2019 Texas Longhorns fall practice thread

[PencilPusher 454]

11 hours ago, satyanash said:

 

Hinton's also an SEC guy so he's kind of feeding the narrative in advance of the LSU game. Also, the systems built to look under the hood (or in the rear view mirror as sushihorn eloquently put it) serve more gambling purposes than true predictive outcome purposes. Connelly has even admitted that.

[TheBryMan81 2,495]

13 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

Eh. If we play with Overshown and Foster near the LOS, testing the outside isn’t going to go well for teams. Having Foster on one side and Ossai on the other will set some pretty stout edges. I doubt Green will be much of a drop off in the run game from either Boyd or Davis.

Any of Cook, Jamison, and Boyce will be a dropoff in the run game for sure, but I don’t think it will hurt too much, and Cook can probably provide better coverage than Davis did. 

If I remember correctly, didn't Green play really well in run support during the spring game?

[BurdineBandit 808]

I don't have anything else to bitch about right now, so consider me officially worried about the corner position. I don't like that I'm hearing that these corners can cover but are having ball-skill trouble. Yes, I imagine it's an incredibly difficult position to learn, but if that's the case these guys sure could've used a redshirt. Boyd and Davis were constantly turned around on deep balls and mistiming jumps and PBUs in the endzone.  Both guys were thrown in the fire as Freshmen, had two INTs their junior years, and finished their "stellar" senior years with one whopping interception. If ball skills can be learned at the corner position, these guys sure didn't seem to do it, and I hope Washington can teach Cook/Jamison/Green/Boyce to play the ball in the air or we might be in for some more Conference-level corners that don't match up with Big 12 Conference-level receivers. Hopefully we're lucky enough to not have to face Murray/Grier level play this year either.

Don't get me wrong, we're still going 12-0 this year and 12-0 next year, but this is disgruntling.

[Pig Bellmont 8,679]

1 minute ago, BurdineBandit said:

I don't have anything else to bitch about right now, so consider me officially worried about the corner position. I don't like that I'm hearing that these corners can cover but are having ball-skill trouble. Yes, I imagine it's an incredibly difficult position to learn, but if that's the case these guys sure could've used a redshirt. Boyd and Davis were constantly turned around on deep balls and mistiming jumps and PBUs in the endzone.  Both guys were thrown in the fire as Freshmen, had two INTs their junior years, and finished their "stellar" senior years with one whopping interception. If ball skills can be learned at the corner position, these guys sure didn't seem to do it, and I hope Washington can teach Cook/Jamison/Green/Boyce to play the ball in the air or we might be in for some more Conference-level corners that don't match up with Big 12 Conference-level receivers. Hopefully we're lucky enough to not have to face Murray/Grier level play this year either.

Don't get me wrong, we're still going 12-0 this year and 12-0 next year, but this is disgruntling.

Don’t put any faith in the 9.95 practice reports. It’s not worth your worry.

[ztejas 43,244]

15 minutes ago, PencilPusher said:

Hinton's also an SEC guy so he's kind of feeding the narrative in advance of the LSU game. Also, the systems built to look under the hood (or in the rear view mirror as sushihorn eloquently put it) serve more gambling purposes than true predictive outcome purposes. Connelly has even admitted that.

Anyone on our schedule that's actually "looking under the hood" at Texas should be pissing their pantsuit. 

@BurdineBandit It could be an issue, but hopefully our secondary (at the least) doesn't regress from last season. Something to keep in mind is that our WR room might be about as stacked right now as it ever has been at Texas (Josh Moore trouser glock incident not withstanding). A lot of them are very difficult covers in practice, especially if you believe that Sam has taken a jump in his route-recognition and ball delivery. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by ztejas

[Bevo 13,493]

12 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

lol. That might work if the fade was the only throw they could attempt,  but if you do that, they’ll just complete a quick slant for 6 every single time. 

If the QB and WR know what you are doing that is true. But at least at the high school level and pre-spread college level, if you line up on the inside before the play starts, the fade is automatically run. It kind of reminds me of when Shannon Kelley was QB at Texas and we would run the 5 yard out all the freaking time without ever challenging deep. Eventually, the db would jump the route for a pic 6. Everybody blamed Kelley, but the real blame should have been on the OC. In high school, he was great at reading defenses but then in college they did all these pre-schemed plays.

