
LIVE: Texas Football Analysis & Viewer Questions Answered
Loading summary
Groons Brand Announcer
Summer routines live or die by how easy they are. And honestly, if something takes too much effort, I'm out. That's why Groons is my go to. It's one daily pack of gummies covering my greens, vitamins and minerals. Plus it has 6 grams of prebiotic fiber, which is more than 2 cups of broccoli. No mixing powders, no giant pills, no hassle. I just rip open the pack and I'm done. They taste good and make it easy to stay on top of my health even when life gets busy. Save up to 52% off with code Podcastruns co. That's Code Podcastruns co. You
Jerry Hamilton
know, recommendations can be great. Maybe someone recommended this podcast and here you are. But home projects are different. If a podcast isn't your thing, you lose a few minutes. If you hire your cousin's neighbor to mount your tv, you might end up with a lopsided screen and wall damage. Maybe I know a guy just isn't enough for your home. That's why thumbtack works. It matches you with top rated local pros with photos, reviews and credentials all in one place. For your next home project, try thumbtack. Hire the right pro today.
Sierra Miller
Hi, it's Sierra Miller. I can't wait for you to check out my new collection of shoes and accessories at Designer Shoe Warehouse. If you love shoes as much as I do, then trust me, I got you. From cute sneakerinas to the perfect flip flops to stunning heels, these shoes are all style, no drama. It's a girls girl summer. And DSW has just the shoes shop the Sierra Miller Collection right now at your DSW store or dsw.com.
Rod
Hey, what's up folks? Welcome back to On Texas Football. I'm Lifetime Longhorn Ride Babies. Pleased to be joined by the estimable Jerry Hamilton. Whatever you guys want to talk about though, you know how it works on the Sunday shows. Throw it out there. We'll try to address as many questions and comments as we can. Super Chats always jump to the front of the line. You can interrupt the show at any time. Just throw out a super chat. Also, shout out to our friends over at Prize Picks and Von Lane for sponsoring this edition of On Texas Football. We'll tell you more about them coming up a little bit later on. Yeah, Happy Sunday to each and every one of you guys out there. Yeah, yeah, I see that Coach Scott. I'm sure we'll get to that too. We got some sound, some audio that we're going to get to from Coach Sarko. Also From Arch and some of the guys at the, the SEC media days, some of the stuff that we didn't cover, trying to, obviously trying to wrap up SEC media days and all of the coverage there shout out to the OTF family that went down. There's great job by Jerry and Bobby and Jeff and CJ and Hank. I mean, it really was great coverage all around, not just for Texas, but all us, all the teams in the sec. But Jerry, let's get right to it. We'll start out. Obviously, there's a lot of conversation about, uh, Eastern Royal. A lot of people want to talk about that. 729. Is it. I gotta ask you because I'm still like, I. What does 729 mean? What is it? Okay, so is it just a birthday tweet? Is it just that simple?
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah, more than likely. We'll see.
Rod
Okay.
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah, because I'm not, I've not heard anything concrete. I, I, it's his birthday. Happy birthday, Easton.
Rod
Happy birthday, man. But I said he knows how to keep it on their toes because that's it.
Jerry Hamilton
He's very good at it.
Rod
I've never seen so many people trying that dissect and trying to figure out exactly what 729 means. And maybe it means exactly what it is, which is just 729. There's his birthday. So obviously faster.
Jerry Hamilton
It's his birthday. He's probably getting faster.
Rod
And he's turning 17.
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah, he's a young kid.
Rod
That's that, that is also freakish. I was like, damn, I forgot, I was like, forget how young he is because of how freakishly athletic. And he just, he's got some grown man traits. I'll just say that for the young man. All right, I wanna, I had a lazy Sunday. Ended up watching the Rose Bowl. Layers of stuff.
Coach Sark
Football season.
Rod
K comes enough, you know that you miss football season. When you start re watching the, the 2005 Rose bowl, you know, that's it. I agree with you on that. That's how, you know, you're like, oh, man, it needs to come up. You got like six, we got like six more weeks, basically. I think somewhere around there. And then we'll be deep, deep into it. But I want to, Speaking of, let's talk about, let's hear from actually Sark, actually, because one of the things that he was asked about was, uh, K.J. lacy. This is one of the pieces of audio that we really hadn't gotten to. So we want to try to get to some of the audio and topics that we have not addressed since SEC media days ended. But he talked about KEJ Lace, and the thing that stood out was just how long.
Jerry Hamilton
He asked a question, Rod. I didn't expect him to go on K.J. lacy.
Rod
Exactly. Okay. So it just shows us that I think K.J. lacy after, and I remember Sark saying this, that he was really excited. One of the blessings in disguise of Arch being out for the spring was that KJ Lacey got to essentially, basically simulate being QB1 for like. For like an entire stretch. You're talking about a few weeks of him being QB1 with the team. How does he interact with his teammates as QB1? You know, what's his preparation like? It's QB1, you know, staying, getting to practice early, stand out of practice, that kind of thing. And I think he passed that test, if you will, unofficially, with flying colors. I think that's why Stark has a lot to say about K.J. lacey. But here's. Jerry asked the question. But here's Sark on his backup qb, KJ Lacey.
Jerry Hamilton
KJ Lacy got a lot of invaluable reps in the spring. How would you assess his spring, and where is he at in his development in terms of you guys playing?
Coach Sark
Yeah, you know, KJ is a guy that, as we've gone through. Gone through this with him, and I felt this way in high school and as we've grown and gone, you know, I hate comparing guys because it's never fair, but he's got a lot of qualities. He reminds me a lot of Bryce Young, you know, and obviously a bit similar in stature. Both natural passers, both very instinctual, Both are sneaky with their legs and can hurt you with their legs when they get there. And now it's the maturation process of understanding schematically. And where do I. Where do I play when I play so well? Off schedule, but yet play on schedule so that I can play off schedule, if that makes sense. And so I think he's kind of learning that as we go. I felt like there were some moments in spring where he was fantastic. There were moments in spring where there were learning moments. I felt like as we've been on the grass with the guys now for the past, you know, I think it's now five weeks or six weeks or so. Whatever it's been this summer, I've seen the best version of KJ Lacy this summer, and that's encouraging to us that he took the stuff we wanted him to get better at from spring and apply it in the summer, and we've seen that. I think he'd be a dangerous guy if he got in the game because of his off schedule stuff that he can do, but also his ability just to throw the ball in rhythm and in timing. He's a natural passer that way and he's thrown a ton of passes. In high school they threw a ton of balls and so it's very comfortable and natural for him to do that.
Julian Barnes
Normally in these ads you expect somebody to ask you to buy something, but this is something different. I'm Julian Barnes and I'm a reporter for the New York Times. I'm a national security reporter and that means I'm reporting on military operations. These are fast paced, quickly moving situations. What exactly is happening on the ground is often shrouded in mystery, but we turn to trusted sources, satellite imagery and expertise built up over years in order to ferret out the facts that wouldn't otherwise come to light. I'm here to ask you to seek out a news source that does firsthand fact based reporting. If it's your local paper, great. If it's the Times, thank you. Because where you go for your information, matters.
Groons Brand Announcer
Summer routines live or die by how easy they are. And honestly, if something takes too much effort, I'm out. That's why Groons is my go to. It's one daily pack of gummies covering my greens, vitamins and minerals. Plus it has 6 grams of prebiotic fiber which is more than 2 cups of broccoli. No mixing powders, no giant pills, no hassle. I just rip open the pack and I'm done. They taste good and make it easy. Easy to stay on top of my health even when life gets busy. Save up to 52% off with code podcast at Groons co. That's code podcast G R U N S co. Yeah
Carl's Jr. Advertiser
maxing is so maxing right now bro. Get ready for spicy chicken maxing because Carl's Jr. Is saving you big with a 5.99 maxed out double stack double stack Double stack Spicy chicken sandwich. Seriously, just 5.99 double stack spicy chicken. This is unreal value in the bromosphere. The new Spicy Chicken Max Wallet Friendly Max Tasty only at Carl's Jr available for a limited time at participating restaurants. Tax unincluded. Not valid for use within a combo or a combination with any other offered discount.
Ro Health Advertiser
Want a thousand dollar weight loss medication for $50? It all starts with Ro's free GLP1 insurance check. Just upload your insurance card to see if you have coverage. Then relax over 200,000 people have qualified for a $50 copay through Row to Roe Co Health. Half of covered patients have a $50 per month copay or less for medication, plus $145 monthly Row membership fee. Deductible cost may apply and final cost varies by insurance plan. For safety information about GLP1 medications, including Boxed Warning, go to ro safetyrxonly.
