Texas Summer Football Thread

[Coelenterate Fuccboi 13,176]

17 hours ago, Sidney Sherman said:

Can't make freshman mistakes in your second half of a season. 

So much regard in this statement.

[ousux 5,621]

Is he 6'0" flat or taller?

If not, well... I don't want to be the bearer of bad news.

In metric, Poona is 181.93 cms. If he were 6' even, he would be less than one cm taller, 182.88cms... but for some reason, that 95% of ONE CENTIMETER means the world to NFL war rooms.

Nelson is listed as 6'2 in the official roster, i'd say he's at least 6'0 if not 6'1...hell, he may actually be 6'2. I don't think his size was ever a problem when it came to play time, just better/more experienced DT's ahead of him on the depth chart.

[Sleepygrad 1,029]

solid arm chopping going on

[Tex Long 4,513]

Hand seems to have at least a rough idea WTF he's doing. Pending actual competition, give MensaTom a nod of approval on this one.

[Rick Blaine 30]

On 5/4/2018 at 7:21 PM, Sidney Sherman said:

Can't make freshman mistakes in your second half of a season. 

Ron White: "Let him outside; he'll shit out there. I've seen him do it."

Me: "They'll make freshman mistakes in the second halves of their freshman seasons. I've seen them do it."

 

[texifornia 57,558]

Our RBs fumble too much? Get a grad transfer who never fumbles:

 

[Machinator 32,099]

Expectations for Watson shouldn't be too high - he's coming off an ACL tear, and he's not a game-changing workhorse back. But he's experienced, takes care of the ball, and has good hands out of the backfield.

 

[FWD 297]

3 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Expectations for Watson shouldn't be too high - he's coming off an ACL tear, and he's not a game-changing workhorse back. But he's experienced, takes care of the ball, and has good hands out of the backfield.

 

Really nice hands in the passing game. That alone adds a nice dimension to the offense. Plus the added depth.

[OnAComputer 1,420]

My breakdown of the Spring Game, with video

Spoiler

 

Defense will be consistent at worst

Despite missing four defensive backs (two starters and two second stringers), two linebackers (one leader and one second stringer), and the starting NT, Texas looked very solid in all facets of the game.

Obviously, the most impressive part of the entire defense was how solid the fundamentals of the game are within every single player. This was best shown in how reliable they were at making tackles in the open field.

These fundamentals of position, tackling, and playing the ball were visible in every single player from the best players on the defense to the walk-ons. Every single level of the defense was doing the little things correctly which resulted in minimal yards after first contact (basically stymieing the run game).

This along with the different blitz packages (that I detail in almost every play below), will be as much a problem for opposing offensive lines as it was for their own.

And while there was a bit of give and take in the passing game, when the offense didn’t hit the weakness of a certain scheme as the starting defensive backs were solid. The only times there was blown coverage, it came against walk-on transfer Chase Moore. The only times that the offense just flat-out beat the defense were when Kobe Boyce or Josh Thompson had to guard the two best players on the offense every single play.  Even then they looked good. For example:

You almost can’t play better defense than what Kobe Boyce shows in the below video. He’s in the hip pocket of Collin Johnson and gets a hand in the catch zone. Against almost any other receiver, those are break-ups. And that’s your back-up.

Protection up-front still has issues

Certain players on the offensive line had mediocre to bad performances during the Spring Game. Two of those were Denzel Okafor and JP Urquidez. Both of them were facing two monsters in Breckyn Hager and Charles Omenihu every single play. Furthermore, Denzel Okafor a guard trying to play tackle and JP Urquidez probably still needs another year of development before he’s ready to take on those two every single play.

However, the one player who worries me the most on the offensive line is Patrick Vahe.

For a guy who wants to be drafted, the Senior leader, and the anchor of the offensive line, plays like the ones below are unacceptable, and Patrick Vahe knows this.

