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2023 Spring Practice to Fall Camp Thread - Just hook it to my veins!


BurntOrange&White

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12 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Get ready. That fat fuck Ari Wasserman teased a long piece on Andy Staples’ pod that he promised will take a giant shit on the Texas Program. It will focus on player development, and include the Herman and Strong years. Thank God 0.000001% of recruits subscribe to The Athletic. 
 

I’m sure aggy and OU will copy and paste the article and throw up on LED screens in their football facilities. 

Yeah I think we all know we've sucked at evaluation and development. Nothing new there. If you dig deeper into them you'll notice the transfers out from those 4 and 5 stars, aside from maybe a handful of guys, didn't do much at their next stops either.

Edited by BurntOrange&White
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1 minute ago, texifornia said:

Give Captain Obvious over here a Pulitzer, what a unique and unexplored story. 

right? honestly it didn't seem to be super anti Texas, was just a bunch of #s and point out the obvious.

here is the only analysis part re: Texas. basically yeah - Texas has brought in a ton of blue chippers and not turned them into pros. we all know this.
 

Spoiler


 

Quote

 

Oklahoma and Texas must improve in the SEC

The Big 12 has a major issue developing elite prospects, and that is largely because of the two big fish that are soon headed to the SEC. Texas and Oklahoma were among the lowest percent of five-star prospects who were drafted — and they accounted for 29 of the 34 five-star prospects who signed with the league over the examined period.

Jackson Jeffcoat was the third-highest rated prospect to ever sign with Texas. He was the jewel of the Class of 2010 but went undrafted in 2014 because of injuries and his status as a tweener linebacker/edge rusher, and the Longhorns went without a draft pick for the first time since 1937. Running back Johnathan Gray was the nation’s No. 6 overall prospect in 2012 and went undrafted following a career that included two torn Achilles tendons and zero 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Oklahoma had two five-star backs, Keith Ford and Brandon Williams, transfer to Texas A&M, and receiver Trey Metoyer was dismissed from the program after an indecent exposure charge. Linebacker Caleb Kelly was a Freshman All-American, but his career was undermined by a trio of knee injuries. Offensive lineman Brey Walker started just two games for the Sooners in five seasons before leaving the program after the 2022 season.

No SEC team had a worse rate of converting five-star prospects to pros than OU or Texas. If that continues in the SEC, it will be difficult for them to continue to sign those coveted prospects.

 

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Nebraska hasn’t recruited as well as the Vols and Longhorns, but the three blue-blood programs that have mostly fallen on hard times the past decade have struggled to develop players. Some of that can be chalked up to coaching turnover in all three cases, but Nebraska signed 67 four-stars in 11 draft classes and produced just three draft picks from that crop. That number was in a league of its own. Comparatively, Minnesota had four four-stars drafted from just 11 four-star signees in the same span.

From 2009 through 2022, the three programs have combined to have 12 head coaches and just two seasons with more than 10 wins (Texas in 2009 and Tennessee in 2022).

Texas and Tennessee’s developmental issues bled over to their five-star prospects as well, as both programs were among the worst at developing elite talents. Nebraska has not signed a five-star prospect since Marlon Lucky in 2005. Two of its highest-rated four-stars, though, finished their careers elsewhere (Aaron Green at TCU and Tyjon Lindsey at Oregon State).

 

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Quote

 

Bottom line: Quality recruits = quality players

Eight of the 10 Power 5 programs with the highest average recruiting class rank from 2009 through 2019 are among the top 10 in highest percentage of overall signees (three-star and better) drafted from 2012 through 2022. The top four recruiters during this span (Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and LSU) are also the top four in percentage of signees drafted — in a slightly different order (Alabama, Ohio State, LSU and Georgia).

The two outliers are Texas and Auburn. Texas is seventh in average class rank but only 35th in percent of signees drafted, while Auburn is ninth and 20th, respectively.

Conversely, seven of the 10 programs with the lowest average class rank during this span can be found on the list of lowest percentage of signees drafted.

