Football Articles
Attrition & The Texas Offense
Posted by CloseToJumping on January 10th, 2009 under Football
Talent acquisition and allocation is a subject near and dear to my heart, whether in sports, business, or American imperialistic intentions, 1898 to present. For whatever reason, this is also a subject that creates much wailing, teeth gnashing, and vagina rubbing among our online fanbase. I suppose it stems from this world where everyone gets a trophy and needs to be told how special they are before they get tucked in at night.
Well and good, but the reality for athletics, and anything else, is that people do come and go. Often times, management wants those going to go and those coming to come. Not always, but that’s the way it is with any competent managers I’ve been around, read about, or observed. This is a fan site for grown-ups, so I’ve got no qualms about the topic and want to throw it out there. If your lips start to quiver and you want to get emotional, call your mother or go click yourself into another thread.
PhxHorn, as the old schoolers will recall, always had a great way of looking at attrition factors. His primary consideration was looking at older players with younger players ahead of them on the depth chart. This isn’t foolproof, but it is certainly a useful measure. There should be other considerations, of course. I try to consider things like “Who can’t keep their shit together and is normally in trouble?” and “Who might flunk out, based out of information currently at hand?” Clearly, these are more subjective measurements, but I don’t have any pretenses about being more or less clueless outside of following this program’s behavior pretty closely during the Brown era.
All of that considered, what do things currently look like at each position, offensively?
“Come into my office and step over into the corner. We need to talk for a minute, son.”
QB
Colt McCoy – SR
John Chiles – JR
Sherrod Harris – JR
Garrett Gilbert – FR
McCoy obviously starts one more season and is gone. Chiles, as always, is rumored to be an unhappy back-up and he’s a candidate to move on. I doubt this. He played plenty this year and he has to be thinking he has a shot at being the stud his senior year. It doesn’t matter whether that is believable to you or me. That is also a simple sales point that will be pushed on him if he does think of walking. The rumors of Harris leaving are even stronger than the Chiles rumors. There aren’t many selling points to give him if he wants to play QB. This is unfortunate, because he is a good program guy by all accounts, even if he doesn’t play a down when it matters for us. Gilbert is going to redshirt. He wants to and his decision to stay in HS through the spring all but ensures it happening. His dad isn’t from a “play-now” era and that is a strong influence here. I am glad for it and hope he gets the chance to learn before competing.
We are somewhat likely to lose one of our scholarship QBs this offseason.
Tackle
Adam Ulatoski – SR
Kyle Hix – JR
Tray Allen – JR
Aundre McGaskey – SO
Peden Kelly – FR
Garrett Porter – FR
Mason Walters – FR
Obviously, returning both starters is a big help. Adam Ulatoski displays shades of Robbie Doane, week in and week out. Hix is coming into his own and will be an All-Big 12 guy, at a minimum, by the time he leaves.
What of the other two on campus already? Allen could have used a redshirt at some point. It is disappointing that he didn’t get one. Does he move on? It doesn’t seem like there is any impetus for that happening. Same for McGaskey. I guess if one of the Freshmen come in and set the world on fire and pass them, that is a consideration.
I don’t know whether Kelly, Porter, and Walters all wind up as Tackles or not. My hope is that they redshirt, regardless. Folks I trust that evaluate for a living think that Walters can be an NFL veteran at LT. I hope he gets the chance to develop into that at Texas.
I expect no one to move on from the Tackle spot before next season.
Guard
Chris Hall – SR
Charlie Tanner – SR
Michael Huey – JR
Steve Moore – JR
Britt Mitchell – JR
Mark Buchanan- rFR
Luke Mullet – rFR
Thomas Ashcraft – FR
My senior year in high school, we were taking our annual beating from Galveston Ball. The score ended up 69-14 that year, which was awesome. Anyway, I was a WR and never went to the huddle. One of the Guards was a lifelong friend of mine and he told me in the middle of the game to swing by the huddle. I said “no thanks” and he told me it would be worth my time. I walk over to the huddle after the next play and everyone in the huddle is telling our Center to pull himself together and at least attempt to make a block on the Nose Tackle. The Center, a buddy of mine and an 18 year old high school senior, is bawling in the huddle and hyperventilating. Literally, he had tears streaming and his face was a bright purple. “I’m doing the best I can, guys. Oh Fuck!?! You don’t understand!”. I walked away, chuckling and mortified. On literally the next play, the NT took the Center on the snap and threw him backwards into the QB who was dropping back to pass. The QB fell backwards for the sack, with the Center collapsing on top of him. The Center is mocked to this day about that game and his behavior, against a Sophomore NT, no less. Of course, that NT was named Casey Hampton, but who cares. It was hilarious. Anyway, Chris Hall and Charlie Tanner remind me of the play of that Center against Hampton more than I care to admit. Scary.
