Daily Short #123, January 4th, 2017: Texas Bowl Fallout - Offensive Skill Players
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The Longhorns offense wasn't perfect versus Missouri in the Texas Bowl, but getting a win to salvage a winning season was most certainly the perfect outcome. It makes everyone's lives easier for the next 6 months as we navigate spring ball and turn the corner into summer workouts.
Given a month to prepare, Tom Herman did the thing any reasonable head coach in his position - and given his background - would do: take some personal responsibility for what had, to that point, been unacceptable offensive game-planning and play-calling under his young regime in Austin. As reported on Orangebloods over the weekend and early this week, Herman became more involved in all of these aspects during the bowl practices.
It wasn't a surprising report for me to hear. Herman's fingerprints were all over a new-look set of plays that integrated successful (and to that point in the season, not-yet-seen at Texas) run concepts like counter treys and QB-option plays out of schemes similar to old-school inverted veer stuff. He made a point of getting the running backs involved in the passing game in big spots on wheel routes for splash plays that just weren't seen in the offensive product the Horns trotted out through the regular season. It was almost like Texas fans saw the first game offensively that Herman was hired to bring to Texas. It took 12 games to figure out, which isn't optimal, but at least we appear to finally be on the path.
The greatest hope I have for Longhorns fans coming into the spring is that they'll see the reins continue to be pulled slowly away from Tim Beck as a play-caller, which would allow him to transition into a role that needs his entire focus for the remainder of spring coming into summer: that is, of course, to develop (and pour position-specific training into) the two inexperienced QBs Texas currently has on campus while also grooming the two impressive freshmen in Casey Thompson and Cameron Rising. Texas fans don't need Beck dreaming up cockamamie ways to re-vitalize his bad offensive scheme during this spring and summer. They need him working with these young QBs -- who are oozing with upside in different ways -- on their mechanics, footwoork, motion, delivery, progressions, reads and checks.
If some solid QB development happens around here along with a shift to the actual type of offense Herman was hired to bring to Texas, then we'll be cooking once again. Big "ifs," yes ... but you need that little word in any if/then scenario.
Here are the snap counts for Longhorns offensive skill players in the Texas Bowl along with some quick thoughts about how the different groups will look heading into spring:
QB
Sam Ehlinger - 47 snaps
Shane Buechele - 28 snaps
As mentioned with these guys, both need a lot of the spring to continue developing. Sam Ehlinger has much more upside and is the better QB than Buechele, but the late-game, disastrous turnovers in a few spots this season can't just be shrugged off as if it only happened in one instance when these mistakes were critical components in three losses. Once we got to three, it became of upmost importance that Ehlinger get control of his "gunslinger"-gene that has come in handy for lots of QBs but also been their biggest drawback. See: Brett Favre, all-time NFL interception leader. With Buechele having been a losing QB during his entire time at Texas with only a few games fans can point to as being signs of great things to come in the future, I'm in the boat with Ketchum with my belief that one of the true freshman QBs will come into Week 1 of 2018 as the primary backup to Ehlinger and not Buechele.
RB
Daniel Young - 44 snaps
Kyle Porter - 31 snaps
Daniel Young was a great story this year and he's the best runner Texas currently has on campus if we're talking about a three-down option. The staff loves Kyle Porter, but he's just not elusive and probably never going to be a great runner at this level because he can't create on his own with the ball in his hands. We've at least seen that Toneil Carter can, so these two (Young + Carter) should be the definitive 1-2 punch in the run-game unless a freshman like Keaontay Ingram comes in and proves themselves worthy. Hopefully, RBs coach Stan Drayton will shift to more of a merit-based snap-split in the personnel department instead of an even-steven approach which doesn't allow anyone to stay in the game long enough to get a feel for how to read the defense and develop a hot hand.
WR
Collin Johnson - 53 snaps
Armanti Foreman - 51 snaps
Lorenzo Joe - 44 snaps
John Burt - 31 snaps
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 24 snaps
Jerrod Heard - 22 snaps
Devin Duvernay - 9 snaps
With Dorian Leonard, Lorenzo Joe and Armanti Foreman all gone, some snaps will open up in the WR group for sure. Hopefully it will mean more work for Devin Duvernay who was relegated to a glorified benchwarmer in 2017, even as the team's premiere deep-speed threat. We should see Jerrod Heard move back to the Z from the X where he'd switched to fill in for an injured Leonard in a rotation with Duvernay and Burt. (Although we may see Heard work at X this spring before Brennan Eagles gets to Austin in the summer). Also expect RS FR Jordan Pouncey to push as Z WR depth and true freshman Al'Vonte Woodard could make a splash when he gets to town. In the slot, Hemphill-Mapps appears to be poised for a bump in snap-percentage in a platoon with Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Davion Curtis. Of course the X WR position will be manned most heavily by Collin Johnson, who really needs to start being featured more in the offense. With a big year, he has the natural body and athleticism to start drawing draft buzz. The heir to the X position will be true freshman Brennan Eagles, who, if utilized properly at Texas, will be an absolute star.
TE
Kendall Moore - 66 snaps
(4 inline, 19 split out, 43 at H-back)
The TE position will continue to be a big part of the offense as Herman has always said, and while Moore will graduate, lots of good options are now in the cupboard among the underclassmen. Cade Brewer was one of the surprises of last season while Reese Leitao profiles to possibly be one of the big surprises of the next one. Andrew Beck will be healthy to return from knee injury in the spring and then Maclom Epps, an outstanding true freshman, all in the pipe.
