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Texas Recruiting Notes 2020


Reese Bennett

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3 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

The DE isn’t supposed to be responsible for setting the edge in the 3 tite. Most teams use 2 OLBs or an OLB and a big nickel.     The raw stats have improved due to facing worse offenses that play at a slower pace, but the defense still has the same fundamental flaws even with some of our injured guys back and it’s still performing  poorly...     The issues with this defense go way beyond talent, injuries, or even experience.      Overall, we’ve leveling out at about 60th right now and we likely won’t improve much on that without a new DC.

The LB group is the worst coached defensive position group for Texas... and possibly the worst for both units.

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(Chip Brown) Eyes of Texas: Changes are coming

CHANGES ARE COMING …

Tom Herman knows the coordination of his offense is broken and is ready to make substantial staff changes that would include bringing in a new offensive coordinator, sources tell Horns247. Herman has identified a leading offensive coordinator candidate, and Texas will move quickly, following Friday’s regular-season finale against Texas Tech, to try to hire that person, sources said. That hire is not a slam dunk, because the leading candidate already has a job at a school that could take bold measures to keep him, sources said.

There could be as many as four current offensive assistant coaches who are let go or reassigned, sources said. Those moves will come quickly following the Texas Tech game, sources said. As a result of these developments, director of recruiting Bryan Carringtonis being activated to hit the recruiting trail beginning Saturday.

We’ve heard conflicting information about the fate of Herman’s defensive staff. Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando has one year left on a three-year, guaranteed extension and raise (from $1.1 million to $1.7 million per year) he received after the 2017 season. That could result in Orlando returning next season. Defensive line coach Oscar Giles, safeties coach Craig Naivar and cornerbacks coach/recruiting coordinator Jason Washington are all on year-to-year contracts. I was told not to be surprised if current offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tim Beck decides to spend more time with his family.

The first two calls from Herman to potential offensive coordinator candidates figure to go to LSU’s Joe Brady, who is currently the receivers coach/passing game coordinator for the Tigers, and USC’s Graham Harrell, who helped the Trojans to an 8-4 record despite quarterback injuries. Steve Emsminger is the offensive coordinator at LSU under Ed Orgeron, but there have already been reports LSU is ready to take Brady from a salary of $400,000 to $1.5 million with a co-offensive coordinator title. There are conflicting reports about if USC coach Clay Helton will hang onto his job now that USC has hired a new president (Carol Folt) and athletic director (Mike Bohn). USC currently has the No. 76 recruiting class nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

If Helton is let go, Harrell would be a free agent. But if Helton keeps his job, USC will undoubtedly fight to keep Harrell, who was set to get a raise to $300,000 as offensive coordinator at North Texas before replacing Kliff Kingsbury as the OC at USC in January. Kingsbury was reportedly set to earn about $1 million at USC before leaving to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Harrell, a record-setting quarterback at Texas Tech, helped take USC’s offense from 26.1 points per game in 2018, when Helton had a 5-7 season and was nearly fired, to 33.2 points per game this season with three different starting quarterbacks.

Sophomore J.T. Daniels suffered a season-ending injury in the opener against Fresno State and was replaced by freshman Kedon Slovis, who was injured early in USC’s 30-23 win over then-No. 10 Utah and was replaced by junior Matt Fink. Slovis returned to the starting lineup two games later and finished the season with 515 yards passing with four, 100-yard receivers in a 52-35 rout of UCLA. At 8-4, the Trojans’ regular-season is over. In Harrell’s four seasons as an offensive coordinator (three at North Texas and one at USC), his version of the Air Raid has operated with passing quarterbacks as opposed to a dual-threat.

At mid-season, it seemed like public sentiment was lining up against Orlando. In 2017, Orlando’s defense gave up 21.2 points per game and was one of the nation’s best at getting off the field on third down. But Texas gave up 25.9 points per game in 2018 and is giving up 29.4 points per game this season. A rash of injuries in the secondary and at linebacker contributed to Texas giving up a bunch of big plays and third-and-longs that hurt the Longhorns in losses to LSU, Oklahoma and TCU. Texas had eight freshmen and sophomores starting on defense in a 50-48 win over Kansas.

