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Reese Bennett

By Reese Bennett
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Mitch Cumsteen

Mitch Cumsteen 18326

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11 hours ago, Thetexashammer said:

In 1991 We defeated OU 10-7. The only TD was a fumble return. I never thought of Gardere as a hero, or anything besides extremely lucky. 

Gardere was inaccurate as hell. He'd sail one five feet over his receiver one play and throw it 5 yards into the dirt in front of another receiver on the next play. Those teams, outside of the Shock the Nation 1990 team, were pretty awful. And even the Shock the Nation season ended in disgrace (for both teams). Looking back, he's rightfully revered for 4-0 against OU and IIRC we were underdogs in every one of those games but he was a rather large scapegoat for the rest of those shitty seasons. I remember seeing him on campus everyday (he had a class next door to mine) and watching him walking around campus with his head down trying not to make eye contact with anyone. I always felt bad for the guy.

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chupacabradelrio
chupacabradelrio

is this real?  they have our punter they have drafted this year and no other Horn on the team.  If you check their roster there are a lot of ****** on that team. Hope we don't start taking a lot of cr

Hornius Emeritus
Hornius Emeritus

Here's a photo that has never been seen by anyone.  One of my readers was going through some slides taken by his father when he came across this photo of DKR on October 4, 1952, when # 5 Texas played

Elmer_Fudd
Elmer_Fudd

Brainiacs have confirmed Angilau will arrive for summer workouts and he's delayed his mission trip.

Tex Pete

Tex Pete 20019

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Gardere was inaccurate as hell. He'd sail one five feet over his receiver one play and throw it 5 yards into the dirt in front of another receiver on the next play. Those teams, outside of the Shock the Nation 1990 team, were pretty awful. And even the Shock the Nation season ended in disgrace (for both teams). Looking back, he's rightfully revered for 4-0 against OU and IIRC we were underdogs in every one of those games but he was a rather large scapegoat for the rest of those shitty seasons. I remember seeing him on campus everyday (he had a class next door to mine) and watching him walking around campus with his head down trying not to make eye contact with anyone. I always felt bad for the guy.

The offenses were awful, but the defenses were bad ass. 

I was at the 91 game, my first TX-OU weekend. Drinking Wild Turkey and Coke all game. My friend and I questioned if our offense had appeared on a milk carton somewhere because they were absent in Dallas that day. But Bubba Jacques’ scoop and score gave us all something to cheer about. 

We didn’t win those games because of Pete, but we won them with him at the helm. Good enough for me. 

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RowdyVic

RowdyVic 106

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The offenses were awful, but the defenses were bad ass. 
I was at the 91 game, my first TX-OU weekend. Drinking Wild Turkey and Coke all game. My friend and I questioned if our offense had appeared on a milk carton somewhere because they were absent in Dallas that day. But Bubba Jacques’ scoop and score gave us all something to cheer about. 
We didn’t win those games because of Pete, but we won them with him at the helm. Good enough for me. 
Defense is how we won those games. Gardere even says it.

Sent from my SM-J727T using Tapatalk

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PencilPusher

PencilPusher 454

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11 hours ago, Butch Had Not said:

Bubba Jacques?

I'll say it again,  4-0 and hopefully hasn't had to pay for a beer since. Chris Simms could have been the golden boy but he would never be appreciated like gardere simply because of 4-0.

It was Bubba Jacques with the scoop and score. Only reason I really remember that is I had brought a date from UNT to the game and the scoop and score happened when she left to either go to the bathroom or get a drink. Only really exciting moment of the game and she missed it. 

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Jack Wilson

Jack Wilson 313

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12 minutes ago, PencilPusher said:

It was Bubba Jacques with the scoop and score. Only reason I really remember that is I had brought a date from UNT to the game and the scoop and score happened when she left to either go to the bathroom or get a drink. Only really exciting moment of the game and she missed it. 

You should have sent her to the crapper every 5 minutes.

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rickyspub

rickyspub 801

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18 minutes ago, PencilPusher said:

It was Bubba Jacques with the scoop and score. Only reason I really remember that is I had brought a date from UNT to the game and the scoop and score happened when she left to either go to the bathroom or get a drink. Only really exciting moment of the date and she missed it. 

fify...unless you have pics

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po elvis

po elvis 2070

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12 hours ago, Domedriver said:

Well I double posted on RBs, talk to me about or RBs.  What do we have in house, young, or transfer.  We have to run.