On the first play, the offense uses a scissors route combo to completely take advantage of the weaknesses present in four deep coverage, and it works! Unfortunately, when Patrick Vahe moves to pick up a blitzing Malcolm Roach, he opens his body completely. This poor position proves to be like a partially cracked door for Roach who runs right through it. This causes Shane Buechele to have to get the ball off quicker than he’d like, throw off his back foot, and sail the ball just over a wide open John Burt. Buechele had pressure in his face just when the getting was good, and that costs his team six points.

Again, the play is perfectly drawn up for the defense called, but as I showed above, two things happened the resulted in a fumble.

The first is again Patrick Vahe whiffs on his assignment or miscommunicates with Denzel Okafor. While Vahe tries to carry the DE down, he is completely unaware of the blitzing B-backer who is being passed off to him. With no OG to get in his way, the walk-on B-backer has a straight shot to the hand-off point and makes the offense pay. The offensive line should not be beaten by a walk-on.

The second is freshman TE misreads the situation in front of him thinking he’ll need to block Anthony Wheeler. When Derek Kerstetter makes the correct read and works to the second level, Leitao is left searching for something to do. He needs to follow the DE and carry him whichever direction he chooses to go.

Now I could be very wrong on whose responsibility is what for these two plays, but from what it looked like, the offensive needs to step up big time, or Texas will be in a world of hurt. Luckily, reinforcements are on the way.

TE position has a pulse

Now it’s not perfect. The good news is that the TEs were consistent in pass catching. Whenever the TEs were targeted they were able to pull in five catches (on seven targets). But whenever they did make the catch, there wasn’t much going on afterwards, with the longest catch of the day being a six-yarder. I would chalk up the lack of yardage to the phenomenal open field tackling I showed above.

When it came to blocking, it was almost reverse of the pass catching. There was a bit of inconsistency, but when they did everything correctly, the protection was phenomenal and resulted in the longest RB run of the day.

This play was made possible by due to a good block from Denzel Okafor and a great sealing block from Andrew Beck. Beck puts himself in position for the block by taking a great angle to it. This and other examples showed understanding of assignments that are much better than what Texas has seen over the past couple of years. This should enable Texas to open up the run game and bust a few big gains per game.

However, there were still instances of plays like this one.

Now blame the lack of positioning here to Andrew Beck playing his first game in about two years, but with the running back blocking inside-out, he needs to figure out a way to disallow the inside rush and push his man beyond the QB.

Still, the TE position is miles ahead of where it has been, and Cade Brewer returning to the line up Texas has a solid group of talent in that position which will help in every phase of the offense.

Not enough to evaluate extent of QB development…

But if I had to choose right now I’d pick Sam over Shane. While both quarterbacks progressed in areas, I saw Sam do the little things more often than Shane.

For example, looking back at the previous play, that is a small lack of understanding from Shane Buechele to stare down Collin Johnson and not keep BJ Foster glued to the middle of the field with his eyes. If he looks off Collin Johnson or pump fakes, that is a for sure touchdown. Instead the safety is able to easily read the play and make a play on the ball. Next year, BJ Foster intercepts that.

Now let’s take a look at Sam Ehlinger on the other side. Both quarterbacks looked good throwing the short to intermediate ball, but I saw more development and higher upside from Sam.

He goes through his reads in a timely fashion, understanding how to work inside the pocket (even though he works better outside of it), and delivers a ball to the correct spot. That was an impressive throw and field vision. In fact, his field vision came into play a few more times than that with one of my favorite plays of the game, an 8 yard pass to Devin Duvernay that he fit into the correct spot.

Don’t get me wrong. You did see something similar to this from Shane Buechele from time to time. In fact you saw a lot of it in his touchdown throw to Collin Johnson, but it wasn’t there as consistently from what I could see on the film.

Also, I’m not saying all of Sam’s problems are fixed.

