Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has become college football's Prince of the Portal | Bohls

While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:

Steve Sarkisian is becoming the king of the portal

1. Transfer portal U: As the No. 3 Longhorns prepare for No. 2 Washington in Monday's Sugar Bowl in the school's biggest game since 2010, Texas continues to score big in the transfer portal, which reveals more evidence that the Longhorns have arrived. But head coach Steve Sarkisian could use more defensive linemen. Grabbing edge rusher Trey Moore from UTSA, safety Andrew Mukuba from Clemson and receiver/kick returner Matt Golden from Houston were all big gets. One survey ranked Texas as the No. 1 team in the portal chase. Moore, the AAC defensive player of the year with 14 sacks, should bolster the pass rush alongside Barryn Sorrell, Ethan Burke, sophomore-to-be Anthony Hill Jr. and incoming freshman linebacker Colin Simmons. Mukuba, a product of LBJ and pupil under then-head coach and current Texas director of high school relations Jahmal Fenner, is a five-star prospect who was Clemson’s first freshman defensive back starter in history and a three-year starter for the Tigers. The explosive Golden should fit in seamlessly with the exit of Jordan Whittington and probable loss of Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Ja’Tavion Sanders to the NFL. … The Longhorns have registered impact players at quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback and should extend that emphasis with all the exposure from the College Football Playoff. “When you start bringing in a lot of transfers at the top-level positions, now you’re really trying to recreate that culture, and so when we go to the portal it’s because we’re really trying to fulfill a need, a very specific need where somebody can come into our program and have an immediate impact on the field and in our locker room, for that matter,” Sarkisian said. … All the eyes of Texas are on Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who took Texas apart in last year’s Alamo Bowl. “I can’t really compare him to other guys,” Longhorns linebacker David Gbenda said. “He has a unique skill set of his own, with the way he’s able to make certain throws and just command this offense to get them where they are. Mad kudos to him for being able to do what he does.” … Best wishes to Maalik Murphy, Texas’ backup quarterback who's transferring to Duke to kick-start his career as he should. I’m betting he tears up the ACC, and his three years of eligibility remaining offers new Blue Devils coach Manny Diaz a great foundation.

More: From Adonai to Zion: The ABCs of Texas and Washington's Sugar Bowl showdown

Heading to the SEC with a whole lot of steam

2. SEC-bound and determined: No question that Texas is clearly ready for the SEC. In its last four football games against SEC opponents, the Longhorns whipped Alabama in Tuscaloosa, lost to the Crimson Tide by a single point in Austin and, had it recovered a late onside kick, might have knocked off eventual national champion LSU and Heisman winner Joe Burrow. (Yeah, I conveniently omitted the 2021 beatdown Texas suffered in Fayetteville as the aberration because the Horns had no experienced quarterback and Sark had no clue as to the extent of the hatred in this rivalry.) Also, the women’s volleyball team is on a rampage after winning the national championship for the second straight year. The Texas women won the NCAA outdoor track and field national championship in June. The baseball team almost reached the College World Series for a national record-extending 39th time but lost to Stanford in the super regional final because the Cardinal can’t afford proper lights. The women's basketball team is ranked in the top five and the men, on the heels of an Elite Eight appearance, just dispatched LSU and are getting 2023 postseason hero Dylan Disu back into form with huge energizer Chendall Weaver. Yeah, I’d say Texas is ready. But is the SEC?

Would you like a little whine with that meal, Nebraska?

3. Envy much?: It’s late in 2023, but I believe John Cook may have become the frontrunner for the Sourest Grapes of the Year award. Rather than being a gracious loser to Texas for the volleyball national championship, the Nebraska whiner callously suggested Longhorns coach Jerritt Elliott didn’t build his program the correct way. If you didn’t hear of Cook’s lament after not just losing, but getting swept in the finals, he said, “Half their starting team are transfers. They’re fourth- and fifth-year players, except for Ella (Swindle), the setter who did a great job. So that's how they've been building their team. That’s how they built last year's team. I like what we're doing. I like recruiting kids and trying to make them be great." Sorry, Mr. Cook. Take your medicine and swallow it. What he said was demeaning and hateful, and he owes Texas and NCAA volleyball an apology. I seem to recall he didn’t mind accepting Longhorns transfer Lexi Sun a few years back. Cook is the sorest of losers. …  Interestingly enough, a former Nebraska volleyball player, Whitney Lauenstein, announced afterward that she is transferring to Texas to resume her college career after sitting out this season following the death of her father. She played her first two seasons at Nebraska before sitting out the 2023 season and will have two years of eligibility remaining. The one-time right-side hitter for the Huskers in 2022 had 297 kills that year and was a fierce blocker and led the team with 28 aces. She earned all-region honors. Incidentally, Nebraska signed Florida transfer Merritt Beason in part to replace Lauenstein. Beason became a captain of the team and finished as a first-team All-American in 2023. What’s good for the goose.

