Brought to you by these three great men:
1) Defensive tackles and first-year impact
When Hassan Ridgeway officially decided to skip his senior season at Texas and declare for the upcoming NFL Draft, Texas fans probably reacted in one of the following ways: cursing, punching something, heavily sighing with an Eeyore-like expression, and acting like Rob Schneider’s character in The Waterboy. That reaction was probably followed by immediately looking at the roster to project the 2016 depth chart, and then a look at how the Longhorns are recruiting at defensive tackle for the 2016 class.
Texas will undoubtedly miss Ridgeway’s play. He was the only defensive tackle on the roster that could dominate the offensive lineman in front of him on a fairly consistent basis. However, why the departure hurts so much, in addition to the whole dominance thing, is that the depth behind Ridgeway is pretty bleak.
Paul Boyette will be a senior in 2016, and really improved this past season. But he’s more of a solid, always-does-the-right-thing kind of player instead of a dominant one. Alex Norman has yet to make an impact during his time at Texas. Like Boyette, Poona Ford put together an improved season as a sophomore, but he has yet to prove to be at the Ridgeway-esque level. Those are your veterans. Beyond that, there isn’t much besides Chris Nelson, who flashed a tiny bit this season and will be a redshirt freshman in 2016.
Obviously, the Longhorns need help, and now. Unfortunately for them, it’s January 6th and three-star Gerald Wilbon is the only true defensive tackle they have committed. So there’s a lot of pressure on Charlie Strong and company to land not only some bodies at the position on Signing Day, but some bodies that can get on the field.
For the most part, the Longhorns are targeting three-star defensive tackles. They’re in the hunt for four-stars D’Andre Christmas-Giles and Chris Daniels. But the three-star pool is bigger: Jordan Elliott, Stephon Taylor, Marcell Southall, Ross Blacklock and Michael Williams. With that in mind, I decided to take a look at all the three-star defensive tackles signed since 2010 that fit a similar profile to what Texas recruits from – a talent-rich traditional power state; a hotbed city/area; the Southeast. The idea here is to see just how many of those players signed made an impact in their first season, and the type of impact made.
2) The data
For the purpose of defining the first-year impact, I decided to break it down into four categories:
NO impact – didn’t appear in any games or just one or two
SOME impact – appeared in limited action and registered some stats
MODERATE impact – consistently appeared throughout the season with some semblance of productivity
HIGH impact – a part-time starter at minimum that was disruptive and productive
I’ve listed the players, where they were from, and where they signed. Only players that signed with power-five conference schools were included. At the bottom of each yearly group, I’ve tallied the impact based on those four outlined categories.
2010:
Bryon Bennett – (Madison, Mississippi – Mississippi State)
Anthony Ferguson – (Baltimore, Maryland – Iowa)
Damon Williams – (Irving, Texas – TCU)
Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Pittsburgh)
Sean Watson (Panama City, Florida – Baylor)
Evan Hailes (Chesapeake, Virginia – Penn State)
Kirifi Taula (Anaheim, California – Arizona)
Bruce Gaston, Jr. (Chicago, Illinois – Purdue)
Jeremiah Jackson (Hoover, Alabama – Arkansas)
Torrea Patterson (San Antonio, Texas – Oklahoma)
Kyle Woestmann (Marietta, Georgia – Vanderbilt)
Fred Thompson (Oakland, California – Oregon State)
Diamonte Wheeler (Arlington, Texas – Oklahoma State)
Donavan Johnson (Arlington, Texas – Iowa)
Coby Coleman (Frankston, Texas – Texas Tech)
Shawn Green (Loganville, Georgia – Georgia Tech)
Vince Taylor (Hattiesburg, Mississippi – Vanderbilt)
Justin Utopo (Lakewood, California – Notre Dame)
Jay Guy (Aldine, Texas – Nebraska)
Curtis Virges (West Point, Mississippi – Mississippi State)
Brandon Jackson (Shreveport, Louisiana – Texas A&M)
Antonio Ford (Pahokee, Florida – Wake Forest)
Brice Laughlin (Summerville, South Carolina – Kentucky)
Dexter Blackmon (Selma, Alabama – LSU)
DeAires Cotton (Alief, Texas – Texas)
Brandon Ivory (Memphis, Tennessee – Alabama)
Damien Jacobs (Houma, Louisiana – FSU)
Wesley Flowers (Fresno, California – UCLA)
NO impact - 25
SOME impact - 1
MODERATE impact - 0
HIGH impact – 2
TOTAL: 28
2011:
David Dean (Virginia Beach, Virginia – Virginia)
Angelo Blackson (Bear, Delaware – Auburn)
