CFB analyst Gerry Hamilton says Texas has five starting receivers

Steve Sarkisian might need a receiver rotation to get all the best players on the field.

In what will likely come as a surprise to those expecting a falloff at wide receiver, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian might have more starter quality receivers than starting spots.

On Texas Football’s Gerry Hamilton discussed the depth of the Texas wide receiver room.

“Here’s the biggest compliment I can give the wide receivers this year. (Offensive line coach) Kyle Flood says he’s got seven starters, essentially seven players who are good enough to start for him. I think Texas has five guys that are good enough to be starting receivers. … Everybody better put in work this summer because Ryan Wingo’s a special talent. And he’s still young, and it’s a hard scheme to pick up for a wide receiver, but watch out.”

Hamilton also discussed the emergence of wide receiver DeAndre Moore who has gone from darkhorse starter candidate to a potential favorite to start at receiver. Moore and freshman five-star Ryan Wingo have impressed in the spring. They proved to be standout players in the Orange-White game.

Fellow receivers Isaiah Bond, Johntay Cook and Matthew Golden looked like starter caliber players in the game as well while Silas Bolden is set to join the group this offseason.

Exiting the spring, the Texas receiver room inspires perhaps as much offseason confidence as any past Longhorns receiver corps in recent memory. The performance by this group was more impressive than the 2023 receiving corps’ spring showing. The 2023 unit could send two receivers to the first two rounds of the upcoming NFL draft.

Texas loses three elite talents in Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders. Somehow the receiver room doesn’t seem to be hurting from the high volume of talent it lost.

Many viewed the wide receiver room as a question mark for Texas this offseason. The question now is how Texas will get all its starter quality players on the field.

WATCH: Texas DT Alfred Collins scores on an Ethan Burke tipped pass

The Texas defense looked much sharper than the offense in the first two drives.

The Texas defense line played like they heard the offseason doubters in the early going of the spring game. They dominated the first two drives.

The early highlight of the spring game came on a tipped pass from Texas edge Ethan Burke. Defensive tackle Alfred Collins caught the pass and took it to the end zone for six points.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers had a poor showing. The plan heading into the day was for Ewers not to play very long. He played like it with a lackadaisical performance. The defense had a hand in his tough day.

The Texas interior defensive line surprisingly had its way in the early part of matchup. What wasn’t a surprise was Burke and Collins stepping up to make plays.

The Texas defense is an underrated part of what the Longhorns bring back for 2024. The highlight play from Collins and Burke is one of many reasons to be excited about the product the team will put on display in the upcoming season.

ESPN ranks Texas’ Quinn Ewers among college quarterbacks

Ewers is given a fair ranking from ESPN among the top quarterbacks in college football.

The key to success for the Texas football program is no secret. The Longhorns’ 2024 season, like the one before it, hinges on how well starting quarterback Quinn Ewers plays.

Last season’s playoff run proved Ewers capable of high caliber football over the course of a season, but the Longhorns’ title chances come down to whether or not he can improve to the same degree.

ESPN views the third year starter as one of its top quarterbacks in college football. It ranks Ewers No. 3 in the country. Here’s a look at the site’s Top 10.

  1. Carson Beck, Georgia
  2. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
  3. Quinn Ewers, Texas
  4. Jalen Milroe, Alabama
  5. Noah Fifita, Arizona
  6. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
  7. Jalon Daniels, Kansas
  8. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
  9. Cameron Rising, Utah
  10. Cameron Ward, Miami

The above list includes 10 proven quarterbacks. That Ewers is ranked so highly among them speaks to the respect he garnered in his 2023 campaign.

Ewers will look to grow from an impressive season the last time he took the field in which he completed 69% of his passes and put up just under nine yards per attempt.

CBS Sports ranks Texas No. 8 among teams most likely to make CFP

CBS Sports gives Texas a good shot to reach the College Football Playoff again next season.

It’s no surprise Texas is a College Football Playoff contender after reaching the four-team playoff a season ago. Where they stand with national college football writers could come as a surprise.

CBS Sports’ Will Backus ranked the 16 teams most likely to make the 12-team playoff in 2024. He ranked Texas No. 8 on his list with the following explanation.

“Quarterback Quinn Ewers is back to lead an offense that will look almost entirely different. Texas has to replace its leading rusher and over 80% of its receiving production. In-house talent will step up at running back, while coach Steve Sarkisian hit the transfer portal hard to net three expected starting receivers (Isaiah Bond, Silas Bolden and Matthew Golden) and a potential starting tight end (Amari Niblack). The defense has some holes to fill as well, particularly along the line of scrimmage, but Sarkisian has recruited so well and Texas is carrying a lot of momentum into the SEC.”

Backus’ rankings from No. 1 to No. 10 go as follows: Georgia, Ohio State, Utah, Clemson, Liberty, Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas, Ole Miss and Penn State.

The ranking appears to be based more off each program’s path to the playoff more than which squad is the best team. Even so, Backus’ inclusion of Liberty in the Top 5 seems to indicate he views them as head and shoulders above the Group of Five field.