[BurdineBandit 808]

5 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Anyone on our schedule that's actually "looking under the hood" at Texas should be pissing their pantsuit. 

@BurdineBandit It could be an issue, but hopefully our secondary (at the least) doesn't regress from last season. Something to keep in mind is that our WR room might be about as stacked right now as it ever has been at Texas (Josh Moore trouser glock incident not withstanding). A lot of them are very difficult covers in practice, especially if you believe that Sam has taken a jump in his route-recognition and ball delivery. 

Definitely have thought about the receivers (which is understandable, but not comforting considering we still have to face Tylan Wallace, Lamb and Reagor), but hadn't really taken Sam into account. Luckily we won't have to face heisman contenders at QB this year, but they are certainly facing one in practice. Unless you count Hurts, which I don't.

[Machinator 32,097]

25 minutes ago, BurdineBandit said:

I don't have anything else to bitch about right now, so consider me officially worried about the corner position. I don't like that I'm hearing that these corners can cover but are having ball-skill trouble. Yes, I imagine it's an incredibly difficult position to learn, but if that's the case these guys sure could've used a redshirt. Boyd and Davis were constantly turned around on deep balls and mistiming jumps and PBUs in the endzone.  Both guys were thrown in the fire as Freshmen, had two INTs their junior years, and finished their "stellar" senior years with one whopping interception. If ball skills can be learned at the corner position, these guys sure didn't seem to do it, and I hope Washington can teach Cook/Jamison/Green/Boyce to play the ball in the air or we might be in for some more Conference-level corners that don't match up with Big 12 Conference-level receivers. Hopefully we're lucky enough to not have to face Murray/Grier level play this year either.

Don't get me wrong, we're still going 12-0 this year and 12-0 next year, but this is disgruntling.

If you listened to Herman's conference this weekend, he doesn't really emphasize redshirting "skill" players (WRs, RBs, DBs, etc.) as opposed to QBs and linemen. The best way to get these guys ready is to give them live reps and let them adjust to the speed of the game through special teams. Obviously, developmental projects and players who need to bulk up or re-shape their body will redshirt (e.g., Boyce) but Cook, Green, Jamison were all top-100ish players. I wouldn't expect Watson to redshirt either, if he stays healthy. Or the newcomer safeties, for that matter.

[LTtxfan 48,928]

Enjoying all the football talk... gonna be interesting to watch how Orlando uses personnel on defense this season. An earlier post talked about the importance of a stronger pass rush for a better pass defense.

Hope it's not from drinking too much burnt orange Kool-Aid,  but I expect to see significant  improvement pressuring QB's this upcoming season...   🤘

[Machinator 32,097]

 

[Coelenterate Fuccboi 13,010]

53 minutes ago, TommyGufano said:

The red-zone fade isn’t an efficient play. According to Pro Football Focus, college teams had a success rate of only about 36 percent when attempting it during the 2016 season. That’s right in line with pro averages of about 33 to 35 percent.

I hate when people cherry-pick stats. The fact is, 36% of the time,  it works 100% of the time.

[GringoSalado 1,651]

57 minutes ago, TommyGufano said:

It doesn't.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/why-does-fade-have-prominent-place-college-football

 

Beat me to it, although I wish they would have done the analysis from inside the 10 instead of inside the 5.

[texifornia 56,434]

 

[texifornia 56,434]

Hello BJ Foster (and #1 is... Kellen Mond???)

 

[Bodacious Bevo 3,575]

12 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Enjoying all the football talk... gonna be interesting to watch how Orlando uses personnel on defense this season. An earlier post talked about the importance of a stronger pass rush for a better pass defense.

