Daily Short #106, November 22nd, 2017: Offensive Skill Player Breakdown, OL GRADES
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
SKILL POSITION SNAP COUNTS
QB Sam Ehlinger - 58 snaps
QB Shane Buechele - 9 snaps
* * *
RB Kyle Porter - 29 snaps (????)
RB Daniel Young - 26 snaps
RB Toneil Carter - 12 snaps
* * *
WR Collin Johnson - 55 snaps
WR Lorenzo Joe - 40 snaps
WR Lil Jordan Humphrey - 37 snaps
WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 21 snaps
WR Devin Duvernay - 14 snaps
WR John Burt - 13 snaps
WR Jerrod Heard - 12 snaps
WR Armanti Foreman - 10 snaps
* * *
TE Kendall Moore - 41 snaps
15 inline, 9 split out wide, 17 at h-back
TE Chris Warren - 25 snaps
1 inline, 24 at h-back
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN USAGE FROM LAST WEEK
Trending up
Sam Ehlinger - 5 snaps versus KU, 58 versus WVU
Kyle Porter - 22 snaps versus KU, 29 versus WVU
Armanti Foreman - 5 snaps versus KU, 10 versus WVU
Jerrod Heard - 3 snaps versus KU, 13 versus WVU
Lil'Jordan Humphrey - 23 snaps versus KU, 37 versus WVU
Lorenzo Joe - 22 snaps versus KU, 40 versus WVU
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 2 snaps versus KU, 14 versus WVU
Trending down
Shane Buechele - 68 snaps versus KU, 9 versus WVU
Daniel Young - 39 snaps versus KU, 26 versus WVU
Cade Brewer - 46 snaps versus KU, 0 versus WVU
Devin Duvernay - 22 snaps versus KU, 14 versus WVU
Dorian Leonard - 22 snaps versus KU, 0 versus WVU
* * *
OFFENSIVE LINE THOUGHTS AND GRADES
LT Connor Williams - 67 snaps
No disruption allowed
3 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 84.87
Season Average: 82.62 (3 games)
230 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 57.5 (!!!) snaps (up from one per 40.75 snaps)
LG Patrick Vahe - 11 snaps
No disruption allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: N/A
Season Average: 76.23 (10 games)
751 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 31.3 snaps (up from one per 30.83 snaps)
LG/C Terrell Cuney - 67 snaps
No disruption allowed
1 knockdown
DEEP DIG GRADE: 78.64
Season Average: 74.3 (7 games)
504 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 16.8 snaps (up from one per 14.57 snaps)
LG Alex Anderson - 2 snaps
2 snaps on the season
C Zach Shackelford - 55 snaps
2 QB hits allowed
1 pin
DEEP DIG GRADE: 77.55
Season Average: 76.55 (7 games)
536 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every snaps 28.2 (down from one per 28.29 snaps)
RG Jake McMillon - 67 snaps
1 TFL, 1 run-stuff, 1 pressure allowed
1 holding penalty
DEEP DIG GRADE: 75.6
Season Average: 75.93 (10 games)
snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 28.12 snaps (down from one per 30.29 snaps)
RT Derek Kerstetter - 67 snaps
1 run-stuff allowed
1 holding penalty
DEEP DIG GRADE: 77.69
Season Average: 76.65 (8 games)
599 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 21.39 snaps (up from one per 20.46 snaps)
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Man, what a difference Connor Williams makes.
The guy is just an amazing player. He graded out in this game even a bit higher than he did versus a worse opponent in San Jose State, which says a lot about his of level readiness to return to the field. It was his best game ever at Texas. He showed very little rust having sat out for the vast majority of the season. The talk is coming out in the media more and more that many draft analysts believe that Williams will be a Top 10 pick in the NFL draft.
His grades in the Deep Dig indicate he is perfectly suitable to go that early (especially in a down-year for tackles), but I think that in a more stacked year, he would probably be seen as more of a mid-to-late first-round guy like Kyle Long (remember that Long was an outright tackle when drafted by the Bears who only moved to guard later on). If there were a bunch of Taylor Lewans or other, taller, longer candidates in this class with good enough feet, scouts and analysts may give them a small edge at the top of the board over Williams as I expect his official height and wingspan to be a small bit shorter than ideal (he's a big kid, but I don't buy the 6'6" he's listed as) and also, holes would be poked in his lack of junior film. As things stand, with his only competition being guys like McGlinchey from Notre Dame (who looks on the surface to be a superior physical specimen but doesn't move near as well) or the Western Michigan kid Okoroafor (who is raw and likely a sure RT) or Orlando Brown from OU (who is a monster but will get knocked for stiffness), etc., he's in a good spot.
Williams, if all goes according to plan, enters the draft at the perfect time -- a relative down year at his position that will lead many to having him as the No.1 option on their boards at the tackle spot. As a result, he's likely to go very early given the importance of the position and the desperate need for good ones across the entire landscape of the league.
Williams even makes the players around him better. Look at the grade on Terrell Cuney and the fact that, for the first time this season, he didn't allow any disruption. The staff started the game with Cuney at center over Zach Shackelford, which was frustrating as Cuney had been horrible in recent games while Shack had played at an above-average level. However, when Patrick Vahe left the game with a knee sprain, Cuney bumped to LG with Shack at center.
