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Michigan
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USC
9-3 Alabama blows out 11-1 Georgia in the SEC championship game, knocking them out of the top 4. Michigan is undefeated, and the other three have one loss.
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Noticed something a little fishy with these two reports from TFB and OB.
OB
Spoiler* There's a very real sense that the Longhorns are closing in on a commitment from 5-star edge Colin Simmons. If you're wondering about when it might happen, circle the second week in July. That's not exact, but it's a ballpark time frame I was given.
* Part of the reasoning for committing in July might center on Simmons simply looking to take some pressure off of his shoulders.
* Don't be surprised if it ends up being a Texas vs. Texas A&M battle for Simmons in November/December. I was told that the motivation at A&M to keep Simmons away from Texas is significant and that the motivation will grow to higher levels if/when Simmons commits to Texas. One source told me that the sting from the Anthony Hill recruitment (and loss) still stings and that they will be hell-bent on returning the favor.
* Top three schools for likely Rivals 5-star Brandon Baker (in order): Texas, Ohio State and Nebraska. It's not the only reason for his current lean to Texas, but make no mistake about it, he's very interested in the NIL prospects at Texas.
* Something to just file away... if Georgia is one of the top one or two schools for a prospect, don't expect Texas to engage. It sounds like "It's Georgia" has taken on entirely new meaning. "UGA has an energized group of donors and idiots, alike,:" the source said. I don't know why, but that cracked me up enough that I thought I would share this specific comment.
TFB
Spoiler– There has been a lot of chatter this week regarding Colin Simmons coming off of his Texas official. I don’t want you all to get upset with me, but you know I have to give my honest opinion. I can confirm that Simmons has been a Texas fan throughout his childhood. I can confirm that he got the Rockstar treatment on his official visit and it definitely left an impression. I agree with those that believe that Texas currently sits in the pole position for him. Would a commitment prior to the season starting surprise me? No, it wouldn’t. Would a commitment put me at ease regarding his recruitment? No, it wouldn’t.
A commitment prior to the season would take a little bit of pressure off of the young man so that he can try to focus on his Senior season. It would likely get his phone to stop ringing from 6-8 programs and cut that number in half. I’m fully expecting for visits to be taken to a few games this Fall and I’m expecting some “unofficial” visits and in-home visits to take place in December in the weeks leading up to his signature. Just like the Wingo situation, it is likely true that Texas currently leads, but it may not mean a whole lot until we get to December. There is still plenty of work to be done. Watch LSU and watch the Aggies. A&M still has a very bad taste in their mouth following the Anthony Hill flip from last cycle.
– Interestingly enough, I heard through the grapevine this week that Texas has a better shot at 5-Star OT Brandon Baker than we all may have realized. We have mentioned in the past that Oregon was a major threat here. Well, that should alert you all that the young man cares about NIL. Come to find out, he cares about NIL A LOT and that means that Texas is going to be a major player here until he tells them otherwise. Ohio State is the other program right now that feels good about Baker. Either way, it seems like he is going to be leaving the state of California for college. On the flip side, I’d be shocked, SHOCKED if Georgia lets Daniel Calhoun out of state borders. There’s a special principle there with trench prospects and making sure that they stay home.
There was more to each report, but those paragraphs stood out to me. Same source?- 3
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- Popular Post
SpoilerCOLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M football team held its 10th out of 15 allotted spring practices Tuesday on the two outdoor Coolidge Practice Fields.
GigEm247 and the other media members in attendance were only permitted to observe the first three periods (approximately 15 minutes) of practice. The players were in full pads, but while the media watched, they were not put in any competitive settings that involve heavy contact like 1-on-1 drills, 7-on-7 work and 11-on-11 action.
Here are some notes and observations from practice.
