Adam Loewy is one of the top personal injury lawyers in Austin. Adam is a proud graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and started his law firm in 2005. Adam helps people who have been injured in car crashes, slip and falls, dog bites, and other assorted ways. He is actively involved in every case he handles and is always available to talk or text. If you or a loved one has been injured, call the Loewy Law Firm today at (512) 280-0800.
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I'm just the guest pastor in the Sunday Pulpit while Anwar takes some much earned time off.
We’ve all heard the old quote from Benjamin Franklin that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
I like old Ben. He was one hell of a dude. Bu with all due respect to the founding father, I would argue that in addition to death and taxes, you can add one more item to the list – change.
Change is the one thing you can count on.
The weather changes, sometimes by the minute. Just look at the temperature drop, minute by minute, as the cold front blew through.
People change. Look at your kids now and think back to who they were last year, or the year before. Or, for that matter, my hairline has changed quite a bit as well.
Football teams change as well.
The 2023 Texas Longhorns died the second Washington DB Elijah Jackson climbed on top of Adonai Mitchell and swatted away Quinn Ewers’ pass.
Since then, this is the list of Longhorns who still have eligibility, but are moving on:
Maalik Murphy, QB, transfer (Duke)
Charles Wright, QB, transfer (Appalachian State)
Adonai Mitchell, WR, NFL Draft
Xavier Worthy, WR, NFL Draft
Jordan Whittington, WR, NFL Draft
Casey Cain, WR, transfer (UNLV)
Isaiah Neyor, WR, transfer (Nebraska)
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE, NFL Draft
Jonathon Brooks, RB, NFL Draft
Sawyer Goram-Welch, OL, transfer (Coastal Carolina)
Byron Murphy II, DT, NFL Draft
Trill Carter, DL, transfer (Auburn)
Kristopher Ross, EDGE, transfer (unknown)
Ryan Watts, CB, NFL Draft
X’Avion Brice, CB, transfer (North Texas)
BJ Allen Jr., S, transfer (North Texas)
Jalen Catalon, S, transfer (UNLV)
Kitan Crawford, S, transfer (unknown)
Jerrin Thompson, S, transfer (unknown)
Larry Turner-Goodwin, S, transfer (San Jose State)
Of course change is not a one-way street. While a good chunk of last year’s team is now gone, new players are coming in, including a 23-man signing class (with the potential to add another player or two in the February signing period). By the way, nearly every one of the incoming freshmen are early enrollees and will be participating in winter workouts and spring ball.
In addition to the freshmen, Texas has signed three transfers out of the portal:
Isaiah Bond, WR (Alabama)
Matthew Golden, WR (Houston)
Andrew Mukuba, S (Clemson)
Trey Moore, EDGE (UTSA)
*SPOILER ALERT*
More players will be leaving at some point between now and the time the Longhorns kick off the 2024 season Colorado State. The roster is already at the NCAA limit of 85 players and Texas is still very much looking to add a few more pieces to the puzzle (Isaiah Bond, WR from Alabama and Jabbar Muhammad, CB from Washington, for example) … which means that for every incoming player, someone has to go.
Yes, the 2024 Texas Longhorns will be a very different team.
COACHING CHANGES …
Player turnover is to be expected. It is built into the very DNA of college football. But for the first time since Steve Sarkisian took over in Austin, he is having to deal with turnover in his coaching staff.
Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jeff Choate moved on to become the head coach at Nevada. Defensive line coach Bo Davis decided to take the same position at his alma mater, LSU.
Both are well respected for their ability to develop players. Davis has a long history of putting defensive linemen into the NFL, and that list will grow when T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy get drafted this spring.
Choate left a head coaching position at Montana State University to join Sarkisian in Austin. Upon his arrival, he immediately turned Jaylan Ford from a 3-star prospect to a future NFL draftee and a leader of the defense. He also accelerated the growth of 5-star freshman linebacker Anthony Hill Jr, who will be expected to be one of the key pieces of next year’s Texas defense.
In short, these are not small shoes that need to be filled.
