@clob94 I'm an offensive guy, specifically pass game concepts so I'm going to need a spotter here.
I watched the Bowl Game again, and it gave me a bit clearer expectation coming into 2020. I don't quite know what exact defense we will feature, but I do know that we will see more 4 man fronts and that Ossai has been moved to this new DE "Jack" positioin. I'll explain below.
The D is in a much better position than the O in experience and depth.
All-American Candidate - 2
Joseph Ossai. He was very good last year as a Soph, putting up solid #s on a D that was not very good overall. He was an absolute terror in the Bowl game. He missed a few tackles, but most of that can be fixed by controlling his speed at contact point. He is listed currently at 6-4 255. I don't know what he runs, but he is football fast. Now, he will be playing this new "Jack" position which will allow him to be on the LOS more often and rush the passer. He will still drop in coverage sometimes, but he will certainly be more of a DL than LB. As far as if he will have his hand in the dirt, I don't know, but I do know we should expect 10+ sacks from him this year and 20+ tfl. He could be a top 15 pick next April.
Caden Sterns. I was very hard on him last year because he was not performing at a high level for much of the year. It was probably from injuries because his bowl game was outstanding. He was quick down hill. He kept the secondary organized. And he didn't miss tackles. He needs to add some bulk if he wants to stay healthy, but he is every bit the athlete and safety as Delpit and McKinney and could be even better. Safety's don't generally get drafted very high, but they get paid a lot in their 2nd contract. Its weird. Sterns should be a top 3 safety taken next April, if not the first safety taken.
Sucks we will probably lose those 2 next year, but it means we're getting quality players that translate to NFL.
All-Big 12 Candidate - 6
Ossai and Sterns obviously.
Yes, 6 possible guys that could be All-Big 12 guys.
Ta'quon Graham. He had a very quiet year last year on the DL but very productive. 12 tfl and 3.5 sacks. Not jaw dropping numbers, but not bad for a 4 tech in a 3 man front. Another guy that had a killer bowl game. Was a constant problem and forever in the backfield. He is a big fella. Listed at 6-4 300. He doesn't play like he is 300 pounds. One of those project 3* guys Herman likes to take a chance on. I'll be interested to see if moving to a 5 tech will help or hurt his game. Could he move to the 3 tech as an every down DL? I guess it depends on what the younger DEs look like. I doubt it though. Too much experience. Very excited about him this fall!
Keondray Coburn. 6-2 and 340 or whatever this dude is a plugger. I'm not sure how many snaps he can go, but I would imagine it is somewhere in the 45ish range. He will be a force in the run game as a 1 tech and require a double almost every snap. He has a high motor and is very competitive. He will be a huge help to our LB corp. Look for 35+ tackles and half a dozen tfl this year.
Jalen Green and Anthony Cook. I put these guys together because they are so similar in build and technique. They are both long, lean and fast. They are not our fastest defensive backs, but certainly fast enough to play man from time to time. They need to learn how to play through the ball more, even all the way to the ground and their hip quickness nees some fine tuning, but they can glue up with the best of them. And they're both good tacklers and don't shy away from contact. Both are 6-1 I believe and have that reach. Depending on how their Junior year goes, one or two of them might be gone in April.
Solid Starters - all 11
I've included a little bit more than 11 because there will be times when we predominately have 3 LB and 4 DB, and times when we'll have 2 LB and 5 DB.
Juwan Mitchell. I guess there was some issues with Mitchell and some of the coaches last year and he was about to transfer? This was before the bowl game. He had a terrific bowl game, posting 5 tackles and his #6 was inh the backfield a lot. I don't know much about his technical play as I don't watch LBs much during games (mostly interior line play and pass concepts), so I can't give you any kind of analysis. What I do know is that he is fast to the football and can tackle. Hopefully he is happy and ready for a solid Jr. year!
Chris Brown. Not big, not small for a safety. He has decent size and athleticism, but he is a good football player. Reminds me slightly of Vacarro, with a little less production. He was on track for a similar JR year as KV, but missed a few games right in the middle and then played with a cast the next few. Still had 50 tackles and a handful of tfl with a couple of PBUs. Very solid starter. Be interesting to see how he is used in the new D.
BJ Foster. Everyone knows this dude. Came in with Sterns and played a bunch as a frosh. 46 tackles and 9tfl as a freshman led to some lofty expectations. Now I'm not sure if he was hurt or what but the production dropped. Still a good year for a soph, with 34 tckls and 4 tfl, but he is most remembered (to many at least) as the guy who warned Hurts to "slide." He didn't have a particularly good RRR game and seemed to be going through the motions. Many of the dbacks did. He has leaned up and I think will have a stellar junior year. No idea what will be done with him on D, but he's very good and will have a major impact.
Ayodele Adeoye had a solid 2019 with 45 tackles and 3 tfl. Again, I'm no LB guru so I can't say much about his play. I know he is athletic, big and was a top recruit. He should have a big year.
