Let's chat about the latest Texas news as we prepare for the spring game. Use Promo Code “IT1” To Get 2 Months of InsideTexas.com for Only $1: https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-longhorns/join/
Inside Texas Football
Wednesday nITe Live (04/17): Transfer Portal Mania, Spring Ball Latest
Welcome to this edition of Wednesday not live on Inside Texas football YouTube channel powered by inside Texas calm with me tonight. I Got two amigos. I got Ian Boyd the X's and those guru. I got Drew Kelson brains and brawn this is gonna be live tonight and There's a lot of stuff to talk about guys. We got a spring game in three days We've got some recruiting news coming in hot and heavy the transfer portal There's a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes with the transfer portal So we got a lot of stuff to cover you can tell the questions have already lined up We've got a lot of people waiting for us. I'm I'm kind of ready to jump in. What about you guys? Do it again, I know Eric is working hard. I'm getting more scoop all the time and hopefully he can join us Before we that's what I'm hoping to Eric Eric got a big call right before we were about to go on and so If I had an emoji, I'd be fire That that's what it that's what it would mean. It mean that's what Eric's doing and it's not because he has spicy food It's because he's got some good stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes an appearance I will love it, but let's get let's go ahead and get started Drew. I'm gonna let you, you know, leave this one off. Oh, yes, softball What's the best thing coming that you can get coming out of a spring game? Besides being injury free What's the best thing that you when you went through it and you went before and after? What was the biggest takeaways that you got from from that spring scrimmage? Hmm Hey, Drew, see if you're muted the standard the standard gets set. Oh shit. Oh, there we go. All right guys No fun stuff. No, so what happens in spring games is the standards usually set So they let us know like this is what the expectations are how you're supposed to show up So you just want to be clean. You want to leave playing better looking better sharper Then you think you came in so that's just what it comes down to but you want to make some plays too It's kind of it's different than a game day setting because the sidelines a little looser It's more fun. You have fan engagement. It's not crazy. So you also want to make plays So if you can get your hand on the ball as a defender if you can score a touchdown Cause a fumble get a big hit anything Oh, that's what it's about because you won't be able to do it again That's good Since you ducked out on us tell us you got some good stuff Eric Nolene everybody managing it or managing publisher at Inside Texas Well, I mean, it's an it's an excused absence You know, I had to I had to take care of inside Texas first and finish off an article I just got a I got a late call I was looking at the clock and I said I'm just gonna have to be late for this one We can stay on later if we have to Yeah, man. You know what I found out is I think that this portal Window is gonna be busier than I anticipated. You know previously I thought it was going to be a one defensive tackle Maybe two defensive tackles and call it a call it a two-week period. You know, I don't think so I don't think so this is what I've heard is that they're gonna be a lot more proactive than I originally thought that fundraising is going really Well, they're they've really hastened the efforts in recent weeks. That's gonna continue throughout the weekend the spring game and I'm expecting a little more fireworks and drama than I anticipated. I'm not saying anything about Michigan over there roaster but I Think they're in for a surprise or two and you know I think a demonic Williams is going to be quite interesting because until unless one of those Michigan guys go in I don't know who's gonna be better player than him Relative to scarcity and the need that that so many teams have So I'm buckling up. I almost started a moderator only thread But I couldn't bring myself to do it just yet But the phone calls I had leave me to believe that this is gonna be a little bit busier time for us than we anticipated In the last window we were looking obviously at certain positions, but also that BPA best player available Do you feel like that's still in the mindset looking into this April spring window eat? Absolutely. I mean, there's a couple positions where they won't pursue But there's gonna be a lot of positions that I thought were safe and there's if there's a guy They're gonna bring a guy in if they if they if they the guy meets their standards evaluations the the culture that all those aspects And he upgrades the roster, you know, even if he's a guy that hey, maybe he's the three guy But he's improving over the current three guy. They're gonna be very proactive. It was a pretty interesting 30 minutes of phone calls Really curious to see how the next couple weeks come out. They might take three defensive tackles Justin I think you actually hinted at the possibility of three defensive tackles I kind of laughed at the notion my apologies right here in front of everybody on here Hey, Ian were you ever able to check out the Arizona defense attack a wild Bill Norton yet? Have you been able to watch him because he's gonna be on campus this week Eric's already put in a RPM. So he feels good. Tell me what you see from from wild Bill 66 325 and how he can contribute to this decon supplied if he chooses the horns. I Think he might almost be a little more valuable for Texas this next year than demonic Williams or Dominique, right? Is because he's a very clear fit for what they want. He's six foot six So he can control engagements. He's like 325 pounds. He's hard to move He was too gapping at Arizona Which is really valuable because that means I don't have to spend the off season trying to teach it to him That's what they want him to do. I think Williams was a really exciting player. He's only he's only a sophomore this last year at TCU So you imagine he's got a lot upside left But he played in a different style than Texas has been running And I don't know if he's quite as much of like a plug-and-play guy as Norton is even though his athletic upside is probably higher So, I mean if they can get both they should because they don't have a lot of guys behind like brought in Collins Sovea You know these older guys that are gonna be gone in a year if they can load up on Prospects in the portal they should Williams maybe would start next year so he's more than a prospect, but I think Norton is like an odd obvious like plug a leak kind of