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Texas' Quinn Ewers Talks Clemson CFP Matchup, Playing in SEC, More in B/R Interview

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Texas' Quinn Ewers Talks Clemson CFP Matchup, Playing in SEC, More in B/R Interview


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Perhaps the best part of the new 12-team College Football Playoff for fans is the environments it will create with the first-round games being played on campus.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers told Bleacher Report. “We’ve never experienced this and DKR has never experienced this. It’s going to be rocking for a playoff game with a lot at stake. I’m just excited to get on that field again.”

While Ewers and the Longhorns surely wanted the SEC championship and first-round bye that would have come with a victory over Georgia in the conference title game, landing the No. 5 seed and a first-round game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium is quite the consolation prize.

It’s not a stretch to suggest Texas has one of the clearest paths to the semifinals of anyone in the field, as it will face 12th-seeded Clemson at home in the first round before a potential showdown against fourth-seeded Arizona State at the Peach Bowl in the quarterfinals.

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The Peach Bowl is in Atlanta, which is far from Arizona State’s campus and right in the middle of SEC territory. That could give the Longhorns yet another advantage when it comes to the crowd.

But the focus is on Dabo Swinney’s Clemson program first.

“They’ve also been in a ton of big games, and they play really hard for their coach,” Ewers said. “They’re really well coached and disciplined players. It’s also cool I get to play against one of my really good friends from high school who went to Southlake with me. R.J. Mickens, who plays safety for them. It’s going to be a cool moment and experience with him for sure.”

Mickens is a talented playmaker at the back end of the Tigers’ defense, but Ewers joked he might have to “rub it in a little bit” if he beats his friend over the top with a deep ball during the playoff game.

Texas is the better seed and the favorite in the game, but it is Clemson coming in with momentum.

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The Tigers wouldn’t have even made the CFP without shocking SMU in the ACC Championship Game with a 56-yard field goal from Nolan Hauser as time expired. That stood in stark contrast to the Longhorns, who lost in overtime to Georgia with the SEC title on the line on the same day.

Fortunately for Texas fans, head coach Steve Sarkisian’s program has been defined by its ability to bounce back this year.

“We’ve been through a lot of adversity, and I think the culture that Coach Sark has built thrives on overcoming it,” Ewers said. “It’s 10 percent what happens and 90 percent how you react to what happened. We truly live by that. Sure, we’ll get hit in the mouth a couple times, but we’re never going to go away.”

Nobody has demonstrated that resiliency inside the program better than Ewers this season.

The signal-caller missed time with an oblique injury, was temporarily benched for Arch Manning during the regular-season loss to Georgia and even had to deal with a false report suggesting he was going to sit out for the season’s stretch run to focus on the NFL draft.

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What’s more, there is constant noise about the quarterback room given Manning’s status as the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning and as the No. 1 overall recruit of the 2023 class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

While the Longhorns occasionally use Manning as a change-of-pace option for running plays, this is Ewers’ team going into the playoff after he responded to the Georgia loss by spearheading a five-game winning streak with 13 touchdown passes to just three interceptions during that span.

He led his team to wins over dangerous Vanderbilt, Florida, Arkansas and Kentucky squads, as well as an important road win over rival Texas A&M in the first game between the two schools since 2011.

“I always say that the sign of the true character of a man is in the face of adversity, and that was a lot of adversity for him, a lot of adversity for us as a team coming off last week’s game,” Sarkisian said of Ewers after the Vanderbilt win following the Georgia loss in October. “I think the way he responded was kind of indicative of how we responded as a team.”

As Ewers was responding as a leader on the field, he also partnered with C4 Energy off it and even got to meet and greet with fans who entered the company’s sweepstakes in September.

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“It’s been great,” he said of the partnership. “What made me want to work with them is all the sponsorships they’ve done for athletes around me. Obviously they did one with Bijan [Robinson]. Our core values also align, and their headquarters are also in Austin. It’s been awesome working with them.”

