I'll take all of those young guys over Cousins without even thinking twice about it.
Have you ever previously posted about the subject before in one of my column threads?
You realize that about .5% of the column is about that material? Is this really the flag you want to carry? Seems fairly insignificant.
Had not thought about it until the past few weeks of the volleyball season. It just struck me as i was suggesting a buy or sell question. I'm an old (in both senses) Jerry Scarbrough guy and he always seemed to have room for everything positive UT. There is so much negativity on the board that we should jump at something as positive as volleyball.
I really want to carry the flag about eliminating the unbridled negativity from some posters but yes if there is room for European soccer but none for The University of Texas' outstanding volleyball team then I will gladly carry that flag.
Ha. Got her number not hooked up with her. If I was going to make a story up I'd come up with something Better than a number.(cough) Bullshit. I think you should post a picture of yourself from 6 years ago; so, I can laugh hysterically at how full of shit you are.
Bill O'Brien (BOB) must be a pretty darn good QB coach. Brian Hoyer is having one of his best statistical seasons, TJ Yates was on fire before tearing his ACL, Brandon Weedon is 2-0, Ryan Fitzpatrick is exceling one year after playing for BOB and now Ryan Mallett is having success at his next stop after playing for BOB. BOB is the one common denominator. The Texans still need to find that elusive franchise QB but have made the plug and play at QB somehow work this season.
In the aftermath of Hassan Ridgeway’s decision to forego his senior season and head to the NFL, the 2016 Texas Longhorns are face-to-face with a college football recruiting truth that sometimes has to be learned the hard way.
Quality interior defensive linemen simply don’t grow on trees.
Along with quality pass rushers, elite-level interior defensive linemen are worth their weight in gold, which is one of the reasons why the general rule in recruiting is that you always take as many as you can get your hands on whenever the opportunities present themselves.
For years under Mack Brown, the Longhorns lived the good life with the position on the field and in recruiting, as the likes of Casey Hampton, Shaun Rogers, Rod Wright, Frank Okam, Roy Miller, Frank Okam and Lamarr Houston held down the fort in the middle of the Texas defense for such a long stretch of time that those in Austin easily forgot how the majority of college football teams live. The decade-long run of difference makers was created by elite-level recruiting, as each of those names listed was regarded as a national top 100-level prospect at a bare minimum.
The question the Longhorns never really had to answer for almost the entire Mack Brown Era is what life looks like when recruiting fails to deliver the big man goods.
That won’t be the case in 2016 at all, as years of absolute failure in recruiting at this position have finally created a bit of a perfect storm for Charlie Strong and his coaching staff. Whatever you want to say about it, the reality is that only senior Paul Boyette, junior Poona Ford, sophomore Chris Nelson and sophomore Jake McMillon remain on the roster heading into next season from a group that played a big role in the Texas defense ranking 112th in the nation in run defense in 2015.
Of the remaining group, Ford and Boyette have proven to be decent college players, but the loss of Ridgeway means the Longhorns run the risk of running out a bunch of JAGs at the position in 2016 and it all stems from failures in recruiting.
Consider the results from the last three recruiting classes …
2013: None
2014: Ford (5.7 three-star prospect), McMillon (5.5 three-star) and Nelson (5.5 three-star prospect)
2015: None
Of course, this is a conversation we’ve had before and things would look a little different around here if A’Shawn Robinson hadn’t flipped to Alabama in 2013 or if Du’Vonta Lampkin wasn’t allergic to Spanish, but the reality from which the Longhorns can’t run is that they haven’t landed a single defensive tackle prospect in two of the last three years and now the single departure of Ridgeway has revealed the depth to be in shambles. While Ford was a quality out-of-state prospect who possessed four-star talent in a three-star physical package, history has proven that the math always suggested that McMillion and Nelson would face long odds to become impact players at the highest major college level.
Making matters worse is the fact that the Longhorns haven’t exactly been able to hit the jackpot in 2016 recruiting, despite the fact that it is the most critical need in the program and playing time is readily available as a selling point. In a year when arguably seven of the state’s top 40-50 prospects are defensive tackle prospects, Strong and Co. haven’t been able to land a single in-state prospect, having only landed three-star (Destrehan, La.) Gerald Wilbon with six weeks to go until Signing Day.
Expect that to change in the coming weeks, but unless the Longhorns are able to flip someone like Euless Trinity’s Chris Daniels, who was only recently offered the day before he committed to Oklahoma, it’s more likely that Texas will be dealing with three-star level prospects. That doesn’t mean that those prospects will never develop into quality players for the Longhorns, but it does almost certainly assure that it will take a few years of seasoning before they are ready for significant contributions, which does nothing for the team in the immediate future.
The defensive tackle problem that the coaches will deal with in the upcoming season has been ominously looming for the last couple years and there’s no easy quick-fix. The top in-state talent is mostly going elsewhere and the idea that the issues can be solved with a trip to the magic JUCO store is misguided.
What you see is what you get and a few additional three-star prospects will certainly help in possibly 2017 or 2018, but it won’t likely change the bottom line very much in Strong’s critical 2016 season.
It’s yet another reminder that there are two sides of the ball that need fixing in the next nine months and the greatest irony of Strong’s tenure in Austin might be that his mess on the offensive side of the ball will prove to be easier to fix that the issues that exist on his defense.
No. 2 – Breaking down the 2016 defensive tackle recruiting …
In-State prospects
In one of the stronger years at the position inside the state of Texas in the last decade, eight defensive tackles rank among the top 82 players in the recent Rivals.com post-season Top 100.
Here’s the list:
No. 4 Ed Oliver (Houston Westfield - Committed to Houston - 4 stars/6.0 rating)
No. 12 Kendall Jones (Killeen Shoemakers - Committed to Alabama -4 stars/5.9 rating)
No. 28 Chris Daniels (Euless Trinity - Committed to Oklahoma - 4 stars/5.8 rating)
No. 51 Ross Blacklock (SL Ekins - LSU, A&M, TCU, Houston and Oklahoma State - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 52 Bravvion Roy (Spring - Committed to Baylor - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 54 Jordan Elliott (Houston Westside - Committed to Michigan - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 69 Michael Williams (FW All Saints - Committed to Stanford - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 82 Marcel Southall (Duncanville - Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma State - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
Breakdown: Of this group of eight, six are already committed elsewhere, but there are probably four players that everyone will need to keep an eye - Daniels (who plans to visit in January), Elliott, Williams and Southall. From this group, Elliott might be the guy most likely to end up as a Longhorn, even if he is currently committed to Michigan, as he’s a player who looked to be all-Texas earlier this summer. Regardless of the name, Texas will have to get each of them on campus and give its best sales pitch with the purpose of closing the deal in the final two weeks of the recruiting process. The good news is that from a talent perspective, all eight would rank as the best defensive tackle prospect the Longhorns have landed in the last four years (going back to the 2012 recruiting class).
Out of state prospects
Ironically, in a year when the in-state crop of interior linemen is as strong as it is, the answers in this class at the position are just as likely to come from outside the state borders, with Wilbon standing as the only defensive tackle commit in the class thus far and a couple of other very talented players still in the mix.
Here’s the list:
* D’andre Christmas-Giles (New Orleans La. St. Augustine - LSU, Texas, TCU, South Carolina and Arkansas - 4 stars/5.9 rating)
* Keyshon Camp (Lakeland Florida Lake Gibson - Committed to USC - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Stephon Taylor (New Orleans La. McDonogh 35 - LSU, Texas, Oklahoma and Auburn - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
Breakdown: Christmas-Giles might be as important as any prospect on the board for the Longhorns, as many people in and around the program believe Strong and Co. knocked it out of the park with his official visit earlier this month, but the in-state Tigers have officially entered the picture with a recent offer and Texas will have to survive the three remaining visits that he’s expected to take in January. Meanwhile, LSU is once again the school the Longhorns will have to overcome if they want to land Taylor, who has been on the Texas radar for two years. Camp is more of a dream than anything else, but if he visits in January, his recruitment will become one to watch.
JUCO prospects
In the forever boom-or-bust game of recruiting from the JUCO ranks, there 17 defensive tackle prospects from around the country that rank as three- or four-star prospects in the Rivals.com rankings, with only two of the 17 owning a four-star ranking. Of this group of 17, only five are still uncommitted, but many are committed to schools that Texas could overcome if it begins to show serious interest.
Here’s the list of JUCO kids with a high three-star grade or higher:
* Handsome Tanielu (Snow College - Committed to BYU - 4 stars/5.8 rating)
* Alexis Johnson (Fort Scott CC - Committed to Tennessee - 4 stars/5.8 rating)
* Maquedius Bain (Pearl River CC - Committed to UAB - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Mychealon Thomas (Butler County CC - Committed to Texas Tech - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Nick Terry (American River - Committed to UCLA - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Tyrell Chavis (Nassau CC - Auburn, Marshall, West Virginia, Texas and Mississippi State - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
Breakdown: There’s just not a lot cooking with any of these six players, although the Longhorns kicked the tires on Tanielu and Chavis, but don’t have visits set up with either at this point. With many of these prospects, including Chavis, set to enroll in January at whichever school they choose, the Longhorns don’t have a lot of time to work late-minute magic.
