so, I added a point wrongly. Maybe focus on something less trivial out of 5,000 words.
You just need more fingers to count those points
Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (30 things rolling around in my head about Texas...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
You just need more fingers to count those points
Fairly certain that is the case with Herman telling the QBs that. It’s obvious it’s Sam from here on out to everyone. The only way Shane returns next year is if he and the coaches are gambling that Sam might get hurt next year and Shane could be needed because Texas will be playing for a spot in the playoffs. If your trying to make the playoffs do you want to place your chances with Shane or one of the freshmen QBs.
Texas has 2 years of guaranteed good to great QB play as long as Sam remains healthy and doesn’t declare early for the draft which IMO is unlikely. That is a small window to balance between playing with every possible asset (Shane is willing to be the backup) versus planning for the future with the two young talented but untested QBs. None of the current young or future QBs (Rising, Thompson, Johnson and Card if he signs) are guaranteed to be as good as Sam.
If I was Herman I would tell the freshmen QBs that whoever beats out the other then they will be the primary backup. Also that next year there is a good chance of blowout games where the backup QB will get plenty of playing time. I would gamble that Rising is the real deal and could take over for Sam if he got injured and Texas could still contend for the playoffs.
I have been saying the same thing for years. Almost every Blueblood college football program recruits nationally in addition to their own geographic area. When USC was dominant under Carrol they still recruited nationally even though they could have just relied on California high school talent. The same with the Ohio State, Florida, Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma. All reside or are in talent rich regions but recruit nationally.
OOS recruiting is one of the reasons that Stoops did so well at OU for as long as he did. He couldn’t just rely on Texas talent like Switzer did because Mack was dominating OU on the recruiting trail after OU got busted paying players with the Big Red Auto scandal. OU still relies on Texas for the majority of their players but many of their 5 star recruits are national.
I have always believed that one of Mack’s biggest mistakes was not to really recruit nationally after Texas won the MNC in 2005. Texas was the biggest national brand in the country at that time. That was the reason Texas got the LHN from ESPN when no other school could. He was so dominant recruiting in Texas that he thought he could always rely on Texas talent to compete for a MNC. I think he got complacent and didn’t want to fight for OOS bluechippers with other schools that were blatantly paying recruits.
I’m thrilled that Herman is taking Texas national on recruiting. It’s needed with so many schools recruiting Texas now but also crucial when the state of Texas is not producing talent at certain positions like TE, OL, DL, etc in some years.
I was kidding about Fred Stromile.
Among my earliest memories as a Texas fan is watching Stromile getting smoked repeatedly against BYU and Houston. Bless his soul, but it was rough to watch.
Yeah, not for me. Running Out of bounds behind the receiver and letting Crabtree stop, shake off the tackle and go score drops him out.
Michael Griffin was dominant. He had had cover skills, supported the run extremely well and always had knack for a key turnover either causing a fumble or getting an int. Easily ahead of most on your list.
Gunn in front of Stanley Richard? Gunn didn't have the range or play making ability Stanley Richard did. Gunn was a hitter and a good player but a better DC would have spun Gunn down to LB and Van Malone would have had better range to play safety instead of coming off the bench.
Gunn in front of Stanley Richard? Gunn didn't have the range or play making ability Stanley Richard did. Gunn was a hitter and a good player but a better DC would have spun Gunn down to LB and Van Malone would have had better range to play safety instead of coming off the bench.
Hard to say. He had some great plays, but also had some bad coverage busts and key missed tackles. Freshmen learning curve for sure.
A DB/Captain who wins the coin toss, the ref asks if you want the ball first and he replies It don’t make a shit!” deserves top 10!! Not to mention 4 ints in a game against A&M.
I saw some very nice hands catches in critical situations by Beck to include a beautiful diving catch or two. He actually dropped very few balls and made more nice catches. I have high hopes for Brewer but am curious to see if his weight gain has impacted his ability as a receiver. He did not seem as fluid this season, but the sample size was very small.
Been saying this for quite some time before it was a popular opinion.
My dream hire:
Dell McGee - Georgia Assistant Head Coach and RB Coach - makes $550k a year
Why is he my dream hire?
