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2020 Texas Offseason Thread: Herman's Hail Mary

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texifornia
texifornia

Jesus, y'all win a title and still have tissue-thin skin to even gentle joking around. Woof.

honolulu horn
honolulu horn

Apex, take it somewhere else. This is a football thread, not a "don't be a pussy, my racist jokes are actually harmless and hilarious" thread.

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TheBryMan81

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10 hours ago, texifornia said:

Don't have a sub but

 

I got you fam

Spoiler

AUSTIN, Texas — Josh Thompson didn’t realize it at first.

Late in the third quarter of Texas’ Big 12 opener last September against Oklahoma State, the Longhorns cornerback blitzed and rammed into the Cowboys’ right tackle. Thompson — at 6 feet and 200 pounds — bowled the lineman over, then helped take down All-America running back Chuba Hubbard behind the line of scrimmage and celebrated.

“When I did it, I felt a little pain in my foot,” Thompson recently recounted. “But I thought I just rolled my foot, like it was a little sprain.”

Thompson stayed on the field for three more plays, including a fourth-down stop inside UT’s 5-yard line. But he looked gimpy. On the sideline, he told a trainer he’d done something to his foot but declined to have it checked out.

“I ended up taping it and I went back in,” he said. “Then I realized that I couldn’t go full speed. I just knew something was wrong. … I’ve never felt that pain before in my life.”

Finally, Thompson entered the medical tent, then left for an X-ray. It revealed he’d broken his foot. Thompson was crushed.

“I just kind of like shut down, broke down crying,” he said. “I just thought everything was over, because it was so early in the season. I didn’t know how I was gonna tell my parents, my teammates. I was just upset at the fact that, in my mind, I felt like I let my team down.”

Thompson, from Nacogdoches, Texas, didn’t take the field again for the Longhorns last season. He redshirted and endured rehab. But now the redshirt junior could be due for a bounce-back season. He’s slated to stick at cornerback — not float around the secondary as he did early last season — in new defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s system. In the meantime, Thompson is maximizing his time away from the game in anticipation of a long-coming breakthrough.

The Longhorns secondary suffered a handful of injuries throughout last season, with some of the most notable coming against OSU. In addition to Thompson, cornerbacks Jalen Green and D’Shawn Jamison, and safety Caden Sterns were also hurt. Yet Thompson was the only one who redshirted. He had to undergo a procedure in which a screw was inserted in his foot.

Thompson had appeared in each of UT’s first four games, with the coaches tapping into his versatility. He opened the year as the Longhorns’ starting nickel cornerback before being moved to the outside. Through his first two seasons, Thompson had appeared in 22 games, making his first three career starts at nickel during his sophomore campaign. He tallied 35 total tackles and two pass deflections in that span. Last year, he got off to a strong start, with 12 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss through four games.

As the UT defense struggled, he wanted to rush back. But his father, Patrick, and head coach Tom Herman urged him to take his time.

“Josh carries a lot of weight on his shoulders,” Patrick said. “A lot. He’s the type to lay everything out on the field.”

Thompson, who had to wear a cast, found the rehab work tedious. It started slowly, with UT trainers guiding him through blood flow resistance training to regain his quad strength. He did daily pool workouts, too.

“It was very hard,” Thompson said. “It was challenging. There were some days where I woke up not wanting to do it.”

Just more than a month later, as the Longhorns prepared to face TCU, he started running. He wanted to return, but he wouldn’t have been fully ready. So he decided to reach out to Herman. The two had a lengthy discussion, and Thompson decided he would redshirt.

“I told him I just don’t wanna be that guy that sits out when I’m healthy,” Thompson recalled. “Or that I think that I know I’m healthy and come back and I end up getting hurt again. I just wanted to take rehab really serious. He didn’t have any problem with it. He understood 100 percent. I talked to (strength and conditioning coach Yancy) McKnight. All the coaches knew where I was coming from.”

Thompson continued working toward full health. He was nervous about losing his speed — he had proclaimed himself faster than UT slot receiver Devin Duvernay, who ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in February and was selected in the third round of the April draft. But Thompson said that he’s even faster than he was before. “I feel even more efficient with my cutting and everything,” he said.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Thompson and his teammates have found creative ways to work out on their own. He’s remained at his Austin apartment and has regularly joined jack linebacker Joseph Ossai, defensive lineman Ta’Quon Graham, running back Keaontay Ingram and Sterns for workouts with quarterback Sam Ehlinger at his home in Austin.