As things went, Cuney actually had the best game of his 2017 season and put on a better performance overall than Shackelford. I think Cuney is better at guard than he is at center for whatever reason (my suspicion is it is because he doesn't have to climb to the linebacker level as often at the guard position in double-teams as he does at the center position), but the main reason he looked better is because he was lined up next to Connor Williams who does everything so smoothly and easily that the pieces around him just seem to fall into their choreographed place more naturally.
And it makes you wonder why the big downfall from Jake McMillon this season lining up over at the right guard -- sandwiched between a creaky rotation at the center position and a baby-faced true freshman. Last year, at the left guard, he was money all year. He was hands-down the second-best player on the line. As of now, he's arguably been the most disappointing of all players who began the season as "starters". I'm beginning to think -- after seeing the Connor Williams effect on a previously sluggish Terrell Cuney -- that lining up next to Williams is an auto-boost to whoever is lining up there. Patrick Vahe, while healthy alongside Connor Williams, had his best and third-best games of the season, while Cuney had by far his best. The hope is that the OL can come together here with Williams in his last two games in a way that generates positive momentum moving into spring when they will have to attempt to recreate some semblance of that same momentum without him.
One key piece in getting to the next step in a post-Connor Williams world will, of course, be the development of Derek Kerstetter who, through ups and a few downs, has been terrific. He's been better in the snaps/disruption arena than guys like Zach Shackelford was as a freshman and Patrick Vahe even was a sophomore (both playing at interior positions where giving up disruption is nowhere near as hard as it is out on an island at tackle facing off against the best edge-rushers). I don't know if the staff will move him over to left tackle in the offseason, but it would seem to me that his body, footwork and balance are more suited to play on the left side than anyone we've gotten to see in game-action thus far, with Denzel Okafor being a clear RT guy who Herman basically says the staff will not move to that position in-season because switching sides mid-stream would be too much for him to handle mentally. With a whole offseason to acclimate, I think it makes the most sense to transition Okafor over that way.
With guys like Patrick Hudson and Elijah Rodriguez (who Herman still refers to as a starter when talking about "losing offensive line starters," etc. when constantly talking about all his team has overcome this year), it will be an interesting group to see who emerges -- and where.
One thing is for sure, we'll do plenty of speculating about the two-deep around here in the meantime.
* * *
Happy Thanksgiving OB - I'm thankful for our community here and the chance to study and write about football for a living. I hope you all enjoy a relaxing and great day with your family, friends and loved ones.
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
SKILL POSITION SNAP COUNTS
QB Sam Ehlinger - 58 snaps
QB Shane Buechele - 9 snaps
* * *
RB Kyle Porter - 29 snaps (????)
RB Daniel Young - 26 snaps
RB Toneil Carter - 12 snaps
* * *
WR Collin Johnson - 55 snaps
WR Lorenzo Joe - 40 snaps
WR Lil Jordan Humphrey - 37 snaps
WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 21 snaps
WR Devin Duvernay - 14 snaps
WR John Burt - 13 snaps
WR Jerrod Heard - 12 snaps
WR Armanti Foreman - 10 snaps
* * *
TE Kendall Moore - 41 snaps
15 inline, 9 split out wide, 17 at h-back
TE Chris Warren - 25 snaps
1 inline, 24 at h-back
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN USAGE FROM LAST WEEK
Trending up
Sam Ehlinger - 5 snaps versus KU, 58 versus WVU
Kyle Porter - 22 snaps versus KU, 29 versus WVU
Armanti Foreman - 5 snaps versus KU, 10 versus WVU
Jerrod Heard - 3 snaps versus KU, 13 versus WVU
Lil'Jordan Humphrey - 23 snaps versus KU, 37 versus WVU
Lorenzo Joe - 22 snaps versus KU, 40 versus WVU
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 2 snaps versus KU, 14 versus WVU
Trending down
Shane Buechele - 68 snaps versus KU, 9 versus WVU
Daniel Young - 39 snaps versus KU, 26 versus WVU
Cade Brewer - 46 snaps versus KU, 0 versus WVU
Devin Duvernay - 22 snaps versus KU, 14 versus WVU
Dorian Leonard - 22 snaps versus KU, 0 versus WVU
* * *
OFFENSIVE LINE THOUGHTS AND GRADES
LT Connor Williams - 67 snaps
No disruption allowed
3 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 84.87
Season Average: 82.62 (3 games)
230 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 57.5 (!!!) snaps (up from one per 40.75 snaps)
LG Patrick Vahe - 11 snaps
No disruption allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: N/A
Season Average: 76.23 (10 games)
751 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 31.3 snaps (up from one per 30.83 snaps)
LG/C Terrell Cuney - 67 snaps
No disruption allowed
1 knockdown
DEEP DIG GRADE: 78.64
Season Average: 74.3 (7 games)
504 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 16.8 snaps (up from one per 14.57 snaps)
LG Alex Anderson - 2 snaps
2 snaps on the season
C Zach Shackelford - 55 snaps
2 QB hits allowed
1 pin
DEEP DIG GRADE: 77.55
Season Average: 76.55 (7 games)
536 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every snaps 28.2 (down from one per 28.29 snaps)
RG Jake McMillon - 67 snaps
1 TFL, 1 run-stuff, 1 pressure allowed
1 holding penalty
DEEP DIG GRADE: 75.6
Season Average: 75.93 (10 games)
snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 28.12 snaps (down from one per 30.29 snaps)
RT Derek Kerstetter - 67 snaps
1 run-stuff allowed
1 holding penalty
DEEP DIG GRADE: 77.69
Season Average: 76.65 (8 games)
599 snaps on the season; disruption allowed and/or penalty caused once per every 21.39 snaps (up from one per 20.46 snaps)
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Man, what a difference Connor Williams makes.
