Texas Spring Football Game 2018

[El Pollo Loco 6]

2 hours ago, Machinator said:

Then you and I watched different games. Reggie Hemphill-Mapps, A. Foreman and LJH had good days, but the offense was shitty.

Connor Williams, in particular, got beat several times by that 6th-year defensive end Maryland is returning.

Should have said better than the rest of the season (i.e somewhat competent as opposed to soul crushingly bad) , but according to UT Lawnghorn we still gave up like 5 sacks, so what do I know

Edited April 23, 2018 by El Pollo Loco

[BigHorn'13 3480]

Samowing just doesn't sound right

[DiceHands 349]

After watching the Spring Game today, I am about as confident in us as I was to start last season.  Hate to be gloom and doom but I still see a lot of the same glaring flaws (which is to be expected).  

 

However, I will say I think Rising is the future.  I am excited to see if we end up redshirting him or not.  He seems like he might be ready to go day 1.

[PatSolitanojr 518]

19 minutes ago, DiceHands said:

After watching the Spring Game today, I am about as confident in us as I was to start last season.  Hate to be gloom and doom but I still see a lot of the same glaring flaws (which is to be expected).  

 

However, I will say I think Rising is the future.  I am excited to see if we end up redshirting him or not.  He seems like he might be ready to go day 1.

He looks good. Thompson looks super athletic. But lets not do the thing where we pretend a true freshman is the answer to our problems. 

[Machinator 32102]

32 minutes ago, DiceHands said:

He seems like he might be ready to go day 1

Even if he is, the spring game absolutely is not the indicator.

[DiceHands 349]

11 minutes ago, PatSolitanojr said:

He looks good. Thompson looks super athletic. But lets not do the thing where we pretend a true freshman is the answer to our problems. 

Absolutely not.  But it gives me hope that we might have at least one competent QB on the roster, regardless of his age.  Im not giving up on Sam, but if he continues to make dumb decisions, we cant keep trotting him out there.

 

Maryland might seriously be the biggest game of the season.  And its game 1.

[Mileslong 4793]

He looks good. Thompson looks super athletic. But lets not do the thing where we pretend a true freshman is the answer to our problems. 

A true freshman would be the answer to one of my problems this coming Saturday night..

[UDontKnow 10557]

5 hours ago, BigHorn'13 said:

Samowing just doesn't sound right

How about Ehlingering?

[Bevo 13826]

11 minutes ago, DiceHands said:

Absolutely not.  But it gives me hope that we might have at least one competent QB on the roster, regardless of his age.  Im not giving up on Sam, but if he continues to make dumb decisions, we cant keep trotting him out there.

 

Maryland might seriously be the biggest game of the season.  And its game 1.

It is rare to see a freshman not make dumb decisions. Ideally QBs shouldn't even see the field until they are redshirt sophomores. If Rising or Thompson were to play a full season, they would make dumb plays also.

[DiceHands 349]

1 minute ago, Bevo said:

It is rare to see a freshman not make dumb decisions. Ideally QBs shouldn't even see the field until they are redshirt sophomores. If Rising or Thompson were to play a full season, they would make dumb plays also.

Thats true, but by the end of the season, Sam wasnt a freshman any more.  And he was still making the same mistakes.  He just needs to stop trying to unleash the dragon like Rex Grossman and he will be fine.

 

[ousux 5635]

A true freshman would be the answer to one of my problems this coming Saturday night..

You like the pornstache don't you..

[Katfid54 9005]

8 minutes ago, DiceHands said:

Thats true, but by the end of the season, Sam wasnt a freshman any more.  And he was still making the same mistakes.  He just needs to stop trying to unleash the dragon like Rex Grossman and he will be fine.

 

At the end of last season, Sam was literally still a freshman. 

[Mileslong 4793]

You like the pornstache don't you..

Sir I was referring to freshmen girls thank you...

[South Austin 53155]

5 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

At the end of last season, Sam was literally still a freshman. 

Is he literally a sophomore yet?

