2024 Transfer Thread - The Pedantic Circlejerk

[Vertigo 20298]

2 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

What the fuck else are you supposed to do while looking at pictures of Bette Midler? Enjoy her artistic expression?

It could be worse, good thing they haven't found your stash of Lilly Tomlin porn. 

[Reese Bennett 3615]

8 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

It could be worse, good thing they haven't found your stash of Lilly Tomlin porn. 

Spoiler

 

[pearlandhorn 3274]

Simmons isn't going to come in and immediately start from day 1.  He's going to be introduced just like Anthony Hill and Derek Williams were this year.  Will he the most talented person in that room the minute he steps foot on campus?  Absolutely.  I'd imagine he's in the same playing time percentage as those two freshman by the end of his freshman year next year.

[Burntcowboy 1845]

1 hour ago, Hookem2147 said:

Juice Wells not visiting anymore, per IT. They made it sound like it isn't a lock the visit is rescheduled either. 

So this juice is not worth the squeeze 

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

7 minutes ago, pearlandhorn said:

Simmons isn't going to come in and immediately start from day 1.  He's going to be introduced just like Anthony Hill and Derek Williams were this year.  Will he the most talented person in that room the minute he steps foot on campus?  Absolutely.  I'd imagine he's in the same playing time percentage as those two freshman by the end of his freshman year next year.

He will be on the Anthony hill trajectory. Derek Williams would have been too if he was an EE. 

[PTINS 3472]

4 minutes ago, Burntcowboy said:

So this juice is not worth the squeeze 

I save this for Commits, but you asked for it ...

[Burntcowboy 1845]

3 minutes ago, PTINS said:

I save this for Commits, but you asked for it ...

Thanks I needed that 

[Vertigo 20298]

58 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Not to go full Eyore, but adding Moore along with 2-3 from high school makes me wonder about what the Tapp/Finkley/Walton guys do. That's a lot of dudes in that room now. Which is amazing, considering that the room consisted of Jett Bush when Sark and co. got here. 

Moore isn't really a true edge, he looks to be more of a rush linebacker in an overhang scheme. I could see him being in on some sub packages and being used really effectively. My guess is that this is what edge looks like in the spring:

Sorrell at the Jack, and it would not surprise me to have them move Tapp over to the Jack as well for a true rotation.

Then you will have Burke and Simmons likely the top 2 guys with Walton being a third rotational guy. I am not sure where Walton is with his body, but if he is putting on enough mass they may let Burke play both sides for some more disruptive pass rush combos on the field in pass situations and Moore and Hill lined up at LB spots. You could also see some pretty badass rush packages where you move Burke and Sorrell inside and let Simmons and Moore rush from the edges.

Once Sorrell leaves, I could see both Burke and Tapp being over on the Jack side once Simmons and Walton are fully ready. Vasek is still a bit of an unknown because of his redshirt year and it is hard to know where his body is going to go, but he should figure into the mix somewhere after this coming season.    

Edited December 8, 2023 by Vertigo

[Longhornlove 4837]

45 minutes ago, mwaadeeb said:

We’d be adding one old and one young smaller speed guy. The other youngins can fight it out.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Longhornlove

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

6 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

Moore isn't really a true edge, he looks to be more of a rush linebacker in an overhang scheme. I could see him being in on some sub packages and being used really effectively. My guess is that this is what edge looks like in the spring:

Sorrell at the Jack, and it would not surprise me to have them move Tapp over to the Jack as well for a true rotation.

Then you will have Burke and Simmons likely the top 2 guys with Walton being a third rotational guy. I am not sure where Walton is with his body, but if he is putting on enough mass they may let Burke play both sides for some more disruptive pass rush combos on the field in pass situations and Moore and Hill lined up at LB spots. You could also see some pretty badass rush packages where you move Burke and Sorrell inside and let Simmons and Moore rush from the edges.

Once Sorrell leaves, I could see both Burke and Tapp being over on the Jack side once Simmons and Walton are fully ready. Vasek is still a bit of an unknown because of his redshirt year and it is hard to know where his body is going to go, but he should figure into the mix somewhere after this coming season.    

I’m interested to see how he much weight he puts on, if any, in our S&C program. 

[SamMan 1367]

1 hour ago, Pods said:

The Royal Tyrell is easily the best paleontology museum in NA, likely the world. If you or your kid have an interest in dinosaurs, ice age mammals, marine mammals, or Burgess Shale fauna, you want to go there. The specimens there are incredible and most are from the local area. They also do public dinosaur dig experiences where you can go out and dig with them. 