 


 

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11 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Haha. I should probably just punt on college football podcasts. I can listen to a book instead. I like the IT guys but talking for a living isn’t their strong suit.  All the national guys are currently putting out the Texas still sucks narrative while treating Jimbo/aggy with kid gloves. 

Personally I like that style of podcast....where they can go off on tangents. I hate the super structured style of podcast that sound like I'm listening to sports talk radio that is so time constraint oriented that its not very fun to listen to or get good opinions from.

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5 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Give Captain Obvious over here a Pulitzer, what a unique and unexplored story. 

That's Ari Wasserman's MO. He somehow landed a national job by writing story after story about the novel concept that teams full of 4/5 stars win more and then taking victory laps every year when Georgia/Bama/OSU win. The guy brings virtually zero knowledge of scheme and has no personality. 

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7 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Yeah I think we all know we've sucked at evaluation and development. Nothing new there. If you dig deeper into them you'll notice the transfers out from those 4 and 5 stars, aside from maybe a handful of guys, didn't do much at their next stops either.

What really shocked me on that list is how many came in and just flaked out vs. like Gray, got hammered by injury.

Lots of 5 star “talent” that just didn’t work out or live up to expectations.

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15 minutes ago, Laxtonto said:

What really shocked me on that list is how many came in and just flaked out vs. like Gray, got hammered by injury.

Lots of 5 star “talent” that just didn’t work out or live up to expectations.

Scheme, evaluation, and development - we sucked at all three

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Nebraska hasn’t recruited as well as the Vols and Longhorns, but the three blue-blood programs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   when the fuck did tennessee become a blue blood?

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46 minutes ago, mr.goodkat said:

Nebraska hasn’t recruited as well as the Vols and Longhorns, but the three blue-blood programs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   when the fuck did tennessee become a blue blood?

are you in high school?

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47 minutes ago, mr.goodkat said:

Nebraska hasn’t recruited as well as the Vols and Longhorns, but the three blue-blood programs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   when the fuck did tennessee become a blue blood?

i wasn't going into that, but no they are not - people need to consult the chart more often:

cPYBNXo.jpeg

blue bloods are Bama, OU, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC, Nebraska and Texas.

there is a large gap between those guy sand FSU/Florida/PSU/Georgia/LSU/Tennessee/Auburn/Miami.

 

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3 hours ago, NoName said:

Jackson Jeffcoat was the third-highest rated prospect to ever sign with Texas. He was the jewel of the Class of 2010 but went undrafted in 2014

Jeffcoat won the Hendricks award as the nation's best defensive end and was co-Big 12 defensive player of the year. I remember watching the end of the 2014 draft. A Canadian o-lineman was drafted. It was all projects being selected. It still shocks me that no one had a need for the guy who won the award as the best DE. 

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1 hour ago, NoName said:

i wasn't going into that, but no they are not - people need to consult the chart more often:

cPYBNXo.jpeg

blue bloods are Bama, OU, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC, Nebraska and Texas.

there is a large gap between those guy sand FSU/Florida/PSU/Georgia/LSU/Tennessee/Auburn/Miami.

 

http://www.winsipedia.com/texas/vs/tennessee

Not as wide a gulf as you think.

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Jeffcoat won the Hendricks award as the nation's best defensive end and was co-Big 12 defensive player of the year. I remember watching the end of the 2014 draft. A Canadian o-lineman was drafted. It was all projects being selected. It still shocks me that no one had a need for the guy who won the award as the best DE. 

Yep. Pretty sure his combine numbers were good too. 80th and 90th percentile in speed, agility and jumps. Bench wasn’t very good and a bit smallish.

As legacy with good attributes and production, it’s hard to envision why he wasn’t drafted.
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Jeffcoat won the Hendricks award as the nation's best defensive end and was co-Big 12 defensive player of the year. I remember watching the end of the 2014 draft. A Canadian o-lineman was drafted. It was all projects being selected. It still shocks me that no one had a need for the guy who won the award as the best DE. 

