LIVE: Texas’ Defense Has a NATIONAL TITLE Ceiling — But a SCARY Floor | Steve Sarkisian

Summary

On Texas Football — Episode Summary

Episode: Texas’ Defense Has a NATIONAL TITLE Ceiling — But a SCARY Floor | Steve Sarkisian
Date: August 5, 2026
Hosts: Jeff Howe & CJ Vogel
Podcast: On Texas Football

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode marks the end of the Longhorns' offseason and pivots to fall camp coverage beginning the next day. The hosts assess Texas’ national standing in the preseason coaches poll, dissect team strengths and concerns (especially along the offensive line and defense), debate expectations for the program under Steve Sarkisian, and preview the national landscape—focusing on playoff dark horses, the SEC race, and defensive potential versus pitfalls.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Embracing Expectations: Coaches Poll & Preseason Rankings

(03:00–05:30)

• Texas debuts at #4 in the Coaches Poll:
  • Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, Texas, and Notre Dame round out the top five.
• Message to fans: Embrace the high expectations; don’t shrink from preseason hype.
• Jeff Howe:
  • “If people are voting you the preseason number one team in the country, why are we running from that? … Don't hide from it. Embrace it. … You've got one of the top teams in the country. And if Sark pushes the right buttons, you've got a team that should be in the playoff with a chance to win a national championship.” (03:33)
• CJ:
  • Pushes back on "Madden curse" mentality in fanbase:
    • “The team that's ended up in that top spot … their fan base looks at it like it's the Madden curse. … Like all of a sudden, a hex is just down on the program. … And it's just not the case.” (04:21)
• Stability at QB is key:
  • All top 10 teams—except perhaps Ole Miss—have proven, locked-in starting QBs and stable coaching staffs, which is contrasted with QB uncertainty in places like Alabama and Texas Tech.

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2. Dark Horses: Playoff, Heisman, & SEC Picks

(15:35–33:30)

• Playoff Dark Horses:
  • CJ's Pick: Louisville
    • Schedule presents clear path; key game v. Ole Miss (neutral site, Week 1). (16:38–17:34)
    • “After that you have to go … one of two against SMU, Florida State and Georgia Tech … that is a schedule that screams 10 wins.” (17:11)
    • Lincoln Keinholtz is a good QB for Louisville.
  • Jeff's Picks: Houston & Washington
    • Houston: “Willie Fritz is a hell of a football coach … nobody is talking about Houston … that's my dark horse pick.” (19:05–20:00)
    • Washington: Schedule is manageable; could go 10-0 before tough finish at Indiana and Oregon.
    • “Washington could enter those two games 10–0.” (21:10)
• Heisman Dark Horse Candidates:
  • CJ: Drew Master Maker (Oklahoma State) — impressive arm, fits in high-powered offense, could break records if OSU must win shootouts again.
  • Jeff: Demon Williams Jr. (Washington) — high talent, strong odds, potential for a breakthrough.
    • “My Heisman dark horse is actually the quarterback of Washington.” (23:54)
• SEC Dark Horses:
  • Jeff: Florida — new coaching staff (Buster Faulkner OC, Aaron Philo at QB likely), loaded skill positions, uniquely “as safe a dark horse bet as you can get.” (28:22–28:40)
  • CJ: Missouri — upgraded QB (Austin Simmons), tough running game, solid defense. “Drinkwitz … is going to be competitive no matter what.” (31:04)
  • Discussion of Missouri as “trap game” for Texas in November (33:32–35:47)
• Penn State (Matt Campbell) as a playoff dark horse:
  • Easiest schedule in the Big Ten; could shock with 9–10 wins immediately. (36:27–38:09)

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3. Texas Team Analysis: Special Teams & Offensive Line

Special Teams Outlook

(47:39–52:12)

• High expectations for coverage and return units:
  • “I think Texas should have … the best coverage and return units in the country.” (47:41–48:50)
  • Lots of returning experience; fast, athletic gunners.
  • Key players: Ryan Niblett, Jonah Williams, John Meredith, Zealous Hicks, Tyler Atkinson, Rocky Cummings.
• Caution:
  • Must clean up penalties.
  • Kicking may not be elite, but should be reliable.
  • Kickoff returns could be a weapon with talent like Raleek Brown or Jermaine Bishop.

Offensive Line Anxiety

(52:12–57:30)

• Left guard is the singular concern:
  • “With the offensive line, it's a concern until it's not.” (53:41)
  • “If Lawrence Seymour is average, it's a heck of a lot better than you were at left guard last year.” (55:40)
• History lesson:
  • Last year, pre-season optimism evaporated due to late personnel shakeups.
  • The group must prove itself against better competition (Texas State is a test only if things go wrong).

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4. Defensive Ceiling & Floor under Will Muschamp

(67:53–70:33)

• National Title Ceiling:
  • “The ceiling is a defense that's good enough to win you a national championship.” (68:14)
• SCARY Floor:
  • “The floor is like a defense that may get you to 8-4 ... there’s risk.” (68:14)
  • Big-play risk: aggressive scheme could backfire if big plays over top aren't contained.
  • Less linebacker depth and uncertainty at corner.
• Scheme difference:
  • Muschamp D will be much more aggressive/havoc-driven than PK’s.
  • “With Will Muschamp, that’s going to be a priority … can you cause more havoc than just about any other defense in the SEC?” (70:33)
  • Success measured by: turnovers, sacks, havoc rate, and situational defensive play (third down, red zone).

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5. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Embracing Expectations:
  • Jeff Howe: “Enjoy these times. Don't run from it. Embrace it.” (03:33)
• Fan Superstitions:
  • CJ: “They look at [being ranked #1] like it’s the Madden curse … Black cats are wandering the streets of the university.” (04:21)
• On Sam Ehlinger’s Toughness:
  • Jeff Howe: “I will defend Sam Ellinger to the end of the earth.” (12:13)
  • CJ: “For as long as I watch Texas football ... my respect for Sam Ellinger, who never complained about it, never complained to anybody, got up, got back from the huddle, said, 'I love this university.’” (13:27)
• On Missouri as a Trap Game:
  • Jeff Howe: “It would be a real shame for a trip to Missouri for an early kickoff being the thing that keeps Texas out of the playoff.” (34:56)
• On the OL drama:
  • Jeff Howe: “…it's a concern until it's not.” (53:41)
• On Defensive Upside and Downside:
  • Jeff Howe: “The ceiling is a defense that’s good enough to win you a national championship ... The floor may just be lower.” (68:14)
  • CJ: “I could point to something right now and say, hey, I can’t with 100% of my being say that is going to be a definitive, fantastic position group, except maybe that right edge with Colin Simmons.” (69:52)

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6. Rapid-Fire National & Nostalgic Notes

• ■
  • Praise for Bijan Robinson’s NFL payday and Tashard Choice’s recruiting resume (42:35–43:41)
  • Extended playful banter about Joe Montana’s legacy (various, notably 61:31–67:30)
  • Call to enjoy the final night before camp: “I’ll be going to bed like Christmas Eve … I might even make me some cookies tonight.” (01:22–01:49)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Preseason Poll & Expectation Talk: 03:00–05:30
• QB and Coach Stability Analysis: 05:30–07:29
• Playoff & Heisman Dark Horses: 15:35–23:54
• SEC Dark Horse Debate: 28:22–35:47
• Penn State and National Scheduling: 36:26–40:25
• Special Teams Preview: 47:39–52:12
• OL Concerns & Roster Battles: 52:12–57:30
• Defensive Ceiling & Floor w/ Muschamp: 67:53–70:33

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Tone & Style

The episode is packed with inside jokes, playful ribbing, and a blend of analytical and fan-immersed perspectives. The hosts balance deep football analysis with approachable, conversational energy. Frequent chat interaction and ‘super chat’ responses make it interactive and community-driven.

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Useful for New Listeners

This summary covers all crucial topics:

• Why Texas fans should embrace the hype
• Which programs could shake up the playoff or Heisman race
• Where Texas’ advantages and worries truly lie (defense, O-line, special teams)
• What marks progress in Sarkisian’s era
• What’s new under Will Muschamp’s defense and why it could define both the season's high and low points

Listeners unfamiliar with the show will glean the major storylines for Texas Football entering fall camp, along with national context and a few classic football stories and quips.

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For a deeper dive visit ontexasfootball.com or tune in to upcoming live coverage as Texas' season and storylines kick off in earnest.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[CJ]

bad to be fair.

[Jeff Howe]

All right, everybody. Welcome back to On TEXAS football. Welcome to the Tuesday night live stream here at On Texas Football. I am Jeff Howe, joined as always on Tuesdays by as Rod Babers has dubbed him the young prodigy here on Texas Football. He is CJ Vocal. CJ I was thinking this is technically our last. Barring something breaking this tonight between now and midnight, this is our last off season show because camp starts tomorrow.

[CJ]

We did it, C.J. we did it. We did. I mean, thank goodness we were running out of topics. Jeff, we needed football back so desperately. But no, I'm excited. I'm definitely excited to bring you guys a a practice report tomorrow. I'll be going to bed like Christmassy. I'll pull out Santa tracker, wake up in the morning. I might even make me some cookies tonight.