In the last 3 recruiting cycles he has been responsible for signing:
16 - 4* recruits
12 - Top 250 recruits
6 - 5* recruits
That's what an elite badass recruiter looks like.
@AnwarsFedora
Ketch, I don't know if Texas has ever had a better defensive back than Raymond Clayborn, who played offense at times as a freshman in 1973 and ran for an 85-yard TD against Arkansas before moving to the defense in (I think) 1974, which was my senior year at UT. He was a special athlete, a strong 6-2 or 6-3 guy who could run a 100-yard dash in 9.4 seconds; he was an All-American at UT and a multi-year All-Pro for at least a decade with the Patriots. It was kind of amusing to watch Hall-of-Famer Lynn Swann try to get away from him--Raymond could almost trot and still cover Swann.
With nearly a week to chew on the aftermath of the Sugar Bowl win over Georgia, here are 30 things rolling around in my head.
1. Did Sam Ehlinger just have the third best quarterback season (using statistics as the measuring tool) of any quarterback in the history of the program? Outside of Vince Young in 2005 and Colt McCoy in 2008, who gets selected over Ehlinger after he just became "the sixth Power 5 quarterback in the last 20 years to have 25+ pass touchdowns and 15+ rushing touchdowns in a season, joining Heisman Trophy winners Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Marcus Mariota and Lamar Jackson"?
2. It's kind of crazy to think about, but considering that Ehlinger tied the record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in the game, he's pretty much a lock to one day be named to the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame, right?
3. It probably needs to be said ... Tim Beck did a really good job this year, that is if helping contribute to developing one of the best quarterbacks in the country means anything. If there was a plank to walk, he sure wouldn't be the first one you'd put on it.
4. Penny for Shane Buechele's thoughts ...
5. When I look back at Keaontay Ingram's freshman season, I found myself thinking that the coaches might have been right all along in commenting all season that he needs to eat more Wheaties. Take a look at his average per carry by game:
First seven games: 6.2, 6.4, 4.8, 6.8, 6.6, 5.8 and 4.7
Last six games: 2.3, 5.9, 4.8, 3.9, 1.8 and 2.8
6. Ingram ended his season averaging 5.0 yards per carry and 6.3 yards per catch, numbers that suggest getting a big-time running back prospect in this class was a bigger priority than it might have looked like in October. It's hard to know right now just how much of a workload Ingram can handle at this level.
7. Outside of Daniel Young (3.6 yards per carry), there's not much on the roster to boost next year's running back rotation, which means incoming freshman Derrian Brown might be the sneakiest strong candidate to be next year's biggest sudden impact player. It also might mean that there will be a real urgency to bring in Deondrick Glass or someone else to supplement Brown in this class. It's kind of a big deal, actually.
8. If there's a grad transfer candidate out there similar to Tre Watson, the Longhorns need to be all over him. USE THAT PORTAL!!!!!!
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?
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.
11. My official stance on both Humphrey and Jones is that they'd both likely do well to return for a senior season, but if they decide they simply want to start getting paid for their trade, hey man, I get it. We often think about a player returning through the prism of simply playing another 12-15 games, but it's a near 350-65-day grind and that includes continuing going to class. Some dudes just want to be done with pretend amateurism.
12. The biggest winner in a Humphrey decision to go pro would have to be soon-to-be-senior Devin Duvernay, who had a sneaky good season in catching 39 passes for 524 yards and four touchdowns. Second-biggest winner? According to the depth chart, D'Shawn Jamison would be first up to replace Humphrey at the HWR position. I get the feeling that Jamison might be Kwame Cavil 2.0, a player recruited to play defense but too dangerous as a player on offense to ever take the ball out of his hands. Meanwhile, the biggest loser in the Johnson decision is probably Brennan Eagles, who will probably have a hard time getting into the starting line-up until 2020. Considering how highly everyone in the program feels about Eagles, I wonder if we might see him compete for playing time at the ZWR spot, should they feel like Duvernay is a player that can move around to both spots.
13. Man, I wrote all of that and completely forgot about Joshua Moore, who actually has the most receptions among returning receivers (after Johnson, [potentially] Humphrey and Duvernay). Man, the receiver position is loaded moving forward.
