Tag: Schedule

Two quarterbacks sign with Texas

The first of two National Signing Days are taking place today. UT started the day out strong, locking up two of their top recruits.

The early signing period is finally here and the first of two National Signing Days are taking place today. The Longhorns started the day out strong, as they locked two of their top recruits.

Ja’Quinden Jackson from Duncanville, TX and Hudson Card from Austin, TX both signed their national letter of intent this morning, making their verbal commitment official. Both players are quarterbacks, each playing at Texas high school football’s highest division. Each of them are a four star recruits and they are currently the two highest signed players so far today, according to 247Sports.

Jackson is officially listed as an athlete according to 247Sports, but played quarterback at Duncanville High School. In his playoff semi final game, it is being reported that he tore his ACL and will be out for awhile.

Getting another quarterback out of the Austin area, Card went to Lake Travis High School. He has been committed to Texas since May of 2018 and has been wanting to be a Longhorn for most of his life.

Having depth at quarterback is always a good thing and Texas has that with these two signees. Sam Ehlinger is expected to come back for his senior season, but third string Roschon Johnson played running back all season. A quarterback room of Ehlinger, Casey Thompson, Johnson, Jackson, and Card will provide the Longhorns with depth for years.

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Running back of the decade: D’Onta Foreman

Three 2010s Texas RBs are all in the top 15 career rushing list for the Horns. Foreman gets the nod as the best running back in the decade.

Even though the Longhorns struggled in the early parts of the decade, one part of the offense was really solid. Texas consistently had good running backs throughout the 2010s. D’Onta Foreman, Malcolm Brown and Jonathan Gray are all in the top 15 career rushing list for the Longhorns. It was difficult to pick one of them, but Foreman gets the nod as the best running back for Texas in the 2010s.

It was close between him and Malcolm Brown as they have similar numbers. Foreman has more rushing yards, but Brown has more touchdowns and did better in the passing game. What ended up giving Foreman the nod is the monster season he had in 2016.

In 2016, he had the first 2,000-yard season in Longhorn history since Ricky Williams did it in 1998. Foreman finished second in the country in rushing that year, only 107 yards behind San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey. His efforts were good enough to see him win the 2016 Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s best running back.

Years played: 2014, 2015, 2016

Rushing stats: 431 attempts, 2,774 yards, 6.4 yards per carry, 20 TDs

Receiving stats: 13 receptions, 146 yards

Best game: vs Texas Tech, 2016. 33 rushing attempts, 341 rushing yards, 10.4 yards per carry, three touchdowns

Best moment: Game tying touchdown in the fourth quarter vs Notre Dame in 2016

Accomplishments: Doak Walker Award (2016), First Team All American (2016), First Team All Big 12 (2016), Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award (2016)

Foreman’s career for Texas may not have been great overall three seasons he played, but 2016 was the best season a Longhorn running back has had since Ricky Williams. He went on to be drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft, 89th overall to the Houston Texans. While he is not currently on an NFL roster due to injury, what Foreman did for Texas in his junior season will live on for years to come.

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Texas loses another four star prospect in the 2020 class

Four-star WR Quentin Johnston had been committed to Texas since Aug. The receiver announced that he will be flipping from Texas to TCU.

The day before the early signing period for the 2020 recruiting class just got worse for Texas. Four-star wide receiver Quentin Johnston had been committed to Texas since the beginning of the season, saying he would be joining the Longhorns on Aug. 17.

The receiver out of Temple High School announced via his Snapchat that he will be flipping from Texas to TCU and signing with the Horned Frogs on Wednesday.

This is now the seventh different recruit the Longhorns have lost in the 2020 class. According to 247Sports, because of Johnston’s flip, Texas no longer has the top-rated class in the Big 12. Oklahoma jumped the Longhorns, who now sit at No. 10 in the national rankings.

Currently without an offensive coordinator, recruits do not know who is going to be their coach come spring practice. As for Johnston, he would not even have had a position coach as Texas fired wide receivers coach Drew Mehringer after the season ended. With Graham Harrell out of the conversation, Tom Herman needs to make a move quickly to fill the offensive coordinator role so recruits do not continue to decommit from Texas.

Chris Ash officially named defensive coordinator

After reports going around about Chris Ash becoming the DC, it was made official today. Texas sent out a tweet welcoming Ash to Texas.

Having both the offensive and defensive coordinator jobs open at the moment, one of those has officially been filled. After reports going around about Chris Ash becoming the team’s defensive coordinator, Texas made it official today. The Longhorn Football Twitter account sent out a tweet welcoming Ash to Texas.

Ash was the head coach of Rutgers before being fired at the beginning of October. There were reports that Ash joined the staff after his firing from Rutgers to help advise the defense before the Oklahoma game.

