2023 Transfer Thread - Texas Capitalized, ATM Victimized

1 minute ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

One of the safety depth you have listed must develop into starter quality, imo. The db room has a lot of "versatile athletes" that need permanent positions. 

MM may not be a corner. I think it was Charles Power who said his best fit after watching all star game week might be nickel or safety long term. Putting depth at star is a good idea, especially long depth with situational coverage skills. 

Brooks was considered the highest upside db in our last class because of his length and youth. I think we need him to stick at corner, but he can still play nickel or field safety. 

Ideally, Crawford turns the corner. He's athlete enough to be all conference, but he needs a Jaylon Ford level jump to get there. Still can't see the field. Taaffe is physically limited, LTG still may be a linebacker (give me he and McDonald in the hybrid role they pitched to Harold Perkins), and I don't think we've seen Allen in a practice report since the fall when we heard he needs time. 

Thankfully, Spring will tell us a lot. Hopefully there's less fucking around with cross training and more focus on positional nuance. If GP bolts, I'm not super confident that Gideon and Joseph are capable of that. 

Power thought that his best spot was Nickel and he could stay at CB. Secondary should be better, but it still lacks athleticism. Finding a true cover corner would raise the ceiling on the group. Brooks was impressive in the bowl game, so there is some hope there. I have not seen Holmes, so no idea what he adds

Just now, Codaxx said:

Power thought that his best spot was Nickel and he could stay at CB. Secondary should be better, but it still lacks athleticism. Finding a true cover corner would raise the ceiling on the group. Brooks was impressive in the bowl game, so there is some hope there. I have not seen Holmes, so no idea what he adds

The initial report on Holmes is that he's an excellent cover corner, but he's very weak in run support. Does not like or seek out contact.

18 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

A Horns With Heart meeting

Undersell if we have been drinking

Let's not fall into the trap on this board of constantly wanting to move all corners to nickel or safety. The $9.95ers, even those I trust fundamentally on most takes, fall in love with overthinking talent and spinning everyone from CB to S and OT to OG.

Muhammad is a college corner. Others might give a fuck where he projects in the NFL, but we shouldn't. He was recruited to Texas to play CB and he's shown no reason why that shouldn't be his role.

The same is true of the ongoing discussion around Brooks. It's bizarre. The guy was a second half of season upgrade over a 4 year starter. I don't know how he graded out, but my unscientific view of his performance was that we rarely heard from the guys he was covering and he looked fine, for a freshman, in run support. That guy is a 3 year starter at CB. The notion being floated by the Ian Boyd's of the world, and that's where this is coming from, that Brooks is a better fit elsewhere is straight up fucking dumb. 

Holmes was not promised a starting spot at CB for Texas. He was promised a ton of playing time and a chance to help them win the conference. Between he, Watts, and Brooks, I assume all 3 will play starter minutes. 

Allen, Hyphen, and Crawford all need to make moves this spring. Whichever one, two or three of them do not, they'll be portaling at the end of spring. You can tell Sarkisian would prefer to have them all here for the spring to battle it out because he took special care to mention LTG as a guy coming on during bowl practices. Every time he mentions a random guy that hasn't been playing as someone showing up all of the sudden, there's usually whispers of said player thinking of portaling. So, I'm encouraged they want to see more of him this spring. 

Personally, I see Crawford portaling after another semester of views of his potential being ephemeral in nature. I'm hoping Allen emerges in a big way. He's young, but highly rated guys often lack patience and he's a portal risk not because he sucks or can't be excellent, but because he may not like being a back-up in year 2. 

So, CTJ, you think we’ll spin down Muhammad to linebacker? Or move Brooks to offense? That’s what I’m hearing… 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Junior Bonner

10 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Let's not fall into the trap on this board of constantly wanting to move all corners to nickel or safety. The $9.95ers, even those I trust fundamentally on most takes, fall in love with overthinking talent and spinning everyone from CB to S and OT to OG.

