(Ketch)
* I checked around today and there's nothing new on the Bear Alexander front... which has to be good news for all involved.Texas would be interested if he enters the Portal. USC is trying to talk him out of entering the Portal. His support team is pretty loudly letting people know that a move is expected to happen. There's a sense that coming home and being closer to his family is a major part of any desires that Bear has to return to Texas. We simply will just need to sit back and see what happens.
* This probably needs to be stressed.... Texas likes Alexander, but they aren't going to get into any kind of bidding wars.
* I lobbed the name of Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant towards a couple of sources this week and they just got the hell away from it. All quiet on that front. I checked in with a couple of Michigan contacts late Thursday evening (15 minutes before this was posted) and both were pretty dismissive of the conversation. According to both, Grant has been very vocal and emphatic about not transferring, including as recent as last week. Apparently, the rumors have been floating around Ann Arbor for months and is a constant topic that Grant has had to address.
* Don't be shocked if the Longhorns look for a punter in the Portal this month.
* Texas starting center Jake Majors sang the praises of sophomore defensive tackle Aaron Bryant, which occurred during the same week that Steve Sarkisian also gave him a shout out to the media. I asked a source on Thursday about Bryant and was told, "I think he's probably been as good as any of the guys he's competing against for playing time. He's really taken to (Kenny) Baker and he does what Baker tells him to do. He's not there yet. but he might be as close as anyone else we have. Vernon (Broughton) better step it up. "
*****
(Anwar)
* Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian is usually laid back and not aggressive. Sure, Sarkisian will occasionally rip a player a new one in practice, but it is never out of the ordinary. Sarkisian is a traditional football coach, but it seems like more players relate to him than some of his colleagues.
* I was told Sarkisian took off his Mr. Nice Guy hat and ripped his players during a team meeting this week. Sarkisian was ticked after learning multiple players from this year’s team made bad choices this past week. As a result of their actions, former Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat’s car was flipped, which led to his DWI arrest. In addition, linebacker S’Maje Burrell was suspended indefinitely from the team. I was told Burrell is not the only current player who made bad choices this past weekend, which is another reason why Sarkisian was angry.
* Sarkisian informed his players that he will have a zero-tolerance policy for bad behavior going forward.
1. If an underage player gets caught drinking, he is off the team.
2. If a player gets caught smoking marijuana, he is off the team.
3. If a player gets arrested, he is off the team.
4. If a player does anything detrimental to the program, he is off the team.
According to one person, Sarkisian was ticked off and is not playing games.
* One of Sarkisian's biggest challenges this offseason is reimplementing his culture. Sarkisian lost several of his vocal leaders and the staff has been trying to develop players who can fill that void.
"I'd say something that we talked a lot about to the team today was this," Sarkisian said on Tuesday. "In the past, as we were building this program, we talked a lot about culture beats talent. We had to build a really strong culture to beat teams that maybe had a little better talent than we did early on. Now we've assembled a pretty talented football team, but we still need the culture. Because as I touched on, I think at some point last year, culture and talent together, that's really dangerous. We don't ever want to sacrifice the team mentality just because we have the talent now, because we're going to need both to try to go win a championship this fall."
* The hope inside the building is Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers will emerge as a vocal leader. I was told Ewers is an introvert and being consistently vocal is something the quarterback is working on this spring.
* Finally, one person told me they were surprised Burrell put himself in this situation. I was told Burrell is a good kid with great parents. LonestarLive.com reported Burrell’s father is a police officer in Fort Worth. I was told this appeared to be out of character for Burrell.
* There has been a buzz surrounding several players this spring. Sarkisian mentioned freshman receiver Ryan Wingo during press conferences in consecutive weeks. I inquired about Wingo and people inside the building have compared him to Julio Jones (6-foot-3, 220 pounds). I was told Wingo (6-foot-2, 208 pounds) has been an absolute beast this spring and looks like a future high-draft pick.
* Edge Barryn Sorrell has stepped up this spring. I was told Sorrell is stronger than last year and the decision to return will improve his draft stock. This is the second time someone has mentioned Sorrell’s spring performance in the past two weeks.
* LB Anthony Hill continues to make plays during practice. One person told me Hill is faster than last year and everyone raves about his ability to make plays.
* Sarkisian declared Jaylon Guilbeau is back this week. Apparently, Guilbeau looks better than his freshman season, which has people inside the building anticipating a breakout year. I was told, “Guilbeau looks like the 2022 kid who beat out Jahdae Barron before the injury.”
* In addition, there was high praise for Cam Williams and Trevor Goosby, who is currently in the concussion protocol. I was told Goosby is past the “baby giraffe stage," stronger, and knows what he is doing. Meanwhile, Williams is viewed as a potential upgrade over Christian Jones.
*****
(Alex)
* It doesn't sound like it was too eventful of a day at Longhorns practice on Thursday, as they were reportedly only in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets, but here are a few notes worth passing along.
* Anwar has reported that RS FR Left Tackle Trevor Goosby is missing time in practice right now with a concussion. On top of this, we've also heard that fellow 2023 OL classmate Payton Kirkland has also been being held back a little this week, although no one gave any details as to why at this time. We were told "don't worry about it" and he should be back soon.
* RS FR Jaydon Chatman had been playing behind Goosby at the third LT, so we're assuming he's been handling reps behind Kelvin Banks this week. Kirkland was working as the third RG on the depth chart behind Connor Stroh from what we've seen this spring, so the second OL group wasn't really impacted as much as you might think due to this minor injury cluster among a couple of 2023 guys.
