Jump to content

Spring Football starts today


Goo Punch

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, texasstrong12 said:

BJ Foster had 46 tackles, 9 TFL, 1 interception, and 2 forced fumbles as a true FR. If Foster can stay healthy I think he has a shot to win Big 12 DPOY next year. 

That’s not a bad pick. The more I think about it, the more I like Foster at Nickel. I think he could be similar to how the Packers used Charles Woodson (except Foster won’t be as good in coverage), but I could see Foster with a ton of tackles, TFLs, sacks, and forced fumbles if he gets to play that close to the line of scrimmage all year. As long as Orlando protects him enough in coverage, Foster could be a huge disruptive force for us all season.

Sterns also has a shot if he stays healthy and gets his interception total at like 8 or 9. 

Man, that 2018 recruiting class was so damn good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/19/2019 at 6:54 AM, Machinator said:

 

sorry, i'm a couple of days late to this parade.  this is a genius move by betonline.  release a bunch of inflated lines to get people on their site (where the lines are more modest and circled*).  this will get a lot of deposits and people will make bets on games that won't need to pay out for 7-8 months.

this isn't some official "vegas spread", this is a gambling website and a marketing play.

 

*games that are circled, for whatever reasons, like injuries or uncertainty at key positions, often have caps.  on betonline, the max bet on all these is $500 and cannot be put in parlays.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Sejjr said:

Does anything really need to be "most alarming" after 5 fucking days of spring practice? 247 is a huge collection of pussies.

A herniated disc is a herniated disc. It's not something that just goes away, it's cause for concern whether we're 5 days or five weeks into practice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, satyanash said:

A herniated disc is a herniated disc. It's not something that just goes away, it's cause for concern whether we're 5 days or five weeks into practice.

I bet you were furiously flicking your bean as you typed this out. 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Machinator said:

TFB reported it a while back.

Damn, well I guess he can RS while they try to figure out treatment on that. But that’s not good at all given his position and penchant for violence.

Edited by Nope
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Nope said:

Damn, well I guess he can RS while they try to figure out treatment on that. But that’s not good at all given his position and penchant for violence.


Pretty much every single person mentioned DGF & Coburn, because they are a concern.

Player health comes first. DGF has been a great recruiter for the program, especially for West Coast guys, so he's already contributed to our success. Let's just hope that he can contribute on the field as well.

And it would be nice for Coburn and for the team if Coburn's issue can be figured out as well. This doesn't seem to be a contact-related issue, but an unknown is no-bueno.


On a brighter note: [Knocking on wood] We're almost through with spring break and we haven't heard any bad news regarding players on vacation, so that's good. [Knocking on wood a second time for continued luck.]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Napoleon said:


On a brighter note: [Knocking on wood] We're almost through with spring break and we haven't heard any bad news regarding players on vacation, so that's good. [Knocking on wood a second time for continued luck.]

You jinxing motherfucking son of a bitch.

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

TFB on Floyd:

Quote

Floyd does not need surgery and is being held out of drills until he gets it evaluated further (which he is using Spring Break to do). He could be back as early as next week, or they could opt to be more precautious and hold him out for the rest of Spring.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: TFB on Floyd:-

"or they could opt to be more precautious and hold him out for the rest of Spring."

 

I wasn't an English major, but wouldn't they be opting to be more "cautious" or they are choosing to take "precautions" against risking further injury until they know more...?

I've never seen "precautious" before, but according to the google, the word does exist. Perhaps I need to read more literature.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

TFB on the offense: https://texas.thefootballbrainiacs.com/2019/03/open-post-weekend-march-22nd-24th/

Team Notebook | First Week of Spring Practices | Offense
– Will Baizer

QB
This is the first year in the program since 2014 where there is no quarterback competition for the Longhorns in Spring Practices. The coaches will never admit that the job is his, but Sam Ehlinger cemented himself as the starter with his performance last year.

Last year, it became fairly obvious after the Maryland game that the coaches tightened the reins on Sam and what types of passes he was allowed to attempt. It became a game of high percentage throws and “if you miss on the deep ball, you miss deep” types of throws. This, in turn, led to him having a surprising decrease in turnovers.

We saw that early on in his career his freshman year it was obvious that he didn’t know what he could get away with.  With the comfort he showed with the offense last season, the coaches are opening up the playbook for Sam and loosening the reins. This means that the coaches are going to let him show more of what he promised in high school, a gunslinger. This means more improvisation, which we saw Sam excel at late last season, and the coaches allowing him to attempt more daring throws within reason.

While his interception numbers may go up, it is likely that his number of touchdowns and big completions will also increase.

For the backups, your number two guy right now is Casey Thompson. Not much has changed with him since last year. He’s more accustomed to the college level and will probably look as good in this year’s Spring Game as he did last year.