It was after the KU win Herman said, “If a player has been in our program for at least two years, he should be able to play man and quarters coverage.” That seemed to be a shot at Naivar and Washington. But the defense played well enough to win at Iowa State, when the offense produced eight three-and-outs. Texas also held Baylor to just seven points until midway through the third quarter, when UT’s offense had produced six punts in seven possessions. The last seven turnovers forced by the Texas defense have resulted in zero points by the offense - dating to the Oklahoma game, when the defense came up with two early turnovers in UT’s red zone that kept OU from going up by three scores.

In 2017, Herman's first year, Beck called the plays on offense, and admitted after a 13-10 loss at home to Oklahoma State in which Texas had nine three-and-outs in 14 possessions, "I'm pressing." In 2018, Herman took over the play-calling, and the offense and development of then-sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger took off. Ehlinger set a Big 12 record with 308 pass attempts without an interception while throwing for 25 touchdowns with five interceptions as well as 16 rushing TDs.

Herman received a two-year contract extension, through the 2023 season, following the Longhorns’ Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia to go 10-4 in 2018. His buyout is $20 million ($5 million for each of the four years remaining on his contract).

But with a year of film to study Herman's tendencies, defenses started having more success against Texas, and Herman's attempt to have a "collaborative" coordination of his offense (that included former UNC coach Larry Fedora and former K-State OC Andre Coleman) didn't evolve. The offense has failed to score a point in the first quarter of UT's last three games and has seen its third-down conversions plummet from 55.7 percent (No. 2 in FBS after the KU game) to 33.7 percent the last three games.

According to sources, there were times when Herman "probably burned too hot on the locker room and on his coaches when he needed to be taking more of the heat personally." Sources close to the situation say Herman has been humbled by his team’s poor performance en route to a 6-5 record and has taken a different, more contrite tone with his players the last week.

Before Texas’ losses at Iowa State and Baylor, some players felt like Herman wasn’t taking his share of the blame for poor game plans and adjustments on offense, causing some to question him, sources said. Sources said sophomore receiver Brennan Eagles questioned his position coach Drew Mehringer about the appearance of preferential treatment by Mehringer toward at least one other receiver and then skipped practice the next day, drawing a suspension for the TCU game (when Texas certainly could’ve used Eagles), sources said. Sources said freshman offensive lineman Javonne Shepherd, who entered the transfer portal mid-season, told some recruits, including recent decommits - defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen and cornerback Josh Eaton - not to go to Texas.

After beating Kansas State on a walk-off field goal, Herman lamented “so much misinformation” being spread about his program. One source close to the situation said while most player complaints (mostly among freshmen and sophomores on the team) have revolved around “scheme, playing time and how they’re being used,” others have said Herman needs to do a better job of connecting with players about things other than football.

Sophomore linebacker Joseph Ossai said he and Herman play a game on their phones called Wordscapes and Herman is constantly making small talk with him about their scores. “He’ll see me in the locker room and tell me what position he’s in the game,” Ossai said. “It’s cool. He connects with me all the time.” When Ossai was asked if Herman still has the locker room, he said, “He does. We’re still fighting to the end (of games). No one’s given up on him as a leader.”

On Monday, Herman said “my job is to protect the culture, not feelings.” He added that he’s not shaken by the events of this season but is “obviously in big-time evaluation mode.” Evaluation is about to turn into action. Stay tuned.

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12 minutes ago, Nope said:

So Chip thinks Joe Brady is a possible OC candidate....fuck this guy is useless.

Isn't everyone a potential candidate?  In theory at least?  Currently Brady is making no money with no title...call him on Saturday morning and make him say no.  Give him a pay raise and title bum, beat LSU to the punch.

And in reading that, Chip Brown is actually pretty accurate on a lot of that info.

