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*****
We've talked for 2 months about the spring game, and now it is here. Time for a few bold predictions:
1. Arch Manning is going to have a SportsCenter moment. Ketch mentioned on the Modcast the incredible difference in how Texas' two backup QBs are perceived in Arch Manning and Maalik Murphy. Anwar goes on Andy Staples SiriusXM national show, and the first question he's asked -- right out of the gate -- is about none other than the backup QB (probably better described as the current third-string QB if we are being technical). Of all the QBs at Texas camp, my eyes have spent the most time examining one backup, as well. It's an odd thing. He has a gravitational pull of sorts: of course, I'm talking about Arch Manning. And it's nothing against Maalik Murphy, in fact, it actually sort of endears you a bit to Murphy to understand what he must be going through in a competition with a player like Arch Manning. But, my simple prediction is this: Maalik Murphy could go a pinpoint 14-of-16 with no INTs and two long TD passes in the spring game, but it would be Arch Manning who throws the one bomb that goes viral in a tweet from ESPN.
2. The first-team offense is going to have to play the first-team defense -- at least some. Since Sark has been at Texas, we've seen the ones versus the ones, twos versus twos, etc. in all of the spring camp scrimmages, whereas we have seen mostly the first-team offense taking on the twos and vice versa in actual spring games. This QB situation is unique this year, though. Starter Quinn Ewers will get his chance to bum-hunt against the backups, playing behind the starting offensive line and with the advantage of the starting skill players surrounding him, but it won't be all scrimmage. The reason is, I'm sure the staff wants to see the younger QBs, and how they operate vis-a-vis Ewers in an apples-to-apples setting. There is a lot of time between now and summer workouts starting back up, and that's film the coaches will want to take time to really evaluate. So, if this is what I predict is the case, you're not only going to get Murphy with some time versus the twos, but Manning as well ... meaning Ewers will have to go versus the ones in those periods of the scrimmage.
3. Some player that we haven't reported on all spring is going to come out of the woodwork for a big game. And it might not even matter. Last year, for those who remember (which is likely not many of you) DL Myron Warren came out of the scrimmage with two sacks and a couple of QB pressures on only 16 total snaps versus the first offensive line. Warren was in the portal approximately 2 days later. The year before that, then-edge-rusher Jett Bush had a spring game monster with 2.5 sacks, 2 solo tackles, 2 QB pressures, 1 run-stuff and zero missed tackles on 39 total snaps. Prince Dorbah in that same game had two tackles, one sack, 2.5 TFLs and 2 QB pressures in an out-of-control production-fest. Of course, he has now transferred out as well. Looking back, these performances (albethey in exhibition settings) almost surely represent the high-water marks of all of those players' careers at Texas from a pure production standpoint. It certainly did for Warren and Dorbah.
4. Some player that we HAVE actually been talking up all spring is also going to go off for a big game. And if I wasn't a little concerned he could be held back to some degree by his recent "minor" ailment at practices, I'd say it would surely be newcomer WR AD Mitchell. It still could be, but a ton of other possibilities come to mind: first and foremost the RBs: With Jonathan Brooks (probably) out and Keilan Robinson (almost certainly) out, Texas fans are going to get their first real dose of Jaydon Blue and their true first look at CJ Baxter. The guys are very different runners, but both have intriguing skill sets that we're all going to get to know very well over the next few years. I could see WRs Johntay Cook and/or Deandre Moore making some splashes on offense as well. On defense, maybe we'll get to see why the staff seems so comfortable with LB David Gbenda via some solid play next to Jaylan Ford, but my bet would be on an interior DL to take advantage of the offensive line's current achilles heel (the interior of the second and third units) to make some hay on Saturday. That could be Byron Murphy, but it could also be Aaron Bryant or possibly even freshman Sydir Mitchell.
5. Cam Williams is going to give us something to talk about. And it's going to be a weird conversation if the big man gets his chance right at the end of spring to finally get his time with the starters (even though it will reportedly be at guard) as he fills in for DJ Campbell who, in filling in for last year's RG starter, Cole Hutson, injured his wrist last week and is set to miss 6-8 weeks. My prediction is that Cam Williams looks good and plays well, because ... well ... that's kind of what Cam Williams has done at every point in the process since I've been covering him, well before his recruitment blew up and long before his Texas offer. If Williams does put an excellent spring game on tape, our expectations for the 2023 OL become much more difficult to project personnel-wise. What does that mean for DJ Campbell? How can he fit? Is Cole Hutson now totally Wally Pipp'ed? Is Jake Majors' job really safe enough to where Hayden Conner (who has been taking center snaps this spring) couldn't be considered as a player to move into center, allowing Campbell and Hutson to compete for his LG spot? Could it really end up being another year where Campbell has to sit and wait, simply for a chair to open up with a little bit of shuffling? Not to even mention players who we thought could have a shot at cracking the starting lineup by now like Neto Umeozulu, etc. Lots of angles to discuss with this and a million scenarios that could play out. Cam Williams is going to give us something to talk about from now well into the newsless doldrums of summer that await ...