Beyond those two, we’re not looking a ton better. I have no material opinion on the backups and I am not even sure Mullet and Buchanan are Guards. I asked Henry James what they’d been working out at during the year, in order to get a second opinion, and he A) didn’t know who Mark Buchanan was. He thought he was a Sportscaster in Austin for KVUE and B) insisted that Mullet was playing DT. Wow. Ashcraft has some body work to do, but he could damn sure be a mauler if he gets to redshirt.
I have a hard time not seeing at least one guy fall off at the Guard position, but I don’t know who that would be.
“Dominic Raiola wasn’t the first or last guy that this dude made cry. “
Center
Chris Hall – SR
David Snow – SO
Mason Walters – FR
Hall played Center a lot this season, but Snow is a better prospect at the position. It is not difficult to see Hall moving over to take over Dockery’s spot and Snow starting, with Hall backing him up for redundancy. Walters played Center in HS and the all-star games. I assume he moves outside to Tackle, but perhaps that is wishful thinking.
I’d like to thank Buck Burnette for doing something dumber than giving birth to James Hale. As a result of his behavior, I don’t think we can possibly afford attrition at the Center spot and won’t see it.
TB
Vondrell McGee – JR
Antwan Cobb – JR
Fozzy Whittaker – SO
Cody Johnson – SO
Jeremy Hills – SO
Tre Newton – rFR
Chris Whaley – FR
That is seven guys on the roster for one position. That’s not an outstanding allocation of our scholarship numbers and when the program finds itself in that kind of spot, we usually see attrition.
McGee didn’t play a lick in the Fiesta Bowl after playing most of the year. He is reportedly healthy and in good standing with the staff. He is behind two underclassmen on the depth chart. All the signs are there for him to announce that he’s moving on, and accordingly the rumors have started. That won’t surprise me and it would be a smart move. He’s not in a good offense for his skill set and if he isn’t going to lose some weight and add some quicks, he needs to find a program that utilizes the I. Cobb didn’t play at all this year, unless I missed something. He did play last year and looked like a decent FB when we had that position until he was hurt. I am assuming he gets a med-red if he wants it. Is he capable of coming back and contributing? That is anyone’s guess, but he has to be considered an attrition candidate as well. Whittaker and Johnson seem like the A&B choices for the program going into next season and that’s fine. I would be blown away if either chose to leave. I’d be almost as shocked by one of them leaving as I would be if Greg Davis re-implemented the TecmoBowl notes I faxed him showing the Big Package images for the goalline with Johnson in the I.
Hills, Newton, and Whaley look like a traffic jam for the third spot. I would not be surprised if one of Newton and Hills decides to part with the 40 acres. Whaley is rumored to be a slam dunk to play, whether that is best for him or not.
We will see a minimum of one RB leave the program. If Cobb’s injury is severe enough, perhaps that equals two.
“Did you lose my faxes, Greg?”
TE
Greg Smith – JR
Josh Marshall – SOBlaine Irby – SO
Ian Harris – SO
Ahmard Howard – SO
DJ Grant – rFR
Trey Graham – FR
Barrett Matthews – FR
When you rarely utilize a TE and you’ve got eight on scholarship, something has to give. Either you start utilizing the TE more or you’re going to need some of them to switch positions or leave. We should probably see some of all of that going into next season.
Smith is our answer to the loss of Peter Ullman, with Ullman’s graduation and defection to the AVP circuit for beach volleyball. If we have anyone else healthy and want to use a TE, my hope is that Smith can be moved back to Tackle and back folks up there. There was positive buzz about Marshall before he went down for the year in summer drills. I remain from Missouri on him, but I am rooting that he shows us something in the spring and/or summer. Irby was looking like a terrific college spread TE stud when he was Willis McGahee’d by some random Rice dude. Does he come back? It sounds like him contributing in 2009 will be tough. My guess is that he sits next year out and continues to rehab. Harris played sparingly in the middle of the year before we decided to get serious about Ullman as the TE, apparently. We didn’t see much from him at the spot. The same can be said of Howard, who appears to be back DE already.
DJ Grant was rumored to be running some slot TE and looked good. I hope that’s the case. If so, he could be a dynamic threat from that spot. Graham seems like a prime candidate for a redshirt. Having seen footage of him, he looked like a guy that needed some seasoning within the program before he was going to produce. Matthews is not nearly big enough to be considered a traditional TE. As a slot TE, he looks promising. Does he redshirt? That probably depends on the development, or lack thereof, of Grant and Marshall, as well as Irby’s recovery.