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11 hours ago, satyanash said:

(Chip Brown) Eyes of Texas: Changes are coming

 

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CHANGES ARE COMING …

Tom Herman knows the coordination of his offense is broken and is ready to make substantial staff changes that would include bringing in a new offensive coordinator, sources tell Horns247. Herman has identified a leading offensive coordinator candidate, and Texas will move quickly, following Friday’s regular-season finale against Texas Tech, to try to hire that person, sources said. That hire is not a slam dunk, because the leading candidate already has a job at a school that could take bold measures to keep him, sources said.

There could be as many as four current offensive assistant coaches who are let go or reassigned, sources said. Those moves will come quickly following the Texas Tech game, sources said. As a result of these developments, director of recruiting Bryan Carringtonis being activated to hit the recruiting trail beginning Saturday.

We’ve heard conflicting information about the fate of Herman’s defensive staff. Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando has one year left on a three-year, guaranteed extension and raise (from $1.1 million to $1.7 million per year) he received after the 2017 season. That could result in Orlando returning next season. Defensive line coach Oscar Giles, safeties coach Craig Naivar and cornerbacks coach/recruiting coordinator Jason Washington are all on year-to-year contracts. I was told not to be surprised if current offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tim Beck decides to spend more time with his family.

The first two calls from Herman to potential offensive coordinator candidates figure to go to LSU’s Joe Brady, who is currently the receivers coach/passing game coordinator for the Tigers, and USC’s Graham Harrell, who helped the Trojans to an 8-4 record despite quarterback injuries. Steve Emsminger is the offensive coordinator at LSU under Ed Orgeron, but there have already been reports LSU is ready to take Brady from a salary of $400,000 to $1.5 million with a co-offensive coordinator title. There are conflicting reports about if USC coach Clay Helton will hang onto his job now that USC has hired a new president (Carol Folt) and athletic director (Mike Bohn). USC currently has the No. 76 recruiting class nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

If Helton is let go, Harrell would be a free agent. But if Helton keeps his job, USC will undoubtedly fight to keep Harrell, who was set to get a raise to $300,000 as offensive coordinator at North Texas before replacing Kliff Kingsbury as the OC at USC in January. Kingsbury was reportedly set to earn about $1 million at USC before leaving to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Harrell, a record-setting quarterback at Texas Tech, helped take USC’s offense from 26.1 points per game in 2018, when Helton had a 5-7 season and was nearly fired, to 33.2 points per game this season with three different starting quarterbacks.

Sophomore J.T. Daniels suffered a season-ending injury in the opener against Fresno State and was replaced by freshman Kedon Slovis, who was injured early in USC’s 30-23 win over then-No. 10 Utah and was replaced by junior Matt Fink. Slovis returned to the starting lineup two games later and finished the season with 515 yards passing with four, 100-yard receivers in a 52-35 rout of UCLA. At 8-4, the Trojans’ regular-season is over. In Harrell’s four seasons as an offensive coordinator (three at North Texas and one at USC), his version of the Air Raid has operated with passing quarterbacks as opposed to a dual-threat.

At mid-season, it seemed like public sentiment was lining up against Orlando. In 2017, Orlando’s defense gave up 21.2 points per game and was one of the nation’s best at getting off the field on third down. But Texas gave up 25.9 points per game in 2018 and is giving up 29.4 points per game this season. A rash of injuries in the secondary and at linebacker contributed to Texas giving up a bunch of big plays and third-and-longs that hurt the Longhorns in losses to LSU, Oklahoma and TCU. Texas had eight freshmen and sophomores starting on defense in a 50-48 win over Kansas.

It was after the KU win Herman said, “If a player has been in our program for at least two years, he should be able to play man and quarters coverage.” That seemed to be a shot at Naivar and Washington. But the defense played well enough to win at Iowa State, when the offense produced eight three-and-outs. Texas also held Baylor to just seven points until midway through the third quarter, when UT’s offense had produced six punts in seven possessions. The last seven turnovers forced by the Texas defense have resulted in zero points by the offense - dating to the Oklahoma game, when the defense came up with two early turnovers in UT’s red zone that kept OU from going up by three scores.

