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THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Texas faces tough competition for Corian Gipson
Lancaster DB Corian Gipson is a guy who has been on UT’s recruiting radar for quite some time, and the Rivals100 member has been a regular visitor to the Texas campus. On the surface, this one looks pretty good for the Longhorns, but Texas is going to have to earn it.
Gipson isn’t shy about admitting that UT is high on his list, but he’s also genuinely interested in several other programs, including some of the heavy hitters in college football. Programs like Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma are high on Gipson’s list, and they’re all aggressively recruiting him at this point.
The good news for Texas … so far, Gipson has only one official visit set up, a date with UT on June 23. The other side of that news … Gipson is in the process of setting up other visits, with Bama and Ohio State likely to get two of those trips.
“I was on the phone with T-Rob (Travaris Robinson) from Bama. We’re going to chop it up and see when I’m going to set up my official visit, so we’re getting there,” Gipson said. “I’m going to Ohio State on April 15 for their spring game, and me and coach (Tim) Walton are going to chop it up and he’s going to tell me when I can set up my official visit.”
This spring, Gipson plans to take unofficial visits to places like Ohio State, Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma and Texas. He’ll be in Austin for Texas Relays in a couple of weeks and at Oklahoma for the Sooners’ spring game.
Gipson and UT defensive backs coach Terry Joseph connected on the phone recently, and Joseph has stressed to him that Texas can do more for Gipson’s future than just on the football field.
“The coaching staff (stands out) for sure,” Gipson said. “I just talked to coach Joseph a couple days ago. He wants me to get back to Austin before my official visit.
“Mostly, he was telling me about life after football. You work hard, but if you go to Texas and get a degree, you can get in anywhere.”
With so many big-time programs trying to win out in Gipson’s recruitment, he has a few areas that he says will be key in his eventual decision.
“Development, for sure. I’ll say development, and if I can be there for the next three or four years, then life after football and if they’re going to treat you right,” Gipson said.
2. Texas and OU will go head to head on junior days this month
In most years, regional rivals like Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma try to stagger their recruiting events in order to give themselves a better chance of hosting as many recruits as possible. We’ve seen weekends where UT and A&M might host events on back-to-back days, allowing recruits to make the short trip from Austin to College Station (or vice versa) during a two-day stretch so they can check out both programs. But it’s rare that those three schools host junior days or summer events on the same exact day.
That’s going to change on March 25 when both Texas and Oklahoma host junior days, and there’s going to be some intrigue in seeing which players show up on which campus.
Texas will have a successful junior day. There’s little doubt about that. But we have talked to a handful of players the UT staff would probably love to have in Austin that will instead be in Norman. Players we’ve spoken with in the last week or so that are Included in that group are defensive tackle Alex January, 2025 5-star Devin Sanchez, standout 2025 OL Michael Fasusi and 2025 RB Riley Wormley.
Ultimately, over the course of each recruiting cycle, there seems to be only a few true head-to-head battles between the Longhorns and the Sooners so one recruiting visit isn’t going to be the deciding factor, but it could give us an indicator in certain recruitments on which way those prospects are truly leaning.
3. UT’s recent offer to 2025 RB Tiger Riden moved the needle
It was about a month ago that Texas put an offer on the table for 2025 running back Deondrae Riden, and the DeSoto standout said it was a memorable moment when the scholarship was presented.
“Man, I was excited. I was actually waiting on it,” Riden said. “I had spoken with coach (Tashard) Choice like one time before that and he told me he was going to be back, and he kept his word.”
This is still a pretty new relationship that will continue to grow, but few coaches are able to connect with recruits as quickly as Choice does. Riden already likes everything he knows and has heard about Choice.
“First of all, he produces good running backs,” Riden said. “I’ve heard good things about him from Tre (Wisner), who’s going to be a running back at Texas. Johntay (Cook) told me a couple good things about him. I took their word and he’s a really good guy.”
Riden has an unofficial visit planned for USC in April. He said he’s trying to get to a Texas spring practice or the Orange-White game in mid-April but hasn’t finalized any plans to get to Austin. It’s still very early in this one and Riden has a large number of offers, but he said a handful of schools have his early attention.
“Definitely A&M, Texas, USC, Oregon, TCU, SMU, Oklahoma State … many others,” Riden said.
Riden said he has no recruiting timeline laid out and is taking things day by day as new teams enter the picture. He feels Texas is on an uptick under Steve Sarkisian and that should keep the Longhorns in the race.
“I like their program. They produce good players. They produce good players and they’re going to always keep coming,” Riden said. “They know how to recruit and they know how to build a team.”
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. Does Arch Manning truly have a shot at winning the starting QB job?
On our Modcast last week, we discussed Steve Sarkisian’s comments that the quarterback job was essentially an open battle, and he wanted to see what true freshman Arch Manning could do with a fair shot to win the starting job. In case you missed it, here are the comments from Sark that generated so much discussion:
“Quinn has an entire year of a head start, but I don't want to hold Arch back. I want to see how far he can take this thing and what it can look like."
