Latest news with #ChadCampbell
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
4 reasons Longhorns may have dodged a bullet by losing 5-star Felix Ojo to Texas Tech
On the afternoon of Independence Day, five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo committed to Texas Tech. Thought to be a heavy Longhorns lean, the Mansfield, TX native reportedly accepted a late deal from the Red Raiders for $5.1 million dollars over three years. The 6-foot-6, 275-pound prospect didn't even list Tech as a final four and told Rivals last week it was between Ohio State and Texas. In the end, Ojo took the big money from Texas Tech mega-booster and Matador Club founder Chad Campbell. Advertisement Could this end up being a blessing for Texas? Ojo was reportedly the Longhorns No. 1 target during this recruiting cycle. Texas spent a lot of time, effort and capital to get him to Austin. No one blames a 17 or 18 year old for taking the biggest offer. But it is how Ojo handled himself over the past 10 days that should put up red flags. Cash over player development While taking the biggest offer is understandable, it is shortsighted. No one would say the player development at Texas Tech is as good as the Longhorns have been under Steve Sarkisian. Texas has the most NFL Draft picks over the past two years and have a great record of getting offensive lineman drafted high. Kelvin Banks Jr. went No. 9 to the Saints in the most recent draft. Ojo simply won't get the quality of coaching at Tech as he would at UT. Most agents want the biggest deal possible. It seems logical. But sometimes that goal is at odds with the player's future. The agent wants his percentage of the money to be as much and as soon as possible. Ojo's representative Derrick Shelby probably won't be his agent when it comes time to negotiate his first NFL contract. But the cost for the client, in this case Ojo, is player development. Advertisement Disingenuous in the final days Bobby Burton has covered the Longhorns for decades. The media legend helped found Rivals and 247Sports. Burton says Ojo purposely strung the coaching staffs of Texas and Ohio State along in the waning stages of his recruitment, even though his camp had made the decision to head to Lubbock. Playing coy in the press and on social media is one thing. Being less than truthful with other coaching staffs for spot is another level. Disrespectful commitment ceremony Many recruits play the old "hat switcheroo" at their commitment announcement. A lot of prospects, and even fans, find it funny. But coaches HATE it and they remember it. It is patently disrespectful to the staff that spent their time, effort, money and emotions to recruit you. Of course, the losing school has a lot of self interest each time they recruit a prospect. But unless you were treated poorly, there's no need to rub it in their faces at the end. Ojo did a real song and dance with the Longhorns cap at his commitment ceremony. Recent struggles on the field Ojo really struggled at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge last week. I have been to several of these events. When a guy struggles as bad as Ojo struggled, it can mean the player is over-ranked. High School players can spend most of their career dominating the opposition in their own district. Mansfield Lake Ridge High School is in a district with other Mansfield, Crowley and Weatherford schools. It is a district with decent, but not great, opposition. Advertisement Sometimes when a prospect meets elite talent for the first time at a national event, they are overwhelmed. The Five-Star challenge has the hundred best players in the nation and the defensive lineman Ojo faced ran over, around and through him all day. It was so bad Ojo had to issue a national statement after the camp. Ojo looked slow and lackadaisical and flat-out bullied. Ojo might be incredible in Lubbock. He might be the No. 1 pick in the 2028 NFL Draft. He is certainly guaranteed to make a lot of money for himself and his family. But his entire recruitment does send up some warning signs that make it less likely Texas missed out on a generational talent and more likely the Horns dodged a bullet. Advertisement Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire. This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Four reasons Texas dodged a bullet losing 5-star Felix Ojo to Tech
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Texas Tech's $5.1M sways 5-Star Felix Ojo as Longhorns loses another recruiting battle
Texas has lost yet another recruiting battle. And this is a big one ... literally. Five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo announced Friday he is committing to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The 6-foot-6, 275-pound prospect reportedly received a huge offer from Texas Tech mega-booster and Matador Club founder Chad Campbell. The deal is reportedly a fully-guaranteed 3-year, $5.1 million dollar NIL contract. According to Rivals/On3 analyst Hayes Fawcett, it is one of the largest guaranteed NIL deals in college history. Advertisement The Mansfield, TX Lake Ridge High School standout was thought to be a Texas lean for weeks with most major recruiting analysts projecting him to the 40 Acres. Last week, Ojo listed Texas and Ohio State as the leaders over Florida and Michigan. Texas Tech wasn't even mentioned. Ojo did struggle at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge against elite competition. So much so, the blue chipper issued a statement afterwards. Did that impact his Fourth of July decision? Did Texas back off or lower its offer? Did Tech see an opportunity to step in? It definitely sounds like Texas Tech gave the recruit a historic offer. Reports started trickling in on Thursday afternoon of the about face and by nightfall, the "in-the-know" recruiting analysts all changed their crystal ball predictions to Tech. Advertisement Whatever happened behind the scenes, Ojo is heading to Lubbock and Texas has lost their No. 1 recruiting priority. Ojo makes the sixth high priority Texas target to commit elsewhere in the past week. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire. This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Longhorns lose battle for 5-star as Tech's $5.1M offer lands Felix Ojo
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US troops begin detaining migrants on border defense zone
