Tag: Texas Longhorns in the NFL

11 former Texas Longhorns to watch in the NFL playoffs

Multiple Longhorns will compete for a Super Bowl this postseason.

The Texas Longhorns are sending several players to the NFL playoffs this postseason. Among them are a couple of players new to postseason play.

Cameron Dicker will see his first postseason game for the Los Angeles Chargers. Presumably, the former Longhorns kicker would choose Philadelphia, the team that cut him, to be his Super Bowl opponent should the Chargers make a run.

After scoring his first NFL touchdown, Joseph Ossai is set to experience his first postseason as a key defensive player for Cincinnati. The Bengals made the Super Bowl last season and have all the tools to make it again.

Devin Duvernay headlines the group of injured Longhorns that may not be able to take the field.

Quandre Diggs, Jordan Hicks, Charles Omenihu and Justin Tucker figure to be the safest bets to perform at the highest level. Here’s a look at a few of the Longhorns that will play this weekend.

WATCH: Former Texas pass rusher Joseph Ossai scores first NFL touchdown

Joseph Ossai achieves another NFL career milestone.

Pass rushers don’t often score touchdowns. Joseph Ossai earned a rare score of his own on Sunday. The former Texas Longhorns standout recorded the first touchdown of his NFL career.

Ossai has seen plenty of expectation and hype since joining the Cincinnati Bengals. An injury derailed his rookie season from the breakout many believed could ensue. This season, the former Longhorn is making the most of his opportunities.

Texas hopes it has a comparable talent on its roster in Barryn Sorrell. Unheralded and underrated, Sorrell is cut from the same cloth as Ossai. The Bengals pass rusher is known for relentless effort. Sunday’s fumble recovery only strengthens that reputation.

Ossai is just one of the Longhorns that will play meaningful football after this week. The Bengals will have a rematch with the Ravens on the same field they won on this week. The skilled athlete is representing his University well at the next level.

WATCH: Colts QB Sam Ehlinger throws first NFL touchdown pass

Sam Ehlinger delivered his first NFL touchdown pass on Sunday.

Colts quarterback Sam Ehlinger connected with Michael Pittman for his first career NFL touchdown pass on Sunday. Ehlinger delivered a nice pass on third down for a six-yard score in the third quarter.

Ehlinger came in for the injured Nick Foles at halftime and delivered a solid performance. His first in-game action since his last start in New England back on Nov. 6.

While the game was essentially decided before the half, the former Texas quarterback completed 9-of-14 passes for 60 yards and a touchdown, playing turnover-free football against a tough Giants defense.

With Foles’ injury stats in question, Ehlinger could be in line to start the Colts’ season finale against the Texans next week. The start would mark Ehlinger’s third of the 2022 season. Another good performance would be significant for Ehlinger’s career moving into the offseason.

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WATCH: Cameron Dicker makes his first NFL field goal

Dicker the Kicker makes his first NFL kick during Red River weekend.

Cameron Dicker made his first NFL kick on Sunday. The former Texas star connected on a 42-yard field goal to put the Philadelphia Eagles up 17-10.

Dicker recently was signed by Philadelphia after not finding a permanent home for the season. It’s only fitting the former Texas kicker would make his first NFL kick on the same weekend as Texas’ annual game with Oklahoma.

Dicker immortalized himself in Red River lore with his game-winning kick in the 2018 Red River Shootout. Gus Johnson’s famous call made him synonymous with elite kicking ability. Johnson announced Cameron to the world as Dicker the Kicker as he kicked the Sooners into defeat.

Heading into the season, Texas had concerns about whether or not it could perform without the former Longhorn’s consistent kicking ability. It appears things are working out for Dicker and Texas as Bert Auburn has had a good season.

The Longhorn legend figures to have many more meaningful opportunities as the Eagles push for a playoff berth.

Indianapolis Colts are expected to keep former Texas QB Sam Ehlinger on 53-man roster

Sam Ehlinger is having the best preseason of any NFL quarterback.

Former Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger is quietly having the best preseason of any NFL quarterback. It appears his team is taking notice and not letting him out of their grasp.

As of Tuesday, the Indianapolis Colts are expected to keep Ehlinger on the 53-man roster. This comes on the heels of a preseason that saw him go 24-of-29 for 289 yards passing, with four passing touchdowns.

In addition, Ehlinger displayed the running ability that won Texas fans over in his time in Austin. Sam ran for 71 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown burst. The touchdown run punctuated an already stellar month of August for the young quarterback.

Based on his preseason performance, many speculated that one of the other 31 NFL teams would poach Ehlinger if he fell to waivers and/or the Colts’ practice squad. It seems Indianapolis is looking to avoid that fate, even with Matt Ryan and Nick Foles on the roster.

Sam’s time in Austin had its ups and downs, but his leadership and work ethic is unquestioned. Now he looks to reap the benefits of his hard work.

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Former Texas WR Brennan Eagles cut by the Dallas Cowboys

Brennan Eagles was a part of the first round of cuts for the Dallas Cowboys.

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Arguably the worst part of sports is the business side of things which unfortunately former Longhorn receiver Brennan Eagles experienced on Tuesday after being cut by the Dallas Cowboys.

