(Anwar)
* Let's start with the most important information you need to know about Texas safeties coach Blake Gideon’s departure on Thursday and work our way backward. I was told Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian has no fewer than 10 potential candidates who could replace Gideon. The news of Gideon’s departure caught everyone behind the scenes off guard. However, I was told Sarkisian always has a working list of potential candidates in the event of a staff departure. According to my sources, Sarkisian updates his list every year, especially toward the end of each football season. Even though Gideon’s departure was unexpected, he is prepared for a coaching search.
* One source close to the situation shared a few names that Sarkisian intends to contact. I am listing these names in random order and was not told where each candidate ranks:
- Duane Akina, Arizona DBs coach
- Mike Mickens, Notre Dame DBs coach
- Cory Sanders, Pitt’s Assistant Head Coach (Secondary/Safeties)
- Jimmy Lake, former Washington coach and Atlanta Falcons defensive assistant
* I inquired about the possibility of hiring Michael Huff and was told he enjoys his current role and the freedom of not having to show up at the facility every day.
* In addition, I asked if Sarkisian had any interest in Arizona State defensive backs coach Bryan Carrington, and it did not appear as if he was a candidate as of Thursday afternoon.
* I asked a source how big of a loss this is and was told, "It's definitely a loss. I think it's something that we have to rise to the occasion to fill." I was told Gideon’s players took the news of his departure very hard. The players in his room respected him, and he was a father figure to more than one athlete. Gideon’s replacement will have big shoes to fill.
* Finally, one person told me Georgia Tech did not give Gideon a substantial pay bump. However, Gideon could not turn down the opportunity to call plays.
* Multiple sources told me Texas may not have a spring game this year. I was told Sarkisian is leaning toward not having a spring game for multiple reasons. None of those reasons are rooted in Sarkisian worrying about players being poached by other programs.
* One reason Sarkisian is considering canceling the spring game is that he wants to spend the offseason teaching and working on fundamentals. I was told Sarkisian would like the offseason to resemble an NFL offseason. In addition, the staff is figuring out how to manage a year-long football calendar. Texas began winter conditioning 17 days after the Cotton Bowl. They want to ensure players can endure the long year and spend more time teaching in the spring instead of preparing for a spring game.
* I asked one source if Texas could cancel its spring game without worrying about the opinions of ESPN or any other network. I was told the networks do not pay college football programs to broadcast their respective spring games. Spring games are not part of the TV contract with conferences. One person told me, “If the networks paid for spring games, every team’s spring game would be televised like the regular season.”
* Additionally, I was told the school does not earn enough money from its annual spring game to factor into a decision to play the game. “It’s an event for the fans, and broadcasting the game is good for advertising the program, but it’s not a necessity,” said one person inside the building. There could be an official announcement next week.
*****
(Ketch)
Of the four names mentioned as candidates to replace, a couple will be familiar and a couple might be new.
* Jimmy Lake would probably be the dream hire when you consider the success that he enjoyed with Pete Kwiatskowki at Washington, couple with a resume that includes head coaching experience at Washington and stays in the NFL with the Rams (assistant head coach) and Falcons (defensive coordinator, If you were hiring an all-star staff, finding a way to get Lake on it would make a lot of sense. After getting figured by the Falcons, Lake doesn't have to work this season. He can play golf and collect checks if he wants to. Is a position coaching beneath him, even if it comes with a title or a great salary? Lake's going to get a call. It just comes down to how long he wants to talk with Sarkisian.
* Akina is an obvious target, especially after he nearly returned to Austin last season in a different role, only to stay on with Arizona. A source I spoke with on Thursday afternoon mentioned that he thought Akina would be very interested in "going for it" with the Longhorns for a season or two.
* Mickens is viewed as a rising star in the coaching industry, as one source called him a defensive version of Tashard Choice. "He's someone that I could easily see being a head coach," a source said. "He's probably one job away from the big job. He might need one more job and maybe he needs to do it away from (Marcus) Freeman. All he knows is that area. He's a Midwest guy." Sure enough, if you look at when his coaching career began in 2011, he's only spent one season (2013 in Idaho) outside of the states of Ohio or Indiana.
* Sanders might be the biggest wild-card of the four names we believe are on Sarkisian's short list. Other than working with safeties at Pittsburgh since 2018, there's not a lot of big-time experience or coaching pedigree. He was a small-school head coach in Indiana before moving to West Florida and then Western Michigan. Sanders has a reputation for being a very good teacher of for being incredibly popular with his peers and players.
"I think two of those four makes more sense than the other two," a source said. "Duane (Akina) isn't going to give you what (Blake) Gideon was giving you, but that might not matter to Sark. He wants to win right now. Duane can help him do that. Sark probably figures that he's the only recruiter he really needs."
* Things continue to look better and better for the Longhorns with possible 5-star tackle Felix Ojo of Mansfield Lake Ridge. "The word is out (in the recruiting industry)," one source said. "Its like the Bat-signal went out. Everyone just sort of knows."