Demarcus Hodge (Monroe, Louisiana – Arkansas)
Darian Cooper (Hyattsville, Maryland – Iowa)
James Castleman (Amarillo, Texas – Oklahoma State)
Clint Tucker (East St. Louis, Illinois – Illinois)
Vincent Croce (Olney, Maryland – Virginia)
Quinton Pompey (Bradenton, Florida – Iowa State)
Lonnie Gosha (Lake Butler, Florida – Arkansas)
Trevor Valdez (Copperas Cove, Texas – Baylor)
James Maiden (Woodville, Mississippi – Mississippi State)
Deon Green (Orlando, Florida – South Carolina)
Terry Bell (Lakeland, Florida – FSU)
Brandon Tuliaupupu (Claremont, California – UCLA)
Trevarris Saulsberry (Gainesville, Florida – Tennessee)
Gerrand Johnson (Rayville, Louisiana – Missouri)
Jamon Brown (Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville)
Ashaad Mabry (San Antonio, Texas – Oklahoma State)
Tre’ Jackson (Jesup, Georgia – FSU)
NO impact - 16
SOME impact - 2
MODERATE impact - 1
HIGH impact – 0
TOTAL: 19
2012:
Dalvon Stuckey (De Funiak Springs, Florida – FSU)
Alex Norman (Dallas, Texas – Texas)
Issac Gross (Batesville, Mississippi – Mississippi)
Dakota Ball (Lindale, Georgia – Alabama)
Thomas Chapman (Louisville, Kentucky – Kentucky)
Pat Gamble (Carrollton, Georgia – Georgia)
Vontrell Williams (Chicago, Illinois – Illinois)
Alphonse Taylor (Mobile, Alabama – Alabama)
John Atkins (Thomson, Georgia – Georgia)
Nick James (Long Beach, Mississippi – Mississippi State)
Earl Moore (Tampa, Florida – Miami)
Aaron Curry (Keller, Texas – Nebraska)
Justin Solis (Westlake, California – Colorado)
Carlos Hood (Stone Mountain, Georgia – South Carolina)
Anthony Smith (Houston, Texas – Texas Tech)
JaFar Mann (Stone Mountain, Georgia – Florida)
Nigel Williams (Richmond, Virginia – Virginia Tech)
Jacoby Briscoe (Lafayette, Louisiana – Miami)
NO impact - 13
SOME impact - 4
MODERATE impact - 0
HIGH impact – 1
TOTAL: 18
2013:
Charles Walker (Garland, Texas – Oklahoma)
Vincent Taylor (San Antonio, Texas – Oklahoma State)
DeAndre Johnson (Newnan, Georgia – Georgia)
Maliek Collins (Kansas City, Missouri – Nebraska)
Jay Woods (Jackson, Georgia – Vanderbilt)
Kevin Maurice (Orlando, Florida – Nebraska)
Maquedius Bain (Fort Lauderdale, Florida – LSU)
Kenton Gibbs (Detroit, Michigan – N.C. State)
Monty Nelson (Plantation, Florida – N.C. State)
Paulo Lepua (Harbor City, California – Washington)
Matthew Romar (Port Arthur, Texas – Oklahoma)
Kyle Shortridge (Loxahatchee, Florida – Louisville)
Ben Hughes (Waco, Texas – Oklahoma State)
Herbert Moore (Memphis, Tennessee – Mississippi)
NO impact - 11
SOME impact - 1
MODERATE impact - 1
HIGH impact – 1
TOTAL: 14
2014:
Poona Ford (Hilton Head, South Carolina – Texas)
Trey Lealaimatafao (San Antonio, Texas – LSU)
Daniel Cage (Cincinnati, Ohio – Notre Dame)
Chris Williams (Tyrone, Georgia – Mississippi)
Kammy Delp (Pomona, California – Oregon State)
Taylor Stallworth (Mobile, Alabama – South Carolina)
Tashon Smallwood (Fresno, California – Arizona State)
Adam Torres (Lake Mary, Florida – FSU)
D.J. Williams (Lufkin, Texas – Kansas)
Deshaywn Middleton (Winston Salem, North Carolina – N.C. State)
Zeek Rodney (Rock Hill, South Carolina – Wake Forest)
Johnny Dwight (Rochelle, Georgia – Alabama)
Jeremy Patterson (Jesup, Georgia – Wisconsin)
Joyan Williams (New Orleans, Louisiana – Oklahoma State)
NO impact - 9
SOME impact - 3
MODERATE impact - 1
HIGH impact – 1
TOTAL: 14
2015:
Du’Vonta Lampkin (Houston, Texas – Texas)
Kingsley Keke (Richmond, Texas – Texas A&M)
Kendrick Norton (Jacksonville, Florida – Miami)
Brandon Tiassum (Indianapolis, Indiana – Notre Dame)
Vaimoe Sekona (Encino, California – Oklahoma)
Bryce English (DeSoto, Texas – Kansas State)
Jauntavius Johnson (Lincoln, Alabama – Auburn)
Quay Picou (Buford, Georgia – Tennessee)
Gage Cervenka (Greenwood, South Carolina – Clemson)
Elijah Taylor (Cincinnati, Ohio – Notre Dame)
Ray Smith (San Diego, California – Boston College)
T.D. Moton (Shreveport, Louisiana – Mississippi State)
Joseph Broadnax (Dallas, Texas – TCU)
Brandon Boyce (Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Duke)
Jamal Milan (Chicago, Illinois – Illinois)
Aaron Crawford (Ashburn, Virginia – North Carolina)
Quentez Johnston (Ellenwood, Georgia – N.C. State)
George Lea (New Orleans, Louisiana – Arizona State)
Ross Donelly (Houston, Texas – Mississippi)
Andrew Ivie (Dade City, Florida – Florida)
Olive Sagapou (Santa Ana, California – Wisconsin)
Eric Whitehead (Indianapolis, Indiana – Virginia Tech)
Sterling Johnson (Clayton, North Carolina – Clemson)
NO impact - 15
SOME impact - 5
MODERATE impact - 2
HIGH impact – 1
TOTAL: 23
3)What does it mean?
