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2019 Texas Longhorns fall practice thread

Machinator

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Eggo
Eggo

Nice of Herman to invite Kyler Murray to come to practice. 

Tex Pete
Tex Pete

Deez nuts!

Huckleberry
Huckleberry

Holy fucking shit after this weekend we have Longhorn football games on 12 of the next 14 weekends.

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Chili dog

Chili dog 1787

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12 hours ago, closetojumping said:

If it balances things out in the opposite direction, I’m in Costa Rica with a smoking hot wife and 4 asshole kids fucking around in the Pacific Ocean. I feel like you are now indebted, even if you didn’t ask for it. I can’t do shit about this stanco rube though. He’s been a bag of poo for years. 

Somewhere, we have a mutual friend named Even Stephen. 

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BigHorn'13

BigHorn'13 3387

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45 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

This was posted on spurstalk.

OrangeBloods reporting RB Keaontay Ingram is back at practice and taking first team reps.

I'll await this board's decision on whether or not Ingram practicing is a good thing...but still accuse people of being pussies one way or the other. 

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Junior Miller

Junior Miller 1502

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OU most overrated team by far. Lost almost their entire offensive line, defense has been trash for years, and their grad transfer QB luck (because they can't properly evaluate/ recruit their own anymore) will run out this year when they start a QB who couldn't get it done at a program with the best OL, best receivers, best RBs, and best defense in the country around him. Their QB, in a big time spread passing offense, couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. 

4 or 5 loss season. 

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Burt Macklin

Burt Macklin 19060

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1 hour ago, Junior Miller said:

OU most overrated team by far. Lost almost their entire offensive line, defense has been trash for years, and their grad transfer QB luck (because they can't properly evaluate/ recruit their own anymore) will run out this year when they start a QB who couldn't get it done at a program with the best OL, best receivers, best RBs, and best defense in the country around him. Their QB, in a big time spread passing offense, couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. 

4 or 5 loss season. 

I’m sure this post will age well. 

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sushihorn

sushihorn 3233

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1 hour ago, Junior Miller said:

OU most overrated team by far. Lost almost their entire offensive line, defense has been trash for years, and their grad transfer QB luck (because they can't properly evaluate/ recruit their own anymore) will run out this year when they start a QB who couldn't get it done at a program with the best OL, best receivers, best RBs, and best defense in the country around him. Their QB, in a big time spread passing offense, couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. 

4 or 5 loss season. 

Hurts doesn't have the agility that made both Mayfield and Murray hard to corral.  He partly makes up for that with size and good straight line speed.  He's not as accurate as either of those guys but he's still reasonably accurate.  Hurts will do a decent to good job running Riley's offense.  My main questions center around his ability to master the decision making without the RS year that Mayfiled had or the RS plus backup year that Murray did.

OU's pass defense should be better if nothing else because they are going to a 1-gap penetrating scheme that makes it easier to transition from run defense to pass rush.  OTOH Grinch has shown me repeatedly that his schemes are often not gap sound.  The Sooner run D could get worse as a result.

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gmr548

gmr548 16617

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4 hours ago, Junior Miller said:

OU most overrated team by far. Lost almost their entire offensive line, defense has been trash for years, and their grad transfer QB luck (because they can't properly evaluate/ recruit their own anymore) will run out this year when they start a QB who couldn't get it done at a program with the best OL, best receivers, best RBs, and best defense in the country around him. Their QB, in a big time spread passing offense, couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. 

4 or 5 loss season. 

Please pass the kool aid, you got that good shit.

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ztejas

ztejas 43682

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11 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Tamarindo. Caught some mahi yesterday, did some Chili Gauro shots. Beach, pool, beach. Tough to beat given that it’s basically 3 hours from Houston. 

Robert, have you ever been down to the gulf when the Bonito run?

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Bevo

Bevo 13622

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LA Tech football depth chart projections ahead of 2019 opener at Texas

https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sports/college/louisiana-tech/2019/08/23/louisiana-tech-football-depth-chart-projections/2098111001/

Cory Diaz, Monroe News Star Published 2:32 p.m. CT Aug. 23, 2019 | Updated 4:27 p.m. CT Aug. 23, 2019

 

RUSTON — Game week is upon Louisiana Tech, which’ll begin preparations for its season opener versus No. 10 Texas Saturday morning after the team conducts a closed scrimmage Friday.

The next media availability for Tech head coach Skip Holtz and a few players will be Tuesday for the first weekly press conference of the year and the first official depth chart will be provided.

With the kickoff to the 2019 season right around seven days away, here are projections on what the Bulldogs’ two-deep at each position could look like:

 

OFFENSE

QB: J’Mar Smith, redshirt senior; Westin Elliott, redshirt junior; Aaron Allen, redshirt freshman

Smith enters his third season as Louisiana Tech’s starter and with offensive coordinator Todd Fitch taking over as his position coach, more is to be expected from the quarterback who already has 27 career starts and has thrown for 6,546 yards, 33 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

RB: Israel Tucker, redshirt junior; Justin Henderson, redshirt junior AND Jaqwis Dancy, redshirt senior

Tucker, who started five games a year ago, is primed to take the first snap against Texas. But expect to see plenty of Henderson and Dancy, when healthy, this season as the position will be a by-committee approach.

X-receiver: Adrian Hardy, redshirt junior; Praise Okorie, redshirt sophomore AND Malik Stanley redshirt senior

Hardy looks to follow up his breakout 2018 season, where he caught a team-high 75 passes for a career high 1,145 yards and six touchdowns.

H-receiver: Cee Jay Powell, redshirt junior; Davon “Smoke” Harris, redshirt freshman

Powell appears set to take over Teddy Veal’s former spot in the receiving corps and get his first amount of significant playing time in his career. In two seasons, the 5-7, 163-pound slot receiver has 22 catches for 138 yards.

A-receiver: Griffin Hebert, redshirt sophomore; Joshua Matthews, redshirt sophomore

Hebert put in impressive work on his body over the offseason, filling out with more muscle and he’s followed that up with a solid fall camp.

Z-receiver: Isaiah Graham, redshirt junior; George Scott III, junior

Graham, a TCU transfer, has had one of most impressive camps of any players on Tech’s roster and looks primed to be a major difference maker in the passing game.

Y-receiver: Bobby Holly, redshirt senior; Jacob Adams, redshirt sophomore

Whenever Louisiana Tech projects to start with an offensive formation that’ll include the Y position, Holly will be there. The Farmerville native started three games last season and two of his four total receptions went for touchdowns.

