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Texas Offseason 2026 - The Calm Before The Storm

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  • Popular Post
#1

Well folks, it is that time of year and the offseason cycle is officially upon us once again. There was some good and bad this year, let's start with the good:

Arch Manning grew into the player that we all knew he was going to be. Granted, it took more time than we hoped and at times looked like a baby giraffe trying to learn to walk in the midst of a pride of fuck lions, but it did happen. The last half of the season was the start of what will be a true Heisman campaign. Collin Simmons has been everything we could have hoped for and has firmly established himself as the best pass rusher in the country heading into next season, and under PK's defense... his pass coverage skills improved significantly, because that's what you do with a great pass rusher. Too bad he was the only one. Will Muschamp makes his triumphant return to Austin to lead a defense full of pissed off demons in the front 7, and gone are the head scratching defensive secondary play calls with the return of Muschamp's hand picked protege, Mr. Blake Gideon. I am sure Blake will catch up quickly, and probably catch up with old friends, catch some of his old favorite places in town, maybe catch up with family.. I hear Denny's is still open. Jabbar Juluke also joins the staff in what is going to be a fantastic upgrade from Chad Scott, who seemed to be slightly less popular in the running back room than chlamydia.

And now the bad:

Kyle Flood is back after mismanaging his position room so poorly for three years that he almost managed to fuck up Arch Manning. After turning our noses up at the portal, at one point this season we had Conner Stroh single handedly tripping the entire left side of the line with his beached whale technique while Brandon Baker was in a dead ass sprint to be the most penalized player in Texas history. The fact that Neto or Nate Kibble couldn't unseat Stroh was equally alarming. Chris Jackson returns after being reportedly out with a not 1 but 2 year extension. Why? Because fuck you that's why. We have massive attrition and holes at LB, OL, RB, and Safety. But trust us... we got this.

Offense Positional Outlook

Quarterback - Arch Manning will be a Heisman favorite heading into next season, maybe sign a few more national brand deals, and probably pull more tail than the entirety of this board combined. It's good to be the king. Behind him we have an equally exciting KJ Lacy as the clear #2, who has been steadily climbing the ranks with real buzz behind him. Dia Bell joins the fray as a highly touted incoming freshman who will be on the stash and develop plan for a year. I expect us to head to the portal for a fourth scholarship QB in the Matthew Caldwell mold.

Running Back - This room is full of questions with very few answers as of today. With CJ Baxter, Tre Wisner, and Jerrick Gibson hitting the portal, Chad Scott cleaned out this room more effectively than drinking a bottle full of magnesium. Coming off of a quality bowl game performance versus Michigan, Christian Clark looks to see an expanded role next season. My biggest question is why did we not see James Simon versus Michigan? Was there some internal team discipline happening, is he a portal candidate, or did he just piss off Juluke? Inquiring minds want to know. We have reason for optimism in 5 star incoming freshman Derek Cooper, but he certainly can't be counted on as a day 1 bellcow. We seem to have whiffed on our first two big portal swings in Jayden Baugh and Isaac Brown, but we will need two solid options here, and at least one with some real size as an inside zone runner.

Wide Receiver - Wingo had some big moments this year, but proved he may not be a reliable WR1 with continued questions around his hands. Emmett Mosley turned out to be a great pickup last season and really started to assert himself in the back half of the season. With Parker Livinstone spit spit headed to our hated rival after trashing Texas on the way out the door, it is time for some of us to all admit that @closetojumping was right. Goddamnit. Kaliq Lockett made the most of his opportunities in the bowl game, and hopefully that gets him into the mix a bit more but I still have some big questions about McCutcheon and Ffrench. Can they or can't they play? Time will tell, but we also need to find another impact guy in the portal. Cam Coleman is the target, and as of this moment has not made a decision, but even if it is not him it needs to be someone. I also have a feeling that Jermaine Bishop might come in and start climbing the depth chart quickly.

Offensive Line - Offensive is the right term, what the fuck are we doing here people. We got some huge news in the return of Trevor Goosby, who is going to be a first round pick next season. Brandon Baker seems to have turned the corner into a quality starter after a nightmarish early season. Beyond that, we need a massive overhaul here. Gone are some dudes that can't cut it in Stroh, Kibble, and Neto. I have heard good things about the Coleman brothers, but we also heard good things about Kibble and Neto last year. I am not discounting a returning Andre Cojoe being in the mix for a spot on the two deep, but we need some true starters in the portal. Will the Michigan guys make it official and make it to Texas? That would be the ideal scenario, but if it doesn't happen we are going to be hunting for some SEC caliber starting quality players in a sea full of hungry sharks. Even if it does happen, we need a total of 4 or 5 guys in my opinion to shore up Flood's 3 year long experiment in the school for giants who don't football good.

Tight End - Endries was a good addition last year, but unfortunately I think we didn't really get to utilize him well until late in the season. I am very high on Nick Townsend, I feel like he is the true future of that room. Emaree Winston also played very well last year before injury and figures to factor heavily into the mix. Surprisingly, Jordan Washington was a bit meh. Same goes for Spencer Shannon. I expect us to add another guy here, but I like where the room is headed.

Defense Positional Outlook

Defensive Ends - The best room on the entire team outside of Quarterback. Collin Simmons is a top 5 pick and the leading pass rusher in the nation. Lance Jackson decided to not wait until Ethan Burke graduated and just planted himself as the starter on the other side. Zina also looked like a future star player and pulled some go go gadget arms on a sack against Michigan that looked super human. Who just reaches over an offensive tackle and yanks a quarterback to the ground? Smith Orogbo also played really well in his limited action. With Muschamp coming in, his scheme will ultimately put another defensive end on the field with two true Edge backers and 5 technique ends. This bodes especially well for Lance Jackson and Justus Terry. It also bodes well for Zina, Orogbo, and incoming freshman Richard Wesley. Not to mention the ever feisty Colton Vasek on the 5 plays per year that he is healthy. Thoroughbreds don't go backwards. Oh yeah, and we may also bring in another guy from the portal.

Defensive Tackle - This room is also in good shape with the return of Hero Kanu and Maraad Watson to pair with the rising Alex January and high ceiling redshirt freshmen Josiah Sharma and Myron Charles. Yet, we still went out and got a mammoth over the ball 0 technique in Ian Geffrard from Arkansas. It wouldn't surprise me to see us take one more. I have no complaints about this room and look forward to taking for granted that teams just aren't going to run the ball well on us next season. Admittedly, we had a disappointing recruiting cycle in this room, but the year ahead looks just fine.

Linebacker - Thank you Ant Hill, go make your money. TyAnthony Smith emerged as a true game breaker last season, and he will step very comfortably into Hill's role as the leader of the defense. Bo Barnes also seemed to make the most of his opportunity during the Michigan game and have heard a few nuggets that Muschamp really likes him. I thought he played pretty well during the game for his first action against a big time opponent. Behind that, there are some real questions. Tyler Atkinson seems to be a guy who could make immediate impact, and I expect him to do just that. But holy forkballs does it get dicey after that. Brad Spence is not a natural stand up linebacker, but there is talk of moving him there. I don't think my eyes will ever get over seeing him let Ruben Owens pancake him on the goal line on a lead block in the A&M game. We need at least two impact dudes out of the portal in my opinion.

Cornerback - The emergence of Kade Phillips gives me a lot of optimism headed into the year for our CB room. I still believe we will bring in another guy to start opposite of Phillips in the portal, or potentially move Graceson Littleton to the outside, but either way we should be fine. I am not sold on Warren Roberson or Kobe Black being long term starters, but they both proved that they can make plays when called upon and provide quality depth in the room. I also have a sneaky suspicion that Samari Matthews is going to come in and displace someone by the beginning of the season, the kid can play and looks a little bit like a Kade Phillips clone with ultra long arms and fluid hips.

Nickel - This position has a bit of intrigue, but mainly due to where we decide to deploy Littleton. If we keep him at nickel, than we are set. If we decide to move him to the outside, then things could get a bit more interesting. Wardell Mack has played well there and could be the heir apparent, or Muschamp may seek to deploy Jelanie McDonald as a big nickel on occasions. Either way, I think we could use another guy here as an insurance policy.

Safety - The impact of the return of Jalanie McDonald cannot be overstated. He could be one of the best safeties in the country next season. But behind him it is a bit of a mystery. Xavier Filsaime has played well in spots this season, and I have heard good things about Zelus Hicks, but haven't really seen much of him to date. He reclassified so he could sign early last year and needed a year of development. Then there is the mercurial Jonah Williams, who I am starting to think may be an All American baseball player instead of an All American football player. If he decides he wants to do some stuff and go hit people, he is the obvious dude that you would want next to McDonald if he can pick up the mental aspect. But he will miss yet another spring, and so we should not assume anything. I feel like we will need one or perhaps two guys out of the portal here depending on how they feel about Hicks and Filsaime.

Kicker/Punter/Special Teams - If Day one of the portal has taught us anything, it is that we are ALL IN on specialists.

Edited by Vertigo

#4
2 hours ago, Vertigo said:

Well folks, it is that time of year and the offseason cycle is officially upon us once again. There was some good and bad this year, let's start with the good:

Arch Manning grew into the player that we all knew he was going to be. Granted, it took more time than we hoped and at times looked like a baby giraffe trying to learn to walk in the midst of a pride of fuck lions, but it did happen. The last half of the season was the start of what will be a true Heisman campaign. Collin Simmons has been everything we could have hoped for and has firmly established himself as the best pass rusher in the country heading into next season, and under PK's defense... his pass coverage skills improved significantly, because that's what you do with a great pass rusher. Too bad he was the only one. Will Muschamp makes his triumphant return to Austin to lead a defense full of pissed off demons in the front 7, and gone are the head scratching defensive secondary play calls with the return of Muschamp's hand picked protege, Mr. Blake Gideon. I am sure Blake will catch up quickly, and probably catch up with old friends, catch some of his old favorite places in town, maybe catch up with family.. I hear Denny's is still open. Jabbar Juluke also joins the staff in what is going to be a fantastic upgrade from Chad Scott, who seemed to be slightly less popular in the running back room than chlamydia.

And now the bad:

Kyle Flood is back after mismanaging his position room so poorly for three years that he almost managed to fuck up Arch Manning. After turning our noses up at the portal, at one point this season we had Conner Stroh single handedly tripping the entire left side of the line with his beached whale technique while Brandon Baker was in a dead ass sprint to be the most penalized player in Texas history. The fact that Neto or Nate Kibble couldn't unseat Stroh was equally alarming. Chris Jackson returns after being reportedly out with a not 1 but 2 year extension. Why? Because fuck you that's why. We have massive attrition and holes at LB, OL, RB, and Safety. But trust us... we got this.