Head Coach Tom Herman is familiar with Ash, as the two worked together in the 2014 season at Ohio State. The Buckeyes went on to win the national championship that year, defeating Alabama in the semi-final and Oregon in the title game. Ash’s defense only gave up 22 points a game in the 2014 season and just 342 yards per game.

The second Texas fired Todd Orlando, this was the hire most people expected. Even though he has gotten some criticism for it, Herman continues to hire coaches he is familiar with and coached with in the past. Orlando was with him while he was the head coach of Houston and he did the same with Tim Beck on the offensive side of the ball.

Ash has the potential to be a home run hire for the Longhorns. The roster is full of stud players that have the potential to be something special. It has just been missing a coach that can put it all together. Ash has proven he can do it in the past and Texas is hoping he can do it again.

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Texas Quarterback of the decade: Sam Ehlinger

Ever since Colt McCoy left Texas in 2009 consistent play from their quarterback has lacked. Sam Ehlinger has been the guy starting in 2017.

Ever since Colt McCoy left the 40 acres at the end of the 2009 season, one thing has been lacking for Texas. Consistent play from their quarterback. Starting last season for the Longhorns, Sam Ehlinger has been the guy, taking over the signal calling for the offense under Tom Herman.

While he split snaps with Shane Buechele in his freshman season, Ehlinger won the starting job before the opening game against Maryland in 2018. From that point on, Texas has been ride or die with Ehlinger, with him starting in all 26 games played over the last two seasons.

His sophomore season was his best, leading Texas to their first 10 win season since the 2009 National Championship season. He also took Texas as far as the Sugar Bowl, getting a crucial victory against Georgia to end the season. That year only had their first Big 12 championship appearance since the 2009 win against Nebraska.

Other quarterbacks in the 2010s included Garrett Gilbert, David Ash, Case McCoy, Tyrone Swoopes, Jerrod Heard, and Shane Buechele. The only one of those who comes relatively close to what Ehlinger has done for this program is Buechele. Even then, it is not close, with the junior quarterback from Austin getting the nod as the best quarterback to play for Texas this decade.

Years played: 2017, 2018, 2019

Passing Stats: 63.1 completion percentage, 8,669 passing yards, 65 touchdowns, 21 interceptions

Rushing stats: 430 rushing attempts, 1,453 rushing yards, 24 touchdowns

Best game: vs Oklahoma, 2018. 24-35 with 314 yards, two passing touchdowns, no interceptions. 19 rushing attempts for 72 yards and three rushing touchdowns

Best moment: Second touchdown run against Oklahoma in 2018

Accomplishments: 2019 Sugar Bowl MVP

More than likely coming back for his senior season, Ehlinger has made a huge impact on Texas in his first three. He is already up there statistically with the all-time UT quarterback greats like Vince Young, Colt McCoy, and Major Applewhite, but is just missing one thing. Some form of championship. Ehlinger brought the Longhorns close in 2018 with a Big 12 championship appearance but will need to win one to cement himself as a Longhorn legend.

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NFL’s Week 16 Saints-Titans game will not be flexed from original time slot

The NFL will not flex Week 16’s Saints-Titans game, keeping Patrick Mahomes, the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles in the spotlight

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The NFL and its broadcast partners made preparations to flex its Week 16 game between the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans into a more prominent time slot, but ultimately chose to stick with the schedule as it was already written. The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan first reported that the Saints-Titans kickoff will remain at noon, so visiting Saints fans won’t have to adjust any traveling plans on the fly. The game will be broadcast on FOX.

So instead of a game between an NFC Super Bowl contender that’s seeking a higher playoff seed and a desperate AFC South squad playing for their season, fans tuning into “Sunday Night Football” will catch a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears. The Chiefs are also jostling for playoff positioning, while the Bears have been mathematically eliminated. The duel between reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes and Bears passer Mitchell Trubisky will be overseen by Chiefs coach Andy Reid and his former assistant and Bears counterpart, Matt Nagy.

At least the late-afternoon games will be interested. The FOX double-header has not yet been decided, but it’s an easy choice: the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles are set to square off with the NFC East title on the line, which would clinch a playoff berth. The loser would be eliminated from the playoffs altogether. Given each city’s market appeal, it would be shocking if that’s not the game most of America gets.

So where does that leave Saints fans? Flights to Nashville, Tenn. are hardly expensive out of New Orleans, so expect a hefty fan presence at Nissan Stadium on Sunday. But many members of the Who Dat Nation will probably be content to catch this one from home and avoid the heavy holiday traffic altogether.

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Three star defensive tackle Sawyer Goram-Welch commits to Texas

Texas has landed another defensive tackle commit in the 2020 class with Sawyer Goram-Welch. He is a three star prospect out of Longview, TX.