U.S. troops at the southern border started detaining migrants last week as part of the 'Deep South Campaign' to prosecute individuals found trespassing in National Defense Areas (NDAs). President Trump has currently designated the U.S.-Mexico stretches between El Paso to Fort Hancock, Texas, as an NDA alongside the land line marking the country's boundaries in New Mexico. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Chad Campbell said three individuals were among the first detained near Santa Teresa, N.M., last week. They now remain in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection awaiting prosecution for illegal entry in addition to trespassing charges under the Trump administration's new policies. In an effort to curb illegal immigration, officials ordered the Department of Defense to monitor border operations at NDAs on land previously overseen by the Interior Department, according to The Associated Press. 'We have been very clear that there will be additional National Defense Areas across the southern border,' Geoffrey Carmichael, a spokesperson for an enforcement task force at the southern border, told the AP. 'I won't speculate to where those are going to be.' Although recurring signs placed nearly 100 meters apart clearly mark the NDAs, judges in New Mexico and Texas have moved to drop national security charges on individuals caught in militarized zones due to their lack of knowledge of the newly designated areas. 'We're going to keep going forward on these NDA charges,' U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons, who oversees western Texas, said in a statement to the AP. 'We are going to still bring them, we may win on them, we may not. … At the end of the day, you are not going to be allowed to stay in this country if you enter this country illegally.' Migrant arrests follow the Trump administration's broader crackdown on immigrants without legal status nationwide sparking protests across the country. The president recently called in the National Guard and Marines to deter large groups from rioting over detainment and removal efforts in Los Angeles. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
12-06-2025
- Politics
Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role
EL PASO, Texas -- U.S. troops have begun directly detaining immigrants accused of trespassing on a recently designated national defense zone along the southern U.S. border, in an escalation of the military's enforcement role, authorities said Wednesday U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Chad Campbell described in detail the first detentions by troops last week of three immigrants accused of trespassing in a national defense area near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Those migrants were quickly turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and are now among more than 1,400 migrants to have been charged with illegally entering militarized areas along that border, under a new border enforcement strategy from President Donald Trump's administration. Troops are prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil under the Posse Comitatus Act. But an exception known as the military purpose doctrine allows it in some instances. Authorities 'noticed three individuals crossing the protective barrier into the United States,' Campbell said. 'A Department of Defense response went to interdict those three individuals, told them to sit down. ... In a matter of three minutes, border patrol agents came in to apprehend. So that three minutes is that temporary detention' by the military. Trump has designated two national military defense areas along the southern U.S. border for New Mexico and a 60-mile (97-kilometer) stretch of western Texas, from El Paso to Fort Hancock, while transferring much of the land from the Interior Department to oversight by the Department of Defense for three years. The Trump administration plans eventually to add more militarized zones along the border, a military spokesman said Wednesday at a news conference in El Paso. 'We have been very clear that there will be additional National Defense Areas across the southern border,' said Geoffrey Carmichael, a spokesperson for an enforcement task force at the southern border. 'I won't speculate to where those are going to be.' Proponents of the militarized zones, including federal prosecutors, say the approach augments traditional efforts by Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement agencies to secure the border. 'These partnerships and consequences exist so that we can promote the most humane border environment we've ever had,' El Paso sector Border Patrol Chief Agent Walter Slosar said. 'We are dissuading people from entering the smuggling cycle ... to make sure that smugglers cannot take advantage of individuals who are trying to come into the United States.' Defense attorneys — and judges in some instances — are pushing back against the novel application of national security charges against immigrants who enter through those militarized zones — and carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six-month sentence for illegal entry. A judge in New Mexico has dismissed more than 100 national security charges against immigrants, finding little evidence that immigrants knew about the national defense areas. Those migrants still confronted charges of illegal entry to the U.S. In Texas, a Peruvian woman who crossed the U.S. border illegally was acquitted of unauthorized access to a newly designated militarized zone in the first trial under the Trump administration's efforts. U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons, who oversees western Texas, vowed to press forward with more military trespassing charges. 'We're gonna keep going forward on these NDA charges,' Simmons said. 'We are gonna still bring them, we may win on them, we may not. ... At the end of the day, you are not going to be allowed to stay in this country if you enter this country illegally.' Greater military engagement at the border takes place at the same time dozens of mayors from across the Los Angeles region banded together Wednesday to demand that the Trump administration stop the stepped-up immigration raids that have spread fear across their cities and sparked protests across the U.S.
