(Ketch)
A few things to get us started...
* In light of the continued momentum in recruiting, I thought I would circle back on the Texas is "very, very confident" message from a couple of months back. One of the elements of that discussion was that Texas felt it would close like Secretariat in terms of landing several 5-star level targets, flipping a number of committed elsewhere guys and having a crackerjack haul in the Portal, but it was all hanging by the following thread... balling out on the field this season. One key source told me two months ago that if the Longhorns wanted to close like it wanted to, they needed elite results on the field. A regular ol' 10-2 season probably wasn't going to cut it. The feeling continues to exist that if the Longhorns stay in the top 5 all season and into the playoffs, everything is possible from a talent acquisition standpoint. Considering Myron Charles flipped after the Michigan win, Javion Hilson officially became a possible strong Texas lead the next day and Zelus Hicks committed on Thursday, you can see the Top 3 status partially fueling this September momentum. The more the Longhorns win in the next few months, the better people behind the scenes believe the momentum in the 2025 class will continue to go.
* It's easy to lose sight of what might be available in December or January in the Portal, but I've had it very seriously implied to me that Texas fully expects to use the Portal in a few months and that a number of targets that can improve the program at the top of the depth chart could become available. I'm told that Steve Sarkisian will make sure he has enough scholarship space available to fully use the Portal to his wishes. We're still a few months away from the opening of the Portal, but it should be fascinating theater when it arrives.
* Talked to a person this week that spent a lot of time around the players last week leading into the Michigan game and he raved about the focus and mental sharpness of the entire team. This person has seen a lot of Texas teams over the years and he was taken aback by the attitude of the team in the days before the game and then on game day.
* Adam Gorney confirmed for me on Thursday that new Texas commit Zelus Hicks tipped the scales at 6-1 3/4 and 188 pounds in Jacksonville back in June.
* Small little Javion Hilson note from an Alabama source I connected with this week. His view of Hilson's recruitment is that the Tide trail the Longhorns and haven't recruited Hilson as hard in the last few months as the Longhorns. If the Tide are going to land its one-time commitment in Hilson, the feeling is that the Tide will have to jump in and make up some ground that hasn't been made up in the last few months.
* Communicated with someone this week who believes that Texas continues to be in a better position to land IMG Academy (Florida) linebacker Nathanial Owusu-Boateng than San Juan Capistrano (California) Catholic star Madden Faraimo. A Notre Dame source reported to me this week that the Irish believe they lead for Faraimo and I can tell you that USC people feel the same way, especially after he visited them last weekend. The Irish expect to have Faraimo on campus for their September 28th game against Louisville. If the Longhorns are going to be a true factor with Faraimo, getting him in town for the Georgia game in October might be their best shot at a puncher's chance. Meanwhile, Owusu-Boateng will be in Austin for the Georgia game and there's a good chance he'll visit Notre Dame in November. That one continues to feel the most doable.
* As expected, there's not a lot to report on with regards to 5-star lineman Michael Fasusi (Lewisville) and the Longhorns. In fact, not only are things expected to remain quiet on that front, Fasusi's commitment to OU looks stronger than ever, as he'll be making the trip to Norman this week with good friend and PWO commitment Sean Hutton for the Tulane game.
*****
(Anwar)
* It's safe to say everyone behind the scenes has been in a great mood this week following the dismantling of Michigan in week two.
* Multiple people told me the coaching staff dialed up a great game plan that the players executed at a fantastic level. The play on the field was not perfect at times; however, the staff believed they knew exactly how to stop Michigan, and what occurred this past Saturday solidified strong continuity with the current staff.
* I was told one reason this staff is stronger than in previous seasons is that everyone is fully on board with Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian. One person told me, “I love the guys who left, but the new guys are 100 percent on board with Sark and Jeff Banks.”