Run baby run!

As an oldster Texas is RBU, not DBU as much as I love our sterling DBs.  I have Jim Bertlsen’s signed hat, have shook Earls hand at McBrides when he was being fitted for custom shotguns and bought Ricky beers in Odessa when he was driving his first Ferrari to San Diego at a hotel bar in Odessa after his first contract with the Saints.  I flew to his games in NO and saw Ditka flip off fans after he lost to the Browns.  I want a back that you would give a whole draft for!

Texaa to me is about who carries the ball, not who catches nor who throws.  Texas is about great running backs!

Run it down their throats football.

And as a historical note, the backyard that Edwin Simmons was found naked was 2 blocks from where I grew up.  I loved is up right running style. Too bad about his knees.  And his TD kickoff return was God like.  Simply jaw dropping to see in person.

as a kid i enjoyed the whole Jones boy's deal. Ham, Jam, and Lam.

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satyanash

satyanash 14129

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The Eyes of Texas: Running back battle, hoops recruiting, more

Texas has officially entered the end of the 2017-2018 athletic year with a trip to Omaha ending in a loss to Florida. But as one sport puts away the cleats, another is getting into the groove of preseason preparation. The Longhorns have been hard at work during summer conditioning as the team prepares for the 2018 football season under Tom Herman. Texas has a lot of improvement needed in 2018, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, which hindered the Longhorns success significantly during Herman's first year on the job. The run game was ineffective throughout the 2017 season due to limited options of a "go-to guy" and an offensive line unit that struggled week in and week out. But Texas could see a change with the ground game next season with the addition of Cal graduate transfer Tre Watson, and a handful of other options who are one year older, and one year healthier. But running back isn't the only position catching attention this offseason. That and more gets covered in this week's edition of The Eyes of Texas.

Let’s talk some football

The running back battle on this year’s football team is already one of the most competitive and, obviously, one of the most important position battles going on within the team. Texas averaged a meager 3.6 yards per carry in 2017, ahead of only Baylor (3.4), Iowa State (3.4) and Kansas (3.1). The Longhorns ran for 1,815 yards as a team last year, compared to Oklahoma, which led the Big 12 with 3,049 yards on the ground and a 5.6-yards-per-carry average.

Establishing a ground game in 2018 with running backs — as opposed to quarterbacks — is one of the biggest priorities, if not the biggest, on offense heading into this season. That’s the reason Herb Hand was brought in from Auburn to coach the offensive line. And that’s why Texas went all in on the state’s No. 1 running back for 2018 — Keaontay Ingram of Carthage — and was able to lure Cal grad transfer Tre Watson and his 5.1-yards-per-carry career average to Austin. You’ve got compelling characters, each with a different story, and, the coaches hope, a breakout guy. They just don’t know who that breakout guy is at the moment.

The frontrunner coming out of the spring was Daniel Young, a tough, hard-working pounder, who ran 81 times for 373 yards (4.6 ypc) and three touchdowns as a freshman. Young showed last year he could also catch the football, including a 42-yard reception and 22-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the Texas Bowl. Young had a long run in the most important scrimmage of the spring - before the Orange-White game - and has proved to be reliable and durable. You can win with Young. Is he D’Onta Foreman? No. But you can win with Young.

Toneil Carter is the guy, as a freshman last season, who caught your eye in terms of twitch, wiggle and a little wow factor, including an above-his-head, hands catch on a critical 22-yard touchdown reception at Iowa State. The nagging problem with Carter, who averaged 4.8 yards per carry (53 for 252) with three touchdowns, is maturity … and ball security. If there’s a candidate to replace Armanti Foreman in the category of talented knucklehead on this year’s offense, it’s probably Carter. He was suspended from the Texas Bowl for a failed test. Combine that with letting the ball hit the ground a couple times too many, and Carter, point blank, has to show the coaches he can be trusted. For that reason, even though Carter performed well during the spring, rotating with Young at the No. 1 position, coaches are at a point of show me, don’t tell me with the sophomore from Langham Creek in Houston.

Kyle Porter, who missed most of the spring with an ankle injury, had the most carries (83) of all the running backs last season but the lowest yards-per-carry average (3.1) among the team’s backs. Tom Herman was all about sending the message of ball security last season, and Porter was reliable from that standpoint. But simply securing the football isn’t going to carry Porter to the top of this year’s position battle. If so, the Texas ground game isn’t going to be what coaches hoped, because Porter has shown a lack of vision and is not a confident pass catcher, which also limits him in Herman’s offense.

