Texas Recruiting Notes 2024: Bags Don't Beat Bankrolls

[Elmer_Fudd 22,214]

Hicks' dad not about to throw up a Hook em'

 

[westexhorn 2,017]

4 hours ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

https://247sports.com/player/michai-boireau-46115014/

6'5" 350 lb? Yes please!

[EZ$ 2,104]

Mack would’ve had 17 commitments by now. Just sayin….

[VinyVango 689]

Mack would’ve had 17 commitments by now. Just sayin….

.. and Pillsbury doughboys all

[Codaxx 5,733]

53 minutes ago, EZ$ said:

Mack would’ve had 17 commitments by now. Just sayin….

not anymore. Mack started Junior days and he had an edge for awhile. Rest of the CFB caught up to him. 

[DigglerontheHoof 21,192]

28 minutes ago, VinyVango said:

.. and Pillsbury doughboys all

[texifornia 56,929]

15 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

not anymore. Mack started Junior days and he had an edge for awhile. Rest of the CFB caught up to him. 

He was still taking commitments though. Remember the bread Strong had to process in his transition class?

Edited January 25, 2023 by texifornia

[NoName 16,351]

22 minutes ago, texifornia said:

He was still taking commitments though. Remember the bread Strong had to process in his transition class?

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Season/2014-Football/Commits/

because people won't remember here are the top 10 commits in that class

1. Derick Roberson
2. Jerrod Heard
3. Armanti Foreman
4. Edwin Freeman
5. Lorenzo Joe
6. Duke Catalon
7. John Bonney
8. Poona Ford
9. Jermaine Roberts
10. Blake Whiteley

other names from that class that stick out to me: Terrell Cuney, Andrew Beck, Jake McMillon, Chris Nelson, Elijah Rodriguez and someone named Kevin Shorter from Newton who didn't ever enroll?

 

[texifornia 56,929]

11 minutes ago, NoName said:

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Season/2014-Football/Commits/

because people won't remember here are the top 10 commits in that class

1. Derick Roberson
2. Jerrod Heard
3. Armanti Foreman
4. Edwin Freeman
5. Lorenzo Joe
6. Duke Catalon
7. John Bonney
8. Poona Ford
9. Jermaine Roberts
10. Blake Whiteley

other names from that class that stick out to me: Terrell Cuney, Andrew Beck, Jake McMillon, Chris Nelson, Elijah Rodriguez and someone named Kevin Shorter from Newton who didn't ever enroll?

 

And there was Bryce English and another guy who were so bad he immediately cut then loose. They might have been for the next class, though.

[closetojumping 62,619]

39 minutes ago, texifornia said:

He was still taking commitments though. Remember the bread Strong had to process in his transition class?

 

15 minutes ago, NoName said:

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Season/2014-Football/Commits/

because people won't remember here are the top 10 commits in that class

1. Derick Roberson
2. Jerrod Heard
3. Armanti Foreman
4. Edwin Freeman
5. Lorenzo Joe
6. Duke Catalon
7. John Bonney
8. Poona Ford
9. Jermaine Roberts
10. Blake Whiteley

other names from that class that stick out to me: Terrell Cuney, Andrew Beck, Jake McMillon, Chris Nelson, Elijah Rodriguez and someone named Kevin Shorter from Newton who didn't ever enroll?

 

 

3 minutes ago, texifornia said:

And there was Bryce English and another guy who were so bad he immediately cut then loose. They might have been for the next class, though.

Do we have to do this? 

Also, Shorter had a career ending spinal injury so he never played on campus but they honored the offer. 

[NoName 16,351]

1 minute ago, closetojumping said:

 

 

Do we have to do this? 

Also, Shorter had a career ending spinal injury so he never played on campus but they honored the offer. 

i won't post more about shit classes, but 247 had Shorter in the same category as guys like Gilbert Johnson and Devo Clarington who were non-qualifiers so assumed i had just blanked on him existing. thanks for the info

[UDontKnow 10,444]

What I remember was Mack actively sabotaging the recruiting class when he was let go. 

[NoName 16,351]

14 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

What I remember was Mack actively sabotaging the recruiting class when he was let go. 

hey, he was KILLING himself recruiting Florida!

