First look at the 2010 Longhorns

Here are some scattershots on the first open practice.

The day after Mack Brown’s Mom died he went right back to work. The man is committed. He seemed a little subdued but former Longhorns Justin Blalock, Rod Wright, and Colt McCoy kept his spirits up. It was odd to see Colt in street clothes and no Jordan Shipley carving up the secondary. The defense will still kick ass as a unit but there will be some games we miss Kindle and Houston in the front seven. Duh. I felt better about losing Earl Thomas after watching Christian Scott for about ten minutes. If Acho Ocho Uno lets him, Scott will lead the team in forced fumbles.

A legitimate attempt at a power running game has officially arrived on the 40 acres. You have all asked and our democratic coaching staff has listened. Change is here! Hopefulness! 80% of the snaps were under center with two tight ends, usually some combo of Barrett Matthews, Dominique Jones, and Greg Smith. Extra blocking surface Iahmard Harris-Howard also saw some action. They really spent some time on one particular play that saw Matthews or Jones go in motion and drop back in the I as lead blocker. The starting OL of Hix, Allen, Snow, Huey, and Mitchell looked much more physical at the point of attack, particularly in the middle behind Snow and Huey. Allen is an obvious upgrade over Tanner but he got lost on space on one play pulling around Hix until Christian Scott knifed through and sent Allen flying into the backfield on top of Vondrell McGee. 6’1″, 215. That’s a safety.

Scott was active throughout practice in the run game and also came up with the only pick of the day on Gilbert when he jumped a lazy route by one of our lazy receivers (Kirkendoll or Chiles). He also delivered a devastating hit in traffic that wiped the RBs name off his jersey so I couldn’t see who it was that got his ass knocked out. Get used to this from #6.

WR
Timmons looks great physically but didn’t see many balls thrown his way. He has some extra motion in his stride that prevents him from quickly getting up to top speed. He attacks the ball in the air and uses his body well to shield the DB. Possession guy, imo.

Malcolm Williams had a typically solid practice. Great burst, catches everything, looks like a 10 yr NFL guy. Because it’s practice, man. Practice.

DeSean Hales did some nice things in scrimmage work, leading the team with five catches, mainly on underneath routes and one deep corner route on Curtis Brown that Hales pulled in with one hand for a big gain. NFL throw from Gilbert. Hales also dropped three balls against air earlier in the scrimmage. Similar to Curtis Brown’s slow development, I suspect Hales needs live reps to round into form. I also doubt either guy has gained more than five pounds since arriving at UT. They need a midnight date at Player’s every Tuesday and Thursday.

Brock Fitzhenry saw a lot of reps with Goodwin out and they like him on reverses. So does Keenan Robinson. The Giddings dynamo has shed some weight and looked plenty fast in and out of his cuts. That said, if he’s one of our top five receivers we’re probably in trouble.

Kirkendoll now holds the mantle of best route runner with Shipley gone but he’s prone to lapses in concentration and playing like a fag across the middle. He gator armed a short pass across the middle with Christian Scott in pursuit that led to a tipped ball and near pick. The book is out on #11 — he’ll post big numbers against shitty defenses and disappear against OU and Nebraska.

Walk-on Cade McCrary is the next Jeremy Nunez. Look out, Baylor! The upside potential is a poor man’s Todd Blythe. The downside is a lifeguard at Shipe Park.

Is that all we have at WR? Good thing we have Garrett Gilbert chucking the rock. Hopefully Goodwin doesn’t take off to Switerland to run hurdles or some shit.

DB
The witchforce in Aaron Williams only grows stronger by the day. He could leave tomorrow for the NFL with a fake birth certificate and go first round, especially after Joe Haden crunked his way to a 4.57 40.

Chykie Brown looks like a first round pick but plays like a day two guy. The football smarts Earl Thomas possessed are precisely what Chykie lacks, preventing him from becoming a legit All American. Just hope the inevitable (pump fake) “Chykie, nooooooo!” happens against Colorado instead of OU.

Curtis Brown walks like a duck. I’ve been wanting to type that for years. So it’s out there … CB had two nice PBUs on quick outs to Kirkendoll that Curtis simply wanted more. We saw a lot of balls completed against #3 last year on comeback routes where he was slow to react and left a 7 yd cushion on the WR. If this practice was any indication (and it probably isn’t) that number is down to 3 which is in the window for reacting and making a play on the ball. Hopefully more pick sixes.

Eryon Barnett is sporting the green non-contact jersey, which also apparently causes one to get lost in space on every play. The kid has a nice frame but it hasn’t come on yet. It’s awesome how much a random fan can tell about a guy from just one practice looking into the sun from 80 yards away! Nice frame though.

Kenny Vaccarro should just start training for MMA. I think it fits him better than a less violent sport like football. He’s wearing a green jersey too but I don’t think it’s because he’s injured. It’s to protect our own players. Love him as a gunner after a pre-game cocktail of red bull and Doperbo’s brand of legal meth.

LB
Roberson looks like a fullback. He plays like a fullback. We play him at Linebacker. I guess there’s not a huge difference as both positions are trained to hit people but I don’t see the lateral quickness others do and he could be a liability against a good spread offense. Tariq Allen will light your ass up and when he hits the right guy it’s a sight to watch. I would love to see him, Norton, and Robinson out there against power running teams we play twice a year.

Patrick Nkwopara got his ass lit up on three consecutive plays in the Texas Drill, which puts 3 OL and a RB against 3 DL/LBs in a tight space. 3 downs to get ten yards. The players and coaches get pretty fired up as it’s smashmouth football at it’s best. The offense surprisingly controlled the LOS for most of the drill and this was the one minute in the whole practice where Chris Whaley looked effective. (I have no doubt the kid will contribute to this team. In 2012. On kickoff coverage.)

