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2021 Texas Offseason: Sark Attacks Austin

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Machinator

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IT also mentioned this on Ben Davis

Spoiler

OLB Ben Davis, Alabama (transfer): This transfer is done in UT’s favor (should be officially announced this week along with the other transfers) and he’s already been working out in Houston and Austin. Per a contact in Houston, Davis is giant and never should have been considered an off-the-ball linebacker. “He’s closer in size to a defensive end than linebacker.” Surprisingly, there’s still a lot of room for physical development from Davis. He’s more raw physically and athletically than you’d expect from someone who has been at Alabama since 2016. That should be exciting to Pete Kwiatkowski. Davis will play X-backer in PK’s system.

 

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There are longstanding rumors that Chip Brown is your typical old school sports reporter. By that, I mean he's allegedly a degenerate gambler and alcoholic. There's a longstanding rumor that Chip

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TotallyLegit

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31 minutes ago, Machinator said:

IT

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By: Eric, Gerry, and Justin

More from online coaching clinics

Terry Joseph had a strong presentation. He went over his teaching process with his defensive backs, particularly corners, focusing mostly on some of the drills he relies on for developing the cornerbacks.

Like the other coaches on this staff, he put a big emphasis on teaching players the overall concept they were playing to make sure players understand why they're doing what they're doing. Joseph said they don't want or need to teach the players all of the checks to a defense if they can teach them the concept well enough for the players to be able to figure things out on their own when the offense adjusts.

Joseph also talked a lot about helping each player develop his own game, giving them options and tools to use and determine for themselves what's most comfortable and effective.

For most everything in his drills and teachings he'd have about three points. "That way I can remember myself and if you have more than three they'll start to tune you out anyways."

In choosing cornerbacks, Joseph had three traits he likes to look for: "can he play man coverage? Can he tackle?" And, "can he play the ball?"

They teach guys in man coverage not to play the ball but to play the man first, "if you're watching the quarterback throw it you'll be watching them catch it" and was honest about telling players if they're badly beat on a pass to tackle the receiver or at least grab a hand and take the defensive pass interference penalty.

Joseph went over a lot of drills with different backpedals, showing D'Shawn Jamison struggling to turn upfield in an early scrimmage and slipping, leading to a big run after the catch, then later getting it right on the pick-6 in the spring game.

Jamison came up regularly as a positive example, getting off blocks and demonstrating good form attacking a receiver's hands after the catch.

Joseph's tackling drills focused on teaching guys how to adjust live and see "yellow light" tackles where the offensive player has a two-way go and the tackler needs to tamper down vs "green light" tackles where the offensive player has a one way go and the tackler should run through him.

Like in the instance of being beat in coverage, Joseph went over the gator roll tackle as a way to get an offensive player down when there aren't better options.

Another interesting tool Joseph went over is a peer evaluation form he'll give his players asking them to tell him how they'd rank their teammates in the unit based on a few factors (and you can't rank yourself). "They'll tell you who they think the most talented and trustworthy teammates are."

AJ Milwee explained the #AllGasNoBrakes philosophy and quarterback development. "We don't use drills like you'd see at the Elite11; all our drills are designed to help our players execute our offense."

Like Joseph, he emphasized teaching the broader concept of a play. Teach the quarterback 1) What to do 2) How to do it 3) Why it's important to do it that way.

They're looking for all the normal traits everyone else is looking for in a quarterback. Competitiveness, decision-making, accuracy, etc. Milwee did put particular emphasis on mental and physical toughness and then guys with quick hands. He mentioned multi-sport players often have quicker hands which makes a big difference in the RPO game or in getting the ball out against pressure. Athleticism and arm strength were emphasized as being important only to a certain baseline. They want guys who can make the throws the offense needs to make and who aren't totally immobile targets in the pass-rush.

While they have a thorough run game and play-action there's a lot of RPOs in the offense and Milwee went over some of the RPOs and how they give their quarterbacks as many reps as they can to master them.

”All gas no brakes means score as many points as we possibly can," Milwee said of the offensive approach to attacking defenses.

He went over some of their drills for quarterbacks and how they'll give the quarterback a normal looking drill but be telling them the concept and formation so they can practice getting their eyes to the right spots before throwing the practice toss based on an imagined progression.

Milwee would give guys a few different tools like Joseph to throw the football and talked about letting the quarterback decide if a 5-step drop and plant was more comfortable or if they needed to use a 3-step and hitch approach to help them drive the ball. Hudson Card used the former, Casey Thompson started with the 5-step but switched to the 3-step later in spring practice because it was easier for him.

Both quarterbacks were sharp in the RPO cut-ups and it didn't look like they were holding anything back from the Alabama days. They'd even give them full field RPO reads and Milwee had some clips of Hudson Card throwing RPOs to the opposite side of the mesh with the running back, often on glance routes to the boundary. He’d turn to the running back on the field side, then flip his hips all the way back to throw a glance to the opposite side of the field.

