Bohls, Golden: For one day, Texas football is here and all seems right with the world

The good news: Texas football is back.

The bad news: After Saturday, we'll have to wait four months for the Longhorns to be back on the field.

Saturday's Orange-White game puts a stamp on spring football, gives us the first chance to see Arch Manning fling passes at Royal-Memorial Stadium and should offer an early peek into Steve Sarkisian's third Texas team. But we have other things on our mind this week as well, including what could be an active weekend in the basketball transfer portal:

1. Spring gleaning: what we can learn from Saturday's game

What are you looking for the most at the Orange-White game?

Bohls: The deep throws.

I’m most interested in seeing whether Quinn Ewers can resurrect Texas’ deep passing game with Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington and a whole bunch of new receivers. Steve Sarkisian named that as a huge priority for the spring as it was one of the team’s biggest deficiencies all last year, including in the Alamo Bowl.

Golden: A pass rush.

Texas hasn't had a double-digit sacker of quarterbacks since Jackson Jeffcoat and Cedric Reed went for 13 and 10, respectively, 13 years ago. Barryn Sorrell flashed at times last season, but there wasn’t real overall consistency in that department. Sarkisian said Byron Murphy will be a disruptor at defensive tackle this fall, and if he can make life miserable in there for pass protectors, it will open up some opportunities for others to get after the quarterback.

2. The new kids on the block

Name a Texas freshman who could make an immediate impact this fall.

Bohls: Johntay Cook II.

Cook could produce quickly, both as a receiver and possibly a punt returner. I don’t think Worthy should be catching punts since it makes him more vulnerable to injury.

Golden: CJ Baxter.

The running backs room is crowded, but Baxter has the potential to emerge as a playmaker over time. Sarkisian called him a natural at the position. The nation’s No. 1-ranked running back recruit was an early enrollee who ran in a zone scheme in high school with similar concepts to what the Horns have done under Sark. Jonathon Brooks is recovering from offseason surgery, Keilan Robinson feels more like a change-of-pace back, and Jaydon Blue has played limited reps. Baxter has a chance to win this job.

3. It's 3 a.m., you're Steve Sarkisian, and you're worrying about ...

What area of the team should be keeping Steve Sarkisian up late at night?

Bohls: His linebackers.

I’m not sold on the position yet. Jaylan Ford became a turnover-creating machine last season and is clearly a preseason All-American. But five-star freshman Anthony Hill Jr. is inexperienced and raw, his premier talent notwithstanding. Mo Blackwell has wowed as a special teams guy but is undersized, and David Gbenda has always been waiting in the wings.

Golden: Quarterback.

It has to be quarterback. I know Sark has been talking about the improvement of Ewers, but the reality is Ewers has to be better and more consistent when the bright lights are on. He looked great in the Alamo Bowl, but the Horns must see that kind of production from him week in and week out. With Arch Manning pushing him, I can see him taking that large step forward. But seeing is believing. It’s April. Show us in the fall.

Bohls: Is the sky falling on Texas after midweek loss to Bobcats? Nah, not even

4. Disching out the good and the bad

What do you like best and least about this Texas baseball team?

Bohls: I’m really high on the players’ belief in themselves, even though they don’t have that single superstar like Ivan Melendez last year or a power-laden offense. While I like the solid depth of the pitching staff, which gives David Pierce and Woody Williams lots of options, they don’t have a totally reliable No. 2 starter behind proven Lucas Gordon and really need at least three set starters by the time May rolls around.

Golden: I really like the resiliency and the fact they’re getting clutch play from multiple sources. The Horns are much better than I thought they would be. If you told me they'd be leading the Big 12 after three conference series, I wouldn't have believed it. I’m most concerned about the Sunday pitching. David Pierce is still searching for someone to step up and take that job. He has gotten some good work from junior right-hander Charlie Hurley on two of the past three Sundays, but Hurley has been moved to Saturdays, so Sundays remain an area of concern.

5. Texas ex-odus: Panic time for basketball?

How surprising is it that Arterio Morris, Dillon Mitchell and A.J. Johnson won't be at Texas?

Bohls: Very surprising.

I'm shocked, to be honest. This had a chance to be Morris’ team. I don’t know if he’s going to wind up with his former head coach, Chris Beard, at Ole Miss or is chasing money somewhere else or was worried he wasn’t assured starting minutes next season. Makes little sense. Johnson’s defection to the pro ranks is a stunner and a real blow to the Longhorns. I don’t think Rodney Terry is at all concerned, but he’s relentlessly positive. He probably should be a little anxious with five departures and possibly eight if Tyrese Hunter, Mitchell and Dylan Disu all leave. Can Brock Cunningham play all five positions?

Golden: Very surprised.

But the NIL bag can be very enticing, I suspect. Terry is beyond concerned after losing Morris amid the news that Dillon Mitchell and Tyrese Hunter have declared for the draft. Then the gut punch of incoming freshman AJ Johnson deciding against college and taking his ball on a walkabout to Australia? Terry's surely working that transfer portal like a part-time job and trying like heck to persuade Dylan Disu to play one more year. It hasn’t been a good spring, outside of him securing the full-time gig.

