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(From Anwar)
Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger will take first-team reps this offseason and will start the season opener.
Incoming freshman quarterback Roschon Johnson will hit campus this week prior to a mandatory team meeting on Monday.
Former Longhorn starter Shane Buechele informed the staff on Wednesday he wanted to enter the transfer portal, and his name appeared online by Thursday morning.
Freshman quarterback Cameron Rising informed Texas on Wednesday he intended to transfer and announced he was going to Utah on Thursday.
That means we need to start the War Room by discussing soon-to-be redshirt freshman quarterback Casey Thompson, who entered the transfer portal in December.
As of Thursday night, Thompson had not informed Texas if will return to Austin this weekend or leave for another program. Texas has a mandatory team meeting on Monday, which means Thompson will need to leave Oklahoma at some point this weekend to rejoin his teammates if he’s going to a part of the team this spring.
Clearly, logic says Thompson will return to Texas.
Considering Rising is gone and Buechele intends to leave the program, Thompson has a pretty clear path to the backup quarterback spot at Texas. Thompson needs to beat out Johnson this offseason, and considering Thompson has been in the system for a year, it is an obtainable goal.
However, there are people associated with the program who are cautiously optimistic.
Thompson could have contacted the coaches who were recruiting him after officially hearing about Rising and Buechele’s decision on Wednesday night and told them he was going to stay at Texas. Obviously, it does not take that long to get in contact with coaches who are sitting by their phones while on the road recruiting and express a decision. Considering nobody from Texas knew of Thompson’s plans as of Thursday night, it is hard for those associated with the program to know what the holdup is.
From what I was told, Thompson is still exploring options, but could make an announcement as early as Friday. If Thompson waits, we may not hear his official decision until this weekend.
Thompson has been in constant contact with the Longhorn staff since returning home after the Sugar Bowl victory against Georgia. The coaches have been trying to ease any concerns Thompson or his family may have (I was not given any specific details). The conversations have been productive, and everyone within the building eagerly anticipates hearing from Thompson soon.
I will keep you posted on this one.
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Buechele's decision to transfer does not come as a huge surprise to anyone associated with the Longhorns.
What might surprise some Longhorn observers is how Texas football coach Tom Herman is going above and beyond to accommodate a player who intends to leave his program.
On Wednesday, Buechele informed the staff he wanted to enter the transfer portal. According to a person close to Buechele, the quarterback wanted his name in the transfer portal now so he will have options after he graduates in May. In addition, Buechele wanted to be honest about his intentions with a coaching staff he highly respects. Buechele redshirted this past season, which means he has two more years of eligibility remaining.
Here is where it gets interesting.
As I previously reported, coaches are allowed to cancel scholarships, or reduce aid, while a player is in the portal. Buechele was very concerned that once he informed Texas of his decision, his scholarship would be taken away. In fact, I learned Buechele even offered to pay for his final semester at Texas during a conversation with team officials.
Once Herman was informed of Buechele’s offer, I am told he immediately refused to allow his quarterback to pay for college, and made it clear the scholarship would remain intact. In addition, a person close to Herman told me Herman has a huge soft spot for Buechele because of how he handled himself on the field and behind the scenes during his tenure at Texas.
In fact, Herman praised Buechele for his performance against Baylor last season.
“I have told you guys, and I want to tell the world: Shane Buechele is the most engaged; he's the most prepared; he's the most positive coaching backup quarterback I've ever been around in my life and I've been around some really good ones, really, really good ones,” Herman said after that game. “I go back to even every Thursday, the ones practice a QB sneak in case we need it on fourth and inches. We had not run QB sneak in two years here. He was 15 yards behind the play, on air, no center, no nothing and he's crouching down, got his hands under his make-believe center and he's getting his mental rep.
“I don't think there was any doubt in anybody's mind how prepared he was because they watch him every day, and what an unbelievable teammate he has been; especially considering, you know, what's gone on other places in the country. To have him be so fully invested in this football team and his teammates is a credit to him, his family, coach Beck, and that quarterback room. I can't thank Shane enough and I probably don't enough. But after today, I certainly will.”
