Commitment Analysis | 2021 Athlete Ja’Tavion Sanders

– Darius Terrell

The #trUTh21 class just picked up their biggest commitment to date. Denton Ryan HS (Denton, TX) ATH Ja’Tavion Sanders made things official when he announced his commitment to the Longhorns. Sanders becomes the 8th member of the early #1 class in 2021.

What is Texas getting in Sanders?

Ranking: Consensus high 4-star. #40 Nationally, #5 ATH (247), #41 Nationally, #2 WDE (Rivals), #115 Nationally, #13 DE (ESPN), #2 Overall (TX Top 25)

Top Offers: Alabama, Ohio St., LSU, Georgia, Florida, Notre Dame, Florida St., Arkansas

Size: 6’4 220lbs

Projected College Position: Weakside DE/B-Backer or TE

Player Comparison: Melvin Ingram (South Carolina 2007-2011)

Analysis: Sanders is easily the top commit so far in the 2021 class in my mind. As you all know by now, this is going to be a special class, so that should give you a little bit of an idea about how good I expect this kid to be in burnt orange. Here’s my write-up on Sanders from the initial release of my Texas Top 25:

“The District 4-5A Newcomer of the Year as a Sophomore, Sanders has special potential on both sides of the ball. I saw him live at a playoff game this past season where he had over 100 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns on offense, while also adding 2 sacks from his Defensive End position. That is extremely impressive at the 5A level, and he is a very fluid athlete for his size. I view Sanders as a 5-Star talent.”

On offense, Sanders is utilized by his high school team exclusively as a Split End out wide. Despite his size, he is fast enough to run by many 5A Defensive Backs. Sanders isn’t a great route runner (he hasn’t had to be) that has the ability to flip and sink his hips to get in and out of breaks. I’ve seen him play multiple times in person and I can honestly say that I’ve never seen him drop a pass. He would need some time to adjust at the next level to being asked to block, but I don’t have any concerns about that as he is physical when he is on the other side of the ball.

On defense, Sanders relies almost solely on his athleticism to consistently beat high school Offensive Tackles. He will have to expand his pass-rush repertoire (He couldn’t ask for a better coach than Oscar Giles) and learn how to be effective once he meets some guys that are almost as equally gifted physically. Sanders is the best “screen-reader” that I have ever seen at the high school level and he is a threat to not just deflect passes, but pick them off with those excellent hands that I mentioned earlier.

Overall, this is simply a tremendous pick-up for Tom Herman and co., especially this early. Sanders has a thick lower body, but he has quick feet. His shoulders aren’t terribly broad, but he has room to play at 250lbs in the future without sacrificing much of his movement ability. Sanders at one time was believed to be an Oklahoma lean from the people that I talk to. Having teammate Billy Bowman already committed, as well as former Longhorn FB Alex De La Torre on staff at Denton Ryan certainly didn’t hurt the Horns chances in this one either.

Enjoy this one, Texas fans, you certainly should.

Instant Impact Rating (1-10): 8

Highlights:

Objective Observations | UT vs. LSU

– Super K

Again, apologies for being MIA, still working through an illness.

I was able to watch some of the UT vs. LSU game and though my brain is working much slower these days, I did note a few things that I wanted to mention. I remain pretty objective watching both Texas and OU games. I feel like that allows me to see where things are actually headed.

***One of the things that surprised me in week one was how critical some OU fans were of their new defense. Some seemed to think it was the same as last year. To me, that opinion would come from someone who lacks objectivity (someone who loves OU or hates OU).

To me, there were very clear and obvious markers that the defense has not only improved but that there is reason for them to be excited about the potential over the course of the next few months and years.

I had a similar reaction seeing some Texas fans feel defeated by the loss and even attack coaches. I had a similar reaction to seeing Texas haters mock the idea that Texas is back.

