LINK TO TEXAS CARD HOUSE PROMO
(From Anwar)
The SEC Spring Meetings will conclude on Friday and most SEC observers are eager to hear if the conference will have an eight or nine-game league schedule in the future.
However, before we tackle that topic, I wanted to share a few behind-the-scenes details from my time in Florida.
As a quick sidebar, the meetings are technically held in Miramar Beach but many reporters say Destin.
The University of Texas was not a hot topic this week. In fact, Texas was barely mentioned. Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher was asked if his program could have one permanent rival with the new conference schedule, and which team would he want to play. Fisher responded by saying Texas. Other than Fisher’s comments, there were not many references to the Longhorns this week.
One thing I learned is SEC Spring Meetings are different than SEC Media Days.
To start, the SEC provides a limited number of media credentials for spring meetings. All of the national college football writers attend the meetings. However, there are a limited number of beat writers who are allowed to attend. Kirk Bohls, Chip Brown, and I were but that was the max number the SEC allowed for Longhorn reporters this year. The SEC allows a larger number of reporters to attend media days, which will take place in Nashville in July.
That fact is important because national writers focus mostly on big-picture topics and not day-to-day team issues. They are more focused on writing stories about gambling and NIL than who is battling for a guard position at Kentucky. Those football-specific questions occur during media days.
The majority of interviews of coaches and athletic directors focused on those big-picture topics.
As a result, Texas was not a hot topic this week. When I attended SEC Media Days in Atlanta last year, Texas was a huge topic of conversation. However, I think Longhorn fans will need to learn the point of spring meetings is to discuss and vote on topics that affect the league.
To be fair, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, associate athletic director Chris Plonsky, president Jay Hartzell, and John Bianco (senior associate athletic director/communications) were the only Longhorns at the spring meetings. There were allowed to sit in on specific meetings but could not vote on any proposals since Texas does not join the SEC until 2024.
Next year, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian, men’s basketball coach Rodney Terry, and women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer will attend the meetings.
I did have conversations with several people at the meetings about Texas, including coaches. I wanted to gauge how outsiders view Texas. The people who don’t own a pair of Longhorn rose-colored glasses.
Once again, Sarkisian has a lot of respect from those who pay attention to the program. To this day, I have not heard a person who knows Sarkisian say a bad thing about him. The people I spoke with had nothing but positive things to say about Sarkisian. A few people told me they were rooting for him to succeed.
Sarkisian was praised for his recruiting ability. They believe Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers will be a better player this year. Everyone praised the talent Sarkisian has this season.
Nevertheless, more than one person said Sarkisian’s biggest challenge is living up to the high expectations of Longhorn fans this season. The people I spoke to think highly of Sarkisian but were not sure what that meant from a win-loss perspective.
I asked Del Conte to outline his expectations for Sarkisian in year three during an interview on Wednesday.
“Well, you know, last year, Anwar, we were a pretty young team,” Del Conte said. “You think about a team like the starting quarterback for Georgia was older than Lamar Jackson, who won a Heisman and an NFL MVP. For us, I think 19.2 is an average age. You’re year three in the system. We’re older. Ewers played five games as a junior in high school, didn't play his senior year, and then started. I think we should see significant … just age, you should be better. Plus, we got some monster dudes up front now. I mean, having a chance to recruit to the Southeastern Conference. Have a chance to get bigger, stronger, and faster. I'm excited for it.
“I think the COVID years … I think we're done with the COVID two extra redshirt years.”
*****
Back to the biggest topic of this week.
The SEC Presidents are meeting on Thursday to discuss the pros and cons of an eight-game conference schedule versus a nine-game conference schedule. If all goes well, we should know the future of the SEC conference schedule no later than Friday afternoon when Commissioner Greg Sankey addresses the media.
One thing I have learned about this topic since arriving in Florida is the layers to this conversation.
Most fans are focused on the potential of having more than one permanent rival with a nine-game schedule as opposed to an eight-game schedule. If the SEC decides to have a nine-game conference schedule, teams will be able to schedule three permanent rivals.
That means Texas could face Oklahoma every year, along with Texas A&M and Arkansas. LSU could be in the mix but Texas A&M and Arkansas would be the most likely candidates for an annual game.
