Austin, TX
Texas vs Arizona State: Ex-Longhorn Xavion Alford leads Sun Devils against his former team
Texas football talks defense before Peach Bowl against Arizona State
American-Statesman reporters discuss what members of the Texas defense told the media on Friday and Arizona State offensive players to keep an eye on.
When Arizona State faces Texas in the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff on Wednesday afternoon, some Sun Devils will experience a full-circle moment at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Arizona State receiver Troy Omeire started his collegiate career at Texas. So did defensive linemen Prince Dorbah and Zac Swanson. Texas fans, do you remember Jake Smith? The receiver who originally signed with Texas during the 2019 recruiting cycle is now a Sun Devil senior.
The most notable of Arizona State’s Texas Exes is Xavion Alford. A junior safety, Alford spent the 2020 season at Texas. Four years and two transfers later, he is Arizona State’s second-leading tackler.
“Now getting to play against (Texas) somewhere else, it’s kind of like the best of both worlds. I played with them, and now I get to play against them,” Alford said on Friday.
Alford’s journey to Arizona State includes stops in Austin, Los Angeles
Alford is a Texas kid. Once a four-star prospect out of Pearland’s Shadow Creek High, Alford was a member of UT’s Class of 2020. Since his last name begins with an “A,” Alford was actually the first recruit that former Texas coach Tom Herman spoke about at his signing day press conference on Dec. 18, 2019. “(He’s) physical, athletic,” Herman said that day.
As a true freshman, Alford appeared in four games during the 2020 season. That December, he elected to transfer.
“It was great, my time there. I had to move on, better things for my future and things of that nature,” Alford reflected.
Alford spent the next two years at USC and then moved to Arizona State. Due to injuries that cost him the 2022 season and an NCAA rule that forced him to sit out the 2023 season because of his second transfer, Alford did not play football for two years.
But this season, he has made an immediate impact for the Sun Devils. A 13-time starter, Alford’s 82 tackles rank behind fellow safety Myles Rowser’s 93 stops on the Arizona State roster. Alford earned a first-team nod on the Big 12’s all-conference team this season, and he has also recorded two interceptions and four pass breakups.
“When he set foot on this campus, he was on a mission, and I think a lot of it had to do with his time at Texas and at USC,” Arizona State defensive coordinator Brian Ward said. “He felt like, hey, this was his last opportunity to really get this done and to make ASU the place that he was going to be the very best he could be, and that’s really all he is.”
Any hard feelings between Alford, Texas?
While speaking with media members over Zoom, Alford didn’t appear to harbor any ill will towards his former team. Four members of a 2020 recruiting class that also included Dorbah and Omeire are still on the Texas roster, and Alford remains close with Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron. Alford added that he is also friends with UT defensive back Jaylon Guilbeau, who joined the Longhorns after Alford left.
“That’s my brother,” Barron said of Alford. “Throughout the whole season we chat literally every week, except this week. But, nah, we’re always chatting. I’m always reaching out to him; he’s always reaching out to me and things like that. Just motivation to keep us going.
“He’s been through so much. I’ve been through so much. We started here together as a brother, and that’s always going to be my brother. I’m just proud of him and how far he’s came. He’s dealt with a lot of issues, just injuries and having to sit out. So I’m just proud that he has an opportunity to showcase the gift that God gave him. So it’s always good to see that out of him.”
Had Arizona State earned a quarterfinal matchup with Oregon, Georgia or any of the other teams still alive in the College Football Playoff, Alford would have heard from plenty of family and friends back home. But Arizona State drew Texas, his former team and the flagship university of the state he grew up in. For his part, Alford isn’t trying to view the Peach Bowl as the site of a reunion.
“I just view it as another game. I went there, signed there, it is what it is. I knew there was a possibility we could play each other in CFP, and obviously here we are a couple days out,” Alford said. “Not really focused on the outside factors, just focus on what I can control, focus on doing my job each and every day and getting prepared for the game.”
Alford, Texas reunion not an anomaly during transfer portal’s new era
Will it be weird for Texas to see its former players on the Arizona State sideline? Texas coach Steve Sarkisian doesn’t think so. It’s just a sign of the times and the transfer portal, UT’s fourth-year coach argued this week.
Besides, Texas has an ex-Arizona State player on its roster. Defensive lineman Jermayne Lole played at Arizona State from 2018-21. Lole transferred to Louisville for the 2023 season, and he has accumulated 20 tackles and three quarterback hurries during his lone year on the Texas defensive line.
