Tag: Longhorns

Oct 8, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive end Justice Finkley (1) and Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Keondre Coburn (99) sack Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Davis Beville (11) during the second half at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Texas, Oklahoma reach deal to leave Big 12 in 2024

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Texas and Oklahoma agreed to a $100 million fee to exit the Big 12 Conference a year earlier than their contractual obligation, meaning they will join the Southeastern Conference for the 2024-25 school year.

The Big 12 announced Thursday that the schools and the reached an agreement in principle regarding the exit fee.

“As I have consistently stated, the Conference would only agree to an early withdrawal if it was in our best interest for Oklahoma and Texas to depart prior to June 30, 2025,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. “By reaching this agreement, we are now able to accelerate our new beginning as a 12-team league and move forward in earnest with our initiatives and future planning.

“I appreciate the approaches of OU President Joe Harroz and UT President Jay Hartzell to ensure an amicable conclusion to this process, and look forward to the bright days ahead for the Big 12 Conference.”

Hartzell said in a statement, in part, “We have always been committed to fulfilling our contractual obligations to the Big 12. The collegiate athletics landscape has continued to evolve rapidly, and working together to accelerate our exit produced benefits for all parties. The Big 12 has been a respected partner for nearly three decades, and we look forward to a final season of spirited competition with our friends and rivals.”

“The exciting matchups and passionate rivalries of the past quarter century will always be a celebrated part of our shared history,” Harroz added in a statement, in part. “We look forward to showcasing that intensity this season, next season and beyond.”

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey wrote in a statement that the conference will “proceed with facilitating the transition of Oklahoma and Texas to become full members of the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024.”

He added, “We look forward to welcoming the conference’s new members and moving into the future as a 16-team league.”

BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston are set to join the Big 12 for the 2023-24 school year, giving the conference 14 teams for one season before the Longhorns and Sooners exit.

–Field Level Media

Jul 14, 2022; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of the Texas Longhorns helmet logo during the Big 12 Media Day at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Five-star LB, former A&M pledge Anthony Hill commits to Texas

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Anthony Hill, a five-star linebacker prospect who decommitted from Texas A&M last month, announced Thursday he instead will play his college football at Texas.

Hill, from Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, is ranked as the No. 1 linebacker and the No. 19 overall prospect in the Class of 2023 by the 247Sports composite.

Hill committed to Texas A&M in July before reopening his recruitment in November. The Aggies lost six straight games and finished 5-7, and a few highly-rated recruits decommitted from the program.

Southern California was among the other schools in the mix for Hill’s services. He’d also visited the likes of Alabama and Oklahoma.

Texas landed its second five-star commitment of the class, joining quarterback Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning.

–Field Level Media

Nov 19, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson (5) runs for a touchdown during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

No. 23 Texas eyes Big 12 title game, first must overcome Baylor

Posted on | by Field Level Media

No. 23 Texas will look to keep its chances of playing for the Big 12 Conference championship alive when it hosts Baylor on Friday in Austin in the teams’ final-regular season game.

The Longhorns (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) must beat Baylor and have Kansas beat No. 12 Kansas State on Saturday night to earn a berth opposite undefeated TCU in the league championship game. The Bears (6-5, 4-4) already are bowl-eligible and will aim to derail their longtime rival’s title hopes.

“We all understand the ramifications of where it’s at in the Big 12,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. “We don’t shy away from those things. We’ve got to do our part and see what happens after that.”

The Longhorns re-entered the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday after a dominating 55-14 road victory over Kansas on Saturday, their second win in their past three games.

Bijan Robinson rushed for a career-high 243 yards and four touchdowns in just three quarters as the Longhorns finished with 539 total yards — 427 on the ground. Texas also got 108 yards on 11 carries from Jonathon Brooks in an effort that included two TDs in the fourth quarter, one of which covered 70 yards.

The victory over Kansas ensured that Texas will have a winning season, and at No. 24, the Longhorns also moved back into the AP Top 25 as the only four-loss team that’s ranked. Texas’ four losses are by a combined 18 points.

“You can always look back and play the ‘what-if’ game,” Sarkisian said. “‘What if’ this play and ‘what if’ that play in a couple of other ballgames, but in the end, the resiliency our guys have shown, I’m very proud of that.”

