He was named All-Big 12 first-team punter as a senior after leading the Big 12 and ranking ninth nationally in punting average (46.8).Īn All-Big 12 first-team pick as a super senior, offensive lineman Derek Kerstetter signed with the Buffalo Bills. Riley played for the New York Giants last year and finished 21st in net punting average (39.5), tied for 11th in punts inside the 20-yard line and tied for 13th in fair catches (15).ĭicker started as Texas' placekicker in each of his four collegiate seasons and was twice selected to the All-Big 12 second team.
The Rams signed 28-year old Riley Dixon to a one-year deal last month. He converted 32 of 34 field goals in the regular season and 8 of 10 in the postseason.īut Dicker can compete at punter following the team’s release of All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker.
The Rams still have Pro Bowl kicker Matt Gay under contract through next year. The other Longhorn invited to the NFL combine, kicker/punter Cameron Dicker landed a spot with the reigning Super Bowl champions. Thompson recorded 34 tackles, two pass breakups and one interception as a fifth-year senior. The Nacogdoches alum played in 45 games with 22 starts at Texas, 19 of which came over his final two seasons. Thompson’s versatile enough to play at corner, safety or nickel, and his proven success as a special teams gunner should be an asset as he tries to make the final 53-man roster.
After that didn’t happen he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent. One of two Longhorns invited to this year’s NFL combine, defensive back Josh Thompson entered draft week as the Texas prospect most likely to hear his name called. There’s a chance it plays out in similar fashion after this latest humiliation considering star junior halfback Bijan Robinson and several other capable Longhorns will be draft-eligible in 2023.įor now, in these early post-draft days, Texas can only tout a group of six undrafted free agent signings. Texas bounced back with five draftees in 2015, a group headlined by defensive tackle Malcom Brown, the program’s last first-round pick. “Texas will be alive and well in the draft for years to come,” first-year receivers coach Brennan Marion tweeted Saturday after the draft wrapped up. It was one more disappointment in a long parade of letdowns that began years ago. That outcome jibes with an all-time ugly 2021 season – the Longhorns lost six straight games for the first time since 1956 – but it’s still an unsightly blemish for a program heavy on ingrained pride and light on recent success. Texas got blanked while historically underrepresented programs like UTSA and Montana State both churned out a pair of draftees for the first time ever. Even the far-flung corners of the college football world produced picks: Fayetteville State, Lenoir-Rhyne, Valdosta State and Ouachita Baptist each had one. The 262 players selecting during this week’s NFL draft in Las Vegas represented 104 different universities. That streak stopped in 2014, when not a single Longhorn was among the league's 256 picks. At least one Longhorn was selected in each of the subsequent 76 drafts, a record that stretched all the way through 2013. Eric Gay /Associated Press Show More Show LessĪUSTIN – Texas was shut out of the first two NFL drafts, held in 19, back when the whole ordeal involved fewer than a dozen franchises and 101 total picks. Texas offensive lineman Derek Kerstetter, playing against Rice in 2019, is back as a fifth-year senior after a devastating injury in 2020. Mark Rogers /Associated Press Show More Show Less 6 of6 Tom Reel, Staff / San Antonio Express-News Show More Show Less 5 of6Īfter years of playing wide receiver, Texas’ Brenden Schooler returns to the secondary and his natural position of safety.
Tom Reel / Staff photographer Show More Show Less 4 of6ĭenzel Okafor checks the scoreboard at the UT Orange-White Spring Game at DKR Stadium on April 21, 2018. Longhorn tight end Cade Brewer recovers his balance after a catch downfield as Texas plays Colorado in the Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome on Dec.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton) Chuck Burton /Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of6 Texas' Cameron Dicker (17) watches his last-second winning field goal against Kansas State during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Nov. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) Tim Warner / Getty Images Show More Show Less 2 of6 AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 25: Josh Thompson #9 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates with teammates after an interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Septemin Austin, Texas.