“I'm personally in favor of nine,” Del Conte said on Wednesday. “Partly because we have an unbalanced schedule. Remember, we play OU at a neutral site. So, having four conference games at home and four on the road really works well for us from a balance standpoint, and value added to our fan base in Austin. If you look at what Georgia and Florida go through, sometimes there’s a 3-5, and that makes it difficult. You're trying to balance out a schedule. We're coming from the Big 12. We're used to a nine-game schedule. It works well, especially the neutral site game.”
Rivalry games.
Balanced schedule.
There are benefits to a nine-game schedule.
However, SEC coaches are more focused on getting as many teams as possible in the college football playoffs. Rivalry games are great but not at the expense of their ultimate goal.
This is a new reality Longhorn fans must adjust to. In the Big 12, there are rarely conversations about competing for a national championship because that is not the expectation in this conference. If a Big 12 team advances to the CFP, it is like finding money.
For instance, most college football observers do not expect the Big 12 to have a team in the playoffs this season. Longhorn fans are optimistic it can occur but the betting line is currently 9 ½ wins for Texas. Meanwhile, Georgia and Alabama are in the mix every season.
The concern from SEC football coaches centers around college football playoff expansion in 2024. That is when the playoffs will expand from four teams to 12.
Can an SEC team with two losses make the playoffs?
Probably.
Can an SEC team with three losses make the playoffs?
That is tough to answer.
From the coach’s perspective, no other conference plays as many talented teams as the SEC. The conference schedule is brutal enough. Nine conference games and only three non-conference battles could diminish their chance of making the playoffs.
For instance, TCU could make the playoffs with an easier Big 12 schedule before Ole Miss if it has multiple losses with a much tougher schedule.
Here is a look at the 2022 playoff rankings before the conference championship games.
https://i.postimg.cc/TYQbF8R0/Screenshot-210.png
“The biggest question I would have, as important as those games are to us, how does the playoff look at it?” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “If you're an SEC opponent and you're really quality and you won a lot of good games, but you drop two to top teams or a third one, do you still get in? And when the playoff expands, I think all of those things are unknown.
“Ultimately, I think we as coaches just say, hey, give us our marching orders. Tell us what it is and what is best for our conference and hopefully, it aligns with what's best for our school. But ultimately, I think it's in the right hands with it being in the ADs, presidents, and obviously the commissioner and his staff. Whatever comes out of that, let’s go do it.”
Florida football coach Billy Napier shared the same opinion.
“It's all about the college football playoff,” Napier said. “Is the strength of schedule be weighed in a fashion that would benefit the SEC to play nine games? I think each league and our team, relative to their traditional rival, is that team in the league, is it not? There's some issues there as well. So, you know, I think 24 is going to be unique in a lot of regards for the SEC, but let's not forget the most monumental change is going to be the 12-team college football playoff. How do these decisions affect our ability to ultimately get into the tournament?”
If the SEC decides to temporarily stay with an eight-game conference schedule, it will be because the league is taking a wait-and-see approach. If the strength of schedule matters and helps teams get into the playoffs, moving to a nine-game schedule makes sense. If the main criteria is wins and losses, the SEC will not have its team cannibalize each other to add two rivalry games for fans.
In fact, one reporter questioned if it made sense to play a conference championship game in the future if a loss affects a team’s chances of making the playoffs.
“I don't know that that would happen,” Georgia football coach Kirby Smart said. “It used to be you get penalized for what bowl game you got sent to when you lost the SEC Championship Game. They put a plan in place to say, okay, if you lose in the SEC Championship, you can't fall further than this. I would think that we would have a system set up if you made that, and we're not talking about divisions now because divisions were different. You could have two really strong teams over here and one okay team over here and they play each. That happened. I know when I was an Alabama in the west, there were teams in the west that were sometimes better than the team that won the east. That's not going to be the case. So, the two teams that go, I'm looking at it more of as a competitive disadvantage of you might have to play one week or two weeks later after just playing that game, which will be the most physical game you play all year.”
The thought of Texas renewing its rivalry against Texas A&M is a fun topic for both fan bases.
It is important to know the SEC is more concerned about getting as many teams as possible into the playoffs.
We should know something soon.
*****
(Suchomel)
While some schools, including Texas A&M, are using this weekend to bring in a bunch of official visitors, the Longhorns have chosen to utilize the latter half of the month of June to bring in the majority of the program’s 2024 recruiting targets.
One player that will be in town this weekend is tight end Ryner Swanson. The Laguna Beach product will be out of the country for the back half of the month, so he’ll visit Texas this weekend and Oregon next weekend. An official visit to BYU will happen in the fall, as could visits to Texas A&M and Utah.