I'm not going to hijack an awesome thread further, but I'll post 2 quick pics. Anyone with questions, feel free to hit me up via PM. 

Here's a tyrannosaurid preserved in a death pose, where the ligaments on the neck shrank as they dried out after death, with the neck and tail pulled back over the body. There are only a few of these in the world and virtually all are at the Tyrell. 

 

A longhorned bison skull (cattle come from Africa). 

Seriously, thanks for this. We try to make it up to Banff/Lake Louise/Jasper once every couple of years, and this looks like it would be worth the schlep. Apologies for the derailment. Back to the portal shopping/haricot verts discussion.. 

[Wulaw Horn 19138]

Seriously, nobody needs to freak out about Juice (or the Purdue guy if it goes down like that) not coming to Texas in the portal. This is an "RC Didn't Offer" scenario that is absolutely true.  The coaches know what they need and they have their own counsel on what everyone's talent level is.  We believe, and they could be wrong but it's the operating assumption, that we are going to kill it in the portal and have our pick of the litter.  Is that going to come to fruition?  Probably, possibly not.  Is it something to worry about on day 4 of the portal being open?  Absolutely not.  

The operating principle here is that we have a few spots that we need to hit on highly talented dudes and we will have a roster that's better than this years roster.  2 WR.  1 TE.  They are not settling for the first good option that comes into the portal with the compelling story we have to tell as a program. 

[billfromlaketravis 11520]

Not sure if it’s an either or situation, but I think Princely fits the defense better than Moore. 
 

That said, our pass rush could get a lot better and Moore could get us there. 
 

I think we need a NT to replace Sweat in a bad way. We need somebody like that to make PK’s defense work. Caldwell from Coug High is the guy I really want. Worth every penny of $500k if the rumor is true. 

[lazygringo 369]

Would Sydir not be able to take on that role (assuming he can play more than 3 snaps in a row)?

[Wishbone 4763]

10 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Not sure if it’s an either or situation, but I think Princely fits the defense better than Moore. 
 

That said, our pass rush could get a lot better and Moore could get us there. 
 

I think we need a NT to replace Sweat in a bad way. We need somebody like that to make PK’s defense work. Caldwell from Coug High is the guy I really want. Worth every penny of $500k if the rumor is true. 

Agree. I definitely think our pass rush should get better going forward. We need to hope to be able to maintain our rush defense.

[Tex-19 2872]

10 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Seriously, nobody needs to freak out about Juice (or the Purdue guy if it goes down like that) not coming to Texas in the portal. This is an "RC Didn't Offer" scenario that is absolutely true.  The coaches know what they need and they have their own counsel on what everyone's talent level is.  We believe, and they could be wrong but it's the operating assumption, that we are going to kill it in the portal and have our pick of the litter.  Is that going to come to fruition?  Probably, possibly not.  Is it something to worry about on day 4 of the portal being open?  Absolutely not.  

The operating principle here is that we have a few spots that we need to hit on highly talented dudes and we will have a roster that's better than this years roster.  2 WR.  1 TE.  They are not settling for the first good option that comes into the portal with the compelling story we have to tell as a program. 

Yep. Imo the true needs are 1-2 WR, 1 S, 1 TE (unless Juan Davis is showing out in practice). That's it.

Some nice-to-haves: 1 LB, that 2nd WR, 1 DT. Maybe 1 CB.

"Not needed but these players are badass so we'd take them": DE/edge

Def not spending money barring surprise departures: QB, RB, OL.

[Atticus 3978]

18 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Not sure if it’s an either or situation, but I think Princely fits the defense better than Moore. 
 

That said, our pass rush could get a lot better and Moore could get us there. 
 

I think we need a NT to replace Sweat in a bad way. We need somebody like that to make PK’s defense work. Caldwell from Coug High is the guy I really want. Worth every penny of $500k if the rumor is true. 

If Princely was a culture fit or didn't have the label as a loafer, he would definitely be a great addition to the defense. Tall and long with a good first step. His effort runs too hot and cold though. 

[Bevo 13590]

2 hours ago, Getafix said:

 

 

 

 

I bet he doesn't go anywhere. And I bet his bank account grows.

[Wulaw Horn 19138]

8 minutes ago, Tex-19 said:

Yep. Imo the true needs are 1-2 WR, 1 S, 1 TE (unless Juan Davis is showing out in practice). That's it.

Some nice-to-haves: 1 LB, that 2nd WR, 1 DT. Maybe 1 CB.

