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.

LOOK: Several Texas football newcomers secure NIL deal with Vanguard Volkswagen

Several Texas football newcomers showed off their new rides from Vanguard Volkswagen on Friday.

Several Texas football newcomers inked an NIL deal on Friday. Continue reading “LOOK: Several Texas football newcomers secure NIL deal with Vanguard Volkswagen”

Looking ahead at Texas’ 2024 receiving room

Texas will be losing major offensive contributors to the NFL Draft, but it won’t be impossible to replace their production.

Texas will feature new faces regarding the wide receiver room in 2024, with all their top receiving targets leaving for the 2024 NFL Draft. Continue reading “Looking ahead at Texas’ 2024 receiving room”

NFL bound Xavier Worthy an example that Sarkisian receivers produce early

Steve Sarkisian’s track record of high performing underclassmen receivers bodes well for talented receiver room.

If you’re writing off the Texas Longhorns’ 2024 receiver room you might want to vet those doubts. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian produces stars right away at receiver and it is likely he will do it again.

NFL departure Xavier Worthy and likely to declare tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders are proof of that fact. Both players went off in their first full season as starters at Texas.

Worthy had perhaps the best freshman season any Texas receiver has amassed in 2021. He did so with two quarterbacks who haven’t done much at the college football level since that season. Worthy put up 981 yards and 12 touchdown receptions on 62 catches as a freshman before eventually becoming the focal point that defenses game planned to stop in 2023.

Ja’Tavion Sanders had similar success as a redshirt freshman in 2022. In his first season as a starter, Sanders caught 54 passes for 613 yards and five touchdowns. Sanders will likely leave for the NFL with high draft aspirations.

Perhaps you’re noticing a trend. So far under Steve Sarkisian’s leadership young receivers come to Texas, get developed, produce immediately and go to the NFL.

Next in line for the Longhorns are more talented and highly touted players in five-star wide receivers Johntay Cook and Ryan Wingo. Never mind that the team brings in Houston transfer Matthew Golden who had 12 touchdown grabs in two seasons at Houston.

There’s no reason why Cook and Wingo can’t enjoy the same success Worthy and Sanders had right away as receivers in Austin. We have already seen Cook take the top off of a defense before in limited playing time.

Some places have to worry about receiver development. Texas is not that place. And with two-year starter Quinn Ewers trending to return behind a veteran offensive line with up to four or five double-digit game starters, those talented receivers should have time to get open.

The Texas defensive interior and linebacker are cause for concern for the team, but the offense should keep rolling. Steve Sarkisian develops productive receivers and often has them productive right away. We’ll see which player emerges for the team in 2024.

Setting our expectations for the 2024 Texas football season

We identify what Texas needs to do to improve upon its 2023 season next year.

The Texas Longhorns (12-2) football season is over. The memorable season ended with a 37-31 loss to Washington in New Orleans on Monday night.

Naturally, the loss is raising questions of what could have been for the Longhorns had they found a way to win. Our focus shifts to what looks to be a strong future for the team despite negative prognostications from those who don’t closely follow the team.

Before we go into the weeds on what to expect for 2024 lets look at what we predicted Texas would accomplish in 2023 and what the team returns.

During the offseason, we predicted Texas would beat Alabama, win 10 games and win the Big 12 championship. Other predictions of mine changed prior to the 2023 season, but those predictions never wavered. Despite the high expectations, I believed Texas would not make the playoff. The Longhorns exceeded my expectations.

The roster we think Texas will return could be different from the roster it actually returns. That said, here are the players I feel confident could come back in 2024.

Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers headlines potential returning players. You could argue he has unfinished business. After raising his completion percentage from 58% to 69% he might not be far away from a championship caliber quarterback. Count me among those who consider Ewers a 2024 Heisman contender even though I never believed he was one over the past offseason.

Four offensive line starters should return no matter how you slice it: Kelvin Banks Jr., Hayden Conner, Devon Campbell and Cole Hutson, who was a 13-game starter in 2022. Veteran center Jake Majors also could return.

The secondary should improve from its 2023 iteration with elite young corner prospects Terrance Brooks and Malik Muhammad coming into their own. Clemson transfer Andrew Mukuba should fill the nickel role Jahdae Barron played. The team could move two-year starter Ryan Watts from cornerback to safety to join Derek Williams Jr. and Michael Taaffe.

The edge position should be a strength of the team. Three players with five sacks or more in a season should suit up: Barryn Sorrell, Ethan Burke and UTSA transfer Trey Moore. Anthony Hill moves to linebacker after adding five sacks as a freshman.

Linebacker, defensive tackle and wide receiver are the positions with the most questions on the roster after losing impact players at each position. Even so, talented youth have proven capable of making an impact over the last two seasons.

What are my expectations for 2024? I expect Texas to beat Oklahoma, win 10 games and make a 12-team playoff.

Texas’ next squad plays Michigan and Georgia. Those will be difficult games, and the Georgia game will come a week after Oklahoma. Nevertheless, the pieces in house are such that the Longhorns can compete with any team in the country.

