40 Acres Sports

[tag]Mack Brown[/tag] was hired in 1997 and brought early recruiting with him to the Big 12 from the ACC.

Recruiting early is one thing, but recruiting quality athletes and people early is a lot tougher. You can judge the measureables like size and speed, but how do you know a kid’s character and other intangibles in such a short amount of time?

Of course part of the reason for all of Texas’ early commits is the lack of competition from the in-state schools. With the Aggies down like they have been for a while now, if you’re a recruit in the state of Texas you better jump on a Longhorn offer quickly if you want to play for a top tier national team.

With a national title now on his resume, Big 12 schools and coaches across the country better watch out for the 2007 class Mack Brown is about to put together.

While A&M has rights to the 12th Man™, Syracuse has “Third and Forever.”

I’ll update this post from time to time today with any news on National Signing Day including who has sent in their letter of intent and any other rumors going around. Most of the guys should be signed by around noon and then we’ll just be waiting around for Jonas Mouton’s decision this evening.

Morgan shocks Aggies and Seminoles

4-star linebacker Michael Morgan was expected to choose between Florida State and Texas A&M last night and surprised everyone when he announced he’d be headed to USC next fall. While the Trojans were in his final three, most experts believed he was headed to FSU or possibly to the Aggies if he decided he wanted to stay closer to home.

The announcement sent the Aggie fans into meltdown mode. He was a critical recruit and one they had been very confident about landing for a while. The Aggies had a down year on the field this season and it’s been reflected in their lack of success in recruiting, Morgan would have been a very nice addition to an otherwise average class.

Latest on Mouton

Seems like most experts are predicting Jonas Mouton will pick Michigan tonight when he announces his decision on Fox Sports West. There’s still people predicting Texas or USC and Mouton has kept things pretty close to the vest, so these are all just guesses and gut feelings. I think in the end Texas just got in too late to have a chance to completely win him over.

Signed letters of intent as of 9 a.m.

According to Geoff Ketchum over at Orangebloods.com, 19 players have already signed their letter of intent to play for the Horns as of about 9 a.m. The following players have been confirmed by the Orangebloods staff:

• [tag]Ben Alexander[/tag]
• [tag]Chykie Brown[/tag]
• [tag]Buck Burnette[/tag]
• [tag]Antwan Cobb[/tag]
• [tag]Dustin Earnest[/tag]
• [tag]Brian Ellis[/tag]
• [tag]Sherrod Harris[/tag]
• [tag]Robert Joseph[/tag]
• [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag]
• [tag]Hunter Lawrence[/tag]
• [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag]
• [tag]Steven Moore[/tag]
• [tag]Jared Norton[/tag]
• [tag]Phillip Payne[/tag]
• [tag]Jevan Snead[/tag]
• [tag]Greg Smith[/tag]
• [tag]Roy Watts[/tag]
• [tag]JMarcus Webb[/tag]
• [tag]Montre Webber[/tag]

Steve Moore was the first one in this morning at around 7:30 and there’s been a steady flow since. I’m glad to see Ben Alexander‘s name already on the list as I had a slightly bad feeling about him. He’s out of state and several schools from the ACC and SEC have still been recruiting him since he committed back in June.

All letters of intent are in (11 a.m.)

The last six of the 25 man class are signed and Orangebloods has confirmation on them. Add the following names to the Class of 2006:

• [tag]Deon Beasley[/tag]
• [tag]James Henry[/tag]
• [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag]
• [tag]Eddie Jones[/tag]
• [tag]Josh Marshall[/tag]
• [tag]Britt Mitchell[/tag]

Now just waiting on Mouton…

Mouton to Michigan (4 p.m.)

His press conference isn’t for several more hours but it appears Jonas Mouton has already made his decision. Lloyd Carr’s official press release on the Wolverines’ signees confirms that Mouton has signed his letter of intent and makes tonight’s press conference just a formality.

That wraps up things for the Longhorns today as everybody we knew about is already in and no one new is really left out there. We’ll have an overview of the entire class soon as well as a position-by-position breakdown of next year including the new guys in the coming days/weeks.