"Not needed but these players are badass so we'd take them": DE/edge

Def not spending money barring surprise departures: QB, RB, OL.

You nailed it.  And Punter by the way should be a serious consideration- not in an NIL spend but in a "lets get the best available dude out there" sense.  This staff cares a lot about special teams so I'd expect that to be a think again on the grad transfer market.  

I think Moore qualifies on the "badass so we take them front" on DE.  Is Matthew Golden a good enough 2nd WR (especially with his KR ability) to be a take there? maybe? He and Juice or he and the Purdue guy can't be your takes there for the 2 WR or you've gotten substantially worse and I don't see any room going backwards.  I don't even think CB is a nice to have, honestly.  It's the 2 WR, 1 TE and 1 S that is must have (and when I say must have I mean star level type players- or as close as you can get in the portal).  

[victory88 5669]

I think the big knock on Juice is that he isn’t really that fast.  Strong hands and good blocker.  But he’s not a deep threat and doesn’t have the speed Sark covets.

[Hookem2147 21345]

2 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

You nailed it.  And Punter by the way should be a serious consideration- not in an NIL spend but in a "lets get the best available dude out there" sense.  This staff cares a lot about special teams so I'd expect that to be a think again on the grad transfer market.  

I think Moore qualifies on the "badass so we take them front" on DE.  Is Matthew Golden a good enough 2nd WR (especially with his KR ability) to be a take there? maybe? He and Juice or he and the Purdue guy can't be your takes there for the 2 WR or you've gotten substantially worse and I don't see any room going backwards.  I don't even think CB is a nice to have, honestly.  It's the 2 WR, 1 TE and 1 S that is must have (and when I say must have I mean star level type players- or as close as you can get in the portal).  

They definitely need a bigger body WR for one of the two spots. One of Golden or Burks makes sense, but probably not both. Although we've had much worse receiver rooms than Cook, Burks, Golden, Wingo, Moore, Niblett, etc.

I think Golden is definitely good enough for one of the two WR spots without question, especially when you factor in what he can do in the return game.

[texifornia 57033]

 

[Wulaw Horn 19138]

6 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

They definitely need a bigger body WR for one of the two spots. One of Golden or Burks makes sense, but probably not both. Although we've had much worse receiver rooms than Cook, Burks, Golden, Wingo, Moore, Niblett, etc.

I think Golden is definitely good enough for one of the two WR spots without question, especially when you factor in what he can do in the return game.

That's my take on Golden b/c of the KR ability he's probably a take right now, but you need someone better than him to fill the other spot.  

I don't know how big he needs to be- Sark's crew at Bama wasn't exactly big was it?

[mwaadeeb 1234]

14 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

You nailed it.  And Punter by the way should be a serious consideration- not in an NIL spend but in a "lets get the best available dude out there" sense.  This staff cares a lot about special teams so I'd expect that to be a think again on the grad transfer market.  

I think Moore qualifies on the "badass so we take them front" on DE.  Is Matthew Golden a good enough 2nd WR (especially with his KR ability) to be a take there? maybe? He and Juice or he and the Purdue guy can't be your takes there for the 2 WR or you've gotten substantially worse and I don't see any room going backwards.  I don't even think CB is a nice to have, honestly.  It's the 2 WR, 1 TE and 1 S that is must have (and when I say must have I mean star level type players- or as close as you can get in the portal).  

You don't think our inexperience at LB is a concern? 

Edited December 8, 2023 by mwaadeeb

[HOOK'EMHOOAH 1610]

Injuries are a motherfucker. I hate that Neyor is portaling. As with all the other Longhorns doing so, I wish them only success wherever they go.

 

 

Unless it's to goddamned oklahoma. Go anywhere there, and you burn in hell.

[DixonHur 11344]

19 minutes ago, victory88 said:

I think the big knock on Juice is that he isn’t really that fast.  Strong hands and good blocker.  But he’s not a deep threat and doesn’t have the speed Sark covets.

Sounds like a J Whitt type player.