Overall Breakdown
There are three pretty critical points to take from all of this information.
1. Although the Longhorns won’t likely be in a position to sign an elite-level defensive tackle class, Strong and Co. can still sign a pretty solid class if they can close the deal with a couple of the in-state or out-of-state prospects that still exist on UT’s recruiting board. In terms of helping stabilize the hemorrhaging state of the position, this class has a chance to bring much-needed aid, but only if the coaches can triple the size of the current commitment haul at a bare minimum.
2. Outside of Christmas-Giles, there’s probably not a true impact freshman available in this class. That’s not to say the in-state kids can’t come in and provide immediate help, but the history of non-national top 100-level prospects is that it usually takes a little more time before a healthy contribution should be expected.
3. Barring some real late-game recruiting magic, it’s hard to see where the Longhorns get a lot of immediate help from the 2016 recruiting class. Oh, make no mistake about it, the players that sign in February will certainly be in a position to play as true freshmen, but anything more than possibly serving as a back-up on the two-deep on the depth chart would represent a little bit of a surprise.
No. 3 – Talking quarterbacks …
With the transfer of Kyler Murray to Oklahoma from Texas A&M complete, it seems like a good time to reinforce yet another critical point connected to 2016 recruiting.
While the Longhorns certainly don’t need another quarterback addition outside of Shane Buechele that can’t help the program until 2017, it’s fairly imperative for the success of the 2016 season that the Longhorns find someone … anyone … to provide legit competition for the starting position.
If not, there’s not much reason to believe that the team will feature anyone other than Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard going into next season, unless you believe Buechele will take control of the steering wheel or one of the redshirt freshmen in the program (Kai Locksley and Matthew Merrick) surprise everyone by emerging as factors. Although Sterlin Gilbert has yet to work with either Locksley or Merrick, the feeling among those inside the program is that Locksley will eventually emerge as a wide receiver for the Longhorns, while Merrick is seen as an emergency option at this point.
Yes, it will be a crowded quarterback derby, but at some point you have to make every effort to upgrade the position until a true plus-option emerges on the field.
The upside of such a move would come in the way of immediate help for a critical season for Strong, while the negative is mostly connected to the number of available reps in practice. Typically speaking, your starter and back-up at the position take all of the first- and second-team reps, while the young player with the most upside takes the majority of the scout-team reps. Unless Buechele doesn’t redshirt, he’ll almost certainly receive the lion’s share of scout-team work in 2016, which means that reps for Locksley and Merrick could be hard to find, unless one of them quickly proves ready to push Swoopes/Heard for playing time this spring.
The reality of the situation is that an incoming transfer or JUCO recruit will battle to take reps and playing time from Swoopes and Heard, not any of the young players like Locksley and Merrick. The real competition for those two players is Buechele. Set to arrive in less than a month, Buechele is the player who figures to take the majority of reps that the older players aren’t taking.
Bottom line … not bringing in another option is an indication of a lack of urgency, something I would suggest everyone connected to the program to guard against at all cost.
No. 4 – Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
… This might be my favorite holiday Tweet this year…
You can just feel the love, can’t you?
… Perhaps the situation at defensive end isn’t quite as dire as what Texas will deal with at defensive tackle, but a core group of Bryce Cottrell, Naashon Hughes, Quincy Vasser, Charles Omenihu and Derick Roberson doesn’t exactly feature a bevy of impact performers, at least not through the end of the 2015 season. Outside of Cottrell, only the unproven Vasser looms as depth at strong-side defensive end, which means that immediate help will have to arrive from the 2016 class.
… I don’t know what to set the percentage at, but I’d be greatly surprised at this point if the Longhorns don’t land Beaumont Central four-star running back Devwah Whaley, a player that the Texas coaches have made the No. 1 priority at the position all year. When push comes to shove, I’m not even sure that a true close No. 2 school currently exists.
… Little birdies in East Texas are reporting that the angst inside the A&M program with Kevin Sumlin is definitely making its way into key recruiting battles. Perhaps the prospect that it might impact the most is Nacogdoches star safety Brandon Jones, a player many have had pegged for the Aggies for more than two years, but a guy that the Longhorns appear to be in very good shape with at the moment, in large part due to the unhappiness that currently exists inside the A&M program.
... ICYMI: Former Longhorns wide receiver Cayleb Jones declared for the NFL Draft on Sunday, passing up his final season at Arizona.
No. 5 – Buy or sell …
(As always, these are questions submitted by Orangebloods subscribers)
BUY or SELL: With no Malikmas this year, the 2016 recruiting class sucks for Texas, bringing no additional "plug in" two-deep players, and coupled with the loss of Ridgeway, Raulerson, and other early departures, dooms Texas to an equally dismal 6-6 or worse season next year?
(Sell) I don’t know that the 2016 recruiting class is going to suck at all, but it will have some potential holes in it at critical need areas. Your view feels like the ultimate doom and gloom situation and I’m not quite there, even if I think it’s a team/program with some real concerns all over the place.
BUY or SELL: Charlie lands a prospect inside the top 40 of the Rivals100?
(Buy) I’ll give them Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones, who currently ranks No. 39 on the list.
BUY or SELL: Tulsa averaged 84 offensive plays per game in 2015 while Texas averaged 65 offensive plays per game and maxed out at 83 against Cal. Buy or sell: Texas averages 84 offensive plays per game or more in 2016?
(Sell) I don't think Texas is going to play quite that fast, but the number is going to be closer to 80 than 70.
BUY or SELL: Jerrod Heard will be our starting QB against ND?
(Buy) Until another option presents itself, the smart money's on Heard battling Tyrone Swoopes for the position and I have to believe that he’ll make enough improvement to limit Swoopes to his situational packages.
BUY or SELL: Texas flips three or more players currently committed to other schools?
(Buy) It’s what Strong and his staff do, right?
BUY or SELL: Baylor will not release its report on the truth of Sam Ukwuachu's recruitment until after national signing day?
(Buy) There’s a better chance of me growing back all of my hair and comfortably wearing a size medium shirt than that report coming out before National Signing Day.
BUY or SELL: Ryan Newsome gets 500 yards receiving in the 2016 season?
(Sell) Newsome still has to prove himself as a starting-level player before I’m going to pencil him in for 500+ receiving yards as a true sophomore.
BUY or SELL: Losing Ridgeway and Raulerson will cost us around one win apiece next year?
(Sell) But not recruiting another quarterback to compete with Heard and Swoopes might do the trick.
BUY or SELL: Texas basketball will not finish better than fourth in the Big 12?
(Buy) I’ll take Shaka Smart’s boys to finish fourth in the Big 12 behind Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa State.
BUY or SELL: @DustinMcComas and @Suchomel need to have all sharp objects removed from their home after watching Ryan Mallett defeat the Steelers
(Buy) I've just tried to leave them alone as best I can, especially since McComas' fantasy team fell apart with injuries when he needed good health the most.
No. 6 – Predicting winners for the bowls I care about ...
Russell Athletic Bowl: North Carolina 41 Baylor 34
Advocare Bowl: LSU 31 Texas Tech 17
Music City Bowl: Louisville 29 Texas A&M 22
Peach Bowl: Houston 31 Florida State 28
Citrus Bowl: Michigan 27 Florida 24
Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame 24 Ohio State 20
Rose Bowl: Stanford 33 Iowa 16
Sugar Bowl: Ole Miss 45 Oklahoma State 41
Alamo Bowl: TCU 41 Oregon 38
Orange Bowl: Clemson 38 Oklahoma 31
Cotton Bowl: Alabama 23 Michigan State 13
No. 7 – It’s Brandon Weeden’s world and I’m just living in it ...
No offense to any of the Houston Texans fans reading this, but the surest sign that the apocalypse is upon us is the fact that Brandon Weeden has led the Houston Texans to back-to-back victories in the last two weeks.
Hit your local HEB and start loading up on water and canned foods because aliens ... asteroids … SOMETHING … is bound to wipe us all out in the coming days. In fact, don’t even bother with the bottled water because we probably don’t have that much time. Just love on your family if you have a family and go to the strip club if you’re single and have money to set on fire.
How else do you explain the fact that for the last two weeks, Weeden has actually looked like a fairly legitimate NFL quarterback?
Suddenly, the team with the biggest revolving door at the most important position in football is a home win against Jacksonville away from winning its division and the No. 4 seed.
