Texas freshman QB Shane Buechele, in most every aspect, surpassed expectations in a game-setting
I'll be breaking down each play of the scrimmage for a longer Deep Dig column soon, but here are my first impressions having arrived home, rain-soaked and maybe just a little shocked ...
I'm not surprised that QB Shane Buechele looked better than Tyrone Swoopes, Swoopes generally turtles up in pressure-filled game-settings. Sure, it wasn't a game per se, and it shouldn't be a pressure-filled situation to play in a scrimmage as a returning pseudo-starter and a senior. However, one thing we can now all agree on unanimously after taking in the Orange-White scrimmage is that freshman Shane Buechele is certainly bringing the pressure in the QB competition.
By my eyes, he's already won it and left Swoopes in the dust.
So, what I'm just a little shocked about is how much Buechele has improved since the beginning of spring. Because we've all known that this has been a new offense that everyone is learning. Buechele has clearly learned it better - and applied it more effectively - given only that short amount of time.
I'm not sure if I'm shocked that Buechele has learned the system quickly enough to execute it with a confidence and command exhibited in just a spring, or at the difference in what Buechele has seemed to learn and what Swoopes has seemed to learn.
Shane Buechele has to be your starter
I wouldn't name him starter coming out of spring as that's a kid you wanna keep hungry all the way through fall camp. It's also too much to put on a player who should be going to prom around now.
With this small caveat understood, is it not obvious? Buechele got the last word of the spring through a tight competition and left a distinct impression that both fans and the coaching staff will most easily remember. In short, Buechele officially put everyone else - Swoopes, Jerrod Heard, et al. - firmly over in the passengers' seats.
If my job and my money ... my daughter's groceries, etc. were on the line, I'm putting Buechele in as my starter if I play Notre Dame next week. It's hard for me to imagine anyone who wouldn't based on what we saw today from Buechele as well as what we know historically about Swoopes.
Curious about the lines + a few quick hits ...
- I'm not going to write about the offensive or defensive line as I had questions about both that went unanswered after watching the game live. I'll have plenty of ideas soon enough, trust me. The offensive line grades and the disruption numbers we'll have in the Deep Dig will interest me the most of any in some time.
- The interior defensive line - at least at first glance - did not seem disruptive. The offensive line doesn't look like Montee Ball-era Wisconsin at this point, but some major holes were opened - along with blocks missed. In all, I have no idea how I expect the unit to grade out.
- Foreman and Warren at RB are studs ... just in case you needed reminding. Texas has two future NFL runners in the backfield, it's beyond obvious any time you see the guys live. So big and fast, they are a nightmare to tackle.
- I'm curious about the TE usage, it seems like there was a WR4 out there about 50% of the time and a TE out there about half the time. I'm sure the Deep Dig will get to the bottom of this. The one thing I know right now is that the nicest part of the day was not seeing Andrew Beck or Caleb Bluiett split out wide as receivers. We now know that true WR4 weapons are being substituted on to the field and Texas won't be splitting out fullbacks this year. That was so cockamamie.
- The wide receivers played well in all, there were clearly some uncharacteristic drops, but we saw what we needed to see out of most of these players. Armanti Foreman seems re-focused. John Burt had the big drop but also had a sick snatch on the beautiful bomb from Buechele. Deandre McNeal remains frustratingly inconsistent. Collin Johnson showed he's a player who the Longhorns will be targeting to climb up and get the football, even when he isn't "open". The fact is, with his size, he's always open. He needs to come down with the football, however.
- S Deshon Elliott will likely rank highly in the Deep Dig disruption scores based on a per-snap basis, but fans who wanted an extended look at the talented sophomore surely got on tilt to see Strong give John Bonney so much work at safety with the ones at Elliott's expense.
I'll be breaking down each play of the scrimmage for a longer Deep Dig column soon, but here are my first impressions having arrived home, rain-soaked and maybe just a little shocked ...
I'm not surprised that QB Shane Buechele looked better than Tyrone Swoopes, Swoopes generally turtles up in pressure-filled game-settings. Sure, it wasn't a game per se, and it shouldn't be a pressure-filled situation to play in a scrimmage as a returning pseudo-starter and a senior. However, one thing we can now all agree on unanimously after taking in the Orange-White scrimmage is that freshman Shane Buechele is certainly bringing the pressure in the QB competition.
By my eyes, he's already won it and left Swoopes in the dust.
So, what I'm just a little shocked about is how much Buechele has improved since the beginning of spring. Because we've all known that this has been a new offense that everyone is learning. Buechele has clearly learned it better - and applied it more effectively - given only that short amount of time.
I'm not sure if I'm shocked that Buechele has learned the system quickly enough to execute it with a confidence and command exhibited in just a spring, or at the difference in what Buechele has seemed to learn and what Swoopes has seemed to learn.
Shane Buechele has to be your starter
I wouldn't name him starter coming out of spring as that's a kid you wanna keep hungry all the way through fall camp. It's also too much to put on a player who should be going to prom around now.
With this small caveat understood, is it not obvious? Buechele got the last word of the spring through a tight competition and left a distinct impression that both fans and the coaching staff will most easily remember. In short, Buechele officially put everyone else - Swoopes, Jerrod Heard, et al. - firmly over in the passengers' seats.
If my job and my money ... my daughter's groceries, etc. were on the line, I'm putting Buechele in as my starter if I play Notre Dame next week. It's hard for me to imagine anyone who wouldn't based on what we saw today from Buechele as well as what we know historically about Swoopes.
Curious about the lines + a few quick hits ...
- I'm not going to write about the offensive or defensive line as I had questions about both that went unanswered after watching the game live. I'll have plenty of ideas soon enough, trust me. The offensive line grades and the disruption numbers we'll have in the Deep Dig will interest me the most of any in some time.
- The interior defensive line - at least at first glance - did not seem disruptive. The offensive line doesn't look like Montee Ball-era Wisconsin at this point, but some major holes were opened - along with blocks missed. In all, I have no idea how I expect the unit to grade out.
- Foreman and Warren at RB are studs ... just in case you needed reminding. Texas has two future NFL runners in the backfield, it's beyond obvious any time you see the guys live. So big and fast, they are a nightmare to tackle.
- I'm curious about the TE usage, it seems like there was a WR4 out there about 50% of the time and a TE out there about half the time. I'm sure the Deep Dig will get to the bottom of this. The one thing I know right now is that the nicest part of the day was not seeing Andrew Beck or Caleb Bluiett split out wide as receivers. We now know that true WR4 weapons are being substituted on to the field and Texas won't be splitting out fullbacks this year. That was so cockamamie.
- The wide receivers played well in all, there were clearly some uncharacteristic drops, but we saw what we needed to see out of most of these players. Armanti Foreman seems re-focused. John Burt had the big drop but also had a sick snatch on the beautiful bomb from Buechele. Deandre McNeal remains frustratingly inconsistent. Collin Johnson showed he's a player who the Longhorns will be targeting to climb up and get the football, even when he isn't "open". The fact is, with his size, he's always open. He needs to come down with the football, however.
- S Deshon Elliott will likely rank highly in the Deep Dig disruption scores based on a per-snap basis, but fans who wanted an extended look at the talented sophomore surely got on tilt to see Strong give John Bonney so much work at safety with the ones at Elliott's expense.
