MAJOR: Texas QB Arch Manning Gets HUGE Injury Update | Longhorns New Dynamic RB Duo Explained

Arch is out of the boot, back to throwing, and Sark is tapping the brakes just enough to make spring reps count. We open with the update Texas fans wanted and explain why a limited ramp for Manning could actually fast-track the quarterback room: MJ Morris brings veteran steadiness, KJ Lacey flashes future-starter traits, and Dia Bell raises the ceiling. With Arch’s timing work continuing, we map how the staff can build chemistry with Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo, and Emmett Mosley while letting the depth chart sort itself out on the field.

From there, we dig into the identity shift on offense. Relique Brown and Hollywood Smothers arrive to restore a missing gear in the ground game, and Sark’s comments point squarely at a return to outside zone. Both backs can threaten the edge, catch in space, and turn a crease into a chunk play, giving Texas the horizontal stretch that makes play action sing. We break down why their breakaway numbers matter, how their styles overlap without becoming predictable, and what cleaner second-level blocking would do for early downs, red zone success, and Arch’s protection.

We also face the hard truth from the Moody Center: a strong first half against Florida followed by a second-half slide that featured 11 Gator blocks and only two Texas assists. We unpack what failed in late-game execution, how to attack length without forcing contested rim attempts, and why ball movement must return before the A&M showdown. With bracket stock on the line, we lay out the fixes that can flip close games and keep Texas out of the First Four.

If you enjoyed this breakdown, hit follow, share it with a Longhorn friend, and drop a review with the one upgrade you want most: more explosive runs or better crunch-time defense?

Transcript

Arch Manning Injury Update

SPEAKER_02 0:01

We have a major margin up there. Welcome into another edition of the Texas Longhorns on SI podcast. I'm your host, Matt Galatson, and joining me today, it as always is my co-host, Zach Demmitt. Zach, uh, we have a major update kind of on Arch Manning. Uh obviously, as we all know, he underwent offseason surgery on his foot to repair a lingering issue that uh was plaguing him over the last few weeks. And uh you would hardly notice it when he was playing, obviously, because uh he lit up Texas AM both through the air and on the ground, and he absolutely diced up Michigan as well. Uh and he played, you know, phenomenally well over the last few weeks of the season. Even in that Georgia game, he was just uh, you know, he doing everything he could to keep Texas in that game, it just wasn't to be. But he played extremely well pretty much from the Mississippi State game on. And it's unclear when exactly he suffered the injury, but he did undergo that uh off-season procedure. And according to ESPN uh college football analyst Heather Dennich, Manning is out of his walking boot and is starting to throw again after an off-season procedure uh to clean up the lingering thing in his foot. And Steve Sarkeesian told her that uh Manning will be limited, especially early on this spring, but Sark is not wor is not concerned and will give the young it will give the younger players a chance to get some more work in. Uh it's good to see that Ark is Arch is progressing. Um it is good to see that he is recovering quickly from this lingering foot thing because foot things could can be scary. Uh they can, you know, they can plague you for a while if you don't, you know, take care of them the right way, or um, you know, if you don't go through the right uh rehab and all those different things, but it's good to hear that Arch is doing well right now and that he is on track for a full recovery.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Yeah, this is pretty much what