The NFL often doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but Weeden going 26 of 42 for 305 yards and three touchdowns in the last two weeks after looking beyond incompetent in his short tenure as the starting quarterback for the Cowboys makes less sense than just about anything I’ve ever seen in the league.
The only explanation is that the world is coming to an end. Enjoy your final days.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… Scattershooting on week 16 in the NFL
a. Carolina looked like a team completely tapped out of energy against Atlanta and it’s hard not to wonder if this team has already peaked like a teenager who hasn’t even headed off to college yet. I’m guessing numerous members of the 1972 Dolphins got trashed on Sunday night.
b. How in the world does a red-hot Pittsburgh team let a Baltimore squad quarterbacked by Ryan Mallett beat it and potentially cost it a spot in the playoffs? Talk about wasting all of your hard-earned efforts …
c. If you’re Big Ben, how do you not go out of your way to throw the ball to Antonio Brown on 4th and 15 with the season potentially on the line?
d. Julio Jones is good at football.
e. The next time someone tells you there’s no such thing as bad football or a bad NFL game, make them watch the Dallas-Buffalo game from yesterday.
f. Johnny Clock-management.
g. Ryan. F’ing. Fitzpatrick. What he’s doing in New York this year and what he did on Sunday in beating Tom Brady in the Patriots … well … I didn’t think it was capable. You know Darrelle Revis loved the hell out of this win.
h. Perhaps the Rams should try Akeem Ayers on offense, as he looked incredibly nifty in returning a fumble for a touchdown against the Seahawks.
i. Need more proof that the world is coming to an end? Go see the ease with which Kenny Britt beat Richard Sherman for a touchdown on Sunday. That’s called pistol-whipping man-to-man coverage.
j. Cory Redding doesn’t get into the end zone like he used to in his college days, but dammit he’s still getting into the end zone 16 years after he was the No. 1 prospect in Texas for the Class of 1999.
k. Arizona looks Super Bowl good. Check that, Arizona looks Super Bowl champs good.
l. Anyone else think of Apollo Creed's fight against Ivan Drago when watching Aaron Rodgers take his beating on Sunday?
m. Bill Belichick is one of the best of all-time at his craft, but his decision to kick the football in overtime on a day when the weather elements weren't really factors was something out of the 1994-95 Barry Switzer playbook.
n. The toughest player in the NFL is not Rams punter Johnny Hekker.
... There's something about the OKC Thunder that just isn't right. There are three players in the league with a PER of 29+ and OKC has two of them. Yet, I'm not sure I've seen any true championship flash out this team all season. This team looks better on paper than it actually is.
… Sixers record with Ish Smith in 2015-16: 1-0 Sixers record without Ish Smith in 2015-16: 1-30
… I have no issues with Kobe Bryant starting in the NBA All-Star Game and apparently neither does the majority of all NBA fans if the early voting for the game means anything.
... I'll believe Peyton Manning about the HGH report over the weekend if he sues the guy that claimed he was dirty as he has suggested he might over the weekend. Isn't the biggest sign that the report is garbage the fact that Ryan Howard's name was listed? I mean... I wish he had been on HGH the last few years...
... Stay classy, Rick Pitino.
… Scattershooting on week 18 of the English Premier League
a. I don’t know about the rest of you EPL-heads, but I enjoyed the hell out of the Boxing Day quadruple-header on my various NBC networks. If I lived in England, I might consider moving to the states just so that I could see the all-in coverage.
b. Down goes Leicester City! Down goes Leicester City! Down goes Leicester City! Who would have thought those words would have carried such weight only a year ago, but Liverpool’s 1-0 win was only the second defeat of the season for the Foxes and the first time all season the team has been held to zero goals. Given the way the team played a week ago against Watford, snagging three points against the league-leader going into the weekend was huge, as it allowed the Reds to pick up two points on Crystal Palace, Watford and West Ham, and three points on Leicester and Man United in its quest for a top four spot in the league. With two more days of rest than almost every other team in the league, picking up another three points at Sunderland on Wednesday is crucial for the Reds.
c. Yes, my best gift for Christmas might have been my Jurgenn Klopp “I’m the Normal One” t-shirt.
d. I woke up on Sunday morning just to see the now infamous Memphis Depay header that might very well send Louis Van Gaal into the unemployment line. Honestly, it looked like something I would do.
e. Nobody beats the crap out of the bottom-feeders of the league like Man City. Even without Sergio Aguero, City scored goals at a rate in the first half against Sunderland that seemed to break ESPN.com’s EPL fantasy game in real-time. When Kevin de Bruyne is on his game, he’s just a beautiful, clinical artist
f. Diego Costa picked up his fifth yellow card of the season on Saturday, so he won’t be available against Manchester United on Monday. I can’t be alone in wondering how in the hell Costa only has five yellow cards this season.
No. 9 – 70 Days Until Oscar Night ...
100 Words or Less Movie Review: Joy (B-)
Girl Power. At its best, Joy is a showcase for Jennifer Lawrence’s gifts as an A-level force in Hollywood and the overall power of a strong women. Sadly, so many of the other layers to this movie fall completely flat - from the actors surrounding Lawrence to the script to director David Russell’s insistence to weirdly include fake daytime soap opera scenes. The movie goes all over the place, but Lawrence’s performance is strong enough to turn the movie into an overall net win, even if the movie feels like a caricature of what it wants to be.
My Current Oscars Leaderboard
Best Picture (based on movies I have actually seen)
1. Spotlight
2. Room
3. Sicario
4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
5. Creed
Best Actor (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
2. Michael B. Jordan (Creed)
3. Matt Damon (The Martian)
4. John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
5. Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies)
Best Actress (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Brie Larson (Room)
2. Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
3. Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
4. Emily Blount (Sicario)
5. Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Best Supporting Actor (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
2. Jacob Tremblay (Room)
3. Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
4. Benicio del Toro (Sicario)
5. Sly Stallone (Creed)
Best Supporting Actress (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Joan Allen (Room)
2. Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)
3. Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
4. Tessa Thompson (Creed)
5. Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Best Director
1. Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
2. J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
3. Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
4. George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
5. Ridley Scott (The Martian)
No. 10 – And finally …
I wanted to give a special shout out to Marc and the gang over at Texas Boot Company for providing some of the best Christmas presents any of our loved ones received on Christmas Day.
We had as much fun shopping last week as any time I can remember in a very long time. From boots to belts to jeans to an awesome leather jacket for me, all of our needs were met in a big, big way.
Perhaps no item was as popular as the Scully’s suede leather jacket fringes. In fact, it was so popular that we purchased it twice, one for the wife and one for Ava, our 11-year our niece.
I don't disagree with anything you said beyond this sentence, but I would suggest this sentence illustrates exactly what I was talking about.
That's one of the risks you run when giving someone massive amounts of guaranteed money.
In the aftermath of Hassan Ridgeway’s decision to forego his senior season and head to the NFL, the 2016 Texas Longhorns are face-to-face with a college football recruiting truth that sometimes has to be learned the hard way.
Quality interior defensive linemen simply don’t grow on trees.
Along with quality pass rushers, elite-level interior defensive linemen are worth their weight in gold, which is one of the reasons why the general rule in recruiting is that you always take as many as you can get your hands on whenever the opportunities present themselves.
For years under Mack Brown, the Longhorns lived the good life with the position on the field and in recruiting, as the likes of Casey Hampton, Shaun Rogers, Rod Wright, Frank Okam, Roy Miller, Frank Okam and Lamarr Houston held down the fort in the middle of the Texas defense for such a long stretch of time that those in Austin easily forgot how the majority of college football teams live. The decade-long run of difference makers was created by elite-level recruiting, as each of those names listed was regarded as a national top 100-level prospect at a bare minimum.
The question the Longhorns never really had to answer for almost the entire Mack Brown Era is what life looks like when recruiting fails to deliver the big man goods.
That won’t be the case in 2016 at all, as years of absolute failure in recruiting at this position have finally created a bit of a perfect storm for Charlie Strong and his coaching staff. Whatever you want to say about it, the reality is that only senior Paul Boyette, junior Poona Ford, sophomore Chris Nelson and sophomore Jake McMillon remain on the roster heading into next season from a group that played a big role in the Texas defense ranking 112th in the nation in run defense in 2015.
Of the remaining group, Ford and Boyette have proven to be decent college players, but the loss of Ridgeway means the Longhorns run the risk of running out a bunch of JAGs at the position in 2016 and it all stems from failures in recruiting.
Consider the results from the last three recruiting classes …
2013: None
2014: Ford (5.7 three-star prospect), McMillon (5.5 three-star) and Nelson (5.5 three-star prospect)
2015: None
Of course, this is a conversation we’ve had before and things would look a little different around here if A’Shawn Robinson hadn’t flipped to Alabama in 2013 or if Du’Vonta Lampkin wasn’t allergic to Spanish, but the reality from which the Longhorns can’t run is that they haven’t landed a single defensive tackle prospect in two of the last three years and now the single departure of Ridgeway has revealed the depth to be in shambles. While Ford was a quality out-of-state prospect who possessed four-star talent in a three-star physical package, history has proven that the math always suggested that McMillion and Nelson would face long odds to become impact players at the highest major college level.