* I was told there have been fewer confrontations behind the scenes and in meetings due to the offseason addition of defensive line coach Kenny Baker. In addition, co-defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach Johnny Nansen has been an outstanding addition, according to those behind the scenes. Baker and Nansen are not yes-men but are fully invested in supporting Sarkisian’s vision, according to those close to the situation.
* Additionally, I was told both coaches are great teachers, which is why this year’s defense is off to a great start.
* Finally, Nansen is viewed as a guy who has created a sense of urgency among players on defense. I was told Nansen brings an attitude and intensity to practice that was not around before his arrival.
Apparently, practices on Tuesday and Wednesday have been all about “good on good” since Nansen arrived. One person told me, “If you don’t like to hit and can’t bring your A-game on those days, your ass will be on the bench.” Most players are sore after practice on Wednesday, but I was told that is why tackling and striking on defense has improved this season.
* Nevertheless, I was told Pete Kwiatkowski is getting the most out of the older players on his defense, such as David Gbenda, Alfred Collins, and Vernon Broughton because they have been in his system for the past four seasons and can rely on their instincts.
* Speaking of Broughton, multiple people behind the scenes praised his performance against Michigan. It is viewed as arguably his best performance since arriving at Texas.
* I was told Sarkisian might play it safe with Jaydon Blue during the next two games (UTSA and Louisiana-Monroe) and limit the running back’s playing time. Sarkisian wants to ensure Blue is ready for conference games, so do not be surprised if Blue’s backups receive a lot of work in the upcoming weeks.
* Be on the lookout for some generosity from Quinn Ewers on Sunday. I can’t spoil the surprise, but it will make Longhorn fans love Ewers even more.
*****
(Suchomel)
With the updating of the 2025 recruiting board on Thursday, we figured we’d go position-by-position to take a look at where things stand. Whereas the recruiting board has only a handful of uncommitted prospects remaining, we’ll dissect any potential flips in this write-up as well.
QUARTERBACK
NEEDS – 1
COMMITMENTS – 1
KJ Lacey - Saraland (AL) – Texas commitment – Nothing to really see here. Texas locked up Lacey extremely early and while he gave fans a few nervous moments early in his recruitment when he went and watched games at Alabama and Auburn, Lacey has always been upfront with the UT staff when he’s taken those trips and he’s never truly waivered. He seems as solid as he’s ever been with his commitment.
RUNNING BACK
NEEDS – 2
COMMITMENTS – 2
Rickey Stewart Jr - Tyler Chapel Hill – Texas commitment – Stewart committed way back in April and has never looked back.
James Simon - Shreveport Calvary Baptist – Simon got off to a big start to his senior season last week with 361 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.
WIDE RECEIVER
NEEDS – 2 OR 3
COMMITMENTS – 2
Jaime Ffrench - Jacksonville Mandarin – Texas commitment – Huge recent pick-up for the Longhorns. Ffrench is happy with his decision but other programs aren’t going to go away.
Kaliq Lockett – Sachse – Texas commitment – Him and Ffrench make a terrific one-two punch.
POTENTIAL FLIPS
Dakorien Moore – Oregon – He’s always going to be on this list but he seems pretty happy with his Oregon commitment.
Kelshaun Johnson – Texas A&M – He was close to committing to Texas at one point so if the Texas staff pushes, this one could get interesting.
Dallas Wilson – Oregon - The talk of this one has died down but we’ll see if things might heat up again
Andrew Marsh – Michigan – Highly unlikely he’d flip to Texas but if Michigan implodes, anything is possible I guess.
TIGHT END
NEEDS - 2
COMMITMENTS – 2
Emaree Winston - Calhoun (GA) – Texas commitment – He’ll be in Austin this weekend.
Nick Townsend – Dekaney – Underrated pick-up by Texas for my money.
Michael Terry - San Antonio Alamo Heights – 50% - He’s not a traditional tight end by any means and could be slotted at receiver. Looks to be a very tight Texas/Nebraska race. He’ll be in Austin this weekend.