Additionally, Thompson has used the offseason to dive into Ash’s playbook. During Ash’s introductory press conference, the coordinator mentioned Thompson as a standout on tape. Herman said that Thompson will play outside cornerback this year.

Thompson said he was happy with the decision, adding that he’s enjoyed his interactions with the new defensive staff.

“When I go back,” Thompson said, “I don’t want to be behind. I just feel like if I’m not working, someone else is. I just try to keep a strong mindset.”

Thompson, a physical culture and sport major, is on track to graduate in December. While taking online classes this spring, he continued to enjoy Individual Differences, a course about diversity with an emphasis on disabilities. Dr. Lisa Sigafoos, who’s taught the class for almost two years, created a project in which students came up with an advocacy post for increased media coverage of the Paralympics, which were originally scheduled to take place this summer. Thompson’s tweet about it gained some traction.

Thompson said his inspiration for taking the course was his late cousin Crystal, who had epilepsy and died after suffering a stroke when he was in preschool. Thompson had grown particularly close to her, and he said he still remembers his mother, Mia, telling him the news of her death.

“She was very protective over Josh,” said Mia, who’s worked at a mental hospital as a psychiatric nursing assistant for 20 years. “She would throw the ball with him.”

“When I was younger, I didn’t understand,” Thompson said. “But as I grew, I realized that there are a lot of people in this world that have disabilities and we kinda don’t bring attention to it.”

Thompson has two years of eligibility remaining, something he cited as a positive that came out of the disappointment of last year. He said that it’s strange being a veteran player. “It feels like yesterday that I actually came to Texas and started playing,” he said.

But he hopes that during these final two seasons on campus, he can make a mark.

“I want this season to be a great season,” Thompson said. “I want our offense, our defense — our team — to be remembered this year.”

 

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Tex Long

Tex Long 4348

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Yurcich wants to do for Ehlinger what Brady did for Burrow. I think it's not just possible, but feasible. OL doesn't need to improve hugely, just continue getting better, RB looks like it could be a whole lot better, and if Coleman can channel Brady and work with Yurcich to set the scheme to get one or two WR wide open every fucking snap, the O is going to pick up ten points a game. 

Ash just needs to not try to create chaos and do stupid shit like having his best pass rushers chicken-fighting 320-pound interior linemen instead of going after QBs.

MensaTom needs to channel Bob Stoops and keep the pedal down for 60 minutes instead of just 40 or 50. On both sides of the ball. And ST.

One last item, not needed, but...Something I've always liked about Harsin is that he calls at least one trick play pretty much every game, necessary or not. He said he does that because there are times when you actually need one, so his teams run tricks in practice every week, and he makes sure they're rewarded by getting to run them and have fun. I'd like to see us do that, because it's a lot of fun for us fans, too.

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NoName

NoName 16296

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Spoiler

 

17 hours ago, texifornia said:

Don't have a sub but

 

really? would think you would be all over their stuff - it's great value for the $

 

Spoiler

 

After injury forced a redshirt season, Texas CB Josh Thompson eyes strong return

Josh-Thompson-feature-1024x683.jpg
By Kaelen Jones May 14, 2020comment-icon@2x.png 3 save-icon@2x.png

AUSTIN, Texas — Josh Thompson didn’t realize it at first.

Late in the third quarter of Texas’ Big 12 opener last September against Oklahoma State, the Longhorns cornerback blitzed and rammed into the Cowboys’ right tackle. Thompson — at 6 feet and 200 pounds — bowled the lineman over, then helped take down All-America running back Chuba Hubbard behind the line of scrimmage and celebrated.

“When I did it, I felt a little pain in my foot,” Thompson recently recounted. “But I thought I just rolled my foot, like it was a little sprain.”

Thompson stayed on the field for three more plays, including a fourth-down stop inside UT’s 5-yard line. But he looked gimpy. On the sideline, he told a trainer he’d done something to his foot but declined to have it checked out.

“I ended up taping it and I went back in,” he said. “Then I realized that I couldn’t go full speed. I just knew something was wrong. … I’ve never felt that pain before in my life.”

Finally, Thompson entered the medical tent, then left for an X-ray. It revealed he’d broken his foot. Thompson was crushed.