Offense Positional Outlook

Quarterback - Arch Manning will be a Heisman favorite heading into next season, maybe sign a few more national brand deals, and probably pull more tail than the entirety of this board combined. It's good to be the king. Behind him we have an equally exciting KJ Lacy as the clear #2, who has been steadily climbing the ranks with real buzz behind him. Dia Bell joins the fray as a highly touted incoming freshman who will be on the stash and develop plan for a year. I expect us to head to the portal for a fourth scholarship QB in the Matthew Caldwell mold.

Running Back - This room is full of questions with very few answers as of today. With CJ Baxter, Tre Wisner, and Jerrick Gibson hitting the portal, Chad Scott cleaned out this room more effectively than drinking a bottle full of magnesium. Coming off of a quality bowl game performance versus Michigan, Christian Clark looks to see an expanded role next season. My biggest question is why did we not see James Simon versus Michigan? Was there some internal team discipline happening, is he a portal candidate, or did he just piss off Juluke? Inquiring minds want to know. We have reason for optimism in 5 star incoming freshman Derek Cooper, but he certainly can't be counted on as a day 1 bellcow. We seem to have whiffed on our first two big portal swings in Jayden Baugh and Isaac Brown, but we will need two solid options here, and at least one with some real size as an inside zone runner.

Wide Receiver - Wingo had some big moments this year, but proved he may not be a reliable WR1 with continued questions around his hands. Emmett Mosley turned out to be a great pickup last season and really started to assert himself in the back half of the season. With Parker Livinstone spit spit headed to our hated rival after trashing Texas on the way out the door, it is time for some of us to all admit that @closetojumping was right. Goddamnit. Kaliq Lockett made the most of his opportunities in the bowl game, and hopefully that gets him into the mix a bit more but I still have some big questions about McCutcheon and Ffrench. Can they or can't they play? Time will tell, but we also need to find another impact guy in the portal. Cam Coleman is the target, and as of this moment has not made a decision, but even if it is not him it needs to be someone. I also have a feeling that Jermaine Bishop might come in and start climbing the depth chart quickly.

Offensive Line - Offensive is the right term, what the fuck are we doing here people. We got some huge news in the return of Trevor Goosby, who is going to be a first round pick next season. Brandon Baker seems to have turned the corner into a quality starter after a nightmarish early season. Beyond that, we need a massive overhaul here. Gone are some dudes that can't cut it in Stroh, Kibble, and Neto. I have heard good things about the Coleman brothers, but we also heard good things about Kibble and Neto last year. I am not discounting a returning Andre Cojoe being in the mix for a spot on the two deep, but we need some true starters in the portal. Will the Michigan guys make it official and make it to Texas? That would be the ideal scenario, but if it doesn't happen we are going to be hunting for some SEC caliber starting quality players in a sea full of hungry sharks. Even if it does happen, we need a total of 4 or 5 guys in my opinion to shore up Flood's 3 year long experiment in the school for giants who don't football good.

Tight End - Endries was a good addition last year, but unfortunately I think we didn't really get to utilize him well until late in the season. I am very high on Nick Townsend, I feel like he is the true future of that room. Emaree Winston also played very well last year before injury and figures to factor heavily into the mix. Surprisingly, Jordan Washington was a bit meh. Same goes for Spencer Shannon. I expect us to add another guy here, but I like where the room is headed.

Defense Positional Outlook

Defensive Ends - The best room on the entire team outside of Quarterback. Collin Simmons is a top 5 pick and the leading pass rusher in the nation. Lance Jackson decided to not wait until Ethan Burke graduated and just planted himself as the starter on the other side. Zina also looked like a future star player and pulled some go go gadget arms on a sack against Michigan that looked super human. Who just reaches over an offensive tackle and yanks a quarterback to the ground? Smith Orogbo also played really well in his limited action. With Muschamp coming in, his scheme will ultimately put another defensive end on the field with two true Edge backers and 5 technique ends. This bodes especially well for Lance Jackson and Justus Terry. It also bodes well for Zina, Orogbo, and incoming freshman Richard Wesley. Not to mention the ever feisty Colton Vasek on the 5 plays per year that he is healthy. Thoroughbreds don't go backwards. Oh yeah, and we may also bring in another guy from the portal.

Defensive Tackle - This room is also in good shape with the return of Hero Kanu and Maraad Watson to pair with the rising Alex January and high ceiling redshirt freshmen Josiah Sharma and Myron Charles. Yet, we still went out and got a mammoth over the ball 0 technique in Ian Geffrard from Arkansas. It wouldn't surprise me to see us take one more. I have no complaints about this room and look forward to taking for granted that teams just aren't going to run the ball well on us next season. Admittedly, we had a disappointing recruiting cycle in this room, but the year ahead looks just fine.

Linebacker - Thank you Ant Hill, go make your money. TyAnthony Smith emerged as a true game breaker last season, and he will step very comfortably into Hill's role as the leader of the defense. Bo Barnes also seemed to make the most of his opportunity during the Michigan game and have heard a few nuggets that Muschamp really likes him. I thought he played pretty well during the game for his first action against a big time opponent. Behind that, there are some real questions. Tyler Atkinson seems to be a guy who could make immediate impact, and I expect him to do just that. But holy forkballs does it get dicey after that. Brad Spence is not a natural stand up linebacker, but there is talk of moving him there. I don't think my eyes will ever get over seeing him let Ruben Owens pancake him on the goal line on a lead block in the A&M game. We need at least two impact dudes out of the portal in my opinion.

Cornerback - The emergence of Kade Phillips gives me a lot of optimism headed into the year for our CB room. I still believe we will bring in another guy to start opposite of Phillips in the portal, or potentially move Graceson Littleton to the outside, but either way we should be fine. I am not sold on Warren Roberson or Kobe Black being long term starters, but they both proved that they can make plays when called upon and provide quality depth in the room. I also have a sneaky suspicion that Samari Matthews is going to come in and displace someone by the beginning of the season, the kid can play and looks a little bit like a Kade Phillips clone with ultra long arms and fluid hips.

Nickel - This position has a bit of intrigue, but mainly due to where we decide to deploy Littleton. If we keep him at nickel, than we are set. If we decide to move him to the outside, then things could get a bit more interesting. Wardell Mack has played well there and could be the heir apparent, or Muschamp may seek to deploy Jelanie McDonald as a big nickel on occasions. Either way, I think we could use another guy here as an insurance policy.

Safety - The impact of the return of Jalanie McDonald cannot be overstated. He could be one of the best safeties in the country next season. But behind him it is a bit of a mystery. Xavier Filsaime has played well in spots this season, and I have heard good things about Zelus Hicks, but haven't really seen much of him to date. He reclassified so he could sign early last year and needed a year of development. Then there is the mercurial Jonah Williams, who I am starting to think may be an All American baseball player instead of an All American football player. If he decides he wants to do some stuff and go hit people, he is the obvious dude that you would want next to McDonald if he can pick up the mental aspect. But he will miss yet another spring, and so we should not assume anything. I feel like we will need one or perhaps two guys out of the portal here depending on how they feel about Hicks and Filsaime.

Kicker/Punter/Special Teams - If Day one of the portal has taught us anything, it is that we are ALL IN on specialists.

I'm not reading all that but rep for the effort.

  • Author
#7
15 hours ago, futureman said:

is tyler atkinson expected to start?

I doubt it, but I would bet he gets on the field quite a bit next year.

#8
17 hours ago, ztejas said:

I'm not reading all that but rep for the effort.

I am going to pay attention to this when the portal closes. That is when we can start pretending, we know everything again. That said, appreciate the effort

Edited by Codaxx

#9
20 hours ago, Vertigo said:

Well folks, it is that time of year and the offseason cycle is officially upon us once again. There was some good and bad this year, let's start with the good:

Arch Manning grew into the player that we all knew he was going to be. Granted, it took more time than we hoped and at times looked like a baby giraffe trying to learn to walk in the midst of a pride of fuck lions, but it did happen. The last half of the season was the start of what will be a true Heisman campaign. Collin Simmons has been everything we could have hoped for and has firmly established himself as the best pass rusher in the country heading into next season, and under PK's defense... his pass coverage skills improved significantly, because that's what you do with a great pass rusher. Too bad he was the only one. Will Muschamp makes his triumphant return to Austin to lead a defense full of pissed off demons in the front 7, and gone are the head scratching defensive secondary play calls with the return of Muschamp's hand picked protege, Mr. Blake Gideon. I am sure Blake will catch up quickly, and probably catch up with old friends, catch some of his old favorite places in town, maybe catch up with family.. I hear Denny's is still open. Jabbar Juluke also joins the staff in what is going to be a fantastic upgrade from Chad Scott, who seemed to be slightly less popular in the running back room than chlamydia.

And now the bad:

Kyle Flood is back after mismanaging his position room so poorly for three years that he almost managed to fuck up Arch Manning. After turning our noses up at the portal, at one point this season we had Conner Stroh single handedly tripping the entire left side of the line with his beached whale technique while Brandon Baker was in a dead ass sprint to be the most penalized player in Texas history. The fact that Neto or Nate Kibble couldn't unseat Stroh was equally alarming. Chris Jackson returns after being reportedly out with a not 1 but 2 year extension. Why? Because fuck you that's why. We have massive attrition and holes at LB, OL, RB, and Safety. But trust us... we got this.

Offense Positional Outlook

Quarterback - Arch Manning will be a Heisman favorite heading into next season, maybe sign a few more national brand deals, and probably pull more tail than the entirety of this board combined. It's good to be the king. Behind him we have an equally exciting KJ Lacy as the clear #2, who has been steadily climbing the ranks with real buzz behind him. Dia Bell joins the fray as a highly touted incoming freshman who will be on the stash and develop plan for a year. I expect us to head to the portal for a fourth scholarship QB in the Matthew Caldwell mold.

Running Back - This room is full of questions with very few answers as of today. With CJ Baxter, Tre Wisner, and Jerrick Gibson hitting the portal, Chad Scott cleaned out this room more effectively than drinking a bottle full of magnesium. Coming off of a quality bowl game performance versus Michigan, Christian Clark looks to see an expanded role next season. My biggest question is why did we not see James Simon versus Michigan? Was there some internal team discipline happening, is he a portal candidate, or did he just piss off Juluke? Inquiring minds want to know. We have reason for optimism in 5 star incoming freshman Derek Cooper, but he certainly can't be counted on as a day 1 bellcow. We seem to have whiffed on our first two big portal swings in Jayden Baugh and Isaac Brown, but we will need two solid options here, and at least one with some real size as an inside zone runner.