The first piece of the puzzle came into place last week when Texas announced it had hired Johnny Nansen away from Arizona to be the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at UT.
Nansen’s hire probably came as a surprise to many considering he was the defensive coordinator and play caller at Arizona. At Texas, Pete Kwiatkowski will continue to be the coordinator and defensive play caller, but that didn’t matter to Nansen.
“When Coach Sark called it was an easy decision,” said Nansen. “He gave me a chance at Washington and USC, and I’ve been fortunate to grow as a coach through him and look forward to doing that again. You just look at his record, he knows how to build a program, and he does it the right way. Sark knows how to develop coaches, and he’s as good as there is at developing players, which is something that is really important to me, too. A lot of my philosophy is based on what Sark believes in, so being able to reunite with him, his vision, passion and drive to succeed every single day was a key factor in coming to Texas.”
Nansen arrives on the 40 Acres with a stellar reputation after what he accomplished in Tucson.
In 2021, the year before Nansen took over as DC, Arizona ranked 100th in the nation in scoring defense giving up 31.4 points per game. Last season, the Wildcats 30th in the country giving up 21.1 points per game.
“I can’t believe he’s not one of the 15 semifinalists for the Broyles Award of the best assistant coach of the year. I don’t know if anybody statistically has made nearly the jump that he made,” Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch said of Nansen. “I’m not exactly sure how that happened. In my mind, it was a situation where he has done just a fantastic job of getting our defense better every single week.”
And if you Longhorn fans need anything else to be excited about the hire, the Wildcat defense absolutely stymied Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl getting six turnovers en route to a 38-24 victory.
Sarkisian praised Nansen for the skill he brings as a coach.
“He [Nansen] has a wealth of knowledge and experience, is highly regarded in our business, and is a tremendous recruiter,” said Sarkisian. “What he did with Arizona’s defense that helped lead a dramatic turnaround in that program this year was sensational. He brings an aggressive, physical and disciplined style of football, his players play fast, relentless and tough.”
Fast, relentless and tough is exactly what you want to see from your linebackers. It’s a style of play that will suit Anthony Hill Jr. very well.
Beyond the X’s and O’s aspect, Nansen is known as a dogged recruiter and someone the players really connect with.
“We love him. He’s just a great person and a great coach, said Arizona safety Gunner Maldonado. "Just being in the meeting room with him in a normal Monday or Tuesday, everybody just loves being around him."
Sarkisian said he expects Nansen to have the same type of connection with the Longhorns.
“He’s a great man who builds awesome relationships with his players and is passionate about the game,” said Sarkisian. “He’ll pour everything into our team, our players and Texas Football. Longhorn nation is going to love Johnny, and we’re fired up to have him joining our staff.”
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DEFENSIVE LINE COACH?
Bo Davis' departure, while not exactly a shock, leaves a big hole in the coaching staff, but also a big opportunity.
Davis was an incredible coach on the field. He knew how to get the best out of his players’ abilities. Texas has had a phenomenal run of defensive linemen under Davis. T’Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy, Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo have all rotate through over the last two seasons. All are now NFL linemen.
What’s more, Davis was an important piece of helping to change the culture at Texas. His rant on the bus following the loss to Iowa State in Sark’s first year resonated with the players and the fan base.
Make no mistake, losing Davis to LSU is a blow.
But (and you knew there was a but coming), Davis never set the world on fire in recruiting. This is a chance for Sark to hire someone who can perhaps combine the best of both worlds.
The crown jewel hire would be Alabama defensive line coach Freddie Roach.
Alabama, in case you haven’t heard, has a new head football coach so Roach’s job is up in the air for now.
New Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer will have to immediately begin putting his staff together. It is not hyperbole to say that his decisions over the next few weeks will make or break his time in Tuscaloosa. Need proof of how important these decisions will be for DeBoer? Take a look at Texas under Charlie Strong and Tom Herman.
Strong and Herman both made decisions to bring the majority of the staffs that were with them at Louisville and Houston when they got the Texas job. Certainly loyalty to the staff that helped you get the job in the first place is important. After all, you know that you’re not going to have to train the coaches on how you want things done while at the same time having to train the players as well.
