Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The 2020 preseason All-Big 12 football team was released on Thursday.
The Big 12 conference announced its 2020 preseason All-Big 12 football team on Thursday. Continue reading “Five Longhorns selected to 2020 preseason All-Big 12 football team”
Matt Miller of Bleacher Report announced on Thursday that several NFL scouts prefer Texas OT Sam Cosmi over Oregon OT Penei Sewell.
Bleacher Report released an updated 2021 NFL Mock Draft recently. Continue reading “NFL Mock Draft roundup: Texas OT Sam Cosmi could become top 10 pick”
Left tackle Sam Cosmi and safety Caden Sterns continue to be projected within the first two rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft.
DraftWire recently released an updated NFL mock draft that has two Texas players selected within the first two rounds. Continue reading “Latest NFL mock draft: Two Texas players selected in early rounds”
Difficult to narrow the list down, these plays are the reason UT is where they are now. Here are the top 10 plays of the Tom Herman era.
Since being hired in 2017, Tom Herman has had some program defining wins at Texas. During those games, there have been some amazing plays, helping the Longhorns secure victory.
Whether it was beating Oklahoma in 2018, winning the 2019 Sugar Bowl against Georgia, or beating Utah in this season’s Alamo Bowl, Texas has made their best plays in the biggest games.
It was difficult to narrow the list down to 10 but these plays are the reason Texas is where they are now. Game-winning kicks, clutch interceptions and even an offensive lineman scoring on a pass from Sam Ehlinger, the Longhorns have been a fun team for the past three seasons.
Here are the top 10 plays of the Tom Herman era:
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine names eight Longhorns to their All-Texas college team with five on the first team.
In the state of Texas football is king. Our lives from Friday through Monday night are often times filled with different football games to watch or attend from high school to the NFL. One huge staple in the Lone Star State is Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine. Recently they released their All-Texas team with eight current Longhorns and one former Texas product.
Former Longhorn signal caller Shane Buechele made the list as the best quarterback in the state. The other “bests” with Longhorns ties belong in the trenches.
Samuel Cosmi is viewed as not only the best offensive lineman in the state of Texas but the Big 12 Conference as well. Keondre Coburn hasn’t been generating the same level of NFL Draft hype as his offensive counterpart but under Chris Ash’s defense, that could change in 2020. With a change in defensive scheme, Coburn could find himself earning a lot of money in the NFL with a strong performance in 2020. The former high school All-American is entering his redshirt sophomore year and could declare for the draft with a strong year.
Now for the first team selections
Athlon Sports released their 2020 All-Big 12 team. With four different teams, the Texas Longhorns walked away with 16 total selections.
Athlon Sports has released their 2020 All-Conference teams with the Texas Longhorns have the third-most selections. Oklahoma (18) and Iowa State (17) were the only teams with more than Texas’ 16 selections. Cornerback D’Shawn Jamison was selected three different times by Athlon.
There is absolutely no surprise with Sam Ehlinger leading the charge as the top quarterback in the conference. The senior quarterback will be looking to lead the Longhorns back to the top of the conference and cement his legacy much like Vince Young and Colt McCoy did before him.
Sam Cosmi is viewed as a first round draft pick and fringe top 15 selection. With no question he is the top offensive tackle of the conference and might be the best lineman as well. He will make himself a lot of money with another stellar season in 2020.
Joseph Ossai is listed at linebacker although he will be playing closer to the line of scrimmage at the “Jack” position. Ossai showed just what time of impact he can have in the Valero Alamo Bowl against the Utah Utes. When asked to rush the passer, Ossai can be a disruptive force.
D’Shawn Jamison shows up on the list three different times. Once as a cornerback and twice as a return specialist. Jamison led the team a year ago with three interceptions. He also led the team in kick return and punt return yardage in 2019.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) has ranked Derek Kerstetter as the best returning pass blocker in the power five conferences.
The Texas Longhorns will have a new man at center this season with the loss of Zach Shackelford heading to the NFL. Derek Kerstetter spent his first three seasons at right tackle. He has started 28 games and played in a total of 37. He will now move to the center for his final year on the Forty Acres. The position change couldn’t have come at a worse time due to the pandemic. He hasn’t been able to get time in with Sam Ehlinger as they work on the snap exchanges.
Recently Pro Football Focus released their pass blocking grades for returning offensive lineman with Kerstetter at the top of the list.
#HornsUp 🤘 pic.twitter.com/IujaEeYXIn
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 3, 2020
The Longhorns new center comes in just ahead of Penei Sewell who is viewed as the best offensive lineman in college football and a top five draft lock for the 2021 NFL Draft. Kerstetter could find his way into some NFL Draft conversations Along with Samuel Cosmi, Texas has a solid duo of lineman who could make their way to the NFL through the draft. Cosmi is viewed as a first round draft pick. They hype surrounding Kerstetter isn’t there yet but a strong season could change all of that.
The duo of Kerstetter and Cosmi give the Longhorns the only returning duo in the power five conferences with passing grades of 85 or higher. This duo should give the Longhorns offense confidence to allow Sam Ehlinger to attack defenses in the air with two guys who are the best at protecting the quarterback.
Pro Football Focus released their rating for the top returning offensive tackles in 2020. Samuel Cosmi came in second in the Big 12.