Solid Back-ups - 5
Ojomo. Watson. Adimora. Jamison. Overshown.
Ojomo will get plenty of snaps. He will rotate (if not start) with Coburn and Sweat. We'll see if one of the youngsters can earn some significant snaps and give us a solid 2 deep.
Kenyatta Watson played very well against Tech and he is the physical look with the tools that Ash likes in a corner. He will play and play quite a bit. I'm excited about this dude.
I don't know who Chris Adimora reminds me of, but he reminds me of someone...maybe Michael Griffin...???? Adimora needs to get faster to match Griffin's production, but Adimora certainly has the physical specifics to be a terrific safety. He will get a dozen snaps or so this year per game at one of the safety spots and then step in the next two years.
D'Shawn Jamison is maybe our fastest DB. Took advantage the most of the injury situation last year and earned loads of experience as a soph. He did quite well posting 35 tackles, 3 picks, 6 PBUs and 4 tfl. Dude is a play maker back there and is obviously electric returning punts. This dude oozes athleticism. He has enough to be not only a starter but a Big 12 type player.
My goodness the depth we have in the defensive backfield now is exciting! This is how you develop Thorpe winners and NFL picks year after year. We need to keep this up!
DeMarvion Overshown is one of those tweener guys like Drew Kelson. I think he is moving to LB full time so we'll see how he does in that spot. Athletically he has all the tools. We just need to develop his game and technique. Had 18 tackles and hopefully learned a bunch last year and is ready for more snaps this year.
Question Marks - Front 7 depth.
DL - Sr. Jacoby Jones, Sr. Marqez Bimage, RSF Peter Mpagi, Fr. Vernon Broughton, Jr. Reese Leitao (moved from TE), So. Daniel Carson, RSF Myron Warren, So. Byron Vaughns and Fr. Alfred Collins.
Which of those guys are going to step up and give Texas depth on the DL. Ossai and Graham need back-ups and we need 1 more dude to get into the DT rotation. My bet is on Vaughns, Leitao and Collins to fight for snaps at DE and Jack. I think Broughton will get in the rotation at DT.
LB - RSF Marcus Tillman, RSF David Gbenda, and Jr. Cort Jaquess.
Our LB depth is alarming and probably the scariest thing about this roster. We have some guys that can produce, but we don't have a lot. We have Mitchell, Adeoye and Overshown and then three guys with NO experience. Let me know if I am missing someone, but that is it I think.
Fire away and help me fix what I have gotten wrong.
I watched the Bowl Game again, and it gave me a bit clearer expectation coming into 2020. I don't quite know what exact defense we will feature, but I do know that we will see more 4 man fronts and that Ossai has been moved to this new DE "Jack" positioin. I'll explain below.
The D is in a much better position than the O in experience and depth.
All-American Candidate - 2
Joseph Ossai. He was very good last year as a Soph, putting up solid #s on a D that was not very good overall. He was an absolute terror in the Bowl game. He missed a few tackles, but most of that can be fixed by controlling his speed at contact point. He is listed currently at 6-4 255. I don't know what he runs, but he is football fast. Now, he will be playing this new "Jack" position which will allow him to be on the LOS more often and rush the passer. He will still drop in coverage sometimes, but he will certainly be more of a DL than LB. As far as if he will have his hand in the dirt, I don't know, but I do know we should expect 10+ sacks from him this year and 20+ tfl. He could be a top 15 pick next April.
Caden Sterns. I was very hard on him last year because he was not performing at a high level for much of the year. It was probably from injuries because his bowl game was outstanding. He was quick down hill. He kept the secondary organized. And he didn't miss tackles. He needs to add some bulk if he wants to stay healthy, but he is every bit the athlete and safety as Delpit and McKinney and could be even better. Safety's don't generally get drafted very high, but they get paid a lot in their 2nd contract. Its weird. Sterns should be a top 3 safety taken next April, if not the first safety taken.
Sucks we will probably lose those 2 next year, but it means we're getting quality players that translate to NFL.
All-Big 12 Candidate - 6
Ossai and Sterns obviously.
Yes, 6 possible guys that could be All-Big 12 guys.
Ta'quon Graham. He had a very quiet year last year on the DL but very productive. 12 tfl and 3.5 sacks. Not jaw dropping numbers, but not bad for a 4 tech in a 3 man front. Another guy that had a killer bowl game. Was a constant problem and forever in the backfield. He is a big fella. Listed at 6-4 300. He doesn't play like he is 300 pounds. One of those project 3* guys Herman likes to take a chance on. I'll be interested to see if moving to a 5 tech will help or hurt his game. Could he move to the 3 tech as an every down DL? I guess it depends on what the younger DEs look like. I doubt it though. Too much experience. Very excited about him this fall!