I don’t really need to break down this play to show what’s wrong here. Sam and tries to force the ball and ends up throwing to the wrong shoulder. This ball needs to be thrown to the outside of the wide receiver or farther down field. At the very least make it a jump ball. This could’ve easily been an interception.

Still, I trust Sam to run this offense more efficiently. What he can do and the areas he’s shown improvement far outweigh his flaws. It’s still a close fight though, and Shane could easily reclaim his starting spot.

WR’s really helped out QB’s with long ball

This point kind of rags on the last, but this wide receiver group is special. How can you tell? Because they made the quarterbacks look good. Both QBs could use a tune up on their long balls. Shane moreso than Sam. Shane was having trouble locating his receivers, overthrowing John Burt (how do you do that) once without a valid excuse. Sam was consistently underthrowing his receivers.

The times they did complete the longballs, they were given considerable help from their wide receivers.

Like on this play right here:

This is probably not the best decision coming from Shane Buechele to throw off his back foot into double coverage with a man in his face (which by the way, check out how well that blitz was executed). There is a way to get the ball to Jerrod Heard there, but the throw wasn’t put in a spot where only Jerrod Heard could get it. Luckily, Jerrod Heard was in the mood to make a lot of plays in the Spring Game and made a great adjustment to the ball and came back for it.

Sam Ehlinger also had help from the wide receivers, but a little less so. His problem was mainly me saying, “if you throw a yard or two deeper, it’s a touchdown.” Like here:

A few things to notice, as I pointed out above. The offensive line and Toneil Carter pick up a nice blitz to create a nice pocket for Ehlinger. Ehlinger then steps into his throw with a quick throw into a pretty tight spot. However, he throws it short. This forces Devin Duvernay, who runs a great go, to have to come back to the ball and take a massive hit instead of having the chance to catch the ball in stride.

Texas has QB Depth

It’s a recruitmas miracle. Texas has a solid QB room. It was obvious from first viewing that the freshmen QBs will be good. I don’t really need to break it down.

Again, both young quarterbacks look to have promising careers. Rising was able to read and fit a nice ball into a perfect spot with a quick throwing motion. He also displayed a heck of an arm with accuracy.

However, I was much more impressed with Casey who threw a few great balls and looked good inside and outside the pocket.I mean, that ball to Collin Johnson on the second video is placed perfectly.

I believe these are flashes of what both will be capable of later on. The offense for these two was very much simplified to be more digestible for the youngsters, so they’re obviously not ready to jump right into the fire.

WR Corps Have Potential to be All-Time Great

I don’t have film for this section because most of the film I showed above.

Let’s start with a guy I’ve been saying all Spring, “If he’s becomes consistent, he’ll be incredible.” Collin Johnson showed what he can do when he’s consistently making catches on jump balls and routine catches. It was highlight catch after highlight catch. He ended the day with six catches for 91 yards. If he’s able to be that good next year every game, at the very least he’s an early second round pick in the NFL Draft.

Now let’s take a look at the MVP of the game and probably the best all-around player on the team, Lil’Jordan Humphrey. I’ve been singing his praises since last year ended and then bought a microphone during Spring ball to make sure the point was clear. Lil’Jordan Humphrey will consistently get you production wherever you put him pulling in seven catches for 100 yards. He won’t make the big play in the air as consistently as Collin Johnson, but if you get the ball in his hands, he’ll make something happen… which is why they put him at running back where he succeeded there as well. If he doesn’t go to the draft after his Junior year, I’m predicting he’s in the Heisman conversation his Senior year.

Next up is the “back-up” to Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Jerrod Heard. Now, I put back-up in quotes because Jerrod Heard played like a starter and would be on most any other team. The only reason he’s a back-up is because you have to get Lil’Jordan on the field somehow. Heard has found a natural fit in the hole that was slot and showed just how well he can adjust to the ball and bring it in multiple times throughout the game. I don’t even think we saw him shine where he shines best, which is in the redzone. He’ll be a guy who gets you large chunks of yardage at a time as he pulled in four catches for 89 yards. I’m excited about Heard and what he can do.