“I just kind of like shut down, broke down crying,” he said. “I just thought everything was over, because it was so early in the season. I didn’t know how I was gonna tell my parents, my teammates. I was just upset at the fact that, in my mind, I felt like I let my team down.”

Thompson, from Nacogdoches, Texas, didn’t take the field again for the Longhorns last season. He redshirted and endured rehab. But now the redshirt junior could be due for a bounce-back season. He’s slated to stick at cornerback — not float around the secondary as he did early last season — in new defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s system. In the meantime, Thompson is maximizing his time away from the game in anticipation of a long-coming breakthrough.

The Longhorns secondary suffered a handful of injuries throughout last season, with some of the most notable coming against OSU. In addition to Thompson, cornerbacks Jalen Green and D’Shawn Jamison, and safety Caden Sterns were also hurt. Yet Thompson was the only one who redshirted. He had to undergo a procedure in which a screw was inserted in his foot.

Thompson had appeared in each of UT’s first four games, with the coaches tapping into his versatility. He opened the year as the Longhorns’ starting nickel cornerback before being moved to the outside. Through his first two seasons, Thompson had appeared in 22 games, making his first three career starts at nickel during his sophomore campaign. He tallied 35 total tackles and two pass deflections in that span. Last year, he got off to a strong start, with 12 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss through four games.

As the UT defense struggled, he wanted to rush back. But his father, Patrick, and head coach Tom Herman urged him to take his time.

“Josh carries a lot of weight on his shoulders,” Patrick said. “A lot. He’s the type to lay everything out on the field.”

Thompson, who had to wear a cast, found the rehab work tedious. It started slowly, with UT trainers guiding him through blood flow resistance training to regain his quad strength. He did daily pool workouts, too.

“It was very hard,” Thompson said. “It was challenging. There were some days where I woke up not wanting to do it.”

Just more than a month later, as the Longhorns prepared to face TCU, he started running. He wanted to return, but he wouldn’t have been fully ready. So he decided to reach out to Herman. The two had a lengthy discussion, and Thompson decided he would redshirt.

“I told him I just don’t wanna be that guy that sits out when I’m healthy,” Thompson recalled. “Or that I think that I know I’m healthy and come back and I end up getting hurt again. I just wanted to take rehab really serious. He didn’t have any problem with it. He understood 100 percent. I talked to (strength and conditioning coach Yancy) McKnight. All the coaches knew where I was coming from.”

Thompson continued working toward full health. He was nervous about losing his speed — he had proclaimed himself faster than UT slot receiver Devin Duvernay, who ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in February and was selected in the third round of the April draft. But Thompson said that he’s even faster than he was before. “I feel even more efficient with my cutting and everything,” he said.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Thompson and his teammates have found creative ways to work out on their own. He’s remained at his Austin apartment and has regularly joined jack linebacker Joseph Ossai, defensive lineman Ta’Quon Graham, running back Keaontay Ingram and Sterns for workouts with quarterback Sam Ehlinger at his home in Austin.

Additionally, Thompson has used the offseason to dive into Ash’s playbook. During Ash’s introductory press conference, the coordinator mentioned Thompson as a standout on tape. Herman said that Thompson will play outside cornerback this year.

Thompson said he was happy with the decision, adding that he’s enjoyed his interactions with the new defensive staff.

“When I go back,” Thompson said, “I don’t want to be behind. I just feel like if I’m not working, someone else is. I just try to keep a strong mindset.”

Thompson, a physical culture and sport major, is on track to graduate in December. While taking online classes this spring, he continued to enjoy Individual Differences, a course about diversity with an emphasis on disabilities. Dr. Lisa Sigafoos, who’s taught the class for almost two years, created a project in which students came up with an advocacy post for increased media coverage of the Paralympics, which were originally scheduled to take place this summer. Thompson’s tweet about it gained some traction.

 

Thompson said his inspiration for taking the course was his late cousin Crystal, who had epilepsy and died after suffering a stroke when he was in preschool. Thompson had grown particularly close to her, and he said he still remembers his mother, Mia, telling him the news of her death.

“She was very protective over Josh,” said Mia, who’s worked at a mental hospital as a psychiatric nursing assistant for 20 years. “She would throw the ball with him.”

