2018 Longhorns Fall Practice/Football Season Thread

[Machinator 32097]

IT Season Preview: Quarterbacks and Running Backs

Given the scheme, and Sam Ehlinger's resemblance to Larry Csonka when carrying the ball, it's fitting to lump quarterbacks and running backs into the same preview.

We're all well aware of Tom Herman's fondness for gaining the numbers advantage in the run game. That's the primary function for his usage of the tight end, after all. It's also why Herman will always recruit quarterbacks who at a bare minimum force the defense to account for them on the ground.

A misconception of many fans is a quarterback has to be an excellent athlete to be an efficient runner. A fan base spoiled by Vince Young may have reason to think that, but we also saw Colt McCoy, Tyrone Swoopes, and on one famous run worthy of rhythm gymnastics gold, Case McCoy, run effectively.

Ehlinger is a better runner than each of them, even Swoopes, thanks to Ehlinger's combination of initial quickness and decisiveness.

With Ehlinger's tenacious play style, he has a duty cycle that must be taken into account. The more a machine is worked, the shorter its lifespan. Last season #11 worked incredibly hard which led to a duty cycle of 6/12. Some of that is scheme and need in 'gotta have it moments', but much of it is hardwired into his circuitry.

It'll be much easier to get the offensive line to play adequately than it will be to re-wire Ehlinger, and that's a big reason why the offensive line is the key to the season.

Assuming the offensive line is league average, the offensive brain-trust can then rely on the running backs to carry most of the load.

Texas likely doesn't have a special back on the roster, but it does have solid individual talent that could emerge as a complementary and productive platoon.

If the line is average and the scheming and play-calling matches personnel strengths against defensive weaknesses, we're going to see a much different offense this year.

JR QB Shane Buechele, #7, 6-1, 210: Past: UT needed a high floor player who would be mentally ready to see the field early and that's what Buechele was. Present: Due to physical limitations his ceiling at quarterback is more suitable headroom for pygymies, but give him a quality supporting cast and system and now you're exploring his ability to process, and also the limitations of the playbook and talent of those around him. He hasn't had the necessary support system, and his lack of durability and pocket presence has done him no favors. Future: You can win some big games with Buechele, and with Ehlinger's own durability concerns we'll probably see that in the next year or two. Give him a clean pocket or a quick read and he can make some beautiful passes. He can also steal some free yards in the run game if need be. This Texas team can still win 9 games with Buechele starting half the season.

SO QB Sam Ehlinger, #11, 6-3, 235: Past: With a gunslinger mentality and good athleticism he could beat upper-echelon teams with his head, heart, arm, or legs. On close inspection, it was pretty clear each trait would transfer to college. Including the gunslinger part, both positively and negatively. Present: Gunslinger's are just as likely to get you into trouble as out of. Jake Plummer throws two fourth quarter touchdowns to bring Denver back! After throwing two pick sixes in the first half. This stems from confidence in one's ability, as well as hyper-competitiveness to refuse to not just give up on a game, but on a single play. Often this mentality leads to trying to do too much resulting in high beta play. The problem then occurs if you try to attach a governor to the operating system. At that point you lose what makes them so effective, and sometimes great. It's a balancing act and it becomes incumbent on the player to understand when to cut his losses -- or even his gains -- short. It's okay to slide past the sticks and it's okay to throw the ball away. Future: This isn't the easiest playbook to master. At times when we urged Ehlinger to just make the easy read he didn't see it because his head was swimming. I expect we'll see that change quite a bit. Per sources Ehlinger is more fluent in the playbook, and now just needs quality reps to braid the technical, mental, and timing components of the position. Ehlinger having a good season comes down to three very basic factors: stay healthy, minimize turnovers, make better reads. His natural talent as well as his feel for the game will take care of the rest. I still believe he's a multiplier.

This is where I reiterate that Sam could stand to play more like Shane and vice versa.

FR QB Cameron Rising, #3, 6-2, 230: Past: Pegged to the pro-style side of Herman's quarterback scale, but still with good enough athleticism to punish defenses with his legs. He's about as good of a pure thrower of the ball as you'll find. Present: After enrolling early he had experienced the expected bumps and bruises over the spring, though he did finish strongly as evidenced by his play in the spring scrimmage. He also demonstrated the type unexpected athleticism that will take unsuspecting defenders for some mustache rides. His accuracy during summer 7 on 7 was solid and his understanding of the playbook is coming right along. Future: It's going to be easy for Herman to frame an offense around him, but assuming Ehlinger keeps his Bull Hurley grip on the job, by the time Rising is truly in line to compete he'll still have to win the job over others. In a scenario where Ehlinger has a poor or injury-filled season, Rising will be competing to start next spring.