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Business Standard
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
US troops detain immigrants in border defence zone as military role expands
US troops have begun directly detaining immigrants accused of trespassing on a recently designated national defence zone along the southern US border, in an escalation of the military's enforcement role, authorities said on Wednesday. US Army Lieutenant Colonel Chad Campbell described in detail the first detentions by troops last week of three immigrants accused of trespassing in a national defence area near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Those migrants were quickly turned over to US Customs and Border Protection and are now among more than 1,400 migrants to have been charged with illegally entering militarised areas along that border, under a new border enforcement strategy from President Donald Trump's administration. Troops are prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement on US soil under the Posse Comitatus Act. But an exception known as the military purpose doctrine allows it in some instances. Authorities "noticed three individuals crossing the protective barrier into the United States," Campbell said. "A Department of Defense response went to interdict those three individuals, told them to sit down. ... In a matter of three minutes, border patrol agents came in to apprehend. So that three minutes is that temporary detention" by the military. Trump has designated two national military defence areas along the southern US border for New Mexico and a 97-kilometre stretch of western Texas, from El Paso to Fort Hancock, while transferring much of the land from the Interior Department to oversight by the Department of Defense for three years. The Trump administration plans eventually to add more militarised zones along the border, a military spokesman said on Wednesday at a news conference in El Paso. "We have been very clear that there will be additional National Defence Areas across the southern border," said Geoffrey Carmichael, a spokesperson for an enforcement task force at the southern border. "I won't speculate to where those are going to be." Proponents of the militarised zones, including federal prosecutors, say the approach augments traditional efforts by Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement agencies to secure the border. "These partnerships and consequences exist so that we can promote the most humane border environment we've ever had," El Paso sector Border Patrol Chief Agent Walter Slosar said. "We are dissuading people from entering the smuggling cycle ... to make sure that smugglers cannot take advantage of individuals who are trying to come into the United States." Defence attorneys and judges in some instances are pushing back against the novel application of national security charges against immigrants who enter through those militarised zones and carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six-month sentence for illegal entry. A judge in New Mexico has dismissed more than 100 national security charges against immigrants, finding little evidence that immigrants knew about the national defence areas. Those migrants still confronted charges of illegal entry to the US. In Texas, a Peruvian woman who crossed the US border illegally was acquitted of unauthorised access to a newly designated militarised zone in the first trial under the Trump administration's efforts. US Attorney Justin Simmons, who oversees western Texas, vowed to press forward with more military trespassing charges. "We're gonna keep going forward on these NDA charges," Simmons said. "We are gonna still bring them, we may win on them, we may not. ... At the end of the day, you are not going to be allowed to stay in this country if you enter this country illegally." Greater military engagement at the border takes place at the same time dozens of mayors from across the Los Angeles region banded together on Wednesday to demand that the Trump administration stop the stepped-up immigration raids that have spread fear across their cities and sparked protests across the US. Trump has authorised the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard members to respond to immigration protests in LA. That directive brings the total number of Guard put on federal orders for the protests to more than 4,100. The Pentagon had already deployed about 700 Marines to the protests to the city.
