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Texas WR/TE Passing Offense Talk

LTtxfan

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taybo20

taybo20 3018

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3 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Just weird not finding ways to get touches for either Jake Smith or Wiley... that's just ridiculous.   😡

I agree... and it took quite awhile just to get Whittington on a shallow cross. His first 2 receptions were awful plays with him getting hit immediately. 

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victory88
victory88

Really hoping JWhitt can stay healthy because he’s pretty damn good when he plays.  Will never forget his brother calling out aggy for trying to buy him during his recruitment.  Dude switched to RB wh

sidis
sidis

not just that, he has been the one to break us out of our fucking offensive funks the last two games. against miss state, we were really struggle bussing the offense after blue's first momentum k

RGBIII
RGBIII

If we understand this, we'll understand a lot of other things that Sark is going to do. Prizing Teaching Ability Sark's offense requires quick decision making, adjustments, and coordinated execu

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Funk Doctor Spock

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I'm excited to see Wiley and a healthy Whitt next season. It was great seeing Whitt not limping for once, and he caught 3-4 balls. I actually forgot we once had Eagles, but Washington will get better, and even Woodard looked solid. Dixon did his thing, too. Omeire being back will just make a filthy unit with Casey. 

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LTtxfan

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On 1/8/2021 at 7:46 AM, LTtxfan said:

 

 

Cross posting since Passing Offense -- thanks for info @satyanash 

Ian Boyd: The Sark clinic

Quote

A Sark clinic I think many of us have seen some clips from has now been posted in full on YouTube.

Some key nuggets I noticed. First of all, me and Sark are clearly simpatico on the nature of modern offense and the current state of the give and take with offense and defense. The foundation of his offense is the RPO game. Defenses respond to that by playing safeties shallower and sitting on the runs and quick passes, so they have a collection of play-action passes (play-pass is the preferred nomenclature today) designed to look like RPOs but actually intended to give longer protection so they can throw double moves and post routes.

Defenses inevitably react by playing more man coverage to deny easy RPO releases or guys running free, so they have drop back passes designed to beat man coverage. They run mesh, smash, and constantly have guys running crossing routes underneath to punish man coverage. A couple of Sark quotes from this clinic illustrate the thinking here:

"Not everything has to be vertical, vertical, vertical. I will say, I'm a firm believer, and sometimes people will laugh at me...I don't like throwing the ball to a stationary target. Because I'm as slow or I'm as fast as Julio Jones at that moment."... "You're trying to defend RPOs. How are you gonna defend RPOs? Play man-to-man. Okay, if you're going to play man to man I'm going to run away from you."..."I haven't called a curl route all year. Why would I?"

Notre Dame tried to play them in Cover 3, which he notes is a rarity today, and Bama did exactly what he said back in this clinic they'd do against such an approach. They threw RPOs underneath all day to wide open guys and wore the Irish out because they couldn't close and tackle Devonta Smith in space. Defenses have been employing man and tight match coverage over the course of this decade because they realized you can't survive allowing a team to throw bubble and now screens to a guy like Devonta Smith, it's way too easy for the offense.  But the lethality of Sarkisian's play-pass concepts throwing down the field forced Notre Dame to say "well...we're going to have to try."

The other option is to sit in Cover 2, which Sark promised to attack by staying consistent with the run game. This is the potential weak spot in the offense and where tonight's matchup will be interesting. Against both of these teams, just like against Southlake Carroll in the 6A semi-final this weekend, the inevitable conclusion is to make the offense beat you by sustaining drives with the run game. As Sark himself notes in this clinic,

"The game is about explosive plays, if you can't create explosive plays it is really hard on offense. I don't care if it's in little league or in the NFL. To put 10 to 12 plays together successfully in a row without one of your guys screwing it up is really hard to do."

It's a good thing Texas has some young athletes on the offensive line and Bijan Robinson. Sark's goal will obviously be to establish RPOs in the Texas offense along with their play-pass shots and drop back plays in order to make it extremely difficult for opponents to do anything but sit back and hope Bijan can't beat them all day long. This is game theory and something I suggested would be the foundation of the Texas offense back in 2019, and it was to a point but Texas clearly didn't trust or develop their receivers enough to lean into it. Tom Herman's fallback was always the quarterback run game and having the extra numbers in the box to run the ball. Sark is the polar opposite here.

