The Deep Dig
Oklahoma State Part II: Offense
presented by Wendy Swantkowksi, DDS
Looking for experienced, family and cosmetic dental care in the Houston-Memorial area? Go with the best! OB sponsor Wendy Swantkowski, DDS. Call 281-293-9140 and find out why so many Orangebloods members are her patients!
Offensive Line Thoughts and Grades
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OFFICIAL OL GRADING LOG
Deep Dig Grading Scale
55 LT Connor Williams - 78 snaps
No disruption allowed
1 holding penalty
2 pins, 2 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 78.09
A big grade once again for Connor Williams. We’re sticking with our projection that we’re going to be into low-80s scores by the end of this season with consistent mid-80s and up as a junior, leading to an early declaration for the NFL barring injuries, setbacks or disasters. Enjoy Williams while he lasts, folks — you’re getting to see the development of a great one at Texas.
77 LG Patrick Vahe - 77 snaps
2 run-stuffs allowed
2 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 75.56
It’s another decent grade for Vahe, but he’s not progressing in the same way Connor Williams is. Vahe has not taken the same step forward as Williams in 2016 and may even be moving in the opposite direction. Vahe’s average Deep Dig grade through 4 games in 2016 is 75.34 while his 2015 average was 76.19. He’s regressed in this way and has also not made great strides in allowing disruption — his biggest remaining bugaboo needing attention over the offseason at the commencement of the 2015 campaign. Vahe allowed disruption on one of every 26.98 snaps in 2015 and through 2016 is almost on exactly the same pace at 26.58. Here are the current standings in snaps-per-disruption-allowed and/or penalty committed among all offensive lineman who’ve either allowed at least one act of disruption or committed one penalty in 2016:
Connor Williams
250 offensive snaps in 2016
125 snaps per disruption allowed
Brandon Hodges
304 offensive snaps in 2016
101.3 snaps per disruption allowed
Alex Anderson
93 offensive snaps in 2016
93 snaps per disruption allowed
Kent Perkins
142 offensive snaps in 2016
71 snaps per disruption allowed
Jake McMillon
138 offensive snaps in 2016
46 snaps per disruption allowed
Patrick Vahe
319 offensive snaps in 2016
26.58 snaps per disruption allowed
Zach Shackelford
260 offensive snaps in 2016
20 snaps per disruption allowed
Tristan Nickelson
15 offensive snaps in 2016
15 snaps per disruption allowed
Elijah Rodriguez
72 offensive snaps in 2016
12 snaps per disruption allowed
Terrell Cuney
10 offensive snaps in 2016
10 snaps per disruption allowed
56 C Zach Shackelford - 77 snaps
2 QB hits, 2 run-stuffs, 1 QB pressure and 1 TFL allowed
2 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 72.61
Another miserable output for Zach Shackelford and many at the Deep Dig are wondering whether or not he should be benched. There are certainly arguments on either side.
Pro-Shack takes include:
- Who else are you going to put in there?
- With a freshman QB, you can’t keep changing the guy who’s snapping the football or you’re inviting turnovers.
- He’s the future of the center position at Texas. In what looks to be a potentially wasted season for all quantitative intents and purposes, getting a year of development to a guy in Shack who could be a four-year starter is a decent positive, if ancillary, outcome.
- (of course there is always the guy who sits in the corner with his ears plugged and eyes closed, who says this is all Mack Brown’s fault anyway — and by 2020, Texas will be a 9-win team under Strong and Shackelford will then be a great player).
Retorts from the anti-Shack side would be:
- Jake McMillon, who we’ll talk about in a second - he’s played enough to generate two scores on the Deep Dig and they’re higher than any that Shackelford has ever gotten.
- Shack hasn’t exactly been great in this category, managing at least two bad snaps so far along with a snap infraction penalty.
- He may be the future, but he allows disruption or commits a penalty the most frequently of any other starting lineman on the team (over 6 times more frequently than Connor Williams) and is the far-and-away leader in the run-stuff category, as he’s been good for just under two a game to start his career at Texas.
- As for the guy in the corner, we're coming to learn more and more that it’s no use to bombard him with facts.
64 RG Jake McMillon - 77 snaps
2 run-stuffs allowed
3 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 75.14
As mentioned, it’s his second time being graded and both times, he showed up in the end as being slightly-better-than-average. Texas will take all the “slightly-better-than-average” it can get right now on the offensive line — especially at the point of its weakest link. McMillon should be considered for the starting center position because if we’re basing the decision on the information available to us and the actual production on the field, there isn’t really much of an argument as to who's probably the better immediate option.
