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(From Anwar)
I spoke to a source inside the building on Thursday, and that person expressed a sentiment that every Longhorn fan can identify with.
“Thank God it is time for football,” is what that person told me.
Longhorn fans may find it hard to believe, but it has been 212 days since Texas defeated Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Signing day was fun. Winter conditioning was successful. Spring football was an improvement. Summer conditioning occurred.
However, training camp is the most exciting period of preseason football.
Longhorn players reported for training camp on Thursday. They will hit the field for their first practice on Friday morning.
In case you missed my report on Thursday, Texas defensive lineman Rob Cummins will need to have another surgery on the same knee he previously injured. In addition, Longhorn receiver Al'Vonte Woodard (fractured left foot) will miss the first day of training camp, too. There is no timetable for the return of Cummins or Woodard.
The first day of training camp centered around orientation.
From what I was told, players weighed in between 1 and 4 p.m. on Thursday.
After weigh-ins concluded, the Champion’s Dinner began at 4:30 p.m. This is the dinner for players who did everything correctly, such as show up for every class, not miss a practice, and garner the respect of their teammates. Each player was honored at the dinner, and they received a “swag bag” for their efforts.
If you are looking for a sign of progress, when Herman began the Champion’s Dinner in 2017, there were 31 players in attendance. However, there were no less than 60 players in attendance for the dinner on Thursday. That number shows the evolution of this program.
Lastly, members of Herman’s staff addressed the team during a Thursday evening meeting.
Strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight discussed how to treat your body during training camp, defensive coordinator Todd Orlando discussed tackling, and running backs coach Stan Drayton discussed ball security.
After the assistant coaches spoke, Herman addressed the team.
My sources informed me that Herman said the first two-and-a-half weeks of training camp is all about development. He did not want them to worry about anything else other than that point.
“Don’t worry about playing a game,” I was told. “Embrace the grind. There’s not a game for a month.”
The message to Longhorn players was training camp is designed to be hard, and being uncomfortable is a natural part of the process.
“The best way to get through it is through relationships, chemistry, and on-field play,” a source told me.
Lastly, I was told Herman explained the culture of this program point-by-point. He described what 1-0 and being physically tough meant.
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I asked one source if there is an official depth chart posted so players know where they stand heading into training camp.
Apparently, it does not happen that way.
There is not a not a depth chart release, which is something that typically occurs on the professional level. Instead, the assistant coaches communicate with the players who will jog out with ones and twos during practice. Each player knows where they stand without it being written on a piece of paper.
As a result, there is not a lot of depth chart movement during training camp.
I asked one source what it took for a depth chart shake up during training camp, and I was given two scenarios.
--- The first scenario is newcomers (freshmen and JuCo) having an immediate impact at training camp. Some of those players did not participate in spring football, but will be given the chance to competing for playing time during training camp.
--- Injuries can affect the depth chart.
Other than those two scenarios, there is usually not a lot of movement on the depth chart, outside of players battling for open positions.
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I asked about key position battles heading into training camp, and here is what you need to know:
--- Keondre Colburn is ahead of Gerald Wilbon as training camp begins.
--- There is a five-way battle for the starting cornerback positions.
--- Joshua Moore and Jake Smith are among the player battling for the H-position receiver. There has been some talk about giving Brennan Eagles reps at that position, or keeping him at the Z and moving Devin Duvernay to the slot.
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(From Suchomel)
All eyes will be on Bijan Robinson this weekend, with the Tucson (AZ) Salpointe scheduled to announce his decision at 2 p.m. CST on Friday.
Should Robinson stick to his plan to announce on Friday, I continue to feel good about UT’s chances, as I wrote on Tuesday. No new information has really come in since then, but multiple sources early in the week from all sides have favored this one going UT’s way.
So what changed to presumably help Texas surge into the lead, when most had this one locked in for Ohio State for more than a month? A couple people I’ve talked to have said they believe Robinson’s family wants him closer to home than he would be in Columbus, but that’s mostly an educated guess since neither Robinson nor those close to him are talking. Makes sense though … Robinson is very close to his family, including his grandparents, who accompanied him on his June official visit to Texas.
Honestly, I’m not so sure this one was ever as “locked-in” for Ohio State as others have indicated. Remember, Robinson rarely does interviews, so there’s a bit of guesswork or reading between the lines that goes into determining what he’s thinking. When you do talk to him (it pretty much has to be in person), he’s actually quite forthcoming if you don’t have a microphone or recorder jammed in his face. When I spoke to him at the Five-Star Challenge, he was fresh off his Ohio State, USC and Texas official visits. On the record, Robinson was listing all three schools as tied. When he and I chatted informally, he mentioned that Ohio State was slightly in front of Texas, with USC running third. But, he said, the race for that top spot was VERY close and he was not at all decided.