"We are not a running quarterback team, we will not ever be that way. We believe in throwing the football and protecting the quarterback." Obviously with guys who could run like Tua Tagovailoa and Jake Locker, Sark would use the quarterback run game at times. I doubt he completely fails to utilize Casey Thompson or Hudson Card, both of whom are dangerous runners on the edge. However, it will never be the offense's go to solution and don't expect Sark to make dual-threat attributes a priority in recruiting.

He mentions in the clinic how his programs dove into the RPO game back at Washington after Locker graduated because the next man up was Keith Price. Sark explains how Price was a phenomenal high school point guard who could distribute and make quick decisions, so they installed the RPO game to lean into his strengths. Now it's the foundation of the offense because the run game is still the foundation of the Sark offense and RPOs are the most efficient way to run the football on a down to down basis.

Now here's the rub. He pauses at one point in the clinic to diss defensive coaches for emphasizing base defense and stopping two-back power as the foundation of their systems when those are not plays or systems they really need to worry about. Yet he also repeatedly emphasizes football will always be a physical game and clearly understands the modern RPO/spread world as being similar to nuclear armament. You make your attacks as "nuclear" as possible and eventually conflict just turns back into gritty, mano a mano ball in the trenches and the mud again because it's too dangerous to do things the new way.

That's fine as far as it goes, but eventually defenses will set traps and "defend in depth" like Iowa State does with their 3-3-5 "flyover defense." What happens when the defense wants you to run the football and are building their strategy around the assumption you will do so while utilizing and developing tactics designed to stymie your ability to score while running the ball? Now you either need to be able to throw the ball anyways or you need to still have the power run game in your back pocket to consistently win across the field and punch the ball in when you reach the red zone. I think Sark understands this and will always want to have the power run game as a trump card. The Big 12 will do its damndest to challenge him on this point.

One thing I'll be watching tonight is whether or not Ohio State properly understands this new reality and has a plan to make Alabama beat them down the field in the run game and then finish drives with points. A couple of other nuggets:

- I'm learning from hearing multiple pronunciations now when the letter "a" is followed by the letter "g" in these Polynesian names that it creates an "ong" sound. So Tagovailoa sounds like Tonga-vai-loa and Uiagalelei like You-ong-a-la-lay. Maybe this is already obvious to everyone else, I don't consistently listen to broadcasts when I watch games so I might be late here. If I'm still a little off someone let me know but I found that helpful in mastering these new names. Kinda like a few years back when we were all figuring how to handle the silent N's at the beginning of Nigerian names.

- Sark runs a fairly simple drop back passing system. He emphasizes it's true progression-based passing. Route one: Open? Throw. Not open? Go to route two. Route two: Open? Throw. Not open? Go to route three."

- He also mentions back in this clinic before the season how Tagovailoa is an absolute maestro on RPOs and could signal adjustments of his own accord to the wide receivers but wasn't as effective in true progressions whereas Mac Jones was good at consistently going through his options. Personally I had a lot of doubts about how Tagovailoa would translate to the NFL where drop back passing is a bigger deal. It's' hard to know how Mac Jones will respond here when he isn't getting so much time to throw but he's a different guy.

- Part one of the quarterback battle this spring will be who handles the RPO game best. Then who can hurt teams throwing down the field on the play-pass concepts. Obviously Casey Thompson flashed more potential against Colorado than many of us (certainly me) really anticipated. My guess though is he may win the job initially but I wonder if he'll hold off Hudson Card down the line. Thompson has some background with RPOs that will help him, Card is theoretically great at most anything but we haven't seen much of it yet in burnt orange. We'll see how things go.

