40 Acres Sports

Pat Kirwan notes Mike Griffin and Justin Blalock are excelling at Senior Bowl practice.

It looked like the Longhorns had their recruiting class wrapped up back in June, but there have been some unfortunate changes the last thirty days that have made things a little more interesting. This weekend the Longhorns hosted several recruits and apparently made a big impression on them. And there’s two more athletes coming in next weekend as well.

Defensive tackle [tag]Tyrell Higgins[/tag] and safety [tag]Christian Scott[/tag] were in town over the weekend on official visits. Higgins made it official as soon as he could and gave Mack Brown his verbal commitment before he left town. Scott left Austin uncommitted but the Longhorns are thought to be the leader for the services of the talented defensive back from Dallas. LSU and Oklahoma are the other teams in the mix.

Two players who were committed to Big 12 rivals until recently will be in town this coming weekend. Tight end [tag]Ian Harris[/tag] (pictured) was a Missouri commitment going into the weekend but today he’s a Texas Longhorn. Zach Pianalto’s decommit to North Carolina opened up a spot for another tight end in this class and Harris jumped on Texas’ offer as quick as he could. Wide receiver/cornerback [tag]James Kirkendoll[/tag] was an Oklahoma Sooner yesterday but now he’s set to visit the good guys. It would be a big surprise if he’s not a Longhorn soon.

Higgins and Harris are solid prospects who help round out Texas’ top three recruiting class. Scott and Kirkendoll would be huge additions who as an added bonus could be stolen from their rivals. We’ll have more news on those two when it happens and plenty more recruiting opinions as National Signing Day approaches on February 7th.

Update

Orangebloods is reporting that Kirkendoll is “nearly ready” and will officially commit to Texas this weekend. He is now listed in his profile as a “soft verbal.” Great news for Texas fans and bad news for the Okies. (1/24/2007)

QB Nathan Dick gives oral to Arkansas, now two Dicks in Fayetteville.

Akina vows the defense will be more aggressive. Just coach-speak, but it’s music to my ears.

With Todd Graham gone, Rice has hired Texas State’s David Bailiff to replace him as head football coach.

Former Horn WR Kyle Shanahan is the new quarterbacks coach of the Houston Texans.

Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain had his request for release from his scholarship granted Tuesday by head coach Houston Nutt. His impending transfer just makes him the latest of the highly touted players and coach from nearby Springdale to bolt on the Razorbacks.

Damian Williams was the first Arkansas player to leave after the PTA meeting back in December between the parents of some spoiled brats and Arkansas’ athletic director Frank Broyles. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn left for the greener pastures of Tulsa with the honorable Todd Graham last week. Now the news out of Fayetteville is that blue chip quarterback Mustain is gone as well.

After only a single season with the Razorbacks Mustain is getting out of there as fast as he can. Despite his skills, potential, and former high school coach calling the shots he couldn’t grab the starting job in his true freshman season. He and the rest of his high school teammates (and coach) clearly had personal issues with Houston Nutt. Pretty much everyone knows Nutt is a bit of an ass so I’m not sure how it came as such a surprise to all these guys. Could Mustain be headed to Tulsa to rejoin Malzahn?

With these events, Rhett Bomar’s ousting from Oklahoma, and Ryan Perrilloux’s recent legal troubles, it seems karma is seeking out former Texas quarterback recruits. John Brantley better watch out.

Update

Latest news is that Mustain was interested in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Tulsa but Bob Stoops and Nick Saban weren’t interested in the formerly highly recruited player. He was forced to enroll in classes at Arkansas this Spring but won’t participate in anything football related. (1/20/2007))

With Leather has the story of a great office prank played on an (assuredly) obnoxious Ohio State fan. When the guy returned from his trip to Arizona to watch the game he found his cubicle wallpapered with the Sports Illustrated cover of the thrashing. I definitely like their idea of adding a hidden live alligator to the mix, but I guess there’s always next year for that.

Shockingly I didn’t see Ohio State fans lighting anything on fire after their loss, but you can’t really blame them for their normal behavior considering how boring life in Ohio must be. But even without cars or couches on fire around Columbus, it still really sucks to be from Ohio.

Texas #7 in Dennis Dodd’s preseason top 25. My only beef is with #5 Wisconsin & #6 Louisville.

Tim Brewster takes over at Minnesota. Brewster was TE coach under Mack Brown at UNC and Texas.