[Jeff Howe]

I don't like. My daughter gets excited on Christmas Eve. That'll be me tonight. I do, I do want to borrow some parlance of somebody admire greatly the great Mike Reiner. We wake up tomorrow, C.J. we will make the start of camp. The goal then becomes because it's going to be hot when we're we've got our media window. Can we clear the start of camp? That's a goal this year. I don't know if anybody's been outside in Austin, Texas lately. 245 practice going to be a little toasty tomorrow.

[CJ]

Yes, it is. It'll be straight from practice. Jeff. We do have an availability afterward around 5 and I would not. Well, I guess we are both going to be in that scrim, but boy, it's going to be reeking. Going to have to find a way to get a quick shower and some Febreze in that room immediately.

[Jeff Howe]

I'm preparing for multiple shirt changes tomorrow. So we'll have you covered here On Texas Football on the channel and [e-mail] for the start of camp tomorrow. Let's get into it tonight, C.J. we got some things to get into. Let's start it off with the coaches poll. The preseason coaches poll came out today. Texas is number four, C.J. and there's a couple different ways we can go at it. I. I want to get to this, though. Ohio State number one, I believe. Oregon number two. Georgia number three. Texas number four. Notre Dame number five. I don't understand. I mean, I. I understand it. I. I just don't. I don't like the sentiment from some of our posters over on Texas Football.com. some Texas fans that, oh, man, thank goodness we're not number one. Dude. If. If people are voting you the preseason number one team in the country, why. Why are we running from that? Why are we scared of that? Why are we avoiding that? Texas didn't lose to Ohio State last year because they were the preseason number one team in the country because they went on the road and played a really good football team. Like, embrace the expectations, dude. C.J. i remember it's. It was not long ago. I'm going into the first day of camp thinking, all right, here's what this team has to do to make a bowl game. We're not there anymore. You're aiming high. The expectations are much higher. They are where they should be. Texas fans enjoy these times. Don't run from it. Embrace it. You've got one of the top teams in the country. And if Sark pushes the right buttons, you've got a team that should be in the playoff with a chance to win a national championship. CJ that's all I'm saying. Don't hide from it. Don't be timid. Don't. Oh, man, I don't want them to vote. No. Who cares where they vote? You. You're one of the top five teams in the country. Embrace it.

[CJ]

Yes, absolutely. It's. It's funny. You see these preseason polls, and the team that's ended up in that top spot, that number one overall spot, their fan base looks at it like it's the Madden curse. Like, all of a sudden, a hex is just down on the program. Black cats are wandering the streets of the university. There's ladders everywhere outside of doors that you just walk underneath when mirrors are shattered. Like, bad luck just comes as a result. And it's just. It's not the case.

[Jeff Howe]

Right?

[CJ]

You talk to anybody in any of these locker rooms, just sit there and tell you the exact same thing. That's great. We don't care. So with you for Texas again, if number four, I. I saw the banter tonight. You know, a lot of Texas fans saying, hey, that's great. We're not number one. It's like, well, you're number four, right? You're still expected to be in that final four by the end of the season. But it doesn't matter. You're splitting hairs right now. I'm with you, Jeff.

[Jeff Howe]

So let's look at this top. I think when you look at the top five, CJ It's. It's segmented certain ways. I think when you look at the top five, actually, let's just expand it out and look at the top 10. You look at the top five, it's all teams that obviously have very, very talented rosters, but they have no question. There's no question at all who QB1 is for any of those teams. And QB1 is a proven commodity for all five of those teams. Done by Julian saying, Dante Moore, Gunner, Stockton, Arch, obviously, and then CJ Carr. You go to 6 and 7. It's the two teams that were in the national championship game this year. A lot of roster turnover, but they get the benefit of the doubt. You go to 8 and 9, and we can talk about the Aggies and the Sooners talented rosters, but this is where you start to get into, okay, now I think you've got some potentially significant flaws that could keep you out of the playoff. And then I think Ole Miss gets the benefit of the doubt because they have a proven commodity. If they didn't have Trinidad Chambliss, C.J. they. They might not be a top 15 preseason team without champions.

[CJ]

I was gonna say not even the top 20.

[Jeff Howe]

Yeah, I mean, you can make that argument for sure.

[CJ]

It's. It's interesting. And the top 10, 100. There's no question who the quarterback is. There's no question who's going to be leading the offense. And that's something that you look at and you think, okay, maybe in years past, this hasn't always been the case. Additionally, you can look at basically every team in the top 10 outside of Ole Miss and think, hey, that coaching continuity remains across the board. Right. Ohio State, maybe you could make the case, given some of the turnover at coordinators. But you feel pretty good if you're one of these top 10 teams, given, hey, I know exactly who my quarterback is. That's not something I got to figure out. You do have to figure that out in Tuscaloosa.

[Jeff Howe]

Yep.

[CJ]

And in Texas Tech, we. We know all about the quarterback situation going on in West Texas. So that's always, you know, a step in the right direction if you're one of those top 10 teams. But, man, that's a lot of talent, man. The quarterback class in general this year, Jeff, is really, really high. And we're going to talk about a couple this year that we believe are a little slept on right now going into fall camp.

[Jeff Howe]

Yeah, we got a couple of those. C.J. let's. I want to get to a couple supers, though. We do have some supers, actually. I want to save one super because that is, is going to play into something we're going to talk about in the next segment. But CJ we'll get the Rocky P super chat. Rocky P. Thank you for the super chat. So CJ have you been able. CJ I'm glad this is, I don't think this will stop because we're in the camp, but maybe we put a temporary hiatus on it. Have you been able to stop staring at Mater's photos? Also? Simmons looks really jacked on that camp check in video. It looks ready to be Captain Chaos. I'm calling it 15 plus sacks, five plus forced fumbles.

[CJ]

Wow. Let me start by saying this. What photo of Mater are you even talking about, huh? Oh, Jesus, Matthew.

[Jeff Howe]

Thank you Matt for that. Producer Matt, always on top of it. I mean I, I guess OU fans are losing their minds. I, I was thinking about this today because I, I was on coffee and football sitting in for Jerry this morning. C.J. and I said look, if you put, if you take Brad Jackson to Texas State and put him at either OU or A M, their ceiling is significantly higher. I think with Brad Jackson quarterback now I feel like I until proven otherwise, like Marcel Reed is what he is, right. And I think he's a good quarterback. Can he elevate you to a championship level? He hasn't proven that and we'll see if he can. I'm willing to give Matier a little bit more benefit of the doubt because what does he look like if he doesn't have that thumb injury last year? If he can just keep the momentum going. I, and I want to get your take on this real quick. I, I said John Mateer, it's, it's not fair to call him a poor man Sam Ellinger, but the play styles are really similar. I just need to see a healthy mater. Can a healthy John Mateer be as frankly as, as prolific a pastor as Sam Ellinger? I think people forget like Sam ellinger was around 65% completion rate, 32, 3300 yards a couple of years at Texas. Can John Mateer be that type guy? I don't know, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt to say. I'm not saying he can't. He just hasn't done it yet at this level?

[CJ]

No, he has not. And look, that was one of the things that Oklahoma needed to address this year was get him some actual pass. Receivers, right? Something that they did not have last year in Norman. And you go back and you look at the tight end room while their tight end had 54 catches, I believe it was a fourth year linebacker that they just said, hey, we have nobody else. Go play, go play tight end. But like all quarterbacks, quarterbacks that struggle, quarterbacks that try to do too much with their arm, leaving the pocket, relying on that elusivity at times, you need a run game to offset it. And right now that's the biggest thing that I look at and juggle between Marcel Reed and John Mateer. And I say Marcel Reed probably will have a run game to an extent. Will it be great? Will it be elite? I don't know about that. But they at least have a couple of backs that you look at and say, okay, I trust the ball in their hands that they will make something happen at Oklahoma. I have zero faith in that running back room again. It's been three years since they've had a single running back gain more than 750 rushing yards in a single season. That's unlike anything I've ever seen in my lifetime watching Oklahoma football. Jeff, say that.

[Jeff Howe]

Run that by me one more time.

[CJ]

They've not had a running back in the last three years, gained 750 rushing rushing yards in a single season.

[Narrator]

Jeez.

[CJ]

And again, this is, this is the school that's produced Majp Run Joe Mix and DeMarco Murray. I could go on and on and on about running backs illustrious at Oklahoma and they haven't had it under Brent Venable. So that's something that I look at and I say if one quarterback were to take this the leap this year, I would, I would kind of lean towards the guy who doesn't need to do as much and can just hand the ball off a lot. And that's Marcel Reed.