- Power is essential at running back these days, not explosiveness. The nature of the game now is having a running game that can consistently move the chains when teams are playing off to stop deep passing. Like I've noted, this is pro-style Briles. The Briles Bears would regularly field bruisers who could power downhill off tackle like Terrance Ganaway. Najee Harris excels at subtle movements and making the right reads and consistent gains, Stan Drayton excels at teaching this. Bijan Robinson will excel there as well, even though he obviously has some explosiveness to him Texas won't discourage.

Even if Texas uses a scat back in the future I expect them to always maintain a power back in the stable, much like the dynamic USC had with Reggie Bush and LenDale White.

- Their play-pass blocking scheme is pretty terrific and a key to their success there. They basically start like they're blocking the run only to back off into protection and use the running back to pick up any blitzer the run blocking assignments don't account for.

- Sark seems to have a nice blend of confidence and firm conviction in who he is and what he teaches but countered by a touch of humility resulting from his fall from grace at USC combined with a coaching career in which he's sat at the feet of people like Norm Chow, Pete Carroll, Norv Turner, and Nick Saban. He mentions he tells his kid to go to Mater Dei and play at the highest level, whether he's able to start there or not. Sark comes across as a guy who believes in being tempered by fire and competing at the highest level, which you certainly like to see from someone taking a job like Texas.

 

 

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Bevo14

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On 1/8/2021 at 9:27 AM, MonkeyDoughnut said:

christmas love GIF by Kool Aid

Hard not to drink the Kool-aid listening to him. Indirectly/directly describes how he hates much of the offensive we have run in last 8 years and why its not as effective.

 

I hated Herman's style of offense when we hired him. I gave it the benefit of the doubt because he had success with it though. I remember watching some of his UH games and their QB looked physically beat down.

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MonkeyDoughnut

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1 hour ago, Bevo14 said:

I hated Herman's style of offense when we hired him. I gave it the benefit of the doubt because he had success with it though. I remember watching some of his UH games and their QB looked physically beat down.

Agreed, two big point of Sark I loved - we won't be running power QB, we have other players better suited for that and everyone can cover fast receivers if you throw to them when they aren't moving, receivers should be moving when they catch the ball.

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jinx

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On 1/8/2021 at 7:46 AM, LTtxfan said:

 

 

Great video and great insight into our new coach.  I liked everything he said. 

I’m curious if his insistence on running everything the exact same way was what limited him in the NFL. I agree with that philosophy with college and below though.  

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RGBIII

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1 hour ago, LTtxfan said:

Understanding WR coach Andre Coleman’s retention (Inside Texas)

Scipio Tex     Jan 15, 2021 at 4:34 PM

Anybody got this...  Maybe @RGBIII  ??

If we understand this, we'll understand a lot of other things that Sark is going to do.

Prizing Teaching Ability

Sark's offense requires quick decision making, adjustments, and coordinated execution from his wide receivers. Without it, that beautiful symphony of space-exploiting motion you saw against Ohio State looks like a kindergarten dance recital. Texas wide receivers must possess awareness of their role in the larger offense and not just their narrow "But I'm a playmaker, tho" world. They're going to be asked to make adjustments quickly and decisively. Teaching and drill is how it will happen without inhibiting their ability to play fast.

Sark has a pared down route tree (good luck finding a curl in his playbook) but he demands route variation and expects receiver and QB to identify green space, adjust, and attack it - particularly on RPO glance routes. The call may be post, but the skinniness, timing, and depth of that post will change depending on what the players see on the field.

You'll hear him repeatedly say some version of, "Find space and play catch." But there are very specific rules for how that works. It's about understanding a role in the larger ecosystem and the WR making the choice the QB expects him to make.

That's how Sark can use route simplicity to breed multiplicity. Particularly in combination with movement, motion, deception, and eye candy.

Herman's single option simplicity bred predictability and robbed individual initiative.

Recruiting 

There is very legitimate criticism of Andre Coleman the recruiter, but it's an incomplete data set impacted by larger events.

Consider the following:

1. Texas is now selling the Sark Experience on offense. Particularly to skill players. There are multiple Alabama infomercials doing that work. Though the individual recruiter's relationship building is important, selling the Sark Experience is a different value proposition. Wide receivers want to see numbers, their role in the system, and get into the league. Sark's body of work is a bunch of checked boxes. Now, Andre Coleman needs to learn to build trust and close. He can grow here - just as we can grow any skill.