Muhammad is a college corner. Others might give a fuck where he projects in the NFL, but we shouldn't. He was recruited to Texas to play CB and he's shown no reason why that shouldn't be his role.

The same is true of the ongoing discussion around Brooks. It's bizarre. The guy was a second half of season upgrade over a 4 year starter. I don't know how he graded out, but my unscientific view of his performance was that we rarely heard from the guys he was covering and he looked fine, for a freshman, in run support. That guy is a 3 year starter at CB. The notion being floated by the Ian Boyd's of the world, and that's where this is coming from, that Brooks is a better fit elsewhere is straight up fucking dumb. 

Holmes was not promised a starting spot at CB for Texas. He was promised a ton of playing time and a chance to help them win the conference. Between he, Watts, and Brooks, I assume all 3 will play starter minutes. 

Allen, Hyphen, and Crawford all need to make moves this spring. Whichever one, two or three of them do not, they'll be portaling at the end of spring. You can tell Sarkisian would prefer to have them all here for the spring to battle it out because he took special care to mention LTG as a guy coming on during bowl practices. Every time he mentions a random guy that hasn't been playing as someone showing up all of the sudden, there's usually whispers of said player thinking of portaling. So, I'm encouraged they want to see more of him this spring. 

Personally, I see Crawford portaling after another semester of views of his potential being ephemeral in nature. I'm hoping Allen emerges in a big way. He's young, but highly rated guys often lack patience and he's a portal risk not because he sucks or can't be excellent, but because he may not like being a back-up in year 2. 

I am going to admit that I will fall for the 9.95 stuff on Crawford  this spring and likely be disappointed again

The idea of spinning guys down to where they project as NFL players makes a ton of sense in a vacuum. The only problem is that the idea fails to realize they are the best options at CB. In a perfect world Watts would move inside, but Texas doesnt have a perfect roster. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Codaxx

10 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

I am going to admit that I will fall for the 9.95 stuff on Crawford  this spring and likely be disappointed again

"Crawford has really turned the corner. He's flashing, while also turning heads." 

4 minutes ago, Red Five said:

"Crawford has really turned the corner. He's flashing, while also turning heads." 

did you copy and paste this from last year’s spring practice reports?

5 minutes ago, Red Five said:

"Crawford has really turned the corner. He's flashing, while also turning heads." 

100% and I am going to sop that shit up like gravy with a biscuit. 

2 hours ago, Duane Moore said:

So are we done with transfers in the secondary? Starters look like:

CB - Watts and Holmes

S - Thompson and Catalon

NB - Barron

Brooks, Crawford, and Muhammad as first line depth? 

I'm pretty positive Brooks will likely lock in the corner spot opposite of Watts.

I'd go CB - Watts/Brooks with Holmes being first off the bench.

Safety Thompson/Catalon with Taeffe and Derrick Williams being first off the bench. BJ Allen could make it interesting though. Getting Taeffe off the field with more athletic/faster players is imperative. Hopefully the young guys can step up. 

Nickel - Barron with Guilbeau first off the bench

Hopefully Crawford doesn't see the field much, dude busted so many plays.

2 hours ago, texifornia said:

Stewart was telling people that. That problem is that kid's words are the promise equivalent of Monopoly money.

Guess I'll just keep the idea of Watts to LB to myself.  Harrumph.

46 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

100% and I am going to sop that shit up like gravy with a biscuit. 

You just can’t listen to Justin Wells about anyone from East Texas. Dude is like a Westlake honk on steroids for dudes from #bEastTexas

1 minute ago, Etexhorn13 said:

You just can’t listen to Justin Wells about anyone from East Texas. 

 

2 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

I don’t understand why folks keep under valuing Brooks. I see suggestions that he move to safety or that he’s going to be a backup, but as a true freshman he unseated Jamison at corner who had been starting here for forever. He’s looked like he belonged from day 1 and almost turned the Washington game around with a near miss on a pick 6.  Unless I’m missing something, that kid looks like a foundational piece and future all conference (or better) performer. 