RT: Gewhite Stallworth, redshirt senior; Antawn Lewis, junior

Stallworth has been taking the majority of the first-team snaps in practice, leading to believe he’ll get the start at Texas. The big, 6-8, 322-pound tackle has started three games in his career.

RG: Ethan Reed, redshirt senior; Joshua Mote, redshirt sophomore Reed, an All-Conference USA honorable mention lineman last year, has started every game the last three seasons for the Bulldogs. Mote adds valuable depth at the position with four starts under his belt.

Kody Russey, redshirt junior; Abraham Delfin, redshirt sophomore Russey returns to once again anchor Tech’s offensive line in the middle, starting 26 straight games.

LG: Drew Kirkpatrick, redshirt senior; Carter Habich, sophomore

After redshirting in 2017, Kirkpatrick emerged as the starting left guard as 2018 progressed, playing in 11 total games.

LT: Willie Allen, redshirt junior; Biron Rossell, redshirt freshman

Allen, an LSU transfer, seems to have tapped into the potential coaches saw in him when they recruited him two years ago out of Tyler (Texas) Community College. If he gets the nod next weekend, his first FBS collegiate start will come against Texas.

DEFENSE

DE: Ka’Derrion Mason, senior; La’Dante Davenport, redshirt senior

Mason earned two starts a season ago and had six his sophomore campaign. For his career, the 6-4, 291-pound end has 40 tackles with one sack.

NG: Courtney Wallace, redshirt senior; D.J. Jackson, redshirt freshman OR Keivie Rose, freshman

Wallace looks to get his first start of his Tech career against Texas. He’s played in 22 games and has 13 tackles, including three tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks.

DE: Milton Williams, redshirt sophomore; Steven Shaw, redshirt freshman

Williams (6-4, 262) has garnered a lot of praise from coaches since the spring and he’s parlayed his solid play into an expected starting role on the defensive line. He saw action in seven games last season.

OLB: Willie Baker, redshirt junior; Tristan Allen, redshirt sophomore

Baker switched positions from end to outside linebacker in defensive coordinator Bob Diaco’s 3-4 scheme. His pass rush skill set will still be utilized, highlighted by four sacks coming in the Hawaii Bowl last year, but he’ll handle come coverage duties as well.

MLB: Connor Taylor, senior; Randy Hogan, redshirt senior OR Trey Baldwin, redshirt junior

The former JUCO National Defensive Player of the Year looks to be more effective this season for the Bulldogs. Taylor ended 2018 with 30 stops.

MLB: Collin Scott, redshirt senior; Alex Zayed, redshirt junior

Scott led the team in tackles last season with 87. The senior linebacker is poised to have another solid season along with handling the defensive calls.

S: James Jackson, redshirt senior; Ezekiel Barnett, redshirt junior

Jackson started every game a season ago, finishing second on the team in tackles with 74, including 8.5 TFLs and had one interception.

S: Darryl Lewis, redshirt senior; Bee Jay Williamson, redshirt freshman

Lewis has collected 130 career stops and six picks in 40 total appearances, including 26 straight starts. He’s one of the veteran leaders on backend of Tech’s defense.

S: L’Jarius Sneed, senior; Jaiden Cole, redshirt sophomore

In the spring, Sneed moved from cornerback to safety and it’s paid dividends for Louisiana Tech’s defense. His three interceptions last year was good enough for second-best on the defense to go along with his 59 total tackles.

CB: Amik Robertson, junior; Zach Hannibal, redshirt junior

Unquestionably the most notable star for the Bulldogs, Robertson enters his third season starting at corner. He paced Tech with four picks, has nine total in two seasons, and for his career, has 123 total stops.

CB: Michael Sam, redshirt senior; Aaron Roberson, redshirt senior

Sam has battled some injuries during his career, but Holtz called him the “most pleasant surprise” this spring after he moved from safety to corner. Sam has pieced together a great fall camp and looks to more talent to an already deep Bulldog secondary.

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK: Bailey Hale, redshirt senior; Brady Farlow, redshirt junior

Hale transferred to Tech from Eastern New Mexico before 2018 and ultimately earned the starting place kicking job. He had a 68 percent field goal rate in his first year, making 15-of-22 with a long of 46.

P: Brady Farlow, redshirt junior; Jacob Barnes, freshman

Behind Davan Dyer last season, Farlow punted five times for 179 yards for a 35.8-yard average.

PR: Davon “Smoke” Harris, redshirt freshman OR Cee Jay Powell, redshirt junior

The two combined for three punt returns in 2018.

KR: Davon “Smoke” Harris, redshirt freshman OR Praise Okorie, redshirt sophomore OR Justin Henderson, redshirt junior

Okorie and Harris piled up a combined 247 yards on 13 kickoff returns last year. Expect those two to be in the mix to field the opening kickoff for Louisiana Tech at Texas next weekend.

Edited by Bevo
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texifornia

texifornia 57204

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13 minutes ago, GotThatFire said:

 Ton of upperclassmen.

Yeah, based on the BC Thinking Texas Football preview, they'll be a good veteran outfit for our young guys to test themselves against.

Happily, their QB is experienced but kinda shitty, so all things working out, we should just be able to score over 20 points and get some fun INTs.

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Machinator

Machinator 32099

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57 minutes ago, sith_horn said:

Anyone have this?

  Reveal hidden contents

Inside the Game Plan

 

Here you go.

Fall camp is wrapping up a lot of the questions and position battles for the 2019 Longhorns. There are a few pieces falling into place that were predictable, such as the offensive orienting to make the senior tandem of Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay the main focus of the passing game. Or Todd Orlando working out how to get B.J. Foster and DeMarvion Overshown on the field by moving Foster to nickel then utilizing the dime package.

There’s also the largely expected but still positive developments of Sam Ehlinger, Collin Johnson, Jeffrey McCulloch, Malcolm Roach, and Keaontay Ingram all taking advantage of the offseason to grow into even better versions of themselves.

But here are some of the unresolved questions about the team, particularly in regards to how they plan to execute Tom Herman’s main goal of controlling games in the trenches.

Manning the middle on defense, how will Texas fare in run D?

There are two concerns at play here. The first is who is going to replace the 177 tackles, 25 TFL, and 10.5 sacks produced in 2018 by starting linebackers Anthony Wheeler and Gary Johnson. Obviously Jeff McCulloch is in line to try and replicate a lot of what they did but who’s playing next to him?

