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Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Augie would have loved this weekend ...)

I agree that Texas' instate recruiting has been lackluster compared to expectations.

Oklahoma and A&M are problems as they have been historically, at least intermittently.

But this year's Longhorn results are also diminished by two Texas players that Texas finished second for that have nothing to do with those two rivals. One was Garrett Wilson, who though counted as a top Texas player, apparently really identified more with his childhood Ohio home and chose Ohio State. The other is Osafa-Mensah, who, though counted as a top Texas kid, grew up in a Nigerian family, went to a Catholic private school and chose Notre Dame.

If we had gotten those two Texas kids, most would be feeling better about Texas recruiting.
 
My two thoughts from the baseball weekend that you ddnt already mention.

1. Thought it was very cool that both Texas and Cal st Fullerton made the super regional the same year Augie passed away.

Augie's old team did seem to be quite happy after their victory over Stanford.
 
Ketch

Your words on Augie were an incredible piece of writing. So hard to say so much in so few words. That is when you know you have read something very powerful. You should frame them and put them up in your home. You write so much that the really great stuff can get lost among the good.

Do not lose this. As the years go buy, it will come to mean more and more, not only to you and Augie's family and supporters, but Coach Pierce's and all Longhorn faithful as well.

I wander in fact if you should start an Orangeblood's Hall of Fame for a handful of the great posts each year.
Maybe you already have and I don't know it, but just a thought.

Anyway, really enjoyed it. Made me feel like I was a part of the special moment and the special years with Augie, even though I was not.

You took me there from here. That is a gift.

Thank You
Thanks for the uplifting words.
 
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I agree that Texas' instate recruiting has been lackluster compared to expectations.

Oklahoma and A&M are problems as they have been historically, at least intermittently.

But this year's Longhorn results are also diminished by two Texas players that Texas finished second for that have nothing to do with those two rivals. One was Garrett Wilson, who though counted as a top Texas player, apparently really identified more with his childhood Ohio home and chose Ohio State. The other is Osafa-Mensah, who, though counted as a top Texas kid, grew up in a Nigerian family, went to a Catholic private school and chose Notre Dame.

If we had gotten those two Texas kids, most would be feeling better about Texas recruiting.
Correct, but it wouldn't mean that some concerning issues don't exist.
 
BTW, with Kent Perkins, Westerman and Trey Hopkins, the Bengals are like a halfway house for former Longhorn offensive line recruits.
 
We are hosting a super regional this weekend against Tennessee Tech. This is going to be great!
I missed by baseball prediction for this weekend before the weekend even arrived.
 
I didn't cite the LSR rankings in my column. That list is being updated and I felt it was out of date, so I didn't use them.

Would have made a lot more sense had you updated the LSR ratings first.
 
The Aggs will be happy being mediocre in the the Southeast.
Don't let your hatred for all things aggy cloud your judgment. They're now on the hook for every penny of a $70M contract. They fired the last guy -- who's still collecting guaranteed $$$ -- because of mediocre finishes (and it'll be "rinse...repeat" w/Jimbo after 4 years, and then the next after him...). While there's a reason, aggy hasn't won an NC since Hitler invaded Poland, it doesn't mean they don't want another one and aren't willing to pay to get it. It's simply that Poor Aggy can't get out of its own way. Consigning themselves to the SEC West just to get out of The University's shadow all but ensured they never will. That is, at least to the point of winning an SEC football crown, let alone a national one.
 
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According to Jay Norvell a great receiver has a combination of traits. Let’s compare Jake Smith and Garrett Wilson.

Agility- Jake Smith
Body Control- Wash
Strength- Garrett Wilson
Quickness- Jake Smith
Soft Hands- Wash
Physical Stamina- can’t tell off film
Concentration- Wash
Focus- Wash
Toughness- Wash
Pride- Can’t tell most likely a wash
Eye-hand coordination- Wash
Vision- Jake Smith
Intelligence- Can’t tell likely a wash
Speed- Jake Smith

Obviously both are great players. Jake Smith is so versatile and has the ability to play multiple positions including kick/punt return.

Give me Jake Smith. Or Both would be cool

Hook Em
 
According to Jay Norvell a great receiver has a combination of traits. Let’s compare Jake Smith and Garrett Wilson.

Agility- Jake Smith
Body Control- Wash
Strength- Garrett Wilson
Quickness- Jake Smith
Soft Hands- Wash
Physical Stamina- can’t tell off film
Concentration- Wash
Focus- Wash
Toughness- Wash
Pride- Can’t tell most likely a wash
Eye-hand coordination- Wash
Vision- Jake Smith
Intelligence- Can’t tell likely a wash
Speed- Jake Smith

Obviously both are great players. Jake Smith is so versatile and has the ability to play multiple positions including kick/punt return.