[Red Five 40,854]

Good times. IIRC, after helping to scuttle the Saban deal, Mack encouraged our 2013 recruiting class to look around. It's actually kind of amazing that 10 years later there is still no Mack Brown Blvd running by the stadium, or statue, or anything like that. There probably would be had he not exited the way he did.

[SydneyCarton 48,081]

50 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

What I remember was Mack actively sabotaging the recruiting class when he was let go. 

He sabotaged everything on his way out the door. Recruiting class, Saban hire, poisoning the influental donors that were his buddies against the AD and the next coach. 

[Wulaw Horn 19,069]

16 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

He sabotaged everything on his way out the door. Recruiting class, Saban hire, poisoning the influental donors that were his buddies against the AD and the next coach. 

Yeah but the joke was on him though as we got the most desired Coach that made a move that year in Charlie Strong. Checkmate Mack. 

[closetohumping 17,440]

30 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Yeah but the joke was on him though as we got the most desired Coach that made a move that year in Charlie Strong. Checkmate Mack. 

Actually, I think Mack had something to do with Charlie getting hired.

[Beer Drinker 615]

2 hours ago, texifornia said:

And there was Bryce English and another guy who were so bad he immediately cut then loose. They might have been for the next class, though.

I think the other guy was Johnny Shaw - some safety from West Orange Stark who didn't even start for his high school team

[texifornia 56,929]

The only surprise is that he didn't already have it - Micah Hudson picks up UGA

 

[texifornia 56,929]

https://247sports.com/player/jacob-smith-46116083/

[campcrunk 2,448]

5 hours ago, NoName said:

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Season/2014-Football/Commits/

because people won't remember here are the top 10 commits in that class

1. Derick Roberson
2. Jerrod Heard
3. Armanti Foreman
4. Edwin Freeman
5. Lorenzo Joe
6. Duke Catalon
7. John Bonney
8. Poona Ford
9. Jermaine Roberts
10. Blake Whiteley

other names from that class that stick out to me: Terrell Cuney, Andrew Beck, Jake McMillon, Chris Nelson, Elijah Rodriguez and someone named Kevin Shorter from Newton who didn't ever enroll?

 

That's depressing as fuck. I remember thinking that a few of those guys (Bonney, Freeman, Roberson, & Catalon?) were going to be so good for us. God damn, that was some shitty projection on my part. 

[Chuckie Finster 22,694]

5 hours ago, NoName said:

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Season/2014-Football/Commits/

because people won't remember here are the top 10 commits in that class

1. Derick Roberson
2. Jerrod Heard
3. Armanti Foreman
4. Edwin Freeman
5. Lorenzo Joe
6. Duke Catalon
7. John Bonney
8. Poona Ford
9. Jermaine Roberts
10. Blake Whiteley

other names from that class that stick out to me: Terrell Cuney, Andrew Beck, Jake McMillon, Chris Nelson, Elijah Rodriguez and someone named Kevin Shorter from Newton who didn't ever enroll?

 

What a weird fucking class.  Besides Roberson, only three legit NFL players and they are the 8th, 11th, and 21st ranked players in the group.

[RollingPresidential 633]

24 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:

What a weird fucking class.  Besides Roberson, only three legit NFL players and they are the 8th, 11th, and 21st ranked players in the group.

TIL that Roberson is in the NFL.

[NoctambulantBrobdingnagian 530]

On 1/10/2023 at 1:03 PM, closetojumping said:

On this point, I understand why forum regulars react to this kind of approach, myself included, but when new guys arrive, some suck and some are great.

When I showed up on Shaggy, one of the first things I did was tell Jen Seastrunk that she was full of shit, that her sister was fucking street agent Willie Lyles, and that her nephew had his hand out. Posters were fawning over her and hoping she'd help Lache Seastrunk come to Texas.

I almost got negged off the board and didn't give one fuck. It sorted itself out, but there were guys in that forum who seem like they're pissed at me to this day over the original nuclear bombing of the environment. How could I call out sweet aunt Jenny, the lying hypocrite, like that?!? Also, Willie Lyles created a handle and threatened to fight me through the Internet. 

Anywho, what, uh, were we talking about?

I believe the topic was your eternal friendship with Carl, sir.

[Hornlover 8,830]

Looks like we made the top 50!

But, seriously, how is a kid from New Haven, CT the #2 overall recruit?

