Tag: BYU Football

Rutgers lands BYU long snapper Austin Riggs

Austin Riggs commits to Rutgers out of the transfer portal.

Rutgers made it two transfer portal additions in as many days with the commitment of Austin Riggs on Sunday. The long-snapper, previously at BYU, is another addition out of the transfer portal for Rutgers.

He has extensive experience, with 40 games played over four seasons in Provo. He made 12 appearances this past season as a junior. He comes to Rutgers with one year of eligibility remaining.

Long snapper is a position where Riggs brings instant experience and depth to Rutgers football. He is a steady and reliable snapper who has played in big games and tough environments.

He was named a Phil Steele All-American (fourth team) following the 2023 season.

Over the weekend, Riggs took an official visit to Rutgers. He committed while on the trip alongside Malcolm Ray, an interior defensive lineman from Florida State.

Riggs posted his commitment to Rutgers on Sunday morning as his official visit wore down:

 

The addition of Riggs makes it five players Rutgers has added in the transfer portal this cycle:

Dymere Miller (wide receiver, Monmouth)

Athan Kaliakmanis (quarterback, Minnesota)

Dino Kaliakmanis (wide receiver, Minnesota)

Malcolm Ray (defensive tackle, Florida State)

Austin Riggs (long snapper, BYU)

Linebacker Ephraim Asiata commits to BYU over USC

This is a feel-good story, even though USC did not win this recruitment.

Three-star linebacker Ephraim Asiata has signed with BYU after a late push by the USC Trojans.

The Herriman (Utah) standout picked BYU over offers from USC, Utah, Tennessee, San Diego State, and others.

Asiata, the son of former Utah and NFL standout Matt Asiata, had 53 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and 10 quarterback hurries in 10 games played this past season for Herriman.

It’s a remarkable turn of events for a young man who was given by doctors a 1% chance of living after being shot near Hunter High School on January 13, 2022.

Asiata is the 19th commitment in BYU’s 2024 recruiting class.

The arrival of the early signing period and its collection of recruiting dramas often leads to strong emotions among fan bases, including anger and disapproval at a given choice made by a recruit. Certainly in this case, given all that Asiata has endured, one would think this particular recruit won’t encounter any significant negative reaction from any of the fan bases whose schools did not successfully recruit him. We wish Asiata the best at BYU and are grateful he is healthy enough to pursue his football dream.

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Major takeaways from Texas’ 35-6 victory over BYU

Texas deserves credit for what it did well against BYU.

The Texas Longhorns are 7-1 and tied for first place in the Big 12 standings following a huge win over the BYU Cougars (5-3). And while we will continue to knit pick the team, there are plenty of positives to glean from the game.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian deserves credit for the overall on-field product this week. The Longhorns faced a 5-2 team and won by 29 points with their backup quarterback. Sarkisian and quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee did a tremendous job getting backup quarterback Maalik Murphy prepared to play and creating opportunities for him to succeed.

While a 29-point conference win should always be viewed as a success, Texas’ play indicated there’s room for great improvement. The team has a handful of areas to improve.

Let’s look at a few major takeaways from the game.

Despite sloppy start, Texas prevails over BYU, 35-6

Texas improved to 7-1 on the year against BYU.

The Texas Longhorns (7-1) stayed in the win column on Saturday. The Longhorns earned a comfortable win over the BYU Cougars (5-3) despite an up and down performance from the offense.

The offense was anything but opportunistic on the game. Second-year quarterback Maalik Murphy had big plays, but stopped progress with two big turnovers. One came on a fumble in the red zone.

The team’s red zone woes continued this week. Including Murphy’s inopportune fumble, Texas had multiple failed red zone trips. Nevertheless, the team found a way to win the ugly game and get to 7-1.

Murphy showed some positive traits despite early growing pains. The redshirt sophomore connected twice to imposing Texas receiver Adonai Mitchell for touchdowns. He delivered the ball well under duress and proved capable of leading the team until Quinn Ewers is able to return at the position.

Maalik Murphy finished the game 16-for-25 with 170 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Adonai Mitchell led Texas receivers with three receptions for 59 yards while Jonathon Brooks rushed for 98 yards on 16 carries.

The story of the day was a Texas defense who mauled its opponent for much of the game. Texas forced three turnovers and held BYU to 292 total yards of offense. It was a much needed bounce back performance after a substandard showing last week against Houston.

The Longhorns will next take on the Kansas State Wildcats (6-2) in Austin following the Wildcats’ 41-0 win over Houston.

WATCH: Maalik Murphy throws his first college touchdown pass

Murphy put points on the scoreboard with a 30-yard touchdown pass.

Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy made his first start on Saturday against the BYU Cougars. The start came with a series of highs and lows, but the highs helped the Longhorns to a sizable lead.