Hope it's not from drinking too much burnt orange Kool-Aid,  but I expect to see significant  improvement pressuring QB's this upcoming season...   🤘

I don't really think an improved pass rush (in non-blitz situations) is a given next year The dark cloud hanging over the pass rush discussion is that we lost Omenihu, who was far and away our best pass rusher last year. Ossai playing more is a positive, but none of our DL will be as effective as Omenihu. I'll be happy with Roach if he can hit 6 sacks, which is more than his career total thus far and less than 2/3 of Omenihu's production last year. The other DE spot is probably a push with Hager (purely from a pass rush persepective) unless Jacoby Jones surprises. Coburn is probably a much better option than Nelson but his snaps might be limited and if he gets tired pass rushing suffers. Also BJ playing nickel means he'll get to blitz more so that's good. 

Basically I think we'll be marginally better from a pass rushing perspective next year. 

[Pato del Muerto 52,322]

Sure. If mond gets hurt, that team has nothing. Like 2017 FSU. 

[SHOOTER12 8,787]

8 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Hello BJ Foster (and #1 is... Kellen Mond???)

 

Someone needs an intervention bad.

[Shut up Lou Holtz 2,003]

8 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Hello BJ Foster (and #1 is... Kellen Mond???)

 

Put it on the stadium! Fucking championships left and right under ol Jimbo!

[texifornia 56,434]

 

[Vito Andolini 9,086]

Regarding Mond, it’s just a writer trying to be provocative and not give an expected name. And if Mond were to somehow turn into VY and beat Clemson and Alabama, then he would be the biggest difference maker in college football. Ain’t gonna happen, but that’s the concept.

[Longhorn94 2,427]

15 minutes ago, Bodacious Bevo said:

I don't really think an improved pass rush (in non-blitz situations) is a given next year The dark cloud hanging over the pass rush discussion is that we lost Omenihu, who was far and away our best pass rusher last year. Ossai playing more is a positive, but none of our DL will be as effective as Omenihu. I'll be happy with Roach if he can hit 6 sacks, which is more than his career total thus far and less than 2/3 of Omenihu's production last year. The other DE spot is probably a push with Hager (purely from a pass rush persepective) unless Jacoby Jones surprises. Coburn is probably a much better option than Nelson but his snaps might be limited and if he gets tired pass rushing suffers. Also BJ playing nickel means he'll get to blitz more so that's good. 

Basically I think we'll be marginally better from a pass rushing perspective next year. 

Ossai will be rushing the passer on most downs. While we call ourselves a 3 man front, it is silly to not include Ossai. He is as more of a DE than a LB in our scheme and will be sent after the QB regularly. Pretty similar to a pass rushing OLB in a 3-4. I expect him to lead the team in sacks and to be more productive than Omenihu from a pass rushing perspective.

Edited August 20, 2019 by Longhorn94

[Machinator 32,097]

 

[futureman 22,411]

Quote

The red-zone fade isn’t an efficient play. According to Pro Football Focus, college teams had a success rate of only about 36 percent when attempting it during the 2016 season. That’s right in line with pro averages of about 33 to 35 percent.

so every third time you score a touchdown with it?  ok.  sounds like you should throw at least one every single goddamn series in the red zone. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by futureman

[Burt Macklin 18,988]

26 minutes ago, Bodacious Bevo said:

I don't really think an improved pass rush (in non-blitz situations) is a given next year The dark cloud hanging over the pass rush discussion is that we lost Omenihu, who was far and away our best pass rusher last year. Ossai playing more is a positive, but none of our DL will be as effective as Omenihu. I'll be happy with Roach if he can hit 6 sacks, which is more than his career total thus far and less than 2/3 of Omenihu's production last year. The other DE spot is probably a push with Hager (purely from a pass rush persepective) unless Jacoby Jones surprises. Coburn is probably a much better option than Nelson but his snaps might be limited and if he gets tired pass rushing suffers. Also BJ playing nickel means he'll get to blitz more so that's good. 

Basically I think we'll be marginally better from a pass rushing perspective next year. 

Omenihu was very hot and cold in pass rushing. There were a lot of games where he offered didn’t offer much consistent pass rush. I think Ossai will be a much more consistent pass rush threat, and he will be better in that aspect than anyone on last year’s team. To me, the real differentiator in pass rush will hinge on Coburn/Ojomo. If those guys can get consistent push/disruption at NT, then our pass rush will improve significantly. Last year’s combo of Nelson/Wilbon made pressure from the NT spot almost nonexistent, which neutralized a lot of our blitzes and edge rushes. I think we’ll improve our sack rate a good bit this year.

