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closetojumping

Burnt Ends
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Everything posted by closetojumping

  1. Regarding the OU Special Teams, here you go: PK: PK1 Tate Martell (SR); PK2 Austin Welch (SR) - OU pushed hard for numerous kickers this offseason and they whiffed repeatedly. The dude that Texas picked up from Texas State received a hard push from the OU staff. Luckily, he thought better of leaving central Texas for a suburb of Oklahoma City, for God's sake. Ultimately, OU had to settle on taking the former QB, who resurrected his career as a PK at UTSA, apparently. Dude went 19-23 last year and also 35-36 on EPS. Welch is yet another transfer from Kennesaw State on the OU roster. Is it a good sign if your program raided the storied Kennesaw State roster this spring? Probably not. Anyway, he sucked so badly this spring that Venables and Doug "Freakin" Deakin, the OU ST coach, had to go out and spend legit NIL money on the 6 time transfer Martell. P: P1 Jacob Ulrich (Soph); P2 Grayson Miller (SR) - Another Kennesaw State transfer, unbelievably, is Ulrich. Dude had a solid season last year punting for over 45ypp. He ranked 35th nationally in NPA. Seems solid. As to Miller, there isn't anything you could tell me that I wouldn't believe. What the fuck does anyone know about a backup punter? My understanding is that he spends his summers in Rangoon, taking luge lessons. This spring, he was caught in the quad wearing a meat helmet, otherwise nude with a freshly shorn scrotum, with a Zoroastrian named Vilma chasing him whilst carrying a burlap sap and a thick reed. KR: KR1 Isaiah Sategna (JR); KR2 Taylor Tatum (Soph) - Sategna is a better PR than KR, but he did both at Arkansas and OU needs a guy. Tatum returned a few last year and, given that they're breaking their bank to start the previously discussed Jadyn Ott at RB1, Tatum needs something to do if he's not going to get restless. PR: PR1 Isaiah Sategna (JR); PR2 Peyton Bowen (JR) - Sategna has averaged almost 10ypc as a punt returner, and that's solid. He was 11th in the country in 2023. Bowen averaged 8.36ypr last year, is coming off of turf toe surgery, and struggled at times with judging punts correctly. Bowen made multiple boneheaded decisions to catch or not catch punts last year. ST Coaching and Outlook: OU brought in Deakin from SDSU before last season and OU's STs made a big jump overall on the season. They went from 127th nationally in ST Efficiency in 2023, to 41st in 2024. That's pretty terrific in terms of improvement. He's going to have to work some magic to have OU at or better than that level in 2025. They lost most of their key contributors in every facet of their group, save Bowen at PR and he was likely the worst of the lot. Fun note about Deakin is that the OU SID team must really not like or give a shit about the dude. He's the only person on OU's roster of players, coaches, and analysts, at least as far as I saw, without a bio on their site: https://soonersports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/doug-deakin/1211 . Deakin played at SDSU as a walk-on and then coached their for 14+ years before heading to Norman. His SDSU units finished in the top 10 of STE nationally 3 straight years before he split in 2024.
  2. They kicked a starting CB off the team a few years ago. I think he went to Georgia, won a national title, and then got drafted.
  3. For anyone else ever reading this, avoid Ann Arbor except for the game itself. Stay at the MGM Detroit, uber to and from the game (it's a breeze), take in the food scene in Detroit and eat at some of the terrific trendy places that have emerged, bet on some other games, play some craps, and go to a couple of the cool museums. Ann Arbor is overrated as all get out.
  4. Okay, then, Mr. Mallory, then why does Rice play Texas?
  5. I didn't know who this guy was until I clicked on the link. Wow.
  6. Kinne doesn't sign enough Mexicans to Helobious' liking, so he views his entire ethos with disdain.
  7. Am I the only guy who is going to be really surprised if Texas doesn't wind up signing at least one quality RB in the 2026 class? It just seems farfetched that they go 0-fer at a position like that. Maybe they have to dig deeper in their evaluations to find a new fit, but there's time for a brand and program like Texas with this recruiting staff and the NIL machine. Discussion about not signing an RB seems absurd. Evaluating the 2026 RB room is even more ludicrous. The odds are there's 2, maybe 3 guys from the current roster as part of that group.
  8. If it was about proximity, I’d have mentioned as much. Don’t insert it. His dad is as much in favor of him getting all the money he can as the kid. Fuck both of them and I hope he rots in USC purgatory with Riley if he goes that route. If Oregon, fuck him there too. He has everything he needs at Texas.