guy Get 34 to snaps out of him every game and fill a need of somebody that can hold the point and fit the gap properly but you know Williams would be great too and The thing about three is like I just said somebody pointed out on the on the message porch the other day They're like hey who plays three technique after Collins and Bratton are gone in a year it's like well jure blood so and Yeah, somebody else young has to be really good. I guess yeah, it's even more terrifying in 2025 than it is in 2024 Yeah, it's every year. They lost severe talent They had they literally had six defense attackles NFL defense attackles when they arrive and they how many they have now Still are fourth or two that remain from when they first got here and then after that it's all question works Which which kind of shows yeah Bo Davis might have some some skins in the in the development department But in the recruiting department, let's see how much that how much sway lsu actually gives him Chris Bennett asked a good question. The last time we had weather. This is what's reminded me of it Be sure it's Saturday. We're gonna be at posse east on Saturday rain or shine inside of Texas is gonna be at posse So please come down there and see us come and join us And we were actually talking about what Chris said a few days ago with the last time and I remember I was in the press box Do you guys remember 2016 and how and what we saw on that spring game? Yeah I believe they cut it off at halftime, right? The memory was I think I went into the game and I was like hey look don't make too much out of the quarterback play We'll see what happens in the fall and then like two plays and I was like never mind Shane That when they recruited him I said this guy is gonna start immediately because you look at the rest of the roster And that's why I wanted him over even Jalen hurts because they needed a guy that could start immediately And that was that was Shane Yeah, and he came in and he's going into his fourth season in the NFL right now So you got to you got to tip your cap to that guy Before you came on Eric Drew was talking about you know Spring games have passed what you know what he you know what they were going into what were they were trying to accomplish My my biggest caveat is always injury free if you can get out of that game without an injury That is what you call a win for the banner up if you need to but but no injuries is big Drew Are you gonna? I got two questions one how eager are you to see this secondary these linebackers and secondary and two? Are you gonna be in Austin on Saturday for the game? So one no, I will not be in Austin. I wish I was I got And obligations that's already playing. I would have been fun. I will be watching the game. Okay, so I'm excited to do that I want to see what these run fits look like Everybody's talking run fits and as much as we we associate that so much with the DT position I want to see how the linebackers are playing off of that at the end of the day It's easier should be easier for your dts and not get reached to be in their gaps to be where they're supposed to be But the linebackers have to be able to fill in and play off of that I'm just wondering how they mean how these hobby offense has stretched this defense run fits can get Very very challenging when you're shifting tight ends and motioning players and moving players in and out of the backfield And so if the defense was installing something new this year As well as kind of getting some some some new dts in place and some new new people in position to really read differently Because frankly whatever they were doing last year they cannot do moving forward even if they wanted to they couldn't do it So I imagine that that's something that's just I want to see keep clean play from that standpoint, but That's it. That's what stands out to me You'll be there in spirit drew and and that's that that matters to us. That's how we go It's about Ian boy, you've probably written about each position on this team three or four times before this before Saturday or will rather What's the one position you're watching Saturday with the most curiosity? Maybe linebackers to like drew like it's just such a cerebral position. They have some really promising guys there that By all accounts sound like they're gonna be good But um, where were we last saw them? They were still you know learning things like, you know, obviously, Anthony It was just a freshman Blackwell and been dead look a little better every year But they each could have a big leap in them. I want to see if we can that manifested yet and Boy, I mean there's a bunch. I want to see the edges. I want to see Cameron Williams versus whichever edge he gets to face Yeah, I want to see I want to see the tackles the defensive tackles how they look You can tell if they're you know if they're giving ground or they're losing their gap That's not something you can hide unless they just don't run the ball So we'll get to see some of that. There's a lot of things I always get sucked in with the quarterbacks, too It's like how can you not want to see the quarterbacks and and make wild? Takeaways, right? Well, hey for all you viewers and thank you again for joining us tonight Tomorrow morning. We're gonna have our deep dive with Ian myself and Paul Waterlington and we we're gonna dissect when yours We're gonna break him down what he does well, and what he doesn't do well. We got video It's gonna be it's that turned out to be a really good show and really good episode And so please be sure like and subscribe the inside Texas football YouTube channel So you'll get that ding in the morning You'll know that you can get it up and watch Eric same thing to you as I did the Ian I asked for one position and he gave me nine You have written about you know from team reports practice reports since the Since the the bowl game you've had this thing covered. What's one thing that you're curious enough to see? You know, I think this is the Second most important position group in football is probably offensive line And I want to see if they're truly taking the leap that we hope they they will and obviously if they're living up to there under the bargain on the Causing the run fit issues right how are the other run fit issues being caused from confusion? Or are they gaining ground like Ian was talking about? You know last year I knew that the offensive line was gonna be a work in progress But end up being pretty good. Are they picking up where they left off or they kind of starting over? I feel pretty confident that they're they're picking up where they left off And if they do that it's gonna be a huge it'll be a force multiplier along with Quinn that should get this