Inside Texas October 18, 2021 | Texas vs Oklahoma State

STALLED OUT After a fast start, the Texas Offense bogged down in the scond half against the Cowboys

THIS WEEK: Cook For the second week in a row, the Longhorns blow a big early lead

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Five Quick Thoughts |

8

Second Half Sputters |

by Joe

Boyd Observations from both sides of the ball against the Cowboys

Post Mortem |

by

by Ian

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Scipio Tex

While there were good individual performances, the end result is another loss to an Oklahoma team

Recruitng Trail News |

by Justin

Wells and Eric Nahlin

20

Top QB Arch Manning visits Texas

Publisher -- Eric Nahlin | InsideTexas.com Editor -- Justin Wells | Lead Writer -- Joe Cook | Contributors -- Ian Boyd, Paul Wadlington, Gerry Hamilton, Bobby Burton | Designer/Photographer -- Will Gallagher To Subscribe/Customer Service -- Phone: 512-659-8167 | Email: help@insidetexas.com

Texas vs Oklahama State | October 18, 2021

October 18, 2021

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SENIOR NIGH SECOND HALF SP

by Joe Cook

With 11:43 left in the third quarter, Bijan Robinson took a handoff from Casey Thompson, ran left, cut upfield, made a couple of Oklahoma State defenders miss, and ran into the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown to make it 24-13 Texas.

LAWRENCE — With a spot in the Big 12 Championship on the line, all the Texas Longhorns had to do was get past Kansas. 3-8 Kansas. 1-7 in conference play Kansas. Lame duck coach Kansas

TEXAS KNEW WHAT OPPORTUNITY WAS AHEAD OF IT BEFORE ITS TOP 25 GAME WITH IOWA STATE. IF ANY LONGHORN DIDN’T, IT WAS UNAVOIDABLE IN PREGAME WHEN THE VIDEO BOARD SHOWED OKLAHOMA STATE TOPPING WEST VIRGINIA.

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IN THE GAME THEY PLAYED SATURDAY INSTEAD OF WATCHED, THE NO. 13 LONGHORNS SUFFOCATED THE NO. 18 IOWA STATE CYCLONES. inside texas

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HT SUCCESS PUTTERS PART II

BY JOE COOK

EVEN WITH QUARTERBACK SAM EHLINGER NOT PLAYING IN THE SECOND HALF. THE LONGHORNS’ DEFENSE AND CONSISTENT RUNNING ATTACK SECURED A 24-10 WIN, AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TEXAS TO PLAY IN THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A WIN AT KANSAS.

October 18, 2021

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Bijan Robinson

- TEXAS | OKLAHOMA STATE -

T

hat would be the final first down the

lead to a school from Oklahoma.

From that point on, Texas achieved

Texas Longhorn offense achieved

Texas took the lead on its first drive with

just three first downs. It scored one

a Robinson touchdown run, added a

touchdown, the aforementioned run by

Cameron Dicker field goal to make it a

Robinson.

in the game.

Texas punted on its next four drives

10-3 game in the first, then took a two-

before turning the ball over on downs

possession lead when Robinson scored

Cowboy defensive coordinator Jim

with 1:25 left, then giving the ball back to

on a wheel route midway through the

Knowles and his experienced 11 were

OSU via a Casey Thompson intercep-

second.

constantly in position and made the plays in front of them.

tion. Spencer Sanders would then kneel out the clock to seal a 32-24 come-from-

Up until that point, the Texas offense

behind win.

was getting the job done. The game

On Texas’ last six drives, the Longhorns

then turned on its head in the span of a

accumulated 14 yards.

“This has been two weeks in a row

few seconds.

“I do think that we did have a lot of self

where we’re just trying to hold on as opposed to attacking,” Texas head coach

Threatening to go up 24-3, Thompson

inflicted mistakes that we continue to have every week that we need to clean up,” Thompson said. “We can’t take turns making mistakes, whether it’s the offensive line, me as a quarterback, the running back, or the receiver, we can’t take turns making mistakes every drive.”

As a result, the amount of time the Longhorn offense spent on the bench meant the Texas defense was on the field often.