“When I was younger, I didn’t understand,” Thompson said. “But as I grew, I realized that there are a lot of people in this world that have disabilities and we kinda don’t bring attention to it.”

Thompson has two years of eligibility remaining, something he cited as a positive that came out of the disappointment of last year. He said that it’s strange being a veteran player. “It feels like yesterday that I actually came to Texas and started playing,” he said.

But he hopes that during these final two seasons on campus, he can make a mark.

“I want this season to be a great season,” Thompson said. “I want our offense, our defense — our team — to be remembered this year.”

(Photo of Josh Thompson (29): Scott Wachter / USA Today)

 

 

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UncleSonny

UncleSonny 6557

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42 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Not counting honoring Tommy Nobis, Doak Walker or Britt Hager, what other star Texas players have worn 2 or more numbers like Ricky while at Texas??

(Maybe Earl Campbell -- not sure??)

This may open up the Pandora's box of arguing whether Chris Simms was a star player, but he wore 3 numbers  - 1, 2, and 8.

Ramonce Taylor changed from 25 to 11 between his fresh and sophomore year I think. 

 

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Tylerocks

Tylerocks 2551

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52 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Not counting honoring Tommy Nobis, Doak Walker or Britt Hager, what other star Texas players have worn 2 or more numbers like Ricky while at Texas??

(Maybe Earl Campbell -- not sure??)

Kwame Cavil came in as a LB and wore #43 before switching to WR and #9

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 48972

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For all the folks critical of Texas using a TE in their offense.... check below Tweet on NFL stats showing frequency of personnel groupings most often used in 2019:

Great Stuff @satyanash

The entire NFL spent the better part of the 2019 season in 11 personnel. That’s five offensive linemen, one quarterback, one running back (first digit in 11), one tight end (second digit in 11), and three wide receivers. Texas fans will recognize that as the preferred personnel grouping for Tom Herman’s offense and many have started to develop an irrational distaste for it that mirrors the decades-old hatred for “bubble screens.”

A major aspect of pro-spread is an emphasis on 11 personnel. It also means an emphasis on pro-style schemes and the use of drop back passing where the quarterback goes through progressions behind an offensive line executing pass protections. 

 

Check out entire write-up in post below from Saty

 

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 48972

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When voluntary activities begin, Texas should be ready to roll

ByJEFF HOWE 5 hours ago

https://247sports.com/college/texas/article/texas-longhorns-football-coronavirus-pandemic-june-1-voluntary-actives-tom-herman-weight-room-147390889/

 

Eventhough Texas will be ready for a June 1st start -- I expect to see the B12 give in to Lincoln Riley's earlier outburst and wait till later in June...

OU football: Lincoln Riley says players back on campus is 'ridiculous.' Will he bring them back in wake of NCAA vote?

https://oklahoman.com/article/5662809/ou-football-lincoln-riley-says-players-back-on-campus-is-ridiculous-will-he-bring-them-back-in-wake-of-ncaa-vote

Edited by LTtxfan
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Gigglebush

Gigglebush 107

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5 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

For all the folks critical of Texas using a TE in their offense.... check below Tweet on NFL stats showing frequency of personnel groupings most often used in 2019:

Great Stuff @satyanash

The entire NFL spent the better part of the 2019 season in 11 personnel. That’s five offensive linemen, one quarterback, one running back (first digit in 11), one tight end (second digit in 11), and three wide receivers. Texas fans will recognize that as the preferred personnel grouping for Tom Herman’s offense and many have started to develop an irrational distaste for it that mirrors the decades-old hatred for “bubble screens.”

A major aspect of pro-spread is an emphasis on 11 personnel. It also means an emphasis on pro-style schemes and the use of drop back passing where the quarterback goes through progressions behind an offensive line executing pass protections. 

 

Check out entire write-up in post below from Saty

 

Hate to be a downer but I'm gonna bite.

We get that Herman's use of tight ends is great in theory. Our offense was really really dynamic when we had Andrew Beck. But people were upset with the use of tight ends last year because we had no good tight ends on the roster. Our best TE was Cade Brewer, who was a massive step down from Beck. From what I understand, opponents were able to ignore the tight end threat completely and that is why our offense didn't show up to several games last year. Considering the number of stud WRs we had sitting on the bench, we should have spent the majority of our time in 10 personnel. 