The guy is just an amazing player. He graded out in this game even a bit higher than he did versus a worse opponent in San Jose State, which says a lot about his of level readiness to return to the field. It was his best game ever at Texas. He showed very little rust having sat out for the vast majority of the season. The talk is coming out in the media more and more that many draft analysts believe that Williams will be a Top 10 pick in the NFL draft.
His grades in the Deep Dig indicate he is perfectly suitable to go that early (especially in a down-year for tackles), but I think that in a more stacked year, he would probably be seen as more of a mid-to-late first-round guy like Kyle Long (remember that Long was an outright tackle when drafted by the Bears who only moved to guard later on). If there were a bunch of Taylor Lewans or other, taller, longer candidates in this class with good enough feet, scouts and analysts may give them a small edge at the top of the board over Williams as I expect his official height and wingspan to be a small bit shorter than ideal (he's a big kid, but I don't buy the 6'6" he's listed as) and also, holes would be poked in his lack of junior film. As things stand, with his only competition being guys like McGlinchey from Notre Dame (who looks on the surface to be a superior physical specimen but doesn't move near as well) or the Western Michigan kid Okoroafor (who is raw and likely a sure RT) or Orlando Brown from OU (who is a monster but will get knocked for stiffness), etc., he's in a good spot.
Williams, if all goes according to plan, enters the draft at the perfect time -- a relative down year at his position that will lead many to having him as the No.1 option on their boards at the tackle spot. As a result, he's likely to go very early given the importance of the position and the desperate need for good ones across the entire landscape of the league.
Williams even makes the players around him better. Look at the grade on Terrell Cuney and the fact that, for the first time this season, he didn't allow any disruption. The staff started the game with Cuney at center over Zach Shackelford, which was frustrating as Cuney had been horrible in recent games while Shack had played at an above-average level. However, when Patrick Vahe left the game with a knee sprain, Cuney bumped to LG with Shack at center.
As things went, Cuney actually had the best game of his 2017 season and put on a better performance overall than Shackelford. I think Cuney is better at guard than he is at center for whatever reason (my suspicion is it is because he doesn't have to climb to the linebacker level as often at the guard position in double-teams as he does at the center position), but the main reason he looked better is because he was lined up next to Connor Williams who does everything so smoothly and easily that the pieces around him just seem to fall into their choreographed place more naturally.
And it makes you wonder why the big downfall from Jake McMillon this season lining up over at the right guard -- sandwiched between a creaky rotation at the center position and a baby-faced true freshman. Last year, at the left guard, he was money all year. He was hands-down the second-best player on the line. As of now, he's arguably been the most disappointing of all players who began the season as "starters". I'm beginning to think -- after seeing the Connor Williams effect on a previously sluggish Terrell Cuney -- that lining up next to Williams is an auto-boost to whoever is lining up there. Patrick Vahe, while healthy alongside Connor Williams, had his best and third-best games of the season, while Cuney had by far his best. The hope is that the OL can come together here with Williams in his last two games in a way that generates positive momentum moving into spring when they will have to attempt to recreate some semblance of that same momentum without him.
One key piece in getting to the next step in a post-Connor Williams world will, of course, be the development of Derek Kerstetter who, through ups and a few downs, has been terrific. He's been better in the snaps/disruption arena than guys like Zach Shackelford was as a freshman and Patrick Vahe even was a sophomore (both playing at interior positions where giving up disruption is nowhere near as hard as it is out on an island at tackle facing off against the best edge-rushers). I don't know if the staff will move him over to left tackle in the offseason, but it would seem to me that his body, footwork and balance are more suited to play on the left side than anyone we've gotten to see in game-action thus far, with Denzel Okafor being a clear RT guy who Herman basically says the staff will not move to that position in-season because switching sides mid-stream would be too much for him to handle mentally. With a whole offseason to acclimate, I think it makes the most sense to transition Okafor over that way.
With guys like Patrick Hudson and Elijah Rodriguez (who Herman still refers to as a starter when talking about "losing offensive line starters," etc. when constantly talking about all his team has overcome this year), it will be an interesting group to see who emerges -- and where.
One thing is for sure, we'll do plenty of speculating about the two-deep around here in the meantime.
* * *
Happy Thanksgiving OB - I'm thankful for our community here and the chance to study and write about football for a living. I hope you all enjoy a relaxing and great day with your family, friends and loved ones.
