Texas Longhorns Football

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield may no longer be an active member of the Red River Rivalry, but he will always be an Oklahoma Sooner at heart. That means he will always have a strong disdain for the Texas Longhorns. 

On Wednesday, the outspoken Mayfield made his thoughts on Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger quite clear.

"His opinion on anything winning...Westlake's a great program, but the two best quarterbacks to come out of there are Drew Brees and Nick Foles. Sam can stay down there in Texas," the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner said on SportsTalk 1400AM. "... That'll stir the pot. He doesn't like me, and I hope he knows I don't like him either."

Mayfield and Ehlinger crossed paths on the football field only once in college, with the Sooners pulling out a 29-24 win over their archrival. Mayfield led Oklahoma to victory by throwing for 302 yards and two touchdowns, while Ehlinger had 278 passing yards, 106 rushing yards and two total scores in the loss.

Mayfield moved on to the NFL after the 2017 season. While that would seemingly put an end to the Mayfield-Ehlinger dynamic, it didn't.

Ehlinger made waves in March 2018 by calling out former Oklahoma offensive lineman Orlando Brown's NFL Scouting Combine performance:

Mayfield was among the Sooners to respond to Ehlinger, pointing out the Longhorns star's lack of wins in the Red River Rivalry at the time:

Ehlinger then led Texas to a wild 48-45 victory over Oklahoma last season, racking up 386 total yards and five touchdowns.

In the past, Mayfield has complimented Ehlinger.

"A tough kid," he said in October 2017, per ESPN's Jake Trotter. "Just how we Austin boys do it. He's going to have a heck of a career."

But as things currently stand, there appears to be no love lost between the two.

Wide receiver Bru McCoy's career with the Texas Longhorns is over before it started.    

Greg Biggins of 247Sports shared McCoy's statement revealing he told the Texas coaching staff he will enter the transfer portal. "This is purely a personal decision and is no reflection on the University of Texas," it read in part.

McCoy is a 5-star prospect and the No. 9 player in the class of 2019, per 247Sports' composite rankings. Chip Brown of Horns247 noted McCoy was initially at USC before transferring to Texas and could return to the Trojans following this decision.

According to Brown, the Texas staff was optimistic that the receiver would be immediately eligible to play after arriving from USC. However, "a return to USC would almost certainly result in McCoy having to sit out a year under transfer rules."

Brown's report detailed the recruitment process with McCoy, revealing he felt "deceived" by USC's coaching staff after Kliff Kingsbury accepted the head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals shortly after he was hired as offensive coordinator for the Pac-12 school.

That's when he decided to go to Texas.

Brown cited a family source who said McCoy plans on transferring back to USC because he is homesick after growing up in Southern California. "Everyone wants to know why this is happening," the source said. "Bru is a really good kid. He just misses home way more than he thought."

McCoy is a talented playmaker who won the Maxwell National Offensive Player of the Year and MaxPreps National Football Player of the Year in 2018.

The 6'2", 205-pound wideout would provide an immediate boost to whichever school ends up with him, and the Trojans could certainly use his production. They fell to 5-7 last season after winning double-digit games in 2016 and 2017 and were an ugly 62nd out of 130 FBS teams in total passing yards.

McCoy is someone who can help change that trajectory in the future.

The University of Texas' football program is reportedly planning to go all out in an effort to convince highly touted wide receiver recruit Bru McCoy to remain with the Longhorns.

According to Anwar Richardson of OrangeBloods.com, Texas head coach Tom Herman, quarterback Sam Ehlinger and others are set to fly out to California on Wednesday to meet with McCoy and his family:

Richardson's report comes on the heels of a report from Chip Brown of 247Sports on Tuesday. Brown wrote that sources have indicated McCoy is considering transferring back to USC after initially transferring from USC to Texas.

A source close to the situation told Brown that McCoy, who is a Santa Ana, California, native has been feeling homesick: "Everyone wants to know why this is happening. Bru is a really good kid. He just misses home way more than he thought."

McCoy is eligible to play at Texas this season if he signs an eligibility waiver, but he reportedly hasn't done so yet. Brown wrote that McCoy's parents want him to spend the year in Texas in part because of the likelihood that he will have to sit out the 2019 season if he transfers back to USC.

Thus far, McCoy has not attended the summer conditioning program at Texas.

McCoy entered the transfer portal in January after Kliff Kingsbury, who had been hired as the offensive coordinator at USC, left to take the head coaching job with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.

McCoy made the move to Texas, and the Longhorns landed the No. 9 overall recruit, No. 1 athlete and No. 2 player from California in the 2019 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

McCoy was set to join an explosive offense led by Ehlinger and a Texas team that may be poised to win the Big 12 for the first time since 2009. But now he is in a state of flux, and the Longhorns are scrambling to keep him in the fold.

Incoming Texas Longhorns freshman wideout and 5-star recruit Bru McCoy is reportedly considering a transfer back to the USC Trojans, according to Taylor Estes of 247Sports.

