How Texas football is navigating recruiting in new NIL era

It’s been 20 years since Vince Young, Mack Brown and Co. captured a national championship and 16 since the Texas Longhorns have played in a title game, but the program has been knocking on the door these last two seasons under coach Steve Sarkisian.

The head Texas football coach covered several topics at the Texas High School Coaches Association’s Convention and Coaching School in San Antonio.

While NIL and revenue sharing have dominated the college football conversation this spring, it still begins and ends with recruiting. Sark has hit big on some prime out-of-state recruits like California wideout Xavier Worthy, Colorado tight end Gunnar Helm, Louisiana edge rusher Barryn Sorrell and new face of the franchise Arch Manning from Louisiana, but he understands the importance of mining the nation’s most fertile recruiting area within these borders.

The program is in the middle of a renaissance of sorts with 23 players having been drafted into the NFL over the last two years while producing a 25-5 record. Nineteen of those picks played high school ball in Texas.

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When the Horns beat Southern Cal at the Rose Bowl to win it all in January 2006, Brown stood at the podium with Young and defensive star Michael Huff — hailing from Houston and Irving, respectively — and gave a shoutout to Texas high school coaches, arguably the best piece of recruiting in program history. At that point, Texas stood atop the sport and every high school coach in the state wanted to send his best player to Austin.

Sarkisian is still landing some great Texans year in and year out, but his latest commitments — linebacker Tyler Atkinson and Chaminade-Madonna — are from Georgia and Florida, respectively. NIL opportunities and social media have made the country a lot smaller and these blue-chip athletes are much more comfortable leaving their home states to play for a winner. 

So it’s on Sark and his staff to navigate these recruiting streets —  in and out of state — with the understanding that while it’s important to bring in homegrown players, there are no guarantees.

“The fine line of we have to make sure that we’re recruiting a roster that can compete for national championships, but at the same token, make sure that we’re that we’re continually recruiting the best players in the state  of Texas,” Sarkisian said in San Antonio. “We don’t get to sign them all, and there’s a lot of really good schools in our own state, and I’ve touched on this numerous times. I think as much as people view us and maybe some other schools in our state for recruiting out of the state, I think a lot of schools are recruiting in our state as well, and a lot of players are a lot more apt to leave the state.”

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Sarkisian also gave props for what in-state coaches like Texas A&M’s Mike Elko, Baylor’s Dave Aranda, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee (SMU), Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Houston’s Willie Fritz are doing to build their programs. He sees them on the recruiting trail, but those cities have historically been heavily visited from out-of-state recruiters looking to cherry pick potential program changers.

Texas has always been a national brand and now more than ever, and that brand is allowing Sarkisian expand his operation with the changing tide of how the recruiting game has changed.

He has hit what looks to be a home run with Manning and if this winning continues as expected. more imports are coming this way.

Which college football team has the most value?

Since I pay them $7.99 a month, I figured I had better get over to “The Athletic” to see what they were working on with the season coming up and I hit an interesting piece: a listing of the most valuable Power Four college football programs, and guess who checked in at No. 1?

Texas came in at a valuation of $2.38 billion, well ahead of second-place Georgia ($1.92 billion) followed by Ohio State ($1.9 billion), Notre Dame ($1.85) and Michigan ($1.83).

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The Longhorns are printing money through ticket sales, merchandising and donations. It also didn’t hurt to join the SEC with its lucrative television contracts. Texas and Oklahoma each received $27.5 million in transition payments and refundable application fees after joining the league in July 2024.

One interesting tidbit from the story: Texas’ valuation is in the neighborhood of the $2.3 billion that Dave Tepper paid for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in 2018.

‘Night Train’ Lane documentary on tap 

It’s long overdue, but a documentary on legendary NFL star Dick “Night Train” Lane has been completed.

His sons Richard Walker, Sr. and Richard Lane, Jr.  have teamed with acclaimed director Eric Herbert to produce “Train: The Dick ‘Night Train’ Lane Story,” the definitive piece on Austin’s first Pro Football Hall of Famer.  

Thanks to the Original L.C. Anderson Alumni Association — which is kicking off its its 12th annual all-school reunion Wednesday by organizing the event— the filming will take place 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Austin Film Society (AFS) Cinema at 6259 Middle  Fiskville Road. We will get an up-close view of the backstory behind the man who eventually redefined the cornerback position in the NFL. 

Lane died in Austin at age 73 in 2002.

Lane followed Negro League baseball legend Willie Wells as a sports icon at the all-Black high school in East Austin before integration. He enjoyed an historic career as a ball-hawking cornerback for three different teams — his 14 interceptions in his rookie year with the Los Angeles Rams remain the standard for the position — that came against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. As a son of the South, he was confronted with systemic barriers of racism and prejudice that were a product of the times. Yet he persevered and excelled.

I’m excited to team with local archivist Jacqueline Smith-Francis on a panel discussion featuring Herbert and community leaders following the film to discuss the making of the piece along with Lane’s enduring impact on and off the field.

The OLCAAA has long strived to preserve and restore African-American history in our city and its objective is to “create an awareness of this rich heritage by maintaining a collection of memorabilia of the contributions of students and faculty, and providing funds and/or volunteers for scholarships, tutoring, safe social activities, etc.”

Donations for the association can be submitted electronically, via Zelle, or by check to Original L.C. Anderson Alumni Association, Inc., P.O. Box 14162, Austin, TX 78761.

Iconic Messi was a no-show at MLS classic 

Condolences to those who paid hefty ticket prices in hopes that soccer icon Lionel Messi would show in Austin for Wednesday’s MLS All-Star game.

The league released an updated roster sheet late Wednesday morning and Messi wasn’t on it. Worse yet, he was nowhere to be found at Q2 Stadium. The hope was he would at least make an appearance, sign some autographs and kiss a couple of toddlers, but it was not to be. It would have been a nice show of support for the league and its fans, but the most recognizable face in the league decided to sit this one out.

One year after missing the 2024 all-star game with an injury, a healthy Messi — who has reportedly played 90 minutes in 17 straight games for Inter Miami CF — joined teammate Jordi Alba in missing the annual gathering of the league’s top players.

At 38, Messi has logged plenty of minutes in a brutal schedule for the Herons, who have played eight matches in the last six weeks, including a torrid stretch in the last half of June where they played four in 16 days.

I can’t blame him for not playing, but it would have been cool to see him in our city promoting this league and the sport.