Texas HC Tom Herman provides injury update on several key players

Two players joined the injury report during Texas’ third scheduled bye week.

Texas unfortunately added players to their injury report during their third scheduled bye week. Continue reading “Texas HC Tom Herman provides injury update on several key players”

Tuesday Big 12 morning rush: Oklahoma facing injury bug

The latest news from around the Big 12 Conference including the injury bug biting Oklahoma and Baylor sophomore withdraws from NBA Draft.

Each morning Longhorns Wire will share the top stories from around the Big 12 Conference. For this edition of the Big 12 Morning College Football Talk and 247Sports provide the headlines.

Oklahoma linebacker Caleb Kelly has suffered a knee injury, per report

The Sooners defense lost one of their key players when he went to the NFL through the draft. Now Caleb Kelly was expected to be part of that linebacker group hoping to replace Kenneth Murray’s production. However, Sooners Wire is reporting that Kelly suffered an ACL tear that will cost him his season.

After a step back his sophomore year, former defensive coordinator Mike Stoops moved him to inside linebacker, where he ended up losing his starting role. Kelly suffered an almost season-ending injury in the spring of 2019 and played just four games in the fall.

He seemed prime for a big last year, but Kelly has reportedly been injured again during 2020 fall camp.

Oklahoma quarterback Tanner Mordecai reportedly suffers injury during fall camp

On top of the Kelly news, Sooners Wire also reported that backup quarterback Tanner Mordecai also suffered an injury. Mordecai wasn’t likely to challenge Spencer Rattler for any significant time but back up quarterbacks play a vital role and Moredecai could miss time depending on when the season actually kicks off.

The Sooners were going through a quarterback competition between Tanner Mordecai and presumed starter Spencer Rattler. The competition may have just gotten easier to figure out for unfortunate reasons.

According to a report from SoonerScoop.com, Mordecai suffered an injury during practice that won’t require surgery, but he will miss time.

Lincoln Riley has maintained that Mordecai is in the thick of this quarterback race, but missing time to the heavy favorite is not good for his potential of that.

The Waco, Texas, native came to Oklahoma in the 2018 recruiting class. He was a four-star prospect and one of the best players in Texas.

Baylor sophomore Jared Butler withdraws from draft

ESPN reported that Jared Butler has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return to campus for the 2020-21 basketball season.

“This decision was extremely difficult because of the relationships I’ve built in Waco, the tremendous will to win a national championship for Baylor, the unprecedented time of the coronavirus and my ultimate dream of playing in the NBA all in one equation,” Butler said. “But I think through it all I came to have great peace of mind in what I wanted to do and what’s best for me right now.”

Butler, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, was ranked as the No. 46 prospect in the ESPN 100. He averaged 16 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for Baylor, which was projected as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the season was canceled. A deep tournament run would have undoubtedly benefited Butler, who had a breakout season, being named to the Big 12’s all-conference first team and a third-team All-American.

Two Longhorns listed among ‘Mount Rushmore’ of Big 12 backs

Texas has had their fair share of top running backs but where do they rank among the ‘Mount Rushmore’ of Big 12 running backs?

During one of the weirdest offseasons in recent memory, the amount of football news has been minimal. Well expect for the constant updates on conference scheduling, COVID-19 updates and award watchlists. One good topic of conversation revolves around the “Mount Rushmore of” insert topic here. Heartland College Sports gave their Mount Rushmore of Big 12 running backs.

What they said

TEXAS RUNNING BACK RICKY WILLIAMS (1995-1998)

Even though Ricky played his freshman season in the Southwestern Conference, it would be insane to leave him off this list. From his sophomore season in 1996 to his senior season in 1998, he was arguably the best running back in college football during that time. Not only is Ricky the all-time leading rusher at Texas but he is the second all-time leading rusher in Big 12 history rushing for over 5,200 yards and 64 rushing touchdowns. However, do not forget that he almost racked up nearly 1,000 receiving yards as well. Oh yeah, in case you forgot, he won the Heisman trophy back in 1998.

TEXAS RUNNING BACK CEDRIC BENSON (2001-2004)

I feel like people sometimes forget just how good Cedric Benson was in college. From his freshman season in 2001 to his senior year in 2004, Cedric rushed for at least 1,000 yards and in his final three years in Austin, he never rushed for less than 1,293 yards in a season. And due to Ricky Williams playing a year in the Southwestern Conference, Cedric Benson is the all-time leading rusher in Big 12 history with 5,540 rushing yards and 69 rushing scores.

It should really come as no surprise to see both Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson are both part of the Mount Rushmore of Big 12 running backs. Williams an obvious member given how dominant he was and the fact that he won a Heisman. Benson is the all-time leading rusher in Big 12 history and he was one of the most consistent backs each and every season.

Thursday Big 12 morning rush: Headlines from around the conference

Each morning, we take a dive into the Big 12 headlines happening around the conference.

