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2020 Texas Offseason Thread: Herman's Hail Mary


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4 hours ago, Sejjr said:

Stop fucking worrying about out-scheming and out-mensa-ing teams and let our athletes play like they were born to play. And beat the fuck out of the weak teams on the schedule.

Let's get back to what it was like when we'd effortlessly hang 60 on Baylor and Kansas.

For all the shit we give Mack, I always kind of thought that his generally conservative nature as the Texas coach, while frustrating, was strategic in that he almost always had the talent advantage...that he could win most every game just by not fucking up. His teams could be boring sometimes (particularly the offensive gameplans), but they were almost always excellent on special teams and they very rarely beat themselves. This obviously didn't work against OU for a few years there, but it did against almost everyone else - he dominated A&M, Ok St, Baylor, Nebraska...pretty much everyone else in the conference.

My point isn't that it's OK to lose to OU 5 years in a row, but that playing smart, fundamentally-sound football and getting the details right goes a long way when you have a talented roster. Herman has recruited at a level that should enable him to do at least what pre-VY Mack was able to do at Texas. But his special teams have been horrid, his players make dumb mistakes, and he allowed his defense to completely come off the tracks.  You can't lose to 5-7 TCU. You can't lose to Iowa St.

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15 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

For all the shit we give Mack, I always kind of thought that his generally conservative nature as the Texas coach, while frustrating, was strategic in that he almost always had the talent advantage...that he could win most every game just by not fucking up. His teams could be boring sometimes (particularly the offensive gameplans), but they were almost always excellent on special teams and they very rarely beat themselves. This obviously didn't work against OU for a few years there, but it did against almost everyone else - he dominated A&M, Ok St, Baylor, Nebraska...pretty much everyone else in the conference.

My point isn't that it's OK to lose to OU 5 years in a row, but that playing smart, fundamentally-sound football and getting the details right goes a long way when you have a talented roster. Herman has recruited at a level that should enable him to do at least what pre-VY Mack was able to do at Texas. But his special teams have been horrid, his players make dumb mistakes, and he allowed his defense to completely come off the tracks.  You can't lose to 5-7 TCU. You can't lose to Iowa St.

Ironically the two teams at the end of your post led to Mack's demise.

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7 hours ago, Hank Chinaski said:

For all the shit we give Mack, I always kind of thought that his generally conservative nature as the Texas coach, while frustrating, was strategic in that he almost always had the talent advantage...that he could win most every game just by not fucking up. His teams could be boring sometimes (particularly the offensive gameplans), but they were almost always excellent on special teams and they very rarely beat themselves. This obviously didn't work against OU for a few years there, but it did against almost everyone else - he dominated A&M, Ok St, Baylor, Nebraska...pretty much everyone else in the conference.

My point isn't that it's OK to lose to OU 5 years in a row, but that playing smart, fundamentally-sound football and getting the details right goes a long way when you have a talented roster. Herman has recruited at a level that should enable him to do at least what pre-VY Mack was able to do at Texas. But his special teams have been horrid, his players make dumb mistakes, and he allowed his defense to completely come off the tracks.  You can't lose to 5-7 TCU. You can't lose to Iowa St.

Problem with this is that playing that way becomes engrained in the team's DNA and a "default" setting leading to getting their asses handed to them when a rival comes in and takes it to Eleven, ala the gooners.

Team play it safe gets punched in the mouth and goes fetal.

Hence, 5 in a row.

"Weather the storm!"

Oooph

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1 hour ago, Cajun said:

Problem with this is that playing that way becomes engrained in the team's DNA and a "default" setting leading to getting their asses handed to them when a rival comes in and takes it to Eleven, ala the gooners.

Team play it safe gets punched in the mouth and goes fetal.

Hence, 5 in a row.

"Weather the storm!"

Oooph

Oh I agree, and I'm not advocating that he copy Mack's philosophies across the board...just commenting on the previous poster suggesting that he replace his seeming desire to outsmart everyone schematically with an emphasis on fundamentals. Everyone seems to agree that the defense will improve by simplifying the scheme and letting the athletes he's been recruiting play. Get special teams cleaned up too, and the team has a good chance to improve quickly. 