Jerry Hamilton
Rod, you know, the reason I asked him that question was, I mean, look, quarterbacks get nicked up.
Rod
Yes, they do.
Jerry Hamilton
Arch didn't miss a game last year, but he got knocked out of a game a couple times. And inevitably, in a long season, KJ Lacy will enter a game when it's not Texas up 28, 30 points. So I just wanted to him to assess what, looking back on how his spring was in their eyes, the most impressive part to me for K.J. lacy, of that response was Sark saying this summer on the grass is the best they've seen a KJ Lacy.
Rod
So getting better.
Jerry Hamilton
Yes.
Rod
Like, you know, I mean, yes.
Jerry Hamilton
I think he'd be excited, he'd be exciting if he got on the field.
Rod
Yeah. A.J.
Jerry Hamilton
lacey.
Rod
I caught that, too.
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah.
Rod
I thought.
Jerry Hamilton
That's not what I was expecting to hear at the end of an answer like that from Sark. I just wanted to say, hey, what do y' all think of him? Because inevitably, he's gonna have to play this year. I would love to time where he's gonna have to play.
Rod
Oh, I wish I had some wood to knock on, Jerry. Exactly.
Groons Brand Announcer
Right there.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
Oh, man. It's football. We all know.
Rod
I would love to hear, because I remember a question like that about K.J. lacy before the spring and him going on and elaborating about KJ's skill set. And I'd love to kind of listen to those back to back, because I feel like now he actually is more impressed with KJ than he was prior to the spring and some of the things that are consistent. He talks about being a natural passer, talks about the offense moving with him, the natural playmaking. Villa. He said it in the start of that clip about him improvising off schedule. And I'll give Sark credit for growing and evolving as a play caller and as a football mind and a football theorist. He now accepts the, I should say the improv ability of quarterbacks. Matter of fact, I think now he kind of covets a little bit of it. I don't think when he had Mac Jones as his quarterback, he liked off schedule. He didn't like improv. He didn't like off script. I think he wanted to all of his. His plays to operate on schedule, on time, and that's ideally how he wants to go. And I think still that's how he thinks and that's how ideally he. But I think now he understands the value of a quarterback that can operate outside the lines and that can be off schedule. And the scrambling ability. I take. I talk about all the time. You averaged over 10 yards per play when Arch decided to scramble as a runner or as a passer. Like, he was that good. That's your most successful play. I think Sark understands that now. And now. I don't know. I would love to know from ar, does Sark discourage or encourage scrambling? Is he. Is he like, nah, I want you to stay in that pocket. I want you to stay downfield as long as they stay in the progressions, as long as you can. Or if he's like, you know what, Arch, if you see it, I trust your instincts, you need to go. Because he's got really good instincts with the. With the off scale.
Coach Sark
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
I mean, so the thing with Lacy is. And look, we're all knocking on Wood, right? We help. We Hope Arch has 100% healthy season, but we all know that football. It's just not the way that goes. Inevitably, Lacey's gonna have to come into a game when it's not a big lead. That's just what we've seen from Texas football the last few years, right? Running back, quarterback. It is what it is. Another reason I asked that question was the one. The one player that when I looked back, thought back, driving around. I did a lot of driving in June. Right. I. I thought back and said, okay, who was the one player that. The spring showcase, as you call it, Rob, which is what it was, kind of got the short end of the stick. I thought it was Lacy from a fans getting to see him. And you. You know why I say that I like that? Because when nobody's around, he's throwing the Cam Coleman in practice, doing the Wingo a lot in practice showcase with the live. Those guys weren't out there.
Rod
It's a great point, Jer. I actually agree with you on that. I. I didn't think about it. Yeah, that's a great point.
Jerry Hamilton
It's like he kind of got. He didn't get the shaft right. I mean, it's.
Rod
It's.
Jerry Hamilton
But it's kind of like, oh, we're not gonna risk injury to some of these guys here. How much did the Relic Brown play? How much does SMOTHERS play. So, like, he really didn't. When all those fans were in the stands, he didn't really get to play with the ones. Like, he didn't practice every day when nobody was around. So that.
Groons Brand Announcer
I just.
Jerry Hamilton
I just was wondering what Sark's thoughts were on kj. That's why I asked the question. He gave us more than I thought.
Rod
That's a good point. I feel like I didn't give him proper respect after the Spring Showcase either. Now you got me wanting to go back and just watch KJ and just kind of watch him in the little clips that I have from the spring showcase. No good stuff there, Jerry. I like. I like that question. I thought that was good. And I'll just throw this out there just so we have the facts. It's been five seasons, I believe now, since Mack Brown first took over Texas football, which is 1998, where you've had quarterbacks start and finish every game and all. All the games. It's only been five seasons since 1998, and Sark hadn't had a season. Have a quarterback start and finish every game, or it started every game but didn't finish every game.
Jerry Hamilton
Right.
Rod
Last year.
Jerry Hamilton
To your point, James, that's the healthiest a quarterback has been at Texas in
Rod
a season, you know. Yeah. Since. Yeah, since Shane Boucher. Was it Shane Bushells who did that?
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah.
Rod
No Sam. No Spam. Sam. Sam did it. Sam Ellinger did it in 2019.
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah.
Rod
I believe it was right. Right before. Sorry I got here. Yeah. Because remember, Bam Bam, Sam. I think Mr. Bam Bam saying miss a little bit of time. 2018, if I'm not mistaken, maybe that was. That was Buchelli. It came in for him a couple of times.
Jerry Hamilton
It may have been.
Rod
You made the Big 12 title game, and you don't make it without Buchelli stepping in. Yeah, I remember that for a couple of games. Yeah. Sam in 2019. Yeah. Sam was built different. He was. No question about that. All right, Good stuff there. I did see a question, and I wanted to address this, too. So I want to get to this, and then we'll get back to some of the audio. Shout out to my man CB he said, hey, Rod, have you talked to Kyle Shanahan after what happened to him? Yes. Obviously, everybody's heard by now. That channel got into a car wreck, and it was really severe that he ended up getting carbons, had a couple stitches, ended up getting a severe concussion from talking to Shannon. Everything's good now. He was at practice today for a Few minutes, which, you know, that's. That's wild for him to be at practice. The only thing they're concerned about now, I believe is just lingering issues. He's in concussion protocol, basically, from what I understand. And he's got a hit. It's kind of some benchmarks about recovery from concussion protocol. And so that's the. The issue now. Everything physically, though, and I mean, he says he's healing up really well. I'm feeling real good. I don't know if he's gonna be ready for the start of the season. I wouldn't rush it if I was him. I kind of haven't. I didn't tell him that, but I wouldn't rush it. He's gonna rush it because, like, he was at practice today. I know that guy well enough to know his obsession with football, and he's pretty damn stubborn. That's what makes him good at what he does. But he's not. He's not playing on the field. So concussion, not as serious as he's for a player, but still had. It was probably a pretty severe concussion, considering you're still dealing with after effects of it. And we're what, two. We're almost two weeks, considering what the
Jerry Hamilton
injuries reported were from the. Yes.
Rod
Yeah. With broken nose and ribs. Yeah. So it was a. Because I didn't get a lot of details about the actual wreck itself and, like, what happened. I was actually gonna make some calls and call some of my people and talk about that, but I just want to make sure he was doing okay. And I reached out to him. He's. He's. I'm doing good. He said he's. Everything's all good, and he's feeling real good too. He's just trying to get back as soon as possible. The crazy thing is, I mean, he is. He does everything with him. Like, he's the head coach. He does the personnel, too. Like, he's the one that has to, you know, approve all the guys who make the team, all that kind of stuff. So as an organization, I mean, they really are without the kind of heart and soul of the organization. So he's trying to get back as soon as possible. I. Like I said, I told him I wouldn't rush it, man. No need to rush. He's been there 10 years now, guys, so I. I think you can. He's built it. He's built the infrastructure well enough. I think behind the scenes, he can still play a significant role while he recovers fully and, you know, try not to rush to get back because, you know, like I said, we. It seemed like it was pretty traumatic. Like, it's. Yeah. After talking to him and then talking to some folks, like, it was. Yeah, it was. It was like could have. If things happened the wrong way, it could have been very, very serious and disastrous potentially. So.
Jerry Hamilton
One, One, obviously glad he's. He's. He's okay. And on making a recovery. Two, it. Just hearing you talk with a concussion, it kind. It throws me back to the old John McEvick time. Do you remember that, Rod? That was before. I mean, you were in high school.
Rod
Yes. When he got. No, no. When he got hit on the side,
Jerry Hamilton
when he got concussed and he was trying to coach through a concussion symptoms.