I think Brooks has so much versatility he can be moved around in the secondary to get the best guys on the field. It would surprise me to see him get moved, I think he is a legit talent at corner, but he has the ability to move to safety or nickel and thrive in either place. Although currently, his tackling seems to be his weak point. I don't think Gavin Holmes is a guy who comes in and automatically starts in the base defense over Brooks or Watts, but he would provide critical depth and be in the rotation for playing time. Muhammed could push Brooks and Watts both, but I don't see a true freshman unseating them immediately. 

7 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

I think Brooks has so much versatility he can be moved around in the secondary to get the best guys on the field. It would surprise me to see him get moved, I think he is a legit talent at corner, but he has the ability to move to safety or nickel and thrive in either place. Although currently, his tackling seems to be his weak point. I don't think Gavin Holmes is a guy who comes in and automatically starts in the base defense over Brooks or Watts, but he would provide critical depth and be in the rotation for playing time. Muhammed could push Brooks and Watts both, but I don't see a true freshman unseating them immediately. 

Brooks best position long term is likely boundary corner while Holmes profiles as a field corner. Brooks played field corner this year and would probably be fine there, but they could definitely give themselves additional flexibility for this year before he takes over for Watts in 2024.

I’ll mention it here, because why not, Christian Jones makes it official, he’s coming back for another year 

1 hour ago, Red Five said:

"Crawford has really turned the corner. He's flashing, while also turning heads." 

Whenever I flash, people do tend to turn their heads

16 minutes ago, Vito Andolini said:

I’ll mention it here, because why not, Christian Jones makes it official, he’s coming back for another year 

So we return our entire starting 5 and like 7/8 of our best OL. With the hope that 1, or possibly 2, of the backups unseat a starter for a spot upgrade. 

That seems good. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by UncleSonny

Banks-Campbell-Majors-Jones-Williams/Neto.

Where do we see Mo Blackwell this year? DB, S, LB, Star/Hybrid, Portal ? 

I think he has potential at S or Star.

6 minutes ago, Hornlover said:

Where do we see Mo Blackwell this year? DB, S, LB, Star/Hybrid, Portal ? 

I think he has potential at S or Star.

LB. He barely, if ever, played safety this past year.

I think the most important thing to consider is when will Sark come to this thread to help him make his decisions. I'd imagine we are blowing our load a bit early and he might miss all of this discussion as he is in my opinion more likely to check this thread closer to Spring practice.

36 minutes ago, Vito Andolini said:

I’ll mention it here, because why not, Christian Jones makes it official, he’s coming back for another year 

Nice to have the problem (at OL and secondary) of “we have more good players than starting spots.”

8 minutes ago, Hornlover said:

Where do we see Mo Blackwell this year? DB, S, LB, Star/Hybrid, Portal ? 

I think he has potential at S or Star.

I don’t think portal, you could tell toward the end of the season the IT guys were talking about him more and more, so I suspect there is an appreciation for Mo among the staff, just finding his best role (as you indicate) is perhaps yet to be determined. Obviously a classic tweener, small for LB, coverage skills iffy for safety. But he’s a helluva football player, and I’m guessing Patterson liked him a lot, the kind of guy TCU used with great success. Is Disruptor a position?

11 minutes ago, MoJames said:

I think the most important thing to consider is when will Sark come to this thread to help him make his decisions. I'd imagine we are blowing our load a bit early and he might miss all of this discussion as he is in my opinion more likely to check this thread closer to Spring practice.

Then he needs to man up and slosh through the bullshit with the rest of us.

47 minutes ago, Vito Andolini said:

I’ll mention it here, because why not, Christian Jones makes it official, he’s coming back for another year 

34 minutes ago, UncleSonny said:

So we return our entire starting 5 and like 7/8 of our best OL. With the hope that 1, or possibly 2, of the backups unseat a starter for a spot upgrade. 

That seems good. 

And just as importantly we have our 23 class to just sit and develop for a year. 

13 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

I can see Adonai Mitchell entering, he had 2 fucking targets tonight.

