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I do not have to tell you how rough it was to be a Longhorn fan this weekend.
When I started covering the Detroit Lions, I was indifferent toward the fan base. I grew up watching Barry Sanders play against Tampa Bay in the old NFC Central. Sanders is arguably the greatest running back of all-time. Outside of that, I never had sympathy or empathy for their fans. However, when I arrived in Detroit and saw how passionate that fan base was, I must admit, I really wanted the Lions to win for their supporters. They deserved better for their loyalty. Detroit still has a soft spot in my heart because of the pain Lions fans have endured for countless seasons.
I am starting to develop a soft spot for you guys. Oh, the Longhorns are definitely not as bad as the Lions. However, I have witnessed Longhorn fans get their hopes up year after year since I started covering the team in 2014, only to have their dreams crushed annually. Outside of the Sugar Bowl season, Longhorn fans have endured teams that range from average to horrible during the time span. This weekend was another kick in the you know where.
Allow me to give you a little positivity during this tough weekend.
It will get better.
We cannot ignore the elephant in the room.
Okay, the elephants.
Texas wanted and lost TCU defensive end Ochaun Mathis on Saturday. You can blame @Ketchum , Casey Thompson, NIL, Mrs. Mathis, a 5-7 season, or anything/anyone else to rationalize the loss. Regardless of who you want to point the finger at, it was the first major recruiting loss of Steve Sarkisian’s tenure at Texas. Heck, I am impressed it took this long for Texas to lose a player it really wanted. It seems Sarkisian and his staff was winning nearly every key recruiting battle before Mathis.
Yep, that stung.
Enjoy the Nebraska Modcast, Mrs. Mathis.
Let us get the other tragedy out the way.
The NFL draft was embarrassing.
Again, feel free to blame whoever you want. You can blame Tom Herman. You can blame this current staff for not developing anyone into draft picks. You can blame recruiting rankings. When in doubt, you can always blame Ketch.
Nevertheless, none of that will change what occurred.
Texas did not have any players drafted this weekend. It is the second time since 2014 that Texas did not have a player selected in the NFL draft.
Here is a look at how other programs in this state performed this weekend.
Baylor
2nd round (37th overall) – Jalen Pitre, S (Houston)
2nd round (50th overall) – Tyquan Thornton, WR (New England)
3rd round (79th overall) – JT Woods, S (Los Angeles Chargers)
3rd round (89th overall) – Terrel Bernard, LB (Buffalo)
6th round (203rd overall) – Trestan Ebner, RB (Chicago)
7th round (242nd overall) – Kalon Barnes, CB (Carolina)
Texas A&M
1st Round (15th overall) – Kenyon Green, OL (Houston)
3rd Round (84th overall) – DeMarvin Leal, DT (Pittsburgh)
4th Round (117th overall) – Michael Clemons, DE (New York Jets)
4th Round (123rd overall) – Isaiah Spiller, RB (Los Angeles Chargers)
Houston
2nd round (33rd overall) – Logan Hall, DL (Tampa Bay)
3rd round (85th overall) – Marcus Jones, CB (New England)
4th round (141st overall) – Damarion Williams, CB (Baltimore)
SMU
3rd round (105th overall) – Danny Gray, WR (San Francisco)
6th round (198th overall) – Grant Calcaterra, TE (Philadelphia)
UTSA
4th round (134th overall) – Spencer Burford, G (San Francisco)
5th round (153rd overall) – Tariq Woolen, CB (Seattle)
Texas Tech
4th round (125th overall) – Erik Ezukanma, WR (Miami)
Sam Houston
5th round (157th overall) – Zyon McCollum (Tampa Bay)
Yes, when UTSA and Sam Houston have more draft picks than Texas, that is a problem.
Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
Take this L but know you this could be the last time Texas is at rock bottom for several years.
Texas running back Bijan Robinson is a future draft pick. I do not want to say first-round because there was not a running back selected in the first-round this weekend. Iowa State’s Breece Hall was the first running back drafted this year and that occurred in the second-round (New York Jets). Michigan State’s Ken Walker II (Seattle) and Georgia’s James Cook (Buffalo) were also selected in the second-round.
Nevertheless, Robinson should be in first-round contention next year.
In fact, backup running back Roschon Johnson is easily a day-three pick as we speak (fourth through seventh-round). Johnson has the strength, size, speed, ball security, and football IQ that NFL teams covet. There is going to be an NFL team that falls in love with Johnson and he could have a long professional career.
Texas defensive back D’Shawn Jamison could re-enter the equation as a draft pick. NFL teams love playmakers on special teams and he is talented enough for late-round consideration.
If receiver Jordan Whittington can stay healthy, add him to the mix of potential draft picks.
Texas junior receiver Isaiah Neyor could be one-and-done at Texas with a huge season. If that occurs, Texas had a lot of success on the field in 2022.
I am not going to give up on Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.
Clearly, every Longhorn defensive linemen with NFL aspirations needs to improve.
Longhorn fans will not have any empty feelings after next year’s draft.
Meanwhile, Xavier Worthy is two seasons away from becoming a high draft pick in 2024. If Quinn Ewers emerges as a standout college player, he could enter the draft with Worthy in 2024. That is the goal of Ewers’ camp.
