(Ketchum)
A few things to lead us off...
* Speculation continues to grow that Texas baseball coach is standing on rocky footing going into the post-season... and that was before Texas went 2 and BBQ in this week's Big 12 Tournament. One source with direct knowledge of the ins and outs of the program told me this week that Texas could very easily have a new baseball coach in 2025 if Pierce and the Longhorns don't make it to Omaha in the next month.
It's hard to know exactly how literal the comment should be taken, but the biggest note that I took from the conversation was that the discussion of change is something that is definitely taking place around the program and there is substantial conversations taking place about the subject.
* How successful was last weekend's "Horns Up" fundraiser by the Texas One Fund? According to one source, the fundraiser generated upwards of 4 million dollars, while another source didn't confirm that number but stated that once the final book-keeping is done, the 4 million number should be somewhere in the range of what was created from the event.
* One source told Orangebloods this week that pictures with Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning were going for as much as $10,000.
* Of the money that was raised, much of it came from a small handful of donors that were responsible for 25-35% of the overall total that was created. One of those donors told me this week, "We need more people involved. It's hard to have 10-15 people doing everything and hopefully (the event) will get a few bigger donors into the game."
* There is still a strong sense that many of the school's biggest athletics-giving donors are reluctant to participating in fundraising that will create money for athletes. "They just don't believe in it," one winning-bidder texted me this week.
* How much of an impact will the money raised from the event make? I've been told multiple times this off-season that the leading football programs in the country in NIL, which absolutely includes Texas, are making commitments between 15-20 million dollars annually.
* One last NIL note to pass along... while the Longhorns are a national leader, there are definite limits to how much any single athlete at the school will make from the UT collective and that number is believed to be in the neighborhood of 7 figures. If any athlete in any sport is shopping around for that kind of money, it's not likely going to happen at Texas. There seems to be an acknowledgement that college athletics is living in a time of craziness, but there's a limit to the amount of crazy Texas is willing to engage in.
* When I asked a football team source this week how big of an impact the presence of Arch Manning was having in wide receiver recruiting, I was jokingly told, "They know what time it is. They can either play at the center of college football's focus starting in 2025 or they can go play on a smaller platform. We could stop recruiting all of the guys were recruiting right now and probably still sign a (different) 5-star or two because they all want in."
* Something to keep an eye on in the recruitment of 2025 Jasper tight end Kiotti Armstrong... there is some speculation from A&M media that the Aggies could be trending towards a commitment from Houston Dekaney tight end Nick Townsend. In fact, Rivals' Landyn Rosow put in the Futurecast in favor of the Aggies last Wednesday. It'll be interesting to see how such an event better positions the Longhorns, considering that Armstrong's recruitment is expected to come down to the Longhorns and Aggies. Of course, Townsend is scheduled to visit USC (5/31), Alabama (6/7), Texas A&M (6/14) and Texas (6/21) in the coming weeks, so maybe that A&M confidence on Townsend is misplaced. Again, it's something to keep an eye on.
* Spoke to an OU recruiting source this week about Lewisville offensive lineman Michael Fasusi and there definitely seems to be a vibe from the OU side of things that the Longhorns are the team with the strong upper hand in his recruitment going into his official visits. Considering OU once believed it was a co-favorite at the very least in his recruitment five months ago, I found this concession important enough to note.
* It's pretty slim pickings in the Portal right now, as former A&M defensive back Jacoby Matthews and center Bryce Foster are considered the best defensive and offensive players in the Portal, respectively. I was told this week that the Longhorns staff continues to look for ways to improve the roster going into the season, but there just isn't much out there that's worth 5 minutes of their time because the roster is at a point where the kind of players who are still available aren't the kind of players that would improve the Texas two-deep. "You're probably going to see more urgency next December," one source told me this week. "There really isn't any waiting for May to roll around if this year is any indication."
* The Longhorns might not have won the battle over OU for TCU defensive tackle transfer Damonic Williams, but in taking former Louisville transfer Jermayne Lole from the Sooners in the aftermath of Williams' commitment, the Sooners have been left in a position where the coaches are still trying to a defensive lineman depth void. One player they are working on is Jacksonville State transfer Chris Hardle, who is very seriously considering Ole Miss.
* There's an expectation that things will pick up on the football workouts front after the Memorial Day weekend, including throwing sessions with the quarterbacks and receivers. There was some discussion that some players were ready to begin those sessions this week, but some players were working out with their respective trainers and others had family commitments.
* Texas back up left tackle. Trevor Goosby will not compete for a starting spot during training camp. Nevertheless, he continues to generate lot of buzz as a potential starter in the 2025 season. Goosby was listed at 313 pounds on the spring game roster. He is currently weighing between 315-320 pounds, depending on the day. The staff continues to love his progression and he is a name we need to continually monitor.
* Speaking of weight, Texas receiver Johntay Cook II was listed at 6-feet, 194 pounds on the spring game roster. However, the goal is for CooK is to lose a few pounds and enter the season weighing between 180 and 185. The staff wants him to be a little bit leaner to utilize his speed in the passing game.
