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The Deep DigCal Part II: Offense
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Offensive Line Thoughts and Grades
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OFFICIAL OL GRADING LOG
Deep Dig Grading Scale
55 LT Connor Williams - 88 snaps
1 sack* allowed
4 knockdowns, 2 pin-blocks
DEEP DIG GRADE: 79.43
Boom.
It was the best grade an offensive lineman has gotten in the “single-score” era of the Deep Dig, and arguably, the best game ever, period.
Starting in 2015, we began giving one total score for the overall performance instead of different scores for the pass-blocking and the run-blocking portions. There were times in 2014 when Donald Hawkins and/or Trey Hopkins would flirt with 80-scores in the run-game (Hawkins actually had an 83 once), but, neither ever had this well-rounded of a total game. When Hawkins had 80’s-scores in the run game, it was blips on the radar from the consistent 79 player he was in this aspect. However, as a pass-blocker in these games, he was always no better than a 76 or 77, and sometimes as bad as Camhron Hughes-level 73’s and 72’s.
So, as you can imagine, our basement was alive with buzz and energy with seemingly every Connor Williams snap. “Can he do it?!” you’d hear it whispered from the every leaky and creaky corner of the peanut gallery.
Williams looked like what every Texas fan should hope: the Year 2 version of a Year 1 freshman All-American on his way to a Year 3 ticker-tape route to the NFL Draft. Williams continues to dominate as a run-blocker on the play-side of power concepts. He can cave down five techniques and can work combo blocks on four-techniques before climbing like to the second level and engaging in free space like a technician much of the time.
But it’s not all technical. Williams showed nasty, nasty and more nasty against Cal, swindling lesser players along a shaky Cal defensive line and seemingly doing everything possible to rack up knockdowns and pin-blocks — sometimes staying with engagement a good period after the whistle had blown.
And we love that, but the thing we love the most? It was a throwback to our 2015 honeymoon period with Williams. You see, back when the team ran so much zone under former OC(?)/OL coach Joe Wickline, Williams found, through the season, that his favorite play as a blocker was in outside zone as the play-side tackle. This was the finding of the Deep Dig and it was confirmed by Williams in the same year when he was asked by one maniacal member of the media what his favorite run-concept was to block and which side in the concept he preferred.
With the integration of numerous outside-zone philosophies to the run-game versus Cal (certainly unexpected to a collective basement used to power, man, gap, draw and lead concepts), we once again saw Connor Williams leading on the front-side of the play in zone.
“Just look at it!” one of our regulars said, his voice trembling; filled with the tearful pride that fathers of brides who were babies just yesterday must also stifle back, “It’s beautiful.”
*the sack must be credited to Williams, but the sack was truly caused by QB Shane Buechele’s indecision in the pocket according to the Deep Dig.
77 LG Patrick Vahe - 88 snaps
1 QB pressure allowed
1 false-start penalty
DEEP DIG GRADE: 76.02
Let’s all gather around and breathe a sigh of relief; and understand that Vahe’s down game versus a garbage team in UTEP appears to be an effect of “playing down” to the level of player he was surrounded by.
A 76.0-76.1 score at the Deep Dig is actually Vahe’s exact median scoring profile from 2015 (76.09). Vahe played versus Cal in 2016 better than his games in 2015 versus (notably) Cal and also Oklahoma State, TCU, OU and West Virginia. Vahe only played in 10 of 12 games for the 2015 season, so the game versus Cal in 2016 would have been among the top-half of those played last year in his own freshman All-America campaign.
Of course, you can’t fail to acknowledge the obvious; that being: many of Vahe’s assignments as the left guard are tied directly to assignments of the left tackle in tandem. Having Connor Williams in the game over replacement-level players such as Elijah Rodriguez is not only beneficial to the line in having Williams in on its own, it’s also beneficial in that it makes others players better.
56 C Zach Shackelford - 88 snaps
1 run-stuff allowed
1 holding penalty, 1 false-start penalty
1 knockdown, 1 pin-block
DEEP DIG GRADE: 74.78
It doesn’t seem like a reason to celebrate regarding Shack, but it may be. He played an acceptable game for any player versus Cal, freshman or senior. The scores hold no age-bias.
First off, Shackelford was certifiably horrible versus Notre Dame in his debut as a Texas Longhorn. He was shoved back far past the line of scrimmage, tossed aside like a rag-doll at times and generally guilty of doing all kinds of things that 18-year-old offensive linemen tossed to the wolves in a first dose of D1 ball do.
If not for the penalties, Shack may have actually come out of the game with an above-average score. As things stand, he played a completely average game. One fans could easily get used to.