Keenan Robinson was everywhere as usual and along with Eddie Jones will be the vocal leader of this defense. He knows where everyone should be and calls most of the pre-snap reads. Muschamp loves him for a reason — the kid has a nose for the football.

DL
I didn’t get to watch these guys much during individual drills as they were camped out in the shady, colder north endzone. The main purpose of going to practice was to work on my Scottish tan, not to freeze my ass off watching Derek Johnson hump garbage cans in line stunting drills. But it’s nice to see we have a big load inside that plays pissed off and likes to throw offensive linemen at running backs. Man Strength.

If Kheeston Randall and Calvin Howell can play low and clog their respective gaps, this DL will wreck shit. When they don’t, bad things happen quickly. Tyrell Higgins might have more upside than I initially thought. Or maybe we just have coaches on defense that look for a way to maximize each player’s talent. Anyway, we have good depth on the DL but it’s young.

In fact, most of our depth is young across the board but the witch potential is strong in many of them. Huckleberry is working on a formula that perfectly correlates our odds of going to Pasadena with the coefficient of witchiness on any given team. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until fall before he reveals our post-season destination. After watching one practice (arrived late, left early) I can safely say a BCS Bowl is a realistic goal.

10-2?

Article Tags:

2010 Spring Football, Aaron Williams, College Football, Curtis Brown, Downfuckinghill, Extra Blocking Surface, Garrett Gilbert, Practice? We're Talking About Practice, Spring Football, Texas Longhorns Football, Witchiness

125 Responses

fromwesttexasbrah said:

March 2nd, 2010 at 11:09 pm

just got a half chub from reading this and watching the highlights from that practice.
bigdukesix said:

March 2nd, 2010 at 11:28 pm

I missed the memo when people started using “witch” in a non Salem Witch Trials sense. I’m out of the loop. Also, and this is a bit off-topic, but did Sailor institute a no more “fuck lion” policy? I miss the lion.

Anyway, sweet report. Always great to read these things.

In fact, most of our depth is young across the board but the witch potential is strong in many of them.

Indeed, and it’s only going to get younger and witchier when the rest of the freshmen arrive.

What of Gilbert?
UT wildcatter said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:27 am

I think J’Covan Brown brought out the witch term in everyone. I think it means, he’s a generally badass but it can go both ways
beowulf said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 5:15 am

So we lose 2 of Tech, UCLA, OU and/or Nebraska?
Bateshorn said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 5:21 am

Good stuff. Much better than reading about grouchy hall of fame senators with my morning coffee.

I’ve got a feeling we are going to see alot of dropped/tipped balls this year. It’s like the Mike Adams/Lovell Pinkney era all over again. I loved the nineties: we all got laid, got rich in the market, even the presidential scandals were kinda fun (“The president got an expensive haircut and a rimjob? Fire up a congressional panel!”) But that one aspect of the decade I can do without.
magnusbleuveigner said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 6:40 am

If, IF, we lose two, it will be at NU, and a bowl game. It’s concievable we lose to NU twice, but that’s inconcievable.

This team can win it all. I said the same about the basketball team!
Texoz said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 6:40 am

So we lose 2 of Tech, UCLA, OU and/or Nebraska?

I think he meant that Vaccarro will have 10 arrests, 2 convictions.
Magnificent Bastard said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 7:16 am

So, Greg Smith has officially passed the EBS torch?
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 7:25 am

QB

Gilbert is a bad ass. The main thing he needs to work on is trusting his receivers. He would sometimes wait the extra half second to make sure the route was run properly and try to make up for it with his arm strength. There were some balls in scrimmage work that were completions but were still late. The WR had to squat on his route giving our DBs a chance to break up the play.

Connor Wood has already passed Sherrod Harris in my two deep.

RB

All the guys looked amped to be running Out of a power set. Newton and Cody Johnson consistently got 4-6 yards on runs insude the tackles. When they were lined up against our scout team (for whom Whaley logged a few snaps at DE), they ran at will in all directions.

The new scheme has clearly given both the OL and RBs more confidence. We’re simplifying what they’re being asked to do and initial results are encouraging. They flew off theine and hut the DL in the mouth instead of running sideways. Novel shit!

Newton is the starter and some combo of Fozzy and Cody would come next. Whaley is a project with no defined assignment yet.

I think a healthy David Snow at Centercould be a huge upgrade in the run game.
Crown & Coke said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 7:33 am

Who is Jeremy Nunez? Were you meaning to reference former Westlake standout and UT transfer Ryan Nunez, or am I missing something?
magnusbleuveigner said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 7:36 am

Cody Johnson will wreck shit in the I. Guaranteed 5 a pop. If we stick with this attempt to run the ball Gilbert will acclimate with no problems. I think we’re in store for lots of deep passes next year. Damn I’m hyped.

If trust is a factor, I wish Goodwin was practicing.

I thought Whaley was looking good in bowl practices? Ha ha ha ha! Somewhere, a very masculine Christine is laughing at us.
Richard C. Hottelet said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 7:48 am

Timmons would have been one of the top three or four receivers last year. Precise routes are great but he makes his living by separating from the defender at the point of attack, a la M. Irvin. Once he and GG start to hook up he will do some damage.
Savage Henry said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 7:56 am

Applewhite to Nunez in ’99 ou game and ’99 neb. game earned him his scholarship. watching that guy in hs was amazing. 10 yds per carry.
Savage Henry said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 7:58 am

tech and ucla will suck. 2 losses in reg. season would be a dissapointment, imo.
Savage Henry said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:00 am

anyone see this? i thought this was already their logo…

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/354962-oklahoma-to-unviel-new-logo
Lo Primero said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:10 am

Vasherized, outstanding write-up. Love the content and humor. You are worth every penny.
Patrick Bateman said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:12 am

Thanks Vash,

Great recap. I really hope Timmons can step up and send Chiles to the bench. Mal, Goodwin, Timmons, Kirk (ugh), and the two freshmen should suffice.

