Tag: texas longhorns football schedule

NCAA to allow patches supporting social justice during the 2020 season

The NCAA will allow patches to be worn this season supporting social justice. All patches must be approved by school and conferences.

According to a report from USA TODAY Sports, players will allowed to wear patches for the upcoming season supporting social justice. The NCAA released a statement earlier on Thursday about the patches that will be placed on the jerseys in the 2020 season.

These patches could be to support social justice causes or to memorialize a person or event. Patches were already allowed in some sports — for instance, all college football teams wore a patch commemorating the 150th anniversary of the sport in 2019 — but the rules expanded to allow patches both on the front and back of uniforms and to allow patches in sports where they were not previously permitted.

Patches on the front or sleeve must be no bigger than 2 1/4 square inches. Patches on the back can be placed where the name traditionally goes and can contain names or words. Such patches must be approved by the school or conference.

The Texas Longhorns football team were one of the groups that was very vocal about social injustices earlier in the year. They even went as far as to send a list of demands to school leadership about changes they would like to be made at the university. This sparked a series of meetings between athletic director Chris Del Conte, interim president Jay Hartzel and different teams within the universities athletic programs.

Players such as Juwan Mitchell, DeMarvion Overshown and Brennan Eagles even decided to step away from the program while it was sorted out. This is another viable avenue afforded to players to speak their minds about what is going on in the country. Given that Tom Herman has been a huge supporter of his teams message, it would be hard to imagine the patches don’t get approved by the University of Texas and the Big 12 Conference.

Locked on Longhorns Podcast: Potential schedule plans for the Big 12

With all other conferences making their decisions on the upcoming season’s schedules, we still await the Longhorns plans.

Prior to the announcement from the Southeastern Conference regarding their conference only schedule, we recorded the latest Locked on Longhorns podcast. With the ACC announcement and SEC, what would the Big 12 schedule look like in 2020? A couple options are on the table but the full 12-game schedule looks like it won’t be a viable option.

The Longhorns finally received a commitment at tight end in the 2021 class. The hope is that this one sticks with Gunnar Helm. Both Landen King and Lake McRee committed but then ended up committing to other schools. In the on again off again relationship, Anthony Cook has decided to stay at Texas. What does that mean for the secondary? Plus just how bad was the NFL 100 list?

Prior to their announcement, the topic of the Big 12 virtual media day was up for discussion. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that we will receive any answers on Monday. The positive news is that the Texas Longhorns football team has reported zero positive COVID-19 cases. A step in the right direction. The show wraps up with Athlon Sports naming Jordan Whittington and Vernon Broughton as their wildcard players.

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Big 12 media day cancelled, Texas-LSU game not happening

The Big 12 media day has now been cancelled and the SEC going with a conference only schedule. What is next for the Texas Longhorns?

What has been rumored in the last day is now official. The Southeastern Conference is going with a conference only schedule that will feature 10 games. This comes off the heels of the ACC announcing a 11-game schedule with one non-conference game. Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated was the first to report it.

This effectively cancels the Texas-Louisiana State matchup that was set for September 12th. Also removes the Oklahoma-Tennessee matchup from their schedule. This leaves Texas with an 11-game schedule that will likely be lessened even further with the impending Big 12 announcement that many thought would come shortly after the Big 12 media day.

The Big 12 conference has canceled the virtual media day scheduled for Monday, Aug. 3. Originally, AT&T Stadium was supposed to host the event on July 20-21.

No players were going to be available to talk to meetings, only coaches. Head coach Tom Herman was scheduled to talk for 25 minutes beginning at 4 p.m. CST.

The Big 12 has not announced if the event will be rescheduled in the future.

According to a report by 247Sports, there will be an emergency meeting with the Big 12 coaches. Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman confirmed. No other information has been given as to what this meeting will be about. One could presume it is about either going to a nine-game conference only schedule or a nine plus one schedule that involves one nonconference game.

Could the Big 12 actually pull a similar move to what the ACC did and add one independent for the 2020 season? Brigham Young University could potentially join for a year and reap the benefits of a full schedule giving the conference an 11-game calendar in 2020.

Jordan Whittington and Vernon Boughton named wildcard players in 2020

Athlon Sports has named two players who could change UT’s season. Jordan Whittington and Vernon Broughton have been named ‘wildcards’.

Texas is heading into another season full of anticipation and expectations. In order for Tom Herman to fulfill those expectations, some new faces are going to have to step up.

Athlon Sports has named two players who could be those guys for Texas in 2020. Labeled as ‘wildcards’, they look at both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, starting with Jordan Whittington at wide receiver.

Offense: Jordan Whittington, WR

Whittington appeared in just one game last year before an injury ended his season. The highly touted RB/WR has the skills to make defenses pay in a variety of ways. Head coach Tom Herman will look to deploy him accordingly.

Whittington had a ton of hype going into the 2019 season as a five-star recruit. Originally, he was going to play running back but sadly picked up an injury in the season opener against Louisiana Tech and sat out the rest of the year.

Thanks to the solid play of Keaontay Ingram and Roschon Johnson, plus the addition of five-star Bijan Robinson, Whittington will be moving to wide receiver.

