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Texas Football 2021 In-Season Thread: Can we get a redo?


BurntOrange&White

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Decent stuff from 247 poster...

Opinions from an "Old Ball Coach"       (MacDaddy3)

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Warning this may get a little long.

As I have stated before I am an ex Texas High School Athletic Director/Head Football Coach. I have two sons who currently play at the college level. I have been on both sides of the coaching and recruiting scene. I tell you my background only to show that I have experience when it comes to coaching and recruiting. Now obviously feel free to take my opinions as good or bad takes, I just wanted to give some background so I was not perceived as someone who has no knowledge of the game.

1. I believe Coach Sarkisian's tenure (longevity and success) will be defined by what he does going forward at the Defensive Coordinator position. I think just by the nature of Sarks makeup his teams will always score points. Sark needs to be paired with an elite defensive play caller who I also think needs to be a very vocal, loud voice with his defensive staff and players. The best football staffs have a great mix of reserved and not so reserved coaches. Being "GOOD ON GRASS" or "GREAT ON THE BOARD" is not enough to be elite as a coach especially as a Coordinator/Play Caller. This doesn't mean I think Sark can't win games at Texas, it just means if the ultimate goal is to be an elite program (consistently in the top 10 every year) lets just say we are not currently aligned in the most opportune fashion. I have never been one to pull the plug on a coach (or have a quick trigger so to speak) but in this instance I believe this is a make or break decision for Coach Sarkisian. This presents a huge dilemma for Sark. Most great coaches are extremely loyal and I am sure Sark fits into this category. I think PK is a good football coach and is highly competent in his X's and O's knowledge. I just don't think this is the correct fit for him at Texas. Obviously there would be negatives if they let PK go (recruiting hits, more time to learn a new system, negative media optics, etc.) and those are valid. I do think in the long term, if truly being elite is the goal then a change in the defensive play caller is a must. I would like to add that I can't honestly say with confidence what kind of job I think the defensive position coaches have done. Unless you are on the inside then you can't know. Position coaches are hired to implement the DC's vision. They are not hired to teach or coach to their philosophy. If the Secondary coach loves to play and coach press man and the DC believes in playing loose coverage then the Secondary coach will and should coach the players effectively playing loose coverage. If the DL coach loves playing an attacking three man front but the DC believes in a 4 down read and react gap control scheme then that DL coach better get his guys to excel in a 4 man gap control style. I think in conclusion of my opinion on our defensive future it is safe to say that there are many factors at play. I just hope as a lifetime Longhorn fan we can figure out the when, why, and how quick enough to get us to that elite program status with Sark as our coach.

2. Offensive Line play has to be priority 1 moving forward. I know "Thank you Captain Obvious". There is no magic potion to fix the situation. It is going to take a full effort from many aspects to fix the OL (recruiting, transfer, player development, etc.). Everyone knows this but patience has to be reminded. We can get there but we may have to suffer through a couple more seasons of sub par to average OL play which is OK as long as we are showing improvement (even if it is in small incremental steps). As I sated earlier I think we can score enough points to win with Sark. We just have to make it easier on everyone involved (defense, offensive play caller, special teams) by consistently getting better on the OL moving forward.

3. Transfer season will be crazy this year. I anticipate us losing lots of players this year to transfer(some we will be happy about and some we will wish we could keep). I also believe we will have lots of players transfer in also. This is a double edged sword. Most players are transferring for a reason (whether it is valid or not is debatable). In the eyes of the player of course he thinks it is valid. We will have some hits through transfers but I think we will also take on some negative issues that always seems to follow some transfers. This is why the coaches get paid very handsomely, to figure these things out and keep team morale and attitude high.