Played w a torn bicep
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26 minutes ago, Had Enough said:


Yep. Pretty sure his combine numbers were good too. 80th and 90th percentile in speed, agility and jumps. Bench wasn’t very good and a bit smallish.

As legacy with good attributes and production, it’s hard to envision why he wasn’t drafted.

He was not big. He just was not a very explosive athlete. He came in almost a finished product. Just never had that athletic upside that appeals to the NFL

Edited by Codaxx
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He was not big. He just was not a very explosive athlete. He came in almost a finished product. Just never had that athletic upside that appeals to the NFL

His 3 cone drill would have been the second best in the 2023 combine as a DE. The only guy better was smaller. His shuttle was more than a tenth faster than any 2023 combine DE result. Better than any 23 LB. Vertical and broad jump is favorable as compared to both DE and LB. His bench was poor. His 40 and split were pretty solid relative 2023 peers.

I’m sure he was maxed out, but we’re not talking 1st or 2nd round pick. He was a tweener too. Maybe a little gassy. He did check a lot of boxes to not get drafted.
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20 minutes ago, Had Enough said:


His 3 cone drill would have been the second best in the 2023 combine as a DE. The only guy better was smaller. His shuttle was more than a tenth faster than any 2023 combine DE result. Better than any 23 LB. Vertical and broad jump is favorable as compared to both DE and LB. His bench was poor. His 40 and split were pretty solid relative 2023 peers.

I’m sure he was maxed out, but we’re not talking 1st or 2nd round pick. He was a tweener too. Maybe a little gassy. He did check a lot of boxes to not get drafted.

 

He does not have the second best. He ran a 6.97  at 247 pounds(https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?i=20954). He is not even on the top performers page.. https://www.nfl.com/combine/tracker/top-performers/3-cone-drill/de/All/https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?i=20954

That was kind of the issue. Not big enough to be a 3 down DE, not Athletic enough to play at OLB. In the end it doesnt matter, he got a shot in the NFL, and he proved being undrafted was correct

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1935806-jackson-jeffcoat-scouting-report-nfl-outlook-for-texas-defensive-end

Negatives

  • Is thin in the lower half and not especially well-built throughout. 
  • Body type is stiff as a whole and he plays upright as a result. 
  • Chops his feet to change directions with a lack of balance and flexibility. 
  • Not an explosive mover, lack of acceleration from static positions. 
  • Tends to hop out of stances and even come off the ball a half-second late with some regularity. 
  • Often pops straight up coming off the ball, doesn’t initiate contact with low pads as a result. 
  • Struggles to bend around the corner as a speed rusher. 
  • Little variance in his pass rush moves. 
  • Doesn’t generate much power in rushes even if he strikes with his hands, too upright with nothing from the lower half. 
  • Can be rooted off the ball as a run defender if he doesn’t control with his hands, lack of strength generated from his lower body. 
  • Not a high impact defender pursuing ball carriers in the open field, lack of athleticism in space.

go.

 

Edited by Codaxx
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32 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?i=20938



https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?i=20954

Michael Sam should be the first link with Jeffcoat the 2nd. They aren’t even close in regards to measurables.

here is the RAS comparison, which isn't much of one at all. Jeffcoat was very good everywhere except height/weight.

image.png.e770e9b9ec2706638b70a7661283f569.png

 

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48 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

 

He does not have the second best. He ran a 6.97  at 247 pounds(https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?i=20954). He is not even on the top performers page.. https://www.nfl.com/combine/tracker/top-performers/3-cone-drill/de/All/https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?i=20954

That was kind of the issue. Not big enough to be a 3 down DE, not Athletic enough to play at OLB. In the end it doesnt matter, he got a shot in the NFL, and he proved being undrafted was correct

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1935806-jackson-jeffcoat-scouting-report-nfl-outlook-for-texas-defensive-end

