Bevo’s Daily Roundup: Graham Harrell pulls his name out of the Texas coordinator search

As we natives say, “Don’t California my Texas.”

Apparently one native Texan missed the memo – USC Trojans offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, who opted to sign a contract extension with the Trojans rather than take the open offensive coordinator job for the Texas Longhorns, according to USC’s football program. The former Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback was a favorite among possible offensive coordinator replacements for Tim Beck, who was demoted following the end of the regular season.

In other words, that’s that on Harrell. The offensive coordinator search continues.

WHAT THE WISE MEN ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS

Hook ‘Em Headlines: Texas Football: Longhorns care more about winning Alamo Bowl than Utah

Dallas Morning News: Breaking down the Alamo Bowl: Texas shouldn’t be here, but could the Longhorns pull off an upset versus No. 11 Utah?

NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE IN LONGHORN LAND AND THE BIG 12

• Speaking of the coaching carousel, after 247Sports originally broke the story over the weekend, the Texas Longhorns have made it official with their defensive coordinator Chris Ash, who previously was the head coach with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and coached alongside head coach Tom Herman during their time with the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2014.

• The early signing period kicks off tomorrow. From Dec. 18 to Dec. 20, roughly 80 percent of college football’s top recruiting prospects will sign their national letters of intent. For the Longhorns, the early signing period has proven to be an interesting one this year. In particular, that’s due to the coaching changes we’ve seen since the regular season conclusion against the Texas Tech, in which offensive coordinator Beck was demoted and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando was told to hit the road after three years under Herman’s helm. Some of Texas’ top recruiting prospects in 2020 include: five-star running back Bijan Robinson of Sailpointe High School in Arizona, four-star quarterback Hudson Card of Lake Travis High School in Austin and four-star defensive tackle Vernon Broughton of Cypress Ridge High School in Houston.

• As for an added note on the early signing period this year, the Longhorns, it seems, have already been forced to count their losses. On Monday night, four-star wide receiver Quentin Johnston out of Temple High School announced via his Snapchat account that he would be signing with the TCU Horned Frogs tomorrow, and not the Longhorns as planned. Playing a major part in his decision to switch his commitment was the Longhorns’ firing of wide receiver coach Drew Mehringer at the end of the year. Johnston’s intension to decommit means the Longhorns drops from No. 7 to No. 11 in 247Sports recruiting rankings.

• Texas men’s basketball head coach Shaka Smart on where his team stands at the end of the fall semester and turning their attention to the last game before the holidays against the Providence Friars: “Providence is a really, really good team. We learned that firsthand last year. They’ve got almost all of their guys back from that team that came in there and beat us last year. I think they’re a lot better than their record indicates. They’ve got a lot of dangerous guys on their team that can shoot the ball, drive the ball, play with physicality and run to the basket. It’s going to be a really, really important game for us to play with toughness. First of all mental toughness, to be able to get to the next play and fight through fatigue. And then secondly just a physical toughness to stand up to the physicality and the athleticism that they bring to the game.”