National Signing Day is finally upon us and Longhorn fans will unexpectedly have something to look forward to.

With a fantastic class in both quality and quantity mostly wrapped up months ago, the only recruit that Texas has offered that has yet to announce is 4-star safety Jonas Mouton out of California. Texas didn’t get in on Mouton till after the US Army All-American Bowl three weeks ago but made a very strong push and has a great shot of landing him. It’s a three team race between Texas, Michigan, and USC.

He’ll be announcing his decision at a 8:30 p.m. CST press conference on Fox Sports West and we’ll have that info as well as any other news or rumors here as soon as we hear them.

This article appeared in last week’s Daily Texan and it may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever read…

Championship revelry a sham
By Eric Seufert

The 2005 “National Champion” Longhorn football team apparently deserves a pat on the back, although I couldn’t tell you why. Sure, winning a football game is an accomplishment – kudos.

But I am under the impression that this is the first national title we’ve won in 35 years. My question to the Longhorns: Where are the other 34?

America was founded on an ideology of consistently outperforming our enemies and allies, not self-congratulation at the initial throes of success. Texas’ 34-year losing streak brings to mind a similar struggle that America endured, and, thanks to the continuous efforts of our sage statesmen, ultimately routed: the Cold War.

Jack Kennedy didn’t drink himself stupid on Sixth Street after making Khrushchev tuck tail out of Cuba in ’62. Ronald Reagan didn’t appear on The Tonight Show after devising the Star Wars defense program. No, the heroes of the Cold War recognized and appreciated the fact that defeating the Soviets would require diplomatic endurance and that no one success could ensure ultimate victory. Longhorns, take notice: We may have won a battle, but we have yet to win the war.

Truth be told, isn’t all this celebrating a little un-American? I don’t see George W. Bush throwing up the horns with regards to the Iraqi war, and I think democratizing the Middle East bears more weight than a 3-point squeaker on the old gridiron. If the president of the United States can exercise humility in the face of globally recognized humanitarian victory, I think a couple of jocks can limit their festivities to spirited locker-room antics.

The truth is, no one likes a braggart, and the fanfare that has accompanied our Rose Bowl win smacks of arrogance. A brash show of dominance is no way for a champion to act, and I should know – I’m a winner. In fact, just last week I was intimate with a woman whom most people would consider “out of my league.” Did I call up my buddies the next day to boast about my exploits? No – I asked her for a ride home and humbly went about my business. Don’t kiss and tell, Texas, it’s not classy.

The point I’m masterfully illustrating is that our one big win is being overshadowed by our schoolboy glee. I can understand the desire to let loose a little – heck, I’ve been known to crack open a frosty while hunting down non-performers in my stock portfolio – but the merrymaking has been taken too far. We should be celebrating on a level that matches our accomplishment, and tossing the pigskin around doesn’t warrant an all-out orgy of buffoonery.

Let’s scale back the partying, Texas. If only one out of my 35 investments was making me money, I wouldn’t be downing shots at Maggie Mae’s – I’d be having a stern discussion with my broker.

Unbelievable. The Daily Texan was a pretty good read when I was in school and I know the sports coverage was well worth ignoring an Economics professor for, so I hope this article isn’t a reflection on it’s current standards.

In addition to being completely stupid, his whole argument is based on the premise that winning a college football national title and making money off an investment are remotely similar. That comparison fails in so many ways, namely that only one team (okay, maybe two teams) is crowned champion of college football every season while the success of one stock has little to do with the success of another. In a bull market it’s feasible that a majority of stocks will have positive returns and even in a market downturn there’s plenty of opportunities for profits. It would be a much better analogy if each year only a single stock made money and only a single investor could own that stock.

I bet you sure would be throwing some blowout if that single investor was you three times in 42 years. Wouldn’t you Eric?

Lemming again busted trying to sway recruits to Notre Dame.

Should be in line again for head coaching jobs next offseason.

Would make a lot of people switch allegiances from Cowboys to Texans if he does.

Brown and Carrol have different methods, but both get the job done.

Aggies are taking a beating nationwide for this. Jim Rome railed on them pretty good today.