SEC logo Florida Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns’ season ended last week when they lost 28-14 to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl.

Since then, a handful of top Texas players have announced their intentions to leave the school and enter the NFL Draft.

On Tuesday, that list grew again, as wide receiver Isaiah Bond told ESPN’s Pete Thamel he’d be forgoing his senior season and declaring for April’s draft.

Bond started his college career with the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he had 65 receptions for 888 yards and five touchdowns in his two seasons with the team. He had a team-high 48 receptions in the 2023 season, including a touchdown reception on 4th and 31 to lead Alabama past Auburn and keep the team’s College Football Playoff hopes alive.

After Nick Saban’s retirement in January of 2024, Bond entered the transfer portal and committed to Texas.

People were interested in these podcasts
Play Episode
79min
The Play-By-Play
Looking ahead at 2025 in sports media with AA head Ben Koo
As we enter 2025, we take a look at some sports media storylines in the next year. Awful Announcing publisher Ben Koo discusses those topics with Play-By-Play hosts Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen.Time Stamps:-1:29: College football changes-14:19: Social media and sports-29:25: NBA and their new media partners-39:31: UFC media rights-50:08: Launch of ESPN Flagship-1:01:22: Where does Bill Simmons go?-1:02:54: Where does Colin Cowherd go?-1:07:35: Stephen A. Smith’s new ESPN contract-1:12:03: How long does Tom Brady last at Fox?-1:12:24: Top ESPN NBA booth in 2025-26?-1:14:50: Bold predictions for 2025You can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
ESPN and MLB split, Jay Caspian Kang joins for Stephen A. Smith political talk
What is Stephen A. Smith's political endgame? The New Yorker's Jay Caspian King joins Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen to discuss. Ben and Brendon will also talk about ESPN opting out of their MLB contract after 2025, as well as various NBA topics including Richard Jefferson and Brian Windhorst on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-2:04: ESPN opts out of MLB rights after 2025-20:36: View From the Subreddit: ESPN Edition-26:14: “Court of Gold”-39:02: The New Yorker’s Jay Caspian Kang joins to discuss Stephen A. Smith’s political aspirations-1:03:34: Richard Jefferson joining Mike Breen and Doris Burke on NBA Finals broadcast-1:07:23: Brian Windhorst a free agent after the NBA seasonYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
NBA negativity, Caitlin Clark's TIME interview, Bill Belichick to UNC
Sports media is overwhelmingly negative about the NBA. Conservatives take issue on Caitlin Clark's TIME Athlete of the Year interview. Bill Belichick is going to coach for the Tar Heels. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:00: Negativity from sports media world on NBA-27:17: Bill Belichick going to UNC-36:06: Mike Florio suggesting Bears trade for Kyle Shanahan-41:18: College football calendar issues-45:53: Caitlin Clark’s Time interview reactions-54:11: Dave Pasch profile-56:17: Aaron Rodgers’ Netflix docuseriesYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Breakfast Ball's debut, Kirk Herbstreit goes heel and Coach Prime bans a columnist
On the latest episode of The Play-By-Play, Awful Announcing's Brendon Kleen and Ben Axelrod discuss the debut of Fox Sports 1's "Breakfast Ball," the season premiere of "College GameDay" with Nick Saban's debut, Kirk Herbstreit going heel and Pat McAfee getting drunk, and Deion Sanders and Colorado banning The Denver Post's Sean Keeler from press conferences.Time Stamps:-:07: Welcome to The Play-By-Play!-1:53: The debut of FS1's "Breakfast Ball"-12:18: What happened with Michelle Beadle and FS1?-13:03: The rest of FS1's new lineup.-21:01 Nick Saban's debut on "College GameDay"-29:37: Kirk Herbstreit goes heel-34:47: Do we care Pat McAfee got drunk on air?-39:10: Colorado and Deion Sanders ban a columnist from press conferences.-49:14: Bill Simmons in a contract year-54:38: Who could be the next Tony Kornheiser in a broadcast booth?You can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Longhorns lost wide receivers AD Mitchell and Xavier Worthy to the 2024 NFL Draft, so being able to replace them with a speedster like Bond helped guide Texas to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

Bond finished the regular season with 32 receptions for 510 yards and five receiving touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown, the first of his career.

An ankle injury limited Bond at points during the season, and he re-aggravated it in Texas’ SEC Championship loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. In the SEC Championship and Texas’ two playoff games, Bond combined for just two receptions for 30 yards.

Social media had plenty to say about Bond’s decision.