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(From Anwar)
The University of Texas made its assistant coaches available on Thursday. I interviewed Longhorn offensive line coach Herb Hand, cornerbacks coach Jason Washington, receivers coach Drew Mehringer and running backs coach Stan Drayton.
Here are the most important things you need to know from those interviews:
Herb Hand
--- I began the conversation by asking him about Parker Braun as the season gets closer. Here is what Hand told me: “It's going pretty good. He's in a different position than Calvin Anderson was last year because Calvin Anderson came from a similar scheme. We were still a lot of learning on Calvin's part, but schematically, they're very similar as well as from a fundamental standpoint, they did a lot of similar stuff. With Parker it's been wipe the slate clean, young man. Kind of start from square one, if you will. The really good thing is that he's got a lot of experience, game experience. His demeanor, his practice habits, mentality, all that stuff. Physical great finisher, and he’s very enthusiastic to learn. It’s all going good.”
--- Hand said Braun is in his top six. However, Hand needs more time to determine if Braun will start the season opener.
--- Hand also said Braun has a lot of fire and is alwayslooking to hit somebody in the mouth. However, Hand said Braun’s pass protection is not always good, and he is still learning in that regard.
--- When asked if Braun was behind Derek Kerstetter in terms of pass protection, Hand said, “I mean, at times, but there's a lot of experiential learning. Playing offensive line buys a lot of experiential learning. He's getting a drink out of a fire hose in some regards, particularly against our defense.”
--- Here was Hand’s response when asked if there was still a possibility Braun could be redshirted this season: “Yes. Here's the deal, because you don't know how things are going to unfold. Nobody does, right? I know this, he has a redshirt year available. So, if he starts the first game, but stubs his toe, it's nice to know he's got a year that he can use, right? … We discussed that in the recruiting process. That [redshirting] is a possibility. We don't ever want to lock anything in there because you never know what's going to happen. I know that he loves the development he’s getting right now, from a schematic standpoint to hopefully play beyond here. He loves the development he's getting in the weight room, as Yancy [McKnight] and those guys do an unbelievable job, and getting his master's from the University of Texas is very important to him. So, the education piece of it as well. There's a lot of reasons why, if it goes that way, we would have no problems with it. If he winds up being our starter from day one, and in place throughout the entire season, he has no problems with that either. And that was all discussed during the recruiting process.”
--- In addition, Hand said if they can get four games out of Braun and redshirt him, “it’s all good” because they have a plan for every scenario.
--- Hand said he has between seven and nine guys who are good enough to play, but added that he prefers to roll with his starting five and not rotate a lot of offensive linemen during games.
--- Hand on Junior Angilau: “First of all, it’s his demeanor, his approach every day. I don't know if that dude has had a bad day, from the spirit standpoint, since he's been on campus. The guy's just a joy to be around. I love coaching guys like that. He comes to the meetings, and he's locked in. He has a real high give-back factor. He wants to be great. He works at being great. If you ask him to fix something, he fixes it to the best of his ability, and tries to fine-tune it even more. If you had five guys with his mentality, demeanor, approach and spirit, you’d be pretty happy as a coach.”
--- In addition, Hand said Angilau can play left or right guard, plus he has received reps at center prior to practice.
--- When asked to identify players who excelled in training camp, Hand mentioned Zach Shackelford, Sam Cosmi, Angilau and Kerstetter. He said, “[Kerstetter] has played three different positions, maybe four. He's very valuable in that regard. The danger when you get into cross training, a lot of guys become a jack of all trades, master of none. Because of his experiences, and the fact that he's a veteran guy, he is able to manage playing center, guard and tackle, and that is not easy to do.”
Jason Washington
--- Washington on the cornerback battle: “All those guys have been unbelievable compete wise. The competitions been good. All of them are hungry. Our biggest thing that we talked about is consistency and seeing who's going to win that job. Jalen Green has been solid all through camp. I thought he had a really, really good camp. I'm excited to watch him and see what he does, and see if he's ready to take control of that boundary side. Kobe Boyce had a real good camp. Really excited about him. He's grown up. He's moving around. Very, very talented. Now, bringing that talent and being consistent with stuff. He’s been good. D’Shawn Jamison has come over and been unbelievable, just him learning the system, continuing to apply technique, and learn some stuff after unfortunately missing a year on offense, but he's picking up the system well and coming along as well. Kenyatta Watson has really come along. He's picking things up. Just kind of learning the speed of the game more than anything, but he's been doing a good job. Anthony Cook, unfortunately, he's going to be suspended for the first half, but I think he had a solid camp. Then Donovan Duvernay and all those guys. The competition has been good. Hopefully, I can come to a decision after this week.”
