Latest news with #Longhorns
USA Today
9 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
BREAKING: Four-star safety picks Georgia over Texas in huge recruiting blow
Just five days ago, it looked like the Longhorns were in a great spot to get four-star safety Chace Calicut to commit to Texas. But that didn't happen. On Friday, the Houston North Shore prospect committed to recruiting rival Georgia. Calicut, who took part in the exclusive Rivals Five-Star Challenge earlier in the week, told Rivals analyst Sam Spiegelman his relationship with Longhorns CB coach Mark Orphey, who also went to North Shore, when talking about his recruitment by the Longhorns at the event's media day. "Mark Orphey came from my hometown school, North Shore. He coached there. He went to school there. He knows exactly how it is to be from Houston North Shore. And he knows how to fit me in with those guys. That's another reason why Texas is up there. It's the same thing with coach Steve Sarkisian. He really gets the players. He's more of a players coach and that's the type of guy I would like to play for." -- Chace Calicut Calicut took an official visit to Georgia on June 6, followed by Michigan on June 13 and Texas on June 20. On Friday, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound defensive back told Spiegelman he actually made his decision on that first official visit to Athens. "I made my decision down there at Georgia during the official visit," Calicut told Rivals. "The coaches always told me that when you're home, it'll feel right ... When I stepped foot on Georgia's campus, after I got a feel for the program, I knew it was the right spot. How could it get better? I don't think it can ... playing for Kirby Smart, at Georgia, at defensive back ... that's the best you can get for a long cornerback. If you wanna get produced, if you wanna go to the next level, you wanna play at Georgia." -- Chace Calicut Texas does already have three DB's committed to the 2026 class in safeties Jake Collett and Yaheim Riley and cornerback Hayward Howard Jr. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire.
USA Today
15 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Longhorns have No. 1 offense, No. 2 defense & No. 2 overall in new EA College Football 26
In less than two weeks EA College Football 26 will be released. At launch, the Texas Longhorns will be ranked high on both sides of the ball and overall. UT will have the No. 1 ranked offenses and No. 2 defense in the game. The Horns are ranked No. 2 overall behind the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Texas offense has a rating of 91, which is tied with Penn State, Ohio State and Arizona State. But the Longhorns have a slight edge and claim the No. 1 ranking. There are nine SEC teams in the top 25 offense in the video game. The Texas offense will feature Arch Manning at quarterback, Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter at running back and Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore at wide receiver. On defense, UT is ranked second behind Alabama. Texas has a defensive rating of 94, behind 'Bama's 96. Penn State, Georgia and Ohio State fill out the top five. There are ten SEC teams in the top 25 defenses in the game. The Horns defense will feature Anthony Hill, Colin Simmons and Michael Taaffe leading the charge. EA has ranked Alabama the overall No. 1 team despite having the seventh ranked offense to go with the Tide's No. 1 defense. The SEC has 12 teams in the overall Top 25, almost half of the ranking. Texas is heavily featured in the game's trailer. The video showcases Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Arch Manning. The video also shows off the Longhorns running onto the field at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium and the drone show Texas produces for night games. The game also shows off a couple of Longhorns plays. This year, schools are getting paid differently than in the past. The University of Texas will be paid based on how many users play EA College Football 26 using the Longhorns. The "play-for-pay" model is a change on the way the video company pays for Name Image Likeness (NIL) rights to participating schools. So the more you play using Texas as your team, the more money the program gets. The game is set for a worldwide release on July 10. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire.