Keondray Coburn. 6-2 and 340 or whatever this dude is a plugger. I'm not sure how many snaps he can go, but I would imagine it is somewhere in the 45ish range. He will be a force in the run game as a 1 tech and require a double almost every snap. He has a high motor and is very competitive. He will be a huge help to our LB corp. Look for 35+ tackles and half a dozen tfl this year.
Jalen Green and Anthony Cook. I put these guys together because they are so similar in build and technique. They are both long, lean and fast. They are not our fastest defensive backs, but certainly fast enough to play man from time to time. They need to learn how to play through the ball more, even all the way to the ground and their hip quickness nees some fine tuning, but they can glue up with the best of them. And they're both good tacklers and don't shy away from contact. Both are 6-1 I believe and have that reach. Depending on how their Junior year goes, one or two of them might be gone in April.
Solid Starters - all 11
I've included a little bit more than 11 because there will be times when we predominately have 3 LB and 4 DB, and times when we'll have 2 LB and 5 DB.
Juwan Mitchell. I guess there was some issues with Mitchell and some of the coaches last year and he was about to transfer? This was before the bowl game. He had a terrific bowl game, posting 5 tackles and his #6 was inh the backfield a lot. I don't know much about his technical play as I don't watch LBs much during games (mostly interior line play and pass concepts), so I can't give you any kind of analysis. What I do know is that he is fast to the football and can tackle. Hopefully he is happy and ready for a solid Jr. year!
Chris Brown. Not big, not small for a safety. He has decent size and athleticism, but he is a good football player. Reminds me slightly of Vacarro, with a little less production. He was on track for a similar JR year as KV, but missed a few games right in the middle and then played with a cast the next few. Still had 50 tackles and a handful of tfl with a couple of PBUs. Very solid starter. Be interesting to see how he is used in the new D.
BJ Foster. Everyone knows this dude. Came in with Sterns and played a bunch as a frosh. 46 tackles and 9tfl as a freshman led to some lofty expectations. Now I'm not sure if he was hurt or what but the production dropped. Still a good year for a soph, with 34 tckls and 4 tfl, but he is most remembered (to many at least) as the guy who warned Hurts to "slide." He didn't have a particularly good RRR game and seemed to be going through the motions. Many of the dbacks did. He has leaned up and I think will have a stellar junior year. No idea what will be done with him on D, but he's very good and will have a major impact.
Ayodele Adeoye had a solid 2019 with 45 tackles and 3 tfl. Again, I'm no LB guru so I can't say much about his play. I know he is athletic, big and was a top recruit. He should have a big year.
Solid Back-ups - 5
Ojomo. Watson. Adimora. Jamison. Overshown.
Ojomo will get plenty of snaps. He will rotate (if not start) with Coburn and Sweat. We'll see if one of the youngsters can earn some significant snaps and give us a solid 2 deep.
Kenyatta Watson played very well against Tech and he is the physical look with the tools that Ash likes in a corner. He will play and play quite a bit. I'm excited about this dude.
I don't know who Chris Adimora reminds me of, but he reminds me of someone...maybe Michael Griffin...???? Adimora needs to get faster to match Griffin's production, but Adimora certainly has the physical specifics to be a terrific safety. He will get a dozen snaps or so this year per game at one of the safety spots and then step in the next two years.
D'Shawn Jamison is maybe our fastest DB. Took advantage the most of the injury situation last year and earned loads of experience as a soph. He did quite well posting 35 tackles, 3 picks, 6 PBUs and 4 tfl. Dude is a play maker back there and is obviously electric returning punts. This dude oozes athleticism. He has enough to be not only a starter but a Big 12 type player.
My goodness the depth we have in the defensive backfield now is exciting! This is how you develop Thorpe winners and NFL picks year after year. We need to keep this up!
DeMarvion Overshown is one of those tweener guys like Drew Kelson. I think he is moving to LB full time so we'll see how he does in that spot. Athletically he has all the tools. We just need to develop his game and technique. Had 18 tackles and hopefully learned a bunch last year and is ready for more snaps this year.
Question Marks - Front 7 depth.
DL - Sr. Jacoby Jones, Sr. Marqez Bimage, RSF Peter Mpagi, Fr. Vernon Broughton, Jr. Reese Leitao (moved from TE), So. Daniel Carson, RSF Myron Warren, So. Byron Vaughns and Fr. Alfred Collins.
Which of those guys are going to step up and give Texas depth on the DL. Ossai and Graham need back-ups and we need 1 more dude to get into the DT rotation. My bet is on Vaughns, Leitao and Collins to fight for snaps at DE and Jack. I think Broughton will get in the rotation at DT.
LB - RSF Marcus Tillman, RSF David Gbenda, and Jr. Cort Jaquess.
Our LB depth is alarming and probably the scariest thing about this roster. We have some guys that can produce, but we don't have a lot. We have Mitchell, Adeoye and Overshown and then three guys with NO experience. Let me know if I am missing someone, but that is it I think.
Fire away and help me fix what I have gotten wrong.
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