Tag: Texas

Texans’ Bill O’Brien a fan of picking up Charles Omenihu in the fifth round

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien likes the draft value the club got when they took rookie DE Charles Omenihu in the fifth round.

With the Houston Texans scouring their roster for pass-rushing help amid J.J. Watt’s recovery from a torn pectoral, younger, less experienced players are getting a shot at extended playing time.

One such player is rookie defensive end Charles Omenihu. While playing limited snaps, the fifth-round pick from Texas has flashed versatility and power both inside and on the edge. He has three sacks, two of which were accompanied by forced fumbles, 11 combined tackles, two tackles for loss and five QB hits.

Coach Bill O’Brien likes the production from Omenihu, praising him as a plus draft pick for his team.

“I mean that was a good pick, and he’s done a lot of good things,” O’Brien told reporters Tuesday. “He’s a hard worker. He’s young. He’s still learning.”

Omenihu entered the league at a tweener. He’s a bit big to be a full-time edge rusher and not big enough to be a full-time interior one. Considering he’s received most of his snaps on the inside and works with defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, the Texans appear to be priming him to be a defensive end.

Since the early days of training camp, Omenihu has displayed a work ethic that should help him stick. In training camp, he would stick to Watt.

“He’s actively trying to get better at his craft and he is on 99 [Watt] like a sponge, to the point where I’m sure he’s probably tired of hearing his voice,” said Weaver on Aug. 13.

O’Brien wants the rookie to keep the same yearning he had in training camp now that it is late in the season.

“I think it’s important for Charles to stay humble and hungry,” O’Brien said. “Stay humble and hungry, Charles. Because if you don’t, it’s a tough league. So I think if he does that, he’ll stay on the right track.”

If Omenihu, otherwise known as “Big O” in the locker room, stays on that right track and develops his pass-rush moves, the Texans could have found a building block on the defensive line.

Running back of the decade: D’Onta Foreman

Three 2010s Texas RBs are all in the top 15 career rushing list for the Horns. Foreman gets the nod as the best running back in the decade.

Even though the Longhorns struggled in the early parts of the decade, one part of the offense was really solid. Texas consistently had good running backs throughout the 2010s. D’Onta Foreman, Malcolm Brown and Jonathan Gray are all in the top 15 career rushing list for the Longhorns. It was difficult to pick one of them, but Foreman gets the nod as the best running back for Texas in the 2010s.

It was close between him and Malcolm Brown as they have similar numbers. Foreman has more rushing yards, but Brown has more touchdowns and did better in the passing game. What ended up giving Foreman the nod is the monster season he had in 2016.

In 2016, he had the first 2,000-yard season in Longhorn history since Ricky Williams did it in 1998. Foreman finished second in the country in rushing that year, only 107 yards behind San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey. His efforts were good enough to see him win the 2016 Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s best running back.

Years played: 2014, 2015, 2016

Rushing stats: 431 attempts, 2,774 yards, 6.4 yards per carry, 20 TDs

Receiving stats: 13 receptions, 146 yards

Best game: vs Texas Tech, 2016. 33 rushing attempts, 341 rushing yards, 10.4 yards per carry, three touchdowns

Best moment: Game tying touchdown in the fourth quarter vs Notre Dame in 2016

Accomplishments: Doak Walker Award (2016), First Team All American (2016), First Team All Big 12 (2016), Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award (2016)

Foreman’s career for Texas may not have been great overall three seasons he played, but 2016 was the best season a Longhorn running back has had since Ricky Williams. He went on to be drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft, 89th overall to the Houston Texans. While he is not currently on an NFL roster due to injury, what Foreman did for Texas in his junior season will live on for years to come.

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Texas loses another four star prospect in the 2020 class

Four-star WR Quentin Johnston had been committed to Texas since Aug. The receiver announced that he will be flipping from Texas to TCU.

The day before the early signing period for the 2020 recruiting class just got worse for Texas. Four-star wide receiver Quentin Johnston had been committed to Texas since the beginning of the season, saying he would be joining the Longhorns on Aug. 17.

The receiver out of Temple High School announced via his Snapchat that he will be flipping from Texas to TCU and signing with the Horned Frogs on Wednesday.