That same defense lost star linebacker DeMarvion Overshown due to a concussion ahead of the halftime break, which only made things worse for Pete Kwiatkowski’s side of the ball.

Oklahoma State ran all over the Longhorns in the second half, just as Oklahoma did, just as TCU did.

Marcus Washington

Cowboy running back Jaylen Warren tallied a significant chunk of his 193 yards

Sarkisian said. “We have to get it recti-

dropped back and looked for Joshua

in the second half. In total, Oklahoma

fied because you can’t play the way we

Moore in the Cowboy red zone. Jason

State rushed 33 times for 170 yards in

played the second half of this game or

Taylor II knew Thompson would look for

the second half, suffocating a Longhorn

the second half of last week’s game and

Moore, broke on the pass, picked it off,

defense that was already gasping for

be the team that we want to be.”

and ran 85 yards for the score, turning

breath.

what was almost a three-score game a For the second week in a row, Texas

“You can’t go three-and-out four times

one-score game.

in a row and expect those guys to keep

surrendered a second-half double-digit

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- TEXAS | OKLAHOMA STATE -

Bijan Robinson

holding up and keep holding on,” Sarki-

different combinations, none of them

The Longhorns hope the upcoming open

sian said. “Ultimately the dam broke,

worked against a stout OSU front.

week will allow them time to address

they got the lead, and we just couldn’t

the issues hampering the offensive

execute enough offensively to get it

“It’s little things that we really need to

product. It will allow for Robinson, who

back.”

focus on,” Robinson said. “Because you

has touched the ball 160 times through

see when you don’t, things like this can

seven games, to recuperate somewhat.

Despite Robinson’s three total touch-

happen. It always sucks because the

downs and 135 yards on the ground,

defense was doing really good, but we

It will allow for Sarkisian and staff to try

the Longhorn offense was held to one

couldn’t score the ball on a lot of the

and fix the problems affecting both sides

rushing yard in the fourth quarter.

drives.”

of the ball.

Texas ran 17 plays total in the second

The opposite played out for the

And to try to put together plans that

half. The offensive line couldn’t hold up

Cowboys, who exacted a measure of

prevent the Longhorns from giving up

against the OSU defensive front, and

revenge for their loss at the hands of the

662 total yards like against Oklahoma,

Thompson could not do anything to truly

Longhorns at home as a top 10 team in

or from tallying zero first downs across

threaten the Cowboy secondary down

2020.

the last six drives like against Oklahoma

the field.

State.

“We did not play very good comple-

So OSU keyed on the run, and they

mentary football again late into the third

Or from giving up another double-digit

keyed hard. No matter what combina-

quarter and into the fourth quarter,”

lead.

tion Sarkisian and Kyle Flood utilized on

Sarkisian said. “We just didn’t.”

the offensive line, and they used three Jean Delance

October 18, 2021

7

5

QUICK

vs

thoughts

By Ian Boyd

T

here was a point early in this game where Texas was al-

It was a 10-point swing on the scoreboard and a massive

ready in position to put the Cowboys away. They were

momentum changer for the game. Texas was never able to

driving down to the OSU goal line already sitting on a 17-3

maintain control of the game again and completely unraveled

lead.

on offense with four 3’n’outs, then a 4’n’out, and finally a bad interception to close the game.

Sure it was 3rd-and-10 so settling for a field goal seemed imminent, but first Texas tried to throw an under route they’d al-

A lot went wrong late in the game for Texas, nearly all of it on

ready converted on a previous trip to the goal line and Okla-

offense, while Mike Gundy painted a masterpiece of conserva-

homa State safety Jason Taylor saw it coming and housed it

tive game management.

for seven points.

#1: MIKE GUNDY PROTECTED HIS QUARTERBACK BETTER Spencer Sanders wanted to give the game away to Texas but his head coach wouldn’t

let him. After a terrible early interception, Gundy sought to eliminate the chance of Sanders losing the game for OSU by letting the air out of the ball and trusting his defense.

Running back Jaylen Warren got 33 carries for 193 yards, and until a few late runs

against a worn down defense, was getting stopped short of the marker as often as not.

Then he found a few creases late as Gundy kept adjusting his receiver splits and pounding away with the repeated opportunities he was given against Texas’ defense.

Spencer Sanders got several carries late and finished with 10, including a long draw on

3rd-and-17 which set up another chip shot field goal for kicker Tanner Brown. On the day

he was only 19-32 for 178 yards at 5.6 ypa with one touchdown and one interception. No additional turnovers though.

Meanwhile, Texas floundered on offense on nearly every possession after the pick-6 and only managed to run Bijan Robinson 21 times for 135 yards at 6.4 ypc with two rushing touchdowns and another one through the air.

Casey Thompson had a solid start to the game but finished 15-27 for 179 yards at 6.6

ypa with a touchdown, two interceptions, and three sacks. The final two Texas possessions were heavy on Thompson and were short-lived and ineffective.

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#2: TEXAS LOST THE GAME ON THE SECOND TO LAST POSSESSION Oklahoma State took a 25-24 lead and Texas got the

play up from the outside in and Thompson had no lanes

way down the field for a game-winning field goal. First

two yards.

ball back with over four minutes to try and work their

down they ran outside zone into the boundary for Bijan

Robinson and picked up an immediate nine yards as he fought off tacklers.

On second down they tried a bubble screen to Xavier

Worthy open in the flat, but Casey left it out too far out ahead of him and Worthy had to race into a big hit to

inside to push ahead for a first down. In fact they lost

So it came down to 4th-and-3, Texas ran a quick spot

play and when the first read was covered up, Thompson

quickly pulled it down for a scramble but OSU was sitting on it in zone and easily closed on him well short of the marker.

secure a catch.

The offensive line had a rough day while rotating differ-

This set up 3rd-and-1, where Texas hurried into a

guard, Thompson had a rough day after his pick-6 (and

quarterback zone-follow play which closely resembled the same call on fourth and short against Iowa State

in 2019 and suffered a nearly identical fate. Oklahoma State’s star outside linebacker Brock Martin blew the

ent players at virtually every single position except left after a huge shot he took), and yet on 2nd-and-1 and

3rd-and-1 with the game on the line Steve Sarkisian did not turn to Bijan Robinson to make the play. This was a big mistake.

Luke BTTT

Xavier Worthy

October 18, 2021

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- 5 Q uick T houghts | O klahoma S tate -

#3: THE DEFENSE HAD A GREAT GAMEPLAN AND PLAYED WELL Pete Kwiatkowski clearly caught Oklahoma State unprepared for their gameplan, the game was eerily reminiscent of the 13-10 loss in Austin back in 2017.

In that game, Texas shocked OSU with the 3-2-6 “lightning package” and ended up playing the dime scheme as their base defense when it was clear the Cowboys had no answer for it.

This time it was the opposite, a true 3-4 scheme with Ovie Oghoufo staying on the field at Sam linebacker rather than using a nickel. With outside linebackers crashing either side backed by quarters safeties, Texas was able to set hard, reliable edges against the Oklahoma State zone and zone-option schemes and force the ball back inside for the defensive tackles and linebackers.

Alfred Collins

DeMarvion Overshown left the game early with an injury but Jaylan Ford had 12 tackles, one for a loss, and showed great situational awareness to stuff a running back flat pass on an attempted two-point conversion.

Luke Brockermeyer added nine more tackles with two TFLs. Ray Thornton feasted with three TFLs, and Alfred Collins was a revelation in the pass-rush.

Spencer Sanders was starting to absolutely wither under the pressure and the ground game could get nothing going.

However, for the second week in a row the opponent was able to wear out the defense simply by virtue of offensive ineffectiveness. They ran 82 plays to Texas’ 60 and held the ball for 33:43. No defense can hold out forever under such circumstances and the gameplan was wasted.

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Steve Sarkesian

- 5 Q uick T houghts | O klahoma S tate -

#4: THE DEEP SHOTS WERE BADLY MISSED Much like their in-state counterparts, the Oklahoma State Cowboys made it a point to load the box against Bijan and didn’t give up on it despite Texas’ early leads.

The Longhorns only even attempted one deep shot for the whole game, a connection to Marcus Washington early on which set up a touchdown, and didn’t get another one off.

Part of the issue was clearly protection, Oklahoma State managed three sacks and hurried Thompson on several throws. Another issue was Thompson’s pocket presence, he’s clearly uncomfortable when the pocket is pushed and he can’t hitch up into throws. For good reason too, his final interception came when he tried to hit a corner route off his back foot and floated a ball out a sinking corner (probably unseen) was able to get under for the game-sealing turnover.

Texas is going to face loaded boxes in many a future game if they can’t protect their run game and the best way to do so is with shots over the top in the passing game. Sark never seemed comfortable doing so in this

Marcus Washington

contest. They tried a lot of sweeps and underneath throws and didn’t dial up as many shots as you’d normally see from a Sark gameplan, particularly against a team with shallow safeties.

#5 A LONG BYE WEEK LIES AHEAD What was the reason for the lack of vertical aggression in

week so they can avoid more protection miscues in future

the passing game? Was it a matter of Casey Thompson’s

weeks.

thumb limiting his ability to grip it and rip it? If so, they should have considered Hudson Card. Was it a matter of

Either way, Texas didn’t manage this game well. They

Thompson’s limitations as a vertical passer? Then they

regularly played to their own limitations on offense rather

should consider giving Hudson Card a chance to win

than their strengths and were dragged into a game man-

the job in the bye week ahead. Giving Thompson every

agement contest with Mike Gundy and his upperclassmen

chance to win this game was a justifiable move by Sark af-

they were nearly destined to lose.

ter his fantastic play against Oklahoma, but those chances didn’t yield much. It appeared as though he’d turned a

Sark now has to make the most of a huge recruiting week-

corner in the Cotton Bowl but Texas is now 2-2 in Big 12

end before a tough and important bye week ahead. Two

play and Thompson is 2-2 in terms of putting in winning

losses doesn’t disqualify Texas from the Big 12 Champion-

performances (TCU and OSU were bad outings).

ship game at this point but the Oklahoma schools each have zero, hold tiebreakers over Texas, and the Longhorns

Was it simply a lack of protection? Then they need to

still have a road trip to Ames ahead. There’s no margin for

finally nail down who the best five linemen are in this bye

error left.

October 18, 2021

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POST-MORTEM |

O F F E N S E

by Scipio Tex That was a frustrating home loss against a beatable opponent.

the game on a shaky Spencer Sanders, it turned into a tight

Credit Oklahoma State for fielding the more composed football

ballgame. Eventually, OSU notched another field goal to whittle

team, making better adjustments over the course of the game

the Longhorn halftime lead to 4.

(i.e. not beating themselves), and possibly having more players that wanted it.

That doesn’t disguise the fact that the Longhorn offense effectively stopped performing over the last six drives of the game.

The game turned sharply on a single play.

Those drives went thusly:

Up 17-3 with 6:58 left in the 2nd quarter, the Longhorns mount-

3 plays for -3

ed a lengthy drive to the OSU 18 yard line. On 3rd and 10,

3 plays for 7

Casey Thompson tired to hit Joshua Moore and was intercepted

3 plays for 3

by Jason Taylor II for an 85-yard pick 6.

3 plays for -6 4 plays for 7

That unfortunate play was a minimum 10 point swing. It took

1 play for 5

the air out of the stadium as surely as Chinese throwing stars hummed into a pool floaty and instead of a 20-3 or 24-3 Texas

That’s 17 plays for 13 yards. Which is how this kind of quarter

lead that might result in Oklahoma State having to put more of

summary happens:

ANDREJ KARIC (69), JUNIOR ANGILAU (75), JAKE MAJORS (65), DEREK KERSTETTER (68)

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Is that players? Is that coaching? Inopportune penalties? Sure.

to be clear-eyed about the level of play he’s getting from his thrower in a tight football game where the offense is struggling

The Texas offense just seemed to run out of ideas. No time more apparent than the second to last drive of the game that ended on downs, effectively ending any hope of a Longhorn

badly.

RB

rally.

Bijan had a great box score (and he certainly looked good in When you put aside all of the formations and motion, this offense has a very narrow scope. While Sarkisian can dress up some interesting looks, the offense is currently Xavier Worthy in the passing game and Bijan Robinson everywhere else. The tight ends don’t appear to be receiver eligible and the loss of Jordan Whittington as a viable third option who can go over the middle and create yards after catch with his physicality hurts. Secondary and tertiary options weren’t up to the task or in the game plan, particularly when Casey was asked to go from distributor to creator. That doesn’t mean other options don’t exist, but they haven’t evidenced themselves consistently.

At some point over the last two weeks, some time in the early third quarter, defenses realize that it’s just Bijan, Worthy, and some other guys and start to defend accordingly.

BIJAN ROBINSON

QB

person) but despite 21 carries for 135 yards rushing and 3 more

Casey Thompson didn’t play well. The thumb didn’t seem to

catches for 38 yards receiving for a total of three touchdowns –

bother him early, but after a good early start, his pick 6 really

a full and incredibly productive day by any standard – somehow

hurt Texas and a big second half hit seemed to shake him. Even

it felt like Texas didn’t get enough out of him from an in-game

granting that he had subpar protection and receivers weren’t

and game plan perspective. 175 yards and 3 scores later, there

exactly wide open everywhere, he began fading in the pocket,

was still meat on that bone. The inability to find working com-

throwing inaccurately or well short of the sticks, and held on to

binations in the running game late and letting OSU effectively

a couple of balls too long while drifting, effectively creating his

remove #5’s impact from the game is frustrating.

own pressure.

Keilan Robinson looked great on the little misdirection flip credHe turned it over twice in key moments and finished 15 of 27 for

ited as a pass reception but it was his only touch of the game.

179 yards 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions. His second half was

Roschon saw spot action and played fine in that capacity.

particularly tough. Should Card have gotten a series? Hard to say. The coaches have much better insight into Card’s level of

I don’t really buy the “put him at WR” takes as there’s more

engagement, practice performance etc but Sarkisian also has

involved there than just being a quick guy, but working him more

October 18, 2021

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OL Tope Imade got the start at guard as Angilau moved over to join Christian Jones on the left side. Karic and Conner also rotated in together on a couple of drives and were effective in run blocking.

The OL won some and lost some, mostly winning in the first half, with their performance sharply declining with the rest of the offense starting around the mid 3rd quarter.

Their struggles have become a chicken-egg proposition and it’s getting tough to tease out causalities.

Ending the game with effectively six useless drives isn’t DEREK KERSTETTER (68) AND TOPE IMADE (67)

fully into the game plan as a constraint threat, screen option,

going to fall on any one position cleanly, but you’d hope that the Longhorn running

swing pass target, or direct snap recipient makes sense to me.

game could show the same late proficiency that the Cowboys

This team needs more diverse weapons that can legitimately

did when they began cracking big runs by repeatedly hammer-

create fear in a defense.

ing the rock, getting after it, and tinkering with adjustments.

WR/TE

I’d like to know who owns the running game coordinator piece

Xavier Worthy came down to earth as the Cowboys gave him

of the offense in-game. Actual ownership – not titles for salary.

significant attention (5-28) and the Longhorn passing game

I saw one running game go stale while another with probably

struggled to operate in sync. Most of the throws to Worthy were

more limited resources kept trying little combinations until it

at or behind the line of scrimmage without any space afforded

found late game success.

to him to create. Credit OSU there as well. They were all over it.

Marcus Washington caught a nice deep ball for 58 yards in the

Final

first half on a fine Casey Thompson throw, but Oklahoma State

I hope Steve Sarkisian owns his own washer/dryer. Because

effectively shrugged:”Nice play. We don’t think you can do that

he’s not getting this mess cleaned up with only three quarters.

again. Guys not named Worthy aren’t beating us.” They were

shifted the entire weight of our expectations to the only unit that

right. Joshua Moore certainly also had an opportunity to step up

demonstrated any ability to perform.

but was largely limited to short gains.

Second half slowdown aside, be clear about what side of the The tight ends continue to be a non-factor in the passing game.

ball didn’t show up.

Blocking deteriorated over the course of the game across the board.

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POST-MORTEM |

D E F E N S E

KEONDRE COBURN (99), RAY THORNTON (46) AND LUKE BROCKERMEYER (47)

Texas unveiled a true 3-4 personnel package that saw a lot of

that it took Anthony Cook off of the field. I’d consider removing a

early game success against Oklahoma State’s offense. Ovie

Longhorn safety before taking our best tackling DB out.

and Ray Thornton played on the line of scrimmage setting hard edges while Ojomo-Coburn-Collins lined up inside.

Oklahoma State got us out of that look by going 3 wide and spreading the field. Oddly, even when OSU clearly wanted to

The result was a five man front, 5-2 alignment that freed up the

run the ball, Texas would go back to the 3-4 variant, but the DL

Longhorn DL considerably. Ojomo and Collins were able to line

would stop gapping, edge responsibilities got soft from the very

up in gaps and consistently attack instead of playing catch-

clear alignment early, and the Horns went into read and react

and-watch. Thornton and Ovie (14 combined tackles) were

mode. Jaylan Warren would read the disposition of the front,

big beneficiaries with several easy clean ups from the interior

slide laterally, make a decision, and then slip upfield for big

pressure created by the Texas DL. One downside of that look is

gains.

October 18, 2021

15

Kwiatkowski was also playing some rotations in some

key moments that did not represent our best run stopping lineups.

More crucially, the defense was largely back into catch-

blocks mode, and the onus for run stopping was placed

contest against a very mediocre Oklahoma State of-

fense, limiting OSU to only field goals for three quarters

of play, this is what the 4th quarter looked like on OSU’s last three offensive drives that didn’t involve a kneel down:

back on the linebackers and safeties while the edge

10-80 TD

or stand somewhat passively and get pancaked. You

3-42 TD

would either sprint upfield taking himself out of the play saw the results of that approach in the second half in

9-51 FG

Jaylan Warren’s 193 rushing yards. In fact, you’ve seen

173 yards and 16 points on their last three possessions

Pete K clearly doesn’t believe he can craft a viable de-

145 of those were rushing yards. In one quarter. Warren

so the reason their run game exploded in the 4th quarter

longer than 28 yards.

the results of that approach all year.

fense where the DL gap and attack. Jett Bush didn’t play, will need another whipping boy.

While the Texas D absolutely did its job for most of the

(went for 2, didn’t get it).

ran for 110 on those three drives and never had a run

The Texas run defense just collapsed.

JAYLAN FORD (41)

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LB

Jaylan Ford got the start after Overshown went down with a concussion and notched 12

tackles. #41 played well and wasn’t contact shy at all, he

repeatedly met Cowboy run-

ners and blockers in the hole, but like all of our off-the-ball

linebackers (and a lot of the team), he’s physically weak

and he got beaten down over the course of the game. Nice 1 on 1 tackle on the 2 point conversion.

Luke Brockermeyer played extremely hard, notching 9

tackles, including two for loss.

David Gbenda had 7 stops.

Gbenda plays hard, but sometimes it’s pointed the wrong way.

D’SHAWN JAMISON

Ray Thornton had his most

productive game as a Long-

horn – 6 tackles, 3 tackles for

loss. His effectiveness was directly tied to how Texas

played the interior DL. Ovie Oghoufo, same. It’s inter-

esting to see how their effectiveness waned in the final quarter.

DL

Seven games into the season, the Texas defensive

coaching staff realized that Alfred Collins is talented and should have a role that plays to his strengths.

Collins drew the start and was credited with 5 tackles, a

tackle for loss, and a QB hit, but his impact was felt even more than that. Oddly, our best pass rushing DL was taken off the field multiple times on 3rd and long.

Moro Ojomo played well and made a number of plays

where he spoiled the original run and created an easy clean up for an exterior defender.

Keondre Coburn played with more energy for the second straight week, but a foolish horse collar personal foul

nearly matched his output in the prior six games.

Vernon Broughton continues to play for mystifying reasons, including one stretch where Oklahoma State ran the ball all over us. Murphy and Sweat were solid.

DB

The Cowboys didn’t do much in the passing game, but

Texas corners playing off coverage on 3rd down with the game on the line was odd to see.

The safety position doesn’t need more discussion, but

Schooler drew most of the snaps over Jerrin Thompson.

Jamison had a solid pick on an errant Sanders throw and Thompson had a smart PI when he was beaten up the sideline.

Final

Oklahoma State has a poor to middling offense and the Texas D did its job for three quarters before unraveling against the Cowboy running game.

gave the Cowboys a new set of downs. His three tackles

October 18, 2021

17

RECRUITING TRAIL NEWS 2023 QB Arch Manning Visits Texas

by Eric Nahlin and Justin Wells

Sometimes it feels like we’re overcooking the coverage,

a shadow of a doubt Texas is recruiting him like it’s in a

but when you account for what Arch Manning would bring

trail position. The staff is taking nothing for granted.

to the program, not just the football field, I don’t think we are.

Let’s recap the reasons for optimism.

Beginning later this afternoon, Manning will visit Texas

1. It does not end with Steve Sarkisian, and it might not

for the second time since June. The name of the game…

even begin there, but the head coach is the driving force

getting the college experience. He knows the football

in this recruitment. That’s pretty typical, but in Sark,

pitch and he knows academics are quality, but he doesn’t

Texas has a robust resume to sell the position. Clemson

quite know what it’s like to be a student at UT.

can’t compete in this regard. Georgia, ditto. Same for Alabama, though they should feel free to sell Mac Jones

Inside Texas has been high on UT’s chances to ulti-

all they want.

mately sign the 2023 five-star but IT can tell you without

ARCH MANNING AND JALEN HALE

October 18, 2021

18

Fortunately for Texas, QB development might be the No.1 overall factor the Mannings are selecting for.

2. If not Sark, where does it begin? The school itself.

Arch’s father Cooper almost went to Texas. Arch’s uncle Eli almost went to Texas. His sister May almost went to Texas, too. A trio of almosts isn’t the greatest trend, but context for each still points towards a familial fondness for the University. There is a lot of overlap in Manning circles with Texas people. Given their vast reach, they surely have close ties to alumni of many schools, but WILL RANDLE -- PHOTO: JUSTIN WELLS

having countless friends on the UT side of things is a big positive.

3. Legacy and branding. The Mannings are smart business people who happen to be great at football. Texas will be in the SEC by the time Arch sets foot on the playing field. The opportunities are endless, not just in his time on campus, but for the rest of his life. The Mannings have enduring legacies at Ole Miss and Tennessee but Texas has incomparable reach.

The driving force is to be great, and Sark has an excellent sell for it, but this is a holistic decision and other factors also favor Texas.

LA Tight End Also Interested in Texas Inside Texas was able to catch up with 2023 Isidore

For the record, I don’t get the sense Randle and Manning are hell bent on playing together at the next level, but sources close to both wouldn’t be surprised to see the pair playing for the same college in a year and a half.

“I loved it all,” said Randle.

Newman (New Orleans, LA) tight end Will Randle after

Texas 2022 Recruiting Class

his unofficial to Austin over the weekend.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound pass-catcher and close friend of Newman five-star quarterback Arch Manning had an absolute blast. Will and Arch were able to hangout with a few players and fellow prospects from the 2022 and 2023 classes.

His list of things that stood out include: Atmosphere, facilities, and great restaurants. They might’ve noticed the high number of beautiful ladies in the 512 area code too.

Randle and Manning enjoyed Lake Austin and other amenities that the University of Austin offers the college student.

Justice Finkley (Hewitt-Trussville – AL) J’Mond Tapp (Ascension Catholic – LA) Jaray Bledsoe (Marlin) Aaron Bryant (Southavenz – MS) Ronald Lewis (Warren Easton – LA) Eoghan Kerry (Mater Dei – CA) Derrick Brown (Texas High) Austin Jordan (Denton Ryan) Connor Robertson (Austin Westlake) Cole Hutson (Frisco) Jamarion Miller (Tyler Legacy) Will Stone (Austin Regents) Lance St. Louis (Williams Field – AZ) Zac Swanson (Brophy College Prep – AZ) Kristopher Ross (North Shore) Bryan Allen Jr. (Aledo) Trevell Johnson (Arlington Martin) Maalik Murphy (Junipero Serra – CA) Jaydon Blue (Klein Cain) Armani Winfield (Lewisville)

October 18, 2021

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Texas Spirit Photo of The Week October 18, 2021

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