2021 Texas Offseason: Sark Attacks Austin

[Bevo14 8,355]

20 hours ago, Enchubben said:

I’m only surprised that tweet didn’t end with a diatribe about how black ice has a negative connotation and how come it’s not called white ice. 

[Nope 3,121]

3 hours ago, CycleTex87 said:

I’ll say this about Sark, I got around to watching the NSD2 presser last night, and he gave refreshingly thoughtful and informative commentary on the signees, existing players, and recruiting philosophy. I’m sure in a couple of years we’ll just look over there and see how really really hard it is to come up with new answers, but for now I’m entertained and enlightened listening to Sark. 

And he doesn’t pause to send his remarks through the bullshit filter first, I had forgotten that was possible

Edited February 15, 2021 by Nope

[jdhorn92 1,552]

5 hours ago, CycleTex87 said:

I’ll say this about Sark, I got around to watching the NSD2 presser last night, and he gave refreshingly thoughtful and informative commentary on the signees, existing players, and recruiting philosophy. I’m sure in a couple of years we’ll just look over there and see how really really hard it is to come up with new answers, but for now I’m entertained and enlightened listening to Sark. 

I said this when we hired him, effective communication is critical in a leadership position (I know duh right?!).  Mack had it (love him or hate him), he was a tremendous communicator.  Sark has it too and he will improve over time, but if you look at Strong and Herman, both were severely lacking in the ability to use tone, body language, words, non-verbal etc... hopefully this translates in the recruiting dept as that is 95% sales.

[Machinator 32,099]

Sark interview on Houston radio this morning.

https://sportstalk790.iheart.com/alternate/amp/2021-02-16-steve-sarkisian-talks-texas-football-on-the-sean-salisbury-show/

[Machinator 32,099]

 

[Nope 3,121]

30 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

Bonus points for “brakes” and not “breaks,” which appears to be a struggle for many.

[Red Five 40,877]

There's a good Ercot joke somewhere in "all gas, no breaks". 

[Machinator 32,099]

(Scipio Tex) Sark's QB History

Spoiler

I covered Sark's history with RB bell cows and what it means for Bijan.

What about QBs?

Steve Sarkisian has a well-deserved reputation as a QB guru and he has coached a variety of throwers to success at the college level. He's also managed to inflate several NFL draft values along the way, generally by featuring the very best attributes of his signal callers and minimizing their weaknesses.

Let's go school by school, focusing on college jobs where he was either the QB coach or offensive coordinator.

USC 2001-2003

Carson Palmer - 1st pick, 1st round
Matt Leinart - 10th pick, 1st round

Sarkisian's debut as Carson Palmer's QB coach coincided with Palmer blowing up, transforming from an elite prospect whose on field performance never matched the hype to a Heisman winning senior campaign. Palmer finished his senior season with 3942 passing yards and a 33/10 TD-INT ratio. A QB once perceived as a college bust (he had as many interceptions as touchdowns in his prior three years at USC - 39/39) became the #1 pick in the NFL draft. Palmer was the classic drop back pro style QB: huge arm, accurate with a clean pocket, not a runner, 6-5, 235. Sarkisian helped build out a big boy NFL style passing attack around that arm and turned Carson's senior year into a draft infomercial.

In 2003, Palmer's successor, a relative unknown named Matt Leinart outperformed Palmer with a 38/9 TD to INT ratio, 3556 yards passing, and an amazing 9.7 yards per attempt. Leinart didn't have Palmer's arm strength and shared his immobility, but he was accurate, understood how to get the ball out quickly, and he thrived in Sarkisian's play action heavy pro style offense.

USC 2005-2006

Matt Leinart 10th pick, 1st round
JD Booty 5th round

Sarkisian returned to the Trojans as QB coach after a Raider diversion and helped lead Matt Leinart to a terrific senior season. But we all know how that season ended!

Leinart would be the 10th pick in the 2006 draft and eventually a NFL bust. However, he was indisputably a great college QB.

In 2006, USC started former high school 5 star prodigy John David Booty and he was acceptable in his first season as a starter, throwing for 3347 yards and a 29/9 TD to INT ratio. No one confused Booty with Palmer or Leinart - he labored to make timely reads and his alleged arm talent was often AWOL - but it was naturally assumed that his senior campaign would show improvement and the Trojan juggernaut would roll on.