Scheduled to line up in the slot for most of the year, Whittington just needs to get the ball in his hands to become dangerous. Big 12 defenses are going to have a tough time trying to bring him down.

On defense, Athlon Sports points out another freshman, who is hoping to improve Texas’ worst position group form last year.

Defense: Vernon Broughton, DL

The UT defense fell apart last season in part due to lackluster play on the defensive line. That cracks open the door for a true freshman like Broughton to get on the field right away. He already has the frame (6-5, 286) to handle the leap to the college level.

One of the Longhorns’ early enrollees back in January, Broughton was a four-star defensive tackle recruit. From the Houston area, Texas beat out Ohio State and Texas A&M for his signature.

Because of his size, Broughton has the ability to play up the middle or on the outside. Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo are expected to start at nose tackle and defensive tackle respectively but Broughton could become a legitimate role player.

The success of young players will help Texas, despite all of the returning talent on this year’s team. With Sam Ehlinger departing after the 2020 season, the Longhorns will need to find a new leader for the future.

Guys such as Jordan Whittington and Vernon Broughton could become leaders with big freshman seasons.

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Former Texas WR opts out of NFL season as COVID-19 precaution

Former Texas wide receiver Marquise Goodwin has chosen to opt out of the 2020 NFL season.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Marquise Goodwin will not be playing football this season. Continue reading “Former Texas WR opts out of NFL season as COVID-19 precaution”

Updated Big 12 Recruiting ranks, Texas still in the lead

With the current movement on the recruiting track, Austin American-Statesman reviewed the conference rankings in recruiting.

When it comes to recruiting under Tom Herman in Austin, it hasn’t been an issue. Development of these prospects has been a different question entirely. Herman and staff are well on their way to yet another top 10 recruiting class in the 2021 cycle. The Longhorns currently sit at 12th in the nation after being pushed down by Florida and Miami. A strong push in the coming months could launch them back inside the top 10.

Texas, Oklahoma rise to top of the Big 12 football recruiting rankings

Mike Craven of the Austin American-Statesman provided an update on the Big 12 recruiting rankings.

The 2021 Big 12 football recruiting rankings are beginning to take a familiar shape as Oklahoma begins pushing its way towards the top spot. Texas and OU dominate the Big 12 recruiting landscape on a yearly basis with the Longhorns taking the crown the past two years despite the Sooners’ on-field domination, though transfers like Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield and Jalen Hurts don’t count toward the rankings.

Texas Longhorns: 15 Commits

Texas’ lone commitment over the past month was four-star cornerback Jamier Johnson from Pasadena, Calif. Johnson, the 17th-ranked cornerback in the nation, is considered a national top-250 prospect. The Longhorns gained a commitment from four-star cornerback Ishmael Ibraheem, forming a formidable duo at the position. Texas also holds pledges from four-star safety JD Coffey and elite athlete Billy Bowman Jr., who is expected to play primarily in the defensive backfield.

Eight of Texas’ 10 in-state commitments rank among the top 55 players in Texas. The Longhorns possess the best class in the Big 12. Texas now holds a commitment at every position except for kicker, though the Longhorns did add a punter from Australia in Isaac Pearson.

What we say

The Longhorns just added yet another commitment to their 2021 class after the publication of the article mentioned above. Gunnar Helm gives Texas the tight end prospect that they didn’t have. With the decommits of Lake McRee (USC) and Landen King (Auburn), the staff was able to get Helm. He just adds to an already impressive class for Tom Herman.

The Longhorns class could end up even better with the possibility of running back Camar Wheaton out of Garland. The five-star runner would give the Longhorns their second-straight five-star runner if it falls their way. Wheaton would be yet another big weapon on the offensive side of the ball. He is the next name to keep an eye on.

What a Big 12 football ‘bubble’ could look like

Sports in America have been on pause since the pandemic began. Three major sports have returned, with the bubble method being effected.

Sports have essentially been put on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the MLB’s restart on July 23, it had been since mid-March since a major sports league had played a regular-season game.

College Football in the Big 12 is slated to begin on Aug. 29 when Oklahoma plays host to Missouri State and Southern Illinois travels to Kansas. Sept. 12 is the first conference matchup between Baylor and Kansas and the first full week of Big 12 games is Week 5 on Oct. 3.

What if the Big 12 followed other Power Five conferences in the Big 10 and Pac 12, canceled all of their nonconference games, and moved the entire conference into a ‘bubble’?

If the three major American sports already beginning/restarting their seasons have shown anything, the ‘bubble’ is probably a safer alternative than traveling. Even with no fans in attendance.

Four days into its restart and Major League Baseball already has a coronavirus outbreak within the Miami Marlins. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, 11 of the 33 Marlins’ players, plus two coaches, have tested positive for the coronavirus while still playing games in Philadelphia.

Baseball decided to not adopt the ‘bubble’ method the NBA and NHL decided to use to restart their seasons. With basketball in Orlando and hockey taking place in Edmonton and Toronto, it has gone much better.