The other concern is in regards to run defense in general and whether this crew will be able to avoid incidents like the 2018 West Virginia game where the unit surrendered 232 rushing yards on 33 carries and allowed Will Grier to saunter into the end zone on a two point conversion for the win. Then there’s the question of whether they can avoid those types of games while playing more dime and less nickel.

Let’s start by noting how the Texas defense is designed and what needs to be accomplished up front for it to work effectively. There are four interior gaps between the five OL and potentially one extra if the offense uses a TE. Then there are the two gaps just outside of the tackles on the edge. The “tite” front (4-0-4) that Texas uses on the majority of their snaps is designed to account for the four interior gaps with the two DEs, NT, and one of the LBs.The edges are defended by the other LB and one of the DBs. The DB that draws that assignment changes from play to play based on the coverage call.

In one regard, Texas is actually in better shape when it comes to stopping inside runs in 2019 than they were in 2018. While Charles Omenihu was good in 2018 and Breckyn Hager perhaps more effective than his developing reputation suggests, both were pass-rushers first that were harnessed into solid run-stoppers in the 4i-technique over time. Chris Nelson was a natural run plugger but he was better suited to a four-down system in which he could squat and anchor in a gap rather than taking advantage of the disruptive opportunities afforded by the “lagging” 0-tech nose in Texas’ tite front that Poona Ford had capitalized on.

With big, technical Ta’Quon Graham at one DE spot and highly energetic and bouncy Malcolm Roach at the other, then the explosive sophomore tandem of Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo at the nose, Texas could conceivably see upgrades in run D at all three spots.

Next you have LB, where you need a pair of players that can reliably play the “A-gap to C-gap” assignment in the midst of the violence and movement that takes place down in the trenches. For this duty McCulloch will fill one spot and the other could go to a few different figures with Joseph Ossai and Ayodele Adeoye standing out currently as the most likely with Overshown and Foster also looming as players that could take that role on.

Finally there’s the DBs that will be called upon to help on the edges, here Texas will be drawing on DeMarvion Overshown, B.J. Foster, and the cornerbacks and safeties. Things figure to go well here as most everyone in question has already demonstrated aptitude for playing like a Tampa 2 corner.

It all comes down to that second inside-backer spot next to McCulloch. It’s possible that Overshown may be a part of the solution from his Joker position. If you go back to the 2017 Texas bowl against Missouri, here’s how Texas often lined up in their 3-2-6 package when the Tigers played with a TE:

image.png

Because they had four safeties on the field (counting the nickel) they could play a lot of calls but one of their favorites was to walk the joker down to play as a 9-technique. They had 6-3/220 pound senior Jason Hall as the joker and he was a natural playing on the edge off the TE due to his own size. So in effect, Hall was a hybrid cross between a safety and a 3-4 outside linebacker.

If Texas’ dime keeps McCulloch and Ossai on the field at linebacker it wouldn’t make a ton of sense to use Overshown in the manner they used Hall because they already have a stellar OLB on the field in Ossai. So instead, they may be training Overshown to be a hybrid cross between a safety and a 3-4 inside linebacker.

image.png

The hang-up here is that they couldn’t drop into this every snap if they also wanted to move Overshown anywhere else in other calls, so this would only be one tool in the kit. Ossai would still need to learn how to play rover ILB at times while Overshown dropped into deeper coverage or played over a slot. Turning both Overshown and Ossai into hybrids could be tricky but if they can both be passable as ILBs that would afford Orlando the chance to bring a lot multiplicity and disguise without allowing teams to target either.

There’s another solution that no one will be particularly enamored with unless we see it and it proves superior. That would be for Texas to play Dele full-time if he’s the only one out of those three (Dele, Overshown, and Ossai) who can reliably play as an ILB. In that event, Texas would have to choose from play to play or week to week whether to play nickel with Ossai at B-backer and Overshown on the bench or dime with Overshown at joker and Ossai on the bench.

On the bright side, Texas has worked out how to get all of their freak athletes on the field at the same time in their third down “cowboy package” which looks something like this:

image.png

 

Stern is the wolf, Foster the bullet, Overshown the joker, and Roach is "swamp thing. 29 is Josh Thompson, 23 Jeff McCulloch, 46 Joe Ossai, 19 Brandon Jones, 15 Chris Brown.

 

With one DL, two LBs, and eight DBs on the field that’ll be a brutal package to face on passing downs.

Foster is a brilliant blitzer and it doesn’t sound like Overshown is terrible at it either. In this set they both get to stack behind Malcolm Roach, who’s probably one of the best slanting/stunting DL that Orlando has ever coached. The possibility for getting one of those three running free through an A or B gap is pretty high and that’s before you add in the effect of having McCulloch and Ossai on the edges and six other DBs locking up the receivers. I can think of maybe a dozen different two-deep blitzes Texas could run from this look off the top of my head and I bet Orlando could think of two dozen more without much effort.

So long as Texas can work out the best way to hold steady at ILB, even if it means that Overshown and Ossai turn into a platoon with neither having a full-time impact while Dele logs heavy snaps, the Cowboy package is going to be there to clean things up. Expect Texas’ 3rd down defense to get back on form this coming season.

 

Winning the trenches in the run game

The Texas run game figures to change some in 2019. Last year the main play was “tight zone,” in which Andrew Beck would help block the DE or edge player. It was a downhill scheme with the RB taking a downhill path towards the playside A-gap before cutting back or bouncing back strong if defenses overloaded the cutback lane. In 2018 Texas ran that play 160 times for 703 yards at 4.4 ypc with six TDs. That made tight zone responsible for 32% of Texas’ run game calls and 29% of the yardage.

Cade Brewer isn’t Andrew Beck, he’s not as effective a blocker and he’s a more effective receiver, so the tight zone play may not have the same emphasis as a year ago. Instead Texas is likely to run more of a play I labelled last year as “spread zone” which works pretty differently on the backside.

image.png

 

In spread zone, the backside tackle turns in the opposite direction that the rest of the OL is blocking towards and he blocks the DE or edge player without help from the TE. Then the QB reads the linebacker behind him for whether he covers the TE (or whoever the innermost slot receiver is, in this case the H Devin Duvernay) and either hands off or throws based on the linebacker’s movement.

Zone will certainly continue to be a factor and tight zone probably isn’t going anywhere, especially considering the makeup of the prospective 2019 OL. With Sam Cosmi and Parker Braun paired up on the left side Texas has a tandem that could potentially be their best run blocking duo since Lyle Sendlein and Kasey Studdard. Cosmi was one of Texas’ better run blockers in 2018 and Braun wasn’t a two-time All-ACC selection for his pass protection.