USC 2007-2008

JD Booty 5th round
Mark Sanchez 5th pick, 1st round

It didn't get better. Sarkisian's first year as the USC OC coincided with several high profile offensive recruiting busts and JD Booty crashing to the ground, no longer buoyed by the talent that drove USC's run from 2002-2006. Booty struggled badly to get the ball down the field, demonstrated a penchant for untimely picks, and Trojan fans clamored for a guy named Mark Sanchez. Sarkisian was heavily criticized by Trojan fans for the drop in offensive production. Norm Chow would have somehow made it work!

We know now that Booty the prospect was largely a creation of early spread adoption at Shreveport Evangel and he lacked passing game awareness. But at the time, his deficits were blamed squarely on Sark.

Somehow JD Booty was drafted in the 5th round, despite no particular strengths as a QB.

Sarkisian silenced the critics in his second year as OC, as one year starter Mark Sanchez threw for 3207 yards, a 32-10 TD to INT ratio, and a healthy 8.8 yards per attempt. Sanchez looked the part of a star QB and he threw a beautiful ball off of play action, but much of his success came from Sarkisian putting him in excellent spots and creating easy progressions and reads. Sanchez owes Sarkisian a lot of money for featuring his best attributes and Jets fans probably curse Sark to this day for making a moth look like a butterfly.

Sanchez was the 5th overall pick in the NFL draft and despite a heady start (Sanchez is just a winner narratives abounded!) elevated by the dominant Jets defense, he crashed and burned into a butt fumbling bust.

Washington 2009-2013

Jake Locker 8th pick, 1st round
Keith Price UDFA

At Washington, Sarkisian coached Jake Locker, the ultimate projection traits guy who lacked every possible on-field skill needed to succeed at QB. The charismatic 6-3, 230 pound (4.59 40, tough, home state hero) Locker had the throwing feel of a Highland Games athlete, but damn did he look good in a uniform. Sarkisian struggled to showcase the slow-reading, inaccurate Locker, but he also can can shoulder some blame for making his offense needlessly complex for a QB who badly needed Offense 101 and a chance to better feature his legs and physicality.

Sark struggled through two years of Locker who, amazingly, was drafted 8th by the Tennessee Titans who compared him to "a bigger, stronger, right handed Steve Young." If you needed proof that nearly anyone can become a NFL GM...

Locker was replaced by his opposite: a coordinated, weak-armed, slow QB named Keith Price. Sark could work with a guy with some feel, even one with major physical limitations. Price would start for Sark for three years and proved to be a massive upgrade over Locker despite few redeeming physical attributes. Two of those years were quite good in terms of QB production, but Sarkisian's offense could be highly inconsistent. Particularly when defenses tested Price's physical deficiencies or the unit struggled to be on the same page with Sark's required route adjustments.

Price had zero future in the NFL, but the fact that Sark extracted much more value from him than the heralded Locker is worth noting.

USC 2014-2015

Cody Kessler 3rd round

Sarkisian returned to USC and inherited the closest analogue to what Sark was as a player at BYU in the form of the undersized, smart, slow Cody Kessler. Kessler was accurate and a competitor and that's generally enough for Sark.

Kessler rewarded his mentor with a huge year: 39/5 TD/INT and 9.7 yards per attempt. Eventually, he was drafted in the 3rd round by Cleveland. About three rounds too high.

Once again, Sarkisian proved that when he can mind meld with a QB who can execute what he wants and has the necessary surrounding offensive tools (Nelson Agholor and a young Juju Smith Schuster were featured), good stuff is going to happen.

Alabama 2019-2020

Tua Tagovailoa 5th pick, 1st round
Mac Jones (likely 1st rounder)

After public burn out and a two year cup of coffee with Atlanta, Sarkisian found himself at Alabama.

Little needs to be written about what he did with Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones, but in 2019 the two combined for 47 TDs and only 6 INTs as Alabama averaged 11 yards per pass attempt. Tua was already accomplished and heralded, but Sark allowed him to feature some NFL route concepts that secured him as the #5 pick in the draft despite significant injury concerns. Tua's history is not yet written, but early indications suggest that he's not yet figured out NFL open vs. Alabama open.

In 2020, the cerebral Mac Jones - effectively a Matt Leinart clone - shattered Tide records with 4500 yards passing, a 41-4 TD to INT ratio, and an incredible 11.2 yards per attempt. Jones got everything Sark was trying to do and arguably no Sarkisian QB has exhibited a better grasp of Sark's offense than Jones. A pure distributor, Jones evidenced good pocket feel, but very little athleticism and his arm is only adequate.

Sarkisian also effectively integrated the best of NFL and college passing game concepts, allowing Bama to feature their talent and steamroll a succession of quality defenses. Sark the OC had caught up to Sark the QB Whisperer.