--- I asked Washington about Jamison’s place on the depth chart during training camp, and he said the defensive back has primarily played with the twos this fall.
--- When asked which players had the best camp, the first name mentioned by Washington was Boyce. He said, “I thought him being a redshirt sophomore, just really coming along. You can you his attitude, how he's approaching the game, and what he's doing, has really improved.” Washington later mentioned Green and Cook.
--- In addition, Washington is not concerned about the lack of experience in the cornerback room: “Experience, it's always going to be a question, just down-and-distance in different situations that go on go in on the game, but I'm not really concerned. More than anything, just run, hit, have great effort, trust your technique, trust your training, and everything else kind of take cares of itself.”
Stan Drayton
--- Drayton on Jordan Whittington: “He is one of the smartest football players I've ever coached. I put him in the same category as Brian Westbrook back in the day in Villanova, a guy that was able to come in and play right away, start right away - Jordan Whittington really fits that mold. Extremely sharp. I tell you, I struggled with him early because we're down in the second meeting room and he didn’t take notes. I took that as I was a freshman not knowing how to take notes, but he's a guy who's an audio learner. You can sit there and talk to him, he can paint a picture in his head, and put it to production on the football field. That is a skill set that he walked in the door with. That’s going to help him get on the field.”
--- Drayton on Keaontay Ingram’s development: “He was a wild horse a year ago. Those five yards were, I tell you, man, they were ugly five yards. They were very undisciplined five yards. The one thing that Keaontay has developed is patience and understanding of blocking schemes. Now, he understands how to work through with gears behind the line of scrimmage. He understands when it's time to burst past the line of scrimmage. His timing is on point right now. I'm expecting huge production yards. I think yards per average will increase because of that. But with those 20 pounds he's added, we're talking about getting yards on contact now. We're talking about being in a position to get yards past contact. I think the more that develops, the more we're going to see a special player on the rise.”
--- Drayton said he is constantly coaching Ingram and Whittington because of their youth, but trusts them. He believes they are ready to play this season.
--- His goal has been to encourage Kirk Johnson not to look in the rear view mirror because Drayton believes he will need the running back’s contribution this season.
--- Drayton on the role of Daniel Young: “He's the guy that can keep the clock moving. He's very serviceable to us on every down as well, but Daniel will sit there and tell you also, if we’re in a throwing type of situation where we are emptied, and our backs are out there on wheel routes, he’s probably not as valuable there. But his role is short yardage, goal line, and when we’re in quarterback run mode.”
--- I asked Drayton about his running back rotation since he is responsible for inserting his guys into games. I told Drayton I noticed he does not give players 30 carries in games and asked if he could explain to me his philosophy. Here is what he said: “That's a great question. What I usually would try to do is I try to break it up by series, and that's during the course of practice week. If there is a guy that is head and shoulders above everyone else, from a production standpoint, during the course of practice, he's going to get the bulk of the reps. Running back play, as we all know, these guys only have a certain amount of tread on the tires. I think that the running backs that are coming up nowadays know and respect that. I don't know too many running backs walking through the front door that want 30 touches a game anymore. They're looking for complements. I think that's the one thing that this group has, stronger than ever, is we have complements all over the place. These guys really do complement each other. They bring different skill sets to the table. They're going to be guys that will show and shine more in situational type of play. Then there's going to be those every-down backs, like Keaontay, first and second down, every down, that kid is going to be available, but you got to have them available game 12 as well.”
Drew Mehringer
--- Mehringer on Jake Smith: “Jake Smith is a really good player. Obviously, still a freshman, and betting on freshmen coming in the doors is a little bit of a risky endeavor, but he's a very, very smart kid. Works really, really hard. I think we're going to have a really, really bright future with him.”
--- Brennan Eagles made significant strides from his freshman season to this year, according to Mehringer. In addition, Mehringer said Malcolm Epps had to improve his skills after originally being groomed to play tight end, but believes the receiver is going to have an impact in the future.
--- Mehringer on his group having more explosive plays this season: “Yeah, I think so. I mean we used that big stat, we didn’t have a play over 50 yards last year. That one kind of stuck out for us. So, we've made an emphasis as an offense to figure out ways to schematically create that, but as well as individually, or technically, create those as well. So yeah, I think there's been a definitive increase in the number of big plays. How many is that a percentage wise? I don't know, but it feels more explosive.”
