From The Shadows | The Rise Of Nash Savage (CFB25)

[redsox907]

ayy that was a close one. Almost gave it away

Couldn't smoke the Canes too bad or Soap would never check in again

[redsox907]

Longhorn Round-Up: Injuries & Recruiting



Austin, TX. - While the Texas Longhorns notched their third commitment of the 2036 recruiting cycle following Saturday’s dramatic 31–28 win over Miami, the mood around Austin was anything but celebratory.

Star running back Lee Vela, who had burst onto the national scene after spending two seasons behind Marquis Pettis, left the game with a shoulder injury. Initial optimism from head coach Nash Savage suggested Vela might only miss the upcoming SEC opener against Kentucky—but updated scans have confirmed a fractured collarbone, sidelining Vela for the remainder of the regular season.

Vela’s breakout campaign ends abruptly after just three games, in which he logged 80 carries for 818 yards and five touchdowns—an eye-popping 10.2 yards per carry.

“Obviously, losing Lee this early is a huge blow to our offensive game plan,” said Savage. “But it’s next man up. SEC play starts next week, and we can’t sit around thinking, ‘What if Lee was here?’ or we’ll be playing the ‘what if’ game again come playoff time—while we’re sitting at home.

“The good news is, if our season goes the way we expect, he’ll be fresh and ready for a potential SEC Championship Game and deep playoff run.”

The long-term impact on Vela’s NFL Draft stock is unclear, but analysts acknowledge it’s a setback.

“He was certainly flying up draft boards, I can tell you that,” said ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. “A collarbone injury isn’t viewed as a long-term issue for a halfback, assuming he returns with the same blend of power and aggressiveness. But if he looks rusty late in the season, he may need to consider coming back for his senior year to regain that first-round momentum.”

With both Vela and transfer addition Terry Olson out, who is still recovering from a fractured leg suffered last season, redshirt freshman Earl Petty—who scored a touchdown against Miami—and sophomore Alex McDonald are expected to share duties in the backfield moving forward.

Overshadowed by the Vela news was a key recruiting win, as the Longhorns secured a commitment from four-star defensive tackle JR Freitas, the No. 131 overall prospect in the 2036 class. The DeSoto, Texas native was in attendance for the win over Miami and chose Texas over in-state rivals TCU and Texas A&M.

However, it wasn’t all good news on the recruiting trail. John Ghiaciuc, the No. 111 overall prospect and top interior lineman from Arizona, informed the Longhorns that he will sign with the Oregon Ducks. Texas had made a late push and finished second in his recruitment, while Arizona State placed third.

[redsox907]

2036 Week Four Preview



\\\\\\\
Kentucky (1-0) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ #1 Texas (3-0)

Kentucky_Wildcats_2036_Lineup

Class	Position	Name	Overall
Offense	-	-	-
JR(RS)	QB	James McNabb	81
SR(RS)	HB	Stephen Joseph	87
SO	WR	Craig Bertolet	88
SO(RS)	WR	Pat Cantwell	79
SO	TE	Antwaun Moffatt	78
JR(RS)	LT	Dallas Taggart	84
JR(RS)	LG	Russell Kumar	88
SR(RS)	C	Josh Dismukes	82
JR(RS)	RG	Dwayne Biggums	85
FR(RS)	RT	Karee Odeyingbo	81
Defense	-	-	-
SR(RS)	DE	Larry Peter	88
SO(RS)	DT	Caleb Skaggs	84
SR(RS)	DT	Tyrique Michaels	81
JR(RS)	DE	Kamryn North	83
SR(RS)	LB	Jayvon Bulaga	85
JR(RS)	MLB	Fredrick Dalton	87
SO(RS)	LB	Mike Arora	82
SO(RS)	CB	Mailau Manuwai	84
SO(RS)	FS	Jeremy Jamerson	86
JR	SS	Tremaine Rachal	82
SR	CB	Nick Browner	83

\\\
Injury_RePort

Kentucky	Length	Texas	Length
-	-	HB Lee Vela	Broken Collarbone, 7 Weeks
-	-	HB Terry Olson	Broken Femur, 19 Weeks

\\\

Week Four SEC Schedule
#23 Oklahoma (1-2) @ #25 Tennessee (1-1)
FCS @ Alabama (1-1)
#14 Ole Miss (0-1) @ #2 Houston (3-0)
FCS @ LSU (1-1)

Notable Week Four Matchups
#24 West Virginia (1-1) @ #8 Georgia Tech (2-0)

[Agent]

incoming upset alert

go cats

[redsox907]

incoming upset alert

go cats

[redsox907]

Texas Prevails Despite McNabb's Heroics


James McNabb looked every bit like his great uncle Donovan against Texas, tossing three touchdown passes including this 7 yard strike on 4th and 2 with three separate defenders bearing down on him. Unfortunately for McNabb, an earlier interception and 8 total sacks left Kentucky coming up just short.