[texifornia 58788]

17 minutes ago, DiceHands said:

Thats true, but by the end of the season, Sam wasnt a freshman any more.  And he was still making the same mistakes.  He just needs to stop trying to unleash the dragon like Rex Grossman and he will be fine.

 

Um...

[utexas8 1695]

Rising and Thompson both looked good but I’m not going to get my hopes up.

Realistically Shane probably transfer next season and if ehlinger is still qb1 I bet only one of Thompson/Rising stays. That’s just the way it is these days. If QBs don’t win the job they usually transfer quickly. If ehlinger is QB 1 for 3 more years hard to see Rising/Thompson staying. Which leaves RoJo, if he is willing to stay as RS sophomore.

[Bevo14 8468]

9 hours ago, South Austin said:

Is he literally a sophomore yet?

To answer that question, we need to solve a complicated equation involving AP credits and whether he had a committable offer from Stanford outta high school.

Edited April 24, 2018 by Bevo14

[Machinator 32102]

1 hour ago, utexas8 said:

Rising and Thompson both looked good but I’m not going to get my hopes up.

Realistically Shane probably transfer next season and if ehlinger is still qb1 I bet only one of Thompson/Rising stays. That’s just the way it is these days. If QBs don’t win the job they usually transfer quickly. If ehlinger is QB 1 for 3 more years hard to see Rising/Thompson staying. Which leaves RoJo, if he is willing to stay as RS sophomore.

I think we see a legitimate competition for QB1 next spring. Sam will probably be named starter for while he's healthy this season, but I'm not going to pencil him in for the next three years.

[Tex Long 4617]

1 hour ago, utexas8 said:

Rising and Thompson both looked good but I’m not going to get my hopes up.

Realistically Shane probably transfer next season and if ehlinger is still qb1 I bet only one of Thompson/Rising stays. That’s just the way it is these days. If QBs don’t win the job they usually transfer quickly. If ehlinger is QB 1 for 3 more years hard to see Rising/Thompson staying. Which leaves RoJo, if he is willing to stay as RS sophomore.

Why is that the "realistic" scenario? Do you think he fancies himself an NFL prospect, who just needs that PT to get a decent draft position? 

[Tex Long 4617]

10 hours ago, South Austin said:

Is he literally a sophomore yet?

He's got two full semesters and two summer semesters to his credit, working on his third full semester, so... yeah.

[Katfid54 9005]

10 hours ago, South Austin said:

Is he literally a sophomore yet?

 

22 minutes ago, Tex Long said:

He's got two full semesters and two summer semesters to his credit, working on his third full semester, so... yeah.

[ousux 5635]

Rising and Thompson both looked good but I’m not going to get my hopes up.

Realistically Shane probably transfer next season and if ehlinger is still qb1 I bet only one of Thompson/Rising stays. That’s just the way it is these days. If QBs don’t win the job they usually transfer quickly. If ehlinger is QB 1 for 3 more years hard to see Rising/Thompson staying. Which leaves RoJo, if he is willing to stay as RS sophomore.

I'm pretty sure you're right about only one of Rising/Thompson sticks around (My money is on Thompson transferring) but a while back one of the $9.95'ers was indicating that Buechele might have come to some sort of agreement with the coaching staff that he'd stick around until graduation or eligibility runs out, whichever comes first.

As for Ehlinger, I dont know if he'd tolerate not being the starter as an upper classman, and/or if he has NFL aspirations, just can't imagine someone born with burnt Orange blood wearing a different uniform after being a Longhorn for two seasons, but who knows..

These are good problems to have, (our QB has to win the job over other viable options, not by default like we've had the past 8 years or so) but ideally a healthy program would like to have at least 3 scholly QB's on the roster each season..I don't know any program able to stockpile more than that, but they may exist.

[wood 11747]

11 hours ago, DiceHands said:

After watching the Spring Game today, I am about as confident in us as I was to start last season.  Hate to be gloom and doom but I still see a lot of the same glaring flaws (which is to be expected).  

