Texas Longhorns

Sunday’s action at the London Olympics featured several Longhorns.

Kevin Durant had a game-high 22 points and 9 rebounds to lead U.S.A. past France in both teams’ Olympic opener.

Durant converted 6 of 13 field goals, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and 7 of 7 free throws while adding two assists, two blocked shots and two steals in 28 minutes of action.

At the Aquatics Centre, it was Texas Ex Brendan Hansen who climbed the podium. Hansen took the bronze after surging ahead three spots in the 100m breaststroke.

Hansen came out of retirement in 2011 and won the 100m breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic Trials. The bronze was Hansen’s second medal after taking home silver in the 2004 Athens games.

Ricky Berens and Jimmy Feigen also made it to the medal stand, earning silver through their participation in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

The pair was part of the U.S. men’s foursome for the qualifying heat of the 4x100m freestyle relay. The United States advanced to the relay final with the second-best time of 3:12.59 after two heats.

The foursome of Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps, Cullen Jones and Ryan Lochte won the silver medal for the U.S. later Sunday. Though Berens and Feigen did not swim in the relay final, both will still receive medals for their qualifying efforts.

“The men's 400 relay tonight was almost a carbon copy of the 2008 final with a flip-flop of who got first and second,” Kubik added. “Jimmy and Ricky did their parts to contribute by their efforts in the preliminaries, and that allowed the U.S. to race tonight with four new swimmers. They are now proud owners of a silver medal from the 2012 London Games and have added another chapter to the rich tradition of Texas Swimming and Diving.”

For Feigen, this is his first Olympics. Berens is in his second Olympic Games. He won a gold in the 4x200 meter relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas guard David Snow rarely came off the field in 2011.

The same goes for guard Mason Walters, defensive end Alex Okafor, defensive tackle Kheeston Randall and so many others on the first line of Texas’ depth chart. That’s because Texas had no depth, except, as every fan painfully remembers, at quarterback.

Nothing has changed with the quarterback situation. But when it comes to the other 21 spots, Texas is no longer and all-hat-no-cattle organization. It has depth, not everywhere, but there is enough to allow for a sigh of relief from those who had nowhere to turn or sideline to sit on in 2011.

“Right now there are three to four guys who can come in there and with [offensive line coach Stacy] Searels, you never know where any of them might play,” Walters said. “But you know they will be ready.”

Ready is one thing, able is the key when it comes to depth.

Clearly Texas is more than able at multiple positions.

At running back the Longhorns have Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron returning and add Johnathan Gray.

Along the offensive line Texas has four starters back, added Donald Hawkins at tackle and has Sedrick Flowers (guard), Luke Poehlmann (tackle), Garrett Porter (center) and Thomas Ashcraft (guard/tackle).

“Those guys are ready to step up,” Mack Brown said.

(Read full post)

Texas A&M, LSU and Texas were long considered the favorites to land four-star defensive end Torrodney Prevot (Houston/Alief Taylor).

On Sunday, Prevot reached a decision -- and it’s a bit of a shocker.

Prevot confirmed to RecruitingNation he has committed to USC. The ESPN 300 end becomes commit No. 18 for the Trojans.

The 6-foot-3, 201-pound lineman chose USC after making two visits to the program this summer. He’s ranked 247th in the ESPN 300 and 19th among defensive end prospects.

Prevot is the third defensive end in USC’s top-ranked 2013 class, joining Kylie Fitts (Redlands, Calif./Redlands East) and recent commit Jason Hatcher (Louisville, Ky./Trinity).

Mack Brown joked at last week's Big 12 media days that everyone "knew" his quarterback would be David Ash, but he hadn't made up his mind.

Somewhat convincing insistence aside, the job still looked to be Ash's. Could an equalizer have happened, though? Maybe.

From HornsNation:

Texas quarterback David Ash suffered a strained hamstring and is day-to-day, a source inside the program told ESPN's HornsNation.

Texas players are not scheduled to report until Aug. 5. While the hamstring might limit Ash's production at the start of camp, he is not expected to be limited as Texas progresses through the four weeks of camp.

It's reportedly not a major issue, but it's still an issue, and competition aside, it's not a good sign for Ash's development. Texas needs him to show big improvement, and it needs that injury to truly be a minor issue.

Also eye-opening was a quote from Brown at media days, considering the post-media days news. How does he know his quarterbacks will eventually separate and ultimately decide for themselves who will start?

"I've got 37 years that says it will probably happen, one way or the other," Brown said. "And usually the players will choose them for you if not. You bring in key players and ask what they think.

"But usually somebody will tweak an ankle or somebody will have a sore shoulder, and it may not just be by performance that it separates. If it doesn't separate, you choose one to start the game. If he doesn't play well, you put the other one in."

Awkward much?

You'd be hard-pressed to find many folks outside the program who truly believe Case McCoy could be the starter barring a major development, but you never know with hamstring injuries. It doesn't sound like a concerning injury now, but what if Ash tweaks it in fall camp and that changes.

All of a sudden, McCoy may be a serious factor in this race.

Very interesting development in advance of Texas' camp. Stay tuned.

The Longhorn Network goes inside the offseason workouts with the Texas basketball team.

Penn State kicker Anthony Fera will visit Texas on Sunday, a source close to the kicker told HornsNation.

The redshirt junior placekicker and punter will then sit down with his family and sort out his options. He has made no other visit plans and has no timetable for a decision on whether he’ll transfer or remain at Penn State.

Fera, a graduate of Houston St. Pius X High, is traveling home to Cypress, Texas, on Saturday and is interested in seeing what the Longhorns have to offer.

Texas is in need of a new placekicker and punter following the graduation of do-everything kicker Justin Tucker. The opportunity to take over both roles and play close to home prompted Fera’s interest.

Longhorns coaches have not promised him any starting roles, the source said, but Fera is merely looking for a chance to compete and get a fair shake.

The fact that Fera is set to earn his degree from Penn State in December will also be a factor in his decision, and he is still strongly considering going back to Happy Valley.

As a sophomore, Fera earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from ESPN.com and second-team honors from media and coaches after connecting on 14 of 17 field goals and averaging 42 yards on 64 punts.

Ivan Maisel talks to some players from the Big 12 including Bob Stoops, Landry Jones, Geno Smith, Jackson Jeffcoat, Joseph Randle and Arthur Brown.