There are a couple variables that can’t be measured. First, some depth charts are more favorable than others. Second, some coaching staffs are just better at coaching guys up than others. And obviously, there are probably a few guys each year that don’t make it to campus for whatever reason, or are injured. Obviously, Texas can’t afford for either of those two scenarios to happen.
Of the 116 defensive tackles included, 89, or 77 percent, fell into the “NO” category.
The rest of it turned out like this: SOME impact (14 percent), MODERATE impact (4 percent) and HIGH impact (5 percent).
This study isn’t perfect, but it’s apparent that the odds of signing a three-star defensive tackle and getting a moderately or better impact immediately are basically the same as Prince Ibeh’s free throw percentage right now. And for those of you that don’t follow basketball, the odds aren’t good at all.
4) Texas hoops
As the Longhorns are still clearly adjusting to life without Cameron Ridley, who was the key component in defining who Texas was becoming as a basketball team, they’re a team still trying to find an identity and a rotation. But against Kansas State last night, we saw a glimpse of what Texas has to become.
If the Longhorns are going to compete in the Big 12 gauntlet, they’re obviously going to have to make shots from deep and create off-the-dribble, mainly Isaiah Taylor, on offense. But the most important thing for Texas moving forward is that this has to be a team that adopts a defense-first mentality, and the mentality that great defense can lead them to good offense.
As it stands right now, the Longhorns are No. 103 nationally in defensive efficiency. Although there are some things Texas has done well on defense (No. 44 in effective field goal percentage defense and No. 20 in blocked shot percentage), an overall efficiency just isn’t good enough. That number needs to be closer to 40 than 100 if Texas wants to have a chance to do more than just play most teams close. Because on the horizon are a lot more games like last night’s when it comes down to the final five minutes and it turns into what team can get the stops, rebounds, make a couple big shots, and not throw up on itself at the free throw line.
5) Texas baseball isn’t that far away…
A month from today, the Longhorns will hold their annual Alumni Game, which signals the final countdown before the baseball season begins. And Longhorn fans could be, again, looking to Augie Garrido’s club to save them after tough-to-stomach football and basketball seasons.
In the past under Garrido, the Longhorns have normally thrived when they have a deep, talented pitching staff that includes some power arms. And although there will be some youth that makes up that group this upcoming season, that’s what they’ll have, barring a rash of injuries, which around these parts is becoming far too common in the big three sports.
When you consider that the likes of Nolan Kingham (freshman), Nick Kennedy (freshman), Morgan Cooper (redshirt sophomore), Beau Ridgeway (freshman) and Josh Sawyer (sophomore) could be Texas’ Tuesday starter, it brings back thoughts of Texas rolling out someone like Sam Stafford, Hoby Milner, and Lukas Schiraldi on Tuesdays mostly because it had a ton of talent in the rotation. That’s when Texas has been at its best.
6) Scanning the sports globe
--- Playoff picks:
Texans over Chiefs
Steelers over Bengals
Seahawks over Vikings
Redskins over Packers
Earlier this week, I was set on taking every road team. I talked myself into Houston at home because the defense has been so insanely good recently, and Washington at home because the Packers have looked awful, especially the offensive line. Pittsburgh has won at Cincinnati once already, and Seattle appears to be peaking at the perfect time.
--- Still sticking with Clemson in the Playoff Championship. The odds of Jake Coker repeating his Michigan State performance are probably slim, and Clemson’s offense is dynamic enough to score enough points with a great defense behind it.
--- Antonio Brown has to be the clear-cut No. 1 overall pick in Fantasy Football next year, right? If Ben Roethlisberger was healthy all season, Brown would have set some all-time records.
--- Kansas against Oklahoma Monday night revealed that both of those teams are really, really good, the Big 12 is outstanding again, and while college basketball might not have any insanely talented and elite teams, there are a lot of very good ones that sort of resemble good teams we’d see in like 2001.
--- I really want to write about the NBA, but it sort of gives me that anxious, angry feeling you get in high school when you see an ex with another person. Damn you, Houston Rockets.
7) My Hall of Fame ballot (if I had one)
Today, the 2016 Baseball Hall of Fame Class will be announced, and will surely set the internet on fire. At some point, I’ll likely participate in the riot. But in the meantime, here’s how I’d vote if I had one:
Ken Griffey Jr. (first year on the ballot)
Barry Bonds (fourth year)
Roger Clemens (fourth year)
Jeff Bagwell (sixth year)
Curt Schilling (fourth year)
Edgar Martinez (seventh year)
Tim Raines (ninth year)
Mike Mussina (second year)
Larry Walker (sixth year)
Jim Edmonds (first year)
*** My stance, which is sure to irk some of you, on the PED debate hasn’t changed, and until we have a substantial amount of science to help explain the issue, I’m not going to look at a player and try to subtract numbers from what he did on the field when I don’t know how much of an impact PEDs actually make. Plus, PEDs, in different forms, have been around baseball since way before I was born, and up until a certain point in the recent past, weren’t banned from the game. There are plenty of players already in the Hall of Fame that used some sort of PED.