There were plenty of rumors surrounding Devin Duvernay in January and February, but Devin showed in the Spring Game why those quieted down. While he wasn’t targeted as much as I thought he should’ve been, Devin showed palpable and marked improvement in his route running and understanding of positioning. Add to that his hands and speed and you have an exciting guy on the outside.

Devin will be splitting time with John Burt, who while he didn’t put up crazy numbers, like Devin Duvernay, showed he has taken a huge step in his game. Burt’s problem has been pulling in the easy passes. Even when he did catch the easy balls last year, it looked like a huge struggle. During this game and through the Spring, Burt has gotten over the yips. The only reason he didn’t have two touchdowns during the Spring Game is because he was overthrown both times. Even on those overthrows, Burt showed a tremendous amount of athleticism and willingness to sacrifice.

Again, when it comes to the wide receivers…

 

 

Edited May 6, 2018 by OnAComputer

[Gigglebush 107]

11 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Expectations for Watson shouldn't be too high - he's coming off an ACL tear, and he's not a game-changing workhorse back. But he's experienced, takes care of the ball, and has good hands out of the backfield.

 

1. We better use more RB screens next season

2. This kid looks so much better than Porter.

[Spawn of Cthulhu 2,241]

Dude only gained 11 yards against us in 2016. Not sure what to think about that.

[texifornia 57,558]

Cal blogger's take:

 

Edited May 7, 2018 by texifornia

[GreenspointTexas 9,882]

Looks like an Obi Wan clone... nttawwt

[ChingoHorns 115]

I’m not too concerned about the ACL, McKnight should be able to address any issues upon his arrival. He’s gonna be a great add to the RB room from depth to leadership. 

[CastHorn 823]

 

 

Edited May 7, 2018 by CastHorn

[SLChorn 58]

So, since the recruiting board is in a tizzy over Giles' recruiting abilities (or perceived lack there of), let's talk ideal staff for 2019. I'd like Tim Beck demoted and moved to WR coach, Kliff Kingsbury (assuming he gets fired at Tech) made OC/QB coach, Mehringer fired, Meekins moved back to TE coach, Warehime fired, Giles assigned exclusively to coach DEs, and a guy like Dennis Johnson (young guy from LSU) coaching DTs.

[Machinator 32,099]

10 minutes ago, SLChorn said:

So, since the recruiting board is in a tizzy over Giles' recruiting abilities (or perceived lack there of), let's talk ideal staff for 2019. I'd like Tim Beck demoted and moved to WR coach, Kliff Kingsbury (assuming he gets fired at Tech) made OC/QB coach, Mehringer fired, Meekins moved back to TE coach, Warehime fired, Giles assigned exclusively to coach DEs, and a guy like Dennis Johnson (young guy from LSU) coaching DTs.

I don't know much about Dennis Johnson, but this sounds reasonable otherwise.

[Steamboat1874 4,184]

Sure because changing coordinators and position coaches every year has worked so well before......

[Machinator 32,099]

12 minutes ago, Steamboat1874 said:

Sure because changing coordinators and position coaches every year has worked so well before......

Because treating every coaching situation as 100% identical makes sense.

[Machinator 32,099]

Some possible good news from IT:

Quote

TEAM NEWS

We’re told the chances of Chris Nelson and Devin and Donovan Duvernay returning are much higher than post-Texas Bowl. 

Herman and his staff were diligent in keeping them engaged throughout spring practice and other team activities.

Nelson will graduate next week, and sources say he’s excited about returning and thinks the Texas defensive line could be better than ever in his final campaign. As many as three Longhorn defensive linemen could be selected in next April’s NFL draft - Charles Omenihu, Breckyn Hager, and Chris Nelson. 