Freshman Roschon Johnson is coming in and impressing people with his ability to carry 215 pounds without losing much of a step and his ability to get vocal. It’s early on, but I hear he looks good. He’s still a freshman, so mistakes are there.

RB
Keaontay Ingram is the starter. He put on some weight, is carrying it well, and got back to being healthy. He looks good to go. There isn’t much to say there.

The biggest question is Jordan Whittington. He’s got basically everything you need to be good at running back. He’s fast. Fast for the college level, and impressing coaches with his speed. He’s fluid, he finds holes, and he can catch the ball out of the backfield.

What coaches are waiting to see is more of him between the tackles. He’s shown an ability to get his pads low during practices, but consistency is key. Also understanding the multi-armed monster that is the inside-zone. Whittington is familiar with running as a wildcat. Getting him comfortable in the scheme is what is important.

WR
I would throw down Texas’ WR starters against any corps in the country. However, right now Collin Johnson is out for the Spring, Devin Duvernayis out with a pubic bone bruise, and John Burt is out for track and field. None of this is anything to worry about.

With those guys out that means there are a lot of reps to go around for the receivers.

Two guys really making the best use of these extra reps are Malcolm Epps and Brennan Eagles.

While Epps is a staff favorite and has some impressive hands, right now he can only be categorized as a deep threat. He is very good at the fade route and bodying guys for the ball, but the rest of his routes need polish. He’s a high-ceiling guy who with better route running could become a real contributor.

Brennan Eagles has been running with the Z-receivers, which may be a good indicator for next year. Right now, he’s behind Collin Johnson as an X. From what I’m seeing and hearing, he is understanding his body better at this level, and taking advantage of the extra reps he’s seeing. He’ll see the field more this season.

Josh Moore is back to the same guy who made the diving play against USC. To me, he’s Reggie Hemphill-Mapps with a better attitude. There may be two very good freshmen coming in with Jake Smith and Bru McCoy, but he’ll likely stick as the first string guy at that spot. He is legit.

Bru McCoy is the name that constantly comes out of the program. They almost show him off like he’s a trophy. While his set up is a bit odd and his running style is a little herky-jerky, it works. He is somehow able to maintain fluidity in his movements and guys bounce off of him. He’s also pretty legit and would likely share time with Josh Moore at slot. The biggest question for him is when he gets his waiver decision back. Right now, Texas is waiting on the NCAA to come down with more of the decisions, and from what I’m being told, the NCAA’s case is brittle against decent lawyers. And would you look at that…

People inside of Moncrief are optimistic.

TE
While it could be the extra twenty pounds on him, Cade Brewer seems to be hampered by that knee injury. Despite that, he’s still the obvious best tight end on the roster through the first week of Spring. The staff is very excited to have him back.

Another guy they’re excited about is Jared Wiley. He is taking to the college level better than expected. He’s grown into his frame quicker than expected and before the Spring is over could beat out Reese Leitao for the number two spot.

OL
The left side of the offensive line is set. Samuel Cosmi, Parker Braun, and Zach Shackelford. Cosmi and Shackelford have been having a pretty dominant week of practices. I’m not concerned there. In fact, the line may be better there next season than it was last season, which is encouraging.

It is the right side that is a question mark. It’s not a huge question mark, but a question mark nonetheless. It’s a question mark that will likely be solved by throwing bodies at the problem.

That’s exactly what Herb Hand has been doing. So far he’s been trying out different combinations of guys at this position to see what works best. Flipping Derek Kerstetter, Denzel Okafor, and Tope Imade around on the line with Christian Jones and maybe Junior Angilau pretty close to breaking into the first team.

If the season started tomorrow, Denzel Okafor would be the right tackle with Tope Imade as the right guard. I’m not very confident in Okafor, and it doesn’t seem like the staff is either. At this point, I would not be surprised if he is passed up on the depth chart before the season begins.

Texas could end up with a matrix system on that right side where you are consistently sending in different combinations to keep your right side fresh until you end up with a combination that is just vastly superior.

The thing I’m personally taking away from this is that Texas has some depth at the position. It isn’t astounding depth in terms of talent, but it’s much better than in 2017. Tom Herman reiterates that he wants seven or eight offensive linemen he feels can start. Texas may actually have nine by the time the season comes along.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IT team notes

TEAM

While most of the players and coaches scattered during Spring Break, the group as a whole had a great first week of practice and a little more information straggled in late. The team will return to Austin this weekend sunburned, smiling, and hopefully ready to smack each other for three consecutive weeks. The first day back is always a rude awakening.

