THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Saturday’s win over Oklahoma could pay recruiting dividends
In the immediate aftermath of Texas’s 49-0 drubbing over Oklahoma, I had fans asking me if we should be on the lookout for some windfall of commitments in the coming week. My answer … probably not, but don’t minimize the impact of a blowout win in a game that most recruits in the region were watching, either in person or on television.
With Texas looking to add only a small handful of players to a 2023 class that already contains 21 commitments, we’re likely not going to see many (or any) players rush out to join UT’s commitment list because of last weekend’s game. Not right away, anyway. Saturday’s win was a huge step in the right direction for a Longhorn program that already recruits at a high level, but the challenge for Texas is now to continue to add blocks to the building with wins in the coming weeks. Do that and Texas will be able to close out the 2023 class, but perhaps more importantly, it will set Steve Sarkisian and staff up for what should be another strong haul in the 2024 group.
Oklahoma is in a free-fall that it might not be able to recover from. Texas A&M is a stagnant program right now despite putting up a good fight in Tuscaloosa last weekend. LSU is a program that feels like it’s on pretty thin ice. Everything is falling into place for Texas, but as we’ve seen already this year, momentum is a fickle thing and it can do a 180-degree turn in a matter of a few hours. The good news … Texas pretty much controls its own fate with that recruiting momentum. Take care of business on the field and recruiting is only going to improve.
Saturday’s win did move the needle with a number of 2024 prospects that we checked with, including 5-star players like Colin Simmons and Micah Hudson. Simmons told OB that he’s looking at Texas more after the win over Oklahoma and Hudson offered up a similar statement.
“I would say it does (help UT’s position) a little bit, just because they’re playing better now that they have their quarterback back,” Hudson said. “They’re getting back to their routine.”
It was a similar refrain from wide receiver Freddie Dubose Jr and OL Ory Williams, in addition to about 30 other prospects that OB communicated with via text over the course of the weekend. Saturday was a big development for Texas, and the program now has to capitalize on that historic performance with consistently good play in the coming weeks.
2. Texas has impressed Micah Hudson in back-to-back weeks
Texas has pushed a lot of the right buttons with 2024 wide receiver Micah Hudson in the last couple of weeks. The Lake Belton standout was in Austin for the West Virginia game and last weekend he was at the Cotton Bowl to watch the Horns thump Oklahoma. Interestingly, he attended the Texas-OU game as a guest of Oklahoma’s since the Sooners were the home team, but Hudson would wind up leaving the recruit section to sit with some friends.
Looking back at his trip to the Forty Acres to watch Texas handle West Virginia, Hudson said he liked the experience overall, including what he saw from the UT offense.
“The West Virginia game was a good game. I like how they move the ball around,” Hudson said. “Xavier Worthy threw a TD, but I’m a receiver. I like to see more of a receiver touchdown. Quinn (Ewers) was down, so you could see how (Worthy) didn’t get as many targets but I thought the offense played well.”
On the offensive performance against Oklahoma …
“That was a good game. They moved the ball around to everybody. Even the backups got to touch the ball. I like how they have the motions, don’t just keep it to one thing. They have a lot of plays to mess up the defense.”
The Texas offense made an impression, but so did the Texas fan base. OU fans? Not so much.
“It was a good environment. OU fans were kind of obnoxious at first, yelling ‘Texas sucks,’ stuff like that. Doing Horns down. Texas fans didn’t care, they were being respectful to OU, clapping when the band was going. Texas fans were way more respectful, but still cheering on their team the whole time. They stayed until everybody was off the field. With about two minutes left, the OU side was cleared out but the Texas fans stayed until the end.
“(Texas fans) really showed love to all their people. They even know the backups that are in. They’re not just watching one player, they really know all the players and want to support them. They really care about the team and the organization.”
There’s still a long way to go in this one and the Longhorns will have to find off some tough competition, but things are trending up for Texas after the last couple of weeks.
3. Texas continues to be a strong contender for 2024 OL Ory Williams
2024 offensive lineman Ory Williams is an interesting story in that he picked up several scholarship offers, including one from Texas before he’d ever started a varsity game for San Marcos. Williams, a cousin of running back Rueben Owens, transferred from El Campo to San Marcos before his sophomore season, so he had to play on the JV team last year. This year, the 6-8, 310-pound Williams is playing on varsity and he said he feels like he’s playing at a high level.
“This year, I feel like on the stretch plays, I feel like that’s getting better, more efficient. I’m just being long. Pass protection-wise, I’m not letting them get to the quarterback. I’m staying big, staying long,” Wililams said.
On the recruiting front, Williams said he consistently hears from Texas, Kansas and LSU. He was able to watch most of UT’s performance against Oklahoma and liked what he saw.
“I caught the second quarter and watched it from there. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed it,” Williams said. “I was on the edge of my seat, even though I knew who was going to win. It was fun to watch. Them bringing it home, that felt good.”
Williams stays in touch with Kyle Flood and Brandon Harris. At this early stage, Williams said he doesn’t have any favorites and he’s simply trying to build relationships with the schools that are recruiting him. When it does come time for him to start narrowing his focus, expect Texas to be a factor.