Conclusions

There are a few things that can be reasonably surmised:

1. Sark can succeed with a variety of QBs and physical types, but prefers the QB to be pass first.

2. Sark has little patience or success with QBs who lack feel or timing. See: Booty, Locker.

3. Sark wants the QB to distribute to creators.

4. Sark the QB coach has always been damn good.

5. Sark the OC was still improving and growing into his 40s.

6. He has covered up a lot of warts on some pretty mediocre NFL prospects and made them a boat load of money.

7. He has also maximized several college guys with little NFL future. All they need is competitiveness, accuracy, feel, and some heart.

Picking a clear frontrunner in the 2021 QB race between Card and Thompson purely on traits or pedigree isn't Sark's mindset. He'll pick the guy that most opens up the offense for others with their feel, accuracy, and decision making.

 

[Machinator 32,099]

 

[Nope 3,121]

2 hours ago, Machinator said:

 

#AGNB

[markstanco 12,586]

Bonus points for “brakes” and not “breaks,” which appears to be a struggle for many.

Yea well it has a meaning. It's a dumb spin. No breaks as in no stopping.

[ousux 5,601]

Any word on piss color?

Amber, just like a fine bourbon.

The more the team drinks, less around to tempt Sark

[Slacks 6,829]

Yea well it has a meaning. It's a dumb spin. No breaks as in no stopping.

The workouts... No breaks.

[TheBryMan81 2,515]

12 hours ago, Machinator said:

 

Sark reshared on his Instagram story

[Longboard Horn 40,397]

 

[jw4381 3,091]

Doesn't this all gas no brakes (or whatever) insinuate that momentum is a thing? I was told it doesn't exist. Should I reevaluate this idea?

fuckin mensa

[RollLeft 5,045]

Icy white(s)!

[Born Burnt 6,182]

2 hours ago, jw4381 said:

Doesn't this all gas no brakes (or whatever) insinuate that momentum is a thing? I was told it doesn't exist. Should I reevaluate this idea?

fuckin mensa

Yeah, well, he obviously failed physics.

[UncleSonny 6,573]

Burton's top on NFL prospects on the roster:

Spoiler

Simple question to consider this morning.

With Joe Ossai and Sam Cosmi entering the NFL draft, who are the top draft prospects remaining on the Longhorn roster?

Here are my top 5:

1. DL, Alfred Collins
2. RB, Bijan Robinson
3. DL, T’Vondre Sweat
4. WR, Troy Omeire
5. TE, Jared Wiley

I don’t think the top two on the list are worthy of much discussion. They are as talented as they come.

But beyond Collins and Robinson, the list is a combination of guesswork and feel for the team and its players.

Sweat is a future pro so long. No doubt about it. But how good will he be? He certainly has a higher upside than most thought when coming out of Huntsville as one of the team’s more lightly regarded recruits.

Omeire has yet to catch a single pass as a Longhorn. But when I tell you that he was drawing rave reviews prior to his pre-season injury as a true freshman, the words don’t really do it justice. Omeire, with his freakish size, surprising athleticism and enormous catch radius, was at times dominating fall practices in the passing game as a true freshman. It will be interesting to see exactly what use Steve Sarkisian finds for him this season.

Wiley is yet another lesser regarded recruit but one who had lots of intangibles coming out of high school. A former QB, he converted to TE at Texas and has improved ever since. Yet his size, speed and athleticism combo remains rare. It’s hard to see Wiley not playing a long time in the NFL if he keeps improving at the same rate he has the last couple of years.

**

There are a couple of noticeable omissions in this top five. DeMarvion Overshown is perhaps the most obvious.

While I think Overshown has NFL potential, I think he still needs to show more ability against the run game. At times, he got swallowed up against the power run last year. Yet his athleticism and speed are tremendous and he seems to have a nose for the football, against the run and pass.

Two others worth keeping an eye on are Keondre Coburn and Tyler Johnson. Coburn is almost a prototypical NFL nose tackle. I just wish he’d push the pocket a bit more than he has shown in his first couple of years at Texas. And I believe Johnson and Isaiah Hookfin are the two most talented offensive linemen in the program, despite neither being a starter a year ago.

Others that I considered:

WR, Jordan Whittington
LB, Jaylan Ford
K, Cameron Dicker
OL, Junior Angilau
OL, Christian Jones
DB, D’Shawn Jamison
DB, BJ Foster
WR, Josh Moore
DB, Darrion Dunn (grad transfer)

Kind of underlines how few upperclassmen we have with elite talent, so many of the guys he lists are pure projections and either haven't played or haven't shown a whole lot.  