Wide Receiver - Wingo had some big moments this year, but proved he may not be a reliable WR1 with continued questions around his hands. Emmett Mosley turned out to be a great pickup last season and really started to assert himself in the back half of the season. With Parker Livinstone spit spit headed to our hated rival after trashing Texas on the way out the door, it is time for some of us to all admit that @closetojumping was right. Goddamnit. Kaliq Lockett made the most of his opportunities in the bowl game, and hopefully that gets him into the mix a bit more but I still have some big questions about McCutcheon and Ffrench. Can they or can't they play? Time will tell, but we also need to find another impact guy in the portal. Cam Coleman is the target, and as of this moment has not made a decision, but even if it is not him it needs to be someone. I also have a feeling that Jermaine Bishop might come in and start climbing the depth chart quickly.

Offensive Line - Offensive is the right term, what the fuck are we doing here people. We got some huge news in the return of Trevor Goosby, who is going to be a first round pick next season. Brandon Baker seems to have turned the corner into a quality starter after a nightmarish early season. Beyond that, we need a massive overhaul here. Gone are some dudes that can't cut it in Stroh, Kibble, and Neto. I have heard good things about the Coleman brothers, but we also heard good things about Kibble and Neto last year. I am not discounting a returning Andre Cojoe being in the mix for a spot on the two deep, but we need some true starters in the portal. Will the Michigan guys make it official and make it to Texas? That would be the ideal scenario, but if it doesn't happen we are going to be hunting for some SEC caliber starting quality players in a sea full of hungry sharks. Even if it does happen, we need a total of 4 or 5 guys in my opinion to shore up Flood's 3 year long experiment in the school for giants who don't football good.

Tight End - Endries was a good addition last year, but unfortunately I think we didn't really get to utilize him well until late in the season. I am very high on Nick Townsend, I feel like he is the true future of that room. Emaree Winston also played very well last year before injury and figures to factor heavily into the mix. Surprisingly, Jordan Washington was a bit meh. Same goes for Spencer Shannon. I expect us to add another guy here, but I like where the room is headed.

Defense Positional Outlook

Defensive Ends - The best room on the entire team outside of Quarterback. Collin Simmons is a top 5 pick and the leading pass rusher in the nation. Lance Jackson decided to not wait until Ethan Burke graduated and just planted himself as the starter on the other side. Zina also looked like a future star player and pulled some go go gadget arms on a sack against Michigan that looked super human. Who just reaches over an offensive tackle and yanks a quarterback to the ground? Smith Orogbo also played really well in his limited action. With Muschamp coming in, his scheme will ultimately put another defensive end on the field with two true Edge backers and 5 technique ends. This bodes especially well for Lance Jackson and Justus Terry. It also bodes well for Zina, Orogbo, and incoming freshman Richard Wesley. Not to mention the ever feisty Colton Vasek on the 5 plays per year that he is healthy. Thoroughbreds don't go backwards. Oh yeah, and we may also bring in another guy from the portal.

Defensive Tackle - This room is also in good shape with the return of Hero Kanu and Maraad Watson to pair with the rising Alex January and high ceiling redshirt freshmen Josiah Sharma and Myron Charles. Yet, we still went out and got a mammoth over the ball 0 technique in Ian Geffrard from Arkansas. It wouldn't surprise me to see us take one more. I have no complaints about this room and look forward to taking for granted that teams just aren't going to run the ball well on us next season. Admittedly, we had a disappointing recruiting cycle in this room, but the year ahead looks just fine.

Linebacker - Thank you Ant Hill, go make your money. TyAnthony Smith emerged as a true game breaker last season, and he will step very comfortably into Hill's role as the leader of the defense. Bo Barnes also seemed to make the most of his opportunity during the Michigan game and have heard a few nuggets that Muschamp really likes him. I thought he played pretty well during the game for his first action against a big time opponent. Behind that, there are some real questions. Tyler Atkinson seems to be a guy who could make immediate impact, and I expect him to do just that. But holy forkballs does it get dicey after that. Brad Spence is not a natural stand up linebacker, but there is talk of moving him there. I don't think my eyes will ever get over seeing him let Ruben Owens pancake him on the goal line on a lead block in the A&M game. We need at least two impact dudes out of the portal in my opinion.

Cornerback - The emergence of Kade Phillips gives me a lot of optimism headed into the year for our CB room. I still believe we will bring in another guy to start opposite of Phillips in the portal, or potentially move Graceson Littleton to the outside, but either way we should be fine. I am not sold on Warren Roberson or Kobe Black being long term starters, but they both proved that they can make plays when called upon and provide quality depth in the room. I also have a sneaky suspicion that Samari Matthews is going to come in and displace someone by the beginning of the season, the kid can play and looks a little bit like a Kade Phillips clone with ultra long arms and fluid hips.

Nickel - This position has a bit of intrigue, but mainly due to where we decide to deploy Littleton. If we keep him at nickel, than we are set. If we decide to move him to the outside, then things could get a bit more interesting. Wardell Mack has played well there and could be the heir apparent, or Muschamp may seek to deploy Jelanie McDonald as a big nickel on occasions. Either way, I think we could use another guy here as an insurance policy.

Safety - The impact of the return of Jalanie McDonald cannot be overstated. He could be one of the best safeties in the country next season. But behind him it is a bit of a mystery. Xavier Filsaime has played well in spots this season, and I have heard good things about Zelus Hicks, but haven't really seen much of him to date. He reclassified so he could sign early last year and needed a year of development. Then there is the mercurial Jonah Williams, who I am starting to think may be an All American baseball player instead of an All American football player. If he decides he wants to do some stuff and go hit people, he is the obvious dude that you would want next to McDonald if he can pick up the mental aspect. But he will miss yet another spring, and so we should not assume anything. I feel like we will need one or perhaps two guys out of the portal here depending on how they feel about Hicks and Filsaime.

Kicker/Punter/Special Teams - If Day one of the portal has taught us anything, it is that we are ALL IN on specialists.

This should have an epigraph.

#12
28 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

Not sure where to put this, so I'll put it here. Team had a very respectable GPA for the fall semester. I like it.

Image

Austin Powers Nerd GIF

#13

Need breakdown of the classes the players are taking to see if I should be impressed by the 3.31 GPA.

#14
On 1/5/2026 at 2:20 PM, Vertigo said:

Well folks, it is that time of year and the offseason cycle is officially upon us once again. There was some good and bad this year, let's start with the good:

Arch Manning grew into the player that we all knew he was going to be. Granted, it took more time than we hoped and at times looked like a baby giraffe trying to learn to walk in the midst of a pride of fuck lions, but it did happen. The last half of the season was the start of what will be a true Heisman campaign. Collin Simmons has been everything we could have hoped for and has firmly established himself as the best pass rusher in the country heading into next season, and under PK's defense... his pass coverage skills improved significantly, because that's what you do with a great pass rusher. Too bad he was the only one. Will Muschamp makes his triumphant return to Austin to lead a defense full of pissed off demons in the front 7, and gone are the head scratching defensive secondary play calls with the return of Muschamp's hand picked protege, Mr. Blake Gideon. I am sure Blake will catch up quickly, and probably catch up with old friends, catch some of his old favorite places in town, maybe catch up with family.. I hear Denny's is still open. Jabbar Juluke also joins the staff in what is going to be a fantastic upgrade from Chad Scott, who seemed to be slightly less popular in the running back room than chlamydia.

And now the bad:

Kyle Flood is back after mismanaging his position room so poorly for three years that he almost managed to fuck up Arch Manning. After turning our noses up at the portal, at one point this season we had Conner Stroh single handedly tripping the entire left side of the line with his beached whale technique while Brandon Baker was in a dead ass sprint to be the most penalized player in Texas history. The fact that Neto or Nate Kibble couldn't unseat Stroh was equally alarming. Chris Jackson returns after being reportedly out with a not 1 but 2 year extension. Why? Because fuck you that's why. We have massive attrition and holes at LB, OL, RB, and Safety. But trust us... we got this.

Offense Positional Outlook

Quarterback - Arch Manning will be a Heisman favorite heading into next season, maybe sign a few more national brand deals, and probably pull more tail than the entirety of this board combined. It's good to be the king. Behind him we have an equally exciting KJ Lacy as the clear #2, who has been steadily climbing the ranks with real buzz behind him. Dia Bell joins the fray as a highly touted incoming freshman who will be on the stash and develop plan for a year. I expect us to head to the portal for a fourth scholarship QB in the Matthew Caldwell mold.

Running Back - This room is full of questions with very few answers as of today. With CJ Baxter, Tre Wisner, and Jerrick Gibson hitting the portal, Chad Scott cleaned out this room more effectively than drinking a bottle full of magnesium. Coming off of a quality bowl game performance versus Michigan, Christian Clark looks to see an expanded role next season. My biggest question is why did we not see James Simon versus Michigan? Was there some internal team discipline happening, is he a portal candidate, or did he just piss off Juluke? Inquiring minds want to know. We have reason for optimism in 5 star incoming freshman Derek Cooper, but he certainly can't be counted on as a day 1 bellcow. We seem to have whiffed on our first two big portal swings in Jayden Baugh and Isaac Brown, but we will need two solid options here, and at least one with some real size as an inside zone runner.

Wide Receiver - Wingo had some big moments this year, but proved he may not be a reliable WR1 with continued questions around his hands. Emmett Mosley turned out to be a great pickup last season and really started to assert himself in the back half of the season. With Parker Livinstone spit spit headed to our hated rival after trashing Texas on the way out the door, it is time for some of us to all admit that @closetojumping was right. Goddamnit. Kaliq Lockett made the most of his opportunities in the bowl game, and hopefully that gets him into the mix a bit more but I still have some big questions about McCutcheon and Ffrench. Can they or can't they play? Time will tell, but we also need to find another impact guy in the portal. Cam Coleman is the target, and as of this moment has not made a decision, but even if it is not him it needs to be someone. I also have a feeling that Jermaine Bishop might come in and start climbing the depth chart quickly.

Offensive Line - Offensive is the right term, what the fuck are we doing here people. We got some huge news in the return of Trevor Goosby, who is going to be a first round pick next season. Brandon Baker seems to have turned the corner into a quality starter after a nightmarish early season. Beyond that, we need a massive overhaul here. Gone are some dudes that can't cut it in Stroh, Kibble, and Neto. I have heard good things about the Coleman brothers, but we also heard good things about Kibble and Neto last year. I am not discounting a returning Andre Cojoe being in the mix for a spot on the two deep, but we need some true starters in the portal. Will the Michigan guys make it official and make it to Texas? That would be the ideal scenario, but if it doesn't happen we are going to be hunting for some SEC caliber starting quality players in a sea full of hungry sharks. Even if it does happen, we need a total of 4 or 5 guys in my opinion to shore up Flood's 3 year long experiment in the school for giants who don't football good.

