Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
“Byron Murphy appears set for a breakthrough year.”
After losing defensive linemen Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo to the 2023 NFL Draft, Texas will turn to Byron Murphy, T’Vondre Sweat, Ethan Burke and others to fill the void. Continue reading “Texas DL Byron Murphy among On3’s spring practice standouts”
Steve Sarkisian’s staff seems to be in good standing with these top recruits.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is hoping to stay hot on the recruiting trail for the 2024 cycle. Continue reading “Top 2024 recruits Texas is in the running for according to On3 Sports”
Quinn Ewers can inspire plenty of confidence with a good showing on Saturday.
One of the biggest events of the Texas football offseason will take place on Saturday.
The 2023 squad takes the field for its Orange and White game on April 15. The game is big for several players looking to earn starting jobs this season, but the eyes of the fanbase will be on Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Ewers had a roller coaster season last year. The highlights saw Ewers playing at a high level against Alabama and Oklahoma. The low points took place against Oklahoma State and TCU where the Texas passing game went absent without leave.
The Southlake product will look to show fans he’s taken the next step on Saturday. JD PicKell of On3 Sports discussed that topic ahead of the preseason exhibition.
You want to see him look comfortable. … Show me that you have had some more “aha moments” like Steve Sarkisian talked about when he went into the spring. He says it’s starting to make sense more and more for Quinn Ewers.
Inherent in the above sentiment is Ewers needs to improve not only in accuracy but in footwork and reading defenses. If we see him play more consistent football, Texas is set up for a conference title run. We’ll have a firmer grasp on his progression after Saturday’s performance.
This is all I want to see from Quinn Ewers in Texas's spring game this weekend
Full video: https://t.co/plvmpqwGxE pic.twitter.com/2AKTpvUmv6
— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) April 11, 2023
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.
My top 5 QB ROOMS in the Big 12 heading into 2023🧃
Full thoughts here 📺: https://t.co/p3ASXHPjrD pic.twitter.com/hfV9ZkJ8x3
— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) March 24, 2023
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The Alabama game will determine how successful the offseason was for Texas.
The Texas Longhorns have plenty of fuel as they enter spring practice ahead of the 2023 season. They owe their second scheduled opponent payback.
Texas gets a grudge match with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2023. The game will be deeply personal.
Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner took the Longhorns off what looked to be an upward trajectory last season. He did so by knocking out Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers before the freshman could finish what had the makings of the upset of the year.
At the time of the injury, Ewers was 9-for-12 for 134 yards with the Longhorns on the verge of a 10-10 tie. Alabama delivered the knockout blow.
From there the game became an ugly defensive battle in which the Tide escaped with a 20-19 win. Now, Texas will look to get a win of its own on the road.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian needs to get a win in Tuscaloosa this season. It’s not too early to impress that point on his team. Stated or unstated, it must become the focus of the offseason. Beat Alabama.
Last offseason, I opined Oklahoma would be the most important game of the year. And while Red River will always bear significance, this year’s Alabama game will have colossal implications the Sooners can’t yet generate.
We’ll judge the offseason success based on how well Sarkisian prepares his team for the Tide. Should he earn an upset win, it could change the entire perception of Texas inside and outside the program. Preparation starts this spring.
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Texas is all in on five-star Colin Simmons.
2024 edge rusher Colin Simmons is one of the most sought-after prospects in the entire country. Simmons is undeniably an exceptional talent, already picking up over 40 offers following his Junior season.
The five-star out of Duncanville is listed as the No. 5 player in the nation and the No. 1 in the state of Texas for the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Landing Simmons is a top priority for Steve Sarkisian and his Texas staff. The Longhorns are making a full-court press, having every coach on the team helping with Simmons’ recruitment.
Simmons mentioned to On3 Sports what that strong effort means to him.
“That shows that you really want me, honestly, if you have the whole coaching staff coming after me… it means a lot. That means you really want me and if you’ve got everybody pushing to come and get me, that shows me a lot.”
Texas struck big on the recruiting trail in 2023, signing four five-star prospects in the cycle. Simmons is a player who could headline another top-five class for the Longhorns.
LSU, Georgia and Alabama are other notable programs making a significant push for Simmons. Winning out for Simmons’ commitment is going to be no easy task.
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Micah Hudson is a top priority for Texas in 2024.
Five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson is one of the top prospects in the 2024 recruiting class. Continue reading “Three schools standing out for 2024 five-star WR Micah Hudson”
Bijan Robinson is one of the best players in the nation.
On3 Sports ranks the top impact players across the nation each week of the college football season.
Star quarterbacks Bryce Young (Alabama) and Caleb Williams (USC) remain on top of the rankings. The Heisman hopefuls are off a great start to the 2022 campaign.
Two players saw massive rises into the top 10 of the On3 Impact 300 after monster performances in Week 3.
Texas running back Bijan Robinson enters at No. 8 on the list. He paced the Longhorns’ offensive attack with 182 yards on the ground and three scores. Robinson continues to prove himself as one of the best running backs in the country.
The South Carolina secondary is going to have nightmares about Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. Bowers racked up 121 receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Gamecocks. His big game sent Bowers up to No. 6 in the Impact 300.
Here is a look at the top 10 players in On3 Sports’ updated Impact 300 rankings.
A look at where Wisconsin lands in On3’s rankings of the 2022 recruiting classes
With the 2022 class now set in stone for Wisconsin and a number of programs around the country, where do the Badgers stand compared to the nation’s best?
The first note about Wisconsin’s 2022 class is that 2021 was a historic recruiting win for the Badgers, as they finished with their highest-ranked group in the modern recruiting era. They didn’t need to bring in volume with this group, but instead focused on a few positions of need.
The result is a 15-man class that includes 5 four-star talents according to On3 recruiting.
At the top of the 2022 rankings are three SEC programs, followed by Ohio State leading the way for the Big Ten. Here is a look at the top 40 recruiting classes in 2022 and where the Badgers land in the mix:
The Ducks are moving up in the 2023 recruiting rankings, now being placed inside the top-10 according to On3.
Every recruiting site that you’re going to look at is a little bit different. Some sites will rank teams according to their total number of recruits, and reward quantity over quality. Others will look at how many high-end recruits you have in your class, and value that higher than a school who has a class full of 20 3-star players.
While 247Sports may do things one way, the new On3 Recruiting service does things another. They tend to reward teams for getting commitments from blue-chip prospects, even if there are only a handful.
Recently, On3 released their new team rankings for the 2023 class, and there was a shift at the top, which will make a couple of Pac-12 teams pretty happy.
At the top, the USC Trojans took over the No. 1 spot, replacing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Not too far down the list, the Oregon Ducks moved into the top-10, while they are ranked as low as in the mid-20’s according to some other sites.
Here are the full top-10 rankings, according to On3 Recruiting:
