Inside Texas October 3, 2022 | Texas vs West Virginia

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BACK IN THE

THE HUNT

BY JOE COOK

AUSTIN, TX -- Texas' matchup with the West Virginia Mountaineers stood as an inflection point for the Longhorns' 2022 season. With a win over WVU, Texas would ride into the Red River Shootout above .500 and with a measure of momentum.

Byron Murphy

Aloss to Neal Brown’s squad, and Texas becomes a 2-3 team without a win in the Big 12 staring a potential 2-4 start in the face, with hopes for conference title contention likely destroyed.

Backs against the wall? Not quite. Important? Absolutely.

Beginning October with a defeat would have set up an uncomfort able remainder of the month for Texas football.

Thanks to an efficient performance on offense from Hudson Card and company, plus a stout defensive showing one week after a letdown

in Lubbock, the Longhorns took care of WVU in a 38-20 win.

Texas racked up 446 total yards on 60 plays, good for an average yards per play of 7.4. West Virginia aver aged a paltry 4.0 yards per play, 5.27 yards per passing attempt, and 2.0 yards per rush.

Unlike other contests of the Steve Sarkisian era, the first-half lead Texas built in front of over 100,000 fans remained throughout the second half. Playing better out of halftime was a major focus for UT and it showed as Texas won the third quarter 7-0.

“It’s a mindset,” Sarkisian said.

“It’s a mentality. It’s about mental intensity. It’s about focus. It’s about energy. There’s an old adage in coaching that you get what you em phasize. We made a big emphasis about it, and ultimately I think we got the response we were looking for.”

The Longhorns’ first-half lead of 28-7 built prior to their eventual vic tory was possible thanks to strong play from some of its offensive leaders.

Card, who received the start at quarterback yet again in Quinn Ewers’ stead, turned in one of his

Hudson Card

top performances as a Longhorn. He was 13-of-17 in the first half for 223 yards with two touchdowns, and finished with three touchdowns and just over 300 yards. Sarkisian described Card as being healthier than Ewers when asked why the Lake Travis product started under center.

Bijan Robinson eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground and played a role in icing the game dur ing Texas’ last drive.

Xavier Worthy had his first 100-yard game of the 2022 season, caught two touchdowns, and even threw for a score on a trick play. Ja’Tavion Sanders also hauled in two touch down receptions.

Texas’ defense made life tough for WVU quarterback JT Daniels. He completed 29-of-48 passes but only had one score, with 253 yards to his name.

The West Virginia offense never broke free against the Texas de fense, who recorded 7.0 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Even the WVU rushing offense couldn’t get going, with just 61 yards on 30 carries.

In so many different areas, Texas answered the bell versus the Moun taineers after failing to do so last week. In doing so, they passed one of a series of tests that will tell the tale of the 2022 season.

The win keeps the Longhorns in

position to compete in a volatile Big 12. Three teams — Iowa State, Oklahoma, and West Virginia — have yet to win a conference game. Two teams — Kansas and Kansas State — are 2-0. The other five are either 1-1 or 1-0.

At such an early juncture, the conference being up for grabs is no shock. Who is 2-0 and who is 0-2 is the surprise, and what made it so important for the Longhorns to get back on track with seven games to go in conference play.

It’s possible to make it to Arlington with two conference losses, but it’s almost impossible to make it there with three even in year where any body could beat anybody.

“There’s a lot of parity,” Sarkisian said. “There’s a lot of tough environ ments that people have to play in, so we have to take care of our business.”

That parity makes for an enter taining football season, but it also makes for a challenging week-byweek journey.

If Texas had dropped Saturday’s contest to WVU, it would have cre ated an even steeper uphill climb in the quest to reach the mountaintop.

They didn’t, and now sit at 3-2 with an opportunity to move to 4-2 over hated rival Oklahoma.

Jean Delance

Moro Ojomo

QUICK thoughts

By Ian Boyd

Texas had a big opportunity in this game to get back on track in the Big 12 conference standings, to beat an overmatched op ponent, and to build momentum for a crucial stretch of football.

They had to do so without Quinn Ewers once again, perhaps for the last time this season, but Hudson Card delivered with another solid performance.

Texas’ defense also had a nice time facing a team missing a top notch slot receiver or mobile quarterback and lit up the West Virginia passing game with pressure. They had three

#1: JA’TAVION SANDERS, GAME MVP

You could quibble and choose Xavier Wor thy. Texas’ deep threat was frequently tar geted by Hudson Card and brought in seven catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns while also throwing for another score. He’s an essential piece of the pie.

Worthy’s passing touchdown was to Ja’Tavion Sanders, who caught five balls for 78 yards and two touchdowns of his own. The other Sanders touchdown catch came when Texas spread out the Mountaineers in the red zone with Sanders isolated up top like Travis Kelce and Card found him in the back of the end zone on a slant.

Obviously Hudson Card also played pretty well. He was 21-27 for 303 yards at 11.2 ypa with three touchdowns and zero intercep tions (few near misses though). His ability to execute the early game scripts, pick up a few first downs with his legs every game,

sacks on quarterback J.T. Daniels and broke up seven passes. West Virginia’s run game never really got going and Texas’ early scoring helped marginalize that dimension to the Moun taineer attack.

A few sloppy looking onside kick attempts aside, it was a com plete game from Texas. “Sideshow” Bert Auburn even got in on the action with another 40+ yard field goal. Texas dominated their opponent from start to finish and now can have some confidence and momentum at a time when they will really need it.

and avoid turnovers has been clutch. Card also made a terrific throw down the field to Xavier Worthy in which he stepped up in a congested pocket. He’s getting better every week, it’s possible Texas could finish the season in Arlington if they had to rely on him all year.

JT Sanders was doing his work in both facets of the game, tying the run game and pass game together. He flexed out for the touchdown, motioned out to block on perimeter screens, cut across the formation to block on the split zone runs Texas rode to victory late, and then feigned those blocks to release into the flat for other catches.

When Sanders is blocked effectively and doing his thing in the passing game, he’s an NFL caliber tight end and it gives Texas an extra gear on offense.

Ja’Tavion Sanders

vs

#2: SUCCESSFUL SECOND HALF LEAD PROTECTION

Steve Sarkisian has had major issues in his time at Texas protect ing the second half leads his team routinely builds while executing the early game script. Big 12 defenses don’t let you just run the ball on favorable numbers and run out the clock, nor do they let you throw easy passes underneath and chew clock in that fashion.

They’ll pressure the ball, load up to stop the run, and force you to either beat them for quick scores or resort to quick punts. Either way, they get the ball back faster with a chance to score and make the game a shootout rather than a blowout.

The solution in this game was to dial up a heavy dose of RPOs, many of them disguised bubble screens attached to split zone running plays. Texas blocks those screens well, they have multiple guys who are dangerous targets for what they can do after the catch, and it allows them to call runs with a lead and just take the

free candy if opponents choose to load up against the run. Texas even used some tempo to guarantee they could run these plays successfully, opting to trade quicker drives which finding success and getting some points while keeping the defense off the field longer than a 3’n’out would.

Some teams will deny those quick throws more easily than West Virginia, who’s back to being a base zone team after losing their star cornerback. Nevertheless, Texas showed some creativity in getting the leverage they wanted and had a good plan this week for preventing another second half comeback.

Credit also to Hudson Card for another scramble to pick up a first down and keep the chains and clock moving in the second half. Second week in a row he’s done so, he needs to use his legs to maximize as a player.

Bijan Robinson

#3: A GOOD GAME FOR PASS DEFENSE

Texas definitely has a soft spot for crossing patterns, particularly when they’re blitzing their linebackers in order to get pressure, but once again they had another strong day on the stat sheet in terms of efficiency.

JT Daniels was 29-48 for 253 yards at 5.3 ypa with one touchdown and zero interceptions. Those are pretty weak numbers, you gener ally expect to win big completely denying passing game efficiency like Texas has done this season.

They paired this success with better but still not great “money down” defense. West Virginia went 9-18 on third down and 3-5 on fourth down. A lot of this came when they were fighting to make a comeback and already down bad, but they still had more success than Texas would like to see. Opponents will continue to attack Texas on fourth down so long as they can. It’s the trending strategy and an obvious maneuver if you’re playing from behind as Texas’ opponents regularly find themselves doing.

The Longhorns will need to continue to find answers here. Their blitzes will get better as the season progresses, both in terms of the coverage and also timing the blitzes and finding rush lanes.

They may also get a boost from improving play up front. Sorrell has three sacks through five games and Justice Finkley got more action in this game and continues to show promise. They unques tionably benefited from having Moro Ojomo back after he missed the Tech game.

Overall they’re doing a good job of contesting throws outside, mov ing quarterbacks off their spots, and denying early reads. When they can clamp down better in the middle of the field on crossers they might be a really great defense. Run defense continues to be a forgotten problem of yesteryear.

#5 OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS…

So here’s the deal. It’s Red River Shootout week now.

The Longhorns will play an Oklahoma team next week who’s 0-2 in conference play after a humiliating, 55-24 defeat against TCU where Robert Griffin III joked from the booth that TCU might beat Aaron Judge to 62.

Elsewhere Oklahoma State beat Baylor today on the road in Waco and Kansas State smacked Texas Tech at home in Manhattan. This league is wide open and a young Texas team with loads of weapons, getting better every week and playing defense, can definitely beat anyone else.

First they need to beat Oklahoma.

This is looking shockingly easy. I haven’t seen Oklahoma down this bad heading into the game since 2005 when they were contesting Vince Young with Rhett Bomar and that team played waaaaaay better defense than this Sooner squad. You can be sure Brent Venables and the surrounding culture will urge them on to the best performance they’re capable of but I’m not sure how good that even is and it may lack quarterback Dillon Gabriel who was knocked out today against TCU.

A win is a win, but Texas should go in with intent to destroy and send a message for recruiting and the rest of the league. Make this a “we the captain now” sort of statement game heading into the deeper stretch of conference play. The Longhorns can absolutely win the Big 12 and need to continue to grow and show it in the biggest game of the season.

Barryn Sorrell

#4: TEXAS’ BACKFIELD ACTIONS HAVE BEEN LETHAL

Texas’ play where they have multiple skill players in the backfield and release two against the grain of a zone play has been murderous this season. Hudson Card was regrettably 1-2 throwing to Roschon Johnson releasing on a wheel route on this play, a better throw on either play is probably a touchdown (Johnson wishes he could have replayed the second as well).

They had success throwing it to JT Sanders as well and Keilan Rob inson. It’s a misdirection sort of play but really a base concept at this point. It’s very difficult to defend because even if your flat defender covers the wheel, Texas has a second defender running into the vacated flat behind them. Look back at all of Texas’ big plays on this

throw and you’ll often find the second man to the flat was also wide open.

West Virginia was vulnerable to confusing backfield actions com ing in, this was apparent from their film against Kansas and Virginia Tech, and Texas definitely pounced on them.

The double pass was also well executed, particularly by Jordan Whit tington who sold a bubble screen block and Xavier Worthy who threw a great ball. I imagine they’ll have an awful lot more in the bag next week because…

Jordan Whittington and Xavier Worthy

POST-MORTEM | OFFENSE

by Scipio Tex

That’s the Texas offense Longhorn fans want to see each week. Creative, resourceful, attacking, opportunistic. Texas had a great read on the Mountaineers defense and built a game plan attack ing West Virginia’s back end weaknesses rather than attempting to serve some artificial notion of run game equity by running into the teeth of a run-stopping focused defense.

The gods of balance ignore feeble offerings and reward of fenses with 3rd and 8. If you read my West Virginia preview denigrating the Mountaineers secondary, it’s pretty clear that

Sark saw the same things and crafted a strong game plan that would see the Longhorns accumulate 250 yards passing and 28 points by halftime.

After a sputtering first series, the Longhorn offense dominated. Sark had faith in Hudson Card to hit open receivers and a healthy Xavier Worthy made all of the difference, particularly contrasted to the poor second half of offense last week against Tech in his absence. After an initial punt, Texas scored touch downs on their next four possessions of the half with drives

totaling 292 yards on 25 plays at an amazing 11.68 yards per play.

There were so many open receivers running around that Card’s nearly perfect first half could have been even better. He overthrew a wide open Xavier Worthy for a long touchdown and then threw a bad ball to Roschon Johnson on the side line that would have gone for another long six.

It’s a testament to the execution and game plan (and #1’s play) that Card could finish the first half 13 of 17 for 223 yards pass ing and two touchdowns still having two missed throws that would have pushed him over 300.

Texas only had 10 possessions overall. They scored touch downs on five consecutive possessions from the early first to early third and then added a field goal and a time consuming clock killing drive to end the game that demonstrated a good balance between short passing and tough running against a tired WVU front to seal the game.

The win was much more convincing than the 18-point margin as Big 12 officials decided to grab some television time at the expense of Texas continuity.

Texas was outstanding running the ball in short yardage despite WVU’s reputation for run stopping and last week’s struggles in Lubbock. Texas eschewed the RoCat and added a couple of new wrinkles to short yardage football, including a little pitch toss to Bijan Robinson.

Texas converted 3rd and short (3 yards or less) running the ball 4 of out 4 times attempted and Bijan had a pair of effective red zone carries that resulted in a 1 yard touchdown. Runs that lead to first downs and touchdowns are highly effective runs – even if the stat sheet says says those six runs totaled only 15 yards.

Sark spread the ball around and attacked every vertical and horizontal from 21 and 12 personnel. Texas running backs had 70 yards on 5 catches in the 1st half while Ja’Tavion Sanders added 4 catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns in the first two quarters. When non wideouts are are averaging 15 yards per catch and scoring frequently, the defense is in trouble.

QUARTERBACK

Hudson’s Card stat line was scintillating (21 of 27 for 303 yards, 3 touchdowns, zero turnovers) and he made a couple of terrific throws. The eyes downfield climb up the ladder to hit Worthy for 45 yards despite intense pressure was an outstanding throw (while the announcers nitpicked that it wasn’t perfect) and I loved his accuracy and zip in the wide receiver screen game.

The accuracy of those balls is the difference between 2nd and 8 and 2nd and 2. He missed a few big throws detailed above, but that’s football. Card connected on 78% of his throws at over 11 yards per attempt. He also used his legs when needed and had an opportunistic scramble for a first down.

RUNNING BACK

Bijan had 10 carries for 30 yards in the first half (which was more effective than you perceive given that 60% of those were

BIJAN ROBINSON

short yardage carries), but patience paid off in the 2nd half with 11 carries for 71 yards to put him over 100 for the game. He also added 2 catches for 34 yards. Roschon added another 41 yards on 8 touches. Keilan Robinson had his most active game as a receiver, nabbing 3 balls for 26 yards. Good game from the backs.

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END

A huge game from Xavier Worthy, who reminded us what he can offer the offense and how he creates for others. Apparently, he can also throw as he delivered a perfect ball to Ja’Tavion Sand ers in the second quarter.

Great football from Worthy all game in terms of concentration, route running and hands. 7-119-2 touchdowns and the afore mentioned touchdown pass.

Jordan Whittington is used to getting volume over bang for his buck, but this game was the reverse as he grabbed 3 balls for 58 yards, including a 31 yard run after catch where he showed his best acceleration of the year.

JT Sanders was terrific all game grabbing 5 balls for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sark kept the wide receiver rotations tight in 2 or 3 man sets and it was largely the Worthy and Whittington show outside..

OFFENSIVE LINE

The offensive line had some early tough moments in pass protection (Kelvin Banks even had a freshman wait I’ve got that guy moment), but as the passing game opened up the field and forced the Mountaineers to stop crowding the box, the line did an above average job in pass protection despite some leaks from time to time. Sark helped them with quick throws and play action.

Though Texas did not fully assert itself in the running game until the 4th quarter, that’s when you want an offensive line to assert itself. Also, note the 3rd and short running success I noted above.

That’s big time, even if it doesn’t fill up the stat sheet with num bers. The interior offensive line did a much better job of keeping on their block to create interior creases on short yardage. An area where Texas was extremely successful. Given the Moun taineer DL quality, Jake Majors had one of his best games.

FINAL

Texas handled a team that will finish in the bottom half of the league in a more convincing way than the scoreboard ex pressed. The Longhorn offense was on point. If Texas plays up to its potential, a big W in Big D is right there for the taking.

POST-MORTEM | DEFENSE

In the postgame press conference, Steve Sarkisian once again reiterated a message he’d mentioned twice coming into Satur day’s contest.

Specifically, the need for the Longhorn defense to better match coverage to its pressure packages, a problem that was identifi able against UTSA and proved deadly against Texas Tech. The defensive brain trust appeared very much on board with an early game plan that challenged West Virginia’s favorite spots and

timing in the passing game.

Were some of West Virginia’s early drops the result of Texas defenders distorting timing or JT Daniels getting off a less than ideal ball due to pressure and different looks? More crucially, was the outstanding energy from the Texas defense attributable in any way to a game plan that fostered early success through aggression and disruption?

D’SHAWN JAMISON

Sometimes taking the fight to the enemy and not offering them an easy escape valve underneath has intangible benefits that filter through the entire defense. You could see it with the qual ity of hitting and gang tackling on Saturday. Defense is largely mindset. Some game plans nourish the right one.

It also helped that JT Daniels is a statue and Texas didn’t have to fret over opportunistic QB runs. Texas also played several different fronts, including more use of three interior defensive linemen at once, some true 3-3-5 looks and far fewer defensive back blitzes (where Daniels could just throw to vacated space) and many more interior and linebacker pressure combos. That’s the right direction. Nickel and corner blitzes should be high leverage surprises. Not staples.

The Mountaineers had only nine possessions on Saturday. The Texas defense dominated the first five of them, holding West Virginia to 75 yards on 26 plays with four punts and a crucial turnover on downs near midfield. Combined with a red hot Longhorn offense, that staked Texas to leads of 28-0 and 35-7 which West Virginia eventually chipped away at by scoring touchdowns on three of their last four drives. Some of that was attributable to solid Mountaineer adjustments and playmaking, but the officials helped bolster some West Virginia drives with a Jamison personal foul called on a Sam James soccer flop and an absurd T’Vondre Sweat roughing call where he was found guilty of playing football.

Overall, Texas held West Virginia to 20 points and only 314 yards on 78 plays. A less than robust 4 yards per play average (Texas averaged 7.4). West Virginia only averaged 8.7 yards per completion (Hudson Card averaged over 11 per attempt) and though they ended up doing well on money downs, it was largely back loaded to the final quarter of play. West Virginia was 0-3 on 3rd and 4th down on their first two drives.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Outstanding game overall. Texas started Sweat and Coburn together which created different pairings and rotations through out the game that I favored. Texas ran some different fronts and Neal Brown remarked in his postgame that some of the looks took West Virginia by surprise.

While Texas only notched 3 sacks overall, pressure on Daniels was consistently good for long stretches and they frequently knocked him off of his spot. Sorrell had several good pass rushes (1.5 sacks, another QB hit, 2 pressures) and Oghoufo wasn’t found too far upfield even once. Prince Dorbah got a number of snaps and I was going to praise him for coming flat in backside pursuit to notch a tackle for loss like he was Joseph Ossai, but my praise was wiped out when he lined up in the neutral zone on the same possession on a 3rd and 8. Prince had 4 tackles overall.

West Virginia totaled only 61 rushing yards and they were re signed to the short passing game to move the ball. A big chunk of that is because of the Texas front winning. Byron Murphy’s box score says only 3 tackles and 1 tackle for loss, but he was consistently terrific and should have drawn two holding calls. Sweat had some impact plays, including a big run stuff that another Longhorn cleaned up, a big hit on Daniels (erroneously flagged) and a tipped ball, but the box score shows zero tackles.

In a similar vein, Ojomo had some good motor plays that didn’t show up in the game tally beyond his sack.

ANTHONY COOK

LINEBACKER

Jaylan Ford notched 14 tackles and did a nice job flowing to the ball throughout. The disposition of the Texas front and the overall defense allowed Overshown to play free agent all over the field and he notched 8 tackles and pursued well for four quarters. He’s not always sure what he’s doing in the passing game and it would be useful if Texas could do more than just delay blitz him. He has the ability to drop into a route break and get a pick. Tucker-Dorsey got some play in three linebacker packages, but Texas is starting to hone in on Ford and Over shown as our ride-or-die guys on the second level.

DEFENSIVE BACK

The Longhorns had a season high 7 pass breaks ups, led by Jamison’s 2. Jamison had a good game, even as WVU sought to target him early with Bryce Ford-Wheaton. Eventually, they moved their attention elsewhere. Coming into West Virginia, Texas had totaled 12 PBU in four previous contests. Were the increased pass break ups and Daniels’ 56% halftime completion percentage (14 of 25 for 142 yards) a function of more chal lenged routes and better up front pressure? It sure looked like it.

Jerrin Thompson had ten tackles and a pass break up. Anthony Cook had only four tackles, but I heard and felt all four of them. Solid games from both and it was nice to see them doing a bit more than just play two deep. Ryan Watts continues to tackle and run support well. Jahdae Barron had a preventable pass in terference and I’d like to see him jump a slant soon. This group played winning football overall. West Virginia’s longest pass

play was a 32 yard back shoulder fade to Ford-Wheaton on a perfect throw and Daniels averaged a measly 5.3 yards per attempt. A more aggressive game plan in terms of at tacking routes early rather than conceding “harmless throws” seemed to suit this bunch well. Overall cohesion was good.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Texas only punted twice, but Trejo’s first effort wasn’t good. Sideshow Bert Auburn drilled a 40+ yarder and is now a perfect 6 of 6 on field goals between 40-49 yards on the season and 10 of 12 overall. If you thought field goal kicker would be a season strength, raise your hand. West Virginia ran a great onside kick late that Texas was lucky to recover.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Texas didn’t have a good game plan for a limited offense in Texas Tech last week. This week, Texas had a good game plan for a somewhat limited West Virginia offense. The difference was written all over the field and the scoreboard. And in the locker room…

JAYLON GUILBEAU

"I MISS THAT

HAT"

BY JOE COOK

Members of Texas’ 2018 class were just freshmen the last time the Longhorns defeated the Okla homa Sooners.

Led by veteran players Sam Ehlinger, Charles Omenihu, Chris Nelson, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey, UT topped Kyler Murray and the Sooners thanks to a walk-off field goal by Cameron Dicker, the lowest rated member of the 2018 class.

The Sooners got the best of the Longhorns later in the season in a rematch at the Big 12 Championship game, but UT retained the Golden Hat, the rivalry’s trophy, until the 2019 contest. OU took back the gilded head covering in 2019, and kept it thanks to thrilling victories in 2020 and 2021.

That’s all to say, members of Texas’ top-three #revolU Tion18 class are 1-4 against the Sooners.

Seven players from the original 27-man group remain on the roster. Many transferred, while others found spots in

the NFL.

But for DeMarvion Overshown, Anthony Cook, Keondre Coburn, D’Shawn Jamison, Christian Jones, and the in jured Junior Angilau, this weekend’s Red River Shootout is likely their last shot at wearing the Golden Hat.

Or in Moro Ojomo’s case, the first time.

“I didn’t wear it because I didn’t feel like I won it,” Ojomo said Monday. ”I need to wear it.”

His teammates took a different approach. On Monday, Jamison called wearing the hat a “great experience.” Jones also put on the hat, and recorded the memory on his phone. It’s a picture he still has to this day.

“It was awesome,” Jones said Monday. ”I just remember I couldn’t stop smiling.”

Those memories are now almost four years old. Defeat in the last four meet ings is more recent in the minds of those players. For Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, he knows that will draw their attention.

However, he doesn’t want to overempha size those previous defeats in Dallas and make them the primary motivating factor.

“We can’t harbor our past,” Sarkisian said Monday. “We’ve got to learn from our past, and we’ve got to move forward. We’ve got to take the necessary steps.”

Sarkisian isn’t excluded from that advice. His first experi ence in the Red River Shootout last year didn’t go as planned. The Longhorns surrendered an early threetouchdown lead to lose on a walk-off rushing touchdown.

KEONDRE COBURN

Sarkisian isn’t gunning for revenge for 2021. Rather, he wants victory over Oklahoma in 2022.

A lack of focus on revenge makes sense. Oklahoma has a new head coach in Brent Venables. The quarterback that terrorized Texas, Caleb Williams, followed former Sooner head coach Lincoln Riley to USC, as did many other players. As coaches like to say, that was last year’s team and not this year’s team.

But the drive for the Longhorns to defeat their primary rival is there. Even with Oklahoma’s struggles in recent weeks versus Kansas State and TCU, the Texas head coach downplayed the idea his team might overlook a Sooner team in search of its footing and with questions at multiple positions.

“Last time I checked this morning when I walked in our building, the Golden Hat wasn’t in there,” Sarkisian said. ”We’ve got plenty to get ourselves prepared to go for.”

Sarkisian, a self-described college football fan, repeat edly mentions how much he enjoys the pageantry as sociated with the Red River Shootout. He said Monday he had goosebumps thinking about the idea of running out of the tunnel.

That anticipation was echoed by other players, many who may be surrounded by the split burnt orange and crimson crowd for the final time in their careers.

“There’s nothing like that Texas-OU rivalry,” Ojomo said.

Said Jamison: ”I’m looking forward to this week.”

Jones thought similar. ”It’s a big week,” he said.

When they take the field against Oklahoma, there will be one goal in mind. Texas’ fifth-year seniors want to regain the trophy that has eluded the program since 2018.

“I miss that hat,” Ojomo said.

Join the Conversation

RECRUITING TRAIL NEWS

by Gerry Hamilton

RIVER RIVALRY RECRUITING:TEXAS WINNING IN 2023 CYCLE

The Red River Rivarly stretches to the recruiting trail on an annual basis. In the 2023 cycle, Steve Sarki sian and staff have gotten the better of Brent Venables and staff inside the Lone Star State lines.

Two of the big wins for the Longhorns came out of Cen tral Texas, where the Sooners have won their fair share of battles over the years.

All told, the Sooners at some point offered 10 On3 Consensus 4-star prospects that are committed to the Longhorns. That includes three prospects that officially visited both schools in June.

Inside Texas takes a look at the Red River Rivalry recruiting battles in the 2023 cycle with two remaining in the balance.

Payton Kirkland, OT, Orlando (FL) Dr. Phillips

Committed to Texas: July 23

The juice: Kirkland surprised many, except Inside Texas, by committing to Texas July 23 over Michigan State and Oklahoma. The Sooners long though they had a real shot to win the Sunshine State battle. Kirkland made an official visit to Oklahoma the first weekend in June. Kirk land is one of the rare prospects to commit to a school prior to visiting. Texas offensive line coach Kyle Flood and running backs coach Tashard Choice worked some recruiting magic on this one.

Colton Vasek, EDGE, Austin (TX) Westlake

Committed to Oklahoma: August 1

Jaydon Chatman, OL, Killeen (TX) Harker Heights

Committed to Texas: June 26

The juice: Texas beat out Oklahoma, Texas A&M and LSU in a late June that saw a bevy of Texas verbals fol lowing Arch Manning’s commitment. Both the Longhorns and Sooners truly coveted the Central Texas nationally recruited tackle. He made an official visits to Oklahoma June 3, Texas A&M June 10, LSU June 14 and Texas June 24.

Derion Gullette, LB/EDGE, Teague (TX) High

Committed to Texas: August 5

The juice: While Gullette came down to Texas vs. Texas A&M, Oklahoma made a serious rin after the new staff was hired. Oklahoma targeted the 6-foot-3, 228-pound elite athlete from the start, and got him on campus twice. That included an official visit June 3. Gullette followed with official visits to Ohio State June 10 and Texas June 17.

The juice: The Texas legacy spurned the hometown Longhorns for a new and different experience. Brent Venables and staff targeted Vasek very early on after arriving in Norman. Oregon was considered a potential landing spot until the Big 10/Pac-12 drama began. The Texas staff has not given up on the 6-foot-6, 235-pound er. Vasek took in the Alabama-Texas game September 10.

Jaquize Pettaway, WR, Houston (TX) Langham Creek

Committed to Oklahoma: July 6

The juice: Pettaway picked the Sooners over the Long horns after officially visiting both schools in June. The Houston area speedster built a very strong connection with then Sooners wide receiver coach Cale Gundy. He was also drawn to the smaller environment in Norman. And his mother preferred the Sooners. Texas wide receiver coach Brennan Marion gave the Longhorns a legit shot. Pettaway visited Oklahoma June 3-4, Ole Miss June 10-11 and Texas June 17-18.

TARGETS YET TO COMMIT

Markis Deal, DL, Garland (TX) Naaman Forest

The juice: Deal remains expected to eventually pick

between Texas and Geor gia, but was at the TCU beat down of Oklahoma Saturday. The Horned Frogs continue to believe they have a legit shot. Oklahoma has been battling Texas for the final official visit, but a person close to the recruit ment believes the Longhorns get the final official visit. Deal does not plan to attend the Red River Rivalry game Saturday due to Naa man Forest morning football activities.

Tausili Akana, EDGE, Lehi (UT) Skyridge

The Juice: Texas knocked the September 10 official visit out of the park. The 6-foot3, 210-pounder has October official visits to LSU this weekend, and Oklahoma October 15. An official visit to Texas A&M is also possible in early November.

COMMON OFFERS

Cedric Baxter Jr., RB, Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater Texas commit

Jalen Brown, WR, Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep

LSU commit

DeAndre Moore, WR, Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco Louisville commit

Jaden Greathouse, WR, Austin (Texas) Westlake

Notre Dame commit

Duce Robinson, TE, Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle

Colton Thomasson, OT, Spring Branch (TX) Smithson Valley

Texas A&M commit

Tre Wisner, RB, DeSoto (Texas) High Texas commit

, RB, DeSoto (Texas) High

Harris Sewell, IOL, Odessa (Texas) Permian Clemson commit

David Hicks, DL, Katy (Texas) Paetow

Texas commit

Johntay Cook II, WR, DeSoto (Texas) High Texas commit

S’Maje Burrell, LB, Fort Worth (Texas) North Crowley Texas commit

Liona Lefau, LB, Kahuku (Hawaii) High Texas commit

Derek Williams, S, New Iberia (La.) Westgate Texas commit

Texas A&M commit

Jordan Renaud, DL, Tyler (Texas) Legacy Alabama commit

Hunter Osborne, DL, Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville Alabama commit

Anthony Hill, LB, Denton (Texas) Ryan

Texas A&M commit

Jamel Johnson

Texas commit

Jamel Johnson, S, Arlington (Texas) Seguin Texas commit

Markai Vickers, S, Tallahassee (Fla.) Munroe Day School

Oklahoma commit

Javien Toviano, DB, Arlington (Texas) Martin

Undecided

Dalton Brooks, S, Shiner (Texas) High

Texas A&M commit

JAMEL JOHNSON |

PHOTO BY JUSTIN WELLS

Texas

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