Making matters worse is the fact that the Longhorns haven’t exactly been able to hit the jackpot in 2016 recruiting, despite the fact that it is the most critical need in the program and playing time is readily available as a selling point. In a year when arguably seven of the state’s top 40-50 prospects are defensive tackle prospects, Strong and Co. haven’t been able to land a single in-state prospect, having only landed three-star (Destrehan, La.) Gerald Wilbon with six weeks to go until Signing Day.
Expect that to change in the coming weeks, but unless the Longhorns are able to flip someone like Euless Trinity’s Chris Daniels, who was only recently offered the day before he committed to Oklahoma, it’s more likely that Texas will be dealing with three-star level prospects. That doesn’t mean that those prospects will never develop into quality players for the Longhorns, but it does almost certainly assure that it will take a few years of seasoning before they are ready for significant contributions, which does nothing for the team in the immediate future.
The defensive tackle problem that the coaches will deal with in the upcoming season has been ominously looming for the last couple years and there’s no easy quick-fix. The top in-state talent is mostly going elsewhere and the idea that the issues can be solved with a trip to the magic JUCO store is misguided.
What you see is what you get and a few additional three-star prospects will certainly help in possibly 2017 or 2018, but it won’t likely change the bottom line very much in Strong’s critical 2016 season.
It’s yet another reminder that there are two sides of the ball that need fixing in the next nine months and the greatest irony of Strong’s tenure in Austin might be that his mess on the offensive side of the ball will prove to be easier to fix that the issues that exist on his defense.
No. 2 – Breaking down the 2016 defensive tackle recruiting …
In-State prospects
In one of the stronger years at the position inside the state of Texas in the last decade, eight defensive tackles rank among the top 82 players in the recent Rivals.com post-season Top 100.
Here’s the list:
No. 4 Ed Oliver (Houston Westfield - Committed to Houston - 4 stars/6.0 rating)
No. 12 Kendall Jones (Killeen Shoemakers - Committed to Alabama -4 stars/5.9 rating)
No. 28 Chris Daniels (Euless Trinity - Committed to Oklahoma - 4 stars/5.8 rating)
No. 51 Ross Blacklock (SL Ekins - LSU, A&M, TCU, Houston and Oklahoma State - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 52 Bravvion Roy (Spring - Committed to Baylor - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 54 Jordan Elliott (Houston Westside - Committed to Michigan - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 69 Michael Williams (FW All Saints - Committed to Stanford - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 82 Marcel Southall (Duncanville - Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma State - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
Breakdown: Of this group of eight, six are already committed elsewhere, but there are probably four players that everyone will need to keep an eye - Daniels (who plans to visit in January), Elliott, Williams and Southall. From this group, Elliott might be the guy most likely to end up as a Longhorn, even if he is currently committed to Michigan, as he’s a player who looked to be all-Texas earlier this summer. Regardless of the name, Texas will have to get each of them on campus and give its best sales pitch with the purpose of closing the deal in the final two weeks of the recruiting process. The good news is that from a talent perspective, all eight would rank as the best defensive tackle prospect the Longhorns have landed in the last four years (going back to the 2012 recruiting class).
Out of state prospects
Ironically, in a year when the in-state crop of interior linemen is as strong as it is, the answers in this class at the position are just as likely to come from outside the state borders, with Wilbon standing as the only defensive tackle commit in the class thus far and a couple of other very talented players still in the mix.
Here’s the list:
* D’andre Christmas-Giles (New Orleans La. St. Augustine - LSU, Texas, TCU, South Carolina and Arkansas - 4 stars/5.9 rating)
* Keyshon Camp (Lakeland Florida Lake Gibson - Committed to USC - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Stephon Taylor (New Orleans La. McDonogh 35 - LSU, Texas, Oklahoma and Auburn - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
Breakdown: Christmas-Giles might be as important as any prospect on the board for the Longhorns, as many people in and around the program believe Strong and Co. knocked it out of the park with his official visit earlier this month, but the in-state Tigers have officially entered the picture with a recent offer and Texas will have to survive the three remaining visits that he’s expected to take in January. Meanwhile, LSU is once again the school the Longhorns will have to overcome if they want to land Taylor, who has been on the Texas radar for two years. Camp is more of a dream than anything else, but if he visits in January, his recruitment will become one to watch.
JUCO prospects
In the forever boom-or-bust game of recruiting from the JUCO ranks, there 17 defensive tackle prospects from around the country that rank as three- or four-star prospects in the Rivals.com rankings, with only two of the 17 owning a four-star ranking. Of this group of 17, only five are still uncommitted, but many are committed to schools that Texas could overcome if it begins to show serious interest.
Here’s the list of JUCO kids with a high three-star grade or higher:
* Handsome Tanielu (Snow College - Committed to BYU - 4 stars/5.8 rating)
* Alexis Johnson (Fort Scott CC - Committed to Tennessee - 4 stars/5.8 rating)
* Maquedius Bain (Pearl River CC - Committed to UAB - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Mychealon Thomas (Butler County CC - Committed to Texas Tech - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Nick Terry (American River - Committed to UCLA - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Tyrell Chavis (Nassau CC - Auburn, Marshall, West Virginia, Texas and Mississippi State - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
Breakdown: There’s just not a lot cooking with any of these six players, although the Longhorns kicked the tires on Tanielu and Chavis, but don’t have visits set up with either at this point. With many of these prospects, including Chavis, set to enroll in January at whichever school they choose, the Longhorns don’t have a lot of time to work late-minute magic.
Overall Breakdown
There are three pretty critical points to take from all of this information.
1. Although the Longhorns won’t likely be in a position to sign an elite-level defensive tackle class, Strong and Co. can still sign a pretty solid class if they can close the deal with a couple of the in-state or out-of-state prospects that still exist on UT’s recruiting board. In terms of helping stabilize the hemorrhaging state of the position, this class has a chance to bring much-needed aid, but only if the coaches can triple the size of the current commitment haul at a bare minimum.
2. Outside of Christmas-Giles, there’s probably not a true impact freshman available in this class. That’s not to say the in-state kids can’t come in and provide immediate help, but the history of non-national top 100-level prospects is that it usually takes a little more time before a healthy contribution should be expected.
3. Barring some real late-game recruiting magic, it’s hard to see where the Longhorns get a lot of immediate help from the 2016 recruiting class. Oh, make no mistake about it, the players that sign in February will certainly be in a position to play as true freshmen, but anything more than possibly serving as a back-up on the two-deep on the depth chart would represent a little bit of a surprise.
No. 3 – Talking quarterbacks …
With the transfer of Kyler Murray to Oklahoma from Texas A&M complete, it seems like a good time to reinforce yet another critical point connected to 2016 recruiting.
While the Longhorns certainly don’t need another quarterback addition outside of Shane Buechele that can’t help the program until 2017, it’s fairly imperative for the success of the 2016 season that the Longhorns find someone … anyone … to provide legit competition for the starting position.
If not, there’s not much reason to believe that the team will feature anyone other than Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard going into next season, unless you believe Buechele will take control of the steering wheel or one of the redshirt freshmen in the program (Kai Locksley and Matthew Merrick) surprise everyone by emerging as factors. Although Sterlin Gilbert has yet to work with either Locksley or Merrick, the feeling among those inside the program is that Locksley will eventually emerge as a wide receiver for the Longhorns, while Merrick is seen as an emergency option at this point.
Yes, it will be a crowded quarterback derby, but at some point you have to make every effort to upgrade the position until a true plus-option emerges on the field.
The upside of such a move would come in the way of immediate help for a critical season for Strong, while the negative is mostly connected to the number of available reps in practice. Typically speaking, your starter and back-up at the position take all of the first- and second-team reps, while the young player with the most upside takes the majority of the scout-team reps. Unless Buechele doesn’t redshirt, he’ll almost certainly receive the lion’s share of scout-team work in 2016, which means that reps for Locksley and Merrick could be hard to find, unless one of them quickly proves ready to push Swoopes/Heard for playing time this spring.
The reality of the situation is that an incoming transfer or JUCO recruit will battle to take reps and playing time from Swoopes and Heard, not any of the young players like Locksley and Merrick. The real competition for those two players is Buechele. Set to arrive in less than a month, Buechele is the player who figures to take the majority of reps that the older players aren’t taking.
Bottom line … not bringing in another option is an indication of a lack of urgency, something I would suggest everyone connected to the program to guard against at all cost.
No. 4 – Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
… This might be my favorite holiday Tweet this year…
You can just feel the love, can’t you?