Sark’s Timeline And Spring Limits

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Texas fans would have hoped. The only sort of major news would have been like bad news, I guess you could say. This was kind of what was expected, and so it's good that we're at that point where okay, there's no sort of setback or anything like that, um, because then that would have been uh making a lot more major headlines. This is kind of a boring but expected update, I guess you could say, but it's a good update. So um, yeah, you know, that's what uh Steve Sarkeesian was talking about um a little bit earlier this week, whenever he met with the media uh for the first time this offseason, you know, saying how uh when Arch when Arch gets cleared, he'll be cleared, and then he'll have time to start building that on-field rapport with Cam Coleman, uh, you know, Sterling Burkhalter is another new receiver, um, and even some of these uh true freshman guys as well, Cohen Brown and uh some of those other guys. And then also just continuing to build the relationship with Ryan Wingo, Emmett Mosley. Um, you know, of course, with Emmett Mosley, he didn't get the start uh last season, uh the first like uh four games or whatever it was of non-conference plays. So him and Arch had to build rapport as the year went on, but now a full offseason together. Um it'll be interesting to see what that looks like. But yeah, with with Arch, he's a warrior because uh we didn't we didn't we don't know when this injury occurred, he didn't miss any time. The only the only uh game he was really in danger of missing was I believe like the Vanderbilt game because he had that concussion against Mississippi State, um, where Matthew Caldwell came in and threw the uh game touchdown at overtime. Uh but Arch didn't miss any time last year. Um he he's he's a tough son of a gun, and he he's he's a mobile, he's a mobile quarterback and he takes a lot of hits. Um so you know uh a foot injury isn't ideal, of course, for any quarterback, but certainly for someone that's a little bit more mobile. But I think with Arch uh he's at his best when he's not relying on his legs and picking and choosing his spots to run. Um I think you saw that this past season at the near the end of this past season, especially in SEC play, uh, where he wasn't just uh you know one read and then running. Uh he he was really he was really shown major major strides. Uh you know, sometimes it takes a guy a whole year to show strides like that, but he went from really poor non-conference play um to being uh one of the best quarterbacks in the conference uh once SEC play started. Um I know Oklahoma game was a little bit uh rough at times and Texas kind of leaning on their defense, but uh you know, Texas wouldn't have been in the CFP discussion at all if it wasn't for Arch. So uh yeah, nice update there that he he doesn't have the boot anymore. Um you you'd expect that he'll be he'll be good to go for uh for the spring game. We're still a little bit aways from that. So um, but yeah, at the same time, you're gonna see uh Coastal Carolina transfer quarterback, MJ Morris,

QB2 Battle Takes Center Stage

SPEAKER_01 5:20

uh KJ Lacey heading into his second year, uh Diabell. Those guys are all gonna get some significant reps once spring practice starts here in a few weeks. His arch will be a little bit limited, as uh heather didn't said. So um that that's it's kind of a blessing in the skies because those guys will get some good reps, and then once arch is uh ready to come back, they'll they'll have some you know good uh good practice experience underneath their belt uh as the spring goes on.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

Yeah, it's it's it is unclear when he suffered the injury, and you wouldn't be able to tell by the stats either. Uh starting with the Mississippi State game, he threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns, and then against Vanderbilt, 328 and three touchdowns. Uh Georgia, 251 and a touchdown, Arkansas, 389 and 4 touchdowns. Uh he all I believe he also had a receiving touchdown in that game, plus a rushing touchdown. Uh Texas AM, he threw for 179 in a score, and against Michigan, he had 221 through the air and two touchdowns. He also had 155 on the ground and two scores. He had five rushing touchdowns from in total from the Mississippi State game to the end of the season. And he also had uh 13 pat or sorry, 14 passing touchdowns over that time. So uh 19 total touchdowns for for Arch over the last seven weeks of the season. When did he get hurt, Zach? I can't really tell. Because even in that Michigan game, we know he was hurt in the Michigan game because he had the surgery shortly after, and he clocked like a 21 mile an hour uh run when he had that long touchdown run against Michigan. So obviously very tough, not a huge deal that he was injured. Uh, and you know, it it's just great to see that he's progressing well, and that's the most important thing. Um I'll I'll be interested, by the way, as well. This is actually a discussion that I've been kind of wanting to have on the pod anyway, but the the backup quarterback battle is now obviously going to be a little bit under more of a microscope than ever, because Arch will be limited at the beginning of the spring, and it's going to allow all three of these guys to compete for that backup role. Now, I think that if Sark, and I don't he's never going to admit this and he's never going to say this to anyone, but I think that if he had his choice and his, you know, what he wanted to happen, he would have KJ Lacey as the backup. I agree with MJ Morris as the third string, and then Diabell would be the fourth string, and you would progress that way. I know he really likes what he has in KJ Lacey, and I know that everybody likes what they have in Diable because you know, I believe he's a number three ranked quarterback in the country. He's number he's a five-star overall recruit and all the different things. Uh, all world, all world player. I watched him at Elite 11. He's unbelievable. But this is going to give them an opportunity to really go in there, compete, and uh not have the shadow of Arch Manning lingering over them as they compete for that backup job. And I think that that's really important. Like they kind of have free reign to do what they want to do, and and may the best man win for that backup QB job.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

