Commanders’ Luke McCaffrey says he is blessed for this opportunity

McCaffrey talks the impact his family has had on him becoming an NFL player.

Luke McCaffrey feels that to finally have his new NFL team that he can bond with is “a blessing.”

McCaffrey sat down recently with Bryan Colbert Jr for another episode of “Raise Hail with the Rookies.”

The former quarterback turned receiver was the sixth player drafted by the Commanders in the 2024 NFL draft. He was the 100th player drafted and the last player in the third round. Incidentally, it was the 49ers selection, where brother Christian plays. The Commanders had traded Chase Young to the 49ers in October in exchange for that draft choice.

He spoke of his family as being close, his three brothers being his best friends. He referred to his family as “the biggest blessing I never earned,” expressing how they were all athletes and were so supportive and encouraging of each other.

“There’s nothing I ever did for it. There’s nothing I could have done to put those people in my life. I was blessed with the best role model that I could ever imagine for myself, in my dad.”

Each of his three older brothers followed Dad (Ed) in becoming a football player. Luke has enjoyed learning from all three in their football journeys. “You know, our mom holds us all together. She is the glue, the rock. That family atmosphere is such a blessing, such a gift that I got.”

McCaffrey likes having been drafted by Adam Peters. “He’s a smart person, a smart GM, and a great person. I think when you have that high level of skill at your job, it allows you to be yourself and relate to people. I think that is why he is such an authentic person.”

The rookie from Rice also sees the Commanders as a good opportunity for himself. “To be able to be part of something that is new (Owner, GM, Coaching Staff) and be able to go out there to compete in the culture that is being created here is such a cool opportunity.”

 

Commanders select Rice WR Luke McCaffrey at No. 100 overall in the 2024 NFL draft

The Commanders select Christian McCaffrey’s brother with the final pick of the third round.

The Washington Commanders got themselves a wide receiver on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL draft. With the No. 100 overall pick — the final pick of the third round — the Commanders selected Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because McCaffrey is the younger brother of 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey and the son of former NFL player Ed McCaffrey.

General manager Adam Peters was a part of the San Francisco front office that traded for Christian McCaffrey two years ago.

Luke McCaffrey began his college football career as a quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. After two years at Nebraska, he transferred to Rice. McCaffrey appeared in nine games at quarterback, making three starts in 2021. In the spring of 2022, McCaffrey moved to wide receiver.

In his first year as a wide receiver, McCaffrey caught 58 passes for 723 yards and six touchdowns. In 2023, McCaffrey caught 71 passes for 992 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Here is NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein’s scouting report on McCaffrey:

Big slot target who comes from high-end NFL bloodlines and who showed noticeable improvement in his second season at the position. Luke lacks the size of his father, former Pro Bowl receiver Ed McCaffrey, and the explosiveness of his brother, Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, but he catches with soft hands, great focus and extreme toughness. McCaffrey struggles to release and bypass press coverage and might not have enough separation quickness or top-end speed to uncover against NFL defenders. However, with additional time to learn the position and fine-tune his route running, McCaffrey might be able to follow his dad and brother into the league as a possession slot receiver.

 

Luke McCaffrey (just barely) outran his brother Christian McCaffrey with his 2024 NFL combine 40-yard dash

2024 NFL Draft WR Luke McCaffrey can officially say he’s faster than his brother, star NFL RB Christian McCaffrey.

Another McCaffrey is headed to the NFL as San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey’s younger brother Luke McCaffrey has entered the 2024 NFL Draft cycle.

The younger McCaffrey, a wide receiver out of Rice, participated in Saturday’s NFL combine drills and actually ran a faster 40-yard dash than his older brother Christian, but just barely.

Luke McCaffrey’s 4.47 time just barely eclipsed Christian McCaffrey’s 4.48 time from the 2017 NFL combine.

It’s not a huge margin in the slightest, but it’s just enough for the younger McCaffrey to earn bragging rights about who is faster between him and his brother. That counts in our book!

Both McCaffreys come from a football family, as their dad Ed McCaffrey played for the Denver Broncos for more than a decade, their brother Max McCaffrey is an NFL veteran and brother Dylan McCaffrey was a quarterback at Northern Colorado.

Now, the youngest McCaffrey will get to take hold of a family record at the combine, which has to be exciting for the Rice product.

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Texas’ Steve Sarkisian indicates Rice defense broke several tendencies

Postgame comments indicated the Rice defensive attack was “dramatically different than what was on tape.”