4. I think with the way we use our TE's we should play Roschon Johnson there some. Here me out before you think I am crazy. Sark uses his TE's way more in an H Back role than a true TE role. They are in motion a lot. They block backside edge holder. They pull and kick. They are very active in the passing game as pass catchers. RoJo is very good at all of these. Because he is such a great all around athlete he would be perfect in this role. I think this could even open up the offense even more as you now would have a legit run threat at the H Back position. Just food for thought going into next season.

5. QB room needs an upgrade. I don't think next years starter is on the team currently. Let me say this, I don't think Casey or Card are bad QB's. I just don't think they are good enough to be a starter in this offense at The University of Texas. Sark asks a lot of his QB's and I will be the first to admit that it is unfair to criticize heavily a QB who has such a poor OL in front of him. I do still believe we have to be better at that position than what we have shown. Bring in more bodies (whether through transfer or freshman recruiting) and have an open competition and let the cream rise to the top (I trust this is exactly what Sark will do).

6. I'm going to give you a quick take on Jeff Traylor and all the hype. This was my 1st choice on who we should have gone after when we let Herman go (I know easy to say now in hindsight but I said it back then also). I coached against Jeff many years ago when he was at Gilmer HS and I was a Defensive Coordinator across the field trying to stop his high powered offenses. He was a great coach then and hasn't changed much offensively from what he did back then, he would be the first to tell you that. He is doing well at UTSA and I imagine he will take a bigger job soon. He is a good guy and I'm happy for him and all his success this year.

7. As far as recruiting goes here are a some guys I have strong feelings on.

Let me say all of my evaluation opinions are based strictly on watching their film. I have not seen live footage of any of our current verbal commits nor do I know any of them.

Jamarion Miller Absolute stud. Very fluid hips. Good speed and great vision, catches the ball well also. I have said all the way back to his JR. year in HS he was my favorite RB in the state (wanted him way more than Blue). If he stays healthy he will be a beast in college.

Justice Finkley High floor kind of recruit. Dominates big time in HS. I don't think he will be the type of player that makes big individual headlines at Texas but I think he will be a steady good player for the Longhorns. Give me these kind of players all day long and you will see a very good defense on the field!

Derrick Brown Love his athleticism and motor. I feel this will be either boom or bust here. If he can put on weight and stay twitchy he will be a star, if not he will be another Prince Dorbah type.

Cole Hudson and Connor Robertson I put these guys together because they are similar and have a similar ceiling. I do believe from watching film that Robertson has much better feet but he is 15 to 20 lbs. lighter also. Both will need some time in college to grow into their weight. I do think it may take 2 or 3 years but they could eventually find ample playing time on the interior of the OL.

Brenen Thompson Not as high on him as his ranking. Great straight line speed. Vision and lateral quickness are just are not elite to me. I think he will be a good locker room guy and contribute, just don't see him as a superstar.

Jaydon Blue Honestly I was never that high on him, even before all the controversial senior year stuff. I think he is a good player and I see him as a take just do not see the elite potential as a can't miss RB.

These are just some of my opinions from watching the Horns this year and watching recruiting film. I could be way off on any of these topics but it's always fun to talk about football!!

 

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8 minutes ago, XYZ said:

Seems that very, very few players from this team will end up in the NFL. Bijan, yes. One of our DTs, maybe. Dicker, maybe. Worthy, perhaps. Who else?

Cook, Thompson, Murphy, Ojomo and Collins are probably NFL guys on defense. On offense, Worthy and Bijan for sure and maybe Angilau as a late round guy.

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Visiting with family in Iowa for Thanksgiving. I forgot I was wearing a camouflage Longhorn hat. I was in a hardware store and heard a voice behind me say “Your Longhorns need to hurry up and get to the SEC. it’s not Steve’s fault.” 
 

What? Several things about the comment struck me as odd. I turned around to see who was talking to me. He said “You guys need to recruit talent for the SEC and get out of this conference. It’s not helping you.”

He was being sincere. He felt sorry for Sarkisian and I guess us. He said “I’m an Iowa State fan. I know it’s been a tough season, but it will be better for you guys once you move conferences. Too many 5 star recruits that are just happy to be there.”