Looking back to last Friday, the first day in pads, we heard the following:

- First day in pads was pretty ordinary, but a good base to build off of. The group was feisty and physical, and they ran a lot of team.

- Per someone in attendance, everyone looked like a better version of their 2018 self. This person gave a nod to the work Yancy McKnight does.

- One person who stood out in a crowded field of talented players was Joseph Ossai. He's a staff favorite who this person characterized as a "monster." Overall the defense was flying around.

- I asked about the defensive line. My thinking is it will be workmanlike and heard back it's strong at the point of attack with a lot of bodies. Everybody was getting reps on Friday but the front line is pretty much set with Graham-Wilbon-Roach. Coburn is coming on, though, and he'll play "starter's" snaps next year.

- The OL "did fine" which means the DL got the best of them, but that's to be expected. The 1st OL of Cosmi-Imade-Shackelford-Kerstetter-Okafor isn't likely your August line-up. I voiced a little surprise that they still had Okafor at tackle, "I know they know what they're doing personnel-wise so just have to trust them on that part." I do agree with that, but I'll be watching where Okafor is in a week. The OL was working fundamentals and base power, counter, and stretch plays. "Tyler Johnson looks the part." Ghirmai has a ton to learn at center. I think moving there caught him off guard.

- The best news from the day is McCulloch is looking good. We know he's slimmed up some, but the extra time he's put in on the mental side appears to be paying off. He wasn't out there thinking, he was playing fast. Let's hope to hear this continue. 

- Nothing new here, but even more people are commenting about Jared Wiley. He's turning heads.

- Ingram looked as quick as he did when at his best last year. Time healing has done him well. It was a small sample size for Whittington but he looks comfortable at running back. It's very likely that he'll get the second most carries next year rather than Young. That written, don't dismiss Young contributing meaningful snaps next year.

- A couple of schematic wrinkles we'll be monitoring for: there are whispers of more four-wide at WR this year, as well as four-man on the DL. At WR it makes sense at times, almost like changing tempo. They have a lot of talent at the position, particularly slot with Moore, McCoy, and Smith. On the potential of four-man fronts, it allows them to combat negative recruiting pitches. We heard they'd use this more last year and didn't so we'll see if this is more empty discussion or not. Ossai as a WDE with Roach moving to 3-tech would certainly work. Then the question is if you run nickel or dime behind it. Foster and Overshown (who isn't 100%) could certainly function as linebackers.

Expect next week to be very spirited with rested bodies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, Machinator said:

IT team notes

 

  Hide contents

 

TEAM

While most of the players and coaches scattered during Spring Break, the group as a whole had a great first week of practice and a little more information straggled in late. The team will return to Austin this weekend sunburned, smiling, and hopefully ready to smack each other for three consecutive weeks. The first day back is always a rude awakening.

Looking back to last Friday, the first day in pads, we heard the following:

- First day in pads was pretty ordinary, but a good base to build off of. The group was feisty and physical, and they ran a lot of team.

- Per someone in attendance, everyone looked like a better version of their 2018 self. This person gave a nod to the work Yancy McKnight does.

- One person who stood out in a crowded field of talented players was Joseph Ossai. He's a staff favorite who this person characterized as a "monster." Overall the defense was flying around.

- I asked about the defensive line. My thinking is it will be workmanlike and heard back it's strong at the point of attack with a lot of bodies. Everybody was getting reps on Friday but the front line is pretty much set with Graham-Wilbon-Roach. Coburn is coming on, though, and he'll play "starter's" snaps next year.

- The OL "did fine" which means the DL got the best of them, but that's to be expected. The 1st OL of Cosmi-Imade-Shackelford-Kerstetter-Okafor isn't likely your August line-up. I voiced a little surprise that they still had Okafor at tackle, "I know they know what they're doing personnel-wise so just have to trust them on that part." I do agree with that, but I'll be watching where Okafor is in a week. The OL was working fundamentals and base power, counter, and stretch plays. "Tyler Johnson looks the part." Ghirmai has a ton to learn at center. I think moving there caught him off guard.

- The best news from the day is McCulloch is looking good. We know he's slimmed up some, but the extra time he's put in on the mental side appears to be paying off. He wasn't out there thinking, he was playing fast. Let's hope to hear this continue. 

- Nothing new here, but even more people are commenting about Jared Wiley. He's turning heads.

- Ingram looked as quick as he did when at his best last year. Time healing has done him well. It was a small sample size for Whittington but he looks comfortable at running back. It's very likely that he'll get the second most carries next year rather than Young. That written, don't dismiss Young contributing meaningful snaps next year.