 

[Mudcat35 196]

I"m looking forward to see what Tre can do in Austin.  Hopefully we will add some packages that take advantage of what he does well.

[Slacks 6,922]

15 hours ago, Spawn of Cthulhu said:

Dude only gained 11 yards against us in 2016. Not sure what to think about that.

lol. i was about to post this. now i don't have to.

[Rick Blaine 30]

1 hour ago, Steamboat1874 said:

Sure because changing coordinators and position coaches every year has worked so well before......

"Hurts has had four offensive coordinators (Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Brian Daboll, Mike Locksley) and four quarterbacks coaches (Kiffin, Sarkisian, Daboll, Dan Enos) in his brief time at Alabama. So it should come as no surprise that while playing for his third coordinator and quarterbacks coach (Daboll), Hurts' numbers regressed last season."

Yeah, it's sure fucked 'Bama, hasn't it?

[Machinator 32,099]

TFB on the Tre Watson addition: http://texas.thefootballbrainiacs.com/2018/05/open-post-monday-may-7th/

– As you all know by now, Texas secured a commitment from grad transfer Running Back Tre Watson yesterday.

Watson should provide the Longhorns running back room with some much needed depth. He is a guy who could be your work horse due to his ability to get to the next gear or just flat run over a man. His frame is already built out, and he has shown the traits of being able to get through the inside with low pad level, break through arm tackles, and make one cut and go which makes Watson a perfect back for the inside zone offense that Texas runs.

Through his 266 carries over the first four years of his career, he only had a single fumble while he averaged an astounding 4.95 yards per carry in his last two years, and 1390 over his first three years. He was also effective through the air gaining 379 yards.

With the lackluster rushing performance during the Spring Game, Texas made it no secret that they needed help at running back. They needed someone to lighten the load on Sam Ehlinger who is taking more beatings than he needs to. With the two best backs in the running back room entering just their sophomore season, Texas badly needed the ready-to-go running back that Tre Watson provides them.

Tre also brings to Texas some good production on special teams. Throughout his time in Cal, Tre had 657 kickoff return yards (19.32 yards/kickoff).

While Tre Watson won’t break any home runs, he will provide a steady stream of good carries. He also allows Texas to keep incoming freshman RB Keaontay Ingram off the field to develop him and the running back room in general. – (Will)

Are you excited about graduate transfer players coming to the Texas program? You should be because the Texas roster isn’t set up for a big year without them. Not only has Tom signed offensive tackle, Calvin Anderson, now running back, Tre Watson, but you might see another. We’ll save that for another time because I’m here to provide you some thoughts on the new running back. You may ask, ‘Don’t we have enough running backs?’ That’s a valid question. Prior to the Watson signing, there were Kyle Porter, Daniel Young, Toneil Carter, and perpetually injured who you hope to have a Jordan Shipley-esque comeback, Kirk Johnson. Don’t forget Ingraham too, the incoming freshman. While that seems like a lot of bodies, it’s not, I’ll tell you why.

Out of all the backs aforementioned, only one showed consistent effective performance, Daniel Young. The others showed you consistently ineffective play, poor ball security despite big play potential, and constant sidelining injury. That sucks. Now, imagine none of that changing. Do you see my point? Herman knows he needs help at the position and I suspect he’d prefer a ‘3-deep’ solution of Young, Watson, and another, perhaps Johnson if blessed with help, Ingraham if blessed with quick learning, or settling on Porter, who isn’t bad per se, but hasn’t shown the ability to consistently produce or break big plays. That said, what does Watson bring to the table?