OFFENSIVE LINE
NEEDS – 5
COMMITMENTS 5
Jackson Christian - Port Neches-Groves – Texas commitment – Chose Texas over Texas A&M and seems pretty locked in.
Jordan Coleman and Devin Coleman - Cedar Hill – Texas commitments – Apologies to the Colemans for lumping these two together but they’re probably used to it (along with their triplet brother).
John Mills - San Francisco St. Ignatius – Texas commitment – Another underrated pickup to my eyes.
Nicolai Brooks - Cedar Rapids Kennedy – Texas commitment – Big win, figuratively and literally. Texas will probably have to work to hang onto him but Kyle Flood does a good job of staying on his guys even after they’re committed.
POTENTIAL FLIPS
Michael Fasusi – Oklahoma – We’ll see how hard Texas continues to push here, and how receptive Fasusi is. Might come down to how solid the Horns’ current five commitments remain.
DEFENSIVE ENDS
NEEDS – 2 OR 3
COMMITMENTS – 2
Lance Jackson - Texarkana Pleasant Grove – Texas commitment – Remains locked in … speaking of guys I think are underrated.
Smith Orogbo – Hastings – Texas commitment – Sneaky good player with a very high ceiling.
Javion Hilson - Cocoa (FL) – 60% - A recent Florida State decommitment, he’ll be in Austin next month. The Longhorns are the leaders but several other programs factor in as well.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES
NEEDS – 2 OR 3
COMMITMENTS - 2
Myron Charles - Port Charles (FL) – Texas commitment – Big pick-up by Texas on Saturday. One thing to mention … when I talked to Charles this week I asked if he was completely shutting down the recruiting process and he said he wasn’t sure, so Texas needs to continue to aggressively recruit him.
Josiah Sharma - Folsom (CA) – Texas commitment – It’s been refreshingly quiet with the former Oregon commitment.
POTENTIAL FLIPS
Joseph Mbatchou - Florida – He’s officially a DE, but we’re classifying him as an interior guy. One Rivals source who spoke with Mbatchou thought he was visiting UT this week. Mbatchou has said it’ll be next week. Working to get final word on that. Auburn, USC and Texas are the three biggest threats to flip him from Florida.
Caleb Bell – Arkansas – He’s planning to visit Texas soon but hasn’t told us of a firm date yet. If he does visit, this one will get really interesting.
Braxton Kyle – Rutgers commitment – He wasn’t as excited about his UT offer as Mbatchou and Bell, and with in-state Georgia picking up its interest, that’s the more likely flip but we’ll continue to monitor this one.
D.J. Sanders – Texas A&M – We’ll put him on the list because he’s a bit of a wildcard, but unless the wheels fall off in College Station, my expectation is that he’ll stick with the Aggies.
LINEBACKER
NEEDS – 3 OR 4
COMMITMENTS – 2
Bo Barnes - Dallas Skyline – Texas commitment - Stop me if you’ve heard this from me before … underrated!
Jonathan Cunningham - North Crowley – This one was pretty much sealed up for Texas when he took his OV in June.
Madden Faraimo - San Juan Capistrano (CA) JSerra Catholic – 35% - Texas needs to get him back on campus to have any shot.
Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng - IMG Academy – 30% - The chances have gone up on this one now that he’ll be taking an official visit for the Georgia game. Still feels like a bit of a longshot but we’ll see. Texas has some IMG pull on its roster helping out.
POTENTIAL FLIPS
Riley Pettijohn – Ohio State – I’m putting Pettijohn on this list because you all will hate me if I don’t, but he seems VERY happy with his commitment and Texas wasn’t even in his top two when he committed to OSU.
DEFENSIVE BACK
NEEDS – 3 OR 4
COMMITMENTS – 2
Caleb Chester - Fort Bend Marshall – Texas commitment – He’ll probably be at every UT home game and is locked in.
Jonah Williams - Galveston Ball – Texas commitment – Maybe the biggest commitment in the class if you ask me.
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