58 RT Brandon Hodges - 77 snaps
1 run-stuff allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: 73.88
Somewhat surprisingly, Hodges — an afterthought through the spring and summer period as Tristan Nickelson was presumably penciled in as the RT starter — has now played the second-most snaps on offense (304) on the entire team just barely behind Patrick Vahe (319). The issues with Hodges that continue to be troublesome are the same we’ve identified previously: lack of motor at times, sloppy feet in pass protection, sometimes-stiff hips, an inability to mirror athletically versus outside rushers, and common misplacement of initial punch to become overextended. Basically Kent Perkins circa 2015. With all this said, he’s graded out acceptably to start the season due to other strengths … until the Oklahoma State game.
The reason for this is an inability to reach the second-level defender on the back-side of zone plays. As Texas ratchets up it’s usage of the outisde-zone concept (3.5% or run-snaps versus Notre Dame, 5.4% versus UTEP, 12.2% versus Cal, 16.2% versus OSU) Hodges has shown a propensity to loaf as the backside player in zone which hurts his grade.
Still, Hodges has been second on the team behind Connor Williams in snaps per disruption allowed and/or penalty committed. While the regression is concerning in this one game, he’s been anything but a liability to the offense when looking at things from an outcome-based perspective.
Skill-position snap counts and one-liners
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SKILL PARTICIPATION CHART
Quarterback
7 Shane Buechele - 68 snaps
18 Tyrone Swoopes - 9 snaps
- OB reported after the Cal game that Buechele had a cracked rib he’d play through and we’re beginning to worry whether the ailment is having an effect on his ability to drive the football both down the field and on a rope to the sidelines.
Running Back
33 D’Onta Foreman - 38 snaps
21 Kyle Porter - 22 snaps
25 Chris Warren - 16 snaps
- OB reported on Monday evening that Chris Warren is slated to miss extended time — possibly the season — with a right knee injury suffered during his long run versus OSU. It’s time for D’Onta Foreman to get fed. We worry in some ways that Foreman has been so injury prone and that a heaping increase in touches could lead to problems, but these are just the way things go. If he wants to play in the NFL — which he does and which he surely will — he’s going to need to get through a long spell of football games being the bell cow, getting fed volume and staying on the field. Now is his time. We at the Deep Dig are on absolute pins and needles to see the monster that awaits.
Wide Receiver
3 Armanti Foreman - 51 snaps
1 John Burt - 42 snaps
13 Jerrod Heard - 35 snaps
6 Jake Oliver - 30 snaps
9 Collin Johnson - 24 snaps
2 Devin Duvernay - 20 snaps
8 Dorian Leonard - 19 snaps
5 Lorenzo Joe - 16 snaps
4 Lil’Jordan Humphrey - 16 snaps
- It was the second week in a row that Armanti Foreman led all wide receivers in snaps played.
- The ever-elusive Lorenzo Joe sighting?! He’s back in action and should be an instant contributor out of the slot moving forward. His return will mark a downtick in snaps for Jerrod Heard, Devin Duvernay and Jake Oliver.
- Time for Lil’Jordan Humphrey to get more playing time. Dorian Leonard had a terrific play versus Oklahoma State (who knew he could take a short little hitch like that to the house?), but Humphrey is just more of a natural mismatch.
Tight End
42 Caleb Bluiett - 33 snaps
47 Andrew Beck - 23 snaps
- No two-inline-tight-end sets.
- No lining up a TE (even once) split out wide at receiver.
- A receiving touchdown up the seam.
The Deep Dig can take a break from our hand-wringing over the wasteland of a position and its utilization in the new offense for the rest of this week, at least.
Scholarship players who've played in 2016 but did not record a snap on offense versus Oklahoma State (doesn’t include special teams participation if applicable):
OL Kent Perkins (142 snaps in 2016)
WR Jacorey Warrick (121 snaps in 2016)
OL Alex Anderson (93 snaps in 2016)
OL Elijah Rodriguez (72 snaps in 2016)
OL Tristan Nickelson (15 snaps in 2016)
OL Terrell Cuney (10 snaps in 2016)
OL Denzel Okafor (5 snaps in 2016)
OL Jean Delance (3 snaps in 2016)
RB Tristian Houston (3 snaps in 2016)
TE Quincy Vasser (3 snaps in 2016)
As we turn our attention to (yet another) make-or-break game for Charlie Strong at Texas (how many are there going to be?)
… we thank you, once again, for reading.