Participation
The Aggies held a scrimmage last Saturday, and they are clearly still recovering. Nearly half of the projected starters did not participate in practice Tuesday.Three new starters – wide receiver Moose Muhammad III, linebacker Chris Russell Jr. and safety Jardin Gilbert – were not dressed out. None of them limped, wore a cast or brace, or showed any other signs of a serious injury.
Defensive end Malick Sylla was among new reserves who did not dress out. He notably had a brace around his right knee. Jordan Spasojevic-Moko, who has lined up as the second-team left guard, was not seen at practice for the first time this spring.
Below is a full list of players who missed practice or were limited because of injuries or other reasons.
Out for the spring: Starting left tackle Trey Zuhn III (torn labrum surgery), starting center Bryce Foster (torn ACL/with A&M track team), backup right tackle Hunter Erb (shoulder surgery), backup center Matthew Wykoff (unspecified reasons), early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman TJ Shanahan (torn ACL) and tight end Max Wright (unspecified reasons).
Still out after missing a previous practice that the media observed: Receivers Evan Stewart (missed three straight media-observed practices) and Ainias Smith (missed two straight media-observed practices), offensive tackle Josh Bankhead (missed three straight media-observed practices) and cornerback Tyreek Chappell (missed four straight media-observed practices).
Out for the first time, at least among the practices that the media observed: Receiver Moose Muhammad III, offensive lineman Jordan Spasojevic-Moko, defensive end Malick Sylla, linebacker Chris Russell Jr. and safety Jardin Gilbert.
Participated in a limited fashion: Safety Demani Richardson wore a yellow, no-contact jersey during practice again. Tight end Jaden Platt was seen doing some sideline work but participated in position drills.
Returned to practice after missing the most recent one that the media observed: N/A.
Disclaimer: I did not see cornerbacks Deuce Harmon and Jayvon Thomas at practice, but I did not have enough time to double check during position drills.
Lining up
The first three units on the A&M offense – but not the defense – ran multiple plays against air. The Aggies also simulated special teams. There were several differences in how A&M lined up compared to previous media-observed practices.With Stewart, Smith and Muhammad out, the Aggies only had four scholarship receivers available. The starting receivers were Noah Thomas, Jalen Preston and Micah Tease, while the backups were Raymond Cottrell and walk-ons Pierce Turner and Jacob Brasher.
A&M also mixed up its quarterback pecking order again, lining up Max Johnson as the starter while Conner Weigman worked with the second team. Spasojevic-Moko not practicing meant Aki Ogunbiyi received reps as the No. 2 left guard. The Aggies only had nine scholarship offensive linemen available.
Here is how the offense lined up:
First-team offense: Quarterback Max Johnson, running back Amari Daniels, wide receivers Noah Thomas, Jalen Preston and Micah Tease, tight end Jake Johnson, left tackle Reuben Fatheree II, left guard Kam Dewberry, center Mark Nabou, right guard Layden Robinson and right tackle Chase Bisontis.
Second-team offense: Quarterback Conner Weigman, running back Rueben Owens II, wide receivers Raymond Cottrell, Jacob Brasher (walk-on) and Pierce Turner (walk-on) tight end Donovan Green, left tackle Colton Thomasson, left guard Aki Ogunbiyi, center Remington Strickland, right guard John Sabra (walk-on) and right tackle Dametrious Crownover.
Third-team offense: Tight end Theo Melin-Öhrström, running back Le’Veon Moss and a handful of walk-ons (not enough players available to have 11).
Notes and observations
Disclaimer, along with a general observation: Of the five spring practices that the media has observed, none of them were as uneventful as this one. In the three periods we watched, A&M spent more than half of that time stretching, running plays against air or doing light special teams work.That being said, it seemed noteworthy how intense some of the coaches were in this practice. Considering the Aggies will have their second spring scrimmage Saturday, multiple coaches clearly wanted to motivate the players before that important practice. So they were louder. They were more instructive. And of course, they used more colorful language.