Most of the intrigue at running back right now is how quickly newcomers Watson and Ingram can get adjusted to the Texas offense. And do I even dare mention the potential comeback story of 2018 in four-year junior Kirk Johnson? (Yes, he’s still on the team!) The older brother/enigma of junior receiver Collin Johnson had off-season ankle surgery to remove bone chips that doctors believe were leading to other injury issues (knee, hamstring).

Watson, who had nine carries for 37 yards in a win at Texas in 2015 and five carries for 11 yards in a triumph over Texas at Cal in 2016, certainly doesn’t lack confidence. Watson has the most playing experience in the running back room and has a sense of urgency about getting things done immediately that appealed to running backs coach Stan Drayton and Herman. Watson, who will wear No. 5, according to his Twitter profile (@Trey1Watson), can also catch the football (37 receptions for 379 yards and five touchdowns at Cal). Watson, who averaged 5.1 yards per carry on 273 attempts with eight touchdowns at Cal, had 17 rushes for 83 yards and five receptions for 31 yards before tearing his ACL in the second game of last season - his senior year. The injury gave him a medical hardship and an added year of eligibility, which Watson has used as a grad transfer, picking Texas over LSU and Texas Tech. Watson’s most productive season was his junior year (2016) at Cal, when he rushed for a single-season, career-high 709 yards and four TDs with 21 receptions for 241 yards and 4 TDs.

Ingram’s numbers out of Carthage, where he helped win back-to-back, Class 4A Division I state titles, including an eye-popping 9.8 yards per carry average as a senior, are staggering. And did I mention Ingram had nearly 800 receiving yards his last two seasons? If Ingram’s it-factor translates from high school to college the way Herman and Drayton believe, then Ingram has a chance to be the breakout guy and possibly even do something special this season. Once you watch Ingram’s film and see the combination of patience, vision and burst, upside is an understatement in talking about him.

Johnson, a virtual unknown as a fourth-year junior, is hoping off-season ankle surgery corrected his string of injury issues and will allow him to stay healthy for the first time in his UT career. Veterans on the team, including some of the defensive guys, think Johnson is a special player if he can stay healthy. Coming out of high school, Johnson’s film showed a back with great vision and feet, a guy who could make defenders miss, one-on-one in the hole with a wicked sidestep and jump cuts followed by nice acceleration. He was a SPARQ testing machine at combines. We’ll see.

BOTTOM LINE: If I had to handicap this race, it’s hard not to let your mind wander to Ingram in the starting lineup. Freshmen can have success at the running back position. That was proven by another East Texas star back who wore the same No. 28 Ingram wore in high school — Adrian Peterson.

FYI, Kirk Johnson wears No. 28 at Texas. I’d love to be a fly on the wall when Ingram undoubtedly asked if he could wear No. 28. Ingram’s talent, versatility and upside give him an edge. But college football is a man’s game, and it’s all about production. It’s also about the offensive line and the offense, period, taking a huge step this season. — Chip Brown

Leadership on offense

I’ve had more than one person connected to the program say how undervalued the leadership of Jerrod Heard is to the offense. It’s hard to say where Heard fits into this offense. Right now, the top three receivers would be Collin Johnson, Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Devin Duvernay. Heard is obviously a guy who can line-up at inside or outside receiver and has made plays at both. If anything, you could argue Heard has been underused (catching 24 passes in 2016 and 20 passes in 2017).

The thing I keep being told is how Heard never makes it about himself or the plays that should be getting called for him. He’s made it about the success of Texas and what he can do to help this program despite a revolving door of coaches and offensive coordinators since he’s been in Austin. I’m told the guys doing most of the leading on offense in workouts this summer are Sam Ehlinger, Andrew Beck, Collin Johnson, Patrick Vahe and Heard. — Chip Brown

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texifornia

texifornia 55993

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28 minutes ago, cdain3 said:

Maybe?

?

He's really, really good. Had a tough recruitment - didn't get into Stanford and did the next best thing academically, but there were lots of rumors that his family circumstances were going to make it hard for him to stay far away from home.

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Eggo

Eggo 3973

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Texas had 43 athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie team. 1 from Football (Cade Brewer). 

Baylor had 8.

Iowa State 1. 

Kansas 4

Kansas State 1. 

Oklahoma State 1.

Texas Tech had none.

West Virginia had none.