FR QB Casey Thompson, #8, 6-1, 190: Past: Rising was committed to OU. Thompson's dad, Charles, played for OU. Lincoln Riley didn't hard press Casey, probably because as a very good runner he's on the other end of the quarterback scale from Rising. Present: I think it's unfair to consider Thompson just a runner, though he has been inconsistent at times as a passer. Still, he threw some absolute dimes in his limited snaps in the spring game. He's easily the best athlete at the position, so again, it'll be incredibly easy for Herman to tweak his offense in his favor. Future: Herman's system requires engagement and preparedness from every quarterback on the roster. Even if Rising wins the job one day, which I think is premature to assume, Thompson would still need to be ready on a play-to-play basis just like Buechele this season.

How it shakes out: Hopefully Ehlinger and Buechele are the only quarterbacks Texas fans see this season, unless Texas is up big on opponents late in the season, which is possible given the late schedule. If for some reason Herman needed to play QB3, Rising would likely get the nod at this point.

SR RB Tre Watson, #5, 5-11, 195: Past: Highly decorated running back out of Corona, California. Present: Arrived at Texas as a graduate transfer from Cal. Watson wasn't a star at Cal, but he was productive and versatile. Future: Every time he scores this year, UT's beer sponsor should offer specials in homage to his hometown. Watson's versatility is his best asset. He could serve as a returner, an option out of the backfield, or a runner on standard downs. You can even motion him out to the slot. Texas should never suffer from tired legs at the position and I'm intrigued to see how they integrate Watson into the rotation.

JR RB Kyle Porter, #21, 5-11, 215: Past: Ran through lanes as wide as I-10 for powerhouse Katy on his way to four state championship appearances and two wins. Present:Reliable player who is only durable because he's tough. He's proficient in the secondary demands of the position though he offers little burst or bounce in the running game. Future: I could see a clearly defined, though narrow role where he either pass blocks, lead blocks, or leaks out to the flat as a receiver. In a game where small sacrificial plays lead to much bigger ones, Porter has value.

JR RB Kirk Johnson, #28, 6-0, 220: Past: The son of Longhorn great Johnnie Johnson had his choice of suitors after a healthy senior season. By then it was far too late, Texas had his commitment. Present: Because he hasn't played much due to injuries, fans don't really know what they're missing. He showed that brilliant flash versus Texas Tech in 2015 but has been missing since. He started to turn heads again in a brief return to the team that led one source to say, "this is what you expect when you talk about a Texas running back," but then he was lost again. Future: He has special traits but as the saying goes, the best ability is availability. I love the fact he keeps sticking with it and hope it works out for him. If it works out for him, it will work out for the rest of the program because he's a talent.

JR RB Tristian Houston, #41, 5-11, 215: Past: Solid, but unspectacular prospect out of North Shore. Looked to have some outside zone traits which the staff at the time preferred. Present: He's made two more appearances than fellow #41, Hank Coutoumanos. If those two are on the field at the same time, I'm assuming the band is on the field too. You know I have zilch to write when I'm being nice to @HornedBear. Future: Depth and maybe special teams.

SO RB Daniel Young, #32, 6-0, 225: Past: Shared the backfield at Westfield for most of his career, limiting his production and Hudl footage. Showed good traits for an interior runner who could also bounce outside. Present: When factoring for offensive line play he was productive as a freshman and also showed good hands as a receiver. He's proven more reliable than Toneil Carter, though he may not be as talented. Future: He's atop the depth chart as numerous players jockey for carries. He's a solid blend of traits the staff likes to utilize and given their trust in him, he'll have the opportunity to steal back some of those lost highlights in high school.

SO RB Toneil Carter, #30, 5-11, 210: Past: When Georgia said he couldn't enroll early Carter explored other avenues. This led the explosive runner to Texas. Present: His talent will never be in question, but he's going to have to compete as consistently hard as Young to earn them. We all saw burst and good hands last year and there's more where that came from. Future: It's not at all inconceivable that Carter is the most productive running back on the team this year. It also wouldn't surprise if his season went in the opposite direction. He's the most explosive runner on the roster so he has the potential to give the offense some much needed dynamism.

FR RB Keaontay Ingram, #26, 6-0, 205: Past: He's a good running back in any year but the cycle being down really narrowed the efforts of schools to land him. Texas won this in a way that represents Ingram's high school career -- by running away from the competition. Present: Excellent blend of the mandatory skills required to be great: feet, balance, vision, and initial quickness. His vision sets the course, the other traits help get him there. For a taller back he has uncanny lateral agility. This allows him to rarely suffer negative plays. If you break out the forensic tools and analyze hard enough, one can maybe quibble with his long-speed, but I don't yet find the evidence conclusive. Future: Despite having capable bodies ahead of him, Ingram should see the field as soon as he proves to the staff he can protect the ball, that he's mentally prepared, and that he's assignment sound.

How it shakes out: Understand the staff is big on trust. Like with a female, it's hard to earn and easy to lose. They don't care if you've "been killing it in rehab," they want to see it for themselves for an extended period of time. Don't smoke drop the rock. Protect the ball, be assignment sound, understand where the gap is supposed to be, etc. After that's established it's time to show your talent.

