Texas target and top running back in state trending towards Oklahoma

Texas target Camar Wheaton is now trending to the rivals across the river, Oklahoma. Wheaton is second-ranked back in the nation.

During the last recruiting cycle the Texas Longhorns were able to snag the top running back in the country. According to 247Sports composite rankings, Bijan Robinson was the best of the best. The five-star composite runner is expected to a part of the offense in 2020 but will have to earn snaps behind Keaontay Ingram and Roschon Johnson.

This year’s top target was Lakeview Centenial’s Camar Wheaton. He is also a five-star composite prospect much like Bijan was. Wheaton is the second-ranked running back in the country and top back in the state of Texas. The Longhorns have been in the running for him to come to Austin and provide a two-headed monster for the next few seasons.

The LSU Tigers, SMU Mustangs and Oklahoma Sooners are among the top contenders for his commitment. However recent trends indicate that the Sooners are leading the charge to secure him. The 247Sports staff recently put in their crystal ball predictions with  everyone picking Oklahoma.

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Crystal ball predictions aren’t the end all for Texas. Recently they were projected to land transfer linebacker from Arizona Tony Fields II, but he ended up heading to West Virginia. Even with the news of Wheaton trending to the team across the river, the Longhorns have another running back trending their way with L.J. Johnson.

Robinson has been communicating with Johnson to bring in another weapon for the Longhorns offense. Provided that he has a big season in 2020, Bijan could be the man leading the charge moving forward. As far as Wheaton, there has been no indication of him making an announcement prior to National Signing Day.

Texas Football: Defensive end Marqez Bimage opts out of 2020 season

The Texas Longhorns defensive end Marqez Bimage has opted out of the upcoming season. He was expected to compete for a starting role.

The Texas Longhorns are preparing to get ready for the upcoming football season that is less than a month away. The Big 12 Conference announced the conference portion of the schedule on Wednesday and Texas confirmed their matchup with UTEP. The defense is expected to be much better in year one under Chris Ash. Joseph Ossai and Demarvion Overshown will be playing new roles in a new defensive scheme.

One player expected to compete for a starting role was defensive end Marqez Bimage. The senior defensive end is reportedly opting out of the upcoming season. It was first reported by Anwar Richardson of Rivals. Bimage has splayed in 34 games as Richardson tweeted, he recorded 12 total tackles and one sack while appearing in every game in 2019.

It remains unclear if Bimage will focus on returning in 2021 as he will have another year of eligibility remaining. His absence could open up opportunities for freshmen Vernon Broughton Jr and Alfred Collins.

Bimage becomes the first Texas Longhorn to opt out of the upcoming season while senior running back Daniel Young has opted out on the offensive side of the ball. Players who opt out of the season due to concerns over the coronavirus will keep their scholarship and remaining eligibility.

The Longhorns have no shortage of able bodies to play the position and get to the quarterback. However, this is still a blow to the defense. The team is currently in the midst of fall camp and getting ready for the opener. Best guess is that Moro Ojomo could be in the mix to start on the strong side of the defense.

Texas Football: Top 10 in 247Sports AP poll prediction

247Sports has projected the new preseason AP top 25. For what would be the second season in a row, Texas found itself in the top 10.

247Sports has projected the new preseason AP top 25 after the Big Ten and Pac-12 decided to cancel their season. For what would be the second season in a row, Texas found itself in the top 10.

Last season, the Longhorns failed to meet up to the top 10 expectations, finishing 8-5 and without a Big 12 championship appearance. Now, Tom Herman and new coordinators Mike Yurcich and Chris Ash will be looking to find some type of consistency.

Here is what 247Sports had to say about the Longhorns.

“Remember, we’re projecting here, so this is an attempt to gauge just how fond of the Longhorns AP voters are this month. Face it, there’s a lot to like. This is Tom Herman’s deepest team in his tenure and his two best players — quarterback Sam Ehlinger and safety Caden Sterns — are guys you can bank on to have difference-making seasons. A three-game stretch vs. Oklahoma, Baylor and on the road vs. Oklahoma State will determine just how good Texas is this fall.”

The Big 12 released their schedule today, mixing up the order of the Longhorns’ games. Texas will now have two bye weeks, one before the Baylor matchup and another before traveling to Kansas.

Another benefit to the new schedule is no back to back road games. The Longhorns played three out of their final five games of the 2019 season away from Austin, losing all of them.

As for the rest of the Big 12, four other teams appear in the prediction, with Oklahoma being the highest at No. 4. Baylor and TCU sneak in at No. 22 and No. 23 respectively.

Here is the full top 25:

  1. Clemson
  2. Alabama
  3. Georgia
  4. Oklahoma
  5. LSU
  6. Florida
  7. Notre Dame
  8. Texas
  9. Texas A&M
  10. Auburn
  11. Oklahoma State
  12. North Carolina
  13. UCF
  14. Cincinnati
  15. Miami
  16. Virginia Tech
  17. Tennessee
  18. Iowa State
  19. Memphis
  20. Kentucky
  21. Louisville
  22. Baylor
  23. TCU
  24. Virginia
  25. Appalachian State

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WATCH: Texas LT Samuel Cosmi dominates Joseph Ossai

Take a look at Texas left tackle Sam Cosmi facing off against Joseph Ossai towards the end of practice on Tuesday.

