Official Orangebloods ******** Meter
5 – Total and undeniable ******** (Vince Young hurt his hand in a fight the night before Texas/OU)
4 – Probably ********, but we probably shouldn’t be emphatic about it
3 – There’s enough of a possibility of it being true, that we should file it away just in case.
2 – You think it’s probably going to happen, but things can change in the blink of an eye. (It’s Austin.)
1 – Total and undeniable truth
Let’s get on with it.
*****
Rumor: Arch Manning is injured
Grade: 4
We’re going to talk about this one yet again because it’s still a talking point, including with the national media. With Manning struggling with his accuracy, people continue to wonder if he’s dealing with an injury that’s affecting his mechanics and overall performance. Mind you, Manning himself has said there are no issues. Steve Sarkisian has said there are no issues. I spoke with someone whose season tickets are right behind the Longhorn bench. This person said at no point during the game did he see Manning so much as talk with trainers. (Suchomel)
Rumor: Trey Owens is actually better than Arch Manning and he’s been frozen out of the quarterback situation in the name of protecting Manning
Grade: 5
As much as it might be easy right now to ask whether there’s any connection at all between Owens’ borderline shocking fall in the quarterback depth chart, the truth of the matter is that Owens’ issues are Owens’ issues and that they don’t have anything to do with Manning. Do you know how I know that? Because every single person covering the program has been told the same thing regarding this situation and it all unfolded at a time when the entire football staff believed (believes) that Manning is headed for a monster career. (Ketch)
Rumor: There was a big fight between the offense and defense this week in Tuesday’s practice
Grade: 4
Ill be honest, I’m still checking around with sources and I can’t say with 100% certainty that this didn’t happen, but it came from another source with connections to… ahem… Greek life at Texas… at least per the person who sent me the note in my DMs yesterday. Some of the details that were shared (coaches and players yelling at each other in front of each other, the defense mocking the offense, etc…) just didn’t sound pass my personal smell test. That being said, I’m not ignoring it, either. I’ll probably update this note with a stronger confirmation before the end of Thursday afternoon. (Ketch)
Rumor: Miami is getting nervous about its chances of flipping running back Derrek Cooper
Grade: 1
The Miami Hurricanes want to keep running back Derrek Cooper home, badly. After the Texas commitment took in the ‘Canes home opener against Notre Dame, there was some level of optimism from people inside the Miami program. In checking with a source this week, I’m told that Miami is “starting to sweat a little” about Cooper sticking with his Texas commitment. Getting Cooper in this weekend for his official visit is obviously a big development for the Longhorns. (Suchomel)
Rumor: Texas has a real shot to flip linebacker Braylon Hodge
Grade: 1
The Longhorns offered four-star 2026 linebacker Braylon Hodge last week and the Cherry Creek (CO) product will be in Austin this weekend for an unofficial visit. Hodge, who is currently committed to Michigan State, is also planning to return to Austin the week of the Texas A&M game for an official visit. Michigan is another program that’s heavily involved. In talking to Hodge this week, there is a sense of loyalty to Michigan State, but he said he’ll ultimately just follow his gut and see where things go. I would expect Texas to make a strong impression this weekend. (Suchomel)
Rumor: 2028 defensive end King Pitts actually did commit to Texas last weekend
Grade: 2
What a weird sequence of events for 2028 DE King Pitts last weekend. He went from going to commit to Texas on Friday to wanting to wait, to committing to Texas on Saturday to saying it was all a misunderstanding and he wasn’t committed. I’m not even completely sure Texas would have accepted Pitts’ commitment if he wanted to keep it since he’s such a young kid, but the Santa Rosa (CA) Cardinal Newman definitely made plans with a graphics guy to go public with his Texas commitment before then backtracking AFTER the graphic was put out public. (Suchomel)