In 2017, Herman's first year, Beck called the plays on offense, and admitted after a 13-10 loss at home to Oklahoma State in which Texas had nine three-and-outs in 14 possessions, "I'm pressing." In 2018, Herman took over the play-calling, and the offense and development of then-sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger took off. Ehlinger set a Big 12 record with 308 pass attempts without an interception while throwing for 25 touchdowns with five interceptions as well as 16 rushing TDs.

Herman received a two-year contract extension, through the 2023 season, following the Longhorns’ Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia to go 10-4 in 2018. His buyout is $20 million ($5 million for each of the four years remaining on his contract).

But with a year of film to study Herman's tendencies, defenses started having more success against Texas, and Herman's attempt to have a "collaborative" coordination of his offense (that included former UNC coach Larry Fedora and former K-State OC Andre Coleman) didn't evolve. The offense has failed to score a point in the first quarter of UT's last three games and has seen its third-down conversions plummet from 55.7 percent (No. 2 in FBS after the KU game) to 33.7 percent the last three games.

According to sources, there were times when Herman "probably burned too hot on the locker room and on his coaches when he needed to be taking more of the heat personally." Sources close to the situation say Herman has been humbled by his team’s poor performance en route to a 6-5 record and has taken a different, more contrite tone with his players the last week.

Before Texas’ losses at Iowa State and Baylor, some players felt like Herman wasn’t taking his share of the blame for poor game plans and adjustments on offense, causing some to question him, sources said. Sources said sophomore receiver Brennan Eagles questioned his position coach Drew Mehringer about the appearance of preferential treatment by Mehringer toward at least one other receiver and then skipped practice the next day, drawing a suspension for the TCU game (when Texas certainly could’ve used Eagles), sources said. Sources said freshman offensive lineman Javonne Shepherd, who entered the transfer portal mid-season, told some recruits, including recent decommits - defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen and cornerback Josh Eaton - not to go to Texas.

After beating Kansas State on a walk-off field goal, Herman lamented “so much misinformation” being spread about his program. One source close to the situation said while most player complaints (mostly among freshmen and sophomores on the team) have revolved around “scheme, playing time and how they’re being used,” others have said Herman needs to do a better job of connecting with players about things other than football.

Sophomore linebacker Joseph Ossai said he and Herman play a game on their phones called Wordscapes and Herman is constantly making small talk with him about their scores. “He’ll see me in the locker room and tell me what position he’s in the game,” Ossai said. “It’s cool. He connects with me all the time.” When Ossai was asked if Herman still has the locker room, he said, “He does. We’re still fighting to the end (of games). No one’s given up on him as a leader.”

On Monday, Herman said “my job is to protect the culture, not feelings.” He added that he’s not shaken by the events of this season but is “obviously in big-time evaluation mode.” Evaluation is about to turn into action. Stay tuned.

 

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Horns247 Staff: Are changes coming to Tom Herman's Texas staff?

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Each week, the Horns247 staff tackles the Question of the Week, where we weigh in on some of the hottest topics surrounding the University of Texas athletics. The Longhorns wrap up the regular season this Friday with a home game against Texas Tech, but the 2019 season has been far from successful in any sense of the word. Texas entered the year expected to be, at the very least, one of the top 25 teams in the country, but currently sit at 6-5 with one game left on the schedule, and changes looming inside the building. With that said, the Question of the Week is …

With potential staff changes looming, where do you feel the Longhorns need to make the biggest change for the future of the program?

Bobby Burton, Publisher

I think the attitude and aptitude of the head coach must change. Tom Herman must evolve or no amount of assistant changes will be enough. Herman doesn’t have all the answers - no one does - so he needs to stop acting like he does, or that they’re all in some super binder of his. He needs to build stronger bridges within the team and he needs to make smarter decisions on the field. Whether it’s running the same play twice in a row unsuccessfully in short yardage or failing to take points when they’re available to him, these are ideas and thoughts that he must adapt and change or he’ll fall short.