* Finally, incoming wide receiver Silas Bolden was asked on Orangebloods Live on Thursday about vying for the WR1 spot in the Texas offense and his answer was top-notch. "Me, Bond and Golden were top receivers on our teams," Bolden said. "You always need help. It's cool to be WR1, but what is WR2 going to do? What is WR3 going to do? All of us have to bring something different to the game and there's more people than just us three. We've got Johntay Cook. We've got Deandre Moore. We've got Ryan Wingo. We've got more people than just us 6 and there's so much that we can do. You've just come with the mindset that we can each bring something different to the game."
*****
(Suchomel)
* Texas has recruited Buford (GA) pretty aggressively over the years, including landing a commitment from RB Derrian Brown in 2019 (Congratulations to Brown, btw, who graduated from Texas earlier this month). Texas is hoping to land another from the school this year in cornerback Devin Williams. Current Longhorn wide receiver Isaiah Bond is also from Buford and he’s given some insight to Williams on what he should expect when Williams takes his Texas official visit next month.
“He told me he hasn’t been there the longest, but he told me it was a great place. He was at Alabama and said they have everything to match Alabama and even better,” Williams said. “He talked about the work ethic, what it takes to be successful at Texas.” Take that, Bama.
* It was one week ago that Dakorien Moore officially opened up his recruitment by decommitting from LSU (feels much longer than that). Not a lot new to report in that one just yet. Moore is scheduled to visit Ohio State next weekend, Texas June 14 and Oregon June 21. Official visits always have the possibility of throwing a late twist into a recruitment, but we continue to like UT’s position in this one.
* With Texas looking to dip into California again in the 2025 cycle (there are currently eight players from the Golden State scheduled to take OVs to Texas), we checked in with some West Coast sources to get updates on those targets …
WR Marcus Harris (Texas OV June 21) – There was a time early on that it looked like Texas might be the team to beat for the Mater Dei product. The Longhorns are still heavily involved, but the race apparently has evened out a bit. With the potential success of in-state receivers in addition to a guy like Jaime Frenchh, one source we spoke with wondered if Texas would still aggressively push for Harris’ commitment.
“I think Oregon and Texas are probably the standouts right now. You could maybe put Bama in there too. Bama emerged more with that new offense and what they did at Washington,” the source said.
* Apparently, QB play is big for Harris. Texas obviously has Arch Manning but Oregon can sell transfer QB Dante Moore, and Harris is apparently very fond of Oregon WR coach Junior Adams.
* TE Kaleb Edwards (Texas OV June 7) – In talking to two sources, Edwards is a bit of a mystery. Nobody seems to have a good feel on what he’ll wind up doing. “I’ve never gotten a sense that he’s set to stay close or go far away. Not sure he knows what he wants to do,” one source said.
* OL John Mills (Texas OV June 14) – I have my FutureCast pick on Texas for this one. Sources out West think I’m on the right path. “I think Texas is definitely up there because of his recent visit there. He loves it on and off the field. And he loves Kyle Flood,” one source said.
* Another source said Mills has a bit of a chip on his shoulder because he feels he’s underrated (I agree, btw). Because of that, this person said he wants to play on the biggest of stages. Where better to do that than Texas? “There’s some pull to Washington, to Nebraska and Florida is interesting. But I feel like Texas is where he winds up,” that source said.
* DT Josiah Sharma (Texas OV June 7) – One source scoffed at Sharma’s current low 3-star rating on Rivals. Expect that to change in the next update, btw. Sharma is another that wants to play on the big stage. “He’s always talked about playing in the SEC. He’s talking about Bama and Georgia and Oklahoma. He’s not a kid tied to playing on the West Coast,” the source said.
* He is close to his mother, per a source, so that could be a draw to keep him out West. If he does stay close to home, keep an eye on Oregon. The source I spoke with wasn’t sure about his interest level in Texas, but noted that if he’s taking a UT OV you cannot count the Longhorns out, especially with Texas moving to the SEC.
* DE Hayden Lowe (Texas OV June 14) – The sense with Lowe, per one person I spoke with, is that he likely stays out West. I was told that Lowe doesn’t talk recruiting very much, but has given off a vibe that he might be favoring schools like UCLA, Oregon or Washington. Lowe does have OVs set to Miami, Georgia and Texas so we’ll see if the proximity thing holds true.
* LB Madden Faraimo (Texas OV June 21) – One person told me that early in his recruitment, Faraimo seemed like a lock to go to USC but he has opened up his options of late. Ohio State and Notre Dame are believed to be the current leaders. “But if he visits Texas, that’ll definitely be big,” the source said.
* LB/DE Marco Jones (Texas OV June 21) – Was told he’s a big baseball player too, so “that could play into his decision. One person said he has “ambitions” of going nationally with his recruitment, but the sense from people out West is that he’s more likely to stay local. “He’s never given me a big Texas vibe, but baseball will be a big thing so maybe that could help,” the source said.
* Rivals had a report this week that Texas is trying to make a push for 2026 five-star WR Chris Henry Jr., who is currently committed to Ohio State. I asked about him as well. “He definitely wants to visit Texas this summer. If (Brian) Hartline stays at Ohio State, it’s almost definite he’ll staying at Ohio State. But he wants to visit Texas.”