* Speaking of injuries, it feels like we haven't seen much of true freshman WR Freddie Dubose Jr. -- when we asked about other guys who are being held back, we were told that Dubose has been through the start of spring ball, but is close to being back at full steam. It will be interesting to see where he slots in among a pretty crowded WR unit once he is indeed back to full health.
* We asked about Andrew Mukuba, who we heard was making a push last week and reportedly playing more with the ones at safety. "It's the same as it has been," one person texted. This means that Michael Taaffe seems to still be running ahead of Mukuba for now. I think it would be safe to anticipate those guys working in a tandem with the first group for the spring game opposite Derek Williams, but if it were to be played today, it really seems like Taaffe would be the first man in.
* Some positive news on the defensive line: one person said that it was good to see "some of the younger guys" starting to push for more playing time over the course of recent practices. This is not to say that transfer DT Tiaoalii Savea hasn't been fine, but Texas really needs a few guys to kick it into gear, to develop and help with providing depth in those spots. I asked if it was Jaray Bledsoe who was looking good, and the person said yes, "but also Sydir Mitchell."
*****
(Suchomel)
* Of all the recruits that visited Texas on Saturday, there were two who stayed over and returned to campus on Sunday for some extra personal time with the UT coaches – Dakorien Moore and LB Bo Barnes. Barnes and his parents spent the night in Austin on Saturday and then met with the coaches on Sunday.
“We met with coach Sark. Really, he was just saying he really wants me, that I’m a big priority to the Texas Longhorn staff,” Barnes said. “It’s just a great chance to go there and play there. There are lot of opportunities on the table there.”
* Barnes, like just about every other recruit at Saturday’s practice, mentioned how intense and physical the scrimmage was. Those reports are a far cry from what we used to hear about the Texas program. “I love the intensity that they brought at the practice. They brought a lot of energy. They were getting after it,” Barnes said. “There was so much competition out there, so much talent on the field.”
* On Saturday, prior to practice, Barnes sat in on LB meetings and said he enjoyed that aspect of the visit as well. He hung out with David Gbenda on Saturday night. Just as importantly as Barnes enjoying the visit, his parents did as well.
“They thought it was great. They had a great time down there, just enjoyed it, talking with coaches, talking with Sark’s wife, things like that,” Barnes said.
* Barnes will be at Texas A&M this weekend, Oregon next weekend. He has official visits set up to Texas (June 21), Ohio State (May 31), SMU (May 10) and Nebraska (April 26).
* A quick note on Dakorien Moore coming out of last weekend’s visit to Austin … Checked in with an LSU media source this week. The word out of Baton Rouge is that the LSU staff is still confident in its chances of holding onto Moore, but everyone also knows this one is a long way from being done. As recently as this week, people close to Moore were still saying positive things behind the scenes about Moore’s commitment to LSU. I wouldn’t expect any differently, but I also don’t necessarily believe it.
* Potential 5-star WR Jaime Ffrench made his first Texas visit on Saturday and things went exceptionally well. “I loved the impression. I definitely loved the vibe. The people in the building, I can say that for sure, are what had me come out and are going to have me continue to come out,” Ffrench said. “I loved it. Really just getting to see coach (Chris) Jackson, his coaching style in person, see how he is as a person, that was my main focus on getting out here.”
* Steve Sarkisian’s offense, personality and Chris Jackson’s coaching chops (including developing two likely first-round draft picks) have Ffrench’s attention. “Definitely with the production coach Jackson has been able to do - he polished those guys up for that one year he had with them, just dropped some knowledge on them,” Ffrench said. “It definitely matters for sure. Coach Jackson knows what he’s doing.”
* Texas just offered Ffrench in January so he’s still getting comfortable with Jackson and the UT program, but Texas made a strong enough impression on Saturday that the Longhorns are in Ffrench’s top three. Texas, Ohio State and Tennessee make up Ffrench’s top three. “They weren’t before I came, so they’re definitely top three now for sure,” Ffrench said of the Longhorns. Ffrench’s official visit schedule … June 1 Miami, June 14 Tennessee, June 21 Texas. He said he may also give Ohio State a visit and is looking to commit in August.
* Sticking with elite WRs, Sachse Rivals100 member Kaliq Lockett was also in Austin on Saturday. That visit gave him a chance to see Chris Jackson coach and spend some time sitting down with Sarkisian. “I really like that conversation because we didn’t talk football. We talked about life,” Lockett said. “My dad being from California and coach Sark being from California, they had a connection of sorts. That’s really the biggest thing we got from our talk with coach Sark.”
* Lockett spent quite a bit of time on the visit hanging with Texas QB commitment KJ Lacey. Those two have developed a strong connection, which can’t be bad for the Longhorns. “He’s even cooler off the field. I like him as a person, who he is. I’d like him to be my quarterback some day,” Lockett said. Also of interest, Lockett said he and Dakorien been talking about playing together since the 8th grade.
* Up next, Lockett will be at LSU this weekend and Texas A&M for its spring game on April 20. A decision is expected in August. “Really I have a select few schools that are recruiting me the hardest,” Lockett said. “The schools that are recruiting me the hardest are definitely LSU, Texas, Florida State, USC, Texas A&M. Penn State is also recruiting me hard, Ohio State too.”
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