In addition to showing his appreciation by allowing Buechele to remain on scholarship, I have yet to hear anything about Herman restricting the quarterback from participating in offseason workouts.
We will find out soon if Buechele will practice with the team, but from what I can tell, it appears to be a possibility.
Herman does not publicly broadcast how he takes care of his players behind the scenes, such as not restricting the transfer options of former cornerback John Bonney and defensive lineman Mike Williams.
However, I thought you would want to know what Herman is doing for Buechele behind the scenes.
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It is safe to say everyone at Texas is disappointed about Rising’s decision to leave the program.
When Rising decided to enter the transfer portal, many associated with the program were optimistic he would remain in Austin. This was the first time Rising was away from home. He was in a new environment. Rising was not accustomed to being a backup quarterback. Everyone was willing to work through the uncertainty many freshmen backups endure after high school.
Nevertheless, when Rising visited Utah this past week, it became evident he was not planning to rejoin the Longhorns.
The people I spoke to about Rising were very careful not to say anything disparaging about the young man. Everyone had a lot of great things to say about Rising as a person.
Of course, they wished he had been willing to remain in the program for more than one season.
One person I spoke to posed an interesting question to me this week.
That person wanted to know if I thought Ehlinger would have transferred after this season if Buechele won the starting job. My immediate reaction was no because Ehlinger is not the kind of athlete who shies away from competition. Ehlinger is the kind of athlete who loves to compete. I got it.
Again, the person was not trying to be negative.
Instead, this person raised a valid point.
Everyone associated with the program wanted Rising to stay and compete, but they respect his decision and remain focused on retaining Thompson.
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--- A few people have asked if Texas might add another experienced quarterback for depth in that room, and it appears unlikely.
I asked around about that possibility this week and was told the odds of adding a grad transfer are pretty slim. Most grad transfers want to play right away, and few are willing to sit on the bench for depth. Ehlinger is the starter at Texas, and everyone in the country knows that.
--- As excited as everyone in the building is about the arrival of Johnson, they would like the option of allowing him to develop through a redshirt season. In an ideal world, Thompson backs up Ehlinger, while Johnson gets to learn without the pressure of being the No. 2.
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(From Suchomel)
There’s quite a bit of recruiting news to get to this week, so let’s jump right in …
The Longhorns will host a large number of 2020 targets this weekend for unofficial visits. Similar to last weekend, recruits will have a chance to go to the Texas hoops game on Saturday and also spending time with the coaches around the football facilities.
Some of the guys expected to be on campus …
QB Hunter Dunn - Tomball
RB Ty Jordan – West Mesquite
RB Zachary Evans - North Shore (now a maybe)
WR Demond Demas – Tomball
OL Logan Parr – San Antonio O’Connor (UT commit)
OL Chad Lindberg – Clear Creek
OL Jake Majors - Prosper
OL Jaylen Garth – Port Neches-Groves
DE Vernon Broughton – Spring Woods
LB Josh White – Cypress Creek
LB Kendrick Blackshire - Mesquite Horn
LB Brennan Scott - Bishop Dunne
CB Jaylon Jones - Cibolo Steele
S Bryson Washington – Houston C.E. King
Just about all the guys on this list have Texas extremely high on their list, so it could be a very productive weekend for the Longhorns in continuing to lay the foundation and build momentum in the 2020 class. We’ll touch base with most of these players (and anyone else who shows up) after their visits for updates.
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It’s pretty much impossible to not talk about Javonne Shepherd in the War Room in the week after he took an official visit to Texas A&M, but there’s really not much new to say from what I reported on Sunday after speaking to Shepherd.
The Houston North Forest product did unpin his tweet announcing his commitment to Texas, but I’m passed the point of trying to read too much into every move Shepherd makes on Twitter.
What I do know is that Shepherd told me last week that he had a good visit to Texas A&M. He’s said he’ll take visits to Georgia and Alabama over the next two weekends before taking his final official visit to Texas on February 1.
