(Anwar)
* I was told Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers fully participated in Wednesday's practice and looked sharp. One person who attended practice described Ewers as “relatively mobile.” I was told barring a setback between now and when Texas plays against Texas A&M, the staff feels good about Ewers starting this weekend.
* In addition, it does not appear Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian is considering starting Arch Manning on Saturday. It appears Sarkisian will roll with Ewers until the 2024 season concludes, barring another injury (knock on wood).
* Longhorn receiver DeAndre Moore is still struggling with a turf toe injury. Moore will be a game-time decision this weekend.
* I was told Texas freshman receiver Ryan Wingo had an outstanding practice on Wednesday. Yes, you have heard that before. However, the staff remains confident that Wingo is due for a breakout game soon, and they are optimistic it will occur against Texas A&M.
* The Longhorn defense had a fantastic day of practice on Wednesday. The unit was “full throttle” and the players were dialed in, according to my sources.
* Lastly, those behind the scenes were happy with how the team practiced on Wednesday. Even though Texas is about to renew its rivalry with Texas A&M, I was told it was a normal Wednesday practice for the Longhorns. It appears the players are taking the same business-like approach this week, even though it is a rivalry game.
*****
(Ketch)
* While I fully acknowledge all of the reporting @Suchomel is going to make in the next section about Lewisville offensive tackle Michael Fasusi, I just wanted to state for the record that I reached out to a good source this week and offered up the chance to wave the white flag and the opportunity was declined. Whatever the reasons, I definitely get the sense that the Longhorn staff believes it is in this battle heading into the weekend.
* I can't stress enough that there's a sense behind the scenes that there's a lot of recruiting high ground to be lost if the Longhorns don't win this weekend. Texas feels very good about where it is in 2025, 2026, 2027 and in the Portal in December, and there's an immense desire to not let anything happen that might tamper with the positioning that is believed to exist moving forward.
* "Isaiah (Bond) just can't quite get right," one source told me this week. "He's on pace to play, but he just hasn't been the same guy and I don't know if and when that's going to happen.
* I asked a team source this week about the confidence level in Jaydon Blue coming into this week's game and was told, "We have no choice but to play him. We don't have enough on hand at that position to not play him. We have to trust him. I would expect Tre (Wisner) to play most of the first quarter as the main runner in the run game. We trust Blue, but we won't take a lot of chances early in this game."
* I was told that there was a strong relaxation in terms of mindset going into the game on Saturday by someone that has been around a lot of the players. No one seems tight. The players are very confident. They want another shot at Georgia and arrive as a very motivated team. They know they can't get Georgia unless they win.
* One monster 2026 prospect that will be in College Station this weekend is Mobile (Alabama) St. Paul's 5-star defensive end Anthony Jones. It's not unnoticed that he's choosing to attend Texas/Texas A&M over the Iron Bowl this weekend.
*****
(Suchomel)
* The big recruiting news from the weekend (other than Michael Fasusi’s visit) was the commitment from Rivals250 defensive lineman Joseph Mbatchou. Some interesting backstory on Mbatchou … there was some chatter during his official visit in October that Mbatchou was going to commit on the visit. I went ahead and wrote a commitment story to be safe, only to have Mbatchou leave Austin still committed to Florida. Turns out, I wasn’t too far off. Mbatchou would decommit from Florida the day after his Texas OV ended, which seemed pretty telling. And he told me this week that his mind was made up to commit to Texas sometime after his unofficial visit in September and before his official visit in October. “I think Texas was the choice for me even before (last weekend),” Mbatchou said. “When I went on my official visit, I put everything together, thought Texas was the best option in the end.”
* Mbatchou would wind up committing to Steve Sarkisian on Saturday on the field in pregame. “He was happy. And then we talked a little more after the game,” Mbatchou said. Texas is recruiting Mbatchou as a strongside defensive end. He’ll sign on December 4 and said everything is shut down between now and then. He won’t enroll at Texas until June.
* Mbatchou has only been playing football for six months (he was a basketball player before that) so his upside is through the roof. He knows he’s still raw and has things to work on, and said he feels Texas can be the school that best develops him on and off the field.
“I think something I can improve on is more consistency, better technique,” Mbatchou said. “I’m always going to try my best, run to the football, always going to be violent. Some things I need can be taught, but the violence, the running to the football, you have to have that. I think (the technical aspects) will improve when I get to Texas.”
* A bit more on Michael Fasusi … The OU commitment loved his Texas visit. He really did. He ALWAYS has nothing but glowing remarks for the Texas staff, especially Kyle Flood and Steve Sarkisian. He also loved seeing guys like Colin Simmons flying around and said he knows practicing against a guy like that would make him a better player. The only problem? He’s still in love with Oklahoma. I told Fasusi that when people would ask me where he’s going to wind up that my response was that I don’t think even Fasusi knows the answer to that. I asked him if I was off base with those remarks.
* Fasusi proceeded to tell me that following the Texas game, as he was walking out of the stadium, he was thinking to himself that he didn’t know where he was going to go to college. “I just prayed to God, just show me the way,” Fasusi said.
* Later in our conversation Fasusi mentioned to me that he watch OU’s win over Alabama on his phone while his father drove him and his sister home on Saturday night. I mentioned something about having 10 days to find some clarity in his decision, and Fasusi told me he got his sign while watching OU’s win. He said he, his father and sister were all “going crazy” with OU’s performance and mentioned that he loved OU’s aggression on offense, especially along the line, and that it’s “going to be great blocking for a guy like (Jackson Arnold).”
* It doesn’t look good for Texas and Fasusi with those comments above and with his mom not accompanying him on the trip to Austin, but this one still has time for some late movement. Fasusi is scheduled to be at the Texas-Texas A&M game this weekend. He still has strong feelings toward Texas despite his OU commitment, so the Longhorns will keep working on this one. It just won’t be easy.
* I wrote about new defensive line offer Yahya Gaad earlier on Wednesday (you can read that report HERE if you missed it). To say that dude enjoyed his visit to Texas would be an understatement. Gaad is keeping things pretty open and he doesn’t want to put out an actual list of favorites, but Texas, Georgia and Washington are the early ones to watch. I’m not sure Texas wouldn’t be the favorite coming out of last weekend’s visit. Look for Gaad to return to Austin fairly soon, possibly for a junior day in January or later in the spring.
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