40 Acres Sports

The 16th commitment is in for 2011. David Smoak is reporting that linebacker Kendall Thompson out of Carthage has made his pledge to the Texas Longhorns. From Smoaky…

For the second time this week the Texas Longhorns have received a commitment from an East Texas blue-chip linebacker. This time it’s Carthage linebacker Kendall Thompson (6’3, 232, 4.7) who was offered on Saturday afternoon and committed to Mack Brown when offered, “He asked me if I wanted to be a Longhorn and I said yes sir, this is a dream come true for me, I’ve been a Longhorns fan since I was a little kid so let’s make it official right now.”

Thompson will likely end up at defensive end in college, possibly the next “Buck” defensive end for Will Muschamp’s defense that [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] excelled at this season. According to Orangebloods.com he’s currently slotted as the #34 player in the state and he’s #48 at Inside Texas. The Texas coaches reportedly really coveted Thompson and I expect him to climb the rankings once people get to see more film of him.

Be sure to check out the full 2011 Texas football commit list to see all 16 recruits.

Defensive tackle Derek Johnson is a big dude. Can he play as good as he looks? (Image: MBTF)

After nearly two whole months without Texas football, Friday was finally the first day of Spring practice. No tidbits yet (practices are closed to the public) but the official site does have a short video to watch and a nice photo gallery as well.

Lineman Sedrick Flowers is Texas' 15th 2011 commit. (Image: Rivals)

Another day, another commit for the Texas Longhorns. The 15th member of the 2011 football recruiting class is Galena Park North Shore offensive lineman Sedrick Flowers.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Flowers is not only one of the top 5 players in the state but as he’s also the top rated players at one of the team’s biggest positions of need. Flowers is the 4th offensive linemen of this class and has the most upside of any of them. He’s number 2 in the state on Orangebloods.com’s LSR 100 and number 5 on Inside Texas’ Texas Top 100.

Welcome to the 40 Sedrick.

Wow. The kid is huge. The newest Texas linebacker commit Steve Edmond is 6-foot-3 and in the junior highlight video below he is flying around killing people. He might end up at defensive end in college but wherever he plays he is going to make a people fear him. Watch:

David Smoak of Smoaky.com is reporting that stud linebacker Steve Edmond has verbally committed to Texas. If it happens in East Texas, you can bet Smoak will know about this so you can pretty much count this as confirmed.

This is yet another huge get for defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Edmond is one of the top players in the state at any position and is rated in the top 10 on both Orangebloods.com’s LSR 100 and Inside Texas’ Texas Top 100.

Don’t tell Jordan Shipley, but Texas QB Colt McCoy has a new roomie. As he prepares for the upcoming NFL Draft, Colt is rooming with Stanford running back (and Doak Walker Award winner) Toby Gerhart for workouts out in California. Funny Photoshops on EDSBS ensue.

Link: Toby Gerhart Tickles Lazy Columnists’ Sweet Spot

The struggling Texas basketball team suffered a setback even in a win Saturday against Texas Tech. Early in the game starting point guard [tag]Dogus Balbay[/tag] went down in a non-contact injury and Monday we learned the junior from Turkey had torn the ACL in his left knee. He will at least miss the rest of the season.

From the Statesman…

“I think it just buckled on him,” coach Rick Barnes said. “As soon as he went down, he knew.”

Balbay, a junior who started 22 of the Longhorn’ 27 games, led the team with 3.9 assists a game. He had a 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He was also the Longhorns’ best defender.

“We’re gonna miss Dogus’ toughness,” Barnes said. “We’re gonna miss his defense.”

With Balbay done, the Horns will need a guard to step up from among the trio of [tag]JCovan Brown[/tag], [tag]Jai Lucas[/tag], and [tag]Justin Mason[/tag]. A week ago Brown would have been the overwhelming favorite to nab Balbay’s minutes, but after starting two straight games the freshman only played 5 minutes against Tech. Hopefully someone steps up on both ends of the court or the free fall will continue.

It wasn’t pretty (especially late) but with the way the Longhorns have been playing they’ll take a win any way they can. The team blew a 15 point lead and [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] had a chance to tie the game with less than 10 seconds to go, but a clutch rebound and 2 made free throws (!) by [tag]JCovan Brown[/tag] gave the Horns a 71 – 67 win in Lubbock. Watch brief video highlights from ESPN below…

A little late, but some interesting conversation from the worldwide leader about Texas football possibly flipping conferences from the Big 12 to the Big Ten…

Nobody recruits like Mack Brown. He hits early and hard. Only a couple of weeks after inking a top 2010 class, Mack and his coaching staff are 13 recruits into a strong 2011 class. ESPNU recruiting experts discuss Texas’ quick start…