“I think this is college football in 2024 and moving forward. It’s almost got a little bit of an NFL feel that way,” Sarkisian said. “I do think that’s the era of college football where we’re at right now. It’s 2024, the portal is alive and well, and 2025 is going to roll around and there will be more faces moving around.”
Most of Arizona State’s ex-Longhorns have contributed to the Sun Devils’ run to an 11-1 record and a Big 12 championship. Alford, Dorbah, Omeire, Smith and Swanson have all appeared in at least 10 games this season. Former Texas defensive lineman J’Mond Tapp was also on Arizona State’s roster this season, but he announced this month that he is entering the transfer portal after not receiving any playing time in 2024.
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Austin, TX
No. 5 Texas baseball falls to Texas State as the Bobcats win their fourth straight in Austin, 5-3
A week into his tenure in Austin, Texas basketball coach Sean Miller has begun to rebuild the Longhorns’ roster.
Miller received a portal pledge Tuesday from Dailyn Swain, according to multiple reports. One of Miller’s former players at Xavier, the 6-foot-8, 220-pound wing who projects as a future NBA player has two remaining years of eligibility.
Swain had a breakout season for Xavier in 2024-25 while averaging 11 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists. The former four-star recruit and one of the top prep players in the state of Ohio for the 2023 class visited Austin on Monday. The No. 20 player in On3’s portal rankings also reportedly had visits scheduled for Ohio State, Kentucky and Arkansas.
Swain projects as an instant starter on the wing for Texas next season, considering his versatility and experience. He shoots just 25% from three-point range but is an effective scorer with his midrange game and at the rim. In Xavier’s loss to Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, however, he showed his offensive potential by making three of his five three-point shots while scoring a career-best 27 points. He also had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals against Illinois.
Swain can also handle the ball and has shown the ability to guard multiple positions during his two years at Xavier.
The spring portal window opened March 24, the same day that Texas officials announced Miller as the replacement for the fired Rodney Terry. Miller and his staff have their hands full rebuilding the roster, considering five Texas players used up their collegiate eligibility: forwards Arthur Kaluma, Jayson Kent, Ze’Rik Onyema and Kadin Shedrick as well as guard Julian Larry. Wing Devon Pryor has entered the portal, and Tre Johnson, the SEC’s freshman of the year, is expected to declare for the NBA draft any day.
MORE: Sean Miller was the right hire for Texas’ future. Here’s why. | Golden
That likely leaves Miller with three players — junior guard Jordan Pope, junior guard Chendall Weaver and graduate guard Tramon Mark — as the only eligible returning players who averaged at least 10 minutes a game from a team that went 19-16 and lost to Miller’s Xavier squad in a First Four game.
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As Texas’ industry and economy grow, so too do its infrastructure needs. This week, industry leaders are convening to discuss the state’s pressing transportation, energy, water, and digital infrastructure issues.
Infraday Texas is returning to Austin on Wednesday, where industry leaders, lawmakers and engineers will address how Texas’ unprecedented growth is impacting the state’s infrastructure systems and explore sustainable solutions to these challenges.
Texas recently received a “C” grade on its 2025 infrastructure report card from the nation’s premier society of civil engineers. The report rated Texas’ overall infrastructure as better than the national average but urged lawmakers to increase investment in water, wastewater and transit systems.
The increasing need for investment in infrastructure across the state comes as Texas experiences exponential population growth and rising resource demands, particularly for water and energy.
According to the 2022 State Water Plan, Texas’ population is expected to increase by more than 22 million people by 2070, raising water demand by 9%. However, water supply is projected to drop by 18% over the same period. Texas lawmakers are addressing the state’s looming water crisis this session, with bills aiming to invest billions of dollars into upgrading and repairing aging infrastructure or developing entirely new water projects.
Along with increased population, businesses — particularly technology and artificial intelligence companies — have turned to Texas to build large data centers that require massive amounts of energy and water to operate.
This, coupled with necessary transportation needs and digital protection, has created an urgent need for investment in the state’s infrastructure industry.
“Texas is at a pivotal moment where bold investments, smart planning and technological innovation must come together to modernize our infrastructure,” Infraday CEO Ken Bauco said.
Infraday will feature over 75 speakers to discuss leveraging AI to solve infrastructure problems, climate resilient policies and planning, water conservation and grid reliability from Texas municipal leaders, state lawmakers and industry experts including from CapMetro, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin Energy and Accenture.
“We provide a platform for public sector agencies to talk about new technologies, new capital programs, new initiatives and what’s coming down the pipeline in terms of growth and new projects that their cities are involved with,” Bauco told the American-Statesman.
Infraday Texas is all day Wednesday at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center in Austin. Those who are interested can register for the event online.
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