offense over 40 points a game for the season You know over the last It's five thirty somewhere He said over 40 points a game Like do we realize what we're talking about when they scored 35 last year. They couldn't score in the red zone They left a lot of points on the board last year wasn't it 35? They was 35. Yeah, I forgot Well, it's not the same league there Drew. It's not the same league Yeah, you got an extra non-conference game. I Don't I don't know if it's imperfect if this the linebacker or the defensive part of me But 40 points a game well just downs That's not sport. That's not normal. We're saying it like it's it's it's happening. And so Got 50 a game one year That was different That's true Drew Chris got a question for you. What crowd sizes like what are the crowd sizes like for the spring games when you were at Texas? That's actually a good question because if the weather you know cooperate, there could be a good chunk of people that show up on Saturday and unlike Oklahoma Texas will not be charging admission So what were crowd sizes? I remember some of those spring games because I think I remember you playing safety in one and getting and Over-pursuing on I think it was Matt and Orgren who wound up going about 45 up your side of the field because you I'm back like a month later. Go figure Trust me I I did not the reason why I moved to linebacker is because I was one of the best 11 on the field that spring And there's no way that it happened if Matt nor Norco ran up the sideline against me. I just I don't remember every play with that I'll play this stuff the biggest The biggest spring game was the one after the first Rose Bowl. I mean all it took was the walk in and we're back You know and then you know that spring game the the momentum after that game just throughout that entire season Could have been a movie in and of itself reflecting back because after that Michigan game That entire journey for the next year has like moments that you just remember that stand out and the spring game was one of Um, it was business like and fun for us. We have a lot of fun, man But that that was the one where I saw many people showed up Um, it just couldn't be matched that that was my biggest spring game was going into my sophomore year I I was playing safety there moving the linebacker Uh, the next year Ian Last year it felt like sark was testing arch-manning Okay, I'm going to give you only a portion of the playbook You're going to play behind the third string offensive line and your receivers are likely going to be walk-ons It would it felt pretty obvious What what kind of what what should we expect from arch in this game? Obviously it's going to be different. He's the backup quarterback now He's been there a year. What are your expectations there for him this year? Yeah, you got to wonder I bet sark is much happier to to build him up a little bit this year I think yours is pretty cemented as the starter. I don't think sark's going to be worried about transfers or controversy So, uh, maybe he lets arch let it rip a little bit and uh, not try to beat First team corners with walk-ons like he did last year. Well, uh, Malik Murphy got like Malik Murphy, what did you throw like jaunte cook against a dude that I had never heard of before? Um, they stacked the deck from Malik. I think they brought in actual nfl players For for Malik on offense and it was like, okay. We want to make sure he's taking care They brought in all pros So I don't think it's going to be this bad this year though. I think arch is going to be just fine I think it'll be fun to watch I'm curious to see if he plays any games with with things like that. Maybe he'll, uh, protect the defense. I don't know Jared johnson delivered is a good question right here. Can someone explain the transfer process for players transferring between scc teams? Eric, uh, you and i joe got this subject a little bit earlier this week. They had to send a year Walter noland at omus status You want to give a latest? I mean the reason there is the scc forgot that anm was in the conference And so what happened was waltzer was able to move over there get comfortable before anm found or before the scc found out Were reminded that anm was in the conference I'm just kidding There's uh, so there's a w if there's a the winter window is different than the spring window the spring window. There is no inner conference transfer Uh during the winter you can so texas will be back back on, um uh At dc, uh, you know scc uh internecine battles with uh trying to poach each other's uh staff's rosters That's just what happens Uh, and then once uh once that portal that winter portal window closes everybody breeds a giant sigh of relief because now you have to worry about You know big 10 schools acc schools or whatever and that's not nearly as daunting as protecting your own from from the scc Uh, so that was a deal man. Yeah, uh, waltzer noland went soul miss and that was free and clear a lot There was a lot of scc interscc transfers. I mean look at you know texas got isa bond same deal Now and I think that's why people are confused because they saw so much movement there and now they know that it's not possible But it's it's really a changing of windows eric while i've got you, you know transfer portal news is is really big right now Obviously opened up this week, uh ton of kids in as expected texas has guys their targeting could go with the bpa as well As you talked about earlier, let's talk a little bit of high school recruiting because the last you know in the last Month texas has gotten two more recruits commits for the 2025 cycle and they're hosting a handful of more Others in in this thing on saturday. Um over the last few weeks. They've had some of the most priority guys show up Five star top-end guys that that you want to connect with that you want to see so i don't think this group has the star power Volume, but it's got some really good guys top heavy zion Williams, uh james simon Andrew marshes Andrew marshes in right Yeah, uh What are you expecting from these guys i'll give i'll come i'll come off of your answer a little bit because i've got a little bit I want to talk about on james simon Yeah, so simon is clearly one to watch For obvious reasons you've been all over that one zion's the one I care about the most just because you know I always talk about defensive tackles if i'm talking recruiting i'm talking about bigs more often than not Yeah, the skill players are fun and you want them to get the best wide receivers of course because you see how that how much that opens up the The offense for start, but man, you cannot get defensive tackles in the portal. I mean it's very hard That's why you know the the recruiting