Negatives

  • Is thin in the lower half and not especially well-built throughout. 
  • Body type is stiff as a whole and he plays upright as a result. 
  • Chops his feet to change directions with a lack of balance and flexibility. 
  • Not an explosive mover, lack of acceleration from static positions. 
  • Tends to hop out of stances and even come off the ball a half-second late with some regularity. 
  • Often pops straight up coming off the ball, doesn’t initiate contact with low pads as a result. 
  • Struggles to bend around the corner as a speed rusher. 
  • Little variance in his pass rush moves. 
  • Doesn’t generate much power in rushes even if he strikes with his hands, too upright with nothing from the lower half. 
  • Can be rooted off the ball as a run defender if he doesn’t control with his hands, lack of strength generated from his lower body. 
  • Not a high impact defender pursuing ball carriers in the open field, lack of athleticism in space.

go.

 

The OP said he would’ve had the second fastest 3 cone time at this year’s combine, which is correct. You looked at the top 3 cone performers of all time, not the 2023 class. And like NoName’s graph shows below his 3 cone was in the 94th percentile for DEs, so it was obviously very good. No idea why you’re trying to argue against objective metrics that are easy to prove. 

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41 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

The OP said he would’ve had the second fastest 3 cone time at this year’s combine, which is correct. You looked at the top 3 cone performers of all time, not the 2023 class. And like NoName’s graph shows below his 3 cone was in the 94th percentile for DEs, so it was obviously very good. No idea why you’re trying to argue against objective metrics that are easy to prove. 

I admit I looked up all-time, that is my bad. With 9 participants competing in the event this year, I would not call that a useful stat. The only top 10 Edge guy to run the event was Van Ness (at 275), so I would not say that was a high bar. So yes, he was top 2 this year. Is that meaningful? no. I stand by him lacking that explosive first step and bend. If people want to say he was an athletic freak as a tweener, that was not drafted, and performed poorly in the league.. good luck. I would argue classifying a 245 pound player as a strict NFL DE is tenuous at best. 

Edited by Codaxx
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1 hour ago, Codaxx said:

 

He does not have the second best. He ran a 6.97  at 247 pounds(https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?i=20954). He is not even on the top performers page.. https://www.nfl.com/combine/tracker/top-performers/3-cone-drill/de/All/https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?i=20954

That was kind of the issue. Not big enough to be a 3 down DE, not Athletic enough to play at OLB. In the end it doesnt matter, he got a shot in the NFL, and he proved being undrafted was correct

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1935806-jackson-jeffcoat-scouting-report-nfl-outlook-for-texas-defensive-end

Negatives

  • Is thin in the lower half and not especially well-built throughout. 
  • Body type is stiff as a whole and he plays upright as a result. 
  • Chops his feet to change directions with a lack of balance and flexibility. 
  • Not an explosive mover, lack of acceleration from static positions. 
  • Tends to hop out of stances and even come off the ball a half-second late with some regularity. 
  • Often pops straight up coming off the ball, doesn’t initiate contact with low pads as a result. 
  • Struggles to bend around the corner as a speed rusher. 
  • Little variance in his pass rush moves. 
  • Doesn’t generate much power in rushes even if he strikes with his hands, too upright with nothing from the lower half. 
  • Can be rooted off the ball as a run defender if he doesn’t control with his hands, lack of strength generated from his lower body. 
  • Not a high impact defender pursuing ball carriers in the open field, lack of athleticism in space.

go.

 

That same report said he should go in the 4th round. 

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21 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

That fat fuck Ari Wasserman teased a long piece on Andy Staples’ pod that he promised will take a giant shit on the Texas Program. It will focus on player development, and include the Herman and Strong years.

I mean... our program in general and player development in specific WERE a shitshow for the past fifteen years or so, so... hello captain obvious?

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6 hours ago, mr.goodkat said:

Nebraska hasn’t recruited as well as the Vols and Longhorns, but the three blue-blood programs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   when the fuck did tennessee become a blue blood?

Who the fuck still thinks Nebraska is a blue blood program?