  9. The aggie recruiting blitzkrieg!!! Well timed in mid-June.
  10. My initial thinking is that they might be using the majority of the House allocation for recruiting. That would be fucking nuts. As to your question, I don't know. They went apeshit with the 2022 class before NIL was fully formed. They bought that class for like $8M and left everyone scratching their heads and vowing vengeance. This time around, they don't have some endless spigot and everyone else is overtly paying players, too. They might be catching Texas off guard with wild offers for Texas targets out of the blue here. Turntine and Krempin wouldn't surprise me, as I said, because they're trying to go nuts against the Texas head to heads. I can't say Ojo would be anything but a complete shocker. I'm also questioning how sustainable this is for the duration of the cycle if Texas decides to ramp up. Problem is, that might risk blowing up rooms and the roster, so that might be really stupid. If ATM is saying sayonara to their pre-existing roster for the sake of recruits after this season, good luck with that approach. Regardless, this is following the template of the 2022 class and the same money isn't behind it. These idiots might really be using the House deal mostly for recruiting 2026 players. Obviously, this season is going to matter a whole fucking bunch. Players don't want to go somewhere mediocre and be mediocre, no matter how much money is being thrown at them.
  11. The good thing about a match-up with Penn State is that I'd enjoy printing a burnt orange "JoePa Knew" shirt and wearing it to the home game.
  12. I want titles. Everyone cheering for a team or program wants that. That isn't title-ism. Title-ism is the premise of demanding titles and then claiming program or team failure when a title isn't achieved every single season. I invented the term for a special form of idiotic fan who cannot be happy and is insufferable about it for those around them. I came up with it for one my brothers, and you embody the same bullshit on this site.
  13. He was at Duke for 2 years and was actively involved with recruiting signees in the 2021-2023 recruiting classes while at ATM through the end of 2021.
  14. I thought about Michigan State. Given that Texas never schedules them in anything, I just assumed they were persona non grata irrespective of hundreds of molestations by the doctor and the coverup. The preseason magazines do not have a favorable outlook for Maryland this season. One of them has them finishing below Purdue on the season. While I follow CFB as a hobby trending toward religion, I didn't really pay much attention to Maryland last year or their roster ins and outs this offseason, so that was surprising. If Locksley trending towards a tumbledown, we should hurry up and fit them in irrespective of other P4s being scheduled. I kid ... mostly. Seems like last time Texas had other P4s on at the same time as Maryland and it didn't go so well.
  15. When is someone going to start a 2025/2026 thread? That's what we're typing about now. Do I need curse the season and do it myself? You idiots will not enjoy the frequent title changes based on my mood and kneejerk reactions to single games.
  16. No one gives a fuck what you think about women's T&F for 2026. You don't know anything more about it than the rest of us. They're not far removed from a national title and they're expected to be competing for another one next year. "Competing" doesn't mean win it or it's a failed season, doofus. Your entitled title-ism is tiresome on every board in which you post.
  17. How many paint chips does one have to consume in order to look at the Texas 2025 schedule and say out loud "yeah, that's an easy schedule"? These posters are a special form of stupid.
  18. Am I the only idiot that would like to play Maryland again and fix what Herman broke the last time? Same. I like that Texas will play damned near anyone, anytime, anywhere, but chooses not to do so with PSU, Baylor, UH and Tech. At least, that’s how I like to think the admin is thinking about it.
  19. Perry-Wright will get a double down offer from ATM this weekend. Them doing the same with Turntine and/or Krempin wouldn’t surprise me either. They’re going to over weight spend towards some high end guys that will hold their nose and go to CS. Guys that they’re competing with Texas for? Even better. They think they’re going to be good this year, they’ve convinced themselves of that. Then they’re hollowed out with attrition due to eligibility in key spots, specifically OL. So it looks like the plan is to win big and sate the masses, imbalance the payroll towards youth and cycle back to whatever they do this year in a few years. They’re going to suck this season, however. You have to really squint to find 8 wins. I think they’re staring down the barrel of another 2022, personally.
  20. Well, Krempin ain’t easy, but it needs to happen from here, I guess.
  21. “1 more out of 10” should be “1 more out of 11”. I think “big time marquee teams” gets a little conflated in these discussions for most people. If Texas is scheduling better half P4 teams or Notre Dame, that’s cool with me and I’d bet many others. I could get my head around Purdue or Arizona or Wake Forest, but I’d prefer Michigan State, Kansas State, NC State and higher in those conferences.
  22. This is a good point and it’s almost a constant with how the SEC honks cover Texas in every sport and damned near every subject. I imagine it could take these mouthbreathing rubes decades to get a handle for how things are now going to work. The dynamic has changed, dummies.