I told him that I guessed that was correct. That we’re just kind of shell shocked by how badly we’ve stumbled. That the players have quit and that we will lose again on Friday.

”Friday? Who do you play on Friday?”

Told him we play Kansas State. He shook his head. “Yeeeeaaaaah. I guess you will. But it will get better.” 
 

As he walked away, he turned back around and said, “At least you guys didn’t have really high hopes of a great season coming into this year. That sucks for us!”

Man, we have fallen a long way when Iowa State fans feel sorry for us, console us, and commiserate with us. I appreciated his sentiments, but...

Edited by Tex Pete
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30 minutes ago, Tex Pete said:

As he walked away, he turned back around and said, “At least you guys didn’t have really high hopes of a great season coming into this year. That sucks for us!”  Man, we have fallen a long way when Iowa State fans feel sorry for us, console us, and commiserate with us. I appreciated his sentiments, but...

 

Campbell has been a disaster this year...  5 losses with that Iowa State team is ridiculous...  

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36 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

 

Doesn't change the terrible results for Iowa State this year...

Campbell sounds just like Mensa here...

 

Maybe ISU is where he needs to stay. Public statements like that sound a lot like Butch Jones and his “Champions of Life.”  LSU or USC fans won’t want to hear that. 

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On 11/25/2021 at 6:22 AM, Tex Pete said:

Visiting with family in Iowa for Thanksgiving. I forgot I was wearing a camouflage Longhorn hat. I was in a hardware store and heard a voice behind me say “Your Longhorns need to hurry up and get to the SEC. it’s not Steve’s fault.” 
 

What? Several things about the comment struck me as odd. I turned around to see who was talking to me. He said “You guys need to recruit talent for the SEC and get out of this conference. It’s not helping you.”

He was being sincere. He felt sorry for Sarkisian and I guess us. He said “I’m an Iowa State fan. I know it’s been a tough season, but it will be better for you guys once you move conferences. Too many 5 star recruits that are just happy to be there.”

I told him that I guessed that was correct. That we’re just kind of shell shocked by how badly we’ve stumbled. That the players have quit and that we will lose again on Friday.

”Friday? Who do you play on Friday?”

Told him we play Kansas State. He shook his head. “Yeeeeaaaaah. I guess you will. But it will get better.” 
 

As he walked away, he turned back around and said, “At least you guys didn’t have really high hopes of a great season coming into this year. That sucks for us!”

Man, we have fallen a long way when Iowa State fans feel sorry for us, console us, and commiserate with us. I appreciated his sentiments, but...

Are these going to be the new lost opposing fan in Colly Station posts?

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I want to be good so badly. We are gonna have to ride with Sark and I do like he doesn’t seem to be bullshitting with this roster…it’s gonna get flipped upside down and turned out. 
 

i remember one of the 9.95 reports about how the staff thought they had enough talent to make a CFP run and then before the season the report about Milwee saying this team sucked ass…

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6 hours ago, taybo20 said:

I want to be good so badly. 
 

i remember one of the 9.95 reports 

The 9.95 reports are propaganda designed to prey on our desire to win so badly. It's fan fiction sold as reality. Every one of those cunts is a conman. 

For the first time ever I'm checking out on the entire offseason. None of the information is legitimate so better to just stay away from it all until game 1 next year like I do every other sport. That includes the spring game which never shows a damn thing

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  • 1 month later...

I think is the correct thread to lament our suck.

Baylor has now out-performed us with Briles (rapey), Ruhle (man tits), and Aranda.  Apparently they, like others, can pick up the pieces with a new coach and keep moving right along.

From a two-win season to B12 Championship and Sugar Bowl win, Aranda out did Charlie, Tom, and Sark (for now).  We'll probably always suck because Texas can't figure what the hell it wants to be---so fuck it.  

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