I want everybody who read that section to print it out, sign that you understand it in the presence of a public notary, and send it to Inside Texas c/o Clendon Ross.

Daniel Young is the workhorse. Toneil Carter is the quarterhorse. Tre Watson's versatility allows the staff to tinker with him in any situation, but they must discover where his value add lies. Porter should have a narrow, though important role. Ingram is the outlier. If he wins the staff's trust, he'll earn the chance to prove what I believe to be true -- he has the best overall composite of traits at the position.

It isn't a sexy collection of talent but there are enough options in the garage to keep miles low and improve the duty cycle.

[Ricky Butler 2657]

28 minutes ago, RabidM said:

Barring a dramatic improvement on the OL, I think our ceiling is 7 to 8 wins.  If the OL dramatically improves, then the ceiling rises considerably with them.  I just don't see a big jump in that group.  My hope is for average OL play this year with a better jump the following year.

Can you provide a visual reference for the scale of offensive improvement so that I can adjust my expectations as the season goes along?

[RamjetFDO 10554]

1 hour ago, Machinator said:

A fan base spoiled by Vince Young may have reason to think that, but we also saw Colt McCoy, Tyrone Swoopes, and on one famous run worthy of rhythm gymnastics gold, Case McCoy, run effectively.

Credit: THujone

[Born Burnt 6147]

9 minutes ago, RamjetFDO said:

Credit: THujone

I don't have any tattoos. But if I got one, it would be this. I never tire of seeing it.

 

[BigHorn'13 3352]

"Afan base spoiled by Vince Young may have reason to think that, but we also saw Colt McCoy, Tyrone Swoopes, and on one famous run worthy of rhythm gymnastics gold, Case McCoy, run effectively.

Ehlinger is a better runner than each of them..."

 

Let's pump the brakes one god damn second here

[Machinator 32097]

38 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

"Afan base spoiled by Vince Young may have reason to think that, but we also saw Colt McCoy, Tyrone Swoopes, and on one famous run worthy of rhythm gymnastics gold, Case McCoy, run effectively.

Ehlinger is a better runner than each of them..."

 

Let's pump the brakes one god damn second here

I read that, and I think it was poorly phrased. I don't think for a second that he was suggesting Ehlinger is a better runner than VY.

[ETHorn 15]

Why would Cameron Rising want to take defenders on mustache rides?

[HuntinHorn 975]

In ...

[Magus Ossis 2773]

Question about Orlando. No bullets, please— i Love what he’s been doing here. Does he look better now, compared to the competition, than he will when more people start running the dime base package?

[runthebone 7929]

Thanks to his beard, I hardly notice Herman's thinning hair

Edited August 2, 2018 by runthebone

[Tex Long 4326]

2 hours ago, Ben Ficus said:

Herb Hand is an unlikely candidate to have such a strong twitter game.  Never judge a book by its cover.

Hulk Willie Nelson is going to be so fucking awesome this year.

Against doctor's orders, Kool Aid initiated.  

Maryland is fucked.

Well, Hulk Willie may not be all that as a band name (but not bad, not bad), but as a player nickname it's damn fine. Definitely beats the shit out of "Breck" or whatever else Galindo and his merry band of torturers of the Anguish Languish have come up with. 

Can't wait to hear way come out with something like "... Murray takes the snap. He heads right, and... Oh, my! HULK WILLIE!

[Machinator 32097]

 

[ckhorn 208]

15-0 The stars will align.

[SKA the boss 729]

Um, you'll drink the Kool Aid and like it...

lol
I confess that I find myself reaching for a glass now and again out of habit. But then I call my sponsor and he talks me off the ledge.

[bschoolprof 6232]

Most of the question marks discussed thus far deal with personnel and talent, and that makes sense: our biggest weakness last year was talent and experience deficiency at QB and OL.  

However, our 2nd biggest weakness was dumbfuckery on the part of the whole offensive staff:

 - retarded personnel rotations at WR and RB, (e.g., kyle fucking porter getting more carries than any other running back)

 - inability/unwillingness to match/call plays within our scheme that best fit our personnel (e.g., asking our wankers at TE to set the edge on outside zone, not running more power, splitting our shitty TEs out on 3rd and long instead of bringing in a WR, etc)

 - horrific situational playcalling (e.g., end of Tech game, end of 1st half against ISU, with less than 10 seconds left, Beck calls a slow developing screen - we run out of time, etc)

 - abandoning the running game (e.g., 1st drive of 3rd quarter against OSU, we tear it up with Warren running inside zone; we follow that up with 3 straight passing plays and then punt)

 - Beck's boners for continual QB rollouts that never work

 - etc, etc

Has that improved?  I guess we'll find out.  

[texifornia 56434]

GJ looks super swole

 

[Goodman 3273]

Nice, shed about 5-10 over camp and be ready to destroy folks.