In talking to Swanson this week, he really likes Texas a lot, but the Longhorns seem to be lagging behind in this recruitment. Swanson said the contact from Texas hasn’t been as frequent or as personal as he’s received from other programs, but he said he liked his first visit to Texas so much that the Longhorns are still strong contenders. Realistically, this is probably a three-team race between BYU, Texas and Oregon but Texas will probably need to knock it out of the park this weekend. Due that, and show Swanson that he’s a priority, and Texas will have a realistic shot. If he comes out of this weekend feeling that he’s not a priority, the choice won’t be Texas.
******
Rivals250 cornerback Cobey Sellers will be on the UT campus on Saturday and while there’s a ways to go for the 2025 standout, the Longhorns have surged in recent months. Sellers loved his unofficial visit by the football offices when he was in town the weekend of the state track meet, and he says Texas is one of the schools standing out the most.
Interestingly, Sellers said he actually grew up an Oklahoma fan since he used to be a quarterback and the Sooners had such an incredible run of QBs under Lincoln Riley, but he mentioned the distance from Pearland to Norman as something he’s been considering. If he was to stay closer to him, like at Texas, his parents would be able to come to all of his games, which Sellers said is important to him.
******
Texas will host its Elite Camp on Saturday and then some of the recruits will stick around for a pool party, similar to the events the UT staff put on over the summer. A rundown of some of the top guys who have confirmed they’ll be in attendance (all are 2025 prospects unless noted otherwise) …
QB KJ Lacey – Saraland (AL) – One of the top players in the country. One of a couple of 2025 QB offers that Texas has extended.
QB Jackson Taylor – Westlake Village (CA) Oaks Christian (2026) – Elite player who already holds some big-time offers. Texas usually goes a bit slower with QB recruiting than some schools, but an offer wouldn’t be a shock.
QB Jared Curtis – Nashville Christian School (2026) – Similar story to Jackson Taylor above, but an even more impressive offer list.
QB Trent Seaborn – Albaster (AL) (2027) – Hasn’t even started high school yet but he already holds some big-time offers.
QB Daniel Mielke – La Verne (CA) Bonita (2027) – Another young dude with some early offers, including one from Georgia.
RB Jordon Davison – Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei – The nation’s top-ranked back in the 2025 class, Davison has taken multiple unofficial visits to Texas. This will be a national recruitment and USC will be heavily involved, but Texas should be a legitimate factor.
RB Deondrae Riden – DeSoto – Texas offered the Rivals100 member earlier this spring and Tashard Choice has done a good job of building a strong early relationship.
RB Riley Wormley – Colleyville Heritage – Speedy back has been down to UT multiple times, including for the Orange-White game, and told OB recently that Texas is a school standing out.
RB James Simon – Shreveport Calvary Baptist Academy – Somehow this guy doesn’t have a Rivals ranking (that’ll change soon) but he has a ridiculous offer list, including one from Texas. Visited Texas in March for junior day and will be back again this weekend.
WR Andrew Marsh – Katy Jordan – At first he was planning to come in, but told us this week that he’s now a maybe. If he doesn’t come this weekend, he said he’ll try to hit another UT camp in the next week or so. One of the country’s best and he’s been on the UT campus five times already.
WR Carterrious Brown – Arlington Seguin – Intriguing receiver with good size who picked up a UT offer earlier this spring.
WR Jacorey Watson – Pearland Shadow Creek – Rivals100 receiver who can do a bit of everything on the football field.
WR Taz Williams – Red Oak – Very recent UT offer and another top national prospect.
WR Deion Deblanc – North Shore – Another top national guy; was in Austin in March but this will give him a more detailed view of the Texas program.
WR Jadyn Robinson – Long Beach (CA) Poly – Texas just offered recently and Robinson quickly set up the trip to Austin. Has an older brother (Jason) who is a WR prospect in the 2024 class.
TE Keiundre Johnson – Terrell – Really intriguing player who is also a very good defensive end.
OL Michael Fasusi – Lewisville – Big fan of this guy, who will be a top national guy when it’s said and done. He visited UT a few weeks ago and loved it.
OL Logan Schramm – Boerne – Doesn’t hold a Texas offer yet but that could change this weekend.
DT Landon Rink – Cy Fair – He’s been a regular visitor at UT over the past couple years; son of former Longhorn Shane Rink.
DT Xavier Ukponu – Denton Guyer – Texas has been on him a while and though it’s early, the Longhorns are one of his top schools.