Rod
Yes, yes. And I remember I've talked to. I think it was Bucky Godboat who was part of that staff, and it was like. No, no, he was severely concussed. Like, he. He was like you. You could tell, like what. Something is severely wrong with him at this time. Yeah, you're right. Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
It reminded me of that.
Rod
So.
Jerry Hamilton
Because. And people are like, Mac wasn't the same column even call them plays practices for a while.
Rod
I agree with that. That's why I would. If I'm him, I would take. Just take your time. There's no point in rushing it back. And like I said it. If you're dealing with concussion symptoms, like I said, that happened on, well, last Tuesday and Now we're what, 10, 11 days after that. That's. Yeah. I think you need to make sure you take it seriously. So he's good, everybody. He's good. But I. Like I said, I. I just wanted to make sure that he was all right and. And that, you know, there wasn't something more serious happening. And he seems to be fine. All right, let's get back to questions here. How about this one from Dante McLeod? He says, how much playing time do y' all think Bishop will get this year?
Jerry Hamilton
I think you'll get him on the field in the opener. Game two. I'm not sure. I think that's an experienced player's game. Utsa. I think you'll get him on the field. And then I think as the season plays out, Rod, again, somebody's going to get nicked up at wide receiver. It happens. Just look at every year. I think as the season moves along, I think you're going to start to see him mix in. And I'm not saying starter level reps. I mean, look, if. If Coleman, Wingo and Mosley are all healthy, that's three NFL draft picks with experience in college football. But I do think there's going to be a place for him in this offense as the season moves along, because I just think he's too good, Rod. I just think the guy's too good to keep off the field. And I don't know if you and I have talked about it, but the thing I've commented on with him taking all these defensive reps this summer was that tells me he picked up the offense really quick.
Rod
I agree with that. That's a good point, Jer.
Jerry Hamilton
So he's going to be too good to keep off the field. It's really up to. And even though they kind of play different positions, Daley McCutcheon played slot year one. It's going to be up to those guys. Yeah, it's not going to be up to Wingo. It's not going to be up to Coleman, Wingo and Mosley to keep him off the field. It's going to be up to who's the number four, number five receiver to keep him off the field.
Rod
That's a great point.
Jerry Hamilton
Are you guys going to be able to hold Jermaine Bishop off? And I think as the season moves along, it's going to be tough.
Rod
I. I remember being that veteran guy and I said I was an NFL player. I wasn't, but I remember seeing the young Michael Huffs coming in, the young Cedric Griffinson going, oh, yeah, this is. These guys are a different breed. They. They gonna. They gonna play. And if they reach their ceiling, they'll. They can end up being better players than me or any of the guys that are here. But that's the motivation. Like, they're not gonna take my job, though. Yeah, it'll be not. They're gonna be really good players one day. It just won't be while I'm on campus. And that's. That was.
Groons Brand Announcer
That.
Rod
That honestly was a big part of my motivation. And they kept stacking it like that. Behind me, Nathan Basher came Huff Daddy. These young bucks, and they were really talented as we saw. But as a, As a. As a veteran, you need to take it as a challenge because that's what the NFL is. They're gonna draft every year to take your job, and they wanna. They wanna pay the younger, cheaper guy rather than.
Jerry Hamilton
I think Bishop's one of those guys, Rod, where, you know, it's happened many times at Texas at many positions, but especially the skill position, you see it the first two or three touches you that he has at DKR on a Saturday, not even at the Spring Showcase. Or you're gonna be like, this. Fans are gonna be like, make that kind of noise. Like. Like, this guy moves different on a football field.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
That's what we're talking about with Jermaine Bishop.
Rod
He.
Jerry Hamilton
It's just going to be how he moves in the play.
Julian Barnes
He.
Jerry Hamilton
He's going to make in limited opportunities, or people are going to be like, ooh, that kind of. Ooh. I. He's going to do that. That's just who he is. I remember those freshman year at Willis.
Rod
Yeah, I remember those. I remember when Bichon got it. I remember Bijan's like, oh, I say you're worthy.
Jerry Hamilton
Zoom. And you're like, you know, you went,
Rod
oh, he is different. Okay. Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
I think that's what we're gonna see with him when his time comes, and then he's gonna push for more time. He's going to force his way on the field.
Rod
I would say a good example of what, in terms of touches and potential targets and even reps. Look at that. 20. Was it 20? 24? No, sorry. Yeah, 20, 24. And the. The wide receiver kind of target share, because, remember, Ryan Wingo was just a freshman, and you had golden. Yeah, you had bond. Right. You had Bond golden. You had more.
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah.
Rod
Connor Helm ended up with the greatest tight ends.
Coach Sark
He.
Rod
So in terms of where Wingo was going to fit, it was tough to figure out, like, where is he going to fit? Because they got a lot of.
Jerry Hamilton
Then what happens? Injuries happen. Somebody comes up, takes advantage.
Rod
Yep. And so he ended up, that season, try to get. He ended up with 30 receptions, I believe it was.
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah.
Rod
End up with 34. No, sorry. He had 29 receptions overall, but 34. So he ended up with some reverses, too. I think.
Jerry Hamilton
So.
Rod
34 total touches, I believe it was. Which, by the way, Jermaine Bishop should get some of those. He's that case, that kind of player with the ball in his hand. So you expect him to be the reverse guy sometimes. So he ended up with 29 receptions, 472 yards, 16 yards per reception, two touchdowns. And then he also had the reverses. He was really good on those rushes, too. He had five rushes for 100 yards. He averaged 20 yards per touchdown. He got it reversed. That's where I could see him at. Right there, Jerry. Right in that realm right there.
Jerry Hamilton
The play that caught my eye in the Spring Showcase, outside of seeing him in high school, was not the catch for a touchdown or anything. It was when Grayson Littleton, he called. He got the flag on Grayson Littleton. And I was like, I don't recall Grayson Littleton getting a flag last year against some really good wideouts.
Rod
Oh, how's that?
Jerry Hamilton
Jermaine Bishop did something to him that turned. That turned him around a little bit there or caused him to grab and hold instead of react and run. And I was like, that's interesting.
Rod
That's what I was like.
Jerry Hamilton
I haven't seen Grayson grab and hold very often.
Rod
It's a great point. Ohio State. Oh, how's. They tested them. Remember, they went after. And that's. I said, if I'm Ohio State and I see that freshman starting, I'm gonna be salivating, licking my chops. And I'm like, all right, I gotta set a place ready for that guy. Where is he? And they did. That's exactly what they did. They were smart about it. And that young man rose to the occasion and made several plays. You know how State game when they went after him. And so you're right. If Ohio State couldn't make him flinch, Jermaine Bishop had him out there a little twisted.
Jerry Hamilton
And Grayson's a really good football player.
Rod
And he's twitchy. He's twitchy, actually. Like, he. He gets in off his breaks and he's. His hips are really flexible. So Jermaine Bishop is. Yeah, he's a little different. No doubt about that. All right, a good question there. Getting back to it, how about this question from Peyton's. He said, what candidates do we have on the schedule that could make it harder? You know, Vandy a M last year and Candace, to make it easier on paper, Florida last year, even though we lost. Okay, what cancer scale that we get can make it harder? Basically that they guys, basically teams that are going to kind of wild cards teams are going to be better than we all predict, or at least maybe they match up really well with Texas because that's what happened last year. A couple of times, like you ended up with like that Mississippi State game or the Kentucky.
Jerry Hamilton
That's where I was going on this.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
A lot of people haven't been talking about it because there's so many stars that are already stars at SEC media days. And I was there. You see who Jeff Lebby compared Kamario Taylor to?
Rod
I don't know.
Jerry Hamilton
But who did he say RG3?
Rod
Oh, I hope not.
Jerry Hamilton
Somebody asked. He said, well, I guess the only guy I can really compare him to is RG3.
Julian Barnes
Normally in these ads, you expect somebody to ask you to buy something, but this is something different. I'm Julian Barnes and I'm a reporter for the New York Times. I'm a national security reporter and that means I'm reporting on military operations. These are fast paced, quickly moving situations. What exactly is happening on the ground is often shrouded in mystery, but we turn to trusted sources, satellite imagery and expertise built up over years in order to ferret out the facts that wouldn't otherwise come to light. I'm here to ask you to seek out a news source that does firsthand fact based reporting. If it's your local paper, great. If it's the Times, thank you. Because where you go for your information matters.
