Texas tied for 3rd in Big 12 tourney
Doug Ghim is tied for first place after shooting 70 in the third round of the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday. Ghim is even at 210, tied with Oklahoma’s Grant Hirschman, with one round to go.
The Longhorns are in a tie for third place with Oklahoma State, trailing Oklahoma by six strokes.
“I thought the guys played really well today,” UT head coach John Fields said. “Our goal was to have a chance with nine holes to play. This is a great field, with great coaches and great players, so we don’t take it lightly and we know we are going to be challenged tomorrow by the weather and the course.”
Scottie Scheffler had the best round for Texas on Tuesday, shooting 69 and is tied for 11th. Steven Chervony is at 8 over par in a tie for 21st.
Drew Jones is two shots back of Chervony in a tie for 31st.
Spencer Soosman shot 72 to sit at 221, 11 over par. He’s tied for 33rd.
Baseball: Roger and Debbie Clemens have pledged $1 million to Texas’ baseball program, the school announced. The donation, made on behalf of the Roger Clemens Foundation, will go toward a fundraising goal of $9 million. Texas is fundraising for the building of an indoor training facility.
According to UT, its baseball program is the only one in the Big 12 without an indoor training area. Texas plans to open the facility in 2019.
“The Clemens family absolutely bleeds orange,” UT athletics director Chris Del Conte said. “This gift truly underscores their love for Texas.”
Clemens’ two youngest kids played at Texas. This spring, junior infielder Kody Clemens leads Texas in batting average (.356), home runs (13), RBIs (46) and runs (42).
What will the Sooners’ offense look like without its stars?
Lincoln Riley recently finished his first spring at OU as he readies for his second fall. He acknowledged that his issue will be trying to replace the leaders from a year ago. They also happened to be the biggest stars, including Heisman winner Baker Mayfield and All-Americans Orlando Brown (offensive tackle) and Mark Andrews (tight end).
“It’s definitely going to be a big part of it and maybe one of the biggest keys of this year,” Riley said of building leadership.
It’s still unclear who might start at quarterback. It’ll come down to either Kyler Murray or Austin Kendall. Murray might have a decision vis quarterback Matthew Baldwin in the 2018 class and Texas recently offered current Cavaliers quarterback Hudson Card after the spring game.
“I would feel good with either of those quarterbacks,” Wilson said. “I could see Hudson winning a Gatorade Player of the Year award before he graduates. He’s so electric at the quarterback position because he can run and pass. He gives us something new.”
Wilson is facing the challenge of learning a new offense. Card taking over the position means more run-pass options. It’s a new playbook and a new language for Wilson to learn. Just like his routes, the No. 7 player on the initial 2019 Fabulous to make on whether he wants to concentrate more on baseball or football this summer. He’s the starting center fielder for the Sooners and is having a nice season, with six home runs and eight doubles. He could be drafted in June for pro baseball. Or he might want to focus more on baseball this summer, as opposed to leading football drills.
Riley said the two have had “open and honest” discussions.
Will the defense at Texas Tech outshine the offense?
Stupid question, right? But the defense did outshine the offense in the spring scrimmage earlier this month, 55 is taking it all in stride.
“Getting used to a new offensive coordinator is different because we’ve been running the same offense at Lake Travis for the last 10 years,” Wilson said. “The calls are different, and the verbiage has changed. It’s actually a lot like what Texas wants to do with the RPO’s.”
Wilson has not set a new commitment date, but it’s likely to be before the end of May.
Sullivan takes in the Orange-White experience: Collin Sullivan, the Round Rock sophomore wide receiver, notched offers from Arkansas and Boston College this month. That list is likely to grow with spring practice in full swing for the Dragons.
Texas has yet to offer Sullivan, but he’s growing close with UT receivers coach Drew Mehringer and took in the sights at the OrangeWhite winning 40-27. Coach Kliff Kingsbury devised a scoring system that allows sacks and forced turnovers to count, too.
Tech’s defense notched four sacks and forced three turnovers. But the unit, which returns all its starters, probably should be ahead of the offense with new coordinator Kevin Johns.
Kingsbury said Tuesday that the quarterback competition still has no winner and will continue through the summer. Former junior college transfer McLane Carter and Jett Duffey are the top candidates.
Duffey was among four players who were arrested on criminal mischief charges in late March, but Kingsbury game on a visit with his Juice 7-on-7 teammates.
“I had a great time with my family and spent time talking with coach Mehringer and coach (Tim) Beck,” Sullivan said. “It was good to see how this upcoming team is going to look like, and just to feel the atmosphere with all of the fans coming out. In all, it was a good day and game.”
Texas tends to offer fewer players than most programs. It’s a strategy that works well for Tom Herman. He wants an offer from Texas to be special, and Sullivan is among the programs who understands why the Longhorns operate methodically in the recruiting process.
“There is a long time until my class can sign or even take official visits. Right now, it should be about building relationships more than building an offer list,” Sullivan said. “Texas is up front
Is there a dark horse team to challenge Oklahoma for the Big 12 title?
The best guess is West Virginia still will be the team that best contests the Big 12 title.
Coach Dana Holgorsen was raving about Grier during Tuesday’s teleconference.
“You feel really good about when you have a fifth-year guy, because they act like a fifth-year guy and everything is slower for them, and it makes everyone else around them better.”
Oklahoma State, which has won 30 games over the past three seasons, is definitely in a rebuilding situation. Coach Mike Gundy needs to replace departed quarterback Mason Rudolph and receiver James Washington, the duo who helped win a lot of those games. But he said he’s been faced with rebuilding before.
“I’ve been here 14 years,” Gundy said. “We just kind of move on to the next group.”
Iowa State is set at quarterback after the NCAA allowed Kyle Kempf a sixth season. TCU and Kansas State have quarterback questions.
Wildcats coach Bill Snyder said Tuesday that the contest between Alex Delton and Skylar Thompson is “dead even.”
At TCU, sophomore Shawn Robinson, a dual-threat player who started one game last fall, still is the favorite for the top job.
The next time the Big 12 will convene will be in August, when all these questions begin anew and spring will be an afterthought. with how they do recruiting. There isn’t a rush.”
Texas makes cut for outof-state defensive end: The Longhorns were included in the top 10 for four-star defensive end Nathan Pickering. The Seminary High School (Miss.) product holds 21 offers and is the No. 49-ranked prospect in the entire 2019 class, per 247Sports composite. The list also included programs like Alabama, Florida and LSU. Mississippi State is the hometown favorite.
Texas won’t stand a real chance for the 6-5, 270pound linemen unless he makes his way to Austin for an official visit. Pickering has yet to make an unofficial visit to Austin. The safe bet is on Pickering staying in SEC country.