I feel bad for Sherrod Harris. He always looked like he could play, but never stepped up. He’s probably just happy for the “experience” of playing at Texas.

Is promising Whaley that he’d be the only RB we’d recruit already a mistake? Just a question, but who’s bright idea was that? Obviously Mack signed off on it.

I’ve read that there is a possibility that Norton’s shoulder may not allow him to play again, as well as rumors that he looks like Brando now. Are we really rolling with Earnest and Nkwopara at Mike?

Really excited about all the young badasses we have matriculating through the 40 these days. Our defense should be as good as any in the nation. Our secondary should be insane….
ghostofagroundgame said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:13 am

Hey Vasherized –

How did the RBs look? And did Whaley look slow or what?
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:24 am

Jeremy Nunez is the hybrid cousin of Ryan Nunez and Jeremy Jones.
nordberg said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:24 am

Did Whaley really get time at DE?
texastough said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:29 am

Gilbert – is it just me or does he seem basically incapaple of throwing a tight spiral? Seems like all his passes wobble. Any read on this from the practice?
kafka said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:33 am

“Kenny Vaccarro should just start training for MMA. I think it fits him better than a less violent sport like football. He’s wearing a green jersey too but I don’t think it’s because he’s injured. It’s to protect our own players. Love him as a gunner after a pre-game cocktail of red bull and Doperbo’s brand of legal meth.”

Hilarious. Great review, do you see Whale switching positions anytime soon (maybe to h back)?
TaylorTRoom said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:33 am

I think our top receivers next year will be whoever gets out there and works with Gilbert in the off-season 7 on 7 summer workouts. If Fitzhenry is the most regular guy working with him, Fitzhenry will play. This summer will be a huge attitude check.
nordberg said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:35 am

“Great review, do you see Whale switching positions anytime soon (maybe to h back)?”

I don’t know if that was intentional, but he will always be Chris Whale to me now.
Bartoncreek said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:53 am

Tilikum, imo.
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:55 am

Whaley is on the Melton career track but he’s not as good an athlete as Big Henry, imo. That’s problematic considering Melton didn’t really break out at DT DE until his senior year.

Let’s say Whaley miraculously transforms his body, turning 20 lbs of fat into 10 pounds of muscle. You still have a guy that runs high and soft. That’s not going to hold off Malcolm Brown, Herschel Sims, or Brandon Williams. The minute one of them sets foot on campus Whaley is marginalized. So figure out what he is now and I don’t think that position is on offense.

The Whaley or bust RB recruitment was one of the few true recruiting fiascos we’ve seen under Mack Brown. Bomar or Bust was up there too.

In looking at our schedule I’m not sure where the two losses come from. The only plausible candidates at first glance are OU and Nebraska. UCLA is still rebuilding and we get A&M in Austin. Maybe it’s one regular season loss and one in the postseason. But I certainly wouldn’t be surprised with a 2-3 loss season.

Depends how well we can fill the playmaking/leadership void left by Shipley, McCoy, Houston, Kindle, and Thomas. That’s some good NFL stock right there. Moreso than when we just lost Miller and Orakpo.
kafka said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:58 am

Yeah, it was intentional, the guy is huge (which is ok, if that is his natural frame). If he can block and catch the ball, he could do great things as a h back, TE, or flex TE. The more big, fast skill players on O, the better. If the horns roll with 2 h backs/TEs, not only will the pass and run blocking improve a bunch, they will only need to play 2 WRs.

I’m pumped that we are finally getting a downhill power running attack again. This should really help our rookie QB.
BatesHorn said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:00 am

There is zippy chance we lose to Slick Rick and the Bruins. Would LOVE to see a porn featuring their cheerleaders and our pom girls, however.

I’m trying to come up with a good Westlake wide reciever joke, but I’m drawing a blank, other than Texas should NEVER have one starting. Which isn’t really a joke. It’s just stone cold fact.
huge said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:12 am

Please, for the love of puppies and the lottery, please Lord do not let us lose to UCLA
nordberg said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:13 am

I just read Chip Brown say that we’re playing Garrett Porter at center? WTF? We’ve got two seniors starting at tackle. Behind them are Paden Kelly and the dude with the mullett who weighs about 250.
Patrick Bateman said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:27 am

I, too, feel Whaley’s headed for another position. Big Henry really played well his senior year at DE (not DT). Imagine if he would have embraced this change a year or two earlier? Whaley at DE makes some sense from a frame capacity. Houston came in as an oversized RB and look what he’s doing. But does he want to move is the question. He may opt to transfer if he doesn’t get to run the rock. Some kids don’t want to tackle or block for that matter. Not saying that’s Chris, but something to watch for.

As good as the secondary could be this year, 2011 looks scarce at CB. Barnett hopefully will get it and one of the freshman needs to be able to gain experience. Was Adrian White out there?

Has Gilbert overcome his penchant for coming over top of the ball too much on his delivery? A lot of his balls under 10-15 yards came in low with a downward trajectory, like he was throwing a sinker. Generally comes from trying to overthrow the ball. Hopefully more reps will allow his short to intermediate balls to come out a little flatter….

