Bohls, Golden: One five-star edge rusher pledge later, is Texas finally back?

Football is back. And it's front and center on our minds this week:

Texas' sign of the times

1. Does Colin Simmons' commitment say Texas is on the verge of being a major player again?

Bohls: Slow down.

As big as the announcement by the Duncanville edge rusher was — and it was huge — Steve Sarkisian needs a whole bunch of Colin Simmonses before anyone should dream of Texas being on a level with an Alabama or a Georgia. That said, Simmons is exactly the type of five-star talent, and especially at his position, that the Longhorns need to get back to the top. And it serves notice that Texas is coming.

Golden: If Sarkisian continues to pick up this brand of impact player, the Horns will make some noise, but their residence in the SEC will provide a constant reminder that they play in a minefield. As long as Nick Saban and Kirby Smart are working in the conference, it will be tough for the Horns to navigate that minefield. Players of Simmons’ caliber grow on trees in Tuscaloosa and Athens. Sark has already said if he can produce around eight NFL draft picks a year, the Horns will be fine. He's recruiting like gangbusters, but the Horns have a long way to go before reaching that level.

The Longhorns' biggest worry spots

2. What is Texas' potential trouble spot on offense and defense right now?

Bohls: Until we see otherwise, it’d be the push from the interior offensive line, which was a deficiency last season and has to improve and should. On defense, Pete Kwiatkowski has to find one or two linebackers to play next to Jaylan Ford because Texas looks strong everywhere else on that side.

Golden: There should be legitimate concerns about the team’s ability to move the chains in short yardage. Departed running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson were arguably the best duo in America at converting first downs in this area, but I don’t see a proven hammer back there at this point. On defense, the Horns need a proven pass rusher. They haven’t had a double-digit sacker since Jackson Jeffcoat bagged 13 back in 2013. This is the longest drought between double-digit sackers in program history.

Eyes on the backups 

3. Who'll throw more passes this season: Maalik Murphy or Arch Manning?

Bohls: I'm pretty sure it will be Murphy.

Sarkisian has to get one of them ready to be Quinn Ewers’ backup, and neither has ever played a down. We do remember the Alabama game. Ewers needs as many reps as he can get too after only one season of college play, but I bet Murphy will get the call, especially in non-Crimson Tide nonconference games, on the strength of his two years in the system and impressive spring game showing.

Golden: Murphy will throw more passes because there will come a time when the Horns are leading handily or Ewers could get dinged. There is no need to rush Arch into the lineup unless he’s the best of the three, which I don’t believe to be the case at this point. I can see Murphy throwing 80 passes this fall. Hudson Card threw 108 as the backup last season, by the way.

CFP madness: two 64-team playoffs

4. Was Chip Kelly right when he said all teams should be independents, with two 64-team playoffs?

Bohls: The way we're headed down a very slippery slope, why not have one 64-team playoff for the top 64 teams and another for the top 64 Group of Five teams? But I don’t see them as independents. The plan would cater to television because fans want expanded playoffs and more big games. It won’t shock anyone if someday football stands alone as its own entity apart from all the other sports, but Title IX regulations might preclude that.

Golden: Is Kelly trying to drive my blood pressure up 50 points with this nonsense? Leagues and rivalries are what made college football great, and to make everyone an independent would create even more chaos than we’re already experiencing in this Wild West era. Let’s try the 12-team format before we inject the system with playoff steroids.

Feeling moody about Moody

5. How do you rate the Texas men's basketball home schedule?

Bohls: Weak as 3-day-old fish.

If you examine it, there’s not a Gonzaga or a North Carolina in the lot. Heck there’s barely a UNC-Greensboro. The only home opponent that was in last year’s NCAA Tournament was Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a 16 seed that got crushed by Alabama by 21. A whole bunch of Incarnate Words and Delaware States. Texas should do better, and the fans who flocked to Moody Center in Year One deserve better as well.

Golden: Ghastly.