… Perhaps the situation at defensive end isn’t quite as dire as what Texas will deal with at defensive tackle, but a core group of Bryce Cottrell, Naashon Hughes, Quincy Vasser, Charles Omenihu and Derick Roberson doesn’t exactly feature a bevy of impact performers, at least not through the end of the 2015 season. Outside of Cottrell, only the unproven Vasser looms as depth at strong-side defensive end, which means that immediate help will have to arrive from the 2016 class.
… I don’t know what to set the percentage at, but I’d be greatly surprised at this point if the Longhorns don’t land Beaumont Central four-star running back Devwah Whaley, a player that the Texas coaches have made the No. 1 priority at the position all year. When push comes to shove, I’m not even sure that a true close No. 2 school currently exists.
… Little birdies in East Texas are reporting that the angst inside the A&M program with Kevin Sumlin is definitely making its way into key recruiting battles. Perhaps the prospect that it might impact the most is Nacogdoches star safety Brandon Jones, a player many have had pegged for the Aggies for more than two years, but a guy that the Longhorns appear to be in very good shape with at the moment, in large part due to the unhappiness that currently exists inside the A&M program.
... ICYMI: Former Longhorns wide receiver Cayleb Jones declared for the NFL Draft on Sunday, passing up his final season at Arizona.
No. 5 – Buy or sell …
(As always, these are questions submitted by Orangebloods subscribers)
BUY or SELL: With no Malikmas this year, the 2016 recruiting class sucks for Texas, bringing no additional "plug in" two-deep players, and coupled with the loss of Ridgeway, Raulerson, and other early departures, dooms Texas to an equally dismal 6-6 or worse season next year?
(Sell) I don’t know that the 2016 recruiting class is going to suck at all, but it will have some potential holes in it at critical need areas. Your view feels like the ultimate doom and gloom situation and I’m not quite there, even if I think it’s a team/program with some real concerns all over the place.
BUY or SELL: Charlie lands a prospect inside the top 40 of the Rivals100?
(Buy) I’ll give them Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones, who currently ranks No. 39 on the list.
BUY or SELL: Tulsa averaged 84 offensive plays per game in 2015 while Texas averaged 65 offensive plays per game and maxed out at 83 against Cal. Buy or sell: Texas averages 84 offensive plays per game or more in 2016?
(Sell) I don't think Texas is going to play quite that fast, but the number is going to be closer to 80 than 70.
BUY or SELL: Jerrod Heard will be our starting QB against ND?
(Buy) Until another option presents itself, the smart money's on Heard battling Tyrone Swoopes for the position and I have to believe that he’ll make enough improvement to limit Swoopes to his situational packages.
BUY or SELL: Texas flips three or more players currently committed to other schools?
(Buy) It’s what Strong and his staff do, right?
BUY or SELL: Baylor will not release its report on the truth of Sam Ukwuachu's recruitment until after national signing day?
(Buy) There’s a better chance of me growing back all of my hair and comfortably wearing a size medium shirt than that report coming out before National Signing Day.
BUY or SELL: Ryan Newsome gets 500 yards receiving in the 2016 season?
(Sell) Newsome still has to prove himself as a starting-level player before I’m going to pencil him in for 500+ receiving yards as a true sophomore.
BUY or SELL: Losing Ridgeway and Raulerson will cost us around one win apiece next year?
(Sell) But not recruiting another quarterback to compete with Heard and Swoopes might do the trick.
BUY or SELL: Texas basketball will not finish better than fourth in the Big 12?
(Buy) I’ll take Shaka Smart’s boys to finish fourth in the Big 12 behind Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa State.
BUY or SELL: @DustinMcComas and @Suchomel need to have all sharp objects removed from their home after watching Ryan Mallett defeat the Steelers
(Buy) I've just tried to leave them alone as best I can, especially since McComas' fantasy team fell apart with injuries when he needed good health the most.
No. 6 – Predicting winners for the bowls I care about ...
Russell Athletic Bowl: North Carolina 41 Baylor 34
Advocare Bowl: LSU 31 Texas Tech 17
Music City Bowl: Louisville 29 Texas A&M 22
Peach Bowl: Houston 31 Florida State 28
Citrus Bowl: Michigan 27 Florida 24
Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame 24 Ohio State 20
Rose Bowl: Stanford 33 Iowa 16
Sugar Bowl: Ole Miss 45 Oklahoma State 41
Alamo Bowl: TCU 41 Oregon 38
Orange Bowl: Clemson 38 Oklahoma 31
Cotton Bowl: Alabama 23 Michigan State 13
No. 7 – It’s Brandon Weeden’s world and I’m just living in it ...
No offense to any of the Houston Texans fans reading this, but the surest sign that the apocalypse is upon us is the fact that Brandon Weeden has led the Houston Texans to back-to-back victories in the last two weeks.
Hit your local HEB and start loading up on water and canned foods because aliens ... asteroids … SOMETHING … is bound to wipe us all out in the coming days. In fact, don’t even bother with the bottled water because we probably don’t have that much time. Just love on your family if you have a family and go to the strip club if you’re single and have money to set on fire.
How else do you explain the fact that for the last two weeks, Weeden has actually looked like a fairly legitimate NFL quarterback?
Suddenly, the team with the biggest revolving door at the most important position in football is a home win against Jacksonville away from winning its division and the No. 4 seed.
The NFL often doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but Weeden going 26 of 42 for 305 yards and three touchdowns in the last two weeks after looking beyond incompetent in his short tenure as the starting quarterback for the Cowboys makes less sense than just about anything I’ve ever seen in the league.
The only explanation is that the world is coming to an end. Enjoy your final days.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… Scattershooting on week 16 in the NFL
a. Carolina looked like a team completely tapped out of energy against Atlanta and it’s hard not to wonder if this team has already peaked like a teenager who hasn’t even headed off to college yet. I’m guessing numerous members of the 1972 Dolphins got trashed on Sunday night.
b. How in the world does a red-hot Pittsburgh team let a Baltimore squad quarterbacked by Ryan Mallett beat it and potentially cost it a spot in the playoffs? Talk about wasting all of your hard-earned efforts …
c. If you’re Big Ben, how do you not go out of your way to throw the ball to Antonio Brown on 4th and 15 with the season potentially on the line?
d. Julio Jones is good at football.
e. The next time someone tells you there’s no such thing as bad football or a bad NFL game, make them watch the Dallas-Buffalo game from yesterday.
f. Johnny Clock-management.
g. Ryan. F’ing. Fitzpatrick. What he’s doing in New York this year and what he did on Sunday in beating Tom Brady in the Patriots … well … I didn’t think it was capable. You know Darrelle Revis loved the hell out of this win.
h. Perhaps the Rams should try Akeem Ayers on offense, as he looked incredibly nifty in returning a fumble for a touchdown against the Seahawks.
i. Need more proof that the world is coming to an end? Go see the ease with which Kenny Britt beat Richard Sherman for a touchdown on Sunday. That’s called pistol-whipping man-to-man coverage.
j. Cory Redding doesn’t get into the end zone like he used to in his college days, but dammit he’s still getting into the end zone 16 years after he was the No. 1 prospect in Texas for the Class of 1999.
k. Arizona looks Super Bowl good. Check that, Arizona looks Super Bowl champs good.
l. Anyone else think of Apollo Creed's fight against Ivan Drago when watching Aaron Rodgers take his beating on Sunday?
m. Bill Belichick is one of the best of all-time at his craft, but his decision to kick the football in overtime on a day when the weather elements weren't really factors was something out of the 1994-95 Barry Switzer playbook.
n. The toughest player in the NFL is not Rams punter Johnny Hekker.
... There's something about the OKC Thunder that just isn't right. There are three players in the league with a PER of 29+ and OKC has two of them. Yet, I'm not sure I've seen any true championship flash out this team all season. This team looks better on paper than it actually is.
… Sixers record with Ish Smith in 2015-16: 1-0 Sixers record without Ish Smith in 2015-16: 1-30
… I have no issues with Kobe Bryant starting in the NBA All-Star Game and apparently neither does the majority of all NBA fans if the early voting for the game means anything.
... I'll believe Peyton Manning about the HGH report over the weekend if he sues the guy that claimed he was dirty as he has suggested he might over the weekend. Isn't the biggest sign that the report is garbage the fact that Ryan Howard's name was listed? I mean... I wish he had been on HGH the last few years...
... Stay classy, Rick Pitino.