Barry Bonds posted an insane 198 wRC+ and .311/.456/.624 line in 1992 while walking 20.8 percent of the time, swiping 39 bases, and playing solid defense. He played for another 15 full seasons. I’m not going to pretend to be able to look at what he did and say, “yep, let’s subtract 100 homers here, 1,000 walks there, 100 steals over there” because of PEDs, especially when I don’t know how much they help when things like plate-discipline, hand-eye coordination, instincts, swing mechanics, etc. matter so much. And since his career ended in 2007 and baseball wasn’t doing anything about PEDs when he first broke in, you’re not going to find me bashing (which is different than shaking my head at) the guy for whatever he did do.
Does it suck that Bonds, Clemens, and others have that cloud that follows them? Absolutely. And if throwing a * beside the name is the way to go about it, fine. But let’s make sure that * tells the whole story, baseball’s involvement included.
*** Jeff Bagwell and Curt Schilling fall into the “duh!” category. Why this is even a debate is mind-bottling. Schilling might be a lunatic off the diamond, but he’s one of the best big-game pitchers ever with 79.7 career fWAR and 3,116 strikeouts in just 3,261 innings. That’s almost a strikeout per inning of the course of an entire career for a starting pitcher. Again, why is this so difficult?
As for Bagwell, he’s a career .297/.408/.540 hitter with an insanely good 149 wRC+ (30th best all-time) and 80.2 career fWAR. For 14 seasons, he was consistently elite, and his season trends weren’t really out of line with a normal progression for a player. But because he looked like a guy that juiced, he doesn’t the votes his career says he should.
*** During his first 11 full seasons, only Bonds was a better player than Ken Griffey Jr., who made playing baseball cool with his backwards hat, charisma, and little boy affection for the game. If not for that horrendous Kingdome cement (turf) and the stubbornness about always playing center field in Cincinnati, Junior would have probably eclipsed the 100 fWAR career mark.
There haven’t been many players since Griffey Jr. that are as fun to watch as he was.
*** Career home/road splits:
Ken Griffy Jr. - .958 OPS at home/.860 OPS on the road
Larry Walker – 1.068 OPS at home/.865 OPS on the road
Does Walker have the peak and the longevity? Yes. He has eight 4.0 fWAR or better seasons, and is a career .313/.400/.565 hitter with a wRC+ of 140 and 68.7 fWAR. The guy slugged .502 in his final season with the Cardinals, and was a good hitter no matter where he played. Time to stop holding Coors Field against Walker.
*** During his 17 full seasons, Mike Mussina posted a fWAR above 5.0 10 times, and over 4.0 12 times. Only 19 pitchers this season eclipsed 4.0, and this is a different era of pitching and hitting. Plus, Mussina also threw 200 innings or more 11 times, and started 30 games or more 12 times. Not only was he consistently elite, he was extremely durable also.
The fact is Mussina’s career puts a lot of other pitchers’ careers in the Hall of Fame in a figure-four, and makes them tap out. A strange, maybe the strangest, aspect of Mussina’s candidacy is that he doesn’t receive the Yankee boost really at all.
*** Tim Raines is a career .294/.385/.425 hitter that swiped 808 bases and scored 1,571 runs. Although the peak is questionable, he was a near lock to hit .300 and steal 50 bags for 12 straight years. In 1981, he stole a ridiculous 71 bags in 88 games, and swiped 90 in a full 1983 season. We haven’t seen anything at that high of a level since.
As for Jim Edmonds, he had an 11-year stretch that, outside of one injury-shortened season, was extremely impressive. While playing good defense at a premium position, Edmonds finished his career with a .527 slugging percentage, and .385 wOBA.
*** Over his career, Edgar Martinez hit .312/.418/.515 with a wRC+ of 147 and walked more (14.8 percent) than he struck out (13.9 percent). He was such an elite hitter that he eclipsed 5.0 fWAR in a season nine times, which is three times more than Craig Biggio did. The fact that Lee Smith received more vote than Martinez last year is idiotic. Smith only pitched in more than 70 games once in his entire career.
*** If the limit was more than 10, Mike Piazza would be on the list. I struggled with the Raines, Edmonds, Piazza, Walker decision.
8) Anything and everything
Do I need to pick up on Making a Murderer before it’s too late?
Some people have all the weight in the right places. I’m not one of them. However, it appears like Yuliya Lasmovich is one of them, as lingerie shows (NSFW).
Down in San Antonio, Suchomel, Howell, and I had a dinner at the Esquire Tavern on the Riverwalk. Cool place. It presents a speakeasy feel about as well as any bar I’ve been to, and the food was impressive.
9) The best non-sports thing I read this week
NFL football junkies should know the name Bill Barnwell. If not, you’re missing out on some of the best writing about the NFL available anywhere.
But Barnwell didn’t write about the NFL in this story. Instead, he bravely shared his battle with his weight, body image, and eating and exercise habits. There are so many people out there that battle those aspects of life, and while it might not be to the extent that Barnwell did, those things still are on the minds of many of us.