Three plays that figure to be a big part of the rushing attack in 2019 are inside zone, outside zone, and GT counter. Inside zone is the foundation of the Texas offense and even if the main iteration evolves away from tight zone (and it may not) the fundamentals of inside zone will remain the starting point for the offense. On that play Cosmi and Braun will occasionally work in tandem to drive DL off the ball, at other times Braun will work more with Zach Shackleford to get under a DT’s pads and take him for a ride.

The outside zone or “stretch” play was typically utilized for the QB stretch play in particular and only occasionally for the RBs in 2018. Texas didn't run it very effectively behind Calvin Anderson, who struggled to maintain the edge against stronger DL, but that won’t likely be a problem with a starting tackle tandem of Cosmi and then Denzel Okafor. You can see Okafor blocking that scheme as the LT here:

giphy.gif

 

At 6-3ish and 310 with a 7' wingspan, Okafor is quick and low to the ground so he can beat DL to spots, get his hands under their pads, and whip them on schemes like outside zone. Braun and Cosmi also shine in this style of blocking and it even includes an easier task for the TE. Rather than taking on a DE and trying to control him, he gets to help the tackle secure the edge. Don't be shocked if Texas runs more outside zone plays for the RBs than we've seen in previous seasons.

Finally there’s GT counter, which may see an uptick in utilization in 2019. Last year they ran it 24 times for 120 yards at five ypc. Then they showed it at a much higher rate in the spring game. Parker Braun was pulled on gap schemes very regularly at Georgia Tech and showed a great knack for it while Cosmi was an effective puller on GT counter and tackle-lead plays for Texas in 2019. Running GT counter to the right side figures to be a big part of the offense and a potential solution for teams that want to employ zone-stoppers.

One of the favorite fronts for defending “tight zone” plays these days is called the “G” front, which essentially combines elements of the classic four-down “Over” and “Under” fronts to create a zone-busting scheme. The G front parks the nose tackle opposite the RB but also moves him into a “G” 2i-technique across from the guard rather than the typical 1-technique alignment shaded to the center. Here’s the G-front against Texas’ tight zone play:

image.png

The hammer is Ehlinger, and the tower is Collin Johnson.

There are three problem areas for the Longhorns here. One is the TE successfully blocking the DE, he doesn’t need to dominate the DL for the play to work but he can’t be dominated either. DEs are often explosive athletes so the bar for acceptable play here can be higher than you might guess. The next problem is picking up the middle linebacker. If that player if fast flowing through the A-gap it’s going to be hard even for a player like Braun to consistently get off the double team to pick him up in time to open a crease, especially if the 3-technique is good.

Finally there’s the angle trying to block the weakside linebacker in the A-gap. Because the nose is parked across from the guard rather than the nose it's an awkward angle for the center to climb up and connect with the weakside LB before he’s filling the B-gap. Back when the nose was across from the center the guard could have just given him a good shove and then had a good angle on the LB but when the nose is in his chest? Doesn’t work out so well. The center is more likely to get freed up to come off the double team and his angle on the LB is poor.

But here’s how GT counter looks against the G front:

image.png

When running to the right in particular, with Braun and Cosmi pulling, this play is kryptonite for that same G front look. The nose becomes a speed bump for the Derek Kerstetter/Denzel Okafor double team while the DE and WLB have to come out ahead in their battles with pulling Braun and Cosmi to disrupt the play.

The GT counter play could live up to its name for Texas in 2019 and give them a scheme that can discourage opponents from trying to employ zone-busting tactics. What’s more, with every additional scheme Texas can credibly threaten opponents with in the run game that leaves fewer options for the pass defense.

Herman and his staff are going to prioritize winning in the trenches. The advantages to be had in being Texas on the recruiting trail and having a strength staff led by Yancy McKnight are often going to show up most prominently in the trenches where the Longhorns can usually expect to have the biggest, strongest players on the field. They’re still putting it all together but the picture of how they’ll aim to accomplish that objective in 2019 is starting to come into focus.

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caliHORNia

caliHORNia 44

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11 hours ago, GotThatFire said:

 Ton of upperclassmen.

That got my attention too.  QB is RS Senior with 3 years starting experience.   

Our young secondary will take some lumps in this game if our DL give this guy time.

BTW - I like the idea of us making mistakes in this game provided we win.  I want LSU to be as over confident as possible because I know we're going to show up for that one.

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Bobby_Batronic

Bobby_Batronic 1994

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4 minutes ago, caliHORNia said:

That got my attention too.  QB is RS Senior with 3 years starting experience.   

Our young secondary will take some lumps in this game if our DL give this guy time.

BTW - I like the idea of us making mistakes in this game provided we win.  I want LSU to be as over confident as possible because I know we're going to show up for that one.

He’s mildly terrible, and his game against LSU has to be taken in with his performances against other opponents. Miss St made him look terribad, and I think two others, maybe UAB and UTEP, held his passing well down. 

Basically, he could light up the secondary, but it’s going to have to be one of those act of God, everything is going wrong games that happen once or twice a year to every team. 

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caliHORNia

caliHORNia 44

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8 minutes ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

He’s mildly terrible, and his game against LSU has to be taken in with his performances against other opponents. Miss St made him look terribad, and I think two others, maybe UAB and UTEP, held his passing well down. 

Basically, he could light up the secondary, but it’s going to have to be one of those act of God, everything is going wrong games that happen once or twice a year to every team. 

Good.  I know nothing about him.  Glad to hear.

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hookem48

hookem48 4704

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18 hours ago, Junior Miller said:

OU most overrated team by far. Lost almost their entire offensive line, defense has been trash for years, and their grad transfer QB luck (because they can't properly evaluate/ recruit their own anymore) will run out this year when they start a QB who couldn't get it done at a program with the best OL, best receivers, best RBs, and best defense in the country around him. Their QB, in a big time spread passing offense, couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. 

4 or 5 loss season. 

It's fucking OU, they'll replace the 4 olineman they lost with 4 more future NFLers, it's what those fuckers do.

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Elmer_Fudd

Elmer_Fudd 22339

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23 minutes ago, caliHORNia said:

That got my attention too.  QB is RS Senior with 3 years starting experience.   

Our young secondary will take some lumps in this game if our DL give this guy time.

BTW - I like the idea of us making mistakes in this game provided we win.  I want LSU to be as over confident as possible because I know we're going to show up for that one.

Adrian Hardy will also be a good test for whoever is covering him.  

They lost every starter on the DL last year so we "should" be able to run right at them most the might without showing much.