Once word got out during that event that Ohio State had crept into the lead, people immediately began predicting him to the Buckeyes, which then led to reports of him being a lock (didn’t hurt when teammate Lathon Ransom committed to OSU) and now reports have come out that he had actually been a silent commitment to Ohio State prior to this week. I’m not sure I buy that, based mostly on how much Robinson stressed how close the race was between Texas and OSU about one month ago. Speculation on my part and I could be wrong … either way it’ll make for an interesting back story when I talk to Robinson if he does wind up choosing Texas.
Looking back at my notes from previous conversations with Robinson, he mentioned academics, his relationship with guys like Stan Drayton, Tim Beck and Bryan Carrington, and UT’s player development as factors that stood out. He also mentioned that his family liked things like what a Texas degree can do for a person, and that athletes have their own living space in the dorms. One thing Robinson mentioned (off the record) that he was watching was how Texas fared in the fall. If he was to push back his decision, it would be largely so he could see if the Longhorns continued to make strides in the win/loss department. Maybe, just maybe, his family help convince him that there’s no need to worry, that Texas is trending the right direction, that a degree from UT would be huge and it would be much easier for them to watch him play if he was living in Austin. We should have our answer soon.
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The recruitment of Duncanville safety Chris Thompson Jr. felt like it was pretty much a UT lock a couple months ago. Now, I’m not so sure.
Thompson was originally scheduled to announce his decision on Thursday but has now pushed the date back to this Sunday. Though he’s officially down to Texas, Auburn, USC and Ohio State, all of the buzz we’ve heard of late centers on Texas and Auburn. And earlier this week, there was a growing sense in Austin that Auburn is a much more serious threat in this one that most realize.
Thompson and his family have completely shut things down as he works towards his Sunday announcement. No leaks to media, no leaks to college coaches, no leaks to trainers, no leaks to close friends … he’s playing it extremely close to the vest.
Texas has the obvious advantages of proximity, having teammate Ja’Quinden Jackson committed, coaching stability and having been recruiting Thompson for a couple years. Auburn, according to a couple sources, has the lure of playing in the SEC (which may be more important to people close to Chris than to Chris himself) and the opportunity for early playing time.
Based on some scuttlebutt behind the scenes, there’s a bit of a pulling in different directions between Chris and some people close to him. I believe Chris favors Texas and has for a while, but there’s some thought that those close to him may feel his best future is playing in the SEC.
I still slightly favor Texas in this one but it’s not nearly as cut and dried as it once appeared to be. We’ll see if more signs come out in the next few days, but this one could be the rare recruitment that holds some suspense until an actual announcement is made.
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DB Joshua Eaton reached out to Texas over the weekend to set up a visit and the Aldine MacArthur product made his way to Austin earlier this week.
“It was a great visit like always,” Eaton said on Wednesday night, on his way home from the visit. “It was basically them just seeing where my head is on my decision. I had a great time,” Eaton said.
The 6-2, 185-pound Eaton spent time talking to Jason Washington, Tom Herman and Craig Naivar. He was originally scheduled to decide next week and all signs were pointing to Texas A&M, but Eaton said he’s now looking to slow things down a bit.
“I’m probably still set for August. But not August 6 anymore,” Eaton said. “I’ll probably push it back.”
Officially, Eaton has a top five of Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida and Oklahoma. He admits that there is one school standing out, but said his decision is still flexible.
“My recruitment still open to everybody,” Eaton said. “I kind of have a place in my head where I want to go, but nothing official yet.”
If he does commit in August, Eaton said he may still take some visits, but that too is up in the air. As for the message from Texas, it’s that he’s still wanted and the Longhorns have a couple more spots open.
“They said they’re taking about two more DBs, that I have a place there at Texas,” Eaton said.
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Top 2021 linebacker target Derrick Harris Jr. had a busy weekend, taking trips to Texas A&M on Friday and Texas on Saturday. After those visits, Harris said he’s focused on the Longhorns and Aggies, and both schools made an impression during their weekend visits.
“It was a great visit,” Harris said of Texas. “They showed me more about the education part more than just football. They really showed how Texas can be a benefit for me. I got to talk to all the coaches there and everything.”
The highlights of the A&M visit?
“Just how it was a family, all the recruits there, the players were together and having fun,” Harris said.
During his UT visit, Harris spent a lot of time with Texas co-defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.
“He just likes how I work hard, how my family is. He just likes how I would fit in their scheme and things,” Harris said. “He said I could play outside or inside, depending on how my body develops.”
The 6-2, 220-pound Harris holds offers from both Texas and Texas A&M (in addition to about 10 others). He had told another Rivals reporter earlier in the week that he would probably wait until next summer, but Harris told OB a decision could come down “probably pretty soon. I’m not sure right now. It just depends on how it goes after I talk to some coaches.”
Harris’ thoughts on his two favorites:
Texas A&M – “Just how the alumni is, how if I go there, they can help me with life after football. And just playing in the SEC.”
Texas – “It’s the same (as A&M) with the alumni. Just the resources Texas has and Everything.
Harris on his strengths as a player and areas of improvement:
“I think I bring with my ability to rush, get to the quarterback and still be able to drop into coverage. I need to work on my coverage skills, but I’m just going to be a junior so there’s time to improve on it.”