1) Defensive tackles and first-year impact
When Hassan Ridgeway officially decided to skip his senior season at Texas and declare for the upcoming NFL Draft, Texas fans probably reacted in one of the following ways: cursing, punching something, heavily sighing with an Eeyore-like expression, and acting like Rob Schneider’s character in The Waterboy. That reaction was probably followed by immediately looking at the roster to project the 2016 depth chart, and then a look at how the Longhorns are recruiting at defensive tackle for the 2016 class.
Texas will undoubtedly miss Ridgeway’s play. He was the only defensive tackle on the roster that could dominate the offensive lineman in front of him on a fairly consistent basis. However, why the departure hurts so much, in addition to the whole dominance thing, is that the depth behind Ridgeway is pretty bleak.
Paul Boyette will be a senior in 2016, and really improved this past season. But he’s more of a solid, always-does-the-right-thing kind of player instead of a dominant one. Alex Norman has yet to make an impact during his time at Texas. Like Boyette, Poona Ford put together an improved season as a sophomore, but he has yet to prove to be at the Ridgeway-esque level. Those are your veterans. Beyond that, there isn’t much besides Chris Nelson, who flashed a tiny bit this season and will be a redshirt freshman in 2016.
Obviously, the Longhorns need help, and now. Unfortunately for them, it’s January 6th and three-star Gerald Wilbon is the only true defensive tackle they have committed. So there’s a lot of pressure on Charlie Strong and company to land not only some bodies at the position on Signing Day, but some bodies that can get on the field.
For the most part, the Longhorns are targeting three-star defensive tackles. They’re in the hunt for four-stars D’Andre Christmas-Giles and Chris Daniels. But the three-star pool is bigger: Jordan Elliott, Stephon Taylor, Marcell Southall, Ross Blacklock and Michael Williams. With that in mind, I decided to take a look at all the three-star defensive tackles signed since 2010 that fit a similar profile to what Texas recruits from – a talent-rich traditional power state; a hotbed city/area; the Southeast. The idea here is to see just how many of those players signed made an impact in their first season, and the type of impact made.
2) The data
For the purpose of defining the first-year impact, I decided to break it down into four categories:
NO impact – didn’t appear in any games or just one or two
SOME impact – appeared in limited action and registered some stats
MODERATE impact – consistently appeared throughout the season with some semblance of productivity
HIGH impact – a part-time starter at minimum that was disruptive and productive
I’ve listed the players, where they were from, and where they signed. Only players that signed with power-five conference schools were included. At the bottom of each yearly group, I’ve tallied the impact based on those four outlined categories.
2010:
Bryon Bennett – (Madison, Mississippi – Mississippi State)
Anthony Ferguson – (Baltimore, Maryland – Iowa)
Damon Williams – (Irving, Texas – TCU)
Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Pittsburgh)
Sean Watson (Panama City, Florida – Baylor)
Evan Hailes (Chesapeake, Virginia – Penn State)
Kirifi Taula (Anaheim, California – Arizona)
Bruce Gaston, Jr. (Chicago, Illinois – Purdue)
Jeremiah Jackson (Hoover, Alabama – Arkansas)
Torrea Patterson (San Antonio, Texas – Oklahoma)
Kyle Woestmann (Marietta, Georgia – Vanderbilt)
Fred Thompson (Oakland, California – Oregon State)
Diamonte Wheeler (Arlington, Texas – Oklahoma State)
Donavan Johnson (Arlington, Texas – Iowa)
Coby Coleman (Frankston, Texas – Texas Tech)
Shawn Green (Loganville, Georgia – Georgia Tech)
Vince Taylor (Hattiesburg, Mississippi – Vanderbilt)
Justin Utopo (Lakewood, California – Notre Dame)
Jay Guy (Aldine, Texas – Nebraska)
Curtis Virges (West Point, Mississippi – Mississippi State)
Brandon Jackson (Shreveport, Louisiana – Texas A&M)
Antonio Ford (Pahokee, Florida – Wake Forest)
Brice Laughlin (Summerville, South Carolina – Kentucky)
Dexter Blackmon (Selma, Alabama – LSU)
DeAires Cotton (Alief, Texas – Texas)
Brandon Ivory (Memphis, Tennessee – Alabama)
Damien Jacobs (Houma, Louisiana – FSU)
Wesley Flowers (Fresno, California – UCLA)
NO impact - 25
SOME impact - 1
MODERATE impact - 0
HIGH impact – 2
TOTAL: 28
2011:
David Dean (Virginia Beach, Virginia – Virginia)
Angelo Blackson (Bear, Delaware – Auburn)