TCU had none.

OU had none. 

 

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UDontKnow

UDontKnow 10439

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, cdain3 said:

Maybe?

?

 

1 hour ago, texifornia said:

He's really, really good. Had a tough recruitment - didn't get into Stanford and did the next best thing academically, but there were lots of rumors that his family circumstances were going to make it hard for him to stay far away from home.

If he's from Savannah, GA then UGA, FL, and GaTech are in play. Nice of Tre Watson to try to recruit him to the ATX.

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ousux

ousux 5566

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Well I double posted on RBs, talk to me about or RBs.  What do we have in house, young, or transfer.  We have to run.
Run baby run!
As an oldster Texas is RBU, not DBU as much as I love our sterling DBs.  I have Jim Bertlsen’s signed hat, have shook Earls hand at McBrides when he was being fitted for custom shotguns and bought Ricky beers in Odessa when he was driving his first Ferrari to San Diego at a hotel bar in Odessa after his first contract with the Saints.  I flew to his games in NO and saw Ditka flip off fans after he lost to the Browns.  I want a back that you would give a whole draft for!
Texaa to me is about who carries the ball, not who catches nor who throws.  Texas is about great running backs!
Run it down their throats football.
And as a historical note, the backyard that Edwin Simmons was found naked was 2 blocks from where I grew up.  I loved is up right running style. Too bad about his knees.  And his TD kickoff return was God like.  Simply jaw dropping to see in person.
On a scale of 1-11, how drunk and/or high were you when you tapped out this Magnum Opus?
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Eggo

Eggo 3973

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1 hour ago, pearlandhorn said:

The recruits I'm looking forward to seeing on the field in the fall the most are Ingram, BJ Foster and Caden Sterns.  I really think Ingram will be really good.  I want Sterns and Foster do put people to sleep.

If we're talking all recruits, including grad transfers, I want to see Tre Watson lead that RB room. 

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TexasTroll

TexasTroll 454

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Posted (edited)
59 minutes ago, Eggo said:

If we're talking all recruits, including grad transfers, I want to see Tre Watson lead that RB room. 

 I’m kinda with ya

hope he is well healed up and able to absorb the Herman offense.

only got a year but I think he can do it.

Edited by TexasTroll
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satyanash

satyanash 14129

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(Eric Nahlin) Fridays in the Humidor: 6/22/18

Off-season workouts and 7 on 7 continue and recruiting hits its final weekend before the dead period begins (6/25-7/24).



TEAM

We continue to hear the team is focused and working hard. Year 2 in Herman's program means players know what's expected of them. It means they're in better shape and can therefore ramp up the intensity in workouts even further. Workouts are on a 'build up' to August camp. Next week, "voluntary" workouts will increase from four days a week to five; no more Wednesdays off. Each day consists of a lift and run. The lifts and types of running will differ each day. Personal accountability is better than a year ago. While Texas lost some talent from last season, I don't think the losses are bad from a team cohesiveness standpoint. The team sounds as close as it has been in a long time. Players are working for each other and picking each other up.

The most consistently named player from a leadership standpoint we've heard is Andrew Beck. Sam Ehlinger is mentioned but he probably needs a little more consistency on the field but obviously the potential is there for this to become his team full stop. Media day participants are a good sign of who the staff views as leaders. Most likely going to Dallas in July will be Beck, PJ Locke, Patrick Vahe, and Gary Johnson. Locke is a hard-working program guy. Vahe has always jibed with Herman's culture. Promoting Vahe can't hurt Jake Langi's recruiting efforts. Johnson's infectious love for football precedes him. Giving him a platform is also a message to Juco players that you can come to Texas and not only experience success on the field but also become a face for the program. That's a huge contrast to the Juco ranks, akin to riding the bus in the minors before being thrown into the limelight of the big leagues.

The most interesting thing we heard regarding 7 on 7 this week is Malcolm Roach working at Mac. Recall that Anthony Wheeler will be suspended for the first half versus Maryland. This will play out well into August, but McCulloch has also worked at Mac. [Last year all the talk was on the USC game, and then the entire program laid an egg against Maryland. The team is already watching film on Maryland this go 'round.]