14. I'm going to be rooting for John Burt, just so you know.
15. If Humphrey does declare, I think Johnson would be poised for a monster senior season, like Shipley 2009-type season from a numbers standpoint. I'd feel the same way if Johnson declared and Humphrey returned.
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.
17. So, if there was a game tomorrow, the starting offensive line would look like this:
LT: Sam Cosmi
LG: Tope Imade
C: Zach Shackelford
RG: Derek Kerstetter
RT: Denzel Okafor
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.
18. In Herb Hand, I trust.
19. Who was better - Jackson Jeffcoat in 2013 or Charles Omenihu in 2018? I'm going to go Jeffcoat, but it's close. That being said, Omenihu is going to have a better pro career.
20. Malcolm Roach is one of the most important players in the program in 2019. It's time for the promise he showed as a freshman and in rare spots in each of the last two years to turn into something substantial. Considering he had the same number of sacks as you and only 1.5 tackles for loss more than me, I'm really not sure what Friday's announcement was about.
21. The return of Brandon Jones in 2019 would mean the Longhorns will return only three of the top 10 tacklers on the defense. Obviously, his not returning would leave only two – B.J. Foster and Caden Sterns.
22. I think Gerald Wilbon has a chance to be Chris Nelson-light next year, which is a compliment.
23. I wonder if Todd Orlando could go back in time to September/October, would he play Jospeh Ossai more? He only led the team in tackles against UGA.
24. For all of the negative talk that was sometimes directed at Kris Boyd, he actually cranked out a really nice senior season. I know Jake Fromm and the Georgia offense wanted no part of him.
25. Buy all of the Anthony Cook stock you can get your hands on.
26. It has to be a nice feeling for Herman not to have to worry about place-kicker or punter going into next season. That's living right.
27. Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo playing on Tuesday night with a smidge of success was quietly one of the best under-the-radar developments of the bowl game. Fellas, come on down!
28. Unsung Hero of Tuesday night: Ryan Bujcevski had a 41.4 average, with four of his five punts being downed inside the 20-yard line.
29. This needs to be said ... I thought the refs were ok in the Sugar Bowl. They mostly let the two teams play. Not once did I ever think the officiating crew was making it about them.
30. Early 2019 prediction: 11-2 and a Big 12 Championship.
No. 2 - Fact of the Weekend ...
This one comes courtesy of my good friend Chad Hastings.
Did you know that in the history of Texas and Texas A&M football that there has never been a single occasion where both programs won 9+ games in consecutive seasons?
I didn't believe it when he told me, but it has never happened.
It's an interesting subplot to next season, as it's likely that both schools will enter next season ranked inside or near the top 10 and are coming off of 9+ win seasons. The dirty little secret about the rivalry between the two schools is that there's zero history of both programs being close to being close to elite for more than a single season ... ever.
Are we about to enter a new era of college football in the state of Texas, one that has never occurred before?
No. 3 – BUY or SELL …
BUY or SELL: Texas TAKES the torch from OU next year? Reason being they are becoming a complete team in all three phases?
(Buy) I'll go out on a limb and say for the first time that Texas will win the 2019 Big 12 Championship.
BUY or SELL: 2020 recruiting class finishes ranked higher than 2019?
(Buy) The Longhorns will have the best non-SEC finish in recruiting next year of any school in the country.
BUY or SELL: David Beaty is a Longhorn coach next season?
(Buy) He hasn't been hired by anyone else at this point and I don't believe in accidents.
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.
BUY or SELL: Roschon Johnson is Jerrod Heard 2.0 and not a college level QB?
(Sell) I'm not saying that it's not a possibility because he is a bit of a project, but I refuse to believe he isn't a college level quarterback at this point. The D'eriq King comparison I heard this week is a good one.
BUY or SELL: If both true Freshmen QBs leave the program it will set back the program several years after Sam leaves?
(Sell) It'll potentially be 2021 before the Longhorns need a replacement for Ehlinger, which means Texas has plenty of time to work things out if those two both leave. Hell, neither of those players has proven anything.
BUY or SELL: The Big 12 members successfully apply pressure on the Conference to overhaul/improve its football officiating?