Groons Brand Announcer
Summer routines live or die by how easy they are. And honestly, if something takes too much effort, I'm out. That's why Groons is my go to. It's one daily pack of gummies covering my greens, vitamins and minerals. Plus it has 6 grams of prebiotic fiber which is more than 2 cups of broccoli. No mixing powders, no giant pills, no hassle. I just rip open the pack and I'm done. They taste good and make it easy to stay on top of my health. And even when life gets busy, save up to 52% off with code podcast at Gruuns Co. That's code Podcastruns co.
Carl's Jr. Advertiser
Yeah Maxing is so maxing right now bro. Get ready for spicy chicken maxing because Carl's Jr. Is saving you big with a 5.99 maxed out double stack Double stack Double Stack Spicy Chicken sandwich. Seriously. Just $5.99 double stack spicy Chicken. This is unreal Valley value in the bromosphere. The new Spicy Chicken Max Wallet Friendly Max Tasty only at Carl's Jr available for limited time at participating restaurants. Taxon included. Not valid for use within a combo or a combination with any other offered discount.
Ro Health Advertiser
Want a thousand dollar weight loss medication for $50. It all starts with Ro's free GLP1 insurance check. Just upload your insurance card to see if you have coverage. Then relax. Over 200,000 people have qualified for a few $50 copay through RO. Go to RO CO Health. Half of covered patients have a $50 per month copay or less for medication plus $145 monthly RO membership fee. Deductible cost may apply and final cost varies by insurance plan. For safety information about GLP1 medications including boxed warning, go to ro safyrxonly and I'm like huh?
Jerry Hamilton
Like I think Kamaru Taylor's super talented. If he is going to be that if he turns into that level And I'm not saying Heisman Trophy boner but he is talented that level player then 1031 after playing Oklahoma, Florida and Ole Miss because it's a home game and you're emotionally may not be up for that game. It's human nature. Nobody really gets up for Mississippi State and Kentucky the same way they do other teams in the sec. It's just human nature in the schedule. Then Camario Taylor could scare you a little bit in a game like that. If you don't, if you don't bring your A game. If he's really ends up being that level player to where it's like that's a surefire first round quarterback in one more year then they, they, they become a little different team than they were with Blake shaping or a lot different team. That means they're gonna go better in five and seven but they may scare the hell out of a lot of people.
Rod
That's a good point. And I kind of, I've been looking at that the Florida game again which is kind of strange because we know Florida's got good athletes and I don't think Texas is going to sleep on Florida. But I keep talking about that boss, that Buster Faulkner hire which I think was a really good hire. Like offensively, schematically that offense is going to give Texas. It just gives you a lot of problems to have to solve because he's very versatile. I'm just throwing out there but I'll say the that Missouri game after because I'm not sure what this Ahmad Hardy timeline is going to be.
Jerry Hamilton
I didn't think Drinkwoods Drinkowitz did not sound like he knew to me and I watched his whole press conference there in person.
Rod
Okay.
Jerry Hamilton
And I think he's predicting he's gonna be close to what he was when he gets back. But I don't think he knew when that would be. Like he just got fully released. I think the date the day before SEC media day began that Monday maybe. So he, he did not sound like he truly knew and so that will be interesting. I mean you. We know he'll be back on the field for Texas but where is this year kind of a get back year for him? I don't think anybody really knows.
Rod
That's because I wonder if they'll just like he won't be planning on at all playing most of the season. Just saying, you know what I'm gonna come back and play two or three games just for NFL scouts were like hey we just need to see you man post, you know situation just to make sure you're okay. I think that's probably what I would advise them to do. And I bet one of them games would be, hey, we'd love to see against that Texas defense. And not that I'm saying, like, I would be worried about Texas, I think, losing to Missouri, but in terms of making things a little tougher, because Jerry's right about that stretch that you'll have, and that'll be our first road game after with, like, three straight home games like that.
Jerry Hamilton
Yes.
Rod
Oklahoma at the start of that stretch, it's easy to Jerry's point, one of those days, you could look past and be thinking, oh, man, we just got past a tough stretch. Oh, we got another tough stretch coming up. And it's like, we have. That's. That's a game this week versus Missouri, and you're thinking, oh, man, Missouri's not very good. They haven't had a Mart Hardy all year, blah, blah, blah. And then they have their best game of the season, and you have your kind of a down game. And that happened with Texas. In the Mississippi State, Kentucky games, you had bad games, and they had some of their best games. Florida. Florida played arguably their best game of the season versus you. And then that coach got fired, like, two weeks later. Like, that happens. And you can't afford for that to happen more than, like, once on your schedule this season because it happened multiple times last year. And you survived because you got grit. And your guys played with a lot of it down the stretch in Kentucky and Mississippi State games. But we know if not for Ryan Niblet, hell, that could have been a whole different story. So I agree. That's a good point, though, about what teams could surprise Texas, because they got surprised a lot last year. Shouldn't have been the case. All right, thank you for that question. We got a super chat here, I believe, from Longhorn Blood. Oh, I love that. I said I would love to see multiple combinations of duo as long as Smothers or Brown is on the field with either Cooper or Terry. So you talking about some pony package.
Jerry Hamilton
Yes. Rod's favorite.
Rod
You know, I'm a big fan of it.
Jerry Hamilton
I love these backs, Rod.
Rod
Yes, exactly. Because I think you got your. I mean, post Bijan and Rojo, your best kind of combination of backs, maybe potentially. And I think his. And I know this, your most. Some of your most explosive personnel groupings have been with two backs on the field, where you had 21 personnel. And that's no matter. That's post Bijan and Rojo. That's all throughout Sark's tenure. So I hope he goes back to it. Last year you didn't have access to it. Last year you had the niblet package, which at times would use him as a hybrid player that would line up in the backfield. But you had no true 21 personnel, two backs, one tight end. And I think you will definitely get back to it this year. I. The Derek Cooper thing is this. I don't know about Michael Terry. I don't know if he's going to be in that conversation. I doubt the running back rotation expands to more than three guys and you know, Brown and Smothers are the two. And it feels like Derek Cooper has solidified himself as the third back, which is quite an accomplishment for it.
Jerry Hamilton
I think Terry, and I think terry enters August is 5. So, so, so everybody. I think for those that don't know my take on Terry, here's my take on Terry. And I'm not saying he can't be a good player. That's not what I'm saying when I say this. But there's a couple of things with Terry that he's got to kind of prove for me. One, he came into college wanting to play wide receiver at 6 3, 218 pounds. Yeah, that's not a running back mentality. So when you make a move to running back and you're now 63230 ish when you look at the other backs on the team, the way you get on the field is you're the most physical player on the field every time you touch a football. And he's going to have to prove that part out because he didn't come to college with that type of mindset. He came in wanting to play receiver. That's not the most physical player on the field. Mindset. No offense to receivers. They just don't play. That's not what. That's not where they play. So then you say, okay, we're going to move you to running back. Well then you got to change your mindset and it's got to be a 180 from where he came into college at. But if you're 6 3-2 3 and you're on this team in that running back room, you better be the most physical player on the field every time you touch the football. That I mean, and if he's not, a lot of people just oh, 632-30. Eddie George. Eddie George is the most physical player every time he touched a football. Didn't mean he won every collision, Rod. But that Guy had that I'm the most physical player on the field mindset. Those guys have to have that mindset. So did he. Is he able to flip his mindset as he grows as a player and become the most physical player on the field Every time he touches a football with the mindset doesn't mean he's going to win every collision. Yeah, but he's got to deliver as much as he takes or more because that's what's going to get him on the field. It's not going to be running outside the hashes. Relik Brown can do that, Smothers can do that, Cooper could do that. But that's not even Cooper's strength, I don't think. But Cooper can do that. It's going to be in between that tackle box.
Rod
Yeah, I agree with you on that. And transforming your body along with transforming that mentality so you can't getting that armor so you can, you know, exert your physicality.
Jerry Hamilton
And it's not going to be somebody brought up H back. It's not going to be H back because you got Nick Townsend who's really good there and has already said I'm a physical football player. He's shown that on the field. So. But it's a good thought. But I don't think he's going to take that spot from Nick Townsend either because that's again, that's a blocking at the line of scrimmage against 290 pound, 280 pound future NFL draft picks in the SEC. So that's just for me what Michael Terry's got to that that's going to be the big thing for Michael Terry is can you be the most physical player on the field anytime you take a handoff? And I think that's what he's going to have to do.