[Jeff Howe]

Looking back at John Mater like his Washington State numbers 64. It's basically 65% completion rate, about 3,200 yards, 29 touchdowns, seven picks. If he replicates that this year, OU's in the playoff. Yeah, there's no question in my mind because they, they, they got, they, they made it last year with him being mediocre. Let's take it back to Texas. And again, take for the thumb injury, for whatever it was Daniel mentioned. Daniel, thank you for the super chat. Sam Ellinger was an animal. Yes, he was Look, I'm a Sam Ellinger, Stan. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I. I will defend Sam Ellinger to the end of the earth. Because, man, you look at some of the games he lost. CJ when he was at Texas, it's not like it was his fault. Like, you know, games like, whether it's like an LSU, OU in the Big 12 championship game, I mean, go. There were just games where it's like Kyler Murray or Joe Burrow or Brock Purdy or one of these other NFL quarterbacks was just a little bit better than him that day.

[CJ]

Not to mention a few of those other games. His brain was complete mush, right? He was taking hit after hit after hit. You had to sit there and say, dude, they're really just scraping this guy off the field and saying, hey, go run power.

[Jeff Howe]

Right?

[CJ]

Once more, dude. So that's something that for the rest of my life, for as long as I watch Texas football, college football, my respect for Sam Ellinger, who never complained about it publicly, never complained to anybody that I'm aware of, got up, got back from the huddle, said, I love this university. I'm going to make sure that they. Everyone in the stadium understands that that's why I play the way that I play the, the.

[Jeff Howe]

The. The OU game. Sam's junior year in 2019 was long. I think his final rushing numbers, like, 23 carries for nine yards. And I'm like, dude, he. They're gonna have to, like, carry him out of here because he was just getting the hell beat out of him. And it's one of those deals where, like, if you go back and look at the NFL draft, like, basically, Neville Gallimore's draft tape was the Texas game.

[CJ]

Yes. Was that the game that Oklahoma had, what, nine sacks set the. The Cotton bowl record?

[Jeff Howe]

Yeah. You're just like, geez, yeah. And if, you know, if. Thankfully, Jalen Hurts turned it over a couple of times and Texas got back in the game. But, yeah, Sam was. Sam was a warrior. All right, CJ mentioned some national college football stuff. We're going to get to. We'll get to that here in just a second. But right now I want to thank one of our sponsors. As a matter of fact, let's thank our lead sponsor for the Tuesday night live stream. Give a shout out to Andy Ludicky and my perfect franchise. Are you stuck in the corporate rat race with two weeks of PTO and no control over the money you can make or your schedule in general? If that's you, then call Andy. He'll take you through a process to help you find a business that'll fit your skill sets and your financial goals. Franchise ownership isn't for everybody. But if you've got a desire to take control of your destiny, call Andy or email him at [e-mail] Again, that's [e-mail] and we want to give a huge shout out to Andy Ludicky and my perfect franchise for sponsoring the Tuesday night live stream here at on Texas football. I almost said Wednesday night live stream. The window Wednesday night live stream. We're talking about practice every time, stuff we saw on the field. Looking forward to it. All right, C.J. i'm gonna give you the floor. I think producer Matt's got some graphics. You had this idea, so I don't want to step on your toes. I'm passing that baton to you and you go run with it, sir.

[CJ]

Yes, thank you. I will take it and gladly take off. I need folks in the chat. We're talking about dark horses, long shots to win the sec, long shots to win the Heisman trophy, long shots to make the college football playoff. Jeff and I over the the afternoon we both submitted a couple of picks. Producer Matthew did a phenomenal job starting graphics, getting graphics ready to go. We got schedules that we'll go over, Jeff, but I need folks right now. Jeff, where do you want to start? You want to talk college football? Let's start there.

[Jeff Howe]

Yeah, let's go playoff. Coming off the coaches poll and we all saw the coaches poll Texas number four and you kind of got an idea of where teams sit. Is somebody too high, somebody too low? Look, is the coaches poll going to matter at the end of the day? No, but it's, it's a, it's a good starting point. It kind of just sets the, sets the bar for where everybody can get to. But yeah, let's go ahead and talk playoff. Dark horses. C.J. there's one of your picks. I know you mentioned it over on Texas football dot com. Dude, I love one of your picks. After looking at that schedule. Yeah.

[CJ]

Can I interest anybody in the Louisville Cardinals?

[Jeff Howe]

You. It's you. You've interest me, sir. I'm interested in Louisville.

[CJ]

Yeah. So here, here we go. Here are some of the dark horses that we're going to be talking about tonight. Matthew, real quick, while we're on the topic of Louisville, could you bring up that schedule because my goodness, week one you have Ole Miss. That's a tough non conference game, but after that you have to go, what, one of two against smu, Florida State and Georgia Tech?

[Jeff Howe]

Maybe. I mean, I do. The Ole Miss game is a neutral side game for them, I think. In Orlando. Yeah. I mean, really, to. To your point, CJ by the end of September, Louisville could either be completely out of the playoff conversation or everybody nationally is going to be talking about, hey, they've got a real path for an undefeated regular season.

[CJ]

Yeah. And look, I. It might be the latter. Again. That's something that I look at. That Week one game. I know everybody in Knoxford, Mississippi has been talking about what's happening. Week three, lsu, Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin returns. That's where all of the attention has been in Oxford. Louisville won nine games last year. And personally, I think Lincoln Keinholtz is a pretty good quarterback. Former Ohio State quarterback, now in charge with of. Of Brahms. Louisville, right now, dude, that is a schedule right now that you look at and you say, where's the difficulty? SMU. I think C.J. bailey at NC State will pose a test, but I don't think any of those final three teams are challenging at all. North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Kentucky. No, no, no. I think that is a roster or that is a schedule that screams 10 wins. And I think that is one Jeff that you can look at by the end of it and just say, man, I don't know how good Louisville is, but boy, they're right there at 12, 13, 14, 15 in the final CFP rankings. They have a chance to make the playoffs.

[Jeff Howe]

I, I can guarantee you it won't be North Carolina. That much I know. I don't feel like I can take anything to the bank, but that for sure. Yeah. By the way, somebody said, I think it was T. Cox in the chat said that game is in Nashville. Ole Miss. Ole Miss. Louisville's in Nashville. So I thought it was Orland. It's Nashville. Point is, it's a neutral site game.

[CJ]

Give me one of your stuff.

[Jeff Howe]

Well, I, you know, I was gonna pick smu, but I mean, I, I don't, I don't consider. I wouldn't put SMU in the dark horse car. I mean, they've been to the playoff in the 12 format, so I can't consider them a dark horse. I did think about Kevin Jennings as a Heisman dark horse, but I didn't want to go that far. But I, you know, I. SMU's got a little more challenging schedule than old than Louisville does, but I think the winner that Ole Miss. Excuse me. The winner of the Louisville SMU game probably has an inside track to maybe be in the ACC championship game, maybe be the ACC rep in the playoff. Yeah, I look, schedule be damned. Right? And I did look at their schedule. I'm looking in State and I'm looking at U of H, looking at Houston because it's not so much I'm a Connor Wigman fan or anything like that. And you look at the schedule. My thing with Houston is I just think Willie Fritz is a hell of a football coach. The dude has won everywhere he's been. He understands what the Houston job is. And I, I think nobody is talking about, about Houston even, even at coaching school. The thing was in Houston, C.J. and everybody, obviously everybody's talking about, if you just look at the Big 12 schools, everybody's talking about Tech, a lot of buzz. Is Dave Rana gonna make it a Baylor? Sonny Dice just got that extension at tcu. Nobody's talking about U of H. That's, that's my dark horse pick. And I like Washington too. The Demon Williams thing where he agreed to his, his new nil deal, tried to go into the portal, came back. I saw Jed Fish say it, Big Ten media days. Hey, guys in the NFL all the time, sometimes they ask for a trade and they don't get it. That's basically how they're treating it. Washington I like because they've got a quarterback who's a proven commodity and they've got a schedule that's very manageable, right until you get to the end Indiana at home and then they end the regular season at Oregon. So that's obviously a hellacious two game into it. CJ There's a path though. Washington could enter those two games. 10, 0.

[CJ]

They could. They definitely could. And I, I love Washington. I love Demon Williams. After seeing him at Manning Passing Academy last year, he was a guy that I said I have high hopes for, for what they would do in 2025. And I had a Washington playoff ticket a year ago. I had bet Washington to make the College Football Playoff a year ago. And then I saw them drop seven points against Wisconsin. Jeff. And I think for whatever reason I, I guess it was in Washington. So it was a 9pm kick and it was the only game on at the time. And I sat there as someone who had put my word on Washington, score seven points on Wisconsin. And I didn't have a hat at the time. And it's probably good because somebody's life was saved that evening. But I love this pick and I think that quarterback is very talented. There's two games that I Think might be a little trappy if you will. USC Saturday, October 3 Jeff, I'm not going to buy into USC, but they have Gary Patterson as their defensive coordinator now and it's taking everything in me not to buy into him.