2. It's easier for Sark to allocate resources to help Coleman with a recruit than to help a dumb WR position coach teach his offense.

3. Reread #2. 

The Gordian Knot 

You know the story of the Gordian knot, right?

A lot of Longhorn fans and analysts wonder how well Coleman really coaches if Texas receivers can't get off of press coverage. Fair enough.


First, Coleman didn't design the offense.

Second, the ability to get off of press has technical aspects, but it's also predicated on physical ability and want-to. Coleman can't loan out better athletic ability or bigger clackers.

Third, he's not responsible for the prior regime mentality which sees football purely as a bunch of 1 on 1 match-ups so any failure can be blamed squarely on the athlete for not being good enough.

The Sarkian knot solution bypasses that messy tangle and says: "If my guys can't get off press, whatever the reason, I won't let the opponent press them."

Devonta Smith caught 12 balls in a half against the 2nd best team in the country.

How many times did Ohio State press him? Did they lay a hand on him on a release even once?

Sark took out a sword and sliced the knot. 600+ yards and 52 points later...

Look, I might be able to beat up Smith in a phone booth. So why put him in there with me? Instead, let him humiliate me in space as I tear every tendon in my body trying to chase him and he taunts me running backwards the last 40 yards into the end zone and then spikes the ball on my head.

If Sark can hide a Heisman winner under the biggest spotlight in college football, do you think he can find a way to get smaller Texas receivers loose against West Virginia?

We're trying to cut some damn knots. Not look at the tangled mess and say "Oh well." 

Do not consent to analyzing a problem with only the tools that Tom Herman supplied. That tool is a hammer and it makes everything look like a nail. It's not going to help you cut a knot, change a diaper, or put in a lightbulb.

 

Or hammer something, apparently.

Sark will find or develop the receivers to get off of press. Because it's a big asset to an offense.

But until then, he won't cry about what his players can't do. He'll try to exploit what they can do. Right now, he thinks Andre Coleman is the best tool to give Texas what it needs given available resources paired with an unforgiving timeline.

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Bevo14

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18 hours ago, RGBIII said:


We're trying to cut some damn knots. Not look at the tangled mess and say "Oh well." 

Do not consent to analyzing a problem with only the tools that Tom Herman supplied. That tool is a hammer and it makes everything look like a nail. It's not going to help you cut a knot, change a diaper, or put in a lightbulb.

 

Or hammer something, apparently.

Sark will find or develop the receivers to get off of press. Because it's a big asset to an offense.

But until then, he won't cry about what his players can't do. He'll try to exploit what they can do. Right now, he thinks Andre Coleman is the best tool to give Texas what it needs given available resources paired with an unforgiving timeline.

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Doc Reeves

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18 hours ago, RGBIII said:

If we understand this, we'll understand a lot of other things that Sark is going to do.

Prizing Teaching Ability

Sark's offense requires quick decision making, adjustments, and coordinated execution from his wide receivers. Without it, that beautiful symphony of space-exploiting motion you saw against Ohio State looks like a kindergarten dance recital. Texas wide receivers must possess awareness of their role in the larger offense and not just their narrow "But I'm a playmaker, tho" world. They're going to be asked to make adjustments quickly and decisively. Teaching and drill is how it will happen without inhibiting their ability to play fast.

Sark has a pared down route tree (good luck finding a curl in his playbook) but he demands route variation and expects receiver and QB to identify green space, adjust, and attack it - particularly on RPO glance routes. The call may be post, but the skinniness, timing, and depth of that post will change depending on what the players see on the field.

You'll hear him repeatedly say some version of, "Find space and play catch." But there are very specific rules for how that works. It's about understanding a role in the larger ecosystem and the WR making the choice the QB expects him to make.

That's how Sark can use route simplicity to breed multiplicity. Particularly in combination with movement, motion, deception, and eye candy.

Herman's single option simplicity bred predictability and robbed individual initiative.