After going over their RPOs, Milwee went into depth on how they use the "mesh" route combination everyone in football loves right now. "This is great for beating man coverage but we liked it in spring against zone as well if the quarterback uses his eyes right." It's a pure progression scheme for them, they ran the play from a lot of formations but the quarterback always reads the wheel route to the running back, then the mesh, then the over route, and finally the "oh s****, shallow-sit" route which makes up the fourth read in the progression. Apparently at Alabama they never made it all the way to the shallow-sit in the progression until the playoffs on a big third down.

Both quarterbacks looked good on mesh as well. Again, most of the clips showing a quarterback getting deeper into the progression involved Hudson Card, including one where he got to the third read in the spring game for a big gain to Al’vonte Woodard.

Sadly he ran out of time before he could dive into the play-action passing play he'd prepared.

Everyone on the staff is big on teaching team concepts and drilling them carefully, it was an impressive series of clinics.

 

"mesh" is also called, or is very similar to, "railroad" in the Sark clinic up on youtube

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TotallyLegit

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13 hours ago, Machinator said:

IT

  Hide contents

By: Eric, Gerry, and Justin

More from online coaching clinics

Terry Joseph had a strong presentation. He went over his teaching process with his defensive backs, particularly corners, focusing mostly on some of the drills he relies on for developing the cornerbacks.

Like the other coaches on this staff, he put a big emphasis on teaching players the overall concept they were playing to make sure players understand why they're doing what they're doing. Joseph said they don't want or need to teach the players all of the checks to a defense if they can teach them the concept well enough for the players to be able to figure things out on their own when the offense adjusts.

Joseph also talked a lot about helping each player develop his own game, giving them options and tools to use and determine for themselves what's most comfortable and effective.

For most everything in his drills and teachings he'd have about three points. "That way I can remember myself and if you have more than three they'll start to tune you out anyways."

In choosing cornerbacks, Joseph had three traits he likes to look for: "can he play man coverage? Can he tackle?" And, "can he play the ball?"

They teach guys in man coverage not to play the ball but to play the man first, "if you're watching the quarterback throw it you'll be watching them catch it" and was honest about telling players if they're badly beat on a pass to tackle the receiver or at least grab a hand and take the defensive pass interference penalty.

Joseph went over a lot of drills with different backpedals, showing D'Shawn Jamison struggling to turn upfield in an early scrimmage and slipping, leading to a big run after the catch, then later getting it right on the pick-6 in the spring game.

Jamison came up regularly as a positive example, getting off blocks and demonstrating good form attacking a receiver's hands after the catch.

Joseph's tackling drills focused on teaching guys how to adjust live and see "yellow light" tackles where the offensive player has a two-way go and the tackler needs to tamper down vs "green light" tackles where the offensive player has a one way go and the tackler should run through him.

Like in the instance of being beat in coverage, Joseph went over the gator roll tackle as a way to get an offensive player down when there aren't better options.

Another interesting tool Joseph went over is a peer evaluation form he'll give his players asking them to tell him how they'd rank their teammates in the unit based on a few factors (and you can't rank yourself). "They'll tell you who they think the most talented and trustworthy teammates are."

AJ Milwee explained the #AllGasNoBrakes philosophy and quarterback development. "We don't use drills like you'd see at the Elite11; all our drills are designed to help our players execute our offense."

Like Joseph, he emphasized teaching the broader concept of a play. Teach the quarterback 1) What to do 2) How to do it 3) Why it's important to do it that way.

They're looking for all the normal traits everyone else is looking for in a quarterback. Competitiveness, decision-making, accuracy, etc. Milwee did put particular emphasis on mental and physical toughness and then guys with quick hands. He mentioned multi-sport players often have quicker hands which makes a big difference in the RPO game or in getting the ball out against pressure. Athleticism and arm strength were emphasized as being important only to a certain baseline. They want guys who can make the throws the offense needs to make and who aren't totally immobile targets in the pass-rush.

While they have a thorough run game and play-action there's a lot of RPOs in the offense and Milwee went over some of the RPOs and how they give their quarterbacks as many reps as they can to master them.

”All gas no brakes means score as many points as we possibly can," Milwee said of the offensive approach to attacking defenses.

He went over some of their drills for quarterbacks and how they'll give the quarterback a normal looking drill but be telling them the concept and formation so they can practice getting their eyes to the right spots before throwing the practice toss based on an imagined progression.

Milwee would give guys a few different tools like Joseph to throw the football and talked about letting the quarterback decide if a 5-step drop and plant was more comfortable or if they needed to use a 3-step and hitch approach to help them drive the ball. Hudson Card used the former, Casey Thompson started with the 5-step but switched to the 3-step later in spring practice because it was easier for him.

Both quarterbacks were sharp in the RPO cut-ups and it didn't look like they were holding anything back from the Alabama days. They'd even give them full field RPO reads and Milwee had some clips of Hudson Card throwing RPOs to the opposite side of the mesh with the running back, often on glance routes to the boundary. He’d turn to the running back on the field side, then flip his hips all the way back to throw a glance to the opposite side of the field.

After going over their RPOs, Milwee went into depth on how they use the "mesh" route combination everyone in football loves right now. "This is great for beating man coverage but we liked it in spring against zone as well if the quarterback uses his eyes right." It's a pure progression scheme for them, they ran the play from a lot of formations but the quarterback always reads the wheel route to the running back, then the mesh, then the over route, and finally the "oh s****, shallow-sit" route which makes up the fourth read in the progression. Apparently at Alabama they never made it all the way to the shallow-sit in the progression until the playoffs on a big third down.