We again asked who was doing well in 7 on 7. We again heard preferred walk-on Travis West's name. There is some real anticipation to see how he looks when the pads come on. One name who comes as no surprise is Lil'Jordan Humphrey. I heard, "he's always getting open, somehow some way. It's not bad coverage or bad technique." It probably isn't a coincidence that Humphrey and West both worked extensively with skills trainer Margin Hooks -- one of the few I'll personally vouch for. Those two are getting open against good players. We hear 7 on 7 has been spirited but it's mostly basic, early install offense and defense being run. The competition is still fierce, however.

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Majorcholas

Majorcholas 507

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Posted
2 hours ago, TexasTroll said:

 I’m kinda with ya

hope he is well healed up and able to absorb the Herman offense.

only got a year but I think he can do it.

I would say rb is one of the easier positions on offense to leave one system to another. Formations aren’t as complicated as say wr or te to remember. Every college runs the same pass pros and inside/outside zone, power and counter trey as main running plays. so it’s basically translating the terminology which someone who remained eligible at cal should be able to do.

we hope....

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satyanash

satyanash 14129

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(Jeff Howe) 3 Things I Know, 3 Things I Think: Tom Herman's biggest concern

Tom Herman is 71 days away from officially kicking off his second season at Texas, Shaka Smart saw a one-and-done big man go in the first round of the NBA draft for the second time in as many years and David Pierce’s Longhorns wrapped up a season that included a Big 12 title with the program’s 36th trip to the College World Series. With all of that in mind, there are “3 Things I Know, 3 Things I Think” about what’s happening on the Forty Acres right now.

I know...
1. Herman’s biggest offseason concern is valid

With the start of the 2018 season not too far around the corner, it continues to be a drama-free offseason on the Forty Acres. Beginning with practices ahead of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl through the start of summer conditioning, the focus for the Longhorns has been on being the best football team they can be as opposed to coaches being explaining the process and need for establishing a new culture or players getting grilled from reporters about buying into a new way of doing things and why this year will be different from others.

A quiet, workmanlike offseason is a zone the program has needed to settle into for far too long. That said, it’s hard to blame Herman for feeling like things have been too quiet, something he expressed to me last month at the ‘This Is Texas Tour’ stop in Fort Worth when I asked him about his biggest concern this summer.

“What keeps me up at night is teaching them how to handle adversity because things have been so positive around here and probably will continue to be throughout the course of the offseason,” Herman said. “I would imagine, at some point, whether it’s in the first game or somewhere we stub our toe in-season, it’s going to be adversity. Can we block out all of the noise and all of the sky is falling people? Can we rally around each other in that locker room? Just a continual emphasis on building that bunker mentality.”

The most endearing quality about the 2017 Longhorns might have also been the trait which was the biggest source of frustration for the burnt orange faithful. While Texas seemed to rise to the occasion when the chips were down (wins over West Virginia and Missouri and close calls against Southern Cal, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State), it was losses to Maryland and Texas Tech forced the Longhorns into the underdog role that points what Herman will be focused on until the rematch with the Terrapins takes place on Sept. 1 at FedEx Field.

The Longhorns responded to a fresh start in the form of Herman’s debut the same way they handled success by gaining bowl eligibility with one game remaining the regular season, which was to deliver overall lackluster performances. Had avoidable losses to the Terrapins and Red Raiders gone the other way, the Longhorns would have been an eight-win team in the regular season and would have the arrow pointing more upright than it otherwise is for Herman’s program.

Everyone has their goals and challenges for Texas in Herman’s second season on the job. For me, knowing the validity of Herman’s concern, the biggest step the Longhorns can take is to become a mature team that approaches every opponent with the same vigor and focus showed in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Cotton Bowl and other venues where Texas proved capable of being able to compete with just about anyone in the country on a given day.

2. Versatility over specialization is the name of the game along the D-line

Look near the bottom of the commitment list for 2019 and you’ll see Rosenberg George Ranch’s Peter Mpagi has joined Hunstville’s T’Vondre Sweat in giving the Longhorns a pair of value three-star defensive linemen. Look beyond the star rating for both prospects and you’ll see the exact prototype of the defensive linemen Herman, Todd Orlando and Oscar Giles are hunting on the recruiting trail.

Mpagi (6-4.5, 224) and Sweat (6-3, 249) fit the mold of athletic, lean linemen who can be molded by Yancy McKnight and the strength staff into what Orlando needs to give his defensive front the needed element of flexibility. Rather than recruiting players who fit traditional specific roles, Orlando would rather have a room full of guys like Ta’Quon Graham who enter the program with the athleticism and ability to play on the edge and added the bulk (Graham was listed at 290 pounds on the spring roster) needed to play closer to the ball.