Tight End - Endries was a good addition last year, but unfortunately I think we didn't really get to utilize him well until late in the season. I am very high on Nick Townsend, I feel like he is the true future of that room. Emaree Winston also played very well last year before injury and figures to factor heavily into the mix. Surprisingly, Jordan Washington was a bit meh. Same goes for Spencer Shannon. I expect us to add another guy here, but I like where the room is headed.

Defense Positional Outlook

Defensive Ends - The best room on the entire team outside of Quarterback. Collin Simmons is a top 5 pick and the leading pass rusher in the nation. Lance Jackson decided to not wait until Ethan Burke graduated and just planted himself as the starter on the other side. Zina also looked like a future star player and pulled some go go gadget arms on a sack against Michigan that looked super human. Who just reaches over an offensive tackle and yanks a quarterback to the ground? Smith Orogbo also played really well in his limited action. With Muschamp coming in, his scheme will ultimately put another defensive end on the field with two true Edge backers and 5 technique ends. This bodes especially well for Lance Jackson and Justus Terry. It also bodes well for Zina, Orogbo, and incoming freshman Richard Wesley. Not to mention the ever feisty Colton Vasek on the 5 plays per year that he is healthy. Thoroughbreds don't go backwards. Oh yeah, and we may also bring in another guy from the portal.

Defensive Tackle - This room is also in good shape with the return of Hero Kanu and Maraad Watson to pair with the rising Alex January and high ceiling redshirt freshmen Josiah Sharma and Myron Charles. Yet, we still went out and got a mammoth over the ball 0 technique in Ian Geffrard from Arkansas. It wouldn't surprise me to see us take one more. I have no complaints about this room and look forward to taking for granted that teams just aren't going to run the ball well on us next season. Admittedly, we had a disappointing recruiting cycle in this room, but the year ahead looks just fine.

Linebacker - Thank you Ant Hill, go make your money. TyAnthony Smith emerged as a true game breaker last season, and he will step very comfortably into Hill's role as the leader of the defense. Bo Barnes also seemed to make the most of his opportunity during the Michigan game and have heard a few nuggets that Muschamp really likes him. I thought he played pretty well during the game for his first action against a big time opponent. Behind that, there are some real questions. Tyler Atkinson seems to be a guy who could make immediate impact, and I expect him to do just that. But holy forkballs does it get dicey after that. Brad Spence is not a natural stand up linebacker, but there is talk of moving him there. I don't think my eyes will ever get over seeing him let Ruben Owens pancake him on the goal line on a lead block in the A&M game. We need at least two impact dudes out of the portal in my opinion.

Cornerback - The emergence of Kade Phillips gives me a lot of optimism headed into the year for our CB room. I still believe we will bring in another guy to start opposite of Phillips in the portal, or potentially move Graceson Littleton to the outside, but either way we should be fine. I am not sold on Warren Roberson or Kobe Black being long term starters, but they both proved that they can make plays when called upon and provide quality depth in the room. I also have a sneaky suspicion that Samari Matthews is going to come in and displace someone by the beginning of the season, the kid can play and looks a little bit like a Kade Phillips clone with ultra long arms and fluid hips.

Nickel - This position has a bit of intrigue, but mainly due to where we decide to deploy Littleton. If we keep him at nickel, than we are set. If we decide to move him to the outside, then things could get a bit more interesting. Wardell Mack has played well there and could be the heir apparent, or Muschamp may seek to deploy Jelanie McDonald as a big nickel on occasions. Either way, I think we could use another guy here as an insurance policy.

Safety - The impact of the return of Jalanie McDonald cannot be overstated. He could be one of the best safeties in the country next season. But behind him it is a bit of a mystery. Xavier Filsaime has played well in spots this season, and I have heard good things about Zelus Hicks, but haven't really seen much of him to date. He reclassified so he could sign early last year and needed a year of development. Then there is the mercurial Jonah Williams, who I am starting to think may be an All American baseball player instead of an All American football player. If he decides he wants to do some stuff and go hit people, he is the obvious dude that you would want next to McDonald if he can pick up the mental aspect. But he will miss yet another spring, and so we should not assume anything. I feel like we will need one or perhaps two guys out of the portal here depending on how they feel about Hicks and Filsaime.

Kicker/Punter/Special Teams - If Day one of the portal has taught us anything, it is that we are ALL IN on specialists.

Thanks for the rundown. Dia Bell looks like the real deal at QB. James Simon and Derrek Cooper look to be star RB caliber. Hope they stick and get lots of playing time next year (including Bell, because the team needs a strong second string QB, ready to take over at a moment's notice.) Sark, dammit, give our second stringers some playing time next year. Commit to them so they won't enter the portal next year.

#15

I guess we’re getting the band back together

Welcome back to the Forty, Blake Gideon 🤘
#17
On 1/5/2026 at 2:20 PM, Vertigo said:

Well folks, it is that time of year and the offseason cycle is officially upon us once again. There was some good and bad this year, let's start with the good:

Arch Manning grew into the player that we all knew he was going to be. Granted, it took more time than we hoped and at times looked like a baby giraffe trying to learn to walk in the midst of a pride of fuck lions, but it did happen. The last half of the season was the start of what will be a true Heisman campaign. Collin Simmons has been everything we could have hoped for and has firmly established himself as the best pass rusher in the country heading into next season, and under PK's defense... his pass coverage skills improved significantly, because that's what you do with a great pass rusher. Too bad he was the only one. Will Muschamp makes his triumphant return to Austin to lead a defense full of pissed off demons in the front 7, and gone are the head scratching defensive secondary play calls with the return of Muschamp's hand picked protege, Mr. Blake Gideon. I am sure Blake will catch up quickly, and probably catch up with old friends, catch some of his old favorite places in town, maybe catch up with family.. I hear Denny's is still open. Jabbar Juluke also joins the staff in what is going to be a fantastic upgrade from Chad Scott, who seemed to be slightly less popular in the running back room than chlamydia.

And now the bad:

Kyle Flood is back after mismanaging his position room so poorly for three years that he almost managed to fuck up Arch Manning. After turning our noses up at the portal, at one point this season we had Conner Stroh single handedly tripping the entire left side of the line with his beached whale technique while Brandon Baker was in a dead ass sprint to be the most penalized player in Texas history. The fact that Neto or Nate Kibble couldn't unseat Stroh was equally alarming. Chris Jackson returns after being reportedly out with a not 1 but 2 year extension. Why? Because fuck you that's why. We have massive attrition and holes at LB, OL, RB, and Safety. But trust us... we got this.

Offense Positional Outlook

Quarterback - Arch Manning will be a Heisman favorite heading into next season, maybe sign a few more national brand deals, and probably pull more tail than the entirety of this board combined. It's good to be the king. Behind him we have an equally exciting KJ Lacy as the clear #2, who has been steadily climbing the ranks with real buzz behind him. Dia Bell joins the fray as a highly touted incoming freshman who will be on the stash and develop plan for a year. I expect us to head to the portal for a fourth scholarship QB in the Matthew Caldwell mold.

Running Back - This room is full of questions with very few answers as of today. With CJ Baxter, Tre Wisner, and Jerrick Gibson hitting the portal, Chad Scott cleaned out this room more effectively than drinking a bottle full of magnesium. Coming off of a quality bowl game performance versus Michigan, Christian Clark looks to see an expanded role next season. My biggest question is why did we not see James Simon versus Michigan? Was there some internal team discipline happening, is he a portal candidate, or did he just piss off Juluke? Inquiring minds want to know. We have reason for optimism in 5 star incoming freshman Derek Cooper, but he certainly can't be counted on as a day 1 bellcow. We seem to have whiffed on our first two big portal swings in Jayden Baugh and Isaac Brown, but we will need two solid options here, and at least one with some real size as an inside zone runner.

Wide Receiver - Wingo had some big moments this year, but proved he may not be a reliable WR1 with continued questions around his hands. Emmett Mosley turned out to be a great pickup last season and really started to assert himself in the back half of the season. With Parker Livinstone spit spit headed to our hated rival after trashing Texas on the way out the door, it is time for some of us to all admit that @closetojumping was right. Goddamnit. Kaliq Lockett made the most of his opportunities in the bowl game, and hopefully that gets him into the mix a bit more but I still have some big questions about McCutcheon and Ffrench. Can they or can't they play? Time will tell, but we also need to find another impact guy in the portal. Cam Coleman is the target, and as of this moment has not made a decision, but even if it is not him it needs to be someone. I also have a feeling that Jermaine Bishop might come in and start climbing the depth chart quickly.

Offensive Line - Offensive is the right term, what the fuck are we doing here people. We got some huge news in the return of Trevor Goosby, who is going to be a first round pick next season. Brandon Baker seems to have turned the corner into a quality starter after a nightmarish early season. Beyond that, we need a massive overhaul here. Gone are some dudes that can't cut it in Stroh, Kibble, and Neto. I have heard good things about the Coleman brothers, but we also heard good things about Kibble and Neto last year. I am not discounting a returning Andre Cojoe being in the mix for a spot on the two deep, but we need some true starters in the portal. Will the Michigan guys make it official and make it to Texas? That would be the ideal scenario, but if it doesn't happen we are going to be hunting for some SEC caliber starting quality players in a sea full of hungry sharks. Even if it does happen, we need a total of 4 or 5 guys in my opinion to shore up Flood's 3 year long experiment in the school for giants who don't football good.

Tight End - Endries was a good addition last year, but unfortunately I think we didn't really get to utilize him well until late in the season. I am very high on Nick Townsend, I feel like he is the true future of that room. Emaree Winston also played very well last year before injury and figures to factor heavily into the mix. Surprisingly, Jordan Washington was a bit meh. Same goes for Spencer Shannon. I expect us to add another guy here, but I like where the room is headed.

Defense Positional Outlook

Defensive Ends - The best room on the entire team outside of Quarterback. Collin Simmons is a top 5 pick and the leading pass rusher in the nation. Lance Jackson decided to not wait until Ethan Burke graduated and just planted himself as the starter on the other side. Zina also looked like a future star player and pulled some go go gadget arms on a sack against Michigan that looked super human. Who just reaches over an offensive tackle and yanks a quarterback to the ground? Smith Orogbo also played really well in his limited action. With Muschamp coming in, his scheme will ultimately put another defensive end on the field with two true Edge backers and 5 technique ends. This bodes especially well for Lance Jackson and Justus Terry. It also bodes well for Zina, Orogbo, and incoming freshman Richard Wesley. Not to mention the ever feisty Colton Vasek on the 5 plays per year that he is healthy. Thoroughbreds don't go backwards. Oh yeah, and we may also bring in another guy from the portal.