Per that report, "McCoy entering the NCAA transfer portal is a real possibility at this point." Estes added: "No concrete date is set for if or when this may happen. One source told Horns247 Sunday evening that if McCoy decides to proceed with seeking a transfer back to his home state, it could come down early this week."

According to Estes, "those close to McCoy are working tirelessly" to keep him with the Longhorns.

McCoy has played a game of hot potato with Texas and USC this year. He committed to the Trojans in January but decided to enter the transfer portal and join Texas after enrolling in classes at USC.

Chip Brown of 247Sports reported May 6 that McCoy "felt he was deceived by USC in more ways than [former offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury] appearing and then disappearing from the Trojans' coaching staff in the span of roughly one month."

McCoy had reportedly chosen the Trojans in part because of the presence of Kingsbury. However, he transferred to Texas after Kingsbury became the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and participated in spring practice with the Longhorns.

Now, he is reportedly considering a switch back to USC.

Wherever he lands, McCoy has the talent to be an instant contributor. He was 247Sports' No. 9 overall player in the class of 2019 and was both the Maxwell Football Club's offensive national player of the year and MaxPreps' national player of the year.

The University of Texas and head football coach Tom Herman reached an agreement Thursday on a two-year contract extension through the Longhorns' 2023 season.

Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press reported the two additional years include $13.25 million in guaranteed money.

Texas had endured three consecutive losing seasons before it hired Herman away from the University of Houston in November 2016.

The Longhorns alum led the program to a 7-6 record with a victory in the Texas Bowl in 2017. They improved to 10-4 during a 2018 season that was capped by winning the Sugar Bowl and being ranked No. 9 in the final AP and Coaches' polls.

It was the highest final ranking for Texas since 2009.

The 43-year-old Ohio native said the 2019 version of the Longhorns can't get caught up in last year's success, though.

"Last year's team will never be referred to as 'we' or 'us,'" Herman told reporters in April. "We didn't win the Sugar Bowl. That was last year's team. We have a lot of work to do. But those of us that were on last year's team can certainly learn some lessons from it."

The next step is getting the Horns back into national championship contention. The progress toward that goal continued by signing the third-best 2019 recruiting class in 247Sports' composite rankings.

Texas opens the new season Aug. 31 against Louisiana Tech.

Texas linebacker De'Gabriel Floyd will miss the entire 2019 season after being diagnosed with stenosis. 

Per Trenton Daeschner of the Dallas Morning News, Longhorns head coach Tom Herman said Floyd will be re-evaluated in January. 

Floyd was one of the top incoming recruits for Texas in 2019. The California native was rated as a 4-star prospect and the No. 3 inside linebacker and No. 67 overall prospect in this year's class, per 247Sports.

Herman told reporters Wednesday that Floyd was going to miss spring practices due to ongoing stinger issues in his neck. 

Floyd appeared in January's Under Armour All-American Game before enrolling at Texas. He likely would have competed for a starting spot on the Longhorns defense with Ayodele Adeoye, Jeffrey McCulloch, Caleb Johnson and Marcus Tillman Jr. the only other scholarship linebackers on the roster. 

The loss of Floyd will have a significant impact on a Texas team with high expectations this season. The Longhorns won 10 games last year for the first time since 2009, capping it off with a 28-21 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. 

The University of Texas fired former Longhorns quarterback Vince Young from his part-time job as a development officer for the school on March 1.

According to Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press on Saturday, Young was fired for "poor performance and often being absent from work or not in touch with his supervisors."

On March 1, Young received a letter from the school informing him of his firing "for not demonstrating significant and sustained improvement in the performance of your job responsibilities and failing to maintain standards of conduct suitable and acceptable to the university."

The 35-year-old Young was hired by Texas in 2014 to the part-time role, which paid him $50,000 per year. His standing with the school first became tenuous in 2017, however.

Young was put on a work improvement plan in July 2017 and was given an Unacceptable Performance and Conduct reprimand in September 2017. On Feb. 15, Young was told that his firing was imminent "unless he could demonstrate a reason not to."

That notification came days after he was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Young was previously arrested for drunk driving in 2016 as well.

Young said his second drunk driving arrest was "just an allegation" and added that he planned to fight it in court:

In a response to Patrick Patterson, assistant vice president for the Longhorn Center for School Partnerships within the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Young wrote the following regarding the incident: "I have shown good faith toward my actions and gone beyond to maintain a level of sobriety wellbeing. Unfortunately, with walking a straight and narrow path, incidents occur out of one's control."

Patterson alleged in a letter that Young didn't notify the school about his arrest until after it was reported in the media and that he only did so by text.

Young is among the biggest football stars in University of Texas history, as he led the Longhorns to a historic win over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl to win the national championship. Young was named the game's MVP, and it helped him get selected No. 3 overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2006 NFL draft.

In five seasons with the Titans, Young was a two-time Pro Bowler and was named the 2006 Offensive Rookie of the Year. Young went 30-17 as a starter in Tennessee before joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011.

After one season in Philly, Young bounced around between the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns, but he never appeared in another regular-season game.

