THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Parker Livingstone had an incredible start to his senior season
Texas wide receiver commitment Parker Livingstone is no stranger to success, having compiled more than 2,000 receiving yards during his high school career, which had seen him play varsity for three seasons before this year. On Friday night, Livingstone and his Lovejoy teammates took the field for their 2023 season opener, and Livingstone appears to be on a mission.
The stat line speaks for itself … 12 receptions, 252 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 passing touchdown (52 yards) and a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown that was negated by a flag.
Everyone expected Livingstone to produce big numbers this season. That’s what he does. But even Livingstone himself wasn’t expecting the type of production he turned in on Friday against a very good College Station team.
“Definitely not,” Livingstone said when asked if he saw that kind of performance coming. “I was kind of expecting to go in there, play as best I can, come out with win. It was a great team performance. I couldn’t have done it without our offensive line, coaching staff, defense and quarterback. Great team win.”
The individual accolades are always fun, but Livingstone said it felt just as good to start the season off with a win.
“Everyone had us picked to lose. It felt good to just go in there and prove everyone wrong as an underdog,” he said.
Livingstone, who committed to Texas in early July, said he doesn’t really have a pre-game routine, but whatever he did last week he might be wise to try to repeat it. As the game went on, Livingstone said he felt like he was in a zone where the defense couldn’t slow him down.
“It’s just like no one can stop you, you can catch anything that comes your way. Every move, every catch, every route is crisp, it’s as good as possible when you’re in the zone,” he said.
Rivals.com has Livingstone ranked as a four-star prospect and a member of the Rivals250. It’s the highest ranking of any of the recruiting services, and while it’s a small motivator, Livingstone admits he wants to silence any critics he has.
“No doubt. Everything that happens, what people say about me, what they think about me with the rankings, that just builds a chip on your shoulder, makes me want to go out there and prove them more wrong,” Livingstone said. “They can have you ranked low and then to have a performance like that feels good.”
The Texas coaches, including wide receivers coach Chris Jackson, reached out to Livingstone expressing their excitement about his game-one heroics. Livingstone remains firmly committed to the Longhorns and plans to be at several Texas games this fall.
“It feels amazing. I’m not going anywhere. I want to be in Texas, want to be in the state of Texas, want to play for coach Sark,” Livingstone said. “I love the environment there, the culture, the coaching staff. It’s a great place to be. … Texas was kind of where I wanted to be from the get-go. It was kind of a dream come true.”
2. Dominick McKinley’s announcement on Friday should hold a lot of intrigue
Defensive tackle Dominick McKinley is set to announce his commitment on Friday, and the Lafayette Acadiana product is ...
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