Perhaps we lose a guy at TE. It seems more likely that several guys move to other spots on the roster, as Howard has already done. As well, Irby could take another year. My guess is we lose zero players from the program at TE, but Smith and Howard move to other spots.
WR
Jordan Shipley – SR
Brandon Collins – JR
James Kirkendoll – JR
Philip Payne – JR
Montre Webber – JR
Dan Buckner – SO
Malcolm Williams – SO
Desean Hales – rFR
Greg Timmons – FR
DJ Grant – rFR
Brock Fitzhenry – rFR
DJ Monroe – rFR
Look, I get it. When you run a spread offense, you need a plethora of WRs to fill up the field for you. Do you need 14% of your roster to be comprised of WRs, though? Perhaps not. When you stack it that high, you wind up with a circumstance where you’ve simply go non-contributors taking up a lot of space.
Shipley is a starter and the 3rd 1st team All-Big 12 WR next year alongside Bryant and Briscoe. He is All-Everything for this team and it is good to get him back. Collins and Kirkendoll ended up developing into legitimate tertiary threats this year. That surprised me, but it bodes well for the program and neither one of them is going anywhere. As well, neither can be considered early exit candidates, so we’ll be stacked with their help in 2010, too. The other two JR WRs have to be considered the primary transfer candidates on the entire roster this offseason. Neither one of them plays, they’ve not shown any signs of playing, and they’ve generated zero buzz since stepping on campus. They are passed up by underclassmen already. If Payne and Webber are on the roster come August, I will shit a golden Roy Williams Detroit Lions jersey and set Lovell Pinckney on fire.
One has to wonder what Buckner is thinking at this point. He got some looks, but he was not in the rotation to finish the season. Guys he came in with, like Hales, are going to be pushing him in the spring, if not passing him. I hope Buckner steps up. Malcolm Williams is a big play waiting to happen and he needs to get his drops under control this spring. We need this guy stretching the field next season, no way around it. DJ Grant appears to have moved on to TE. It sounds like he’s going to be given every chance to see the field, either way. Hales and Timmons both seem like guys that could get into the rotation next year, although a redshirt for Timmons won’t surprise or bother me. Brock Fitzhenry is haunted by the ghost of Dustin Miksch on a regular basis. A séance with Clint Haney might remedy the issue. DJ Monroe appears to be gone, irrespective of the false hope created by articles and posts from the moderators at Orangebloods.
It seems pretty clear that WR is going to go from twelve to about eight this offseason. That’s dramatic, but the numbers were too high to begin with and some of the drop is due to a position move. Speaking of WR position moves, I wouldn’t mind seeing Beasley get a look in the spring. He fits the WR profile better than the CB profile at this point.
In summary, I know humans are terrible at predictions and forecasting, and I don’t profess to be any different. My guess is that we lose 3-5 players from the offensive side of the ball before next season starts. It’s already started with Monroe. Grades, PT, injury. 3-5 isn’t huge, but it feels like more than we normally see. Oh well.
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Activity
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Blake Stansbery commented on the blog post Recruiting the Trenches ago
I like my wine in a box…. I like my wine in a box GIIIRL
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Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Did Rick Barnes use a plant last night to distract KU players? ago
We commented on the lass during telecast. Thanks for, getting this up, so to speak.
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skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 6 minutes ago
EP, careful those word will get you a rebuke from Peter Pan. Those words should not be heard until March if we are disappointed by this talented team. Lets wait until the season is a complete train wreck then lets file a legal brief that is in lawyeris to explain what a fuck up season
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Mister Mike commented on the blog post Recruiting the Trenches 6 minutes ago
Sailor’s sponsoring it? Holy shit…that likely means goats, togas, and lots of cheap wine.
Welcome to the network!
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 10 minutes ago
Bates, thanks man. That means a lot.
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skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 35 minutes ago
Yeah your right, penders teams were at least fun to watch play. Barnes offense is pretty bad not as bad as Tom’s but its all relative to who is watching the worst offense in Texas history.
“His teams did not play D, did not box out, and were generally unsound in the fundamentals of the game.”
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czarcw commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 36 minutes ago
Our hoops team is the basketball version of Major League.
Jake Taylor = Damion James
Pedro Cerrano = Dexter Pittman
Willie Mays Hays = Avery Bradley
Roger Dorn = Justin Mason
Isuro Tanaka (Major League II) = Dogus Balbay
Rube Baker (Major Leauge II) = Jordan HamiltonIf Craig Way starts drinking whiskey during the broadcasts, it’ll complete the analogy.