[AP101S 1480]

I've seen a couple of posts about LB not being a problem, so I'm assuming I'm missing something on my spreadsheet. Not sure about the positions of the RS FR, but it looks to me like the only LBs with experience are Blackwell and Hill. Also, no idea who will start at NT. Looks to me like S, Mike, and NT are the biggest needs on defense.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TzoBTIvCXfZIk7Sz3C9txMg0yPvrXyVM/edit#gid=1682239859

Edited December 8, 2023 by AP101S

[Hookem2147 21345]

4 minutes ago, AP101S said:

I've seen a couple of posts about LB not being a problem, so I'm assuming I'm missing something on my spreadsheet. Not sure about the positions of the RS FR, but it looks to me like the only LBs with experience are Blackwell and Hill. Also, no idea who will start at NT.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TzoBTIvCXfZIk7Sz3C9txMg0yPvrXyVM/edit#gid=1682239859

Sounds like a good chance Gbenda will use his covid year. He isn't a huge difference maker but he sets a relatively solid floor along with Anthony Hill at minimum. Surely one of Lefau or Burrell will be ready to contribute.

(With that said, I do believe we should take a LB if the right one enters. But in terms of immediate need if definitely ranks behind WR, safety and DT)

Edited December 8, 2023 by Hookem2147

[Wulaw Horn 19138]

10 minutes ago, mwaadeeb said:

You don't think our inexperience at LB is a concern? 

I don't think we are going to be that inexperienced at LB. I expect Gbenda to be back.  Hill is obviously back. Maurice blackwell is back.  And we have a bunch of guys that were pretty talented that redshirted or played special teams.  We only play 2 at a time and sometimes one.  Would I get a LB? Yes. Is it a concern? Not really.  Call that a nice to have.  

[HtownHorn 14755]

4 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I don't think we are going to be that inexperienced at LB. I expect Gbenda to be back.  Hill is obviously back. Maurice blackwell is back.  And we have a bunch of guys that were pretty talented that redshirted or played special teams.  We only play 2 at a time and sometimes one.  Would I get a LB? Yes. Is it a concern? Not really.  Call that a nice to have.  

We played 4 plenty this season as well. Blackwell, Ford, Gbenda/Hill, and Bush. Kwiatkowski preferred a 3-4 base against 12 and 22 personnel.

Next year that will likely be Blackwell, Gbenda, Hill, and Moore

Edited December 8, 2023 by HtownHorn

[Thetexashammer 1062]

I just don't see how we can even recover from losing Jett Bush.

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

There are a couple of decent to good linebackers in the portal. 

[Wulaw Horn 19138]

1 minute ago, BurntOrange&White said:

There are a couple of decent to good linebackers in the portal. 

It’s not a big money position either, and it’s one to set a decent floor from lower division players. 
do you count bush as a LB?  It’s hard to tell in PK’s scheme sometimes where edge ends and LB begins but yeah- Hill could count I suppose. If Gbenda goes I’d upgrade it to pretty likely we add one, but I think he might be your portal take there. 

[Lonestar88 4698]

Maybe we get a LB, I don’t know, but some of y’all are going to have to come to grips with the fact that some of the young unproven guys are going to play next year, and that’s ok. We’re not filling every position with the portal.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Lonestar88

[Atticus 3978]

I think the biggest challenge is that we have a lot of unproven people at WR. Even when taking Mitchell last cycle, we already had the alpha dog in Worthy. 

Golden has the talent, but he's taken a backseat the last two years. He had a chance to be the guy this year, but didn't really rise to the occasion.

Juice Wells has that mentality, but I imagine they wanna see who else will become available. Mitchell didn't portal until late January. Jordan Addison left Pitt in May. Neyor was committed and enrolled at Tennessee and we still flipped him in late January. 

Gotta be patient.

[HtownHorn 14755]

1 minute ago, Wulaw Horn said:

It’s not a big money position either, and it’s one to set a decent floor from lower division players. 
do you count bush as a LB?  It’s hard to tell in PK’s scheme sometimes where edge ends and LB begins but yeah- Hill could count I suppose. If Gbenda goes I’d upgrade it to pretty likely we add one, but I think he might be your portal take there. 

Bush was absolutely an OLB last year, and he is getting replaced by Moore.

Just now, Atticus said:

I think the biggest challenge is that we have a lot of unproven people at WR. Even when taking Mitchell last cycle, we already had the alpha dog in Worthy. 

Golden has the talent, but he's taken a backseat the last two years. He had a chance to be the guy this year, but didn't really rise to the occasion.

Juice Wells has that mentality, but I imagine they wanna see who else will become available. Mitchell didn't portal until late January. Jordan Addison left Pitt in May. Neyor was committed and enrolled at Tennessee and we still flipped him in late January. 

Gotta be patient.

He didn't rise because the UH QB was a fucking joke. Golden is absolute take right now.

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

3 minutes ago, Lonestar88 said:

Maybe we get a LB, I don’t know, but some of y’all are going to have to come to grips with the fact that some of the young unproven guys are going to play next year. We’re not filling every position with the portal.