[Goodman 3273]

We're going 11-3, that is my call if no camp injures take place to our two deep.

[RabidM 2664]

6 hours ago, Ricky Butler said:

Can you provide a visual reference for the scale of offensive improvement so that I can adjust my expectations as the season goes along?

[ckhorn 208]

20 minutes ago, Goodman said:

We're going 11-3, that is my call if no camp injures take place to our two deep.

"You Mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling"

[texifornia 56434]

23 minutes ago, ckhorn said:

"You Mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling"

[Machinator 32097]

 

[ausjala 101]

Believe we will play 14 games, as I do think we are in the Big12 championship. With that said, I think 11-3 is more than doable, see 10-4 as a worst case scenario. Why? A year's maturity at certain key positions like QB, and the experience of grad transfers to aid that. Couple that with "buy in" a term mentioned repeatedly, not by coaches, but players. Offensively, we simply have to be better for several reasons, some mentioned by Herman. O-line will have bodies--if nothing else--14 scholarship guys I think he said, and bodies that have some talent. With TEs, finally, that can play. A better running game because of that O-line development and experience. And after what, 18+ months with Herman, I think this team will have a better sense of "identity" and what it means to play for Texas. Pride is a hard thing to reclaim when it has been lacking for so long. I think Poona showed a lot of it last year, and guys like Hager, Roach, and Gary Johnson noticed, and have taken it to heart. And this team is no longer soft. Orlando's defenses proved that last year, and now it is up the offensive side to show it too. I know this is a lot of kool-aid, but isn't that supposed to be the case when starting a season. Reality and gut-check time are only a month away.

[Newy25 7638]

If you really think 10-4 is a “worst case scenario” you are a fucking retard of the highest order. Especially after the last 4 years. 

[Newy25 7638]

11 hours ago, Machinator said:

 

Anwar is really not a very intelligent person. It was hard hearing him stumble through his own thoughts. 

Who was that second reporter who asked the exact same question that Herman said he would not answer? 

Edited August 3, 2018 by Newy25

[texifornia 56434]

Yay practice, but wow is the Big 12 Champions section just embarrassingly small.

[Machinator 32097]

 

[Newy25 7638]

8 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

That’s a big FU to Mr.Foreman. 

[texifornia 56434]

 

[stork642 4498]

Jerrod is a badass.  Wish we had more guys like him.  

[Machinator 32097]

TFB press conference notes: https://texas.thefootballbrainiacs.com/2018/08/open-post-weekend-august-3rd-5th/

Quotes and Notes | Pre-Fall Camp Press Conferences | Hand and McKnight
– Will Baizer

Herb Hand

Coach Hand started off by telling us that Sway has become his favorite restaurant in Austin, “Here’s what you want when you sit down to eat. You take the fork, you put it in your mouth, and then you just drop the fork, and go, ‘that’s it right there.’… I want the fork dropper.”

Well is his OL a fork dropper?

“Coming out Spring practice I felt good about our first five guys that we put out there… You add Calvin Anderson to the mix… We have high expectations for him. And the key to me is the development of Samuel Cosmi, JP Urquidez, and Tope Imade and getting Patrick Hudson healthy to see how much can we count on those young guys as the season goes on.”

How much of a problem is the revolving door of OL coaches for the OL?

“It can be an issue because of personality and system more than anything…” However, Hand came in and learned the verbiage that was already being used by the offensive staff for the linemen, “Because here’s the thing, if you go to France you have to learn French or you’ll be lost… Some coaches may call a block a ‘Slip Block’ and some guys may call it a ‘Gut Block’… So what I did coming in is I learned their language. I wanted it to be consistent… I think that has helped with the transition.”

What did he see in the film from the offensive line last season?

“The one thing that you could tell… One, that it was a new system. You could tell there were a lot of moving parts because every time I turned the game on it seemed like there were different cats in there… You could tell that there was some youth… The positives of that is that all those guys that get experience… those reps are going to pay off for us this year.”

Herb Hand says that Elijah Rodriguez has the ability to play all five spots across the offensive line.

The one thing that is very interesting about Herb Hand is his background and how it will mesh with Tom Herman. Herb Hand has been around a lot of different offensive gurus, at West Virginia he learned the Zone under Rich Rodriguez, he learned the Power with Gus Malzalhn at Tulsa, and he integrated the two under James Franklin at Vanderbilt. Herb Hand has been brought in to help with the gameplan and specifically in the run game, so I asked him what parts of his philosophy he will be bringing to Texas’ inside zone heavy philosophy:

“The first thing with that is, just about everybody in America runs inside zone or some form of it. So it’s not so much what you do it’s how you do it. That’s what makes the difference… It’s the standard of the attention to detail that you put on your players… The thing that I love about the offense here is it was an easy transition because of how aligned (DRINK) we are in terms of how we want to do things.”