Chip Brown, Columnist

Tom Herman needs to abandon his offensive coordinating by committee, go hire the best OC he can get his hands on and turn the keys over to that person. Herman needs more veteran assistants who relate really well to players and who can recruit like crazy. And Herman needs to do a MUCH better job of relating to his players by spending more time with them away from football and talking to them about anything but football. My two cents.

Jeff Howe, Senior Writer

The person who faces the big decision in this situation isn’t Tom Herman, it’s Chris Del Conte and the Texas administration. If Del Conte believes Herman is the guy then he needs to do whatever it takes to get him whatever he needs to succeed with the catch that Herman operates within certain parameters since the head coach having carte blanche to hire his coaching staff the first time around turned out to not be what was best for the program. That also includes Del Conte guiding Herman along the way en route to taking a long look at every aspect of the program. No stone should be left unturned in order to make sure what happened in 2019 doesn’t happen again. The way things stand right now, it sounds like that’s the plan for the Longhorns.

The bottom line is Texas can’t afford to get this wrong and run the risk of the program drifting further into irrelevancy. Sticking with Herman too long without guidance or pulling the trigger on his fate too early and failing to get the right guy in place would be another crippling blow to a program that’s spent the 2010s wandering through college football's abyss. If Del Conte’s tenure is going to be remembered fondly (and every move he’s made so far has it trending that way), football has to win and win big. That’s why he needs to go all in on helping Herman get the job done if the plan is indeed to ride it out with Herman in the saddle.

Taylor Estes, Managing Editor

While it’s clear Texas needs some fresh concepts added to the offensive staff, the biggest change that needs to be made starts with Tom Herman. Not necessarily that he needs to be replaced, but Herman’s overall demeanor, both personally and on the field, has to change. Herman is not a relatable person to his team, and I think fans are recognizing that even more so as adversity has struck the program in Year 3 of his career at Texas. I don’t necessarily believe Herman needs to entirely change who he is as a person, but no amount of assistant coaching changes are going to cover up his downfalls if he continues down this path. It starts with building a better relationship with his players away from the field. It’s okay to be a hard-nosed guy, and to be honest, after how soft Texas was in the latter years of the Mack Brown era and pretty much the entirety of Charlie Strong’s tenure on the Forty Acres, Texas needed a hard-nosed coach to turn things around. But there’s a difference in being hard-nosed and being an A-hole who doesn’t relate at all to players on the roster. Herman is a very smart individual, but even the smartest people in the world have to recognize their own faults, and for Herman, it’s his inability to connect with people inside the program at this point. I do think that’s correctable, but it’s going to take Herman taking a long look in the mirror and recognizing his way of coaching is not working right now, and it starts with him.

Mike Roach, Recruiting Analyst

It’s clear that things aren’t working offensively, but I’d like to see some additions to the defensive staff if the numbers become more balanced. The front 7 in particular could use a boost.

fyi, I've been trying out a script that uses a scraper to grab articles, so don't be surprised if you briefly see weird errors from time to time

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Longhorn Confidential »  Bijan Robinson's status, interviewing Prince Dorbah and spotlighting Morgan Pace.      4 hours ago 33:44 

Danny Davis and Mike Craven of hookem.com chat about whether Texas can hold onto Bijan Roinson's commitment. Then it's time to meet 2020 LB Prince Dorbah and future soccer player Morgan Pace.

https://player.fm/series/longhorn-confidential/bijan-robinsons-status-interviewing-prince-dorbah-and-spotlighting-morgan-pace

 

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Updated.... 2020 Rankings 247

1  Clemson.  Clemson
Avg  94.11
LSU
2  LSU
Avg  93.06
Alabama
3  Alabama
Avg. 93.42
Ohio State
4  Ohio State
Avg. 91.81
Georgia
5  Georgia
Avg. 93.74
Texas A&M
6  Texas A&M
Avg. 91.17
Texas
7  Texas
Avg. 92.75
Oklahoma
8  Oklahoma
Avg. 91.35
 
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InsideTexas is now also corroborating Chip's report.