Baylor came within a hold-your-breath, last-play field goal of ruining TCU’s undefeated season in a 29-28 loss in Waco on Saturday. The Bears will head into the regular-season finale looking to secure their 11th seven-win season in the past 13 years.

The Bears churned out 501 yards of total offense — their fourth game of the season with 500-plus yards — kept the ball for nearly 34 minutes and effectively shut down explosive TCU until the last seven minutes. Baylor’s Blake Shapen passed for 269 yards and a touchdown while Monaray Baldwin made six catches for 123 yards.

“I think always the emphasis is where I’m at right now, this is who I could become,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “And then further, just collectively, this is where we’re at right now, this is what we could become. You look at that game this past Saturday, and the effort, the speed and just all of it, that’s us right there. We just have to be able to execute better.”

The Longhorns lead the overall series 79-28-4, including a 48-10-2 all-time mark in games played in Austin. Baylor captured last year’s contest in Waco 31-24 but has not won in Austin since 2014, a three-game losing streak.

–Field Level Media

Oct 29, 2022; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Will Howard (18) drops back to pass during the first quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

No. 13 K-State flying high ahead of big game vs. No. 24 Texas

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Kansas State is coming off a historic victory. Now it’s time to prove that it was not a fluke.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 13 in the first College Football Playoff poll, defeated then-No. 9 Oklahoma State 48-0 last Saturday, the largest shutout ever over a top-10 team by a team lower in the rankings. It was the Wildcats’ first victory over the Cowboys in Chris Klieman’s four years as head coach.

They’ll face another squad Klieman hasn’t defeated when No. 24 Texas comes to Manhattan, Kan. on Saturday for a primetime showdown.

K-State (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) played exceptionally well against the Cowboys, and two Wildcats earned Big 12 player of the week honors. Quarterback Will Howard, who played for injured starter Adrian Martinez, earned offensive player of the week after going 21-of-37 for 296 passing yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Punter Ty Zentner was selected special teams player of the week after serving as punter, place kicker and kickoff specialist. He hit both field goals and all six extra points, plus placed two of his four punts inside the 20 without a touchback.

The defense shut out the Cowboys, who came into the game averaging 44.7 points per game, tied for third in the FBS. The last time the Cowboys were shut out was Nov. 28, 2009, when they were blanked by Oklahoma, 27-0. The Cowboys also were held to 217 yards of total offense, less than half their season average (466.9 yards per game).

Klieman knows it will take an equally stout effort to defeat the Longhorns.

“I know they’re extremely well coached and they have great talent,” Klieman said at his Tuesday press conference. “They’ll have some things we haven’t seen. We know they’ll attack us where other teams have hurt us.”

Klieman said he didn’t know whether Martinez or Howard will start Saturday, and he probably won’t say when he does figure it out.

“Adrian is closer (to playing),” the coach said, adding that Howard is playing well enough to consider starting him regardless of Martinez’s health.

Texas (5-3, 3-2 Big 12) was off last weekend after being defeated by the same Oklahoma State team that K-State pummeled. With a win over K-State, the Longhorns will have a good chance to compete for a spot in the Big 12 championship game Dec. 3. A loss will make it nearly impossible. The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma State and play conference-leading TCU, ranked seventh in the CFP, next week in Austin.

Texas is 3-7 all-time in Manhattan, including wins in each of the last two meetings. The Longhorns won the last game in Manhattan, 69-31, but that was against a COVID-depleted team in 2020.

No one expects that kind of result Saturday.

“They’re talented in all three phases,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said of the Wildcats. “They take care of the ball on offense and create a bunch of turnovers on defense. They limit their penalties. This is a great task, going on the road into a really cool environment, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers will hope for improvement after he completed just 19 of 49 passes against the Cowboys for 319 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Bijan Robinson leads the Longhorns on the ground with 920 yards and 11 touchdowns; he’s broken the 100-yard mark in six straight games and gained at least 130 rushing yards in three straight.

–Field Level Media

Oct 1, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (0) catches a pass for a touchdown against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Texas uses big first half to bury West Virginia

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Hudson Card passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns as host Texas ran away in the first half and beat visiting West Virginia 38-20 on Saturday in Big 12 Conference action in Austin, Texas.

Longhorns wideout Xavier Worthy caught seven passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another.