However, Strong and Herman both soon found out that many of the coaches they brought with them were not ready for the bright lights of DKR. They were then forced to make widespread coaching changes after their first and second seasons. The problem with doing that is that coaches really only have one, maybe two times to play that card before people begin questioning whether the problem is the staff or the head man himself.
DeBoer’s first hires will be especially important because he does not have any connection to Alabama or even the South at large. He is going to need coaches who know how to recruit in Bama’s footprint.
That brings us back to Roach.
Roach is a high intensity coach on the field who knows what it takes to play at the highest level. But he may be best known as an elite recruiter leading the charge to land 5-star recruits such as Jeremiah Alexander, James Smith and Damon Payne. He was also involved in the recruitment of 5-star offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor who the Tide flipped from his home state Iowa Hawkeyes on signing day last year. Proctor stepped in and became the day one left tackle starter as a true freshman.
If DeBoer wants to keep Roach on his staff (and he would be wise to do so), then it won’t be the easiest task to pry him away from Alabama.
Former Tide coach Nick Saban described Roach as “an Alabama guy.” Roach played linebacker at UA from 2002-05 and was named National Freshman of the Year, a freshman All-American and twice selected second-team All-SEC.
Following his time as a player, he went back to Alabama under Nick Saban first as an assistant strength coach from 2008-10 and as director of player development from 2015-16. He moved on to other schools for on-field coaching jobs before coming back to Tuscaloosa as the d-line coach.
“It’s been surreal,” Roach said during the Rose Bowl Media Day when asked about his time with the Tide. “It’s been a process — we always talk about the process around here — but having the opportunity to be here in the weight room and then working off the field and going to other places, seeing how things work out, it’s truly been a blessing. I don’t take anything for granted and I always let these players know that, the opportunities you have, you’ve got to make the most of them.”
Whether Roach will have an opportunity to stay in Tuscaloosa under Kalen DeBoer remains to be seen. Whether he has an opportunity to move to Austin and work for Steve Sarkisian remains to be seen. But I promise you this, he will have opportunities because he has already proven he is an elite recruiter and a damn fine coach.
AN NFL D-COORDINATOR?
Ryan Nielsen, Defensive Coordinator, Atlanta Falcons
This is a name that popped up Saturday (as first reported by Orangebloods). It is hard to imagine this being legit. The guy is a defensive coordinator in the NFL (the Falcons had the 11th best defense in the league). Why would he go down to college to become a position coach? It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
First off, I don’t see where Sark and Nielsen have worked together before. Sark usually picks guys he has some kind of connection with and I don’t see it (although it’s possible I have missed a connection somewhere).
Even if Nielsen does want to make the move, would he really be the best choice? Sure, he would do a phenomenal job. He has coached defensive lines in college and the pros and done a good enough job that he was promoted to be a coordinator. So, from an on-field perspective, he would be a tremendous hire. From a game planning perspective, he would bring a wealth of knowledge to the coaching room that would benefit everyone. But how long would he stay?
The Falcons blocked Nielsen from interviewing for the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator position which I am sure ruffled his feathers. He’s not alone, the Falcons have blocked all of their coaches from taking interviews even though their future is up in the air after the head coach was fired.
Would Nielsen be making the move just to get out from under the Falcons control? They can’t block him from going to a college team.
Would he only be in Austin for a year before moving back to the NFL as a defensive coordinator again? Being a DC is the path to being an NFL head coach.
I know these rumors are there and it would be a great get, I just don’t see the logic in it. It feels like the rumors when Sark was hiring his first defensive coordinator and names like Dan Quinn were getting thrown around. But at least Quinn had worked with Sark.
THE FORMER PLAYERS:
None of these guys have any real connections to Sark, other than the fact that they all played at UT.
Oscar Giles, Wyoming DL Coach
Wyoming has a new head coach after Craig Bohl retired. The good news for Giles is that the d-coordinator, Jay Sawvel, took over so he still has a job. The bad news is that he is not the coach he signed up to work for and he was passed over to become the new defensive coordinator. Is that enough to see Giles return for a fourth stint at UT? He played here and coached here twice before.