As noted, the QB threw for over 300 yards on LSU, but had some duds over the course of the season.  209 vs South Alabama, 109 vs UAB, 156 vs UTEP, and less than 100 vs Miss. State.

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jdhorn92

jdhorn92 1560

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1 hour ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

He’s mildly terrible, and his game against LSU has to be taken in with his performances against other opponents. Miss St made him look terribad, and I think two others, maybe UAB and UTEP, held his passing well down. 

Basically, he could light up the secondary, but it’s going to have to be one of those act of God, everything is going wrong games that happen once or twice a year to every team. 

Keep in mind Miss St defense last year was incredible, leading the nation in fewest TD's allowed....so looking bad against them is no indictment, they had several guys drafted off that unit.

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UDontKnow

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17 hours ago, sushihorn said:

Hurts doesn't have the agility that made both Mayfield and Murray hard to corral.  He partly makes up for that with size and good straight line speed.  He's not as accurate as either of those guys but he's still reasonably accurate.  Hurts will do a decent to good job running Riley's offense.  My main questions center around his ability to master the decision making without the RS year that Mayfiled had or the RS plus backup year that Murray did.

OU's pass defense should be better if nothing else because they are going to a 1-gap penetrating scheme that makes it easier to transition from run defense to pass rush.  OTOH Grinch has shown me repeatedly that his schemes are often not gap sound.  The Sooner run D could get worse as a result.

So what you're saying is to count on a heavy dose of Sam running in Dallas.

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Bobby_Batronic

Bobby_Batronic 1994

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29 minutes ago, jdhorn92 said:

Keep in mind Miss St defense last year was incredible, leading the nation in fewest TD's allowed....so looking bad against them is no indictment, they had several guys drafted off that unit.

They were quite good. How good were UTEP and UAB’s defense? I would say his day against LSU balances with that against MSU  not so much with the other two teams  

 

 

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sith_horn

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2 hours ago, Machinator said:

Here you go.

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Fall camp is wrapping up a lot of the questions and position battles for the 2019 Longhorns. There are a few pieces falling into place that were predictable, such as the offensive orienting to make the senior tandem of Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay the main focus of the passing game. Or Todd Orlando working out how to get B.J. Foster and DeMarvion Overshown on the field by moving Foster to nickel then utilizing the dime package.

There’s also the largely expected but still positive developments of Sam Ehlinger, Collin Johnson, Jeffrey McCulloch, Malcolm Roach, and Keaontay Ingram all taking advantage of the offseason to grow into even better versions of themselves.

But here are some of the unresolved questions about the team, particularly in regards to how they plan to execute Tom Herman’s main goal of controlling games in the trenches.

Manning the middle on defense, how will Texas fare in run D?

There are two concerns at play here. The first is who is going to replace the 177 tackles, 25 TFL, and 10.5 sacks produced in 2018 by starting linebackers Anthony Wheeler and Gary Johnson. Obviously Jeff McCulloch is in line to try and replicate a lot of what they did but who’s playing next to him?

The other concern is in regards to run defense in general and whether this crew will be able to avoid incidents like the 2018 West Virginia game where the unit surrendered 232 rushing yards on 33 carries and allowed Will Grier to saunter into the end zone on a two point conversion for the win. Then there’s the question of whether they can avoid those types of games while playing more dime and less nickel.

Let’s start by noting how the Texas defense is designed and what needs to be accomplished up front for it to work effectively. There are four interior gaps between the five OL and potentially one extra if the offense uses a TE. Then there are the two gaps just outside of the tackles on the edge. The “tite” front (4-0-4) that Texas uses on the majority of their snaps is designed to account for the four interior gaps with the two DEs, NT, and one of the LBs.The edges are defended by the other LB and one of the DBs. The DB that draws that assignment changes from play to play based on the coverage call.

In one regard, Texas is actually in better shape when it comes to stopping inside runs in 2019 than they were in 2018. While Charles Omenihu was good in 2018 and Breckyn Hager perhaps more effective than his developing reputation suggests, both were pass-rushers first that were harnessed into solid run-stoppers in the 4i-technique over time. Chris Nelson was a natural run plugger but he was better suited to a four-down system in which he could squat and anchor in a gap rather than taking advantage of the disruptive opportunities afforded by the “lagging” 0-tech nose in Texas’ tite front that Poona Ford had capitalized on.

With big, technical Ta’Quon Graham at one DE spot and highly energetic and bouncy Malcolm Roach at the other, then the explosive sophomore tandem of Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo at the nose, Texas could conceivably see upgrades in run D at all three spots.

Next you have LB, where you need a pair of players that can reliably play the “A-gap to C-gap” assignment in the midst of the violence and movement that takes place down in the trenches. For this duty McCulloch will fill one spot and the other could go to a few different figures with Joseph Ossai and Ayodele Adeoye standing out currently as the most likely with Overshown and Foster also looming as players that could take that role on.

Finally there’s the DBs that will be called upon to help on the edges, here Texas will be drawing on DeMarvion Overshown, B.J. Foster, and the cornerbacks and safeties. Things figure to go well here as most everyone in question has already demonstrated aptitude for playing like a Tampa 2 corner.

It all comes down to that second inside-backer spot next to McCulloch. It’s possible that Overshown may be a part of the solution from his Joker position. If you go back to the 2017 Texas bowl against Missouri, here’s how Texas often lined up in their 3-2-6 package when the Tigers played with a TE:

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Because they had four safeties on the field (counting the nickel) they could play a lot of calls but one of their favorites was to walk the joker down to play as a 9-technique. They had 6-3/220 pound senior Jason Hall as the joker and he was a natural playing on the edge off the TE due to his own size. So in effect, Hall was a hybrid cross between a safety and a 3-4 outside linebacker.

If Texas’ dime keeps McCulloch and Ossai on the field at linebacker it wouldn’t make a ton of sense to use Overshown in the manner they used Hall because they already have a stellar OLB on the field in Ossai. So instead, they may be training Overshown to be a hybrid cross between a safety and a 3-4 inside linebacker.

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The hang-up here is that they couldn’t drop into this every snap if they also wanted to move Overshown anywhere else in other calls, so this would only be one tool in the kit. Ossai would still need to learn how to play rover ILB at times while Overshown dropped into deeper coverage or played over a slot. Turning both Overshown and Ossai into hybrids could be tricky but if they can both be passable as ILBs that would afford Orlando the chance to bring a lot multiplicity and disguise without allowing teams to target either.