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
The Longhorns offense wasn't perfect versus Missouri in the Texas Bowl, but getting a win to salvage a winning season was most certainly the perfect outcome. It makes everyone's lives easier for the next 6 months as we navigate spring ball and turn the corner into summer workouts.
Given a month to prepare, Tom Herman did the thing any reasonable head coach in his position - and given his background - would do: take some personal responsibility for what had, to that point, been unacceptable offensive game-planning and play-calling under his young regime in Austin. As reported on Orangebloods over the weekend and early this week, Herman became more involved in all of these aspects during the bowl practices.
It wasn't a surprising report for me to hear. Herman's fingerprints were all over a new-look set of plays that integrated successful (and to that point in the season, not-yet-seen at Texas) run concepts like counter treys and QB-option plays out of schemes similar to old-school inverted veer stuff. He made a point of getting the running backs involved in the passing game in big spots on wheel routes for splash plays that just weren't seen in the offensive product the Horns trotted out through the regular season. It was almost like Texas fans saw the first game offensively that Herman was hired to bring to Texas. It took 12 games to figure out, which isn't optimal, but at least we appear to finally be on the path.
The greatest hope I have for Longhorns fans coming into the spring is that they'll see the reins continue to be pulled slowly away from Tim Beck as a play-caller, which would allow him to transition into a role that needs his entire focus for the remainder of spring coming into summer: that is, of course, to develop (and pour position-specific training into) the two inexperienced QBs Texas currently has on campus while also grooming the two impressive freshmen in Casey Thompson and Cameron Rising. Texas fans don't need Beck dreaming up cockamamie ways to re-vitalize his bad offensive scheme during this spring and summer. They need him working with these young QBs -- who are oozing with upside in different ways -- on their mechanics, footwoork, motion, delivery, progressions, reads and checks.
If some solid QB development happens around here along with a shift to the actual type of offense Herman was hired to bring to Texas, then we'll be cooking once again. Big "ifs," yes ... but you need that little word in any if/then scenario.
Here are the snap counts for Longhorns offensive skill players in the Texas Bowl along with some quick thoughts about how the different groups will look heading into spring:
QB
Sam Ehlinger - 47 snaps
Shane Buechele - 28 snaps
As mentioned with these guys, both need a lot of the spring to continue developing. Sam Ehlinger has much more upside and is the better QB than Buechele, but the late-game, disastrous turnovers in a few spots this season can't just be shrugged off as if it only happened in one instance when these mistakes were critical components in three losses. Once we got to three, it became of upmost importance that Ehlinger get control of his "gunslinger"-gene that has come in handy for lots of QBs but also been their biggest drawback. See: Brett Favre, all-time NFL interception leader. With Buechele having been a losing QB during his entire time at Texas with only a few games fans can point to as being signs of great things to come in the future, I'm in the boat with Ketchum with my belief that one of the true freshman QBs will come into Week 1 of 2018 as the primary backup to Ehlinger and not Buechele.
RB
Daniel Young - 44 snaps
Kyle Porter - 31 snaps
Daniel Young was a great story this year and he's the best runner Texas currently has on campus if we're talking about a three-down option. The staff loves Kyle Porter, but he's just not elusive and probably never going to be a great runner at this level because he can't create on his own with the ball in his hands. We've at least seen that Toneil Carter can, so these two (Young + Carter) should be the definitive 1-2 punch in the run-game unless a freshman like Keaontay Ingram comes in and proves themselves worthy. Hopefully, RBs coach Stan Drayton will shift to more of a merit-based snap-split in the personnel department instead of an even-steven approach which doesn't allow anyone to stay in the game long enough to get a feel for how to read the defense and develop a hot hand.
WR
Collin Johnson - 53 snaps
Armanti Foreman - 51 snaps
Lorenzo Joe - 44 snaps
John Burt - 31 snaps
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 24 snaps
Jerrod Heard - 22 snaps
Devin Duvernay - 9 snaps
With Dorian Leonard, Lorenzo Joe and Armanti Foreman all gone, some snaps will open up in the WR group for sure. Hopefully it will mean more work for Devin Duvernay who was relegated to a glorified benchwarmer in 2017, even as the team's premiere deep-speed threat. We should see Jerrod Heard move back to the Z from the X where he'd switched to fill in for an injured Leonard in a rotation with Duvernay and Burt. (Although we may see Heard work at X this spring before Brennan Eagles gets to Austin in the summer). Also expect RS FR Jordan Pouncey to push as Z WR depth and true freshman Al'Vonte Woodard could make a splash when he gets to town. In the slot, Hemphill-Mapps appears to be poised for a bump in snap-percentage in a platoon with Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Davion Curtis. Of course the X WR position will be manned most heavily by Collin Johnson, who really needs to start being featured more in the offense. With a big year, he has the natural body and athleticism to start drawing draft buzz. The heir to the X position will be true freshman Brennan Eagles, who, if utilized properly at Texas, will be an absolute star.
TE
Kendall Moore - 66 snaps
(4 inline, 19 split out, 43 at H-back)
The TE position will continue to be a big part of the offense as Herman has always said, and while Moore will graduate, lots of good options are now in the cupboard among the underclassmen. Cade Brewer was one of the surprises of last season while Reese Leitao profiles to possibly be one of the big surprises of the next one. Andrew Beck will be healthy to return from knee injury in the spring and then Maclom Epps, an outstanding true freshman, all in the pipe.