Tag: UT

Recapping Texas’ national signing day

Going into today, Texas had 16 commitments. None of them flipped, making the Longhorns a perfect 16 for 16 on National Signing Day.

Going into today, Texas had 16 commitments. None of them flipped, making the Longhorns a perfect 16 for 16 on National Signing Day. While there may have been some other distractions, it was still an overall good day for the Longhorns. They finished in the top 10 of the 247Sports rankings, coming in at No. 10. As for ranking in the Big 12, Texas beat Oklahoma by one spot for the best 2020 class in the conference.

Here is a recap of Texas’ national signing day:

Five-star recruits

RB Bijan Robinson

Four-star recruits

QB Hudson Card, ATH Ja’Quinden Jackson, DT Vernon Broughton, OLB Prince Dorbah, S Xavion Alford, CB Kitan Crawford, S Jerrin Thompson, C Jake Majors, OT Jaylen Garth, WR Troy Omeire, G Logan Parr, T Andrej Karic

Three-star recruits

ATH Jaden Hullaby, WR Dajon Harrison, DT Sawyer Goram-Welch

The name to get most excited about is Bijan Robinson. In his high school career, he rushed for over 7,000 yards and scored over 100 touchdowns over four years. He had 35+ touchdowns in his final two seasons, reaching as high as 38 in his senior year. This season, the Longhorns struggled with depth in the running back room and Robinson will instantly make an impact in Austin.

Two other names to keep an eye out for are Hudson Card and Ja’Quinden Jackson. Card is a dual-threat quarterback from Austin, while Jackson is listed as an athlete on 247Sports. Jackson played quarterback in high school for Duncanville High School. Both of these guys will have a great opportunity to take over after Sam Ehlinger’s final season as quarterback.

It was a big day on the offensive line, signing four different four-star prospects. All from the state of Texas, Jaylen Garth and Andrej Karic come in as tackles, while Jake Majors is a center, and Logan Parr is a guard. With two seniors leaving on the offensive line after this season, one of these players may have a chance to start right away for the Longhorns.

Texas now focuses its attention on the bowl game, where they will play Utah in the Alamo Bowl. You can catch the game on New Year’s Eve at 6:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.

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Bijan Robinson officially signs for the Longhorns

It has been a long time coming for Texas fans, as five-star RB Bijan Robinson has officially signed. Robinson will make an instant impact.

It has been a long time coming for Longhorn fans, as five-star running back Bijan Robinson has officially signed his national letter of intent to join Texas. Robinson has been verbally committed since early August and is the 13th highest-rated recruit the Longhorns have landed in their history according to 247Sports.

The 6 foot, 200 pound running back is from Salpointe Catholic High School in Tuscon, AZ. 247Sports has Robinson as the second-best running back in the 2020 class, only behind Zachary Evans of Houston, TX. Robinson was also considering Ohio State and USC but stuck with his commitment to Texas.

Robinson’s numbers in high school were insane. He has rushed for 2,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, totaling at 7,036 yards over four years. Not only did he get yards, but he put the ball in the endzone. In his senior season, Robinson had 38 rushing touchdowns and had 103 in four years.

Texas had some problems at running back this season, with players at the position being injured all year. Freshman Roschon Johnson, who came in as the third-string quarterback, ended up getting a decent amount of snaps in the backfield. With Robinson coming in, he is expected to make an instant impact and make the position group one of the best in the conference.

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WATCH: Tom Herman sparks some controversy with a camera

It has been a good day for Texas as they are having a successful NSD. Before the day had even started, Tom Herman started some controversy.

It has been a good day for the Longhorns as they are having a successful early signing period National Signing Day. Before the day had even started, Head Coach Tom Herman started some controversy.

During Longhorn Network’s signing day coverage, they set up a camera in a meeting room. The TV broadcast switched to that camera and caught Herman flipping it off with both hands. After a few gestures towards the camera, he quickly crossed his arms and acted like nothing happened.