This is now the seventh different recruit the Longhorns have lost in the 2020 class. According to 247Sports, because of Johnston’s flip, Texas no longer has the top-rated class in the Big 12. Oklahoma jumped the Longhorns, who now sit at No. 10 in the national rankings.

Currently without an offensive coordinator, recruits do not know who is going to be their coach come spring practice. As for Johnston, he would not even have had a position coach as Texas fired wide receivers coach Drew Mehringer after the season ended. With Graham Harrell out of the conversation, Tom Herman needs to make a move quickly to fill the offensive coordinator role so recruits do not continue to decommit from Texas.

Chris Ash officially named defensive coordinator

After reports going around about Chris Ash becoming the DC, it was made official today. Texas sent out a tweet welcoming Ash to Texas.

Having both the offensive and defensive coordinator jobs open at the moment, one of those has officially been filled. After reports going around about Chris Ash becoming the team’s defensive coordinator, Texas made it official today. The Longhorn Football Twitter account sent out a tweet welcoming Ash to Texas.

Ash was the head coach of Rutgers before being fired at the beginning of October. There were reports that Ash joined the staff after his firing from Rutgers to help advise the defense before the Oklahoma game.

Head Coach Tom Herman is familiar with Ash, as the two worked together in the 2014 season at Ohio State. The Buckeyes went on to win the national championship that year, defeating Alabama in the semi-final and Oregon in the title game. Ash’s defense only gave up 22 points a game in the 2014 season and just 342 yards per game.

The second Texas fired Todd Orlando, this was the hire most people expected. Even though he has gotten some criticism for it, Herman continues to hire coaches he is familiar with and coached with in the past. Orlando was with him while he was the head coach of Houston and he did the same with Tim Beck on the offensive side of the ball.

Ash has the potential to be a home run hire for the Longhorns. The roster is full of stud players that have the potential to be something special. It has just been missing a coach that can put it all together. Ash has proven he can do it in the past and Texas is hoping he can do it again.

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Texas Quarterback of the decade: Sam Ehlinger

Ever since Colt McCoy left Texas in 2009 consistent play from their quarterback has lacked. Sam Ehlinger has been the guy starting in 2017.

Ever since Colt McCoy left the 40 acres at the end of the 2009 season, one thing has been lacking for Texas. Consistent play from their quarterback. Starting last season for the Longhorns, Sam Ehlinger has been the guy, taking over the signal calling for the offense under Tom Herman.

While he split snaps with Shane Buechele in his freshman season, Ehlinger won the starting job before the opening game against Maryland in 2018. From that point on, Texas has been ride or die with Ehlinger, with him starting in all 26 games played over the last two seasons.

His sophomore season was his best, leading Texas to their first 10 win season since the 2009 National Championship season. He also took Texas as far as the Sugar Bowl, getting a crucial victory against Georgia to end the season. That year only had their first Big 12 championship appearance since the 2009 win against Nebraska.

Other quarterbacks in the 2010s included Garrett Gilbert, David Ash, Case McCoy, Tyrone Swoopes, Jerrod Heard, and Shane Buechele. The only one of those who comes relatively close to what Ehlinger has done for this program is Buechele. Even then, it is not close, with the junior quarterback from Austin getting the nod as the best quarterback to play for Texas this decade.

Years played: 2017, 2018, 2019

Passing Stats: 63.1 completion percentage, 8,669 passing yards, 65 touchdowns, 21 interceptions

Rushing stats: 430 rushing attempts, 1,453 rushing yards, 24 touchdowns

Best game: vs Oklahoma, 2018. 24-35 with 314 yards, two passing touchdowns, no interceptions. 19 rushing attempts for 72 yards and three rushing touchdowns

Best moment: Second touchdown run against Oklahoma in 2018

Accomplishments: 2019 Sugar Bowl MVP

More than likely coming back for his senior season, Ehlinger has made a huge impact on Texas in his first three. He is already up there statistically with the all-time UT quarterback greats like Vince Young, Colt McCoy, and Major Applewhite, but is just missing one thing. Some form of championship. Ehlinger brought the Longhorns close in 2018 with a Big 12 championship appearance but will need to win one to cement himself as a Longhorn legend.