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Farmer Ted commented on the blog post Recruiting the Trenches 39 minutes ago
Nice job with this – and welcome to the network, on behalf of Better Off Red. See you at the Fantake retreat in Vegas that Sailor Ripley is sponsoring this summer!
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J Rog commented on the blog post Game Day: Spurs vs. Lakers Open Thread 43 minutes ago
Fell apart in the fourth quarter again. Can’t give up 28 points to close out a game. Spurs, Longhorns….heartache once again.
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Farmer Ted commented on the blog post Thoughts on the win in Austin 46 minutes ago
Nice job Hiphop. Very nice to win what is probably the toughest game on the schedule handily, although the Hawks obviously caught UT at a good time.
The Morningstar FT was terrible and hilarious. He said the ball was wet, which clearly means Texas was cheating somehow. Would the second chance off balance leaner
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Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Another night, another would-be hero 47 minutes ago
I don’t think McCoy played anywhere near the level of Suh and the numbers make it clear that he did not. Suh had twice as many tackles (77-31), sacks (11-5) and nearly tackles for loss (22-14.5). Suh also broke up 10 passes, if he gets stonewalled on the rush he doesn’t allow it to take
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skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 48 minutes ago
We are bound to the past no matter how great the past is, we are bound to fail if we do not look to the future.
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J Rog wrote a new blog post: Missed Opportunities: Spurs vs. Lakers Recap 54 minutes ago
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. This game was served up on a silver platter for the Spurs and they managed to fumble it like a Minnesota Viking in the playoffs.
I think perhaps Will Ferrell can describe my emotions on the current state of the Spurs season better than I.
The Spurs hung around for most of the
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slugfest commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 56 minutes ago
EP, I get your point, but I don’t think the fact that Texas hasn’t won a tourney came as an underdog doesn’t support it. Teams are favored because they are better. The odds that they win are greater than those who are not favored. It’s not like Texas goes into games with a secret weapon
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Mister Mike commented on the blog post Did Rick Barnes use a plant last night to distract KU players? 1 hour, 1 minute ago
I think KU should demand an immediate investigation. Find someone to get to the bottom of this.
I volunteer myself.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Top 8 Teams in College Hoops 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
Georgetown?
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RRR commented on the blog post Thoughts on the win in Austin 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
Good write up, hiphop. I love the versatitility of the Morris twins on defense. Xavier Henry is probably the key to a big run in the tournament. If he starts hitting open looks, the inside game will really open up. Post to post passing is fun to watch.
It’s pretty nice when
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 1 hour, 8 minutes ago
PB, just talking. I’m not ready to replace him but something has to change. The comment about playing 3 on 5 three quarters into the season is just astoundingly bad.
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Blake Stansbery commented on the blog post Petrino Building Fence Around Arkansas 1 hour, 17 minutes ago
Here is more info on Frazier. He is such a great player, and Arkansas needs to land him in a big way.
http://www.kiehlfrazier15.com/Home.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow1mOrMQXYw
These Highlights are from his Sophomore year, and he had a bigger and better 2009. OH MY!
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Blake Stansbery commented on the blog post Petrino Building Fence Around Arkansas 1 hour, 17 minutes ago
Here is more info on Frazier. He is such a great player, and Arkansas needs to land him in a big way.
http://www.kiehlfrazier15.com/Home.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow1mOrMQXYw
These Highlights are from his Sophomore year, and he had a bigger and better 2009. OH MY!
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Blake Stansbery commented on the blog post Petrino Building Fence Around Arkansas 1 hour, 17 minutes ago
Here is more info on Frazier. He is such a great player, and Arkansas needs to land him in a big way.
http://www.kiehlfrazier15.com/Home.html
These Highlights are from his Sophomore year, and he had a bigger and better 2009. OH MY!
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 1 hour, 20 minutes ago
It takes more time…unless you’re a Kentucky fan.
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RRR commented on the blog post Mid-Season Thoughts and OU Pre-Game 1 hour, 21 minutes ago
Thanks Trips. I’m hoping for lots of Willie Warren trying to be Sheron Collins. TMG in sync is the scariest thing to face in Norman. That or we get beat up on the boards which seems to be recurring theme of Texas Tech road games.
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slugfest commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 1 hour, 22 minutes ago
I don’t think it’s a case of RB not being able to coach, or doing a poor job of coaching. If you read the entirety of Katz’ blog post, he clearly sounds like a coaching searching for answers — answers that come in the form of players contributing, doing what they are coached to do.
