SPRINTING INTO STARDOM
Worthy can stretch field for Mahomes, Chiefs
The past eight days have given us Texas’ Orange-White spring game and the NFL draft, and anytime you get that much football in April, it’s a good thing.
Project Xavier Worthy’s rookie year stats with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bohls: This Patrick Mahomes-Xavier Worthy connection will be lethal. The former Longhorn plus new Chiefs acquisition Marquise “Hollywood” Brown should stretch the field to a breaking point. I’ll put X-man down for 58 catches for 1,012 yards and eight touchdowns, and I’d go higher but for Brown, Travis Kelce and maybe Rashee Rice competing with him for receptions.
Golden: You know Buffalo traded the 10th pick to Kansas City so the Chiefs could draft Mahomes in 2017. And here the Bills are again, trading with KC to give Mahomes his fastest wideout since Tyreek Hill. I don’t expect Hilltype production from Worthy — there’s only one Cheetah — but look for him to catch 55 passes for 700 yards his rookie year, possibly more if Rice is suspended for stupidly racing his Lambo in the Metroplex.
Other than Arch Manning, pick the three most impressive Longhorns in last weekend’s Texas spring game.
Bohls: I’d put five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo No. 1 on my list. He was dynamic, comfortable and explosive. Won’t be able to keep him off the field. Second was freshman quarterback Trey Owens, who, like Manning, threw for three touchdowns. He can scramble, has a very strong arm and showed remarkable poise. Finally, defensive end Colton Vasek looks healthy and showed his terrific upside as an edge rusher.
Golden: Left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., Wingo and fellow wideout Deandre Moore Jr. Banks was a wall all day while Moore showed the deep threat that will keep strong safeties away from the line of scrimmage in the
running game. Vasek showed a great first step and added to the hope that the Horns will be a premier pass rushing team.
How would you grade Rodney Terry’s transfer portal success?
Bohls: I’d put a B on it. Terry showed he can bring in guards with Arkansas’ Tramon Mark, Oregon State’s Jordan Pope and Indiana State’s Julian Larry. The Longhorns are now bigger at guard, and Pope is a 37% 3point shooter. But Terry’s big men are in short supply. He has to bring in a minimum of two more for a challenged front court since Kaden Shedrick, the Virginia transfer, battled a bad back and couldn’t always stay on the floor, and Ze’Rik Onyema had minimal playing time or impact.
Golden: It’s looking good because he got bigger. The Horns were small at guard last season, and it led to some struggles from Max Abmas and Tyrese Hunter, but bringing in 6-foot-2 Jordan Pope and 6-6 freshman Tre Johnson is huge. Add Indiana State’s Kent (6-8), Arkansas’ Mark (6-8) at wing and Indiana State’s 6-2 Larry, and Texas is plenty big enough, though I expect R.T. to bring in a couple of bangers to ease the load on forward Kadin Shedrick inside. If they can mesh this talent, the Horns figure to be an exciting watch.
Who’s the current MVP of the Longhorns’ baseball team?
Bohls: It could be a draw between first baseman Jared Thomas and shortstop Jalin Flores, but I’ll give the sophomore shortstop the nod with a slight edge because he has hit more home runs, has driven in more runs and plays a more demanding position.
Golden: Shoutout to lefty pitcher Ace Whitehead, who has brought some stability to a reeling staff when he’s in there, but I’m going with Jared Thomas, who, entering this weekend’s series at Oklahoma, led the Longhorns in batting average (.366), runs (tied with 42), hits (63), walks (23) and steals (12). He’s been the most consistent player from start to finish, be it in the outfield or at first base. The hope is we won’t see him pitch again. Still don’t get that decision.
Will the transfer losses of cornerback Terrance Brooks and running back Savion Red hurt the Longhorns?
Bohls: Not at all. In fact, Brooks was probably shown the door. He broke out somewhat as a freshman but has regressed ever since and just can’t keep receivers in front of him on deep routes. I’ll be shocked if Steve Sarkisian doesn’t bring in a veteran cornerback unless he truly thinks nickel back Jahdae Barron is capable of replacing Ryan Watts to let Barron try to impress NFL scouts. But if Barron were a true corner, he’d already be playing there. Red was simply a wildcat option and fourth or fifth in line at tailback. He did the smart thing by looking for playing time elsewhere.
