The one to watch
Texas linebacker Anthony Hill has superstar potential
Among the things on our minds this week: What's the best choice for Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell to make, what's so wrong with Texas baseball, is Jordan Spieth still a superstar, and is Kentucky basketball still Kentucky basketball? Oh, yeah, also our thoughts on who's going to step up next season for Texas football as well as in the Orange-White spring game next weekend:
1. Besides Quinn Ewers and Kelvin Banks Jr., name a Texas football player who'll make an All-America team next season.
Bohls: Give me Anthony Hill Jr. without question. The swift sophomore linebacker flashed last season and finished his rookie year with 67 tackles, second-highest on the team after Jaylan Ford. Hill had eight tackles for a loss with five sacks and four quarterback hurries. In fact, had Pete Kwiatkowski used him as a spy on Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel, I'm convinced the Longhorns would have won that game.
Golden: Hill has to be the guy. He's easily the most athletic linebacker to start as a sophomore since Derrick Johnson. While he has played at weakside and in the middle, I expect Kwiatkowski to move him around to take advantage of his natural pass-rushing skills. He will fill up the stat sheet each week and make eye-opening plays that will evoke some DJ comparisons. I see him topping 90 tackles with at least six sacks.
2. Who's the one Longhorn you'll focus on in Saturday's Orange-White game?
Bohls: Heck, I'll stick with linebackers/edge rushers. My eyes will be trained on Colin Simmons, the fivestar blue-chipper out of Duncanville. The 6-foot-3, 234-pound freshman had 441⁄2 sacks in three high school seasons and was the defensive MVP of the Class 6A Division I state title game. If he's as good as his billing, I can see him sharing the field with Hill immediately and giving Texas a great one-two passrushing tandem and one of the fastest pairs in the SEC.
Golden: Arch Manning. We ran into him and UT defensive back Michael Taaffe at Matt's El Rancho a couple of weeks ago, and I couldn't believe how
tall he looks. I know this is Quinn Ewers' show, but Texas' starting quarterback has missed five games over the past two seasons with injuries, and it will be interesting to see how much the progeny of America's first family of quarterbacks has progressed through his first two springs in Austin.
3. What's been so wrong with the Texas baseball team?
Bohls: It ain't the offense. Texas has the top three hitters in slugging percentage in the Big 12 in Jalin Flores, Max Belyeu and Jared Thomas. It's all pitching, and at this point it looks like one of the worst staffs at Texas in ages. Projected ace Lebarron Johnson Jr. lost his Friday night spot in the weekend rotation for the Houston series with a shocking 1-3 record. Head coach David Pierce messed up big time by naming himself pitching coach, a bold gamble that has misfired. He hasn't developed this staff.
Golden: The pitching staff isn't anywhere near where it should be with a 4.56 ERA, though it should be noted that it's the thirdbest number in the Big 12. While the offense has been great with a .298 average and a conference-leading 66 home runs entering the Houston series, the Horns don't have an alpha dog arm on this staff, and that falls at the feet of Pierce, whose debut at pitching coach has fallen far below program standards.
4. Rank the top five college baseball teams in the state right now.
Bohls: It starts with (1) Texas A&M, a team I think will win it all at the College World Series. The Aggies are loaded and entered their weekend series with Vanderbilt at 28-4. (2) Dallas Baptist, a regular power in the state, is ranked eighth nationally and has five starters hitting above .317. (3) Texas Tech and (4) TCU aren't having their best seasons, and I'll put surprising, pitchingrich (5) Lamar ahead of Texas, whose RPI is a lowly 65th and puts the Longhorns in danger of missing the NCAA postseason. Lamar swept three games from Oklahoma in Norman.
Golden: (1) The Aggies are tops. They are second in the country in team ERA at 3.23 to go with a sparkling .303 batting average. (2) No. 8 Dallas Baptist has cooled a bit after starting the season at 12-1 but gets the No. 2 nod. After that, I'll go with (3) Lamar, (4) Texas and (5) Texas Tech.
5. How much did T'Vondre Sweat's DWI arrest hurt his draft stock, and in which round will he be taken?
Bohls: It did incredible damage to his draft stock. When some NFL coaching staffs were already worried about his 370-pound weight and his work ethic, this decisionmaking mistake could cause him to slip to the third round, if not below.
Golden: It sure didn't help. Sweat was honest with scouts and league executives about his party habits early in his college career, but it's apparent that old habits sometimes die hard. If there was a case of a player who needed to do everything right to maximize his draft potential, it was Sweat, whose weight was a real concern for teams considering drafting him in the first two rounds. He just gave those teams an out. I don't see him going until the middle of the third round, and that could be a steal if he cleans up the personal stuff.