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Blake Stansbery commented on the blog post John Pelphrey’s Unconventional Approach 1 hour, 29 minutes ago
I agree that an NIT bid would be acceptable this year, but that if the Razorbacks can get to 20 wins they will have a very good chance at the NCAA Tourney.
Our RPI is bad, and we have no signature wins.
However, we have 8 games left on the SEC regular season schedule. If we
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Blake Stansbery commented on the blog post John Pelphrey’s Unconventional Approach 1 hour, 29 minutes ago
I agree that an NIT bid would be acceptable this year, but that if the Razorbacks can get to 20 wins they will have a very good chance at the NCAA Tourney.
Our RPI is bad, and we have no signature wins.
However, we have 8 games left on the SEC regular season schedule. If we
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Blake Stansbery commented on the blog post Recruiting the Trenches 1 hour, 34 minutes ago
TP welcome to the network.
I like how you broke this down, and identified which positions history shows a high star ranking has proven to be important. I personally feel that after what all the recruiting sites dub their top players that there is a major falloff. We all love that the recruiting sites bring
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Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Kansas: Post-Mortem 1 hour, 34 minutes ago
Groundhog Day said:
February 9th, 2010 at 10:00 am“How can everyone on the team have worse basketball sense than my 5th graders? Honestly? We are the dumbest bunch I have ever seen. We weren’t earlier in the year. Hell, Bradley was smartest player, by far, in any of the summer h.s. games. Now he plays
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Farmer Ted commented on the blog post Petrino Building Fence Around Arkansas 1 hour, 36 minutes ago
Good stuff JA. But the Huskers call dibs on any dual threat QB named Frazier thankyouverymuch.
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Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Did Rick Barnes use a plant last night to distract KU players? 1 hour, 39 minutes ago
I’m convinced.
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Spring Branch Horn said:
January 10th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Good stuff – close to jumping you serve to keep us grounded around here so that our optimism does not get out of control.
Henry James needs to brush up on his UT Offensive linemen trivia because even I know that they were both offensive linemen. He is an expert on vagina rubbing if that counts for something.
CloseToJumping said:
January 10th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
One other thing. If you think about the QB slot, with any attrition, we are in a scary spot in 2010. Rumor is that we only take 1 QB in this upcoming class. That means we’d be rolling with Gilbert, Chiles/Harris, and a true FR at the QB slot. If Gilbert is anointed the starter, you can pretty much guarantee we’ve got him and one true FR. That is disturbing.
hopefulhorn said:
January 10th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Thanks for the review.
FWIW, your conclusions jive with the transfer rumors I am hearing from other sources. Sherrod, Tre Newton, and WR’s Webber and Payne are the names that keep coming up. Word I get is Monroe wants to give Texas another shot, particularly WRT academics.
Justaguy said:
January 10th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Running back as has been written here many, many times is a hodge-podge collection of talent with no common thread other than basic anatomy. McGee seems to have gotten too big, I am concerned about Foz being healthy after all the carries he had in high school, Cody needs to drop some weight, and I really am not sure why they recruited Hills and Newton. Whaley is a big back, but does that mean Texas runs more one back with the quarterback under center?
I had been told Smith might move back to Center and Howard was going to move back to defensive end. Even if those moves do happen I scratch my head over 6 tight ends.
Buckner looked passive and weak to me last year and reminded me more of David Aaron than Limas. I realize he comes highly regarded, but it is bad enough with the smaller receivers can’t get off the line of scrimmage. Limas got over this and blossomed in his second season and here is to hoping the same happens with Buckner. I saw Hales in high school multiple times and this guy reminds me of Eric Metcalf.
Spring Branch Horn said:
January 10th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Hales will be the punt returner/kick returner. I think that we need to get away from using the starting WRs as return guys – it is just too risky
glenn said:
January 10th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
i know you are talking slot te for grant, but i am curious about his size these days. mack’s site still lists him 6-3 210. rivals shows about the same when he was recruited.
any idea whether he has grown or filled out in the past year?
Justaguy said:
January 10th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
glenn,
Mack’s site also list the mullet at around 255-260, but he sure looks bigger than that to me.
glenn said:
January 10th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
oh, i realize the numbers there are almost never up to date. i mentioned it to indicate that there isn’t anything covering the issue. and i realize that as a slot te he doesn’t need a lot of size.
a lot of kids really take off when they get into the program, and i was wondering if anybody has any info on dj’s development.
i’m really impressed with him and am curious.