There’s another solution that no one will be particularly enamored with unless we see it and it proves superior. That would be for Texas to play Dele full-time if he’s the only one out of those three (Dele, Overshown, and Ossai) who can reliably play as an ILB. In that event, Texas would have to choose from play to play or week to week whether to play nickel with Ossai at B-backer and Overshown on the bench or dime with Overshown at joker and Ossai on the bench.

On the bright side, Texas has worked out how to get all of their freak athletes on the field at the same time in their third down “cowboy package” which looks something like this:

image.png

 

Stern is the wolf, Foster the bullet, Overshown the joker, and Roach is "swamp thing. 29 is Josh Thompson, 23 Jeff McCulloch, 46 Joe Ossai, 19 Brandon Jones, 15 Chris Brown.

 

With one DL, two LBs, and eight DBs on the field that’ll be a brutal package to face on passing downs.

Foster is a brilliant blitzer and it doesn’t sound like Overshown is terrible at it either. In this set they both get to stack behind Malcolm Roach, who’s probably one of the best slanting/stunting DL that Orlando has ever coached. The possibility for getting one of those three running free through an A or B gap is pretty high and that’s before you add in the effect of having McCulloch and Ossai on the edges and six other DBs locking up the receivers. I can think of maybe a dozen different two-deep blitzes Texas could run from this look off the top of my head and I bet Orlando could think of two dozen more without much effort.

So long as Texas can work out the best way to hold steady at ILB, even if it means that Overshown and Ossai turn into a platoon with neither having a full-time impact while Dele logs heavy snaps, the Cowboy package is going to be there to clean things up. Expect Texas’ 3rd down defense to get back on form this coming season.

 

Winning the trenches in the run game

The Texas run game figures to change some in 2019. Last year the main play was “tight zone,” in which Andrew Beck would help block the DE or edge player. It was a downhill scheme with the RB taking a downhill path towards the playside A-gap before cutting back or bouncing back strong if defenses overloaded the cutback lane. In 2018 Texas ran that play 160 times for 703 yards at 4.4 ypc with six TDs. That made tight zone responsible for 32% of Texas’ run game calls and 29% of the yardage.

Cade Brewer isn’t Andrew Beck, he’s not as effective a blocker and he’s a more effective receiver, so the tight zone play may not have the same emphasis as a year ago. Instead Texas is likely to run more of a play I labelled last year as “spread zone” which works pretty differently on the backside.

image.png

 

In spread zone, the backside tackle turns in the opposite direction that the rest of the OL is blocking towards and he blocks the DE or edge player without help from the TE. Then the QB reads the linebacker behind him for whether he covers the TE (or whoever the innermost slot receiver is, in this case the H Devin Duvernay) and either hands off or throws based on the linebacker’s movement.

Zone will certainly continue to be a factor and tight zone probably isn’t going anywhere, especially considering the makeup of the prospective 2019 OL. With Sam Cosmi and Parker Braun paired up on the left side Texas has a tandem that could potentially be their best run blocking duo since Lyle Sendlein and Kasey Studdard. Cosmi was one of Texas’ better run blockers in 2018 and Braun wasn’t a two-time All-ACC selection for his pass protection.

Three plays that figure to be a big part of the rushing attack in 2019 are inside zone, outside zone, and GT counter. Inside zone is the foundation of the Texas offense and even if the main iteration evolves away from tight zone (and it may not) the fundamentals of inside zone will remain the starting point for the offense. On that play Cosmi and Braun will occasionally work in tandem to drive DL off the ball, at other times Braun will work more with Zach Shackleford to get under a DT’s pads and take him for a ride.

The outside zone or “stretch” play was typically utilized for the QB stretch play in particular and only occasionally for the RBs in 2018. Texas didn't run it very effectively behind Calvin Anderson, who struggled to maintain the edge against stronger DL, but that won’t likely be a problem with a starting tackle tandem of Cosmi and then Denzel Okafor. You can see Okafor blocking that scheme as the LT here:

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At 6-3ish and 310 with a 7' wingspan, Okafor is quick and low to the ground so he can beat DL to spots, get his hands under their pads, and whip them on schemes like outside zone. Braun and Cosmi also shine in this style of blocking and it even includes an easier task for the TE. Rather than taking on a DE and trying to control him, he gets to help the tackle secure the edge. Don't be shocked if Texas runs more outside zone plays for the RBs than we've seen in previous seasons.

Finally there’s GT counter, which may see an uptick in utilization in 2019. Last year they ran it 24 times for 120 yards at five ypc. Then they showed it at a much higher rate in the spring game. Parker Braun was pulled on gap schemes very regularly at Georgia Tech and showed a great knack for it while Cosmi was an effective puller on GT counter and tackle-lead plays for Texas in 2019. Running GT counter to the right side figures to be a big part of the offense and a potential solution for teams that want to employ zone-stoppers.

One of the favorite fronts for defending “tight zone” plays these days is called the “G” front, which essentially combines elements of the classic four-down “Over” and “Under” fronts to create a zone-busting scheme. The G front parks the nose tackle opposite the RB but also moves him into a “G” 2i-technique across from the guard rather than the typical 1-technique alignment shaded to the center. Here’s the G-front against Texas’ tight zone play:

image.png

The hammer is Ehlinger, and the tower is Collin Johnson.

There are three problem areas for the Longhorns here. One is the TE successfully blocking the DE, he doesn’t need to dominate the DL for the play to work but he can’t be dominated either. DEs are often explosive athletes so the bar for acceptable play here can be higher than you might guess. The next problem is picking up the middle linebacker. If that player if fast flowing through the A-gap it’s going to be hard even for a player like Braun to consistently get off the double team to pick him up in time to open a crease, especially if the 3-technique is good.

Finally there’s the angle trying to block the weakside linebacker in the A-gap. Because the nose is parked across from the guard rather than the nose it's an awkward angle for the center to climb up and connect with the weakside LB before he’s filling the B-gap. Back when the nose was across from the center the guard could have just given him a good shove and then had a good angle on the LB but when the nose is in his chest? Doesn’t work out so well. The center is more likely to get freed up to come off the double team and his angle on the LB is poor.

But here’s how GT counter looks against the G front:

image.png

When running to the right in particular, with Braun and Cosmi pulling, this play is kryptonite for that same G front look. The nose becomes a speed bump for the Derek Kerstetter/Denzel Okafor double team while the DE and WLB have to come out ahead in their battles with pulling Braun and Cosmi to disrupt the play.

The GT counter play could live up to its name for Texas in 2019 and give them a scheme that can discourage opponents from trying to employ zone-busting tactics. What’s more, with every additional scheme Texas can credibly threaten opponents with in the run game that leaves fewer options for the pass defense.

