Texas might stuff next year’s NFL draft picks
While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:
Hail Michigan: Jim Harbaugh doesn't mind putting himself out there and did again recently when he said he expects 20 Wolverines — yes, 20 — to be drafted next spring. That would be a record. Not even Georgia has done that although the Bulldogs set a modernday, seven-round record with 15 players taken in 2022, five in the first round. When I quizzed Texas' Steve Sarkisian about that projection on Tuesday, he said on the eve of fall workouts, “That seems like a pretty optimistic number. What's the record?" I told him about Georgia's huge class — Ohio State had 14 taken in 2004 as did LSU in 2020 — but Texas once had 17 chosen in 1984, though only star-crossed cornerback Mossy Cade in the first round besides supplemental pick guard Mike Ruether. “If we can hover into 8 to 12 players drafted a year, we've developed a program we're proud of, the players we've brought in and developed," Sarkisian said. "If we're doing that, we're doing the right things for the long-term future of our team.” Call me crazy, but I could honestly see as many as 16 Longhorns picked next April, including tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders, quarterback Quinn Ewers, linebacker Jaylan Ford, cornerback Ryan Watts, the top four wideouts, three defensive linemen and three safeties. This team is loaded. … “I think this team is on a mission,” Sark said. “I think they've adopted this John Wick mentality that Quinn has touched on. They've assumed this mentality of embrace the hate. We can sit back and be a punching bag, or we can go after everyone else, too."
Bulletin board stuff: Something for someone's mirror to look at daily. Saw a list of the top-10 projected quarterbacks by TheSportsDaily.com. Guess who's not listed? Ewers. It's a strong list headed by returning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr.,
Drake May and Bo Nix. No. 10 is UTSA's Frank Harris. … “This feels like his team,” Sarkisian said of Ewers, who wasn't even asked about him on Tuesday until about a half-hour into his presser. "I think he's in a great frame of mind. He leads that way. You hear how he talks to the team that way. You see the dedication the guy has put in based on his body composition. Clearly, he's in a great frame of mind and feels like this is his team.”
Adios: Austin FC cut ties Tuesday with Diego Fagúndez, the highly paid winger and integral part of last year's Western Conference playoff run, and traded him to the LA Galaxy. The move accomplishes a lot, including freeing up cap space. While it may diminish the club from the outside, given his 17 goals and 13 assists last year, he reported to camp out of shape and unprepared for the season despite a raise to more than $1 million — incredibly high for a non-designated player. His play was subpar with just three goals and one assist. Head coach Josh Wolff became disillusioned with Fagúndez, a relationship that soured this summer, and now has the makings of a stronger team with the upsurge by Ethan Finlay and a hopefully healthier Emiliano Rigoni and newcomer Matt Hedges. El Tree sits in fifth place in the West and, so long as they don't play in any more outside competitions, might be just fine to make another run when MLS play renews on Aug. 20.
CU C-who?: Read during vacation that Colorado left the Pac-12 to join the Big 12, but half-wonder if the Buffaloes will return to the Pac-12 before lunch. Yawn. Count Oregon coach Dan Lanning among the unimpressed, too. “Not a big reaction,” he said of the move. “I'm trying to remember what they won to affect this conference and I don't remember. Do you remember them winning anything? I don't remember them winning anything.”… What exactly do the Buffaloes bring to the Big 12, save for greater numbers? (Presumably CU will bring a football team with a full roster after winning, what, three games this season.) Is the Big 12 suddenly going to kill it now in skiing and cross-country? Colorado was 61st in this past year's Director's Cup standings, which was 11th in the Pac-12. The Buffs are 47-94 since leaving the Big-12. They're the definition of college football irrelevance. … Maybe the Big 12 is just wanting to pirate the weak Pac-12 and hope to have its pick of the leftovers (read: Arizona for basketball and Utah for football) after USC and UCLA bolted. And does the Pac-12 secretly want to dissolve into the Mountain West? The Big Ten can perhaps now have Oregon and Washington for pennies on the dollar. If it wants them. … The addition does add to the Big 12's stability and is another notch in Brett Yormark's belt as college sports' new gunslinger. The man does not rest. But personally I think Colorado brings very little to the table. Sure, Denver is a big market, but do those folks even care about the Buffs? Just remember Missouri and Colorado were the first two Big 12 schools with their hands up, saying, “Pick me.” Missouri's at least in the conference, won 11 and 12 games in two different SEC seasons, has a 75-67 winning record and won the SEC East twice.