C4 Energy

Ewers said his favorite flavor is strawberry guava while highlighting that “whether I’m going to class or going to the gym to get a workout in, it gives me a boost.”

Texas needed that boost for the 2024 season, as it moved from the Big 12 to the SEC as part of a larger conference realignment shift that also included the rival Sooners joining the league.

While the Longhorns didn’t have the most challenging schedule by SEC terms since it avoided Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU and Missouri, they still sent a message with a 34-3 blowout win over Oklahoma and defeated Texas A&M.

Those are the types of rivalry games Texas quarterbacks are remembered for, and Ewers made sure it was his team with regional bragging rights in the first year in the new conference.

That’s not to say there weren’t welcome to the SEC moments considering the Longhorns lost to Georgia twice. But they showed improvement from the 30-15 regular-season loss to the overtime defeat in the SEC Championship Game and surely hope being battle-tested in the SEC will pay dividends against teams from other conferences in the playoff.

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“I always wanted to play in the SEC and be a part of it,” Ewers said. “We got a taste of that when we went to Bama last year. It was cool to play a full SEC schedule. Man, if you don’t show up in the SEC, you’re going to get beat. And I think this year was a year that showed that. The Big 12 was fun for sure, but it’s not the same as the SEC. In the SEC, it’s all about football.”

Now he will look to deliver his new conference a national championship in the first year of the 12-team CFP field.



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NBA Draft 2026: Chicago Bulls draft Texas standout Dailyn Swain at No. 15

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NBA Draft 2026: Chicago Bulls draft Texas standout Dailyn Swain at No. 15


NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 23: NBA commissioner Adam Silver shakes hands with Dailyn Swain after he is drafted fifteenth overall by the Chicago Bulls during Round One of the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 23, 2026 in New York City. (Photo b

Former Texas standout Dailyn Swain was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 15th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night.

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What we know:

Swain is a 6-foot-8, 225-pound wing that emerged as one of college basketball’s biggest risers during his lone season with the Longhorns. He transferred to the University of Texas from Xavier University in Ohio. The 20-year-old led Texas in points, rebounds, assists and steals while helping establish himself as a first-round prospect.

By the numbers:

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Swain averaged 17.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game during the 2025-26 season. His versatility on both ends of the floor made him one of the nation’s most productive all-around players.

Dailyn Swain #3 of the Texas Longhorns dunks the ball against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Moda Center on March 21, 2026 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Dailyn Swain #3 of the Texas Longhorns dunks the ball against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Moda Center on March 21, 2026 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos v (Getty Images)

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Dig deeper:

As an Ohio native, Swain starred at Africentric Early College in Columbus. He entered the 2025-26 college basketball season largely outside first-round draft projections but steadily climbed the draft boards with his strong play.

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Known for his physical frame, defensive versatility and playmaking ability, Swain can impact games in a variety of ways. Outside shooting remains an area for development after he shot 31.7% from 3-point range last season, but evaluators still view him as an NBA-ready wing capable of contributing immediately.

What’s next:

Swain becomes the latest Texas player selected in the NBA Draft and joins a Bulls team looking to add size, toughness and versatility on the perimeter.

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The Source: Information in this article was provided from live coverage of the 2026 NBA Draft.

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8 convicted of terrorism charges in Texas immigration center shooting sentenced to decades in prison

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8 convicted of terrorism charges in Texas immigration center shooting sentenced to decades in prison


FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A demonstrator who shot and wounded a police officer outside a Texas immigration center last July 4 was sentenced to 100 years in federal prison Tuesday, while other protesters accused of having links to antifa were given multiple decades in federal prison.

Benjamin Song was convicted of attempted murder last March after prosecutors say he opened fire and wounded a police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado.

The seven other protesters sentenced Tuesday received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.