Defensive Tackle - This room is also in good shape with the return of Hero Kanu and Maraad Watson to pair with the rising Alex January and high ceiling redshirt freshmen Josiah Sharma and Myron Charles. Yet, we still went out and got a mammoth over the ball 0 technique in Ian Geffrard from Arkansas. It wouldn't surprise me to see us take one more. I have no complaints about this room and look forward to taking for granted that teams just aren't going to run the ball well on us next season. Admittedly, we had a disappointing recruiting cycle in this room, but the year ahead looks just fine.

Linebacker - Thank you Ant Hill, go make your money. TyAnthony Smith emerged as a true game breaker last season, and he will step very comfortably into Hill's role as the leader of the defense. Bo Barnes also seemed to make the most of his opportunity during the Michigan game and have heard a few nuggets that Muschamp really likes him. I thought he played pretty well during the game for his first action against a big time opponent. Behind that, there are some real questions. Tyler Atkinson seems to be a guy who could make immediate impact, and I expect him to do just that. But holy forkballs does it get dicey after that. Brad Spence is not a natural stand up linebacker, but there is talk of moving him there. I don't think my eyes will ever get over seeing him let Ruben Owens pancake him on the goal line on a lead block in the A&M game. We need at least two impact dudes out of the portal in my opinion.

Cornerback - The emergence of Kade Phillips gives me a lot of optimism headed into the year for our CB room. I still believe we will bring in another guy to start opposite of Phillips in the portal, or potentially move Graceson Littleton to the outside, but either way we should be fine. I am not sold on Warren Roberson or Kobe Black being long term starters, but they both proved that they can make plays when called upon and provide quality depth in the room. I also have a sneaky suspicion that Samari Matthews is going to come in and displace someone by the beginning of the season, the kid can play and looks a little bit like a Kade Phillips clone with ultra long arms and fluid hips.

Nickel - This position has a bit of intrigue, but mainly due to where we decide to deploy Littleton. If we keep him at nickel, than we are set. If we decide to move him to the outside, then things could get a bit more interesting. Wardell Mack has played well there and could be the heir apparent, or Muschamp may seek to deploy Jelanie McDonald as a big nickel on occasions. Either way, I think we could use another guy here as an insurance policy.

Safety - The impact of the return of Jalanie McDonald cannot be overstated. He could be one of the best safeties in the country next season. But behind him it is a bit of a mystery. Xavier Filsaime has played well in spots this season, and I have heard good things about Zelus Hicks, but haven't really seen much of him to date. He reclassified so he could sign early last year and needed a year of development. Then there is the mercurial Jonah Williams, who I am starting to think may be an All American baseball player instead of an All American football player. If he decides he wants to do some stuff and go hit people, he is the obvious dude that you would want next to McDonald if he can pick up the mental aspect. But he will miss yet another spring, and so we should not assume anything. I feel like we will need one or perhaps two guys out of the portal here depending on how they feel about Hicks and Filsaime.

Kicker/Punter/Special Teams - If Day one of the portal has taught us anything, it is that we are ALL IN on specialists.

probably pull more tail than the entirety of this board combined, not so he has taken the Tim Tebow pledge.

#18
On 1/15/2026 at 1:30 PM, Superhero said:

Need breakdown of the classes the players are taking to see if I should be impressed by the 3.31 GPA.

image.jpeg

#19
On 1/5/2026 at 3:20 PM, Vertigo said:

Offense Positional Outlook

Running Back - This room is full of questions with very few answers as of today. With CJ Baxter, Tre Wisner, and Jerrick Gibson hitting the portal, Chad Scott cleaned out this room more effectively than drinking a bottle full of magnesium. Coming off of a quality bowl game performance versus Michigan, Christian Clark looks to see an expanded role next season. My biggest question is why did we not see James Simon versus Michigan? Was there some internal team discipline happening, is he a portal candidate, or did he just piss off Juluke? Inquiring minds want to know. We have reason for optimism in 5 star incoming freshman Derek Cooper, but he certainly can't be counted on as a day 1 bellcow. We seem to have whiffed on our first two big portal swings in Jayden Baugh and Isaac Brown, but we will need two solid options here, and at least one with some real size as an inside zone runner. Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown to the courtesy phone!

Wide Receiver - Wingo had some big moments this year, but proved he may not be a reliable WR1 with continued questions around his hands. Emmett Mosley turned out to be a great pickup last season and really started to assert himself in the back half of the season. With Parker Livinstone spit spit headed to our hated rival after trashing Texas on the way out the door, it is time for some of us to all admit that @closetojumping was right. Goddamnit. Kaliq Lockett made the most of his opportunities in the bowl game, and hopefully that gets him into the mix a bit more but I still have some big questions about McCutcheon and Ffrench. Can they or can't they play? Cam Coleman in the house, bitches! Time will tell, but we also need to find another impact guy in the portal. Cam Coleman is the target, and as of this moment has not made a decision, but even if it is not him it needs to be someone. I also have a feeling that Jermaine Bishop might come in and start climbing the depth chart quickly.

Offensive Line - Offensive is the right term, what the fuck are we doing here people. We got some huge news in the return of Trevor Goosby, who is going to be a first round pick next season. Brandon Baker seems to have turned the corner into a quality starter after a nightmarish early season. Beyond that, we need a massive overhaul here. Gone are some dudes that can't cut it in Stroh, Kibble, and Neto. I have heard good things about the Coleman brothers, but we also heard good things about Kibble and Neto last year. I am not discounting a returning Andre Cojoe being in the mix for a spot on the two deep, but we need some true starters in the portal. Will the Michigan guys make it official and make it to Texas? That would be the ideal scenario, but if it doesn't happen we are going to be hunting for some SEC caliber starting quality players in a sea full of hungry sharks. Even if it does happen, we need a total of 4 or 5 guys in my opinion to shore up Flood's 3 year long experiment in the school for giants who don't football good. Welcome your new starting right tackle, Melvin Siani, and your new starting guard, Brandon Baker. Connor Robertson back at center, and a TBD at the other guard (Dylan Sikorski also signed, maybe he'll be ok. Also signed Jonte Newman, a former high ranking recruit to develop).

Tight End - Endries was a good addition last year, but unfortunately I think we didn't really get to utilize him well until late in the season. I am very high on Nick Townsend, I feel like he is the true future of that room. Emaree Winston also played very well last year before injury and figures to factor heavily into the mix. Surprisingly, Jordan Washington was a bit meh. Same goes for Spencer Shannon. I expect us to add another guy here, but I like where the room is headed. Welcome Michael Masunas, your run blocking tight end.

Defensive Tackle - This room is also in good shape with the return of Hero Kanu and Maraad Watson to pair with the rising Alex January and high ceiling redshirt freshmen Josiah Sharma and Myron Charles. Yet, we still went out and got a mammoth over the ball 0 technique in Ian Geffrard from Arkansas. It wouldn't surprise me to see us take one more. I have no complaints about this room and look forward to taking for granted that teams just aren't going to run the ball well on us next season. Admittedly, we had a disappointing recruiting cycle in this room, but the year ahead looks just fine. Also welcome Zio Williams, a former high ranking recruit to develop.

Linebacker - Thank you Ant Hill, go make your money. TyAnthony Smith emerged as a true game breaker last season, and he will step very comfortably into Hill's role as the leader of the defense. Bo Barnes also seemed to make the most of his opportunity during the Michigan game and have heard a few nuggets that Muschamp really likes him. I thought he played pretty well during the game for his first action against a big time opponent. Behind that, there are some real questions. Tyler Atkinson seems to be a guy who could make immediate impact, and I expect him to do just that. But holy forkballs does it get dicey after that. Brad Spence is not a natural stand up linebacker, but there is talk of moving him there. I don't think my eyes will ever get over seeing him let Ruben Owens pancake him on the goal line on a lead block in the A&M game. We need at least two impact dudes out of the portal in my opinion. Welcome Rasheem Biles, your new starting linebacker and potential All American. Also welcome Justin Cryer and Markus Boswell, your new linebacker break-in-case-of-emergency depth.

Cornerback - The emergence of Kade Phillips gives me a lot of optimism headed into the year for our CB room. I still believe we will bring in another guy to start opposite of Phillips in the portal, or potentially move Graceson Littleton to the outside, but either way we should be fine. I am not sold on Warren Roberson or Kobe Black being long term starters, but they both proved that they can make plays when called upon and provide quality depth in the room. I also have a sneaky suspicion that Samari Matthews is going to come in and displace someone by the beginning of the season, the kid can play and looks a little bit like a Kade Phillips clone with ultra long arms and fluid hips. Welcome Bo Mascoe, a talented CB from Rutgers. Choosing 3 from Littleton, Phillips, Mascoe, Roberson, Black and Mack will be a fun problem for Muschamp.

Some excellent updates to this.

  • Author
#23
7 hours ago, RabidM said:

whoa, when's the last time the AD lost money on the year?

Didn't they forego their conference income for the last year or two to make the move to the SEC? They also started paying out of pocket for rev share.

#24
On 1/15/2026 at 2:17 PM, Carl Spackler said:

Not sure where to put this, so I'll put it here. Team had a very respectable GPA for the fall semester. I like it.

FNY7-VZ37-X2-HK6-DGAEWKC252-PYQ.jpg

Edited by TreatyOak

#25

One obvious omission, but we're also the only team with two guys on the list.

Image

#26
1 hour ago, Vertigo said:

Didn't they forego their conference income for the last year or two to make the move to the SEC? They also started paying out of pocket for rev share.

Yes

The athletic department concluded fiscal year 2025 in a deficit because it did not receive a full share of revenue distribution from the SEC, according to Texas Chief Financial Officer Rob Novak. 

#27
34 minutes ago, Getafix said:

One obvious omission, but we're also the only team with two guys on the list.

Image

Putting Leavitt over Arch? Huh.

#29
4 hours ago, Getafix said:

One obvious omission, but we're also the only team with two guys on the list.

Image

Dante fucking Moore in front of Arch is just plain retarded.

#33
4 hours ago, The_Great_Hornsby said:

Dante fucking Moore in front of Arch is just plain retarded.

Dante Moore looked like twice baked ass the last two times the country saw him play.

Edited by South Austin

#34

Bill Connelly: Projecting the 2026 College Football Playoff bracket

One cycle ends, the next one begins. The circle of life and whatnot. With the 2025 college football season in the books, we now move on to 2026. Mark Schlabach's Way-Too-Early Top 25 is out, so it's time for the next step in the predictions process: Let's talk about who will make the College Football Playoff. Granted, we incredibly don't know for sure what next year's CFP will look like for sure -- hey, you can't rush these things, we might need only another three or four years of debates in fancy hotel ballrooms before reaching an obvious answer. Since, however, a 12-team playoff has turned out to be a lot of fun, we stick with 12 for a while longer. If we simply used Schlabach's rankings for this exercise, we'd be looking at a 12-team field resembling this:

First round

  • #9 Ole Miss at #8 Miami (winner plays #1 Indiana)

  • #12 ???* at #5 Oregon (winner plays #4 Georgia)

  • #11 BYU at #6 Ohio State (winner plays #3 Notre Dame)

  • #10 Texas A&M at #7 Texas Tech (winner plays #2 Texas)

(* There was no Group of 5 representative in Schlabach's list as, between the coaching carousel and the talent drain that is the transfer portal, there's no obvious standout in the pool.)