If you look at our DL stats from last year, https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaadl

Overall, we were usually very, very good against the run (with the exception of a few horrible games, like WVU and OSU), but really struggled in sack rate. I expect this year we’ll struggle a little more against the run but should improve our sack rate compared to last year.

[ztejas 43,244]

3 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

Omenihu was very hot and cold in pass rushing. There were a lot of games where he offered didn’t offer much consistent pass rush. I think Ossai will be a much more consistent pass rush threat, and he will be better in that aspect than anyone on last year’s team. To me, the real differentiator in pass rush will hinge on Coburn/Ojomo. If those guys can get consistent push/disruption at NT, then our pass rush will improve significantly. Last year’s combo of Nelson/Wilbon made pressure from the NT spot almost nonexistent, which neutralized a lot of our blitzes and edge rushes. I think we’ll improve our sack rate a good bit this year.

If you look at our DL stats from last year, https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaadl

Overall, we were usually very, very good against the run (with the exception of a few horrible games, like WVU and OSU), but really struggled in sack rate. I expect this year we’ll struggle a little more against the run but should improve our sack rate compared to last year.

Do you think Sweat is a wild card here or will he probably RS?

[Vito Andolini 9,086]

One of the $9.95ers said Sweat is running second team, so if true, I presume he would be expected to play the full season. 

(The quote was from the IT Team Notes posed by Machinator 19 hours ago:

The scrimmage was good for T'Vondre Sweat. He's now basically a second-teamer. I asked if he's just eating blocks or getting into the back-field and heard he's been disruptive. The giant freshman (6-foot-4, 320 pounds) plays 4i-and-in depending on the front (almost entirely odd front on Saturday). He basically passed Jamari Chisholm and is behind Graham.)

Edited August 20, 2019 by Vito Andolini
Added quote

[LTtxfan 48,928]

41 minutes ago, Bodacious Bevo said:

I don't really think an improved pass rush (in non-blitz situations) is a given next year The dark cloud hanging over the pass rush discussion is that we lost Omenihu, who was far and away our best pass rusher last year. Ossai playing more is a positive, but none of our DL will be as effective as Omenihu. I'll be happy with Roach if he can hit 6 sacks, which is more than his career total thus far and less than 2/3 of Omenihu's production last year. The other DE spot is probably a push with Hager (purely from a pass rush persepective) unless Jacoby Jones surprises. Coburn is probably a much better option than Nelson but his snaps might be limited and if he gets tired pass rushing suffers. Also BJ playing nickel means he'll get to blitz more so that's good. 

Basically I think we'll be marginally better from a pass rushing perspective next year. 

 

Maybe, but I see it a little differently...

• Roach played LB and was injured during 2018, so playing full-time DL should be better
• Nelson not as good rushing passer as what Horns will put at NT for 2019 season
• Omenihu's 9.5 sacks (2018) should be replaced by 5-6 sacks... not a huge drop-off
• Ossai hopefully even better for 2019
• 2019 Depth at DL might be better
• BJ more at nickel and 2nd year could be special
• Overshown on field more often might really help with blitzes

 

Edited August 20, 2019 by LTtxfan

[Bevo 13,493]

21 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Ossai will be rushing the passer on most downs. While we call ourselves a 3 man front, it is silly to not include Ossai. He is as more of a DE than a LB in our scheme and will be sent after the QB regularly. Pretty similar to a pass rushing OLB in a 3-4. I expect him to lead the team in sacks and to be more productive than Omenihu from a pass rushing perspective.

I wonder if Ossai can hold up against the run. A pass rushing defense with Ossai on the line and Overshown or Mpagi, or Vaughns as B-backer may be interesting.

[runthebone 7,929]

33 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

Fine, but we aren't punting this year

[PencilPusher 454]

38 minutes ago, Vito Andolini said:

Regarding Mond, it’s just a writer trying to be provocative and not give an expected name. And if Mond were to somehow turn into VY and beat Clemson and Alabama, then he would be the biggest difference maker in college football. Ain’t gonna happen, but that’s the concept.