Rodrique Wright, Houston Texans Assistant DL Coach
Wright was, of course, an All-American at UT where he won the national championship in 2005. He’s in his first season in the NFL working with the Texans but has 13 years of experience in the college coaching ranks including the University of Miami, UTSA, and East Carolina.
Frank Okam, Toledo DL Coach
Okam cut his chops as a coach working under Matt Ruhle at Baylor. He followed Ruhle to Carolina before that went sour. He’s also coached with the Las Vegas Raiders and then back to college at Toledo last season.
WILD CARDS:
Kenechi Udeze, Houston Cougars DL Coach
He has worked with Sark at USC and Washington. He also has NFL experience having coached with the Tennessee Titans.
Randall Joyner, Ole Miss DL Coach
Could Sark poach Lane Kiffin’s d-line coach who has been responsible for landing so many coveted recruits? Would he do that to his buddy?
Mike Elston, Michigan DL Coach & Recruiting Coordinator
He is an absolute stud in the college ranks. What does he do if Harbaugh goes back to the NFL? Follow him or go work for someone else in college? I’d think it would be worth putting out some feelers to see if he might be interested.
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
Ok … so this isn’t really a Tweet, but I’m leading with it because it shows the expectations everyone has for Texas football next season. Yes, there will be a lot of questions that need to be answered. Yes, there is a long way to go until kickoff. Yes, we will be writing literally millions of words about UT football between now and then … but for today, this is about where many pundits view the 2024 Horns.
College football's Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2024: Reloaded Georgia back on top
The 2023 college football season may have just ended, but Mark Schlabach already has a top 25 for next year.
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Just how hard will it be for Kalen DeBoer to win at Alabama? If history is an indicator, it will be pretty damn tough.
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It’s hard to say Texas has an “easy” schedule in 2024 considering they go to Michigan and host Georgia, but it could be one of the easiest in the SEC.
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Speaking of the SEC, Texas comes in as kings of the conference when it comes to making money off home games. The work athletic director Chris Del Conte has done to make game days special has paid off in the receipts.
Also, how in the heck does Tennessee not make more game day revenue with Neyland Stadium being as big as it is?
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Staying on the business beat, I think this would be a colossal mistake for the CFP not to allow Fox, CBS and anyone else out there to compete for the CFP games. Why not make them bid against each other? Plus, I don’t really love ESPN having a monopoly like that. For that matter, I don’t really love ESPN having a monopoly on the SEC either.
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Texas has clearly established itself as one of, if not THE preeminent athletic department.
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Alex Dunlap had some excellent notes about Texas player’s draft stock in this week’s War Room. Texas is going to have a lot of names called on draft night, but will they be day one or day two draftees?
Jordan Reid’s mock draft on ESPN has Byron Murphy being the first Longhorn drafted going 26th to the Houston Texans.
Adonai Mitchell is the only other Horn mocked to the first round going 29th to Buffalo.
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The final tweet of interest is one that is personal for me and a warning for everyone.
I’m not sure how I missed the story about Sarkisian’s heart surgery, but I was stunned while watching it on College Football Gameday.
This story is personal for me for two reasons.
First, my Dad had an aneurysm explode in his aorta back around the turn of the century. Thankfully, the aneurysm blew down his aorta causing perforations as it went, but giving him time to get to the hospital. The doctors told us that if it had blown out, instead of down, he would have bled out before anyone could do anything for him.
Second, I was just diagnosed with a bicuspid aorta valve last December. I was getting the heart checked out because of my family history of heart problems when they discovered the two leaf valve instead of three. I do have more calcification than I should have for my age and there is some leakage as a result of the valve. However, my heart works just fine. But as a result, my doctor has asked me to come back for an echocardiogram each year.
Sark’s story reminded me I was due for a checkup.
Thankfully, my heart is still working and I’ll go back next year. But I am including this story in my column as a warning for us all to make sure we get preventative checkups and don’t just wait until something goes horribly wrong before we go see our doctors. It’s a problem most men have about not being proactive with our health.
Go get checked out!
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