world is going to be going bonkers over defensive tackles the next couple weeks Um, so zion Williams huge priority just because the guy like him is a lot more difficult to get out of the portal almost impossible Than it is to get in high school and you know we just talked about it bo davis did not leave Uh the same stacked room that he inherited Uh, so they have to rebuild it to some degree. They've done a great job of rebuilding pretty much every room Uh in the on the roster an exceptional job really Outside of maybe defensive tackles. So that's really the one that sticks out to me the most Uh, but also andry marshman. I just love that kids game He's uh, he plays with an element of power that most water severs don't and he's got the flair for the acrobatic catch as well I think there's two interesting storylines with this recruiting list one is james simon who i talked about a little bit and you mentioned That's the tailback out of calvary babbies and street port. I think that one's trending pretty heavy to texas right now Gentlemen, I I think when when lindsey jumped in the boat boat for lsu last weekend in the 2025 cycle I tell back out of alexandria It felt like james simon might be the next one up Especially with jordan davis in the modern day tailback Trending to how oh how state a little bit of late seems like oh how states got a little bit more of a sale in the get chart Department than texas does that's nothing against coach choice He generally gets who he wants but that room is stacked and they haven't had to go to portal to do it And so that that gives you an idea of the relationships. He's building. I like james simon in texas a lot right now I'm not even sure if it'll go he's got one official visit scheduled and that's texas june 21st of the 23rd and I Have my doubts. He'll make it uh, he'll make it to to that date before decision The other one is quarterback KJ lacey's gonna be on campus the quarterback commit out of sarahland, alabama four star But so is keelan russell. That's the duncanville quarterback and josh new burger on three recruiting put me on the spot Yeah, he got today Yeah, and I but I had to tell the truth You gotta be honest. That's the thing man evaluation. You know that doesn't care about your feelings It doesn't and i'm a kj lacey fan just like you are just like you guys are You've seen enough of his tape to know that this kid can do it at the next level keelan russell might have more upside He definitely has more zip. He definitely has better size and he's doing it at a program that does not even throw the ball They don't like to throw the ball, but they're starting to when you've got a decor in more and you've got a zakri turner They're uh, they're starting to open it up a little bit more to me that storyline is Will they take two quarterbacks in 2025? Because when quin goes to the draft next year, that's two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster So you always feel like they they might need to and not to mention russell's connection with the korean more How important is that eric and how much do do fans need to kind of pay attention and go to inside texas every five minutes and refresh? Well, you know, I don't think they would offer keelan just to get to korean I don't think they'll first of all not sure they'll have to do that I think you know stark is so serious about his quarterback evaluations, you know the the offers that he sends out are very rare I mean he didn't even offer will griffin recently and will griffin is the freaking stud Um, so I don't think he's gonna play that game if he if he goes on keelan It's gonna be because you know keelan will earn that based on his own evaluation Uh and the quarterback room, you know numbers are numbers are important. I'll tell you when we got to talk about riley petajon is going to be there as well, right? He is he is About fast linebackers like the man in the right hand corner here Um, yeah, riley ran 10 7 7 recently and it just has a really good frame for it Um high upside guy and johnny nancy, you know, he's gonna land some studs to go with elijah barns Yeah barns went ahead and jumped in the boat, you know, we had talked about he if he would make it To official visits. We really didn't know eric. I think we should have seen it coming More so because when he walked out of moncrief with a texas defensive handbook Yeah I thought man, that's probably a good sign But it wasn't as much as we it wasn't anything that we made We're just so we're just so used to them waiting to once they get this far They typically just want to wait till the summer and go have some ovs Yeah, we got caught napping a little bit. We knew he loved texas and you know you and charlie had RPMs and we should have probably been on our toes a little bit more, but that's all right You know, we're not we're not going to see everything coming The beauty of it is nobody was on their toes for bovar Which you don't understand is what it's like to walk on that campus on unofficial visit They walk you in and they give you this nice. So you just getting the tour It treating your right your family's being treated right you're like Tell me more dream. I mean, this is this is this is the good stuff. It's really like I'm just that that's how it happens. I went to texas with no plans to stay in texas I just I wasn't planning to stay in texas. I always told myself I want to go away from home I mean, I that was it My parents went to u of h but when I went to Austin and they're treating my mom right and mom is just happy I'm proud of myself for getting to the point where my mom gets to come get you know, let's go have some food You know treats and nice like let's get a tour of this university that you will not have to pay for me to attend I was proud, you know, you walk in there and then they shower you with just hey, we think you're this We think you're a good kid. We think you you think you could add value in this way We're going to help you become a this and a that and a man and a Hell yeah I yes, I'm signing on the dotted line Uh, to be a long horn and to make this happen. That is how this happens. I mean you have a game plan and then It just yeah, you walk away. You get mushed in the mouth Everybody gets punched in the mouth, huh? Hey texas kept you away from stanford So I think I think mac round those guys they did their job because I Stated five to you nerd. You got to follow out. So I don't know if I would've made it back. I'm sorry You don't think so hey, here's a good question here from brent canard Uh, he basically says how are the two new coaches working out as recruiters and developers Ian or eric i'm gonna let you tackle one of those each Well, I mean, that's kind of a