Recruiting 

There is very legitimate criticism of Andre Coleman the recruiter, but it's an incomplete data set impacted by larger events.

Consider the following:

1. Texas is now selling the Sark Experience on offense. Particularly to skill players. There are multiple Alabama infomercials doing that work. Though the individual recruiter's relationship building is important, selling the Sark Experience is a different value proposition. Wide receivers want to see numbers, their role in the system, and get into the league. Sark's body of work is a bunch of checked boxes. Now, Andre Coleman needs to learn to build trust and close. He can grow here - just as we can grow any skill.

2. It's easier for Sark to allocate resources to help Coleman with a recruit than to help a dumb WR position coach teach his offense.

3. Reread #2. 

The Gordian Knot 

You know the story of the Gordian knot, right?

A lot of Longhorn fans and analysts wonder how well Coleman really coaches if Texas receivers can't get off of press coverage. Fair enough.


First, Coleman didn't design the offense.

Second, the ability to get off of press has technical aspects, but it's also predicated on physical ability and want-to. Coleman can't loan out better athletic ability or bigger clackers.

Third, he's not responsible for the prior regime mentality which sees football purely as a bunch of 1 on 1 match-ups so any failure can be blamed squarely on the athlete for not being good enough.

The Sarkian knot solution bypasses that messy tangle and says: "If my guys can't get off press, whatever the reason, I won't let the opponent press them."

Devonta Smith caught 12 balls in a half against the 2nd best team in the country.

How many times did Ohio State press him? Did they lay a hand on him on a release even once?

Sark took out a sword and sliced the knot. 600+ yards and 52 points later...

Look, I might be able to beat up Smith in a phone booth. So why put him in there with me? Instead, let him humiliate me in space as I tear every tendon in my body trying to chase him and he taunts me running backwards the last 40 yards into the end zone and then spikes the ball on my head.

If Sark can hide a Heisman winner under the biggest spotlight in college football, do you think he can find a way to get smaller Texas receivers loose against West Virginia?

We're trying to cut some damn knots. Not look at the tangled mess and say "Oh well." 

Do not consent to analyzing a problem with only the tools that Tom Herman supplied. That tool is a hammer and it makes everything look like a nail. It's not going to help you cut a knot, change a diaper, or put in a lightbulb.

 

Or hammer something, apparently.

Sark will find or develop the receivers to get off of press. Because it's a big asset to an offense.

But until then, he won't cry about what his players can't do. He'll try to exploit what they can do. Right now, he thinks Andre Coleman is the best tool to give Texas what it needs given available resources paired with an unforgiving timeline.

@RGBIII

doing work. 
thanks my man. You are on time

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hotdogGT

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On 1/1/2021 at 11:00 AM, LTtxfan said:

Folks that don't want Schooler in the rotation for WR, take a look at his downfield blocking... 

 

I don't post much and was just catching up but, I absolutley love break downs like this. I know OL pushes people and Bijan runs to daylight is just simple football. But i'm not an expert and these really bring a new aspect of the game to me personally. Any chance we can get more of these type of break downs of explosive plays be they runs or passes and the mechanics of why they worked in progress and what the defense is doing. If this content exist here on Surly could someone give me a nudge in that direction.

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texifornia

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36 minutes ago, hookem48 said:

glad to have Sark and his offense but as the old saying goes, it's the offensive line stupid.

Well if you combine an A+ OL hire, with a legit top-tier offensive mind, now you're cooking with gas. Otherwise you're just Iowa.

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texifornia

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1 minute ago, hookem48 said:

and yet fucking OU gets the 5 star tackle transfer from Tennessee. just frustrating as hell.

They've got a great OL coach and a great offensive mind, a proven history of OL success, and even more laughable academic standards for football players, which is important for Morris. As always, winning is important.

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LTtxfan

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Can a fresh start under Steve Sarkisian help Andre Coleman elevate the Texas wide receivers?