Demarcus Hodge (Monroe, Louisiana – Arkansas)
Darian Cooper (Hyattsville, Maryland – Iowa)
James Castleman (Amarillo, Texas – Oklahoma State)
Clint Tucker (East St. Louis, Illinois – Illinois)
Vincent Croce (Olney, Maryland – Virginia)
Quinton Pompey (Bradenton, Florida – Iowa State)
Lonnie Gosha (Lake Butler, Florida – Arkansas)
Trevor Valdez (Copperas Cove, Texas – Baylor)
James Maiden (Woodville, Mississippi – Mississippi State)
Deon Green (Orlando, Florida – South Carolina)
Terry Bell (Lakeland, Florida – FSU)
Brandon Tuliaupupu (Claremont, California – UCLA)
Trevarris Saulsberry (Gainesville, Florida – Tennessee)
Gerrand Johnson (Rayville, Louisiana – Missouri)
Jamon Brown (Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville)
Ashaad Mabry (San Antonio, Texas – Oklahoma State)
Tre’ Jackson (Jesup, Georgia – FSU)
NO impact - 16
SOME impact - 2
MODERATE impact - 1
HIGH impact – 0
TOTAL: 19
2012:
Dalvon Stuckey (De Funiak Springs, Florida – FSU)
Alex Norman (Dallas, Texas – Texas)
Issac Gross (Batesville, Mississippi – Mississippi)
Dakota Ball (Lindale, Georgia – Alabama)
Thomas Chapman (Louisville, Kentucky – Kentucky)
Pat Gamble (Carrollton, Georgia – Georgia)
Vontrell Williams (Chicago, Illinois – Illinois)
Alphonse Taylor (Mobile, Alabama – Alabama)
John Atkins (Thomson, Georgia – Georgia)
Nick James (Long Beach, Mississippi – Mississippi State)
Earl Moore (Tampa, Florida – Miami)
Aaron Curry (Keller, Texas – Nebraska)
Justin Solis (Westlake, California – Colorado)
Carlos Hood (Stone Mountain, Georgia – South Carolina)
Anthony Smith (Houston, Texas – Texas Tech)
JaFar Mann (Stone Mountain, Georgia – Florida)
Nigel Williams (Richmond, Virginia – Virginia Tech)
Jacoby Briscoe (Lafayette, Louisiana – Miami)
NO impact - 13
SOME impact - 4
MODERATE impact - 0
HIGH impact – 1
TOTAL: 18
2013:
Charles Walker (Garland, Texas – Oklahoma)
Vincent Taylor (San Antonio, Texas – Oklahoma State)
DeAndre Johnson (Newnan, Georgia – Georgia)
Maliek Collins (Kansas City, Missouri – Nebraska)
Jay Woods (Jackson, Georgia – Vanderbilt)
Kevin Maurice (Orlando, Florida – Nebraska)
Maquedius Bain (Fort Lauderdale, Florida – LSU)
Kenton Gibbs (Detroit, Michigan – N.C. State)
Monty Nelson (Plantation, Florida – N.C. State)
Paulo Lepua (Harbor City, California – Washington)
Matthew Romar (Port Arthur, Texas – Oklahoma)
Kyle Shortridge (Loxahatchee, Florida – Louisville)
Ben Hughes (Waco, Texas – Oklahoma State)
Herbert Moore (Memphis, Tennessee – Mississippi)
NO impact - 11
SOME impact - 1
MODERATE impact - 1
HIGH impact – 1
TOTAL: 14
2014:
Poona Ford (Hilton Head, South Carolina – Texas)
Trey Lealaimatafao (San Antonio, Texas – LSU)
Daniel Cage (Cincinnati, Ohio – Notre Dame)
Chris Williams (Tyrone, Georgia – Mississippi)
Kammy Delp (Pomona, California – Oregon State)
Taylor Stallworth (Mobile, Alabama – South Carolina)
Tashon Smallwood (Fresno, California – Arizona State)
Adam Torres (Lake Mary, Florida – FSU)
D.J. Williams (Lufkin, Texas – Kansas)
Deshaywn Middleton (Winston Salem, North Carolina – N.C. State)
Zeek Rodney (Rock Hill, South Carolina – Wake Forest)
Johnny Dwight (Rochelle, Georgia – Alabama)
Jeremy Patterson (Jesup, Georgia – Wisconsin)
Joyan Williams (New Orleans, Louisiana – Oklahoma State)
NO impact - 9
SOME impact - 3
MODERATE impact - 1
HIGH impact – 1
TOTAL: 14
2015:
Du’Vonta Lampkin (Houston, Texas – Texas)
Kingsley Keke (Richmond, Texas – Texas A&M)
Kendrick Norton (Jacksonville, Florida – Miami)
Brandon Tiassum (Indianapolis, Indiana – Notre Dame)
Vaimoe Sekona (Encino, California – Oklahoma)
Bryce English (DeSoto, Texas – Kansas State)
Jauntavius Johnson (Lincoln, Alabama – Auburn)
Quay Picou (Buford, Georgia – Tennessee)
Gage Cervenka (Greenwood, South Carolina – Clemson)
Elijah Taylor (Cincinnati, Ohio – Notre Dame)
Ray Smith (San Diego, California – Boston College)
T.D. Moton (Shreveport, Louisiana – Mississippi State)
Joseph Broadnax (Dallas, Texas – TCU)
Brandon Boyce (Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Duke)
Jamal Milan (Chicago, Illinois – Illinois)
Aaron Crawford (Ashburn, Virginia – North Carolina)
Quentez Johnston (Ellenwood, Georgia – N.C. State)
George Lea (New Orleans, Louisiana – Arizona State)
Ross Donelly (Houston, Texas – Mississippi)
Andrew Ivie (Dade City, Florida – Florida)
Olive Sagapou (Santa Ana, California – Wisconsin)
Eric Whitehead (Indianapolis, Indiana – Virginia Tech)
Sterling Johnson (Clayton, North Carolina – Clemson)
NO impact - 15
SOME impact - 5
MODERATE impact - 2
HIGH impact – 1
TOTAL: 23
3)What does it mean?