Yeah, it's definitely gonna be something to watch. I think last offseason it was a little bit, you know, more certain that Matthew Caldwell was gonna be your backup just because uh KJ Lacey was coming in as a true freshman, uh Trey Owens, he hadn't really shown much. Um, and so you had it, you it was a little bit more you know for sure who's gonna be the backup there. But it's it's definitely up for debate this time around. Um, I know MJ Morris has a lot of experience. Uh he he's been at multiple stops. Him and Stark have a relationship that dates back to when Sark was the OC at Alabama, uh, whenever he was recruiting him there. So um he didn't bring MJ MJ Morris here for no reason. Um, he he obviously uh and him and AJ Milwee, the quarterback's coach, obviously viewed him as a legitimate backup. Um, but you're not just gonna get handed uh handed the backup spot without without uh a single practice rep. So um if if KJ Lacey, yeah, I agree with you. I think it's ideal for the staff if potentially KJ Lacey wins that job, because MJ Morris, he isn't your future at quarterback, he's here as a security option uh because of his experience. Uh, but he's in his last year of eligibility. Uh, but who knows with these with these court cases, who if these guys end up playing 10 more years. I mean, my goodness, but um, and you're just kidding, obviously. But yeah, he's in his last year of eligibility. Uh, so he's just here as a veteran option to help the younger guys provide some insurance uh if Arch does miss any time. Um, but you know, I think that uh MJ Morris has struggled at times in his career with some interception issues here and there. Um so you you'd you'd prefer that KJ Lacey wins that job if you're the staff, because he's him and Diabelle are your future at quarterback. So um regardless of who ends up being the starter uh next season, whether it's Diabelle or KJ Lacey, you want you want those guys to get lots of reps, and KJ Lacey certainly um would be able to if he wins the backup job and he's gonna be even more ready for 2027. So yeah, it's gonna be really interesting to watch. Uh they they probably won't make a decision uh when once the spring game begins. That's something that's probably gonna go way into the fall, um, right before the Texas State game. Um, but it'll be interesting to see who is the uh starting quarterback opposite of Manning for the spring game. Will it be MJ Morris? Will it be KJ Lacey? We know we're gonna see probably reps from all those guys. Um, but whoever is listed as the opposite starter for Manning, because obviously the two teams go against each other, will be uh potentially telling about who the staff views as the backup, but it won't be a for sure answer. But it'll give definitely give fans a little bit of a hint of what could come, but still still a lot of time to go until we figure that out.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Yeah, and it'll it'll be very, very interesting to watch. Uh nothing better than a quarterback battle, and uh, and I love it. I I I like all three of these guys for different reasons. You know, uh

