Bevo’s Daily Roundup: Reports say as much, but Texas has yet to confirm Chris Ash hire

You likely caught wind of the news over the weekend: If the reports ring true, Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman will soon hire former Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Chris Ash as the team’s next defensive coordinator, filling the role vacated after Todd Orlando’s firing.

247Sports was the first to report the news. The university has yet to officially announce the hire.

In 2014, Ash was a defensive coordinator at Ohio State, where he helped win a national championship that year alongside fellow coordinator Herman, who was manning the Buckeyes’ offense, and recently retired head coach Urban Meyer. From there, Ash then spent four a half unsuccessful seasons as the head coach at Rutgers, where he finished with an 8-32 record overall, but was fired in late September of this year.

Since then, he’s served as an analyst for the Longhorns.

But what does Ash’s hiring potentially mean for the future of Texas’ defensive squad?

If Ash’s defenses during his time at Wisconsin, Arkansas, Ohio State and Rutgers are any indication, we’ll likely see the Longhorns switch from a primarily three-down front to the four-down – a byproduct of his pedigree that traces back to the state of Iowa’s style of so-called smash-mouth football, where he started out coaching as a graduate assistant and then defensive backs at Iowa State – according to an analysis by the website Inside Texas.

WHAT THE WISE MEN ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS

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NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE IN LONGHORN LAND AND THE BIG 12

• In a crushing blow, the Louisville Cardinals upset the No. 2 seeded Longhorns volleyball team in the second round of the NCAA Tournament over the weekend. The two teams split sets before heading into the fifth, where the Cardinals rallied to a 15-12 victory.

• The Texas men’s basketball team (9-1) is hot for the moment and is seemingly getting hotter as the players continue to develop, but remains unranked. On Saturday, the Longhorns beat the Central Michigan Chippewas – one of the nation’s top scoring offense – 87-76 at the Frank Erwin Center. In particular, junior forward Jase Febres had a big day for the Longhorns, as he scored a game-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

• Former Longhorn defensive back Kenny Vaccaro had a day against the Houston Texans. In the first quarter, the Tennessee Titans safety came out of nowhere as he stepped in front of Texans running back Duke Johnson Jr. to snag an interception in the end zone.

• Although he has struggled early on, former Longhorn and NBA rookie Jaxson Hayes – now a member of the New Orleans Pelicans – was merciless over the weekend against the Orlando Magic. See a few of his highlights below if you need reason to believe it:

• Senior Duncanville quarterback and 2020 Texas commit Ja’Quinden Jackson went down during Saturday’s 6A-I state semifinal matchup against Rockwall after taking a low hit on a first down carry, the Dallas Morning News reports. Jackson was unable to put weight on his leg and was left sidelined as his teammates earned the opportunity to advance to their second straight state championship. Duncanville head coach Reginald Samples told the paper that Jackson might have torn his left ACL. The team will know more later today. In a tweet after the incident, the top-ranked recruit attempted to set the record straight.