“T.Q. is the kind of guy you want,” Orlando said during the spring. “He came and was like 250 pounds, we knew he was athletic and could run. He’s a big-bodied, big-shouldered guy and we knew Yancy could put some weight on him and he could keep his speed. When we look at recruiting, that’s what we want right there.”

That’s not to say the staff will turn away a talented player who probably best fits as an end in a traditional 4-3 alignment like Charles Omenihu, or a plug in the middle line well over the 300-pound mark Keondre Coburn. Orlando just needs more players like what the staff expects Graham to be and what they hope Mpagi and Sweat will eventually be in order to be able to change looks on the fly and throw multiple effective alignments at the sophisticated spread offenses that populate the Big 12, something the Longhorns figure to do more of in 2018 and beyond.

3. Two losses in Omaha doesn’t taint what Pierce and Co. accomplished

There was a point in March when David Pierce’s Longhorns were 9-9 and had lost five games in a row to Stanford and Arkansas by a combined score of 40-9. To come back from that and win the Big 12 title on their way to the College World Series, which wound up being a disappointing two-game stay in Omaha, says all that needs to be said about the positive light in which Pierce’s second season on the job should be viewed.

“There's nobody in this room and nobody in this country expected this team to be here,” Pierce said following a 6-1 season-ending loss to Florida. “And they did a heck of a job from the start to finish, from the fall ball into early spring. The things that they had to accomplish to get here is incredible.”

I keep going back to the fact that if someone had told me going into the year that Nolan Kingham and Chase Shugart wouldn’t make the All-Big 12 team, Jake McKenzie would wind up being the primary option at first base, Austin Todd’s injuries would force him to miss most of the year and Beau Ridgeway would be a complete non-factor out of the bullpen by the time the meat of the conference schedule rolled around, I would have said making a regional would have been a real accomplishment. Pierce’s bunch thrived with all of those things happening in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, making a 42-23 record something worth celebrating.

Winning in Omaha being the expectation at Texas is something Pierce understands and has his head wrapped around. That said, he turned things around quicker than anyone could have expected and while there’s still a lot of work to be done, a conference title and a trip to Omaha this early in his tenure bodes well for the future when he’s got a roster made up entirely of players he and those in the organization have targeted as pieces to a championship puzzle.

I think...
1. Experience provides hope for success on the diamond next spring

As we move from enjoying the success of the 2018 Longhorns to looking at the big picture and what to expect in 2019, an experienced lineup is something worth getting excited about. Keep in mind that while Kody Clemens was the catalyst offensively, Texas had Zach Zubia, DJ Petrinsky, Masen Hibbeler and Duke Ellis stepping into the batter’s box at the Division I level for the first time.

All four of those players will be back and all four had some measure of success in their respective debuts. Zubia hit 11 home runs and had a 40-game streak of getting on base at one point, only Clemens had more multi-hit games than Petrinsky’s 15, Hibbeler started all 65 games for the Longhorns and scored 52 runs, and Ellis had a 16-game hitting streak late in the year that helped him finish with a .289 batting average.

With Todd back from injury and David Hamilton returning after a season where he hit .291, stole 31 bases and recorded a .849 OPS, the Longhorns will be loaded with proven, experienced bats. What could determine how potent the Longhorns are throughout the order is the ability of Ryan Reynolds to take a step forward after the sophomore infielder hit a meager .172 (5-for-29) in the NCAA Tournament.

2. Horn’s value will be even more prevalent going forward

For the second year in a row, Smart will bid farewell to a one-and-done big with Mohamed Bamba, the No. 6 overall pick by the Orlando Magic in Thursday’s NBA draft, following Jarrett Allen to the next level. While the improvements in Allen’s game required looking beyond an 11-22 record the Longhorns posted in 2016-17, Allen and Bamba left the Forty Acres as better players with Darrin Horn perhaps being the biggest factor in the development of both first-round big men.

Hired by Smart on his initial staff to work with the bigs, Horn’s impact was felt immediately with the improvements made by Cameron Ridley in Smart’s first season on the job. Though a wrist injury limited him to 13 games, Ridley averaged career-high marks in field goal percentage (.629), rebounds per game (8.5) and blocks per game (2.8) while averaging 11.1 points per contest.