 

 

[closetojumping 62,619]

Just to circle back on the forecast for this season, the only way Texas lands a top 5 class in this cycle is with strong NIL and a 10+ win season. The interior DL, LB, secondary, TB, TE and OL positions are weaker than normal in-state. Texas is going to have to win, stay a buzzy-team as a result, and land most of their key in-state guys while getting a lot of key help, again, from SEC country and the west coast. 

The edge guy from Georgia that visited really likes Texas. Good luck with it though. 

Cruz should be a top 50 guy. He's severely underrated at the moment. After that, Uini could be awesome, but he's a project. Ory Williams is fine. They're going to work to land some of the big OOS guys but can't ignore Texas guys. 

Is Hudson going to get timed at camps? His overall speed is a question mark and he may be overrated. He's a pure NIL recruit. 

Texas is behind at WR because Marion quit and didn't tell anyone for a while and the new guy coming is starting flatfooted. That's a position of strength in the state, so hopefully there's enough talent to catch up and get whoever they want. 

Umeozulu hasn't filled out the way you'd hope. Should be interesting to see how hard the push is here. That said, similar concerns were voiced about Vasek this time last year. 

Teams with no buzz in the 2024 cycle? Texas ATM. Not sure about anyone else. 

[Duane Moore 5,237]

5 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

The interior DL, LB, secondary, TB, TE and OL positions are weaker than normal in-state.

Gerry has been stressing that they are hitting Mississippi and Alabama hard for DL this cycle. I think he or Wells said that of the 8 DL holding offers at Junior Day, only Alex January was in-state. 

[Vertuzzi 1,369]

23 minutes ago, Hornlover said:

Looks like we made the top 50!

But, seriously, how is a kid from New Haven, CT the #2 overall recruit?

 

 

I’m sure this kid won’t back off his commitment over the next year at all.

[Atticus 3,973]

27 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Just to circle back on the forecast for this season, the only way Texas lands a top 5 class in this cycle is with strong NIL and a 10+ win season. The interior DL, LB, secondary, TB, TE and OL positions are weaker than normal in-state. Texas is going to have to win, stay a buzzy-team as a result, and land most of their key in-state guys while getting a lot of key help, again, from SEC country and the west coast. 

The edge guy from Georgia that visited really likes Texas. Good luck with it though. 

Cruz should be a top 50 guy. He's severely underrated at the moment. After that, Uini could be awesome, but he's a project. Ory Williams is fine. They're going to work to land some of the big OOS guys but can't ignore Texas guys. 

Is Hudson going to get timed at camps? His overall speed is a question mark and he may be overrated. He's a pure NIL recruit. 

Texas is behind at WR because Marion quit and didn't tell anyone for a while and the new guy coming is starting flatfooted. That's a position of strength in the state, so hopefully there's enough talent to catch up and get whoever they want. 

Umeozulu hasn't filled out the way you'd hope. Should be interesting to see how hard the push is here. That said, similar concerns were voiced about Vasek this time last year. 

Teams with no buzz in the 2024 cycle? Texas ATM. Not sure about anyone else. 

I was not a fan of Vasek's long term upside when I first saw him, thought Burke looked like he had more going for him.

Dude grew, got thicker, and possibly gained some burst his senior year. Then, he's got the head start on technique too. He's legit.

Hopefully Zina takes the makes the same jump physically, but I'm higher on him than I was on Vasek going into his senior year.

[Doc Daneeka 6,769]

36 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Just to circle back on the forecast for this season, the only way Texas lands a top 5 class in this cycle is with strong NIL and a 10+ win season. The interior DL, LB, secondary, TB, TE and OL positions are weaker than normal in-state. Texas is going to have to win, stay a buzzy-team as a result, and land most of their key in-state guys while getting a lot of key help, again, from SEC country and the west coast. 

Luckily 10 (plus) wins sounds about right. Beating Alabama on the road and beating OU’s ass again should get the buzziness going. Hopefully it will be maintained through the beatable dregs like Tech and Oklahoma State, if the latter still has enough guys to field a team. 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Doc Daneeka

[Mason Ramsey 3,373]

45 minutes ago, Hornlover said:

Looks like we made the top 50!

But, seriously, how is a kid from New Haven, CT the #2 overall recruit?

