Tag: texas football alumni

Former WR, RB among new Texas Athletics Hall of Honor inductees

The next Texas Hall Of Honor class will feature 13 former student-athletes and one former coach.

The University of Texas announced their latest Hall of Honor inductees on Wednesday morning. Continue reading “Former WR, RB among new Texas Athletics Hall of Honor inductees”

Athlon Sports releases 2020 All-Big 12 team

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.

The full team list

First Team All-Big 12

  • Sam Ehlinger, QB
  • Sam Cosmi, OT
  • Joseph Ossai, LB
  • D’Shawn Jamison, CB
Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Longhorns’ Derek Kerstetter ranked the top power five pass blocker

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.

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.

 

Governor Abbot bumps up stadium capacity to 50 percent

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has bumped up stadium capacity guidelines as part of the phase three plan to reopen Texas.

The college football season is just a little over three months away and the COVID-19 situation seems to be changing by the day. Previously Texas Governor Greg Abbott made the ruling that stadiums could operate at 25 percent capacity. That happened a little over a week ago, now the Governor has upped the limit.

Abbott’s order for “Phase 3” of the state’s reopening covers professional, collegiate, and other similar sporting events, effective immediately.

“Stadiums, whether it be where the Mavericks play or the Texas Rangers play or the Dallas Cowboys play, will be able to seat [at] 50% capacity,” Abbott told KDFW-TV in Dallas late Wednesday.’ – per Dallas Morning News

The maximum capacity of Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is just over 100,000. With the new phase of the reopening of Texas, DKR could host 50,000 rather than the 25,000 of the previous ruling by the Governor. While COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, it feels like with the current trend that 100% capacity could be possible by the time the Longhorns kick off their season against the South Florida Bulls on September 5th.

The Longhorns have already started to put a plan in place for a return for their student athletes in preparation for the upcoming football season. Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte stated that the students would return in two waves.

  • First wave: upperclassmen who live off campus will arrive on June 8th and workouts start on June 15th.
  • Second wave: underclassmen living on campus arrive June 15th and workouts start June 22nd.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – the health and safety of our student-athletes is absolutely our top priority. All of the workouts will be held outside at Denius Fields, three days a week and in small groups. No other athletics facilities will be used at this time. Everything will be closely monitored by our Sports Medicine and Strength & Conditioning staffs and follow a stringent set of health and safety guidelines. It’s another positive step toward the 2020 Football season, and we’re extremely excited about that. – Texas AD Chris Del Conte via Forty Acres Insider

Longhorns receiver Brennan Eagles states he won’t play another snap

Texas Longhorns wide receiver states that he won’t player another snap due to civil rights of black Americans being violated.

There have been a lot of statements released in light of what is going on in the world today. So many black athletes have stepped up to speak out against police brutality and mistreatment aimed toward African Americans in our country. The latest to speak out was Texas Longhorns wide receiver Brennan Eagles who said that he “won’t play another snap knowing what is going on in our society.”

“Okay so for all my brothers out there that are student athletes, do you really think athletics should be a man focus right now during this time that we live in? At the end of the day if that is the main focus i [sic] find you blind to the fact that your platform can change this,” Eagles tweeted. Thousands of people come to watch for Entertainment, revenue is built from that, money is generated from us. If it wasn’t for athletics we would’t have coaches/trainers. Doctors wouldn’t perform as many surgeries, etc. the list goes on. I’ll be damned if you think I’ll play Another snap with the platform i have that effects majority of people that contribute to the sport who don’t actually play. Know your value is all I’m saying. Athletics brings people together all over but at the end of the day I’m not going to play another snap knowing what’s going on in our society due to color and the system being broken… i just can’t…….let’s look at the bigger picture. Don’t care if you yellow or blue that goes for every athlete/Supporter out there.

Current linebacker DeMarvion Overshown commented that he stood with him and Juwan Mitchell also voiced his support for Eagles’ comments.

Brennan Eagles is their top returning wide receiver from last season after Devin Duvernay and Collin Johnson made their way to the NFL. Eagles was the 6th ranked player in the state of Texas and 10th wide receiver according to 247Sports composite rankings in the 2018 recruiting class.

According to 247Sports, Herman was recently on the HERD with Collin Cowherd and showed his support for his players.

“I told our players I don’t have their back, I have their front. ‘You tell me what to do, what wall to run through, I’ll run through it, I’ll make a hole so big that you guys can walk through it.’ Because that’s how passionately we feel, because when you love somebody the way we love our players and you see them hurt and you see them angry and you see them frustrated, much like a parent, you want to take all of that off of their heart and you want to put it all on yourself and be there for them and provide some guidance for them,” Herman said. “Hopefully us here at Texas we won’t be forgotten on our message on this topic. In a short few weeks, hopefully us a program and our individuals within our program can help truly affect real change in the system.”

ESPN lists three former Longhorns on the NFL all-Big 12 team

ESPN recently compiled starting rosters of current NFL players in regards to their college conference.

ESPN recently assembled a collection of all-conference teams that would be best suited to win the next Super Bowl. Continue reading “ESPN lists three former Longhorns on the NFL all-Big 12 team”