In terms of expectations, that's a perfectly sound place to start. But this sport likes to scoff at best-laid plans sometimes -- just ask Texas (No. 2 on Schlabach's list last January), Penn State (No. 3), Clemson (No. 7), LSU (No. 8) and South Carolina (No. 10). We get a lot of things right, but this sport still sets us up to whiff a lot. Keeping expectations in mind, then, let's talk about how this race will really go. Each conference title race brings certain rules to the table; for that matter, so do the battles for at-large bids and the Group of 5 auto-bid.

So here's what we're going to do: Instead of simply looking at "Who are the best teams on paper?" we're going to create some rules, some old-school heuristics, to guide us through precisely how this CFP race will play out. I enjoyed this exercise last year; sure, it correctly predicted only four of 12 playoff teams, but hey, using the Way-Too-Early predicted only three! This stuff is hard! And last year's rules don't even have to change that much.


Big Ten champion

The rule: It will be won by the best team not named Ohio State. We'll start with the conference that has produced the past three national champions. Ohio State won the national title in 2024 and spent most of 2025 at No. 1, but the Buckeyes incredibly haven't won a conference title since 2020 (when they won their fourth in a row). Michigan managed to get its nose in front and win three straight (2021-23), and while the Wolverines faltered in 2024, they still kept Ohio State out of the title game with a late-season upset. And in 2025, it was Indiana's turn to surpass college football's most consistently strong program.

Because I don't pick against a streak, let's say we're looking at a sixth straight non-Buckeyes champ in 2026. Per Schlabach, the most likely title candidates are No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon, with a drop down to No. 13 USC, No. 16 Iowa, No. 18 Michigan and No. 19 Washington. Oregon should be dynamite, I'm honestly very curious about USC, and Iowa was a series of gut-wrenching close losses from a magnificent season. But we're going to keep things simple here.

The pick: Indiana. I'm trying this new thing where I don't underestimate Indiana, so let's go with the Hoosiers. We don't yet know where college football's greatest turnaround story will end, and Curt Cignetti has already landed his next set of key veteran transfers in guys such as quarterback Josh Hoover (TCU), running back Turbo Richard (Boston College) and receiver Nick Marsh (Michigan State). Let's say for now that IU's run continues.

SEC champion

The rule: It has to be won by either Kirby Smart (2017, 2022, 2024, 2025) or a coach who has proved he can beat Kirby Smart (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023). This was the rule last year, and Smart's Georgia backed it up with a third title in four seasons. With as much as college football might have changed in recent years, the Bulldogs remain the final boss in the Southeastern Conference, and it has proved very difficult to knock them off their perch.

With Nick Saban now two seasons into retirement, there aren't many SEC head coaches who have proved they can take down the big bad team from Athens. In fact, there are only three: Ole Miss' Pete Golding (whose Rebels won a thrilling 2025 CFP quarterfinal), Alabama's Kalen DeBoer (who has all sorts of holes to fill in Tuscaloosa but has beaten Georgia twice in three tries) and, of course, LSU's Lane Kiffin (whose Ole Miss team beat the Dawgs in 2024).

Texas might be No. 2 in the Way-Too-Early, but Steve Sarkisian is still trying to figure out how to clear the Georgia hurdle. The only semi-cohesive logic I can pull from his hire of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is Muschamp's knowledge of Georgia's inner workings (he has spent the past five seasons fulfilling various roles in Athens); it can't be his track record, as he hasn't produced an elite defense as a solo coordinator since 2009. The world has changed just a bit since then. For now, the Longhorns are ineligible, and the only teams that can win the conference are therefore Way-Too-Early No. 4 Georgia, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 15 LSU or No. 21 Bama.

The pick: Georgia. Though I have quite a few questions about the Dawgs' offensive upside in 2026, I have very few questions about a defense that shifted into a rare gear late in 2025 -- CFP loss aside -- and returns burgeoning stars such as linebackers Chris Cole and Raylen Wilson and corner Ellis Robinson IV. Their ceiling remains high, and a Smart team will always know how to brawl. We'll say the Dawgs win a third straight title.

Big 12 champion

The rule: Either flip the close games around ... or go with the money. I was both right and wrong about the Big 12 in last year's CFP projections. On one hand, I nailed Utah's turnaround -- the Utes had fallen to 5-7 in 2024 because of a sharp downturn in close-game results (they lost five games by a total of 23 points), and they indeed turned that back around. The Big 12 enjoys a level of roster parity few others can match, and it's difficult to win (or lose) all your close games two years in a row. I thought Utah would have a great year, and that's what happened.

Another thing also happened, however: Texas Tech whipped out the proverbial checkbook and spent big to build a fantastic roster. Thanks in part to 2025 newcomers such as edge rushers David Bailey and Romello Height and cornerback Brice Pollock, the Red Raiders surged to the top of the Big 12 pile, improving a little on offense and a ton on defense. And their 2026 transfer class looks awfully exciting, too -- enough so that they're No. 7 in the Way-Too-Early despite losing a lot of 2025's best players.

In 2026, then, it's going to be Tech versus the best of the close-game turnaround teams. And two teams stand out in that pack. Kansas State went 2-5 in one-score finishes in 2025, 1-4 in Big 12 play, and between close losses and all the new demands of modern roster management, head coach Chris Klieman retired and was replaced by up-and-comer (and former K-State quarterback) Collin Klein. His first Wildcats roster will look awfully different, with over 30 players transferring out and 25 coming in (to date), but he did hold onto hot-and-cold quarterback Avery Johnson.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State went 0-4 in one-score finishes and 0-3 in conference play, and it turned what was destined to be a bad season into a truly awful one. The Cowboys went 1-11, sent Mike Gundy out to pasture, and brought in Eric Morris (who, in turn, brought in a lot of his recent North Texas stars).

The pick: Texas Tech. Another predictable pick. The Red Raiders are a far safer pick than either K-State or OSU, and after the level of domination they showed in 2025 (average score of Tech's Big 12 contests: Tech 38, opponent 11) we'll ride the hot hand. I do figure their defense takes a step backward, but the signing of quarterback Brendan Sorsby (Cincinnati), the addition of receivers such as Malcolm Simmons (Auburn) and Donte Lee Jr. (Liberty) and the return of a pair of strong running backs (Cameron Dickey and J'Koby Williams) could ensure that offensive improvement offsets any defensive regression.

ACC champion

The rule: It has to be won by either Clemson (2011, 2015-20, 2022, 2024) or a team that beat Clemson in the regular season (2012-14, 2021, 2023, 2025). This was last season's rule, and thanks to the funky tiebreakers that put Duke in the ACC championship game (which the Blue Devils won over Virginia), we get to keep it for 2026 even though Clemson's overall place within the ACC looks awfully shaky at the moment following the Tigers' worst season since 2010. Therefore, of the 17 teams in the ACC, only nine are eligible for the crown: Clemson, Clemson's four 2026 home opponents (Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech) and Clemson's four away opponents (Cal, Duke, Florida State, Syracuse). The ACC has three teams ranked on the Way-Too-Early list -- No. 8 Miami, No. 14 Louisville, No. 17 SMU -- and only one plays Clemson. So this one's pretty easy, huh?

The pick: Miami. The Hurricanes lose quite a few difference-makers, but with running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and receiver Malachi Toney returning and, presumably, Duke's Darian Mensah taking over at QB (though that could get awfully messy), the defending national runners-up are still comfortably the ACC's most proven quantity heading into 2026. The ACC is becoming pretty adept at throwing surprises our way -- SMU reached the CFP in its first season in the league in 2024, and Duke's title last year certainly defied many strands of logic -- but we know who the top dog is to start.

(Of course, an alternative rule could win the day in 2026: It's an even-numbered year, and therefore Clemson will win the league. The Tigers did so in 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024, after all. And it would be just like Dabo Swinney's antisocial squad to do the deed a year after falling apart under huge expectations.)

Best Group of 6 champion

The rule: The best team to schedule multiple power-conference opponents wins. Granted, the word "schedule" is important here -- Boise State technically scheduled multiple power-conference opponents when it added Washington State and Oregon State to its nonconference docket (which already included Oregon) for 2024, even if the Cougars and Beavers were power-conference cast-offs by the time those games officially occurred.

I've pretty much given up on the committee approach for determining CFP rankings at this point. The CFP committee's job is to craft a top 25 each week, but at this point it clearly thinks its job is to handcraft an artisanal list of playoff teams instead. Miami got into the CFP because there wasn't a team separating the Hurricanes from Notre Dame on the list, and therefore their head-to-head win over the Irish suddenly carried triple the weight that it would have had BYU or Alabama been separating the two in the rankings; that's madness. So is the fact that the committee so thoroughly uses the "Ain't played nobody" rule to determine its Group of 5 representative.

It's pretty hard for a good mid-major program to schedule power-conference opponents -- those power teams are probably looking for a win, after all -- and it's going to get even trickier with the SEC and ACC (sort of) moving to nine-game conference schedules. There are now fewer total slots available, and there's even less motivation to schedule a tough mid-major game. But the committee will still clearly favor the teams that managed to snag one of those contests.

James Madison was quite a bit better than Tulane on paper in 2025: The Dukes finished the year 27th in both SP+ and the FPI, while the Green Wave were merely 45th and 54th, respectively, and JMU had fewer regular-season losses, too. But Tulane was always going to rank ahead of JMU because the Green Wave had gone 2-1 against power-conference teams while the Dukes had gone 0-1. Granted, JMU got in anyway because of Duke's surprise ACC title, and while neither shined in the CFP, the Dukes still showed more of a pulse against Oregon (they lost 51-34) than Tulane did against Ole Miss (41-10).

It's clear that the edge for landing the Group of 6's guaranteed playoff bid -- and yes, it's now the Group of 6, with the Pac-12 fleshing out its roster -- will go to the teams that have managed to schedule well. By my count, 14 G6 programs have at least two power-conference opponents lined up for 2026, and perhaps not surprisingly, most of those teams were pretty bad last season.