 

 

If you're him, you gotta roll with the "Ellis Island" nickname as a CB here, right?

[texifornia 56,929]

2 hours ago, texifornia said:

https://247sports.com/player/jacob-smith-46116083/

Hah, didn't initially clock that the edit was for both twins

https://247sports.com/player/jerod-smith-46116107/

[BlackChicken 60]

Terrell cuney is a blast from the past. 
The only thing that guy ever did was get pinched for stealing a coat. 

[Dbeasy 15,047]

13 minutes ago, Atticus said:

I was not a fan of Vasek's long term upside when I first saw him, thought Burke looked like he had more going for him.

Dude grew, got thicker, and possibly gained some burst his senior year. Then, he's got the head start on technique too. He's legit.

Hopefully Zina takes the makes the same jump physically, but I'm higher on him than I was on Vasek going into his senior year.

Most of the annoying Westlake dads have felt Vasek was way better than Burke. I’m not that fired up about either but would happily be proven wrong in the future. 

[Vertigo 20,276]

2 hours ago, texifornia said:

The only surprise is that he didn't already have it - Micah Hudson picks up UGA

 

Um.. Is that a picture of the guy that is now on our roster?

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Vertigo

[Ghost of Shag 2,608]

25 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

Luckily 10 (plus) wins sounds about right. Beating Alabama on the road and beating OU’s ass again should get the buzziness going. Hopefully it will be maintained through the beatable dregs like Tech and Oklahoma State, if the latter still has enough guys to field a team. 

[Doc Daneeka 6,769]

36 minutes ago, Mason Ramsey said:

If you're him, you gotta roll with the "Ellis Island" nickname as a CB here, right?

Everyone got through Ellis Island. 

[NoName 16,351]

2 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

Everyone got through Ellis Island. 

[Bevo14 8,304]

Reliving the FUPM era today eh?

[tokamak 6,422]

53 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Hah, didn't initially clock that the edit was for both twins

https://247sports.com/player/jerod-smith-46116107/

AGUKOM-DONY

[texifornia 56,929]

https://247sports.com/Player/Zina-Umeozulu-46114446/

[HillCountryBevo 231]

2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Just to circle back on the forecast for this season, the only way Texas lands a top 5 class in this cycle is with strong NIL and a 10+ win season. The interior DL, LB, secondary, TB, TE and OL positions are weaker than normal in-state. Texas is going to have to win, stay a buzzy-team as a result, and land most of their key in-state guys while getting a lot of key help, again, from SEC country and the west coast. 

The edge guy from Georgia that visited really likes Texas. Good luck with it though. 

Cruz should be a top 50 guy. He's severely underrated at the moment. After that, Uini could be awesome, but he's a project. Ory Williams is fine. They're going to work to land some of the big OOS guys but can't ignore Texas guys. 

Is Hudson going to get timed at camps? His overall speed is a question mark and he may be overrated. He's a pure NIL recruit. 

Texas is behind at WR because Marion quit and didn't tell anyone for a while and the new guy coming is starting flatfooted. That's a position of strength in the state, so hopefully there's enough talent to catch up and get whoever they want. 

Umeozulu hasn't filled out the way you'd hope. Should be interesting to see how hard the push is here. That said, similar concerns were voiced about Vasek this time last year. 

Teams with no buzz in the 2024 cycle? Texas ATM. Not sure about anyone else. 

Extremely worried about interior DL after this season and if Bledsoe and Ross and Bryant don’t add weight… 

[texifornia 56,929]

https://247sports.com/player/jujuan-johnson-46131524/

[texifornia 56,929]

 

[closetojumping 62,619]

3 hours ago, Doc Daneeka said:

Luckily 10 (plus) wins sounds about right. Beating Alabama on the road and beating OU’s ass again should get the buzziness going. Hopefully it will be maintained through the beatable dregs like Tech and Oklahoma State, if the latter still has enough guys to field a team. 

If there is a year to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa under Nick Saban not called 2007, 2023 is it. Seriously, folks should go look at what they're losing and what they return. The transfer portal didn't go the way they hoped it would, either. We'll what they land in the May 1-15 period, but the rest of the college football world has already sent them a dead guy in the elevator with the words "Ho Ho Ho. Now I have a machine gun too." written in blood on his sweatshirt for them to recognize. 