Coaching rundown: Had a super time at the SEC media days in Nashville, Tenn. Not the least bit surprised that the SEC announced next year's media days extravaganza will be held in Dallas in the heart of Big 12 country. It's a tip of the hat to newcomers Texas and Oklahoma, but also a poke at Texas A&M (hey, why now) and at the Big 12 (we're coming for you). … Here are my one-word descriptions of the 14 SEC head coaches: Alabama's Nick Saban (organized); Georgia's Kirby Smart (cocky); LSU's Brian Kelly (aloof); Tennessee's Josh Heupel (confident); Texas
A&M's Jimbo Fisher (confused); South Carolina's Shane Beamer (riser); Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz (interesting); Florida's Billy Napier (dull); Mississippi's Lane Kiffin (provocative); Mississippi State's Zach Arnett (duller); Vanderbilt's Clark Lea (invisible); Arkansas' Sam Pittman (country-funny); Auburn's Hugh Freeze (survivor); and Kentucky's Mark Stoops (bland).
Trading trauma: Hello, Justin Verlander. I think the two-time World Series champion knows his way around the clubhouse. Look out, Texas Rangers. The Houston Astros are breathing down their necks, which makes me think they could be seeing each other in this year's playoffs. … There's no trading deadline in sports as exhilarating and intriguing as major league baseball. I applaud the Rangers for going all-in and picking up Max Scherzer as well as two Cardinals pitchers. And they hung onto much of their valuable farm system. … I guess now that the Mets have dismantled the priciest payroll ever, we can declare their dynasty over. Sorry if you blinked, but a $344 million roster just doesn't get you what it used to. It bettered any payroll by $50 million, and now it's spare parts. … I'm not sure the Angels did the right thing in keeping Shohei Ohtani and making a run for it, but the gamble is steep. I probably would have unloaded him for a king's ransom and rebuild. They don't have the pitching to contend now.
New stars: Kudos to new Longhorn
Jillian Cox, the just-turned 18-year-old from Cedar Park who placed sixth in the 800-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championship at the Marine Messe Fukuoka. That, of course, is the event that Katie Ledecky has dominated with six consecutive world titles. Cox is the No. 1 swimmer in the state and 10th nationally and will be swimming for Texas' Carol Capitani, who captained the women's team in the world event. … Big summer for Texas men's golfers. Graduate Pierceson Coody won his second event of the season and ranks fourth in the Korn Ferry points list to put him well within the top 30 and on the verge of winning his PGA Tour Card. All that after fracturing his left hand a year ago and having to adjust his swing after surgery to remove a bone. … Also grad transfer Brian Stark from Oklahoma State is No. 22 in the preseason PGA TOUR University Class of 2024 and will be among the top-25 rising seniors eligible for PGA TOUR University this season. He completed the 2023 season with Texas with a 71.04 stroke average (second on the team) and earned AllBig 12 and All-Central Region team accolades and has announced his return to UT for his fifth year. He's No. 30 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings. … He'll join super Longhorns frosh Tommy Morrison, who advanced to the Round of 16 at the British Amateur Championship and ranks 192nd in the world. They just keep coming for John Fields' Longhorns. “They continue to climb the ladder of success,” Fields says. “They are all difference-makers, one with a national championship to his credit and two who have an overwhelming desire to win our fifth. We have an abundance of talent. Expect a championship run. Plus, I'm more motivated, coming off last year, than I can remember.”
Scattershooting: While wondering whatever happened to Jon Gruden.
At the box office: “Oppenheimer” scores a 10 only because I don't have a higher number. The film is the perfect blend of history, world perspective, political intrigue, crackling dialogue, fleshedout characters, humor, even sex with a wonderful narrative about the so-called father of the atomic bomb. If this Christopher Nolan extravaganza doesn't win the Oscar for Best Picture, the Academy should disband. Ten ducks.
Crazy prediction: None of these four will win the national championship — Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State or Clemson.