Bevo’s Daily Roundup: Texas alum Ta’Quon Graham says players were caught off guard by Tom Herman’s firing

In an interview with The Spun, former Texas Longhorns defensive tackle Ta’Quon Graham said he and teammates were caught off guard by the firing of former head coach Tom Herman, who was replaced by Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

“I guess it kinda capped off everything from this season,” Graham said of Herman’s unanticipated firing late last year, per The Spun. “First off all, we were disappointed we didn’t get to win the Big 12 Championship. It hurt when I saw it on the news because that’s not something we expected to happen. There were talks about it, but we didn’t think they would do that this year, especially due to COVID-19 and how tough this year was. It was just a hard situation for us players, and it was something we were disappointed by.”

WHAT THE WISE MEN ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS

Austin American-Statesman: Kansas sweep! Horns capture historic OT win over Jayhawks

Austin American-Statesman: UT mum on diversity in its football coach search

Austin American-Statesman: UT recruits earn McDonald’s All-American honors

Dallas Morning News: Texas DB outlook for 2021: Can an All-Big 12 star emerge?

Dallas Morning News: ‘Texas is my home and will always be my home’: Current and former Longhorn athletes give back during winter storms

247Sports: Morning Brew: Texas basketball gets back to its identity - defense

ICYMI IN BURNT ORANGE NATION

Big 12 announces rescheduled Texas basketball games

No. 14 Texas topples No. 17 Kansas in overtime with big second-half comeback

No. 14 Texas vs. No. 17 Kansas: Game thread

RECRUITING ROUNDUP

247Sports: Longhorns among schools making early impression on Malik Agbo

247Sports: 2023 OL Andre Cojoe discusses receiving first offer from Texas

Inside Texas: Just In Time Nightly News: Pair of East Texas targets for UT

Inside Texas: The latest on Maalik Murphy, Malik Agbo, and CJ Williams

Inside Texas: Recruiting Matters: Major recruiting battles will shape Texas’ class

BIG 12 BREAKDOWN

Our Daily Bears: If the schedule holds Baylor wins the Big 12 with any win or any West Virginia loss

Our Daily Bears: Mark Vital: America’s most underrated player keys Baylor’s win over Iowa State

Viva the Matadors: OSU uses a big second hand run to help hand Tech their third loss in a row

Frogs O’ War: Phillip Sikes’ inside the park grand slam highlights wild 20-0 TCU baseball win

Frogs O’ War: TCU men’s basketball falls to No. 10 West Virginia, 74-66

Crimson and Cream Machine: Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners bitten by Wildcats, 62-57

Cowboys Ride For Free: Cowboy Basketball to close out regular season with pair of road games

The Smoking Musket: Sherman, Culver lead No. 10 West Virginia past TCU for sixth consecutive Big 12 road win

The Smoking Musket: West Virginia’s Thursday night game at Baylor called off, Big 12 Conference sets new schedule for remaining games

Bring On The Cats: Back-to-back: Cats upset No. 7 Oklahoma, 62-57

Rock Chalk Talk: Texas completes sweep of Kansas in OT

WHAT WE’RE READING

SB Nation: Anthony Edwards is already the MVP of post-game interviews

SB Nation: Deshaun Watson trade scenarios that actually make sense for the Texans

NEWS ACROSS THE FORTY ACRES AND BEYOND

• Former Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger’s just won Jason Witten’s Collegiate Man of the Year award for his work raising almost $200,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief this year.

• 247Sports projects that incoming junior Casey Thompson will be the Longhorns’ starting quarterback in 2021, over incoming sophomore Hudson Card, a former four-star recruit. From 247Sport: “A new Week 1 starter will be taking the snaps on the Forty Acres for the first time since 2018 after Sam Ehlinger passed on an extra year of eligibility and entered the NFL draft, and those duties may very well go in Thompson’s direction if how he performed in relief of Ehinger during the Alamo Bowl in December served as any indication of what’s to come. While Thompson only passed for 170 yards in that game, he completed 8 of 10 passes — half of those completions went for touchdowns — as Texas cruised to a 55-23 victory vs. Colorado. No doubt about it, Thompson can expect a fair and intense battle with former 4-star Lake Travis prospect Hudson Card for the job in 2021, but Texas fans and players alike have to be optimistic about where Thompson can take his game with an offensive mind like Steve Sarkisian now at the helm of the program.”