(Eric Nahlin) Thursdays in the Humidor: 11/28/19

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By: Justin Wells and Eric Nahlin

We'll pick up from Monday's Scoop:

Based on what I'm hearing from booster lines, I expect significant changes starting underneath the head coach, though check back on that in a week or two. From agent circles I've heard four names (at a minimum) of coaches who aren't expected to return. I'd take the over. Don't bother asking for names.

Nearly every signal we're picking up on coaching changes points to Tom Herman getting a chance to invest heavily on a reboot. That's in fact what he's been telling the parents of players he's sort of re-recruiting and that's what it sounds like from agent circles and beyond. I say 'nearly every signal' because I think there was a bit of a donor push for Texas to cut bait with Herman, though we think Chris Del Conte has chosen to invest significantly in a reboot. We expect Texas to be very proactive in making changes, and aggressive in hiring the best of the best. Only time will tell whether or not they can pull it off.

We believe changes will start occurring by Sunday at the latest and Bryan Carrington and Andre Coleman will be elevated to coaching staff so they can hit the road and recruit. Those are of course short-term arrangements. Carrington hit the road aggressively two years ago and was an immediate help on the trail. We'll be monitoring who he visits closely next week. Perhaps some new targets emerge. Texas is fortunate the nucleus of the class is as solid as it is.

Who Texas parts with immediately will have ramifications towards the bowl. Coaching changes are more important than the bowl, but you still need guys to coach the next three weeks and the game. We could see two waves of changes -- before and after the bowl. The same could happen for new hires, especially if the candidate has a meaningful game or two remaining. Just keep in mind if someone is retained well into December it might not mean a whole lot. We also expect at least one coach, but maybe two, to be re-assigned either within the staff or to support staff.

As for coaching searches, we're very confident Texas has its sights set on at least one big name for offensive coordinator (there could be more we don't know about). When you aim for a big name you're going to be up against a number of suitors, not just the coach's current school, and that's something that will have to be factored in towards fan expectations. If it's deemed this coach is a good fit, UT won't lose out for lack of trying. Remember, big fish will want "their guys" and that could be another hang up we'll be watching out for. So far UT seems to be in decent position with the coach we feel is their #1 offensive target at this time.

Where Texas would go after this guy, I'm unsure (some of the names on the rumor mill I haven't personally heard), but judging by the amount of general interest I'm hearing from my personal coaching contacts I'm sure there is no shortage of offensive coordinators and other coaches who are interested in Texas.

If defensive coordinator opens up, Utah's Morgan Scalley will get a full vetting. I heard he's been someone they've had their eye on dating back to when they were fearful Todd Orlando might land a head coaching gig. Scalley has the look of a Ute lifer, but his upward mobility is hindered greatly by Kyle Whittingham. This is basically a Petersen/Harsin dynamic. Scalley could chose to spread his wings, but it would take a great situation to get him to uproot.

As mentioned above, Herman reached out to a large number of parents over the last couple days. His message: “Let me fix this.” For the most part, I think kids will wait to see how the new staff shakes out. Players and parents are watching these hires intently. These hires are important for both Herman's long-term and short-term success. Good replacements could be the difference in losing one or two players, or a handful of talented ones. This pressure is a good thing in forcing Herman and Del Conte to make quality hires.

We're going to wait for Texas to announce any coaching changes and then immediately drop in to add a color. At this time we only feel like three coaches (not counting Herman) are safe, and one of those might be a stretch depending on some other hires.

TEAM

-- More uncertainty at DB: Jalen Green is probably out; expect D'Shawn Jamison and Kobe Boyce to get the starts. BJ Foster practiced this week and might be available. DeMarvion Overshown is doubtful. They should do everything in their power to not play Kenyatta Watson. He has played in three games already and the fourth should be saved for the bowl, if possible.

-- There could be a couple of suspensions stemming from minor infractions that should only last a series or two.

-- Happy Thanksgiving.

 

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