When teams are deep into spring practice, or even preseason camp, it is not uncommon to feel fatigued and lose focus. So to keep the players engaged, coaches often look to spice things up. That dynamic appeared to be the case here.
Offensive line observation: For multiple practices, Bisontis has lined up as the first-team right tackle. But it is important to temper expectations here. I would not count on him being a quality right tackle in year one.
Now, that is not to say that Bisontis can’t eventually develop into an effective player at that position, or that he would not hold his own at guard early in his career. He undoubtedly brings some solid potential. When watching his high school film and observing him in practice, though, Bisontis currently has the look of an offensive guard who needs time to grow into a right tackle. More practice reps in pass protection, along with more time in the weight room, should help Bisontis. Offensive linemen are obviously far from finished products as true freshmen.
Fortunately for the Aggies, they will not have to start Bistonis once Zuhn returns and Fatheree slides to right tackle. But with its lack of depth at the tackle position, A&M would likely have to turn to Bisontis or another unproven player if an injury occurs.
Injured players observation: It has been refreshing to see how some of the injured players have remained engaged during practice despite not being available to participate. Bankhead, for instance, hovered around the offensive linemen during position drills and occasionally offered guidance to players. Smith, Stewart, Muhammad and Gilbert were among other injured players who were seen encouraging teammates throughout practice.
Special teams note: Running backs Rueben Owens II and Le’Veon Moss, and defensive back Bryce Anderson were returning kickoffs during practice. Kicker Randy Bond looked accurate again on his field goals, going 6 of 6 with a long of about 43 yards.
247 spring practice update
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TFB
SpoilerI connected with a source last night who gave me some pretty interesting insight regarding the quarterback situation with Hudson Card and Quinn Ewers.
I won’t sugarcoat this one and it likely is not much of a surprise to many on the board.
The source said the quarterback job was “Ewers’ to lose.”
A reasoning for the favor leaning towards the redshirt freshman is the ability for the playbook to be used to its fullest extent. Just last week I mentioned the higher ceiling Ewers possesses from a talent perspective is likely going to be a determining factor and it sounds like that has exactly played into the decision.
My source added Ewers is the better quarterback in the RPO game and has the necessary consistency on deep passes which was a problem plaguing the Longhorns all season in 2021.
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Arch dump
On3
SpoilerNew Orleans Isidore Newman Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Arch Manning opened spring practice on Monday after an eventful spring, which included visits to Alabama, Georgia and Texas.
Manning, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, has no timeline for a decision but is moving closer to figuring out his next steps. He’s likely to see a few more schools this summer, including some official visits, and then re-examine his next move.
“I’m trying to get there,” Manning told On3 of making his decision.
“I want to get through this spring with this new offense and new coaches (at Newman), so after spring I’m gonna see about the official visits.”
“It’s kind of getting closer,” he continued. “I don’t really have a point yet, but I guess it’s kind of narrowing down. I’m looking forward to (making a decision) either before the season or during the season or after the season. If I was ready I’d commit right now I would, so I’m just waiting.”
Manning told On3 that Texas, Alabama and Georgia are all under consideration and he’s planning visits to see both LSU and Florida. Here’s more from the Five-Star Plus+ quarterback:
On Texas: “Maintaining the relationship with those guys (Steve Sarkisian, AJ Milwee); staying in touch over normal conversations has been good. The visit to Austin, we got to see practice and see what it’s all about. We sat in the quarterback meeting. It was fun to see how they interacted and I’m excited to see what they can do this year. They got a few transfers from Alabama and I think that offense can be explosive. Austin is a big city compared to the other two, so it reminds me a little bit of New Orleans. It’s a little weird, and they’ve got good coaches there.”
On Alabama: “Those coaches are all good guys. Alabama is a machine and everyone knows it. They practice hard, and they have dudes all over the place. They got a few good transfers and I’m excited to see that. Alabama has recently been able to have high quarterback play, so that’s been fun to watch and fun to look at in terms of making a decision.”