******
(From McComas)
Anwar and I spent the afternoon on campus interviewing the eight position coaches ahead of the 2019 season. Of course, 40 minutes of audio and a bunch of different conversations deliver all types of quotes. Here are a few things that stuck out to me as I was listening back, and interviewing some of the coaches:
--- If comments today represent the collective thoughts of the program, no one at all is even a tad concerned about the player leadership. And it makes sense when you consider Texas is at a point where its team captains are all key players. Tom Herman and his staff have been building the program towards being a player-led program.
“Culture takes time. It goes back to you are what you repeatedly do. So, the more that you do it, you do it the right way, the better habits you're going to have. So, the amount of leadership from our players is off the charts right now,” Corby Meekins said. “We’re seeing it not just [from] the captains, but we're seeing it throughout all the units.
“Something happens on the football field before I as a coach can say something at times, I'm already hearing it echoed from two or three people behind me. When players lead, you have a chance for really great things.”
Later, Oscar Giles nearly ended a quote the exact same way when describing the impact a player-led program can have on getting young players more quickly assimilated.
“It really helps. Because again, it's less work that we have to worry about doing, especially when we're not here. If we're on a road recruiting or we’re maybe in the meeting rooms trying to game plan, you have some older guys like Malcolm and those guys are grabbing the guys and saying, ‘Hey, come with me grab another guy, you want to be elite? Come with me. This is the way we do things. We don't need a coach to tell us to watch the film. We're going to watch the film on our own.’ So, when you’re player-led, you tend to have some really, really good football teams.”
At some point, each coach I spoke with today mentioned the leadership they’re seeing. As for the buy-in level, Meekins was asked what the conversation was like when the coaches asked Devin Duvernay to move inside to the H position.
We just said, ‘Hey Dev, we need to slide inside to the H.’ And he goes, ‘Okay.’
That was it.
Meekins also mentioned the work Duvernay has put in has helped Yancy McKnight and his staff turn an elite straight line speed guy into someone that is an elite guy in all directions.
As for Jake Smith, Texas isn’t expecting a drop-off from Duvernay when its next slot option is on the field.
“Jake, he's come in and he's just kind of put the blinders on, and thrown himself in the playbook. He's a fast learner,” said Meekins. “He's really conscientious. And I think having his skill set on the field is going to give us a lot of options this year. When the starters aren't in the game you shouldn't see too much of a drop off.”
--- Giles, because of the success of back-to-back Big 12 Defensive Linemen of the Year, doesn’t have to challenge his group much. He sees a hungry group of guys in his position room that want to carry the torch.
“Those guys are hungry. The success we've had with guys like Poona Ford being a defensive lineman of the year, and Charles (Omenihu)… those guys really kind of set a standard so the Malcolm Roaches and Ta’Quon Grahams, those guys have really challenged themselves - and I challenged them - they're challenging themselves to be that standard,” Giles stated. “And that really helps when you've already had that testimony from some of the previous guys. Now you have some younger guys that want to step up and keep that tradition going.”
The expectations and standards for success don’t have to be stated because of the prior examples.
“You really don't have to say that. Those guys have been in that room. They've seen the history of what we've done on defense, and to me, the leaders take over,” said Giles. “Malcolm Roach, Ta’Quon Graham and those guys that have been around here. Those guys tell those younger guys, ‘Hey, there’s a standard we play with. So, practice like it.’ Because we always feel like you can't be a gamer; you have to be a practice player. And your hardest work is in the practice, and then game time becomes your test.”
Obviously, Malcolm Roach has earned the respect of teammates after being voted a team captain for the upcoming season. Giles expects a big season.
“He's been more vocal this year. He's been more of a guy that he's bringing guys with him to the locker room, bringing guys to the meeting room, and trying to teach the young guys how we do things around here,” said Giles about Roach. “So, I think the key is they saw that, and they see he's been here. He'll speak up and speak his mind. I'm proud of him. I'm looking for great things from him this year, looking for him to be a leader for our defense.”
--- A strength of the Texas defensive back group, specially its safeties, is the versatility. Part of that is recruiting, but the other part is how the Texas coaches design their defense and what they ask their safeties to be able to do. It was interesting to hear Craig Naivar describe the demands put on those safeties, which allow them to be able play all over a versatile defense.
“When you look at what we do, we rotate guys not just as far as the game goes, but as far as safety rotations go, you have to do everything. You're not just a… most programs, your core safety… sit back in corners and do what you do. I'm a post safety. I do what I do. I'm a man safety… No, you have to be able to do everything,” he said. “So, they're exposed to all those roles so it's not an, ‘Oh, this is a whole different world down here.’ No, it's not because of what we do.”