… Scattershooting on week 18 of the English Premier League
a. I don’t know about the rest of you EPL-heads, but I enjoyed the hell out of the Boxing Day quadruple-header on my various NBC networks. If I lived in England, I might consider moving to the states just so that I could see the all-in coverage.
b. Down goes Leicester City! Down goes Leicester City! Down goes Leicester City! Who would have thought those words would have carried such weight only a year ago, but Liverpool’s 1-0 win was only the second defeat of the season for the Foxes and the first time all season the team has been held to zero goals. Given the way the team played a week ago against Watford, snagging three points against the league-leader going into the weekend was huge, as it allowed the Reds to pick up two points on Crystal Palace, Watford and West Ham, and three points on Leicester and Man United in its quest for a top four spot in the league. With two more days of rest than almost every other team in the league, picking up another three points at Sunderland on Wednesday is crucial for the Reds.
c. Yes, my best gift for Christmas might have been my Jurgenn Klopp “I’m the Normal One” t-shirt.
d. I woke up on Sunday morning just to see the now infamous Memphis Depay header that might very well send Louis Van Gaal into the unemployment line. Honestly, it looked like something I would do.
e. Nobody beats the crap out of the bottom-feeders of the league like Man City. Even without Sergio Aguero, City scored goals at a rate in the first half against Sunderland that seemed to break ESPN.com’s EPL fantasy game in real-time. When Kevin de Bruyne is on his game, he’s just a beautiful, clinical artist
f. Diego Costa picked up his fifth yellow card of the season on Saturday, so he won’t be available against Manchester United on Monday. I can’t be alone in wondering how in the hell Costa only has five yellow cards this season.
No. 9 – 70 Days Until Oscar Night ...
100 Words or Less Movie Review: Joy (B-)
Girl Power. At its best, Joy is a showcase for Jennifer Lawrence’s gifts as an A-level force in Hollywood and the overall power of a strong women. Sadly, so many of the other layers to this movie fall completely flat - from the actors surrounding Lawrence to the script to director David Russell’s insistence to weirdly include fake daytime soap opera scenes. The movie goes all over the place, but Lawrence’s performance is strong enough to turn the movie into an overall net win, even if the movie feels like a caricature of what it wants to be.
My Current Oscars Leaderboard
Best Picture (based on movies I have actually seen)
1. Spotlight
2. Room
3. Sicario
4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
5. Creed
Best Actor (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
2. Michael B. Jordan (Creed)
3. Matt Damon (The Martian)
4. John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
5. Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies)
Best Actress (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Brie Larson (Room)
2. Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
3. Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
4. Emily Blount (Sicario)
5. Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Best Supporting Actor (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
2. Jacob Tremblay (Room)
3. Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
4. Benicio del Toro (Sicario)
5. Sly Stallone (Creed)
Best Supporting Actress (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Joan Allen (Room)
2. Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)
3. Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
4. Tessa Thompson (Creed)
5. Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Best Director
1. Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
2. J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
3. Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
4. George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
5. Ridley Scott (The Martian)
No. 10 – And finally …
I wanted to give a special shout out to Marc and the gang over at Texas Boot Company for providing some of the best Christmas presents any of our loved ones received on Christmas Day.
We had as much fun shopping last week as any time I can remember in a very long time. From boots to belts to jeans to an awesome leather jacket for me, all of our needs were met in a big, big way.
Perhaps no item was as popular as the Scully’s suede leather jacket fringes. In fact, it was so popular that we purchased it twice, one for the wife and one for Ava, our 11-year our niece.
On #7, maybe Weeden's success with Houston is all about Bill O'Brien's ability to understand the replacement player's strengths, and not trying to replace the starter's skill set. WR Washington talked about that today in the Houston Chronicle.In the aftermath of Hassan Ridgeway’s decision to forego his senior season and head to the NFL, the 2016 Texas Longhorns are face-to-face with a college football recruiting truth that sometimes has to be learned the hard way.
Quality interior defensive linemen simply don’t grow on trees.
Along with quality pass rushers, elite-level interior defensive linemen are worth their weight in gold, which is one of the reasons why the general rule in recruiting is that you always take as many as you can get your hands on whenever the opportunities present themselves.
For years under Mack Brown, the Longhorns lived the good life with the position on the field and in recruiting, as the likes of Casey Hampton, Shaun Rogers, Rod Wright, Frank Okam, Roy Miller, Frank Okam and Lamarr Houston held down the fort in the middle of the Texas defense for such a long stretch of time that those in Austin easily forgot how the majority of college football teams live. The decade-long run of difference makers was created by elite-level recruiting, as each of those names listed was regarded as a national top 100-level prospect at a bare minimum.
The question the Longhorns never really had to answer for almost the entire Mack Brown Era is what life looks like when recruiting fails to deliver the big man goods.
That won’t be the case in 2016 at all, as years of absolute failure in recruiting at this position have finally created a bit of a perfect storm for Charlie Strong and his coaching staff. Whatever you want to say about it, the reality is that only senior Paul Boyette, junior Poona Ford, sophomore Chris Nelson and sophomore Jake McMillon remain on the roster heading into next season from a group that played a big role in the Texas defense ranking 112th in the nation in run defense in 2015.
Of the remaining group, Ford and Boyette have proven to be decent college players, but the loss of Ridgeway means the Longhorns run the risk of running out a bunch of JAGs at the position in 2016 and it all stems from failures in recruiting.
Consider the results from the last three recruiting classes …
2013: None
2014: Ford (5.7 three-star prospect), McMillon (5.5 three-star) and Nelson (5.5 three-star prospect)
2015: None
Of course, this is a conversation we’ve had before and things would look a little different around here if A’Shawn Robinson hadn’t flipped to Alabama in 2013 or if Du’Vonta Lampkin wasn’t allergic to Spanish, but the reality from which the Longhorns can’t run is that they haven’t landed a single defensive tackle prospect in two of the last three years and now the single departure of Ridgeway has revealed the depth to be in shambles. While Ford was a quality out-of-state prospect who possessed four-star talent in a three-star physical package, history has proven that the math always suggested that McMillion and Nelson would face long odds to become impact players at the highest major college level.
Making matters worse is the fact that the Longhorns haven’t exactly been able to hit the jackpot in 2016 recruiting, despite the fact that it is the most critical need in the program and playing time is readily available as a selling point. In a year when arguably seven of the state’s top 40-50 prospects are defensive tackle prospects, Strong and Co. haven’t been able to land a single in-state prospect, having only landed three-star (Destrehan, La.) Gerald Wilbon with six weeks to go until Signing Day.
Expect that to change in the coming weeks, but unless the Longhorns are able to flip someone like Euless Trinity’s Chris Daniels, who was only recently offered the day before he committed to Oklahoma, it’s more likely that Texas will be dealing with three-star level prospects. That doesn’t mean that those prospects will never develop into quality players for the Longhorns, but it does almost certainly assure that it will take a few years of seasoning before they are ready for significant contributions, which does nothing for the team in the immediate future.
The defensive tackle problem that the coaches will deal with in the upcoming season has been ominously looming for the last couple years and there’s no easy quick-fix. The top in-state talent is mostly going elsewhere and the idea that the issues can be solved with a trip to the magic JUCO store is misguided.
What you see is what you get and a few additional three-star prospects will certainly help in possibly 2017 or 2018, but it won’t likely change the bottom line very much in Strong’s critical 2016 season.
It’s yet another reminder that there are two sides of the ball that need fixing in the next nine months and the greatest irony of Strong’s tenure in Austin might be that his mess on the offensive side of the ball will prove to be easier to fix that the issues that exist on his defense.
No. 2 – Breaking down the 2016 defensive tackle recruiting …
In-State prospects
In one of the stronger years at the position inside the state of Texas in the last decade, eight defensive tackles rank among the top 82 players in the recent Rivals.com post-season Top 100.
Here’s the list:
No. 4 Ed Oliver (Houston Westfield - Committed to Houston - 4 stars/6.0 rating)
No. 12 Kendall Jones (Killeen Shoemakers - Committed to Alabama -4 stars/5.9 rating)
No. 28 Chris Daniels (Euless Trinity - Committed to Oklahoma - 4 stars/5.8 rating)
No. 51 Ross Blacklock (SL Ekins - LSU, A&M, TCU, Houston and Oklahoma State - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 52 Bravvion Roy (Spring - Committed to Baylor - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 54 Jordan Elliott (Houston Westside - Committed to Michigan - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 69 Michael Williams (FW All Saints - Committed to Stanford - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
No. 82 Marcel Southall (Duncanville - Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma State - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
Breakdown: Of this group of eight, six are already committed elsewhere, but there are probably four players that everyone will need to keep an eye - Daniels (who plans to visit in January), Elliott, Williams and Southall. From this group, Elliott might be the guy most likely to end up as a Longhorn, even if he is currently committed to Michigan, as he’s a player who looked to be all-Texas earlier this summer. Regardless of the name, Texas will have to get each of them on campus and give its best sales pitch with the purpose of closing the deal in the final two weeks of the recruiting process. The good news is that from a talent perspective, all eight would rank as the best defensive tackle prospect the Longhorns have landed in the last four years (going back to the 2012 recruiting class).