“Our issue with this case has always been this isn’t a bunch of terrorists. This is a bunch of kids and young adults who really have a really big heart and really wanted their voice to be heard,” Philip Hayes, Song’s attorney, said outside the federal courthouse in Fort Worth. “It was never intended that anybody get hurt. It was never intended that any shots would be fired.”

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He said his client would appeal the sentencing.

“Song, aside from this day, has had an impeccable life. A former Marine. A good student,” Hayes said. “He had a lot of good qualities that were just ignored. The judge went ahead and gave as much as he could.”

One of the defendants, Daniel Sanchez Estrada, was convicted of corruptly concealing a document and conspiracy to conceal documents. Others pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists rather than take their case to trial.

Prosecutors say the eight are members of antifa, a decentralized anti-fascist organization that has become a target of the Trump administration. They have denied any affiliation and maintain they attended the demonstration to show support for immigrants inside the detention center.

President Donald Trump last fall signed an executive order designating antifa a domestic terrorist organization, even though there is no domestic equivalent to the State Department’s list of foreign terror organizations.

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Critics warn the case could have wide-reaching impact on protests given that organizations operating within the U.S. are supposed to be protected by First Amendment free-speech rights.

Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

Last week, federal prosecutors charged 15 people with impeding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. They claimed the demonstrators were members of antifa who conspired against the federal government to block arrests and deportations by setting up blockades around government buildings and throwing chunks of ice at federal vehicles, among other actions.

Marcelo reported from New York.

A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.

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Paxton, Trump adviser’s org win bid to block immigration rule

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Paxton, Trump adviser’s org win bid to block immigration rule

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback.

A federal judge in Texas blocked a Biden administration rule on Monday that allowed immigration judges to indefinitely close a deportation case against immigrants on the same day Texas sued to stop the rule.

The rule, which was adopted in 2024, allowed immigration judges to close a deportation case after hearing arguments from the federal government and the immigrant in deportation proceedings, especially if the person could qualify for a benefit that allows them to stay in the country legally.

But on Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas in Wichita Falls to block the rule with U.S. Judge Reed O’Connor, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.

The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice was also co-filed by America First Legal Foundation, an organization founded by Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to President Trump who has focused on ways to limit both legal and illegal immigration to the country. America First Legal Foundation also previously filed various lawsuits representing Paxton against the Biden administration’s immigration policies, which helped derail President Biden’s immigration agenda in his lone term.

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In this latest complaint, Paxton’s office said in the 43-page lawsuit that the Biden-era rule “effectively grant(s) indefinite amnesty to aliens illegally present in this country.”

Lawsuits usually take several months to years to settle, but in this case O’Connor ruled late on Monday in favor of Texas after the Department of Justice filed its response saying it agreed with Paxton’s office.

Paxton’s office and the DOJ did not respond to immediate requests for comment.

President Trump, in keeping with his campaign promise, has cracked down on immigrants, using many of the federal government’s resources to limit immigration and fast-track deportations, including undocumented people and others who were allowed to be in the U.S. by previous administrations.

O’Connor has been known as conservative leaders’ favorite judge because he has routinely ruled in favor of Paxton, who has strategically filed lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administration.

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The fast-paced end to the rule echoes a similar maneuver conducted by the DOJ and Paxton’s office last year, when the federal agency sued Texas over a law allowing undocumented students to qualify for lower tuition rates at public universities. Hours after the suit was filed, Texas also asked Judge O’Connor to find the law unconstitutional, which he did.

After the law was overturned, legal experts said a state working with the federal government so closely for the swift overturning of a state law was unusual and raised questions about collusion.

The quick resolution to the case late on Monday was heavily criticized by immigration law experts.

“This is madness! Deliberate collusion with a federal judge to rapidly erase regulations without any input from affected parties,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with American Immigration Council, a group in Washington, D.C., that advocates for immigrants. “It’s clearly an unlawful act by all, and now litigants will have to seek to intervene in the already-completed lawsuit to overturn his actions.”



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