It was a better game than former center Taylor Doyle played in eight of his twelve 2015 exhibitions.
76 RG Kent Perkins - 88 snaps
No disruption allowed
2 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 75.45
A nice bounce-back from a miserable showing in Week 1 where Perkins played the worst game an offensive lineman has put on tape since Marcus Hutchins in 2015 versus OU.
Perkins still needs to do a number of things differently and have basically a complete 180 in his senior season to have any aspirations of being a coveted draft prospect, but a journey of a thousand ___** starts with a single ___***, we suppose.
We’ve said it over and over around here. Perkins missing the UTEP game officially made his second appearance of 2016 the (basically final) “starting over point” for the breakout fans have waited three years for.
He’s the strongest player on the team now that Tank and Ridgeway are gone.
He might have been the strongest even before then if you listen to some of the whispers down here.
He’s had flashes in games - over multiple-series’ spells - as a junior that were dominant like Greg-Robinson-Auburn-level stuff as a run-blocker. You don’t see flashes of that yet in 2016 but you can see the strength.
So it’s an upward trend. Soon, we’ll see if Kent Perkins is finally putting it all together for a big stretch-run.
** The Deep Dig invites you to fill in your own plural noun.
*** We also invite you to fill in your own singular noun.
58 RT Brandon Hodges - 88 snaps
No disruption allowed
2 knockdown created
DEEP DIG GRADE: 74.55
That’s two weeks in row now with no disruption credited directly to Brandon Hodges. In fact, the only disruption Hodges has allowed thus far has been one TFL versus Notre Dame. (other scores have been 75.29 and 75.28).
Hodges is your starter at right tackle, and all of the sudden — over a decent three-game sample — he’s a just-slightly-above-average option. He’s basically 2015 Kent Perkins (75.5 average, 75.21 median over ten games at RT).
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Skill-position snap counts and one-liners
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SKILL PARTICIPATION CHART
Quarterback
7 Shane Buechele - 63 snaps
18 Tyrone Swoopes - 25 snaps
- Buechele may have a few lingering effects from a rib injury suffered versus Cal, and it was clear to see there was some element of “shaken up” to Buechele in his presence, command and accuracy at points upon returning to the game.
- The switching of quarterbacks in-series depending on down-and-distance and independent of injury/field position-related situations is completely cockamamie and must be stopped. At all costs.
Cock-a-mamie.
Running Back
D’Onta Foreman - 52 snaps
25 Chris Warren - 36 snaps
- It still doesn’t seem like enough Foreman. He’s a runner who will absolutely tear the defense open with (somehow still underrated) top-end speed after it’s been given a pounding, though, so maybe that’s why Warren got the start in the game.
- It’s just so evident in watching back the game that Foreman, who was previously the best player on the team to begin with, has gotten better with his vision as a runner as well as with his eyes in pass-pro. You can see him beginning to engage in the game without the ball in his hands and he’s turning a corner as an overall football player to the level of truly elite.
Wide Receiver
3 Armanti Foreman - 69 snaps
1 John Burt - 62 snaps
11 Jacorey Warrick - 37 snaps
13 Jerrod Heard - 36 snaps
6 Jake Oliver - 27 snaps
8 Dorian Leonard - 24 snaps
9 Collin Johnson - 18 snaps
2 Devin Duvernay - 4 snaps
- Armanti Foreman, your Cal-game snap-count leader.
- After appearing to fight off another football with loud hands our basement could hear go “SLAP!” at contact, John Burt was pulled from the game and did not return for the last three series. We hate to declare that Burt’s hands have officially become an issue. Dorian Leonard saw an uptick in snap percentage as a result.
- Who’s the “starting” slot receiver for Texas? Well, it’s trending toward an even Jacorey Warrick/Jerrod Heard split.
Tight End
47 Andrew Beck - 36 snaps
42 Caleb Bluiett - 34 snaps
On 59 of 88 offensive snaps charted versus Cal, Texas had at least one tight end on the field, meaning the tight end group, as a whole is being utilized on nearly two-thirds of offensive plays from scrimmage.
Thank goodness TE coach Jeff Traylor is an insane recruiter.
Why?
1) Fans should say ‘thank goodness’, for any and every “insane”-level recruiter on the 40 Acres while they’re in town, and;
2) He’ll have not one bit of ammo stat-wise to utilize coming into 2017’s national signing day that shows athletic pass-receiving TE prospects that they’ll be anything more than glorified fullbacks in Sterlin Gilbert’s system.
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As we venture into a lonely bye week, some of us pack our bags to head up for some fresh air and sunshine while we still can. Lord knows it may be a long winter.
We thank you, once again, for reading.