Season Finish And Arch’s Surge

SPEAKER_02 11:20

KJ Lacey is another guy that I watched at Elite 11, and he can pretty much do it all. He's he's mobile, he's accurate, uh, he can throw on the run. He he can he can he can hit pretty much every throw that you need to hit in the Steve Sarkeesian system. MJ Morris is kind of a guy that's very malleable to whatever system that he is in. Uh he's played a ton of different systems throughout his time in college. He's been at different landing spots, and he's played pretty much every variation of an offense you can think of. So that's gonna be very good to have him in there as well. He should adjust pretty easily to it to a new role. And then Diabell's the do-it-all guy. He's he's the next uh star quarterback caliber player that you have in your system. He's probably going to be your starter in 2027. He will at least be battling KJ Lacey for that right. And I think that he's a future first-round NFL player. So three great options there. You couldn't go wrong, and um, you know, I can't wait to see it unfold. But let's let's move on to another uh another position on the offense, Zach. Steve Sarkeesian on Monday, you know, we're kind of been going through his press conference throughout the week, and uh he said some very interesting things about the new running backs in the system uh that uh I kind of wanted to talk about today. And you know, obviously last year Texas had its worst rushing attack since I think like basically World War II is what I saw. Like it was and it was you know easily the worst rushing attack that Steve Sarkeesian has ever had as a coach or an offensive coordinator. And part of that was because of the subpar offensive line, part of that was because you just didn't have the explosiveness, explosiveness that you needed at the position um in combination with that. You know, Trey Weisner was great, but he's he's not the the home run top-end speed guy. He could pop off a run here and there, but he was really more of a grinded out, tough uh player. CJ Baxter was not the same player that he was pre-ACL injury, which was unfortunate because you know, if he had gotten back to that level, he would have been exactly what Texas needed. Uh kind of a Najee Harris type like Sark had back in his 2020 offense, but that never really came into fruition. So now, you know, you bring in these two, those two guys leave, you bring in two new players in Relique Brown and Hollywood Smothers. And here's what Sark had to say about them um during his media availability on Monday. He said Smothers and Brown are explosive players, can run the style of one runs that we like to run, are versatile catching the ball out of the backfield and have home run hitting ability. We have to get back to being explosive on offense that we're accustomed to, uh accustomed to being, and those two guys fit. And what I took that to mean, Zach, is that you know they really, really want to get back to the outside zone run game because that is, I think, you know, what Sark likes to do the most. That's kind of how he's built his offensive line now as well, to kind of be more adept at doing that kind of a thing. And both of these players are very experienced and very uh a very good fit for that type of running scheme. So I thought that was you know the kind of confirmation to me of of what I thought when they brought both of these guys in is that they're gonna shift to this outside zone run game and that both of these guys are tailor-made to fit that system.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Yeah, for sure. Um, and the way that I the something I take away from what Sark's comments is that he doesn't view, at least at this point, he doesn't view either one as the for sure starter, which is a good thing. Um, because he even said it himself, and I think a lot of Texas fans felt the same. Whenever he's able to get uh one uh all conference running back out of the portal, he said, if you if you'd have told me that we would have gotten a second one, I'd have thought you were crazy, and I thought I would have thought that was unlikely. But he said that's just how the chips fell. Um, and so they they already viewed Relique Brown as a starter, of course, because everyone else had left. So um, but when you get Hollywood Smothers as well, that that was that was just a cherry on top. And you know, I I don't like to use the whole thunder and lightning cliche. Sometimes it does it does fit. I think with both these

Depth Reps While Arch Ramps Up

SPEAKER_01 15:30

guys, they have both they both have a bit of power and speed. So, and as sark mentioned, catching the ball out of the backfield ability. Um, you know, we'll we'll see how things play out, but uh it's gonna be tough to to game plan for both of those guys if you're an opposing defense, uh, because uh they they both bring you bring you a little bit of everything to an offense. And and I love Quintravion Wisner during his time at Texas. I thought he was an absolute dog. Uh he his his mentality, the way that he rose up from a special teams contributor uh to an uh uh an a thousand-yard rusher and being the SEC's uh top returning rusher this past season. Uh, you love everything that he did during his time at Texas, but at the same time, uh he he lacked that top-end speed. Uh, he he wasn't he wasn't as quick as maybe a Jaden Blue was. And I think those guys complemented each other well during that 2024 run, and that's why you saw a lot of a lot of success with that team. And of course, the offensive line, uh being as talented as it was, certainly helped. But um, yeah, it just wasn't the same this past this past season. I do think Wisner brought his best in some of the biggest games, uh, even against Ohio State. Him and him and CJ Baxter, they they had a very productive day. Wasn't anything explosive or anything, but it was consistent gains over and over, and you thought, okay, this this group may have something. It just didn't turn out that way. So they had to mix they had to make some changes. And uh I like what they did, and I'm I'm really I'm really excited to see what really ground of Hollywood Smithers can do on top of uh Derek Cooper, who Stark mentioned as well. You can you kind of imagine he's gonna be the number three guy, which if you're the number three running back uh in in any offense, you're gonna get some significant reps during the season. Uh injury, um, injuries happen, the guys are gonna miss a play here and there, and you're gonna get some reps. Uh James Simon, Michael Terry, the third as well in that room. So uh yeah, you you like to see um put potentially some more speed at the position because that just wasn't really wisner strength. And so, yeah, uh we're gonna see, of course, uh attacking you know the A gap and the B gaps, but I think getting outside uh uh of the tackles on both sides uh certainly will open this offense up. So it's gonna be exciting to see what happens there.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