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18 hours ago, Katfid54 said:

Ehlinger was v bad at that throw to Duvernay in 2018.  He was significantly better throwing the post to Eagles this year.

I’m less concerned with Sam’s arm strength and more concerned with the less experienced receivers running the correct routes.  

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2 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

Lots to improve for 2020 Season.  Better special teams play, and a HELLUVA lot better 1st quarter starts to games... Damn The Longhorns were a bad 1st quarter Team in 2019!! 

 

Tom said he hadn't noticed that we were a team that starts slow. 

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Watching the playoff makes it obvious we still don’t have the talent to win it all. I’m hoping Herman’s growth as a coach combined with the new hires gets us to 10-2 next year. A top 2021 class with some freshmen that can contribute right away might be enough to get us to the top.

Or Herman sucks and none of that happens. We will know at the end of the 2020 season.

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Hope springs eternal. It seems most podcast discussions I’ve listened to over the past couple of seasons thought (even prior to this season) that we likely over-performed in 2018 (they were correct) and that, though there was a possibility we could compete for the conference and even be a dark horse playoff contender this season (was not correct), 2020 was the actually the realistic projection for a season to be “our” season. I think that is still not unrealistic. Also, my current goal is us just winning the conference. Considering we haven’t been able to do that for 10 seasons now, I’m not going to look further than that goal at this point.

 

Barring the injury bug we had last year, we bring back a lot including a senior Sam at QB, OU will be once again be breaking in a new QB (I hold out hope that one year they are gonna actually have some new QB growing pains) and I also hold out hope that Rhule leaves for the NFL and want to see what Baylor looks like once again without him at the helm. The Utah game at least shows us the potential (though wasted this season) that our players have so I remain cautiously optimistic.

 

Like i said: hope springs eternal. Ready for the spring game.

 

(Sorry this is not more “hot takey” like most on here prefer)

 

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If Herman is truly successful at Texas I think when it is all said and done it will be because CDC was able to help guide him through those decisions that could have otherwise killed his career here.  I don’t think CDC is forcing specific actions but he is clearly keeping Tom focused in the right direction.   

Edited by stork642
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I expect us to go 10-4.  8 wins or less and Herman is certainly toast.  He can survive a 9 win season provided he wins his final 2.  10 wins or better and he’s safe.  A conference championship earns him an extension.

 

We are stacked on offense.  Talented experienced depth at QB, RB, and TE.  Talent and depth at WR (but the unit lacks experience).  Talent and experience at OL (but is sorely lacking in depth).  Provided they avoid injuries to the OL and QB the offense should be among the best in the country.

If the defense was as talented and experienced and as deep as the offense, a playoff appearance would be a reasonable expectation.  But there is enough talent on defense that 10+ wins is a totally reasonable expectation.  There’s talent and depth on the DL, but losing Roach hurts, and the unit will be relying on freshman to play right away. The secondary should be the best it’s been since 2005.  The LB core features the team’s highest ceiling player in Ossai, although questions abound otherwise. Provided they avoid injuries along the front 7 this team will be in every game.

 Special teams gets everybody back.

Doomsday scenario has Ehlinger getting concussed, Cosmi hurting his knee, and the unproven players on the front 7 not panning out; we lose to LSU and OU and the wheels come off, leading to 7-6 and Herman getting canned.

 

Best case has Ehlinger taking that final step and the offense’s main problem becoming how to get all the dynamic playmakers enough touches.  The secondary dominates and Coburn turns into a 1st round pick.  In that case a Big 12 championship and playoff appearance is in play.  Herman gets an extension and the momentum starts to feed itself.

Edited by Snake Diggity
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5 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

I expect us to go 10-4.  8 wins or less and Herman is certainly toast.  He can survive a 9 win season provided he wins his final 2.  10 wins or better and he’s safe.  A conference championship earns him an extension.