Both quarterbacks looked good on mesh as well. Again, most of the clips showing a quarterback getting deeper into the progression involved Hudson Card, including one where he got to the third read in the spring game for a big gain to Al’vonte Woodard.

Sadly he ran out of time before he could dive into the play-action passing play he'd prepared.

Everyone on the staff is big on teaching team concepts and drilling them carefully, it was an impressive series of clinics.

 

Here's the spring game mesh play mentioned where Card completes the over route to Woodard.

 

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Machinator

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(Eric Nahlin) Transfer-palooza reshapes the depth chart at linebacker

Spoiler

It seems like we get asked about fits on a daily basis.

We’ll offer a quick explainer for linebacker and the defensive line, especially in light of UT adding so many new players within a new scheme.

Jack: Stand-up outside linebacker/edge aligned to the field (wide side). More DE than X. Pass rush, play the run, some zone drops. Can also play d-end in three-man front if that’s the call

SR Jacoby Jones
Commentary: Will likely play the most snaps at Jack this season. Solid in all regards. Not a spectacular athlete but gets the job done.

JR Jett Bush
Commentary: Energetic player still learning to play the position. Should see snaps this year. As a spin down, he’s athletic for the role.
Secondary position: Has bounced between J and Mike. Will probably stay at J given roster needs.

True FR Jordon Thomas
Commentary: Not on campus yet. Will likely outgrow the position over time with 3-tech being the natural spin destination. If they keep him lean, he could offer a ton of power playing the run and bull rushing.

True FR David Abiara
Commentary: Not on campus yet. A huge need to finish the 2022 class. Natural pass rusher with mature understanding of using his advantages.

X: Stand-up outside linebacker/edge aligned to the boundary (short side). More LB than Jack. Pass rush, play the run, a lot of zone drops.

SR Ray Thornton
Commentary: Physically and mentally mature player who is nearly a lock to start. Will be solid at a minimum. Versatile player. Shows ability to get deep drops.
Secondary position: Will likely play both X and J this season. There isn’t much depth at J and Thornton was strong enough to survive playing snaps at 3-tech at LSU.

SO Prince Dorbah
Commentary: Athletic tools are in place to get after the quarterback and get deep drops in coverage. Needs to continue to mature as a player.

SR Ben Davis
Commentary: Former five-star who was miscast as an ILB. Large framed with defensive end length. Should be okay in drops but offers real upside playing the edge. He’s in his perfect fit with some untapped upside remaining.

JR Ovie Oghoufo
Commentary: Similar to Dorbah with the athletic tools being in place. He just needs reps and coaching. This is a great fit for him.

True FR Derrick Harris
Commentary: Fits the X specs wonderfully. Still not 100% after injuring his knee his senior year. Will redshirt but will be ready to play real snaps in 2022. Coachable with tons of frame potential.

Tackle/3-tech: Alignment depends on game plan; could be in an under or over front

JR Moro Ojomo
Commentary: Had a huge spring. Versatile and fundamentally sound player beginning to come into his own. Has taken well to new coaching. Will play a ton regardless of whether or not he starts.
Secondary position: Could play defensive end in a three-man front. Could also play J if they wanted to go heavy in goal line/short yardage.

SO Alfred Collins
Commentary: With length and quickness he owns a short path to the back-field. Perhaps highest NFL draft upside of any player in the program.
Secondary position: Could just as easily play nose tackle as 3-tech.

RS FR Sawyer Goram-Welch
Commentary: He’ll be ready to play this year, but that doesn’t mean he’ll play a lot simply because of the NFL players ahead of him.

True FR Barryn Sorrell: Could also play J, but he has a thicker build more suited for the interior.

Nose: Shaded across from guard usually; sometimes across from center; plays 0-tech (head up on center) in odd front

JR Keondre Coburn
Commentary: He’ll play more snaps than anyone at nose but thanks to depth he’ll rotate out and be kept more fresh.

JR T’Vondre Sweat
Commentary: Will have a timeshare with Coburn.

RS FR Vernon Broughton
Commentary: Is viewed as having perhaps the best athletic ability to rush the passer from the interior but he’s still learning how to play the game.
Secondary position: He could easily play 3-tech or defensive end in a three-man front.

SO Myron Warren
Commentary: There is a lot of talent ahead of him.

True FR Byron Murphy
Commentary: His only issue is he lacks length, but he’s quick, powerful, and has great lateral ability. Not the best two-gapper but will be hell attacking half a man.

Dime: Inside linebacker aligned to the boundary. Tends to play in the box more than Mike.

JR Luke Brockermeyer
Commentary: Great spring for the former walk-on. If Texas played tomorrow, he’d start. However, new competition is on its way, and so too is old competition if the staff has David Gbenda playing both linebacker positions.

SO Jaylan Ford
Commentary: Still a year away from being ready.

