(Ketch)
A few things to get us started...
* In talking with Michigan sources on Thursday, I've been told that confidence with the Michigan team is extremely high. Extremely, The pathway for a victory in the eyes of the maize and blue consists of running the ball on Texas at will and getting pressure on Quinn Ewers with its pass rush. The expectation in Ann Arbor is that Michigan WILL win these two areas of the game. Full stop.
* There is a giant expectation that back-up quarterback Alex Orgi will play a lot more this week than he did in week one.
* "Team is very confident. They were looking ahead to this game in my opinion. Don’t care what they say," one Michigan source said on Thursday.
* Spoke with a source with knowledge of 5-star Michael Terry's recruitment on Thursday and was told that no one should freak out over his visit to Nebraska for its game against Colorado this weekend. "He digs Nebraska and I could see him transferring there is he every decides to transfer for any reason, but Texas is sitting in the position it wants to be in," the source said.
* I don't get the sense that there's any real desire to knock doors down in the recruitments of Dakorien Moore and Michael Fasusi. No one I talk with is bringing them up as targets that Texas will jump into the NIL fray with reckless abandon over.
* I checked with an FSU source on Thursday and it definitely feels like there is growing smoke around the idea that Port Charlotte 2025 defensive tackle Myron Charles will flip to the Longhorns. This source even spoke about it in the "when" and "not if" terms. On the other hand, there seems to be a lot more confidence on the Javion Hilson recruitment front from this FSU source, as the general mood seemed to be that he's not at the top of the list of commits the FSU staff is worried about losing at this point.
* Had a conversation via text message this week with a source that was on the Texas sideline last week and has very real connections to the program. This source mentioned that the thing he heard from people in the program this week is that the interior of the offensive line is the biggest perceived "under-performer" of all the positional units on the team coming out of the Colorado State game. The source mentioned that it was "nitpicky", but did think it was a major area of focus this week. Give how connected this particular person is, I thought it was worth sharing.
* Texas 5-star wide receiver commit Jaime Ffernch announced this week that he had signed with (Drew) Rosenhaus Sports for NIL representation this week. Out of curiosity, I asked someone with NIL experience whether signing with Rosenhaus was any kind of reg-flag, given the storied reputation that Rosenhaus has for fighting tooth and nail for his clients for every last dollar. The feedback I got back was that there wasn't any negative vibes associated with Rosenhaus' agency from the Texas side of things. In fact, the very specific vibe I got was that outside of one single agent/agency (which I wasn't specifically told about), any high level representation is better than dealing with the riff-raff street agents and hustlers. Bottom line: professionalism beats non-professionalism 99 times out of 100 when it comes to NIL.
*****
(Anwar)
* Everyone I spoke with behind the scenes this week believes this football team is ready for the challenge of facing Michigan in Ann Arbor this week. There is a strong belief that the offseason preparation in the Texas heat has prepared this team mentally and physically. One person told me they found it somewhat hilarious that after months of preaching this team would have the advantage against Colorado State because of the heat in Texas, the weather was not a huge factor in the season opener. Regardless, the staff still believes they are prepared for week two.
* The staff has spent this week trying to keep their players mentally prepared for Michigan. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian has noted Michigan’s previous success during two press conferences this week and behind the scenes. The staff is seemingly confident about their preparation for this game, but have done everything possible to keep their players focused and hungry.
* I was told Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers had a strong week of practice. One person told me Ewers was “lights out” throughout the week.
* In addition, I was told Longhorn backup quarterback Arch Manning was seemingly more dialed in this week than ever before. Apparently, Manning isolated himself this week and did not communicate with anyone outside of his teammates. Manning has buried himself in practice and film this week. Those close to the situation could not be happier with Manning’s focus this week.
* My sources told me Longhorn receivers Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore “balled out” this week. Apparently, both players stood out in practice and were dialed in.
* The biggest concern behind the scenes is not falling behind on the road against Michigan. The Longhorns do not want to play catch up in a hostile environment and give their opponents a spark. Ideally, they would love to take the energy out of The Big House early on Saturday.
* The staff respects the Michigan defense. However, I learned what the offensive game plan is for Saturday. Clearly, I will not print that and put Texas at a disadvantage. Instead, I will say the strategy will be evident in the first half and Michigan will be in trouble if it does not adjust.