That gives you at least two years of potential draft happiness.
What about Mathis?
Sarkisian was excited about his defensive line this spring. Mathis would have been a huge upgrade. However, Sarkisian’s staff knows they have the entire offseason to develop an edge rusher who can have an impact this season.
“I think defensively, I mentioned Justice Finkley,” Sarkisian previously said. “I thought he had a really good last week of practice again. Another guy who should still be in high school. Byron Murphy is a problem. The guy is so strong, so quick, powerful. He's been a problem. I think two guys that have taken a step, but I know we all want them to keep going, Vernon Broughton is a guy and Alfred Collins. Those two guys to me have a chance to make us feel a little bit different when they're really on point.
“T’Vondre Sweat is another guy that we're moving him around a little bit more and it's been effective. He's excellent against the run but has pass rush ability. Again, all three of those guys were talking about is consistency in their play. That starts with attacking every day, attacking every series, attacking every play, and when they do that, they're a real problem.”
Yeah, this weekend was rough.
Allow me to give you a little positivity.
It will get better.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
This is guaranteed to make you laugh
She is happy when her man is not
UT fans love KD but this is still pretty funny
She clearly is not dating him because he is athletic
This is not a video but there are a lot of former football players who will agree with this
Sports On A Dime
1. ICYMI ...
2. Props to former Longhorn Keaontay Ingram for developing into an NFL draft pick.
3. Good luck to the Longhorns who entered the transfer portal this week. I would never advise a young man to leave UT without a degree. However, I understand their dream of playing college football and becoming an NFL athlete. I wish them nothing but the best.
4. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian made a list that is way too early for him to land on. Nevertheless, USA Today listed Sarkisian as one of 10 college football coaches on the hot seat this season.
Here is a portion of the article:
“For all the talk about Texas every single season, the Longhorns disappoint every single season. They finally hit rock bottom after a 5-7 mark in the 2021-2022, which included an overtime loss to Kansas. Armed with a top-notch recruiting class and with transfer Quinn Ewers in the fold, there are no excuses now for Sarkisian. Now that Lincoln Riley took his act out West things may finally be looking up in Austin. The measuring stick will come swiftly when Alabama pays a visit on Sept. 10. If things don’t change in a hurry, Texas will be back to firing coaches and starting over once again.”
5. Sarkisian’s response when asked about Quinn Ewers’ performance this spring and the quarterback’s future (from the cutting room floor): “I think we all saw the big post for the touchdown. That was a heck of a throw to Neyor. I think we all saw probably a couple throws he’d loved to have back. That's part of growing. I think the one biggest area for Quinn that we're going to work out with him is, you know, not every ball is going to be the perfect throw, and sometimes we're going to miss a throw. The ability to move on to the next play to play the rest of the game is going to be critical. We can't hold on to those plays. He's such a competitive guy. He's so self-driven and sometimes he can be too hard on himself. Human error is human error. Sometimes you miss the throws. That's okay. We got to move on. That's the beauty of it.”
6. Sarkisian on the quarterback competition between Hudson Card and Ewers continuing this summer: “I think it's going to go I think to be fair to both those guys. You probably saw tonight, both guys really had some flash plays, some really cool plays. Whether it's throwing down the field, orchestrating drives in the red area. And we saw some plays I think both guys would love to have back but that's part of the position. Sometimes you can't control some of the other things going on around you. I like where these guys are at. If I could have said that they would play this good after 15 practices this spring, or if one of them would have, I'd be ecstatic. I'm really happy with the growth where they're at. I think we're in a really good spot at that position. Now. we got to continue to grow. We can't settle. We've got to take these guys to new heights. And we've got to get Maalik going and get Maalik kind of healthy. This summer is going to be big for him to put himself in position for fall camp as well.”
7. We know the Manning family is looking at the big picture as relates to recruiting. Nevertheless, Georgia gained another recruiting advantage in the pursuit of Manning.
8. If BYU, Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF intend to join the Big 12 during the 2023 season, I wonder which new teams will host Texas in year one.
Here is a portion of a story by Jon Rothstein:
“Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF are all currently moving forward with the idea that they will join the Big 12 for the 23-24 academic year, multiple sources told FanDuel.
“BYU --- who is also joining the Big 12 --- has already officially announced that it will leave the WCC and join the conference for the 23-24 academic year in all sports except men's volleyball.
“While several sources directly connected to Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF told FanDuel that there are still many logistical things to work through in order to join the Big 12 in 2023, all three programs are still operating with the notion that the upcoming 22-23 season will be their last year in the American Athletic Conference.
“A source close to the AAC told FanDuel that conversations are ongoing with the exit fees for Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF.
“AAC bylaws require programs who are members of the conference to give a 27-month notice before they leave and pay a $10 million buyout fee.
“AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco told ESPN last September that he would be willing to negotiate a higher exit fee for Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF if they were to depart from the AAC at an earlier date than originally anticipated. All three schools will join the Big 12 no later than July 1st, 2024.”
9. The old school football fans will appreciate this trip down memory lane
10. This is for the F1 fans as we prepare for the Miami Grand Prix next week
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