Give me Jake Smith. Or Both would be cool

Hook Em
So, Garrett Wilson is stronger, but not so much in the other 13 categories you listed.

giphy.gif
 
Also I’m saying most other categories are a wash


Not sure how you see that. But ok.
I'm not alone.

Rivals has Wilson rated as the No.88 player in the nation and Smith as the No.104 player

ESPN has Wilson rated as the No.13 player in the nation and Smith as the No.82 player

247 has Wilson rated as the No.10 player in the nation and Smith as the No.178 player
 
I'm not alone.

Rivals has Wilson rated as the No.88 player in the nation and Smith as the No.104 player

ESPN has Wilson rated as the No.13 player in the nation and Smith as the No.82 player

247 has Wilson rated as the No.10 player in the nation and Smith as the No.178 player

I have a feeling Jake’s ranking changes between now and signing day. Their two different players in my mind, both great. I could see Smith having the better college career and Wilson having the better pro career.
 
That goes well in the rap game.
Allegedly, J-Prince stated that Drake did make a comeback track that crossed lines and would've not only ended Pusha T's career but also would've effected he and Kanye's personal lives therefore he instructed Drake to not release it. Either they truly fear that this could cross over into dangerous territory or J-Prince is just covering for Drake by saying he has the dissemination track to end all dissemination tracks but it will never see the light of day.
 

Augie-Garrido-2-aug-11.jpg


Augie would have loved last night.

Before the Longhorns clinched a 10th trip to an NCAA Super Regional with that final fourth out in the bottom of the ninth inning, it was hard to look at the scene at the Disch and not think about the Texas legend that left us earlier in the year.

On one side of the field, you had a Texas team trying to regain a piece of its history, but it wasn't going to come easily. There was going to be a bases-loaded situation to escape. A lucky ground-rule double to survive. A potential mental hurdle of thinking you had the game won, only to need to flip the mental switch back on.

On the other side of the field was an opponent that seemed to embody exactly the type of mindset that Garrido would have loved, a team capable of handling adversity and owning the instincts of a fighter that might lose by a decision, but never a knock-out.

At the same time, there would both be exhilaration and devastation. That's baseball and that's life.

Garrido was the master of turning a small moment in a single game and making it about so much more and in the final innings of the Austin Regional, those small moments were in abundance.

And when the final out was "officially" recorded, all of those varying emotions exploded in front of us and I found it impossible to not think about him, if there was a baseball heaven out there where he was able to hang out with his old baseball buddies, drink a glass of wine and smile while watching the program that he loved so dearly find itself after having its will tested to the brink.

This was an Augie kind of weekend.

No. 2 - About David Pierce ...

It's easy to take winning for granted around here when it comes to baseball success. After all, we're talking about a program that legitimately believes that the site of the College World Series is its second home.

Yet, one of the things that really stands out to me from the aftermath of Texas clinching the regional win was the elation from its skipper.

While David Pierce has seen success at the highest levels as an assistant coach, this is the first time as a head coach to experience this level of success and you could see what it meant to him. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the sight of his smile as he hugged anyone and everyone he could get his hands on was worth a million.

For a guy that once upon a time played his college ball at Wharton Junior College and began his coaching career at Pasadena Dobie High School, this represented a monumental moment for him on a professional level.

Getting this program to this spot is what he was hired to do, but he hadn't actually ever done it before. It's worth taking the time to acknowledge the value of the moment for him every bit as much as the players.

No. 3 - Kody Clemens is about that action...


I'm not going to get into the debate that I started two weeks ago about how the youngest Clemens has put together the type of all-American season that his incredibly famous old man was never quite able to produce because Kody Clemens could hit 100 home runs and his old man would still be Roger Freaking Clemens.

Yanno ... the guy whose number is retired on the outfield wall where Kody does most of his mashing.

Instead, I just want to focus on the fact that after carrying the team on his shoulders to a Big 12 regular season championship down the homestretch of this season, he went out and topped it with his performance in the regional.

His performance against the Aggies on Saturday, which included him staring down the A&M dugout after crushing a ball to give the Longhorns a 3-0 lead, is the stuff of legends in the making. Adding the regional-clinching RBI double in the seventh inning on Sunday night was just the cherry on top of a tasty desert of a weekend performance.

The kid has become must-see-stuff at this stage of the season. We're watching one of the best seasons of the last quarter-century of any player the school has seen.

No. 4 - Talking Jake Smith ...

DezjOkwWAAEdQWL.jpg


The Longhorns out-of-state recruiting machine picked up even more steam over the weekend with the commitment of Arizona prep star Jake Smith.

In a year when the Longhorns are struggling to reel in the best receiver prospects in the state of Texas, being able to secure the commitment of a player that would rank as a top five player in the state of Texas in this class is a massive coup.

At times, you see a little Reggie Bush in the kid. Sometimes you see a little Christian McCaffrey. Ironically, there are times when I see a little bit of Christian Kirk, the last Arizona prep star to rush and receive for 1,000 yards in the same season in the state of Arizona.

This is the type of commitment that is truly worthy of the celebration we make of verbal pledges. The only downside is that he can't play for the Longhorns this season.

No. 5 - The state of the state of Texas ...

A few thoughts following the commitment of five-star offensive line prospect Kenyon Green to Texas A&M this weekend.

a. It's a huge win for the Aggies. Barring injuries, off-field issues or him not caring about football enough to maximize his upside as a player, I think we're talking about a young man that will have a chance to play on Sundays before it's all said and done.

b. Texas is taking some punches to the chin in the state of Texas right now. Oklahoma is a handful in the Metroplex and A&M is a handful in Houston. It's as simple as that.

c. The number of available top-shelf blue chip prospects in the state of Texas is dwindling quickly. Of the top 20 in-state prospects, here is who remains uncommitted.

#5 Richmond Bush CB Erick Young
#7 Houston St. Pius X DB Jalen Curry
#8 Cedar Hill Trinity Christian DB Lewis Cine
#9 Houston St. Pius X QB Grant Gunnell
#15 Houston Mayde Creek DE Marcus Stripling
#19 Fort Worth Eaton WR Titus Swen
#20 Fort Bend Ridge Point DE Nelson Ceasar

Sixty-five percent of the top 20 players in the state are already committed. Two are Longhorns. Texas will likely land another name or two from the list of names above, but I'm not telling you something you don't already know when I tell you that the in-state recruiting success of 2019 isn't the same as that of 2018.

It's a good thing the out of state recruiting is at an elite level because it would be a problem if it wasn't.

No. 6 - Spotlighting the regions around the state of Texas...

I thought a quick snapshot of the rankings through the two most critical regions (most years would include East Texas) of the state of Texas - DFW and Houston - would be interesting to look at.

DFW

1. Allen WR Theo Wease (Committed to Oklahoma)
2. Bishop Dunne DB Brian Williams (Committed to Texas A&M)
3. Cedar Hill Trinity Christian WR Lewis Cine (Uncommitted)
4. Bishop Dunne LB Marquez Beason (Committed to Illinois)
5. Carrollton Hebron WR Trejan Bridges (Committed to Oklahoma)
6. Waxahachie DB Demani Richardson (Committed to Texas A&M)
7. Plano Prestonwood TE Austin Stonger (Committed to Oklahoma)
8. Forth Worth Nolan DE Nana Osafo-Mensah (Committed to Notre Dame)
9. Colleyville Heritage WR Kam Brown (Committed to Texas A&M)
10. Fort Worth Eaton WR Titus Swen (Uncommitted)

Houston

1. Richmond Travis WR Arjei Henderson (Committed to Oklahoma)
2. Humble Atascocita OL Kenyon Green (Committed to Texas A&M)
3. Richmond Bush DB Erick Young (Uncommitted)
4. Houston St. Pius X WR Jalen Curry (Uncommitted)
5. Houston St. Pius X QB Grant Gunnell (Uncommitted)
6. Conroe Oak Ridge OL Tyler Johnson (Committed to Texas)
7. Houston Mayde Creek DE Marcus Stripling (Uncommitted)
8. Fort Bend Ridge Point DE Nelson Ceaser (Uncommitted)
9. Klein Collins RB Isaiah Spiller (Uncommitted)
10. Richmond Bush DB Jamal Morris (Committed to Oklahoma)

No. 7 – Buy or Sell …
BUY-SELL.gif


BUY or SELL: UT manages to win the Super regional and makes it to the CWS?

(Buy) I think Texas is going to knock off Ole Miss in Oxford.

BUY or SELL: Jake Smith takes the sting out of losing Garrett Wilson.

(Buy) I'd prefer Garrett Wilson, but if you're not going to get Garrett Wilson, getting a borderline five-star prospect at wide receiver makes for one hell of a consolation prize.

BUY or SELL: Herman and Texas firmly plant themselves (2-3 top 10 kids per year) in the Arizona FB recruiting landscape the next 5 years?

(Buy) It seems very possible, and perhaps likely, at this point.

BUY or SELL: Aggies care more about being in the SEC than winning?

(Buy) A&M views being in the SEC as winning. It's all they have.