No idea what is reasonable to expect from Omeire, 9.95ers all doing work hyping him up again but his HS tape all looked so plodding to me. I doubt rehabbing an injury has done him any favors. He could look like college Dwayne Jarrett or NFL Dwayne Jarrett for us and I wouldn't be surprised by either at this point. 

[jw4381 3,091]

We are going to crush our enemies, see them driven before us, and hear the lamentation of their women. Aren't we?

[Doc Reeves 6,434]

1 hour ago, UncleSonny said:

Burton's top on NFL prospects on the roster:

  Reveal hidden contents

Simple question to consider this morning.

With Joe Ossai and Sam Cosmi entering the NFL draft, who are the top draft prospects remaining on the Longhorn roster?

Here are my top 5:

1. DL, Alfred Collins
2. RB, Bijan Robinson
3. DL, T’Vondre Sweat
4. WR, Troy Omeire
5. TE, Jared Wiley

I don’t think the top two on the list are worthy of much discussion. They are as talented as they come.

But beyond Collins and Robinson, the list is a combination of guesswork and feel for the team and its players.

Sweat is a future pro so long. No doubt about it. But how good will he be? He certainly has a higher upside than most thought when coming out of Huntsville as one of the team’s more lightly regarded recruits.

Omeire has yet to catch a single pass as a Longhorn. But when I tell you that he was drawing rave reviews prior to his pre-season injury as a true freshman, the words don’t really do it justice. Omeire, with his freakish size, surprising athleticism and enormous catch radius, was at times dominating fall practices in the passing game as a true freshman. It will be interesting to see exactly what use Steve Sarkisian finds for him this season.

Wiley is yet another lesser regarded recruit but one who had lots of intangibles coming out of high school. A former QB, he converted to TE at Texas and has improved ever since. Yet his size, speed and athleticism combo remains rare. It’s hard to see Wiley not playing a long time in the NFL if he keeps improving at the same rate he has the last couple of years.

**

There are a couple of noticeable omissions in this top five. DeMarvion Overshown is perhaps the most obvious.

While I think Overshown has NFL potential, I think he still needs to show more ability against the run game. At times, he got swallowed up against the power run last year. Yet his athleticism and speed are tremendous and he seems to have a nose for the football, against the run and pass.

Two others worth keeping an eye on are Keondre Coburn and Tyler Johnson. Coburn is almost a prototypical NFL nose tackle. I just wish he’d push the pocket a bit more than he has shown in his first couple of years at Texas. And I believe Johnson and Isaiah Hookfin are the two most talented offensive linemen in the program, despite neither being a starter a year ago.

Others that I considered:

WR, Jordan Whittington
LB, Jaylan Ford
K, Cameron Dicker
OL, Junior Angilau
OL, Christian Jones
DB, D’Shawn Jamison
DB, BJ Foster
WR, Josh Moore
DB, Darrion Dunn (grad transfer)

Kind of underlines how few upperclassmen we have with elite talent, so many of the guys he lists are pure projections and either haven't played or haven't shown a whole lot.  

No idea what is reasonable to expect from Omeire, 9.95ers all doing work hyping him up again but his HS tape all looked so plodding to me. I doubt rehabbing an injury has done him any favors. He could look like college Dwayne Jarrett or NFL Dwayne Jarrett for us and I wouldn't be surprised by either at this point. 

Youre not wrong. Right now 995 is pumping what they saw from him last year. He, by all accounts, look really good until the injury. 

Today we are all just basically waiting to see how his body heals from the injury. That’s agonizing slow for players. I feel like the ball skills are pretty much like riding a bike, so long as it the same bike you have been riding before the injury.

[Eskimohorn 5,642]

Doesn't this all gas no brakes (or whatever) insinuate that momentum is a thing? I was told it doesn't exist. Should I reevaluate this idea?
fuckin mensa

Its the perfect counter messaging to the previous coach’s aversion to capitalizing on momentum.

I stand by my analysis that the worst coaching I’ve ever seen at Texas occurred during the 2019 season. Keep in mind, thats not taking into account year-round organization and talent level that goes into a coach’s resume. Im not saying Strong was better than Herman.

Between September - December, that was a horribly coached football team in 2019.

On defense, we were 1945-era Japanese kamikazes, attacking desperately. On offense, it turned into a stubborn, unimaginative mess.