tough question there my buddy. Um, it is you know, because we haven't seen it with our own eyes Um, obviously we just started hearing about dre blood so I was hoping to hear about dre blood so a lot earlier in the In the spring block. I'm not but I can't blame that on kenny baker. I just you know dre blood so it hasn't You know the light hasn't come on super quick for him to begin with Um developers. I think we're gonna have to wait until you know early season to get an idea on that as a recruiter He's definitely you know took a few minutes to get catches breath Uh kind of assemble his big board. They don't come in and just start picking up where the last guy left off They they want to do their own evaluations Uh, they're gonna want to see how much scheme input they have to get the right fits Uh, and so I think it did take him a little bit longer to probably start really hitting the ground Um, but you know, he's he's coaching at texas and he's got all those things that that that that dre was just talking about That he can make up ground Uh in a hurry on guys that he needs to so I like where he's at now with zion I think he's doing pretty good with dj sanders chase sims will be in this weekend. I really like the way that kid plays It's not going to be a really wow player, but he can definitely play at this level So I think he's going to assemble a pretty good class and nancy does receive high marks for his coaching Um, but they said but I have heard that there is a bit of a transition between the way He's coaching run fits and uh and jeff chote. So I do think there's been a bit of a transition for the players Not just the coach Uh, but apparently he understands football at a very high level. You can tell that he's not a position coach You can tell that he's more of a coordinator out there a very detail oriented Uh, and then as a recruiter. I mean his is you know, I all he got to do is look him up and see the guys He's he's gotten he's gonna and he's gonna he's gonna do very well in the cyclically He has very good timing because you know texas was already in a good position with all these kids jeff chote left them in a very good spot And then he picked up right where chote left off those kids like texas to begin with Uh, and then the state was just filled with good linebackers. So a jonathan cutting him We got to talk about him a little more. I think at linebacker I think you know, they might texas might shut uh set up shot with nothing but Houston dvs And they might set up with nothing but linebackers from dfw Uh, we'll see how it plays out but nancy's doing a great job I want to also add to that, you know, with kitty baker, I think it just took a little bit of time You know zion is it's the it's the masterpiece there that that's the musket guy in my opinion And he's relationship centered like whoever built that's why I think lsu kind of had the upper hand for a while And it may still to a slot advantage because bodevis built that relationship earlier and kitty has some catching up to do He was tremendous in that april six visit. I mean he not he could not have done any better with his one-on-one time with zion Williams that was huge the fact that zion skipped lsu spring game last saturday He'll be back in austin this weekend. I think Him in front of kitty again is going to be a net plus I think that's the more they see each other the more they get used to each other when that trust builds I think that's when you'll see a little bit more of a shift with zion. Williams. I still feel like it's a texas lsu battle A&M tcu alabama. They're all going to be in the mix But I feel like this is going to come down to texas and lsu Zion seeing kitty again face to face after an up in two weeks later to me is invaluable I think that's that's big and again texas gets the last ov Whereas lsu so v. I believe is in mid-may and to me that's pretty that's pretty significant. So yep It says I got this from uh from from victor santiyago is texas interested in that recent tcu interior delignment that jumped into the portal Ian boy talked about him a little bit earlier demonic williams His name's domino I'm surely pronounced a dominic, but I didn't look it up and you know, you never know But no air Ian just touch on that just a little bit again for victor who's coming in late That's a guy that I think texas is going to take a good look at Yeah texas is going to be texas is going to be all in on him You could go and talk about him as a player, but the the question he asked is if they're going to be after him Hell yeah, they're going to be after him. They they it's the biggest need they're they're extremely proactive Go to inside texas right now use ut one or is it it one it one YouTube get out of us if we use them, right It one one dollar for two months where somebody's got to be deflationary around us. It's around here. It's going to be us Um two months one dollar long article. I just wrote about the current status of texas in the portal But yes, they're going to be all over williams. It's going to be a spirit of pursuit Uh, he'll be at oh you this weekend us. He'll try to get in there. Georgia will probably try I mean, you know, everybody needs a detackle, but yeah texas is going to be there and I think texas is going to be tough to beat But we'll see how it plays out Ian, what did you see from him last year when he no longer had a dill and horton beside him It was a little bit different He was not quite they moved him around more they asked more of him and they had less around him So I was not quite as impressive as his freshman year still only a sophomore Um athletic quick off the ball texas, I mean, I think texas they you absolutely go for somebody like that And then maybe don't expect the world from him but be aware that Some of his value for texas could be 2025 as much as 2024 And I I mean when eric was getting out early for anyone they missed Um texas is all in on the season from the sounds of it They're not going to let any stone go unturned and trying to put the best possible roster on the field this year They know they have a chance For when at all and they're going to go for it So yeah, yeah, victor. He is from california as a matter of fact Uh, us he's going to be in the mix for all those guys. They're they're trying to up their nil game and and every time I talk to kids they're mentioning either oklahoma or usc as a potential visit. Um Yeah, thank you roster roster's giving you some love. I like that Ian He appreciates and boy like we appreciate and boy did inside texas.com come see us um I got this. I like this one from roster when drew was in the program. It was like the movie the program Boosters slipping bills under the lapel It begs the question How