Tag: Big 12 Football

Take a look inside Texas’ $7 million locker room

Business Insider reminded fans via Twitter this morning just how astounding Texas football’s $7 million locker room actually is.

A few years back, fans were given sneak peeks into Texas’ astounding new $7 million locker room.

Business Insider reminded us just how spectacular the small details actually are via Twitter this morning.

The custom-designed lockers cost roughly $8,700 each. Helmets sit on cooling fans to dry, 37-inch TV’s tower above each locker displaying the athlete’s photos and names, and each player can access their belongings with a pin-pad safe.

The Longhorns run a top-notch program both on and off the field, which is sure to help with recruiting for years to come.

Texas Softball Ranked No. 6 in Preseason Poll

D1Softball.com came out with their preseason top 25, with Texas coming in at No. 6. The Longhorns are behind one Big 12 opponent, Oklahoma.

Following a Super Regional exit to Alabama last season, the Texas softball team has their sights on another College World Series in the 2020 season. The expectations will once again be high, as the Longhorns are expected to play at an elite level once again.

D1Softball.com came out with their preseason top 25, with Texas coming in at No. 6. Just missing out on the top five, Oklahoma is the team that makes the cut, falling behind Alabama, Washington, and Arizona.

Oklahoma State and Texas Tech join the Longhorns and Sooners as the other teams inside of the top 25. Those are the four teams that represented the Big 12 in the 2019 tournament, with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State making it to Oklahoma City and the Softball College World Series.

The season will begin for the Longhorns on Feb. 6 when they face Wichita State in the Texas Classic. Big 12 play will begin March 20, when they square off against the Sooners in Norman.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Two Texas Longhorns To Enter The Transfer Portal

Two players from the 2016 recruiting class, D’Andre Christmas-Giles and Gerald Wilbon to enter transfer portal.

Texas Longhorns will reportedly have four players leaving the team through the transfer portal. Reports surfaced that Donovan Duvernay would enter the portal to join linebacker Caleb Johnson, now according to Chris Hummer the Longhorns will have two more defensive players that will seek to play elsewhere.

Gerald Wilbon joined the Longhorns in 2016. In his four seasons, Wilbon recorded 19 total tackles, 0.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. D’Andre Christmas-Giles will also join Wilbon in the portal. Giles joined the team the same year as Wilbon recording six total tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery.

According to the report by Hummer, this marks the sixth player to join the transfer portal.

WATCH: Former Texas WR Collin Johnson shines in Senior Bowl practice

Former Texas wide receiver Collin shines during his portion of Senior Bowl practices today.

It’s hard to miss wide receiver Collin Johnson when he steps onto the field at nearly 6-foot-6, 221 pounds.

For the past four years, Johnson was a key piece of the Longhorns offense. As a junior, Johnson compiled 68 receptions for 985 yards and seven touchdowns. It was clear the potential has always been there, showcasing several acrobatic catches in clutch moments with Texas.

Elected by his teammates as team captain for the 2019 season, Johnson battled numerous injuries which ultimately hindered his draft stock. Fortunately, that wasn’t his final chance to showcase his talents.

After accepting an invite to participate in the Senior Bowl this week in Alabama, Johnson is taking full advantage of the opportunity to shine in front of NFL scouts and executives.

Throughout the South practice today, the former Longhorn turned heads with his impressive route running considering his lengthy size. Take a peek at a few of Johnson’s highlights below.

If Johnson continues to put together impressive reps at the Senior Bowl this week, his draft stock could rise significantly.

Texas’ Sam Ehlinger lands in 247Sport’s Top 10 quarterbacks for 2020

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger lands No. 3 in 247Sport’s top 10 quarterbacks for the 2020 season.

High expectations continue to surround Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

After earning playing time sparingly as a true freshman, Ehlinger has significantly improved each season. As a junior, Ehlinger surpassed Longhorn legend Vince Young in career total offense, single season passing yards, and total touchdowns.

If his senior year falls within this same path of development, he could be a serious Heisman Trophy contender. Although Ehlinger is already one of the top players in program history for the Longhorns, his play is beginning to gain respect nationally.

According to 247Sports, Ehlinger is expected to be one of the top three quarterbacks in college football this season.

To little surprise, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence claims the top spot ahead of Ohio State’s Justin Fields. Ehlinger must lead this Texas team to a deep playoff run in order for the accolades to increase.

View the full list below.

  1. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
  2. Justin Fields, Ohio State
  3. Sam Ehlinger, Texas
  4. Sam Howell, North Carolina
  5. Brock Purdy, Iowa State
  6. Ian Book, Notre Dame
  7. Kyle Trask, Florida
  8. Kedon Slovis, USC
  9. Brady White, Memphis
  10. Shane Buechele, SMU

Frank Okam A Candidate For Texas Staff Chooses NFL

Former Defensive Tackle won’t be returning to his alma mater at Texas to join the Longhorns staff, choosing the NFL instead.

The Texas Longhorns coaching staff is still missing a piece as the hunt for a defensive line assistant continues on . Current assistant Oscar Giles is expected to coach the defensive ends in 2020. Giles played for Texas from 1987-1990 and he will be entering his third season at his alma mater. This is his third stint with Texas, the first being a graduate assistant in 1999.

The thought process is that Giles would move over to defensive ends leaving a vacancy at defensive tackle assistant coach. Another former Longhorn had been linked to the job and even interviewed. Frank Okam who spent 2004-2007 with Texas and he was part of the National Championship team. Okam is reportedly heading to the NFL instead to join Matt Rhule.