*****
Book Review: The Gray Man (Series) by Mark Greaney
From the Publisher: To those who lurk in the shadows, he’s known as the Gray Man. He is a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible and then fading away. And he always hits his target. Always. But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. Forces like money. And power. And there are men who hold these as the only currency worth fighting for. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness. But Court Gentry is going to prove that, for him, there’s no gray area between killing for a living and killing to stay alive....
Alex's Thoughts: I love the Gray Man. I really think if you read the first book, and if you're anything like me, you won't stop reading the series until you are caught up -- much like what happened with the Joe Pickett series of novels from CJ Box or the Terminal List series by Jack Carr. The Gray Man is such an awesome character because he is basically superhuman -- like a superhero -- but, unlike superheroes in movies, you never know whether Court Gentry is actually doing the thing that's going to save the day, or whether he's doing the thing that is going to blow everything to smithereens, creating absolute chaos. If you can suspend disbelief enough to not knock the books for allowing the Gray Man to live through every death-defying stunt he takes on, he will be a character you'll never forget, and a book series you'll be addicted to until Mark Greaney stops writing them. I give it the EVER-ELUSIVE 5 star rating.
- Alex's Daily Short Reading List (updated 4-13-2023)
Books I've read or listened to on Audiobook since I've been sharing these reviews on OB (this list is not encompassing of all of my favorite books although it certainly includes a few of them - books I recommend reading/listening to start at 3.5 stars - I will review every book I read, but only list those that I awarded 3.5 stars and up here).
Lonesome Dove (5 stars)
Joe Pickett Series by CJ Box (5 stars)
The Undoing Project (5 stars)
The Accidental Superpower (5 stars)
I Am Pilgrim (5 stars)
Empire of the Summer Moon (5 stars)
Gridiron Genius (5 Stars)
The Cartel (5 stars)
Disunited Nations (5 stars)
Lone Survivor (5 stars)
The Terminal List Series (5 stars)
The Gray Man Series (5 stars)
The Son (4.75 stars)
The Lincoln Highway (4.75 stars)
The 4-Hour Work Week (4.75 stars)
Astroball (4.75 stars)
Project Hail Mary (4.75 stars)
Dueling With Kings (4.5 stars)
Wanderers (4.5 stars)
Back of Beyond (4.25 stars)
Blue Heaven (4.25 stars)
The Border (4.25 stars)
Wrath of the Khans - Dan Carlin Podcast Series (4.25 stars)
Unfreedom of the Press (4.25 stars)
The Time it Never Rained (4.25 stars)
Hard Country (4.25 stars)
This Tender Land (4 stars)
Supermarket (4 stars)
Ready Player Two (4 stars)
When Christmas Comes (4 stars)
Hollywood Park (4 stars)
Fields of Fire (4 stars)
The Great Alone (3.75 stars)
Hunting El Chapo (3.75 stars)
The President is Missing (3.75 stars)
The First Conspiracy (3.75 stars)
REAMDE (3.75 stars)
American Wolf (3.75 stars)
The End is Always Near (3.75 stars)
Second Wind (3.75 stars)
The End of the World is Just the Beginning (3.75 stars)
A Strange Habit of Mind (3.75 stars)
The River (3.75 stars)
The Lost City of the Monkey God (3.5 stars)
The Summer That Melted Everything (3.5 stars)
The North Water (3.5 stars)
Deep Survival (3.5 stars)
The Boy From the Woods (3.5 stars)
The Frackers (3.5 stars)
Arliss Cutter Series (3.5 stars)
AS ALWAYS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ANY BOOKS YOU WOULD RECOMMEND, PREFERABLY THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON AUDIOBOOK. MANY OF THE BEST BOOKS ON THIS LIST HAVE COME VIA RECOMMENDATIONS ON ORANGEBLOODS.
