Let me confess at the beginning of this week's column that I generally don't like all-conference teams in football because three-quarters of the time, I feel like the media or coaches (er ... sports information directors) don’t know what the hell they are voting on.
For instance, as much as Zach Shackelford exemplifies what it is to be a Longhorn as much as anyone I can think of from the last decade in this program, he didn't have a better season than Sam Cosmi in 2019 and didn't deserve to be first-team All-Big 12 over his younger teammate.
Yet, it happened.
We're talking about an incredibly subjective process and too often the subjectivity crosses the border of confusion. So, let me just get the demeaning of historical all-conference teams out of the way by taking the first shot at the data assembled for this week's lede. Hey, it's the off-season ... cut me some slack in the name of a quirky little historical inspection of what is being asked of the 2020 Texas Longhorns.
In the quarter-century history of the Big 12, the boys in burnt orange have won the conference in football an underwhelming three times - 1996, 2005 and 2009.
Earlier this week, as I was thinking about those three teams in comparison to what will be this year's team, the thing that stood out to me the most about all three of those title-winning teams is the obscene amount of top-end talent that played in those seasons. Consider that the 1996 Longhorns would be viewed as the third-deepest team of the bunch and it sported Ricky Williams, Priest Holmes and Shon Mitchell at running back. That team underperformed all season long to the point that it was viewed as a major underdog to Nebraska, but the highlight moment of the John Mackovic era was not some "got lucky" accident. It was littered with first-round draft picks, a trio of borderline NFL Hall of Fame standouts and one of the best quarterback in 25 years of Longhorns football when he arrived on campus.
Forgive my little descent into 1996 discussion, but the point to make is that all three of those teams (I don't have to argue for the 2004 and 2009 teams) were freaking loaded. After compiling my top 25 players in the program list a week ago, I found myself absolutely positive that I couldn't begin to line up the 2020 team against any of those three teams and expect that it would hold up in a player for player showdown.
Of course, it's a little unfair to the 2020 team that it is compared directly to teams that have already created their history and had a decade-plus at a minimum for all of their historical greatness to fully ooze out of the football toothpaste tube. In a breakdown of the 2020 team against the three title teams, the teams that really need to be held up against this year's squad are 1995, 2004 and 2008.
Therefore, in an attempt to compare all of those teams, I wanted to take a gander at how all three title teams were viewed coming out of the seasons prior to those title-winning seasons with the intent of getting something that would allow us to get closer to an apples to apples comparison between all of them. After considering that a statistical breakdown involving all four teams would be impossible for multiple reasons (including the lack of 1995 data available and the changes that have occurred of 25 years of the sport), I decided that I'd just do the simple thing ... look at the all-conference teams.
With the 2020 team lacking certified proven difference-makers, I wondered how much of the proven talent on the championship teams was proven coming out of the seasons that proceeded those championships.
Let's take a look.
2019: Four Players
(first team) None, (second team) OL Sam Cosmi, (honorable mention) K Cameron Dicker, QB Sam Ehlinger and LB Joseph Ossai
2008: 10 Players
(1st team) LB Sergio Kindle, OL Adam Ulatoski (2nd team) OL Chris Hall, K Hunter Lawrence, QB Colt McCoy, WR Jordan Shipley (honorable mention) DB Blake Gideon, LB Roddrick Muckelroy, OL Charlie Tanner and DB Earl Thomas
2004: 8 Players
(1st team) OL Justin Blalock, DB Michael Huff, OL Jonathan Scott, (2nd team) DT Larry Dibbles, TE David Thomas, DT Rod Wright, (honorable mention) DB Cedric Griffin and QB Vince Young)
1995: 7 Players
(1st team) QB James Brown, WR Mike Adams, DB Chris Carter, TE Pat Fitzgerald, OL Dan Neil (second team) NG Chris Akins and CB Bryant Westbrook
So, what is the snapshot big takeaway?
All three of those championship teams returned at least five 1st- and 2nd-team performers from the previous seasons, while the 2020 team returns only one such performer. Other than 2020 almost having twice as few players regarded as all-conference performers than the other three teams in this discussion, it's the lack of roughly a half-dozen established difference makers compared to those teams that stands out.
Basically, what is being asked of the 2020 team has never been accomplished by any Texas team that has ever played since it joined the Big 12, which sounds pretty freaking depressing. I know what you're thinking ... "Can you give us information without adding to our decade-long running depression?"
Maybe. Just maybe.
While the 1996, 2005 and 2009 teams differed so much from the 2020 team in terms of returning elite talent, there was one team in fairly recent Texas history that did seem to have something in common with this year's team ... the 1995 Longhorns. The same 1995 Longhorn team that fueled the 1996 Longhorns.
Check out the returning list of players from that 1994 team that played for the 1995 team.
1994: 2 Players
(1st team) DE Tony Brackens and PK Phil Dawson.