BUY or SELL: Jimbo outworking Herman and staff. This is from the AY moderator:

"A sign of how Jimbo's staff outworks the others -
The aggies are on the verge of locking down 2020 OL Akinola Ogunbiyi and Smart Chibuzo. They've visited multiple times. Texas offered both quickly tonight.

A little desperation there, Tom?"


(Sell) I don't know if Texas is getting outworked. Texas is just getting beat, at least with a number of high-profile in-state 2019 prospects. That might be splitting hairs, but effort isn't the issue. I think the Texas staff is getting outperformed, rather than outworked.

BUY or SELL: Despite all their crowing, Texas ends up with a higher average point ranking than A&M and within 3 of Jimbo & Co. in the final rankings in 2019.

(Buy) Yeah, I can see that.

BUY or SELL: The current temperature in your house will remain below 80 for the next 24 hours?

(Sell) It depends on what part of the house you're in. The upstairs temps are in the low 70s. The downstairs temps are in the 80s. The temperature in the master bedroom could climb back into the 90s again today.

No. 8 - The most interesting things about this year's NBA Finals...

steph-curry-12-30-17.jpg


Who is going to win Finals MVP?

After game one, I might have leaned to LeBron James, even if his team is swept.

After game two, it might just be Steph Curry.

Very quietly, Kevin Durant is averaging 26.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists on 50-percent shooting in two games, which would allow him quite a case himself should he step up his game a notch on the road in Cleveland in games three and four.

The outcome of this series is decided as far as I'm concerned, but these three all-time players competing for the individual prize is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

No. 9 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …

... I think a case can be made that Steph Curry shooting a three-point shot is the most exciting play in sports right now.

... Curry was so good in game two that Kevin Durant's sensational night was completely overshadowed. I think he's going to have a moment before this series is complete.

... Why does LeBron keep wearing shorts with his tie and coat? Is he going to pull off making this a popular thing?

... I don't find myself thinking very much about the NFL right now.

... Hey Jake, tell us how you really feel...


... Speaking of Jake, he gets a spot in this weekend's Stat of the Weekend.


... Wait, Seattle is leading the American League West?

... Nine days and 22 hours until the start of the World Cup!

No. 10 – And Finally ...

Anyone seen Drake?

I feel like we might need to put him on the back of a milk carton pretty soon.
What’s telling to me is the shallow pool of interior line talent in the state of Texas - especially this year, and last year, and the year before that......... makes getting what talent is available even that more important. My question to the mods is, if the talent isn’t available, where do you go to get it?
 
I have a feeling Jake’s ranking changes between now and signing day. Their two different players in my mind, both great. I could see Smith having the better college career and Wilson having the better pro career.
I think Smith has a chance to be special.

I think Wilson might be special special.
 
What’s telling to me is the shallow pool of interior line talent in the state of Texas - especially this year, and last year, and the year before that......... makes getting what talent is available even that more important. My question to the mods is, if the talent isn’t available, where do you go to get it?
wherever you have to.
 
Allegedly, J-Prince stated that Drake did make a comeback track that crossed lines and would've not only ended Pusha T's career but also would've effected he and Kanye's personal lives therefore he instructed Drake to not release it. Either they truly fear that this could cross over into dangerous territory or J-Prince is just covering for Drake by saying he has the dissemination track to end all dissemination tracks but it will never see the light of day.
I mean... if the play is to squash it, what else would they say? I think everyone knows it's the latter, but J Prince has enough juice that it'll be dead, even if they know Drake didn't have shit.
 
Don't let your hatred for all things aggy cloud your judgment. They're now on the hook for every penny of a $70M contract. They fired the last guy -- who's still collecting guaranteed $$$ -- because of mediocre finishes (and it'll be "rinse...repeat" w/Jimbo after 4 years, and then the next after him...). While there's a reason, aggy hasn't won an NC since Hitler invaded Poland, it doesn't mean they don't want another one and aren't willing to pay to get it. It's simply that Poor Aggy can't get out of its own way. Consigning themselves to the SEC West just to get out of The University's shadow all but ensured they never will. That is, at least to the point of winning an SEC football crown, let alone a national one.



Oh for sure I don’t hate the Aggs, I have a few friends that graduated from there... I recently discussed with a business acquaintance who went to OSU about how the Aggs are really locked into a losing position in a way too big conference. His point is they cannot sustain a huge contract, like you do ably point out, on their portion of SEC TV revenue, to pay for their head coach. They don’t recruit well outside Texas and they don’t have a national following as Texas does. Even OU has a bigger national audience than they do. There is no way they can prosper and grow a base in the SEC. Mediocrity is just where they will be. And I like it for them. No hate, just a healthy disrespect.
 
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