Texas
Conner Weigman, Texas A&M do Mike Elko no favors in losing debut vs. Notre Dame
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No Texas A&M football coach ever had a better shot at making a good first impression than Mike Elko, who nevertheless said before Saturday’s opener that if he’d had his druthers, he’d have preferred a debut against something other than seventh-ranked Notre Dame.
The Aggies’ first 14 coaches broke in against the likes of Sam Houston, Southwestern, Trinity, Austin College, a half-dozen high school teams and the Houston YMCA.
Only six A&M coaches had the misfortune to start out against a ranked team, and, of those precious few, R.C. Slocum owned the lone W.
Still does.
Notre Dame denied Elko’s bid to match the patron saint of Aggie coaches when Riley Leonard led an 85-yard fourth-quarter drive for a 23-13 win over the 20th-ranked Aggies in front of 107,315, fourth-largest crowd in Kyle Field history.
“You deserved better,” Elko said in a public apology to the faithful.
“We didn’t give it to you.”
A&M’s upset hopes died when Conner Weigman’s fourth-and-2 pass was broken up and nearly became his third interception, which tells you what kind of night it was.
And if that didn’t, this did: Weigman lost his lunch at halftime.
“Just got a little sick,” is how Elko put it.
“Puke and rally.”
Nice.
Weigman’s struggles in his return from a broken foot in the fourth game last year will be a point for Elko to revisit this week. He completed just 12 of 30 passes for 100 yards, a couple of picks and a 54.7 passer rating. Couldn’t get in a rhythm, Elko said, adding they must find ways to make him more “comfortable.”
Of all the issues the new boss figured to face early, I’m thinking this wasn’t one of them. Then again, Notre Dame will present problems for a lot of teams this fall, and not just one under new management.
Previous administrations didn’t do Elko any favors. Jimbo Fisher, fresh off maybe the most ballyhooed/hooted contract in college football history, drew Northwestern State in his 2018 debut. Of course, the next week he got second-ranked Clemson and lost, 28-26. A harbinger of sorts. Under Jimbo, the Aggies were good but never quite good enough, a cardinal sin at those prices, not to mention in the merciless SEC.
Over the next five seasons, Jimbo had his moments. A 9-1 season in 2020 and an upset of top-ranked Alabama the next year come to mind.
But he never won more than nine games and alienated Aggies with fat wallets.
Having said that, if Weigman hadn’t gotten hurt, I’m not so sure Elko wouldn’t still be back at Duke. Before their starting quarterback’s injury, the Aggies were on their way to a 3-1 start. Weigman, who looked like the kind of quarterback that made Jimbo famous at Florida State, closed out last season with a 156.8 passer rating.
From that point, A&M won four of its last nine games, leaving Jimbo’s warts for all to see.
Elko won the job over Kentucky’s Mark Stoops — a clumsy bit of business, at that — because he’d been Aggie-tested as a former defensive coordinator and came up the Anti-Jimbo. He’s certainly likeable. Even his former Duke players couldn’t work up much of a mad against him when ESPN visited recently. The gist of the story was how Elko and Leonard, a former Duke coach and quarterback, would find themselves on the same field but different sidelines Saturday.
Elko maintained he’d rather have faced any quarterback than Leonard, listing so many admirable traits it wasn’t clear if he’d coached him or adopted him.
“I told him I loved him after the game,” Elko said. “I will be rooting for the kid for the rest of his life.”
Leonard took a little while to get things going, but, in the third quarter, he handed off to Jadarian Price, who cut to the left sideline and went 47 yards for the game’s first touchdown and a 13-6 lead. Notre Dame penalties (11 for 99 on the night) helped the Aggies pull even. A hands-to-the face moved A&M to the Irish 21, where Stanford transfer EJ Smith — Emmitt’s boy! — ripped off a 14-yard run to the 7. A pass interference penalty in the end zone put the Aggies at the 2, whereupon they took a battering ram approach to a 13-13 tie.
But Leonard, who finished 18 of 30 for 158 yards and rushed for 63 more, took all of the steam out of the crowd on a hot night with his 85-yard march in the fourth.
“We learned we have glimpses where we are a good football team,” offensive tackle Trey Zuhn said, “but we need to show we can strain every play, every drive to be successful.
“We beat ourselves, mentally and physically.”
As a former defensive coordinator, Elko was offended that the Aggies gave up 198 yards rushing. As a head coach, he should have been mad that he didn’t get the same considerations his predecessor did, and I’m not talking about the contract.
By the way: Jimbo revealed this week that he’s not just sitting on that $75 million the Aggies owe him. He’s co-hosting a show with a couple of his ex-players on SiriusXM. In the press release, he said, “I love talking about football almost as much as I love coaching.” We’ll take his word for it. Frankly, half of what he said I couldn’t follow, and the other half wasn’t worth the chase.
This is Elko’s job now, to have and to hold, at least for a while. Saturday was proof that he has his hands full. On the bright side, not every game will be as difficult. Next week, in fact, brings McNeese. It’s not the YMCA, but it’s the best athletic directors can do these days.
Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
Find more Texas A&M coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Texas
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
AUSTIN, Texas – Former Texas standout Dailyn Swain was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 15th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night.
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:
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 v (Getty Images)
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.
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.
The Source: Information in this article was provided from live coverage of the 2026 NBA Draft.
Texas
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.”
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.
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.
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Texas
Paxton, Trump adviser’s org win bid to block immigration rule
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.
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.
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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