This offseason Pro Football Focus (PFF) has done a tremendous job at ranking returning starters in their perspective conferences. Samuel Cosmi has been a hot topic among the NFL Draft community. Viewed by man such as ESPN’s Mel Kiper as a top 20 talent and one of the best tackles of the class. However, as PFF sees it Cosmi is the second best returner in the conference but by a narrow margin. Teven Jenkins of Oklahoma State takes the top spot.
Highest graded returning Big 12 offensive tackles:
1. Teven Jenkins, Oklahoma St – 85.7
2. Samuel Cosmi, Texas – 84.0
3. Adrian Ealy, Oklahoma – 73.4 pic.twitter.com/6LstG57Gtc— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 14, 2020
It could be a battle between Jenkins and Cosmi for who is the second offensive tackle taken off the draft board in 2021. The top guy being Oregoon’s Penei Sewell who is being touted as a top three draft pick this early on. Cosmi is returning for his fourth season on the Forty Acres after passing up the NFL Draft in 2020.
After moving to left tackle, Cosmi has only continued to improve each and every year under offensive line coach Herb Hand. The 2020 season should be no different for the Humble, Texas. Once a three star prospect and the 135th ranked offensive tackle by 247Sports, continues to prove his doubters wrong. Why should anyone believe that he won’t continue to do so and make another big jump in 2020?
Samuel Cosmi is viewed as a top prospect for the 2021 NFL Draft class and the praise continues to roll in for Sam Ehlinger’s protector.
So far since the 2020 NFL Draft concluded, there has been plenty said about Texas Longhorns offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi. Following their 38-10 thrashing of the Utah Utes in the Valero Alamo Bowl, there was some thought that Cosmi could declare for the 2020 NFL Draft. In fact he did submit paperwork to the NFL Advisory Board for feedback on his draft status.
Since that time plenty of outlets have projected Cosmi to be a first round draft pick. Which would be the Longhorns first one since 2015 when the Patriots selected Malcolm Brown. Recently ESPN’s Mel Kiper listed Cosmi as a top 25 prospect and his second rated offensive tackle. The praise from ESPN didn’t stop there. In a recent roundtable with fellow ESPN writers, Ryan McGee weighed in on once such topic with Samuel Cosmi in mind.
Editors Note: the link above requires a paid subscription
Samuel Cosmi isn’t Penei, but he’s close. Dude is 6-7, 310, has switched from right tackle to left, and let’s not forget him looking like Tony Gonzalez on that screen pass he ran in from the 20 against West Virginia last season. He’s coming back for a fourth season at Texas. He’s only going to get better.
That is high praise for Cosmi considering Oregon’s Penei Sewell is viewed as the best offensive tackle in the class and a top five lock at this point in the process. Obviously being that it is only May, Sewell could slide down the board for teams and draft analysts alike. However, given what Sewell is able to do on the field it is high praise for Cosmi nonetheless. The 2020 football season could be one that earns Cosmi a lot of money in the future.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr has released his early top 25 big board for the 2021 NFL Draft class. Sam Cosmi, Joseph Ossai and Caden Sterns make it.
Recently ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr released his 2021 top 25 players* for next year’s NFL Draft. The big name on the list for the Longhorns in the 2021 class will be Sam. No, not Ehlinger but Cosmi. According to Kiper, Samuel Cosmi is listed as the second best offensive tackle in the class.
* story requires ESPN+ subscription
Cosmi comes in at number 12 on the board.
Cosmi, who started at right tackle as a redshirt freshman in 2018 then switched to left tackle last season, is a phenomenal athlete. Just watch this 12-yard touchdown reception from 2019. He has great feet and can also bowl over edge defenders in the run game. If he puts all of his talent together, he could be a top-10 pick. The Big 12 is wide open in 2020, but the Longhorns have the league’s best offensive lineman and a really solid veteran quarterback in Sam Ehlinger.
The offensive tackle is the Longhorns best shot at their first round one draft pick since 2015. Recently, former linebacker Malik Jefferson tweeted about a time that he went up against Cosmi on the scout team, he knew then how talented he was.
One time he was in scout team and blocked me and in that moment I was confused on why he wasn’t starting … https://t.co/aZUmCSiP3O
— Malik Jefferson (@malikjefferson) May 5, 2020
Kiper goes on to list his top five players of the 2021 class at each position, here is how the Longhorns stacked up.
Joseph Ossai will be an interesting study this upcoming football season. Currently slated to play in the “Jack” role for the Longhorns defense as a pass rush-linebacker hybrid on the outside. Ossai is very much built like the weakside defensive ends at the NFL level. While Kiper listed him as an outside linebacker, he could be viewed more as a pass rush specialist after the 2020 college football seasons. He finished five sacks (three came against Utah) and 13.5 tackles for loss last season, with a new focus expect those numbers to skyrocket. As will his draft stock following his junior year.
Caden Sterns has recently been receiving some first round hype in some mock drafts early on in the process. Despite that he had a down year in 2019, big things could be on the horizon for the third-year safety. Sterns only played in nine games, starting eight due to injury. The 2018 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year could have a return to his 2018 form under new defensive coordinator Chris Ash. With the emphasis being on getting to the quarterback, there could be plenty of opportunities for Sterns to make plays on the ball or create turnovers with his punishing style.