USA Today
16 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Dylan Volantis named Baseball America National Freshman of the Year
best freshman in the country 🤘#HookEm | @DylanVolantis | @BaseballAmerica During the 2025 campaign, Dylan Volantis was one of the best pitchers in college baseball. Due to his play, he has been busy adding to his trophy case the last few weeks. That continued on Friday when the Longhorns star was named the National Freshman of the Year by Baseball America. In his first year of college baseball, Volantis was dominant every time out. Volantis led all rookies nationally in saves with 12. He also posted a 1.94 ERA while holding opponents to a .185 batting average. The Westlake High School product showed a talent for missing bats, adding 74 strikeouts to his resume. Additionally, Volantis was stellar in conference play. Against SEC teams, he posted a 1.59 ERA and recorded 11 saves. That is partly why awards have been rolling since the regular season ended. His haul includes All-American honors and recognition from the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings. With his latest hardware, Volantis has made history. He is the fourth player in program history to be named the National Freshman of the Year. The only other players on that list are Greg Swindell, Kirk Dressendorfer, and Brooks Kieschnick. Before Volantis, Kieschnick was the latest Longhorns player to take home the honors back in 1991. Following a stellar season, expectations will be higher than ever for Volantis during his sophomore campaign. He has shown last that he has the potential to be one of the best pitchers in the nation, and that should continue now that the Longhorns star has one year of experience under his belt.
USA Today
20 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Longhorns land commitment from LHP Haiden Leffew through transfer portal
The Longhorns stay busy in the transfer portal, adding LHP Haiden Leffew BREAKING: LHP Haiden Leffew (@HaidenLeffew) has committed to # past season at Wake Forest, he struck out 59 over 34.1 innings & posted a 4.46 ERA. FB peaked at 97 mph and has an elite is the No. 14 player overall in the portal per @64Analytics. A busy month continued for Texas Longhorns baseball on Thursday. The Longhorns bolstered their bullpen with the addition of LHP Haiden Leffew. After a solid 2025 campaign for Wake Forest, Leffew will look to carve out a role with the Longhorns, who are fresh off an SEC championship. In 27 appearances this past season, Leffew posted a 4.46 ERA and struck out a career-high 59 batters. He also held opponents to a 2.63 batting average and only walked 18 batters, nine less than the year before. While those numbers may not jump off the page, Leffew's improved in almost every category. Coming out of high school, Leffew was a highly regarded prospect. The North Carolina native posted an 0.82 ERA as a junior and set a county record in strikeouts with 128 in 70 innings. Due to his play, Leffew was a participant in the 2023 MLB Draft Combine before deciding to go the college route. Lefffew did not only impressed with his arm, but he also filled up his trophy case in high school. He finished his career at South Rowan with numerous All-State, All-County, and All-Conference awards. That is partly why he was ranked as the No. 2 LHP out of North Carolina in his class, according to Perfect Game. With the transfer portal set to close on Tuesday, the Longhorns roster is almost set. Their additions include Kaleb Freeman, Jack Moroknek, Luke Dotson, Josh Livingston, Aiden Robbins, and Cal Higgins. They will be joining a program with high expectations that should bring out the best in their games. Although the regular season is still months away, the Longhorns are primed to do special things due to their work in the portal.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Louis Riddick Blasts Miami Dolphins for Drafting Quinn Ewers
Louis Riddick Blasts Miami Dolphins for Drafting Quinn Ewers originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Former Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers entered the 2024 season as someone who draft experts viewed as a potential top pick in the 2025 NFL draft. However, he had a poor season by his standards, that was also impacted by injuries, and fell to the seventh round of the draft before he was selected by the Miami Dolphins. Advertisement On Thursday, analyst Louis Riddick appeared on Dolphins Talk to discuss Ewers in Miami as a possible long term option as the QB2 behind Tua Tagovailoa. "A long term number two, yeah. I would say off of what I've seen. I was admittedly not a big fan. That's not being disrespectful. That's just being honest. It's interesting, people want you to give your honest opinion as long as it's in accordance with what their opinion is and as long as it's positive." Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial J. Rebilas-Imagn Images "Look Quinn, I don't know Quinn, I just know Quinn from watching a lot of UT film and being a big Longhorns fans. Could he be a good No. 2, yeah. Do I think he has the horsepower as far as body twitch, arm strength, to be a starting caliber QB to really level up Miami? No, I didn't see that. That's why I was very lukewarm to say the least on the draft selection." Advertisement Heading into his first NFL season, Ewers is listed as the third-string QB. Tagovailoa is the starting QB, followed by Zach Wilson. As a result, Ewers is unlikely to earn playing time this season unless there are significant injury issues in Miami. Related: Quinn Ewers Breaks Silence on NFL Draft Disappointment This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