Texas’ standing in the playoff race will likely see several changes over the course of the upcoming season. They should start the year with a great chance to make it for a second consecutive season.

247Sports ranks the Top 25 quarterbacks in college football

Brad Crawford shared who he views as college football’s top quarterbacks.

Texas’ Quinn Ewers is one of the top three quarterbacks in college football. That is, if one college football analyst is to be believed.

247Sports’ Brad Crawford shared his ranking of the top 25 quarterbacks in college football with Ewers ranking No. 3. He has the ability to become the best.

The Longhorns’ five-star talent is finally starting to live up to his five-star billing averaging 8.8 yards per attempt and completing 69% of his passes a season ago. Ewers could be even better next season. While he loses his best receiving targets from last year, Texas reloaded with rising talent and four new portal additions between receiver and tight end.

Only Carson Beck (Georgia) and Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) rank higher than Ewers in the ranking. Beck and Sanders put up better numbers than Ewers a season ago.

A handful of other SEC quarterbacks were ranked by Crawford. The list goes in the following order: Carson Beck (No. 1, Georgia), Shedeur Sanders (No. 2, Colorado), Quinn Ewers (No. 3, Texas), Jaxson Dart (No. 4, Ole Miss).

Opinion: Texas’ size projects well into its new conference in 2024

Connor Stroh and Sydir Mitchell headline Texas’ list of big humans following weigh-ins.

Texas is built to dominate in the trenches. It’s evident in recent weigh-ins by Longhorns football players. Continue reading “Opinion: Texas’ size projects well into its new conference in 2024”

Social media reacts to significant new college football rules

The sign stealing era could be over in college football.

In-helmet communication appears on the verge of coming to college football. That along with a couple of significant, game-changing rules reportedly are now set to come to the game in the near future.

Three proposed rules changes are under consideration.

The first is the addition of in-helmet communication, presumably between the quarterback and head coach. Unequivocally, the rule is a huge win for the sport, and one that can limit the prevalence of sign stealing in college football. There is no clear downside to the move except to defensive play callers who steal signs.

The second is the addition of sideline tablets on which players can re-watch game video from the current game. That could certainly help with in-game adjustments, and could help both sides of the football in the strategic chess match.

The third is the addition of a two-minute warning. Some are opposed to the two-minute time stoppage, but it feels like a seamless transition from the pro game to college for the rule for those who watch football at both levels.

Here’s how social media is reacting to the potential rules changes.

Pre-spring bold predictions for the 2024 college football season

We give bold predictions for college football in 2024.

The 2024 college football season will be perhaps the most anticipated one in recent memory. It certainly will be that in Austin after the Texas Longhorns (12-2) won a conference title and made their first ever College Football Playoff.

Several coaches and players will have a change of scenery in the upcoming season. Presumably most of those coaches and players have already found their next stop.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer leaves Washington after taking the team to a national title game. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh departs for the NFL while Alabama legend Nick Saban will enjoy his first season of retirement.

With significant changes across the country, we could see significant shakeup atop the sport. Let’s predict what could happen in the 2024 college football season.

Nick Saban uses Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden to place emphasis on the current state of college football

What would Bear Bryant and Bobby Bowden think about the current state of college football?

Do you ever sit back and wonder what the former generations would think about the current state of college football? If so, you are not alone. On Monday night, former Alabama head football coach [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] referenced two of the most legendary college football coaches of all time when discussing the sport we all love.

While speaking at the 2024 Nick Saban Legacy Awards, the recently retired coach used Bear Bryant and Bobby Bowden as examples of why change is needed in college football. Not only did Saban reference the two legends, but he also pledged to do his part in working with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne to help develop a plan.

“If coach Bryant or coach Bowden could all of a sudden be with us tonight, what would they think of college football right now? That should be the very reason that we’re all very much committed to what we can do to make college football something where players can have a great quality of life, but we still have a venue where they have an opportunity to grow and learn and be successful.

“I would like to be a part of trying to help people that are working hard to make that happen like Greg Sankey. Like Greg Byrne. Like our conference commissioners are trying to do. That’s really, really important for young people, and it’s something that we’re very much committed to.”

Even though he has been retired for less than two months, Saban is proving that he wants to continue to be active in the sport he dominated for so long.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Texas ranks No. 1 in 247Sports’ most star-studded QB rooms

No quarterback room has more star power than Texas.

The Texas quarterback room has star power. According to 247Sports’ Brad Crawford, no other quarterback room can match the Longhorns in that regard.

Crawford ranked the top quarterback rooms in college football based on star quality. To qualify for the list, teams not only had to have a playmaking starting quarterback, but a room full of signal callers with potential to contribute positively on the field.

The Longhorns made the cut with three players with FBS starter ability. Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers leads the list after leading his team to a College Football Playoff and Big 12 championship. Fellow five-star Arch Manning prevents much drop off, while freshman quarterback Trey Owens also has starter potential down the road.

Here’s a look at Crawford’s six most star-studded quarterback rooms.