Out of state prospects
Ironically, in a year when the in-state crop of interior linemen is as strong as it is, the answers in this class at the position are just as likely to come from outside the state borders, with Wilbon standing as the only defensive tackle commit in the class thus far and a couple of other very talented players still in the mix.
Here’s the list:
* D’andre Christmas-Giles (New Orleans La. St. Augustine - LSU, Texas, TCU, South Carolina and Arkansas - 4 stars/5.9 rating)
* Keyshon Camp (Lakeland Florida Lake Gibson - Committed to USC - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Stephon Taylor (New Orleans La. McDonogh 35 - LSU, Texas, Oklahoma and Auburn - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
Breakdown: Christmas-Giles might be as important as any prospect on the board for the Longhorns, as many people in and around the program believe Strong and Co. knocked it out of the park with his official visit earlier this month, but the in-state Tigers have officially entered the picture with a recent offer and Texas will have to survive the three remaining visits that he’s expected to take in January. Meanwhile, LSU is once again the school the Longhorns will have to overcome if they want to land Taylor, who has been on the Texas radar for two years. Camp is more of a dream than anything else, but if he visits in January, his recruitment will become one to watch.
JUCO prospects
In the forever boom-or-bust game of recruiting from the JUCO ranks, there 17 defensive tackle prospects from around the country that rank as three- or four-star prospects in the Rivals.com rankings, with only two of the 17 owning a four-star ranking. Of this group of 17, only five are still uncommitted, but many are committed to schools that Texas could overcome if it begins to show serious interest.
Here’s the list of JUCO kids with a high three-star grade or higher:
* Handsome Tanielu (Snow College - Committed to BYU - 4 stars/5.8 rating)
* Alexis Johnson (Fort Scott CC - Committed to Tennessee - 4 stars/5.8 rating)
* Maquedius Bain (Pearl River CC - Committed to UAB - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Mychealon Thomas (Butler County CC - Committed to Texas Tech - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Nick Terry (American River - Committed to UCLA - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
* Tyrell Chavis (Nassau CC - Auburn, Marshall, West Virginia, Texas and Mississippi State - 3 stars/5.7 rating)
Breakdown: There’s just not a lot cooking with any of these six players, although the Longhorns kicked the tires on Tanielu and Chavis, but don’t have visits set up with either at this point. With many of these prospects, including Chavis, set to enroll in January at whichever school they choose, the Longhorns don’t have a lot of time to work late-minute magic.
Overall Breakdown
There are three pretty critical points to take from all of this information.
1. Although the Longhorns won’t likely be in a position to sign an elite-level defensive tackle class, Strong and Co. can still sign a pretty solid class if they can close the deal with a couple of the in-state or out-of-state prospects that still exist on UT’s recruiting board. In terms of helping stabilize the hemorrhaging state of the position, this class has a chance to bring much-needed aid, but only if the coaches can triple the size of the current commitment haul at a bare minimum.
2. Outside of Christmas-Giles, there’s probably not a true impact freshman available in this class. That’s not to say the in-state kids can’t come in and provide immediate help, but the history of non-national top 100-level prospects is that it usually takes a little more time before a healthy contribution should be expected.
3. Barring some real late-game recruiting magic, it’s hard to see where the Longhorns get a lot of immediate help from the 2016 recruiting class. Oh, make no mistake about it, the players that sign in February will certainly be in a position to play as true freshmen, but anything more than possibly serving as a back-up on the two-deep on the depth chart would represent a little bit of a surprise.
No. 3 – Talking quarterbacks …
With the transfer of Kyler Murray to Oklahoma from Texas A&M complete, it seems like a good time to reinforce yet another critical point connected to 2016 recruiting.
While the Longhorns certainly don’t need another quarterback addition outside of Shane Buechele that can’t help the program until 2017, it’s fairly imperative for the success of the 2016 season that the Longhorns find someone … anyone … to provide legit competition for the starting position.
If not, there’s not much reason to believe that the team will feature anyone other than Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard going into next season, unless you believe Buechele will take control of the steering wheel or one of the redshirt freshmen in the program (Kai Locksley and Matthew Merrick) surprise everyone by emerging as factors. Although Sterlin Gilbert has yet to work with either Locksley or Merrick, the feeling among those inside the program is that Locksley will eventually emerge as a wide receiver for the Longhorns, while Merrick is seen as an emergency option at this point.
Yes, it will be a crowded quarterback derby, but at some point you have to make every effort to upgrade the position until a true plus-option emerges on the field.
The upside of such a move would come in the way of immediate help for a critical season for Strong, while the negative is mostly connected to the number of available reps in practice. Typically speaking, your starter and back-up at the position take all of the first- and second-team reps, while the young player with the most upside takes the majority of the scout-team reps. Unless Buechele doesn’t redshirt, he’ll almost certainly receive the lion’s share of scout-team work in 2016, which means that reps for Locksley and Merrick could be hard to find, unless one of them quickly proves ready to push Swoopes/Heard for playing time this spring.
The reality of the situation is that an incoming transfer or JUCO recruit will battle to take reps and playing time from Swoopes and Heard, not any of the young players like Locksley and Merrick. The real competition for those two players is Buechele. Set to arrive in less than a month, Buechele is the player who figures to take the majority of reps that the older players aren’t taking.
Bottom line … not bringing in another option is an indication of a lack of urgency, something I would suggest everyone connected to the program to guard against at all cost.
No. 4 – Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
… This might be my favorite holiday Tweet this year…
You can just feel the love, can’t you?
… Perhaps the situation at defensive end isn’t quite as dire as what Texas will deal with at defensive tackle, but a core group of Bryce Cottrell, Naashon Hughes, Quincy Vasser, Charles Omenihu and Derick Roberson doesn’t exactly feature a bevy of impact performers, at least not through the end of the 2015 season. Outside of Cottrell, only the unproven Vasser looms as depth at strong-side defensive end, which means that immediate help will have to arrive from the 2016 class.
… I don’t know what to set the percentage at, but I’d be greatly surprised at this point if the Longhorns don’t land Beaumont Central four-star running back Devwah Whaley, a player that the Texas coaches have made the No. 1 priority at the position all year. When push comes to shove, I’m not even sure that a true close No. 2 school currently exists.
… Little birdies in East Texas are reporting that the angst inside the A&M program with Kevin Sumlin is definitely making its way into key recruiting battles. Perhaps the prospect that it might impact the most is Nacogdoches star safety Brandon Jones, a player many have had pegged for the Aggies for more than two years, but a guy that the Longhorns appear to be in very good shape with at the moment, in large part due to the unhappiness that currently exists inside the A&M program.
... ICYMI: Former Longhorns wide receiver Cayleb Jones declared for the NFL Draft on Sunday, passing up his final season at Arizona.
No. 5 – Buy or sell …
(As always, these are questions submitted by Orangebloods subscribers)
BUY or SELL: With no Malikmas this year, the 2016 recruiting class sucks for Texas, bringing no additional "plug in" two-deep players, and coupled with the loss of Ridgeway, Raulerson, and other early departures, dooms Texas to an equally dismal 6-6 or worse season next year?
(Sell) I don’t know that the 2016 recruiting class is going to suck at all, but it will have some potential holes in it at critical need areas. Your view feels like the ultimate doom and gloom situation and I’m not quite there, even if I think it’s a team/program with some real concerns all over the place.
BUY or SELL: Charlie lands a prospect inside the top 40 of the Rivals100?
(Buy) I’ll give them Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones, who currently ranks No. 39 on the list.
BUY or SELL: Tulsa averaged 84 offensive plays per game in 2015 while Texas averaged 65 offensive plays per game and maxed out at 83 against Cal. Buy or sell: Texas averages 84 offensive plays per game or more in 2016?
(Sell) I don't think Texas is going to play quite that fast, but the number is going to be closer to 80 than 70.
BUY or SELL: Jerrod Heard will be our starting QB against ND?
(Buy) Until another option presents itself, the smart money's on Heard battling Tyrone Swoopes for the position and I have to believe that he’ll make enough improvement to limit Swoopes to his situational packages.
BUY or SELL: Texas flips three or more players currently committed to other schools?
(Buy) It’s what Strong and his staff do, right?
BUY or SELL: Baylor will not release its report on the truth of Sam Ukwuachu's recruitment until after national signing day?
(Buy) There’s a better chance of me growing back all of my hair and comfortably wearing a size medium shirt than that report coming out before National Signing Day.
BUY or SELL: Ryan Newsome gets 500 yards receiving in the 2016 season?
(Sell) Newsome still has to prove himself as a starting-level player before I’m going to pencil him in for 500+ receiving yards as a true sophomore.
BUY or SELL: Losing Ridgeway and Raulerson will cost us around one win apiece next year?
(Sell) But not recruiting another quarterback to compete with Heard and Swoopes might do the trick.
BUY or SELL: Texas basketball will not finish better than fourth in the Big 12?