\\
BOX_SCORE

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Kentucky	0	7	10	17	34
Texas	7	10	14	14	45

\\
ScoringSummary

Q	Team	Time	Play	Kentucky	Texas
1st	Texas	5:00	Maurice Uwazurike, 1 Yd Run	0	7
2nd	Texas	9:05	Prince Oluokon, 14 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwazurike	0	14
2nd	Texas	3:53	Edward Jaimes, 25 Yd FG	0	17
2nd	Kentucky	0:05	Brendan Kane, 4 Yd Pass From James McNabb	7	17
3rd	Kentucky	7:24	Stephen Joseph, 2 Yd Run	14	17
3rd	Kentucky	5:55	Max Garrison, 27 Yd FG	17	17
3rd	Texas	2:39	Andre Mond, 13 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwazurike	17	24
3rd	Texas	0:42	Santiago DeCastro, 10 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwzurike	17	31
4th	Kentucky	8:33	Max Garrison, 37 Yd FG	20	31
4th	Texas	5:11	Miguel Jerman, 2 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwazurike	20	38
4th	Kentucky	2:15	Marquez Judovsky, 7 Yd Pass From James McNabb	27	38
4th	Texas	2:09	Prince Oluokon, 42 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwazurike	27	45
4th	Kentucky	1:56	Gill Block, 78 Yd Pass From James McNabb	34	45

\\

Texas Longhorns Stats
\\
Passing_Stats

Maurice Uwazurike	18/26, 289 Yds, 5 TD, INT

Rushing_Stats

Earl Petty	21 Att, 158 Yds
Maurice Uwazurike	4 Att, 14 Yds, TD

Receiving_Stats

Miguel Jerman	8 Rec, 121 Yds, TD
Santiago DeCastro	3 Rec, 25 Yds, TD
Prince Oluokon	3 Rec, 60 Yds, 2 TD
Andre Mond	2 Rec, 30 Yds, TD
Tyler Biggs	2 Rec, 53 YDs

Defensive_Stats

MLB Marvin Pitts	9 Tkl, 2 TFL, 1.5 Sacks
MLB Titus Alli	7 Tkl, TFL, Sack
SS Jayden Singleton	6 Tkl, TFL, 0.5 Sack, INT
DT Jon Cummings	5 Tkl, 3 TFL, 1 Sacks
DT Sione Savage	5 Tkl, 3 TFL, 3 Sacks
LB Miguel Giuliano	4 Tkl, 3 TFL, Sack

Kentucky Wildcats Stats
\\
Passing_Stats

James McNabb	25/30, 413 Yds, 3 TD, INT

Rushing_Stats

James McNabb	13 Att, -47 Yds
Stephen Joseph	9 Att, 28 Yds, TD
Jason Winston	1 Att, 5 Yds
Alonzo Teel	1 Att, 1 Yds

Receiving_Stats

Craig Bertolet	6 Rec, 116 Yds
Antwaun Moffatt	5 Rec, 64 Yds
Gill Block	4 Rec, 151 Yds, TD
Pat Cantwell	4 Rec, 27 Yds
Stephen Joseph	3 Rec, 30 Yds
Marquez Judovsky	1 Rec, 7 Yds, TD
Brendan Kane	1 Rec, 4 Yds, TD
DaShaun Keenan	1 Rec, 14 Yds

Defensive_Stats

MLB Marquee Fantuz	10 Tkl, TFL, INT
MLB Fredrick Dalton	10 Tkl, TFL
DE Theo Romanowsk	Tkl, TFL, Sack

\\

LEFT - Texas' defense celebrating after one of Sione Savage's three sacks on the afternoon.
CENTER - Prince Oluokon stands at 6'2, with CB David Hardy coming in at 5'10, so Mo made the smart decision. Throw it up and let the big guy go to work.
RIGHT - Jayden Singleton showing he still has the coverage skills, nabbing this 3rd Q interception to swing momentum back to the Longhorns.

Austin, TX. - Despite giving up 413 passing yards and facing a furious second-half rally, the #1 Texas Longhorns held off the Kentucky Wildcats 45–34 at DKR Stadium, thanks to a dominant defensive front and a bounce back performance by Maurice Uwazurike.