many times did you wear a lapel? drew I got paid for every time I wore a lapel. I got one dollar If all of that was really happening, I really wish I was I had my hand in the mix if there was a cookie jar, I wish I found Do you think it gets exactly worth it? First of all, I am certain there were some cookie jars out there But it's not like the cookie jars today. There's no way like these guys just walk in without a doubt in their mind that they're going to get You know, they're going to get taken care of they're going to be compensated for their efforts um, I mean we used to go to outback steakhouse on on half price cook-a-bore wing Tuesdays and you know probably get a little more than our fair share for half price but No, I'm not not like it is now. I was just curious how many times you actually wore a lapel Um, I do believe the dollar amount, but I don't know about drew drew drew drew is a dapper dresser I've been around drew before when he's he's uh, he's all dudded up. He looks. He looks pretty dang good I'm not I'm not doubting that. He's the brains in the brawn of this operation. Let's just be honest Uh, we got gray man here has a good question that I think the answer stays the same for us, but it changes also Just because of new names and new faces out of state. How many defensive tackles is texas going to take? I'm assuming this is for 2025 recruiting. We can do that and for the portal for the portal. It could be two Like we had even heard about it could possibly be three Like eric said, you know, I think talked about a little bit There's not a lot of depth behind the guys that are there now So you're honestly also looking for guys and potentially for next season and beyond for the class of 2025 I think the number needs to be four. I know with three seems like the bare minimum Especially from that from a stock standpoint trying to make sure you've got bodies and and guys there But eric tell me if i'm wrong is this is this a four d tackle class if they can find the right four guys Yeah, it's got to be last cycle was supposed to be four and uh, they they fell far short of that Um as far as the portal they've got to reach stock the shelf. They're losing some Real talent in size and not just talent, but you know big bodies, you know, Alfred's huge. You know, bernan's a big dude Travondra was massive and bairn wasn't tall, but he was she was huge too Uh, so then he guys with size and guys with size a lot of times take time to develop So they're they're behind the curve on that they're gonna have they're gonna be in the portal next year too. I guarantee it Uh as far as portal i'd set the uh over under at one and a half and i would pick the over on that right now But you know, we'll see we feel good about bill norton put rpm in for him today Uh, I think they will host, uh, the tcu kid williams and uh, you know, we'll see we'll see from there I think if we're and we're also talking day, you know, 2025 guys, you know, zion's obviously up there keeping brandon brown I think is imperative to this class It gets a little lost when a kid commits as early as he does Especially side unseen which is kind of rare in this day and age Uh texas at obviously, you know built that relationship come back around with kenny baker that family was on campus But now brandon browns talking ls you he's taking trips to miami florida and usc So I think defensive tackle recruiting is probably going to be the most interesting in 2025 not to mention the most important Um another one from victor santiago the guy is just delivering today fellas. He is delivering whoever's burner account that is You're doing well, uh, how's black shire doing? What about kendrick Nothing so many so many is to borrow him a dollar so he can get on it man. Uh black shire He's not doing all that great. He's too big Uh, he's weighs like 262 pounds Um, and he's a loose weight and he's a big off season between now and uh in august Right now. I would guess leungula fouls ahead of him backing up antony hill Uh despite his experience and despite him coming out of a pretty, uh Well-reputed uh culture at anm. He's just too big I mean, it's he's not fat. He's just a massive guy go look at high school pictures I'm I used to call him michael clark duncanville because he was so massive But he's got a he's got to get leaner football doesn't work that way. There's diminishing returns with size Yeah, and you know black shire He's all you know, he's that kid that you say is big boned because he was big at mesquite horn if you remember Remember he's a sophomore. Yeah, mesquite horn and then he went to duncanville and he's just a massive massive dude We thought he was going to move to the defensive line. I think every a lot of college coaches did too And somehow he stuck at middle linebacker for alabama with that size and and so yeah if he can get a little bit of weight down I think he'll get on the field a little bit quicker Ian I got this one for you because eric it was kind of a take off of something erica talked about Obviously defensive line is the priority in the portal But if there's one position where you'd like to see a potential upgrade best player available On this roster that really supplants them as as a as a as a contender in 2024 What's a position you think they could add one just to get a little bit better You're ready for me to kill our ratings punter Who's punting on this team next year? like the the kid they got coming into pun is like a good Michael fern He comes in in the fall Like what if they get him in the the bright lights a dk already just starts shaking it Or what if he's like michael dixon and that first punt goes down rio grand Like yeah, I mean in dixon is like one of the greatest dixon is the greatest punter i've ever seen in my life And he wasn't writing as a freshman that's true exactly Yeah, I I mean punting is not the path to victory for texas is here But they got to be able to do it Sometimes and ideally they would do it well So I want to see him. I want to see him use a spot on a punter if they if they can Is that a Well, I mean, I mean the way that they operate look at the priority they put on special teams You know jeff banks is a very well-paid special teams coach obviously some of that is a function of tied in but You know, he got hired to be he was a million dollar man when he got to texas because of how good he is at special teams in tannin With tied in so they they've always put a lot of emphasis on the position. They play a lot of their best players on special teams I'm not worried about them. They'll figure out something at punter. I'm not i'm not too worried about that I think they'll find another guy like uh, uh, uh, i'm already drawing a blank on the stanford kid