Tag: texas longhrons

NFL bound Xavier Worthy an example that Sarkisian receivers produce early

Steve Sarkisian’s track record of high performing underclassmen receivers bodes well for talented receiver room.

If you’re writing off the Texas Longhorns’ 2024 receiver room you might want to vet those doubts. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian produces stars right away at receiver and it is likely he will do it again.

NFL departure Xavier Worthy and likely to declare tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders are proof of that fact. Both players went off in their first full season as starters at Texas.

Worthy had perhaps the best freshman season any Texas receiver has amassed in 2021. He did so with two quarterbacks who haven’t done much at the college football level since that season. Worthy put up 981 yards and 12 touchdown receptions on 62 catches as a freshman before eventually becoming the focal point that defenses game planned to stop in 2023.

Ja’Tavion Sanders had similar success as a redshirt freshman in 2022. In his first season as a starter, Sanders caught 54 passes for 613 yards and five touchdowns. Sanders will likely leave for the NFL with high draft aspirations.

Perhaps you’re noticing a trend. So far under Steve Sarkisian’s leadership young receivers come to Texas, get developed, produce immediately and go to the NFL.

Next in line for the Longhorns are more talented and highly touted players in five-star wide receivers Johntay Cook and Ryan Wingo. Never mind that the team brings in Houston transfer Matthew Golden who had 12 touchdown grabs in two seasons at Houston.

There’s no reason why Cook and Wingo can’t enjoy the same success Worthy and Sanders had right away as receivers in Austin. We have already seen Cook take the top off of a defense before in limited playing time.

Some places have to worry about receiver development. Texas is not that place. And with two-year starter Quinn Ewers trending to return behind a veteran offensive line with up to four or five double-digit game starters, those talented receivers should have time to get open.

The Texas defensive interior and linebacker are cause for concern for the team, but the offense should keep rolling. Steve Sarkisian develops productive receivers and often has them productive right away. We’ll see which player emerges for the team in 2024.

On3 Sports’ Shannon Terry predicts Texas beats ‘Bama by double digits

On3 Sports founder Shannon Terry says Texas defeats ‘Bama by 10 or more points.

Everybody has a strong take on the Week 2 matchup between Texas and Alabama. You might want to take the following take seriously. On3 Sports founder and CEO Shannon Terry has the Texas Longhorns defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide by 10 or more points.

Admittedly it is going to be an emotionally charged battle on both ends of the budding rivalry. Texas faithful hate Alabama and the feeling is mutual from the ‘Bama side. What is for certain is nobody has any clue what the Crimson Tide is rolling out against the Longhorns. While some view that as an advantage, it seems an indication that Alabama is still finding itself after losing starting quarterback Bryce Young.

We feel confident in the Longhorns. It’s not just how good we feel about the Texas roster or how the team played in the matchup with Alabama last season. Texas knows who it is this season. Alabama does not appear to have the same feeling about its team.

The Tide is set to roll out at least two quarterbacks to start the season. That’s not exactly a winning formula. You want your starting quarterback getting all the reps during game week. Will the Tide split those reps evenly between its three quarterbacks? It will be difficult to win that way.

Knowing your quarterback is essential to feeling confident in your team. Alabama has no clue who that is this season. And if the team plays two quarterbacks against Texas, it might have to figure out who leads a game-winning drive on the fly.

Texas knows all of its players’ roles. The team will look to make that advantage count in the big showdown on Sept. 9.

Oklahoma Sooners move up in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

After their 30-point win over Kent State, the Oklahoma Sooners moved up a spot in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

The Oklahoma Sooners‘ (2-0) two-minute drill at the end of the first half helped them take the lead against Kent State (0-2) when [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] found [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] down the left sideline. That gave the Sooners a 7-3 lead heading into halftime, and Oklahoma never looked back on their way to a 33-3 win over the Golden Flashes.

The Sooners’ win, combined with Texas A&M’s loss to Appalachian State allowed Oklahoma to move up one spot to No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

Alabama maintained the top spot with their one-point win over the Texas Longhorns, who moved up from No. 24 to 22 with their efforts. The Georgia Bulldogs remain at No. 2, Ohio State is No. 3, Clemson is No. 4, and Michigan is No. 5 in the latest poll, marking zero changes to the top five from last week.

Oklahoma is one spot ahead of Oklahoma State, who moved up to No. 7 after their win over Arizona State, while Baylor dropped to No. 19 following their 26-20 loss to BYU, who moved up to No. 14.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish experienced the biggest drop, falling from No. 9 to outside the top 25 after their shocking loss to Marshall on Saturday.

The Sooners put their No. 6 ranking to the test as they prepare to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Alabama 2-0 1,592 (39) –
2 Georgia 2-0 1,574 (25) –
3 Ohio State 2-0 1,514 (1) –
4 Clemson 2-0 1,387 –
5 Michigan 2-0 1,370 –
6 Oklahoma 2-0 1,253 +1
7 Oklahoma State 2-0 1,137 +3
8 USC 2-0 1,133 +4
9 Michigan State 2-0 1,026 +2
10 Kentucky 2-0 901 +10
11 Arkansas 2-0 857 +6
12 NC State 2-0 816 +1
13 Miami 2-0 805 +3
14 BYU 2-0 739 +11
15 Utah 1-1 673 –
16 Tennessee 2-0 591 +10
17 Ole Miss 2-0 552 +6
18 Wake Forest 2-0 540 +3
19 Baylor 2-0 531 -11
20 Texas 1-1 306 +1
21 Florida 1-1 297 -2
22 Texas A&M 1-1 285 -16
23 Penn State 2-0 279 +4
24 Oregon 1-1 197 –
25 Pittsburgh 1-1 157 -11

Schools Dropped Out

No. 9 Notre Dame; No. 18 Wisconsin.

Others Receiving Votes

Florida State 85; Cincinnati 80; Appalachian State 50; Air Force 48; Kansas State 46; Wisconsin 43; Marshall 40; Notre Dame 35; Mississippi State 31; Washington State 29; Houston 25; Texas Tech 24; Oregon State 24; Minnesota 23; Texas Christian 18; Auburn 16; North Carolina 10; Syracuse 7; Washington 6; UCLA 4; Iowa State 4

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WATCH: LHN takes you behind the scenes of traveling during a pandemic

Longhorn Network and Chief of Staff for the Texas football program, Fernando Lovo, take you behind the scenes of traveling to Texas Tech.

We’re all in uncharted territory in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading “WATCH: LHN takes you behind the scenes of traveling during a pandemic”