#1 Charlie Strong said today after the first day of spring practice that assistant head coach and QB coach Shawn Watson will have final say over offensive play calling.
#2 When asked how QB David Ash looked in his first practice since missing most of last season with a head injury, Strong said:
"Like everyone else, he's just trying to put it all together. He was OK."
#3 OT Desmond Harrison was limping and was held out of drills Tuesday. So he ended up in strength and conditioning coach Pat Moorer's pit doing rep after rep of upper body weight lifting with RB Johnathan Gray (Achilles) and where LB Jordan Hicks (Achilles) and CB Sheroid Evans (ACL) were doing some light running.
Hicks could be heard saying he's feeling good and on track to return for fall camp.
#4 Strong said Harrison "was banged up." Sources told OB Harrison's leg may have been grazed by a gunshot while on spring break in California last week. UT officials said that was news to them.
#5 Strong said the leaders on defense have been DT Malcom Brown, DT "Tank" Jackson, DE Ced Reed.
#6 I asked how DT Hassan Ridgeway was progressing, and Strong said Ridgeway has tons of upside because of his size and strength. But Strong said Ridgeway needs to stop taking mistakes so personally, allowing them to affect more than one play.
#7 When I asked about leaders on offense, the first name out of Strong's mouth was C Dom Espinosa. He said you'd like your QBs to be leaders, but it's clear that isn't happening yet at the level Strong would want.
#8 Strong said the player who impressed him the most in the weight room - when challenged by Strong - is RB Johnathan Gray, who is battling back from an Achilles injury.
"No one questions his work ethic," Strong said. "Johnathan works so hard."
#9 Strong said he thinks CB Bryson Echols can play some nickel for Texas.
#10 UT players, who used to take buses to and from Moncrief-Neuhaus to practice, now walk the half mile to and from practice.
#11 At practice, position coaches were correcting every detail if a proper step wasn't taken.
#12 And Charlie Strong said that's the same approach coaches are taking with players when they hear someone is cutting corners off the field as well.
"When you step out of line, you'll get corrected real quick and when I say real quick, I mean real quick," Strong said.
#13 A couple of the best catches of the day during receiving drills (on passes thrown by WR coach Les Koenning) were one-handers by Daje Johnson and John Harris.
Marcus Johnson also made a couple nice catches.
#14 From a body-changing standpoint, QBs David Ash and Tyrone Swoopes looked notably stronger, as did TE M.J. McFarland and WR Montrel Meander.
#15 Strong said he typically gets involved with the direct recruitment of about five players in a class.
"I like recruiting, and you better get to know these players, because they are the lifeblood of your program," Strong said.
#2 When asked how QB David Ash looked in his first practice since missing most of last season with a head injury, Strong said:
"Like everyone else, he's just trying to put it all together. He was OK."
#3 OT Desmond Harrison was limping and was held out of drills Tuesday. So he ended up in strength and conditioning coach Pat Moorer's pit doing rep after rep of upper body weight lifting with RB Johnathan Gray (Achilles) and where LB Jordan Hicks (Achilles) and CB Sheroid Evans (ACL) were doing some light running.
Hicks could be heard saying he's feeling good and on track to return for fall camp.
#4 Strong said Harrison "was banged up." Sources told OB Harrison's leg may have been grazed by a gunshot while on spring break in California last week. UT officials said that was news to them.
#5 Strong said the leaders on defense have been DT Malcom Brown, DT "Tank" Jackson, DE Ced Reed.
#6 I asked how DT Hassan Ridgeway was progressing, and Strong said Ridgeway has tons of upside because of his size and strength. But Strong said Ridgeway needs to stop taking mistakes so personally, allowing them to affect more than one play.
#7 When I asked about leaders on offense, the first name out of Strong's mouth was C Dom Espinosa. He said you'd like your QBs to be leaders, but it's clear that isn't happening yet at the level Strong would want.
#8 Strong said the player who impressed him the most in the weight room - when challenged by Strong - is RB Johnathan Gray, who is battling back from an Achilles injury.
"No one questions his work ethic," Strong said. "Johnathan works so hard."
#9 Strong said he thinks CB Bryson Echols can play some nickel for Texas.
#10 UT players, who used to take buses to and from Moncrief-Neuhaus to practice, now walk the half mile to and from practice.
#11 At practice, position coaches were correcting every detail if a proper step wasn't taken.
#12 And Charlie Strong said that's the same approach coaches are taking with players when they hear someone is cutting corners off the field as well.
"When you step out of line, you'll get corrected real quick and when I say real quick, I mean real quick," Strong said.
#13 A couple of the best catches of the day during receiving drills (on passes thrown by WR coach Les Koenning) were one-handers by Daje Johnson and John Harris.
Marcus Johnson also made a couple nice catches.
#14 From a body-changing standpoint, QBs David Ash and Tyrone Swoopes looked notably stronger, as did TE M.J. McFarland and WR Montrel Meander.
#15 Strong said he typically gets involved with the direct recruitment of about five players in a class.
"I like recruiting, and you better get to know these players, because they are the lifeblood of your program," Strong said.
