OnAComputer

pretty much everyone who watched both of those teams knows 2008 was a better team. The 2009 team did more but lost a number of key players from 2008 on both sides of the ball. However, this year's secondary may make up for losing the DTs and we are able to use the portal to bandaid losing guys. Still, it seems like last year's team felt more complete earlier at every position (aside from safety). This probably also has something to do with my personal beliefs that WR, OL, and DL are - if not the - some of the most important positions in CFB. I'm thinking Gbenda and Hill can step into Ford's spot, but you never know what you have until it is gone.

Is it doomer if I feel like this year's team to last year's team will be like 2009's team to 2008's team?

Less worried. Sark has been loading up on DL since he got here. I think they realized what was going to happen when Ojomo and Coburn left and then a year later it'd be Sweat/Murphy. Honestly, if you think about these numbers they make sense from a sense of "What do I need right now." You can see the swing in # of recruits as an indicator of where the staff is worried/focused. What's interesting is that OL recruiting slowed down this year after being on pace to take an entire new OL every class. Probably because they are feeling more comfortable with the talent they have on the OL. He's also been taking roughly 7 more guys per class he's had the ability to play around with who they take. That's led to him upping the number of DE's, WR's, and DB's. Seems they realize there is a problem there and are throwing mud against the wall to see if anything can stick. Another thing that is interesting and slightly worrisome is the lack of LB's. I think they are comfortable with Ant, but if he goes down, then Texas could find themselves in a ton of trouble due to depth. It probably points to Texas feeling comfortable with a contributor returning to the program after this year. That's the next iteration of this

Gonna go ahead and post my own tweet here because I think it's neat

Hayes Fawcett edits are always trash. I have yet to see a good one.

I'll take this seriously. While I don't think it messes up the season in a way that is reminiscent of 2020 or even 2021, I do think it affects the season due to it still being highly contagious and have the ability to knock anybody on their ass for a couple of days. Also, it has shown the fun ability to exacerbate and thus expose congenital health issues. So I think while it doesn't shut down a full team due to regulations around the disease, I do think there is the possibility for a team or unit to be hit hard by it due to it running through a position room because of how contagious it is. Like a stomach bug that saps strength for a week or two or beyond.

???

It's funny. I found I like a lot of guys who went elsewhere and disliked a few who went to Texas. I won't say who I disliked. This is way off-topic, but some of my favorite players I've covered as just people (that others will recognize) have been: - Bijan Robinson (obviously. One of the only 5-stars I met who did not big time anybody and was legit genuine) - DeMarvion Overshown (dude is funny) - Jordan Whittington - Caden Sterns - Austin Stogner (was very down to earth and funny) - Beaux Limmer (Arkansas OL) - Leon O'Neal Jr (y'all won't like this, but if he was a Longhorn, he'd have been beloved here) - Max Wright (as a recruit. I guess he did not do well in college?) - Calvin Avery - Taye Barber - Dax Hill (he and his family are gems) - Owen Pappoe - De'Gabriel Floyd - Bryce Foster and Hayden Conner (it feels weird, but I was introduced to them when they were in 8th grade by the Katy football coach). Both of these dudes were goofy and fun. There are definitely a few more I've forgotten, but there are quite a few dudes on OU and A&M who I really liked. I personally found guys who are down-to-earth, funny, and joke about themselves to be one's I enjoyed getting to know. Settled me down when I would flip the switch to fan mode. Anyways... Fuck the aggies

was unaware of this. My bad. carry on

Max Wright was one of my favorite recruits I ever covered. Don't know why you'd call him a buffoon. He's a great dude.

Fuck. This season is a wash.

Yeah. Can you imagine traveling somewhere for work, and it ends up being fucking pointless. That is the hype of relief.

I stay true to 35Dimes 😤

Does it matter?

Straight cash homies

ok... But seriously... Where the fuck was Gavin?

His dad works for ND. He's going to ND

I, for one, think it is a great podcast, but they need to post more regularly.

Fuck the mullet haters

I actually did the average players per cycle. Before Sark was about 24 and Sark is at about 26. Again, the numbers are a bit skewed (22 before and 29 with Sark per cycle in the tweet) because I added Worthy and the 6 transfers from 2021 as they were his. So per class he's working with maybe 2-3 players more which he is dedicating to the lines.

Sark has taken full advantage of the portal during his time here. Also I added Worthy and the 6 transfers from 2021 as they were his. So the numbers look a little skewed due to his short time here

Again, you have to know the biases of the author and adjust your reading to fit them. BWG still knows a lot more than probably most fans and is a fun read. Knowing he liked the upside Shaka provided in theory vs Beard is important in understanding his analysis. Regardless, I hope you're right about the ceiling, @longhornmatt. As Brian pointed out, I think it is a bit higher this year due to some more consistency in the program, but the lack of an outside threat and inside threat I think severely hamper the team on paper. I could be proven wrong during the season with somebody having a breakout season, but I'm not gonna bank on a breakout season. The concern about Hunter is not what Hunter can do, it is what those around him can do. The point is that there is not a proven shooter on the perimeter for Hunter to distribute to. So you are relying on Hunter doing it all himself of somebody like Sir'Jabari Rice, Marcus Carr, or Arterio Morris to be uncharacteristically good from 3. Otherwise, the defenses Texas will face have a clear game plan for him and this offense. Cut off access to the hoop to stop layups/mid-range and force the team to try to jack up 3's.

I agree that BWG was very pessimistic here for a team that will likely win 18-20 games. I think it is in the name "Bitter," and when you are reading a writer you have to understand their relative ratio of optimism to pessimism and standardize it from there. Once you do that you can still get a good read balanced amongst other views. They did upgrade in athleticism. I understand his hesitancy in potential for growth because of Beards track record with transfers. Lastly, he's spot on with this analysis on 3pt shooting and rim protection. This offense is banking of Hunter both stepping up as a 3pt shooter and being a creator. He needs to be either or. You can't really be both (unless you are an elite player). Also the lack of rim defender last season hurt, and Texas did not address it again. I think my problem with Texas this year and last year is fairly assessed by BWG. Texas is banking on being very good in the mid-game and being very efficient on offense and defense. Chris Beard does this by controlling everything he possibly can in the game (i.e. limiting possession, determining what happens on a possession, and focusing on turnover ratio). 1.) that's slow boring basketball and 2.) it lowers the ceiling of the team by not allowing you to let players play and beat a better team based on things the coach cannot control BUT 3.) it raises the floor of the team tremendously so you don't lose to teams you shouldn't which is something Shaka had trouble with. It's a give and take. It almost feels like Jimbo Fisher type situation this season. However, he doesn't go over the positives I think Texas has in seniority, a year under a system, and more tests early in the season. I think Texas will be a decent team. I think they'll likely win a game in the tourney. I think they'll likely be the 3-5th best team in the Big 12. I think their ceiling is very low because there are a lot of holes on this team and players who will be asked to do things that are not really in their skill sets to do.