After an interception and a fumble deep in BYU territory, Murphy showed resilience and helped his team back down the field. The redshirt freshman was on target for several throws. Some were dropped. After all was said and done in the first half, Texas held a 21-3 lead.

Murphy closed the first half with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Texas receiver Adonai Mitchell. The play saw Mitchell shake his defender and Murphy deliver the ball into his receivers waiting hands.

If anything, the touchdown proved the second-year quarterback is capable of making big plays for the Longhorns. Texas doesn’t have to worry about not having explosion with its backup quarterback leading the offense.

Murphy will look to bring more of his best football as his playing time allows.

Halftime: Texas leads BYU, 21-3

Texas weathered a shaky start for Maalik Murphy.

Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy enjoyed his first half as the Texas Longhorns’ starting quarterback. It didn’t get out to the greatest start.

The Longhorns quarterback struggled, throwing into coverage, telegraphing an interception and fumbling with Texas set up at the opponent’s 10-yard line. Despite it all, Texas found a ways to score and build a lead.

After a first series punt for BYU, Texas receiver Xavier Worthy housed a 74-yard punt return. The play helped spark more enthusiasm for the team.

Murphy later found his footing and delivered on a 30-yard touchdown pass to Texas receiver AD Mitchell. The play was set up by several runs and quick passing game from Murphy who looked to find a rhythm.

The Texas defense was dominant. The unit surrendered just three points and 113 total yards on the half.

The team entered the half set up to win the game. Texas will look to see more of the comfortable version of Murphy moving forward.

Social media buzz ahead of Saturday’s game between Texas, BYU

We look at Texas fans’ pregame chatter.

Texas and BYU are set to face off for a crucial game for both programs. At stake for both is a chance to compete for a Big 12 title for another week.

The BYU Cougars (5-2) have made the most of their production despite ranking dead last in the Big 12 in total yards per game (301.9). The team enters Austin with a tremendous opportunity to put its program on the map for big time recruits.

You can expect plenty of enthusiasm from BYU faithful who reside in Texas and haven’t seen their team play in their home state. The wide-reaching fanbase certainly has this game circled.

Texas gives the keys to backup quarterback Maalik Murphy for his first start of his college career. Here’s a look at what Texas fans are saying ahead of the game.

Experts predict Saturday’s game between Texas and BYU

Experts predict the game as Maalik Murphy makes his first college start.

The Texas Longhorns are set to clash with the BYU Cougars on Saturday. Texas has everything to lose. BYU has everything to gain.

Any number of scenarios could play out in Austin. There’s a real possibility that the Longhorns are uncomfortable for all four quarters on Saturday. There’s another real possibility that Texas thumps BYU as badly as TCU did two weeks ago. The Cougars lost that battle in Fort Worth, 44-11.

Somehow, the Cougars check in at 5-2 on the season. It hasn’t had much to do with offensive production. On the year, BYU averages 301.9 total yards per contest. The Longhorns average nearly that much through the air. Texas puts up 289 passing yards per game with an additional 179.4 rushing yards per game.

Among causes for concern, the Longhorns will be without starting quarterback Quinn Ewers as Maalik Murphy makes his first collegiate start. While Murphy has impressed in what little we have seen of him, there are plenty of unknowns about his game.

Let’s look at what experts are predicting for Saturday’s game between Texas and BYU.

Bold predictions for Saturday’s game between Texas and BYU

Maalik Murphy might have a better game than we expect.

We are nearly to Texas game day, and the Longhorns probably have one objective on their minds. Style points don’t matter. Texas simply needs to win.

Winning by any margin will do for now. The team is without starting quarterback Quinn Ewers and has entered the part of the season where many of its key players are less than 100%. The next few weeks will be less than comfortable for the program, but that’s the nature of playing without your starting quarterback.

Last week we predicted the team would score 50 points. That just doesn’t look like how the Longhorns are going to win games this season. Nevertheless, they have been counted on to win tough games.

Here’s a look at our bold predictions for Saturday’s game.

Texas HC Steve Sarkisian leans on his team’s culture amidst adversity

Sarkisian feels good about the culture he has built in Austin.

Steve Sarkisian has a established a strong culture since taking over as head coach of the Texas Longhorns. It’s a culture built on accountability, hard work, togetherness and discipline among other things. It appears that he feels it can carry the team through the next few weeks.

Sarkisian said the following of the culture of the program.

“I’m fired up about our culture. If there is one thing on our team right now that I lean into more than anything, it’s our culture.”

Culture itself isn’t going to make the plays necessary for Texas to win games. It will make those plays a lot easier to convert. Leaders have demanded more from teammates. It has brought a more focused product despite room for growth in the team’s week-to-week preparation.

Texas is more resilient and mature than it was last season. It looks like a team that is ready to raise its level of play with backup quarterback Maalik Murphy set to lead the team.

The Longhorns will face the BYU Cougars at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.