But what Herb Hand will bring to Texas is a lot more pin and pull blocking as well as an emphasis on double-teaming and re-establishing the line-of-scrimmage:

“If I’m going to hang my hat on something it’s going to be that. Striking people and trying to re-establish the line-of-scrimmage at the point of attack. West Virginia, Tulsa, Vanderbilt, Penn State, and Auburn that has been our calling card — if you will — is knocking people off the ball.”

Another thing he talked about is his love of the crowther sled (pictured below) because of how it teaches his guys to block his schemes correctly that use a lot of half-man leverage:

“When you get on a crowther sled it will tell you when you’re wrong… When you put one guy on there that is when you really have to understand leverage… When guys get on it for the first time they get too thin on the pad and the sled slides out from under them, or they get too thick on the pad and the sled slides out from under them. At first, it’s frustrating, but it has everything to do with how they’re fitting up from their upper body and if their feet staying in their base or if they’re crossing over in their blocks…

All of the sudden in the Spring, I want to say it was around practice eight or nine, we’re doing our crowther work and you can see it where the light clicked on and they really understood what half-man leverage felt like, and they start driving the sled straight.”

Another coaching technique that Herb Hand uses is focusing on showing the players what was done correctly in the film sessions and de-emphasizing what went wrong until they understand. After the session, Coach Hand was explaining his half-man leverage and how if it is not taught correctly one lineman will leave early, giving the defender a straight shot across the face of another offensive lineman or the lineman won’t leave at all leaving a defender wide open. This reminded me of the play below during the Spring Game:

Coach Hand told me that on a play like this, he would focus on the RG and RT and how they ran they play correctly rather than highlight what the LG and TE did incorrectly.

Yancy McKnight

“Marques Bimage is the strongest guy in our program and Kris Boyd is right there behind him.”

McKnight on Shackelford: “The one thing that they do miss playing as a freshman is some in-season lifting, like a Samuel Cosmi, Reese Leitao, Max Cummins, or Kobe Boyce… You’d like to be in a situation where most of your freshmen are in developmental lifts in the fall.”

Yancy McKnight also talked about “catapulting guys.” What this means is they give the guys GPS vests to wear so that a satellite can track their position to get their actual speed while they are on the field.

Yancy McKnight called his relationship with Tom Herman, “Like brothers. Sometimes brothers fight.”

On the transfers: “The grad transfer stuff is tough for them because for five months they’re without a home… They’re still using the facility, but they’re doing it on their own.”

McKnight says the new weight room has helped them with the flow of their workouts and the efficiency of their training.

 

Quotes and Notes | Pre-Fall Camp Press Conferences | Herman and Players
– Will Baizer

Here is my projection for the depth chart to start off fall camp:

1’s…

QB: Sam Ehlinger
RB: Daniel Young
X: Collin Johnson
Y: Lil’Jordan Humphrey
Z: Devin Duvernay
TE: Andrew Beck
OL: Calvin Anderson (Okafor may start, but it’s Anderson’s job) – Patrick Vahe – Zach Shackelford – Elijah Rodriguez – Derek Kerstetter

DL: Charles Omenihu, Chris Nelson, Breckyn Hager
BLB: Malcolm Roach
RLB: Gary Johnson
MLB: Anthony Wheeler
NB: PJ Locke
CB: Kris Boyd, Davante Davis
BS: John Bonney
FS: Brandon Jones

2s / 3s…
QB: Shane Buechele/Cam Rising/Casey Thompson
RB: Toneil Carter/Tristian Houston
X: Lil’Jordan Humphrey
Y: Jerrod Heard / Jordan Pouncey
Z: John Burt
TE: Cade Brewer / Reese Leitao
OL: Samuel Cosmi – Patrick Hudson – Elijah Rodriguez – Tope Imade – Denzel Okafor

DL: Marquez Bimage – Taquon Graham – Gerald Wilbon / D’Andre Christmas – Jamari Chisholm – Andrew Fitzgerald
BLB: Jeffrey McCulloch
RLB: Ayodele Adeoye
MLB: ???
NB: Josh Thompson
CB: Anthony Cook, Kobe Boyce / Eric Cuffee, Donovan Duvernay
BS: BJ Foster / Chris Brown
FS: Montrell Estell or Caden Sterns

Tom Herman

On the start of fall camp:

“I feel like it’s Christmas in August because we get an opportunity to see — in these freshmen — some bright shiny new toys, and we get an opportunity — in some of these veterans — to see revamped, remodeled, refurbished toys with Yancy [McKnight] and his crew… I’ve never been more excited to coach a team in my career.”

With what is happening in Columbus, Tom Herman was asked what he knew and felt about their issues:

“I left the program after the 2014 season. The things that occurred — to my knowledge — happened in late 2015. I really don’t think it’d be fair or appropriate, to be honest with you, to comment on a situation at another program that happened while I wasn’t there.”

He declined to go in-depth on what he knew about Zach Smith.