Watson is ‘short’ (5′ 9/10“) and possesses good speed. He’s not as shifty as you’d like, but he strikes me as a patient and physical runner. He even catches the ball well, a very good thing given the amount of running back Flare concepts Herman likes to run. This is where he excels, as he seems to have a knack for navigating the flat and taking on tacklers on the perimeter, even breaking long runs. When receiving hand-offs, Tre is patient behind leads and pullers and finds creases well. He’s still best when attacking the perimeter. While Texas hasn’t quite revealed the full extent of the 2018 offense, as mentioned before here, don’t expect any huge changes. Tre should fit quite well in Texas’ Zone, Power, and Counter schemes, as they allow him to read blocks and cut back or bounce runs.

How does Tre compare to the current stable of Texas runners? Watson is similar in size to Kyle Porter, however, he shares a penchant for vision with Daniel Young and possesses more speed than either. He’s also a smoother runner than Porter, in my opinion. If his ball security isn’t an issue, that places him right in the mix for lead ball carrier, a pretty big deal because many expect Hand’s charges to clear paths better in 2018. Unless Johnson is able to stay healthy and push for touches and Ingraham shows an ability to adapt to the next lever quick, you’re going to see a lot of Watson. Overall, I like the signing and expect improvement on offense. After all, after you’ve reached rock bottom, the only way to go is up! – (Gabe)

[BigBenBamboozle 1,957]

On 5/7/2018 at 10:48 AM, Rick Blaine said:

"Hurts has had four offensive coordinators (Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Brian Daboll, Mike Locksley) and four quarterbacks coaches (Kiffin, Sarkisian, Daboll, Dan Enos) in his brief time at Alabama. So it should come as no surprise that while playing for his third coordinator and quarterbacks coach (Daboll), Hurts' numbers regressed last season."

Yeah, it's sure fucked 'Bama, hasn't it?

Comparing Bama to our coordinating turnover is fucking regarded. 

Moreso than Watson, it would be huge to keep Nelson in the fold.

[Sejjr 3,249]

On 5/6/2018 at 4:57 PM, Spawn of Cthulhu said:

Dude only gained 11 yards against us in 2016. Not sure what to think about that.

When Chad Hansen is going for 200, you don’t really need to run the ball?

[texifornia 57,558]

 

[BigHorn'13 3,456]

3 hours ago, Sejjr said:

When Chad Hansen is going for 200, you don’t really need to run the ball?

Triggered.

Just stop 6. Double him. Triple him. They're going to go to him until we stop him. He just scored again and hurdled Haines, didn't he? Ok...

[sighs] Just stop 6. Double him...

[ousux 5,621]

"Hurts has had four offensive coordinators (Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Brian Daboll, Mike Locksley) and four quarterbacks coaches (Kiffin, Sarkisian, Daboll, Dan Enos) in his brief time at Alabama. So it should come as no surprise that while playing for his third coordinator and quarterbacks coach (Daboll), Hurts' numbers regressed last season."
Yeah, it's sure fucked 'Bama, hasn't it?

When you're basically fielding a college all star team that gets to workout/practice together all the time instead of a single week, coordinators tend to not matter quite as much. The 04/05 Longhorns made Mack, GDGD and blockhead seem like gotdam coaching gods..

[Sejjr 3,249]

1 hour ago, texifornia said:

 

I really hope this is the year that Wheeler finally plays as scary as he looks. Also, we are a long way from the days of Jeff Madden, thank God.

[Bevo 13,660]

We have to be doing roids. Everyone is just so much bigger and more cut than in the past. It is pretty impressive.

[texifornia 57,558]

Even the graphic design guys are bored and messing around in the offseason

 

[Dnaguy 12,380]

30 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Even the graphic design guys are bored and messing around in the offseason

 

Hot Ice

[Napoleon 8,733]

10 hours ago, Bevo said:

We have to be doing roids. Everyone is just so much bigger and more cut than in the past. It is pretty impressive.

"Supplements" that are being taken at the appropriate times and in the appropriate quantities that go with "doing work" in the weight room.

[South Austin 52,766]

1 hour ago, Napoleon said:

"Supplements" that are being taken at the appropriate times and in the appropriate quantities that go with "doing work" in the weight room.