Historically yes. Now, just so much corn row trash.

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1 hour ago, Codaxx said:

I admit I looked up all-time, that is my bad. With 9 participants competing in the event this year, I would not call that a useful stat. The only top 10 Edge guy to run the event was Van Ness (at 275), so I would not say that was a high bar. So yes, he was top 2 this year. Is that meaningful? no

Impressively, you still manage to be wrong after being corrected. He’s in the 94th percentile for 3 cone of all time for edges, so it’s not just in comparison to the 2023 class that his time is impressive. A 6.97 3 cone for an edge defender is absolutely meaningful. That’s a great time no matter what draft class he’s in and 3 cone is the most meaningful metric for edge rushers. If you can’t figure that out, then you don’t have anywhere near the requisite knowledge to talk about this. 

On top of that, you cited an eval that had him predicted as a 4th round pick as part of your reasoning why he wasn’t drafted. All people are saying is his production plus his testing deserved to be a draft pick, not that he should’ve gone high or would’ve been a great NFL player. The nuggets factor in why he wasn’t drafted was his injury history. If his injury history were better, he absolutely would’ve been drafted. 

Edited by Burt Macklin
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That same report said he should go in the 4th round. 

That report doesn’t seem to match his combine results. Then you see that RAS score even brings it home more that he did have some agility and had some theoretical explosiveness. His shuttle was his best RAS score.

Then you have 26 career sacks, 50 TFLs, 172 tackles. And his last year was his most productive at Texas. Who knows what he could if he could move, bend and learn another move. I think we’d all take that production right now.
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8 hours ago, mr.goodkat said:

Nebraska hasn’t recruited as well as the Vols and Longhorns, but the three blue-blood programs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   when the fuck did tennessee become a blue blood?

They got a transfusion from an octopus.  Crazy shit.

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1 hour ago, Burt Macklin said:

Impressively, you still manage to be wrong after being corrected. He’s in the 94th percentile for 3 cone of all time for edges, so it’s not just in comparison to the 2023 class that his time is impressive. A 6.97 3 cone for an edge defender is absolutely meaningful. That’s a great time no matter what draft class he’s in and 3 cone is the most meaningful metric for edge rushers. If you can’t figure that out, then you don’t have anywhere near the requisite knowledge to talk about this. 

On top of that, you cited an eval that had him predicted as a 4th round pick as part of your reasoning why he wasn’t drafted. All people are saying is his production plus his testing deserved to be a draft pick, not that he should’ve gone high or would’ve been a great NFL player. The nuggets factor in why he wasn’t drafted was his injury history. If his injury history were better, he absolutely would’ve been drafted. 

Don't be ridiculous, everyone knows it was the farts.

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The Alamo Bowl was a perfect Sark nightmare. 47 pass attempts. K. Robinson led the team with 8 carries. He could have flipped a coin and called a better game. 
 

Sark is pass happy AF and worse addicted to the deep (8) ball. He either gets over this or he’ll break an excellent roster over his knee. 
 

So if RoJo and Bijan aren’t available… uh why do we think he’ll his change his mind? Please prove me wrong. But I understand where the Sark doubts come from. 

Roster building, good. Play calling, bad. Not what we expected. 

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9 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

The Alamo Bowl was a perfect Sark nightmare. 47 pass attempts. K. Robinson led the team with 8 carries. He could have flipped a coin and called a better game. 
 

Sark is pass happy AF and worse addicted to the deep (8) ball. He either gets over this or he’ll break an excellent roster over his knee. 
 

So if RoJo and Bijan aren’t available… uh why do we think he’ll his change his mind? Please prove me wrong. But I understand where the Sark doubts come from. 

Roster building, good. Play calling, bad. Not what we expected. 

Maybe RB1 won't have a hernia?

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I mean I also think Ewers 66% completion that game gave us a better chance of winning than trying to workhorse a speed back or an injured Brooks. Could’ve limited the deep balls and not embarrassed Worthy on a national stage if we actually knew he was hurt though yea.