Texas has landed three-star defensive tackle Sawyer Goram-Welch out of Longview, Texas. It was a quick change of events for Goram-Welch, who flipped from Oklahoma State two months after announcing he would be committing.

When Goram-Welch decommitted from the Cowboys on Dec. 7, the Longhorns had already offered him a scholarship five days earlier. Making his official visit to Texas this weekend, Goram-Welch made the decision to join the No. 7 ranked 2020 recruiting class on Sunday night.

 

Goram-Welch is listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 278 pounds. Coming out of Longview High School, he had 64 tackles in his senior season. 15 of them were for losses, including eight sacks. While he did not force any turnovers this year, he forced three fumbles in his junior season in 2018.

Joining Vernon Broughton as the other defensive tackle in the 2020 class, the Longhorns are now up to six defensive commits. Gorman-Welch plans on signing with Texas during the early signing period, enrolling in the University in the spring.

Early period signing day is on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Texas currently is the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the 2020 class, with Oklahoma being the closest to the Longhorns at No. 10.

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NFL won’t flex Saints-Titans into ‘Sunday Night Football’ for Week 16

The Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears will play on Sunday Night Football in Week 16 eschewing the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans

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The New Orleans Saints still haven’t played their Week 15 game, but eyes are already cast forwards on their Week 16 matchup with the Tennessee Titans. And for good reason: the NFL delayed its decision to flex that game into a more prominent time slot, possibly even the coveted “Sunday Night Football” national broadcast window.

However, the Saints and Titans will not be getting that prime-time kickoff, per a report from NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano. The league and its broadcast partners have agreed to keep the previously scheduled game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears in that slot, which isn’t as compelling a matchup (the Bears are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, while the Titans need to beat the Saints to keep their hopes alive) but probably easy to develop a narrative around.

With Chiefs coach Andy Reid planning against his former assistant in Bears coach Matt Nagy, and Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky preparing to share the field with a passer he was drafted ahead of but been thoroughly outplayed by in Patrick Mahomes, there’s plenty of material for fans and media to work with over the next week.

So where do the Saints go from here? For now, they’re scheduled to play the Titans at noon, as was previously decided. We’ll find out by close business on Monday whether the game gets flexed into a late-afternoon spot, which is possible with FOX scheduled to broadcast the Saints-Titans game as well as two contests later that afternoon. The Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game is a virtual lock to remain in that time slot given their hefty TV market support and the implications for the NFC East title, but the Arizona Cardinals-Seattle Seahawks contest is very likely to get moved.

At this point there’s no official word from the league or FOX on whether the Saints will get flexed into a later time slot, so keep an eye out for updates. We’ll know soon enough.

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NFC Playoff Picture: How the Saints can win the first seed, homefield advantage

The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Atlanta Falcons, opening the door for the New Orleans Saints to win home-field advantage in the playoffs

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The San Francisco 49ers held the first seed for just a week before they choked, somehow losing to the Atlanta Falcons only a week after they beat the New Orleans Saints. That big mistake cost them in the NFC playoff seedings, dropping them from the first seed to the fifth.

It also opens the door a little wider for the Saints to march back to the top of the standings. Right now, the Saints are the third seed. They’re in a race for a top two seed with the 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and Green Bay Packers, though the Saints are guaranteed to finish no worse than third.

So how can the Saints get that coveted first seed? Even if they win all three of their remaining games, they’ll need some help to get it.

Let’s run through it one team at a time. The Packers have two games left on their schedule, and have to lose one of them for the Saints to overtake them. They’re visiting the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions in the final two weeks, and could very well lose that Vikings game considering how well Minnesota has been playing lately.

Next up, the 49ers: they need to win both of their remaining game to stick around in the race for a top-two seed. If they lose another game, they’re guaranteed to remain a wild-card team. Their season-finale is against the Seahawks in Seattle, so that game carries all kinds of implications — unless they lose next week to the Los Angeles Rams at home, in which case it doesn’t matter at all as far as the Saints are concerned. New Orleans owns a head-to-head tiebreaker over Seattle.

And that brings us full-circle. The Seahawks play at home in each of the final two weeks, hosting the Arizona Cardinals and the 49ers. The Saints need Seattle to win both of those home games to ensure the playoffs run through New Orleans.

So, to sum it up: if the Saints are going to earn homefield advantage in the playoffs, they have to win all three of their remaining games. They also need the Packers to lose one of their two remaining games, while the Seahawks win both of their final two games (including the regular season finale against the 49ers). That’s easier said than done, but it’s very much a realistic scenario.

Now, it’s on the Saints and their fans to do what they’ve always done: put everything into winning the games left on their schedule.

