep in Missouri this weekend, but the Longhorns got the job done.
That included holding on for a one-run win in the opener of Sunday's double-header after giving up 3 7th inning runs and then needing extra-innings to pull out game three.
Whatever it takes.
The bottom line is that the No.1 Longhorns remain alone in first place in the SEC, one game in the loss column ahead of Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Things don't get any easier this weekend when the Longhorns host No.6 Tennessee, which took 2 out of 3 from OU last weekend, along with 2 out of 3 this weekend against No.15 Mississippi State.
The grind goes on.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Buy) We're going to see better talent in the spring in my estimation than we saw in December. It's the smart leverage play if you have any value at all as a player.
(Buy) Duh.
(Sell) I'm not sure if I know exactly what he is yet. I don't think he's really 6-5, so I'm not sure if he projects as an edge, which is what I thought we'd see based on his listed physical profile. Part of me wonders if he's just an athlete at this point and that there's a chance he could also be a tight end at the next level.
(Buy) Yes. I believe so.
(Sell) I think most people know exactly what Wisner is as a player. Can you under-appreciate a guy that ran for less 3.0 yards per carry in seven games last season?
(Buy) You can make a case he's already there when you consider the move to the SEC, the transition to the SEC, the fundraising and the hires he's been responsible for.
(Buy) This baseball team is more than a delight. It is thrilling.
(Sell) I don't know that I truly believe that, although the defense could be so good that they have a fighting chance at a minimum.
(Buy/Buy) Both teams have massive reloading tasks in front of them, but Texas has the edge at the biggest position on the field.
(Sell) Give me Sark in the next two seasons.
(Sell) I watched both movies this weekend. It's his best starring role, but his best performance is his role in Tombstone.
(Buy) Does taking them to their grandfather's to go fishing, but not actually fishing count? Yes, if so. No, if not.
No. 9 – Scattershooting all over the place …
... Man, I'm so impressed with this Houston Cougars team. All season long, they've been kind of the junkyard dogs in the last four minutes of games. The Cougars did it over and over and over again in the Big 12. Nothing about the end of that Duke game came as a surprise.
... I picked Houston to win it all before the Tournament started and I'm not backing down now.
... Cooper Flagg was so close to having a Michael Jordan moment. Left it short. He'll think about that miss for the rest of his life.
... In retrospect, thank goodness the playoff committee didn't put UConn in the same region as Texas. My goodness, they beat the crap out of everyone down the stretch.
... This feels like LeBron passing Jordan for rings more than it feels like LeBron passing Kareem for the points record. Pretty awesome.
... Premier League Thoughts: Well, not having Alisson and the top three right backs on the club was always going to potentially leave a mark at some point for the Reds ... and it did. Oh, well, 11 more points needed in the last seven games. One game a week for the rest of the week isn't idea, but it should help a team that has hit a mini-wall. The top 5 race is getting juicier and juicier. Forest isn't really safe. Villa might be the most in-form team in the league.
No. 10 - The List: Top 10 Val Kilmer ...
Is it a sin to admit that I haven't really been a huge Val Kilmer fan for much of my life?
Oh, don't get me wrong, there are a few films and roles over the years that I love and recognize as iconic. Yet, when he passed away this week I was tuned at how many movies he'd made that I had never seen. So, I got to work this week and went on an odyssey of sorts.
We'll see just how much the odyssey impacted my list. Let's get on with it.
Honorable Mention: Val (2021), Real Genius (1985), Thunderheart (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Spartan (2004), The Salton Sea (2002) and Twixt (2011)
10. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
I'm not sure this movie has aged all that well, although I don't know why. Kilmer is great in his role as Gay Perry. I just remember really liking this movie when it first came out and only kind of liking it when I re-watched this week.
9. Top Secret (1984)
My introduction to Kilmer. I saw this one in the theater when I was eight. It feels like it simply HAS to be on the list somewhere.
8. Willow (1988)
I haven't seen Willow in three decades, but I really, really, really liked it when it came out. I might show it to my kids this week.
7. The Saint (1997)
I had never seen this movie until this week. Elizabeth Shue is at her best Elizabeth Shue-ness. Kilmer is great in a starring role where he plays about a dozen different characters.
6. True Romance (1993)
I don't know how to rank the top 6, but his role as Elvis has always been one of my low-key favorite parts of one of my favorite movies from the 1990s.
5. Top Gun Maverick (2022)
Is this too low?
4. Heat (1995)
Is this too low?
3. The Doors (1991)
It's his defining role as a lead actor. There's a lot to unpack upon watching this movie, but this has to be in the top three over bigger movies with smaller roles.
2. Top Gun (1986)
I kind of feel guilty for not having this in the top spot because ...
1. Tombstone (1993)
He's like Robert Downey Jr. as Ironman, but with more charisma. It's the performance of his lifetime. Without his performance as Doc Holliday, no one would even remember this movie. Instead, it's weirdly iconic.