Eagles, who decided to forgo his senior season, was a very productive receiver during his time as a Longhorn. After playing in just one game his freshman year where he registered one catch, Eagles burst onto the seen as a sophomore.

During his sophomore season, the 6-foot-4 playmaker was tied for second in receieving touchdowns with six, and third on the team in yards behind two other Longhorns currently in the NFL, Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay. He would go on to continue that success during his junior season, as he was second on the team in catches, second in receieving yards, and second in touchdowns.

Eagles showed promise, and likely could have benefited from using his last year of college eligibility, but decided to test the draft waters. He would eventually go undrafted in the 2021 NFL draft, but would be signed as undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys. There were not many opportunities to begin with for Eagles on the Cowboys, as they are very deep at the wide receiver position, and in his lone preseason game, Eagles did not register a catch.

It was announced via Twitter on Tuesday that Eagles was among the Cowboys’ first cuts that saw the roster go from 90 to 85.

Eagles very well might get picked up in the future by another team as a practice squad member, or fill in for an injured player.

Connor Williams getting practice time at center for the Cowboys

According to those in Oxnard, CA watching Cowboys training camp, former Texas offensive linemen Connor Williams has been getting snaps as the backup center.

Outside of Dak Prescott’s injury, nothing may have hampered the Dallas Cowboys’ 2020 season more than the offensive line play. A plethora of injuries and inconsistencies derailed a group Jerry Jones has put 17.2% of his cap space into.

With Joe Looney leaving the franchise via free agency, center has become a position of question for the Cowboys. Tyler Biadasz is in line to become the full-time starter but without any protection behind him.

According to those in Oxnard, CA watching Cowboys training camp, former Texas offensive linemen Connor Williams has been getting snaps as the backup center. He already slots in as the starting left guard but if Biadasz goes down with an injury, Williams will need to be prepared.

Playing center is something new to Williams and after talking to the media on Sunday, he knows he needs to be ready in case called upon.

“Y’all all know how the O-Line game goes. Guy goes down every now and then, and you never make it through a whole season healthy,” Williams said after Sunday’s practice. “It’s definitely nice to be able to move pieces in and out and have versatility. Hopefully, I never have to play center this year, but I may have to.”

After spending time at left tackle in Austin, Williams immediately transitioned to left guard when drafted by Dallas. He played 100% of the offensive snaps last season, trying his best to protect whoever was lined up at quarterback.

Joseph Ossai lands in first round of most recent NFL mock draft

Charlie Casserly, an NFL.com analyst, has put Texas Longhorn Joseph Ossai in the first round to the Buffalo Bills in his latest mock draft.

Joseph Ossai is among the top names being talked about for the upcoming NFL draft. He’s considered a top 50 overall prospect and one of the best edge rushers in this class.

Ossai’s name has been all over the place among mock drafts, with the general consensus being that he’ll be a first round pick, but a second at the worst. In fact, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report even mocked him as high as No. 18 overall to the Miami Dolphins.

As we get closer to the draft in April, more and more draft analysts are placing him in the first round. In fact, longtime noted analyst of NFL.com Charlie Casserly mocked Ossai in the first round as well to another AFC East team.

In Casserly’s recent mock, he had Oassi going 30th overall to the Buffalo Bills. His reasoning for the pick follows.

“Jerry Hughes can’t play forever — although it feels like he can at times — so Buffalo brings in another young, hungry pass rusher after 2020 second-round pick A.J. Epenesa recorded only one sack as a rookie.”

We’ll have to wait until the draft comes in April to see if Ossai will be repping a different pair of horns.

Former Longhorns QB could make first NFL start for the Dallas Cowboys

Former UT quarterback Garrett Gilbert and Cooper Rush will be battling it out for the starting QB spot of the Dallas Cowboys per NFL Network.

After coming into the year with high expectations, the Dallas Cowboys’ season has nosed dived into a tankathon thanks to the current quarterback situation. Both starters —  Dak Prescott (ankle injury) and backup Andy Dalton (concussion) — have been out for multiple weeks now.

Dallas’ answer was rookie and former seventh-round pick Ben DiNucci out of James Madison. On Sunday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles, DiNucci was terrible. He threw for 180 yards on 40 throws, only 21 passes were caught by Cowboy receivers. DiNucci also coughed the ball up twice, both resulting in touchdowns for the Eagles.

Because of his poor play, the Cowboys have decided to not play DiNucci in Week 9 against the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, it will be a battle between two veterans, former Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert and Cooper Rush per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Gilbert was signed by Dallas off of Cleveland’s practice squad after Prescott’s injury. He served as the main backup during the loss to the Eagles.

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Ian Rapoport is also reporting that the Cowboys are favoring to start Gilbert. It would be his first career NFL start after appearing in games for Cleveland and the Carolina Panthers.

However, he will still have to battle it out with Rush, a guy who spent the previous three seasons in Dallas as the backup quarterback. While head coach Mike McCarthy has never had Rush on his roster, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore understands exactly what he can bring to the table.

Dallas will be playing the final undefeated team in the league in Pittsburgh on Sunday. With how bad the Cowboys’ offensive line has been this season, Gilbert could be seeing T.J. Watt’s face a lot in the backfield.

The game will kick off at 3:25 p.m. CST and will be broadcasted on CBS.

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