Yeah, and and and both of these guys are are very interesting players, and they are different, but they are they are they and they also have their similarities. Hollywood Smothers in in particular, I think is a lot better in between the tackles than people give him credit for. Um if you go back and watch the film on him, he's he's very he's very quick and he's very sudden, and he can run through tackles a lot better than people, like I said, than people give him credit for. Um but both of these guys combined for uh for 32 runs of 10 or more yards uh last season. Smothers had 24 and and and Brown had uh had 31 um runs of more than I I that's a typo right there. Uh 55 runs uh of 10 or more yards, one had 24, one had 31. And Smothers'

New RBs: Brown And Smothers

SPEAKER_02 18:30

breakaway percentage, which is the percentage of runs that turn into gains of 15 or more yards, was 52.3 percent, while Brown had 45.8 percent. And just for for reference, the highest percentage for a running back at Texas last year was 27%, so that's a great thing to see. Um, and uh, you know, uh here's another interesting thing that Sark said as well that that I that was really surprising to me because at first when you bring in Relique Brown, I'm sure he expects, like, okay, I'm this team's number one running back, and I'm gonna be the starter, right? And then they bring in Hollywood Smothers, and like for a brief moment there, there was speculation as to whether or not Relique Brown would uh re-enter the portal or or find somewhere else to go. But apparently and that was quickly put to bed. They both signed very quickly, and then Sark said this they're probably the two of the closest transfers, they've almost become best friends on our team already. Uh they understand that they need each other, and they understand that historically for our program we've always done well when we've had two. And that to me is a great thing to hear when you've got two running backs who know that they need each other and they're going to thrive off of each other. Um, like if you if you really want to think about it, it's kind of like uh like Relique Brown is kind of going to be your Jaden Blue. Like he he's that type of runner. He probably doesn't have the same top-end speed like really few people do as Jaden Blue, but he he's he's pretty close and he's very explosive and he's a breakaway runner. And Relique Brown is kind of a little bit more of a like he's got the explosiveness and the and the speed and all that stuff, but he's a little bit more of a uh a grinded out guy, sort of akin to um I he's not Jonathan Brooks, he's not that big, but they're kind of going to have a similar dynamic there where one guy's a little bit more of the power guy, one guy's a little bit more of your breakaway guy, and uh, but both of them have the ability to take at the distance. So it's gonna be a really dynamic tandem, and I can't wait to watch it.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Yeah, and that that comment by Sark definitely stood out for sure about them being best friends because I mean these guys, uh a lot of the transfers. Sark uh said that pretty much all the transfers except for one, and I'm not even sure who he's referring to, I'll have to do some research on that. Um, but uh pretty much all of them except for one has been on campus for winter workouts, and they don't necessarily probably Lawrence Seymour. Right, right. Oh, that makes sense. So yeah, that that says a lot because he's the only guy who really uh has any sort of debate about uh or any sort of issue regarding his eligibility for next season. So um, you know, it says a lot about what you know that these guys are already connecting. And with Ralique Brown, uh, we still haven't gotten a chance. Uh the Texas media hasn't gotten a chance to talk to him yet, so we don't really know his personality quite yet, but it certainly seems that he's putting the team first. Uh, because in in this portal era, uh, you know, if you if you if you're told that you're gonna be the starter and and you and you commit to a program, um, but then all of a sudden out of nowhere, another starter level guy comes out and comes in and commits, you know, that may ruffle some feathers. Um, but the fact that not only has Ralique Brown accepted that, but that he's also become uh already close with Hollywood Smothers says a lot about those guys and how they're putting, you know, a team first mentality um, you know, to the front uh at a really key position. Um and that that that says a lot about those guys and what what the running back group can do moving forward because you if you want to win a championship, you need to be a really, really connected locker room. Uh I think that's obvious that's pretty obvious, but it's easier said than done. So uh it's really good, really good to see that. And and those guys are only gonna get closer as the offseason goes on.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

