The Texas Longhorns and Utah Utes will face off on December 31st. To the casual observer, it is just another game but when looking beneath the surface, there are quite a few storylines between these two schools. Following the announcement of the bowl matchup the two teams took to battle on the recruiting front.
Prior to Early National Signing Day the Utes were able to flip three-star commit Ty Jordan to Utah as well as four-star defensive end Van Fillinger. The Longhorns were able to exact a bit of revenge when they flipped Lone Star linebacker Jaylon Ford to Texas keeping him in the Lone Star State. The storylines don’t stop there, this upcoming game is a homecoming for former Texas quarterback Cameron Rising.
During the 2018 recruitment, the Longhorns landed four-star quarterback out of California Rising. Cameron Rising was a recruit that Texas was able to flip from Oklahoma. Another victory in the Red River Rivalry. However, after never appearing in a game for Texas and never “Rising” above third on the depth chart, he announced that he would enter the transfer portal in January. Cameron announced that he would head to Utah.
Due to NCAA rules, Rising would have to sit out and could return to playing football in 2020. Since the semester is over, Rising is now eligible to participate in the game against Texas. While Rising has stated that this is “just another football game”, it feels like he desperately wants to get this win.
Texas will look to spoil the homecoming on Tuesday night in the Alamodome.