True FR Terrence Cooks
Commentary: Huge upside. Has also played Sam when the nickel is replaced in a 3-4 look.
Secondary position: He’s not ready yet, but fits the profile to play any off-the-ball linebacker position. It won’t happen, but he could also play X eventually. Versatile, athletic, future star if he develops the cerebral/technical aspects.

SO Marcus Tillman
Commentary: Just hasn’t regained the athleticism he had pre-injury.

SO Devin Richardson
Commentary: Transfer from New Mexico State. Mentally and physically mature. Moves well for his size. Three years remaining, so the staff made a real investment in Richardson.
Secondary position: If the movement skills don’t translate to Will, he could eventually grow into an above average X as depth thins there.

JR Palai Gaoteote (not official yet)
Commentary: Former five-star. At USC, he’s viewed as still having a lot of upside. Plays with pop and range versus the run game.
Secondary position: There are clips of him coming off the edge with his hair on fire where he looks like a bigger Troy Polamalu. X could be a fail safe if Will doesn’t work out. Again, he’s not officially a Longhorn yet but he is expected to be.

Mike: Inside linebacker aligned to the field. Tends to play in space more than Will.

SO David Gbenda
Commentary: Gbenda had a huge spring from a developmental standpoint. He’s not a finished product but the game has slowed down for him. Excellent range and speed for the position.
Secondary position: He still needs to add some size but he could play Will as well.

SR DeMarvion Overshown
Commentary: He missed spring but was engaged in the learning aspects throughout. He’ll need a crash course this August to commit what he knows on the chalkboard to knowing on the field at full speed.

RS FR Jaden Hullaby: Like his classmate Jaylan Ford, he’s probably a year away. He has also played some Sam.

True Freshman Morice Blackwell
Commentary: Blackwell was a huge winner of the Pete Kwiatkowski hire. He’s best suited to playing cleanly in space. He’ll need time to develop, but not as much as he would for schemes that asked him to bang with bigs more often.

Here’s a basic visual for your viewing pleasure.

image.png

 

Edited by Machinator
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Burt Macklin

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Posted
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1 hour ago, Machinator said:

(Eric Nahlin) Transfer-palooza reshapes the depth chart at linebacker

  Reveal hidden contents

It seems like we get asked about fits on a daily basis.

We’ll offer a quick explainer for linebacker and the defensive line, especially in light of UT adding so many new players within a new scheme.

Jack: Stand-up outside linebacker/edge aligned to the field (wide side). More DE than X. Pass rush, play the run, some zone drops. Can also play d-end in three-man front if that’s the call

SR Jacoby Jones
Commentary: Will likely play the most snaps at Jack this season. Solid in all regards. Not a spectacular athlete but gets the job done.

JR Jett Bush
Commentary: Energetic player still learning to play the position. Should see snaps this year. As a spin down, he’s athletic for the role.
Secondary position: Has bounced between J and Mike. Will probably stay at J given roster needs.

True FR Jordon Thomas
Commentary: Not on campus yet. Will likely outgrow the position over time with 3-tech being the natural spin destination. If they keep him lean, he could offer a ton of power playing the run and bull rushing.

True FR David Abiara
Commentary: Not on campus yet. A huge need to finish the 2022 class. Natural pass rusher with mature understanding of using his advantages.

X: Stand-up outside linebacker/edge aligned to the boundary (short side). More LB than Jack. Pass rush, play the run, a lot of zone drops.

SR Ray Thornton
Commentary: Physically and mentally mature player who is nearly a lock to start. Will be solid at a minimum. Versatile player. Shows ability to get deep drops.
Secondary position: Will likely play both X and J this season. There isn’t much depth at J and Thornton was strong enough to survive playing snaps at 3-tech at LSU.

SO Prince Dorbah
Commentary: Athletic tools are in place to get after the quarterback and get deep drops in coverage. Needs to continue to mature as a player.

SR Ben Davis
Commentary: Former five-star who was miscast as an ILB. Large framed with defensive end length. Should be okay in drops but offers real upside playing the edge. He’s in his perfect fit with some untapped upside remaining.

JR Ovie Oghoufo
Commentary: Similar to Dorbah with the athletic tools being in place. He just needs reps and coaching. This is a great fit for him.

True FR Derrick Harris
Commentary: Fits the X specs wonderfully. Still not 100% after injuring his knee his senior year. Will redshirt but will be ready to play real snaps in 2022. Coachable with tons of frame potential.

Tackle/3-tech: Alignment depends on game plan; could be in an under or over front

JR Moro Ojomo
Commentary: Had a huge spring. Versatile and fundamentally sound player beginning to come into his own. Has taken well to new coaching. Will play a ton regardless of whether or not he starts.
Secondary position: Could play defensive end in a three-man front. Could also play J if they wanted to go heavy in goal line/short yardage.

SO Alfred Collins
Commentary: With length and quickness he owns a short path to the back-field. Perhaps highest NFL draft upside of any player in the program.
Secondary position: Could just as easily play nose tackle as 3-tech.

RS FR Sawyer Goram-Welch
Commentary: He’ll be ready to play this year, but that doesn’t mean he’ll play a lot simply because of the NFL players ahead of him.