On offense, they lose 3 starting OL, Bryce Young, Gibbs, and Latu. Milroe isn't an answer at QB and Simpson didn't have a great fall from folks who would know. They tried to lure Drake Maye with $4M in NIL of which they didn't even have a quarter of that raised. Speculatively, they'd conveyed the same Bryce Young corporate treatment would be there but couldn't guarantee it. For one, you can't have a guy in the Heisman House who didn't win a Heisman if you're Nissan. Their WRs don't scare anyone. Burton isn't a witch. McLellan is fine but he's not Gibbs. 

On defense, they lost 8 starters and other key backups. They lost 3 DL including Will Anderson. They lost To'oTo'o and Moody at LB. They lost 4 of their 5 starters in the seconday including Branch, a projected 1st rounder. They do return Dallas Turner, who had a shit season, and McKinstry, both of whom are projected 1st rounders after next season, fwiw. I know and get it, "Alabama replaces tons of guys every year and doesn't miss a beat." That's true until it isn't. The guys they're reloading with this year have less experience and less hype than any group before them. Also, they've rarely lost the vast (64%) majority of their starters in a single cycle. 

[TheContractor 70]

3 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

If there is a year to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa under Nick Saban not called 2007, 2023 is it. Seriously, folks should go look at what they're losing and what they return. The transfer portal didn't go the way they hoped it would, either. We'll what they land in the May 1-15 period, but the rest of the college football world has already sent them a dead guy in the elevator with the words "Ho Ho Ho. Now I have a machine gun too." written in blood on his sweatshirt for them to recognize. 

On offense, they lose 3 starting OL, Bryce Young, Gibbs, and Latu. Milroe isn't an answer at QB and Simpson didn't have a great fall from folks who would know. They tried to lure Drake Maye with $4M in NIL of which they didn't even have a quarter of that raised. Speculatively, they'd conveyed the same Bryce Young corporate treatment would be there but couldn't guarantee it. For one, you can't have a guy in the Heisman House who didn't win a Heisman if you're Nissan. Their WRs don't scare anyone. Burton isn't a witch. McLellan is fine but he's not Gibbs. 

On defense, they lost 8 starters and other key backups. They lost 3 DL including Will Anderson. They lost To'oTo'o and Moody at LB. They lost 4 of their 5 starters in the seconday including Branch, a projected 1st rounder. They do return Dallas Turner, who had a shit season, and McKinstry, both of whom are projected 1st rounders after next season, fwiw. I know and get it, "Alabama replaces tons of guys every year and doesn't miss a beat." That's true until it isn't. The guys they're reloading with this year have less experience and less hype than any group before them. Also, they've rarely lost the vast (64%) majority of their starters in a single cycle. 

Agree 100%, i just feel they will get 3-5 guys in the next portal window, including a QB. They cant go into the season with whats on campus. 

[closetojumping 62,619]

1 minute ago, TheContractor said:

Agree 100%, i just feel they will get 3-5 guys in the next portal window, including a QB. They cant go into the season with whats on campus. 

History is on your side with that belief, but so much has changed in such a short period of time, I don't know if that will materialize. I guess it also depends upon who else is targeting the same players. They got beat in this Dec/Jan portal window on a number of guys, and they had guys leave that they would have preferred to keep. They couldn't match on the money end in a few instances. 

[Dbeasy 15,047]

8 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

If there is a year to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa under Nick Saban not called 2007, 2023 is it. Seriously, folks should go look at what they're losing and what they return. The transfer portal didn't go the way they hoped it would, either. We'll what they land in the May 1-15 period, but the rest of the college football world has already sent them a dead guy in the elevator with the words "Ho Ho Ho. Now I have a machine gun too." written in blood on his sweatshirt for them to recognize. 

On offense, they lose 3 starting OL, Bryce Young, Gibbs, and Latu. Milroe isn't an answer at QB and Simpson didn't have a great fall from folks who would know. They tried to lure Drake Maye with $4M in NIL of which they didn't even have a quarter of that raised. Speculatively, they'd conveyed the same Bryce Young corporate treatment would be there but couldn't guarantee it. For one, you can't have a guy in the Heisman House who didn't win a Heisman if you're Nissan. Their WRs don't scare anyone. Burton isn't a witch. McLellan is fine but he's not Gibbs. 