Wulaw Horn said:
January 10th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Thanks for the post ctj. I actually cried reading the story about Hampton and your center friend.
I wonder how often that kinda thing happens in high school when you have normal kids playing against guys that are bound for the NFL.
Newy25 said:
January 10th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Grant has apparently outgrown receiver in the 12 months since landing on our radar. The good news is he is a special talent and a player we had to pry out of
USC’s hands. You would think he is a special kid if Pete Carroll saw film once and immediately went after him. This position is more important this Spring than NT, IMO.
EyesOfTX said:
January 10th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
This is really excellent, and very informative. Thanks for putting it together.
Scipio Tex said:
January 10th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
glenn:
Grant is apparently around 212 right now. 225 is definitely attainable for his frame.
Scipio Tex said:
January 10th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
C2J:
Awesome post. Funny and informative and you got me to laugh out loud with this line:
If Payne and Webber are on the roster come August, I will shit a golden Roy Williams Detroit Lions jersey and set Lovell Pinckney on fire
As for likely attrition:
Agreed on Payne & Webber. Both have a future as Under Armour models.
Scipio Tex said:
January 10th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Regarding OL –
The problem with these dudes is that the ones who don’t have the fire to do the work necessary to start also lack the fire to transfer to seek playing time. Every WR I’ve ever met – including those who are total pieces of shit on a football field – believe that they are playmakers who don’t get the ball enough and that the coaches are somehow fucking them. Most will seek a pond in which they can thrive, even if it’s against Abilene Christian in front of 437 people.
OL rarely have that mentality. Many are quite content to eat lots of meals, do only the bench press portion of the workouts, skip running, and ride the bus and tell people they’re a Longhorn football player. If you have Jerry Schmidt as your S&C you can drive those dudes off by making them eat their own vomit, but we don’t really do that.
DJ said:
January 10th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Considering the strength of the 2010 class in Texas, and the amount of talent that appears to want to come to UT, I wouldn’t mind seeing some attrition to clear some spots for the future. I would be sad to lose Sherrod or Vondrell, though.
glenn said:
January 10th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
thanks, scip.
when i think of the kid in that rpongett clip at 225 it makes me purr.
Justaguy said:
January 10th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I don’t see why if Grant can still run at 225 why they don’t leave him at wide receiverv unless he is that much better than everyone else at the position? USC seemed to do fairly well with bigger receivers on the outside and I get tired seeing 6′ and 180 lb. receivers not being able to fight through physical defensive backs.
glenn said:
January 10th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
what i envision is a 225lb shipley running those inside routes against ou.
Justaguy said:
January 10th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Glenn, I guess it is preference but I prefer having the linebackers and safeties having to chase guys like Shipley and Hales and having receivers big enough on the outside to beat press coverage at the line, block effectively in the running game and on the screens, and do some damage running the ball.
glenn said:
January 10th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
i certainly hear you on that. my suspicion, though, is that a big, fast, agile d.j. would cause major problems in the role jordan handled so beautifully. most middle linebackers would be at a speed disadvantage and most dbs would have trouble with his size.
d.j. isn’t our only tall, fast wr, and if he can make a defense adjust for him, that could make a lot of difference in they have to throw at our other receivers.
Daniel said:
January 10th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
While reading this article:
“There are definitely some accuracy issues here. You left out Poelmann, and we don’t even have a lineman named Mul….
“Oh. I see what you did there.”
bighornfan32 said:
January 11th, 2009 at 12:35 am
Poehlmann is an OT. At this point, I cant see that guy playing much cause he cant be much more than 275.
hornin hong kong said:
January 11th, 2009 at 1:14 am
curious as to why Payne and Webber would leave – they arent going to the NFL – why wouldn’t they want to finish their UT degree rather than transfer to another (no doubt shittier) school – serious question – I mean I loved playong sports too and I could have played Tennis somewhere but I knew I wasnt playing the tour so I hung it up.
Justaguy said:
January 11th, 2009 at 2:02 am
HHK,
You valued your education and I would guess your plans for the future hinged on you getting a great education.
Not every athlete has that as a goal. Many will say, but how many actually complete the degree?
It is no secret many football and male basketball players come to campus thinking this is only a short stop until they hit the big times of their sports. Can’t say if Payne or Webber believe that, but it wouldn’t be a shock and if that is what they believe than they also believe going elsewhere gives them that chance.
Newy25 said:
January 11th, 2009 at 5:05 am
If moving Grant to TE helps Texas get Williams, Kirkendoll, Collins and Shipley on the field at the same time without completely conceding the running game I am all for the move.