That's it. It seems the voters for the all-conference teams in 1994 had about as much respect for the returning players on those teams than the voters of the 2019 teams did.
Two other things those teams had in common? Both were quarterbacked by one of the best quarterbacks in school history, but players that hadn't yet hit the highest marks they'd eventually hit. Both also feature potential program-changing running backs in Ricky Williams and Bijan Robinson.
Oh, and both teams featured multiple all-conference-level senior wide receivers. Both teams were set at place-kicker. Both-teams' best player on defense was at defensive end. Both teams had major question marks at linebacker. Both teams were led by head coaches that hadn't yet won a conference championship (unless we want to give Mackovic full conference-winning credit for going 4-3 in SWC play).
Also, just like the 1994 Longhorns, the 2020 Longhorns are in a position where they must topple a rival that has mostly owned the conference it plays in for the previous decade.
So, there you have it. I found the historical counter-part in Texas history that the 2020 team can mirror in a potentially championship-winning way, while also staying inside of a 30-year window.
Yes, I am this much of a nerd.
No. 2 - Shuffling the deck ...
An eyebrow was raised this week upon @Anwar Richardson's report on Friday that junior Reese Leitao was making a full-time move to defensive end from tight end and sophomore Malcolm Epps would cross-train at defensive end to go along with his move to tight end from wide receiver following last season.
Frankly, Leitao's move isn't too much of a shock when you consider that he's had a difficult time carving out a role on the offensive side of the ball since arriving in 2017 from Jenks, Oklahoma. With senior Cade Brewer locked in as the starter at tight end and sophomore Jared Wiley emerging as the heir to Brewer's role in the long-term, Leitao was in a bit of a difficult spot heading into his fourth season on campus when it comes to making a real dent on the field.
Although he played 178 snaps in 12 regular season games a year ago (14.8 snaps per game), Leitao didn't come to Texas to be a bit player and with the needs at defensive end so obvious, moving to the defensive side of the ball in the name of becoming more than a bit player makes a lot of sense.
More than anything, it's the situation with Epps that I find to be most fascinating.
As a redshirt freshman last season, Epps received 400 snaps as the "X" and "Y" wide receiver positions, which ranked third among all receivers on the roster. That ended up being more snaps than senior Collin Johnson, who was injured for much of the season, and twice as many snaps as Jake Smith (231) and Marcus Washington (108) combined. While he looked to many naked eyes as a bit of a tweener at the wide receiver position, the Texas coaches kept putting him on the field in his redshirt freshman season.
Despite all of the playing time in 2019 at receiver in Tom Herman's offense, Epps was officially moved to tight end after the season concluded and because he's likely third in the pecking order at his new position at best heading into the 2020 season, it makes sense that they'll give him a shot on the other side of the ball as well.
Anything to get both on the field and potentially aid a position of weakness within the program, right?
Yet, the situation begs the following question - if Epps' role on the offense in 2020 appears to be potentially very limited, what was the line of thinking that emphasized him as such a critical member of the offense in 2019? It's incredibly rare that a skill player would receive so many snaps as a young player and then be viewed as something much less in less than two months’ time.
Whatever the answers are to that question, here's to Epps hitting the ground running in the spring in these new roles.
No. 3 - The stakes are high in 2020 for Sam Ehlinger ...
It is my opinion that Sam Ehlinger enters the 2020 season as the No. 6 quarterback in the history of the Texas program.
It is also my opinion that in order for Ehlinger to crack the top five, he'll need to do more than break most of Colt McCoy's passing records to get there.
It's going to take him winning a championship. Based on the overwhelming results of a Twitter poll taken this weekend, it appears my opinions are shared by the majority of the Texas fan base.
I don't know if I've ever seen this many people agree about anything related to Texas football.
No. 4 - I'm mostly going to keep my mouth shut ...
I'm basically at a loss for words over the last two weeks that the Texas basketball team has put together, specially following a week in which it beat both West Virginia and Texas Tech by double digits and has firmly placed itself onto the NCAA Tournament bubble after living in the rubble for most of the month that predated the last two weeks of February.
Who knew that all Shaka Smart's team needed was a Tweet questioning its ability to win a single game after losing a handful of its best players?
All I know is that I want to tip my cap to Smart and his players for stepping up big when all seemed lost, but at the same time I don't want to offer too much praise because ...
a. There's still work to do in the next two weeks in an effort to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
b. I don't want to jinx my reverse jinx.
c. It doesn't change the bottom line of Smart's five-season tenure in Austin.
As Crash Davis once said, "Never **** with a winning streak."
So, I won't.
No. 5 - Good news and bad news for Texas Baseball ...
On one hand, the Longhorns played mostly well in an air-tight loss to LSU, a very good win a against Arkansas and a disappointing loss to Missouri. Even with a losing record, the team could exit with its head held high and its previous strong play vindicated.
On the other hand, it did go 1-2.
And yet on another third hand, the team was on the brunt end of some seriously sketchy calls at critical junctures in one-run losses, including this howler.
