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Basketball season is right around the corner and Chris Beard received some good news Monday evening when Texas picked up a commitment from 2022 SF Dillon Mitchell. Mitchell becomes the second member of the 2022 class, joining 5-star PG Arterio Morris.
The Longhorns offered Mitchell on September 27th and were able to get the athletic forward on campus for an official visit several weeks later. Mitchell is seen as a player with elite athleticism and he is able to use his 6'7 frame to make plays on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
Mitchell is ranked as the 28th best player in the country, according to the 247sports composite rankings, and chose Texas over Florida State and Tennessee.
 

After 7 straight weeks of football, Texas will get a chance to catch their breath this weekend during their bye week. The Longhorns sit at 4-3 in Steve Sarkisian's first season and have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows during the last two weeks. There are two ways to look at where Texas currently is and where they could be by the end of the season:
Glass half empty approach
Texas has been gashed on the ground far too often through 7 games. The Longhorns rank 112th in the country in rush defense and are averaging over 200 rushing yards allowed per game. Arkansas and Oklahoma both ran for over 300 yards with little resistance. There have been games where tackling and taking proper angles have been a major issue. Remember that Texas still has to face Breece Hall and Deuce Vaughn.  Despite starting 4 (sometimes 5) seniors in the secondary, Texas is currently ranked 72nd in pass defense. Pete Kwiatkowski's defense relies on limiting big plays, which is something Texas has not done very well.  The defensive line, which was thought to be a strength heading into the season, has been a weakness thus far. The Longhorns are averaging under 2 sacks per game and have been unable to generate consistent pressure. As mentioned above, defending the run hasn't gone much better. Kwiatkowski and Steve Sarkisian tried to patch up some holes by taking a handful of linebackers and edge players from the portal, but it is obvious something is lacking up front. There has been individual flashes from various players, but the lack of consistency is disappointing considering the experience the Longhorns have.  The offensive line has not improved from a season ago. Despite losing Sam Cosmi to the NFL, it was thought the OL unit would take a step forward with the 4 starters that returned. Instead, the unit has continued to struggle with communication and allowing free rushers into the backfield. Senior guard Denzel Okafor going down with a season ending injury as complicated matters more as Kyle Flood has been forced to shuffle his lineup the last two weeks. The offense has a whole has completely disappeared in the second half of the last two weeks. The Longhorns recorded 1 total yard in the 4th quarter against the Cowboys and recorded their last first down of the game early in the 3rd quarter. Casey Thompson, who is currently battling an injured thumb, did not play well last week or against TCU and has now thrown an interception in 4 of his 5 starts.  The biggest reason for pessimism has been the inability for Texas to close out games. Bijan Robinson willed Texas to a win Fort Worth, but if it wasn't for his heroic efforts there is a real chance the Longhorns would currently be sitting at 3-4 with back-to-back-to-back double digit leads blown.  Glass half full approach
Texas should be 6-1 right now. The Longhorns outplayed a top-5 Oklahoma squad for 3 quarters and had a top-15 Oklahoma State team on the ropes late in the first half.  The Longhorns have done a much better job starting fast under Sarkisian than in previous years. The offense has scored on their opening possession in every Big 12 game so far. The opening script to games has been fantastic and Texas has done a good job of exploiting matchups in the first half all season long. Xavier Worthy might be the best WR in the Big 12. The freshman is on pace to finish the season just shy of 1,000 yards receiving and stepped into the #1 WR role despite only arriving on campus in June. Sarkisian has done a good job of utilizing Worthy in a number of different ways and getting the ball in his hands. Bijan Robinson is still Bijan Robinson. If it wasn't for the last two losses, the sophomore is likely one of the frontrunners for the Heisman trophy. Despite inconsistent offensive line play and loaded boxes, Robinson currently sits at 930 rushing yards and is averaging over 6 yards a carry.  Texas has a very manageable back end of the schedule. Yes, the Longhorns are traveling to Baylor and Iowa State the next two games, but they also get to finish the year against Kansas, West Virginia and Kansas State (combined 0-9 in Big 12 play so far). If Texas can secure a win against the Bears or Cyclones, they have a real chance of winning 4 of their last 5 games to end the year.  Final Thoughts
Steve Sarkisian must find a way to get his team to respond after the last two weeks. Texas still has an opportunity to finish strong and build momentum, but the margin for error is slim. Sarkisian talked earlier this week about needing his players to get away from the mindset of waiting for something bad to happen. This program has been in way too many one possession games over the last 5 years and that can be contagious. Texas has been known to play up and down to competition and that is something Sarkisian is going to have to really work on reversing. The Longhorns have shown the potential to beat good teams handily, but until they put together 4 quarters of complete football, the frustration will continue to mount.

The Good
The consistency for Texas week-in and week-out is Bijan Robinson. Robinson totaled 173 yards on 24 touches and that wasn’t enough on Saturday. Over 7 yards a touch on 24 touches is still not good enough to beat a good but not great team in Oklahoma State. Bijan did his part but nobody else could hold up their end of the bargain. Texas is lucky to have a talent like Robinson and without him their win-loss record likely would be worse than it is.  I’ll get to more of that in just a second...
The Bad
The passing offense on Saturday was abysmal and there’s no other way to put it. And for all the chatter about giving Hudson Card a shot, we’ve seen he can’t do it behind the atrocious offensive line. Card is a QB who needs on-schedule plays and we've seen that this offensive line isn’t going to have many plays where a defensive lineman isn't running free at the quarterback. Thompson had moments where he looked good since taking the reins, specifically the 5 touchdowns and no turnovers in the Oklahoma game. He suffered a thumb injury in the Cotton Bowl and that seemed to cause issues last Saturday against the Cowboys. Texas had a 17-3 lead and Thompson's pick-6 in the redzone shifted the momentum of the game.  He also dropped multiple snaps and wasn’t stepping into his throws. He got hit hard on a play and even missed a snap.  He was struggling at this point and the offense could have used a spark. Card came in for one play but it would have been worth seeing if he could provide a spark by letting him finish that drive. Texas can’t afford to leave an injured quarterback in the game, especially with a capable backup in Card.
The Ugly
The second half collapse and inability to stop the run is the ugly for the second week in a row. The Longhorns got out of the gate fast and jumped to a 17-3 lead only to beat themselves again. Yet, they still led 17-13 at halftime and after a Bijan Robinson TD in the third quarter, they led 24-13 with 11:43 left in the third quarter. Texas didn’t score again in the game. The defense played solid compared to the Cotton Bowl but still had challenges against the Pokes' ground game. Oklahoma State RB Jaylen Warren rushed for 121 yards in the fourth quarter alone. The defense was on the field a lot in the second half and held as long as they were able to. The offense isn’t escaping the blame this time as Texas had ONE yard in the fourth quarter. The fast starts and slow painful demise in the second half is something Sark and company need to figure out over the bye week.