from last year my bad Uh, they'll find somebody like him rants and branson branson branson Had to lob it up a little bit home and promise. Yeah, we love solomon capel texas right there. Um You know, let's keep it a little bit. We're on portal, but Outward not coming in jamaan tap hit that portal today. You guys we saw some bursts some flashes From from tap over the last few years. He definitely has a big personality one of the my favorite interviews post Signing day at the all army all american bowl a lot a lot a lot of life in that guy just didn't Make just didn't just didn't sort of you know Check all the boxes. What what's the thought on losing tap is that mainly because the edge position just got built up so much To recruiting it through the portal what happened with tapping you're in your in your opinion at the end of the day Just my opinion just jumping in here regardless of the position Once you get recruited over You just have to start reevaluate and where you belong if you actually want to play the game I mean that that's really what it comes down to so it's not necessarily what happened. It's You weren't able to supplant the guys in front of you Yeah And now the guys who have come in and immediately competed immediately had impact and immediately brought an element to that position That you didn't bring and no one else on campus brought and so I mean that that that's just where it is And so I mean if you want to play this game Just go somewhere else and play it and wish you the best But I mean it wasn't as if he didn't have the opportunity to come in and and be one of the guys in the Mix so that that's going to happen Constantly we got to get used to use of this and then unfortunately, you know, hey Hopefully finds a good spot to the land Is that a sign of a healthy program Eric Absolutely. Yeah, if you're losing talented guys just because competition is so robust and they want to go play That's a great sign, you know every year, you know The first year that they they lost players to the portal it it took them a long I'll say this it took them a long time for them to lose a good player You know, they they just weren't they're just weren't many in the program to begin with and then Uh, the ones that they had they were prioritizing to stay Uh, so yeah, they they first came in make every year They've made room for more guys and every year they've they've up the talent level throughout the entire roster So it's uh, it's a life cycle of college football right now. Uh, it is sad Uh, we wish jamon a lot of luck You know, I love seeing his family travel in the games last year warms your heart seeing them travel and mass like that representing for their kid Uh, hope it works out for him And you always love it when a when a kid just kind of like he was kind of a fish out of water From where he's from he just wanted to experience something different Um, when I you know when he committed to texas, I hadn't talked to him a whole lot And he just reached out to me started sending me messages asking me about texas and you know, he just all right well Uh, you know, I'm on the radar. I really like texas and i was like, okay I thought I thought they had no chance with him. I just you're marked him for for lsu Uh, so yeah, you know, you wish him luck It is always sad because I think sometimes people uh treated them as chess pieces rather than people Uh, they are people. Uh, I hope he lands at a very good spot and he blows it up He's he's talented man guys that transferred make it to the NFL all the time. I mean, it's it's pretty damn common And you're not not just guys that get poached guys that you just that had to go compete somewhere else So we wish him the luck and we wish the next couple guys luck too You know Nobody does practice reports like like inside texas. It just doesn't it just doesn't happen. That's just the way we roll Uh, but there's only two left Eric thursday's kind of light and then saturday spring game What are we going to talk about? After the spring game What's on the docket? Mate going into may well going into may we're going to schools and readers look forward to Well, we got the portal apparently the portal is going to be a little more wild than I anticipated I thought we were going to catch a little breather But not that we want to breathe it we like having stuff to write about but the portal is going to dominate the rest of the month You know, it doesn't close until may 30th. I think And then even after that you're going to have guys that are still undecided And then you know recruiting the the may evaluation periods always a lot of fun We'll all be on the road me you coach dub going to high schools talking to Talking to not just recruits and their coaches but college coaches that that make the rounds You can always pick up a lot of good gossip from talking to call college coaches on the road And that during that month we're going to reevaluate the whole roster and we'll uh We get an idea of texas's big board too because after may is when it really kicks in a high gear When they really have a good idea of who they want and who they're going to push for During june ov so may is actually a pretty fun month the players get a break We we kind of focus back in on recruiting and evaluating the roster Um, and then june june's all jul june's all recruiting and and you know seven on seven for the team They're you know, just kind of milling about june is june is tough Since the early signing period and the change of official visits and all the the little june no don't don't lie Oh, man I love it. No, i'm with you. I love it because it keeps us busy and there's always something going on and and june tells us challenging it's challenging Not just that but you've said this a hundred times june tells the story of july in august And july tells the june story july will tell you how How well they set up june Uh, yeah, so we'll see the proof's gonna be in the pudding right when they start landing guys in june Did they get you know most they're not going to get all their priorities? But did they get most of them or a good percentage of them and and right now we can feel confident that they will Ian drew drew. Hey drew remembers may It was a fun month for him because you get to unwind you get to recover Yeah When you hope you made a play in the spring game that because you don't get to play again until early september Um, any other parting shots egan drew eric we've gone a hard 45. We've had some great questions great interaction anything else you guys want to add I have a couple things because i'm just thinking through portal. Uh, and one is just going to be some feedback i've gotten from A coaching friend of mine. That's that's kind of going