There are a couple variables that can’t be measured. First, some depth charts are more favorable than others. Second, some coaching staffs are just better at coaching guys up than others. And obviously, there are probably a few guys each year that don’t make it to campus for whatever reason, or are injured. Obviously, Texas can’t afford for either of those two scenarios to happen.
Of the 116 defensive tackles included, 89, or 77 percent, fell into the “NO” category.
The rest of it turned out like this: SOME impact (14 percent), MODERATE impact (4 percent) and HIGH impact (5 percent).
This study isn’t perfect, but it’s apparent that the odds of signing a three-star defensive tackle and getting a moderately or better impact immediately are basically the same as Prince Ibeh’s free throw percentage right now. And for those of you that don’t follow basketball, the odds aren’t good at all.
4) Texas hoops
As the Longhorns are still clearly adjusting to life without Cameron Ridley, who was the key component in defining who Texas was becoming as a basketball team, they’re a team still trying to find an identity and a rotation. But against Kansas State last night, we saw a glimpse of what Texas has to become.
If the Longhorns are going to compete in the Big 12 gauntlet, they’re obviously going to have to make shots from deep and create off-the-dribble, mainly Isaiah Taylor, on offense. But the most important thing for Texas moving forward is that this has to be a team that adopts a defense-first mentality, and the mentality that great defense can lead them to good offense.
As it stands right now, the Longhorns are No. 103 nationally in defensive efficiency. Although there are some things Texas has done well on defense (No. 44 in effective field goal percentage defense and No. 20 in blocked shot percentage), an overall efficiency just isn’t good enough. That number needs to be closer to 40 than 100 if Texas wants to have a chance to do more than just play most teams close. Because on the horizon are a lot more games like last night’s when it comes down to the final five minutes and it turns into what team can get the stops, rebounds, make a couple big shots, and not throw up on itself at the free throw line.
5) Texas baseball isn’t that far away…
A month from today, the Longhorns will hold their annual Alumni Game, which signals the final countdown before the baseball season begins. And Longhorn fans could be, again, looking to Augie Garrido’s club to save them after tough-to-stomach football and basketball seasons.
In the past under Garrido, the Longhorns have normally thrived when they have a deep, talented pitching staff that includes some power arms. And although there will be some youth that makes up that group this upcoming season, that’s what they’ll have, barring a rash of injuries, which around these parts is becoming far too common in the big three sports.
When you consider that the likes of Nolan Kingham (freshman), Nick Kennedy (freshman), Morgan Cooper (redshirt sophomore), Beau Ridgeway (freshman) and Josh Sawyer (sophomore) could be Texas’ Tuesday starter, it brings back thoughts of Texas rolling out someone like Sam Stafford, Hoby Milner, and Lukas Schiraldi on Tuesdays mostly because it had a ton of talent in the rotation. That’s when Texas has been at its best.
6) Scanning the sports globe
--- Playoff picks:
Texans over Chiefs
Steelers over Bengals
Seahawks over Vikings
Redskins over Packers
Earlier this week, I was set on taking every road team. I talked myself into Houston at home because the defense has been so insanely good recently, and Washington at home because the Packers have looked awful, especially the offensive line. Pittsburgh has won at Cincinnati once already, and Seattle appears to be peaking at the perfect time.
--- Still sticking with Clemson in the Playoff Championship. The odds of Jake Coker repeating his Michigan State performance are probably slim, and Clemson’s offense is dynamic enough to score enough points with a great defense behind it.
--- Antonio Brown has to be the clear-cut No. 1 overall pick in Fantasy Football next year, right? If Ben Roethlisberger was healthy all season, Brown would have set some all-time records.
--- Kansas against Oklahoma Monday night revealed that both of those teams are really, really good, the Big 12 is outstanding again, and while college basketball might not have any insanely talented and elite teams, there are a lot of very good ones that sort of resemble good teams we’d see in like 2001.
--- I really want to write about the NBA, but it sort of gives me that anxious, angry feeling you get in high school when you see an ex with another person. Damn you, Houston Rockets.
7) My Hall of Fame ballot (if I had one)
Today, the 2016 Baseball Hall of Fame Class will be announced, and will surely set the internet on fire. At some point, I’ll likely participate in the riot. But in the meantime, here’s how I’d vote if I had one:
Ken Griffey Jr. (first year on the ballot)
Barry Bonds (fourth year)
Roger Clemens (fourth year)
Jeff Bagwell (sixth year)
Curt Schilling (fourth year)
Edgar Martinez (seventh year)
Tim Raines (ninth year)
Mike Mussina (second year)
Larry Walker (sixth year)
Jim Edmonds (first year)
*** My stance, which is sure to irk some of you, on the PED debate hasn’t changed, and until we have a substantial amount of science to help explain the issue, I’m not going to look at a player and try to subtract numbers from what he did on the field when I don’t know how much of an impact PEDs actually make. Plus, PEDs, in different forms, have been around baseball since way before I was born, and up until a certain point in the recent past, weren’t banned from the game. There are plenty of players already in the Hall of Fame that used some sort of PED.