[Jeff Howe]

Dude, me too, me too because I, I actually like Jay Mavia at quarterback. It's Lincoln Riley and offense. They'll get it figured out. But dude, I, yeah and +I USC, if you're a blue blood, you're not a dark horse. So I can't call USC a dark horse to make the play. Playoff. It's kind of now or never for Lincoln Riley there. Matt, let's go ahead and go back to our dark horse picks real quick because my Heisman dark horse is actually the quarterback of Washington. My Williams. Dude, your your Heisman dark horse. Giving the Big 12 a little more to love than I'd like to on this show. Drew mess to maker CJ make make the jump to the Big 12 and go go Heisman. In year one, I just looked at it like this when picking my I went and looked at, okay, what were Fernando Mendoza's odds at the time start of last year and he was like, he was like 60 to 1, Demon Williams Junior's 55 1. Mesta Maker 65 to 1. So both those guys fall into that category. That's, that's the kind of guys you're looking. The Ostor, the Rani.

[CJ]

Yeah, no, I, I got lucky with that, that Fernando Mendoza Heisman ticket a year ago as well. But I really like Drew Master Maker. That's someone that again leaving Manning this year. I know that doesn't mean everything, but then you watch the tape from a year ago and I mean my goodness, he might have the best arm in the country. And I know arm strength is something that you look at, you say, oh, it's subjective. Does it translate? Look, when you're throwing the ball down the field in that offense to a point of 69 completion while taking care of the football with only nine interceptions. I love it. Wyatt Young comes over, one of the top wide receivers in the country, I believe had 14 or 1500 receiving yards. Jeff, I don't know how good Oklahoma State was or will be this year. They were utter dog poo a year ago, to be polite, one of the worst in the power four. But if that is a team that kind of reverts back to the old days of the Big 12 where you need to score 50 or 60 to win football games, nine or 10 games, he's going to be breaking records or at least in that conversation. And I think that will carry him along.

[Jeff Howe]

All right, we'll get back and pick this up in just a second because we got some good comments, we got some supers we need to get to. We'll keep it going. But right now I need to thank a couple of our sponsors. First off, this is a good opportunity to let everybody know that this edition of On Texas Football is brought to you by Prize Picks. You guys know we're always looking for ways to make watching games a little more fun. That's exactly why we love Prize Picks. It's America's number one sports picks app and honestly it's about as simple as it gets. That's why we love it so much. For Player Picks, all you have to do is choose more or less on player stats and lock in your lineup. Seriously, it's all you got to do. And if you're someone who likes picking teams instead of players, Prize Picks has you covered there too. Because you can now pick the winner, the winner spread or the total on games and even fight. Prize Picks is available in most states including Texas, California and Florida. So chances are you can jump in today. And one of our favorite features about Prize Picks is you can follow users if you want. If you like the pick somebody's making, you can tail them with one click and you can follow your friends picks to our plays. Today we're doing a little MLB WNBA combo. Ryan Weathers under five less than five and a half strikeouts. Kayla Thornton less than eight and a half points. So that's all you gotta do. More or less. That's all you gotta pick when you're dealing with Prize Picks. Here's the best part about Prize Picks though. If you've never tried it, play your first five dollar lineup and if you win you'll get $150 in bonus lineups. Just make sure you use the code HMA when you sign up with the Prize Picks app. I actually just updated this offer so there's never been a better time to get started again. Download the Prize Picks app Get use the code HMA play that first five dollar lineup and if you win you'll get 150 in bonus lineups. Again, prize picks app code HMA good luck and as always, please remember to play smart. Play responsibly. Play Prize Picks Want to shout out price picks for sponsoring the Tuesday night live stream? And shout out to Mark Saunders, our long running sponsor here on the channel on the recruiting breakdown and sponsoring the Tuesday night live stream when it comes to protecting all of your stuff. Wouldn't it be great to have one one place that protects it all? Here's some good news. Texas Allstate agent Mark Saunders is the only insurance agent you need. Everything from your home car and boat to your motorcycle, RV and atv. If you're looking for someone local to the Austin Round Rock area, give Mark a call at 512-218-8571. Are you in good hands? With more than 35 years of experience, you'll be in good hands with Texas alum Mark Saunders. Again. Give Mark's office a call. 512-218-8571. It's 512-2188, 571 and a shout out to Mark Saunders not just for sponsoring the recruiting breakdown here on the channel, but for also sponsor the Tuesday night live stream here at on Texas football. All right, C.J. i want to get to Juan's super chat because it does relate to some of our SEC dark horses. We're talking dark horses. This is a CJ topic tonight. So CJ Very, very big player in tonight's presentation. Juan, thank you for the super chat said so you offered a Florida's offense with Buster Faulkner. I remember Blake Gideon was DC at Georgia Tech where Faulkner was the OC at Georgia Tech. Not afraid of anybody. Juan, you don't fear anybody college football. But I CJ I think I'm just drinking the John Sumrall Kool Aid because Florida's my dark horse to win the sec. We know Florida's talented.

[CJ]

I love that pick, Jeff.

[Jeff Howe]

And if, if, if this, if this Buster Faulkner, Aaron Philo Mares works out for them on offense, there's enough around him where they can go. You know, defensively they're going to be good. I, I just that's to that to me is about as safe a dark horse bet as a dark horse bet can be.

[CJ]

You talked about the best receiving groups in the entire conference. I think Texas is in that mix. I think Florida might be right behind them. Like it might be 1, 2. Yeah, singleton coming over. Vernon Brown remains. Dallas Wilson should be fully healthy. That is unbelievably good. That is an underneath, a field stretcher and a do it all that is very, very talented. And of course Jaden Ball, a true bell cow workout workhorse in the backfield who Texas is very familiar with. Jeff. Now here's one thing that is unknown at the moment is obviously what does the quarterback look like. And that is a big piece of it. But coming from Georgia Tech with Faulkner where he's familiar with the scheme. He's been it for two years now, now expected to take the reins. And again we. They're still awaiting a true announcement on the starting quarterback. I fully believe that Aaron Filo was going to be the guy. Yeah, but Jeff, that is a lot of fun that you could play with. And I know that the trenches are physical because they got dudes in the swamp.

[Jeff Howe]

No doubt, no doubt. They've got talent. It's not like Florida's void of talent. You just need to hire the right guy. And Billy Napier wasn't the right guy. Look, they've been searching for that guy since Urban Meyer decided to prematurely retire, only to get back into it at Ohio State a couple of years later. But at any rate, I mean, John Sumrall, I like what I'm hearing. I think that fan base is excited. He's an SEC guy. Like he knows what that Florida job means. I mean, Will Muschamp was too much champs. Deal was they just couldn't get the offense or the quarterback situation figured out when Will Muschamp was a head coach. And then it just kind of. Jim McElwain just didn't feel like the right fit there. Dan Mullen, you know, a better, a better version of Tom Herman is what Dan Mullen is to me because Dan Mullen, I think at least is very, very highly skilled at what he does, but kind of same personality to an extent. And then, you know, Billy Napier just, it wasn't, it wasn't the right hire. So if Florida gets the right. Just like Texas, if Florida gets the right hire, they'll, they'll be fine and they'll be back contending for SEC championship. CJ you went with Missouri. I know. I, I snagged Florida first. To me, there weren't a ton of really appealing options. But I'll tell you what, man. Drink can coach. I've come around on Drink. I've done a full 180 on drink. I, I like Eli Drinkwoods.

[CJ]

Yeah, I do too. I went with Missouri because I tried to save myself some ridicule if I went with Oklahoma. And I don't even think Oklahoma is a dark, dark horse to win the sec. But they are projected seventh somehow, some way after the SEC media poll. So Missouri is who I ended up going with with. And I like Drink. I think he is the SEC's Matt Campbell where regardless of what he's working with, that team is going to be competitive. That team is going to be tough and they're going to find A way to run the football as Missouri was eighth in the country a year ago, averaging 228 rushing yards per game per game in the SEC. I mean, that is elite stuff. And I know the whole Ahmad Hardy situation is a little finicky, right? Will he play? Will he play early? Will he have to wait? What is the situation does not matter to me. Now. I know he is a very special talent. But there is a reason why they brought Jamal Roberts to SEC media days as well. Because that kid can play. And I think they upgraded that quarterback. I wasn't a big fan. Prabula. Austin Simmons coming in from Ole Miss, who again was previously the starter for Lane Kiffin before injury then allowed Trinidad Chambliss to kind of take the world by storm. So I think Austin Simmons is a guy that can upgrade at the quarterback position while still maintaining a very good offensive line and rushing attack. And Jeff, they put guys in the NFL defensively, probably three or four each year. I love Missouri and I think that's going to be a tough game for Texas in November.

[Jeff Howe]

Yeah, I think when when you look at these teams we got here, right, Like U of H. Just relating it back to Texas, you know, that's never going to be a rivalry for Texas. But I do like the fact that there are some in state schools that have a chance where it doesn't hurt Te Texas, but the state can maybe be represented in the cfp. I dig that. Obviously Texas and Washington have recent history. Penn State, you got the reason the recent history in the Big 12 with Matt Campbell. That. That to me just Matt Campbell's style. Played a ton of one score games at Iowa State. Yeah, if you do that at Penn state, you know, 8 and 4 at Iowa State, they throw you a parade. 8 and 4 at Penn State, you're on the hot seat. So that's my one concern about Matt Campbell. Anytime you go from a job at Iowa State, you rewrite the history there. But then you go to Penn State where you're just another guy. I do kind of worry about coaches somehow. So Matt Campbell's got a little proof. Florida ck the more I go ahead. Sorry.

