SB Nation User Blog: jtlonghorn

Darius White a no-show at OU? ($)

jtlonghorn — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:58:53 -0000

Darius White a no-show at OU? ($)

I don't know the story but apparently he either didn't show or cancelled. The Sooner boards are in panic mode. Hopefully it is good news for Texas.

New Rivals 100

jtlonghorn — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:12:17 -0000

Texas commits:

Reggie Wilson - #24

Tevin Jackson - #33

Trey Hopkins - #65

Taylor Bible - #83

Chris Jones - #87

Dominic Espinosa - #98

Tevin Jackson jumped from #188 to #33 and gained a star. He apparently dominated at the Gridiron Kings event, while Darius White did not. White dropped to #27 on the list and lost his 5 star status for now.

Other notables:

Jackson Jeffcoat - #5

Jordan Hicks - #21

The OU commitment of Rashod Favors puts them at 23 commitments, while Texas is at 19. Texas still sits atop the team rankings for now with 16 four stars and 3 three stars. What a deep and talented class this could be.

First 2010 Rivals 100

jtlonghorn — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:41:20 -0000

http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?SID=880&Year=2010&ra_key=2369

Three of the initial top 6 are from Texas:

Seastrunk at #2, D. White at #3, and Jeffcoat at #6

Texas commits on the list:

Hopkins #48

Bible #68

Jones #70

Espinosa #75

Dixon #86

Benson #100

Others of note to all of the recruiting addicts:

Trovon Reed at #14, Jordan Hicks at #16, Reggie Wilson at #20, Jake Matthews at #62, and DeMarco Cobbs at #80.

For reference, last year's #5 ranked class had 6 players finish in the top 100. It's such an early list and there will be many more 5 star players on subsequent lists, but it's exciting to think how great this class could be with a few more signings.

LSR Final State Top 100

jtlonghorn — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:38:10 -0000

http://texas.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1900

Texas will finish with 5 of the Top 10, and 10 of the top 20. That will go to 11 of the Top 20 with the expected Tevin Mims signing.

This class will have some big time potential in it, and there is no doubt that Gilbert could be the crown jewel.

In all of the years that I’ve been in this business, Gilbert is right up there with Vince Young and Drew Brees as the best in-state quarterback I’ve seen.

That has me salivating for 2010 and beyond. This doesn't sound like the type of guy who is going to be beat out for the starting job in 2010 after a year of on the job training with Colt.

Bradford coming back

jtlonghorn — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:47:58 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3832957

It appears Sam Bradford needs another beatdown from Texas before he leaves for the NFL. Word is he will return for his junior year.

This certainly ups the excitement and anticipation for the RRS in 2009. And it will probably overinflate the Sooners preseason ranking. Unless Gresham comes back, their offense will still certainly take a huge hit. An inexperienced O Line makes any QB look much more human. And the Horns were able to penetrate the legendary O Line this year.

The good news for 2010 is that it does put both programs on equal footing for that year, both starting a new QB.

Final Rivals 100 for 2009

jtlonghorn — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:42:49 -0000

Two previous Longhorn 5 stars stayed steady:

Alex Okafor at #14

Garrett Gilbert at #18

An upgrade from 4 star to 5 star:

Mason Walters at #29 overall

Calvin Howell at #55, Garrett Porter at #69, and new Rivals 100 entrant Chris Whaley at #91 round out the Longhorns.

Interesting and satisfying note - Jamarkus McFarland was one of five 5 star prospects to drop to 4 star status in the final ranking.

Whaley is intriguing because of his size. It will be interesting to see how he is used in the offense next year, if any.

Ketchum rebuttal to McFarland story

jtlonghorn — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:36:14 -0000

Here's the link:

http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=893523

This is a VERY long story... but I wanted to get the link up before I got through it all. As has been discussed since the story broke, the content and slant present in the NYT article was very evident.

The story has become a big deal and Ketchum awaits a response from Mack Brown and the University.

It's going to be interesting to see how Mack Brown and The University of Texas handle this situation because I believe if this is an institution of principles, they cannot let this situation go without comment.

This is great stuff - a confirmation that most of that stuff was BS.

It is a FREE link at this point.

Chizik to Auburn

jtlonghorn — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:27:43 -0000

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=888957

Ex UT and Auburn defensive coordinator Gene Chizik appears to be the next head coach at Auburn. Chizik was toiling away at Iowa State for the last couple of years.

So after many Muschamp rumors, Auburn goes back to the first D-coordinator that Mack lured away to Texas.

This surely isn't a WOW hire for Auburn. Chizik was definitely an up and comer at Texas which is why it was so puzzling that he would take the Iowa State job. He was 5-19 at Iowa State over the last two years.

This now leaves Iowa State looking for a head coach. They got pretty lucky when Chizik accepted the position, so I'm not sure where they go from here.

Okafor up to 5 star prospect in new Rivals 100

jtlonghorn — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:05:42 -0000

Updated rankings can be found here:

http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1936

DE commit Alex Okafor was the big mover for the Horns, jumping up to #14 ahead of Garrett Gilbert who slid to #18.

Jamarkus McFarland is now at #20 which corresponds with a drop in the Lone Star rankings.

Other Longhorn hopefuls Devon Kennard and Dre Kirkpatrick are at #6 and #10, respectively.

I love this quote from the site:

He was so quick at the Fort Worth Nike Camp that the coaches there thought he was an NFL prospect.

Has anyone seen him play in person? It looks like he could be an Orakpo type DE in the future. He runs a 4.6 in the 40.

UT, Tech are #1 and #2 in Sagarin

jtlonghorn — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:00:54 -0000

Interesting results from Sagarin this week:

Texas - 93.53
Tech - 92.59
Ala - 92.38
OU - 92.32
Utah - 90.45
OSU - 87.07
UF - 86.93
PSU - 86.09
UGA - 85.91
USC - 85.84

This poll has been very friendly to Texas, but also VERY friendly to Tech. This is probably the highest ranked they will be in any computer. 2-4 are virtually a dead heat at this point.

Bad news is that OU, although 4th, took a huge jump from around an 87 or 88 point rating last week. A win over OSU may push them past the Horns and most likely to #1. Texas would probably be #2. It will be close though.