Rod
All right. All right. Before we move on, answer a couple of more questions. Let's thank our sponsors here, thank our friends over at Prize Picks. First and foremost, we appreciate our friends over at Prize Picks and you will as well. They do a great job of improving your overall sports viewing experience. And no matter what you're into, whether it's you're in a baseball, whether you're into basketball, esports is your thing. No matter what it is. Our friends over at Prize Picks, they give you so many different ways for you to be creative and to have a lot of fun making your picks. For player picks, all you do is choose more or less on a few player stats and you lock in your lineup. That's it. And if you like, you know, picking teams instead of individual players prospects has you covered there too. You can now pick the winner or the total on the games or even fights. It's really great prospects available in most states including the great state of Texas, California and Florida. So chances are you can jump in right now. And one of my favorite features which is really great is that you can follow users as well. So if you like the pics that somebody else is making, you can tell them with one click and you can follow your friends picks too. So it's really, really interact, really fun. And the best part is if you've never tried prize pick before, play your first $5 lineup and if you win you'll get $150 in bonus lineups. Just make sure you use the code HMA when you sign up. That's actually they updated this offer so there's never been a better time for you to get started. Download the prize picks app right now, use the code HMA, play the first five dollar lineup and if you win you'll get 150 in bonus lineup. That's prize picks code HMA. Good luck and as always, play smart. Play responsibly. Plate price picks. All right, let's also take a Friends over at Von Lane. While we're thanking sponsors, would you tell the folks out there about our friends over at Von Lane, please?
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah. If you're in the Woodlands or North Houston and you've ever driven Austin for work, a meeting at the capital or weekend on campus, you know the drill. That's three plus hours on 290 construction zones and you show up drained before your day even starts, mentally drained from that traffic. Von Lane just launched a new route between Austin and the Woodlands that changes all of that. You sit back in a first class letter seat, connect to starlink, WI Fi and arrive ready to go. And Longhorn football fans, you can book game day trips now through October. So get on it. For Austin folks, the Woodlands routes opens up easy access to concerts, family visits and business in the area, all without battling Houston traffic yourself. And unlike the airlines, Bond Lane doesn't charge you extra for a seat assignment, your luggage or WI fi that barely or rarely works. You get 22 oversized leather seats starling Internet that is actually fast, complimentary snacks, drinks, hotel service and meals on select departures. You walk in the hotel terminal, skip the TSA circus and ride in comfort. That's it. No games. Who does Von Lane serve? Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Plano, the Woodlands, Nashville, Memphis and Atlanta. Head to Von Lane.com and enter promo code OTF26 for $20 off your first ride. What is Von Lane? It's private jet on wheels.
Rod
Boom. Thank you very much, Jerry. Appreciate you. And appreciate our friends over at Von Lane as well. Oh, before we move on to another super chat, Longhorn blood, I did want to end the conversation you were talking about, or at least that you asked about, with the two backs with the explosive play rates of your pony package in the last few years. I didn't do it for 25 because 25 was weird. It was just Ryan Niblet sets for the most part, so I kind of put that in his own package. But when you ran two back sets to call their pony package in 21, you were 16. So 20 plus short plays, you were 16% explosive play rate, you were over 20%, 22 and 23. And you. We were at almost 14 in 2024. So supposed to play rates are pretty high in your pony packages. I've always advocated for more pony package, so hopefully we see it this year with. Sorry. And my thing is, I don't know if you could recruit all those guys via the portal if you didn't throw out there. Hey, guys, we're gonna play two back sets. We had Bijan and Rojo. We had Jaden Blue and Trey Wise in the backfield at the same time and go look at their numbers. We can use two backs and we can use them at the same time in our office.
Jerry Hamilton
That tape was definitely shown the guys, right? Rod had to be like, I mean,
Rod
that's got to be part of the pitch. Otherwise you don't think you get Relique Brown and Hollywood Smothers 2 first team all conference backs if you can't show them, hey, both of you guys can thrive in this office at the same time.
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah.
Rod
All right.
Jerry Hamilton
You know what's one, Rod? One of the craziest, not crazy. It's one of the most interesting statements that we heard in the whole off season, which finally is winding down. And we're ready for ball now is coach Matt Debuck, whose son trade Debuck is second team media deep snapper transferred into Texas. We had coach Debuck on the show, and he was talking about Trey. He was talking about Derek Cooper, who originally started at high school at Cardinal Gibbons with him, then went to Shaman Madonna. And he is really good friends with Dave Doran through recruiting. And he just threw in there in a comment. He said, yeah, Dave Doran told Hollywood Smothers he should just go to the NFL. He's ready to be a mid round pick in the NFL. And he turned it down.
Rod
Whoa.
Jerry Hamilton
And that was one of the more interesting statements we heard from an interview because it was so unexpected, it was just in a conversation. So I, I, I just keep going back to that. I mean, Dave Doran literally told the kid, you're ready to go to the league, go to the league, go be a fourth round pick and see if you can work your way up. And the, and the kid didn't do it. So I've always just. That stuck with me because the guy who coached him the longest in college told the kid he was ready for the NFL.
Rod
Interesting. Oh, man, that is a nice nugget. And for running backs, usually you're told, not all the time, but usually you're told by your advisors, agents, whatever. It's like, yeah, just get to the league, man. Because the running back position has been so devalued at this point. You just need to make a roster and then get to your second contract as running back as soon as possible. Because you have a shorter shelf life than most positions and you've been devalued more and more over the years. So usually it is good advice for running backs. Like, no, no. While you don't have a lot of carries, you ain't gotta. You still got tread on your tires. Get to the league, get paid. But I guess maybe that's why nil and real share changes the game. Because like, yeah, I'm gonna get paid. I did the math on the fourth round pick and what I'd be making. And you know what? It's not that, you know, negligible difference. Like, I don't. That's a great nugget though, Jerry. I didn't know that.
Jerry Hamilton
That is, that just came out of nowhere in a conversation. I wouldn't even expect that. Hey, A.C. holloman asked was, we haven't gone over this. Rod, I want to get your thoughts on this too. Is John here? Meredith's gonna play after reclassifying. So here's what I can tell people on that. He moves in tomorrow. I think he put on Instagram packing up some of his stuff. He moves down to Austin tomorrow. So look, I think going into the season, based on intel, Bo Masco is the best corner on the team. He had the best spring, so he's starting at one corner with Kobe Black moving to safety. Apparently he's doing very well there, but that's without pads. We'll see what happens in August. It's good. Cade Phillips and Warren Roberson are your two and three corners. And one of those guys, obviously Kate Phillips slated the start right now going into fall.
Julian Barnes
Normally in these ads you expect somebody to ask you to buy something, but this is something different. I'm Julian Barnes and I'm a reporter for the New York Times. I'm a national security reporter and that means I'm reporting on military operations. These are fast paced, quickly moving situations. What exactly is happening on the ground is often shrouded in mystery, but we turn to trusted sources, satellite imagery and expertise built up over years in order to fare the facts that wouldn't otherwise come to light. I'm here to ask you to seek out a news source that does first hand fact based reporting. If it's your local paper, great. If it's the Times, thank you. Because where you go for your information matters.
Groons Brand Announcer
Summer routines live or die by how easy they are. And honestly, if something takes too much effort, I'm out. That's why Groons is my go to. It's one daily pack of gummies covering my greens, vitamins and minerals. Plus it has 6 grams of prebiotic fiber which is more than 2 cups of broccoli. No mixing powders, no giant pills, no hassle. I just rip open the pack and I'm done. They taste good and make it easy to stay on top of my health even when life gets busy. Save up to 52% off with code Podcast at Gruns Co. That's code Podcastruns
Ro Health Advertiser
Co. Want a thousand dollar weight loss medication for $50? It all starts with rose free GLP1 insurance check. Just upload your insurance card to see if you have coverage. Then relax. Over 200,000 people have qualified for a $50 copay through RO. Go to ROE Co Health. Half of covered patients have a $50 per month copay or less for medication plus $1.45 monthly ROE membership fee. Deductible cost may apply and final cost varies by insurance plan. For safety information about GLP1 medications including Boxed Warning, go to Roe Co SafetyRxOnly.
Sierra Miller
You know that thing where you get an amazing pair of shoes at a really great price and want to tell yeah, so do we here at Designer Shoe Warehouse we'll give you something to brag about, like the latest styles from brands you love or the trends everyone's obsessing over or shoes that make you feel like, well, you. So go ahead, show off a little. Find shoes that get you and prices
Rod
that get your budget.
Sierra Miller
Head to your DSW store or dsw.com today. DSW.
Jerry Hamilton
Let us surprise you after those three. It's an open competition. Not that it's not competition with Warren Roberson, but I mean, I think he's impressed the staff.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
Okay. Smoke Matthews is a freshman who came in in January. You know, Hayward, Howard played. It worked out some there in the spring. Grayson, Littleton. Let's assume he stays at nickel. I'm not saying he's going to move. So somebody's asking, will John Meredith play? I think that's an total unknown right now. But what I was told with 100 sourcing on this is John Meredith is told if you come in and you get up to speed fast, which nobody really knows how this is going to go because that kid's mind was totally fixated on senior year high school football. He was not a kid who would plan and roll early. He's only here because his Texas UIL ruling got denied. Yeah, so he wasn't always planning to come in. So Rod, there is a strength component there. There's an experience component there there. He's going to feel like he's running 100 meter race in August in smoke. Matthews has an 80 meter lead on him.