The guys on the IT stream make a good point that with the transfer portal era a team should never use inexperience as an excuse or have it. 

[Lonestar88 4698]

2 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

The guys on the IT stream make a good point that with the transfer portal era a team should never use inexperience as an excuse or have it. 

As a whole, for sure. But individually, no one has experience until they get it. Unless you abandon high school recruiting in its entirety, there’s going to be some inexperienced guys playing at the beginning of the year for every team. If you recruit well, it’s fine.  

[Thetexashammer 1062]

13 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said:

I just don't see how we can even recover from losing Jett Bush.

But seriously. we are upgrading our defensive talent such that we no longer have to play well trained and well conditioned walkons. This will have a positive impact to out on the field performance in future years.

We have two talented young LBs who are untested. 

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

Just now, Lonestar88 said:

As a whole, for sure. But individually, no one has experience until they get it. Unless you abandon high school recruiting in its entirety, there’s going to be some inexperienced guys playing at the beginning of the year for every team. If you recruit well, it’s fine.  

Nobody is saying abandon HS recruiting. But if you have a group like our LB with so much inexperience outside of 2 guys it’s worth getting a guy from the portal that is physically ready. 

[mwaadeeb 1234]

30 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I don't think we are going to be that inexperienced at LB. I expect Gbenda to be back.  Hill is obviously back. Maurice blackwell is back.  And we have a bunch of guys that were pretty talented that redshirted or played special teams.  We only play 2 at a time and sometimes one.  Would I get a LB? Yes. Is it a concern? Not really.  Call that a nice to have.  

Ah, I had it in my mind that Gbenda was leaving. That helps.

[Lonestar88 4698]

8 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Nobody is saying abandon HS recruiting. But if you have a group like our LB with so much inexperience outside of 2 guys it’s worth getting a guy from the portal that is physically ready. 

If Gbenda comes back for his Covid year, it’s 3 guys. And I expect one of our young guys to be physically ready by next year.

It’s a luxury take position imo, if there’s an obvious stud available, of course you get him, but I don’t see it as a must. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Lonestar88

[AP101S 1480]

1 minute ago, mwaadeeb said:

Ah, I had it in my mind that Gbenda was leaving. That helps.

He walked on Senior Recognition Day, so I didn't include him in the spreadsheet. He could always change his mind.

[Bevo 13590]

Maybe someone like Barion Brown enters the portal.

[Wulaw Horn 19138]

27 minutes ago, mwaadeeb said:

Ah, I had it in my mind that Gbenda was leaving. That helps.

He still might. But he has his Covid year, we’d be thin without him and I imagine the staff would want him back unless we recruit like for like better than him in the portal and need that scholarship. Which cool, good problem to have. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Wulaw Horn

[Park Gothic 5048]

1 hour ago, Thetexashammer said:

I just don't see how we can even recover from losing Jett Bush.

 

54 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said:

But seriously. we are upgrading our defensive talent such that we no longer have to play well trained and well conditioned walkons. This will have a positive impact to out on the field performance in future years.

We have two talented young LBs who are untested. 

I haven't seen bad play from Bush this year. Like at all. You make it sound like he's been the 2023 version of Luke Brockermeyer.

He's not our most athletic OLB/DE, but he is a solid contributor and quality depth. Guys like that are awesome because they stick around for 5 years and maintain continuity between classes. On top of being good football players.

[bwub60 147]

2 hours ago, lazygringo said:

Would Sydir not be able to take on that role (assuming he can play more than 3 snaps in a row)?

Its not that he cant but Texas played 6 guys this year throughout a game and I think they plan to continue that and want an older NT to take part of that load.

[Reese Bennett 3615]

I agree that LB is a luxury take. We've got a difference-maker in Hill, a couple of solid dudes, and a couple of lotto tickets. Always good to have a stable of LBs regardless of experience because they fill key special teams slots.

I'm more worried about the coach than the players.

[Tex Pete 20410]

17 minutes ago, Park Gothic said:

 

I haven't seen bad play from Bush this year. Like at all. You make it sound like he's been the 2023 version of Luke Brockermeyer.

He's not our most athletic OLB/DE, but he is a solid contributor and quality depth. Guys like that are awesome because they stick around for 5 years and maintain continuity between classes. On top of being good football players.

Yeah, Bush did his job this year and I have no complaints. Glad he was not a necessity this year like he has been in the past.

[Elmer_Fudd 22306]

I think Lefau is going to be a contributor at LB next year.