  23. On the OU defense, in regard to their outlook for 2025 as of 6/16/25, here are my thoughts: Edge (Left side): LDE1 Marvin Jones JR (SR); LDE2 Danny Okoye (FR); LDE3 Nigel Smith JR (FR) – Jones JR was highly rated out of HS and everyone recruited him like he was his father. It turns out, he’s not on that level. He’s made disruptive plays when he actually makes a play, including 6.5 TFL and 4 sacks last season. Problem is, he takes a lot of plays off and spends a lot of time on the sideline. The next play he makes in the running game might be his first. Bo Davis really wanted Okoye, but his home-schooling mom was sold on the evils of Austin by Todd Bates and he’s now on the OU depth chart. The reporters seem to think OU is really high on the guy, so we’ll see. There is far less buzz about Smith compared to Okoye. DT: DT1 Jayden Jackson (Soph); DT2 Gracen Halton (SR); DT3 Trent Wilson (FR) – The duo of Jackson and Halton played really well last season and they’ll be part of the strength of the team in 2025. Jackson won the starter role as a true freshman and was a stalwart, but Halton actually put up better numbers as the other piece of the rotation. OU added another highly rated 4 star in Wilson, who might force his way into the rotation. NT: NT1 Damonic Williams (SR); NT2 David Stone (Soph); NT3 Markus Strong (Soph) – Bizarrely, Williams has garnered more press and praise than the two guys at DT combined. The guy is steady and has basically put up the same numbers all 3 years in college, two at TCU and 2024 in Norman. Those numbers average around 33 tackles a year, a couple of sacks and 3 TFLs. He’s tough to move in the middle, unless he’s pulling himself to sit on the sidelines. OU thought he was worth $500k when they landed him and blowhards here on Surly lambasted Texas and TOF for not just stepping in and blowing that offer out of the water. Turns out, no one besides OU thinks that dude is worth $500k, including in this cycle when Williams put out feelers. Stone tried to transfer to Miami for an allegedly absurd 3 year deal. Nagy panicked and ponied up even though the buzz from those with access to practices is that the guy is far more mouth than play. Strong is a JAG and it’s trouble for OU if that dude is playing. Edge (Right side): RDE1 R Mason Thomas (SR); RDE2 Adepoju Adebawore (JR); RDE3 Taylor Wein (Soph) – Thomas is probably the best player on the entire defense and a reason the strength of the team is the OU front 4. He put up 9 sacks and 12.5 TFLs in 2024, mostly out of nowhere. He was a nonentity versus Texas, but some of that can be attributed to him playing hurt in that game. He didn’t just beat up on also-ran teams and had big games against LSU and Bama. Adebawore is a former consensus 5 star who is currently fully busting at OU. Dude played limited minutes in garbage time last year. OU media continues to talk about the guy in the form of “when the light goes off”. Another highly ranked Venables special. Wein is sort of a OU harbinger of doom. If that guy is on the field, OU is likely in the process of being boat-raced. While Wein is from Tennessee, the dude has to have okie DNA: WLB: WLB1 Kip Lewis (JR); WLB2 Sammy Omosigho (JR); WLB3 Taylor Heim (Soph) – Lewis made two plays last year that many might remember, both pick sixes playing key roles in victories against Auburn and Alabama. Maybe Lewis really hates the state of Alabama. Otherwise, the guy has been the starter for most of the last 2 seasons and I don’t think even OU fans could pull this guy out of a lineup. 60+ tackles a year, a few TFLs and a sack, that’s what he’s giving you. Omosigho seemed like he was putting in more productive work with less time on the field, frankly. He had 5 TFLs last year while missing some games due to injury. Heim is the twin brother of Wein. If he’s out there, something has gone wrong for the dirt burglars. MLB: MLB1 Kobie McKinzie (JR); MLB2 James Nesta (FR); MLB3 Owen Heinecke (JR) – I hope McKenzie is really loving his time up in Norman while not collecting any NIL money, allegedly. He steps into the role vacated by Danny Stutsman, and by that I mean he’s going to be depended upon by Venables to cling to guys 6-10 yards downfield until they fall down. If he does that roughly 12 times a game, he’ll get lauded as an All American and wind up drafted in the 4th or 5th round. I know nothing about Nesta and Heinecke, other than they should go into business together running an auto repair shop after their mediocre careers come to an end. Heinecke is a one-time transfer from Ohio State who didn’t do anything there either. Cheetah: Cheetah1 Kendel Dolby (SR); Cheetah2 Kendal Daniels (SR) – This role is potentially one of the strengths of the OU team. Dolby was viewed as a potential standout for 2024 until going down to a bad leg injury against Tennessee. OU is optimistic about his full return to health. I do not believe that he worked out in the spring. Daniels is the transfer from Oklahoma State and was a solid Safety before noping the fuck out of there after the season closed with 9 straight losses. He was decorated as a FR and Soph before having just a decent season last year. “Cheetah” does a lot of the things a SS does, but also has OLB pass rushing responsibilities added to the list. I think, at least. The guys out there in this spot just usually look like OLB-sized guys that drop into a