On Georgia: “I love coach Kirby (Smart) and he’s a real normal guy, a great coach. Georgia, the takeaway from practice there, is that they have athletes all over the field, especially on the defensive line. They have some studs and it shows; they had 15 players drafted. Athens is probably the best college town I’ve ever been to. The coaches are all good people, they know how to win, know what it takes, and it was cool seeing that.”
On Florida: “I’ve had a few conversations with Florida. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Coach (Billy) Napier, so I might want to get check and see what they’re all about.”
On LSU: “Coach (Brian) Kelly knows how to win … he’s won everywhere he goes pretty much. I have a former teammate, Bo (Bordelon), so he’s going up there this summer and I want to check him out, see how he does in practice and I’ll probably go up there for a game.”
247
SpoilerSpoke with Arch for an extended amount of time and will put together a Mike at Night at the airport. Here are some bullet points.
Manning doesn’t have officials scheduled but said Texas, Bama and Georgia will be there of the likely schools to get one.
He said he has no timeline for a decision and if he knew where he wanted to go he’d be committed by now.
He mentioned performance on the field would be something he was watching for at Texas and said his decision could go into the fall.
Recruits he keeps in touch with include Rueben Owens, Harris Sewell, Johntay Cook and Kadyn Proctor.
I’ll have more detail when I get to my gate.
Rivals
SpoilerNEW ORLEANS — Monday marked the first day of spring practice for five-star quarterback Arch Manning and his Isidore Newman Greenies team, as he touched the field publicly for the first time since the fall.
His development over the offseason was on full display as his filled-out lower body showed a lot of potential along with his quick release and delivery.
"It was good to get out here with the young guys," Manning said. "Balls were kind of flying around early, but it was fun. It's more serious this year and I like it a lot. Everyone is eager to learn, and it's exciting."
The question around Manning's recruitment moving closer to the summer has been what schools will land official visits. While the third-generation member of the first family of quarterbacks hasn't yet set any dates, he does have his eyes on three schools that will certainly land official trips.
"I think Texas, Alabama and Georgia will all get official visits," he said. "That's probably it right now."
All three of those programs are places he has been to many times, but this time around he plans on asking the tough questions to separate one from the pack.
"I think I want to ask questions I haven't asked before and ask questions that in recruiting you wouldn't say and you wouldn't hear neither," he said. "I want to ask the hard questions to help with the decision."
Despite a 5-7 record in 2021, Texas has seen some momentum in this recruitment in the media because of Manning's relationship with Steve Sarkisian and quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee.
"It was Coach Sark's first year with a whole new roster that he hadn't recruited," Manning said. "It's definitely hard to go in and be successful. I'm looking forward to see what they can do this year, that's kind of my deciding factor there. A year under his belt to see what he can do now."
Georgia has done a solid job with Manning and his family on previous trips to Athens, and Kirby Smart continues to show that development is big with the defending national champions.
"They have a really good staff and they have athletes all over the place," Manning said. "Whether it's o-line, defense, they got 15 guys drafted. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with quarterbacks this year and just build those relationships some more."
Alabama has seen consistent success at the quarterback position for the last half-decade with Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and now Bryce Young, and it has Manning interested in the "machine" that is the Crimson Tide.
"Their quarterback play has been insane the past couple of years with Bryce, Mac, Tua, so there's nothing really bad about Alabama," he said. "It's a machine and there's really good guys over there. I'm looking forward to building those relationships a little bit more and see Tuscaloosa one more time."
While some have speculated a late summer decision with Manning, the five-star says that he is still waiting to see some more from his top contenders, including things on the field.
"If I knew where I was going, I'd be committed right now," Manning said. "I just gotta figure stuff out right now."
ANALYST'S TAKE
I think the biggest takeaway from Monday's access with Manning is that fans should start preparing for his decision to get pushed into the fall. His dialogue continues to show that he is anticipating what is to come during the season with some of his top contenders.As for a leader, it's safe to say there is not a clear one.
