Bevo’s Daily Roundup: Texas high school football schedules are adapting to COVID-19

On Tuesday, the University Interscholastic League announced scheduling changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the Texas high school football season, 247Sports reports.

From 247Sports: “5A and 6A football teams in the state of Texas cannot begin practices for the upcoming season until September 7, 2020. First day for football games to be played will be September 24 and the State Championships will be held on a day in January of 2021, yet to be determined. Those teams at the 1A-4A level will have a slightly different schedule that allows them to begin practices and play games sooner. Those teams will be allowed to begin practicing on August 3, 2020 and play games on August 27. The State Championships for those levels of competition will be held from December 16-19.”

WHAT THE WISE MEN ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS

Austin American-Statesman: The Dotted Line: Texas, Oklahoma rise to top of the Big 12 recruiting rankings

Austin American-Statesman: Our 12th annual preseason Top 25: No. 5 Oklahoma is making a habit of Big 12, CFP, Heisman runs

247Sports: Morning Brew: Second-guessing my colleagues’ Big 12 predictions

247Sports: Horns247 Roundtable: Predicting Sam Ehlinger’s 2020 season stats

247Sports: It will be a fall-back-to-earth year for Baylor

ICYMI IN BURNT ORANGE NATION

4-star 2022 CB Isaac Thompson names Texas among top schools

WHAT WE’RE READING

Banner Society: In Conversation: Third and long on Air Force One

SBNation: Sixers’ Tobias Harris calls for arrests on police who killed Breonna Taylor

SBNation: We redesigned every WNBA jersey to celebrate the league’s return

NEWS ACROSS THE LONGHORN REPUBLIC AND BEYOND

• Are the Longhorns of the nation’s top contenders on the gridiron this year? Famed sports writer and analyst Phil Steele, who has Texas as his No. 5 surprise team this year, thinks so. From Sports Illustrated’s report: ““After Texas beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in 2018, QB Sam Ehlinger declared, ‘We’re baaaaack.’ He may have been a year early as my No. 4 surprise team is the Texas Longhorns, who could take that step this year and win their first Big 12 title in over a decade,” he wrote. “Texas does face LSU, Oklahoma State, TCU and Oklahoma all away from home, but are very talented and the Big 12 champ has made the playoffs each of the last three years, and the Horns have the talent to take home that crown.”

• Texas offensive lineman Sam Cosmi got the nod for the preseason Outland Trophy watch list, Sports Illustrated reports. From SI: “A trio of Longhorns have previously won the Outland Trophy (Scott Appleton, 1963; Tommy Nobis, 1965; Brad Shearer, 1977), and four others have been finalists (Dan Neil, 1996; Leonard Davis, 2000; Justin Blalock, 2006; Malcom Brown, 2014). Cosmi, a Humble, Texas native, is a fourth-year offensive lineman who has played in 27 career games with 26 starts. He was a second-team All-Big 12 performer and honorable mention as the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year last season, as well as a USA Today Freshman All-American in 2018. Last season, he anchored an offensive line that was named to the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll and helped the Longhorns win their third-straight bowl game with victory over No. 11 Utah in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Cosmi earned All-Bowl recognition from the Associated Press, ESPN and Sports Illustrated for his performance against the Utes.”

• Head coach Tom Herman had shoulder surgery last week, 247Sports report. From 247Sports: “Herman underwent surgery on his left shoulder last Friday, a Texas spokesperson confirmed to Horns247. The procedure was done to clean up general wear and tear, which began in earnest during Herman’s college football career.”