And most coaches were gone. And deservedly so. We saw some changes, but the common denominator was playing tight with the lead.

[texifornia 57,033]

Looks like we retained Ash's old DC as defensive analyst: https://twitter.com/NoJoFootball

https://scarletknights.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/noah-joseph/2510

(looks like he was hired last year, he's just still around)

[UncleSonny 6,573]

1 hour ago, Doc Reeves said:

Youre not wrong. Right now 995 is pumping what they saw from him last year. He, by all accounts, look really good until the injury. 

Today we are all just basically waiting to see how his body heals from the injury. That’s agonizing slow for players. I feel like the ball skills are pretty much like riding a bike, so long as it the same bike you have been riding before the injury.

I'm also curious about Omeire with this staff because big guys like him just aren't really en vogue these days. Certainly not what you saw Sarkisian using at Alabama. Jeudy was his only notable receiver over 6ft (at 6'1) and him, Ruggs, Waddle, and Smith are all under 200 pounds. 

Pretty confident that if Omeire is able to come back healthy and is as good as he was looking in those early practices Sark will have no problem maximizing his skill set though. A coach that can scheme guys open and has a real feel for playcalling can make up for deficiencies in getting separation.

I think I've made the comparison before, but in his one full year at USC freshman Juju Smith was his 2nd leading receiver (behind Agholor) and he projects closer to Omeire as a physical possession type guy. 

[Vito Andolini 9,127]

Sark had a 6’3” freak in Atlanta. (I hate comparing an All Pro, 4,4 guy to an unproven kid who’s never played a down of college football, but you were talking size, and Sarkisian does have recent experience with larger receivers as well, just pointing it out.) And yes, unless Omeire got that special Rookie of the Year ligament surgery, and magically shaved off three tenths of a second from his 40 time, he and Julio Jones have vastly different games. 

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1,566]

I keep seeing Dunn’s name popping up here and there on articles talking about the top end players on the team. Is it known that he’s gonna be that good?  All Conference at McNeese I know but that’s still a big transition. 

Edited February 17, 2021 by BurntOrangeBlooded15

[texifornia 57,033]

1 minute ago, BurntOrangeBlooded15 said:

I keep seeing Dunn’s name popping up here and there on articles talking about the top end players on the team. Is it known that he’s gonna be that good?  All American at McNeese I know but that’s still a big transition. 

He's very fast and an established (in a certain way at least) CB on a team that is lacking all of the above.

[texifornia 57,033]

OU writer:

which is funny when the flagship didn't even mention UT, but picked ISU:

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by texifornia

[Machinator 32,099]

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Machinator

[Machinator 32,099]

 

[closetojumping 62,765]

Burton's analysis of the NFL talent on the roster is bizarre. 

1) Omeire has zero business being rated a top 5 prospect on the team. Zero. Doughnutty buddy. It's fucking stupid. He looked good in fall camp according to limited video and what the dipshit headed to Jacksonville, Lobo or Lovo or whatever, was feeding Burton and crew. He's slow and goofy. Exactly the kind of WR Herman fucking loved because he was a big body. He may well turn out to be fantastic, but this is a second year player with major red flags physically for his position coming off of an injury. I hope he crushes it, but the 4th best prospect on the roster? Absurd. The guy could have listed Marcus Tillman for the same reasons he's listed Omeire - he's physically got the look for an NFL roster as a true freshman, the coaches raved about him, and we actually fucking saw that dude play before he got hurt and he looked good-ish. (I'm not listing either Omeire or Tillman as NFL prospects, to be clear)

2) Coburn will be drafted after coming out early after this season. You can project him wherever you like in the rounds, but he's big, tough, and plays hard. If they knock 30 pounds off of him, he might project in the first 2 rounds. Not listing him in the top 5 is dumbfuckery. 

3) Ro Johnson is basically Chris Ogbanaya or Fozzy Whitaker. He can catch, block, and he runs tough. He's not dynamic, but checks all of the boxes including size, intelligence and character. The dude doesn't even bother listing him as an also-ran. Okay.

4) In limited snaps, Jake Majors looks like a Center that could play at the next level. If he continues to develop under one of the best OL coaches in the country, what holds him from being a solidly draftable player at a difficult position? Burton doesn't even fucking list him, but adds Junior Angilau, Tyler Johnson, Isiah Hookfin, and Christian Jones. Why? Because he's throwing shit at the wall and hoping several of them develop with solid OL coaching and he can claim he talked them up as NFL candidates before anyone else. It's easier to call out tackles as guys that could project in 2-4 years, so that's what he did.