We’ll go as far as Gilbert takes us. It’s great that we’re embracing a more downhill power game, but we’re not quite Nebraska circa 1995 yet. Our defense should keep us in every game. 10-2 looks probable but if Gilbert is as good as the hype then 11-1 is very possible.
At TTU early will be a valuable learning experience…
HenryJames said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:27 am

Not surprising. The same people who said Whaley wasn’t a tailback said Porter wasn’t a tackle.
nordberg said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:32 am

Marcus Davis really fucked us. He’d be taking one of the corner spots in ’11.
nordberg said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:33 am

What the fuck are we going to do at tackle in a year then? We’re not even playing Walters there now, for some reason.
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:33 am

Ashcraft looked pretty good at guard.

The best player all day on defense was Eddie Jones who actually lined up with the second team DL next to Derek Johnson, Tevin Mims, and Russell Carter. Kriegel and Higgins would swap out in the middle.

On one play in 11 on 11, Eddie Jones came off the edge, discarded Britt Mitchell, tossed Dominique Jones and forced Gilbert into a quick flare pass out to fozzy that went behind the LOS. Eddie tipped it and picked it up before anybody realized what happend. Total havoc.

Acho and Okafor are a pretty imposing duo off the edge and I could see a lineup of Jones, Acho, Okafor, and Randall on passing downs to pressure the QB. That’s a lot of heat before you even factor in a blitzing LB.

Tevin Mims has also grown into his frame and will contribute this year. Good weight distribution.
kafka said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:38 am

If Whale is too slow for TB, why should he switch to DE rather than h back or TE or flex TE? Melton switched to DE because he was very fast for a big guy and could not catch passes well. If Whale can catch the ball well and can block, why not keep him on O?
06_UT said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:40 am

UCLA is on the up. I don’t think it is just a coincidence that they have been winning more games each season as they have been consistently recruiting better players. They had troubles on the road last year (4 of their 6 losses). They were in all but 3 of their losses (Cal, @ Arizona, @ USC). I think with the extra year of experience, some of those troubles will dissapear. I think we win the game, but we can’t go into it with the attitude of “please, its just UCLA–warm up game!,” especially considering it will just be Gilbert’s 4th game at that point. Lets not turn into Tennessee.

By the way, UCLA gets 4 of this year’s top 5 Pac 10 teams at home (OSU is the only one away). They just signed a top 10 class this year to go along with their two top 15 classes since the coaching change. I expect them to finish somewhere around 2nd/3rd in the Pac 10. That should help us if we drop one (which I do expect) and have to rely on the polls to get us in to the NC.
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:50 am

(via shaggy)
Savage Henry said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:51 am

watching ucla at dkr will depress me. i will always remember watching boy scouts pick up scups from an empty stadium in the second quarter. i was one of the people that stayed until the end. my xmas present in 1996 was ’97 season tickets. worst. present. ever.
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:53 am

I think we win the game, but we can’t go into it with the attitude of “please, its just UCLA–warm up game!,”

66-3. Nevar forget.
uthookem said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 10:03 am

With some freshman help, we could get to the NC game. However, anywhere from 1-3 losses wouldn’t surprise me, and would still be considered a successful season if we can win the South and win the Big XII Championship. The Big XII is the goal for this season.

Hook ‘em!
magnusbleuveigner said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 10:29 am

Man we can win this shit. If Gilbert leads us on a game winning drive to beat Alabama, we’re starting the season #1. It’s a big if, but it’s not unfathomable.

D will be lights out again and if we can open up the deep ball via the run Gilbert is going to scare the shit out of people. He’s also going to have some runs where he picks up yards simply because the db’s haven’t turned around yet. His athleticism is under rated. Once we get teams off balance, they’ll be fucked.

Anything less than winning the Big 12 would be upsetting.

If Walter is our best option at guard then so be it, but it would be nice to get him going at tackle. Did Wisconsin ever put Joe Thomas at guard? Doubtful.
NY Horn said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 10:55 am

I agree with Magnus that Gilbert’s skills will make us harder to defend. The book was written on how to defend our spread last year, it was just a question on if you had the personnel to do it. Nebraska and OU both did and shut our asses down pretty effortlessly. Bama had a great defense but I don’t think they matched up with us as well as people had thought they would.

Gilbert throws such a better deep ball than McCoy, we really need to make that a big part of our offense. It will go a long way to making the running ball easier. I really like the fact that we look serious in going to more of a 2-back power look, it will compliment Gilbert’s skills much more than the 4-wide short passing spread offense.
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:04 am

I wouldn’t waste much energy worrying about where we play Walters until the guy can stay healthy for more than three weeks.
shockthenation said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:09 am

I would be happy with a 1-2 loss Big XII champion that wins in Glendale and really take command of this conference. F the Cotton and Holiday Bowls.
The General said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:12 am

One footed o-lineman are always guards.
UTomlinson said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:18 am

What happened to Collins? I thought he became eligible again after last season.
The General said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:22 am

He is eligible for the Texas Penal League.
UTomlinson said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:24 am

Oh yea, I forgot about the McDonald’s incident.
Bighornfan32 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:28 am

Tell me that’s a joke.
Eskimohorn said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:45 am

I’m really counting on Ron McKelvey to help us in the secondary next season. He’s almost like two guys out there.
ctex80 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:54 am

“Jones, Acho, Okafor, and Randall on passing downs to pressure the QB”

Sex-y.
lazer2280 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:57 am

We have a RsFr quarterback (admittedly a badass, but that will cost us at least one game and probably two) who, according to rumors, will be playing in a relatively new offense than the one he learned in last year. We have no running game to speak of, yet. We have good but unproven receivers, and a rebuilt offensive line (ok, that’s probably a good thing).