 

However, I will say I think Rising is the future.  I am excited to see if we end up redshirting him or not.  He seems like he might be ready to go day 1.

+1. I'm still watching the game as we speak, but yeah, he looks at least as ready as Sam or Shane. 

[wood 11747]

9 minutes ago, ousux said:

I'm pretty sure you're right about only one of Rising/Thompson sticks around (My money is on Thompson transferring) but a while back one of the $9.95'ers was indicating that Buechele might have come to some sort of agreement with the coaching staff that he'd stick around until graduation or eligibility runs out, whichever comes first.

As for Ehlinger, I dont know if he'd tolerate not being the starter as an upper classman, and/or if he has NFL aspirations, just can't imagine someone born with burnt Orange blood wearing a different uniform after being a Longhorn for two seasons, but who knows..

These are good problems to have, (our QB has to win the job over other viable options, not by default like we've had the past 8 years or so) but ideally a healthy program would like to have at least 3 scholly QB's on the roster each season..I don't know any program able to stockpile more than that, but they may exist.

As a QB?

[UT Lawnghorn 758]

12 minutes ago, wood said:

+1. I'm still watching the game as we speak, but yeah, he looks at least as ready as Sam or Shane. 

Lulz. I hope you mean as Sam and Shane their FR years. Rising and Thompson were playing with the same OL as Sam and Shane except they were going up against third string defense with a bunch of walk ons. They would have looked much, much worse if they faced the same defenses as the top two guys. Rising was more  raw coming out of HS than Sam or Shane. He’s not going to be ready to play this year, nor should he.

[wood 11747]

8 minutes ago, UT Lawnghorn said:

Lulz. I hope you mean as Sam and Shane their FR years. Rising and Thompson were playing with the same OL as Sam and Shane except they were going up against third string defense with a bunch of walk ons. They would have looked much, much worse if they faced the same defenses as the top two guys. Rising was more  raw coming out of HS than Sam or Shane. He’s not going to be ready to play this year, nor should he.

I didn't say he looked particularly ready. I said he looked about as ready as Sam or Shane (ie it was more of a comment about them than Rising. I guess I need to be more direct with my sarcasm). I was only slightly serious, and yeah, it was just a few plays. Of course I don't expect the kid to even play this year. At least I hope he won't. We really need him to RS.

[irishtexan 11692]

39 minutes ago, wood said:

+1. I'm still watching the game as we speak, but yeah, he looks at least as ready as Sam or Shane. 

Well, he's playing against third-stringers and walk-ons. So yeah, he looks good. I did like what I saw on his second play when he felt pressure, spun out of it and threw to Davion Curtis, who had stepped out of bounds and should have had the catch. He looked comfortable improvising there. 

[Bevo 13826]

Yeah, both Curtis and the player after that who caught the pass out of bounds messed up.

[TreatyOak 17199]

Rising does look like he has a terrific arm and good pocket presence. And Thompson looked faster in the game than he does on his HS highlights. Perhaps that's because no one could touch him.    

Edited April 24, 2018 by TreatyOak
Typo

[texifornia 58788]

3 hours ago, utexas8 said:

Rising and Thompson both looked good but I’m not going to get my hopes up.

Realistically Shane probably transfer next season and if ehlinger is still qb1 I bet only one of Thompson/Rising stays. That’s just the way it is these days. If QBs don’t win the job they usually transfer quickly. If ehlinger is QB 1 for 3 more years hard to see Rising/Thompson staying. Which leaves RoJo, if he is willing to stay as RS sophomore.

RoJo is supposed to be equally as much of a Longhorn diehard as Sam - it would take a whole lot for him to transfer that early.

[VinyVango 707]

My take on Shane is that he is a bit shell-shocked and seems overly focused on trying not to fuck up.  He seems to be thinking too much and too long and overly fearful of taking the hit and/or throwing a pick, which ironically ends up in him getting sacked/hit.

