Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (30 things rolling around in my head about Texas...)

[Ketchum]

The R. Kelly documentary is crazy. As a black man it's unreal how much the black community protected and enabled him. If it was Justin Timberlake accused of messing around with underage girls he would have been strung up by the black community. Classic case of looking the other way because someone is talented.

a. It wasn't just the black community. It's been almost everyone.
b. Black girls are the most marginalized group of people on earth. If there had been just a single white underage girl that he had raped, he would be under the jail right now.
c. Rich people can make just about anything go away.

 

[Ketchum]

I’m a suffering Cowboys fan too but we are a spoiled fan base. This team has won eight of nine and advanced in the playoffs and ur worried about future salary cap issues.

Enjoy the moment

They've accomplished nothing.

 

[Ketchum]

Freddie Steinmark needs to be on that list because there is a movie about him. Danny Lester needs to be on that list because he had the most meaningful INT in the history of TX football, but Duke Carlisle says hello on that one

None of those guys are to be put on the list for actually being better?

 

[Ketchum]

Just spit balling, here goes some other mentionables:
Stanley Richard, Aaron Williams, Van Malone, Willie Mack Garza, Tarrell Brown, Quandre Diggs, Curtis Brown, Michael Griffin

Being an All-American was kind of a prerequisite.

 

[Ketchum]

Good DB list but Babers in top 10?? At least 10 that were better. Mossy Cade was the best corner that I ever saw. Played man and NEVER got beat. Maybe he was before your time.

Babers is my dude, maybe some personal bias there.

 

[Ketchum]

@Ketchum C'mon man. BW at #6?? I think you have recent era bias or you are thinking of his NFL career after 2 Achilles injuries. There was simply not a more dominant db in Texas history . He didn't just shut down the pass to his side no one wanted to run to his side either. C'mon bro.

The top five is unreal.

 

[Ketchum]

Agree about Cade! The best shutdown corner I have seen at Texas on the best defense we have ever had. There are a lot of records on that 1983 team including 17 players drafted in the 1984 draft led by Cade.

Cade could have easily snuck into the last two spots.

 

[Miamihorns]

No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Texas Defensive Backs ...

No way this one is going to be easy, not when you're ranking defensive backs at a school that likes to think of itself as DBU.

I'm sure the opinions on this will be fierce, so let's just get to it.

10. Cedric Griffin
9. Rod Babers
8. Nathan Vasher
7. Quentin Jammer
6. Bryant Westbrook
5. Aaron Ross
4. Johnnie Johnson
3. Michael Huff
2. Jerry Gray
1. Earl Thomas

Bill Bradley has to be in there someplace.

Fair enough. It’s a good list. I would put Bradley ahead of Vasher for sure. It was a different time, and safeties had a much different role.

 

[Ketchum]

Just sayin it’s impossible to win by 4 in OT.

Not if Alabama scores first and Clemson mistakenly kicks a field goal.

 

[Ketchum]

Rod Babers in the top ten Texas DBs of all time?

His credentials stack up.

 

[Ketchum]

I am not sure Babers makes the top 25 if we are being serious. Not because he was bad but because there are many others more deserving.

Lot of the names being thrown around don't have his collegiate resume, which includes an All-American campaign as a senior.

 

[Ketchum]

Sam Ehlinger is still getting better as a QB. Think about that for a little bit. He has the opportunity to leave Texas as the best QB to play the position at Texas.

It's time to open a cold one or two and enjoy the ride with Sam.

Hook'em Horns Sam!

Let's not go that far. There's almost nothing he could do to unseat VY.

 

[Ketchum]

That Cowboys salary cap window story is strange thinking.

Not if you're paying attention to the current age of NFL football.

No team in the league has as much money tied into QB, RB and WR as the Cowboys will, with the exception of the Steelers.

 

[Ketchum]

Can’t agree with Johnnie Johnson at #4. Maybe tied with Thomas at #1.

I never watched Johnson play, so his grade is impacted by my potential ignorance.

 

[Onetex]

What about Vance Bedford? Doesn’t he get some extra credit when you add in his contributions as a coach?

 

[Ketchum]

Kenny Vacarro, Stanley Richard, and Richard Peavy deserve considerarion

and they received it.

 

[Ketchum]

Aggy plays Clemson there, LSU there, Bama, and Georgia there. Those are 4 almost certain losses. They'll have to run the table against Arky, Ole Miss, Miss St and South Carolina and win their bowl game to win 9 games. I would say chances are not great.

That's only three certain losses, but yes, they'll be the ones with the hardest task.

 

[BennettBrauer]

They've accomplished nothing.

Who said they did? Again, this team, while frustrating at times (which team isn't), is on one hell of a ride and you're going full bean counter future contract situations. Enjoy the ride....

 

[Mr Poon]

Salty list when Tarell Brown can’t crack 11, either.

 

[Bevotex]

USE THAT PORTAL!!!!!!

Speaking of the portal thingy is there anyway Joe Fan can look at it to see what other players are in it?

 

[BevosRevenge]

10. Cedric Griffin
9. Rod Babers
8. Nathan Vasher
7. Quentin Jammer
6. Bryant Westbrook
5. Aaron Ross
4. Johnnie Johnson
3. Michael Huff
2. Jerry Gray
1. Earl Thomas

No Fred Stromile?

 

[RLong68]

10. I kind of found it interesting that Collin Johnson and Malcolm Roach both announced they were staying with social media mentioning that was almost identical, suggesting some sort of orchestration, yet we haven't heard back from Lil'Jordan Humphrey or Brandon Jones. Maybe it will mean absolutely nothing, but we might look back in a week and also say that was a huge sign.

At least right now I see that as a big sign.

 

[RLong68]

According to the depth chart, D'Shawn Jamison would be first up to replace Humphrey at the HWR position.

Jamison would probably be better served sliding back over to D and handling the nickel spot.

 

[TLG1]

Let's not go that far. There's almost nothing he could do to unseat VY.

Uh, how about when he wins 2 natty's?

 

[RLong68]

I'm not sure how I feel about that group. It would have been nice if Imade, Kerstetter or Okafor had pushed for additional game reps as the season went on and that never really happened.

I think it's clear the staff wanted to make damn sure Okafor didn't blow through his 4 games in case of an injury situation. Rodriguez fairly steady play lessened any near for Kerstetter, and I think Imade simply needed more seasoning particularly since he spent last season on the DL. Like you, I'm a little unsure although I do have pretty solid hopes for Okafor.

 

[RLong68]

9. What should Tom Herman do at the running back coach spot? Well, if Zach Evans is the first, second and third most-important prospect in the 2020 class for the Longhorns, can you trust Stan Drayton to lead the recruitment? Understand that Evans actually likes Drayton a lot, but also understand that Evans liking Drayton isn't enough. Being a bridesmaid isn't good enough. I'm just not sure Drayton is the kind of guy that can lead a recruitment for a top-5 national prospect, and if your running backs coach can't lead a recruitment for an ace prospect at his position, then what are we all talking about?

Let's not overthink this. Herman needs to take the lead on Evans. His QB for the '20 class is locked up. HC should take lead role on any MUST have recruit particularly if there is any sort of question on the position coach being able to close the deal.

 

[RLong68]

16. 2019 is a time when the program really will need Cade Brewer and Reese Leitao to step up/grow up heading into their third seasons in Austin. The return of Andrew Beck turned the tight end position into a strength this season, especially considering his two-way play. I have a feeling he's going to be really missed.

Probably won't take long next season to where your feeling is "why didn't we play Brewer more in '19?" Not sure the TE was a "strength" this season. More like a neutral. Sure, he did a decent job of catch balls thrown his way, but there were still rather easy drops and some poor penalties. While I think his blocking is solid, it's a bit overrated if you go back and watch the film. The position upgrades rather easily next season.

 

[RLong68]

BUY or SELL: Texas should not be ranked higher than 7 in preseason rankings?

(Sell) Why not? Texas is a 10-win team returning its quarterback and coming off a year in which it beat two top-five teams.

I think 7 is a slot or two high but that's probably splitting hairs.

 

[RLong68]

No. 4 - A little late last year ...

If I were to write about the job that Shaka Smart was doing this season without any context from the last few years, I might just be inclined to give him a bit of a pat on the back. After all, his team is ...

a. Is 10-4
b. Undefeated (2-0) in the Big 12)
c. Has an RPI of 26
d. Beat UNC earlier in the year.

While we're in the infancy stage of the Big 12 gauntlet, the real-time bottom line for the season is fairly positive. Yet, the apathy I see towards the program on a daily basis, as well as the fact that I found myself saying the same things at this time last year, has me wondering what I'm supposed to make out of what's happening.

I guess the No. 1 thought I have is that if Shaka and Co. keep it up, the drama from December will likely remain just that, drama in December. Of course, the script could flip in the next week. Or the week after. Or perhaps it'll flip, flip again, flip again and flip again. How many flips is that?

I just don't know what to make of it all.

The 2-0 start is nice. Sure, a rather appreciable part of the reason is the injury situation at both KSU and WVU. But at the end of the day, this team needs to AT LEAST finish .500 in conference play to have a hope to make the tournament, and 2-0 is a very nice start. That being said, this team is likely to battle consistency issues all season.

 

[RLong68]

No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Texas Defensive Backs ...

No way this one is going to be easy, not when you're ranking defensive backs at a school that likes to think of itself as DBU.

I'm sure the opinions on this will be fierce, so let's just get to it.

10. Cedric Griffin
9. Rod Babers
8. Nathan Vasher
7. Quentin Jammer
6. Bryant Westbrook
5. Aaron Ross
4. Johnnie Johnson
3. Michael Huff
2. Jerry Gray
1. Earl Thomas

Huff is too high at #3. I don't think he was better Johnson, Westbrook and Jammer. Also, not sure Babers should be on the list but not Quandre Diggs. IMO, Diggs gets dinged because he played mostly on crap teams. Hard to argue against ET other than the fact he only saw the field 2 seasons compared to 4 for Gray and the rest of the list.