Golden: The men can trash talk in college basketball, so why can't the women?

6. Things are looking up in Boston

Who'll win the NBA championship?

Bohls: The Boston Celtics.

They’ve dominated the Bucks and 76ers in the regular season. They're No. 2 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. They have a superstar in Jayson Tatum. They are smarting from last year’s near-miss in six games against the Warriors. And they can shoot lights out, especially with Al Horford making 3s at a nice clip.

Golden: The Boston Celtics.

Boston is long overdue. The Celtics have been consistent all season, and Tatum has emerged as a top-10 talent in this league. He has to prove it in the playoffs, and it won’t be easy coming out of the East. I like Milwaukee, Phoenix and Denver, but the Celtics understand that this current nucleus can’t remain together forever. Their time is now. Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Horford and Marcus Smart are ready for this. The addition of Malcolm Brogdon will prove fruitful at money time. The Celtics over the Nuggets in six.

7. To tank or not to tank? That is the NBA's question.

How would you fix tanking in the NBA?

Bohls: Lots of ways.

Fine a tanking team the first-round pick it’s tanking for. Or fine teams $10 million each. Or expand the number of losing teams eligible to gain the No. 1 pick to seven, giving them all an equal shot. Or quit rewarding crummy teams for being crummy. Who says you have to give the worst team the best pick? Reward greatness. Give the top three picks to the three best teams and let the bottom-dwellers sort out the scraps.

Golden: Incentives.

There sure seemed to be no problem dropping games down the stretch for talented teams like the Mavericks (who were fined $750,000) and others, who are undoubtedly trying to get their hands on 7-foot-3 French prodigy Victor Wembanyama. Load management is easily one of the worst things to happen in league history, but the tanking issue reached epic levels this season. The league should come up with a merit system that rewards the teams that have the fewest games missed per player. Give them salary cap or luxury tax relief. Anything to turn back this horrible trend.

8. How much roar does Tiger have left in him?

Will Tiger Woods retire this year?

Bohls: Heck, no.

A bad bout of plantar fasciitis forced him to withdraw from the Masters, and in the 21 tournaments since he won at Augusta in 2019, he has withdrawn four other times and has won just once, at the Zozo Championship in 2020. But he’s still too damn competitive. He has so much institutional knowledge of Augusta National, I could still see a healthier Woods channel last weekend’s Phil Mickelson and win one more Masters before he rides a cart on the Champions Tour.

Golden: He should, but he won't.

Tiger will retire the day they put in him a casket, which won’t be any time soon. It was sad watching him play his beloved Masters on one leg before withdrawing in the third round. The hope is he will find a vocation that fills that competitive fire still burning inside of him while still being able to play the game in a more leisurely fashion. He isn’t built that way, but his 47-year-old body simply won’t allow him to be anything close to what we used to see on a weekly basis. Get used to seeing him limping around in majors. He can’t turn off that faucet.

9. Speaking of retiring ...

How much longer do you see Gregg Popovich coaching the San Antonio Spurs?

Bohls: Hey, he’s only 74. What’s the rush?

I’d say at least five more seasons. He seems to be enjoying trying to develop young players, and I would think he’d still have too much of an edge to quit before trying to seriously scale the mountain one more time.

Golden: The job is his as long as he wants it.

Popovich loves teaching the game, and even if his teams continue to struggle, I see him coaching for at least three more years. The irony is there may come a day when his CEO-general manager, R.C. Buford — his longtime partner in building this dynasty — might want to consider some new blood in the head coach’s seat, but I doubt he would ever ask Pop to step down. Pop's the president of the organization, after all. He was a mellower version of himself during the Spurs' recent trip to Austin and seemed to be in a good place in life. He surely didn’t look like a coach who was at the end of anything.

10. Don't sleep on these Longhorns, NFL

Pick one Longhorn sleeper in the NFL draft.

Bohls: Jahleel Billingsley.

There are several Longhorns who will be taken whom I don’t necessarily consider sleepers. Billingsley barely registered a blip at Texas after a stint at Alabama — where he was often in Nick Saban’s doghouse — and an NCAA suspension in Austin from his time as a Crimson Tide player. He was a four-star recruit and definitely looks the part as a 6-foot-4, 217-pound specimen who has run a 4.55 in the 40 but got onto the field in only four games as a Longhorn and had only three receptions for 38 yards. Just needs some maturity and dedication to his craft to make a career for himself at the next level,.

Golden: Keondre Coburn.

In the right situation, the defensive tackle can step in and be that space setter every team needs on the interior line. While some scouts question his ability to disrupt against linemen his size at the next level, his activity rate and run-stopping ability are strengths. Fellow Texas alum Poona Ford was a mainstay for Seattle despite going undrafted in 2018. Snacks could follow that blueprint, though I see him going in the sixth round.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football spring game will give us a glance at Year 3 for Sark