True FR Barryn Sorrell: Could also play J, but he has a thicker build more suited for the interior.

Nose: Shaded across from guard usually; sometimes across from center; plays 0-tech (head up on center) in odd front

JR Keondre Coburn
Commentary: He’ll play more snaps than anyone at nose but thanks to depth he’ll rotate out and be kept more fresh.

JR T’Vondre Sweat
Commentary: Will have a timeshare with Coburn.

RS FR Vernon Broughton
Commentary: Is viewed as having perhaps the best athletic ability to rush the passer from the interior but he’s still learning how to play the game.
Secondary position: He could easily play 3-tech or defensive end in a three-man front.

SO Myron Warren
Commentary: There is a lot of talent ahead of him.

True FR Byron Murphy
Commentary: His only issue is he lacks length, but he’s quick, powerful, and has great lateral ability. Not the best two-gapper but will be hell attacking half a man.

Dime: Inside linebacker aligned to the boundary. Tends to play in the box more than Mike.

JR Luke Brockermeyer
Commentary: Great spring for the former walk-on. If Texas played tomorrow, he’d start. However, new competition is on its way, and so too is old competition if the staff has David Gbenda playing both linebacker positions.

SO Jaylan Ford
Commentary: Still a year away from being ready.

True FR Terrence Cooks
Commentary: Huge upside. Has also played Sam when the nickel is replaced in a 3-4 look.
Secondary position: He’s not ready yet, but fits the profile to play any off-the-ball linebacker position. It won’t happen, but he could also play X eventually. Versatile, athletic, future star if he develops the cerebral/technical aspects.

SO Marcus Tillman
Commentary: Just hasn’t regained the athleticism he had pre-injury.

SO Devin Richardson
Commentary: Transfer from New Mexico State. Mentally and physically mature. Moves well for his size. Three years remaining, so the staff made a real investment in Richardson.
Secondary position: If the movement skills don’t translate to Will, he could eventually grow into an above average X as depth thins there.

JR Palai Gaoteote (not official yet)
Commentary: Former five-star. At USC, he’s viewed as still having a lot of upside. Plays with pop and range versus the run game.
Secondary position: There are clips of him coming off the edge with his hair on fire where he looks like a bigger Troy Polamalu. X could be a fail safe if Will doesn’t work out. Again, he’s not officially a Longhorn yet but he is expected to be.

Mike: Inside linebacker aligned to the field. Tends to play in space more than Will.

SO David Gbenda
Commentary: Gbenda had a huge spring from a developmental standpoint. He’s not a finished product but the game has slowed down for him. Excellent range and speed for the position.
Secondary position: He still needs to add some size but he could play Will as well.

SR DeMarvion Overshown
Commentary: He missed spring but was engaged in the learning aspects throughout. He’ll need a crash course this August to commit what he knows on the chalkboard to knowing on the field at full speed.

RS FR Jaden Hullaby: Like his classmate Jaylan Ford, he’s probably a year away. He has also played some Sam.

True Freshman Morice Blackwell
Commentary: Blackwell was a huge winner of the Pete Kwiatkowski hire. He’s best suited to playing cleanly in space. He’ll need time to develop, but not as much as he would for schemes that asked him to bang with bigs more often.

Here’s a basic visual for your viewing pleasure.

image.png

 

Davis seems like more of a Jack based on his build, and we don’t have much after Jones there, so I’ll be surprised if they stick him at X along with Thornton, Dorbah and Ovie rather than have him mix in with Jones. 
 

Gbenda is playing Mike in Overshown’s absence, but he was expected to start at Dime before that, so he’ll probably battle with the transfers for starting Dim rather than stay Overshown’s backup. 

 

12 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Breece and Bijan looking at that tweet like ???

 

PFF’s college football coverage is...not the best. They clearly devote most of their resources to the NFL. 

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Foosters

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44 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Don't think Jett will be in the 2-deep once Davis and Ovie arrive + Dorbah.

I'm certainly no expert, but I focused in on Dorbah a handful of times in the spring game. I think he's going to be an absolute superstar in 1-2 years.

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CastHorn

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I think Casey is going to be the guy based on deep ball consistency, off script ability & leadership qualities. Card seems like the better fit for the type of stuff they ran at Bama last season but he most likely won’t have a stable offensive line or receivers who create a lot of separation. 

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Hmmm

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5 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

Davis seems like more of a Jack based on his build, and we don’t have much after Jones there, so I’ll be surprised if they stick him at X along with Thornton, Dorbah and Ovie rather than have him mix in with Jones. 

That's what I was expecting.  Isn't he bigger than Thornton?

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GTNY

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15 minutes ago, freyguy said:

”All gas no brakes means score as many points as we possibly can," Milwee said of the offensive approach to attacking defenses.

200.gif

Hmm idk if I like that. I think we should do the smart thing and play to protect our lead

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

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Posted

Why are there even odds?  Oklahoma has won more than all the other schools combined even if you include the 3 former schools that won a conference championship.  

I'm on the Sark bandwagon, but 2021 is OKL/ISU for the taking.  