[CJ]

No, go ahead, Jeff, because I was going to come back to to Matt Campbell.

[Jeff Howe]

Okay. Florida, I think when you look at how Sark is engineered the off season, you bringing in Billy Gonzalez and Jabarjaluk, it's not just to win the Florida game, but everything. Every time Florida comes up like it feels a certain way. You get a certain vibe. Whenever soccer, the players talk about the Florida game last year like that one, because I do think they really feel like that Florida loss kept them out of the playoff. I think they've got that one circled. I don't think they'll admit it, but I think they've got that one circled. They're ready for Florida to come back to DKR and then Missouri. CJ that's one of those games that's in November. It's in the middle of that stretch where I don't know how well Missouri is going to be playing. It's an 11 o' clock kick. It's in Columbia. It's either gonna be 11 or noon. Like that's, that's one that, especially coming off that stretch of consecutive games after you get the bye week. Ou, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State. So after running around chasing Camaro Taylor all day, Will Musham's defense gets to go against Missouri where it's going to be tight personnel trying to run it down your throat in, in Columbia. Texas hadn't been there since 2011. That, that's one that I think everybody has that rightfully circle called a trap game. Call it whatever you want. It would be a real shame for a trip to Missouri for an early kickoff. But being the thing that keeps Texas out of the playoff for the SEC

[CJ]

championship game, that would be absolutely devastating, Jeff. But I, I look at it again last year, right? The, the road game that was kind of a, you know, sleep walking trap game was going to Lexington, Kentucky and we saw exactly how that went. Now fortunately, Texas didn't have to wait all day to, to play and kick off against Missouri this year. But I don't, I don't know. I hope someone in the chat is familiar with weather in Missouri because I have no idea.

[Jeff Howe]

Dude, the, the last time Texas played there in 11, it was like the wind was just, it was something fierce. Like, see, Mizzou has replaced the turf because the turf was awful. It ended Henry Josie's career and set Fozzie Whitaker back something fierce. But they changed the turf. Yeah, the wind was a major factor.

[CJ]

Now they closed in the end zone. Now maybe that changes. Maybe it just, you know, adds difficulty to punts kind of the way that Florida does, you know, the Swamp if it's a windy day and that, that ball just kind of spirals. It looks like it gets caught in like, you know, you know, your sink when you drain the water out and it just kind of gets one of these going down the drain. That's what the ball looks like in the swamp. And I wonder with the new aerodynamics in, in Missouri if it does the same thing. But I'm, I'm thinking a windy cold day at 11am is a recipe for disaster for Texas. We'll see. But that's why running the football for Missouri is so important. But Jeff, I wanted to go back real quick about Matt Campbell.

[Jeff Howe]

Please do.

[CJ]

I did have Penn State as one of my dark horses to make the College Football Playoff. And Matthew, if you don't mind pulling up that cupcake schedule. Oh my goodness me. And ten of my buddies in the chat could go win five games in this. But I'm serious. I mean, Wisconsin, Northwestern, USC might be difficult, Michigan might be difficult, but that's it. That is literally Purdue, Washington, Minnesota, Rutgers, Maryland, maybe we're looking at it, Jeff. Right now we're Penn State and Washington. That's the, that that's who decides who wins or makes a College Football playoff appearance. I think this sets up beautifully for Matt Campbell to walk in shatter expectations in year one, which I hope they're already very high given the schedule at hand. But he's got a lot of familiarity with players that he is bringing over from Iowa State, as well as the quarterback who say what you want about Rocco Beckt, but I think he's talented. I think this is a team that could win nine or ten games almost immediately and put themselves in right in the mix.

[Jeff Howe]

The, the thing to watch with Big Ten schedules now, now that we've had conference expansion, when are you making your cross country trip and what like when does it come on the schedule and who do you have after or before? And think about Penn State, they get USC at home, they go to Michigan, Purdue at home, then they go to Washington, but then they come back home and get Minnesota. So it's almost like the scad, the schedule makers this year just looked upon the Nittany lines favorably. C.J. because if you're going to make that cross country trip, that's about as good of a draw as you can hope to get.

[CJ]

No, it absolutely is. And again, you know, you talk about expectations coming off of a 76 season when you really just disappointed as what I believe they were a top three or top four team going into the season. It was supposed to be Drew Alar's breakout year, supposed to be the time that James Franklin was the big dog in the conference. Given where Ohio State was, where Oregon might have been. I look at this year and say maybe they redeem themselves. So tuck it away. Tuck it away.

[Jeff Howe]

I, I'm a Matt Campbell fan. I really like what Matt Campbell did at Iowa State. It's always tough games playing against Matt Campbell's teams, but again, man, you're. You're going from the shallow end of the pool to. You're jumping head first into the deep end. We're taking that Penn State job, so I'm interested to see how it plays out. For sure.

[CJ]

Josie's gonna be ducking all these. All these tackles, dude.

[Jeff Howe]

Yeah, man. Hey, I'll say this, though, Matt. You put that Penn State schedule back up one more time. Sorry, I know producer Matt's busy behind the scenes. Dude, isn't Marshall, like, one of those teams that gets somebody every year? Yeah, they got Notre Dame a couple years ago.

[CJ]

Right.

[Jeff Howe]

Like, I wouldn't. I wouldn't completely write that game off. If you're. Maybe if you're looking for something like a major upset week one, maybe Marshall. Penn State might be. Might be.

[CJ]

And Temple before stand Drayton. I hate to say it was a team that was also very difficult Colt to play. They were. They were putting defensive guys in the league consistently. So we'll see. But I. I love this schedule. I would pay a lot of money, Jeff. I would pay a lot of money to watch my favorite team play this schedule.

[Jeff Howe]

Dude. No question. Like rivalry weekend. You're playing Maryland. Because when I think of college football.

[CJ]

Well, well, well, well, well. The Terps. Terps are a good program.

[Jeff Howe]

I think a Big Ten rivalries. Penn State, Maryland. Definitely. No, I. I was just knocking the game. I. I cannot. Thanks to Tom Herman. I cannot say anything overly disparaging about the Maryland football program.

[CJ]

Can't do it.

[Jeff Howe]

Maryland has scoreboard. So twice. Yeah, unfortunately. So that's the extent of my smack talk against Maryland. Yes, Marco, that. That game is proof that we don't. Don't need Malcolm Roach, a middle linebacker. Just doesn't. Why? Why. Don't need to do it. No. No reason for it. So, yeah, we'll see. We'll see how all that plays out. One of those interesting stories, too, you know. Penn State plays Rutgers toward the end of the year. Like Saquon Barkley, I think, was committed to Rutgers at one point, was heading to Rutgers until he flipped. Like, think about an alternate. An alternate universe where Saquon Barkley, where James Franklin doesn't have Saquon Barkley. It might have ended a lot sooner than it did, but I digress. I like James Franklin, but I was finally. I finally had to. I had to jump off the bandwagon. CJ it had four burning tires and was heading for the edge of the Cliff, I had to. I had to get off at the last minute. I was fine.

[CJ]

Save yourself.

[Jeff Howe]

I finally had to, man. I had no choice. No say in the matter. We got a couple super chats. CJ let's get to a couple of these supers. Thank you Nil and Rev share for pointing that out. Maryland more recent national championship in Texas A M. Fun fact for you on the Tuesday night live stream. There you go. Daniel with the super chat said Brock Lesnar is absolutely an elite athlete of all time. He lost Steve Neal in the for the NCAA wrestling championship who was a teammate Tito Ortiza Cal. Brock Lesnar retired from I think all competition today. It was a weird. We're talking about Brock Lesnar. I made a Bijan Robinson Brock Lesnar comparison on coffee and football this morning. CJ So I think that's where the hair that with that. No, it's the fact that I those are the only two guys I've seen take a fall like they did. Brock Lesnar once botched a shooting star press and Bijan had the scorpion deal or at the and Lubbock his freshman year.

[CJ]

Yeah.

[Jeff Howe]

And both guys like got up and were fine in theory. Like I just. The good lord only makes a certain people like their body. They're just genetic freaks. And I think those two guys probably fit the bill of Janet.

[CJ]

I mean it's unbelievable. I mean watching Brock Lesnar in the UFC was also a blast.

[Jeff Howe]

Dude, I need to get your take on this too, cj. Daniel, thank you for the super chat. Bijan got paid today.

[CJ]

Paid.

[Jeff Howe]

I think the only person happier than Bijan and the Texas program and Bijan's family and those close to him. I think the only guy that might be happier is Jameer Gibbs because he's about to to have the Brinks truck backed up for him. But Bijaz, I think it's 51 million guaranteed.

[CJ]

Hot.

[Jeff Howe]

Richest deal ever in history for. For a running back. I've said it, cj with all due respect to Jameer Gibbs and anybody else you want to throw in there, he is the best weapon in football right now.