Barry Bonds posted an insane 198 wRC+ and .311/.456/.624 line in 1992 while walking 20.8 percent of the time, swiping 39 bases, and playing solid defense. He played for another 15 full seasons. I’m not going to pretend to be able to look at what he did and say, “yep, let’s subtract 100 homers here, 1,000 walks there, 100 steals over there” because of PEDs, especially when I don’t know how much they help when things like plate-discipline, hand-eye coordination, instincts, swing mechanics, etc. matter so much. And since his career ended in 2007 and baseball wasn’t doing anything about PEDs when he first broke in, you’re not going to find me bashing (which is different than shaking my head at) the guy for whatever he did do.
Does it suck that Bonds, Clemens, and others have that cloud that follows them? Absolutely. And if throwing a * beside the name is the way to go about it, fine. But let’s make sure that * tells the whole story, baseball’s involvement included.
*** Jeff Bagwell and Curt Schilling fall into the “duh!” category. Why this is even a debate is mind-bottling. Schilling might be a lunatic off the diamond, but he’s one of the best big-game pitchers ever with 79.7 career fWAR and 3,116 strikeouts in just 3,261 innings. That’s almost a strikeout per inning of the course of an entire career for a starting pitcher. Again, why is this so difficult?
As for Bagwell, he’s a career .297/.408/.540 hitter with an insanely good 149 wRC+ (30th best all-time) and 80.2 career fWAR. For 14 seasons, he was consistently elite, and his season trends weren’t really out of line with a normal progression for a player. But because he looked like a guy that juiced, he doesn’t the votes his career says he should.
*** During his first 11 full seasons, only Bonds was a better player than Ken Griffey Jr., who made playing baseball cool with his backwards hat, charisma, and little boy affection for the game. If not for that horrendous Kingdome cement (turf) and the stubbornness about always playing center field in Cincinnati, Junior would have probably eclipsed the 100 fWAR career mark.
There haven’t been many players since Griffey Jr. that are as fun to watch as he was.
*** Career home/road splits:
Ken Griffy Jr. - .958 OPS at home/.860 OPS on the road
Larry Walker – 1.068 OPS at home/.865 OPS on the road
Does Walker have the peak and the longevity? Yes. He has eight 4.0 fWAR or better seasons, and is a career .313/.400/.565 hitter with a wRC+ of 140 and 68.7 fWAR. The guy slugged .502 in his final season with the Cardinals, and was a good hitter no matter where he played. Time to stop holding Coors Field against Walker.
*** During his 17 full seasons, Mike Mussina posted a fWAR above 5.0 10 times, and over 4.0 12 times. Only 19 pitchers this season eclipsed 4.0, and this is a different era of pitching and hitting. Plus, Mussina also threw 200 innings or more 11 times, and started 30 games or more 12 times. Not only was he consistently elite, he was extremely durable also.
The fact is Mussina’s career puts a lot of other pitchers’ careers in the Hall of Fame in a figure-four, and makes them tap out. A strange, maybe the strangest, aspect of Mussina’s candidacy is that he doesn’t receive the Yankee boost really at all.
*** Tim Raines is a career .294/.385/.425 hitter that swiped 808 bases and scored 1,571 runs. Although the peak is questionable, he was a near lock to hit .300 and steal 50 bags for 12 straight years. In 1981, he stole a ridiculous 71 bags in 88 games, and swiped 90 in a full 1983 season. We haven’t seen anything at that high of a level since.
As for Jim Edmonds, he had an 11-year stretch that, outside of one injury-shortened season, was extremely impressive. While playing good defense at a premium position, Edmonds finished his career with a .527 slugging percentage, and .385 wOBA.
*** Over his career, Edgar Martinez hit .312/.418/.515 with a wRC+ of 147 and walked more (14.8 percent) than he struck out (13.9 percent). He was such an elite hitter that he eclipsed 5.0 fWAR in a season nine times, which is three times more than Craig Biggio did. The fact that Lee Smith received more vote than Martinez last year is idiotic. Smith only pitched in more than 70 games once in his entire career.
*** If the limit was more than 10, Mike Piazza would be on the list. I struggled with the Raines, Edmonds, Piazza, Walker decision.
8) Anything and everything
Do I need to pick up on Making a Murderer before it’s too late?
Some people have all the weight in the right places. I’m not one of them. However, it appears like Yuliya Lasmovich is one of them, as lingerie shows (NSFW).
Down in San Antonio, Suchomel, Howell, and I had a dinner at the Esquire Tavern on the Riverwalk. Cool place. It presents a speakeasy feel about as well as any bar I’ve been to, and the food was impressive.
9) The best non-sports thing I read this week
NFL football junkies should know the name Bill Barnwell. If not, you’re missing out on some of the best writing about the NFL available anywhere.
But Barnwell didn’t write about the NFL in this story. Instead, he bravely shared his battle with his weight, body image, and eating and exercise habits. There are so many people out there that battle those aspects of life, and while it might not be to the extent that Barnwell did, those things still are on the minds of many of us.