We have some issues on the D side of the ball, but I trust Boom. All in all, a 2 loss season is realistic, 3 would not surprise me, and 4 is lurking right around the corner with a key injury or two.
lazer2280 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 11:58 am

Check that, meant to say true sophomore qb.
Newy25 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 12:24 pm

Anyone who thinks that 3-4 losses with this team is a realistic possibility needs to have their head examined.

What 4 teams exactly are going to beat us?
TXinDC said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 12:33 pm

You guys sure are great at getting ahead of yourselves. It’s spring football, and most of our opponents haven’t even started their spring practices. Live in the now.
Patrick Bateman said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 12:40 pm

Although 4 loss season isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, I’d have to say the odds are extremely low. Mack hasn’t lost 4 games since last century and only once in the last 14 years.

It’s not like we’ve abandoned our spread principles. We’re not going to line up in the I and all of sudden become an SEC team regardless of what people speculate in the spring. Gilbert is learning a new portion of the offense, but not a whole new offense. He should be able to grasp if fairly quickly.

We will be the most talented team every time we take the field. OU will be good, they generally are, and Venables will put out a defensive product that’s nasty but Landry Jones vs. Boom doesn’t scare me. They might win but it’s a coin toss. @ Nebraska will be difficult. But they still need to find an offense. UCLA should be a win at home. Tech on the road early is a test and it’s hard to know what they got under Tubby, but I expect their learning curve will be behind ours. Aggy at home should be a win. Who else? ISU? @KSU? Maybe one more game that should be a blow out will be closer than we think, but we’re a much stronger team defensively than Colt’s sophomore year (the last time we were in danger of losing more than 3 games). Even 2-2 in those games should give us a good shot at the Big12. The south will be won again in Dallas……
06_UT said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 12:44 pm

When was the last time we beat K-State?…
Capt. Obvious said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 12:54 pm

3-4 losses is a little crazy. Colt and Co. put our D in a lot of bad situations last year, and D and special teams came together and bailed them out and we nearly ended up in the NC game.

I don’t think we’re going to be hurting on D or special teams for anything, they’re going to be sick. If the offense has a pulse, then we can hit the NC game again.
Horncasting said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 12:55 pm

Perenial thorn in our side K-State is back on the schedule this year. Not sure how anyone could have lived through 2006 and 2007 and not consider a 3-4 loss season possible. Yes, we have the best defensive coach in business, but we lost the best player at every position on defense except cornerback. Oh, yeah those same 3 guys were also the leaders.

On offense we pretty much have a question mark at every single position, and are trying to put in a new offense that our new QB has never run, and our OC has never shown much ability to teach or call.
Magnificent Bastard said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 12:57 pm

it’s hard to know what they got under Tubby

Championships, no doubt.
texastough said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 12:58 pm

IF there’s a fourth loss it would be in the conference championship if we make it or in a bowl, depending on who we play. Although I’m afraid J. Johnson and Aggie O will be pretty good, their D will probably stil be suspect, but that game is not a gimme. I still think 1-2 losses in the regular season is most likely.

Has Gilbert learned to throw a spiral yet?
The General said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:00 pm

Live in the now.

The now does not have football. Who the fuck wants to live there?
HenryJames said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:05 pm

Where is this notion that Gilbert can’t throw a spiral coming from?
texastough said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:08 pm

Seems like every pass I’ve seen him throw is wobbly – not wounded duck, but wobbly. Just wondering if I’m crazy. I’d love for you to tell me I am.
Blueshorn said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:27 pm

When they were lined up against our scout team (for whom Whaley logged a few snaps at DE)…

Figures. Fuck!
lazer2280 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:28 pm

If you want to look at it on paper, then 1 or 2 losses is the most we could end up with. I’m not saying it won’t happen, just that it is not the most probable result. Reality says that a 2-3 loss season is the most probable result, with 4 losses being an outside shot. And I am including bowl games in that number. I was at the ’06 K-State game, as miserable as it was. On paper, they should not have been on the field with us. In reality, they kicked our ass. See also, same game ’07. Do we really need to talk about the Aggy teams that sucked on paper and kicked our ass?
hg03 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:29 pm

K-State is solely responsible for the demise of several remote controls in my house. We could send an Mack Brown Era All Star team to Manhattan and would probably struggle. I predict that a BCS bowl and possible Big 12 berth will hinge on that game. Let’s hope the Golden Age Home doesn’t let Bill Snyder stay up past 6 pm game planning.

UCLA, A&M…give me a break. Both teams would need to force no less than 4-5 turnovers to win in Austin. Certainly Garrett will have bad days like any QB learning on the job, but I don’t see him turning it over that often unless it’s an elite defense. Only OU and possibly Nebraska have the defensive tools to wreak that kind of havoc against us.

The Aggies gave up an average of 50 on the road last year. They ranked 11 or 12th in the Big 12 in all major defensive categories. They were -2 in turnover margin.

There are no indications or reasons to believe they will improve from that. You don’t win on the road without defense.

Tech, OU, NU, K-State. That’s the season, and I’d take 2-2 right now as long as one of them is OU.
kafka said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:41 pm

Mack’s website has some video of Gilbert throwing this spring. Gilbert’s passes are not absolutely perfect spirals but it seems like the harder he throws, the tighter the spiral.
06_UT said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:42 pm

I’m really not worried as much about Tech this year. Next year maybe. This year, no. I would like to have seen Tub’s reaction when he saw his athletes and realized he wasn’t coaching any where near the caliber he became used to at Auburn. Throw in the fact that they were recruited to run an offense he sucks at (see the last year in Auburn), and I think there will be some major growing pains.

