Alabama’s offensive stats heading into the BYE week

Here is a closer look at Alabama’s offensive stats as the Tide head into the BYE week.

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide currently sit ranked at No. 3 with a 7-1 overall record and a 4-1 record in the SEC.

Now that the Tide has entered into its BYE week, I thought it was a good time to take a closer look at some of the team and individual stats on both sides of the football.

Today we look at the offensive side of the ball. Let’s get right to it!

First …team stats…

Texas Football Recruiting: Where the Longhorns’ six decommits ended up

Decommitments are inevitable, especially when making coaching changes in a cycle. Here are where the six former UT commits ended up signing.

The 2021 recruiting class was an important one for Tom Herman and it played a role in why he was let go as the head coach. Continue reading “Texas Football Recruiting: Where the Longhorns’ six decommits ended up”

Alabama recruiting: Crimson Tide signs ridiculously good 2021 offensive class

The Alabama Crimson Tide has landed one of the all-time best offensive hauls with its 2021 recruiting class.

Alabama has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for 2021. That isn’t considered major news at this point, but we need to be talking more about this offensive haul of talent for the Crimson Tide.

On Friday, Alabama landed another big-time signee in massive four-star offensive guard Jaeden Roberts. That gave Nick Saban and company 26 total signees or commitments, and 12 of those came on offense.

Guys, just look at the collection of talent below. The Tide could field an entire unit with top-notch high school talent, which is insane. This is one of the most impressive groups I have ever seen, and it will be a lot of fun to watch and see how it develops over the next couple of years.

It should be noted that Wheaton is only a commitment and won’t sign until February. The other 11 players, however, are all locked in and ready to come in and contribute in 2021. Check this out!

Texas Longhorns football has the fan base split

It seems with the age of social media that everyone has an opinion on Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman. It even has the fans split.

The Texas Longhorns faithful fans couldn’t be any more at odds at this point in time. Continue reading “Texas Longhorns football has the fan base split”

Locked on Longhorns Podcast: ‘Ewers decommits, Herman out?’

With Quinn Ewers being the latest prospect to decommit, Locked on Longhorns Podcast dives into the root of the problem. Is it Tom Herman?

It has been a wild 24 hours in Austin for the Texas Longhorns football team. It all started with rumblings of the top 2022 recruit having second thoughts about his decision to commit to the University of Texas. That was followed shortly by Quinn Ewers announcing that he would be looking elsewhere. So where do we start as we unpack the situation? The Longhorns have seen a mass exodus as of late in terms of recruits deciding to play elsewhere and players leaving through the transfer portal.

Does this fall on the teams lack of execution? Does this fall on the offenses struggles in big games? Does this fall on the team’s performances as a whole? Or does this fall directly at the feet of Tom Herman? One could make a case for all of the above but that all stems from the head coach. When things don’t go well it begins and ends with him. We discuss the fall out of losing out on yet another Texas product heading to another state to play his collegiate football career.

The issues and frustrations with the current head coach go far beyond just recruiting. The product on the field is a big issue. The fact that ever since that 2018 season where Sam Ehlinger proclaimed that Texas was back, they have been anything but back. They are just 11-7 in the 18 games following that proclamation. Plus a look forward at the top 10 matchup with Oklahoma State on Saturday.

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Texas Football: The Longhorns need to decommit from Tom Herman

With the latest news of top 2022 recruit Quinn Ewers decommitting, it is time the Texas Longhorns move on from Tom Herman.

The Texas Longhorns are a team that has underperformed for the last decade. It started with the decline under long-time coach Mack Brown you spent 16 seasons in Austin. That was followed up by a disaster of a three-season run by Charlie Strong and now a less than stellar campaign under Tom Herman. Herman did lead them to three consecutive bowl games in which they won. However, only one Big 12 Championship game appearance and one New Years Six bowl isn’t enough.

The University of Texas generates more revenue than any school in the country. They have begun to work on upgrading their facilities and the stadium. Which helps when it comes to recruiting and visits each year by top recruits. Now they need the head coach that is going to get them there. They thought they had the guy in Tom Herman.

Herman was the offensive coordinator at Ohio State when they won the National Championship in 2015 along with current defensive coordinator Chris Ash. They improved to 7-6 in Herman’s first year from the 5-7 2016 season under Strong. In 2018 they won double-digit games, defeated Oklahoma, played in their first conference title game since 2009 and won a New Years Six game. That year they defeated the No. 6 ranked Georgia Bulldogs.