In talking to people who cover Texas A&M recruiting, it does sound like there’s confidence on the A&M side coming out of his visit to College Station, but that’s not at all unexpected. The question … will that confidence hold up over the next three weeks and after Shepherd visits Texas? (Of note, Shepherd’s trainer, Rischad Whitfield, told me he’ll be bringing Shepherd in for his UT visit.)
My guess is still on this one staying with the Longhorns. Shepherd committed to Texas for a reason, the Longhorns get the last chance to make an impression and he has a good relationship with the UT staff. But this one is pretty much impossible to predict right now and as I’ve said before (and will say several more times over the next three weeks), this one probably won’t be settled until Shepherd literally faxes in his letter of intent.
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The Texas early enrollees moved to campus on Wednesday. I had an update on JUCO LB Caleb Johnson in my 3-2-1 column this week, but here are a couple extra notes that I thought might be of interest.
Johnson is still recovering from his shoulder injury and has been told he may be held out of spring practices, but that hasn’t changed his mindset … he’s coming in with the intention of locking down a starting spot and being a leader for the Texas defense beginning next year.
“I’m not going in like I have plenty of time. I would like to make an impact as soon as I can,” Johnson said. “I want this to be the best seasons I have ever had. It’s nice to have the extra years (Johnson will have three seasons in Austin), but don’t think I’m going to need them.”
Once Johnson committed to Texas, he said he never had a shred of doubt. The Longhorns were always the team to beat, and Johnson said some other coaches used negative tactics to try to knock Texas down his list.
“Pretty much every other coach tried to talk me out of it, tried to pretty much talk bad on coach Herman and stuff,” Tucker said. “I felt like most of the real coaches, like coach (Mel) Tucker at Colorado, he said I’m not going to say anything negative about a school like Texas. Pretty much anyone who would do that, I just stayed away from them and shut them out.”
For the record, Johnson took official visits to Arkansas, Colorado and Oregon late in the process. Did I mention he visited Arkansas?
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I caught up with offensive lineman Ira Henry this week after Texas assistant Herb Hand stopped in for a visit on Tuesday. Henry, out of St. Louis Trinity Catholic, said it was a good visit but it sounds like things are in a bit of a holding pattern with Texas.
“He talked about what Texas has to offer me, where I fit in at Texas,” Henry said. “He told me about what he does and how they develop people, where I could fit in, guard or tackle. He said I could be a swing guy for them.”
Henry took an early official visit to Iowa State. He was at Florida last weekend, told me he’s added Auburn for this weekend and has Florida State set for January 25. As for Texas, Henry said the Longhorns, Penn State and Oklahoma are the teams he’s considering for his last visit. That being said, he has also told me that he wants to have an offer in hand before he takes an official visit, and Oklahoma is the only one out of that group who has formally offered. Henry said he believes Texas is going to offer, but he’s waiting to hear back from Texas after the staff discusses the situation.
Henry did say there’s a “big chance” Texas gets his last visit if the Longhorns do offer, so we’ll keep an eye on this one to see if anything develops. With teammate Marcus Washington signed – and Texas in a good spot with 2020 teammate Mookie Cooper – this one could get interesting if the Longhorns make a late push.
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Speaking of St. Louis Trinity Catholic 2020 standout Mookie Cooper, the talented playmaker will take an unofficial visit to Georgia this weekend. Cooper told me this week he’ll also visit Nebraska soon and is trying to lock in a Texas visit in February with Marcus Washington.
Cooper, who has a top-10 that includes Texas, said Washington does talk to him quite a bit about playing together at Texas, but he’s trying to keep an open mind.
“He’s my guy. It would be good to play with him but my recruitment is open,” Cooper said.
Drew Mehringer stopped by the school on Tuesday and saw both Washington and Cooper. Cooper said it’s always good anytime he gets to connect with Mehringer.
I did ask Cooper to put it in general terms where Texas fits on his list. His reply … “No comment lol.” Considering he’s already visited UT twice, I’ll take that as a good sign.
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Prosper 2020 offensive lineman Jake Majors will be on campus on Saturday. He’s built up a strong relationship with Herb Hand, and said he’s excited for him and his family to get around the UT staff to continue get to know each other.