Yeah, absolutely. Uh it's it's gonna be a dynamic running game. It's gonna be the first time you've had really two number one running back types since the 2024 season, when you had Blue and Wisner. It's really going to be more akin, I think, to even the year before when you had Jaden Blue and uh and Jonathan Brooks. Or like it's it's not quite the level of B. John Robinson and Roshan Johnson, but you kind of get where I'm going at. Like, Texas has always been at its best as a running back group, like Sark said, when they have two number one running backs, and they've had that pretty much every year under Sark, except for last year, because last year was just kind of a wash. But uh, let's take a break, Zach. When we come back, we're going to talk about an atrocious second half from the Texas Longhorns basketball team. So stick with us after this break, and we'll be right back.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

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Scheme Shift To Outside Zone

SPEAKER_00 23:30

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SPEAKER_02 23:50

Welcome back to the Texas Longhorns on SI podcast. Again, I'm your host, Matt Galaxon, joined today by Zach Demont, my co-host. And Zach. Texas looked like they were playing pretty well for a while against Florida. They they had a 39 to 36 lead at the end of the first half. Um, and it it seemed like they kind of had things, you know, in control a little bit. I mean, you if you take a lead into the first half against a team like Florida, you feel pretty good about it, no matter how the half ends or anything like that. You feel good going into the second half. Well that didn't last very long. Uh Florida came out in the second half and outscores Texas 48 to 32. Uh that is a 16-point difference. They end up beating the Horns 84 to 71. And um it was, you know, uh the defense again, Zach. I mean, Florida shot 59% from the field, 44% from three. Uh you know, Boogie Fland had 22, Alex Condon had 23. You just you couldn't get the stops you needed in the second half, and I know that there's a lot more to it, but this is one that Texas really, really wanted to have, and uh they just kind of let it slip away in the second half, and they got run out of the gym. Uh got run out of the mood, their own their own home four. They got run off of it by a Florida team that's really good, maybe a potential national title contender, but nevertheless, it's disappointing.

SPEAKER_01 25:15

Yeah, certain it was certainly disappointing because Texas was neck and neck with the Gators in that first half. The defense had a few slip-ups, but there was some really good defensive possessions. I was there covering the game last night. Um, the crowd was electric. It was probably one of the best crowds that I've heard this year at the Moody Center. And there's been some good crowds. I think a lot of the fans believe in what Sean Miller is doing, and so uh they knew how big of a game this was. Um, there was actually a lot of Florida fans as well, too. I will say they were they were they were uh uh John with some of the student sections. So, you know, you know, of course, when you're a defending national champion, you're gonna have some fans travel. But um it was it was a good it was a good atmosphere. It it looked like it was gonna end up being a good finish, um, where both teams are kind of going down to the wire, and Texas just absolutely laid down and died. Uh and that's I I'm not trying to sound rude while saying that, it's a lot of credit goes to Florida as well. But when you go uh set the final seven minutes without a field goal, you're you're not gonna win any games, uh, even against middle schoolers. So um it's just it's not a good recipe for, you know, when when you go seven the final seven minutes uh of an SEC game um where you need to that you need to win to potentially secure your spot in the NCAA tournament. So uh you know Texas, they they they did battle back. Uh Florida had a nice little run there in the second half. They took a six-point lead, and then Jordan Pope started cooking, uh, had a three-pointer, had a jump shot, had a layup, and then Texas all of a sudden it was like a 9-0 run, and they were back up three. So they Texas was up 64-61 with seven minutes left, and Florida just blew blew the gates open. So um the for Texas, you would have liked the score to have looked a little bit better because it's in in reality the final score is not indicative at all of how the game went. It was really back and forth throughout. Um, and so you would have liked the committee to see maybe like a two-point loss or a three-point loss to Florida. Um, you know, it doesn't matter too much at the end of the day because um a loss is still a loss, but uh yeah, Florida, they're they're they're an absolute load. Alex Condon was so impressive, uh, you know, near seven foot big man who can put the ball on the floor, he can shoot. Uh he had a game high 23 points. Oh, and he had four blocks. Uh, he was he was insane. The the Gators had a season high 11 blocks. Every time Texas would get into the lane, uh it would the shots were getting rejected. There was one uh time from Dalen Swain where he he tries to go up for a two-handed jam. It looks like it's gonna be a poster, and Ruben Chinyu comes out of nowhere and absolutely sends it back, perfectly clean blocked. It was amazing defense by the Gators. It was very impressive to see them. Um, I'd I'd be I'd be uh very surprised if they don't you know at least make it the elite eight. So um you can't hang your head too much of your Texas, but at the same time, a lot of things need to change. A season low, two assists for the Longhorns. Absolutely unacceptable. Um the offense has been elite. They still had uh good moments there in that game. Um, but the only two assists come from your two big men, Nick Cody and Modus Foggy Titus, zero assists combined throughout the entire backcourt. You're not