(Buy) I’ll take Shaka Smart’s boys to finish fourth in the Big 12 behind Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa State.
BUY or SELL: @DustinMcComas and @Suchomel need to have all sharp objects removed from their home after watching Ryan Mallett defeat the Steelers
(Buy) I've just tried to leave them alone as best I can, especially since McComas' fantasy team fell apart with injuries when he needed good health the most.
No. 6 – Predicting winners for the bowls I care about ...
Russell Athletic Bowl: North Carolina 41 Baylor 34
Advocare Bowl: LSU 31 Texas Tech 17
Music City Bowl: Louisville 29 Texas A&M 22
Peach Bowl: Houston 31 Florida State 28
Citrus Bowl: Michigan 27 Florida 24
Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame 24 Ohio State 20
Rose Bowl: Stanford 33 Iowa 16
Sugar Bowl: Ole Miss 45 Oklahoma State 41
Alamo Bowl: TCU 41 Oregon 38
Orange Bowl: Clemson 38 Oklahoma 31
Cotton Bowl: Alabama 23 Michigan State 13
No. 7 – It’s Brandon Weeden’s world and I’m just living in it ...
No offense to any of the Houston Texans fans reading this, but the surest sign that the apocalypse is upon us is the fact that Brandon Weeden has led the Houston Texans to back-to-back victories in the last two weeks.
Hit your local HEB and start loading up on water and canned foods because aliens ... asteroids … SOMETHING … is bound to wipe us all out in the coming days. In fact, don’t even bother with the bottled water because we probably don’t have that much time. Just love on your family if you have a family and go to the strip club if you’re single and have money to set on fire.
How else do you explain the fact that for the last two weeks, Weeden has actually looked like a fairly legitimate NFL quarterback?
Suddenly, the team with the biggest revolving door at the most important position in football is a home win against Jacksonville away from winning its division and the No. 4 seed.
The NFL often doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but Weeden going 26 of 42 for 305 yards and three touchdowns in the last two weeks after looking beyond incompetent in his short tenure as the starting quarterback for the Cowboys makes less sense than just about anything I’ve ever seen in the league.
The only explanation is that the world is coming to an end. Enjoy your final days.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… Scattershooting on week 16 in the NFL
a. Carolina looked like a team completely tapped out of energy against Atlanta and it’s hard not to wonder if this team has already peaked like a teenager who hasn’t even headed off to college yet. I’m guessing numerous members of the 1972 Dolphins got trashed on Sunday night.
b. How in the world does a red-hot Pittsburgh team let a Baltimore squad quarterbacked by Ryan Mallett beat it and potentially cost it a spot in the playoffs? Talk about wasting all of your hard-earned efforts …
c. If you’re Big Ben, how do you not go out of your way to throw the ball to Antonio Brown on 4th and 15 with the season potentially on the line?
d. Julio Jones is good at football.
e. The next time someone tells you there’s no such thing as bad football or a bad NFL game, make them watch the Dallas-Buffalo game from yesterday.
f. Johnny Clock-management.
g. Ryan. F’ing. Fitzpatrick. What he’s doing in New York this year and what he did on Sunday in beating Tom Brady in the Patriots … well … I didn’t think it was capable. You know Darrelle Revis loved the hell out of this win.
h. Perhaps the Rams should try Akeem Ayers on offense, as he looked incredibly nifty in returning a fumble for a touchdown against the Seahawks.
i. Need more proof that the world is coming to an end? Go see the ease with which Kenny Britt beat Richard Sherman for a touchdown on Sunday. That’s called pistol-whipping man-to-man coverage.
j. Cory Redding doesn’t get into the end zone like he used to in his college days, but dammit he’s still getting into the end zone 16 years after he was the No. 1 prospect in Texas for the Class of 1999.
k. Arizona looks Super Bowl good. Check that, Arizona looks Super Bowl champs good.
l. Anyone else think of Apollo Creed's fight against Ivan Drago when watching Aaron Rodgers take his beating on Sunday?
m. Bill Belichick is one of the best of all-time at his craft, but his decision to kick the football in overtime on a day when the weather elements weren't really factors was something out of the 1994-95 Barry Switzer playbook.
n. The toughest player in the NFL is not Rams punter Johnny Hekker.
... There's something about the OKC Thunder that just isn't right. There are three players in the league with a PER of 29+ and OKC has two of them. Yet, I'm not sure I've seen any true championship flash out this team all season. This team looks better on paper than it actually is.
… Sixers record with Ish Smith in 2015-16: 1-0 Sixers record without Ish Smith in 2015-16: 1-30
… I have no issues with Kobe Bryant starting in the NBA All-Star Game and apparently neither does the majority of all NBA fans if the early voting for the game means anything.
... I'll believe Peyton Manning about the HGH report over the weekend if he sues the guy that claimed he was dirty as he has suggested he might over the weekend. Isn't the biggest sign that the report is garbage the fact that Ryan Howard's name was listed? I mean... I wish he had been on HGH the last few years...
... Stay classy, Rick Pitino.
… Scattershooting on week 18 of the English Premier League
a. I don’t know about the rest of you EPL-heads, but I enjoyed the hell out of the Boxing Day quadruple-header on my various NBC networks. If I lived in England, I might consider moving to the states just so that I could see the all-in coverage.
b. Down goes Leicester City! Down goes Leicester City! Down goes Leicester City! Who would have thought those words would have carried such weight only a year ago, but Liverpool’s 1-0 win was only the second defeat of the season for the Foxes and the first time all season the team has been held to zero goals. Given the way the team played a week ago against Watford, snagging three points against the league-leader going into the weekend was huge, as it allowed the Reds to pick up two points on Crystal Palace, Watford and West Ham, and three points on Leicester and Man United in its quest for a top four spot in the league. With two more days of rest than almost every other team in the league, picking up another three points at Sunderland on Wednesday is crucial for the Reds.
c. Yes, my best gift for Christmas might have been my Jurgenn Klopp “I’m the Normal One” t-shirt.
d. I woke up on Sunday morning just to see the now infamous Memphis Depay header that might very well send Louis Van Gaal into the unemployment line. Honestly, it looked like something I would do.
e. Nobody beats the crap out of the bottom-feeders of the league like Man City. Even without Sergio Aguero, City scored goals at a rate in the first half against Sunderland that seemed to break ESPN.com’s EPL fantasy game in real-time. When Kevin de Bruyne is on his game, he’s just a beautiful, clinical artist
f. Diego Costa picked up his fifth yellow card of the season on Saturday, so he won’t be available against Manchester United on Monday. I can’t be alone in wondering how in the hell Costa only has five yellow cards this season.
No. 9 – 70 Days Until Oscar Night ...
100 Words or Less Movie Review: Joy (B-)
Girl Power. At its best, Joy is a showcase for Jennifer Lawrence’s gifts as an A-level force in Hollywood and the overall power of a strong women. Sadly, so many of the other layers to this movie fall completely flat - from the actors surrounding Lawrence to the script to director David Russell’s insistence to weirdly include fake daytime soap opera scenes. The movie goes all over the place, but Lawrence’s performance is strong enough to turn the movie into an overall net win, even if the movie feels like a caricature of what it wants to be.
My Current Oscars Leaderboard
Best Picture (based on movies I have actually seen)
1. Spotlight
2. Room
3. Sicario
4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
5. Creed
Best Actor (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
2. Michael B. Jordan (Creed)
3. Matt Damon (The Martian)
4. John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
5. Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies)
Best Actress (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Brie Larson (Room)
2. Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
3. Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
4. Emily Blount (Sicario)
5. Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Best Supporting Actor (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
2. Jacob Tremblay (Room)
3. Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
4. Benicio del Toro (Sicario)
5. Sly Stallone (Creed)
Best Supporting Actress (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Joan Allen (Room)
2. Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)
3. Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
4. Tessa Thompson (Creed)
5. Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Best Director
1. Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
2. J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
3. Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
4. George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
5. Ridley Scott (The Martian)
No. 10 – And finally …
I wanted to give a special shout out to Marc and the gang over at Texas Boot Company for providing some of the best Christmas presents any of our loved ones received on Christmas Day.
We had as much fun shopping last week as any time I can remember in a very long time. From boots to belts to jeans to an awesome leather jacket for me, all of our needs were met in a big, big way.
Perhaps no item was as popular as the Scully’s suede leather jacket fringes. In fact, it was so popular that we purchased it twice, one for the wife and one for Ava, our 11-year our niece.
I care! The Women's Volleyball team is fun to watch and I keep up with them throughout the year. Sorry, don't care about soccer in England and Europe. I care about all UT sports even though I don't watch every event. Sometimes I depend on sites such as OB for that information.
I think everyone in Houston is a little quick to want to give BOB a huge amount of praise on this because it validates their hopes and ignores their fears.
Once again. he said NOT better than fourth!