Since that run in 2018, it has been downhill for the Longhorns. They have won just 11 games with seven losses in the 18 games following. Under Tom Herman the team is 10-7 as a ranked team playing an unranked opponent. Losing seven games to unranked teams shouldn’t sit well with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte. Not to even mention the recruiting aspect, but we will get there momentarily.

This season he had the opportunity for a clean slate and CDC has stated numerous times that Herman knows you only get this one chance. He brought in Ash and Mike Yurcich from Ohio State. The team looked solid in the first game against an inferior opponent in UTEP. Since that game they struggled with a Texas Tech team that has won just once in conference play.

They lost to a TCU team that Herman has struggled with his entire tenure but was blown out by Oklahoma. They forced overtime against the Sooners and in the Tech game because of the quarterback. Sam Ehlinger has saved this team time and time again. The Longhorns did win their last game against Baylor, who has struggled out of the gate. They handled a Kansas team but lost to West Virginia and now the Longhorns.

There isn’t anything that this team has done on the field to lead you to believe they are trending in the right direction. The 2018 season looks like an aberration on the Herman resume. He won at Houston but that hasn’t translated to Austin. Now that is starting to leak into recruiting. This isn’t something new.

The first domino to fall in the downward spiral was the legacy twins. James and Tommy Brockermeyer were set to join the Texas Longhorns as third generation talents. Their grandfather and father played for the Longhorns. Their brother Luke is currently on the team. However, the constant failing on the football field, the lack of development pushed them to the University of Alabama.

Shortly after securing the commitment of Quinn Ewers, the Longhorns lost another top recruit in Jalen Milroe. Again he is heading to Alabama. The last one being the decommitment of Ewers. He likely is now heading to Ohio State.

In 2017 the Longhorns ranked 25th in the 247Composite team rankings. They followed that up with a top three classes in 2018, 2019. The finished the 2020 class with the No. 8 ranked class. This next class not anywhere near that level. They currently sit at 17th for the 2021 class after losing out on the Brockermeyers, Milroe and even Billy Bowman.

Regardless of the buyout for Tom Herman, the Longhorns need to make it happen. They shouldn’t be a middle of the road football team. They have finances, they have the updated facilities, they need the football coach. If the Longhorns need the money for a buyout, they will find it.

Texas Football Recruiting: Longhorns options at QB in 2023 including Arch Manning

The Texas Longhorns need to look to the 2023 class at quarterback. With Quinn Ewers in the fold, could they get two number one passers?

The quarterback position at the University of Texas has been a talking point the last couple of weeks. The Longhorns secured a commitment from the number one passer in the 2022 class, Quinn Ewers. Shortly thereafter, Jalen Milroe bolted for Alabama. Most recently they replaced Milroe with an Iowa State commit in Charles Wright, who plays right here in Austin.

While it seems the 2021 and 2022 quarterback situation is locked up for now, focus begins to turn towards the 2023 class. Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will look to start getting his style of quarterbacks. Milroe mentioned not being “his guy” and it seems Yurcich prefers the pro style over dual threat passers. Much the reason they went after Ewers.

The Longhorns have offered both of the top quarterbacks on the 247Sports class rankings. One is the top quarterback in California in Malachi Nelson and the other has a NFL legacy attached to him. Arch Manning is going to get a lot of attention, he comes from a quarterback family so it was in his blood to throw the pigskin. Yurcich isn’t afraid to go big game hunting when it comes to the man leading his system on the field.

First we look at the kid with NFL bloodlines, Arch Manning.

Locked on Longhorns Podcast: ‘Mack Brown on Vince Young, Jalen Milroe decommits’

On the latest Locked on Longhorns Podcast we discuss Mack Brown’s appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. Plus Jalen Milroe decommits.

The podcast kicks off with what former Longhorns head coach Mack Browns has to say about the upcoming season.

  • Why is the Big Ten/Pac-12 out while ACC/Big 12/SEC are in?
  • What a Travis County health official thinks about the 25 percent capacity
  • Mack Brown on Vince Young in the NFL
  • The final play, whose call was it?

With Quinn Ewers committing to the University of Texas is there going to be fallout? It appears that the dominoes have already begun to fall.

  • Jalen Milroe decommits, but why?
  • How does this impact the QB recruiting in 2021? Anyone on the way?
  • Plus could we see a fifth year of Sam Ehlinger?

With the 2020 college football season just over three weeks away, we break down the upcoming season. What will the record be?