[Hiphopopotamos 20,910]

Athlon Sports Starting College QB Rankings:

34. Sam Ehlinger, Texas

Just like Kyler Murray, don’t be surprised if Ehlinger climbs this list by the time fall practice starts. All signs point to Ehlinger holding off Shane Buechele for the starting job, and coach Tom Herman is counting on the sophomore to jumpstart an offense that averaged only 25.4 points a game in Big 12 contests last year. As a true freshman last fall, Ehlinger led the team with 1,915 passing yards and tossed 11 scores. He also paced the team in rushing yards (381) and scored twice on the ground. With a full offseason to work as the starter and develop under Herman’s watch, Ehlinger is poised for a big jump in his second year in Austin.

 https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-football-starting-quarterback-rankings-2018

[Scholz 12,150]

Early look at Big 12 quarterbacks ,   View image on Twitter   Athlon Sports✔@AthlonSports   Ranking all 130 starting quarterbacks for 2018: Who takes the No. 1 spot? https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-football-starting-quarterback-rankings-2018 … 9:52 AM - May 8, 2018 ·        364 ·        209 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy How Athlon rates the Big 12 quarterbacks right now, and some of it might surprise you: No. 1 – Will Grier (West Virginia) No. 32 – Charlie Brewer (Baylor) No. 33 - Kyler Kempt (Iowa State) No. 34 – Sam Ehlinger (Texas) No. 35 – Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) No. 54 – Skyler Thompson (Kansas State) No. 70 – Shawn Robinson (TCU) No. 77 – Dru Brown (Oklahoma State) No. 97 – McLane Carter (Texas Tech) No. 108 – Peyton Bender (Kansas) Notice a trend? After Grier, there’s a clear drop-off, and a group of quarterbacks bunched together, literally, because no one has distinguished themselves heading into the season. And since we're on the subject of Grier, if he's rated as the No. 1 QB heading into the season, it's a down year for quarterbacks in college football. Check out parts of some of these descriptions: ** Brewer… “Brewer is one of the main reasons for optimism in Waco, as the Texas native appears poised to build off a promising 2017 season. As a true freshman, Brewer completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 1,562 yards and 11 touchdowns to just four picks. He also added 166 yards on the ground, including 49 against TCU in the season finale.” Grasping for anything when 49 yards rushing – in a total game, not just on one play – is needed to support the ranking.  ** Kempt… “He assumed the starting job after Jacob Park left the team in early October and made his first start on the road at Oklahoma. The big moment didn’t rattle Kempt, as he connected on 18 of 24 throws for 343 yards and three touchdowns in an upset over the Sooners. Kempt finished 2017 with 1,787 yards and 15 passing scores and completed 66.3 percent of his passes. He also tossed only three picks on 243 attempts.” The Oklahoma performance was extremely impressive, and so was the performance against Memphis in a bowl game win. But he also threw for over 250 yards just one other time – in a loss to Kansas State. ** Ehlinger… “As a true freshman last fall, Ehlinger led the team with 1,915 passing yards and tossed 11 scores. He also paced the team in rushing yards (381) and scored twice on the ground. With a full offseason to work as the starter and develop under Herman’s watch, Ehlinger is poised for a big jump in his second year in Austin.” I don’t think “poised for a big jump” is the way I’d describe it, but some improvement is certainly expected. And Ehlinger is the favorite to win the job. The mention of 381 rushing yards and two scores doesn’t speak very loudly, which, again, helps make the general point.  ** Murray… “The former five-star recruit started three games with the Aggies in 2015, completing 59.5 percent of his throws for 686 yards and five scores. He also added 335 yards on the ground. Murray played in seven games as Baker Mayfield’s backup last year and connected on 18 of 21 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns. The Texas native is a dynamic runner but is far from a finished product as a passer. The upside is there for a monster season under coach Lincoln Riley. How quickly will Murray settle into the starting job?” Self-explanatory. Moving along.  ** Thompson… “Kansas State closed spring practice with Skylar Thompson and Alex Delton locked into a tight battle for the top spot under center. While a clear starter didn’t emerge, that’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Wildcats. Both players showed promise last season and are more than capable of leading the K-State offense. Thompson threw for 689 yards and five touchdowns, while Delton recorded 637. Both players were a threat on the ground, but Delton outrushed Thompson (500 yards to 267).” Another program in the Big 12 dealing with a quarterback battle.  Down the list, Robinson is tabbed, correctly, as the heavy favorite to replace Kenny Hill. Brown is a Hawai’i transfer that will arrive at Oklahoma State, who had a former walk-on at QB1 during the spring. As for Texas Tech, Carter is the projected pick, but Athlon notes he’s not a lock and the position could play out a few ways.  Remember, these are the quarterbacks Texas faced last season: Sam Darnold (USC), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Drew Lock (Missouri), Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State), Jesse Ertz (Kansas State), Kenny Hill (TCU), Charlie Brewer (Baylor), McLane Carter (Texas Tech; Nic Shimonek attempted just eight passes versus Texas).  So, that’s the No. 1 overall pick, No. 3 overall pick, a highly productive third-round pick, a multi-year starter at TCU, and possibly the top QB taken in next year’s draft in Lock. Next year’s projected opponents don’t look as threatening, and certainly won’t be as experienced.  As the theme in Ahtlon’s current projections shows, the Big 12 will enter the 2018 season with uncertainty at the quarterback position at every place in the league besides West Virginia. While programs like Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State should receive some benefit of the doubt, the last two on that list just lost some of the best to play the position at their respective programs and in the Big 12.