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4 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

Impressively, you still manage to be wrong after being corrected. He’s in the 94th percentile for 3 cone of all time for edges, so it’s not just in comparison to the 2023 class that his time is impressive. A 6.97 3 cone for an edge defender is absolutely meaningful. That’s a great time no matter what draft class he’s in and 3 cone is the most meaningful metric for edge rushers. If you can’t figure that out, then you don’t have anywhere near the requisite knowledge to talk about this. 

On top of that, you cited an eval that had him predicted as a 4th round pick as part of your reasoning why he wasn’t drafted. All people are saying is his production plus his testing deserved to be a draft pick, not that he should’ve gone high or would’ve been a great NFL player. The nuggets factor in why he wasn’t drafted was his injury history. If his injury history were better, he absolutely would’ve been drafted. 

I cited an evaluation that called him stiff and called out his lack of a first step, because it was the first thing I found. Reading is important. The discussion was about his athleticism as a pass rusher. I  assumed you would rely on calling a 245 NFL prospect a DE. That was the issue, he wasn’t big enough to play DE in the NFL or athletic enough to be an OLB. If you want to compare him to 270-290 pound guys that is cool. Apples to oranges, but each to their own.  Shocking a guy 25-35 pounds light shows good athleticism. You could compare him to similar body types,  6’3” 245 pound edge rushers (OLB in that time), and you will see names like Vonn Miller ( both 6’3” ~245 lb).  Let me know where he fits in that group. You have to be an elite pass rusher to survive as an undersized edge. Like I said the funny thing is people trying to claim the injustice of a guy that wasn’t drafted, that did nothing in the NFL. I can’t think of a more useless internet argument 

Edited by Codaxx
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1 hour ago, Hank_Hill said:

I mean I also think Ewers 66% completion that game gave us a better chance of winning than trying to workhorse a speed back or an injured Brooks. Could’ve limited the deep balls and not embarrassed Worthy on a national stage if we actually knew he was hurt though yea.

Yeah the injury to Brooks definitely changed the Texas offensive gameplan in the Alamo Bowl

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On 4/19/2023 at 11:39 PM, LTtxfan said:

Thx for above.

If it exists, can someone please post Scipio Tex's post mortem on the offense...

Copied from satyanash's post #606 in the spring game thread.

(Scipio Tex) 2023 Texas Spring Game Postmortem: Offense

 

Spoiler

I only got in my initial viewing, but I’m excited to write about football and I hope you’ll indulge me. My primary takeaway on both sides of the ball for is improved depth and more diverse playmaking options that will only improve with more practice reps and game experience.

That’s good news given the context of an offense missing multiple interior offensive linemen from the two deep (Cole Hutson, DJ Campbell, Connor Robertson), two running backs (Jonathon Brooks, Keilan Robinson) who will garner the lion’s share of early season opportunity, Isaiah Neyor (a significant unknown) and a few Fall enrollee freshmen that will help round out wide receiver and tight end depth. Let’s jump into it…

Quarterback

I was struck by Quinn Ewers’ improved ability to see and utilize the whole field in a variety of passing game concepts. He was extremely limited last year in what he could confidently execute and he has grown along with the options around him. He finished 16 of 23 for 195 yards with a touchdown. Ewers started slow on a off-rhythm first drive, throwing one ball hurriedly and unnecessarily off platform, but he settled in and made a nice variety of tosses, using the middle of the field in ways he hadn’t shown himself capable of last year.

He threw a good catchable ball to Worthy on a 46 yard deep fade, but my favorite throws were his routine 8-15 yard slants, RPOs and Mesh concepts that provide the base of any functioning college passing game. His naughtiest moment was trying to force a ball over the middle of the field late on a 3rd and 14, but that’s teachable. He looked composed and ready to run the base infrastructure passing offense and his play speed will pick up with more reps. I don’t like when he throws from his hip, but that’s probably because I can’t.