[CJ]

Bijan Robinson is, oh yeah, as versatile as anybody in in the NFL. Any position he is dynamic. He hits the home runs. I will say this, Jeff. The only person who would be in the conversation of happiness when it comes to Bijan Robinson, Jir Gibbs. Yes. But if Tashard Choice ever decides to go back to college, any running back that he ever sets his sights on, all he's got to do is say, hey, that Bijon fella That Jir Gibbs fella. I coach both of them in college. Come play for me and you'll be setting records for guaranteed money or NFL contracts in four years.

[Jeff Howe]

Just show that picture of the Texas running back sitting on the sideline together with all those guys ended up getting drafted. And they say, oh, by the way, I coached Jameer Gibbs, too. So, yeah, yeah, Shard choice. Hell of a resume and shout out and props to Bijan Robinson. I thought about Bijan, obviously, that. That popped this morning right before coffee and football started. But I thought about Bijan, too. CJ because we're doing this. I want to get too deep into this because I do want to save some suspense because Bijan's name obviously comes up, as in on Texas Ozzy. On Texas football staff. We're voting on the top 25 players on the 40 acres since 1992, which is really. It's really kind of when I, I'll let. I'll let Blake Monroe explain why 1992 when we get there.

[CJ]

But I'm difficult for me, Jeff.

[Jeff Howe]

I'm putting this list together, man. It is really freaking hard, like, because you're like, okay, yeah, you start running down, like, if you just. There's a certain. To me, there's a certain group of guys that, like, are no, like, no brainers. It's. They're on there. It's just a matter of where you want to rank them. Then for everybody else, you get, like, through national award winners, like, unanimous all Americans, consensus all Americans, national award finalists. And then, like, you look at your list, you just write those guys down and you're over 25 already. And like, dude, Michael Griffin's not in this group. Roy Williams isn't in this group. Like, some really freaking talented players. So this is a hell of a lot harder than I thought.

[CJ]

Yeah, I, the, the levels of researching especially, you know, given I was not present to watch a lot of the guys, Jeff. It was a lot of statistical analysis, what, you know, teammates and coaches had to say about them. Obviously, awards or accolades in the postseasons, and then also what they just meant to the Texas football program. You know, where. Where would this program be without player X, Y or Z? That was a tough, tough put together 100 kids. Yeah, I like watching football in 1080p.

[Jeff Howe]

I, I attended my first. My first Texas football game in 1993. It was a regular season game against Rice at DKR. So as we're doing this, this list, I, I'm that old CJM at that point where we may pick an arbitrary date. It's over 30 years ago, and I have pretty firm recall on everybody that should be under consideration. I'm like, I don't. I don't know if that's really good, I should be impressed, or I'm like, dude, it means I don't. I hope I've got. I mean, I probably got more years behind me than I've got ahead of me. I hope not, but it does. It made me think about my mortality, which is not what I wanted this exercise to be. But at any rate, he's on. Robinson's gonna be somewhere on my list.

[CJ]

Yes,

[Jeff Howe]

Joe, let's, let's, let's bring this. Actually, you know what? Let me do one more adder, and then I want to bring up something that Josie's got because I think this is worth talking about. Stars tomorrow. Let's go ahead one more time and thank our lead sponsor here on the Tuesday night live stream and give a shout out to Andy Ludicke and my perfect franchise. Do you want control over your own destiny? If you do, maybe franchise ownership is right for you. If you think that's the case, call Andy Ludicky. He's an expert at placing people in the right franchise that fit your strengths and your finances. Franchise ownership isn't for everyone. But if you've got a desire to take control of your destiny, call Andy. Or email him at [e-mail] that's [e-mail] and a big thank you to Andy Ludicky and my perfect franchise for sponsoring the Tuesday night live stream here at On Texas Football Ball. Just making sure. Okay, we got one more super chat to get to, then I want to get to Josie's question. Jaylee, thank you for the super chat. Said. I personally believe OU's elite special teams last year were the difference in them going 10 and 2 and 8 and 4. What's your expectations for our units? So.

[CJ]

Good question, CJ.

[Jeff Howe]

I don't remember if we. I don't think we talked about because you and I recorded a video today and I don't think we talked about special teams on there, but it did come up on Coffee Football this morning. I. I think if you just set aside Geospatic and Maximento, just push them off the side for a minute. I think Texas should have the best be in the conversation for the best coverage and return units in the country. Like, I will be very disappointed if that's not the case. You know, with Spetic, it's all about can he be as close to automatic as possible from like 40 yards in it? Kind of like you got from now? I don't expect him to be as good as Mason Shipley, but can you rely on him? There's been years where Texas couldn't rely on their kicker to be reliable from 40 then and then can Schmidto flip the field? I, I don't. I'm not expecting him to do it like we saw with Boom Easter last year. But again, you know, your coverage unit should be elite, so he's gonna have help. I, I just think that's where it starts for me. CJ the coverage and return units need to be. You've got enough talent to where those units should be in the conversation that Texas has the best in America.

[CJ]

Well, think about it, right? The expectation that your gunners are Warren Roberson or Xavier, Phil Smir or Ryan Niblet are all guys that have hit 22 plus miles per hour in training. They're extremely fast, coming in with 10 threes, 10 fours, 10 fives on their resume out of high school, right? So these are guys that exude speed on the outside. Now penalties will have to clean up, right? That's been the topic of conversation just as discipline has been for Texas throughout the entirety of the off season. But Jeff, I'm with you. And I go back to 20, 23, when I looked at Ryan Sanborn like he was a, a direct descendant of Michael Dixon. The way that Texas was able to pin the guys so deep on fields that they had one of the better defensive starting field positions in all of the country. But you go back and you watch a lot of that, it wasn't because balls were hitting ground and bouncing at a 90 degree angle straight out of bounds. It was because Keelan Robinson was racing down the field and he was catching a lot of the punts. Keaton Crawford as well. And I think that was a big reason why both of those guys ended up getting drafted was because of what they were able to do on punt coverage. Now, add a guy like Joan Williams into this conversation. Add a guy like John Meredith into this conversation. There are plenty of different avenues. Texas could go for specialized special teams approaches and individual, you know, kind of roles. So I'm really interested to see who becomes the pump block specialist or which of these guys is, is tasked with, you know, punt returns being the gunners, being the guys that set the, the blocks up the way that Texas was very good at a year ago for Ryan Niblett. So, yeah, I'm with you. I think that it's a veteran bunch. I believe the statistic was of your 10 most or 10 highest snap getters on special teams a year ago. Jeff Seven are back on the roster this year. That's an underrated fact.

[Jeff Howe]

Colton Vosick was pretty much a core special teams guy last year. He was on the punt return team. But you think about your bigger skill guys and you mentioned Jonah Williams, but that's where some of your younger guys, like if Zealous Hicks is healthy, he should be able to help you in the kicking game. Tyler Atkinson, Rocky Cummings, those type of guys, Kosovala like those type guys can help you win on special teams. So I'm, I'm, I want to see kind of what's your core. That is one thing. You know, when we get that media window tomorrow, we should be able to get a look especially we won't, won't be able to take a ton from it, but at least we'll get a feel for which guys they like in certain spots on special teams. I'm interested to see how much, how many, how what kind of run and how much run some of those young guys get. Again, it's not going to give us a full picture, but at least we'll get a little bit some of the framework of what some of those young guys might be doing on special teams.

[CJ]

Well, here, here's another thing that I don't think anyone's really talked about, but we saw it in the spring spring kickoff return. Texas for the most part opted not to be a big kickoff return team a year ago. They didn't bust a big return the entire year, at least not one that wasn't called back for a penalty. But that's one that I look at and say if you can get the ball somehow, some way in a Raleigh Brown or Jermaine Bishop and kickoff return. Jeff,

[Jeff Howe]

sign me up, dude. No question, no question. I want to get to this though. Cj Josie. Our good friend Josie Joe. Hope you're doing well, says Jeff Howe. Yeah, we talked o line yet like on the board last night, dude. I wrote an article over on Texas Football.com yesterday. Three things to consider about Lawrence Seymour and the left guard battle of Texas. And as anybody can imagine, anytime any of us writes about the old line, it devolved into what you would expect it to devolve into. And C.J. i just, I, I understand. I, I don't like where it goes, but I understand and it was one of those deals. It's like it devolved into, man, if Cole Hudson starts this is A big miscalculation by Kyle Floyd. Like, it's a big miss. I'm like, who said anything about Cole Hudson starting? Like, as of last night, I was like, I'm not even sure if or when he's gonna be on the field practicing. And now we're just gonna put him in the starting lineup. Like, it's, it's, it's jumping to the worst case scenario, which I'm never a fan of. But with the offensive line, it's a concern until it's not. Basically, like, it's fair. Like, it was that bad last year. I just think, like, hey, let's let my. My take on it was. I want Lawrence Seymour to at least get one practice in before I decide that. All right, this is just going to hell in a handbasket.

[CJ]

Only one.