Texas is a school that probably peaks his interest the most, but on-field performance in 2022 will dictate how the Longhorns finish in his recruitment. If Steve Sarkisian's crew comes out hot to start the season, especially with a strong performance at home against Alabama, then I could see Manning picking the Longhorns.
However, that is far from a given. Alabama and Georgia are once again primed for big seasons on the field, and the lurking first-year staffs at LSU and Florida continue to do work in the shadows. If Texas comes out flat and does not meet expectations, I see Georgia and Alabama battling towards the end with Georgia having the slight advantage at the moment.
As always, there is a ton of fluidity in recruiting. And just because this is arguably the most high-profile recruitment in history, that does not mean that Manning's recruitment is any different. Quarterbacks rarely pick a team, they pick a system, and there is still a lot of moving pieces to each puzzle of Manning's contenders moving into the summer.
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DT from TFB on NIL
SpoilerThe first round of the NIL era in College Football has gone about how we all expected it to.
You had one program completely overdo it in order to land what is *on paper* a silly recruiting class. The result of that is other financially-empowered P5 programs throwing all caution to the wind.
You all know about the Jahdae Barron episode at this point. It wasn’t reported as legitimate, but there was a similar recent situation with Xavier Worthy as well. Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian has been traveling all week as discussions are being held across the country on how the NCAA can attempt to put some type of parameters around this whole deal.
I have learned some very interesting information when it comes to this whole NIL situation: All NIL deals are not created equally and I’m not talking about just dollar amounts.
Some football players that are already in college have legal representation (agents). The guys with track records of performance that are in the Transfer Portal are going to be fine for the most part. What we have been seeing is these young men being contacted through back channels and then using their agents or handlers to let the coaching staff know that this is what they’re being offered and they can either meet or not meet at the man and the young man will either stay or enter the portal.
Well, student athletes that are still in high school do not have agents. This means that the young man is on his own, along with his parents and or guardian(s), to read through and decipher the fine print on some of these in NIL deals.
What I have learned is that a decent amount of these NIL deals that we have been seeing reported are actually loans from businessmen that are being given out to the student athletes and will at some point have to be paid back. That means these young kids coming out of high school are signing the equivalent of a 360-music deal.
There are instances of young men agreeing to lifetime NIL deals that will bleed into their professional careers (if the NFL is a real option). If/when they make it pro, they will be expected to pay that money back and then some. In the instances of players not meeting expectations or attempting to transfer, well, they will still be required to repay those loans that they agreed to.
The schools are clean in this deal because from their standpoint, these NIL deals are being crafted by entities that are separate from the programs. The 50k we’ve seen Oklahoma and Texas publicly promote? That is those programs making it loud and clear that 50k is what their involvement is. Anything that comes or goes outside of that is not of their concern. I don’t think that ya’ll need me to explain what type of hole financially that this hypothetical (not really) situation is going to put some kids and families in.
There are meetings as you read this by NCAA governing bodies to try to put some type of cap on this thing. What will end up happening is the schools paying a flat, uniform fee, in my opinion with a rule being in place that a certain amount cannot be exceeded by Power 5 programs. The trade-off for this agreement could possibly be the elimination of the 25-player limit per recruiting class with the 85-man limit still remaining.
Q in the comments: So you’re telling me that these ATM deals for these kids are actually loans? That is actually astonishing…. I could see this whole thing blowing up all over their face if this is true and comes to light.
A: Some of them- 2
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15 hours ago, Thiefery said:
Ketch talked about this a few weeks ago on one of his YouTube videos. UT is the only school that Arch has put on the uniform for on any of his visits.
https://twitter.com/GoatHouseBama/status/1405926382228627461?s=20&t=Jf3hT6CBzn4OPwllsuTc-A
Sorry I'm late, but why the fuck are you believing anything that Ketch says?