As a coach, you want your players to be challenged throughout practices. It’s an iron sharpens iron mentality. Continue reading “WATCH: Texas LT Samuel Cosmi dominates Joseph Ossai”

Quarterback Sam Ehlinger named to Johnny Unitas Golden Arm watchlist

Senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger joins two other Big 12 passers on Johnny Unitas watchlist. Looking to become the second Longhorn to win it.

Stop me if you have heard this before but Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger has been added to a preseason watch list. Yes, indeed after being named to the the Maxwell, Davey O’Brien, Manning and others you can add the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watchlist.

Texas Tech’s Alan Bowman and Baylor’s Charlie Brewer join Ehlinger as the only Big 12 passers to make the watch list. In a press release from Texas Athletics a list of the accolades for Ehlinger over the past two seasons show how good he has been.

Ehlinger, an Austin native, has started all 27 games for UT over the past two seasons and leads all active FBS quarterbacks in completions (571), attempts (879), passing yards (6,955), total offense (8,100) and total touchdowns (80) since the start of the 2018 season. He also ranks second among active FBS quarterbacks in touchdown passes (57) and fifth in completion percentage (65.0) during that stretch. Ehlinger is the only FBS player to account for at least 50 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns over the last two seasons.

The award was first presented in 1987 with Don McPherson of Syracuse being the first recipient. In the 33 year history, five times a Big 12 quarterback has been given the award. Colt McCoy is the only Texas quarterback to earn this honor. Last season Joe Burrow walked away with the honor of being associated with a legendary quarterback in Johnny Unitas.

In 2017 Mason Rudolph of Oklahoma State was the winner of the award under the tutelage of offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. As Ehlinger enters his senior season that kicks off September 12th against UTEP, expectations are high. The senior quarterback hopes to pick up the accolades as the looks to dethrone the Sooners as top dog in the conference.

 

2020 Texas Longhorns Football Schedule: Downloadable Wallpaper

Our College Wire downloadable 2020 Texas Longhorns football schedule. Use as wallpaper for your lock screen on smartphone.

As we all know, the new football schedule was released today.

Never miss a game this season with our College Wire downloadable 2020 Texas Longhorns football schedule. Use as wallpaper for your lock screen on your smartphone.

Download 2020 Texas Longhorns football schedule here

Texas Football: Schedule now set, Longhorns host UTEP Sept. 12

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte confirmed that the Longhorns will host UTEP on September 12th at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Well it is officially, official. The Texas Longhorns have their schedule set and will kick off one month from today. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte confirmed that the Longhorns will host UTEP at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 12th. It was widely speculated that this would indeed be the case, now confirmed.

Del Conte released a statement through the Forty Acres Insider confirming the schedule.

On Wednesday, the Big 12 also announced our 2020 conference football schedule, with our first league game coming on September 26 at Texas Tech. Our conference will continue with the format of nine league games, plus one non-conference game, with all Big 12 competition starting on that September 26 date. Our season opener will be UTEP on September 12 at Campbell-Williams Field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and be followed by a bye week. Each Big 12 team will be guaranteed at least two bye weeks during their schedule. Also, all other fall sports competition (Soccer, Volleyball and Cross Country) can begin September 1. To ensure consistent health and safety protocols, Volleyball and Soccer matches will be limited to conference opponents only. There are still discussions to be had and plans to be made, and we will continue to keep you all abreast of that news as we receive it. We appreciate your patience, understanding and how you all are keeping the faith. We’re excited to be moving forward with our falls sports seasons and preparing to cheer on our Longhorns this fall!

The Longhorns will host the Miners and then will have the following week off before they head to Lubbock, Texas to kick off the conference schedule with Texas Tech.

Locked on Longhorns podcast: ‘The Big 12 Conference schedule released’

The Locked on Longhorns podcast discussing the Big 12 moving forward with the season. Plus the conference schedule is now out.

It was a busy day on Wednesday with the fallout of the Pac-12 and Big Ten Conferences announcing they wouldn’t proceed towards a fall season. While the Big 12 would come to the conclusion that they would indeed move forward much like the ACC and SEC Conferences. Ohio State already feeling the pressure as one player decommited from the program.

Former Longhorn All-American offensive tackle Connor Williams is preparing for the upcoming season. However, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy announced that Williams would not be a full go in camp and would need to be worked in. He is recovering from an ACL tear he suffered late last season. Tony Field II committed to West Virginia over Texas.

With the Big 12 conference schedule now released, we know when and where each team will play in the upcoming season. The conference opener was set against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas but that game was moved to the end of the schedule. The Longhorns will instead open up against Texas Tech in Lubbock on September 26th. We discuss the schedule at length.

Following the schedule announcement, commissioner Bob Bowlsby took part in a conference call. On this call he discussed the reasoning for moving forward with the football season as planned. Two players, Sam Ehlinger and Caden Sterns were among the athletes consulted about player safety.

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Tom Herman, Sam Ehlinger appreciative of Big 12’s plan to move forward

Texas head coach Tom Herman, quarterback Sam Ehlinger and safety Caden Sterns each released statements on Wednesday.

It’s been a wild week for college football. Continue reading “Tom Herman, Sam Ehlinger appreciative of Big 12’s plan to move forward”

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby discusses the decision to move forward

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby held a league conference call on Wednesday to discuss the reasoning in moving forward with college football.

It almost feels as if Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby single-handedly saved the college football season. Continue reading “Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby discusses the decision to move forward”