Herman and his staff are going to prioritize winning in the trenches. The advantages to be had in being Texas on the recruiting trail and having a strength staff led by Yancy McKnight are often going to show up most prominently in the trenches where the Longhorns can usually expect to have the biggest, strongest players on the field. They’re still putting it all together but the picture of how they’ll aim to accomplish that objective in 2019 is starting to come into focus.

 

Dare I ask for another?

Spoiler

Inside the Game Plan: Breaking through the wall on offense

 

 

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Machinator

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4 minutes ago, sith_horn said:

Dare I ask for another?

  Reveal hidden contents

Inside the Game Plan: Breaking through the wall on offense

 

 

Tom Herman has had strong relationships with his quarterbacks in the past but his partnership with Sam Ehlinger could be one of the most meaningful yet. After two years working with Ehlinger as a spot or full-time starter, Herman and his junior QB have been through some fires while attempting to rebuild the Texas football program and put together the first elite offense in Austin since Colt McCoy was on the 40 Acres.

“We respect the heck out of each other, I would want that guy in my foxhole, any day of the week, whatever cliche you want to use, you know? In a bar fight, whatever it is, I want that guy by my side in times of adversity. We do butt heads at times, but I think that’s a testament to how much I trust him and how much I believe in his maturity level that we can quite literally argue on the headset during the game then we’re hugging after the game.”
-Tom Herman

Now the Longhorns are looking at an enormously consequential 2019 season in which they’ll be taking center stage with a schedule that matches them up against championship contender LSU and then features a wide open Big 12 Conference. On top of that, Sam Ehlinger chose to announce that Texas was “back” after their 28-21 upset victory over Georgia, heaping extra attention on the upcoming year. The Longhorns always have plenty of bullseyes on them, but the pressure on this season is greater. If Texas can’t put something special together in year three with Herman and Ehlinger under these favorable circumstances, they’ll face an increasingly uphill climb to seize control of the Big 12 and regional recruiting in coming seasons..

Fortunately for Herman and the Longhorns, while the roster is stocked largely with young, up and coming talent on offense and defense, they’ll have an upperclassman Ehlinger to help put it all together. Tom Herman and his staff have a vision for the signal caller’s third year in which he distributes the ball to a unit that can isolate and overpower opponents with their skill talent on normal downs before taking over to put them over the top in situational football. If it all comes together like it should, the Longhorns will field their most effective offense of the decade, perhaps even the century.

Joining the RPO spread revolution

One of the big questions for every spread offense is how they’re going to run the football on a nickel front. If the defense is in a two-high quarters concept with a sturdy front six that knows how to play your favorite run concepts, can you force the issue somehow and still generate chain-moving gains on the ground?

On the chalkboard you have five OL for blocking all but one of those six defenders, but how do you stop the sixth from making a tackle near the line of scrimmage? There are three popular options, one is to deploy a FB/TE like Texas likes to do with their “Y-back” TE player, who offers a sixth blocker. Another is to leave a defender unblocked and have the QB read him on the option to determine whether to keep the ball or hand off to the RB. Finally there’s the RPO...

“I think the appeal of the RPO is that instead of what I grew up learning, spread zone-read that was a run-run option, right, which obviously exposes your quarterback a little more when he did keep the football, where now it’s a run-pass option. So if the defense does something to make you pull the ball out of the running back’s belly it’s not the quarterback running with it anymore it’s the quarterback throwing it. And it’s a way to get more yards because those yards are a little more down the field…”
-Tom Herman

Texas ran some RPOs in 2018, but they were mostly limited to bubble screens, swing passes to the RBs or TE, and the occasional hitch to Collin Johnson or Devin Duvernay. Texas could account for all six nickel defenders with Andrew Beck blocking a DE or LB and then they could control the nickel back with a quick bubble screen or an Ehlinger keeper. If the safeties got nosy they’d dial up a play-action toss to Collin Johnson.

In 2019 Texas may not have a TE that they want to play as much as Beck played but they can explore other options anyways with Ehlinger now entering his junior year. In particular, vertical pass options on run plays that push the ball down the field and force off ball defenders to hang back rather than playing the run. A great RPO attack can force off ball defenders to play hesitantly against the run even when they see the OL coming downhill on inside zone or GT counter, or else risk getting taken apart. For instance…

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The 2018 Alabama Crimson Tide made RPOs the main thrust of their offense with Tua Tagovailoa returning after his championship performance against Georgia and shredded defenses like Oklahoma’s that tried to crash hard to stop the run only to yield throwing lanes for slants and glance routes. Now a similar embrace of RPOs is in the works for Texas for 2019.

Ian Boyd:
Sam, coach has been talking about the increased role of RPOs in the offense next year, that puts a lot more on your shoulders, how’s that been going? What is that looking like for you guys so far in the offseason?

Sam Ehlinger:
It’s been awesome. I love it because it’s going to be hard for teams to try and take away the run without adding guys in because of how physical and athletic we are going to be up front and the skill we’re gonna have at the running back position, without having guys that are running 4.5s cutting behind them. We saw that a lot in the spring, I really enjoyed it, I think there’s a lot of teams around the country that do it really well…

Ian Boyd:
Like your friend Tua...

Sam Ehlinger:
(nodding)…yeah, man, Tua is really, really good at it. And it’s a little bit different, now instead of reading the backside we’re reading the frontside or maybe we’re reading both sides. It’s just more of a full field type deal and it really puts defenses in a bind.

What we’re talking about here is Texas having multiple pre and post snap options in the offense for Ehlinger to take based both on how defenses are aligned and how they respond to pre and post snap movement. Those could include the fade ball to Collin Johnson, quick slants to the slot receivers, and all sorts of adjustments that can allow Ehlinger to turn any given play into an opportunity to land a knockout punch throwing to a “4.5 guy cutting behind” LBs.

