Texas AD: Herman will return as coach in 2021

Associated PressDec 12, 2020, 4:55 PM EST

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AUSTIN — Texas has ended widespread speculation about coach Tom Herman’s future, announcing Saturday he will return in 2021 for his fifth season with the No. 23 Longhorns.

“My policy is to wait until the end of the season before evaluating and commenting on our program and coaches. With the close of the regular season, I want to reiterate that Tom Herman is our coach,” athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement released by the school just four days before the early signing period for high school recruits begins.

Eyes around college football have been on Texas for weeks. There were rumors and speculation about the Longhorns trying to gauge former Ohio State and Florida coach Urban Meyer’s interest in coming to Austin, but nothing came of it.

Without a slam dunk replacement lined up — and with Texas on the hook for upward of $20 million in contracts between Herman and his staff — the school decided to stay the course.

“When I look at our football program right now, I see tremendous young men and promising talent,” said Del Conte, who was hired after Herman in 2017. “Our student-athletes are developing, and they play their hearts out. This has been an unprecedented year for all of us, and we’re all disappointed that we didn’t meet our expectations. Like the many fans that follow and support our program, I can’t help but think what could have been in 2020. There’s still more work to be done, but I’m excited to watch our players and our program move forward.”

While Herman has never had a losing season with the Longhorns, they have made only one appearance in the Big 12 title game during his tenure and now have gone 11 seasons since their last conference championship in 2009.

Herman has three seasons remaining on a guaranteed contract that is due to pay him more than $6 million per year. The 45-year-old coach is 31-18 at Texas, including a 1-4 record against arch-rival Oklahoma, and is 53-22 overall including his two seasons as head coach at Houston.

Texas is 6-3 this season after its scheduled regular-season finale Saturday at winless Kansas was canceled for the second time because of COVID-19 issues.

Herman’s best season was 2018, the only time the Longhorns made the Big 12 title game in his tenure. They finished that season with a dominating win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl that prompted quarterback Sam Ehlinger’s now-infamous “We’re ba-aack!” statement to a national television audience.

Texas gave Herman a two-year contract extension after that season.

The Longhorns instead sunk back to the middle of the pack in the Big 12. The Longhorns reached as high as No. 8 early in the pandemic-impacted 2020 season before quickly fading. They were effectively eliminated from the Big 12 title game with a 23-20 home loss to Iowa State with two games left to play.

There have also been ominous signs for the future for Texas, too. Several of the state’s top recruits have either pulled back from early commitments to the Longhorns or have already announced plans to head elsewhere. Most notable among the decommits was Dallas-area quarterback Quinn Ewers, considered the top recruit in the 2022 class.

Still, Texas will run it back with Herman and head into 2021 with even more pressure on the coach to have the Longhorns playing more like the elite programs in the country.

Alabama suspends freshman defensive back after drug arrest

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 10:32 PM EDT

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama freshman defensive back Tony Mitchell has been suspended from the team following his arrest on a drug charge.

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said Monday after the first practice of spring that Mitchell was suspended from the team “and all team activities until we gather more information about the situation and what his legal circumstance is.”

The Holmes County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mitchell and another man, Christophere Lewis, last week on a charge of possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or deliver, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. Lewis also was charged with carrying a concealed gun without a permit.

“Everybody’s got an opportunity to make choices and decisions,” Saban said. “There’s no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You’ve gotta be responsible for who you’re with, who you’re around and what you do, who you associate yourself with and the situations that you put yourself in. It is what it is, but there is cause and effect when you make choices and decisions that put you in bad situations.”

Mitchell, who is from Alabaster, Alabama, was a five-star prospect rated the 34th-best player and No. 3 safety in the 247Composite rankings.

Mitchell was driving the vehicle during a traffic stop. After deputies smelled marijuana, Mitchell picked up a baggie of marijuana from the passenger floorboard, according to the department’s Facebook post.

Sheriff’s deputies found “an additional significant amount of marijuana, a set of scales, a loaded handgun between the passenger seat and center console, and a large amount of cash,” according to the department’s Facebook post.

Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey suspended after arrest

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 12:05 PM EDT

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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey was suspended from the team after he was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, the team said.

The 23-year-old, who was a team captain last season, was booked at about 2:45 a.m. and released after posting $500 bond, according to online records from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.

“We are aware of the situation involving Chad Bailey,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’s been suspended according to Department of Athletics policy. We have high expectations for all of our student-athletes, on and off the field, and we will follow all departmental and campus policies.”

Bailey was Mizzou’s third-leading tackler with 57 stops last season. He started all 11 games he played, missing two with an injury. He’ll be a sixth-year senior this fall after opting to return for his final year of eligibility, the Post-Dispatch reported.

The Missouri student-athlete handbook says any athlete who is arrested must serve a minimum one-week suspension.

Bailey was pulled over at about 1 a.m. not far from the Columbia campus for an expired license plate and lane violation, a police statement said. Bailey told the officer he had consumed alcohol and then performed poorly on a field sobriety test, the Post-Dispatch reported.