I expect the Texas offensive line and Quinn Ewers to make significant strides during the offseason. One of two five-star receiving weapons, Johntay Cook or Ryan Wingo, should break out in 2024. Defensively, the edge position should bring a stronger pass rush, which could make all the difference in games like the one Texas just lost in the Sugar Bowl.

The biggest difference between Washington and Texas was Washington had a first-round NFL draft-ready quarterback, and Texas had a great quarterback who might one day be a first-round NFL draft pick. There’s a strong chance Ewers becomes that this offseason. If he does, Texas might not only compete for a title spot, but make it in 2024.

Five-star WR Ryan Wingo signs with Texas

Fans were anxiously awaiting Ryan Wingo’s National Letter of Intent to arrive on Wednesday.

Most commits sign with their school of choice on the morning of Dec. 20. Continue reading “Five-star WR Ryan Wingo signs with Texas”

Texas Football: Updated tracker of signees in the 2024 class

We look at who has signed with the Longhorns on Dec. 20.

The Texas Longhorns’ 2024 recruiting class has started to officially take shape on signing day morning. The majority of the team’s recruits have signed to play football in Austin.

The recruit we most wanted to see choose the Longhorns this offseason is headed to the Forty Acres. Duncanville five-star edge rusher Colin Simmons signed with Texas after racking up three sacks against North Shore in the Texas 6A-Division I state championship game. It’s that kind of impact Texas hopes to get from the player when he becomes an upperclassman at the college level.

The next two players we most wanted Texas to sign have joined the class in five-star offensive tackle Brandon Baker and now four-star cornerback Kobe Black. Add in five-star safety Xavier Filsaime and the signing of five-star receiver Ryan Wingo and this class is quietly one of the more elite groups in the nation.

Several other key Longhorns have signed with the 2024 recruiting class. Here’s a list of all of those players who have signed on Dec. 20 with their rankings from the 247Sports composite.

Oklahoma Sooners No. 7 in 247Sports team recruiting rankings for 2024

After the commitment of Reggie Powers, the Sooners are just outside the top 5 in 247Sports team recruiting rankings for 2024.

The Oklahoma Sooners have three games remaining in the 2023 season, including two more home games. Those home games against West Virginia this week and TCU on Black Friday will serve as opportunities for the Sooners to host recruits for a gameday experience.

It will give Brent Venables and his staff a couple more opportunities to put their best foot forward in the 2024 recruiting cycle before the early signing period comes in December.

Already with one of the best classes in the nation, OU has a chance to make it even better if they can earn commitments from offensive linemen [autotag]Grant Brix[/autotag] or [autotag]Eddy Pierre-Louis[/autotag] or both. And while it might be unlikely, you can’t count out this coaching staff’s ability to flip a high-profile prospect until he faxes in his national letter of intent.

So with a little more than a month until the early signing period, let’s take a look at where the Sooners stand among the top 15 in the 247Sports team rankings.

Social media reacts Texas landing commitment from five-star WR Ryan Wingo

Watch how the internet reacts to the moment five-star WR Ryan Wingo announced his commitment to Texas.

Steve Sarkisian has done it again. Texas’ 2024 recruiting class just got better with the addition of  wide receiver Ryan Wingo, the third five-star recruit to join the team in this class.

Wingo, from St. Louis University High School in Missouri, was predicted by most national recruiting networks to land with the Missouri Tigers.

Unfortunately for Mizzou, Steve Sarkisian and his exceptional recruiting abilities took over.

Wingo is an elite route runner with tremendous speed, and the pairing of him and current freshman Johntay Cook should have fans excited for next year and seeing them on the same field together.

The Longhorns landed one of the most sought-after players in the 2024 class and this is how social media reacted to the news.

2024 5-Star WR commits to Texas A&M’s in state rival and future SEC opponent

You can’t win them all, as 2024 5-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo has officially committed to Texas over Missouri and Texas A&M.

Texas A&M’s 5th-ranked 2024 recruiting class features a stellar wide receiver haul led by five-star Cameron Coleman, one of the more dynamic offensive playmakers the cycle offers. However, after four-star WR Drelon Miller de-committed earlier this month after taking a visit to LSU, his now probably future destination.

Leaving an open spot, one of the remaining uncommitted five-star prospects, wide receiver and Saint Louis, Missouri native Ryan Wingo, was nearing his collegiate decision on Wednesday, Oct. 25, choosing between Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Miami, and yes, Texas A&M. While Missouri remained the predominate favorite, the Longhorns’ last minute momentum made things very interesting down the stretch.

Coming out of left field, Wingo excitedly committed to Texas in front of his family and friends, knowing that under head coach and offensive guru Steve Sarkisian, his future development is in good hands. For Missouri, 2024 five-star DL Williams Nwaneri remains their prized prospect, while missing out on another local blue-chip player has to hurt.

Landing Wingo was always a long shot for the Aggies, especially after securing Cameron Coleman, but the fact that Jimbo Fisher and his staff have continued to influence top-tier talent at the position. Well, prepare for 2024, as Texas A&M will host the Longhorns on the gridiron for the first time in over a decade.

Congratulations Ryan!

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.