While Texas does cherish its versatility and will throw multiple, exotic looks at a defense with all types of personnel groupings, the Texas coaches still focus on understanding what their personnel does best.
“We've kind of taken stuff from a lot of different places. I mean, there's nothing that's invented,” he responded when asked about taking parts of a defense from other places. “Everything was taken from somewhere. The trick is there’s a lot of cool stuff out there. You can go to a BBQ joint and say, ‘Damn, I want ribs, I want chicken, I want sausage, I want a brisket, I want this.’ And you're not going to eat all that. Knowing what fits you the best and what works best for the kids and knowing this is our package, this is what we do and taking small pieces but not trying to build too much or your kids are lost and they got problems.”
--- How valuable is a veteran center with a terrific football IQ? Herb Hand put into perspective Zach Shackelford’s importance and football smarts.
“In the film room, he bats a very, very high percentage. I don’t want to give him 100%, but 99% of every time I ask him a question the guy knows the answer,” said Hand. “So, he is building a legacy, if you will, of accountability in the film room as well as on the field. Our film sessions… it's not fun for the guys, to be honest with you.”
Based on what I’ve seen from Hand in practice, I believe him with all my heart when he says film sessions aren’t fun for his guys. But make no mistake, it’s a group built on love too. Hand energetically described their practice of shared accountability, and gave an example of Shackelford showing leadership at the end of a very, very tough practice.
“We're in the middle of a 15-play drive. And I look to my right, look to my left, and a guy to my right says, ‘Hey man, I love you, bro.’ You grind it out for that, said Hand, giving an example of Shackelford and what that tight bond looks and sounds like with his guys. “What’s better than that? That's the best example I can give you. ‘Hey, I'm not going to let you down.’ That's where you want to be.”
******
(From Dunlap)
*** players in pink are all still OUT, but are imminently expected back on differing schedules, many/most before Week 1. WR Al'Vonte Woodard and LB De'Gabriel Floyd are not included as their injuries project to keep them out for a longer period and/or into and through the 2019 season, respectively.
OFFENSE
Click Image to Enlarge
Changes:
- Cade Brewer (concussion) moved from starting TE to OUT for now. He should be good to go for the opener barring complications.
- Joshua Moore moved to starting Z WR in Brennan Eagles' absence (had projected Duvernay to take that role). Jake Smith moves to undisputed No. 2 slot WR in the interim.
DEFENSE
Click Image to Enlarge
Changes:
- D'Shawn Jamison moved from starting field corner to now in a three-way battle to start with Kobe Boyce and Anthony Cook.
******
Texas picked up two commitments last weekend and while neither was necessarily a surprise, they’re both with celebrating with pledges from Xavion Alford on Friday and Quentin Johnston on Saturday.
We caught up with Alford to get his thoughts on his pledge (more on Johnston in a bit) …
On what separated Texas from Texas A&M in the end:
“They ‘ve been consistent all the way through my recruitment. They’d been in my top four with A&M, LSU, Alabama. Obviously talking to different coaches on different days, going up there - those are all great schools, you can’t make a bad decision. But Texas was the best for me, for me to grow and to build my brand better. I’m from Houston, who in the state didn’t want to be a Longhorn, go out there with Texas across your chest? Coach (Craig) Naivar, coach Herman, coach Washington, coach Carrington - all those guys recruiting me as hard as they were, made me think about things. Talking to them made me want to play two hours from home and compete for a national championship.”
On when he decided on Texas:
“I shot a video with endings for both A&M and Texas. I just kind of waited those two out, woke up and felt like Texas was the spot for me. I had kind of felt like that for a while. I know players on the team, know the coaches really want me there, Austin is a great city, a great place for me to build myself as a man and businessman.”
On if he notified the coaches at Texas and Texas A&M before he tweeted his decision:
“I never told anyone.”
On if distance was a factor on why things shifted from Alabama, which was his leader over the summer:
“It wasn’t really that. Me staying closer to home wasn’t much of a factor. I didn’t care who far it was. I just felt like Texas was the best interest for me and where I was most comfortable. They (Alabama) picked up some guys later after I was going to maybe announce something. They signed three last year, four or five this year. Plus they have people already there playing, so why go out there when I can compete in my own state? Alabama did a great job of recruiting me, it was just a business decision.”