through this portal situation right now And the other will be more about our dt situation One is the portal. I think where people don't realize right now Because when the portal opened a couple was at 48 hours ago, you expected Chaos but coaching and the coaching staffs are getting smarter with the way they go about it and smarter with the way they're strategic about it the players do not have the advantage As much as you would think and they really have never had the advantage Um, if you're a group of five player when you're worried about your roster at a group of five level You're worried about the top end of your roster portaling up somewhere else to go somewhere else Um, if you're a player at texas You're not as worried about the top of your roster You're more, I mean, but you do have guys you need to manage out. We're gonna call it manage That's more of a corporate america term going to manage them out of the organization Um, so that that is how they handle it But what I think is it would be interesting this portal season specifically when it comes to our dts It's slim pickens. Uh, there's not a lot out there Um, and so the question is will texas put themselves in a position to go after a guy who's Being portal out of a place or a guy who actually was a leader was a was a playmaker um, and and actually can come in and be an instant contributor and playmaker and contributor and Pete for for for those starting snaps If texas pulls that off at the dt position I would say that's lights out as far as portal production goes because right now I just don't see a scenario where We're raising our floor So, well where we're raising our ceiling. I can see where our floor gets raised. I don't see where we're raising our ceiling in this portal um, environment But then from a dt perspective looking forward If you go you guys go to on three go to inside texas.com Go to their portal recruiting go look at what's happening in the state of texas Specifically at the d line position go look at the delignment and the state of texas Go look at them across the country. Just pull up 2025 and go look at how many delignment there are See how many of those are in the state of texas You got to go all you got to go down a ways before you get to state of texas delignment And then When you look out like look at 220 look at 2026 you start looking out These guys look at the number of guys who even over 300 pounds Um or even kind of that that ability to develop when you start thinking about the premium the price that's on dt's right now It is it is not just in the portal. It's in high school. It starts in high school You cannot you have to be really good at recruiting guys who are big who can contribute And who are going to work and that's really hard for these bigger bigger guys these bigger kids Some of these kids are going playing basketball like they got the nc state So it's just it's to that point now. I don't think dt recruiting is going to get any easier for texas But we got we got to figure out how we handle it in the portal We got to figure out how we handle it in future recruiting and it's not right at our fingertips It's not here in the state. So we we got to just come up with a game plan We can't lose guys here in texas Erica and are we seeing it quarterbacks the most premium position. They're going to be your highest earners most coveted Is defensive tackle the second position? It's probably should be in my opinion um It's got it's probably already up there a little bit I think uh, especially is is more and more programs treat nil as a way to compensate guys for football more so than like their Advertising value like it was supposed to be supposedly The football value of a defensive tackle is really tough to beat because of the scarcity like eric talks about all the time and the impact they have on a game is also Very substantial commensurate with their with their own size. So uh, yeah I think that's why zion Williams is so important. You know, I see a picture of him with tavondre sweat and practice And I think that's a guy that can play as a freshman Everything lines up, you know, if he comes in with the right mindset, he may have to play as a freshman So he's not even highly rated. So I think the ranchers and then that was doing really They do a poor job of it like Alex january should have been more highly rated You know, I did a I did a post last year at the end of the cycle. I I fixed it for him I did an article where I Took the time generous with my time and I went through the Texas rankings And I fixed guys like january and and parker to living stone I made these guys four stars based on basically Their uncommon, you know parkers tall and skinny but he's fast and with great ball skills You don't see a lot of guys like that And then january look at just look how the guy looks and then look at his tape He's got he's technically advanced more so than most players as they age So I think the ranchers do a bad job of it people don't a lot of fans don't properly appreciate You know the value of a lot of these guys, but you know, Texas versus LSU for uh for Zion's going to get crazy Um, DJ sanders texas versus a and m is going to get crazy Um, you know those out-of-state guys mire and charles that stood out of south florida. I mean That recruitment's going to be nuts too So yeah, there's just not a lot of them and you've got to get them in high school Or you're going to pay a lot more uh out of out of college when they're out of the portal You know who you don't have to pay a lot more But just a little bit is inside texas.com come see us for right now We're having a special it one you get two months of inside texas for only a dollar And someone needs to help out victor centiago because that that man needs to be a part of our community in the inside texas form Please come see us over there. Please like and subscribe the inside texas football youtube channel We sure do appreciate you taking the time to hang out with us tonight We had so much to talk about so many good questions so much good engagement Any parting shots gentlemen go See that posse east saturday rain or shine What about you Ian? You're not move you're not moved in yet. It'll be another month or so, right? Yeah, i'll be watching from michigan but uh Go enjoy You'll be like drew you'll be there in spirit. Don't get struck by lightning Don't get struck by that's good. That's just good advice. That's just good advice Hey, we sure to appreciate it Please come see us at inside texas football and and and make it make us a part of your day each day Please like and subscribe and welcome and thank you again for joining us on the inside texas football youtube channel powered by inside texas.com [BLANK_AUDIO]