This is correct. The only reason it is even being considered is because most of the writers are slow on the uptake and still think Jimbo can turn Mond into a Jameis Winston like substance that could beat Clemson and Alabama (and Georgia and LSU) because he already coached a Jameis and has a ring.

[txhorns 2,407]

7 minutes ago, PencilPusher said:

This is correct. The only reason it is even being considered is because most of the writers are slow on the uptake and still think Jimbo can turn Mond into a Jameis Winston like substance that could beat Clemson and Alabama (and Georgia and LSU) because he already coached a Jameis and has a ring.

I don't think it's even that.  I think they are just looking at it from the perspective that he should be a good but not great QB this year that gets 4 chances to beat a playoff contender.  The article is about impacting the playoffs not making it to the playoffs.  Mond is good enough that by having a terrific game in theny 4 of those games he could pull the upset and thus impact the playoffs by eliminating a contender.

[fellside 1,076]

My main problem with college football projections (FPI and the like) is that they overvalue returning starters and undervalue elite QB's.

A team that returns 10 starters with an elite QB is going to be better than a team that returns 19 starters but a terrible QB.  If the last decade of Texas football has taught us anything, it taught us that.

That's the thing the eye-test people and those who rank Texas in the top 15 understand:  Ehlinger has taken a leap and teams with that kind of QB play typically win 9-12 games.

[Machinator 32,097]

Very creative, Rivals.

 

[pearlandhorn 3,277]

2 minutes ago, fellside said:

My main problem with college football projections (FPI and the like) is that they overvalue returning starters and undervalue elite QB's.

A team that returns 10 starters with an elite QB is going to be better than a team that returns 19 starters but a terrible QB.  If the last decade of Texas football has taught us anything, it taught us that.

That's the thing the eye-test people and those who rank Texas in the top 15 understand:  Ehlinger has taken a leap and teams with that kind of QB play typically win 9-12 games.

Exactly.  Returning starters doesn't mean shit unless they're actually talented players (see OU defense and conversely, the OU OLine last year).  Their defense was absolute dog shit (that's putting it nicely) and they return A LOT of starters this year.  To assume they will all of a sudden be better because they're coming back doesn't make any sense.  On the other side, their OLine last year was very good and only have one returning starter (who is very good).  With an elite QB (and Kyler Murray was elite), you can cover a lot of holes on an OLine.  Is Hurts elite?  Probably not to the level of Mayfield and Murray.

[bigcigar 1,161]

3 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Very creative, Rivals.

 

Yeah...he’s definitely more of a Reggie Bush.

[thepop 4,409]

If Sweat is good enough to be second team then playing the full season makes plenty of sense. Especially with the DL haul we are bringing in next year.

[Goodman 3,273]

1 hour ago, texifornia said:

 

Mehringer is scheming, that look.

[ztejas 43,244]

16 minutes ago, PencilPusher said:

This is correct. The only reason it is even being considered is because most of the writers are slow on the uptake and still think Jimbo can turn Mond into a Jameis Winston like substance that could beat Clemson and Alabama (and Georgia and LSU) because he already coached a Jameis and has a ring.

Which is fucking stupid. Jameis was close to a generational talent at the position (crab legs and pussy aside). Mond does not have whatever Jameis does/did that led them to that title, and aggy doesn't have close to the talent that FSU did in 2013. That team was a freaking buzzsaw - they played one poor game @BC and still won by 2 TDs. Outside of that it was ass-whipping after ass-whipping until the huge comeback in the title game against Barn. 

What's especially ironic about it is that in 2014 the wheels started to come off for ol' Jumbo and FSU. They limp-dicked into the playoffs then got absolutely destroyed by UO. 2015 and 2016 they played a shitty schedule to two 10 win seasons, 2017 Jumbo took the gasoline to the dumpster fire en route to FSU's worst season since the last years of the Bowden era, and then aggy decides to give this man $75 million that hadn't done shit since having a roster that anyone's grandma could coach to 13 wins. 

Mond is much more likely to go 2014 Jameis than 2013 Jameis - and aggy is much more likely to trip over their own farm-implements to 7 wins than they are to make the SECSECSEC title game. 