Texas (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) dominated the game’s first 26 minutes on the way to a 28-7 lead at the half as the Mountaineers (2-3, 0-2) were ragged on offense and porous on defense.

Card ended up 21-of-27 passing. Bijan Robinson ran for 101 yards and a TD for the Longhorns.

JT Daniels was 29-of-48 passing for 253 yards and a score in the loss, which snapped West Virginia’s two-game win streak.

Mountaineers running back CJ Donaldson Jr. was carted off the field with an apparent head and back injury midway through the third quarter and transported to a nearby hospital.

The Longhorns struck first on a 15-yard TD pass from Card to Worthy at the 6:08 mark of the opening quarter. Worthy then hit a wide-open Ja’Tavion Sanders on a 33-yard scoring pass after a backward pass from Card in the waning seconds of the quarter to go up 14-0.

Robinson scored untouched from the 1-yard line six seconds into the second quarter to boost Texas’ lead to 21-0. Sanders then hauled in his second touchdown catch of the game, this one from Card and covering 13 yards, with 4:22 to play in the half.

West Virginia cut its deficit to 28-7 on an 8-yard TD pass from Daniels to Kaden Prather with 13 seconds to play before halftime. The Mountaineers gained 83 of its 163 yards of the half on the scoring drive.

Texas immediately grabbed back the momentum on its opening possession of the third quarter. It culminated in Card’s 44-yard TD pass to Worthy that the receiver hauled in after it bounced out of the hands of the Mountaineers’ Aubrey Burks.

Tony Mathis capped an 18-play, 65-yard march with a 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to bring the Mountaineers to within 35-14. Texas responded with a 48-yard field goal from Bert Auburn with 10:22 to play.

West Virginia capped the scoring with a 4-yard TD run by Justin Johnson Jr. with 4:31 to play.

–Field Level Media

Sep 17, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson (5) runs for a touchdown against the UTSA Roadrunners during the fourth quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Gutierrez-USA TODAY Sports

Texas looks for faster start against rival Texas Tech

Posted on | by Field Level Media

No. 22 Texas will get its first taste of playing in a hostile environment when it squares off against always-dangerous Texas Tech on Saturday in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams in Lubbock, Texas.

The Longhorns (2-1) head to the South Plains after coming from behind to beat Texas-San Antonio 41-20 last Saturday, which was Texas’ third straight home game to start the season. The win came a week after Texas lost to then-top-ranked Alabama 20-19 on a field goal in the final seconds.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian praised his team for fighting through its first-quarter doldrums against UTSA.

“Being down 17-7, nobody blinked — nobody said, ‘here we go again,’ which I think a year ago we may have,” Sarkisian said. “We just stayed the course.”

Bijan Robinson, the Longhorns’ preseason All-America running back, ran for 183 yards and three touchdowns in the win over UTSA. Robinson scored on runs of 3, 41 and 78 yards, the latter a career-long scoring rush, and has racked up 311 yards and five TDs rushing this season on 51 carries to pace Texas’ ground attack.

Hudson Card, drawing the start at quarterback for the injured Quinn Ewers (left clavicle), passed for 161 yards and a TD and ran for 35 more yards against UTSA. Card will likely start again against Texas Tech, even after Sarkisian said Monday that all of his quarterbacks have been practicing.

Jahdae Barron returned an interception 44 yards for another score in the victory, the third non-offensive score this season, which is Texas’ most through three games since 2017. Barron was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Monday for his performance.

The Red Raiders (2-1) return home after a 27-14 loss at then-No. 16 North Carolina State last weekend. Texas Tech quarterback Donovan Smith passed for 214 yards and a 24-yard TD to Myles Price and ran 3 yards for the Red Raiders’ other score, but also uncorked two interceptions, including a pick-6 that resulted in a 20-0 deficit at halftime.

The loss was the first in the Joey McGuire coaching era at Texas Tech and came after an easy season-opening win versus Murray State and a double-overtime victory over then-No. 25 Houston, both at home.

“We have to be better in catching all catchable balls, getting vertical when you catch it,” McGuire said. “We’ve got to put ourselves in good situations. … But there’s some stuff that we’ve got to do as a staff to put these guys in better situations.”

Smith was the backup when the season opened but jumped into the starter spot when Tyler Shough suffered a collarbone injury in Week 1. In his two starts, Smith has completed 60.6 percent of his passes while being intercepted five times.