And he dropped one. Fits right in here.

Edited January 10, 2023 by Daichee Bell

16 minutes ago, Daichee Bell said:

And he dropped one. Fits right in here.

Did he?  I remember that great defensive play on the goal line - not much a WR can do in that case.  PFF didn't count it as a drop.

54 minutes ago, MoJames said:

I think the most important thing to consider is when will Sark come to this thread to help him make his decisions. I'd imagine we are blowing our load a bit early and he might miss all of this discussion as he is in my opinion more likely to check this thread closer to Spring practice.

The obvious answer is after their first loss...which will be the spring game.

3 hours ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

One of the safety depth you have listed must develop into starter quality, imo. The db room has a lot of "versatile athletes" that need permanent positions. 

MM may not be a corner. I think it was Charles Power who said his best fit after watching all star game week might be nickel or safety long term. Putting depth at star is a good idea, especially long depth with situational coverage skills. 

Brooks was considered the highest upside db in our last class because of his length and youth. I think we need him to stick at corner, but he can still play nickel or field safety. 

Ideally, Crawford turns the corner. He's athlete enough to be all conference, but he needs a Jaylon Ford level jump to get there. Still can't see the field. Taaffe is physically limited, LTG still may be a linebacker (give me he and McDonald in the hybrid role they pitched to Harold Perkins), and I don't think we've seen Allen in a practice report since the fall when we heard he needs time. 

Thankfully, Spring will tell us a lot. Hopefully there's less fucking around with cross training and more focus on positional nuance. If GP bolts, I'm not super confident that Gideon and Joseph are capable of that. 

Brooks and MM are corners until i see them line up somewhere else in a game. Maybe if injuries occur they can play other positions. 
i too hope Crawford turns the corner but im not counting in it. LGT isn't likely get on the field at LB at Texas. Allen needs a strong spring to least be a true backup.

can Allen or Brice become the true backup field Safety in 2023? Need 1 to really step up. 

I agree, i want McDonald to be a Star/boundary S unless he grows out of it. I think 2023 is a pure redshirt for JM bc he played more QB than DB, even though he had a good all star practice. It takes times to learn so we dont have the breakdowns we had vs IowaSt, Tcu, Baylor. I think D Williams is a boundary S, not a field S but can do some things there, much better at downhill. But again counting on a True Fr (DWilliams and JMcDonald) that aren’t EE(i know Banks proved me wrong) is not something i like and sustainable. 

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by TheContractor

1 hour ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Banks-Campbell-Majors-Jones-Williams/Neto.

Oh. So you're one of the guys that thinks Christian Jones is returning for an extra year, after a tremendous year starting at Tackle, to improve his draft stock by moving inside to Guard (where the NFL Payday is substantially less) to make way for 2nd year player Cameron Williams, who is still green AF. Duly noted. 

38 minutes ago, Daichee Bell said:

And he dropped one. Fits right in here.

I dont remember a drop. I remember 3 targets, 1 TD and a DB broke up a crossing route. He would be a huge upgrade a XWR. Neyor, imo, will be ready physically but as a DPT and someone who has had multiple surgeries, can he mentally. I have that concern with Catalon also. Will he strike like in did in 2020 or be 5% hesitant? 

2 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Oh. So you're one of the guys that thinks Christian Jones is returning for an extra year, after a tremendous year starting at Tackle, to improve his draft stock by moving inside to Guard (where the NFL Payday is substantially less) to make way for 2nd year player Cameron Williams, who is still green AF. Duly noted. 

I think the NFL didn't value him as a Tackle so maybe he wants/can show a year at guard and get into the 5-6th round. 

7 minutes ago, TheContractor said:

I think the NFL didn't value him as a Tackle so maybe he wants/can show a year at guard and get into the 5-6th round. 

"Think" and "Maybe" doing quite a bit of work in that post.