5) Vernon Broughton has NFL size already. He's never going to have the get-off to be a 1st rounder, but he looked promising in snaps this year and there is no reason to assume he won't continue to develop into a starter and mid-round type of guy this early.

6) Josh Thompson has physical dimensions that at least merit recognition, should he play in a way this fall that shows competence. He has flashed at times.

7) Not even mentioning Jacoby Jones or Derek Kerstetter is odd. If Kerstetter comes back and plays RT, he's a guy that could go on day 3 without anyone being surprised. Jones has everything you want with the exception of being able to stay out of Fuckface's doghouse. He has a clean slate with the new staff. I won't be shocked, if he can keep his shit together, if he has a standout 2021 season. 

8 ) The biggest issue with this kind of exercise for the current roster is the decimation of the upper classes. They've be ravaged by attrition from early NFL or just bailing to go elsewhere. There's talent, but a lot of it looks like round 4-7 talent. Projecting from the sophomores down to new signees is way sillier and leads to the kind of shit I ranted about here. 

[UncleSonny 6,573]

Chris Ogbonnaya for Ro Johnson is a really good comp. 

12 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

6) Josh Thompson has physical dimensions that at least merit recognition, should he play in a way this fall that shows competence. He has flashed at times.

I noticed this too, especially because I thought it was in the by-laws to hype BEastTexas over at IT. Guess Burton isn't quite up to speed on that yet.  

[Vertigo 20,298]

24 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Burton's analysis of the NFL talent on the roster is bizarre. 

1) Omeire has zero business being rated a top 5 prospect on the team. Zero. Doughnutty buddy. It's fucking stupid. He looked good in fall camp according to limited video and what the dipshit headed to Jacksonville, Lobo or Lovo or whatever, was feeding Burton and crew. He's slow and goofy. Exactly the kind of WR Herman fucking loved because he was a big body. He may well turn out to be fantastic, but this is a second year player with major red flags physically for his position coming off of an injury. I hope he crushes it, but the 4th best prospect on the roster? Absurd. The guy could have listed Marcus Tillman for the same reasons he's listed Omeire - he's physically got the look for an NFL roster as a true freshman, the coaches raved about him, and we actually fucking saw that dude play before he got hurt and he looked good-ish. (I'm not listing either Omeire or Tillman as NFL prospects, to be clear)

2) Coburn will be drafted after coming out early after this season. You can project him wherever you like in the rounds, but he's big, tough, and plays hard. If they knock 30 pounds off of him, he might project in the first 2 rounds. Not listing him in the top 5 is dumbfuckery. 

3) Ro Johnson is basically Chris Ogbanaya or Fozzy Whitaker. He can catch, block, and he runs tough. He's not dynamic, but checks all of the boxes including size, intelligence and character. The dude doesn't even bother listing him as an also-ran. Okay.

4) In limited snaps, Jake Majors looks like a Center that could play at the next level. If he continues to develop under one of the best OL coaches in the country, what holds him from being a solidly draftable player at a difficult position? Burton doesn't even fucking list him, but adds Junior Angilau, Tyler Johnson, Isiah Hookfin, and Christian Jones. Why? Because he's throwing shit at the wall and hoping several of them develop with solid OL coaching and he can claim he talked them up as NFL candidates before anyone else. It's easier to call out tackles as guys that could project in 2-4 years, so that's what he did.

5) Vernon Broughton has NFL size already. He's never going to have the get-off to be a 1st rounder, but he looked promising in snaps this year and there is no reason to assume he won't continue to develop into a starter and mid-round type of guy this early.

6) Josh Thompson has physical dimensions that at least merit recognition, should he play in a way this fall that shows competence. He has flashed at times.

7) Not even mentioning Jacoby Jones or Derek Kerstetter is odd. If Kerstetter comes back and plays RT, he's a guy that could go on day 3 without anyone being surprised. Jones has everything you want with the exception of being able to stay out of Fuckface's doghouse. He has a clean slate with the new staff. I won't be shocked, if he can keep his shit together, if he has a standout 2021 season. 

8 ) The biggest issue with this kind of exercise for the current roster is the decimation of the upper classes. They've be ravaged by attrition from early NFL or just bailing to go elsewhere. There's talent, but a lot of it looks like round 4-7 talent. Projecting from the sophomores down to new signees is way sillier and leads to the kind of shit I ranted about here. 

Agree completely, Coburn and Majors should both be higher round guys when they leave if they continue their trajectory. I do really like Angilau and the little I have seen of Hookfin so I won’t give too much grief on those. 
 