Texas stormed out to a 17–0 lead behind a pair of first-half touchdowns from senior QB Maurice “Mo” Uwazurike and a relentless pass rush that notched four sacks early. The Longhorns allowed just 40 total yards through most of the first half, appearing in full control. But with the clock winding down before halftime, Kentucky QB James McNabb, the great nephew of NFL legend Donovan McNabb, finally found his rhythm.

Limited to just 3-of-5 passing early due to Texas’ pressure, McNabb led a precision drive before the break, completing 6-of-7 throws for 97 yards and capping it with a 4-yard touchdown strike to Brendane Kane. The Wildcats carried that momentum into the third quarter, executing the classic “double dip.”

McNabb hit Craig Bertolet for a 42-yard gain, setting up Stephen Joseph’s 2-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 17–14. On the ensuing Texas possession, Uwazurike made an ill-advised throw across his body to TE Tyler Biggs—a throw easily picked off by Kentucky MLB Marquee Fantuz. Though the Longhorns’ defense held thanks to another key sack from DT Sione Savage, Kentucky still tied the game at 17 with a 28-yard field goal.

The once-raucous crowd in Austin was stunned, but Texas quickly swung the momentum back. Uwazurike connected with WR Miguel Jerman on gains of 29 and 20 yards before finding Andre Mond for a 13-yard touchdown. On Kentucky’s next possession, McNabb threw a quick interception, one of only two incompletions in the second half by McNabb, and Uwazurike capitalized again—this time hitting Santiago DeCastro for a 10-yard score and a 31–17 lead.

“I’m going to start sounding like a broken record,” head coach Nash Savage stated after the game. “But once again, you saw this team’s grit and resolve. A lot of teams fold after blowing a 17-point lead. These guys strapped up and went back to work.”

Kentucky kept swinging, but Texas always had the counterpunch. Down 38–24, McNabb led a gutsy fourth-down touchdown drive, finding Marquez Judovsky while evading three pass rushers to cut the deficit to 11. But on the following onside kick attempt, Texas recovered and offensive coordinator Colt McCoy dialed up a slant-and-go to Prince Oluokun, who rose above the corner for a 42-yard touchdown that all but sealed the game.

Still, McNabb wasn’t done. On the very next play, he hit WR Gill Block for a stunning 78-yard touchdown to keep the Wildcats alive and prompt a quick sideline chat between Savage and McCoy.

“I just told him, let’s slow it down. We’ve run the ball well all game—no need to get into a ‘mine’s bigger than yours’ shootout and risk something wild happening,” Savage shared postgame.

Texas recovered Kentucky’s second onside attempt and ran out the clock behind Petty, who stepped up in a big way following Lee Vela’s injury. The redshirt freshman carried 21 times for 158 yards in his first career start.

Despite McNabb’s monster performance (25/30, 413 yards, 3 TDs), the Texas defense imposed its will, finishing with 8 sacks. Sione Savage led the charge with 3, while five other Longhorns notched at least one.

Uwazurike rebounded from his 5-interception outing against Miami with 289 passing yards and five touchdowns, showing poise even as momentum swung back and forth.

Off the field, the Longhorns struck out on the recruiting trail this weekend. DE Fredrick Brake (201st overall) committed to Oregon, while DT DeAngelo Harvey (184th) chose Nebraska. Texas finished a distant second for both.

Next up, Texas wraps up their four-game home stand with a high-stakes matchup against #21 Tennessee, fresh off a 35–28 win over a sliding Oklahoma team that has now dropped three straight.

Week Four SEC Results
28 Oklahoma (1-3) @ #21 Tennessee (2-1) 35
14 FCS @ Alabama (2-1) 35
34 #9 Ole Miss (1-1) @ #11 Houston (3-1) 14
7 FCS @ LSU (2-1) 41

Notable Week Four Results
14 West Virginia (1-2) @ #7 Georgia Tech (3-0) 26
21 #24 San Jose State (3-1) @ Utah (2-1) 22
41 Iowa (2-1) @ #20 Ohio State (2-1) 38

[Agent]

[supahotfire]

run defense got after it. mcnabb must have had u sweating

[Captain Canada]

Kentucky gave you a run for your money but you escaped

[redsox907]

run defense got after it. mcnabb must have had u sweating

I wish the CPU ran the ball more, but is what it is. But yeah McNabb went robo QB in the 2nd half. lucily he's got his great uncles clutch gene

Kentucky gave you a run for your money but you escaped

a dub is a dub, but would have liked it to be more handily