HornSports Staff
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The point on a brisket is typically the fattiest cut. Pitmasters often trim the point and select edges off a whole brisket and return them to the smoker.
Are burnt ends tough, chewy worthless cuts of meat, or are they a heavenly bites of smoky goodness? I suppose it depends on who you ask...
Rather than discard trimmings and fat, we chose to savor all the information that flows through the site. So, sit down and help yourself to some burnt ends.
***DO NOT FORWARD***
We’ll kickoff this edition with some feel good news from a member of the Florida
Frostproof, FL’s Cecil Cherry, a current Longhorn commitment, had an in-home visit from Charlie Strong and Brian Jean-Mary on Monday. The inside linebacker decommitted from the Tennessee Vols and switched his pledge to the Horns in mid-December.
Since his commitment, Cherry has been active on social media, frequently touting his love for UT. When we caught up with him after his in-home visit, it was more of the same from Cherry.
“It [the visit] was great and my family loves Coach Strong and Coach BJ. We had a wonderful time and everyone’s happy I picked Texas.â€
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Last week, Burnt Ends reported that Charlie Strong was taking his time to make the best assistant coaching hires possible, and that Steve Patterson was involved In the process. After UT’s announcement of Jay Norvell joining the coaching staff, we circled back to see if our contact had any news on the remaining vacancy. It turns out the news wasn't about the open spot on the coaching staff so much as it is how that opening gets filled…
From what we’re hearing, Patterson is pressuring Charlie Strong to make the proper hires for coaches. Included in that pressure is what amounts to an open checkbook.
Basically what this equates to is having your boss tell you to do the best job possible and then eliminating every possible thing under his control before any of those factors have a chance to become excuses. You don’t have to look at the pro forma of Texas athletics for long to figure out what UT football means to the department. It sounds like Patterson is all-in on making sure that golden goose is nurtured.
It’s Year 2 and this is the first time Patterson has put substantive pressure on Strong. By all accounts, the donors and season ticket holders are happy with the new direction of the program, and it sounds like Patterson is doing everything in his power to protect that positive vibe….including ratcheting up his expectations for Strong’s team in it’s second season.
More wins equates to happier fans and donors, and that means more checks. In other words, Patterson expects some results and expects them pretty soon.
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Last week, a source that is Head Coach at a Fort Worth area high school shared some insight on the Texas defense from TCU’s co-offensive coordinator Doug Meacham. This week, we caught up with him to get an impression on Jay Norvell. As a former OU assistant, Norvell visited the metroplex quite a bit, so our guy had some solid insight.
It’s also worth noting that the source actually texted us first out of enthusiasm for the hire:
"Big get for the Horns today, Norvell is the best in the business.â€
Before becoming a head coach, our source’s background is as a wide receiver coach. In that role, he crossed paths with Norvell many times at clinics and on the OU campus observing practice. We asked about his overall impression of Norvell in terms of recruiting and teaching:
"Top Notch for landing and developing wide receivers.â€
There’s been minor concern among Texas fans that, as a former playcaller, Norvell may actually be overqualified for the position – especially since the Horns already have two coaches developing the offense. When asked about Norvell as a playcaller, and the reason he was fired from Oklahoma:
"I think he's fine on that end. Some dudes had to be the fall guy for the failure up there.†Which was quickly followed up with, “He's a WR guru, and a true pleasure to watch work.â€
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Toby Weathersby decommitted. Desmond Harrison is no longer in school. Ronnie Major is rumored to be an academic risk. When you add up the numbers, finding help on the OL might be the biggest priority left before signing day.
At one point, North Shore’s Tyler Moore was a name that recruiting media pegged as the “next†to commit to Joe Wickline and Charlie Strong. That never happened – Moore’s family moved on from UT, citing a lack of clear communication from the coaching staff.
With the OL numbers looking thin, is it possible that Texas might try to get back in on Moore? We checked in with him and found out that there is zero chance of such a move. Moore enrolled early at Minnesota and is already in the Twin Cities.
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From being a failed actor turned Green Beret, then a Longhorn football player, Nate Boyer has seemingly done it all at a young age. That’s why it was no surprise when we heard from Boyer that he is living in Los Angeles and doing an internship at Film 44.
Film 44 is Peter Berg’s production company…yes, the same Peter Berg that directed Friday Night Lights and Lone Survivor. Why not throw Nate Boyer into that mix?!?
According to this Grantland article, the only role Boyer ever had as an actor was in a Greyhound commercial. Not only is it not surprising that he’s plunged headfirst into one of the only endeavors he failed at in his life, it’s also safe to assume that Boyer, his story, and Berg are an excellent match.
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Hightower High School 2016 defensive tackle Darius Anderson confirmed to HornSports he will attend the Texas Junior Day on February 14th. In a humorous twist, Anderson wasn’t aware that he had even been invited to the camp until we mentioned it. When we brought it up, he checked with him Mom, who verified that he will attend.
If you recall, we caught up with Anderson several months ago at the Pearland vs. Manvel playoff game and he mentioned his leaders at the time were TCU and Mississippi State. Not much has changed for Anderson - he told us the Horned Frogs and Bulldogs are still on top for his services.
It appears Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State Cowboys have Anderson's attention - he told us he plans to be in Stillwater this weekend. The only offer he currently has is from East Carolina but we expect his recruitment to pick up substantially as schools begin Junior evaluations in earnest.
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The 2015 recruiting season is drawing to a close, but Texas fans still have plenty of story lines they’re following. None more divided than what is going to happen at running back over the next 2-3 weeks.
With Rockwall’s Chris Warren, Plano’s Soso Jamabo, and Baton Rouge’s Nick Brosette all being legitimate possibilities for Texas, recruiting fans are split on what approach Charlie Strong should take with the prospects.
Rather than speculate about what Texas might do, we went straight to the source to find out what the Horns are doing…we caught up with Warren on Monday and asked him about the dynamics of Texas’ RB recruiting at this late juncture.
With all three recruits being nationally rated (Jamabo at 5*; Warren at 4*; Brosette at 4*), and a limited number of open spots left in the Longhorns’ recruiting class, the only thing that fans agree on is that Texas should take all three backs, if possible.
If forced to pick only 2 of 3, then several factors come into play, including the timing of each player’s commitment, as well as how that timing impacts the coaching staff’s preference of the group. With those dynamics in mind, the obvious first question we posed to Warren was whether or not the Horns told him that they would hold a spot for him indefinitely.
His answer, “they have not directly told me but they do tell me that they are interested in me more than any other recruit. I know most coaches say that, but I honestly believe them.â€
While that begins to clarify the Texas staff’s intentions, Warren’s next answer crystallizes things…we asked if commitments from other high profile running backs would impact his decision (as it pertains to possibly committing to UT)?
Warren replied, “I've heard UT is only taking one more back, so yes it would.â€
FULL STOP.
Only one more back?!? Hearing that is like being in a Mio commercial – it changes everything.
If Texas only takes one more running back, and Warren admitted that a commitment from another blue chip back would affect his decision, then it’s a risk for Warren to wait until National Signing Day to announce his intentions (as he publically stated he plans to do). With all that in mind, we asked Warren that very question, and he confirmed his intention to wait until NSD to announce his choice.
Warren pared down more than 20 offers to a list of four finalists - Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, and Washington. Once he confirmed that he plans to wait to announce on Signing Day, we asked if he had narrowed his Top 4 based on recent visits or information.
His response, “No sir, it’s still the 4.â€