“It’s going to be a tough decision. They’re going to be up there though,” Williams said. “I like their linemen, they breed linemen. They get good push.”
Williams plans to be in Austin on Saturday to watch the Longhorns host Iowa State. He’ll be at LSU the following weekend.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. How do the Big 12 teams rank after last week’s slate of games?
The conference picture is starting to come into focus a bit more, although there does still seem to be a lot of parity from top to bottom, aside from Oklahoma. How I’d rank ‘em …
1. Oklahoma State (last ranking: 1) – Texas Tech played OSU much closer than I would have expected, but the Cowboys remain undefeated.
2. TCU (last ranking: 5) – The Horned Frogs just keep climbing up this list, as I thought they might. Ok State at TCU this weekend will be huge, meaning one will hold the top spot while the other will take a tumble. I'm not convinced it won't be TCU on top of the rankings the next update.
3. Texas (last ranking: 9) – Oklahoma’s a bad team, but last week showed what this Texas team is capable of with Quinn Ewers on the field.
4. Kansas State (last ranking: 4) – Impressive win on the road last week and the Wildcats sit at 5-1 overall.
5. Kansas (last ranking: 3) – The Jayhawks were still able to compete with TCU despite losing Jalon Daniels, which I wouldn’t have expected.
6. Baylor (last ranking: 2) – The Bears can beat anyone in the conference on any given week, but they’re not near the team they were last year.
7. Texas Tech (last ranking: 8) – We’ve seen against Texas and OSU that the Red Raiders can be competitive, but I’m not sure they can do it week in and week out.
8. Iowa State (last ranking: 7) – An 0-3 start to conference play and three-score underdogs to Texas this weekend.
9. West Virginia (last ranking: 10) – Only OU’s sucking keeps WVU from the basement.
10. Oklahoma (last ranking: 6) – What a disaster of a season it’s been for the Sooners so far.
2. How’s Freddie Dubose’s rehab coming along?
2024 wide receiver Freddie Dubose Jr is out for the year after suffering a torn ACL in his team’s first game of the season. Dubose had high hopes for his first season with Smithson Valley, but has instead been forced to focus on recovering from his injury and trying to help his teammates from the sideline. It hasn’t been the easiest of times for Dubose, but he says he’s already ahead of schedule on his rehab.
“With the rehab and everything, I’m like three weeks ahead on the progress. I just hit a month since I had surgery,” Dubose said. “I’ll be in a brace for maybe five or six months. I can jog and all that stuff, just can’t fully sprint. When I jog, I can’t fully bring my knee up yet.
“Personally, mental-wise, I have a lot of up and down days. I think it really hits me the worst when I have to go to film sessions, or I sit there and just watch them practice, wishing I could be out there. I just know it’s part of God’s plan. I’m tripping about it, but I’m not tripping about it at the same time.”
The injury hasn’t kept college coaches from showing interest. Penn State recently offered and Dubose said he still stays in touch with Tennessee and “a little bit” with Texas A&M and Texas. UT wide receivers coach Brennan Marion reaches out from time to time.
“He had texted me recently, just keep your head up, miss you and need you and your mom to pull up soon (to a UT game) so we can catch up and go to the game together,” Dubose said.
That will happen this weekend, with Dubose planning to be at the Longhorns’ home game against Iowa State.
The Rivals250 member, like most prospects around the state, took notice of what Texas did to Oklahoma last week. Dubose said he wasn’t shocked at all that Texas got the win.
“Honestly, I was kind of expecting that from Texas. In my opinion, if I would have seen Texas lose, and it’s no offense, if they would have lost, Texas wouldn’t be in a right spot. But I didn’t expect the game to be a blowout,” Dubose said.
Having watched several Texas games this year, Dubose loves what he’s seen from the UT offense. Sarkisian’s aggressive nature and ability to get the ball in his playmakers’ hands is a reason the Longhorns are high on Dubose’s list.
“That’s what attracted me to Texas a lot, the way they throw it,” Dubose said. “I know for sure if I commit to Texas, I’ll get the ball in my hands. I’d have to worry about those things if I was to commit to Iowa or something, but not at Texas.”
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ONE PREDICTION – Colton Vasek doesn’t sign with Oklahoma
The chatter with Colton Vasek’s commitment to Oklahoma started pretty much as soon as Vasek announced his pledge back on August 1. It’s really never died down and the talk hit a fever pitch last week after the Sooners were embarrassed in Dallas. Vasek himself helped fuel the flames with some of his social media activity, liking several pro-Texas tweets.
To be clear, I’ve heard nothing directly from Vasek or anyone directly connected to him indicating a flip is on the way, but in recruitments like his where you’re sometimes forced to read the tea leaves, there are enough signs present to tell me that Oklahoma is likely going to have a tough time holding onto his commitment, especially if the Sooners continue to struggle.
The big question … if he flips, will it be to Texas? Last weekend obviously helped UT’s chances, but there’s also been some talk of Oregon still being a factor in this one.