Ehlinger noted his growth in executing this style of offense over the offseason,

“One of the bigger things for me is understanding defenses and understanding what really hurts them, now that I have a great grasp on our offense and what college football is like [now] really transitioning into understanding pre-snap what defenses are in, what to expect post snap. And once I can really grasp that we’ll always be in the right play offensively and we’ll always have a chance.”
-Sam Ehlinger

Here’s one of dozens of possible examples of how that could look from the offense with a flexed out TE or good blocking slot and then a burner like Jordan Whittington, Josh Moore, or Jake Smith at the H.

image.png

Texas can quick motion the H to the perimeter before the snap so that Ehlinger can key the middle linebacker. If he stays in the box and doesn’t chase the H, it’s a simple pitch on the swing pass and the strong safety has to be able to come down and make an open field tackle or else the nickel or corner needs to beat a block. With guys like Whittington or Smith as the target this is an easy recipe for picking up chunk yards.
image.png

If the middle linebacker chases the H then the typical means by which modern defenses like to replace him in the box is to drop a safety down to join the run fit, so the free safety becomes the post-snap key. If Ehlinger sees him dropping into the box or drifting to the middle of the field so that the strong safety can drop down, he can pull the ball from the RB and throw the fade (or another route) to Collin Johnson who’s now matched up 1-on-1 vs a cornerback.
image.png

If both read-key defenders hang back to maintain a conservative pass defense, then they’re allowing Keaontay Ingram and Texas’ five OL to go up against five defenders in the box. That’s the true objective and the means by which Texas can look to protect their star QB, isolate their improving OL on a league not known for having size and depth up front on defense, and loosing their talented young RBs into space.
image.png

Clemson ran their offense this way in 2018 and star RB Travis Etienne turned 204 carries into 1658 yards at 8.1 ypc. Using these schemes to prevent safeties and even linebackers from closing quickly on Keaontay Ingram and the RBs could be a shockingly effective way to turn a steady rushing attack into an explosive one.

There are other benefits as well, which Herman noted when explaining the thought process behind ramping up their RPO game for the 2019 season...

“...we made it a priority to try and take some of those hits off of Sam, I think in an ideal world, obviously Sam is going to scramble right? So you can’t avoid that. There’s going to be times when he’s pressured on a pass play and he’s going to scramble but then there’s going to be times when we call his number on fourth and one, but if we can eliminate the times that he’s actually keeping it on a read scheme then that’s 2-5 tackles a game that we’re taking off his body.”
-Tom Herman

Ehlinger will still be lowering his shoulder into opponents at times, it’s hard to see that changing, but every tackle you eliminate decreases the chances of an injury like the one against Baylor when he strained his shoulder cutting upfield into a linebacker on a zone-read play.

Mastering this kind of RPO offense requires quite a bit from the QB. He needs to understand how defenses like to match up to Texas’ various run schemes, where they send help and how, and how the pass options manipulate the defense. Then he needs to be ready to throw accurate balls to spots with lightning footwork because the OL isn’t in a pass protection set aiming to buy him time and the officials will also throw a flag if they get more than three yards down the field before the ball comes out.

But Ehlinger performed well in the RPO game in 2018 and should be ready to wield a fuller arsenal of option schemes for 2019 after an offseason of emphasis.

Situational domination

If Texas can hit the pass options consistently then defenses will have to take their chances against the OL and running game while hoping to limit explosive plays so they can make their stand on third down or in the red zone. The last time Texas went all-in on this approach to offensive football was the 2016 season, with Sterlin Gilbert coaching the “veer and shoot” offense and asking Shane Buechele to throw quick pass options to receivers in extra wide splits to keep the alley clear for D’Onta Foreman.

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With an OL that had some run blocking strength (though it was inferior to the prospective 2019 Texas unit) the Longhorns opened up the alleys for D’Onta Foreman to turn 323 carries into 2028 yards in 11 games. He picked up 6.3 ypc and 15 TDs on the season and was basically the only strong suit for that entire team. But while Foreman was dominant that season, Texas didn’t play terribly effective offense overall because they struggled with situational football.

The “18-wheeler” short-yardage package for Tyrone Swoopes was initially highly effective but limited in scope and the coaches started to move away from it later in the year as they felt the building pressure for their jobs and began to focus even more on Foreman. The passing down package was nearly hopeless due to weak protection, Buechele’s lack of pocket presence, and an undeveloped WR corps.

The 2019 Longhorns are very different and are coming off a season in which their standard down offense was steady but decidedly non-explosive but their short-yardage and third and long execution were well above average. The Sam Ehlinger Texas offense has the potential to be lethal in the sorts of situations where even Alabama found difficulties. The red zone...

Ian Boyd:
Some people may see the carries he gets, and maybe the yards per carry aren’t always high cause he’s in short yardage, but how huge is it for your offense that you can run RPOs or whatever between the 20s but when you get into those tough yardage (scenarios) like that Alabama struggled to get against Clemson with their RPO game, that Ehlinger can finish plays?

Tom Herman:
Yeah, him running the football is never going to leave our offense (chuckling) um, he’s too good at it and he’s too tough. But you’re right, I do think that as the field condenses in the red zone that you need some different answers other than RPOs and that’s where then maybe your read game comes in, your called quarterback runs, although again we’d like to think that we’re good enough up front to get some movement and get four yards with our tailbacks inside the red zone even.

The issue in the red zone for RPOs is that everything turns into man coverage as space becomes more limited and the safeties pack in tighter. The quick pass options aren't open and the more vertical throws face a lot of arms and traffic so you can’t use pass options to create space for the run game. The offense has to be able to force the issue, beating tight man coverage or running through set defenders.

One dimension that made the 2018 Texas offense extra deadly in short-yardage/red zone situations was that they could get into a variety of brutal, two-back QB run schemes very quickly without substituting personnel. If they don’t have a TE on the field that becomes trickier, but the main principles are still there for Texas to do real damage. They can either draw up some ways to attack in short-yardage with QB run RPOs from spread sets (like the two-point play that West Virginia used to defeat Texas) or they can sub in some bigger bodies knowing that doing likewise won’t save the defense. The plus one advantage Texas gets from direct snapping the ball to the ballcarrier (the QB) and then the particular knack Ehlinger has for pounding defenses in short yardage is simply difficult to overcome.

Texas' success on third and long in 2018 was achieved largely by the offense’s ability to move Lil’Jordan Humphrey around and have him run option routes, quick hitters vs linebackers, or tunnel screens. The solutions here for 2019 aren’t clear yet, perhaps they’ll move Collin Johnson around and bring in Malcolm Epps on the edge, or perhaps they’ll develop some other young wideouts.

Whatever they do there, Herman and his staff have now evolved the offense so that they can leverage Sam Ehlinger’s abilities in the passing game and in executing the chess games on the live action chalkboard to boost the explosiveness of the offense and free up his talented backfield mates. This approach also keeps him fresh to go be a fullback on third and goal to go and to use the scramble fearlessly on third and long. If Ehlinger is ready to wield this system as a junior then the Longhorns could once again shock the nation with the scope of their improvement and break through even further on offense.

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