About what you’d expect, but those comments actually made the front page of ESPN and when brought up on the Modcast, evolved into a wager between me and @Alex Dunlap.
My thinking … no way in hell Manning beats out Ewers and after watching a couple of practices last week and thinking about things a little more, I feel as strongly as ever about my call that Ewers will be the starter for this year’s season-opener, assuming he’s healthy. A few reasons for that …
- Ewers’ experience last year was invaluable. Sure, things weren’t always perfect, but Ewers undoubtedly learned A LOT last year and that experience as a starter should help him grow by leaps and bounds this ear.
- Sark isn’t on the hot seat. Not at all. But he also knows that perceptions can change in a heartbeat and he has to continue to move this program forward. Starting Ewers is the safest bet – frankly, it’s not even close – and he’s not going to risk things by starting a true freshman quarterback.
- Anyone suggesting there’s not much separation between Ewers and Manning in terms of experience due to Ewers being only a sophomore is being naïve. Yes, Ewers has only one year of starting experience under his belt, but he did gain some valuable experience in his year at Ohio State.
- Manning has immense talent, and if you’re ever going to throw caution to the wind in starting a true freshman quarterback, a player with Manning’s talent and pedigree makes some sense. But Ewers arrived with a similar forecast of success. Inserting a true freshman in place of a player with limited upside is a hell of a lot easier than putting the youngster in place in front of a player whose stock could be ready to explode at any moment if things come together.
- It’s been only one week of practice and we’re not allowed to watch much, but it appears there’s a new comfort level from Ewers and I don’t get the sense that he’s looking over his shoulder at all. He’s made some spectacular, cross-body Patrick Mahomes-like throws in drills that have had coaches praising him (“Great throw 3!”) and while I’ve seen some beautiful tosses by Manning, he’s also looked like a true freshman on some of his throws. Again, small sample size so I’m not making too much of it, but I’ve seen nothing that makes me think Ewers’ spot on top of the depth chart is on shaky ground.
- The wide receiver weapons should be much deeper this year, which will only make things easier for Ewers, thus helping set him up for success. Last year, it was mostly Xavier Worthy or bust at WR, and even Worthy didn’t live up to expectations (Jordan Whittington was fairly productive but inconsistent, like the passing game as a whole). I’m expecting big things from a much deeper receiver pool this year, and continued development from tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders gives Ewers plenty of targets to spread around. Sark has said repeatedly that the passing game has to be better … all of it, not just the quarterback … and I’m fully expecting to see that next fall.
Maybe I’ll be wrong. If I am, I’ll have an elephant-sized plate of crow to eat, but I’m sticking to my guns that Ewers is Texas’ starter when the Horns take the field against Rice. If I’m wrong, @Alex Dunlap will be making my wallet a little less bulky.
2. Texas is in good standing with 2025 RB Riley Wormley
Running back Riley Wormley was a mismatch for any linebacker trying to cover him at Sunday’s Under Armour camp in Dallas, and he earned RB MVP honors for his efforts. The Colleyville Heritage product holds a Texas offer and has the Longhorns in his early top three.
“My top three right now are OU, Texas and probably TCU. Maybe Arkansas in the mix,” Wormley said. “I’ll get some visits in, see how that goes and hopefully get some more offers in.”
Wormley will be at OU’s junior day on March 25. He said he “should go” to UT’s spring game in April and he’s developed a solid relationship with Tashard Choice.
“He’s a great dude. I’m talking to him every day. We’re just getting a better relationship and I think it’s really good,” Wormley said of Choice.
At 5-10, 175 pounds with 4.45 speed, Wormley boasts a versatile skill set. It’s his ability to do different things that he thinks has programs like Texas, OU, TCU, Arkansas, Texas Tech and others extending early offers.
“I think I’m very different. I can go to wide receiver, I can go to running back. I’m very athletic, really fast,” Wormley said.
A decision isn’t expected until next summer so there’s still plenty of time in this one. Wormley said he’s looking for programs that will develop him both on and off the field.
“Just a really good program to develop me, get me better academically and physically, just get me further into my future,” he said.
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ONE PREDICTION – Texas to the Sweet 16
I’ve filled out my NCAA Tournament bracket, and since I know everyone is dying to hear my prognostications, I’ve got Texas advancing to the Sweet 16 before falling to … Iowa State. Yuck.
Truth be told, I have no clue what to expect of this UT team. It is playing really well of late but I’ve also seen Texas play some pretty stagnant basketball at times, and that can get you in trouble in the NCAA Tourney, even in the early rounds. Buckle up.
For those wondering … I’ve got UCLA cutting down the nets, which means the Bruins will probably get bounced in the first weekend.
If you haven’t already joined our OB Bracket Challenge, do so by clicking here (password: longhorns).
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