* As was the case with Ojo, there was once a sense that Michigan might be the team to beat for 2026 Forney running back star Javian Osborne, but Vegas would see the Longhorns as big favorites going into February.
*****
(Suchomel)
- Despite it being the week of National Signing Day, there wasn’t a ton of recruiting activity this week due to the ongoing dead period which covers the rest of February. The most interesting news of the week came in Wednesday’s commitment from OL Maximus Wright. Not exactly unexpected, but a nice pickup for Kyle Flood and the rest of the UT staff.
With Texas expected to take a large offensive line class of maybe up to six guys in the 2026 cycle, Wright is the perfect early commitment to start things off. He has intriguing upside due to his frame, he’s completely locked in with his commitment and isn’t planning to take any other visits, and while he’s a Rivals250 member, he’s not the type of big name that’s going to drive other players away from Texas.
The plan (knock on wood) is to release our first installment of the 2026 recruiting board sometime next week. Look for percentages above 50 percent on a number of guys, including Felix Ojo, Nic Robertson, Toa Katoa and Zaden Krempin. Guys like Drew Evers and John Turntine will be in that 50 percent range as well.
* Speaking of the recruiting board and numbers, unless something changes between now and next week, wide receiver Chris Stewart will be listed as a Texas commitment. But if I was putting a percentage on him actually signing with UT, it would be less than 50 percent. Stewart was unable to attend UT’s junior day because of a family commitment. He was supposed to visit SMU last weekend but missed that one because of another commitment that came up. Keep an eye on the Ponies. Stewart said SMU is recruiting him as aggressively as anyone and they’re also recruiting his twin brother, Carter Stewart. In fact, Chris said SMU is the school that’s recruiting both players the hardest, and they want to stick together if possible.
“We’re pushing that hard. We want to play together in college,” Stewart said.
* Stewart still loves Texas, but he said the communication with people at UT has cooled off a bit. He understands that Texas was busy playing games well into January, but the contact has been lukewarm of late.
“As of right now, I’m with Texas, but I’m still trying to make sure they want me,” Stewart said. “I know I’m committed, but I’m not talking to the coaches very often like I used to. I don’t know if they’re just busy, have stuff going on, but I’m just making sure they still want me.”
* For a while, it’s looked like Mayde Creek linebacker Kosi Okpala could come down to an in-state battle between Texas and Texas A&M. Okpala’s been a regular visitor at both campuses so it made sense on paper. Turns out, the picture might not be that clear. In talking to Okpala recently, he does like the two big in-state schools but he’s also quite fond of a few out-of-state programs. At this point, Okpala is still trying to figure out if he’ll even take in-state official visits. The out-of-state programs he’s watching closely are Notre Dame, Alabama and Penn State. “They’re still at the top (Texas and A&M), but there’s definitely some out-of-state pushes right now,” Okpala said.
* The good news is that Okpala was at UT’s junior day a couple of weeks ago and he gave that visit high marks, including his growing relationship with Texas assistant coach Johnny Nansen. “He seems like a players’ coach. I have a great relationship with him. He really cares for his players. That's really the biggest thing,” Okpala said. Okpala plans to commit this summer. Look for Texas to try to lock in an official visit in June, but the Longhorns may have to work around some of those out-of-state visits.
* Texas appears to be in a very good spot with cornerback Brock King if the staff continues to push. King was recently at UT’s junior day and he said he loved what he heard from cornerbacks Terry Joseph. “(The highlight was) talking to coach Joseph, going through the coverages, seeing what he’s going to do with me to put me in a position to be great,” King said. “They said I’m on their leaderboard and I can go there and play (early). That’s what I want to do.” King said he’s planning out a Texas official visit. SMU and Nebraska are also expected to get trips, with Oregon and Michigan other possibilities.
* Texas does have a bit a built-in advantage in that it has several friends of King’s that are currently in Austin. “It’s like a bond. It just feels like home. Everybody I’ve trained with all goes there. TyAnthony (Smith), my cousin, he goes there. Jaylon Guilbeau. Caleb Chester. Kade Phillips. It’s just like a natural thing like it’s almost meant (to be),” King said. Exactly how much does it help Texas having those connections? “It helps Texas a lot,” King said.
* In case you missed it this week, Texas put an offer on the table for 2026 kicker Gaston Gramatica, the son of former NFL kicker Martin Gramatica. I’ve been trying all week to get in touch with Gramatica with no luck. I’ll continue to work on that. But this one makes perfect sense. Bert Auburn and Will Stone will both be off the roster after the 2025 season. Gramatica not only kicks, he also punts. Jeff Banks doesn’t usually miss on these specialists when he locks in on a guy, so we’re watching this one closely. North Carolina has also offered. South Florida, where Gramatica’s older brother Nico currently plays, is also in the mix. Last year, as a junior, Gramatica connected on all 23 of his PATs and was 13-19 on field goals with a long of 55 yards.
Last edited by a moderator:
