OB (Ketchum):
Practice No.1 is in the books for the Texas Longhorns and we’re going to have wall-to-wall coverage of the entire day throughout the night, here’s a little taste of what happened on day one that will quench your thirst for day-one information.
Let’s start with the quarterbacks…
It was a mixed bag at the quarterback position, as Jerrod Heard started out fairly strong, but then really seemed to struggle as practice went along. Meanwhile, as Alex put it, “I don’t know how to say it other than Tyrone Swoopes just kind of looked like Tyrone Swoopes.”
That comment arrived before Swoopes threw a pick-six against the first-team defense, as senior Peter Jinkens swiped a Swoopes pass and took it back for what would have been a touchdown. It should be noted that the ball bounced off the hands of senior Marcus Johnson and reflected the kind of day the wide receiver group had as a whole for most of the afternoon (see below)
As for Heard, didn’t have a completely clean day either, throwing a pass that deflected off of Chris Warren’s pads and landed in the hands of Derick Roberson and another that was picked off by Kris Boyd for what would have been a pick-six.
Neither player really created a highlight moment during the day.
As for true freshman Kai Locksley, he received very little work in the offense once the team got into team drills, although he did get a little bit of work at the end of practice (nearly threw a pick on third down). Expect him to take on more once he gets a little more comfortable.
Also, there’s some thought that fReshman QB Matthew Merrick will need to work on his delivery over the next few years. He has a sidearm delivery and the ball at times is released parallel to his shoulder. He is young and has plenty of time to get where he needs to get..
Now for the rest of the team...
1. Malik Jefferson was running with the first-defense tonight and he switched up between middle linebacker and outside linebacker throughout the day,
2. Fellow true freshman John Burt started of the afternoon working with the first-team offense, along with Marcus Johnson and Jacorey Warrick. Sophomore Armanti Foreman also worked with the first-team offense at wide receiver.
3. Ironically, new wide receivers coach Jay Norvell became irritated with Burt during individual drills because Burt try to get in front of the line at wide receiver. Norvell looked at him and said "John Burt, get your ass down there." Basically he was telling the young man that he has to earn his stripes.
More on Burt from Anwar: “He has shown flash is a potential during this first practice. He battled cornerback Davante Davis for a jump ball and went up top to catch it. Davis eventually knocked the ball loose on the way down. It was a great battle, but you can tell this young receiver is going to be very good.
4. Duke Thomas and John Bonney were the first-team cornerbacks.
5. The offensive line looked exactly the same as it did in the spring game, with the exception of true freshman Patrick Vahe taking snaps as the second-team left guard. From
6. Daje Johnson, Jacorey Warrick, Armanti Foreman and Ryan Newsome worked on punt returns.
7. Whenever Daje Johnson dropped a pass, he would drop and do 10 push-ups, which isn't uncommon. However, he would also ask to go back to the end of the line, so that he could have another chance to redeem himself, which is something no other receiver did.
8. Nearly 45 minutes into practice the entire team took a water break for about five minutes. Each player was required to get a Gatorade to hydrate and everyone sat in the shade during that time span. With temperatures exceeding 100°, it was definitely the right move.
9. Suchomel mentioned that he did not see any sign that 2016 DE Rahssan Thornton (Killeen Shoemaker) was at practice today.
10. DeAndre McNeil, Jake Oliver and Garrett Gray have all moved to tight end position. Of that group, McNeal was the guy that stood out all afternoon for his ability to separate and generally looking extremely explosive. He’s already working with the second-team offense and Alex thought he might have been the most impressive player to him all day.
More on McNeal from Anwar: “My God, DeAndre McNeal looks like the real deal. I don't think he dropped a pass throughout the entire practice. He has the physique of a college football player and the elusiveness to play tight end. He reminds you of all the football aspects of Aaron Hernandez. One impressive thing about him is he catches the football away from his body.
11. Hassan Ridgeway stretched with the team, but he did not work out with the team. Also, No Tim Cole was nowhere to be found, which means he might have been in class or something. With those two out of action, the first-team defensive line included Poona Ford and Paul Boyette at tackle, while Naashon Hughes and Shiro Davis was there starting defensive ends. Quincy Vasser (SDE) and Charles Omenihu (Fox) were running with the second-team defense today.
12. The starting linebackers today mostly featured Malik Jefferson (Mike), Edwin Freeman (Will) and Peter Jinkens (Sam). The team played exclusively in a 4-3 look today and ran zero nickel.
13. All of the freshmen defensive backs rotated in with the second-team defensive backs. The only guy that didn’t take reps with the second-team defensive backfield among the true freshmen was Holton Hill, who was never spotted at practice. We’ll try and get some details with Coach Strong after practice.
14. The second-team second d-line had Vasser at sde and charles omenihu at the fox, while Anthony Wheeler (Will) and Cecil Cherry (MIke) worked with the second-team defense. Fellow true freshman Breckyn Hager even took reps with the second-team defense at times during practice
15. The biggest disappointment of the day was the receivers struggled to catch passes consistently. There were a lot of dropped balls by guys, especially when they were wide open. Jay Norvell has some work to do for sure.
16. Pat Moorer deserves a ton of credit for all of these players appearing to be in phenomenal shape. He outlined a workout plan for the incoming freshmen and all of these guys look strong. All of the incoming freshman players have great physiques. You can see that each player took their off-season workouts very seriously.
17. The first punt during team drills by Australian punter Michael $#@!son was bad enough to make you wonder if he may need a round-trip ticket back home. $#@!son caught the ball and proceeded to punt it to the far left, over the fence and into the street. That punt may have traveled 15 yards at most. He redeemed himself on the second punt and actually kept the ball on the playing field.