If we lose to UCLA, hg03 will be the reason.
NY Horn said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:49 pm

We aren’t losing four fucking games this year. I’m thinking two max before the conference championship/bowl game. You have to remember the 2007 team only lost three, and I’m pretty sure that the 2010 team would probably beat that one 40-14. Our defense is going to be too good. It’s not like our offense really tore it up against the best teams we played last year anyway.
hg03 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 1:56 pm

06_UT,

Everyone knows if we lose to UCLA it will be because of CloseToJumping’s “Mudhole” article.
kafka said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:02 pm

Patrick: “It’s not like we’ve abandoned our spread principles. We’re not going to line up in the I and all of sudden become an SEC team regardless of what people speculate in the spring. Gilbert is learning a new portion of the offense, but not a whole new offense. He should be able to grasp if fairly quickly.”

If a qb is used to the shotgun, going under center can take a while to master. Just mastering the footwork is not trivial, especially for a big, tall guy. The handoff process is different, too. Instead of handing to a stationary back standing right by you, the qb has to move to the handoff location and give the ball to a fast moving back. The blocking and running techniques are likely quite different too.

My guess is that installing an actual downhill running attack will be quite time consuming. It won’t be just a learning process, there will also need to be an unlearning process to scrape away the layers of GD softness and finesse.

UT won’t abandon the spread but, based on comments from Gilbert, Malcolm, and Kirk, they are certainly focusing a lot on running plays with qb under center. Mack said they will use an h back more than a fb when lined up with two backs.
Pangloss said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:13 pm

In the best of all possible worlds, Davis is taking a page from Mike Leach’s book and running the same basic plays (of those that worked last year) from different formations, including under center, H-back, etc.
The General said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:21 pm

I have supreme confidence Greg Davis can design 0 yard hitches out of any formation.
Blackie said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:31 pm

“Has Gilbert learned to throw a spiral yet?”

If only Roger Staubach had learned to throw a nice, tight spiral maybe the Cowboys would have won something. Jeff George threw the the prettiest spirals I’ve ever seen. They usually ended up in a DB’s hands but they were pretty nonetheless.
bigdukesix said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:32 pm

Not sure how anyone could have lived through 2006 and 2007 and not consider a 3-4 loss season possible.

I say the opposite. If we didn’t lose four games in either of those years, how would we do it this year? The 06 and 07 teams were considerably less talented than this team.
yojimbox said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:37 pm

For a while there, I thought I was at BON, but ran across “he played like a fag” and thought, “Wait, what”? Turns out it was BC. I kept reading and enjoyed it.
magnusbleuveigner said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:37 pm

Fearing K-State is laughable guys. GTFuckO with that.

lazer, have you been mind sodoed by ransomstoddard? Normally I agree with your views but I think you’re off on this one.

Of course, nothing really matters if we don’t offer Diggs.
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:40 pm

Gilbert threw a deep pass on a rollout to DeSean Hales in tight coverage yesterday that was about as fundamentally perfect as a pass can be thrown. Outside shoulder, perfect spiral, just enough arc to get over the DB and fall in Hales’ arms.

Colt was highly accurate but he has a partial sidearm delivery. Gilbert comes over the top and the ball jumps out of his hand with ease. He’s put some more touch on things since we last saw him in Pasadena.

Whether he’ll ever match Colt’s accuracy or freewheeling ability … who knows but he has a higher upside given his size and early grasp of the fundamentals.

Like I said at the beginning, he’s a bad ass. That’s all you really need to know. It’s already his team and everyone knows it.
Max Fischer said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:43 pm

Did Case look as unimpressive in person as he does on the MB-TF highlights?? He’s a FAR way away from passing the eyeball test at this point in time. Conversely, Wood looks pretty nice.
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:46 pm

I feel good about Wood. Let’s put it that way.
Toadvine said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:56 pm

Vasherized is VERY comfortable with wood. He thinks it feels good. That was very HenryJames of you. Or perhaps an audition for sizzlechest?
magnusbleuveigner said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 2:57 pm

HJ asked me to ask you what numbers everyone is wearing.
nordberg said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:05 pm

When Connor Wood goes into the game, I think our band should play ZZ Top’s “Woke up with Wood”.
Toadvine said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:11 pm

Agreed. That or “Diamonds and Wood” by UGK. Because, you know, kid went to Second Baptist and that’s gangsta as all hell.
The General said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:19 pm

The Second Baptist thing scares me about Wood. Not the competition, but the mentality. I knew some Second Baptist kids at Texas and they were all saving themselves for marriage. I don’t want a virgin quarterback. I don’t trust people that don’t do it for the nookie.
magnusbleuveigner said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:22 pm

“you ain’t neva seeeeen how a pimp be rollin this clean……..fancy cars, loud bitches and panky rangs…..oh yeah.” You see, it’s a line from the song.

Bun-B murders that song, amIrite or amIrite? amIrite?
Patrick Bateman said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:23 pm

Kafka,

I hear you, but it’s not like he’s never taken a snap from under center. We did have a few last year and he practiced them too. Again, it’s great everyone is all about running the ball downhill this year, but we’ve heard this stuff from Mack before and we always end up going back to what the QB does best.

Gilbert will be more comfortable in the gun and my bet is that’s where he spends 60-65% of his time (BTW, the gayest thing we ever did last year was hurry up to go off tackle from under center). Most of the reps will be out of the I this spring so that Gilbert and the line can get as comfortable as possible and the entire fan base will think we’re going back to the Run, Ricky, Run days. Can’t see it happening. Will we run more? Yes. From the I? Probably. Are we going to become Bama all of sudden? Doubtful. But your point is certainly a valid one.