Working with the players you have matters, even in the NFL. It's why the Ravens had 562 snaps from the pistol formation last year, while the next highest team were the Cardinals with 62. There is no "best offense" that everyone should run. Working to your players strength's makes you successful at every level.

I trust Yurcich to fight Herman to put the best 11 players on the field though. He did at OSU and theres reports of him butting heads with Herman on certain issues already.

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 48972

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5 hours ago, Gigglebush said:

Hate to be a downer but I'm gonna bite.

We get that Herman's use of tight ends is great in theory. Our offense was really really dynamic when we had Andrew Beck. But people were upset with the use of tight ends last year because we had no good tight ends on the roster. Our best TE was Cade Brewer, who was a massive step down from Beck. From what I understand, opponents were able to ignore the tight end threat completely and that is why our offense didn't show up to several games last year. Considering the number of stud WRs we had sitting on the bench, we should have spent the majority of our time in 10 personnel. 

Working with the players you have matters, even in the NFL. It's why the Ravens had 562 snaps from the pistol formation last year, while the next highest team were the Cardinals with 62. There is no "best offense" that everyone should run. Working to your players strength's makes you successful at every level.

I trust Yurcich to fight Herman to put the best 11 players on the field though. He did at OSU and theres reports of him butting heads with Herman on certain issues already.

Great stuff.  Yes it's more about how you use your personnel, but it's also the routes used with the tight-ends and deception.  Using more motion and changing formations pre-snap really helps the offense.

A better tight-end will help, but Brewer is good enough to be more effective than Herman used him in 2020.  Watching last night's 2017 Championship Game between Clemson/Bama had several examples about how to better use a tight-end in a passing offense.

 

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someguy

someguy 1476

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2 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

 

This is true.  My wife had it up and running i the same room where I was working (it started at 3:30) and I overheard large chunks of it.  Yurcich did a film breakdown of the inside zone and RPO concepts.  He's very high energy and passionate and seems to really have a natural bend toward teaching.  My favorite part of the entire thing was when Yurcich went on a rant on how a route is something a single WR does and a pattern is when multiple WRs on the same side run complimentary routes, and how tv announcers are constantly using route and pattern interchangeably.  It just came out of nowhere.  Ash spent the first several minutes of his presentation making fun of Yurcich for being boring and for drawing like a 5 year old, and Herman chimed in that saying so was an insult to 5 year olds.  Ash did a talk on rugby style tackling.  There was a look at recruiting/hosting recruits and a sports med presentation.  Yancy got on and talked about strength and conditioning (Shackelford was in the background doing a workout).  Somehow it came out that Herman had been doing P90X with Michelle during the quarantine, and Yancy and the other guys kept making fun of him for it.  All in all it seemed like a fun time for everyone involved.

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 48972

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Posted (edited)
On 5/21/2020 at 9:47 PM, LTtxfan said:

Eventhough Texas will be ready for a June 1st start -- I expect to see the B12 give in to Lincoln Riley's earlier outburst and wait till later in June...

OU football: Lincoln Riley says players back on campus is 'ridiculous.' Will he bring them back in wake of NCAA vote?

https://oklahoman.com/article/5662809/ou-football-lincoln-riley-says-players-back-on-campus-is-ridiculous-will-he-bring-them-back-in-wake-of-ncaa-vote

 

So Pussy Riley got his way....

Big 12 approves on-campus voluntary workouts beginning June 15

By FUCK CHIP BROWN       4 hours ago

https://247sports.com/college/texas/article/texas-longhorns-football-big-12-approves-on-campus-voluntary-workouts-beginning-june-15-147433374/

Edited by LTtxfan
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UDontKnow

UDontKnow 10439

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4 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

 

So Pussy Riley got his way....

Big 12 approves on-campus voluntary workouts beginning June 15

By FUCK CHIP BROWN       4 hours ago

https://247sports.com/college/texas/article/texas-longhorns-football-big-12-approves-on-campus-voluntary-workouts-beginning-june-15-147433374/

"Pussy Riley" ? What a terrible fucking take. Lots of reasons to hate Lincoln Riley, but he's not a pussy for encouraging player safety by delaying on-campus workouts. States are attempting to gradually open up and see what happened to two domestic Ford Motor plants that opened up last Monday...they had to shut back down by Wednesday. Start paying the players hazard pay (or any pay for that matter) and then expect them to show up risking their health. 

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