 

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Vertigo

[NoName 16,364]

21 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

8 ) The biggest issue with this kind of exercise for the current roster is the decimation of the upper classes. They've be ravaged by attrition from early NFL or just bailing to go elsewhere. There's talent, but a lot of it looks like round 4-7 talent. Projecting from the sophomores down to new signees is way sillier and leads to the kind of shit I ranted about here. 

not even kidding. here the full list just using the IT scholarship roster (most recently updated, has guys like Reese L)
 

Spoiler

 

 

 

with potential NFL guys (yellow) highlighted

 

[closetojumping 62,765]

22 minutes ago, NoName said:

not even kidding. here the full list just using the IT scholarship roster (most recently updated, has guys like Reese L)
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

with potential NFL guys (yellow) highlighted

 

I know the pandemic has thrown classifications out of whack and such, but 1 fucking JR on offense, and that guy is a position switch? Ooofff.

[Herpa Derpa 6,126]

7 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I know the pandemic has thrown classifications out of whack and such, but 1 fucking JR on offense, and that guy is a position switch? Ooofff.

Was that the interim class or Herman's first full cycle class?

[satyanash 14,569]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

7) Not even mentioning Jacoby Jones or Derek Kerstetter is odd. If Kerstetter comes back and plays RT, he's a guy that could go on day 3 without anyone being surprised. Jones has everything you want with the exception of being able to stay out of Fuckface's doghouse. He has a clean slate with the new staff. I won't be shocked, if he can keep his shit together, if he has a standout 2021 season.

Kerstetter's injury is the type that ends careers, so I understand him getting left out. All bets are off until we see how his ankle holds up on game day. As for Jacoby, I don't know much about his doghouse issues but neither he nor Moro Ojomo produced much coming off the edge opposite to Ossai. We don't have any standout edge rushers on this team now that Ossai's gone.

[Machinator 32,099]

16 minutes ago, Herpa Derpa said:

Was that the interim class or Herman's first full cycle class?

Estell was from the 2017 signing class, so the transition between Strong and Herman.

[pacman 7,365]

26 minutes ago, Herpa Derpa said:

Was that the interim class or Herman's first full cycle class?

Transition class was the 2017s, Thompson, Bimage, Kerstetter, Estelle etc. Majority of juniors are 2018s, who never redshirted.

 

Agree on Burton's analysis..I thought I was off until I read his 2021 rankings next and he had Abiara as our top recruit. I knew then he was a little bit off\homerish. Time will tell, I guess.

Edited February 18, 2021 by pacman

[closetojumping 62,765]

44 minutes ago, Herpa Derpa said:

Was that the interim class or Herman's first full cycle class?

JRs should be a mix of 2017/2018 players. 

35 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Kerstetter's injury is the type that ends careers, so I understand him getting left out. All bets are off until we see how his ankle holds up on game day. As for Jacoby, I don't know much about his doghouse issues but neither he nor Moro Ojomo produced much coming off the edge opposite to Ossai. We don't have any standout edge rushers on this team now that Ossai's gone.

The fact that you'd hedge Kerstetter's outlook the way you did here is a given. We all presumed you'd written him off as a cripple so there's no need to confirm it in writing.

Regarding Jones, he wasn't asked to be a standout edge rusher and, prior to this season, was often playing out of position. In any event, no one mentioned seeing him as an edge rusher. As previously stated, he has the physical aspects the pros look for, and with a clean slate and new staff, it shouldn't surprise anyone if he has a good senior season and winds up being a 4-7 round pick. It's also a given that you're going to defer to the downside and tell us you don't see how that's possible.

[Bevo14 8,355]

 

On 2/17/2021 at 1:07 PM, UncleSonny said:

Burton's top on NFL prospects on the roster:

  Reveal hidden contents

Simple question to consider this morning.

With Joe Ossai and Sam Cosmi entering the NFL draft, who are the top draft prospects remaining on the Longhorn roster?

Here are my top 5:

1. DL, Alfred Collins
2. RB, Bijan Robinson
3. DL, T’Vondre Sweat
4. WR, Troy Omeire
5. TE, Jared Wiley

I don’t think the top two on the list are worthy of much discussion. They are as talented as they come.

But beyond Collins and Robinson, the list is a combination of guesswork and feel for the team and its players.

Sweat is a future pro so long. No doubt about it. But how good will he be? He certainly has a higher upside than most thought when coming out of Huntsville as one of the team’s more lightly regarded recruits.