Shipley can actually run those seam routes 10-20 yards downfield if a Grant can actually force the MLB to step up account for his ability to to damage over the middle. Against OU we had to count on absolute perfection in pass blocking and wait until Shipley simply ran around the defenders.
Fortunately for us the players on the OU defensive line are in fact a bunch of pussies.
glenn said:
January 11th, 2009 at 6:34 am
define ‘running game’
Black Scholes said:
January 11th, 2009 at 7:26 am
I know it’s trendy to say Newton might be leaving, but I don’t understand why. The coaches are high on him. I would think Hills would be the more likely candidate, but he’s a legacy-type kid and I wonder if he’s not content to ride it out.
If McGee departs, that leaves 2 RBs a class ahead of him and one behind him, assuming he would pass Hills on the depth chart (a key assumption I know). Whittaker is not an every-down type of back, and although I’m a big fan of Johnson I’m not certain he is either. Whaley? There’s such a range of opinions I’m not sure what we’re getting. He may end up as Henry Melton redux. In short, I think Newton is in as good a spot as he’s going to find at any comparable program.
Black Scholes said:
January 11th, 2009 at 7:33 am
I would happily support the ‘Beasley to WR’ move if for no other reason than it would mean he’s no longer abusing the CB position for us.
Wasn’t that a position the coaches kind of forced on him? Maybe his heart is really on offense. It sure as hell doesn’t seem to be on D.
DadofHorn said:
January 11th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Any truth to the rumor that Matt Sims (yes, son of Phil and brother of Chris) left Louisville this past week to prepare to report to the 40 acres?
Kafka said:
January 11th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Newy25:
“If moving Grant to TE helps Texas get Williams, Kirkendoll, Collins and Shipley on the field at the same time without completely conceding the running game I am all for the move.”
That would add up to 4 WRs, 1 TE, a QB, and a running back. That is one too many guys. If you play a TE, a lone TB, a QB (of course), then you can only play 3 WRs.
You could play 4 WRs plus a TE but then there would be no room for a TB, which would eliminate the running game (except for any running that Colt does).
CTJ:
Moving Beasley to WR doesn’t make much sense since UT already has too many WRs. Beasley covers OK, he just needs to learn to tackle. If not, then he can provide much needed depth at DB. It is best if he does not have to cover physical WRs.
Somebody should have told your buddy to submarine Casey. There would have been less incentive for Casey to throw him (since he was already laying on the ground). It would also make it easier to hold Casey without detection.
One of my teammates in high school made honorable mention All America as a defensive tackle. As a TE, I had to block him every day in practise for a couple of years. The game becomes “how low can you go”.
SlickStreet said:
January 11th, 2009 at 11:03 am
fun stuff, CTJ.
Laughed at your Dustin Miksch reference; maybe, though, Fitz doesn’t end up in that position, or even the Brian White-Jeremy Jones category, but instead something approaching Shipley. We can dream, huh.
Newy25 said:
January 11th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Kafka –
You are correct. I wrote that post right before a marathon and apparently was too distracted to count correctly. The point I was trying to make was we need a TE that can be a blocker and pass catcher. Grant’s move might be out of desparation on Davis’ part, however. This Spring we will find out if this is another Melton at RB disaster or a Melton to DE stroke of genius.
Woody Bombay said:
January 11th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
DadofHorn,
I hope not. Kid sounds like a real douche.
(And man, I hope you’re not Chris Simms’ dad.)
Buzzard Lips said:
January 11th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I thought Cobb was injured early, but looked good in pre season.
I think Big Mal and Buckner are our only hope for decent deep routes. WE NEED those two to progress this offseason.
Austin180 said:
January 11th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
I liked Snow starting at Center when Hall was injured. But you think Hall is likely to take over Dockery’s OG spot ahead of Huey? I’m disappointed to hear that Huey may not be ready to start in 2009. There was talk this year about his progress, strength, and “nasty” streak.
RolloTamasi said:
January 11th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Another potential advantage of having Grant as a TE is for our 5 wide set. At the beginning of the year we could run a 5 wide formation with Irby and Ogbonnaya as receivers and audible to the base 11 set, or from the base to 5 wide. This could be true of any TE who would make a good receiver, but Grant seems to fit the bill. Certainly Irby would but, as it has been said here, who knows what to expect from him?
Maximizing our spread sets is a necessity since developing a good running game is less than certain and teams will adjust to what we’ve done so far.
glenn said:
January 12th, 2009 at 6:06 am
i’ve not heard of grant being used in the traditional tight end role. i’ve heard it termed ’slot tight end’ which i take to mean more like the way shipley has been used inside.
it’s hard for me to see d.j. blocking on the line at 225, though, that said, i’m not sure david thomas was much bigger than that when he took over.