Ok… Now that is over… FOOTBALL!

Tom Herman noted that this is the first time in 5 years that the offense will be running the same offense two years in a row.

Tom Herman noted that RB Tre Watson and TE Cade Brewer will be limited at the beginning of camp. On Tre Watson: “Hopefully by practice five or six he should be ready to go.” On Brewer: “He hasn’t been hit since October.”

On Kirk Johnson: “He’s going to have to compete. In order to compete, you’ve got to stay healthy.”

On QBs, Tom Herman says “The guy who will take the first snap will be Sam… The spring was pretty neck-and-neck [with Buechele].” Says that Buechele and Cameron Rising will get reps with the 1’s.

Tom Herman on who surprised him over the offseason: “Physically Marquez Bimage… Samuel Cosmi… Leadership-wise Andrew Beck continues to be exactly what you want there.”

On what he expects out of the offense:

“There’s a ton of chemistry especially in the coaching staff room, to be honest with you. We get along great and there are very defined roles in who’s responsible for what… I expect us to run the ball better for a variety of reasons. Whether that’s us as coaches coaching them better and focusing on schemes that fit the talent level, the development of our offensive line and our tailbacks, the health of our tight ends and the fact that we have tight ends now, and — hopefully — the development of our pass game…”

Tom Herman says that the game planning is a group effort (eh…) and that it doesn’t matter who calls the plays (I agree)

 

LB Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson told us he rotates between both Mac and Rover in case someone goes down.

On that note, the LB room is very thin with Ayodele Adeoye being the only scholarship LB who can play Mac or Rover. It appears that after him even the players don’t know what happens, “Basically, we have the first group of guys with me, Wheeler, and Malcolm. As far as backing us up, we don’t know, but we have an idea… Dele does Mac and Rover and Roach does all three.”

 

WR Collin Johnson

What is the potential of this offense to get better? Collin Johnson:

“It’s year two in the same system… We’ve all been in the same system for a while. That’s the main thing is just getting more comfortable with it. And at the same time, we’re getting bigger, faster, stronger under McKnight. Summer workouts as a team were unreal.”

Johnson relented that last year there were growing pains with the offense, “As a team in general, those games we should have won in the fourth quarter, was frustrating… The two words Coach McKnight and Coach Herman have been on us about are ‘Develop’ and ‘Finish.’”

 

CB Kris Boyd

Boyd has seen a lot of change since he’s been at Texas, so he commented on the consistency of the program, “It’s a lot better. When we first had a change, you are kind of iffy about things — well not me because I was bought in from the beginning — but once you see everybody around you on the same page you have a better understanding of how things are going to go.”

Kirk Bohls then asked Kris Boyd the same question he asked Coach Herman in Frisco, “How many elite players do you think you have?”

Kris Boyd laughed and said, “You should know my answer… To be here you have to be elite, but I guess we all have to listen to Coach Herman and Coach McKnight until we get there… Until we start winning games that is when we can start talking about ‘elite.’”

Kris Boyd also called Coach McKnight that best strength and conditioning coach he’s seen, stating that his squat went from 470 to 600, “I shocked myself. And then on bench, we’re putting the weight on, and I hear coach yell, ‘355!’ and I’m looking like, ‘Where? Right here? I’m pushing that?'”

[Vertigo 20257]

Good shit @OnAComputer

[thepop 4409]

Hope Heard has a Swoopes-like senior year and gets an NFL opportunity.

 

Side note, I agree with coach Hand. Sway is great.

Edited August 3, 2018 by thepop

[Mileslong 4710]

19 hours ago, Machinator said:

 

i didn't even know Frank Dinius could throw a football...

[taybo20 2815]

Let’s go Horns!

[Doc Reeves 6434]

10 wins.

 

fuck it, I like misery 

[Viper 12011]

22 minutes ago, Mileslong said:

i didn't even know Frank Dinius could throw a football...

well not now...

[Red Five 40593]

My only prediction is that Hager will hit Kyler Murray so hard that Murray will immediately burst into flames.

[texifornia 56434]

 

[Tex Long 4326]

21 minutes ago, Red Five said:

My only prediction is that Hager will hit Kyler Murray so hard that Murray will immediately burst into flames.

Hulk Willie!

[Bill Lumbergh 7168]

18 minutes ago, texifornia said:

 

Just saw this posted on Facebook.  Said it's the pole where he'd always stand to watch practices.  Well done by the staff. 

[Domedriver 655]

45-0, 3 undefeated seasons!  And massive slaughters of OUSuxs.

The ghost of DKR will finally find heaven after years of wandering in the land of suckitude.

[Domedriver 655]

Don’t pinch me, I want to dream for at least a little while!