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Three star defensive tackle Sawyer Goram-Welch commits to Texas

Texas has landed another defensive tackle commit in the 2020 class with Sawyer Goram-Welch. He is a three star prospect out of Longview, TX.

Texas has landed three-star defensive tackle Sawyer Goram-Welch out of Longview, Texas. It was a quick change of events for Goram-Welch, who flipped from Oklahoma State two months after announcing he would be committing.

When Goram-Welch decommitted from the Cowboys on Dec. 7, the Longhorns had already offered him a scholarship five days earlier. Making his official visit to Texas this weekend, Goram-Welch made the decision to join the No. 7 ranked 2020 recruiting class on Sunday night.

 

Goram-Welch is listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 278 pounds. Coming out of Longview High School, he had 64 tackles in his senior season. 15 of them were for losses, including eight sacks. While he did not force any turnovers this year, he forced three fumbles in his junior season in 2018.

Joining Vernon Broughton as the other defensive tackle in the 2020 class, the Longhorns are now up to six defensive commits. Gorman-Welch plans on signing with Texas during the early signing period, enrolling in the University in the spring.

Early period signing day is on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Texas currently is the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the 2020 class, with Oklahoma being the closest to the Longhorns at No. 10.

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How to watch, listen, or stream Texas Longhorns vs Central Michigan basketball

Everything you need to know to catch the Texas Longhorns basketball team take on the Central Michigan Chippewas

The Texas Longhorns basketball team looks to continue its winning ways as they are set to take on the Central Michigan Chippewas this Saturday. Texas is sporting an 8-1 record and riding high on five straight wins. Though the record looks nice, it hasn’t been enough to rejoin the top-25. Close wins against weak teams don’t inspire much confidence in voters, and that has been reflected in the polls. At this point, Texas just has to keep stringing the wins together and plan on making noise come tournament time.

Nov 21, 2019; New York, NY, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Kai Jones (22) shoots the ball against Georgetown Hoyas forward Jamorko Pickett (1) and center Qudus Wahab (34) and forward Josh LeBlanc (23) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Here is everything you need to know to catch the Longhorns in action:

Date: Saturday, December 14

Time: 1 p.m. CT

Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas

TV: Longhorn Network

Stream:  WatchESPN

Radio: 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

Watch: Hype video includes all of Longhorn Brandon Jones’ highlights

Texas Longhorns’ safety Brandon Jones released a hype video with highlights from his four years at Texas

It seems like everyone has their own videography team nowadays. Texas Longhorns’ safety Brandon Jones dropped a professional-looking hype video on his Twitter earlier.

Jones’ highlight reel includes interceptions, forced fumbles, sacks, and big hits. A lot of big hits. Check it out here:

The senior safety has totaled 232 total tackles, 3 interceptions, 7 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries over the course of his four-year career at Texas.

Jones is a physical defender who isn’t afraid to fly around the field and put a hit on someone. He isn’t a day-one prospect in the NFL Draft, but he will get his chance on an NFL roster.

Former Texas Longhorns Quandre Diggs and Earl Thomas share rare distinction

Former Texas Longhorn football players Quandre Diggs and Earl Thomas share rare distinction in the NFL

Earl Thomas and Quandre Diggs are two stud safeties who made their way through Texas. Thomas was the leader of the famed “Legion of Boom,” a moniker given to the Seattle Seahawks’ dominant secondary that consisted of Thomas, Richard Sherman, and Kam Chancellor.

Earl Thomas has since moved on and is currently the starting free safety for the Baltimore Ravens. Seattle replaced one Longhorn with another when they acquired safety Quandre Diggs from the Detroit Lions.

Since then, Diggs has become the first player with three interceptions in his first four games with the Seahawks since – you guessed it – Earl Thomas.

In his two years at Texas, Thomas made 97 total tackles and had 8 interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Diggs spent four years at Texas and totaled 220 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 11 interceptions, and 3 forced fumbles.

In the NFL, both Thomas and Diggs are impact players whose contributions don’t always show up in the stat sheet. Despite that, both are known playmakers and the statistics back it up.