Recapping the weekly highlights in University of Texas Athletics.
Longhorn baseball flips Mizzou commit
We received word a couple of weeks ago that Cedar Park pitcher Cole Quintanilla was in contact with David Pierce’s new staff in Austin. We were told that after the Missouri coaching change Cole never heard from the staff in Columbia (and he’s been committed to the Tigers since November of 2015). That paired with the recent changes at Texas appeared to open the door for the Longhorns to snag Quintanilla away from Columbia, Missouri. Quintanilla made the announcement of his commitment to Texas on July 18th. Quintanilla throws hard and at 6-5, 205 lbs. he is still growing.
On the same day of Quintanilla’s verbal, new head coach David Pierce received a commitment from 2018 right handed pitcher Justin Quinn. Quinn, who will be a junior this year at Calallen High School in Corpus Christi, also plays AAU ball with the Austin Banditos.
Texas basketball releases 2016-2017 non-conference schedule
The Longhorns’ non-conference hoops schedule was released last week and it includes away game trips to Michigan and Georgia. Texas fans will have the opportunity to watch home games against the likes of Arkansas, Alabama, UAB, and Kent State among others.
The season kicks off on November 11th against Incarnate Word at the Frank Erwin Center.
Under the Lights Camp
Charlie Strong’s annual Under the Lights Camp took place on Saturday night at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium. We were able to catch all of the action and also get a glimpse of the impressive work Pat Moorer has been able to accomplish with the current players. Read Daniel Seahorn’s recap of the event for specifics on this, but on the recruiting front, the Longhorns extended offers to a handful of players.
Stanley Lambert (2018 WR – San Antonio Marshall), a tall, physical wide receiver had one offer from UTSA before showing up at UTL and dominating. He left DKR-TMS with an offer. Cibolo Steele safety Caden Sterns (2018) also left UTL with an offer, as did big offensive guard Chasen Hines from East Texas (Marshall High School) and South Grand Prairie DB Atanza Vongor. Last but certainly not least, TCU commit Josh Thompson (2017 – Nacogdoches High School) announced his offer from the Longhorns on Sunday morning. Thompson’s recruitment should be interesting to watch play out, as the talented DB is close with current Texas player Brandon Jones.
Team USA wins Gold
Led by head coach Shaka Smart, Team USA basketball defeated Canada 99-84 at FIBA Americas U18 tournament in Valdivia, Chile. Unversity of Texas freshman Jarrett Allen scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the win. James Banks didn’t play in game 5 after playing in the previous four games. Smart’s squad went an impressive 5-0 in the tournament.
Longhorns add experienced kicker to team
The Texas special teams unit received a boost on Sunday when former LSU kicker Trent Domingue announced he had officially joined the Longhorn football team. Domingue, a finalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2015 and a player on the Groza watchlist for 2016, enrolled at Texas as a graduate transfer. Domingue brings experience in a variety of kicking capacities to the team. Head coach Charlie Strong had this to say about brining Domingue aboard:
“We’re obviously thrilled that Trent decided to join our program,” Strong said. “What a great addition in a critical position of need for us. Trent’s an experienced and proven kicker who has had a great deal of success at the highest level and competed in pressure situations. He’ll be a strong leader on our special teams, and we look forward to getting him on campus.”
2016 Summer Olympic Games – Longhorns in RIO
The 2016 Summer Olympics take place from August 5 – August 21 in Rio de Janero, Brazil. The good folks in the Texas Athletic Department have created a webpage dedicated to keeping you up-to-date with Longhorns competing in the Olympics, along with a Longhorn medal tracker. There are more than twenty Longhorns competing in Rio. For more information visit: www.TexasSports.com/Rio.
Other notable nuggets‘”
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[*]Marvin Wilson (Episcopal High School, Bellaire, TX), the nation’s top-ranked defensive tackle, announced he will be visiting the 40 Acres on Tuesday, July 25th. Wilson is 2 in our Top 100 for 2017 (behind top-ranked LB Baron Browing who made it to the Under the Lights Camp on Saturday).
[*]Conference expansion discussion is alive and well. In case you missed it, University of Texas President Greg Fenves, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and UT System Chancellor Bill McRaven all voiced their support for the University of Houston to join the Big 12. While there are a handful of schools included as a list of potentials, when the time for serious discussions occurs, it will be interesting to see if the Cougars remain in it.
[*]Early enrollee quarterback Shane Buechele spent time learning from Texas gunslinger Colt McCoy on Friday evening. Buechele is already way ahead of the learning curve at the position and getting tips from McCoy certainly doesn’t hurt his campaign to take the starting job away from Tyrone Swoopes.
[*]Former University of Texas golfer Jhonattan Vegas won the PGA’s RBC Canadian Open on Sunday after shooting a fourth-round 64 at Glen Abbey. This was Vegas’ second tour win (he won the Bob Hope Classic in 2011).
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