Groons Brand Announcer
Right.
Jerry Hamilton
I mean all those things come into play. But he was, they were, they told him, look, man, it's competition. If later in the season you pick all this up and you're the guy, then you're the guy. They said it's really going to be up to you though. He was not promised anything in terms of playing time. He was promised a chance to compete. And you know what? If you compete and get on the field, great. If you don't, it's a hell of a developmental year and it'll end up being a lot better than playing a senior year high school football for.
Rod
Yeah, that's kind of the win, right? It's like, well, you can treat it as the best. They don't need them. It's a luxury now to have them pretty much on the roster competing. And I'm with you. I think there are a couple of things that could, you know, expedite his development. A couple of things could slow it down. I think one thing that helps him is that I believe much champs going to play more man coverage and it's easier. I can attest to this because it happened to me. Bull Reese played a lot of man coverage when I came in in 99 to Texas. And man coverage you can play early. I don't have to read routes. There's no route diagnosis. I'm not progressions from keying from the Number one receiver to the quarterback, back to number two. None of that stuff. All right. It's just cover that man. And if your technique is sound and he's got some freakish elite traits, I think that may help him. That would be something that could help him. Something that could hurt him is he hasn't played a lot of cornerback.
Jerry Hamilton
That's it.
Rod
He hasn't played a lot. I, I was shocked to find out he had been playing basically corn focusing on corner for like two years. Yeah, guys like Malik Muhammad's a prime example. By the time Malik Muhammad got to
Jerry Hamilton
Texas, been playing since middle school because his whole family was corners. Yes.
Rod
He's been playing corner for like seven years. Seven, eight years already. That's a long time to be just seeing routes and learning the position, the technique and, you know, cultivating the technique of the position. And so I do think that could hold him back just because he's just not played now. It is. You see how freakish his athleticism is that he's already the top cornerback prospect or he made it to the top cornerback prospect in his class and he hadn't played the position that long. That just shows you the upside. But that could hurt him seeing the field early in college because the game is going to be moving really, really fast.
Jerry Hamilton
Well, and that's that Rod. That's the other thing. It's like you as a guy coming in, you got to have a very short, the shortest memory at corner, would you say, in a. On a football field?
Rod
Oh, yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
Quarterback and corner. Quarterback and corner. Shortest memory. I mean, his first reps are going to be against Cam Coleman's of the world. And he may have played high school football. He may have competed in the opening. Yeah, that's totally different than these 20, 21 year old guys who are going into the draft next year. And so I think the biggest, one of the biggest things in front of him is not actually learning technique and getting being saying this guy's good enough to help Texas in some capacity at some point in the season. I think his biggest test is to not lose confidence early.
Rod
Yep, agreed.
Jerry Hamilton
Because that adversity can. It's going to smack you. It smacks everybody. How short your memory. If you have a real, if you have a couple of rough practices early on. And I'm not saying is, but if you do, how short your memory.
Rod
Totally agree with that. And yeah, I agree with that. I think corner, I think corners, they do. There's times where guys have the skill set. Like skill set is not an issue. But they had a tough stretch and they. I think it honestly happened to Gilbo.
Jerry Hamilton
We saw Muhammad lose confidence.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
A long time.
Rod
Gilbo lost the long he stayed at Texas, he lost more confidence. Remember.
Jerry Hamilton
Remember, he was.
Rod
He was beating out today. Baron, when he first got here, he was starting. He was starting today. Baron kept gaining confidence. Jalen Gilmore kept on losing it. And I. So I've seen it. It really good players, especially at the cornerback or the DB position. You can lose confidence. You're done. Yeah. It's like, you know, I say. They always say dogs can smell fear.
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah.
Rod
Receivers know when you're. You're a insecure defensive back. They know. They could smell it.
Jerry Hamilton
By the way, I was told over the weekend that he's not talked about a lot, but Mark Orfe is getting a lot of positive run in the building for recruiting.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
Doing a good job building relationships. When relationships don't matter as much at the close of deals, but they do still matter. Like, if he hadn't had the relationship he had with Meredith and the mom in mus, Champ might not have been in position to come in and help that one as much as he did.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
And really this decision to reclass. From what I was told, John wasn't super on board with it initially because, look, he'd been. He wanted to go be a senior All American. Right. That's where his focus had been. I think the people around them were more on board with it initially than John was. And I think Orfe, that relationship, then what will must champion come in and done. A very big key was the mom trusting them to say, this is the best thing for your kid. And then the people. And then the conversation started happening with John.
Rod
Wow, man. And the bo mascot, man, this guy, he's a big part of the bomasco recruitment as well.
Jerry Hamilton
Right, because he recruited him in high school.
Rod
Yeah, man.
Jerry Hamilton
Because, I mean, and. And when you think about it, you totally get it. John Meredith was fighting for his eligibility. He was not even threatening thinking about going to college early. At that time, he was trying to be play at North Crowley his senior year and go win a state championship at North Crowley and play on that secondary that has guys committed to other Power 4 schools, maybe one of the best high school secondaries in the country. That's clear where his focus was. So then he had to wrap his head around this and go from, I'm. My goal is to be all American my senior year in high school to coming in and fighting to get on a football field.
Rod
Yeah, you're right.
Jerry Hamilton
Supposed to be in high school.
Rod
He definitely plays special teams for you right away, though, right? Just throw him out there on special teams.
Jerry Hamilton
That guy could block a punt.
Rod
That's what I'm saying.
Jerry Hamilton
6 2. Twitchy guy. But his attitude's been great since. Since he made. Not that his attitude wasn't great, but since he made that decision, he's been great about it. He just. I think he just had to wrap his mind around. I get it. The kid was a scene. Hadn't started his senior year in high school, so. And Marcus Spears. Look, Marcus Spears, I think, and he's doing really well at Texas, guys. He's had like five practice. I'm telling you, I'm not. He's not going to start. David Punch and modest, but Spears has done very well at Texas so far. I think that in basketball, other kids were doing that more, and that's kind of been planned, and that's going to have been talked about, you know, And I think those are two totally separate situations there. Meredith's coming to Texas because his eligibility got denied. Spears is coming to Texas early, college early, because they've been kind of talking about that for a while. If he had tapped out, what he could do in the high school level, then that was a. That was the next part of a plan for Spears. This one happened due to being ruled ineligible. So that's a different situation for anybody thinking, hey, that's the same. I think it's different mindset situations. That's how it happened.
Rod
Give him props for being flexible.
Jerry Hamilton
That was a.
Rod
It was a. That was a pivot that nobody thought they were going to take, and it ended up being a good move. All right, Juan, with a super chat here says, did A M pull a Makavik with their OC hired when they had an open checkbook to get whoever. Remember when Makovic had the same thing with the D.C. hire? Oh, yeah. People talking about this with Makovic and the D.C. thing.
Jerry Hamilton
It's TBD. Yeah. Elco better be right on this, though. We're talking about this, Rod, because the expectations have never been higher for A and M football, fair or not. They've never been hired because they went to a playoff last year. You know, it is what it is. That's. They had 10 guys drafted. They know they're an nil player up there with anybody, so their expectations are higher than they've ever been. So Elko doesn't have much room for margin, for error on this hire, Rod, because you can. If you sit there and it doesn't Work out and you end up going 8 and 4, then the fan base is going to start wondering about you because you made that higher. And he said. And he said, SC media is. We did a national hot search. He said the same thing. Other people. We did a national, national search and we decided on Holman Wiggins. Well, then you better be right.
Rod
Yeah, if you did a national playoff
Jerry Hamilton
season, you better be right.
Rod
And you got these pockets because you can pay that. You can go steal somebody's really good OC and overpay your A L. You could do that. And it was Bobby Jack Wright. Thank you. 1. It was Bobby Jack Wright who he hired. And I remember because I would say my man Bucky Godboat has talked about this, too. That, that Bob Stoop should have been the guy. That should have been Bob Stoops. And they should have been going after because. And then Bob Susan ends up getting the Oklahoma job, right? 1999, I think it was the first year. So Bob Soup was kind of the up and coming young, great defense of mine. And I don't know why it never happened, but I remember Bucky Godwin saying, like, that's who everybody was. Like, go get that dude. Think about how. Think about that's what a great what if. What if Bob Suits ended up as a DC at Texas and then hell ended up getting either hired at Texas or ended up, you know, changing. Wouldn't even go to Oklahoma, but it ends up somewhere great what if story.