The NHL announced Monday morning of the 4,256 tests and 800 players tested, zero came back positive, keeping their bubble clean. As for the NBA, according to Shams Charania’s report on July 20, 346 people had been tested since July 13 and the ‘bubble’ in Orlando had zero positive cases.

Translate this to football and each of the 10 Big 12 teams could temporarily relocate to Arlington, Texas to save the 2020 college football season.

Of course, since this is college football, athletes must be enrolled in courses at their respective schools. Thankfully, it seems as if most universities are inevitably going online for the fall semester. The student-athletes would not be missing any of their classes, instead, doing them remotely in the ‘bubble’.

So why Arlington?

First, six of the conference’s representatives are withing a five-hour drive of the city. The state of Texas is considered the main state of the conference, as the Big 12 headquarters are only 20 minutes away in Irving.

Next, the conference could host a majority of its games in one of the nicest stadiums in the world, AT&T Stadium.

The Big 12 Championship game is already hosted at the stadium on an annual basis and the two parties have a solid relationship. Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby could find a way to strike a deal.

It would be nearly impossible to play all five conference games in one stadium on a Saturday however and would require another stadium.

Luckily Globe Life Field, a four-minute drive away, has been transformed from a baseball field into a football field. Local high schools are already scheduled to play games there.

Here is what a hypothetical game week could look like in the Big 12 ‘bubble’:

  • One Friday night game at AT&T Stadium
  • Three games on Saturday spanning from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. start times at AT&T Stadium
  • One Saturday game at Globe Life Field

This would ensure all 10 teams play their games within the same time frame and are able to equally recover. Bye weeks could even be implemented, making sure nobody is coming off a short week.

We already know AT&T Stadium can handle multiple games in one day as the UIL hosts up to four Texas high school playoff games there a day. The stadium also has multiple locker rooms, making sure each team could distance from one another.

Nine conference games would require nine weeks minimum in the ‘bubble’. If the conference wanted to continue with the Big 12 Championship, two teams would be required to stay another week.

Teams would also need to quarantine for 10-14 days before traveling to Arlington.

On the field would be the least of the Big 12’s problems. Off the field is where the real questions would emerge.

Yes, spending nearly three months in a ‘bubble’ is a considerable amount of time away from friends and family. Especially when there is no compensation going towards the players for their services.

Looking past time spent away, housing well over 1,000 people would become the main issue when mapping the ‘bubble’ out. Does the city have the capabilities to host that many people in such a small area?

That is before taking into account rooms for meetings, film, coronavirus testing, and weights. It would take a lot for 10 schools to uplift their programs to Arlington.

Also, could the quality of life be good enough? Nobody is going to agree to live inside this ‘bubble’ without up to standard necessities such as food, entertainment, and housing.

The NBA and NHL have already proven the ‘bubble’ is the safest way to have a season midst a global pandemic. Since the Big 12 is not a professional sports league, a ‘bubble’ method for their season is highly unlikely.

However, if there is a way the conference can pull it off, they should. Staying in Arlington for nearly three months would keep coaches, trainers, and players as safe as possible.

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Top 5 Draft Network sleepers: Texas linebacker Joseph Ossai

The Draft Network recently released their top five draft sleepers for 2020. Texas linebacker Joseph Ossai was among them.

The NFL Draft is more than an offseason event that takes place prior to rookie camps and all organized team activities leading up to the training camp and the NFL season. It is a year round process where teams, scouts and even analyst identify players who could sneak into the conversation. The Draft Network is one of those resources that fans can use to find out which of their favorite players could be movers and shakers in the annual event. One of those players identified is junior linebacker Joseph Ossai

Joseph Ossai: Edge, Texas

TDN100 ranking: 51st overall

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

TDN scout Jordan Reid pounded the table big time for Ossai’s talents — referencing his moldable skills and his high-end potential. No, Ossai doesn’t play in the SEC or in the Big 10; there will be questions regarding his ability to bang against bigger, more physical linemen than what he draws in the Big 12. But nevertheless, Ossai’s untapped potential captured Reid’s eye so much that the true junior nearly snuck into the top-50.

Joseph Ossai made the list as a top five sleep in the upcoming draft. He hasn’t received the same level of pre draft buzz as Sam Ehlinger, Samuel Cosmi or Caden Sterns up to this point. The bowl game performance was a giant shove for Ossai into the conversation. Jodan Reid recently spoke to his potential in a new defensive role.

With a continued effort over what we hope is a full 12-game schedule in 2020, Joseph Ossai could potentially work his way into the conversation of a top 60 selection.

Texas is now targeting a four-star wide receiver out of Kentucky

Texas sent an offer to four-star wide receiver Dane Key on Monday.

Texas sent an offer to four-star wide receiver Dane Key on Monday. Continue reading “Texas is now targeting a four-star wide receiver out of Kentucky”

College football recruiting: Highly touted tight end commits to Texas

Texas landed a 6-foot-5, 225-pound tight end prospect out of Colorado on Monday.

Texas landed a 6-foot-5, 225-pound tight end prospect out of Colorado on Monday. Continue reading “College football recruiting: Highly touted tight end commits to Texas”