Perhaps fueled by the attention on the other athletes in the QB room, Maalik Murphy demonstrated what Sark saw in the California project. That performance means that he has the inside track going into the summer as the #2 QB. That’s terrific news. He’s a massive, strong athlete with velocity that helps make up for his inexperience in recognition. I think he was most comfortable in set piece offense where he knows his progressions and can cut the field in half. He dropped consecutive deep dimes attacking #39, walk-on cornerback Ja’Faar Johnson, one of them dropped by DeAndre Moore, the other housed by Johntay Cook for a 79 yard touchdown. That helped pad the stat line to an impressive 9 of 13 for 165 yards, but he also had some receiver drops and I liked him on his mundane throws. We can win games with Murphy at QB and he can still make a big leap with a healthy offseason.

I knew this was coming…

#Texas fan is starting to wonder if Arch Manning is a bust after his slow start in the spring game. pic.twitter.com/L4ACZa3T7Z

— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) April 15, 2023\\\\\\://twitter.com/BoardGeniuses/status/1647318142119444481?s=20

Arch had spotty protection and his receivers were blanketed downfield. Evaluating him beyond his self-evident traits has little value and not turning it over was his victory. Here are his snaps:

If you only want to talk about our 3rd string early enrollee freshman QB after we just saw our entire offense, you’re a hopeless media pawn and I’m probably going to yell at you.

Running Back

With Brooks and Robinson sidelined, Texas got in almost exactly equal amounts of work for Savion Red, Cedric Baxter and Jaydon Blue. Blue vs. Red was a close contest, but surprisingly Blue impressed me the most as he demonstrated a renewed willingness to run inside and a little physicality to go with his burst. Perhaps Tashard Choice let him know that if he bounced a run unnecessarily, he could bounce over to the bench. I liked him as a runner. As a receiver? His business decision pull-up on a bad Worthy end around throw was not an awesome display of competitive instinct, but I’ll put more weight on his lugging the loaf.

Cedric Baxter certainly looks the part and he’ll play his best ball 15-20 pounds heavier than he is now. I liked his willingness to eat it and not turn a bad play into a disaster when the holes weren’t apparent. Savion Red showed nice burst in the second half and there’s more meat left on the developmental bone at his new position, but his pass protection was abysmal.

Shout out to walk-on Ky Woods. His 35 yard catch and 21 yards rushing revealed legitimate burst. Probably not our goal line back, but a nice asset to have keeping the Horn defense sharp in practice. Jonathon Brooks didn’t play as a precautionary measure. Aside from being a talented runner, Brooks is the only running back on the roster that the coaches can call any play or protection they want when he’s in the game. That alone makes him RB1.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Quinn Ewers dropping DIMES at Texas’ spring game today 😳

The Longhorns QB will be eligible for next year’s NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/RT6vChRDNb

— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) April 15, 2023
 

Alternate title: Xavier Worthy properly tracks deep ball.

In our recent podcast, Gerry Hamilton remarked that he wanted to see our wide receivers make some plays for the QB, which we sorely missed last year. Astute comment. We saw some of that on Saturday, whether Xavier Worthy tracking a deep touch fade, AD Mitchell one-handing a touchdown snag, Jordan Whittington creating yards after the catch between the hashes, or young Johntay Cook running routes with uncommon polish and awareness for a freshman.

Texas has layers of receiving options and the wide distribution of the ball in the Spring Game likely portends what 2023’s offense will look like. Freshman DeAndre Moore had a hard start to the game, dropping a couple of easy balls, including an easy touchdown dime from Murphy, and he ate a big lick from Ryan Watts, but he kept plugging along and ended up catching 6 balls. Good resilience from the freshman.

AD Mitchell is exactly what I anticipated. Body control, catch radius and good feet will get you a lot of catches and red zone work. All three top guys showed facility in the intermediate game (Worthy on clean RPOs running inside isn’t coverable, AD Mitchell’s stop routes same) and that really helps to create space and a lot of damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t scenarios in a Big 12 where the coverages will often concede “executional throws” for fear of giving up a deep ball.