Only five of the 14 finished .500 or better: 11-3 Tulane (2026 opponents: Duke and Kansas State), 9-4 Hawai'i (Stanford and Arizona State), 7-6 Georgia Southern (Clemson and Houston), 7-6 Washington State (Washington, Kansas State and Arizona) and 7-7 Miami-Ohio (Pittsburgh and Cincinnati). As much as I would love to make the case for a playoff push from, say, 5-7 Kent State (South Carolina and Ohio State) or 4-8 Tulsa (Oklahoma State and Arkansas), we should probably stick to semi-known quantities and give the pick to one of the five decent teams.

The pick: Hawai'i. Surprise! Picking Tulane would have been too easy -- plus, I didn't necessarily love the school's new head coaching hire Will Hall -- so let's go with some new blood. Timmy Chang's Rainbow Warriors began and ended the 2025 season with wins over power-conference opponents (even if they were just Stanford and Cal), and Hawai'i was awfully fun to watch. Granted, it lost star receiver Jackson Harris (LSU) and dynamite punter Billy Gowers (Indiana) to the portal, but coordinator Dennis Thurman's defense was the better unit in 2025, and if quarterback Micah Alejado can remain healthy (he missed two games and played hurt in others), he's a firecracker. So we'll say Hawai'i beats Stanford and Arizona State, wins the new-look Mountain West and becomes a playoff success story.


At-large bids

We need two rules to account for the CFP's seven at-large bids.

Rule No. 1: Six teams from the Way-Too-Early Top 25.

Exactly six of seven at-larges were accounted for in Schlabach's list in both 2024 and 2025. (The 2025 list: Ohio State, Oregon, Alabama, Texas A&M, Miami and Ole Miss.) We've already handed auto-bids to a few of 2026's top teams -- No. 1 Indiana, No. 4 Georgia, No. 7 Texas Tech and No. 8 Miami -- but that leaves us a pretty big list from which to choose six teams.

The picks:

Notre Dame. I was annoyed that the Fighting Irish were left out of the 2025 CFP, both because of the logic involved -- see the "physical separation" conversation above -- and because I thought they were good enough to win the national title. They lose key players like everyone else, including star running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price and receiver Malachi Fields, a huge difference-maker in 2025. But the defense appears loaded, quarterback CJ Carr was dynamite for much of the season and, well, Notre Dame always has good running backs. Throw in the gross new "Notre Dame is automatically in with a top-12 ranking" rule and a much easier early-season schedule and you have maybe the single most likely CFP team of 2026.

Oregon. As with Georgia, the Ducks' defense thrived ahead of schedule, with a pretty young core, in 2025. I was skeptical of the addition of transfer quarterback Dylan Raiola (Nebraska), but with the announced return of quarterback Dante Moore and a fabulous crop of 2025 freshmen, the Ducks should be loaded once more. No one's a sure thing in college football now, but Dan Lanning's team is awfully close, even if it still needs to address that "getting blown out by the eventual national champion in the CFP each year" thing.

Ohio State. OK, maybe Ohio State is a sure thing. The Buckeyes couldn't shift their offense out of Caution Mode when it counted in 2025, and it was costly. And though Ryan Day made what turned out to be a fabulous new defensive coordinator hire in Matt Patricia a year ago, he has an equally important hire to make on offense in the coming days or weeks. But no matter what, the Buckeyes will still have receiver Jeremiah Smith catching passes from Julian Sayin, with running back Bo Jackson -- who improved significantly throughout his freshman year -- in the backfield. There might not be a better starting point for any roster in the sport.

Texas. I was skeptical of the Longhorns, or at least their credentials for being the preseason No. 1 team, heading into 2025, and that skepticism proved warranted, as quarterback Arch Manning -- the least-proven preseason Heisman favorite ever -- had lessons to learn and both an unproven receiving corps and rebuilt lines struggled at times. But even if they're ineligible for the SEC title because of the Kirby Smart rule, it's hard not to acknowledge that (A) Manning was No. 1 in QBR from Nov. 1 onward and (B) Texas still won 10 games and went 3-2 against the final SP+ top 15. Even with Sarkisian taking a huge reach with his defensive coordinator hire, this is a more proven team heading into 2026.

Texas A&M. Just as I was skeptical of Texas, I was higher than most on Texas A&M, so let's ride that for another season. Mike Elko's Aggies fell apart offensively late in the year, which turned an 11-0 start into an 0-2 finish, and they'll have to replace star pass rusher Cashius Howell. But the return of veteran quarterback Marcel Reed and underrated star receiver Mario Craver, along with a portal-fortified offensive line and plenty of stellar defensive options, should ensure a pretty high level of play again in College Station. The SEC isn't loaded with sure things heading into 2026, but A&M has plenty to offer.

USC. Heading into 2025, it appeared that, receiver Makai Lemon aside, most of USC's best players would be scheduled to return in 2026. "Steel yourself for some serious USC hype this time next year, I guess," I wrote in last summer's Big Ten preview. The loss of Lemon and defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn perhaps softened some of that potential hype, as did the fact that they underachieved late in 2025 and missed out on a 10-win season. But Lincoln Riley signed ESPN's No. 1 2026 recruiting class to add to a roster that returns quarterback Jayden Maiava, two strong running backs and a wonderfully experienced offensive line. There are always justifiable questions about Riley's defense, and the conference schedule features Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, Washington and Penn State, so if you want to remain a USC skeptic, it's warranted. But life's about taking risks, right? Fight on.

Rule No. 2: A team that had a losing record last season.

We have to save room for some nonsense. The 2024 CFP featured an Indiana team that had gone 3-9 the season before. The 2025 CFP featured Oklahoma, which had managed just a 6-7 record in its first SEC campaign. Virginia also nearly made it after three straight losing seasons. Granted, I threw a North Carolina Hail Mary in last year's CFP projections, and that came up just a wee bit short, but someone weird will probably thrive, and there aren't many obvious candidates. What's your flavor: Florida (4-8 in 2025), Auburn (5-7) or South Carolina (4-8) from the SEC? Wisconsin (4-8) or, I don't know, Maryland (4-8) from the Big Ten? Florida State (5-7) or Virginia Tech (3-9) from the ACC? Baylor (5-7) or Kansas (5-7) from the Big 12? None of the above. If we're getting weird, let's get really weird.

The pick: Oklahoma State. Hear me out! Were the Cowboys abjectly hopeless in 2025? Absolutely. They plummeted to 1-11 with what was, per SP+, their worst team since 1963 (and they had some awfully bad teams in the 1990s). But they made a potentially dynamite hire in Eric Morris -- one of my favorite hires of the cycle -- and he has basically imported his dynamite North Texas offense, bringing in 17 former Mean Green players including stars in QB Drew Mestemaker, RB Caleb Hawkins and WR Wyatt Young. OSU will score plenty of points in 2026, and if the Cowboys' close-games luck flips as well, they could be a huge turnaround story. Huge enough to make the CFP? Almost certainly not. But I'm going to connect on one of these outlandish picks at some point, and I'm going to be so insufferable about it when that happens.


The CFP for the 2026 season

So we have our CFP field for 2026. Aiming for the most aesthetically pleasing pairings possible, we'll say the seedings line up like this:

  1. Indiana

  2. Georgia

  3. Texas Tech

  4. Notre Dame

  5. USC

  6. Texas A&M

  7. Ohio State

  8. Miami

  9. Oregon

  10. Texas

  11. Oklahoma State

  12. Hawai'i

First-round matchups

  • #9 Oregon at #8 Miami (winner plays #1 Indiana). The Mario Cristobowl, with a built-in 2025 CFP rematch in the quarterfinals.

  • #12 Hawai'i at #5 USC (winner plays #4 Notre Dame). Micah Alejado vs. Jayden Maiava is quite the tantalizing matchup, and this way we maybe still force the college football universe to give us a USC-Notre Dame game.

  • #11 Oklahoma State at #6 Texas A&M (winner plays 3 #Texas Tech). The New and Old Big 12 portion of the draw.

  • #10 Texas at #7 Ohio State (winner plays #2 Georgia). We get yet another Texas-Ohio State game (to go with the 2024 semifinals and 2025-26 home-and-home series), plus either another Sark vs. Smart game or a rematch of the fabulous 2022 Georgia-OSU semifinal in the quarters.

Predictions

  • First round: Oregon over Miami, USC over Hawaii, A&M over Oklahoma State and Texas over Ohio State.

  • Quarterfinals: Oregon over Indiana (revenge!), Notre Dame over USC, Texas Tech over Texas A&M, Georgia over Texas.

  • Semifinals: Notre Dame over Oregon, Georgia over Texas Tech.

  • Finals: Notre Dame over Georgia.

I never know which teams I think the highest of until I force myself to make some predictions. Apparently 2026 is Notre Dame's year. You heard it here first. The Irish appear loaded on paper, and whoever beats Oregon in the CFP has to win the whole thing. It's the rule at this point.

#35

Ian Boyd: What will the 2026 Texas offensive line look like?

The makeup of the Texas 2026 offensive line has been one of the harder things to anticipate and project amidst the portal window. There have been a lot of players coming in and out of the program on both sides of the ball, muddying the waters in projecting lineups. Eventually the picture came together on defense to present a clear and coherent lineup which could be expected to fit together and play great football next season.

On offense, there is a world in which the lineup comes together to form an elite unit. Texas has all of the most important and hard to find elements of a great offense, including an ultra-skilled dual-threat quarterback in his fourth year at school. However, some of the key infrastructure pieces which generally result from a good system and development are still question marks. The offensive line in particular is still something of a mystery as the portal season comes to an end. But let’s see if we can come up with a sensible lineup for the Longhorns earlier than Kyle Flood and Steve Sarkisian did for the 2025 unit.

Working outside-in

The most important pieces to an offensive line are the offensive tackles and the center. If you have real athletes with developed skill on the outside and a reliable and brainy veteran inside, you’re usually in terrific shape as long as the guards are competent. Texas is in great shape here. The 2025 season wasn’t quite good enough to propel left tackle Trevor Goosby into the early rounds of the NFL Draft where his talent should be taking him eventually, leading to his return.

Consequently, right tackle Brandon Baker will now get another year to play and develop before he’d be asked to step into a more prominent role. As it happens, Baker himself was quite solid in 2025 and certainly met the threshold for being a winning-player even if he wasn’t a star. To this already strong duo, Texas added Wake Forest’s left tackle Melvin Siani. At 6-foot-6 and 302 pounds he’s basically a taller and more experienced Baker with great length and athleticism but missing some strength and anchoring weight. All three could conceivably play left tackle without submarining Texas’ chances in a given matchup.

Beyond those guys, the Longhorns still have Jaydon Chatman on the squad who played a few spot snaps at tackle last year and has some athleticism and potential of his own as well as Andre Cojoe who was expected to be the third tackle in 2025 before blowing out his ACL in fall camp. They also added redshirt freshman Jonte Newman from Texas A&M, who has tackle length and athleticism but zero experience and questionable skill at this point in his career. Joining via the freshman class are athletic but undersized John Turntine and Kaden Scherer.