You can watch the video here:

As usual, Herman is picking up a lot of grief for this act. It is possible that he had no idea that the camera was live and was just having some fun. Other people in the room seem to be laughing with Herman, not taking the incident too seriously.

Despite all of this, Texas has had a great day. They have signed 15 prospects this far, with all but one of their previous commitments signing their national letter of intent. All that remains in five-star running back Bijan Robinson, who is expected to sign with the Longhorns later today.

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Former Texas commit signs with Utah

Former Texas RB commit has officially signed for Utah. APB Ty Jordan is a three star recruit from West Mesquite High School for the Utes.

Former Texas running back commit has officially signed for Utah. All-Purpose Back Ty Jordan is a three-star recruit from West Mesquite High School out of Mesquite, TX. Committed to the Utes for nearly a week, Jordan made it official today, singing his national letter of intent this morning.

Jordan originally committed to Texas on Sept. 15 and visited Austin later that week. Everything changed in late November when he made a visit to Utah. 11 days after the visit, Jordan made the switch to the Utes on Dec. 10.

When Jordan decommitted, it left Bijan Robinson as the only other running back commit in the 2020 class. The five-star has yet to sign his national letter of intent but is expected to stay with the Longhorns.

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Two quarterbacks sign with Texas

The first of two National Signing Days are taking place today. UT started the day out strong, locking up two of their top recruits.

The early signing period is finally here and the first of two National Signing Days are taking place today. The Longhorns started the day out strong, as they locked two of their top recruits.

Ja’Quinden Jackson from Duncanville, TX and Hudson Card from Austin, TX both signed their national letter of intent this morning, making their verbal commitment official. Both players are quarterbacks, each playing at Texas high school football’s highest division. Each of them are a four star recruits and they are currently the two highest signed players so far today, according to 247Sports.

Jackson is officially listed as an athlete according to 247Sports, but played quarterback at Duncanville High School. In his playoff semi final game, it is being reported that he tore his ACL and will be out for awhile.

Getting another quarterback out of the Austin area, Card went to Lake Travis High School. He has been committed to Texas since May of 2018 and has been wanting to be a Longhorn for most of his life.

Having depth at quarterback is always a good thing and Texas has that with these two signees. Sam Ehlinger is expected to come back for his senior season, but third string Roschon Johnson played running back all season. A quarterback room of Ehlinger, Casey Thompson, Johnson, Jackson, and Card will provide the Longhorns with depth for years.

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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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Collin Johnson Has Opportunity To Improve Draft Stock

With the bowl game and Senior Bowl ahead, Texas Longhorns wide receiver Collin Johnson has time to impress NFL scouts.

When you look at Collin Johnson he has what NFL Scouts will fall in love with. He has the size to be a serious red zone threat and makes some miraculous catches that will leave your jaw on the floor. After posting career best numbers in every statistical category, the sky was the limit for Johnson. Unfortunately for the former four-star recruit, injuries have limited his season. Head Coach Tom Herman has said that Johnson will be available for the Alamo Bowl, and that could be the start that helps his draft stock rise.

Collin Johnson will have two games left to impress scouts ahead of the pre-draft workouts and team visits. Johnson has accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl in Mobile Alabama in which he will get to work with a NFL coaching staff, another opportunity to show what Johnson does best.

His frame is more on the slender side but Johnson shows off that huge catch radius that coaches will love. He has very reliable hands as evident with some of the circus level snags he is able to come down with. During the Senior Bowl practices, Johnson has an opportunity to get coached up on his techniques to help him off the line. He can struggle with separation at the line but with a big frame, Johnson is still able to bring down his fair share of passes. Johnson needs to show that he can beat press coverage off the line if he wants to make it at the next level.

Unfortunately enough, Jaylon Johnson who has declared for the draft won’t play in the Alamo Bowl against Texas. Johnson was named to the 2019 Associated Press All-American second team and it would have been quite the challenge for Collin. Utah still has other playmakers on the defensive side of the ball to challenge the 6’6″ wide receiver.

There is still a long way to go before the NFL Draft but Collin Johnson has all the opportunity to rise up draft boards and it starts in the bowl game.

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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