By  JEFF HOWE Jan 31, 2021

Quote

Choosing to retain wide receivers coach Andre Coleman and running backs coach Stan Drayton for his initial on-field staff made Steve Sarkisian the first Texas head coach since John Mackovic took over for David McWilliams following the 1991 season to retain more than one assistant coach from the previous regime. Mack Brown didn’t retain any of Mackovic’s assistants when he took over in late 1997 and Tom Herman followed suit by not retaining any of the coaches who worked for Charlie Strong when he gained control of the program in late 2016 with Strong only retaining tight ends coach Bruce Chambers from Brown's staff when he came to Austin in 2014.

Sarkisian made a strong run at Oklahoma’s Dennis Simmons to coach receivers, which made sense since Simmons has developed an impressive track record coaching the Sooners wideouts under head coach Longhorns in addition to he and Sarkisian knowing each other since they were BYU teammates under the late LaVell Edwards in the 1990s. Alabama’s Holmon Wiggins was a popular name early in the search, but Sarkisian settled on Coleman, who — as fate would have it — has been on the former Alabama offensive coordinator’s radar for a few years.

“He's somebody that I had actually talked to at my last two stops about potentially joining us,” Sarkisian said when he introduced nine on-field assistant coaches on Jan. 22, indicating that he wanted Coleman on his offensive staff with both the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons (2017-2018) and the Crimson Tide (2019-2020). “I wasn't the final say, so that didn't quite work out, but I've had a prior relationship with Andre over probably the last three or four years.”

Similar to Drayton’s retainment looking like a good move at the end of the day if Bijan Robinson continues on his trajectory as a player and isn’t held back by a lack of playing time or touches, any negative feelings regarding Coleman’s return could be no fault of his own. As Horns247’s Mike Roach reported while Sarkisian was in the midst of filling out his staff, Herman wanted to be so involved with the Texas wideouts in both recruiting and in regards to the on-field product that the approach came off as heavy-handed.

The end result was Coleman reportedly getting little to no say in how recruiting at his position was managed, which is the kind of overreach from the head coach one can assume didn't end there. Just as Drayton is worthy of getting a pass on Robinson’s lack of involvement in the offense, the blame for bizarre rotations, an evident unwillingness to experiment with personnel groupings capable of maximizing the talent on hand and reverting to predictable tendencies in critical moments shouldn't be laid at Coleman's feet.

The wide receivers did their part to help the 2020 offense go into the record books as the No. 2 scoring offense in school history (42.7 points per game). The offense also ranks No. 4 in total yards per game (475.4) and yards per play (6.6) and second in passing touchdowns (32) and lowest percentage of passes intercepted (1.4 percent), but the unit as a whole left some meat on the bone by season’s end.

Joshua Moore, who led the Longhorns in receptions (30), yards receiving (472) and receiving touchdowns (nine) coming off of a 2019 season he missed due to a suspension from game action, is the exception. With that said, the rigidity of the receiver roles within Herman’s pro-spread offense prevented Moore from lining up in the slot more often, which could’ve resulted in more big plays down the field with the two-way go giving the quarterback and play-caller more options for how to get Moore a cleaner release and better separation off of the line of scrimmage.

After a 2018 season in which the Longhorns featured Lil'Jordan Humphrey (86 receptions for 1,176 yards and nine touchdowns) in the slot with Devin Duvernay (41 catches for 576 yards and touchdowns) and Collin Johnson (68 receptions for 985 yards and seven touchdowns) and a 2019 campaign in which Duvernay catch 106 balls (1,386 yards and nine touchdowns), the passing game regressed in Herman’s final season. Granted, injuries took Jake Smith out of the lineup for three games with Jordan Whittington limited to five games, but Moore was the only Longhorn to catch 30 passes (the fewest number of catches by the team’s annual receptions leader since Kwame Cavil’s 23 catches in 1997) and he recorded the sixth-lowest yardage total for a team leader on the Forty Acres since Tony Jones set a then-school record with 838 yards in 1988.

Moore’s 127-yards in a 59-3 season-opening win over UTEP and Brennan Eagles going for 142 yards on five receptions in a 23-20 loss to Iowa State on Nov. 27 were the only two Longhorn 100-yard receiving games in 2020. That’s the fewest number of such performances in a season since John Burt (113 yards on four catches in a 59-20 win over Kansas) and Daje Johnson (145 yards on five receptions in a 45-44 loss to Cal) were the only members of the 2015 squad to go over the century mark.

