Tag: oklahoma sooners football recruiting

Looking at Texas WR depth following the loss of Brenen Thompson

These six players weren’t going to be supplanted by Brenen Thompson on the depth chart.

Former Texas wide receiver Brenen Thompson is set to leave Austin, Texas. It appears he plans to transfer to The University of Oklahoma.

Thompson is an excellent athlete and has the ability to make a significant impact at his next stop. Nevertheless, there wasn’t a path onto the two-deep for the player this season due to transfer additions and one of the program’s best ever wide receiver recruiting classes.

We predicted in February that Thompson could fall in the depth chart after running track instead of participating in spring football. That wasn’t a knock against the talented player, but a reflection on how much the receiver room improves with transfer receivers AD Mitchell and Isaiah Neyor.

There wasn’t anything wrong with his decision to run track. Even so, it was head coach Steve Sarkisian’s prerogative to elevate players like Johntay Cook and Casey Cain for working with the team year round. Cook and Cain won that tie breaker and are more polished route runners presently.

Thompson wasn’t going to play many snaps at Texas this season. Here’s a look at the all but solidified two-deep of Longhorns receivers.

Texas transfer WR Brenen Thompson receives crystal ball prediction to Oklahoma

Brenen Thompson appears to be inching toward a decision.

The Oklahoma Sooners could be on their way to improving their receiver room. They could do so with former Texas wide receiver Brenen Thompson. Continue reading “Texas transfer WR Brenen Thompson receives crystal ball prediction to Oklahoma”

Texas Football: Reacting to a bold power ranking of Big 12 QB rooms

Texas ranks second among JD PicKell’s top five Big 12 QB rooms.

Jackson Arnold has transformed the Oklahoma Sooners quarterback room. That is, if On3 Sports analyst JD PicKell is to be believed.

PicKell ranked the Oklahoma quarterback room as the best in the Big 12 Conference as of Friday. The ranking is surprising given the Sooners quarterback debacle in last year’s 49-0 loss to Texas.

Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel is a good quarterback. He’s not great or elite given his struggles to pass outside the numbers. Even so, one could argue he is one of the two or three best quarterbacks in the Big 12. After him is a still rebuilding quarterback unit. I shared my thoughts on the Oklahoma depth chart earlier this week.

The Longhorns check in at No. 2 on the list with Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning and Maalik Murphy. Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables would likely take any of the Longhorns three quarterbacks over the current backup Davis Beville. Certainly, Texas would relish the opportunity to face a freshman version of Jackson Arnold.

It will be interesting to see how much each quarterback room improves over the next season.

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Longhorns Wire dissects the Oklahoma Sooners depth chart

The Oklahoma Sooners look like a beatable opponent for Texas again in 2023.

In case you missed it, the Texas Longhorns defeated the Oklahoma Sooners last season, 49-0. It was the Sooners’ most lopsided loss in its rivalry against the Longhorns and the first shutout they had suffered in the game since 1965.

Some scoffed at the notion that the Sooners would fall off following the departure of former head coach Lincoln Riley to USC. The game put into perspective just how far the program had fallen. This offseason, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables transformed the roster through the transfer portal and in recruiting.

Our Sooners Wire colleague John Williams shared a predicted spring two-deep depth chart for the team to give insight into what Oklahoma could look like this season. Although the team improved in more than one area, Texas has a good opportunity to start a winning streak over Oklahoma in the series.

Let’s analyze what the Sooners bring back this season.

Texas RB Bijan Robinson gives the best pitch for Texas as RBU

Bijan “El Rayo” Robinson tells you why Texas is RBU.

The reigning king of Austin, Texas has spoken. Texas is Running Back University. Continue reading “Texas RB Bijan Robinson gives the best pitch for Texas as RBU”

A look at Texas and Oklahoma’s WR, OL recruiting under current coaches

Oklahoma has fallen on hard times in OL and WR recruiting with head coach Brent Venables.

Texas is running away from Oklahoma in wide receiver and offensive line recruiting. Don’t take my word for it. Look at the product.

Oklahoma once dominated against Texas in recruiting pass catchers and offensive linemen. Now, Texas is returning the favor.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and assistants Kyle Flood and Jeff Banks have helped transform recruiting for the Longhorns in the Lone Star State. They have done so at the expense of their top rivals.

Over the last two cycles, the Sooners have signed just three On3 consensus four-star or better offensive linemen. None of those four-star-or-better linemen are five-stars.