From first glance, I was shocked the Washington Generals didn’t make the cut. Besides the Empire Classic, where the Horns join Indiana, UConn and Louisville, the only games that even raise one follicle of an eyebrow are a Dec. 6 matchup at Marquette — led by former Texas coach Shaka Smart — and a Dec. 16 game in Houston against LSU. After that, wake me up when conference starts.

For the USWNT, there are goals to go

6. Did the U.S. women's soccer team choke?

Bohls: Of course, it did.

A scoring drought of 238 minutes was the longest in team history. Scoring four goals in four matches — and beating only Vietnam — not only earned the U.S. women an early plane flight back home, but is a huge setback for a club that had made so many strides.

Golden: Does Matt’s serve margaritas? You bet your salted rim they choked.

How else do you explain a 238-minute scoring drought, which is the longest in the team’s World Cup history? They underperformed and didn’t get it done at crunch time. It’s a real wake-up call for the program. And this had nothing to do with any political stances the players had in the past. Don’t get pulled into that silly thinking. They lost because another team was better at soccer than they were. Nothing more, nothing less.

'And the Oscar goes to ...'

7. Who'd play Johnny Manziel in a movie about Johnny Football?

Bohls: I’m going all-England and suggesting either Mr. Spider-Man Tom Holland or Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe.

Golden: He appears to have plenty of free time these days. Besides, the writers and actors are on strike. Seriously, if we really need a name, I’d go with Austin Butler, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor with a career performance as Elvis. It’s a tough turn to go from the King of rock ’n’ roll to the King of Kerrville, but he could pull it off.

Was Lefty in the right for betting on golf?

8. Do you have a problem with Phil Mickelson trying to bet $400,000 on his own U.S. Ryder Cup team?

Bohls: I do, but probably not as much as Mrs. Mickelson might. Or the PGA Tour.

His admittedly addictive behavior crosses all lines in professional sports because everyone who has ever heard the name of Pete Rose knows you don’t bet on your own sport. And the six-time major champion can say he didn’t bet on the Ryder Cup, but it sounds as if he tried. It brings on too much distrust and concerns that the competition isn’t on the level. The loss of $100 million for Phil makes it obvious why he signed up for $200 million in LIV money. And sad.

Golden: Not at all. But I have a problem with Lefty allegedly betting a billion dollars while gambling over the years without donating some of that disposable income to the NAACG (the National Association for the Advancement of Cedric Golden). After all, I did interview him for a glorious seven minutes when Mack Brown was serving as his host at Dell Match Play a few years back. Rory McIlroy, who hasn’t forgiven him for going to the LIV Tour, said Thursday that Phil could bet on the Ryder Cup this year since he isn’t on the team. That’s hardcore.

Are the New York Jets for real?

9. At this point, do you expect the Jets to be players this year or again an afterthought?

Bohls: It’s tempting to say, hey, it's the J-E-T-S, which usually stands for Not Y-E-Ts. But Aaron Rodgers has plenty in the tank, Garrett Wilson is about to break out, and I could see where they are a fringe playoff team. But it’s been a minute — uh, try 2010 — since they were even in the playoffs.

Golden: I see a 10-7 finish and a playoff berth, but little else.

The AFC is just too loaded with Kansas City, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Miami, an angry Baltimore and an improving Jacksonville standing in the way. Rodgers is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he'll be 40 soon and doesn’t get around the way he used to. His team has some great young talent, but not enough to break through in this conference.

Fantasy football sleepers to remember

10. Pick a nonstar who'll blow up in fantasy football this season?

Bohls: Look out for Rachaad White to show up big as Tampa Bay’s possible primary running back. Now that Leonard Fournette has gone, the Bucs might be gearing up for the former Arizona State back to deliver immediate results as a third-round choice.

Golden: Keep your eye on wideout Elijah Moore, who has been a disappointment his first two seasons. He just got a new lease on life in Cleveland. You have to figure that quarterback Deshaun Watson will be much better in a full season, and Moore, who had a solid six-game stretch with 34 catches for 459 yards and five touchdowns late in the season, could thrive opposite Amari Cooper.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football gained a big commitment last week but needs even more