This room is well stocked with immediate options, future projects, and solid players aging into their upperclassmen seasons. We haven’t seen the room in better shape too many times this century.

Leadership at the snap

Most teams are happy if they have a quick, sturdy-enough center who is smart and composed enough to guide the rest of the O-line in all of the various calls on the field before making reliable snaps to the quarterback. If a team has enough athletes and knowhow to not only play a “good enough” player but a plus athlete with real size or power at center, then real magic can happen. Texas hasn’t hit that mark in an extraordinarily long time. The lines with Lyle Sendlein are probably the only units in Texas history that had a legitimately great, NFL-caliber prospect at center and even he was of average size at 6-foot-3, 308 pounds.

It looks like they’ll settle for “sturdy with lots of knowhow” with the return of redshirt senior Connor Robertson. His addition to the starting lineup in 2025 allowed the move of Cole Hutson to left guard and the overall stabilization of the unit. Why that didn’t happen earlier in the year, or from the beginning of the season once it was established Neto Umeozulu wouldn’t be in the starting lineup, we may never know. Establishing an NFL-caliber player at the position isn’t really in the cards, but finding another player with the ability to step in and provide sturdiness and knowhow will be an important offseason task.

Jackson Christian, the redshirt freshman from Port Neches-Groves, is the only obvious candidate here after the exodus of five young linemen through the transfer portal. Perhaps incoming transfer Dylan Sikorski could see some cross-training here but…we’ll get to that in a minute.

Offensive guard…the problem position

Offensive tackles are made in the womb, as they say. The combination of athletic traits and size that allow a young man to protect the edge of a line from the dangerous beasts defenses try to send around the flank are a genetic gift from God. There’s only so much you can do to develop the skills in a big man to stop Colin Simmons from wrecking your passing design if he isn’t a beast in his own right.

Guards are program guys. The position is all about strength, disposition, technique, and fit within a system. The goal of the system should be to help big, smart, strong, tough guys have a chance against superior athletes. A great mark of a program and the strength and vision of its culture is the caliber of interior linemen it can consistently produce to man the guard positions. This is a concerning mark for Sark’s Texas regime, especially coming off a year in which guard play was so bad it tanked the Longhorn offense in multiple games against middling SEC competition.

Offensive tackle is a near lock to feature Goosby and Siani while center almost has to be Robertson. Guard is far and away the most difficult position group to project. One obvious solution would be to take 6-foot-4, 308 pound Baker and slide him inside to guard. This would theoretically produce a massive upgrade in athleticism and pass protection to the interior at unknown expense to the caliber of run blocking. Complicating this solution is the fact Baker is in line to play left tackle in spring camp while Goosby rehabs an injury, reducing the reps he’ll get to develop as an interior linemen. Nevertheless, it’s very easy to imagine Baker offering Texas an upgrade at left guard even if the transition is less than smooth simply because the Longhorns were so Godawful at the position a year ago.

So right guard? This is normally the position where Texas likes to have their best run-blocker. The better lines of the Flood era have been a little right-handed in the run game, capable of picking up tough yards running behind DJ Campbell and what were often some massive and powerful dudes to his right in Christian Jones and Cameron Williams. Baker was smaller and less powerful than those guys but he was a very willing run blocker and Campbell had leveled up by 2025 enough to provide the real oomph.

Who’s bringing the oomph for the Longhorns? It probably won’t be Siani outside at tackle, it’ll need to be this interior spot. Options include the following cast of characters:

  • Dylan Sikorski, the hefty Oregon State transfer who has shown quick feet in pass pro but limited push in the run game unless allowed a running start on outside zone.

  • Jaydon Chatman, who figures to be aging into the lineup somewhere but at 6-foot-4, 306 pounds has been better known for his quickness and potential at tackle moreso than his punch in the run game.

  • Jackson Christian, who by all accounts isn’t ready to be the primary road-grader (if that’s even in the cards) and probably needs to stay at center.

  • Jonte Newman, who’s barely played inside or at all.

  • Andre Cojoe coming off an ACL injury.

  • Jordan Coleman or Devin Coleman, whichever of the two massive twins is taking faster to college football and assignment soundness. At 6-foot-5 and 354 and 331 pounds respectively, they are big fellas.

  • John Turntine, who is a powerful and athletic lineman but is currently somewhere in the realm of 260 pounds and a true freshman.

  • A walk-on.

If the goal is just to get the five most reliable guys together on the field, I’d say Chatman or Sikorski are the frontrunners for the role. If the goal is to chase run game upside in order to recover the punch lost in Campbell’s departure then the answer probably has to be a Coleman twin or Nate Kibble. Wait no, he transferred out too. Maybe Myron Charles? I wouldn’t hold my breath on something like that happening. The best bet is probably just to play the most athletic and experienced group, rolling with Goosby-Baker-Robertson-Chatman-Siani and trusting the run/pass conflict and spacing created by Arch Manning and the passing game to open gaps that this group isn’t quite strong enough to push open for themselves.

Knowing this coaching staff, they’ll audition Sikorski and the Coleman twins all spring while Baker takes reps at tackle and cling hard to the prospect of maintaining more size and punch before being willing to concede to playing a line that doesn’t include anyone heavier than 310 pounds. Obviously a lot can go wrong in this set-up. It might work out, but there will be a lot of mystery and tinkering between now and a final answer.

#37
On 1/22/2026 at 3:14 PM, Hookem10 said:

He said “ d get a stop fuck”

Um, nope.

#38
On 1/23/2026 at 11:01 AM, satyanash said:

Bill Connelly: Projecting the 2026 College Football Playoff bracket

So Mr. Predictor thinks the aggies are going to finish higher than Texas this coming season. Sure 🙄

#39
On 1/22/2026 at 11:18 AM, BrazilHorn said:

Putting Leavitt over Arch? Huh.

Can’t upset the aggies with 3 since they have none.

#40
On 1/25/2026 at 11:30 PM, NashLonghorn said:

So Mr. Predictor thinks the aggies are going to finish higher than Texas this coming season. Sure 🙄

The Aggies have always finished higher than us...next year.

Anyway I looked at our 2026 schedule and I think there must be some mistake. I don't see Georgia anywhere.

#41

Oh man, this dude requires a team to go to bat for him in a Trinidad Chambliss style lawsuit to be eligible, some Texas law firm is about to get some niiiiice billable hours.

Texas has signed Western Kentucky All-American offensive guard transfer Laurence Seymore, @chris_hummer and I have learned.

Began his career at Miami.
  • Author
#42
7 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Oh man, this dude requires a team to go to bat for him in a Trinidad Chambliss style lawsuit to be eligible, some Texas law firm is about to get some niiiiice billable hours.

Texas has signed Western Kentucky All-American offensive guard transfer Laurence Seymore, @chris_hummer and I have learned.

Began his career at Miami.

I can't wait until Signetti fields a team of 30 year old 10th year seniors.

Edited by Vertigo

  • Vertigo changed the title to Texas Offseason 2026 - Guard this, NCAA!
#43

He didn't play in any games in 2023 it looks like, so he has a pretty decent case. He left school after a couple weeks of practice.

#44

Evan Vieth: Texas adds the experience it lacked in 2025 to the offensive line in 2026

Entering the 2025 season, a large storyline about the defending SEC runner-up and CFP semi-final appearing Texas Longhorns was its loss of four starting offensive linemen. For the first time in three years, Texas wouldn’t have the trio of Kelvin Banks, Hayden Conner and Jake Majors anchoring the line from left to right, with Cameron Williams also entering the draft after starting for one season in 2024. But Texas fans had some confidence in the new line coming in.

Tackle Trevor Goosby flashed as a redshirt freshman backup in 2024, Brandon Baker was a rising sophomore who was a top tackle in the 2024 class, Cole Hutson had started before for Texas, and the guard spot opposite of returning starter DJ Campbell would likely feature a player entering his fourth year in the program in Neto Umeozulu. Still, though, that group was inexperienced. Goosby and Baker had a combined 393 career snaps entering the year, and they ended up being the strong points.

Campbell entered with a lot, over 1,800 career snaps, and Hutson added another 1,300 to the line. The problem was that Umeozulu got beat out in camp by Connor Stroh, and eventually he and true freshman Nick Brooks would take a bulk of the snaps at left guard. Those two entered the year having never played a snap of football. Even if you add Connor Robertson, who ended up being the starting center by year’s end, Texas’ offensive line entered the year with seven eventual starters having played a total of 3,744 snaps, half of which came just from Campbell and 83% came from him and Hutson.

Now, entering the 2026 season, Texas is in a much better spot after the addition of Laurence Seymore. Goosby, Baker and Robertson return as starters. After the 2025 season, they now enter 2026 with a combined 2,900 snaps between them. That’s already a good mark, but Texas added three OL with experience.

  • Dylan Sikroski: 444 career snaps

  • Melvin Siani: 1,577 career snaps

  • Laurence Seymore: 1,328 career snaps

Between these six players, Texas has 6,250 combined career snaps. Over 1,000 per player, and a 60% increase from 2025. Texas added 3,300 snaps of experience through the portal to a unit that already returns more starters than it did in 2025. It’s an immense upgrade of experience for the team, and though it took a while, Texas has rounded out an offensive line with five starters who have past starting experience. The Seymore move, and the others surrounding this branch of the team, showcase a dedicated effort to add experience to a young roster, a core element of what could potentially bring Texas into a national title appearance.

#45
2026 schedules are all set for power conference teams:

Toughest (per last year's power ratings):

Texas

Oklahoma

Kentucky

Weakest:

Virginia

Texas Tech

Houston
#46
24 minutes ago, texifornia said:
2026 schedules are all set for power conference teams:

Toughest (per last year's power ratings):

Texas

Oklahoma

Kentucky

Weakest:

Virginia

Texas Tech

Houston

Unfortunately the committee told us that strength of schedule doesn't matter. So we better lose no more than 2 games.

#49
14 hours ago, texifornia said:
2026 schedules are all set for power conference teams:

Toughest (per last year's power ratings):

Texas

Oklahoma

Kentucky

Weakest:

Virginia

Texas Tech

Houston

And the comments are all about "What about Ohio ST and their schedule?!?!?" without taking into account the OTHER 6 games they play that are trash.

And of course "once again the SEC is overrated bias" talk again.

1 hour ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Tech and Notre Dame have the weakest schedules ive ever seen

They're really, really bad...but ND's isn't nearly as bad as Techs.

#50
Texas is hiring Georgia’s Garrett Cox as a senior defensive analyst, a source tells @CBSSports.

Before Georgia, worked at TCU, Michigan, Tennessee and Alabama.

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