Oklahoma State Part II: Offense
presented by Wendy Swantkowksi, DDS
Looking for experienced, family and cosmetic dental care in the Houston-Memorial area? Go with the best! OB sponsor Wendy Swantkowski, DDS. Call 281-293-9140 and find out why so many Orangebloods members are her patients!
. . .
Offensive Line Thoughts and Grades
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OFFICIAL OL GRADING LOG
Deep Dig Grading Scale
55 LT Connor Williams - 78 snaps
No disruption allowed
1 holding penalty
2 pins, 2 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 78.09
A big grade once again for Connor Williams. We’re sticking with our projection that we’re going to be into low-80s scores by the end of this season with consistent mid-80s and up as a junior, leading to an early declaration for the NFL barring injuries, setbacks or disasters. Enjoy Williams while he lasts, folks — you’re getting to see the development of a great one at Texas.
77 LG Patrick Vahe - 77 snaps
2 run-stuffs allowed
2 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 75.56
It’s another decent grade for Vahe, but he’s not progressing in the same way Connor Williams is. Vahe has not taken the same step forward as Williams in 2016 and may even be moving in the opposite direction. Vahe’s average Deep Dig grade through 4 games in 2016 is 75.34 while his 2015 average was 76.19. He’s regressed in this way and has also not made great strides in allowing disruption — his biggest remaining bugaboo needing attention over the offseason at the commencement of the 2015 campaign. Vahe allowed disruption on one of every 26.98 snaps in 2015 and through 2016 is almost on exactly the same pace at 26.58. Here are the current standings in snaps-per-disruption-allowed and/or penalty committed among all offensive lineman who’ve either allowed at least one act of disruption or committed one penalty in 2016:
Connor Williams
250 offensive snaps in 2016
125 snaps per disruption allowed
Brandon Hodges
304 offensive snaps in 2016
101.3 snaps per disruption allowed
Alex Anderson
93 offensive snaps in 2016
93 snaps per disruption allowed
Kent Perkins
142 offensive snaps in 2016
71 snaps per disruption allowed
Jake McMillon
138 offensive snaps in 2016
46 snaps per disruption allowed
Patrick Vahe
319 offensive snaps in 2016
26.58 snaps per disruption allowed
Zach Shackelford
260 offensive snaps in 2016
20 snaps per disruption allowed
Tristan Nickelson
15 offensive snaps in 2016
15 snaps per disruption allowed
Elijah Rodriguez
72 offensive snaps in 2016
12 snaps per disruption allowed
Terrell Cuney
10 offensive snaps in 2016
10 snaps per disruption allowed
56 C Zach Shackelford - 77 snaps
2 QB hits, 2 run-stuffs, 1 QB pressure and 1 TFL allowed
2 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 72.61
Another miserable output for Zach Shackelford and many at the Deep Dig are wondering whether or not he should be benched. There are certainly arguments on either side.
Pro-Shack takes include:
- Who else are you going to put in there?
- With a freshman QB, you can’t keep changing the guy who’s snapping the football or you’re inviting turnovers.
- He’s the future of the center position at Texas. In what looks to be a potentially wasted season for all quantitative intents and purposes, getting a year of development to a guy in Shack who could be a four-year starter is a decent positive, if ancillary, outcome.
- (of course there is always the guy who sits in the corner with his ears plugged and eyes closed, who says this is all Mack Brown’s fault anyway — and by 2020, Texas will be a 9-win team under Strong and Shackelford will then be a great player).
Retorts from the anti-Shack side would be:
- Jake McMillon, who we’ll talk about in a second - he’s played enough to generate two scores on the Deep Dig and they’re higher than any that Shackelford has ever gotten.
- Shack hasn’t exactly been great in this category, managing at least two bad snaps so far along with a snap infraction penalty.
- He may be the future, but he allows disruption or commits a penalty the most frequently of any other starting lineman on the team (over 6 times more frequently than Connor Williams) and is the far-and-away leader in the run-stuff category, as he’s been good for just under two a game to start his career at Texas.
- As for the guy in the corner, we're coming to learn more and more that it’s no use to bombard him with facts.
64 RG Jake McMillon - 77 snaps
2 run-stuffs allowed
3 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 75.14
As mentioned, it’s his second time being graded and both times, he showed up in the end as being slightly-better-than-average. Texas will take all the “slightly-better-than-average” it can get right now on the offensive line — especially at the point of its weakest link. McMillon should be considered for the starting center position because if we’re basing the decision on the information available to us and the actual production on the field, there isn’t really much of an argument as to who's probably the better immediate option.