  • ESPN released their game-by-game predictions using win probability. Which game is the closest? Which game should fans circle on the calendar?
  • PFF ranked all 130 QBs in FBS, where is Ehlinger? How does the entire Big 12 QB rankings shake out?
  • Plus a surprising NFL comparison for Ehlinger

Texas Football Recruiting: With Jalen Milroe out, what is next at quarterback?

The Texas Longhorns recently lost their only quarterback commit of the 2021 class. So where will Mike Yurcich turn to now?

There was plenty of fallout expected following the commitment of 2022 top recruit Quinn Ewers. As we’ve seen already, that fallout came a little sooner than expected. The 2021 recruiting class quarterback commit Jalen Milroe is now Alabama bound which poses the question what does Texas do now?

Of the top 50 quarterbacks of the 2021 cycle, there aren’t many quarterbacks left that aren’t already committed. However, as seen with Milroe there is always the opportunity to flip a commit. As of right now there is one quarterback who was part of the Elite 11 quarterback camp that hasn’t made his mind on where he will go.

Grayson James played quarterback for John Paul II High School in Plano, Texas last season but according to the Dallas Morning News, he is set to play at Duncanville in the fall. Duncanville lost last year’s starting quarterback who signed with the Longhorns. Ja’Quinden Jackson’s deparature and the transfer of backup Chris Parson left a vacancy.

James is the 33rd ranked pro style quarterback in the country according to 247Sports composite rankings. James currently holds 10 scholarship offers but none of which come from a Power Five school. Mike Roach of 247Sports says that it could be a different targeted quarterback that Mike Yurcich and Texas have in mind.

In a recent post on Horns247, Roach mentioned another Elite 11 finalist in Maddox Kopp. He is expected to make his commitment announcement on September 1st but there is still time for the Longhorns to get involved.  Kopp feels more like what Yurcich wants at the quarterback position.

When he was part of the Oklahoma State Cowboys staff, he brought Mason Rudolph to Stillwater. Rudolph was the 16th ranked Pro Style quarterback of the 2014 recruiting cycle. Kopp is similar to Rudolph in terms of size and style of play. Obviously with all coaches, they have a type of quarterback they want to run their system. Kopp is choosing between Ole Miss and Houston but Texas could change everything according to Roach.

On Milroe’s exit he stated that “I wasn’t your guy” in terms of being what Mike Yurcich wanted at the position. That also might give some indication as to what the Longhorns might do with their quarterback in the post Ehlinger-era. All indications is that Hudson Card could be the favorite.

 

Alabama flips 4-star QB commit from Texas

Alabama landed one of the top quarterbacks in the country on Monday when Jalen Milroe flipped from Texas to the Crimson Tide.

Alabama continued its hot streak on the recruiting trail on Monday night with a surprise commitment from four-star quarterback Jalen Milroe. The Katy (Tex.) native had been committed to the Texas Longhorns for over a year.

The decision from Milroe might have come down to several factors, but one of those factors could be that the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2022, quarterback Quinn Ewers, committed to Texas over the weekend.

It’s the Crimson Tide’s gain, however, as they didn’t currently have a signal-caller for the class of 2021 after signing top-ranked dual-threat quarterback Bryce Young in 2020.

Milroe took to Twitter to announce the news of the switch:

First, I’ll like to give thanks to God for blessing me in all that I am and all that I do. I want to say thank you to Coach Herman and Coach Beck for recruiting me and giving me an opportunity to chase my dreams and further my academic and athletic career at the University of Texas. I want to also thank Coach Yurcich. I know I wasn’t initially your guy, but you continued to build a relationship with me. To the #trUTh21, you’re a special group, and you all are gonna be dangerous! Lastly, I’ll like to thank the University of Texas’ fans. You all have shown me tremendous support and love since I committed over a year ago. At this time, after taking a lot into consideration, much prayer and speaking with my parents, I have decided to decommit from UT and commit to another University thats shares my visions and aspirations. With that being said, I’ll be committing to the University of Alabama! My recruitment is 100% closed. Roll Tide!- Jalen Milroe on Twitter

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Milroe is rated as the nation’s No. 82 overall prospect, No. 4 dual-threat quarterback and No. 10 player from the state of Texas.

With his commitment, Alabama now has 19 total for the class of 2021. The Tide are still rated behind Ohio State for the top overall class, but it’s extremely close. Don’t be surprised if they continue to make a push.

Stay tuned for more recruiting updates from Roll Tide Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports College Wire network!

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