With Sam, he seems to not be thinking enough.  He's still developing his situational sense and needs to adapt his high school dominance mindset to the college level.  Some of his Westlake ad-libbing that resulted in long TD runs will end up in decapitation in the Big-12.  The good with him is his lack of panic/fear (generally) when he needs to scramble, but tends to rely on scrambling a bit sooner than he needs to / should. 

The key to both improving will be the O-line play.  The missed assignment blitzes up the middle can play on the QB's internal clock and confidence in the pocket.  If that gets patched a bit, Sam and Shane should both improve.

[TreatyOak 17199]

29 minutes ago, VinyVango said:

My take on Shane is that he is a bit shell-shocked and seems overly focused on trying not to fuck up.  He seems to be thinking too much and too long and overly fearful of taking the hit and/or throwing a pick, which ironically ends up in him getting sacked/hit.

With Sam, he seems to not be thinking enough.  He's still developing his situational sense and needs to adapt his high school dominance mindset to the college level.  Some of his Westlake ad-libbing that resulted in long TD runs will end up in decapitation in the Big-12.  The good with him is his lack of panic/fear (generally) when he needs to scramble, but tends to rely on scrambling a bit sooner than he needs to / should. 

The key to both improving will be the O-line play.  The missed assignment blitzes up the middle can play on the QB's internal clock and confidence in the pocket.  If that gets patched a bit, Sam and Shane should both improve.

Two great insights about the two players. To me, it looks like Shane is playing because someone told him to play. Just an un-informed observation, but I don't see a love for the game when he is out there--I see a young man trying his best to meet heavy expectations and experiencing a lot of pressure, much like the vibe that Garret Gilbert communicated. Interestingly, they have similar Dad situations. 

With Sam, it's completely the opposite. Like Baker Mayfield, it looks like he just loves every second of being out there, and still needs to learn that he can't do everything on every play. I'm not worried about Sam's progression. I was hoping that Sam would get a redshirt year, but the situation dictated otherwise. Unfortunately, when things get dicey, I'm concerned that the coaches are going to default to last year's Sam left/right/up the middle strategy and he will have a short career.

FYI, Sam would never transfer.  

Edited April 24, 2018 by TreatyOak
Typo

[B00M 6726]

Shane played a lot as a confident true fresh and had his confidence shaken by some huge hits and injuries (shoulder). Then the offense he succeeded in was replaced by one where he was no longer a great fit. His 1st experience in that O was a punishing sac and a humiliating loss. His soph season started and ended with injuries (ankle) and off season surgery (hip) thanks in part to a terrible OL that hasn't improved much yet. Are we surprised that his confidence and deep ball accuracy are down? 

Sam played a lot as a confident true fresh and had his confidence shaken by some costly mistakes and injuries (head)... if the OL sucks ass again in '18, it doesn't take much imagination to see his confidence dwindling and his development stalling or regressing like Shane's. 

RS the Fr QBs at almost all costs

[GringoSalado 1652]

24 minutes ago, B00M said:

RS the Fr QBs at almost all costs

Lest they get killed before they become Sophmores.

Herman showed his recruiting chops getting two very solid QB recruits to play behind our dogshit O-Line. I can only guess he somehow convinced them it would improve.

Edited April 24, 2018 by GringoSalado

[Red Five 41596]

Shane sure looked a lot better two years ago. I️ don’t recall him missing wide open receivers streaking downfield. Because if he can’t do that, well..

[UT Lawnghorn 758]

I went back and re-watched part of the spring game.  

-While our OL definitely sucked, most of the worst offenders likely either wont' see the field or won't have to play that position. Pretty much every drive with Urquidez was a lost cause. Omenihu and Hager absolutely ate him up almost every time he was in. I know they wanted to try Kerstetter at C and move guys around but they made the offensive drives with him in there more or less pointless for the rest of the guys on the field. He was that bad. Imade didn't get flat out beat a ton, but he gave up way too much space in pass pro for a guy with his strength and missed some assignments in the run game. Okafor can't hold up on the edge. He gave up a sack or two and had a holding penalty. Urquidez and Imade almost definitely wont see the field, while Okafor will (fingers crossed) not have to take any snaps at OT this year. If we suffer any injuries at OT this year, it will get bad like last year. 