Bamba, like Allen, will head to the NBA with a lot of growth to come in his game, but they’re a lot less raw than they were when they set foot in the program thanks to Horn. Now that the Longhorns don’t have any one-and-done bigs on the roster, Horn’s task is now to bring Jericho Sims along in his second season in the program and develop Jaxson Hayes, who more than one source within the program has indicated to me has the tools to be a future lottery pick.

What Sims produces as a sophomore will be a byproduct of two offseasons in the gym crafting his game with Horn. Along with Hayes, Horn also welcomes two skilled stretch forwards who will be counted on to make shots right off the bat (Kamaka Hepa and Gerald Liddell) and a blue-collar banger in Brock Cunningham under his learning tree.

If the noticeable improvements made by Allen and Bamba are indications of what’s to come, Horn will have the Texas big men ready to contribute when the 2018-19 season begins. Additionally, now that he’s not working against the clock with players set to leave campus shortly after arriving, we’ll likely get to see how good Horn really is when it comes to developing talent down low.

3. Avoiding an ugly non-conference loss is the key to a good season

Brad Crawford wrote a good piece for 247Sports this week detailing the importance of a good September for the Longhorns. To me, a more simple way of looking at it would be to point to success for Herman being to avoid the bowling-shoe ugly non-conference loss that has been an unsavory trademark of Texas teams throughout the current decade.

A 34-12 loss to UCLA in 2010 started the downturn of the program in earnest and was the first sign of what was to come during a 5-7 season. In 2013, the Longhorns suffered a 40-21 loss to BYU that got Manny Diaz fired and accelerated the time remaining on Mack Brown’s tenure, which was followed in 2014 by Charlie Strong’s first squad getting pummeled in the return bout, 41-7.

The sand began trickling to the bottom of the hourglass for Strong when the Longhorns were embarrassed by Notre Dame in the 2015 season opener, 38-3. After a 2-0 start and earning a top-10 ranking to begin the 2016 campaign, a 50-43 road loss to California show that Texas under Strong was still pretender rather than a contender. Going back to what started off this piece, last season’s 51-41 loss to Maryland felt worse than what the final score indicated.

It felt like as much as things had changed, the more they were the same — the 2017 season and the five aforementioned campaigns each saw the Longhorns lose at least five games with four of the seven going in the books as seven-loss seasons. For the health of the program and the sanity of the fanbase, a 2-0 start to the 2018 season feels like a requirement. Before the Longhorns can start good trends, putting the forgettable occurrences that have been all too frequent in recent years to bed is necessary.

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closetojumping

closetojumping 61996

Posted
Posted

 

I like Jeff Howe. I don’t know him well, but we’ve bullshitter a few times. We have mutual friends who know the game and respect him a bunch. That said, he’s not above being a shill for the program or flat out being lost in UT bullshit. He once posted an article, after Swoopes committed and after he fucking knew Mack Brown was purposefully passing on JT Barrett in which he dismissed passing on Barrett and simultaneously compared Tyrone fucking Swoopes to Vince Young as a recruit. So with that in mind, fuck him on this:

“What keeps me up at night is teaching them how to handle adversity because things have been so positive around here and probably will continue to be throughout the course of the offseason,” Herman said. “I would imagine, at some point, whether it’s in the first game or somewhere we stub our toe in-season, it’s going to be adversity. Can we block out all of the noise and all of the sky is falling people? Can we rally around each other in that locker room? Just a continual emphasis on building that bunker mentality.”

You don’t coach into adversity. You coach out of it. Herman needs to go in expecting his team to win. If they struggle, teach. Otherwise, everyone shut the fuck up and go 2-0 until they face USC and find out what they’re made of as a team. If they can’t beat Maryland and/or Tulsa without coaches handwringing about knowing how to win, then we have the wrong motherfucker for the job. 

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Slacks

Slacks 6666

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Posted

I mostly agree with you about coaching out f adversity, but I assumed the reference was about the mindset of the players and whether or not they'll be mentally strong enough to recognize adversity is not where you lay down, but where you stand up.

That goes for coaches, too.

We'll know.

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ChickenSandwich

ChickenSandwich 9749

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3 hours ago, Snacks said:

I mostly agree with you about coaching out f adversity, but I assumed the reference was about the mindset of the players and whether or not they'll be mentally strong enough to recognize adversity is not where you lay down, but where you stand up.

That goes for coaches, too.

We'll know.

I assumed he meant we are going 2-0 (positive carrying into season etc) without giving the media material to attack by predicting the outcome. The adversity comes from a first loss etc etc. JMO

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