lot of coverage. LCB: LCB1 Eli Bowen (Soph); LCB2 Devon Jordon (Soph); LCB3 Courtland Guillory (FR); LCB4 Maliek Hawkins (FR) – Eli Bowen was a courtesy take in order to get older brother, Peyton, signed the year before. It turns out, Eli might wind being better than his brother. He’s short, but he plays CB really well. PFF graded him out as the 13th best CB, out of over 800, in run defense last season. His pass defense numbers weren’t terrible either, coming in around 100 out of over 800. If you need an analog, Malik Muhammad graded out at 305 out of 836 in pass defense and 508 out of 803 in run defense. The difference in denominators is that more CB measured saw a statistically relevant amount of pass than run plays. Anyway, the dude is pretty fucking good. He’s going to need to stay healthy, because they have no experience behind him. RCB: RCB1 Gentry Williams (JR); RCB2 Jacobe Johnson (JR); Jeremiah Newcombe (FR); RCB4 Tristan Haynes (FR) – OU mods love to talk up the idea of Gentry Williams coming back and having a big year on the other side of field from Bowen. GW was a highly ranked guy out of HS and had a good season in 2023, but he hurt his shoulder early in 2024 and never played again. I do not believe that he practiced this spring, either. Shoulder injuries can be a killer in football, so it will be interesting to see how it works out. OU has recruited well at CB, so if Williams can’t go, they have talent. Strong Safety: SS1 Peyton Bowen (JR); Jaydan Hardy (Soph); Kenny Powers III (Soph) – Peyton Bowen was supposed to be a star when he signed with OU as a borderline 5 star. As is the case with almost every other 5 star/high 4 star in the Venables Era, things have not gone according to plan for Bowen. He’s been plain as grits for 2 years, creating 2.5 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 FF and 0 INT in 2 years. Not exactly the disruptor he was forecasted to be. The guys behind him have almost zero experience, although Hardy actually does have an INT. The other dude potentially throws a mean fastball. Free Safety: FS1 Robert Spears-Jennings (SR); FS2 Michael Boganowski (Soph) – RSJ, as they refer to Spears-Jennings, is the counter in performance to that of Peyton Bowen. RSJ had 4 FFs, 1 INT, 66 tackles, 5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks in 2024. The dude can disrupt the flow of a game. I assume he’s going to be an All SEC candidate at the least. Boganowski has a future career in accounting or tax law. Funniest shit with that dude last year is that OU played him in a 5th game against Maine, thinking that because the opponent was an FCS program, the 4 games played redshirt rule would not be impacted. Whoops. Defensive Outlook and Coaching: While many pundits and OU honks are focused on hyping up the transfer QB and the returners on the OL, the strength of the OU team is still going to be the defense. The front 4 is going to be excellent. The LBs are going to be average. The CBs could be outstanding and one of the safeties is living up to the other safety’s potential. OU leaned on the defense in 2024 in order to win 6 games. Much of the talent returns and they’re going to be buoyed by an offense that isn’t completely inept. If OU does reach or beat 9-4 this year, the defensive performance will be at the heart of it. Venables is clearly the head of the defense and he’s a pretty damned good playcaller and gameplanner, even if he won’t able to rely on stealing every opponent’s signals in order to have a competitive advantage. Todd Bates is the DT coach with one million titles. He’s a great recruiter. I don’t think he’s as great a coach as many people cast him as when looking at the staff. Venables brought in his failed mentee from Clemson to coach OLBs this season. We can only hope that Venables lets him have plenty of input on the gameplans. The same holds true for Jay Valai, former Texas bum of a DB coach. Dude has 4 titles, indicating that Venables has promoted him a bunch to keep him for some reason. He was overtly taunting the Texas fans and then shittalking me from the OU bench at the end of the 2023 game. He’s a classless, talentless shitheel of a clown and I hope Texas is running it up this year when I’m seated near their bench again.
  24. When I was a sophomore in HS, we hadn't won a varsity football game in 2 years. We lost our first game on a FG. Second game, away against an inner city HISD school that had many hostile fans in the stands, and many hostile players on the field, our QB had his knee bent in backwards on a hit in the 1st Q. As he screamed on the field in agony, our HC huddled the offensive skill guys up and started trying to talk up our soon to be welcomed to the game JR QB. He'd never played a down of varsity football and he was visibly shaking and looked terrified. The HC said, literally, "fuck it" and put in the starting SR SS at QB because he'd played there the prior year in some spurts late in blowouts. We won and then the JR QB got all week to prepare for Pearland. We won that one as well and he had a fine year. Didn't throw enough to me, IMO, but we damned near went to the playoffs and I enjoyed it. The HC was a former UT player and an old man by that time. He'd seen some shit. He was thinking on the fly. I think Sarkisian is just trying to see around corners. Shit happens.
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