Hors d'Oeuvres

Appetizers before the main course on January First

Here’s what I am snacking on before Christmas and the new year.

SUMMER

The Sugar Bowl against Washington looms in the distance, but the long break has me feeling like we’re back in the period of anxious wish-casting usually reserved for the preseason. Though there are plenty of known variables about this Texas team, the waiting allows the daydreaming fan to be flooded with a multitude of possibilities. For instance, does a month off allow a young player like Johntay Cook to grow like a puppy to the point where he’s suddenly ready to break out on a huge stage? Steve Sarkisian’s pupil Quinn Ewers is pretty damn good with time to prepare for an opponent, so does a month off allow him to fully morph into the superhuman cross between Brett Favre and Phillip Rivers that Texas fans expected? What wrinkles does Pete Kwiatkowski have planned specifically for his old employer and Michael Penix’s stable of future NFL wide receivers? The heart of the regular season doesn’t allow for a ton of variance, a team is who it is at a certain point, its strengths and struggles all laid bare for the world to see, but in this liminal space, there’s a world of unknowns, and it feels like everything is starting over.

PORCH PIRATES

A question: does Texas’ 2005 National Championship trophy weigh more than the 2009 trophy that sits in Tuscaloosa, Alabama?¹

I’ve talked to friends and listened to Longhorn experts talk about how it's difficult to imagine this team as a National Champion. For the most part, I agree. But, I think that speaks to an issue embedded in the psyche of a Texas fan rather than a commentary on the 2023 Longhorns’ ceiling. As Paul Wadlington has written, there have been many legendary Texas teams over the decades, but besides a few stretches in the 60s and from 2004-2009, Texas Football hasn’t been a great program often enough.

Because of this, I think Longhorn fans are programmed to think our national champions must be a legendary team. We expect national championships to be decided in front of a president or in the greatest college football game ever played. Legendary teams see a coalescence of coaching, roster cycle, and usually one all-time great player which all builds into a special season, see 2001 Miami, 2005 Texas, 2004 USC, and 2019 LSU.

The truth is that great programs steal championships like a thief in the night, and the four-team playoff has been to great programs what leaving your garage door open all night is to porch pirates. Just look at most of Nick Saban’s titles and 2014 Ohio State, 2016 Clemson, and 2022 Georgia. I listened to Joel Klatt rank his best National Champions of the 21st century last week where he put together a faux four-team playoff, and I was struck by the fact that no Alabama team found itself in the top four. The Crimson Tide are the premier program of the past 20 years, but do they have a signature team? Klatt ranked the teams in the following order: 2001 Miami, 2005 Texas, 2004 USC, and 2019 LSU, with 2020 Alabama on the outside looking in. When you look back at Saban’s seven national championships, every single one of them besides 2020 Alabama (which was the Covid season) has an element of thievery. All that to say, this Texas team doesn’t fit the description of our usual national champion, we don’t have a Vince Young, we’re not undefeated, we’ve had plenty of close calls and our best player is a 6’4 362-pound nose tackle who was recruited by Texas’ previous coaching staff.

But all of those things lead me to the conclusion that Steve Sarkisian is building a great program, rather than putting all his eggs in one basket for the chance at having a legendary team. Great programs get a lot of bites at the proverbial apple, and here Texas is. Now look at the rest of the playoff field…do you see any legendary teams there? Michigan is undefeated, but the Wolverines played in a conference that set offensive football back an entire century (and they were cheating this season). Washington might have the closest to what could become a legendary player, but they are vulnerable on defense and had multiple close calls in the Pac 12. Then Alabama lost to Texas by double digits at home, benched their quarterback who they later apologized to, and then needed a 4th and 31 prayer against an Auburn team that had been blown out by New Mexico State the previous week. I don’t see a legendary team in the bunch. It's time to realize the garage is wide open.

RECRUITING

I started to write about recruiting, pound my chest a little bit, and laugh at the continued diaspora of A&M’s precious 2022 recruiting class, but then I remembered what a cruel business recruiting is, and I read a few updates here at 7:30 on National Signing Day. As of writing this, I’m not sure how it will work out, but two of Texas’ skill players are on flip watch, one of them being a must-get recruit to replace Xavier Worthy or Adonai Mitchell. So, I am reminded that even great programs aren’t immune to the whims and tumult of high school kids and their family’s emotions. Combine NIL, the transfer portal, and the coaching carousel and you have one spicy cocktail. Nonetheless, Texas is set for their third straight top-five class under Sark, and that’s what matters. For the third straight year, the Longhorns have loaded up on the lines of scrimmage, preparing for the SEC. Also, for the third consecutive year, Sark has brought in his most coveted recruit. In 2021 it was Kelvin Banks, in 2022 it was Arch Manning, and this year it was Duncanville edge rusher Colin Simmons. When Texas announced Steve Sarkisian, my first reaction was that we got a more grown-up version of Kliff Kingsbury,² someone who would bring electrifying offense to Austin but might struggle in areas like program building. I probably should have given someone who studied under Pete Carroll and Nick Saban a lot more credit, because Sark is an excellent program builder and a tireless recruiter. Monday saw the Longhorns get three commitments from three different avenues and a reminder that our future conference brethren should never have let us in. The Aggies were right. Texas landed the number one ranked safety in the transfer portal from Clemson in Andrew Mukuba, an Austin LBJ native who Tom Herman previously pissed off and missed back in 2021. Then they landed 2024 five-star safety Xavier Filsaime from McKinney, a straight flip from the Florida Gators who Texas was late to offer but made up for it. Lastly, Sark landed a 2025 Tight End commitment from Georgia, continuing Texas’ reach into SEC country. For all of you Charles Dickens enthusiasts, Sarkisian brought Longhorn fans gifts from Christmases past, present, and future. There should be no room for humbug in your heart. So here’s a reminder to all of you fans (and myself) to enjoy the good old days while you’re in them.

BACK TO BACK

Speaking of great programs, the top program on the 40 Acres is undoubtedly the Women’s Volleyball team under coach Jerritt Elliot. The Longhorns dominated noted volleyball school Nebraska in a 3-game sweep to capture back-to-back national championships. College athletics constantly change, but Texas beating the Huskers in championship games stays the same. The tower completely lit, emblazoned with the number one again was a welcomed sight and hopefully, we see that beautiful scene again soon on January 8th. Madisen Skinner should join Cat Osterman, Clarissa Davis, and former teammate Logan Eggleston on the Mount Rushmore of lady Longhorn athletes, whereas Elliott should join DKR, Eddie Reese, and one of Cliff Gustafson or Augie Garrido (I will let you argue it out in the comments) on the mountain of Texas’ all time best coaches.

~Next week we’ll be back to fully dive into Washington and I’ll be hyperventilating all over again. Hook Em and Merry Christmas.

1. No.

2. This reaction aged poorly.