Jerry Hamilton
So I'm. I'm bringing this up because this is it. This is what I'm talking about. And thank you, West Texas Aggie fan, for the comment being the chat. This is it. This is what A M fans are thinking. Elko ain't dumb. Dude's the smartest in the conference. So it better work out because that's. That's the opinion right now of A M fans. And thank you for, for chiming in with the comment. That's what I'm talking about. The expectations are higher than ever for A M football. So the expectation right now is Elko. He's done a. He's done a really good job at A M. He's going to be right on this. He picked Holman Wiggins. He's going to be right. He has very little margin for error on this one because think about how different that comment is going to be if you go 8 and 4 and you're in A and M offensively takes a step back or doesn't take. It doesn't move forward.
Julian Barnes
Normally in these ads, you expect somebody to ask you to buy something, but this is something different. I'm Julian Barnes and I'm a reporter for the New York Times. I'm a national security reporter and that means I'm reporting on military operations. These are fast paced, quickly moving situations. What exactly is happening on the ground is often shrouded in mystery, but we turn to trusted sources, satellite imagery and expertise built up over years in order to ferret out the facts that wouldn't otherwise come to light. I'm here to ask you to seek out a news source that does firsthand fact based reporting. If it's your local paper, great. If it's the Times, thank you. Because where you go, for your information, matters.
Groons Brand Announcer
Summer routines live or die by how easy they are. And honestly, if something takes too much effort, I'm out. That's why Groons is my go to. It's one daily pack of gummies covering my greens, vitamins and minerals. Plus it has 6 grams of prebiotic fiber which is more than 2 cups of broccoli. No mixing powders, no giant pills, no hassle. I just rip open the pack and I'm done. They taste good and make it easy to stay on top of my health even when life gets busy. Save up to 52% off with code podcast at Grunds Co. That's code Podcastruns
Ro Health Advertiser
co Want a thousand dollar weight loss medication for $50? It all starts with Ro's free GLP1 insurance check. Just upload your insurance card to see if you have coverage. Then relax. Over 200,000 people have qualified for a $50 copay through row. Go to Roe Co Health. Half of covered patients have a $50 per month copay or less for medication plus $1.45 monthly ROE membership fee. Deductible cost may apply and final cost varies by insurance plan. For safety information about GLP1 medications including Boxed Warning, go to Roe Co SafetyRxOnly.
Sierra Miller
Hi, it's Sierra Miller. I can't wait for you to check out my new collection of shoes and accessories at Designer Shoe Warehouse. If you love shoes as much as I do, then trust me, I got you. From cute sneakerinas to the perfect flip flops to stunning heels, these shoes are all style. No drama. It's a girls girl summer and DSW has just the shoes shop the Sierra Miller Collection right now at your DSW store or dsw.com
Jerry Hamilton
or Ascend.
Rod
And it could be other factors too. You got a lot of new faces on the offensive lineman Marcel Reed. If he doesn't take another Step. All right. In his development, if he stays the same Marcel Reed he was last year, I think defenses will eat him up because, you know, they got a little bit predictable last year. They kind of figured out how to defend them. That's why Texas was. Did so well against them, because they figured out. All right, I'll take this from these different game plans. He's got to evolve his game, which he's capable of because he's got a really nice skill set as a player, but he's got to become a better pocket passer. I think if he does, A and M could take that leap offensively, but they don't.
Jerry Hamilton
And look, I'm not sitting here saying it's a bad hire. I say it's to be determined. He's never called plays before, so this is his first go. This is his first run at it. And his first run at it's on a team that has playoff expectations amongst their fan base nation.
Rod
This is.
Jerry Hamilton
They aren't going into this season thinking 8 and 4 and year two. Man, he's. We're gonna get this thing rolling. A M fans are saying we were in the playoff last year.
Rod
Yep. And shots on my CB says the BMDs, big money boosters and donors, wanted Bob Stoops. Yeah, I didn't know there was some Bob Stoops movement back then and it didn't happen. Might have been for the best, though.
Jerry Hamilton
You've heard the Bob Stoops. You heard Bob Stoops wanted the job when Mack Brown was hired, right? Have you ever heard what Bob Stoops was told?
Rod
No. Oh, no.
Jerry Hamilton
What, you don't have enough skins on the wall? Which he didn't have to head coach before?
Rod
Oh, I said he didn't at the time. So you're telling me that was twice where Bob Stoops could have been.
Jerry Hamilton
He wanted to beat Texas bad. It's competition, man. It's competition.
Rod
I. I didn't realize that. So that means in multiple years, it got back to Bob Sus via his agent or somebody like, hey, man, Texas may want you. But then somebody made a decision like, nah, nah, we don't want Bob Soups. But a group, a group of boosters and donors probably were on the Bob Soup's bandwagon. And I know why. Because he's a hell of a coach. Yeah, it added.
Jerry Hamilton
It added to that rivalry behind the scenes.
Rod
I think it really did. I didn't know that little nugget Jerry.
Julian Barnes
That's good.
Jerry Hamilton
Ye.
Rod
All right. Corey here says, who will be the first off the bus for practice.
Jerry Hamilton
Planet Fitness Justice. Terry. Oh, he should be the first off the bus physically, but will he be? Well, the first guy normally.
Rod
Are we talking about the person that's gonna be early to practice kind of
Jerry Hamilton
guy they normally walk over. So you take away the specialist, they have to be there early. It's been a wide receiver each time.
Rod
It was Jay Witt for years. Right.
Jerry Hamilton
DeAndre Moore took that. That role, and Worthy was walking over with wit in our open media. Look, it's.
Rod
I feel like it could be somebody like an Emmett Mosley could do it because he's like. He's been dealing with injuries. I can see him trying to get, you know, I want to get out there early. I feel like he could be one of those guys. Who else could be early off the bus guy? DBS. I'm gonna think about DBS. I can see Jelani McDonald being somebody like that, too. He could be somebody like that, wants to truly be a leader with all those young DBs out there. Maybe he wants to get out there early. Maybe it's one of the guys who transfer it in. Yeah, Bo Masco could do that. I've heard good things about Bomasco as a leader.
Jerry Hamilton
Yeah.
Rod
Machine Biles is a leader. Has gotten really good rave reviews that he's really embraced the leadership role. And, yeah, like, he seems to be a natural leader. So I think he's gonna be a natural leader. Somebody wants to set. They don't want to. They don't have to do the talking. They want to set the example by.
Jerry Hamilton
I. I'll tell you who I'd love for it to be. Trevor Goosby and the office walk over as a group. I'm giving Trevor. I'm giving Trevor an idea tonight. There you go.
Rod
That is a good one. Oh, lion walk, man. That would be good. Oh, line decide to walk.
Jerry Hamilton
That's.
Rod
That's kind of clean angle lie. Now, a lot of the old line will be complaining about it, but I like that idea, though. And speaking of that, Mel Vinciani could be one of those guys, too. I talked to him, and he's got that kind of attitude where he's always about getting better and challenging himself and getting better and being a leader. And I could see him. He's got that kind of attitude. A good question there, Corey. All right, next one is from Justin. Thank you, Justin, for the super chat. Fall Bob is almost here, and I know we are all ready for it. With that being said, who's Yalls? Underdogs. Y' all are rooting for gonna be Townsend and Vosic. For me, Vosik is a good one. We've been waiting on Bostic, man. We've been waiting on. And we all been waiting. I've been waiting on Vasic because it's either even an injury with him that's holding him back or he's flashed a couple of times. Never seen him put it together. Injury free and also consistent play. I haven't maybe in the new system with must champ and a new start with must champ as well. Vasa can do that. But that was a good one. That's a good underdog right there.
Jerry Hamilton
Gotta hold off Richard Wesley. Yeah.
Rod
Dude's a beast.
Jerry Hamilton
Colin went on record for what? I mean, I asked him the question, but he still went on record on Wesley. I mean, he went strong. It's probably a little too strong, but you could tell he's a big fan of Wesley.
Rod
Yeah, him and Lance Jackson's a big fan of them too. That's a good one. Okay, so underdogs here. I feel like it's interesting because you have so many new faces on the team, and I feel like it should be somebody who's been around and that we haven't yet seen pop. And we've been waiting on them to pop, but it hasn't. I feel like Alex January is that for me. I feel like I've been rooting for Alex January.
Jerry Hamilton
I was gonna say him or Murad Watson.
Rod
Mariah Watch is a good one too.