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closetohumping

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6 hours ago, CastHorn said:

I think Casey is going to be the guy based on deep ball consistency, off script ability & leadership qualities. Card seems like the better fit for the type of stuff they ran at Bama last season but he most likely won’t have a stable offensive line or receivers who create a lot of separation. 

Believe it or not, Card is a better athlete than Casey.  He's not the unathletic pocket passer.

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Viper

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Posted
6 hours ago, CastHorn said:

I think Casey is going to be the guy based on deep ball consistency, off script ability & leadership qualities. Card seems like the better fit for the type of stuff they ran at Bama last season but he most likely won’t have a stable offensive line or receivers who create a lot of separation. 

 

2 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

Believe it or not, Card is a better athlete than Casey.  He's not the unathletic pocket passer.

yeah, definitely a little bit racist

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Machinator

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FCB

Spoiler

In this week’s edition of The Insider, I pick the brain of former Colorado, Washington and UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel, now a go-to college football analyst for CBS (with former Longhorn linebacker Brian Jones) and co-host of Full Ride weekdays on SiriusXM Radio (Ch. 84).

Having been the head coach at Washington as well as a former college quarterback who knows Steve Sarkisian, I wanted to get Neuheisel’s perspective on Sark being hired at Texas.

“I’m happy for Sark,” Neuheisel said. “It’s a great road back to where he belongs, which is as a head coach. He worked hard for Pete Carroll and earned his position as a head coach.

“He obviously ran into some issues that cost him the job at USC. But he’s done a nice job of building himself back up. The job he did at Alabama the last two years is nothing short of genius.

“A lot of people will say anyone can paint when you have that kind of canvas and materials at Alabama. But it was still Rembrandt-esque in terms of how they looked as an offense. The numbers were staggering.

“I’m just happy he’s gotten the chance to be a head coach again. It’s a little odd that my guy Sark, who is kind of a California beach bum, is now hanging out in Austin, where he’s going to have to learn to enjoy Tex-Mex as opposed to fish tacos. But this is a program (Texas) that wants to be at the top. Sark has been at the top (at Alabama). Now, it’s just a question of if he can be both CEO of a program and offensive guru. That’s the question.”

As an offensive-minded head coach who called plays, Neuheisel knows what it takes to manage a big-time program while also being the offensive play caller.

“It’s a challenge,” Neuheisel said. “What made Sark special is the ability to call plays. But there were times at USC when calling the plays caused him to lose track of managing the clock.

“There was a game against Arizona State when he was still in his tempo mode instead of running time off the clock, and Todd Graham’s Sun Devils beat him on a Hail Mary (in 2014) on a play that never should’ve happened. There should’ve been no time left on the clock.

“So with all the analysts you can have at your disposal as a college head coach today, if he were listening to me, he would have someone who is helping manage all those in-game, head-coaching decisions, so that he can still keep his mind as the offensive juggernaut coach.

“He’s got Pete Kwiatkowski as his defensive coordinator, who’s done it for a long time and doesn’t need help during a game - except maybe in a late-game situation when the analyst comes on the headphones and says to Sark, ‘Hey, you need to tell Coach Kwiatkowski we need the ball back, so it doesn’t matter if the other team scores here.’

“Sometimes the defensive coach needs to hear that stuff. But if the offensive coach is thinking about what he needs to run when he gets the ball back, he might forget to tell the defensive coach that. So someone needs to be thinking as the head coach all game long and getting in Sark’s ear, so Sark can stay the Rembrandt of offense.”

What stands out about Sarkisian as a play-caller?

“I think he and Lane Kiffin have a lot of similarities. They look for matchups and the best ways to get their playmakers the ball in space and try to get their quarterbacks to understand you’re going from one, to two, to three - more of a progression read - when they are in par-down play calling, meaning when the down and distance is in their favor or at least neutral.

“When they’re in par-down, they’re trying to create matchups. Go back to Lane Kiffin when he was at Alabama when Amari Cooper had more than 100 catches. There’s a famous play when Lane Kiffin threw his hands up in the air to signal touchdown before the ball is even snapped. All we saw at that point was Amari Cooper going in motion. But Kiffin knew the secondary was making the adjustment that he had envisioned and coached his quarterback on. What he told the quarterback was, ‘You’re going to Amari on this play, unless this happens, and then you’re checking down.’

“He wasn’t reading a coverage, so to speak. He was reading the adjustment to Amari, and when he got the adjustment he wanted, he put his hands in the air, because he knew the matchup was favorable, and Amari did, in fact, score a touchdown on the play.

“Sark has done that, too. He did it beautifully with DeVonta Smith at Alabama. It resulted in a Heisman Trophy. Sark and Lane Kiffin are guys who can get the ball where they want to get it when they are in par-down situations.

“I was raised as a quarterback to know more of what was happening on the other side of the ball, and once I got confirmation of what the defense was doing, I had the keys to the car to change the play to take advantage of what I’ve learned from the defense.

“It’s like sitting at a poker table and knowing the defense has a couple of eights, and I’m holding kings, so now it’s time to go all in, and I can change the bet. That’s how I was taught.

“They teach more of, ‘I’ve got this play. If it’s not there this time, we’ll get it another time.’ And it’s based on all the coaches’ film study. They’re playing quarterback through the kid on the field.