Golden: Not at all. Brooks was outplayed by Gavin Holmes this spring, and the coaching staff had enough of him biting on pump fakes and getting beat deep, as evidenced by Manning’s first spring game throw to Moore. The 5-10 Red arrived in camp at a far too hefty 240 pounds and was clearly not in line to get reps behind Jaydon Blue, CJ Baxter and Quintrevion Wisner.
What does Vic Schaefer still need for next year’s team?
Bohls: Just like Terry, he needs bigs. Badly. Taylor Jones is tall and long but not athletic and has had injury issues. Losing Amina Muhammad and DeYona Gaston severely depleted the women’s basketball team’s frontcourt depth. Grabbing All-Big Ten guard Laila Phelia was a big score, but Schaefer needs to find a couple of rim-protectors and rebounders.
Golden: The Horns will find some bulk inside but really need a reliable 3-point shooter after ranking No. 323 in the country with only 148 makes in 38 games. Schaefer is still trying to solve the 3-point puzzle entering Year 5. He hasn’t had a great deep-shooting team since 2018 national runner-up Mississippi State sported three players — All-America guard Victoria Vivians, Roshunda Johnson and his daughter Blaire — who all made at least 69 triples and shot better than 40% from distance. That team ranked eighth in the country at a .389 clip.
Post-spring football, who are the top five football players in the SEC?
Bohls: Two of them are quarterbacks — (1) Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and (2) Georgia’s Carson Beck. Beck threw for more yards than Milroe, but the latter ran for 468 yards and a dozen touchdowns. Both will be topfive Heisman contenders. (3) Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr., the SEC’s sacks leader with 10, and (4) Georgia safety Malaki Starks could be top 10 NFL draft picks. (5) Fifth for me is Missouri wideout Luther Burden III, the league’s best receiver, who makes plays and is hard to bring down.
Golden: (1) Georgia’s Carson Beck is an early Heisman favorite. (2) Starks, Georgia’s AllAmerica safety, has 76 tackles and five interceptions over his first two seasons. (3) Missouri’s Luther Burden III caught 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns last season. (4) Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is the second coming of Justin Blalock, having started every game since his freshman season. (5) And Alabama’s Milroe made huge strides from his freshman to sophomore season.
What positions should Steve Sarkisian target in the transfer portal?
Bohls: I’d go with three. Cornerback ranks No. 1. I’d put linebacker at No. 2. And a punter or extra offensive lineman would be a nice addition.
Golden: He still needs another run-plugger in the middle. The Horns still have major concerns up front, though he has addressed the lack of size with the addition of Arizona’s Tiaoalii Savea, but he still needs two more to round out the rotation with vets Alfred Collins, Vernon Broughton and whichever unproven — be it Alex January, Jaray Bledsoe, Sydir Mitchell, etc. — decides to step up.
Which three current college football players would you pay to see?
Bohls: I’d pay to see Colorado’s Travis Hunter, a throwback to the ’50s and ’60s as a twoway player who totaled 1,044 snaps as a cornerback and receiver. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita burst onto the scene and won the job, and he’s as electric a quarterback as there is in college football. And I’d go with Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, the rare loyal athlete who resisted offers from others and can wow if he doesn’t have recurring back issues.
Golden: I’ll go with two starters — Colorado’s two-way star Travis Hunter and Missouri’s Burden — along with a backup, Texas’ Arch Manning. He’s going to be great.
What top-10 team from last season will suffer the biggest college football falloff?
Bohls: That’s easy. Washington reached the CFP championship game but was blown out by Michigan and then lost at least seven offensive and nine defensive starters as well as head coach Kalen DeBoer. The loss of Michael Penix Jr. and his top three targets, including Rome Odunze, could lead new coach Jedd Fisch to lean heavily on the running game behind Dillon Johnson and Arizona transfer Jonah Coleman, but the Huskies are definitely rebuilding.
Golden: It has to be Washington, which lost head coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama and Penix and wideouts Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk to the NFL. The Huskies will make a bowl game, but a 7-5 finish seems likely.