Jerry Hamilton
Maraud's really talented and he played well when he was healthy last year. Then he got nicked up.
Rod
Yeah. That's a good one. I like the Marad Watson because Barad
Jerry Hamilton
Watson doesn't get talked about much anymore. Because of Canoe.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
Ian Draft.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
And Alex January. Rod Watson was a freshman all American in the acc.
Rod
Yeah, it's true.
Jerry Hamilton
Then he got nicked up the last half of the year. Last year.
Rod
Year. Yeah. Basically. Who can be like the Ryan Niblet where it's like. No. Like people have almost kind of moved on from you.
Jerry Hamilton
Who's somebody you thought transfer would have transferred but didn't.
Rod
Yeah.
Sierra Miller
And then they.
Jerry Hamilton
They stayed conversation and they stayed with it.
Rod
And that's kind of what I'm looking for for the underdog these days. Somebody who just, like stuck with it and then finally found their role and relished in that role. And that's what Niblet did. Like, who could. Basically. Because he was an underdog last year. No, nobody. That's why they kept kicking to him early on. Nobody respected Them even after he, you know, burnt Oklahoma.
Coach Sark
Hell.
Rod
I don't know why miss. I don't know why Mississippi State kicked to it. I don't know why they kept. I don't know why any of those teams kick to him, but he kept making them pay. So I'm kind of looking for that role and I feel like somebody's ready who's ready to break out in that capacity. Could be, like I said, even mostly could be that guy. Could be that guy. Oh, that's a good one.
Jerry Hamilton
I just think he was underutilized last year.
Rod
That's a good one. Yeah, that's a good one. He could be yours.
Jerry Hamilton
He could end up here for muffs champ.
Rod
Yeah, he could be our second best pass rusher potentially on the team.
Jerry Hamilton
Like, he really could be who I'm going with.
Rod
I think I like that, Jerry. That's a good one. All right. Thank you, Justin. That was good. Super chat. Josh Manning. Good to hear from you, brother. Hope everything's going well. Says a little late to the show. No, never too late. Said. But how did you guys feel about Goosby calling Seymour a tenacious run blocker? That felt like a massive vote of confidence.
Jerry Hamilton
I think that is who he is. I mean, look, I think that is who he is and that is who he has to be. Because the reality for Lawrence seymour, he's probably 6 foot and a half without shoes on. He doesn't have the longest arms. Okay. So he's not going to look like the guy when he walks out on the field at Texas with all the big, bigger guys around them. I think he's got 32 inch arms. Okay. So there's. There's some things that tell you, Rod, he's got to be the most physical guy on the field. That's got to be his. That's got to be his mindset because he's always been the undersized offensive lineman.
Rod
Yeah. It's not like he's an undersized skill position guy. You can be fast and quick. Undersized old lineman, you better be able to move some people.
Jerry Hamilton
You know how short you look on the field when you're 6 foot and a half playing offensive line these days. Next to Goosby, you look like you're five nine out there.
Rod
And he's gonna be right next to Goosby too.
Jerry Hamilton
Right. And Connor Robertson's what, six, three and a half to the right of him. Those guys look like they're five nine out there and he's not. I mean, I list him at six two. He's not six two without shoes. Trust on that. It's probably six foot and a half.
Rod
Yeah.
Jerry Hamilton
So he's gonna look. But he's going to look square. He's going to look like a square. He's going to look like a tenacious run blogger. That's who he is.
Rod
I can't wait to see him.
Jerry Hamilton
He's got to be.
Rod
I want to see him pull somebody to see him like pull and move around a little bit.
Jerry Hamilton
Right. I think this interesting thing for him is wide zone run scheme. How does he truly fit the scheme?
Rod
Yeah, I agree. Because that's what they're going back to. Sarcoma say it. But that's. They're going, they're going back to more outside zone than the power gap schemes. They gonna still incorporate the power gap but last year they were more gap power runs than they were zone runs. And I think Stark wants to get back to breaking those chunky yardage runs with zone with some of those outside zone concepts.
Jerry Hamilton
And so I'll say this because I put this on otf.com I'm not saying he's not going to be the start. He does have to go earn that job. This is not walking in and you're the starting left guard. I, I'm, I was told that point blank he wasn't in for spring practice. He's got to go win a job so it's up to him to go win the job, which is the way it should be.
Rod
Yeah, I agree. Yeah, that's what you came here for. All right, thank you, Josh and Manning. We appreciate that. Thank you. To Blake Monroe behind the scenes. He's been twisting and tweaking the dials tonight so we appreciate him stepping in, doing a great job. Thank you, Jerry. Great stuff as always. If we missed any of your questions, please direct them to the gentleman at coffee and football bright and early tomorrow morning. One of the gentlemen joining me right now, the smo, Jerry Hamilton and the man to myth, the legend himself, Bobby Burton. That'll be at 8:15am and then myself, coach Bob Shipley and CJ Vogel, we'll be on the the PM live stream the winning drive at 7pm tomorrow night as well. So any questions that we miss, you can direct them to us as well. Appreciate all you guys. Thank you. Thank you for all the super chats. Thank you Longhorn blood. Thank you, Juan. Thank you Corey. Thank you Justin Joshimani. Really appreciate you guys and your kindness as well. And thank you all out there for watching and listening for Jerry and for Blake. I'm after my Hun Ride babies. Until next time.
Jerry Hamilton
10 days till the start of practice.
Julian Barnes
Normally in these ads you expect somebody to ask you to buy something, but this is something different. I'm Julian Barnes and I'm a reporter for the New York Times. I'm a national security reporter and that means I'm reporting on military operations. These are fast paced, quickly moving situations. What exactly is happening on the ground is often shrouded, but we turn to trusted sources, satellite imagery and expertise built up over years in order to ferret out the facts that wouldn't otherwise come to light. I'm here to ask you to seek out a news source that does firsthand fact based reporting. If it's your local paper, great. If it's the Times, thank you. Because where you go from your information matters.
Groons Brand Announcer
Summer routines live or die by how easy they are. And honestly, if something takes too much effort, I'm out. That's why Groons is my go to. It's one daily pack of gummies covering my greens, vitamins and minerals. Plus it has 6 grams of prebiotic fiber which is more than 2 cups of broccoli. No mixing powders, no giant pills, no hassle. I just rip open the pack and I'm done. They taste good and make it easy to stay on top of my health even when life gets busy. Save up to 52% off with code podcast at Groons Co. That's Code Podcast Gruns Co. Yeah Maxing is so maxing right now bro.
Carl's Jr. Advertiser
Get ready for spicy chicken maxing because Carl's Jr. Is saving you big with a 5.99 maxed out double stack Double Stack Double Stack Spicy chicken sandwich seriously, just 5.99 double stack spicy Chicken this is unreal value in the bromosphere. The new Spicy Chicken Max Wallet Friendly Max Tasty only at Carl's Journey Jr. Available for a limited time at participating restaurants, taxon included. Not valid for use within a combo or a combination with any other offered discount.
Sierra Miller
I'm Hannah. I've lost 75 pounds in 20 months with GLP1s/ diet and exercise on RO. I've gone from struggling to run a mile to running farther every day. You can Access FDA approved GLP1s online. Get the support you need to reach your weight loss goals. Go to Roe Co Weight to see if you qualify. I'm a paid row partner. 20 average weight loss in one year in non diabetics with obesity or overweight with a weight related medical condition versus 3.1% in placebo arm RX only to stay informed about serious side effects. Go to ro co. Safety 10 days
Ro Health Advertiser
hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of Angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well. Roof repair done well. Kitchen sink install done well. Deck upgrades done well Electrical Upgrade done well. Angie's been connecting homeowners with skilled pros for nearly 30 years, so we know the difference between done and done well. Angie the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find a pro for your project@angie.com Granger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail. Filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
Date: July 27, 2026
Host: Rod Babers
Guests: Jerry Hamilton
This lively episode of "On Texas Football" dives deep into the latest Texas Longhorns football news, focusing on player development, roster battles, potential breakout stars, and lingering questions post-SEC Media Days. Hosts Rod Babers and Jerry Hamilton answer real-time viewer questions, give behind-the-scenes recruiting insights, reflect on key offseason stories, and discuss what fans should watch heading into the start of practice.
This episode delivered classic "On Texas Football" energy—wide-ranging, deeply informed, and marked by real-time chat engagement. The hosts highlighted roster battles, the complexity of player development (especially at QB and CB), and the continued importance of mental and physical readiness in the SEC era. Listeners come away with inside knowledge on not just who to watch, but why, and how Texas football’s future is being shaped by equal parts coaching philosophy, player mentality, and program evolution.