DT Zion Williams – Lufkin (maybe) – He’s still working out the details to see if he can make it but he’s another top target of Bo Davis’s; Williams attended a UT junior day in March.
DE Kamauryn Morgan – Red Oak – Fairly recent offer and tremendous player; likes Texas quite a bit but told OB in May he didn’t know a ton about UT so this will give him an in-depth look.
DE Carmello Brooks – Katy Paetow – Kind of an under-the-radar guy but he does hold a UT offer.
DE Michael Riles – Port Arthur Memorial (maybe) – Didn’t sound like his plans were close to ironed out when we checked with him this week so put him in the “soft maybe” category. Big-time player so getting him on campus would be big.
DE Jaylan Beckley – Addison Trinity Christian Academy – Doesn’t hold a Texas offer yet but will have his chance to impress this weekend.
LB Kane Bowen – Sherman – Texas is his only D-1 offer but I’d expect that to change this summer.
LB Elijah Barnes – Dallas Skyline – Texas was a bit late to the party here and just recently offered, but it doesn’t seem to have affected things because Barnes has locked in a visit for Saturday.
DB Javion Holiday – Duncanville – He won’t be camping but is coming in for an unofficial visit; picked up a UT offer last month.
DB Cobey Sellers – Pearland Shadow Creek – Talked about Sellers above; second visit to UT in a little more than a month and really likes the Longhorns.
DB CJ Wells – Mesquite Horn – Holds only one D-1 offer but will have a chance to open some eyes this weekend.
*****
(Cole)
I talked to a source close to four-star defensive back and Texas target Corian Gipson this week. Gipson is gearing up for a round of official visits this month, which begins this weekend at Clemson. Texas will host Gipson later in the month, along with the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, and TCU.
Recently, I flipped my FutureCast prediction from Texas to Clemson. The Tigers have been trending in the right direction for the Lancaster defensive back since offering earlier this spring. He’s already taken two unofficial visits to Clemson, and the Tigers even sent their DB coach to his spring game.
However, in talking to a source, Texas is not completely out of it. Gipson has a great relationship with Terry Joseph and knows how much he is wanted in Austin. He’s made multiple trips down to the 40 Acres and is very comfortable with the program - which is important to him.
I still like Clemson here, but it will be interesting to see if Gipson leaves his Clemson official visit without committing. If that happens and he does take his Texas OV set for June 23, all bets are off.
*****
2026 QB Julian Lewis is already regarded as a special talent behind center. The rising sophomore holds nearly every offer in the country with major programs making him a priority on the trail. He will surely be among the top - if not at the top - prospects in the initial class rankings.
Texas is among the programs to be at the top of Lewis’ early contenders. They have hosted the Georgia prospect on campus multiple times, most recently in the spring. Steve Sarkisian and AJ Milwee have hit it off, and Lewis is looking to make another trip back to the 40 Acres.
Lewis tells OB that he will be back on the Texas campus this summer. He’s set to see a lot of schools before his sophomore campaign. It’s big for the Longhorns to get him back around the coaches and continue selling what they have to offer the young passer.
*****
Sael Reyes is the younger brother of former Texas A&M defensive back Antonio Johnson, who earned All-SEC honors and is now off to the NFL. While that connection might be tough to beat, Texas is a real contender for the DeSoto newcomer.
Reyes is adamant that the Longhorns have a real shot in his recruitment, even describing Texas as his “dream school” while growing up. Although that has a negative connotation on the board, Reyes explained that he really liked watching UT play when he was younger and was blown away by his March unofficial visit to campus.
Texas took a strong DB haul in 2023, and the 2024 class has a lot of top options on the table for the secondary, too. Looking ahead, Reyes will be near the top of the board for the Longhorns in 2025.
*****
Couple of quick notes on a pair of 2026 prospects… Forney running back Javian Osborne is an early top target at the position for the Longhorns in his class. Unfortunately, he recently broke his hand and is therefore unable to compete in camps this summer. Still, look for the Longhorns to get him back down on campus this summer as Tashard Choice is a big fan of his game.
Another underclassman prospect to keep an eye on is Allen defensive back Kai Wheaton. Wheaton already has good size and plays with good technique, showcasing good coverage at the Rivals Camp earlier this spring. He is the son of former Oregon legend Kenny Wheaton and is set to camp at Texas this weekend. I think it’s only a matter of time before he heats up in recruiting, and the Longhorns will get an up-close view of him on Saturday,
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