- A couple of schematic wrinkles we'll be monitoring for: there are whispers of more four-wide at WR this year, as well as four-man on the DL. At WR it makes sense at times, almost like changing tempo. They have a lot of talent at the position, particularly slot with Moore, McCoy, and Smith. On the potential of four-man fronts, it allows them to combat negative recruiting pitches. We heard they'd use this more last year and didn't so we'll see if this is more empty discussion or not. Ossai as a WDE with Roach moving to 3-tech would certainly work. Then the question is if you run nickel or dime behind it. Foster and Overshown (who isn't 100%) could certainly function as linebackers.

Expect next week to be very spirited with rested bodies.

 

The schematic wrinkles mentioned make sense. Ossai is big enough to play WDE in a 4 man, but mobile enough to also line up at B-backer. I could care less where he lines up. It's clear Ossai is one of our best 11 and he'll be on the field all the time. Orlando wants to have a B-backer. It's the best version of his defense and he killed it with Bowser at UH, but he just hasn't had that guy at UT until now. Whether you count Ossai as a DL or LB, I expect that we'll only play one ILB very often once we hit conference play (La Tech and LSU will be misleading becuase we'll play a little heavier early due to their schemes). Whether that guy is McCulloch, Johnson, Floyd, or someone else, we don't have the talent or speed at LB to play 2 ILBs plus Ossai, so I expect our standard in-conference defense will be 3 down linemen with Ossai on the Edge, one ILB, plus 6 DBs with Overshown at Joker (hopefully) and Foster at Nickel.  That personnel grouping could function in a 4-3 alignment almost as easily as it could a true dime alignment.  If Overshown turns out to be the guy we think he could be, it would be liking having 2 BJ Foster from last year on the field. Orlando could kill it with that talent and versatility. He could disguise coverage and be the aggressor, forcing offenses to adjust to him, instead of the other way around. 

On offense, I hope we play more 4 WR. We have too much talent there to not get it on the field. CJ is a stud. I think the combo of SR Duvernay and Eagles will be significantly more productive than Duvernay was last year, and we're unbelievably stacked at slot. I think both Moore and McCoy are going to be guys you just have to get on the field. Moore looked extremely explosive coming off his cuts in some of the offseason videos. He looked unguardable. He can be a rich man's RHM from 2 years ago. Reliable, sits in zones, but he's much more explosive than RHM and he'll get more YAC.  McCoy is just a beast you have to play, and with Brewer struggling at TE, the talent gap between those two is too large for Herman to afford to be stubborn and stick to his favored 11 personnel. Although stubbornness is a Herman calling card and he did line up Garret fucking Gray at TE in the first game he coached at Texas, so the 4 wide v. 11 personnel alignment will be something to watch this offseason.

 

Edited by Burt Macklin
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh man, that first Maryland game. Not only did we have Gray at TE (and seemingly wanted to make him the focal point of the offense), we also had Tristan Nickelson at OT, Kyle Porter at RB, and, god bless him, Buechele at QB. That was only about a year and a half ago but seems like 10 years. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Oh man, that first Maryland game. Not only did we have Gray at TE (and seemingly wanted to make him the focal point of the offense), we also had Tristan Nickelson at OT, Kyle Porter at RB, and, god bless him, Buechele at QB. That was only about a year and a half ago but seems like 10 years. 

Yep. Herman has really flipped the roster. Getting GTs and JUCOs like Anderson, Watson, and GJ along with hitting it big at QB and LT in the low-rated 2017 class was absolutely huge. We would've had some of the same roster holes that killed us in 2017 last year if not for those moves.

And a lot of it is due to that 2018 class. Not only did Herman ink one of the best classes in the country on paper, but it looks like his evals were elite. Our hit rate for that class is already extremely high. Sterns, Foster, Moore, Ingram, Ossai, and Cook already look like at least all-conference players and there's a ton more guys that will pop in 2019.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

Wait. You weren't being sarcastic? Holy shit.

I was being tongue in cheek but I think he has the perfect build to play on the outside. If he can play MLB as a freshman obviously that will be tremendous value - but I wonder at what position his actual ceiling is. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

And a lot of it is due to that 2018 class. Not only did Herman ink one of the best classes in the country on paper, but it looks like his evals were elite. Our hit rate for that class is already extremely high. Sterns, Foster, Moore, Ingram, Ossai, and Cook already look like at least all-conference players and there's a ton more guys that will pop in 2019.

And just as important was redshirting the entire OL/DL.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Napoleon said:

Re: TFB on Floyd:-

"or they could opt to be more precautious and hold him out for the rest of Spring."

 

I wasn't an English major, but wouldn't they be opting to be more "cautious" or they are choosing to take "precautions" against risking further injury until they know more...?

I've never seen "precautious" before, but according to the google, the word does exist. Perhaps I need to read more literature.

Percaushuns dang it,, don't you ever take percaushuns?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...