Yes, last couple of K-state games were disappointing but remember. In 06′ Colt got hurt on the first drive and we had to play a true freshman who was already in the process of transferring. Our LB corp was atrocious and we may not have had a worse safety than Marcus Griffin. 07′ was a coaching travesty and we weren’t that talented breaking in 3.5 new starters on the OL and really being pretty pathetic on defense. The beginning of the Hall-Tanner-Ulatoski era. They were all inexperienced and soft, instead of being experienced and soft. We started Scott Derry for christ sakes. Deion Beasley started half the season and was supposed to be our best CB. We were not a good team that year.

Anything’s possible especially if Gilbert gets hurt (knock on Wood) or if we have a couple injuries on the OL, but it will take a rash of injuries at a specific position to make us equal to those teams talent wise on defense….
magnusbleuveigner said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:24 pm

General, the greatest college qb EVER! was a virgin.

“I don’t want a virgin quarterback.” Then run game and punch his V card!
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:24 pm

Mack’s been rockin out to ‘One Day’ on the iPod VY gave him:
texastough said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:24 pm

” I don’t trust people that don’t do it for the nookie.”

Or people that don’t do it to proselytize to indigent Peruvian children?
Toadvine said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:26 pm

General –

I’m with you. I want a quarterback with a nose for the endzone.

Vasherized –

That is one of the most epic, titanic jams in Screwston, Flexus, Third Coast history.
NY Horn said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:30 pm

I think Mack’s greatest job of coaching might have been the 2007 team. That team was just an abomination, especially on defense. I mean, Scott Derry. Robert Killebrew. Jesus Christ.

Maybe it was all Jamaal Charles that got us to 10 wins.
kafka said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:30 pm

Wood is wearing 16 and Gilbert is wearing 7.
texastough said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:34 pm

“Scott Derry. Robert Killebrew. Jesus Christ.”

No, in 2007 JC was winning the Heisman at Florida. But we did have McCoy that year.
milksteak said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:38 pm

I think the new downhill running scheme is GD’s Magnum Opus. His ultimate trick. You thought saving plays for OU was a good one, how about purposely running an offense that your players aren’t suited to run for 4 years and then POW switch it up and beat everyone by 70.

Prediction: MNC vs the Steelers, we win by 45.
magnusbleuveigner said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:38 pm

HJ says thanks! kafka.

“Murder” is the best song on that album. Light yourself on fire if you don’t believe.

Speaking of music, I went to the Dropkick Murphy’s show last night. Had a good time. Lots of beer. So that was for me, nows I’s gottas hits ups country’s musics sensationss Dirks Bentleys tonights. Fucks.
Toadvine said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:40 pm

milksteak — I knew you were a genius by your handle’s subtle reference to Charlie on It’s Always Sunny’s favorite meal. But your prediction is so prescient that it floored me. I’ll buy whatever you’re selling.

magnus — please tell me you tried to get in the pit. Because that’s super not awesome at 31, as my last Los Skarnales show confirmed.
nordberg said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:42 pm

Mack had a quote a few days ago that went something like “it’s hard to run block when you’re moving backwards”.

Um, yeah. No kidding. So… uh…. why were we doing that? I just find it funny that we’re throwing a switch now and developing a legitimate run game.
milksteak said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:48 pm

I’ve never had the chance to catch the Dropkick Murphy’s, but Flogging Molly has always been good to me.
magnusbleuveigner said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:51 pm

Heavens to mergatroy, if Gilbert is wearing #7 what is John Chiles going to wear? We must get to the bottom of this.

ghost-no I didn’t try to get in the pit. I don’t have an off switch when it comes to that shit. I was pecking some skirmishes mainly because people are rude as hell and I can’t stand shitty people. I can imagine that I’d be quite sore had I taken part though.
lazer2280 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 3:53 pm

magnus-

I didn’t mean to intimate that we are/should be scared of K-State. We almost won the NC with a damn true freshman, so we shouldn’t be scared of anyone. My point was simply that 2-3 losses including a bowl game is more probable than 1-2 losses. But hell, I could be wrong.
lazer2280 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 4:13 pm

A better way to state that is put the over/under at 2, and 3 is more probable than 1 IMO.
Bateshorn said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 4:14 pm

I saw Flogging Molly n Cleveland a year ago. The pit raged hard for two sold hours. Great show.
Vasherized said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 4:22 pm

Chiles is wearing #5. He’s the next Michael Crabtree.
kafka said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 5:40 pm

Nordberg,

IMHO Mack is serious about a downhill run game because:
1. Not having a balanced O last season was a big problem vs OU, NU, and Bama.
2. It is completely stupid not to be able to run when you can recruit like Mack can
3. Muschamp has figured how to counteract GD’s passive aggressive mind games that somehow have persuaded Mack recently that having a one dimensional O is a necessary (evil, yes; necessary, no).
4. Muschamp would like to have a decent run to practise against in practise
5. Gilbert is a rookie so anything that will lighten load is helpful
6. Mack loves big plays and nothing produces big plays like play action passing.
sa said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:43 pm

They don’t know what that star ’bout
They don’t know what that bar ’bout
They don’t know what that candy car ’bout
Or smokin’ that joint ’bout.
Blueshorn said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 8:45 pm

I feel confident that Mack is as serious about a downhill run game as he’s been the last however many years he’s promised to fix it. Which is to say, as long as GD is here, the run game will be an afterthought when the season gets underway. But Mack excels at telling you all what you want to hear.
johnnymac said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:03 pm

Huckleberry is working on a formula that perfectly correlates our odds of going to Pasadena with the coefficient of witchiness on any given team.