[Sgt Hulk 13637]

Some of yalls koolaid has been spiked with amnesia juice lol. I used to mainline double digit predictions not this year thank you AA

[Scholz 11923]

OB War Room: Media Day - Ehlinger, Buechele, Hand, McKnight

(From Anwar) After Texas football coach Tom Herman addressed the media on Thursday, several players spoke, plus Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand and Yancy McKnight (strength and conditioning coach). Basically, the simple event turned into a Texas Football Media Day, and there were several interesting topics. It will be hard to highlight every interview in a short time frame. Instead, I am going to give you the meat and potatoes for the War Room. Texas junior quarterback Shane Buechele, sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger, Hand and McKnight were the headliners on Thursday. I doubt we will speak to either quarterback again until a starter is named. Herman allows McKnight to speak once a year, and it is unlikely we hear from Hand until next year. As a result, I am going to focus on what those four Longhorns said during their interviews. Sam Ehlinger  Ehlinger was asked if the quarterback job was his to lose. He responded by saying, “I wouldn’t say that. I would say it’s both of our jobs to lose. I’d say that we’re going to go into it with a winning mentality like we’ve always had. I don’t think anything has changed. May the best man win.” When asked what Ehlinger must do to win the job, he wants to protect the football while moving offense. Ehlinger believes taking care of the football is the biggest thing he must focus on. Ehlinger said when watching last year’s film, he judges each of his plays harshly. When asked how he views last year’s key turnovers against USC, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, Ehlinger said, “I think everything happens for a reason. I think there are great things in store for this program, and I’m really, really excited to be able to have a chance to be a part of that. I think without those things, I wouldn’t have learned the amount that I did. Although it would have been great for them to go the other way, to beat USC on the road for my first away game, that would have been great. But, I learned a lot of things from that. I think that’s going to carry over into my future.” Ehlinger says everyone has asked him to slide and avoid hits, including his mother, but he cannot change that mentality during an actual game. He thinks experience will eventually teach him when to avoid contact. Ehlinger did not throw an interception as a junior at Westlake High after some up-and-downs during his sophomore season. Here is how Ehlinger correlates that to his first season at Texas: “I honestly think it’s just experience. Playing against Southlake Carroll in my first road game, I was 15. Playing against USC in my first road game, I was 18. Going against people who are three to four years older than you. A whole year in the system, and a whole year in the game, changes things tremendously from a mentality, as well as how you play. I think going from my sophomore to my junior year, having great coaching like I did at Westlake with coach Dodge, and having great coaching like I do here, with the experience and understanding and learning levels of what happened the year before, that’s when you really excel.” Texas’ offensive line and running backs struggled last season, which made it harder for Ehlinger and Shane Buechele to consistently excel However, Ehlinger is optimistic the offensive line will play better this season: “There is not a football team in the history of football, at any level, that wasn’t successful without a great o-line. That’s never going to change. Never has. Never will. I’m not saying last year we had an awful o-line, but I think progressing them, and another year in the system for them to understand their schemes, and also the extension of coach Hand. He’s known to be one of the best in the business. Anything in a positive direction, and positive correlation, is going to help with everything.” Ehlinger said he sustained one concussion last season, and it occurred against Oklahoma State. Ehlinger does not envision being a backup this season. He is focused on a positive outcome. Buechele and Ehlinger have a great relationship. In fact, Ehlinger said Buechele went out of his way to help him last year. Ehlinger learned from Buechele and is trying to help Cameron Rising and Casey Thompson this season. Here is what leadership means to Ehlinger: “I think leadership entails everything. How you live your life, on and off the field. How you interact with people. The way that you bring people to another level. I think being a leader means you make others around you a leader, and you make others around you better. It’s not necessarily any particular way to approach it, or thing to say. It’s an aura you have about you. The way that you walk, the way that you talk, the way that you blink. Everything. I think it’s something you’re born with. I don’t think there is anything in particular. I think it’s your whole overall personality.” Ehlinger studied film of Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Derek Carr to strengthen his game. He admires Brees’ accuracy, Favre’s desire to win, while he believes Carr has a similar build to himself and likes that quarterback’s ability to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball. Shane Buechele The first thing worth noting is Shane Buechele’s muscle mass was impressive. I remember how thin Buechele was as a freshman, but he definitely looked a lot stronger on Thursday. Buechele told me he has high expectations going into this season, but his main focus is competing during fall camp. When asked about the quarterback battles at Texas, Buechele said, “It truly never ends. You always want to have one guy be that person. In the aspect of the quarterback room, it really never ends. That’s what you ask for. It makes the room better, and it makes the whole room better.” Buechele’s main goal is to elevate his game to win the quarterback job. He also wants to be more vocal, but Buechele said he is continuing to work on it. Buechele does not believe he lacks leadership, but wants it to grow. Heading into this season, Buechele said he is healthier than now than in previous years. Here is Buechele on the rumors about him eventually transferring: “I have been [asked about it]. That’s the last thing on my mind right now. What’s important to me are the guys I’m around, this quarterback battle, and making this team a lot better. It’s always going to be a question, whether whatever happens in that room. Right now, it’s important for me to just focus on my competitive battle in that quarterback room and making my teammates better.” Buechele believes a good running game, coupled with play-action passes, could be a game-changer for him. He believes the running game will be better this season. Buechele on the possibility of not starting this season: “You never want to think that way. In my opinion, you never want to say, ‘Oh, I’m the guy on the sideline with the headset on.’ Obviously, it’s happened, and I know what it feels like, and I hated it. That drives you a little more to get that in your mind and help it in the competitive battle that I have.” Herb Hand If you follow Hand on Twitter, he is a food lover. His favorite restaurant in Austin is Sway, which serves Thai food. His definition of a good restaurant is one where after the first bite, you drop the fork. Hand said the key to this year’s offensive line is developing depth. He pointed to Samuel Cosmi, J.P. Urquidez, plus a healthy Patrick Hudson. One of Hand’s goals this offseason was to learn the offensive verbiage in place at Texas. He tweaked a few things, but kept 90 percent of the verbiage for consistency. In addition, Hand recruited Hudson and Urquidez in high school, and it was easy to re-establish a relationship with those players. Hand on what he noticed on film from last year’s offensive line: “When I first got here, I wasn’t allowed to go on the road recruiting for a few days, so that’s what I did. I dove into the film to try to get an idea of who do we got back, and get an idea of who’s who and what’s what. The one thing you could tell from watching the tape is a couple of things. One, it was a new system. You could tell there were a lot of moving parts because every time I turned a game on, it seemed like there were different cats in there. Guys were dinged out. I’ve had to deal with that. We had a stretch where at Auburn last year, I think it was a six or seven game stretch, we had a different starting lineup every week because a guy would get an ankle or whatever. You could see that. You could tell there was some youth. Derek Kerstetter was a true freshman last year, and he’s out there banging around. The positives of that is all of those guys got that experience, Kerstetter, Denzel, Shack [Zach Shackelford]. Those reps are going to pay off for us this year.” When Hand was at Auburn, he recruited Calvin Anderson. Later, he was hired at Texas, and tried to convince Anderson to spend a year in Austin. Hand said his message to Anderson never changed. It was never about “what you can do for us.” Instead, Hand’s message was “what can I do for you?” Yancy McKnight McKnight the team ran metabolic plays this past Friday, and the team goal was to break personal records. Outside of Marquez Bimage, McKnight said Anthony Wheeler and Gary Johnson squatted 600 pounds, while Jeffrey McCulloch squatted 635. Anthony Beck squatted in the mid 600s, while Kris Boyd and Devin Duvernay’s totals were 600. Overall, McKnight believes at least 13 players squatted over 600 pounds. In addition, at least 55 players clean-and-jerked over 300 pounds, while 50 players were over 500 pounds. McKnight said the team back squat average was 490 pounds.

