In case you didn't know: Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley? Those boys are really close. I know you haven't heard this before, and it's hard to believe, but their dads played ball together, and the kids are old friends. And roommates. And they like to hunt and kill stuff together and serve as the subjects of gauzy profiles and way inappropriate jokes. They're tight, and unlike last year, they won't have to earn their status as bona fide stars in 2009, having already won the heart of the commentariat during Texas' surprising run to the top five.

Texas loves the McCoy-Shipley combo so much, in fact, that it's on the verge of locking down the family connection for another five-year run. When Colt and Jordan graduate (presumably) next year, they'll be followed first by Colt's brother, the also-impeccably named Case McCoy, who became one of 10 early commitments to UT's class of 2010 last week. Almost without question, he'll be joined in 2011 by his good friend, Jaxson Shipley, who emerged last year as a sophomore for one of those overheated Texas high school powers that churns out Division I prospects (and where the pater Shipley, Bob, was most recently head coach before accepting another job). And then Case 'n Jaxson will be roommates, and bag five-point bucks and gauzy profiles of their own -- these will go one of two ways: "Hey, they're just like their brothers! Remember them?" or "Now, finally free from the pressure of his brother's shadow, he's ready to begin putting his life together again ..." -- and the Longhorn family tradition will continue through at least 2014. Mack Brown, he likes to get these things out of the way.

By then, Colt and Jordan's kids should be entering elementary school together, which can only mean one thing: Time to start lining up the unofficial visits for 2025, cuz them boys is born 'Horns.