JT Sanders was a non-factor in the passing game as Texas tried to feed him early and then opted to give the wide outs a workout. Gunnar Helm had a few solid blocks and caught a ball. Worth noting that big senior walk-on #48 Patrick Bayouth (6-4, 278) got some snaps in two tight end and jumbo sets and did OK with his opportunities. Could just be a function of the roster splits or something to monitor.

Offensive Line

The freshmen had a baptism by fire at times, but given the missing pieces in the depth chart and a game plan that didn’t want to show too much in either the running or passing game, I thought the starting unit was fine. I didn’t see any matador style busts inside and penetration was limited against the 1s. Truthfully, most of their evaluation is match-up based and how the individual offensive lineman played was predicated on who was lined up across from them.

I see a path for a good unit, particularly as key pieces get healthy but it may take a minute for it to all cohere and click, particularly if they choose to chase some upside lineups that could include Cam Williams at guard. Big offseason for several guys in the weight room and on the chalk board.

Make 'em miss @Jaydonblue23! pic.twitter.com/vlb7qon61Z

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) April 15, 2023

Jaydon Blue gets praise for his burst on the 31 yard touchdown, but Christian Jones really has a nice block adjusting to eliminate a stunting linebacker and uses his body to cave in any backside pursuit. The coup de grace is Sanders walling off Ethan Burke, who turns his shoulders to the sideline and doesn’t squeeze the puller on the counter action. Jerrin Thompson’s bad steps behind it all are partly on him and partly on Burke’s lack of commitment.

Final

Depth is floor and Texas has it. Development of depth is ceiling. The Horns need to raise the ceiling over the next four and a half months and see what happens.

 

 

Edited by sith_horn
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i wasn't going into that, but no they are not - people need to consult the chart more often:
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blue bloods are Bama, OU, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC, Nebraska and Texas.
there is a large gap between those guy sand FSU/Florida/PSU/Georgia/LSU/Tennessee/Auburn/Miami.
 

CAn someone post this graph with data up to 2009?
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15 hours ago, Tired Horn said:

Who the fuck still thinks Nebraska is a blue blood program?

Historically yes. Now, just so much corn row trash.

...that's not how blue bloods work. you aren't one then not one. also if Nebraska isn't one, then that doesn't say a lot for Texas based on THE CHART.

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10 hours ago, Codaxx said:

I cited an evaluation that called him stiff and called out his lack of a first step, because it was the first thing I found. Reading is important. The discussion was about his athleticism as a pass rusher. I  assumed you would rely on calling a 245 NFL prospect a DE. That was the issue, he wasn’t big enough to play DE in the NFL or athletic enough to be an OLB. If you want to compare him to 270-290 pound guys that is cool. Apples to oranges, but each to their own.  Shocking a guy 25-35 pounds light shows good athleticism. You could compare him to similar body types,  6’3” 245 pound edge rushers (OLB in that time), and you will see names like Vonn Miller ( both 6’3” ~245 lb).  Let me know where he fits in that group. You have to be an elite pass rusher to survive as an undersized edge. Like I said the funny thing is people trying to claim the injustice of a guy that wasn’t drafted, that did nothing in the NFL. I can’t think of a more useless internet argument 

lulz now you’ve managed to be even more wrong than before. RAS takes into account height and weight as part of the score and dinged him for being small as a DE.  He was 89th percentile overall as a DE. If you put him in as a LB, which includes smaller ILBs, then he jumps up to 94th overall in testing numbers and 89th for 3 cone. So his 3 cone was still elite at either spot. 

 I realize you don’t have the ability to admit you’re wrong, but you were dead wrong about his 3 cone being meaningless or unimpressive no matter which way you slice it. Maybe stop digging the hole deeper. Either way I’m done reading your inane bullshit on this topic. 

 

 

7E96DDD1-AD02-4B0A-9535-33BFD9185AD7.jpeg

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