No. 6- The best team on the 40 Acres?
As someone that goes all the way back to the beginning of Texas softball (an ex-girlfriend was the last girl cut on Clark's first team), I don't think I've ever seen anything in the history of the program quite like this year's team.
Oh, we've seen great teams with iconic pitchers, but I can't say I ever remember a Texas softball team that combined all of the traits you'd look for in a great team and not just some. Proving that this weekend, the Longhorns took a tour of the West Coast and knocked off No. 1 UCLA (6-4), No. 2 Washington (8-6) and No. 11 Michigan (1-0). At 20-3, this team might not be quite unbeatable, which it sometimes seemed like when Cat Osterman was on the mound, but it can beat anyone in the country in almost every way a team can beat another team.
I'm expecting some exciting post-season stuff from this group.
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) I think it will produce some players for the NFL, but never at a rate that it could be known as a "developmental" league.
(Sell) Not unless you mean a different Simmons than the one that not only won the Butkus Award in 2019, but just dominated the NFL Combine.
(Sell) I don't believe that statement can be definitely made.
(Sell) Nope, key contributors rarely leave.
(Buy) Absolutely.
(Sell) Texas is the underdog in both games at this point in my mind.
(Buy) Yes, I've been on the record for a while with this one.
(Sell) I don't see how that can be the case just yet. Perhaps it might just mean that he'll leave with a pat on the back instead of a kick in the backside.
(Buy) Getting to the tournament might just save his job, considering the circumstances of the season.
No. 8 - Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind ...
... I would really prefer if Jerry Jones would stop confirming that he spends time in the shower thinking about Dez Bryant.
... Clemson do-it-all defender Isaiah Simmons is a certified freak after running a 4.39 at the NFL Combine this weekend at 6-3 5/8 and 238 pounds. Wow.
... I expected Devin Duvernay to run faster than he did at the combine and I expect that he will at the Texas pro day in a few weeks. His 4.39 still ranked as the fifth-fastest at the receiver position at the combine, but I think he can shave that down a wee bit.
... Consider me a bit shocked that Collin Johnson did only three fewer reps on the bench press (17) than teammate Malcolm Roach (20).
... Oklahoma defensive tackle Neville Gallimore became only the fourth defensive lineman in Combine history since 2006 (per ESPN stats) to break off a sub-4.8 40-yard dash when he pulled off a 4.79 over the weekend.
... I'm really just not into the NBA very much right now. Maybe it's because my Sixers are such a massive disappointment. Maybe it's something else. Not sure.
... My beloved Liverpool finally took an L after almost 14 months of unbeaten play in the Premier League and boy did they do it in style, playing one of the worst games I've seen from a Liverpool squad under Jurgen Klopp in a 3-0 loss to Watford that might have actually flattered the Reds. While there's no reason to panic with a 22-point lead and only 10 games remaining on the Premier League schedule, the truth of the matter is that Liverpool hasn't played well in the last month and a real injection of urgency and quality is needed if the team wants to end its season the way it started. Hopefully, the loss serves as a huge wake-up call.
... I never thought I'd see the day when David De Gea looks more like Loris Karius than ... well ... David De Gea. Nevertheless, we've reached that moment.
... Real Madrid might have just saved its season on Sunday with its win in "El Clasico". Might. That's a big MIGHT.
... I watched more of the MLS in its first weekend than I did the XFL in each of its first three weekends combined.
No. 9 - The List: Top 10 The Eagles songs ...
Forty-five years ago today, The Eagles had their first-ever No. 1 US hit with "Best of M y Love," which was the third single from the 1974 album "On The Border."
With the band touring in Texas this weekend and throughout the next week, I thought a top 10 list for the group was a good idea.
Rest in peace, Glenn Frey.
10. The New Kid in Town
9. Peaceful Easy Feeling
8. One of These Nights
7. I Can't Tell You Why
6. Already. Gone
5. Take It To The Limit
4. Take It Easy
3. Heartache Tonight
2. Desperado
1. Hotel California
Quick thought - I will die on the “Heartache Tonight” is one of the most underrated songs in history hill. It’s absolutely one of the all-time club banger rock songs of all-time. Glenn Fry is at his the top of his "swag" game". He even shit talks twice during the song to punctuate it. Don Henley's drum work might be the best of any song he ever did. Bob Segar is in the chorus. Seriously, just go listen to the drums. It's got awesome guitar play. By the end of it, Fry is in a fever-pitch and has me ready to jump out of my skin every time. It was never meant to be an all-time great song, but it has aged as well as any song in the group's playlist outside of Hotel California.
This is the limb I'm standing on.
No.10 - And finally...
Thanks to McComas for Tweeting this on Sunday, but I just kind of felt like we could all use a little bit of what Leny has going for him.
Thanks to McComas for Tweeting this on Sunday, but I just kind of felt like we could all use a little bit of what Leny has going for him.
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