Each morning, Longhorns Wire scours the web for the top Big 12 headlines happening around the conference. Today’s stories are courtesy of 247Sports, The Texas Tribune, and ESPN.

Texas preparing for full 12-game schedule, 50% capacity

Although the NCAA and Big 12 Conference have yet to announce a firm decision on how college football will proceed, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte emailed season ticket holders to let them know that they are working hard at salvaging the full schedule.

Seating at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium will be reduced to 50% capacity to abide by social distancing measures, but that still allows roughly 50,000 fans to be in attendance. At this time, they’re fully preparing for the season to kick off on Sept. 5.

If this were not to come to fruition, a nine-game season with one nonconference game is on the table for review. This would force Texas and Oklahoma to play a home and home series over the next two years.

Texas and Oklahoma battling for five-star running back

Five-star running back Raleek Brown announced via Instagram on Wednesday that he’s received an offer from the University of Texas. However, 247Sports’ Crystal Ball Predictions currently expect Brown to commit to the Oklahoma Sooners at a 100% confidence level.

Brown is the No. 3 overall player in the state of California out of the 2022 recruiting class. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound speedster has a recorded 40-yard dash time of 4.47.

He’s received numerous Power Five offers, but his talent alone is worth targeting heavily throughout the remainder of this recruiting cycle.

Problems in West Virginia

The Mountaineers have decided to mutually part ways with defensive coordinator Vic Koenning. He had two seasons remaining on his contract at a value of $1,074,059.

The separation agreement from West Virginia states that Koenning is to be paid $591,451 over the next 19 months. The decision comes shortly after an investigation into allegations of Koenning’s mistreatment of players.

Monday Big 12 morning rush: Headlines from around the conference

Monday’s headlines from around the Big 12 conference include head coach rankings, preseason polls, and the offensive player to watch.

Each morning, Longhorns Wire scours the web for the top Big 12 headlines that are happening around the conference. Today’s stories are courtesy of 247Sports and College Football News. Continue reading “Monday Big 12 morning rush: Headlines from around the conference”

Saturday Big 12 morning rush: Headlines from around the conference

The top stories from around the Big 12 Conference. Oklahoma picked to win the conference yet again, Texas to finish third.

Each morning Longhorns Wire scours the web for the top Big 12 headlines from around the conference. Today’s stories are courtesy of 247Sports, Big 12 Conference and Metro News.

Continue reading “Saturday Big 12 morning rush: Headlines from around the conference”

Texas LB DeMarvion Overshown rejoins the team after personal boycott

Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown was present at summer workouts on Thursday.

DeMarvion Overshown is widely projected to secure a starting role at linebacker for Texas this season. Continue reading “Texas LB DeMarvion Overshown rejoins the team after personal boycott”

Four-star offensive tackle calls Texas his ‘dream school’

Offensive tackle Kelvin Banks recently chose to decommit from Oklahoma State, expresses serious interest in Texas.

Offensive tackle Kelvin Banks is one of the most highly sought-after prospects out of the 2022 recruiting class. Continue reading “Four-star offensive tackle calls Texas his ‘dream school’”

Texas QB Sam Ehlinger named to Davey O’Brien Award watch list

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger continues to draw praise as he was selected to the Davey O’Brien Award preseason watch list on Tuesday.

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger is widely expected to become a Heisman Trophy contender this season. Continue reading “Texas QB Sam Ehlinger named to Davey O’Brien Award watch list”

Sunday Big 12 morning rush: Top stories from the conference

The top stories from around the Big 12 Conference. USA TODAY Sports, 247Sports, Twitter and Texas Tech Football provide the stories.

The top stories from around the Big 12 Conference. USA TODAY Sports, 247Sports, Twitter and Texas Tech Football provide the stories for Sunday morning.

QB Caleb Williams, five-star Oklahoma commit, has plan to become No. 1 pick in NFL draft

According to Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports the recent top commit from Oklahoma has a plan to become the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft. He believes his seven-step plan will launch him into the NFL as that year’s top pick

He believes Oklahoma gives him the best chance to will this vision into existence. Mayfield and Murray topped the draft in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Hurts exceeded his pre-draft rating by landing with the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of this April’s draft.

Two Longhorns with the least amount of passes dropped since 2017:

The Longhorns have the highest pass-blocking grade in the conference of returning players:

OSU releases statement on cancellation of Oregon State game

According to 247Sports, Oklahoma State University released a statement on the cancellation of the Oregon State Game.

The meeting between Oklahoma State and Oregon State was the second of a home-and-home series that began in 2019. The Cowboys won the first-ever meeting between the two programs last season, defeating the Beavers 52-36 in Corvallis, Oregon.

The released their statement on Twitter:

Texas Tech unveils new uniforms for the 2020 season

It would appear that the Red Raiders want to try some new looks in the upcoming season. Maybe to shake the 4-8 vibes from last year. It will mark year two under new head coach Matt Wells.