[Machinator 32097]

Looks like our QB5 is a PWO.

https://wew.hudl.com/profile/6045765/Tremayne-Prudhomme

[bschoolprof 6232]

995 practice notes

Spoiler

* No surprises in the rotation order of the quarterbacks. As Herman stated yesterday, the order at this point is Sam Ehlinger, Shane Buechele, Cameron Rising and Casey Thompson. Overall, the media didn't get a chance to see the quarterbacks do very much.

* Daniel Young was the RB1 today, while Tre Watson (wearing a green non-contact jersey) worked as RB2 in early drills and Toneil Carter worked as the RB3

* Cade Brewer was back in action wearing a green non-contact jersey.

* The first-team offensive line group today (from left to right): Denzel Okafor, Patrick Vahe, Zach Shackelford, Elijah Rodriguez and Derek Kerstter.

* The second-team offensive line group today (from left to right): Sam Cosmi, Patrick Hudson, Austin Allsup, Tope Imade and J.P. Urquidez

* The third-team offensive line group in drills (from left to right): Kerstetter, Vahe, Rodriguez, Junior Angilau and Reese Moore

* As for incoming transfer Calvin Anderson, he was mostly a spectator today. While he participated in individual drills, he was in observation mode when the team was working in group drills against air.

* First-team wide receivers in drills this morning: Collin Johnson, Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Devin Duvernay.

* Second-team wide receivers: John Burt, Jerrod Heard and Brennan Eagles.

* Third-team wide receivers: Malcolm Epps, Joshua Moore and Davion Curtis.

* Players working with the punt return unit: Brandon Jones, Jerrod Heard, D'Shawn Jamison and Caden Sterns.

 

 

[Bobby_Batronic 1994]

6 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

* As for incoming transfer Calvin Anderson, he was mostly a spectator today. While he participated in individual drills, he was in observation mode when the team was working in group drills against air.

That's.....curious.

[texifornia 56434]

6 minutes ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

That's.....curious.

I think we all need to panic right the fuck now

[UTEX_ME 4754]

5 minutes ago, texifornia said:

I think we all need to panic right the fuck now