Okam started his coaching career with the Rice Owls following his five-year NFL career. He would leave Rice following the 2017 season to join Rhule at Baylor, now he will follow him to the NFL. This leaving the Texas Longhorns and head coach Tom Herman still on the hunt for a defensive line assistant.

 

Former Texas Defensive Coordinator Todd Orlando named USC’s DC

After being hired by Texas Tech to be the LB coach, Todd Orlando has been hired by USC as their DC. He will be replacing Clancy Pendergast.

Nine days after being hired by Texas Tech to be their linebackers coach, Todd Orlando has left the Red Raiders in favor of taking the defensive coordinator job at Southern California. This being his first job in the Pac 12, Orlando will be replacing Clancy Pendergast in Los Angeles.

The Trojans defense struggled in 2019, giving up 29.4 points per game this season. Giving up over 400 yards a game, teams were able to run all over USC last season, letting up 162.8 rushing yards per game. The final straw for Pendergast came in the bowl game against Iowa, where the Hawkeyes scored 49 points.

This will be Orlando’s fifth different defensive coordinator job. It will be an uphill climb for him though, as USC has had a difficult time recruiting, ranking 10th in the conference.

Hopefully for Orlando, his defense will suite the Pac 12 better than it did in the Big 12. The Trojans are a ticking time bomb, being on the brink of firing their head coach Clay Helton. If Orlando can improve the defense, maybe USC won’t have to make any of those moves.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Sports Illustrated lists Texas in Top 25 for 2020

Sports Illustrated released their early Top 25 college football teams for the 2020 season.

There’s no better way to speed up the offseason than to dive into early Top 25 predictions.

Sports Illustrated recently released their forecast for the best college football teams in 2020. To no surprise, Clemson, Alabama, and Ohio State are listed in the top four.

The Texas Longhorns are listed at No. 21. A massive amount of expectations surround head coach Tom Herman’s staff, but this ranking appears realistic.

Quarterback Sam Ehlinger will be returning for his senior year, a majority of defensive starters will have another season of growth under their belt. The Longhorns now have a plethora of talent in the backfield to choose from between five-star running back Bijan Robinson, Keontay Ingram, Jordan Whittington, and Roschon Johnson.

Although Texas had an underwhelming 2019 season, they showed at times that they can still compete with top programs. With several new coaching hires, the potential is unmatched.

Do you agree with their Top 25 teams?

  1. Clemson
  2. Georgia
  3. Ohio State
  4. Alabama
  5. Penn State
  6. Oregon
  7. Oklahoma
  8. Florida
  9. Notre Dame
  10. LSU
  11. Minnesota
  12. Cincinnati
  13. Wisconsin
  14. Auburn
  15. Oklahoma State
  16. USC
  17. Memphis
  18. Arizona State
  19. North Carolina
  20. Michigan
  21. Texas
  22. Boise State
  23. Florida State
  24. Purdue
  25. Texas A&M

 

 

Two Former Longhorns Have A Shot At Super Bowl Ring

The Super Bowl will take place in two weeks and two former Longhorns won’t play but could find themselves getting a championship ring.

After a full season grind started with training camp in July will come to an end on February 2, 2020. The Super Bowl in Miami will feature a couple teams with a Longhorn on their team, the unfortunate part of all of this is that both players seasons were ended due to injury. Despite that, whoever wins the game will give one of them a ring.

When the playoffs started there were more than a handful of former Longhorns that were vying to win a Super Bowl Championship in 2020. The Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks employed the most players who spent their college days on The Forty Acres. However, neither team even made it to the conference championship round.

Alex Okafor of the Kansas City Chiefs had his season ended on December 15th against the Denver Broncos when he tore his pectoral muscle. Marquise Goodwin of the San Francisco 49ers had his season ended just a few days prior when he was placed on the injured reserve list with a knee injury.

Regardless of which teams wins the Lombardi Trophy, a former Texas Longhorn will get their opportunity to finally get an opportunity to be a champion at the highest level of football.

How to watch, listen, and stream Texas Basketball vs. West Virginia

Texas has a quick turnaround with a road game against WVU on Monday night. Needing a win, they face a tough task against the Mountaineers.

Falling to Kansas on Saturday afternoon, the Longhorns have a quick turnaround with a road game against West Virginia on Monday night. Sitting at 12-5 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12, the only thing lacking from Texas’ resume so far this season is a win against a highly ranked team.

The Mountaineers are ranked ninth in the NET rankings, the third Big 12 team the Longhorns will face inside of the top 10 this season. Despite being highly ranked, West Virginia suffered a loss to Kansas State on Saturday, 84-68.

These are the type of games that can keep tournament hopes alive with wins. For Shaka Smart, he needs to lead the teams towards a couple of those wins to save his job.

Here is how you can watch, listen, and stream Texas basketball square off against West Virginia:

Game information:

Date: 1/20/2020

Time: 6:00 p.m. CST

Location: WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia

Watch: ESPNU

Listen: TexasSports.com/audio —Austin 104.9FM, 99.3FM, 98.5FM, 1260AM; Dallas 1080AM; El Paso 600AM; Houston 790AM; San Antonio 1200AM — Spanish: Austin 105.3FM; Dallas 990AM, 99.9FM

Stream: Watch ESPN App

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]