Levander Williams said:
January 12th, 2009 at 7:35 am
My goodness – 15 scholarships between RB and TE, and we utilize one of those positions on the field 80% of the time? WTF?
I can see lots of WRs since we use a lot of 3 & 4-wide sets, but this is way too much depth for two positions that we clearly don’t utilize all that effectively.
Case in point for why we don’t utilize the run effectively – it looks like Mack & Greg recruit those positions with the same mindset as fans who think that the solution to our rushing ills is to switch to the I-formation or just swap in another RB off the lazy susan.
Hippie Killer said:
January 13th, 2009 at 11:24 am
This was a great read and some great responses too.
Will you be doing one for Defense too?
CloseToJumping said:
January 13th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Hippie Killer–
Yes, I will probably be posting it tonight or tomorrow if I can find the time.
Kafka–
I played in a district where we were matched up with major south Houston powers of the 90’s – Clear Lake, Galveston Ball, Texas City (before they went back down to 4a), Dobie, and Clear Creek. My program was mediocre, but I got the chance to play against a number of future college and NFL ball players. At times, they lined me up as a TE when we were running the ball and I had the misfortune of having to block guys like Steve McKinney (he was a stud TE/DE at Lake in HS), Philip Meyers (stud DE/DT at GBall), and Vernon Crawford (played at FSU and with New England from Texas City, total piece of shit thug). I weighed 210 pounds at 6′2″. My only hope was crab blocking and looking like a buffoon. But, it was more or less effective, given the circumstances. I am with you on the low blocking.
Everyone else–
Thanks for the responses.
As an update from what I’ve heard, Sherrod Harris is coming back. That’s great, if true. I doubt Chiles leaves, so we’ve got a good shot of Gilbert redshirting.
71 Texasgrad said:
January 13th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Greg Smith started off the season as a backp at center. He shifted back to that position later in the year after Hall was hurt in practice. He was listed as the backup to Snow in the A&M game. He should work at that position next year with Hall and Snow.
No doubt we will use the TE more next season. When you lose your top three receiving threats it does limit the position.
The Original Original said:
January 16th, 2009 at 8:49 am
The statemen quoted that Tre Newton impressed his teamates during his readshirt year. I am optomistic that he will do great things
Newy25 said:
January 16th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Payne and Webber are gone so that plus only taking 1 in the 09 class takes care of wr.
CloseToJumping said:
January 17th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Word is now out that Payne and Webber are done and not back in school. Someone can probably easily verify that.
Chiles is rumored to seriously be looking elsewhere. Not that it wasn’t expected or posted about here, but just adding follow-up as things progress. More will come soon, no doubt.
Art Vandelay said:
January 17th, 2009 at 11:28 am
“Payne and Webber are gone”.
Chapter 11?
ed said:
January 18th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Good stuff. Very thorough. I can’t help but wonder if MB occasionally pulls a scholarship from a player he knows cannot contribute. It’s good tactics, bad PR if done much and if it gets out. But there have been 6-8 players in the last four years I’ve wondered about — they weren’t playing, weren’t going to, would free up a scholarship if they left, and they did in fact leave.
I think Huey is a definite starter, Snow is the backup at center and probably both guards. McGee is down to one year if he transfers to a Div. I school. Same with Harris. Bucker just wasn’t ready to play; he should have redshirted but they RS four other receivers.
Stabone said:
January 26th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
CTJ,
Which HS did you go to? I went to Ball and knew Phillip and Casey. Casey was awesome and one ass kicking machine his Fr year on.
I never remember Clear Lake, Creek, or Dobie ever being a good team. In my time, 91 – 95, it was Ball, La Marque, and sometimes TC.
CloseToJumping said:
January 26th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Stabone–
Compared to Ball in that era, Lake, Creek, and Dobie weren’t nearly as good. That said, they were pretty damned good. Lake especially. I do think Ball lost to one or two of them in one of those years, however. TC wasn’t very good until they went back down to 4A, which was after 94 or 95.
I went to Rayburn. We actually beat TC twice in my 3 years on varsity. We beat Dobie too. We lost to GBall by a combined score of 154-17 in those same 3 years. Pretty sad and somewhat comical.
Evan said:
May 28th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Forgive me, my Tecmo Bowl is a little rusty, but isn’t that big formation Cody Johnson play you posted a flea flicker? It definitely would have the element of surprise on the goal line but I still think the depth of the endzone would limit its effectiveness.