Daily Short #92, November 1st, 2017: Offensive Skill Player Breakdown
presented by the Dental Offices of Wendy Swantkowski, DDS
The Absolute BEST in family and cosmetic dentistry for the Houston-Memorial Area
Now Accepting New Patients --- 281-293-9140
QB Shane Buechele - 70 snaps
* * *
RB Toneil Carter - 30 snaps
RB Chris Warren - 25 snaps
RB Daniel Young - 25 snaps
* * *
WR Lorenzo Joe - 38 snaps
WR Dorian Leonard - 37 snaps
WR Lil Jordan Humphrey - 36 snaps
WR Collin Johnson - 33 snaps
WR Armanti Foreman - 21 snaps
WR John Burt - 19 snaps
WR Devin Duvernay - 13 snaps
* * *
TE Cade Brewer - 70 snaps
1 inline, 24 split out wide, 45 at h-back
TE Kendall Moore - 3 snaps
3 inline
* * *
CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT RB
Baylor marked the first game of the 2017 season in which either Chris Warren or Kyle Porter did not lead the team in snap-percentage. Hopefully, it's a trend that will continue even with Toneil Carter's availability for Saturday evening's tilt at TCU still up in the air, because the real story of the day was Daniel Young.
Young, versus Baylor (admittedly a horrible team), looked like the best all-around running back Texas has put on the field this season. If we're basing projections on what the eyeballs saw in Waco, t's beyond clear that despite being true freshmen, that Young and Carter represent the best RB tandem Texas has at its disposal. Even if we're discounting it some for level-of-competition, even the discounted recollection of events should be equal-to or greater-than what can be taken away from the 2017 performances we've seen out of Warren and/or Porter.
Young is a downhill runner with a terrific vision. He's not a top-end burner which was evident on his high school tape, but he navigates through traffic with some wiggle and keeps his legs churning for extra yards. He has the patience to wait for a crease, then suddenness to burst into open space. Thankfully, the staff got the memo to use players like this in power and inside-zone concepts as opposed to cockamamie stretch and outside-zone concepts more suited to a runner like Carter.
I complained in this column last week about how Young's redshirt season was being epically wasted if this staff was never going to give him significant run to see how things flowed with him in the backfield. Now we've seen it. There is no reason moving forward that Daniel Young should not at least have first crack at early down work, until he shows what we saw versus Baylor was not real.
CADE BREWER A 100% SNAP PARTICIPANT
The first 100% snap-participant of the season at a skill-position for the Texas Longhorns? True Freshman TE Cade Brewer, of course. Just like every fan and pundit predicted in the preseason.
With a renewed focus on the traditional run-game (thank God), Texas saw its first game where the TE stayed in for all snaps. I still don't understand why the staff can't get a more athletic receiver in the game when Brewer splits out wide, but it seems like something fans will just have to live with.
On the whole, the development of Brewer this season has been one of only a few positive highlights offensively. He's going to be a really good player one day. As Tom Herman says, he needs to grow and build strength to be a real killer for this offense as a do-it-all-type of weapon (as you can see by the alignment numbers, the staff doesn't trust him yet as an inline blocker), but his development on the job has been encouraging and he's a natural as far as ball skills.
RETURN OF ARMANTI FOREMAN
Herman said on Thursday after practice that Reggie Hemphill-Mapps would return to play versus Baylor following what many reported was a more substantial knee injury than what it, in reality, turned out to be. Even with this being the case, RHM did not see a snap on offense and was only run out occasionally on special teams, indicating that the staff may have been taking it easy on him versus a shamefully bad Baylor team when he may not have been needed. This, coupled with the fact that Jerrod Heard (who seems to have moved from the Z WR to the slot in recent weeks) practiced as QB all week and did not log any snaps as a WR in Waco, opened things up for an Armanti Foreman return to action from the bench where his butt had been planted for three straight weeks. Foreman even got the start.
Unfortunately, the return didn't come with many fireworks. In fact, the most memorable Foreman moment of the game was actually a drop. We'll see versus TCU whether Foreman's re-insertion into action had more to do with unavailability of others or his own performance in practice (since we know that is the king of all performance barometers under Herman).