-For some of the guys who will be starting, Vahe is the same guy as always, amazing on the move. Decent in zone running. Not great blocking a DT straight up, below average at straight pass blocking and you can beat him on a stunt or delayed blitz almost everytime (see the third gif in this post). Shack and Rodriguez are similar. They won't straight up blow an assignment but they won't execute it well, either. They don't get good push in the run game and can often get beat and they both get pushed back too far in pass pro.  We need one of Hudson, Grandy, or Okafor to win the RG spot if we want to have much of a running game this year. Putting Rodriguez and Shack next to each other will mean we can't run to A or B gap on the right side much at all. Rodriguez is fine as depth all along the OL, but he shouldn't be starting.

-The drives where our OL most closely resembled a starting OL, they held up ok and Sam and Shane made some nice throws when they had time. Gives me a little bit of hope for the offense this year. Crazy how even average OL play makes the rest of the offense look way better.  Sam especially made some really good throws, like the deep bomb to Duvernay and the post route to LJH near the north endzone.

He still had some bad reads where he missed open guys and that fumbled snap can't keep happening, but he is progressing. Sam also missed a couple easy throws. On one drive, he missed LJH down the sideline, Leitao open down the seam and an out to LJH. This is one example of a throw Sam absolutely has to make, no excuses:

-One play calling aspect I did like a lot was how much we motioned RBs in to the backfield. It can confuse the defense and give the threat of running to either side when we're in shotgun. Also, with guys like LJH, Duvernay, and Heard, you want the ball in their hands as much as possible.

-Shane doens't seem to be progressing much. He's good at outside routes where he can release the ball quick and not think, but he gets scared at the first sign of pressure and makes some really dumb throws.  Both of his missed to Burt were utterly inexcusable. Burt was wide open. On the first one (16:16), Shane had a bit of pressure in his face but not so much that he should be excused from missing such an open throw. Also note Vahe getting beat on a delayed blitz. Fourth year, same guy. 

On that drive, Shane completed lots of quick passes where he put the ball in exactly the right spot.   You can still build an offense around Shane if he is your QB, but it's pretty limited and I don't trust Beck to stick to the stuff Shane can execute. Shane also did a good job of throwing jump balls to CJ when he was in 1 on 1 coverage, even if the DB was there, like at 27:15.

-While Wheeler did better, he's still going to get exposed in space by B12 offenses. He and Adeoye don't have the speed to cover RBs in space or track down fast QBs, like Murray or Robinson at TCU.  I think the optimal B12 defense for this team will be a dime package with one true LB--Gary Johnson-- and a big safety. Not sure who the best bet for that would be, maybe Foster? Regardless, I think the D will be very solid, unless it gets some unfortunate injuries at spots where we're thin.

-BJ Foster just oozes potential. Insane to think he didn't even play S last year in HS. Him and Sterns are going to be really, really good. It's a shame we didn't get to see Sterns in this game.

[Katfid54 9005]

Great post. Go fuck yourself.

[UT Lawnghorn 758]

3 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Great post. Go fuck yourself.

[Bobby_Batronic 1994]

What is Adeoye’s ultimate role in this defense? Seems like a between the tackles LB is better suited to another league. 

[Machinator 32102]

28 minutes ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

What is Adeoye’s ultimate role in this defense? Seems like a between the tackles LB is better suited to another league. 

A better version of Wheeler wouldn't go amiss for our upcoming matchups against LSU.

Edited April 25, 2018 by Machinator

[Bobby_Batronic 1994]

21 minutes ago, Machinator said:

A better version of Wheeler wouldn't go amiss for our upcoming matchups against LSU.

Using one possible non conference game a year against an SEC opponent as a blueprint seems like a hard way to build a roster. I’m just curious what the coaches have envisioned for him.  You’re not wrong at all btw.