Explosiveness Metrics And Fit

SPEAKER_01 28:30

gonna win many games doing that. Um and of course, Florida's defense deserves a lot of credit for that, but uh it is it wasn't really a it wasn't really a good showing there in the final uh seven minutes of the game. And it's kind of been a problem for Texas, some of these second halves, you know, against Ole Miss, against LSU, uh blue big leads um early in the season against Arizona State, you choked the game away. Against Mississippi State, you choked the game away. Um against Florida, you didn't necessarily choke the game away, but you had a chance to take it down to the wire and you just let it slip away in the final few minutes. And so it's kind of been a repeat pattern uh for this team, even against Auburn earlier in SEC play. Uh what Texas was up, I think like 16 in the first half. They lose that game. So it's been a little bit of a pattern, and your defense needs to uh be better to prevent that. Um, but in the latest bracketology uh from Joe Lonardi, Texas dropped one spot, so they are the uh last bye. So if they drop and if they drop even further, that they would be in his projected uh last four-in, which would put Texas back in Dayton again, which I think they definitely want to avoid. Uh, but a big game against AM on Saturday, and AM is also in a similar position, so that would be a big bubble game. Um, but yeah, this is a big opportunity to seal your spot in the NCAA tournament. You miss out. The Longhorns are still in a decent spot here. Uh, they're not as in much trouble with some bubble teams, but you still would have really liked to have this one.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

Yeah, and and the two the two stats that really stuck out to me in this game is that made a real difference. You mentioned one of them with just two assists in the game for the Longhorns, both of them coming from front go for front court players. Um the other one that was really an astounding number to me when I looked at the box score, I kind of had to do a double take. Florida had 11 block shots. Alex Condon had four, Thomas Howe had had two, Ruben Chinyulu had two, uh Micah handle hand logton.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:34

Handlichton had two, and then Isaiah Brown also had one. I mean, if a team's blocking 11 shots, uh, they're playing pretty well defensively, and that kind of gives you an idea of the kind of athletes that Florida has on that end of the floor as well. Just an unbelievably well-rounded team. Both of those stats kind of made a difference. Also, you know, obviously that played a big difference in Texas's field goal percentage, which was just 43% and 38% from three. Uh, but like Zach said, Texas has a big one coming up on Saturday against the uh against the Texas AM Aggies in college station. That game is at 3 p.m. and it tips off on ESPN 2. Texas AM currently, according to the ESPN matchup predictor, has a 65.1% chance of winning that game. And we'll preview that one more tomorrow uh as we get a little bit closer. Uh, but that is gonna do it for another episode of the Texas Longhorns on SI podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in. Uh, please make sure to like and subscribe, uh like, subscribe, and rate our podcast and comment down below on YouTube to let us know your thoughts. It really helps us out in the YouTube algorithm. And most importantly, be sure to tell somebody you love them and we'll catch you in the next one.