BURT'S SNAPS TICKING UP
3 snaps versus OU, 11 versus OSU, now 19 versus Baylor. It's certainly a trend in the right direction for John Burt, a player who hadn't seen more than 14 snaps since the season-opener.
THE PROBLEM WITH DUVERNAY
It's not a problem with Duvernay, but rather a problem with the offensive line and an offensive philosophy that doesn't seem to take as many deep shots. Last season, Texas had a vastly different kind of offensive coordinator in Sterlin Gilbert who would spend entire series' setting things up for home-run balls to players like Devin Duvernay. This season, that is not so much the case.
Whether it's due to Tim Beck's lack of creativity/aggression or the fact that the offensive line can't hold up as well in vertical sets without Connor Williams holding down the blind-side as the line's cornerstone, it neuters Duvernay of his most dangerous weapon which is of course his top-popping speed and ability to adjust to and track the deep ball. Duvernay has been used more sparingly than most figured coming into the 2017 season, but his 13 snaps versus Baylor was a new season-low.
KENDALL MOORE MAKING THE MOST OF HIS MINIMAL SNAPS
The staff doesn't like Brewer as an inline blocker currently, but when they need an inline blocker at TE to come in and generate some movement in the run-game, Kendall Moore will be usually be their huckleberry.
Significant Changes in Usage from Last Game
Trending up ...
Shane Buechele - 0 snaps versus OSU, 73 versus Baylor
Toneil Carter - 7 snaps versus OSU, 30 versus Baylor
Daniel Young - 3 snaps versus OSU, 25 versus Baylor
Cade Brewer - 43 snaps versus OSU, 70 versus Baylor
Armanti Foreman - 0 snaps versus OSU, 21 versus Baylor
Trending down ...
Chris Warren - 60 snaps versus OSU, 25 versus Baylor
Devin Duvernay - 34 snaps versus OSU, 13 versus Baylor
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 27 snaps versus OSU, 0 versus Baylor
presented by the Dental Offices of Wendy Swantkowski, DDS
The Absolute BEST in family and cosmetic dentistry for the Houston-Memorial Area
Now Accepting New Patients --- 281-293-9140
QB Shane Buechele - 70 snaps
* * *
RB Toneil Carter - 30 snaps
RB Chris Warren - 25 snaps
RB Daniel Young - 25 snaps
* * *
WR Lorenzo Joe - 38 snaps
WR Dorian Leonard - 37 snaps
WR Lil Jordan Humphrey - 36 snaps
WR Collin Johnson - 33 snaps
WR Armanti Foreman - 21 snaps
WR John Burt - 19 snaps
WR Devin Duvernay - 13 snaps
* * *
TE Cade Brewer - 70 snaps
1 inline, 24 split out wide, 45 at h-back
TE Kendall Moore - 3 snaps
3 inline
* * *
CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT RB
Baylor marked the first game of the 2017 season in which either Chris Warren or Kyle Porter did not lead the team in snap-percentage. Hopefully, it's a trend that will continue even with Toneil Carter's availability for Saturday evening's tilt at TCU still up in the air, because the real story of the day was Daniel Young.
Young, versus Baylor (admittedly a horrible team), looked like the best all-around running back Texas has put on the field this season. If we're basing projections on what the eyeballs saw in Waco, t's beyond clear that despite being true freshmen, that Young and Carter represent the best RB tandem Texas has at its disposal. Even if we're discounting it some for level-of-competition, even the discounted recollection of events should be equal-to or greater-than what can be taken away from the 2017 performances we've seen out of Warren and/or Porter.
Young is a downhill runner with a terrific vision. He's not a top-end burner which was evident on his high school tape, but he navigates through traffic with some wiggle and keeps his legs churning for extra yards. He has the patience to wait for a crease, then suddenness to burst into open space. Thankfully, the staff got the memo to use players like this in power and inside-zone concepts as opposed to cockamamie stretch and outside-zone concepts more suited to a runner like Carter.
