Five storylines to monitor in Texas leading up to the 2023 football season

It’s a pivotal year for the trio of Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

Offseason storylines start to form around this part of the offseason as head coaches in Texas meet with alumni across the state. Though this year is not short on notable quotes, last offseason set the bar high for preseason trash talk.

Last year, Alabama head coach Nick Saban opined on the changing landscape of recruiting in the NIL era. In doing so, Texas A&M and head coach Jimbo Fisher caught a stray for their historic 2022 recruiting class.

Many of the more talented recruits in the class have since left A&M, including five-star cornerback Denver Harris and wide receiver Chris Marshall. Nevertheless, Fisher vehemently denied all claims that the Aggies’ strong class had anything to do with NIL incentives. Never mind that there is video of Aggie staffers incentivizing recruits to sign because of what A&M donors will pay in NIL.

Nevertheless, Fisher called those claims despicable stoking the flame of what would be an underwhelming bout between Alabama and Texas A&M.

Whether organic or contrived, let’s look at a few offseason storylines to monitor.