“I was taught that the coaches are giving me a play call, but if the defense shows me certain things, I have license to change the call to take advantage, not just check down. And that’s more of what Joe Burrow did in his magical year at LSU.”

Sarkisian doesn’t have the talent level at Texas he had at Alabama, so how does that change things in terms of how he calls the offense?

“I don’t know that it changes the way he calls the offense. He’ll have to determine, based on the quality of the defense at Texas, how flamboyant he can be in his offensive play calling. As a head coach, you absolutely have to play strategically off of each other.

“You can win with less than spectacular players offensively, because your scheme can work. Army and Navy win games every year with lesser athletes because they have triple option.

“Sark knows how to create triple option without being in the wishbone. Triple option can be RPO. It can be RPO with a bubble screen and a slant. There’s ways to get the ball to people in space via triple option - meaning the quarterback has three different ways to go based on what he sees. And you can do that with less than first-round talent.

“Now, you have to have great talent defensively to keep up with the Oklahomas, which of course, is where Texas is going to be measured.

“Oklahoma comes back this year with a fabulous team. Spencer Rattler is more experienced at quarterback. We know Lincoln Riley’s prowess as a quarterback developer and play-caller.

“Sark will be in that matchup, and that will be a great storyline for all of us in college football as we analyze the upcoming season. But Sark is going to have to have a defense that allows him to be a little flamboyant offensively, otherwise he’s going to have to take clock more into consideration, which has not been his strength over the years. He likes to go for it. It’s the Pete Carroll in him. Damn the torpedoes.”

What’s a reasonable expectation for Texas fans in Sarkisian’s first year as head coach?

“I would say it’s reasonable for Texas fans to expect to be in the Big 12 race every year. There’s no reason from a recruiting standpoint that you can’t be in it - especially now that we have pseudo free agency in college football with the transfer portal.

“Texas is always going to be that desirable of a location and a place to play as a brand that you should be in that race into the month of November every time - every time.

“What has kept Texas from achieving what everybody wants who loves the burnt orange has been the inability to create harmony between the president, the athletic director, the head coach and a very, very involved group of alumni.

“I mean when you land to play the Texas Longhorns, you see learjet after private jet after Citation after Gulfstream. They’re all out there with the Hook ‘Em signs on ‘em. It’s the Texas Air Force. Well, that Texas Air Force has Texas influence, which is big.

“Mack Brown was the last one to really kind of bring it all together, and it’s because he had that CEO chip in his DNA.

“He had that ability to galvanize all those alums and make them feel like they were close to the program and that their voices were being heard. And Mack had the ability to get the athletic director and president on the same page about what was best for the program and for the university. And Mack was willing to listen to their thoughts as well, so it all worked.

“They failed at the end of Mack’s tenure, because they were the victims of their own success. They went out and recruited after they finished a signing class, and had a Junior Day, and they’d commit everybody.

“The problem is, with youngsters, they don’t all develop at the same time. So they were taking guys at the end of their junior year and not waiting to see who’d be promising in their senior year - like RGIII (Robert Griffin) or go on down the list.

“All of a sudden, Texas wasn’t getting the best. Some would say they were lackadaisical. Some would say they were lazy. Make whatever excuse you want to make, but that was the end of the Mack Brown era.

“From then on, whether it was Charlie (Strong) or Tom (Herman), that triumvirate of head coach, AD and president wasn’t working, and then when you add in that fourth element, which is that really influential list of alums - who are a part of that Texas Air Force - it hasn’t come together.

“That’s what Sark has to realize - that it’s not just the school president and AD, as it might be at some places. Texas alums are part of the program - and should be part of the program. It’s what makes Texas special. It’s what makes Texas elite. But it takes somebody with real deft skill with people to bring them all together into a harmonious force that is operating in one direction, which is a powerful direction.”

In the last seven years, Texas has lost a lot of games it was expected to win. How does Sarkisian turn that around?

“With Steve Sarkisian as the leader of your offense and with Pete Kwiatkowski as the leader of your defense, I think you’re going to be fundamentally sound. I don’t know Texas’ talent through and through, but they’ll be fundamentally sound.

“So the likelihood of beating yourself in those games is going to be small. And if you don’t beat yourself in Big 12 play, you’ve got a pretty good chance to be successful, especially when you have some difference makers. The running back (Bijan Robinson), and Sark’s quarterbacks have always developed into difference makers. And if they don’t, you’ll get somebody out of the portal who is, because there’s some in there.

“It would be mind-blowing for me to see Steve Sarkisian’s offense not be explosive. It would be mind-blowing for me to see Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense giving up giant plays. It doesn’t mean you’re going to win ‘em all, but you’re going to be in ‘em all. And then it comes down to fundamentally understanding how to finish games. And that’s what Alabama and Washington, under Chris Petersen, were really good at.”

Sarkisian will be going up against Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, who is considered one of the best quarterback developers and play callers in all of college football. How do you see that matchup going?

“Lincoln Riley has taken the RPO to a new level,” Nehuheisel said. “The RPO used to be all based on zone, but he’s brought it to the gap scheme with some really unique stuff. And if Caleb Williams, the five-star quarterback from (Washington) D.C., pushes Spencer Rattler and his legs are as-advertised, it’s going to be hell fire for defensive coordinators.”