Herman elevated Coleman from an analyst position to the interim position coach for the Alamo Bowl in 2019 after he fired Drew Mehringer and reassigned Corby Meekins to an administrative role namely because Coleman was well-liked by the Texas wideouts, which is a presence the room was said to need at the time. Coleman has the backing of the new head coach figures to be allowed to perform the job to the best of his abilities without being micromanaged.

Coleman has already made an impact on the recruiting trail for the new regime with the work he did to help reel in 2022 four-star prospect Armani Winfield of Lewisville. The No. 79 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite, Winfield called Coleman at halftime of Alabama's win over Ohio State in the national championship game to commit to the Longhorns based on the first-half performance of Sarkisian's offense, telling Horns247 that he's "perfect with Coach Coleman."

"That's my dawg," Winfield said. "It's just his resume. Everything he did. He's got four receivers balling in the NFL right now so that's what I look at."

Coleman’s group loses Eagles as an early entrant to the 2021 NFL Draft, but Moore, Smith (23 catches, 294 yards and three touchdowns), Whittington (21 receptions, 256 total yards from scrimmage and one rushing touchdown), Kelvontay Dixon (73-yard touchdown reception from Casey Thompson in the bowl game), Marcus Washington and Al'Vonte Woodard are back in the fold and Brenden Schooler is taking advantage of the NCAA granting fall sports student-athletes an additional season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new lease on life for Coleman combined with Sarkisian’s play-calling, which spearheaded one of the most prolific offenses in the history of college football, could lead to the Texas wide receivers looking like a much more competent group than how things looked throughout 2020.

“The development from the receiver position, the connections he's had in-state, even with his time recruiting in-state here when he was at Kansas State, I think are all positives for us on that front,” Sarkisian said.

 

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Article/Texas-Longhorns-football-can-fresh-start-under-under-head-coach-Steve-Sarkisian-help-wide-receivers-coach-Andre-Coleman-elevate-Joshua-Moore-Jake-Smith-Jordan-Whittington-160251669/

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LTtxfan

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Interesting roster comments from coaching staff  (Inside Texas)

Quote

IT: " The concern remains wide receiver and not just from a numbers standpoint. Who are the top-line difference makers? This shouldn’t be surprising given the roster talent at Alabama, but that roster would be difficult to duplicate in the NFL if you go by draft placement the last two years."

 

While it's obvious that the O-line will be an area that needs work for the 2021 season,  the WR group is equally concerning.  There is a lack of a TEXAS wide receiver that demands double coverage from opposing defenses -- no true elite WR.  

Hopefully Dixon really improves and Omeire returning helps, but better development of the WRs is critical for SARK'S offense to excel in 2021.  Josh Moore needs to get stronger, Jake Smith needs to significantly improve route running, and Jordan Whittington needs to stay healthy and really learn how to play the wide receiver position.  

Right now I'm not sure that TEXAS has even one wide receiver on its current roster that ends up playing in the NFL -- hopefully I'm wrong about that.

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Bevo14

Bevo14 8468

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23 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Interesting roster comments from coaching staff  (Inside Texas)

 

While it's obvious that the O-line will be an area that needs work for the 2021 season,  the WR group is equally concerning.  There is a lack of a TEXAS wide receiver that demands double coverage from opposing defenses -- no true elite WR.  

Hopefully Dixon really improves and Omeire returning helps, but better development of the WRs is critical for SARK'S offense to excel in 2021.  Josh Moore needs to get stronger, Jake Smith needs to significantly improve route running, and Jordan Whittington needs to stay healthy and really learn how to play the wide receiver position.  

Right now I'm not sure that TEXAS has even one wide receiver on its current roster that ends up playing in the NFL -- hopefully I'm wrong about that.

Really? Josh Moore is already pretty fuckin good. I think as a group they will suddenly look a lot better this season in a friendlier scheme.

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