On what Texas told him about its DB recruiting numbers:
“With safeties, they’re done. They said they’re not taking any more safeties. They really wanted me to be the one they signed because Brandon Jones is leaving and we play alike, really similar. Josh (Eaton) is announcing on Friday, so we’ll wait and see what he’s going to do.”
On what he brings to the table:
“I’m a very versatile guy. Playing deep is kind of my bread and butter since it’s all instincts back there. They have Caden (Sterns) back there and Brandon Jones. Brandon could have come out … he stayed to get a degree for his mom. With him leaving after this year, me going up there early in the spring, they believe in me ability to come in and step into that role. I feel like I can come down, make tackles in space. I can be versatile, throw me in at nickel, throw me in at corner on some match ups. I’m mature enough, way ahead of some kids physically with my height and weight. And I believe I’m the smartest football player in the country when I’m on the field, getting people lined up, things like that.”
On what’s next for him, if schools are still working him and if he’ll take any other visits:
“I’m sure they have a clue. I haven’t been texting (A&M) back. My recruitment took a long time. I’m probably one of last uncommitted guys in the whole country. I have 50 something offers, I narrowed it down to two, Texas and Texas A&M. That shows how seriously I took it. There’s no decommitting for me at all.”
Alford will graduate in December, play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio and then head to Austin on January 14 to start his UT career.
******
When Temple wide receiver Quentin Johnston committed to Texas on Saturday morning, it not only gave the Longhorns a pledge from one of the nation’s top wide receivers, it gave Texas a pledge from one of the country’s best overall athletes. A Rivals100 member, Johnston is an athletic freak who excels in football and basketball, and is also an elite athlete in track and field.
We caught up with Temple head coach Scott Stewart to get his thoughts on the 6-4, 190-pound Johnston.
On what makes Johnston such a special prospect:
“First and foremost, and I think this is important to coach Herman, he’s a great person. He’s one of the hardest-working kids I’ve ever seen. He segregates himself. If he’s in football season, he’s all in. He doesn’t let anything distract him. It’s the same with basketball, same with track. … He holds himself to very high standard, is very hard on himself. As long as that doesn’t get over the top, it will help on production. He will stay after practice, catch 100 balls if he feels he dropped something he should have caught.”
On Johnston announcing his commitment to Texas on Twitter:
“When he told me he was going to tweet that out, I said ‘are you you’re going to tweet it?’ He said ‘What do you mean?’ and I told him I’d hardly ever seen him tweet. He doesn’t want to get distracted with that stuff. He didn’t want to do the deal and pull the rabbit out of the hat. For him, he really wanted to build a relationship, and I think the guys at Texas did a phenomenal job of establishing the relationship with him. It’s not about catching footballs, it’s about the relationships he’s going to have and the men he’s going to work with when he’s there.
On Johnston not broadcasting his offers or which schools are showing him interest:
“Schools like Georgia and Alabama all came through here. That was not going to fluff up his skirt. All he cares about is can he trust the men he’s working with.”
On Johnston’s offer count:
“I would say well over 20.”
On the interest from a lot of out-of-state programs:
“It was kind of short-lived. I think some may have lost interest because he’s not an impressionable kid, you’re not going to manipulate him. Some coaches – and that’ll happen - they came in, were going to offer him, then kind of fell off the radar because maybe they called him and he didn’t call back.”
On what Johnston does so well on the field:
“Everything he does with the ball is a 10. If I gave him something he needs to work on, it’s probably his blocking consistency, but what young receiver doesn’t? Every tangible skill is a 10. His body control, his ability to manipulate the defender, boxing him out and then getting his butt over 7 feet high. Who knows how high he can jump? But his ability to manipulate, a get a ball that’s 13 feet off the ground, his control and finesse. After his sophomore year, I sat down with him and his dad, talked about his plan. … He wasn’t in love with the weight room then, and we talked about him being able to handle physicality and getting off press. When you give him a way to be successful, he’s going to work on it. Now, if you want to press him good luck. And he can run by you.”
On what led Johnston to choose Texas:
“My perception in the conversation I had with him, I think it’s the culture. We try to emulate some of the same things here. I’m not there daily, but the guys we’ve had go down there, the stuff I hear back, it’s really similar. They say ‘I love you.’ I think it’s about relationships and culture. I’m not saying other schools don’t have that, but I think coach Herman is really intentional with his message about culture and it works.”
******
Aldine MacArthur cornerback Josh Eaton will announce his decision on Friday. The 6-2, 185-pound Eaton is down to Texas, Texas A&M, Florida, Alabama and Oklahoma. The Longhorns continue to look good in this one, but we’ll have our final answer on Friday at noon.