Omeire has yet to catch a single pass as a Longhorn. But when I tell you that he was drawing rave reviews prior to his pre-season injury as a true freshman, the words don’t really do it justice. Omeire, with his freakish size, surprising athleticism and enormous catch radius, was at times dominating fall practices in the passing game as a true freshman. It will be interesting to see exactly what use Steve Sarkisian finds for him this season.

Wiley is yet another lesser regarded recruit but one who had lots of intangibles coming out of high school. A former QB, he converted to TE at Texas and has improved ever since. Yet his size, speed and athleticism combo remains rare. It’s hard to see Wiley not playing a long time in the NFL if he keeps improving at the same rate he has the last couple of years.

**

There are a couple of noticeable omissions in this top five. DeMarvion Overshown is perhaps the most obvious.

While I think Overshown has NFL potential, I think he still needs to show more ability against the run game. At times, he got swallowed up against the power run last year. Yet his athleticism and speed are tremendous and he seems to have a nose for the football, against the run and pass.

Two others worth keeping an eye on are Keondre Coburn and Tyler Johnson. Coburn is almost a prototypical NFL nose tackle. I just wish he’d push the pocket a bit more than he has shown in his first couple of years at Texas. And I believe Johnson and Isaiah Hookfin are the two most talented offensive linemen in the program, despite neither being a starter a year ago.

Others that I considered:

WR, Jordan Whittington
LB, Jaylan Ford
K, Cameron Dicker
OL, Junior Angilau
OL, Christian Jones
DB, D’Shawn Jamison
DB, BJ Foster
WR, Josh Moore
DB, Darrion Dunn (grad transfer)

Kind of underlines how few upperclassmen we have with elite talent, so many of the guys he lists are pure projections and either haven't played or haven't shown a whole lot.  

No idea what is reasonable to expect from Omeire, 9.95ers all doing work hyping him up again but his HS tape all looked so plodding to me. I doubt rehabbing an injury has done him any favors. He could look like college Dwayne Jarrett or NFL Dwayne Jarrett for us and I wouldn't be surprised by either at this point. 

Uh does he even Overshown bro? That guy might be a 1st round pick next year.  If we're going to pick an unproven second year player I would pick Card as my NFL guy. Thompson and Jamison are for sure gettin drafted. If Foster stops blowing himself up he'll be up there. There's a considerable amount to work with and I didn't bat an eye when Sark said this team had championship talent. If Ossai and Cosmi were back I'd be predicting a title of the national variety.

Edited February 18, 2021 by Bevo14

[nineliveslost 2,789]

3 hours ago, NoName said:

not even kidding. here the full list just using the IT scholarship roster (most recently updated, has guys like Reese L)
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

with potential NFL guys (yellow) highlighted

 

man, i know i drink too much and might have done so now , BUT thats shits green

[HtownHorn 14,755]

3 hours ago, closetojumping said:

I know the pandemic has thrown classifications out of whack and such, but 1 fucking JR on offense, and that guy is a position switch? Ooofff.

Half you those guys listed as sophomores have played in 2 seasons. Also, Tyler and Moore are no longer on the team.

[closetojumping 62,765]

4 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Half you those guys listed as sophomores have played in 2 seasons. Also, Tyler and Moore are no longer on the team.

Who are you typing to? I think you realize that we regulars all know that. If not, yeah, no kidding that those guys are gone. It only enhances my point that 2018/2019 classes have some rough turnover. 

[LTtxfan 49,320]

8 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Half you those guys listed as sophomores have played in 2 seasons. Also, Tyler and Moore are no longer on the team.

Willie Tyler is the Tyler that is gone right?? 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by LTtxfan

[Tex Pete 20,410]

4 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

Willie Tyler is the Tyler that is gone right?? 

[closetojumping 62,765]

4 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

Willie Tyler is the Tyler that is gone right?? 

 

 

 

9 minutes ago, Tex Pete said:

I assumed that’s who he meant, but, well, it is @HtownHorn  and he is something of a complete imbecile so I guess seeking clarity here is important.  

[Spaceman Spiff 402]

13 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Also, Tyler and Moore are no longer on the team.

[HtownHorn 14,755]

55 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

 

I assumed that’s who he meant, but, well, it is @HtownHorn  and he is something of a complete imbecile so I guess seeking clarity here is important.  

That's high praise coming from a psychopath like you.

[Sleepygrad 1,029]

13 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Half you those guys listed as sophomores have played in 2 seasons. Also, Tyler and Moore are no longer on the team.

this guy here is dead