 

As a side bar, when Strong was hired I was curious how a 3-3-5 defense optimized for Big XII play would stand up in the playoffs or a MNC tilt against a true power rushing attack. I guess it partly depdends on our offense being able to keep the opponent from sticking to ground and pound. 

Edited April 25, 2018 by Bobby_Batronic

[Machinator 32102]

9 minutes ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

Using one possible non conference game a year against an SEC opponent as a blueprint seems like a hard way to build a roster. I’m just curious what the coaches have envisioned for him. 

 

As a side bar, when Strong was hired I was curious how a 3-3-5 defense optimized for Big XII play would stand up in the playoffs or a MNC tilt against a true power rushing attack. I guess it partly depdends on our offense being able to keep the opponent from sticking to ground and pound. 

It's not that I think playing the Mac/Mike against power running teams is his only utility; it's just one he's especially well-suited for. He has better instincts than Wheeler IMO and brings the physicality that Herman and Orlando look for. It's not an archetype you look to recruit every cycle but a deep, versatile linebacker corps includes guys like him. I've definitely tempered my expectations for his impact over his 3-4 years at Texas but the fact that he belongs physically from day 1 and was an early enrollee makes him more useful than other comparable prospects. I also think he's a bit more athletic than you give him credit for.

Edited April 25, 2018 by Machinator

[GotThatFire 166]

7 hours ago, UT Lawnghorn said:

I

 

 

[Tailleur17 361]

Herman is 1000x the coach Mack is. If only because he doesn’t have a bitch ass whiny voice.

[VinyVango 707]

that play where Vahe (it appears) whiffs on the LB coming up the middle is pretty annoying being that he's in his 4th year... inexcusable.

[Machinator 32102]

 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10762]

13 hours ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

What is Adeoye’s ultimate role in this defense? Seems like a between the tackles LB is better suited to another league. 

Seeing him walk by me after the spring game was a head turner. There is absolutely no way that kid just graduated high school, no way. He has to be in the best shape of any player on the team. Only words out of my mouth were "holy crap".  Beyond freak athlete. Orlando will have no problem finding a role for him.

Edited April 25, 2018 by MonkeyDoughnut

[Bobby_Batronic 1994]

1 hour ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Seeing him walk by me after the spring game was a head turner. There is absolutely no way that kid just graduated high school, no way. He has to be in the best shape of any player on the team. Only words out of my mouth were "holy crap".  Beyond freak athlete. Orlando will have no problem finding a role for him.

I don’t care what he looks like stepping off the bus. I’m just not sure he’s a sideline to sideline LB in a league that lives on making people play in space. We’ll find out soon enough. He’s just not a spin down candidate. 

[UT Lawnghorn 758]

Just now, Bobby_Batronic said:

I don’t care what he looks like stepping off the bus. I’m just not sure he’s a sideline to sideline LB in a league that lives on making people play in space. We’ll find out soon enough. He’s just not a spin down candidate. 

He would've been better off in the Big Ten, but I'm glad we got him. He has better instincts than Wheeler, and a Wheeler with better instincts is a very useful player. He will help with teams like Maryland, USC, and K-State, and I think in a year, he will have enough experience to reliably diagnose plays fast enough to make up for his speed limitations.  He'll never be an ideal fit, but he's a good player that could thrive in specific facets of the game if the DC can protect him most of the time.

[Bevo 13826]

1 hour ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Seeing him walk by me after the spring game was a head turner. There is absolutely no way that kid just graduated high school, no way. He has to be in the best shape of any player on the team. Only words out of my mouth were "holy crap".  Beyond freak athlete. Orlando will have no problem finding a role for him. 

Much of that reminds me of when I walk on campus.

Seeing her walk by me after the spring game was a head turner. There is absolutely no way that kid just graduated high school, no way. She has to be in the best shape of any chick in Austin. Only words out of my mouth were "holy crap".  Beyond freak. I would have no problem finding a position for her.