I complained in this column last week about how Young's redshirt season was being epically wasted if this staff was never going to give him significant run to see how things flowed with him in the backfield. Now we've seen it. There is no reason moving forward that Daniel Young should not at least have first crack at early down work, until he shows what we saw versus Baylor was not real.
CADE BREWER A 100% SNAP PARTICIPANT
The first 100% snap-participant of the season at a skill-position for the Texas Longhorns? True Freshman TE Cade Brewer, of course. Just like every fan and pundit predicted in the preseason.
With a renewed focus on the traditional run-game (thank God), Texas saw its first game where the TE stayed in for all snaps. I still don't understand why the staff can't get a more athletic receiver in the game when Brewer splits out wide, but it seems like something fans will just have to live with.
On the whole, the development of Brewer this season has been one of only a few positive highlights offensively. He's going to be a really good player one day. As Tom Herman says, he needs to grow and build strength to be a real killer for this offense as a do-it-all-type of weapon (as you can see by the alignment numbers, the staff doesn't trust him yet as an inline blocker), but his development on the job has been encouraging and he's a natural as far as ball skills.
RETURN OF ARMANTI FOREMAN
Herman said on Thursday after practice that Reggie Hemphill-Mapps would return to play versus Baylor following what many reported was a more substantial knee injury than what it, in reality, turned out to be. Even with this being the case, RHM did not see a snap on offense and was only run out occasionally on special teams, indicating that the staff may have been taking it easy on him versus a shamefully bad Baylor team when he may not have been needed. This, coupled with the fact that Jerrod Heard (who seems to have moved from the Z WR to the slot in recent weeks) practiced as QB all week and did not log any snaps as a WR in Waco, opened things up for an Armanti Foreman return to action from the bench where his butt had been planted for three straight weeks. Foreman even got the start.
Unfortunately, the return didn't come with many fireworks. In fact, the most memorable Foreman moment of the game was actually a drop. We'll see versus TCU whether Foreman's re-insertion into action had more to do with unavailability of others or his own performance in practice (since we know that is the king of all performance barometers under Herman).
BURT'S SNAPS TICKING UP
3 snaps versus OU, 11 versus OSU, now 19 versus Baylor. It's certainly a trend in the right direction for John Burt, a player who hadn't seen more than 14 snaps since the season-opener.
THE PROBLEM WITH DUVERNAY
It's not a problem with Duvernay, but rather a problem with the offensive line and an offensive philosophy that doesn't seem to take as many deep shots. Last season, Texas had a vastly different kind of offensive coordinator in Sterlin Gilbert who would spend entire series' setting things up for home-run balls to players like Devin Duvernay. This season, that is not so much the case.
Whether it's due to Tim Beck's lack of creativity/aggression or the fact that the offensive line can't hold up as well in vertical sets without Connor Williams holding down the blind-side as the line's cornerstone, it neuters Duvernay of his most dangerous weapon which is of course his top-popping speed and ability to adjust to and track the deep ball. Duvernay has been used more sparingly than most figured coming into the 2017 season, but his 13 snaps versus Baylor was a new season-low.
KENDALL MOORE MAKING THE MOST OF HIS MINIMAL SNAPS
The staff doesn't like Brewer as an inline blocker currently, but when they need an inline blocker at TE to come in and generate some movement in the run-game, Kendall Moore will be usually be their huckleberry.
Significant Changes in Usage from Last Game
Trending up ...
Shane Buechele - 0 snaps versus OSU, 73 versus Baylor
Toneil Carter - 7 snaps versus OSU, 30 versus Baylor
Daniel Young - 3 snaps versus OSU, 25 versus Baylor
Cade Brewer - 43 snaps versus OSU, 70 versus Baylor
Armanti Foreman - 0 snaps versus OSU, 21 versus Baylor
Trending down ...
Chris Warren - 60 snaps versus OSU, 25 versus Baylor
Devin Duvernay - 34 snaps versus OSU, 13 versus Baylor
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 27 snaps versus OSU, 0 versus Baylor