[Jeff Howe]

I'll let. I'll let him get one. But, like, usually I'm saying, like, I, I don't, I don't. I don't. I'm not expecting Cole Hudson to start for this team unless there's an injury or something else like it. And yeah, Cole Hudson's played a lot of football, and with all due respect to the kind of teammate he is and what he would mean in a locker room, like, there's a big difference between working out on your own to try to stay in shape and doing what Lauren Seymour's been doing this summer or what Jaden Chapman's been doing this summer, or Dylan Sikorski or fill in the blank offensive lineman. I just think. I don't like jumping to that worst case scenario. But CJ's hard to fault any Texas fan that would go there, given the product Texas offensive line put on the field last year.

[CJ]

So you're telling me whenever we depart tomorrow for the first practice of fall camp, I should leave my pitchfork, fork, and torch at home?

[Jeff Howe]

You may leave them to take him the car. Take them in the car. You never know when you're gonna need them. I mean, you got to keep them at arms. At arm's reach, but, yeah, keep them in the car, maybe.

[CJ]

All right.

[Jeff Howe]

Or maybe not. I mean, the heat might be hot enough to ignite that thing if you keep it in your car. So maybe. Maybe leave it at home. I don't know.

[CJ]

But no, I'm with you. Let's see. You know, I'll even give it a week, right? Two weeks. Let's see what these guys look like in a first padded scrimmage before we make drastic decisions. And someone asked a question the other day, or I guess it was this morning. It's been a long day. What were the unknowns for this football team a year ago? You know, why was left guard not a concern? It was like, well, until about a week before the game against Ohio State, Texas had the plans for Neto Umi Ozulu to be the guy. There weren't those yellow and red flags poking up right now that made us think that this would be such a highly contested, you know, argumentative conversation was left guard. So right now we talk about it, Texas fans talk about it, national pundits talk about it. You know who else talks about it? Steve Sarkeesian. Kyle Flood.

[Jeff Howe]

Yeah. So all eyes will be on the offensive line tomorrow when camp starts again. It's a, it's a concern until it's not. And that offensive line can go play lights out against Texas State in the opener. And the fair response will be, okay, go do it against Ohio State. And then if you do it against Ohio State, it's going all right. Go to Neyland Stadium and do it against Tennessee and try not to commit a bunch of pre snap penalties and get the offense off schedule. Like, it's just, it's going to be this continuous test of the offensive line until they prove that they are consistent. And I guess C.J. depends on what. I'll go back to this. What are your expectations for Lawrence Seymour? Because I'll tell you, if you're expecting Lawrence Seymour to come in and be like the second coming in Casey stuttered, chances are you're probably gonna be disappointed. To me, if Lawrence Seymour is average, if he is consistently average, it's a heck of a lot better than you were at left guard last year until you kind of got it figured out late in the year when Cole Hudson moved over there. Like, if he's just average, it's. You're light years ahead of where you were they were last year.

[CJ]

Average is good. Look, and, and I think he has the capability to be a little bit higher than average. Especially well making the jump from Western Kentucky in the CUSA to the sec. Expect some drawback, right? He's not going to be a perfect left guard. But you don't earn a roster spot on all American rosters regardless of who did it. Phil Steel, second team all American. To me that means something, right? Without being at least somewhat good. And again, Jeff, I've said it all before. I'm looking at the left guard right now who can pass protect the best, saying you're the pole position right now going in the Camp 100. Yeah, my quarterback Upright and Seymour look,

[Jeff Howe]

I mean you can get into the nuances of. And we did on the site. You can get into the nuances of. Okay, well you know the offense he's playing and how quick are they getting rid of the ball? Like does that impact your, your, your past, your past blocking grade? It probably has something to do with it, but you can take, take pff for however you want to. I mean it's, it's not, it's not the be all end all but it's a heck of a lot better than what we used to have which was just going off the eye test and guessing what we saw. At least this tries to quantify it a little bit and it's a measure of down to down consistency. And in terms of pass blocking, Lawrence Seymour was a top 30 guard in the country last year as a pass blocker. Now obviously it's going to be a lot tougher in the SEC weekend and week out. But again, if he just slips back to middle of the pack again, middle of the pack is a heck of a lot better than where you were last year. Which if you look at that percentage of pressures credited to the left guard that Texas had last year, it's the highest percentage of left guard pressures in the country last year of any quarterback that dropped back to throw the ball and was pressured at least 50 times. I think it was 136 of them that were pressured at least 50 times. Nobody had a higher of of pressures responsible for at left guard than Arch Manning last year. So

[CJ]

bring back serviceable left guards, Jeff.

[Jeff Howe]

Serviceable. That's all we're asking for. Well, and I'm fairly confident. Well, I'm fairly confident Laura Seymour can get there and be served. It helps when you got a top 15, top 20 draft pick playing next to your left tackle. And say what you want about Connor Robertson. Dude's been around a long time, played a ton of high leverage football and I felt like I, I kind of miscalculated. I thought Cole Hudson, the transition to center would be, would have been a little more seamless and I know there's a lot going on around him last year, but that O line got settled when you had Connor Robertson at center. Move Cole Hudson back to guard. So we'll see, we'll see how that works out. Let's go to. I do want to get to. Okay, let's just get this out of the way before we start. The super Sandman's got a couple Sandman. Thank you for joining late. Obviously you can't Tell time. But hey, better late than never, I guess. Sam says, hey, cj, leave your John material. We can't. I just started to read that and we can't. I don't think. Can we put that on screen? If Matt puts it on the screen, then I'll read it. If not, well, if Matt puts that

[CJ]

on the screen, I' walking out.

[Jeff Howe]

Okay, Sandman just says, jeff, tell me everything's gonna be okay. Sandman, Everything's gonna be okay. So, look, Sandman, trying to get me in trouble. Yeah. Thank you, Sandman. I appreciate your posts and your banter and the cut of your jib. More than. More than you know. All right, let's get to these last few super chats, cj before we wrap it up here. Daniel with another super chat said would prime Jeff Howe give Joe Montana A 3D if possible. Who sets up the table and who takes you off the top rope? Thanks, guys. Always a blast. I did have to voice my disdain for Joe Montana on coffee and football this morning. Okay, not a Joe Montana fan. No, he ruined Rudy. I wanted to cool. I wanted to suspend disbelief. Joe Montana had to ruin that. He threw the pass to Dwight Clark, which by the way, he was trying to throw the ball away. Dwight Clark made a hell of a play. So Joe Montana is the greatest quarterback ever for a ball he was trying to throw away. Thank you, Dwight Clark, for making a hell of a catch and started that 49er dynasty. So, yeah, not a Joe Montana fan. I said my all time favorite New York giant is Leonard Marshall, who with his hit on Joe Montana in the NFC championship game, pretty much ended Joe Montana's career in San Francisco. So shout out to Leonard Marshall. Moving on. Thank you, Daniel, for the super chat. Rod Baber's helmet. Feel like Brad Spence is forgotten about Big Year, cj. I haven't forgotten about Brad Spence. I, I think Brad Spence, probably all things equal, it's probably the second most effective best. Whatever. You want to catch a pass rusher on this roster behind Colin Simmons.

[CJ]

Yeah, I. It's going to be really interesting to see what the split is for him as a edge rusher, linebacker, how they plan to utilize him. Is he just a, a, a pass rushing specialist? How often can Texas deploy him that's not just on guaranteed passing situations on third down. It's gonna be really interesting.

[Jeff Howe]

Yeah. Coach Scott619 says NASCAR package specialist. I hope you can deploy him in more ways than just putting him on the field in the pass rush package. So by the way, Matthew, why produce man? Why are you getting the chat riled up? I nobody. I didn't cheer when Joe Montana went down. Not like the Eagles fans cheered Michael Irvin when he his career ended because of that turf at basically the painted concrete the Veteran Stadium. But producer match trying to get me riled up. He's doing a pretty good job right now. We'll move on Stern it big time. Antoine asked an interesting question and this is. This is worth talking. I don't know if we got enough time to get into it. Antoine. This may be something we get into tomorrow or. Or later. But Antoine says Brad Spencer's Trey Moore. Question mark. We saw that experiment CJ last year, the trademore experiment moving him back to. To playing him at linebacker depth. I understood what they were trying to do. I just didn't think it worked the way they'd hoped it would or the way it benefited Trey Moore. The difference is Brad Spence, number one, has legit linebacker experience and two, there's a natural fit in must champ scheme for an overhang linebacker that plays close to the line of scrimmage. So I. I think Trey Moore I think is a better athlete, probably a better NFL upside than Brad Spence, but I think Brad Spence is a better fit for that role than Trey Moore was, if that makes sense.

[CJ]

Yeah, it was difficult for me seeing a guy with 24 career snaps be used so differently than what made him. So that allowed him to. To produce as much as he did so for. For Brad Spence, I thought when he was used or deployed as a middle linebacker against A M late in the year when Anthony Smith had the targeting call, Anthony Hill was out with a thumb injury. I thought Texas was a little slow with its linebacking group. I don't know if that was Spence. I don't know if that was Leon Lafal. I don't know if that was whoever else was manning the position. But it didn't have the foot speed that I became accustomed to. Watching Jalen Ford demarvi on over show Anthony Hill kind of just run and track down all of these guys on the left to right, east to west outside zone situations. So that's something that I'm looking at saying. I don't know if that is something that he will be best suited for this year as a result. I don't know how great he is in past coverage. I do know he's really good and effective at rushing the passenger and I think that's where he begins and I think that's where he'll stick for a lot of the year.