6. Should Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell return to the Texas basketball team next season?
Bohls: Of course. Neither is NBA-ready, and they might not ever be. Hunter has regressed badly and wasn't consistent all season. Mitchell started strongly and was off the charts with a 21-point, eight-rebound game against national champion UConn but hasn't developed a jump shot or his ballhandling. They should definitely stay in college.
Golden: If they were LeBron's sons, there might be an NBA hookup, but since that isn't the case, coming back to college is the best choice. Texas is home, and the arrival of super freshman Tre Johnson can only help since neither is capable of being the face of the program. The best college teams have experienced role players, and these two would be a good fit next season if they can add to their skill sets — particularly Mitchell, an elite athlete who couldn't hit water with that jump shot if he fell out of a boat.
7. Is Jordan Spieth done as a golf superstar?
Bohls: I worry that he might be. He's been so great for golf and is a major star with three majors. He's probably the most animated player on the entire PGA Tour. No one speaks out loud to himself like the former Longhorn, and he had plenty to discuss after his quadruple bogey on 15 and missed cut at 9 over par at the Masters on Friday. But he's dealing with a recurring wrist injury and has never been the most accurate off the tee, relying instead on his imagination and creativity. But he's won just twice since 2017 and has to compete with such strong fields. I do think he'll win another major or two, however.
Golden: Yes he is, but at just age 30, he will continue to make a great living over these next 15 years. Some players never reach the top of the golf world, and while Spieth's stay was brief — he and Tiger Woods were the first two players postWorld War II to win nine PGA Tour events before they were 24 — it was a fun ride. Spieth, who missed the Masters cut for the second time in 11 starts, will continue to make good money and will probably eke out another major or two, but his days of being a consistent contender? They're in the rear view.
8. Will Caitlin Clark struggle in her WNBA rookie season?
Bohls: Maybe. Mildly. Yeah, probably not. I have faith she'll quickly be as big a star at that level as she was in the college game. Few pass as well as she does. Even fewer have the range on 3-pointers that she does.
And her humble, team-first personality will do her well.
Golden: If that's saying she won't average 30 points a game, then yes. The WNBA is chock full of long-armed athletic guards like Texas ex Ariel Atkins, who will try to make her rookie experience as difficult as possible. Clark's turnovers will go up because the nightly competition will be much better, but I still expect her to average in the neighborhood of 20 points for an Indiana team that ranked in the middle of the league at 81 points per game.
9. Where does O.J. Simpson rank among the NFL's all-time running backs?
Bohls: Top 10. He was a league MVP, led the NFL in rushing four seasons and was one of the smoothest runners ever. I'd put Jim Brown on top, of course, as a three-time league MVP who was voted to the Pro Bowl nine times and led the league in rushing a staggering eight times. My next four are Earl Campbell because of his sheer physical dominance, Walter Payton as a league MVP and nine-time Pro Bowler, Barry Sanders as a four-time rushing leader with his stop-ona-dime moves, and surprising Marshall Faulk with his 100 career touchdowns and 767 receptions. My deepest apologies to Eric Dickerson, Gale Sayers, Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith.
Golden: He's wasn't a top-five all-time human being, but Simpson is one of the five best runners in league history. As the legendary Jim Brown once said, the line starts behind him and Campbell, who was an absolute monster for four of his five prime seasons. I would then go with the electric Barry Sanders, Simpson, the often overlooked Eric Dickerson — who was the best blend of size and speed since Earl — and Payton, who gets the edge over Dorsett, my favorite back to watch growing up. Emmitt had the numbers, but the guys I listed in front of him would have been even better behind that massive Cowboys offensive line.
10. Is Kentucky still a basketball power since it couldn't hire a big-name coach?
Bohls: It's definitely a fading one, and that's why John Calipari was all but pushed out despite a Hall of Fame career. The fact that the Big Blue had to grab a BYU coach (and former Wildcats center) who has been to only two NCAA Tournaments as a head coach and has not won a single game yet speaks volumes about how Kentucky has seriously dropped off.
Golden: It's good because of the passion and tradition, but hiring Mark Pope as head coach suggests it's no longer a destination gig despite the administration's willingness to cut fat checks. Kentucky is in danger of going the way of Notre Dame football, which has ridden the coattails of its huge tradition above anything that has happened on the field lately. The fact that highly respected coaches such as Dan Hurley and Scott Drew decided to stay at lower-paying gigs says a lot about how Kentucky is viewed in the present day.