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Georgia 247 on Arch
SpoilerGeorgia did nothing to hurt its chances this weekend for sure. I think this Texas visit is important coming up to him as well. I know people want predictions, but I don’t think they are ready for this decision at this time either. I am confident and continue to be that Georgia has as good a chance as anyone does with this five-star QB. I don’t think this decision gets into July. I am told they want to be able to focus on his senior season and enjoy a little bit of family time this summer. Arch will be an early enrollee wherever he choses. Every visit is important now, and this weekend was a good one with his family in Athens I am told.
Georgia on3 on Arch
SpoilerI’m told this was another successful visit for the Bulldogs. Additionally, it sounds like no matter which way you slice it, Georgia is a top two option, meaning they are firmly in the thick of this. Is Bama one? Is Texas in the mix? I think it’s true both are still factors, but I don’t know that I’d put both ahead of the Dawgs right now. Again, this is one of those where I’ve encouraged you believe half of what you read and little of what you see. There’s been no more media saavy recruitment in my eight years doing this and rightfully so given the family we’re talking about. Dawgs appear to be holding strong, however.
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TFB said it was a defensive recruit, so signs point to Ashton Porter
SpoilerI don’t want to reveal the name yet in case he wants to make an announcement, but Texas is on the verge on adding a very nice commitment in the 2023 class to get the ball rolling there.
It could come as soon as tonight or later this week. This is a Defensive recruit.
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TFB on Denver Harris:
SpoilerThe long time priority for Texas is getting closer and closer to making a decision. However, before he makes a public commitment, K says Harris is likely to drop a top two to declare his finalists sometime this week.
With that said, we do not expect Texas to make the cut in the top two for Harris.
Texas has been making a strong push to get Jaylon Guilbeau back in the fold and he obviously remains a top priority with news of Harris’ top two.
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- Popular Post
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2 hours ago, closetojumping said:Without going into a bunch of details yet, yes, there are connections and there is going to be a pretty fucking big one soon with UT as well.
It seems like there's two potential connections that stand out, May Manning or David Morris.
May is the oldest of Cooper's three kids, and she graduates from high school this spring. Based off no real evidence, the pick could be UT. I didn't really dig too far into this for obvious reasons. This could be a big connection, but it doesn't feel like a "pretty fucking big" connection.
David Morris was Eli's backup at Ole Miss for four years. He founded a quarterback training and development company called QB Country. Steve Sarkisian currently follows the QB Country twitter account (I couldn't find any personal twitter account for David Morris). The NY Times reported that "since he was in junior high school, Arch Manning has worked at times with a quarterback coach named David Morris" in the following article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/26/sports/football/arch-manning-high-school-recruitment.html . According to Morris's bio on the QB Country website ( https://qbcountry.com/mobile-al/ ), he trained Eli in his offseasons. So there's a good connection there with Arch and the Manning family, but in order to make it a "pretty fucking big one" maybe Morris will be offered a position at UT?- 13
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Texas partnered with CDC but they can't get us the new Urban Meyer for free is very sickening.
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5 hours ago, Thiefery said:
SiriusXMs Spring CFB Tour show is really cool.. They interviewed Herman, CDC, Boyd, Beck, Orlando, Beck.. I have a subscription to XM, don't know how to link it for the board however you can get a free trial just using an email address.
8:35 Tom Herman
27:25 Kris Boyd
39:00 Tim Beck
44:30 Chris Del Conte
1:02:09 Todd Orlando
1:14:32 Andrew Beck
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Texas Recruiting Notes 2025: Now We Have a Machine Gun
in 🤫$9.95🤫
Posted
The On3 Elite Series measurements were published.
QB K.J. Lacey – Texas
Height: 5-foot-10.5
Weight: 181 pounds
Hand size: 8.625 inches
Arm length: 29.625 inches
Wing-span: 71.5 inches
Is success in the cards for Lacey at Texas or will Dia Bell push him off the tracks?