 

We are stacked on offense.  Talented experienced depth at QB, RB, and TE.  Talent and depth at WR (but the unit lacks experience).  Talent and experience at OL (but is sorely lacking in depth).  Provided they avoid injuries to the OL and QB the offense should be among the best in the country.

If the defense was as talented and experienced and as deep as the offense, a playoff appearance would be a reasonable expectation.  But there is enough talent on defense that 10+ wins is a totally reasonable expectation.  There’s talent and depth on the DL, but losing Roach hurts, and the unit will be relying on freshman to play right away. The secondary should be the best it’s been since 2005.  The LB core features the team’s highest ceiling player in Ossai, although questions abound otherwise. Provided they avoid injuries along the front 7 this team will be in every game.

 Special teams gets everybody back.

Doomsday scenario has Ehlinger getting concussed, Cosmi hurting his knee, and the unproven players on the front 7 not panning out; we lose to LSU and OU and the wheels come off, leading to 7-6 and Herman getting canned.

 

Best case has Ehlinger taking that final step and the offense’s main problem becoming how to get all the dynamic playmakers enough touches.  The secondary dominates and Coburn turns into a 1st round pick.  In that case a Big 12 championship and playoff appearance is in play.  Herman gets an extension and the momentum starts to feed itself.

Ossai is a DE, not a LB in this defense and we won’t be relying on TR FR at DL with Ossai, Coburn, Ojomo, Bimage, Sweat, Graham, Jones, and Warren all likely able to contribute. Some TR FR might play, but it’ll be because they beat out older guys. 

Linebacker will be a mess, unless one or both of Overshown and Foster can successfully spin down. I’d like to see both start offseason ball at LB. 

I also don’t think we’re that bad off on OL depth. We have 3 returning starters plus a senior Okafor and about 5 2nd or 3rd year guys who should be ready to play and fill the other starting spot plus provide depth. 

Edited by Burt Macklin
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Only 4 players left former the CS era.

Okafor - .9045

Brown - .8767

Imade - .8519

Duvernay - .8478

You have to think that Jaquess and Brockermeyer are keeping their scholarships, not sure about Hine. So that leaves us with 3 open scholarships without anymore attrition.

 

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17 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

Only 4 players left former the CS era.

Okafor - .9045

Brown - .8767

Imade - .8519

Duvernay - .8478

You have to think that Jaquess and Brockermeyer are keeping their scholarships, not sure about Hine. So that leaves us with 3 open scholarships without anymore attrition.

 

That list is incomplete imo. All the players from 2017 transition recruiting class who originally committed to Charlies Strong's staff also count too.

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58 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

Only 4 players left former the CS era.

Okafor - .9045

Brown - .8767

Imade - .8519

Duvernay - .8478

You have to think that Jaquess and Brockermeyer are keeping their scholarships, not sure about Hine. So that leaves us with 3 open scholarships without anymore attrition.

 

Is little Duvernay going to stick around with Devin now gone?

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3 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Only 4 players left former the CS era.

Okafor - .9045

Brown - .8767

Imade - .8519

Duvernay - .8478

You have to think that Jaquess and Brockermeyer are keeping their scholarships, not sure about Hine. So that leaves us with 3 open scholarships without anymore attrition.

 

 

2 hours ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Is little Duvernay going to stick around with Devin now gone?

Little Duvernay may be graduating??

Below link updated roster in early Oct 2019...

 

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On 1/3/2020 at 8:54 PM, Newy25 said:

Oklahoma will be breaking transferring in a new Heisman QB and Baylor loses a fuck ton of players next year  just fucking sucks. If we do not win the conference next year with a senior Ehlinger Herman needs to be fired. If it does not happen next year it will never happen for Herman. 

I think that's what you meant to say

Edited by NeverMarryAStripper
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2 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

They’re the screenshots from the recruiting board - Tarp saying that 9 wins would save his job but that no one expects him to get that. 

It’s more than that. The initial context of the posts on that thread was that no one would work for Herman because they think he’s done. It was in response to Elijah Robinson turning down herman, allegedly, if i remember correctly. 

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