The Texas offensive line struggled mightily in its first game of the season. Much of that revolved around a defensive scheme that it couldn’t have been prepared to face.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian shared that the Rice Owls had a wholly different style of attacking in Week 1 than what they had done prior. He said the following of its effect on the Longhorns offensive line.

“I think from an O-line perspective, I thought it was fine. You know, we got a lot of different stuff today. That’s always one of the challenges in Week 1. You never really know. And when a team does something dramatically different than what’s on tape, you gotta make those adjustments. Not just as a staff, but the players need to.”

There’s reasonable justification for Texas’ offensive line struggles in the individual game, but Sarkisian is aware that those issues cannot continue to plague the team. He spoke to the improvement he wants to see from his offensive line.

“Do I want it to be better? Of course I do. Like that aspect, I’m always striving for it to be better. But I do understand where some of the mishaps might have come. And so, we’ve gotta get that cleaned up, because if not, some of the same things we saw today, we’ll continue to see.”

When asked about whether the matter can be fixed by next week, Sarkisian replied with certainty.

“Of course. … If I thought we just were inadequate then it’d be a problem. But I definitely don’t think we’re inadequate. I think we’re a good football team. That’s the life of a coach, is to find the things that we can improve and continue to emphasize the things that we do well.”

Texas will look to identify and correct its weak points as it heads into its major clash with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 9.

Texas fans and media react to a 16-3 first half lead against Rice

After an abysmal performance by the Longhorns offensive line, Texas leads 16-3 at halftime.

The Texas Longhorns have kicked off the season for 2023. The Texas offense was well below standard in the first half.

To start the game, Texas failed to secure a first down in the first series. Compounding the issue, Sarkisian went for it on fourth and two from his own 33-yard line only to fail to convert.

The Texas offensive line and overall pass protection was poor at best in early action. So, too, was blitz pickup from the Texas backfield. The running back unit will need to figure out how to put together a competent performance in its second game against Alabama.

Xavier Worthy, Jonathan Brooks and Jordan Whittington were seemingly the lone bright spots for the Longhorns on offense, but the defense did its job. Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski suffocated the Rice offense in the first quarter before the Owls got loose on a mesh crossing route. The fun stopped there for Rice.

Texas leads 16-3 at halftime. Here’s a look at how Texas faithful took in the game.

Pregame social media buzz ahead of No. 11 Texas vs. Rice

IT’S GAMEDAY! Texas fans are anxious to kick off the 2023 college football season.

No. 11 Texas is just hours away from kicking off the 2023 college football season. Continue reading “Pregame social media buzz ahead of No. 11 Texas vs. Rice”

Expert score predictions for No. 11 Texas vs. Rice in Week 1

Score predictions from various media networks for No. 11 Texas vs. Rice.

No. 11 Texas opens the 2023 college football season against the Rice Owls in Austin on Saturday, Sept. 2. Continue reading “Expert score predictions for No. 11 Texas vs. Rice in Week 1”

Everything Steve Sarkisian said to the media ahead of Texas’ season opener

Steve Sarkisian discussed his quarterbacks and new starters among other topics.

The Texas Longhorns open the season on Saturday against the Rice Owls, and while there aren’t too many question marks surrounding the 2023 team there are still a couple of unknowns. Continue reading “Everything Steve Sarkisian said to the media ahead of Texas’ season opener”

Expectations for Saturday’s game between No. 11 Texas and Rice

Texas needs execution on offense and risk-taking practice on defense against Rice.

The No. 11 Texas Longhorns and Rice Owls face off on Saturday afternoon to kick off the season. We expect big things from Texas in the game mostly because of what we expect this season.

The game presents different opportunities for both the offense and the defense. Offensively, we need to see consistency. For that, we need the offense to show it can execute plays over and over again. Given the talent on the offensive side and what Rice lacks defensively, it should result in a high score by halftime.

Texas does not need to press if it falls behind, but a well executed half should result in a high scoring output by halftime. If the Longhorns have executed they should have at least 28 points on the board at halftime. Again, they shouldn’t press to reach that total. It would simply reflect that the team did not execute plays offensively and needs to improve.

On defense, the team could benefit by taking more risks. Finding out what risks defensive backs can take could benefit the team when they need a play later in the season.

Earlier this week, we noted a five-touchdown line in favor of Texas. The team will look to perform up to expectations on Saturday.

Steve Sarkisian names DJ Campbell starting right guard against Rice

The former five-star is getting the start in Texas’ season opener.

We have gotten to the point with Texas football where there is so much depth across the offensive line that a player who started all season in 2022 has now lost his spot to a former five-star. Continue reading “Steve Sarkisian names DJ Campbell starting right guard against Rice”