I personally was incredibly impressed with Texas and I think any Texas fan should walk away from that game feeling like it’s a win. At this point in Texas’ development, it’s still about continuing to garner clues about what the future holds.

There are very very very few national championship level coaches in the game. So, until it happens, there is always that lingering question of…is our guy one of those guys?

I don’t know how someone couldn’t watch that game and think, Texas is on the right track and that is something for fans to be incredibly happy about.

I didn’t see it any other way. I suppose the score matters but for the future and for what it means…it just doesn’t very much in my opinion.

***I did not expect LSU to have that level of a passing game. I’ve always thought that if LSU went to a spread attack, the kind of skill players in Louisiana would make them a nightmare. I’ve said that for years.

And even though we knew they moved to a more open attack there was always this feeling that…well, LSU will never have a trigger man.

That QB was dang good. And I know Texas will face some good QBs in the Big 12 but don’t get it twisted, that kid pulling the trigger for LSU was fantastic and the skill guys he was throwing to were challenging and will be challenging for a lot of folks, in my estimation.

***I think the CB play this year and in years past needs to be addressed for Texas. I know people have attacked Kobe Boyce. But we saw problems last year with Boyd. We actually saw quite a few problems this year with Jalen Green. He’s getting a pass because of his youth but some of the mistakes he was making are more foundational.

Two hands out reaching in press…big no no that he should already know. He wasn’t connected when he tried to lean and locate…again a CB knows, if you’re not in phase, keep running.

On on the other side, you had some incredible cornerback play. They are not only A+ players but they’re receiving development from Corey Raymond (one of the top 3 CB coaches in the country, IMO). Their ability to play the ball in the air was mind-blowing.

Scoring should actually get easier for Texas because that was a dang defense they played.

***Sam is getting better than I expected as a thrower. Sam concerned me early on in his career because it always seemed like he didn’t want to throw a ball unless there was nothing between him and the receiver. Anything that required him to touch it in with high low coverage, he seemed to avoid.

Now, he’s throwing anything and he’s doing into windows. A lot of growth there. He still has those occasional inexplicable misses but even those are fewer and farther between.

***The downhill play of the second and third levels of Texas defense is fantastic. One of the hallmarks of the LSU/Bama type defenses is seeing those second and third level guys read and trigger fast and then close space and tackle in space. I’ve never seen Texas do it so well.

Everything I heard and reported in the offseason about the defensive speed increase, seems to be true.

*** The one thing I will be keeping an eye on is how will the defense react when they are faced with a solid running game. LSU has struggled to run the ball this far this year as they have a young OL which has taken some hits to their depth and they averaged only 3.7 yards a carry against Georgia Southern and 3.5 against Texas. Oklahoma State will be the first real test in that regards followed by OU.

***I love Roschon Johnson at RB. He’s not only a good RB, but he’s also a dang gamer. The moment wasn’t big enough for him.

He’d be my starting RB this week even if it’s just as a reward.

***I haven’t had a chance to rewatch the game and as I said my mind is working a little slower than normal due to the illness and the meds, but as I clear up, I may have more thoughts later but the above are just a few.

I know that what Texas fans what is to see improvement in the bottom line but to me, that’s not the most important metric. 2-0 is easily attainable when you’re first two games are cupcakes.

To me, the question is whether last year’s team was better than the previous year’s. The answer is yes.

So, now, the question is whether the team we watched on Saturday is better than last year’s team. I’d say absolutely yes.

Update | Texas Commits Through Two Weeks

– CJ Vogel

I wanted to dive into what many of Texas’ commits have done so far this season, there are some eye popping accomplishments and performances on this list through just two weeks of the season.

Quentin Johnston – Temple, WR

Texas only has one true WR commit in 2020, but many is he a good one.

Temple defeated Autonoma de Nuevo Leon out of Mexico last week 51–29 and Johnston had himself a game.

7 receptions, 220 yards and 2 touchdowns

Bijan Robinson – Salpointe Catholic, RB

498 yards… 6 touchdowns…

Just a weeks work for the five star Texas pledge who took it to Desert Edge HS (AZ) in a record setting performance.