“Just with coach Hand, the coaches, it’ll be good for me and my parents to spend more time with them,” Majors said. “I’ve been up there a lot, but I want (the coaches and his parents) to spend time with each other, make my mom and dad at home if I decided go there, let them know I’d be in good hands.”
Majors has close to 20 offers from schools like Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Washington and Wisconsin. The Longhorns have the early lead.
“Right now, Texas is my favorite but I’m also considering other schools such as Stanford, Washington, Missouri and Oklahoma,” Majors said.
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2020 linebacker Josh White is committed to Oklahoma State but he continues to be in touch with Texas. Todd Orlando stopped by White’s school (Cypress Creek) this weekend and White will visit Texas on Saturday.
“It was great,” White said of seeing Orlando at his school this week. “He and I have been building a good relationship since last summer. We’ve been talking since the summer and I actually went to a camp last summer. We worked on change of direction. He’s a great coach.”
White is hoping a UT offer comes at some point. If it does, the Longhorns will be in pretty good shape.
“If Texas was to offer, it would make things a lot harder,” White said. “It’s home. It’s the home state school.”
Along with Texas and Oklahoma State, White said he stays in touch with LSU and Missouri frequently. He’ll attend a Texas A&M Junior Day on February 3.
The 6-1, 205-pound White, who runs the sprint relays for Cypress Creek and was clocked at a 4.5 at a Houston camp last summer, said he feels he’d fit in well with what Texas likes to do on defense.
“I think I do fit in well with my speed and making plays, being able to read plays that the offense is doing and react to them,” White said. “Things I can improve on, I can always improve my change of direction. But I think I would fit in pretty well with my speed.”
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2020 DE Vernon Broughton is planning to visit on Saturday and the Spring Woods standout said he’s built up a good relationship with Oscar Giles and the UT staff.
“I’ve really been talking with coach Giles. He’s talking to me about what Texas is about, things like that, how they can make me a better person than I am now, getting me to where I want to go,” Broughton said. “I talk to him the most out of all the coaches. It makes me feel good, honestly, seeing that he’s dedicated. He’s talking to me about every day.”
Broughton said there’s a lot to like about Texas, but it’s the attention showed by the UT staff that is really elevating Texas’ stock.
“Their locker room is off the chain. But coaching wise, coach Giles is a cool dude to be around and talk to. Coach Herman, me and him are cool. He came to my basketball game (on Tuesday),” Broughton said. “I was kind of excited. Not kind of, I was excited. It was nice.”
Broughton said he plans to commit during the summer at some point. He doesn’t have a firm top five, but said the Longhorns are in his “top five for sure.” He didn’t know of any other programs that would for sure make the cut.
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(From McComas)
Earlier this week on Tuesday, Shaka Smart went to see 2019 five-star Jaden McDaniels. Texas continues to be as much of a presence, or more, in McDaniels’s recruitment as any other program among his final list - Kentucky, Washington, UCLA, Texas and San Diego State. It would be a surprise if there would be any movement soon, though.
Per one source, McDaniels, rated as the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2019 class, and his family aren’t interested much at all in recruiting right now. Based on what I’ve heard, I believe McDaniels and his family believe they gathered the information and took the visits they needed to in the fall and will revisit the process later after his high school season. This could be a similar type of recruitment and timetable that Mohamed Bamba’s was. And like that recruitment, the Longhorns are currently in good standing.
We probably won’t find out the answer for McDaniels for months, but Texas remains firmly in the hunt and is perhaps in the best position – while other programs might have to eventually pressure McDaniels for a decision, Texas will wait it out as long as he wants. (McComas)
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Tidbit to pass along about freshman big Jaxson Hayes: Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey was in attendance for the Texas at Kansas game, and heard he came away extremely impressed with Hayes. For the young product from Cincinnati, there’s a growing buzz among NBA people that he’s a lottery talent, especially in a class of weak bigs.
Will he stay or go? That’s something that won’t be decided for months, and I’m not sure Hayes or his family has ever thought about it, especially considering how new basketball is for him. However, Hayes has the attention of some of the NBA’s top personnel and decision-makers. (McComas)