[Machinator 32,099]

 

[ausjala 101]

9 hours ago, Machinator said:

 

Think an 18 wheeler just pulled up in Austin.

[Domedriver 655]

Looks like a TE!

[Auto Driller 2,511]

Choo choo!

[Elmer_Fudd 22,708]

Herman said when summer workouts begin that Estelle, Freeman, and (surprise) Kirk Johnson will be the only ones not cleared to participate.

[Auto Driller 2,511]

18 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Herman said when summer workouts begin that Estelle, Freeman, and (surprise) Kirk Johnson will be the only ones not cleared to participate.

Re: Kirk Johnson 

How do you injure yourself when you haven’t participated in workouts / practice / games in over two years? When are these injuries occurring?

[Enchubben 5,564]

On 5/8/2018 at 4:55 PM, Dnaguy said:

Hot Ice

[Scholz 12,150]

1 hour ago, Auto Driller said:

Re: Kirk Johnson 

How do you injure yourself when you haven’t participated in workouts / practice / games in over two years? When are these injuries occurring?

No shit.  Is this guy made of porcelain or what?

[Katfid54 8,756]

2 minutes ago, Scholz said:

No shit.  Is this guy made of porcelain or what?

 

[Dbeasy 15,264]

No shit.  Is this guy made of porcelain or what?

I’ve got to believe everyone knows he can’t play anymore but they are leaving him on scholarship. The question is why not just transfer him to a medical scholarship.

[Katfid54 8,756]

17 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

I’ve got to believe everyone knows he can’t play anymore but they are leaving him on scholarship. The question is why not just transfer him to a medical scholarship.

Gotta think we'll do that if we take additional grad transfers and need the scholly, right?  There's been no reason to do so to date.

[Fug 592]

14 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Gotta think we'll do that if we take additional grad transfers and need the scholly, right?  There's been no reason to do so to date.

Are we sure they haven't already done that? Is this something the university has to publicize?

[Katfid54 8,756]

3 minutes ago, Fug said:

Are we sure they haven't already done that? Is this something the university has to publicize?

Don't know.  But for every scholarship "count" that folks on the board and on paysites have done, he's always still allocated one of the 85 scholarships.