* One of the biggest concerns behind the scenes is the potential of unforeseen errors – tipped balls that result in interceptions, special teams miscues, and costly fumbles.
* The staff is prepared for Michigan to do its best to confuse Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers. However, one person told me they believe Ewers should be beyond head-scratching performances because the quarterback has been in Sarkisian’s system for three seasons.
* Sarkisian recently said they began working on plays to implement against Michigan at the beginning of training camp. I was told the team worked on those plays throughout training camp and switched when it was time to face Colorado State last. Nevertheless, they returned their attention to Michigan on Monday.
*****
(Suchomel)
* Recent Texas offer and current Florida commitment (for now) Joseph Mbatchou has a slew of visits coming up. He was at Florida last week. He’ll be at Auburn this week. He’ll visit Texas for the La-Monroe game. Alabama, Georgia and USC will get visits in September/October. Per someone this week, Texas, Auburn and USC are the three programs that are recruiting Mbatchou the hardest. One person labeled it as highly unlikely that Mbatchou will stick with Florida based on what Mbatchou is saying behind the scenes.
* “He’s a freaky talent. New to football. Intriguing upside. Texas is a real threat and coming hard and they were one of the first ones to offer,” a source said. Mbatchou is out of Loganville (GA) Grayson (the same school as UT OL commit Nick Brooks, btw) but Georgia isn’t pushing as hard. Not right now anyway. If that changes, UGA would obviously be a big threat.
* Hearing more and more that USC has really surged with Madden Faraimo and the Trojans are the team pushing Notre Dame for the Rivals100 LB’s commitment. Texas is still in it and under consideration, but likely running third based on conversations I had with sourcing this week. There’s a feeling that his family wants him to stay home and play at Southern Cal, but USC wasn’t as aggressive as teams like Notre Dame and Texas early on so they were playing from behind for a while. Now the Trojans are thought to have a strong chance of winning out.
* Not a lot new to report on Florida State DL commitment (for now) Myron Charles. He’s planning on attending the Texas home game against Georgia. We reported last week that a Florida source thought Charles was the most open of the Florida State DL commitments and he offered up the following quote … “What Florida State has right now is kind of like what Texas has, it’s the benefit of the doubt of being clear best team in the state. Once that changes, all bets are off for the types of things that can keep guys solid.” With FSU sitting at 0-2, this one looks better and better for Texas.
* Whereas Georgia isn’t going all in on flipping in-state DL Mbatchou, it sounds like UGA is making a strong push for Rutgers commitment and recent UT offer Braxton Kyle. “He’s one of a handful of interior guys they’re recruiting. Georgia feels good,” one source said. Texas chances? “Texas is playing from behind. Even Rutgers is playing from behind. I’m basically considering him uncommitted,” the source said.
* A lot of these defensive line recruitments are somewhat intertwined where the decision of one player could have a ripple effect on others. Take current Florida State commitment Kevin Wynn, for example. If Wynn was to peel off of his FSU commitment, the thought right now is that in-state Georgia would be the team to beat. But with UGA still heavily involved with 5-star in-state DTs Justus Terry and Elijah Griffin, that could open up an opportunity for the Longhorns to pounce on someone like Wynn. We’re keeping an eye on Wynn, but right now Texas would be behind schools like FSU and Georgia, but that can change in a hurry.
- We’re still working to lock in a date when Caleb Bell plans to be in Austin, but Arkansas, where he’s currently committed, did pick up another defensive tackle commitment on Friday of last week. That gives the Razorbacks three true defensive tackle commits in addition to Bell, who likely winds up as an inside guy at the next level. Something to file away.
* Auburn cornerback commitment Devin Williams took an official visit to Texas in June and told us over the summer that he’d be returning to Austin for a game visit and his final choice would come down to Auburn or Texas. In checking with Williams this week, he said he hasn’t heard from UT in a while so you can pretty much put a nail in that one.
* Defensive back Caleb Chester was one of a small handful of Texas commitments who were at the Horns’ home opener last weekend. Not only did he see Texas dominate, he said things went exactly to plan. “Coach (Terry) Joseph told me the game plan throughout the week. Everything he told me is what they did,” Chester said. Chester, who said he plans to be at just about every UT home game, is predicting a 21-14 Texas victory this week for those wondering.