The Texas Longhorns reportedly have hired former North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora as an analyst on their football staff. 

Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods reported the news Monday.

According to Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman, Fedora visited with Texas head coach Tom Herman and other Longhorns coaches last week before accepting the position.

Davis explained analysts are not considered full-time members of the staff and don’t count against the NCAA’s limit of 10 full-time assistant coaches. Fedora can help break down game film and complete other tasks with the Longhorns.

The Tar Heels fired him in November 2018 in what was his seventh season with the ACC program. He finished his tenure with the school with a 45-43 record but went just 3-9 in 2017 and 2-9 in 2018 after making a bowl game in each of his first four seasons.

Fedora was also the head coach for Southern Mississippi for four years prior to accepting the position with the Tar Heels. He made a bowl game all four years with the Golden Eagles and finished with a 34-19 record during a tenure highlighted by a 12-2 effort in 2011.

Texas is looking to build on its success from last season. It went 10-4 and defeated the SEC’s Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl to complete its first double-digit win season since 2009.

Bru McCoy, a 5-star athlete who signed a letter of intent on Jan. 6 to play with USC, reportedly will instead transfer to Texas.

Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel reported Friday that McCoy will start taking classes at Texas next week after being admitted to the school and signing a financial aid agreement. 

Per 247Sports, McCoy had 25 offers and made visits to USC, Texas, Alabama and Washington. He chose USC but entered the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 24.

Chris Swanson of usc247.com offered reported rationale behind McCoy's decision-making:

"McCoy was all set to commit to Texas before the 2019 All-American Bowl but was convinced to commit to USC by former Trojan offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury at the last minute. After Kingsbury was hired away to be the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, McCoy apparently soured on the idea of wearing cardinal and gold."

Kingsbury signed a deal with the Arizona Cardinals just two days after McCoy signed a letter of intent with the Trojans.

Ranked as the ninth-best overall prospect in the class of 2019 by 247Sports' composite rankings, the 6'2", 205-pound McCoy should make an instant impact for the Longhorns. He starred at linebacker and wideout in high school, but it remains to be seen what he would do on the collegiate level.

Ultimately, McCoy is a huge steal for Texas given his versatility and potential. The question is whether McCoy has to sit a year due to NCAA transfer rules. He can petition the NCAA to let him play in 2019, per Gerard Martinez of 247Sports:

However, there's no guarantee he'll win the petition. If he doesn't, Texas will have to wait until 2020 to see him suit up.

If McCoy does win and plays starting in 2019, he'll join and up-and-coming Texas team that just beat No. 5 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and finished No. 9 in the Associated Press poll.

If he plays wideout, then he'll join a talented offense that includes quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who have may have hinted at his happiness regarding the McCoy news:

Ehlinger threw 25 touchdown passes and completed 64.7 percent of his passes last season en route to leading Texas to a 10-win season. Second-leading rusher Keaontay Ingram, No. 2 wideout Collin Johnson and No. 3 wide receiver Devin Duvernay will also be back.

No. 1 pass-catcher Lil'Jordan Humphrey will not, but McCoy can help fill that void.

The renewal of a storied Lone Star State rivalry could be in the works.

On Friday, the presidents of both Texas and Texas A&M expressed their desire to get a football game between the two programs back on the schedule in the future.

"It's a storied rivalry," Texas President Greg Fenves told the Statesman's Ralph K.M. Haurwitz. "We've told our ADs to figure out a plan and bring it to us."

The Longhorns aren't the only ones who want the rivalry to be brought back to life, though. Texas A&M President Michael Young told the Statesman that the Aggies were supportive of the idea as well: "Absolutely. We have been from Day One."

The Texas-Texas A&M rivalry dates back to 1894, with the Longhorns holding a 76-37-5 series lead in 118 meetings. As members of the Big 12, the two schools faced off on an annual basis. However, the series came to a halt after 2011 when the Aggies joined the SEC.

The two schools split their latest six meetings, with Texas using a last-second field goal to pull out a 27-25 victory in the most recent meeting back in 2011.

Now that the two schools are in different conferences, finding an open weekend for both teams can be complicated.

"There are some real practical and contractual issues with scheduling nonconference games," Fenves said, per Haurwitz. "The SEC is different from the Big 12. We have nonconference games scheduled 10 years out."

Young added: "You have to get the weekend that coincides and works together. It is complicated. Our schedules don’t match very well. They have nonconference games in the beginning; we have ours interspersed more throughout the season. All of this makes it very hard to schedule."

There is no current timetable for a potential renewal. But as the interview with the Statesman revealed, there is interest on both sides to make it happen.

Any deal could lead to major College Football Playoff implications. The selection committee factors nonconference strength of schedule into its decisions, so having a victory over a Power Five school in nonconference play could pay off big time. Then again, a loss would put more pressure on the losing team to run the table in conference play.

Now is as good of a time as any to bring back the rivalry, though, as both Texas (No. 9) and Texas A&M (No. 16) finished in the Top 25 of the final Associated Press poll in 2018-19.