More: Who are four Washington Huskies not named Michael Penix Jr. that Texas fans should know?

Texas volleyball looks good for another title run in 2024

4. Threepeat anyone?: Look out, Penn State. Texas is coming for you and will try to win a third straight national volleyball title. The Nittany Lions won four in a row from 2007-10, but Elliott returns a strong nucleus in MVP Madi Skinner, libero Emma Halter and Swindle. The Longhorns (28-4) completed their postseason run with victories against three of the four top seeds, punctuated by a 25-22, 25-14, 25-11 sweep of the No. 1 Huskers, who lost for the second time this year in 35 matches. Skinner, a senior outside hitter, led all attackers with 16 kills. Texas has never served better, recording a title-game record 12 aces and completely keeping Nebraska on its heels. I really believe Elliott and his staff did their best job this season. After starting the season 5-3, the Longhorns fell just once after September in a rare sweep against Kansas State and finished off the competition by winning nine of their 11 sets against a trio of No. 1 seeds, Stanford (on the road) and then Wisconsin and Nebraska in the Final Four with an unheard-of 23 aces in the last two matches.

Texas women's basketball looks set for Big 12 play

5. Big 12 looms large: The preliminaries are over, and the Texas women's basketball team starts Big 12 play Saturday against Baylor. Vic Schaefer's bunch completed nonconference play against Jackson State on Wednesday night and entered the game at 12-0, one of four unbeaten teams in the league. That's the most in women's basketball because only six other teams outside the Big 12 join Texas, TCU, Baylor and West Virginia. All 14 teams in the conference have winning records, and they're a collective 93-7 at home. "When you have Hall of Fame coaches, great coaching staffs and great players, future WNBA players, this league has always been and will continue to be tough," Schaefer said Wednesday. "I think our conference this year has a ton of parity top to bottom." Asked what record might win the league, he said, "I'm not sure what it will take to win the league other than it will take a tough, physical team that can stay healthy." ... So much for that. Texas will be without post player Taylor Jones for a while with a hip injury, which puts more pressure on DeYona Gaston and Aaliyah Moore to produce in the paint. "It's time for DeYona to be DeYona," Schaefer said. "She has to get back and take ownership of the player she was a year ago. She needs to get back to who she is."

More: My preseason predictions look great now, but then Texas did make me look good, too | Bohls

The Crimson Tide were must-see TV

6. Branding 101: Saw that the Longhorns were the eighth-most watched college football team this season, averaging 4.26 million fans per game, according to the Action Network. Alabama not surprisingly attracted the most eyeballs, luring 7.12 million each game. Behind the Crimson Tide are Ohio State (6.05 million), Deion Sanders’ Colorado (6 million) and Georgia (5.9 million).

We took a bite out of the Big Apple

7. On Broadway: Spent a week in New York City with wife Vicki and son Ryan and took in two great Broadway plays. The cast of “Merrily We Roll Along” included Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame and the Barry Manilow-produced “Comedian Harmonists,” a play about a true-life comedic singing troupe caught up in the Nazis takeover. Also stood in line in the frigid cold for a Stephen Colbert show, but unfortunately our time in the Ed Sullivan Theater included only the monologue and his “Meanwhile” segment and a lively number by “The Late Show Band” but not the interview with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, which clearly had been taped the day before. At least we had good seats on Row 2 and warmed our frozen feet. Plus, warmup comedian Paul Mecurio was hilarious.

More: This Sugar Bowl is Texas football's biggest ever road trip to New Orleans | Golden

We know Bo, but where is he?

8. Scattershooting: While wondering whatever happened to former Longhorns tight end Bo Scaife, who had seven catches for 84 yards and a late touchdown to help lead Texas and Major Applewhite to a Holiday Bowl win over Washington 22 years ago, a game the Horns trailed by 19.

Meanwhile, from the greatest seat in the world ...

9. On the couch: Watched “Leave The World Behind,” a highly intriguing topic about possible end times with a cyber attack starring Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali. Had all the elements of a terrific suspense thriller until it leaves you totally hanging with the most ambiguous ending you could imagine. Or not imagine. Gave it five ducks, but it had so much more potential.

From Texas to Duke, keep an eye on Maalik Murphy

Crazy prediction: Maalik Murphy will be the ACC player of the year in 2024.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football will be replenished by major additions from portal