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Saints fan rooting interests, Week 15: Know who to pull for in each game

New Orleans Saints fans can kick back and relax on Sunday, but they have plenty of rooting interests during the NFL’s Week 15 schedule.

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New Orleans Saints fans have a nice, easygoing Sunday of football ahead of them, because their team won’t play until Monday night. So that game with the Indianapolis Colts is out of sight and out of mind.

But who should Saints fans root for in every other game on the NFL’s Week 15 schedule? To find out, we surveyed each matchup and made our take as to who deserves your support. All odds are sourced from BetMGM.

Around the NFC South

Indianapolis Colts (6-7) at New Orleans Saints (10-3). Saints by 9.5. Obviously pull for the Saints here, as they look to bounce back from last week’s loss.

Atlanta Falcons (4-9) at San Francisco 49ers (11-2). 49ers by 10.5. Don’t think of this as rooting for a Falcons win so much as hoping for a 49ers loss. If San Francisco trips up, the Saints get right back into the hunt for the first playoff seed.

Seattle Seahawks (10-3) at Carolina Panthers (5-8). Seahawks by 5.5. A Seahawks win helps keep the Los Angeles Rams out of the playoffs, which would be hilarious after their implosion in last year’s Super Bowl. Root for that.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) at Detroit Lions (3-9-1). Buccaneers by 3.5. Tampa Bay is eliminated from playoffs contention, so this is a great game for them to keep stacking wins and worsen their draft positioning. It would also help ensure they’re stuck with Jameis Winston.

Painting the NFC Playoff Picture

Minnesota Vikings (9-4) at Los Angeles Chargers (5-8). Vikings by 1.5. A Vikings win keeps them in the playoffs, and helps deny the Rams a spot, which we’ve established would be entertaining. Root for that.

Los Angeles Rams (8-5) at Dallas Cowboys (6-7). Rams by 1.5. It’s understandable if you’ve sworn off every rooting for the Cowboys, but hear us out: there’s a scenario where they win today (pushing the Rams further down in the hunt for the playoffs) but lose the rest of their games, and end up hosting the wild-card Vikings or Seahawks in the playoffs despite having a losing record. That’s objectively funny, so pull for the Cowboys.

Chicago Bears (7-6) at Green Bay Packers (10-3). Packers by 4.5. Any Packers losses down the stretch help the Saints’ chances of getting a top-two playoff seed and the bye week that comes with it. A late-season win at Lambeau Field would help Mitchell Trubisky’s staying power, which is good for every other NFC team. Root for the Bears.

Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) at Washington Redskins (3-10). Eagles by 5.5. The Eagles are not a good football team, so it would be great if the Saints draw them at some point in the playoffs. They have just as good a shot at winning the NFC East as the spiraling Cowboys. Root for them to take that race down to the wire.

Leftovers and Lagniappe

Houston Texans (8-5) at Tennessee Titans (8-5). Titans by 2.5. The Titans are the Saints’ next opponent, so this game is definitely worth watching (call it advanced scouting). The winner of this game could take an insurmountable lead on the AFC South, and more Deshaun Watson is better for football. Root for a Texans upset and playoffs push.

Miami Dolphins (3-10) at New York Giants (2-11). Giants by 3.5. It’s been quite a year for former Saints linebacker Vince Biegel, who was traded to the Dolphins before the season and converted to his college position of a hand-in-the-dirt pass rusher. He’s ranked third on the Dolphins defense in sacks (2) but leads the team in quarterback hits (11), so root for him to get a win on Sunday.

Cleveland Browns (6-7) at Arizona Cardinals (3-9-1). Browns by 2.5. The Browns don’t have much to hang their hats on, but a win over Arizona would be fun for ex-LSU Tigers like Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and Greedy Williams. Root for them to beat the Cardinals.

Buffalo Bills (9-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5). Steelers by 1.5. The Steelers are closing in on a playoff berth and the first-round exit they’re destined for. At least the Bills are fun to watch. If you tune into “Sunday Night Football,” root for the Bills as slight underdogs.

Denver Broncos (5-8) at Kansas City Chiefs (9-4). Chiefs by 9.5.  The Saints have to play both of these teams next year, but there’s not much to be done for the playoff-bound Chiefs. Root for the Broncos to win and hurt their draft positioning.

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9) at Oakland Raiders (6-7). Raiders by 6.5. This is the final Raiders game to be played in Oakland, and the choice is clear: root for the silver and black to send their home fans out with a memorable victory.

New England Patriots (10-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-12). Patriots by 9.5. Never root for the Patriots, especially in the wake of Spygate 2: Spy Harder. A Bengals upset would be the funniest sports moment of the year.

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