 

But I get it - clicks, right?

[sushihorn 3,233]

4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Which is fucking stupid. Jameis was close to a generational talent at the position (crab legs and pussy aside). Mond does not have whatever Jameis does/did that led them to that title, and aggy doesn't have close to the talent that FSU did in 2013. That team was a freaking buzzsaw - they played one poor game @BC and still won by 2 TDs. Outside of that it was ass-whipping after ass-whipping until the huge comeback in the title game against Barn. 

What's especially ironic about it is that in 2014 the wheels started to come off for ol' Jumbo and FSU. They limp-dicked into the playoffs then got absolutely destroyed by UO. 2015 and 2016 they played a shitty schedule to two 10 win seasons, 2017 Jumbo took the gasoline to the dumpster fire en route to FSU's worst season since the last years of the Bowden era, and then aggy decides to give this man $75 million that hadn't done shit since having a roster that anyone's grandma could coach to 13 wins. 

Mond is much more likely to go 2014 Jameis than 2013 Jameis - and aggy is much more likely to trip over their own farm-implements to 7 wins than they are to make the SECSECSEC title game. 

 

But I get it - clicks, right?

There were multiple games were Mond was completely unable to accurately throw anything beyond the short end of intermediate.  Against UK he didn't hit a targeted receiver more than 10 yds downfield.  His receivers and esp that TE that just graduated helped Mond's stats with a bunch of YAC.

[Zavala 1,384]

1 hour ago, futureman said:

so every third time you score a touchdown with it?  ok.  sounds like you should throw at least one every single goddamn series in the red zone. 

Plus the fade threat opens up all the other routes. It all works together.

18 minutes ago, bigcigar said:

Yeah...he’s definitely more of a Reggie Bush.

No way, he's a hard worker, deceptively fast, and brings his lunch pail to work. 

[po elvis 2,070]

10 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

This.  We actually averaged slightly more yards per play given up on defense last year than we gained per play on offense, which profiles more like a team on the bubble for bowl eligibility than a 10 win Sugar Bowl season.  We won games by basically not turning the ball over after the Maryland game, and by grinding out third down conversions to extend drives.  There is an argument that our record last year might have been overachieving for how good we really were (cue the Parcells quote about being what your record says you are).

However, that was last year.  Data based on prior years doesn’t take into account talent infusions and young freshmen maturing into studs with an extra year of experience.  When coaches bring in truly elite classes, things get better in year 2 and 3 really quickly.  I’m sure none of those computers had an explanation for how Saban, Urban Meyer, Stoops, Mack Brown, Pete Carroll, Harbaugh, etc., just all of the sudden started winning at least 4 more games than the year before while turning around a sputtering blue blood.  

We did not play the 4th quarter of games. Mainly because Herman felt we had games won and wanted to run out the clock and he didn't want to get Sam hurt. We were not 28-21 better than Georgia. In that game we were like 35-10 better. We just stopped playing. Anyone that watched that game know we were much better than Georgia. The game was never in doubt.

other games:

Tulsa 21-0 at half. 28-21 final

KSU 19-0 at half. 19-14 final

OU 45-24 3rd Q. 48-45 final

Baylor 23-10 half. 23-17 final

Tech 27-10 3rd Q. 41-34 final

ISU 24-3 3rd Q. 24-10 final

Kansas 21-0 3rd Q. 24-17 final

Georgia 28-7 4th Q. 28-21 final

all these seemingly close games by the final score we had control of the whole game until the end.

[Elmer_Fudd 22,084]

13 minutes ago, sushihorn said:

There were multiple games were Mond was completely unable to accurately throw anything beyond the short end of intermediate.  Against UK he didn't hit a targeted receiver more than 10 yds downfield.  His receivers and esp that TE that just graduated helped Mond's stats with a bunch of YAC.

And let's not forget all those prayers he threw up against Clemson that got answered.  Clemson had several int's go right through players hands.

[futureman 22,411]

13 minutes ago, Zavala said:

No way, he's a hard worker, deceptively fast, and brings his lunch pail to work. 

plus he’s extremely white. 

