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Texas WR/TE Passing Offense Talk


LTtxfan

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So let's talk TEs.  I really like what I saw from Sanders and Helm.  I miss the days of watching Texas have dominant TE play like David Thomas and Finley.  Jeff Banks seems to be proving he's an elite TEs coach because Sanders and Helm looked really good out there.  I know both are inexperienced but both played snaps and special teams last year so it's not like they are completely inexperienced.  Sark seems to actually use them unlike Strong and Herman.  Sanders looks like big mismatch and his blocking was decent.  Helm blocked very well and is a big target that can run route and catch.  He lacks the speed Sanders has but the dude looks like he can be a 5 tool TE and actually be good at it.  His recruiting star seemed to be way off.  Dude was a 3 star with offers and visits to UGA, Ohio State, along with others.  I think he's going to be a very productive player here.

Not sure what to think of Billingsley.  He looks like Malcom Epps in the sense that he's  huge WR playing TE I feel like.  His route running and effort seemed lacking to me but maybe I'm reading too much into his body language and how he plays.  Hopefully Sark can create a role for him.  

Edited by victory88
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On 4/26/2022 at 8:29 AM, victory88 said:

So let's talk TEs.  I really like what I saw from Sanders and Helm.  I miss the days of watching Texas have dominant TE play like David Thomas and Finley.  Jeff Banks seems to be proving he's an elite TEs coach because Sanders and Helm looked really good out there.  I know both are inexperienced but both played snaps and special teams last year so it's not like they are completely inexperienced.  Sark seems to actually use them unlike Strong and Herman.  Sanders looks like big mismatch and his blocking was decent.  Helm blocked very well and is a big target that can run route and catch.  He lacks the speed Sanders has but the dude looks like he can be a 5 tool TE and actually be good at it.  His recruiting star seemed to be way off.  Dude was a 3 star with offers and visits to UGA, Ohio State, along with others.  I think he's going to be a very productive player here.

Not sure what to think of Billingsley.  He looks like Malcom Epps in the sense that he's  huge WR playing TE I feel like.  His route running and effort seemed lacking to me but maybe I'm reading too much into his body language and how he plays.  Hopefully Sark can create a role for him.  

TEs are the "unfair" position on the offense. With all the arbitrary rules about "ineligible lineman down field", the TE is the lineman that can go down field. In doing so, he can completely wreck the defense's pretty pass rush and rotation.

I saw that in the spring game with Sanders. Now, the game was largely a basic offensive skills competition with the defenses not really throwing complicated stuff at the OL (and in the process making them look better than proven), but 0 had the DEs and LBs gong all sorts of wrong. He's too big to assign a LB to, but a DE can't run with him in coverage. That's exactly what an "every down" TE should bring. Make the defense wrong.

I was hyper-focused on blocking patterns, so I didn't study Billingsley's snaps that much. He'll have value in likely passing downs or in 12 sets. He seems less likely to block a LB, but would cause the defense to rethink a blitz or overload. He's a seam buster that would make a CB reconsider his commitment to the game.

Really, the Texas TE rooms is a good mix of skills. So good that it'll be critical not to tip your intentions by who's sent out for a given play.

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1 minute ago, LTtxfan said:

Kelvontay Dixon and Dajon Harrison have gone in the portal...

 

If Dixon can't find a way onto the field in year 3 with our WR room the way it is, then he needs to go. Harrison just wasn't good enough to start with. 

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Texas football: Assessing the tight ends

Nick Moyle, Staff writer,  May 8, 2022

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Fourth in a position-by-position series looking at the 2022 Texas Longhorns after spring workouts.

Today: Tight end

Who’s back: Juan Davis, sophomore; Gunnar Helm, sophomore; Brayden Liebrock, junior; Ja’Tavion Sanders, sophomore.

Who’s gone: Cade Brewer, Jared Wiley.

2022 signees: Jahleel Billingsley (Alabama transfer).

What to expect: Ever since coach Steve Sarkisian landed in Austin with a healthy national championship glow last January, he’s been adamant about which position is prince in his offense. (King, of course, is whoever’s handling the snaps.)

“I've said this numerous times, the quarterback is the most important position in sports but the tight end in our offense is probably the second-most important position because of all that we ask them to do,” Sarkisian said back during spring practice. “From formations to motions to the run game to the pass game, route running, pass protection. There's a lot we put on those guys’ plate.”

Given the position’s overarching importance, Sarkisian’s probably right to be over the moon with Texas’ current crop of tight ends.

The Longhorns lost reliable veteran and locker room leader Cade Brewer to the NFL and senior Jared Wiley to TCU. But they brought back a diverse trio of sophomores — Juan Davis, Gunnar Helm and Ja’Tavion Sanders — and signed Alabama senior Jahleel Billingsley, who will reunite with former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Sarkisian.

That’s a strong quartet. And owing to their varying skillsets, Sarkisian and tight ends coach Jeff Banks will be able to mix and match across one- and two-tight end sets.

Billingsley is a legitimate NFL prospect, the No. 4 tight end prospect in Pro Football Focus’ 2023 draft board. He’s also the only Texas tight end with more than two career receptions — Davis has one career catch and fourth-year junior Brayden Liebrock caught two passes in 2020 before missing the entire 2021 campaign due to shoulder surgery.

More of a wiry pass-catcher than a bruising blocker, the 6-foot-4, 216-pound Billingsley totaled 17 catches for 256 yards and three scores last season.

Sanders drips talent. Once a two-way phenom at Denton Ryan, he spent last season in-training behind the guys who’d been specializing at the position for years. That won’t be the case in 2022.

Sarkisian — really, anyone who’s seen the 6-4, 253-pound ox gallop around the field — has raved about Sanders’ growth during winter conditioning and spring ball. He possesses soft, suctiony hands and a powerful frame, and there’s a potentially massive role awaiting Sanders now that he understands the more granular details of the position.

“JT is a great example,” Sarkisian said. “I thought he's had a really good spring for us. He has really evolved as a player. I think he's a much more confident, comfortable blocker. And yeah, he is definitely a weapon in the passing game.”

Like Sanders, Helm was mostly relegated to the field goal unit as a true freshman. He’s also been among the Longhorns’ biggest offseason risers, another sophomore earning kudos while growing into a more substantial role.

Helm doesn’t carry the same explosiveness as Sanders or Billingsley, but the 6-5 sophomore is a towering red zone target and physical presence. He’s starting to better hold blocks and has good enough hands and feet to factor into the short-to-intermediate passing game this season.

“I thought coach Banks did a really good job,” Sarkisian said. “Neither of them when they arrived here were comfortable blocking defensive ends and blocking in the ‘C’ gap area and pulling on a counter and doing all those things, but they worked at their craft.”

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Found this post on another site...

Gabe Sulser - transfer WR from Montana and will be at Texas as a PWO.

• Montana Gatorade Player of the Year coming out of high school.

• He finishes his Griz career with 35 catches for 414 yards and five scores. He added 11 rushing attempts for 165 yards and one more touchdown.

Comparison: Drake Stoops - OU Football.

Check out his highlights:

According to video, Gabe has 2yrs of eligibility left...

 

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