Robinson collected 430 of those yards on just 13 carries according to his coach Dennis Bene. That’s an average of 33 yards per carry.

Logan Parr – Helotes, OT

After a tough opening loss to Cibolo Steele, Logan Parr and O’Connor bounced back against San Antonio Warren HS with a 38-0 victory.

Parr told me the starters were pulled after the first quarter and he was a large reason as to why.

“They (opponents) were running away from me anytime I blocked back or chased linebackers. After the 2nd play they already gave up.”

Parr should excite every Texas fan eager to see a strong offensive line for the years to come.

Jerrin Thompson – Lufkin, S

Thompson recorded a 77-yard pick-six in Lufkin’s most recent victory over Nacogdoches.

Van Fillinger – Corner Canyon (UT), DE

Through the first two games of Fillinger’s season, he has put up video game like numbers at the DE spot.

5.5 sacks

18 tackles

8 tackles for loss

Van Fillinger @van_filli

Corner Canyon High School (UT)

Class of 2020

Defensive Lineman

Highlights from the first 2 Games!#LevelUpUT20 pic.twitter.com/caGMtYqEXp — Level Up Elite FB (@levelupelitesFB) August 29, 2019

Jaden Hullaby – Mansfield Timberview (ATH)

Hullaby took snaps behind center against Lake Travis and Texas commit Hudson Card last week.

Hullaby rushed for 83 yards on 18 attempts and threw for 72 yards and a touchdown.

8:12 4Q- @TViewWolves TD. Three completions in a row for Jaden Hullaby, and he finds Darnell Jones in the corner from 14 yards to make it 41-26. It's not over yet at Lake Travis. #txhsfb @SportsDayHS — Chris Bils (@ChrisBils) September 7, 2019

Hudson Card – Lake Travis, QB

Going off of the Hullaby section, Card got the best of his future teammate in a 48-26 victory in Austin.

Card is continuing to impress with his arm, he threw for 266 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception on 13/21 attempts.

Andrej Karic – Southlake Carroll, OT

This clip alone should get you excited for the potential Karic has at left tackle.

Texas has struck gold with “low-rated” tackles over the last couple of cycles with Connor Williams and Sam Cosmi, and Karic could very will follow in that trend.

Jalen Milroe – Katy Tompkins, QB

Jalen Milroe runs it in to give Tompkins a 21-17 lead over Klein Cain.



Drive started with a 56 yard pass from Milroe to Taurean Muhammad to put the Falcons at the 20.#txhsfb @HoustonChronHS pic.twitter.com/BuThaAQhrC — Andres Chio (@ChioAndres) September 7, 2019

Milroe, on and off the field, is doing exactly what Texas fans like to see. He led Katy Tompkins to a 42-24 victory over Klein Cain.

“It’s going good so far we are 2-0 going into this week. Our team is getting better each and every week,” Milroe said regarding the season so far.

Quay Davis – Dallas Skyline, WR

Texas @TexasFootball Commit Quaydarius Davis @TheQuayDavis2 broke one against Dunne defense, Kid is a Beast pic.twitter.com/VvjoQWhEJL — Coach Hurst (@peopleschamp87) September 7, 2019

This clip is all you need to know about how Davis’ season so far.

TFB Talking Point | The Arrival of Devin Duvernay

– Charlie S

The Longhorns came up short against LSU last weekend, but that was not for the lack of trying, particularly by Senior Wide Receiver Devin Duvernay.

Duvernay had the biggest game of his career in the Longhorns biggest home game in years.

Duvernay was electric, particularly in the second half where he recorded 11 of his game-high 12 receptions.

Overall, he had 12 receptions for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

He was running over people almost as often as he was running away from them.

Simply dominant.

Coming into the year, many people had questions about the Texas wide receiving corps…not because of the lack of potential, that was undeniable, but because of the lack of a track record.

