As many as three Texas Longhorns could go in the first round of the NFL draft | Golden

While we wait to see if or when Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers will announce his future intentions, we’re about to receive further proof that Steve Sarkisian is building one heck of a football program.

Now, 12-2 seasons don't grow on trees, but you can't help but admire the seeds Sark has planted.

This spring’s NFL draft will have a nice Longhorns flavor with the program expected to produce its most bountiful harvest since those glory years under Mack Brown when the Horns consistently placed name talent in the early rounds.

While Sarkisian continues to impress in the recruiting area, you can’t overlook this coaching staff’s ability to develop players. It’s essential to long-term success and mandatory if the Horns are to make serious noise in the SEC.

We’re miles past that 2022 draft when no Longhorns were selected. The Horns are so much more talented and have underclassmen such as left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. who are on track to have long, productive NFL careers.

The biggest challenge with producing talented draft classes is the unyielding pressure to continue to bring in the same kind of talent to keep the pipeline going. And that doesn’t even bring in to consideration the raised expectations from going 12-2 and playing in a national semifinal.

Big-time talent with big-time decisions

Waiting on Ewers, Mitchell: As for the players, junior wideout Xavier Worthy and his pass-catching classmate, tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders — two huge pieces from Sarkisian’s first recruiting class —  lead a star-studded draft group that’s currently at nine by my count. It could grow depending on upcoming decisions from Ewers, wideout Adonai Mitchell and defensive back Jahdae Barron, whose comments after the Sugar Bowl indicated he’s leaning toward declaring for the draft.

The nine-count includes running back Jonathon Brooks, who made a surprise announcement that he's leaving school early despite tearing his ACL at TCU in November.

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If Brooks is drafted — and the question is more about his health and not his talent, which is unquestioned — the Horns stand to produce the largest draft class since 1991, a group that yielded eight picks, including a pair of first-rounders in safety Stanley Richard and offensive tackle Stan Thomas.

Worthy and Sanders are legitimate first-round prospects, as is defensive tackle and Outland Trophy winner T’Vondre Sweat. Only one Texas team has produced three first-round picks, and that came in 1980 when wideout Johnny "Lam" Jones (No. 2 overall) and defensive backs Johnnie Johnson (17th) and Derrick Hatchett (24th) led a class of seven draftees. The 1983 team that came oh so close to winning a national title — that 10-9 loss to Georgia still tugs at the gut of Longhorn Nation — produced a school-record 17 picks, including lone first-rounder Mossy Cade, a cornerback taken by the San Diego Chargers.

The pressure to win is huge at the top

A step up in pressure: Sports icon Billie Jean King once famously said, “Pressure is a privilege,” and coaches such as Alabama’s Nick Saban and Georgia’s Kirby Smart are living proof that one can consistently produce great draft classes and remain atop the coaching food chain. Shoot, Smart had 10 players drafted off his 2022 national title team, lost Adonai Mitchell to the transfer portal and still went 13-1 after spanking Florida State 63-3 in the Orange Bowl.

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This has been a nice step up for Sarkisian. He’s making his way up that ladder, but he would be the first to admit that this won’t be easy. He’s about to get a salary bump as athletic director Chris Del Conte will attempt to keep those NFL head hunters from poaching a most valued asset.

Sark is absolutely the right man for this job, and it will be cool to watch him navigate what is hoped to be Texas’ continued ascent on the national stage.

The Dallas Cowboys want more than the division

Super Bowl-bound? Dallas winning the NFC East was a nice thought that crept up in the minds of fans every so often, but it didn’t seem realistic after Philadelphia started 10-1. But the Eagles’ incredible late-season collapse opened the door to Dallas winning the division and ensuring at least two homes games in the playoffs — that is, if the Pokes can turn back Green Bay on Sunday.

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The question that’s surely being asked in Cowboy Nation is, “Why not us?” when it comes to returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 team that completed a run of three league titles in four seasons.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has been a part of four division titles since taking over for Tony Romo, but that doesn’t whet his appetite since he’s won only two playoff games.

“We’ve won (the division) before,” Prescott told reporters after Sunday’s win at Washington. “The focus is ahead, simple as that. I want something better.”

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That said, it’s smarter to deal with the issue at hand, and that’s the upstart Packers, who are younger and largely unproven but hungry. America’s Team hasn’t won two playoff games in a postseason since that last Super Bowl under Barry Switzer, so some new memories are well overdue.

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Dak and Co. are talented enough to make some in a season in which even the favored San Francisco 49ers can be had.

Great playoff storylines await us

Games to watch (and why): NFL scriptwriters are going to have a ball with these playoff storylines. You can’t make this up:

∙ Green Bay visits Dallas, coached by Mike McCarthy, who led the Packers to their last title Super Bowl win, which came in 2010 over Pittsburgh. That game happened to be played at Cowboys Stadium, now AT&T Stadium.

∙ The Miami Dolphins and star wideout Tyreek Hill visit the Kansas City Chiefs, where the Cheetah made his name over his first six seasons, including a Super Bowl title in 2019.

∙ The Houston Texans are the first team to make the playoffs with a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback who made at least 10 starts. The quarterback matchup pits 22-year-old C.J. Stroud — the youngest in the playoff field — against Cleveland’s Joe Flacco, the oldest at 38.

∙ The Texans traded embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Browns in the offseason, but Watson won't be playing after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 10.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football team could have at least nine players in NFL draft