Can anyone think of a time when a college offensive tackle had to "prove" himself to the NFL by switching to guard for a year? I can't think of one, but I'm hardly carrying around an eidetic memory. But I can think of quite a few college tackles who just showed up to the draft, got selected, and promptly just started playing guard in the NFL. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by SydneyCarton

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

"Think" and "Maybe" doing quite a bit of work in that post.

Can anyone think of a time when a college offensive tackle had to "prove" himself to the NFL by switching to guard for a year? I can't think of one, but I'm hardly carrying around an eidetic memory. But I can think of quite a few college tackles who just showed up to the draft, got selected, and promptly just started playing guard. 

You are describing Connor Williams

4 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

You are describing Connor Williams

I was thinking of Connor Williams. I was thinking of Leonard fucking Davis, the 2nd overall pick of the NFL draft in his year.  And that is off the top of my head as a Longhorn fan. 

8 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

You are describing Connor Williams

he is now a center for the Dolphins after playing guard for 4 years with the cowboys. started all 16 games at center

Edited January 10, 2023 by NoName

Think it's bringing in Gavin Holmes. We now have three starting caliber corners and the assumption (probably incorrectly) is that Brooks is the odd man out. 

They didn’t bring in Catalon to sit on the bench. Not to mention BJ Allen and Derek Williams. Brooks is a pure corner, he’ll compete with Holmes and I would expect all three (Watts, Brooks, Holmes) to play.

Austin Jordan seems to be like the most likely CB to Safety convert, if they bother with that at all.

Just now, gmr548 said:

They didn’t bring in Catalon to sit on the bench. Not to mention BJ Allen and Derek Williams. Brooks is a pure corner, he’ll compete with Holmes and I would expect all three (Watts, Brooks, Holmes) to play.

Austin Jordan seems to be like the most likely CB to Safety convert, if they bother with that at all.

What was Catalon's reason for coming here?

Lol. Like guard and tackle have such different physical and mental requirements. Center, I get. But it's not like a tackle drafted by a team with guard needs would need to "learn a new position". Just...do less. 

1 minute ago, NoName said:

he is now a center for the Dolphins after playing guard for 4 years with the cowboys. started all 16 games at center

But imagine where he'd be if he had simply returned for his senior year and showcased his skills at Guard. 

1 minute ago, Cairn Horn88 said:

What was Catalon's reason for coming here?

You mean other than the fact that he is from Texas, and might actually want to win something, and the value of a Texas degree? 

Another, another one not coming back

 

 

Watching today's OB Modcast & Ketch says this is the week he expects some impressive portal transfers to happen for UT.

25 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

You are describing Connor Williams

 

19 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I was thinking of Connor Williams. I was thinking of Leonard fucking Davis, the 2nd overall pick of the NFL draft in his year.  And that is off the top of my head as a Longhorn fan. 

Zach Martin made the move from college LT to NFL guard and has a chance to wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

5 minutes ago, TheMailBox357 said:

Watching today's OB Modcast & Ketch says this is the week he expects some impressive portal transfers to happen for UT.

fully expect him to screw this up in every possible way.

2 hours ago, TheMailBox357 said:

Watching today's OB Modcast & Ketch says this is the week he expects some impressive portal transfers to happen for UT.

So the day after Catalon announced his transfer to Texas, Ketch goes out on a(n obviously very sturdy for multiple reasons) limb and predicts this is the week Texas gets some impressive transfers. 

The fact you waste time listening to him is completely unsurprising. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Huckleberry

6 minutes ago, TheMailBox357 said:

Watching today's OB Modcast & Ketch says this is the week he expects some impressive portal transfers to happen for UT.

That could wind up being, don't get me wrong, but Ketchum has no fucking clue what he is saying. He's making things up out of whole cloth.

There are a few names that could be big entries, but if someone like Ketchum hears of it first, he will rub his greasy, buffalo sauced meat hooks all over that information as he rushes to publish it and "be first". He'll do so ahead of the guy entering, and then the guy will get hardcore recruited away from the portal by his current staff. Thanks, Fat Fuck! So here's hoping there isn't anyone dumb enough to talk to Ketchum involved with this work.