On defense, they lost 8 starters and other key backups. They lost 3 DL including Will Anderson. They lost To'oTo'o and Moody at LB. They lost 4 of their 5 starters in the seconday including Branch, a projected 1st rounder. They do return Dallas Turner, who had a shit season, and McKinstry, both of whom are projected 1st rounders after next season, fwiw. I know and get it, "Alabama replaces tons of guys every year and doesn't miss a beat." That's true until it isn't. The guys they're reloading with this year have less experience and less hype than any group before them. Also, they've rarely lost the vast (64%) majority of their starters in a single cycle. 

Advantage Aggie obviously. 

[BurntOrange&White 39,931]

8 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

If there is a year to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa under Nick Saban not called 2007, 2023 is it. Seriously, folks should go look at what they're losing and what they return. The transfer portal didn't go the way they hoped it would, either. We'll what they land in the May 1-15 period, but the rest of the college football world has already sent them a dead guy in the elevator with the words "Ho Ho Ho. Now I have a machine gun too." written in blood on his sweatshirt for them to recognize. 

On offense, they lose 3 starting OL, Bryce Young, Gibbs, and Latu. Milroe isn't an answer at QB and Simpson didn't have a great fall from folks who would know. They tried to lure Drake Maye with $4M in NIL of which they didn't even have a quarter of that raised. Speculatively, they'd conveyed the same Bryce Young corporate treatment would be there but couldn't guarantee it. For one, you can't have a guy in the Heisman House who didn't win a Heisman if you're Nissan. Their WRs don't scare anyone. Burton isn't a witch. McLellan is fine but he's not Gibbs. 

On defense, they lost 8 starters and other key backups. They lost 3 DL including Will Anderson. They lost To'oTo'o and Moody at LB. They lost 4 of their 5 starters in the seconday including Branch, a projected 1st rounder. They do return Dallas Turner, who had a shit season, and McKinstry, both of whom are projected 1st rounders after next season, fwiw. I know and get it, "Alabama replaces tons of guys every year and doesn't miss a beat." That's true until it isn't. The guys they're reloading with this year have less experience and less hype than any group before them. Also, they've rarely lost the vast (64%) majority of their starters in a single cycle. 

I said in a tirade against Sark that Bama is very beatable and a game we should win on our road to a 10+ win season. 

[Doc Daneeka 6,769]

2 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

If there is a year to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa under Nick Saban not called 2007, 2023 is it. Seriously, folks should go look at what they're losing and what they return. The transfer portal didn't go the way they hoped it would, either. We'll what they land in the May 1-15 period, but the rest of the college football world has already sent them a dead guy in the elevator with the words "Ho Ho Ho. Now I have a machine gun too." written in blood on his sweatshirt for them to recognize. 

On offense, they lose 3 starting OL, Bryce Young, Gibbs, and Latu. Milroe isn't an answer at QB and Simpson didn't have a great fall from folks who would know. They tried to lure Drake Maye with $4M in NIL of which they didn't even have a quarter of that raised. Speculatively, they'd conveyed the same Bryce Young corporate treatment would be there but couldn't guarantee it. For one, you can't have a guy in the Heisman House who didn't win a Heisman if you're Nissan. Their WRs don't scare anyone. Burton isn't a witch. McLellan is fine but he's not Gibbs. 

On defense, they lost 8 starters and other key backups. They lost 3 DL including Will Anderson. They lost To'oTo'o and Moody at LB. They lost 4 of their 5 starters in the seconday including Branch, a projected 1st rounder. They do return Dallas Turner, who had a shit season, and McKinstry, both of whom are projected 1st rounders after next season, fwiw. I know and get it, "Alabama replaces tons of guys every year and doesn't miss a beat." That's true until it isn't. The guys they're reloading with this year have less experience and less hype than any group before them. Also, they've rarely lost the vast (64%) majority of their starters in a single cycle. 

All of which, the QB position maybe a bit less of a big deal than their losses on the lines, though their offense without Young would have to get out of the wheelchair to be pedestrian, is why I think Texas handles them. Maybe manhandles them, depending on how well the new backs can handle it. I don’t think it will hurt that Texas can go in knowing, not hoping, that they can give Alabama all they want.