Most of the focus was on Colin Johnson, he was supposed to be ‘The guy’ coming off a big performance in the Big 12 Championship game last year.

Meanwhile, Duvernay had a career 70 receptions and 7 touchdowns over his first three years. This year, in two games, he has 21 receptions and 3 touchdowns…again that is two games compared to the three previous years.

Following last Saturday’s game, do you think the tide has shifted and Duvernay will be the featured wide receiver going forward?

I do.

I like Johnsons skill set, I just have not seen such a dominant game from a Longhorn receiver as I witnessed last Saturday.

Johnsons Big 12 championship performance didn’t have the feel, for me, that Duvernay’s performance did.

I know it’s not an either/or proposition as both receivers can thrive, but here I sit on Wednesday, still in awe of that performance.

Know Your Opponent | Week Three – Rice

– Darius Terrell

Head Coach – Mike Bloomgren (2nd Season)

Offensive Coordinator – Jerry Mack (2nd Season)

Defensive Coordinator – Brian Smith (2nd Season)

Special Teams Coordinator – Drew Svoboda (2nd Season, 1st as Coordinator)

The Rice Owls (0-2, 0-0) come into this matchup against the Longhorns looking to earn their first win of the season in upset fashion. Rice lost their season opener in a competitive match on the road against Army 14-7. Last week, the Owls fell in their home opener to Wake Forest 41-21.

On Offense …

QB – #14 Tom Stewart (6’3 226)

RB – #1 Aston Walter (5’8 201)/#9 Nahshon Ellerby (5’9 212)

FB – #6 Reagan Williams (6’3 220)

– Rice lost their starting Quarterback (Wiley Green) last week after he had to be carted off the field and taken to a hospital during their contest against Wake Forest. In Green’s absence, Stewart stepped in and was 19/30 (63%) for 185 yards and a score. He’s not a running threat, in my opinion, but he did have a short-yardage rushing score against Wake Forest. Texas will have opportunities to apply pressure to Stewart on Saturday night.

– Walter and Ellerby have combined for 207 yards on 40 carries through two games (5.1 ypc). Ellerby appears to be the more explosive back with a 54-yarder to his credit already this season.

WR – #10 Austin Trammell (5’10 182)

WR – #2 Brad Rozner (6’5 190)

WR – #7 Jordan Myers (6’2 217)

TE – #82 Jaeger Bull (6’4 233)

– #2 Rozner and #10 Trammell are the main guys that they want to use in the passing game. Trammell is a slot type, while Rozner is a big target (6’5) at the Split End position. Rice’s passing attack obviously will be nothing like Texas saw last week versus LSU.

– Jaeger Bull has one of the best names in the world, not just college football, and I bet he’s a tremendous wingman. As far as football is concerned, Bull is yet to register a statistic this season, but he is the guy that Rice uses when they do want to bring in a TE.

LT – #71 Clay Servin (6’4 278)

LG – #55 Nick Leverett (6’4 309)

C – #65 Brian Chaffin (6’2 282)

RG – #58 Shea Baker (6’1 290)

RT – #76 Justin Gooseberry (6’4 290)

– The entire left side is new. Servin, the starting Left Tackle is a Redshirt Freshman that will be making just his 3rd career start. Leverett is a grad transfer from NC Central that looks the part, but is also inexperienced at the FBS level.

– Their starting Center, Chaffin, is a grad transfer from Stanford that never started a game for the Cardinal. Chaffin was an Under Armour All-American and consensus 4-star recruit as a prep player. This will also be his 3rd career start.

***On the right side of the line, Baker, a Round Rock native, served as the Owls’ starting Center last season as a Redshirt Freshman. He slides over to RG this season and is solid. The starting Right Tackle, Justin Gooseberry, is also a graduate transfer. He makes the jump up from Division II (Ouchita Baptist) this season and will be making his 3rd career start.