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Texas 2021 quarterback commitment Jalen Milroe drew rave reviews from other participants at last week’s Stars at Night camp. I caught up with Milroe to get his thoughts:
On what he showed at the camp:
“What I showed at the camp was just how open I am, just talking to everyone, asking how their day was going. On the competitive side, just showing the best me, getting my timing down with the receivers there, bonding with the coaches and building that relationship with them.”
On getting to work with Tim Beck:
“It was great, getting his quarterback style and how he coaches his quarterbacks. I was able to talk to Sam (Ehlinger) too, hear what he has to say about coach Beck and being a Longhorn. That was some good stuff. I want to study business in college, so I was able to hear that from Sam because he studies business and we talked about how to get into that.
On what Ehlinger told him about being a quarterback at Texas:
“He said it comes with a lot of value, talked about how to become the quarterback. It comes with hard work of course, and commitment to the program. He’s grown a lot he said as being a Texas QB. He enjoys it a lot, the family environment. Loves coach Beck and coach Herman, is able to talk to them about everything. He said the players are so open to talk and it’s just building that relationship with them.”
On what he showed the coaches with his work on the field:
Honestly, what I showed was that connection I’m going to have once we get to college together, a little preview. I just show them first-hand what I’m going to possess going into Texas, showing them my skill set, being around the coaches and showing them how I am on the field.”
On participating in the fastest man contest and the dunk contest:
“The fastest man contest, I did well but got bumped off by Billy Bowman (of note … Bowman said Milroe bumped him off). I had him, then he tripped me up. The dunk contest, I did well, hit a reverse dunk and a windmill. I didn’t get the last two though.”
On bonding with other recruits:
“I was able to connect with some recruits there, just hearing what they’re going through with their process, guys closer to Texas, leaning to Texas. I was able to talk to Juan Davis, who committed. I was able to talk to Billy, been talking through the phone so seeing him was awesome. Lake (McRee) of course. I was talking to a lot of them, Theodore Knox, talking to Jojo Earle.”
On working with UT commitment Lake McRee at the camp:
“What I like about Lake is how cool he is on the field and off the field. I was able to talk to him before the camp. He’s great, goes and gets the ball, competitive. He just loves to compete, likes to get better. He was really listening to the coaches and takes coaching really well.”
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Houston Hightower 2021 wide receiver Latrell Neville made what I would describe as a quiet visit to UT on Monday, and Neville said things went very well.
“It was a great visit and I felt like home as always,” Neville said. “Texas is definitely a priority for me.”
Neville had given consideration to making a decision as early as this week, but said he’ll now push things back a bit. A decision could come in September.
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(From McComas)
At Michigan, new Texas assistant basketball coach Luke Yaklich basically had free reign over the Michigan defense. It made sense because John Beilein was an offensive coach.
Now at Texas, will Yaklich be given that same freedom and role? Shaka Smart is more of a defensive-minded coach, and has been pretty hands-on with the defense, and the offense, in the past. However, Smart is relinquishing some of that control, and is giving Yaklich the role as one of two coordinators.
“That's how it'll work,” responded Smart about Yaklich being a defensive coordinator. “He’s going to be our defensive coordinator, and Neil (Berry) is our offensive coordinator. For me, that allows me to have Jai (Lucas), work on a ton of different components of both ends of the floor, that I would kind of put all on the category of connective tissue; things that just make you better on offense or will make you better on defense. And then, you know, obviously, my job is to oversee all that stuff and just pay a lot of attention to detail.”
As for Yaklich, he’s transitioned very well. Known as a coach unafraid to make his voice heard in the gym, the newest Texas hoops coach has received and utilized that same freedom at Texas. And make no mistake, he’s always willing to let someone know what he’s thinking.
“It was just a really, really smooth transition,” said Yaklich. “And a lot of that is because the type of kids that we have here at Texas, great kids that want to be coached. And then also to know just how coach really embraced me, and then allowed me to kind of have a voice with the guys right away. So, it's been it's been really smooth transition and a fun one.”
Texas spent a lot of time with defensive terminology and fundamentals in order to establish a foundation for the players to be totally used to Yaklich.
Like Darrin Horn did at Texas, Yaklich will specifically be working with the bigs. Look for more on this in the future as I work through all the audio, but Yaklich’s attention to detail regarding ball-screen defense is fascinating. He views the ability of the four and five men defending as an integral part to designing a defensive coverage for ball-screens, which is an offense everyone in basketball runs in some form. Statistically, a lot of emphasis this summer has been put on rebounding. Yaklich noted that’s a key area Texas could really improve.
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As for the Texas players, a few notes:
--- Don’t be surprised if you notice a more explosive, bigger, and stronger Matt Coleman.
--- Speaking of bigger and stronger, have heard Gerald Liddell has added some muscle mass. If you’re listing breakout candidates for Texas this season, sounds like he should top it.
--- There is excitement surrounding junior guard Jase Febres taking the next step.
--- Kai Jones played the five in both AAU and high school, but his skill, which could be hidden by his role in AAU and high school, is already showing.