(Sell) I don't believe they really care enough to raise a stink.
BUY or SELL: Winning the Sugar Bowl against a quality opponent helps with recruiting on the offensive and defensive lines more than other positions?
(Sell) Why would that help with the lines more than other positions?
BUY or SELL: By October 2019, the Longhorn defensive line/linebacker corps will be stronger than the 2018 unit?
(Sell) That's a big leap of faith, one I'm nowhere near ready to make.
BUY or SELL: We play A&M in football within the next 10 years?
(Buy) I think it's going to happen in a bowl game in the next five years.
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.
No. 5 - National Title Game Prediction ...
Alabama 35, Clemson 31 (OT)
The dynasty adds another.
No. 6 - The time is now in Big D ...
I'll be honest, it was hard to jump for joy over Dallas' dispatching of Seattle in the wildcard round of the playoffs this weekend.
Don't get me wrong, it was a hell of a lot better than a loss. Given the meek playoff history of this team over the last near-century, Dak Prescott's fourth quarter rush that put the Cowboys within a foot of clinching the win, you'd be crazy if you didn't enjoy perhaps the best Cowboys playoff moment in two-plus decades.
Yet, let's keep it real ... Dallas hasn't advanced beyond the Divisional Round of the playoffs since 1996. Twenty-three years. Saturday didn't change that.
If we keep it 100, it's also possible that the window for this team's aspirations might be narrower than anyone is prepared to acknowledge. Once big contracts go out to Prescott, Zeke Elliott and Amari Cooper, it's hard to know exactly what it all will mean to the long-term viability of the franchise. More than anything else, it's the defensive side of the ball that is leading this team to success and it will eventually be that side of the ball that is forced to accept concessions when the average amount of payouts to the Big 3 goes from representing about 4.5-percent of the team's salary cap to 30 percent.
2018 Cap numbers
Amari Cooper: $411,765
Dak Prescott: $725,848
Zeke Elliott: $6,806,274
In a league that rewards teams that can find a way to win with quarterbacks under rookie deals and unintentionally punishes those that have the best of the best, it behooves you to win big before big money goes to your quarterback (let alone a running back that will want the highest contract of any player at his position).
So, the time to strike if you're Dallas is right now. Before the Big 3 gets paid. Before Kris Richard is with another team. Before anything else can change the dynamics.
It makes this weekend's game against the Rams a monster. That knowledge makes it hard to get too carried away with Saturday's win because only a baby step has been taken. If bigger steps aren't taken, have any steps actually been made?
That being said, I like Dallas' chances in Los Angeles.
No. 7 - About the Texans ...
Man, the Texans were just never in that game. Never.
My impressions while watching the game was that the Texans don't really need to panic because this game could serve as a bit of a hard lesson learned for a football team trying to take the next step. However, you can make a case that the Texans aren't much different than the Cowboys in that it would behoove them to make a run at a Super Bowl before they have to give out a big contract to their quarterback.
It would also behoove them to make a run during a time when J.J. Watt and Jadaveon Clowney are both not only in their primes, but also healthy at the same time.
When you look at what happened in that context, Saturday was a wasted opportunity and one that might feel really regrettable if some of those same steps Dallas needs to take aren't taken as well.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
... The playoffs are pretty freaking stacked next weekend in the NFL, especially on the AFC side of things.
... Nick Foles must have a fairy godmother that only sobers up in the month of January. Or he's Frosty the Snowman and the magic hat can only be found in the NFL playoffs. It's absolutely crazy.
... Do it, New Orleans. Do it. Take out Frosty.
... Mitch Trubisky deserved better than to have Cody Parkey kicking for him.
... Adrian Phillips is a hell of a football player.
... Leighton Vander Esch is so good than his presence limited a healthy Sean Lee to four snaps on Saturday. Man, that's hard to believe.
... To the victor, go the spoils. It's as simple as that.
... I don't know if you've heard of him, but this Messi guy is pretty good.
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
No. 10 – And Finally ...
By the end of the fifth chapter of Surviving R. Kelly this weekend, I found myself emotionally wiped. How on earth could we let this happen? Here's hoping that a reckoning is headed his way soon.
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