On Defense …

DE – #99 Myles Adams (6’2 285)

NT – #92 Elijah Garcia (6’5 290)

DE – #7 Trey Schuman (6’2 253)

RUSH – #33 Anthony Ekpe (6’0 234)

*** The Owls will alternate between using a 3-down front and a 4-down front. Often their RUSH end often playing in a stand-up position walked down around the LOS or be substituted with a bigger player to create the 4-man look.

*** The Owls do not have a standout among their defensive front. Rice is yet to register a sack this season and Garcia did not start against Army in week one. Ekpe is currently the team’s leading tackler with 17.

LB – #17 Treshawn Chamberlain (5’10 201)

LB – #1 Antonio Montero (6’0 222)

LB – #55 Blaze Alldredge (6’2 219)

– Speed is the name of the game with the undersized Rice Linebackers. Unfortunately, they don’t run quite as well as you might expect. This was highlighted on a 96-yard TD run that they gave up last week against the Demon Deacons. They also struggle to disengage from blocks once they commit to the run.

– Montero will likely lead the team in tackles by the end of the season if he stays healthy.

CB – #18 TyRae Thornton (5’10 179)

FS – #20 George Nyakwol (6’0 182)

SS – #4 Prudy Calderon (5’11 210)

CB – #15 Andrew Bird (6’1 177)

– The Rice Corners were torched last week by Wake Forest and WR Scotty Washington (158 yards, 2 TDs).

– Nyakwol led the team in tackles last season (67). It’s never a good sign when your Free Safety is making the most tackles.

– Calderon is most comfortable in run support and struggles in coverage.

Special Teams …

K – #25 Will Harrison (5’10 180)

P – #29 Adam Nunez (6’0 190)

*** Kicker Will Harrison is 0/2 so far this season and is 2/6 for his career. It’s safe to say they don’t have a ton of confidence in him.

*** Adam Nunez is averaging 42 yards per punt and has a long of 61 yards so far this season.

Overall Thoughts …

*** I’m not going to sugarcoat it, this is a bounce back game for Texas that was strategically scheduled after the big showdown last week in primetime against LSU.

*** Rice will be starting what is essentially a brand-new Offensive Line from last season, that is comprised of three graduate transfers (Stanford, North Carolina Central, Ouchita Baptist), a Redshirt Sophomore playing a new position, and a Redshirt Freshman Left Tackle. Not to mention, their starting Quarterback was knocked out of the game last week and is unlikely to play against the Longhorns.

*** On tape and on paper, Rice has no business being on the same field with Texas. If the Longhorns are not dominant along the LOS on both sides of the ball, something will have to have gone terribly wrong.

*** This should be a ball game where Texas is able to get live action and game tape for all of their back-ups and Freshmen players that will be redshirting this season.

*Note* I have a game for my school on Saturday at 6pm, so I will be watching the recording of this game during a graveyard shift and posting my reactions on Sunday morning.

Prediction:

CJ (2-0) Texas 48 – Rice 13

Will (2-0) Texas 44 – Rice 12

Darius (1-1) Texas 49 – Rice 10

Injury Updates | Sourced Note

– Will Baizer

Per a source, Texas will be down safety DeMarvin Overshown this week. Overshown has been dealing with a back injury that has been keeping him from practicing this week and received a newer diagnosis on it today that wasn’t what the staff was hoping for.

Texas confirmed that Overshown will not play this weekend at Tom Herman’s press conference. He was supposed to replace BJ Foster who is also out with a hamstring injury for a few weeks.

Depending on the severity of the injury, I expect to see either Tyler Owens or Chris Adimora step into his role.

On the bright side though…

We can confirm Anwar Richardson’s report that RB Daniel Young has been cleared to play in the game against Rice this weekend.

He will likely be on a pitch count if he even sees the field. The staff is still unsure whether or not they will play him.

Gut feeling is they save him for Oklahoma State.