Tag: Texas Longhorns

Five key Texas football players returning in 2020

These five Texas football players must have significant impact in 2020 in order for the Longhorns to reach the College Football Playoffs.

Texas head coach Tom Herman’s reshaped coaching staff will have a plethora of talented athletes throughout the 2020 season.

Expectations are sky high regarding the Longhorns football program. Although Texas has won two major bowl games the past two years, they’ve underwhelmed throughout the regular seasons.

Texas has consistently had one of the top recruiting classes each year, but player development has lacked. With the recent staff shakeup, Texas needs to compete for the Big 12 Championship and make a legitimate run for the College Football Playoffs in order to prevent another disappointing season under Herman’s guidance.

These five returning players will make a significant impact on the Longhorns success this upcoming season.

Sam Ehlinger, QB

Obvious. Ehlinger is the heart and soul of Texas’ offense. He has consistently improved each year, surpassing several of Longhorn legend Vince Young’s school records in the process. Ehlinger has a serious chance to take home the Heisman Trophy as a senior.

Sam Cosmi, LT

Protect Ehlinger. Team captain and center Zach Shackelford is not returning, therefore left tackle Sam Cosmi will be critical in anchoring the trenches. Cosmi started every game at left tackle for the Longhorns in 2019. After forgoing the 2020 NFL Draft, Cosmi will likely groom into a top draft prospect in 2021 if another impressive season is on the horizon.

Caden Sterns, DB

Sterns must stay healthy. The Junior defensive back will be a critical part of this Texas defense in 2020. Sterns started the first 13 games of his career as a true freshman, earning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Big 12 honors. Injuries riddled most of his 2019 season, but his potential, knowledge, and athleticism is through the roof.

Joseph Ossai, LB

Ossai appeared in 14 games as a true freshman in 2018. After leading the team with eight tackles in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against Georgia, Ossai garnered more playing time, starting in eight games throughout the 2019 season. He logged a career-high 10 tackles, including five solo stops against TCU. A breakout season is in his foreseeable future.

Jordan Whittington, RB/WR

Potential. Many fans have not yet been able to witness the talent and impact Whittington can make each time he touches the ball. Due to a sports hernia surgery, Whittington missed the majority of the 2019 season. The former five-star prospect was initially recruited as a wide receiver but desperately switched positions to running back due to lack of depth. Whittington is the prototypical swiss army knife player that will likely be tasked with playing both positions in 2020.

Where does Devin Duvernay rank all-time at Texas?

Was former wide receiver Devin Duvernay one of the top three all-time receivers at Texas?

Former Texas wide receiver Devin Duvernay didn’t miss a single game in his four-year collegiate career.

That’s only one of the many reasons that set him apart from the rest. He was also one of the fastest players in college football and seemingly never dropped a football thrown his direction. He could throw it, too.

Duvernay started all 14 games as a junior in 2018, but was third on the team with 41 catches for 546 yards and four touchdowns. His breakout year came as a senior, one of the top seasons by a receiver in Texas history.

Although Duvernay earned First-Team All Big 12 honors and was honorable mention for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, he was shockingly snubbed from any major postseason awards after his remarkable senior year.

The former Sachse High School All-America, two-time all-state athlete finished the 2019 regular season leading the nation in total receptions. Duvernay was also atop national rankings in receptions and receptions per game.

Former Longhorn legend Jordan Shipley was the only receiver in Texas history to have more catches or reception yards in a single season (2009). Shipley remains the top receiver to ever play at Texas, as his versatility was such a major force in the return game as well.

In terms of single season statistics, Duvernay would sit right behind Shipley. When you calculate a players entire collegiate career, other former receivers such as Roy Williams come into question.

Williams leads all Longhorn receivers in receiving yards (3,866) and touchdowns (36). As a true dominant No. 1 wide out, Williams is arguably the top all-time receiver in Longhorns history.

Sitting below Shipley and Williams, Quan Cosby, Limas Sweed, and Mike Adams are worthy considerations for mentions on the Top Five list.

Duvernay was simply underrated. He wasn’t used as consistently throughout his collegiate career as Shipley and Williams, but his senior year is one for the record books. That performance alone should garner a spot as one of the top five receivers in Texas history.

This will remain a debate for many years to come, depending on whether you look at career or single season statistics. Regardless, Texas is blessed to have witnessed these great receivers as one of their own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas Longhorns Offer 2023 Running Back

The Texas Longhorns have made an offer to freshman running back Rueben Owens II out of El Campo Texas. He is the first recruit of 2023 class

The Texas Longhorns are getting ready to wrap up the 2020 recruiting class with National Signing Day coming up on February 5th. However, the Longhorns have been hitting the trail for the recruiting classes beyond just next year. The latest being that Texas has offered 2023 running back out of El Campo, Texas Rueben Owens II according to his twitter account.

The Texas Longhorns must really thinking highly of Owens since he is just a freshman. It isn’t exactly unheard of but also not commonplace for the Longhorns. He becomes the first recruit from the class being offered a scholarship.