[Jeff Howe]

Can I. Can I get this bothered me? Can I get back to this Joe Montana thing real quick? Okay, I just want to point something, just want to point something out. Okay, look, a lot of quarterbacks get grief for like being system quarterbacks for what was around you. Joe Montana had, I think, the greatest offensive mind in the history of football and Bill Walsh, Colin Plays and the greatest wide receiver other than Barry Sanders and Lawrence Taylor, maybe the greatest football player ever in Jerry Rice running that west coast offense. Oh, and he had John Taylor and he had Brent Jones and he had hall of Fame running back in Roger Craig. So anyone that wants to say Emma Smith's only all time leading rusher because of the offensive line, go look at everything that was around Joe Montana and then come back and talk to me. Because it's not like Joe Montana just willed the 49ers to wins. He had a lot of stuff around him and I don't think the other stuff around him gets near as much credit as it should. And the fact that after Leonard Marshall took him out, the fact that he hung around San Francisco and made it hard for Steve Young, that's a big reason why Steve Young is maybe the 149er that is a Cowboys fan. I can actually tolerate, actually accept that. Yeah, Steve Young does have talent and is good. I'll never be a Jerry Rice fan just because my, my DNA won't let me do it. But yeah, I, I do, I do. I did feel bad for Steve Young. And yeah, it boils down to CJ like Joe. Yes, thank you. Somebody mentioned Mr. Talk Too Much mentioned Tom Rathman also. You know, I was at the Under Armour game one year and Joe, one of Joe Montana's sons, was in the underarmor game. I think it was Nick who actually played for Sark at Washington. And everybody's just losing their minds. Oh, Joe Montana's here. Joe Montana's here. I'm like, dude, what is the big deal about Joe Montana? Dude, you'd have thought like I committed some kind of capital offense by having the audacity to even question the greatness that is Joe Montana. That's why when I'm doing all time quarterback rankings, mile time quarterback rankings, I don't even know if Montana's in my top five. I don't think Montana, Montana's not my top five.

[CJ]

You think he's carry like his, the coolness of his name kind of carries him a little bit.

[Jeff Howe]

Like Brady Brady, Elway, Marino, Peyton Manning. Montana may be fifth Mahomes. Yeah, I'd take Patrick Mahomes over Joe Montana. Yeah, I would. So there you go.

[Narrator]

All right.

[Jeff Howe]

Aaron Rodgers, Mr. Talk Too Much. Real quick story. I know producer Matt wants us to rap, but I gotta say this, that I hated Ricky Waters and Merton Hanks when I was at the Sugar. The Texas Washington Sugar bowl, the CFP semifinal. Cj, you were down in New Orleans for that, weren't you?

[CJ]

I was.

[Jeff Howe]

I'm on the sideline before the game, and I don't know what he was doing, but Merton Hanks was down there. And it crossed my mind for about two seconds. I'm like, you know, if I didn't have a family back at home that really needed me to have this job and this paycheck, 12 year old me might have convinced 30 something year old me, hey, dude, go take out Merton Hanks. Just do it. You know you want to, like, just go. Just go. Try to form tackle Merton Hanks on the Superdome turf. Thought about it for about a second and a half and then realized, no, that's a terrible idea.

[CJ]

So bad idea.

[Jeff Howe]

Bad idea. Not a Merton Hanks fan. But I made a judgment call, and I think I made the right judgment call. All right, gotta. I think one more super chat to get to. Justin Yarbrough said, have we discussed the floor and the ceiling for the defense? And what differences do y' all think we'll see for must champ compared to his first stint at Texas? Justin, thank you for the super chat. Questions are always appreciated. The floor in the ceiling. I. The. The ceiling is a defense that's good enough to win you a national championship. Yes, that's the ceiling. Am I crazy to think. C.J. the floor is like a defense that may get you, like, to 8 and 4.

[CJ]

Oh, as in they're the reason for 8 and 4.

[Jeff Howe]

A bigger role than you would think? Because here's my concern. It's the risk reward factor for this defense. There's gonna be a game on the schedule somewhere where you're giving up big plays over the top, and the other teams just, they're able to hit them and it's not your day. Like, there's gonna be probably one of those games on the schedule. There doesn't need to be like three or four of those.

[CJ]

Yes.

[Jeff Howe]

Like we saw last year. So I don't. I don't know where that floor is. I. I think the floor, man, I feel crazy saying this. I feel like the floor for a must Champ defense might be lower than the floor for a PK defense, but I think the ceiling is significantly Higher.

[CJ]

That's probably fair. You know, PK's whole thing was life is going to be difficult for you to consistently move down the field and put the ball in the end zone. Now here's, there's. There's two sides of this. The first side is the positive. A defense with Colin Simmons, Rasheen Biles and Jelan McDonald is going to be very good. That at all three levels. I am covered with at least one guy who was in conversations to be an all American level player. Player. I feel good about that. Now. I do have some reservations about the depth at linebacker, the experience at corner. I don't know who's going to be starting opposite of Jelani McDonald. And I think at times Texas got a little leaky with that run defense and they return a lot of what was around the issue a year ago. So does that mean that we'll return this year? No. Does that mean that Texas will give up a lot of points and yards this year?

[Jeff Howe]

No.

[CJ]

There's a lot of talent there. But I still think that at all of the levels of this defense, I could look, I could point to something right now and say, hey, I can't with 100 of my being say, that is going to be a definitive, fantastic position group, except for maybe that right edge of Colin Simmons. But I do sit there and say there's something right now that's holding me back with that defense. That, that probably won't allow them to be a top 10, top 15 unit this year. Texas was 28th a year ago. Would that have been good enough with this offense, Jeff, to make the College Football Playoff, probably. To win a national championship? Probably not.

[Jeff Howe]

It's not even about total defense or yards per play or anything like that. With me, it's can you win? Can you, can you be in the top quarter, top two in the sec? And havoc rate, can you cause more havoc than just about any other defense in the sec? And turnover sacks, all that stuff plays into it. And can you more often than not win situational football? That was kind of the downfall of PK's defense at times last year. Third down, red zone, whatever. Like you just. Sometimes you just didn't win those. I. I feel like for Will Muschamp, that's going to be a priority because that's really when it's time to buckle down. Like you said, cj, there's some, there's some moving parts. It's a new scheme. The Texas State damn game does make me a little bit nervous because Texas State can put up points and they can put up yards. Said it before. I'll say it again. If they shut Texas State down, that doesn't mean they've got it figured out. But if Brad Jackson has a massive day, man, it, it's a red flag for me at that. But we'll see. I. You're not gonna find a bigger. Well, other than maybe Jerry Hamilton, you're not gonna find a bigger Will Mustan fan than me. Maybe Rod Babers is in that group, too. But I, I just, I feel like the ceiling is significantly higher. The floor may just be lower. All right, that is going to do it for the Tuesday night live stream. CJ Give, let's give ourselves a hand because we made it the end of the off season. We're done with the off season talking. Season's over. Actually get to see stuff happening on the football field. Oh, you. Oh, you saved the hat.

[CJ]

We brought the hat back. And it should say, if Crabby, just send me to Dennis because football's back tomorrow. I'm gonna be very happy.

[Jeff Howe]

I love it. All right. Hey, thanks to everybody in the chat that kept it lively. Much, much appreciated. Appreciate the comments, questions, super chats. Much appreciated. Big thank you to our sponsors tonight. That's Andy Ludicky and my preferred franchise. Also, shout out to prize picks and shout out to Mark Saunders. Hey, if you're not a member over on Texas football.com now is the time to get over to the site and sign up all the camp coverage you want, breaking news, recruiting intel, whatever it is, we're talking about it over on texas football.com new members $3 for your first three months of [e-mail] $3 gets you three months of access. Do not wait. This offer will not last forever. We're doing a special in conjunction with the starter camp, so if you're not a member [e-mail] make sure you get over there and check out everything we've got going on the website. CJ thank you for the time, the knowledge, the expertise. As always, big thank you to Matthew behind the scenes for producing it, the MVP of On Texas Football, doing the great job that he does. Make sure that you like this video. Before we're done, make sure that you're subscribed to the on Texas Football YouTube channel and make sure you got your notifications set. That way, anytime we go live or drop a new video, you're not going to miss any of our Longhorn coverage or breaking news. You have any questions, comments, concerns, airing your grievances, whatever it is that we didn't get to tonight. Make sure you direct the guys bright and early tomorrow morning. Coffee and football. And we will be on the practice field with the Longhorns.

[CJ]

Come on.

[Jeff Howe]

In 24 hours. I can't freaking wait. So until then, for CJ, for Matthew, the entire on Texas football staff, I'm Jeff Howe. Thank you so much for watching and listening.

[CJ]

And until next time, tomorrow's for Craig, baby.

[Jeff Howe]

Hashtag for Craig. Always hashtag for Craig and hashtag for Craig.