Huck needs to adjust his formula. I’d much rather go to Glendale this year than Pasadena. Preferably after some other Big XII team plays there the week before. Huck seriously needs to adjust his formula.
johnnymac said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:04 pm

I repeated myself within 3 sentences. Time for bed.
06_UT said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:14 pm

I’m tired of the “Colt got hurt on the first drive” bull shit excuse. People who say that just haven’t come to terms with the fact that we sucked that year and were lucky to get 10 wins. We scored 42 fucking points.

Snead did not throw any ints. JC won us a lot of games, and his ‘fumbling problem’ didn’t actually lose us many games, but this is a game his fumbling did lose. We were tied, had the ball in the third, and driving in their territory. JC fubmles on the 20. They take 5 plays to march down and take the lead. S Young proceeds to give them the ball back 2 plays later, and Freeman throws 71 yard touch down.

Then, after a loss to Aggie and about a month for Colt to heal, we almost lost to Iowa. I. O. WA.

We were bad that year. Just accept it. That is the only way you can move on with your pathetic lives.
06_UT said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 9:17 pm

Magnum Opus? What does our running game have to do with The Davinci Code?
bighornfan32 said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 10:03 pm

Anyone comparing this team to 06 or 07 is forgetting the enormous, terrifying, cursing elephant in the room.
Patrick Bateman said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 10:15 pm

06,

Did we really suck that year? We lost to OSU, who was #1 all year. We were set up nicely to win the Big12 and possibly make a MNC appearance. We had no less than 14 starters that made it to the NFL (not counting Ulatoski, Colt, or Finley). It wasn’t 2005 but there was plenty of talent. That was the year many folks got pissed with Chizik and his vanilla defenses…..We definitely ended the year poorly, but that team had a ton of talent.
dick said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 10:22 pm

“6. Mack loves big plays and nothing produces big plays like play action passing.”

i think the term is explosives
06_UT said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 10:35 pm

Bighorn – not comparing this year’s team to the 06 team at all.

Yes. We sucked. That is a bit of a relative term though. I’m sure Baylor would have love to suck every year as much as we did that year.

If we had been in the OSU game there might be some weight to the argument that says that game proved we weren’t that bad. But we got beat. Pretty bad. At home. (then there is the whole “well they got destroyed by UF. Big 10 SUCKS!!.” I tihnk that is crap though).

OU, the winner of the conference, went on to get beat by Boise and trick plays. NU lost 5 games. The 3 best teams in the conference that year had 11 losses total.

Kansas and OSU both had 6 losses. Mizzou and Tech managed to only lose 5.

The two in conferenc teams that beat us combined for nine losses including the bowls. NINE. That means we lost to two bad teams (we almost lost to a worse one: IOWA). What did that make us?
06_UT said:

March 3rd, 2010 at 10:39 pm

I’m glad we didn’t make the NC that year by going 13-1 (loss to tOSU) and tOSU dropping one late. Can you imagine how embarassing it would have been if we’d played UF? We would have been lucky to get only get beat by 27.
Barking Carnival — Blog — Big 12 Legacy said:

March 4th, 2010 at 12:36 am

[...] was there to record the developments from the open practice, Geoff Ketchum is opposing the new development on the [...]
milksteak said:

March 4th, 2010 at 7:14 am

Did I say Magnum Opus? I meant “real good idea.”
Capt. Insano said:

March 4th, 2010 at 9:06 am

I laughed out loud at least 3 times when I read this post. GREAT WORK VASHERIZED!
java said:

March 4th, 2010 at 10:17 pm

Loved your post, Vasherized. Thank you.

beowulf, where is your characteristic optimism? ransom has obviously hacked your account. You couldn’t possibly be predicting all of those losses.

I guess that any team can lose to any other team on a given day, but I don’t see a Muschamp defense losing to KSU. I’m certain that OU, Nebraska, KSU, A&M, and others will field competitive teams, but each of them had flaws last year, and OU, NE, and A&M lost key players just as we did. Everyone has gaps to fill, and our ability to fill it with comparable or superior talent is pretty good.

If we lose a game, I will be disappointed. If we lose two, I will be sick.

If anyone is interested, I picked up some salsa, hot sauce (if you prefer), called ‘Burnt Orange’ at Central Market. It is amazingly good and has a longhorn blowing smoke on the label. The website is http://www.BurntOrangeTexasSalsa.com. Good stuff with novelty packaging for Longhorn fans and parties.

Thanks for the site. It is so refreshing to read opinions about the Longhorns again from individuals whose opinion I respect.

Hook ‘em!
Bobby Finnstock said:

March 5th, 2010 at 7:46 am

-Newton was the poor soul at the other end of Scott’s killshot. You could tell it rung his bell a little.

-Vaccaro will likely be called for unsportsman like penalties this year, but I have no doubt he will knock someone the fuck out too, and I mean on the football field.
SlickStreet said:

March 5th, 2010 at 8:40 am

No question the ’07 team was lame, 10 wins in 13 games or not. Several games were much closer than talent ever would have imagined (Ark St at home, Neb at home (down 19-3 going into the 4th when they were hideous)), and a big part of that was due to the seniority rules over all. Mack himself later admitted this faulty approach and proved it with his “open competition” sea change prior to the bowl that year, which we rolled ASU in.
Since then, the chemistry and results have been dramatically different and superb.

As nasty to watch as that ’07 ag’ game was, it was the catalyst that led to what we’ve seen the last two years, where we’ve been the best overall program in the country.
Pokelahoma — Blog — Spring Football and a look around the Big 12 said:

March 9th, 2010 at 10:27 am

[...] you’re waiting to spend your tax return tailgating in Stillwater on the 17th check out Barking Carnival’s UT spring coverage. Know your foe, and be afraid of UT adding a running [...]

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