Owens recruiting list includes:

  • Auburn
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Louisiana State
  • Oklahoma
  • Texas A&M

Former Longhorns Pitchers Hope To Improve Angels in 2020

The former Texas Longhorns duo of Hoby Milner and Dillon Peters hope to turn around a Los Angeles Angels staff that struggled in 2019.

The Texas Longhorns are no strangers to producing Major League talent. For a duo of former Horns pitchers, they hope to make an impact an improve an Angels team that finished 72-90 and fourth in the AL West behind the Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers. They finished with a team ERA of 5.12, that the sixth worst in the Majors in 2019.

Dillon Peters played for the Texas Longhorns from 2012-2014. The left-handed pitcher went 4-1 as a freshman with a 3.18 ERA, starting 11 games that year. The following year, Peters was named second team All-Big 12 after posting a 1.97 ERA and went 6-3. By the end of his time in Texas he was second in ERA among active players (2.26) and tied for third with 17 wins.

Peters pitched for the LA Angels in 2019 with a 4-4 record in 12 starts while appearing in five more games in relief. His 5.38 ERA was below his career average of 5.70. If Peters wants to stick around in the majors, he will need to improve his numbers. Peters is entering his second season with Los Angeles after being traded from Miami, the Marlins selected him in the 10th round of the 2014 MLB Draft.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Hoby Milner is also looking to make the roster and help the Angels in 2020. Milner played in Texas from 2010-2012 before being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2012 MLB Draft. The seventh-round pick made his Major League debut on June 20, 2017. Not even a week after being designated for assignment after a lengthy stay in the bigs, Milner was shipped to Tampa Bay.

In Tampa, things didn’t go much better for Milner. One day after being brought up to the Rays he was sent back down to Triple A Affiliate Durham. Following the 2018 season, Milner signed a minor league contract with the Los Angels Angels. He was invited to Angels Spring Training to attempt to earn a spot on the 25-man roster.

Milner has a career ERA of 3.40 with a record 0-0 record in 42.1 career innings pitched.

Texas Longhorns Visit Oklahoma Sooners: Watch, Listen and Stream

The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team put their four-game win streak on the line when they travel to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners.

The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team is riding high on a four-game win streak after a monster fourth quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls earned them their 13th win of the season. With a 5-2 conference record, the Longhorns sit tied for second with Texas Christian, the tiebreaker goes the way of the Horned Frogs with their matchup earlier this season.

Now the Longhorns look to a familiar foe in their hated rivals the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners were riding high after beating the number 17th ranked West Virginia but have dropped three in a row ahead of their matchup with Texas.

Date: 1/28/2020

Time: 7:00 p.m. CST

Location: Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma

Watch: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Listen: TexasSports.com/audio —Austin 104.9FM, 99.3FM, 98.5FM, 1260AM; Dallas 1080AM; El Paso 600AM; Houston 790AM; San Antonio 1200AM — Spanish: Austin 105.3FM; Dallas 990AM, 99.9FM

Stream: Watch FoxSportsGo App

Texas Ranked Top Five in Men’s and Women’s Track and Field

The Texas Longhorns indoor track and field teams in appeared in the top five of the rankings for both the men’s and women’s team.

The indoor track and field is underway into week one of the season behind them. The Texas Longhorns are being well represented in the top of the national rankings produced by USTFCCCA. Both men and women’s team come in ranked at number four in the nation.

Coming up for the teams will be the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on January 31st and February 1st.

In their previous meet, junior sprinter Micaiah Harris set a new school record for the 200-meter dash in 20.53 seconds.While senior distance runner Kathryn Gillespie who set a new school record in the mile run with a time of 4:34.64, besting the previous record by five seconds.

 

Texas Makes Offer To 2021 Four-Star Athlete

The Texas Longhorns and wide receivers coach Andre Coleman have made an offer to athlete from Tacoma, Julien Simon.

New wide receivers coach Andre Coleman is wasting no time with getting on the recruiting trail for the 2021 class. Recently Coleman made an offer to 2021 four-star athlete Julien Simon of Tacoma, Washington.

The two-way player projects as a linebacker at the next level but can play running back, wide receiver or linebacker according to his 247 profile. Drawing comparison’s to current Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack. Jack played running back and linebacker at UCLA and won Pac 12 freshman of the year on both sides of the ball.

Current offers list for Simon includes:

  • Oregon
  • Penn State
  • Stanford
  • UCLA
  • Washington
  • Washington State
  • Texas
  • Alabama
  • USC
  • LSU
  • Notre Dame
  • Florida

Texas baseball coach David Pierce mourns close friend in helicopter crash

Texas baseball coach David Pierce lost a dear friend in the tragic helicopter crash yesterday, which also took the lives of eight others.

The tragic helicopter crash amid foggy conditions in Calabasas, California was devastating in a number of ways.