Riley has shown he’s willing to run his quarterbacks a little more than Sarkisian has.

“When you had the luxury of the offensive line that Sark had at Alabama and certainly that he had at USC under Pete Carroll, you don’t have to have the quarterback run the ball,” Neuheisel said.

“But when you have an offensive lineman or two that you have to hide, who aren’t the dominant guys and will be exposed if put in a lot of drop-back passing situations, then having them run block while you’re throwing a pass - because the RPO advantage says pass - that to me is just brilliant football.

“It’s what makes college football so fun, and why, when we get really good offenses, we see the SEC championship game be a 52-46 game. And neither one of the quarterbacks in that game - Kyle Trask or Mac Jones - is a runner.

“That’s because the offensive lines knew what they were doing with great protection schemes, and the offenses were really balanced. But if you don’t have that kind of balance, the quarterback’s legs are a great equalizer and should be part of the offense when you’re facing a tough defense that you want to control.”

Sarkisian has said he’d like his Texas team to be bigger. What does that mean to you?

“He wants them to be like Alabama. You look at Deonte Brown and Alex Leatherwood. Talk about two immovable objects. Those guys were giants. He wants them to be bigger, wants them to be maulers. When you can run the ball because they can move the defensive line, which is difficult to do.

“But there aren’t a lot of defensive linemen out there. I call them the gold bullion of college football, because they aren’t growing on trees. They’re few and far between. But when Alabama can secure 13 of them, and Clemson can get another 10, and Ohio State takes the other six, everyone else is kind of scrambling around to see if they can find a 300-pounder. But if Texas can get into that gold bullion market, it makes them less apt to have to pressure.

“If I go back to that game against LSU and Joe Burrow, that was a cover zero blitz that ended up getting Texas beat. It was a brilliant game, but if you’re big up front, you don’t have to be in cover zero. You can get home with your four-man pressure, and you can cover, and Caden Sterns isn’t left there holding the bag.

“So the bottom line is getting those kinds of athletes, like Alabama, like the chosen universities right now, that’s how you get to the mountain top.

“But before you talk about being like Alabama, there’s that red menace in Norman, Oklahoma.”

What’s been holding Texas back the past seven years?

“Watching Charlie Strong and Tom Herman, they’re both good coaches, but Texas has got to play cleaner,” Neuheisel said. “You can’t turn it over as much as Texas has over the last several years.”

If you were advising Texas fans on how to approach the Sarkisian era, what would you say?

“Texas needs to just relax and let this happen,” Neuheisel said. “You’ve got a great athletic director in Chris Del Conte. You’ve got a great head coach in Steve Sarkisian, who knows what he’s doing.

“Your defensive coordinator is impeccable. I tried to hire Pete Kwiatkowski at UCLA, and he knew I didn’t have enough players, so he said no. I’m tellin’ ya, you’ve got what you need. Now, just give ‘em your support, and you’ll get yourselves in this college football Holy Grail - the College Football Playoff - because college football needs Texas to be good to be at its very best. So, wishing everybody the very best in burnt orange.”

***

REMEMBERING JAKE EHLINGER

Wednesday’s celebration of Jake Ehlinger’s life was simultaneously heart-breaking and uplifting.

The Texas Longhorns’ football team, coach Steve Sarkisian, athletic director Chris Del Conte, former coach Tom Herman and his wife, Michelle, and even Bevo - were all in attendance for the service at Riverbend Church in Austin.

Jake’s closest friends, his Austin Westlake high school coach Todd Dodge and his older brother, Sam Ehlinger, stepped to a podium next to Jake’s flower-covered coffin and described a bigger-than-life, hyper-competitive, loving, gooftball of a man who had an impenetrable faith in God and belief in eternal life.

A tweet posted by Jake Ehlinger, a sophomore linebacker for the Longhorns, on May 31, 2018, was printed in the program for Ehlinger’s memorial service:


“It’s impossible not to smile knowing we will forever be loved by our impeccable God.”

Sam Ehlinger said, “As your big brother, you looked up to me. But I learned so much from you Jake, and now I’m looking up to you - watching over our family with Dad.”

Ross Ehlinger, the father of Sam, Jake and Morgen Ehlinger and husband to Jena Ehlinger, died in 2013 of apparent cardiac arrest after diving into the water as part of the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco.

“Jake was never the same after Dad died,” Sam said. “They had a special bond. And now they’re together again.”

Todd Dodge said Jake Ehlinger is the only player he’s had at Westlake who called him on Father’s Day to wish him a happy Father’s Day.

“Who does that? What teen-aged kid thinks like that?” Dodge said. “Jake Ehlinger - that’s who.”

 

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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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Todd Dodge said Jake Ehlinger is the only player he’s had at Westlake who called him on Father’s Day to wish him a happy Father’s Day.

“Who does that? What teen-aged kid thinks like that?” Dodge said. “Jake Ehlinger - that’s who.”

 

I don't care if it was put in print by FCB, I'm glad I read to the end of that piece. RIP Jake. 

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