Texas holds a 54-17 advantage over the Red Raiders in the all-time series between the schools and has captured 11 of the past 13 matchups. The Longhorns scored 10 touchdowns in a 70-35 win over Texas Tech in Austin, Texas, in 2021.

“I have not been to Lubbock, but I’ve heard it’s an unbelievable environment,” Sarkisian said when asked about this week’s game. “I’m looking forward to it.”

–Field Level Media

April 23, 2022; Austin, TX, USA; Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (0) takes the field during Texas's annual spring football game at Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on April 23, 2022. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez-USA TODAY NETWORK

Report: Texas LB DeMarvion Overshown cited for marijuana, released

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown was formally cited on marijuana possession Monday after an incident in December, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

According to the report, Overshown did a “walk-through” with police Monday just after 10 a.m. The report added that Overshown’s punishment within the Longhorns program already has been handled by head coach Steve Sarkisian.

A report by 247Sports indicated that Overshown had less than two ounces of marijuana in his possession at the time of the incident and has been released.

Overshown is second on the Longhorns with 23 tackles, two behind fellow linebacker Jaylan Ford. Texas is 2-1 this season, nearly pulling off an upset of then-No. 1 Alabama in a 20-19 defeat Sept. 10.

A Butkus Award semifinalist last season, who also was honorable mention All-Big 12, Overshown has played in 38 games (22 starts) for the Longhorns over five seasons.

Selected to the All-Big 12 preseason team this year, the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder also is on the watch list for the 2022 Butkus Award, as well as the Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

–Field Level Media

Dec 31, 2019; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Junior Angilau (75) carries a flag onto the field before the game against the Utah Utes at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Texas WR Isaiah Neyor, OL Junior Angilau (ACLs) out for year

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters Monday that wide receiver Isaiah Neyor and offensive lineman Junior Angilau were lost for the season with torn ACLs suffered during preseason camp.

Neyor transferred to Texas this offseason after two seasons at Wyoming. He hauled in 44 receptions for 878 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, leading the Mountain West in touchdown catches. He was a second-team All-Mountain West selection in 2021.

Angilau, a rising fifth-year senior, started 34 of the Longhorns’ 35 games since the start of the 2019 season. He was utilized at both guard positions in 2021. Angilau was a second-team All-Big 12 preseason choice by Athlon Sports.

Sarkisian also said running back Roschon Johnson, defensive back Jahdae Barron and offensive lineman Cole Hutson would miss time with undisclosed injuries but were expected to be ready for Texas’ season opener against Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 3.

–Field Level Media

Quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws a pass as Newman takes on Lafayette Christian Academy in the LHSAA Division III semifinals on Nov. 24, 2021. Arch Manning

Top 2023 prospect QB Arch Manning commits to Texas

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Five-star quarterback Arch Manning, widely considered the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2023, committed to Texas on Thursday.

Manning is the nephew of former NFL greats Peyton and Eli Manning and the grandson of Archie Manning. He is the son of Cooper Manning.

Manning selected the Longhorns over a slew of powerhouses, including Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Clemson. He visited Alabama on June 10 and went to Georgia on June 3. He paid a visit to Austin last Friday.

The 6-foot-4 native of New Orleans is ranked as the top overall player in the 2023 class by 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals. In his junior season at Isidore Newman High School, he threw for 26 touchdowns and rushed for seven.

Manning could be the starting quarterback for Texas in 2025, the year the Longhorns enter the SEC.

–Field Level Media

Jan 10, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Agiye Hall (84) reacts during the second half after the game in the 2022 CFP college football national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

WR Agiye Hall transfers from Alabama to Texas

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Ex-Alabama wide receiver Agiye Hall, who was a sought-after four-star recruit in the Class of 2021, announced plans to transfer to Texas on Tuesday.

Hall was rated the 45th overall recruit in 2021 in the 247Sports composite. He was the class’ fifth-best receiver according to 247Sports and the third-ranked receiver per ESPN.

Hall caught just four passes for 72 yards as a freshman at Alabama. During spring practice this month, he was handed a suspension for violating team rules, and he opted to enter the transfer portal.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was the offensive coordinator at Alabama when the 6-foot-3 Hall chose the Crimson Tide out of high school.

The Longhorns will host the Crimson Tide in a nonconference game on Sept. 10.

–Field Level Media