Nine precious lives were taken too soon. Joining NBA legend Kobe Bryant on the flight to watch their daughters basketball game was a dear friend of Texas baseball coach David Pierce.

John Altobelli, a 56-year-old head baseball coach at Orange Coast College, had a close relationship with Pierce. They had been college roommates and remained in contact throughout the years, last spending time with each other earlier this month.

John, his wife Teri, and youngest daughter Alyssa were among the nine deceased. Pierce shared a heartfelt statement earlier this morning regarding the death of his close friend.

Pierce reiterated the impact Altobelli had on the baseball community and how he positively changed the lives of many ballplayers. Altobelli’s daughter Alyssa was best friends and teammates with Kobe and Vanessa Bryant’s daughter Gianni.

Pierce and Altobelli played collegiate baseball together at the University of Houston in 1984 and 1985.

 

 

 

 

Is 2020 Tom Herman’s Last Stand?

The bar rose in 2018 when UT won the Sugar Bowl. Failing to meet the expectations in 2019, will the 2020 season be Tom Herman’s last chance?

When Texas hired Tom Herman after the 2016 season, they were fresh off three consecutive seasons with seven losses. With Charlie Strong going 6-7, 5-7, and 5-7 in his three seasons, at the time, making three bowl games, let alone winning three bowl games sounded like a pipe dream.

Well, that is exactly what Herman has done, guiding the Longhorns to bowl wins in his first three seasons in charge. Much improvement from Strong’s tenure in Austin. The issue though, is that the standard was raised in 2018 when Texas made their way to the Big 12 Championship game and beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

From that point on, that type of success was what was expected from Herman going forward, beginning in 2019. However, the Longhorns flopped, going 7-5 on the year, losing some games in ugly fashion along the way. Losing to LSU and Oklahoma may have been expected, but losses like TCU and Iowa State are in-explainable for a team who was supposed to take a jump towards double-digit wins in the regular season.

Going into the 2020 season, things must improve and the bad losses must be a thing of the past for Texas. Much of the excuse throughout last season was the coordinators in place and how a change was needed. Now, the change has been made and Herman has hired Mike Yurcich as the offensive coordinator and Chris Ash as the defensive coordinator. Both with stellar performances in the same positions at previous schools, the two are expected to instantly improve both sides of the ball.

The schedule is fairly similar, playing two easier non-conference opponents, LSU, and the usual Big 12 foes. Facing the Tigers in Death Valley will be a difficult task, but no matter the result, the game will no effect Texas’ standing in the conference. Already giving thoughts on the 2020 schedule, it should work out in favor of the Longhorns, getting most of their hardest conference opponents at home.

Possibly the most important factor to the upcoming season is Sam Ehlinger and his final stand. Going into his third full season as the starting quarterback, he is expected to be one of the best at his positions in the Big 12. Gaining Heisman hype the past two seasons may be unfair, but the signal-caller should be playing at a level that can win Texas ball games. If he can consistently play at a high level, then Texas should hold up to expectations.

With all of this stacking in favor of the Longhorns, if Herman and the staff fail to deliver, will his time be up as head coach? The answer is that it depends on the final results. If that is another 7-5 season with losses to both LSU and Oklahoma while suffering some head-scratching losses throughout the Big 12 schedule, Herman’s seat will be scorching hot and may be coming to an end.

A win against the Tigers or in the Red River Shootout would more than likely buy him some more time, especially if he can beat Oklahoma again. Even going 1-1 in these games, 9-3 is the least of the expectations for Texas in the upcoming season. There is no reason to be losing games in a similar fashion to TCU and Iowa State from last season. Returning most of their starters on both sides of the ball, experience alone should carry the Longhorns towards nine wins.

Anything less than that (and maybe a Big 12 championship appearance) and it may be time to move on from Herman. Four years as a head coach is usually enough time and being barely bowl eligible is not the level the University of Texas expects to be at. Even after three consecutive seven loss seasons, Herman raised the expectations after the Sugar Bowl in 2018. It is time to fulfill those and consistently be at the top of the Big 12.

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Texas QB Sam Ehlinger given fourth-best odds of winning Heisman Trophy

According to a recent study by SuperBook, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger has the fourth-best odds of winning the 2020 Heisman Trophy.

The odds of winning the Heisman Trophy in 2020 for Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger continue to rise.

According to a recent study by SportsBook, Ehlinger has climbed to the fourth-best chances of taking home this prestigious honor.

Assuming Ehlinger remains healthy and continues the same path of progress as he has each year, he could undoubtedly lead Texas to the college football playoffs in his senior season. Although quarterbacks Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence are the clear front-runners, it’s hard to bet against Ehlinger.

By the end of the 2019 season, Ehlinger quietly surpassed Longhorn legend Vince Young in career total offense, single season passing yards, and total touchdowns.

Ehlinger will have a plethora of weapons to play alongside this season, including five-star running back Bijan Robinson and promising running back and wide receiver Jordan Whittington. Left tackle Sam Cosmi will also be returning to anchor the offensive line.