[Vertigo 20,257]

16 hours ago, gmr548 said:

I think the drop off at CB against the run is flying under the radar and is going to frustrate some people in the fall. Kris Boyd was very good from the corner spot in that phase of the game. Unique blend of size, speed, and aggressiveness for the position. Part of why I think his NFL fit is nickel, long term. Last year, Davante Davis appeared to finally realize he was 6'2" 200+ pounds and showed some desire to hit people. He had 4 TFLs last year, which is pretty good for a corner. Cook, Davis, and Boyce are not as big/strong and, in the limited reps they've had, aren't as enthusiastic about tackling as Boyd/Davis were last year. Between that and losing Gary Johnson, I would absolutely be looking to test Texas to the outside.

In coverage there will definitely be a drop off from Boyd. He had his bad moments but he was All B12 and on the Thorpe list for a reason. All things considered, he acquitted himself pretty well given he was lining up against NFL talent at WR damn near every week. Davis was never great and inconsistent even as a senior. I'm not ready to say it's addition by subtraction there, ala Hager, because we've seen so little of the next generation in live action. But I don't imagine it will get that much worse. All in all, expect a fair amount of big plays in the passing game. That's life in the B12 in general, and it's sure as hell life in the B12 when your base defense includes four sophomore DBs, regardless of what they were ranked coming out of HS.

Boyd had his best games last year against the top WR's he faced. Raegor from TCU, Sills from WVU, and Brown from OU. Orlando constantly put him on an island against those guys and he came up big time. If Orlando does that again this year with Green, I am not sure I trust one on one matchups against Lamb, Raegor, etc. 

[Skipper 6,088]

12 minutes ago, po elvis said:

 

all these seemingly close games by the final score we had control of the whole game until the end.

True but let's not pretend that wasn't a major fucking issue last season.   We were fortunate to not lose 1-2 of those games.    This team needs to figure out how to close out an opponent this season for sure.

[Elmer_Fudd 22,084]

Just now, Vertigo said:

Boyd had his best games last year against the top WR's he faced. Raegor from TCU, Sills from WVU, and Brown from OU. Orlando constantly put him on an island against those guys and he came up big time. If Orlando does that again this year with Green, I am not sure I trust one on one matchups against Lamb, Raegor, etc. 

At least with Reagor it'll be Alex Delton trying to throw the ball to him.

[Zavala 1,384]

1 minute ago, Skipper said:

True but let's not pretend that wasn't a major fucking issue last season.   We were fortunate to not lose 1-2 of those games.    This team needs to figure out how to close out an opponent this season for sure.

Agree. Fuck the "we only got to win by one" mentality and the "momentum doesn't exist" shit. Fuck that. Score, then score some more. Blitz, then blitz some more. Don't ever change the game plan to conservative or coast mode. Goddamn we need to just hire Mike Leech for a day to put his foot in TH's ass if he doesn't run up the score on people this season.

[DanTheHorn 4,893]

2 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

Enjoying all the football talk... gonna be interesting to watch how Orlando uses personnel on defense this season. An earlier post talked about the importance of a stronger pass rush for a better pass defense.

Hope it's not from drinking too much burnt orange Kool-Aid,  but I expect to see significant  improvement pressuring QB's this upcoming season...   🤘

Sorry to tell you in the off-season it is always to much:

[Tylerocks 2,551]

13 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

Boyd had his best games last year against the top WR's he faced. Raegor from TCU, Sills from WVU, and Brown from OU. Orlando constantly put him on an island against those guys and he came up big time. If Orlando does that again this year with Green, I am not sure I trust one on one matchups against Lamb, Raegor, etc. 

While he might have made some plays against those guys, giving up:

6/97- 2TDs (Sills)

8/96- TD (Raegor)

9/131- 2 TD's (Brown-OU game)

5/54- Injured in Championship game

that's not great.  Or even good.  

I also assume he was not man-up on all these....just pointing out that saying he "came up big"....doesn't look like it's very accurate.

[Bruh Man 3,160]

2 hours ago, texifornia said:

 

The facility upgrades can't come soon enough. Having to leave campus for this stuff is embarrassing for Texas.