Adding to their frustration, Oklahoma has only signed four On3 consensus four-star receivers in the last two cycles. They’ve endured that drought despite losing several players to the portal or NFL Draft.

Let’s compare Oklahoma and Texas at the two positions once dominated by the Sooners.

Texas is separating from Oklahoma in WR development

Marvin Mims’ comments validate concerns over receiver development at Oklahoma.

Oklahoma simply isn’t developing wide receivers like they used to. That much is evident after Marvin Mims’ comments at the NFL combine.

Mims said the following on how he was utilized in Norman:

Oklahoma didn’t ask me to run a technical route tree, but I have a trainer and run more routes. I just wasn’t asked to do it for Oklahoma.

Under Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma joined Ohio State, Clemson, LSU and Alabama as a premier landing spot at wide receiver.

The departure of Riley paired with the Longhorns’ addition of Steve Sarkisian has allowed Texas to take Oklahoma’s seat at the table of elite receiver recruiting. And, for that matter, offensive line recruiting as well.

The Sooners have become an afterthought for big name receiver recruits with uncertainty at receiver. While Brent Venables won out for Langham Creek star Jaquaize Pettaway, his staff put up a far inferior class to Texas’ elite trio of Johntay Cook, Ryan Niblett and DeAndre Moore.

For whatever reason, fewer elite pass catchers see Oklahoma as a viable option for receiver development. Given Mims’ comments at the NFL combine, perhaps their concerns are valid.

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Five-star Colin Simmons sees appeal in playing for Texas HC Steve Sarkisian

Colin Simmons has high praise for Steve Sarkisian.

Texas wants five-star edge Colin Simmons to be part of its 2024 recruiting class. So would presumably every other team in college football. Nevertheless, the Longhorns have one aspect of the elite edge’s recruitment going in their favor. Simmons is a Steve Sarkisian fan.

The Duncanville native had the following to say about Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.

I see why people are committing to Texas. (Sarkisian is) an amazing coach. He’s an amazing person.

Simmons isn’t the first to speak glowingly about the Longhorns’ head coach and might not be the last. Sarkisian is winning with sincere and genuine relationships, which only adds to Texas’ already strong recruiting pitch.

Undoubtedly, the Duncanville defender will be at the top of Texas’ wish list. He could end up being the best player in the country, playing at a premium position within the state of Texas.

It’s unclear what role his high esteem for Sarkisian will play in his recruitment, but the mutual respect between the two should aid Texas in bringing Simmons to Austin.

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Texas makes top schools for 2024 four-star DL Nigel Smith

Nigel Smith is a one-man wrecking crew.

The Texas Longhorns are still in the running for one elite defensive lineman in the 2024 class. Four-star Nigel Smith recently listed Texas as one of his top schools.

The disruptive playmaker from Melissa (TX) cut his list to 16 teams on Tuesday. He ranks as the No. 50 overall player and No. 7 defensive lineman in the On3 consensus.

For now, the Oklahoma Sooners are seen as the prohibitive favorite early in the recruitment. The On3 recruiting prediction machine gives Oklahoma a 76.2% chance of landing the elite talent. Ohio State, Texas A&M and Texas are seen as teams with a chance to win over the 260-pound defensive lineman.

Oklahoma’s Smith-centered pitch looks to be difficult for Texas to replicate. Albeit, another strong season from Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense could pay dividends for the Top 50 player.

Regardless of whether or not Texas lands Smith, the 2024 class will be of great importance to Arch Manning’s future title hopes and the Longhorns’ first seasons in the SEC.

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Texas Football: Record prediction 1.0 with game-by-game analysis

Taking our first crack at picking Texas’ schedule results for 2023.

The Big 12 schedule has finally arrived. In a surprising turn of events, the schedule favors the Texas football program.

The Longhorns will have to travel to Houston to face the Cougars. Though few Texas fans look forward to that road trip, one would imagine Houston’s new stadium can better accommodate fans than its last one.

The schedule isn’t as kind to other Big 12 teams. Most notably, the Big 12 and national runner-up TCU Horned Frogs face a brutal second half. They face five of my top seven Big 12 championship competitors in their last five games.

The Big 12 gave the Oklahoma Sooners a challenging end to the season.  Oklahoma travels to Provo to face the BYU Cougars and then closes the season with TCU at home on a short week.

Here’s a look at how the season could play out for my early conference title favorite, the Texas Longhorns.