58 RT Brandon Hodges - 77 snaps
1 run-stuff allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: 73.88
Somewhat surprisingly, Hodges — an afterthought through the spring and summer period as Tristan Nickelson was presumably penciled in as the RT starter — has now played the second-most snaps on offense (304) on the entire team just barely behind Patrick Vahe (319). The issues with Hodges that continue to be troublesome are the same we’ve identified previously: lack of motor at times, sloppy feet in pass protection, sometimes-stiff hips, an inability to mirror athletically versus outside rushers, and common misplacement of initial punch to become overextended. Basically Kent Perkins circa 2015. With all this said, he’s graded out acceptably to start the season due to other strengths … until the Oklahoma State game.
The reason for this is an inability to reach the second-level defender on the back-side of zone plays. As Texas ratchets up it’s usage of the outisde-zone concept (3.5% or run-snaps versus Notre Dame, 5.4% versus UTEP, 12.2% versus Cal, 16.2% versus OSU) Hodges has shown a propensity to loaf as the backside player in zone which hurts his grade.
Still, Hodges has been second on the team behind Connor Williams in snaps per disruption allowed and/or penalty committed. While the regression is concerning in this one game, he’s been anything but a liability to the offense when looking at things from an outcome-based perspective.
. . .
Skill-position snap counts and one-liners
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SKILL PARTICIPATION CHART
Quarterback
7 Shane Buechele - 68 snaps
18 Tyrone Swoopes - 9 snaps
- OB reported after the Cal game that Buechele had a cracked rib he’d play through and we’re beginning to worry whether the ailment is having an effect on his ability to drive the football both down the field and on a rope to the sidelines.
Running Back
33 D’Onta Foreman - 38 snaps
21 Kyle Porter - 22 snaps
25 Chris Warren - 16 snaps
- OB reported on Monday evening that Chris Warren is slated to miss extended time — possibly the season — with a right knee injury suffered during his long run versus OSU. It’s time for D’Onta Foreman to get fed. We worry in some ways that Foreman has been so injury prone and that a heaping increase in touches could lead to problems, but these are just the way things go. If he wants to play in the NFL — which he does and which he surely will — he’s going to need to get through a long spell of football games being the bell cow, getting fed volume and staying on the field. Now is his time. We at the Deep Dig are on absolute pins and needles to see the monster that awaits.
Wide Receiver
3 Armanti Foreman - 51 snaps
1 John Burt - 42 snaps
13 Jerrod Heard - 35 snaps
6 Jake Oliver - 30 snaps
9 Collin Johnson - 24 snaps
2 Devin Duvernay - 20 snaps
8 Dorian Leonard - 19 snaps
5 Lorenzo Joe - 16 snaps
4 Lil’Jordan Humphrey - 16 snaps
- It was the second week in a row that Armanti Foreman led all wide receivers in snaps played.
- The ever-elusive Lorenzo Joe sighting?! He’s back in action and should be an instant contributor out of the slot moving forward. His return will mark a downtick in snaps for Jerrod Heard, Devin Duvernay and Jake Oliver.
- Time for Lil’Jordan Humphrey to get more playing time. Dorian Leonard had a terrific play versus Oklahoma State (who knew he could take a short little hitch like that to the house?), but Humphrey is just more of a natural mismatch.
Tight End
42 Caleb Bluiett - 33 snaps
47 Andrew Beck - 23 snaps
- No two-inline-tight-end sets.
- No lining up a TE (even once) split out wide at receiver.
- A receiving touchdown up the seam.
The Deep Dig can take a break from our hand-wringing over the wasteland of a position and its utilization in the new offense for the rest of this week, at least.
. . .
Scholarship players who've played in 2016 but did not record a snap on offense versus Oklahoma State (doesn’t include special teams participation if applicable):
OL Kent Perkins (142 snaps in 2016)
WR Jacorey Warrick (121 snaps in 2016)
OL Alex Anderson (93 snaps in 2016)
OL Elijah Rodriguez (72 snaps in 2016)
OL Tristan Nickelson (15 snaps in 2016)
OL Terrell Cuney (10 snaps in 2016)
OL Denzel Okafor (5 snaps in 2016)
OL Jean Delance (3 snaps in 2016)
RB Tristian Houston (3 snaps in 2016)
TE Quincy Vasser (3 snaps in 2016)
. . .
As we turn our attention to (yet another) make-or-break game for Charlie Strong at Texas (how many are there going to be?)
… we thank you, once again, for reading.
