Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (I was dead-ass wrong)

[Rudygamble]

Ketch, I'm not sure that's entirely fair. Looking at the entire picture, Whitt has been money on 3d downs, gets tough YAC, and blocks great for a WR.

We all love Whitt. He should get plenty of time on field as WR3 for those very reasons. But two reasons why it should be closer to a 66/33 split with Cook are:
1) Cook + Worthy/Mitchell on the same side stresses the secondary more from a vertical standpoint
2) Cook is going to be WR1 next year unless we get a stud transfer. That's already going to be a bigger experience/talent dropoff than any I can recall at Texas since....maybe the collective defensive dropoff from Brown/Hicks/Diggs?

 

[Dave C2]

Four career receptions and yet he has a bigger player than any Whitt has made in 4 years.

How do they compare as blockers? It seems like that is something that JW does well and while it isn't why WR's get recruited it appears to be pretty important to our coaches.

 

[ganngus]

No. 3 - Speaking of history ...

Ja'Tavion Sanders is on his way to tracking down David Thomas for most receptions and receiving yards in school history by a tight end.

Check out where things currently stand ...

Receptions

1. David Thomas (98)
2. Pat Fitzgerald (80)
3. Jermichael Finley (76)
4. Bo Scaife (75)
5. Kerry Cash (71)
6. Ja'Tavian Sanders (66)

He's currently on pace (three catches per game) to finish the regular season with 90. Averaging four catches per game over the final eight regular season games would see him tie Thomas with potential post-season games left to play.

Receiving Yards

1. David Thomas (1,367)
2. Pat Fitzgerald (1,106)
3. Lawrence Sampleton (1,071)
4. Bo Scaife (997)
5. Kerry Cash (979)
6. Jermichael Finley (947)
7. William Harris (909)
8. Ja'Tavion Sanders (881)

At his current pace (67 yards per game), he'll break the record in the final regular season game of the season. It's possible that he'll end up smashing this record if he can squeeze in a few extra post-season games. Every player but Finley played at least three seasons with the Longhorns.

It's very possible that Sanders will break both records in only two seasons of play.

For as good as JT has and will be, this list reminds me that Pat Fitzgerald is criminally underrated and forgotten by today's fans...

 

[Cobrakaiforlife]

Yes. Yes it is.

 

[marinehorn]

Can't take this list seriously with no Led Zeppelin and no Beatles.

American bands only

 

[Ketchum]

I think quite a few people predicted an elite defense heading into the season. The indicators were there for us, and anyone who dug into advanced metrics knew our defense was actually good last year. The struggles on 3rd/4th down were obvious and our lack of TOs was quite odd given we had a good defense.

I've looked through older threads and people like @sodiumacetate were hammering this drum all year (there were others, he's just a consistent poster on the topic). Here's another from 9/5 right after Rice...

Edit: I wasn't here long enough, but I think anyone who recognized our surplus of good DLine depth, A star LB in Ford, and an experienced secondary knew the floor for this defense would be very good. Questions at Edge and Will LB were fair, but given who we were replacing, I had a strong feeling we'd be better. Gbenda has been a very pleasant surprise so far this year.

A very good defense is not the same as a borderline elite defense. Come on...

 

[Ketchum]

As we get into the 3-3-5 flyover part of the schedule, i wouldn't be surprised if we see more 2 WR sets with either 2 TE with Gunner or 2 RB sets with Keilan (with special guests like Redd and Whittington) as pseudo WR3.

That's literally doing everything you can to NOT put your best players on the field.

 

[Ketchum]

What an oddly specific caveat you are clinging to. It doesn't matter that I told you over and over again that this defense would be elite, because I didn't tell you that they would be top 25 in 10 statistical categories? Because I didn't make that exact specific claim, it invalidates me saying that how well this defense is playing shouldn't be a surprise?

Besides, isn't saying the defense is going to be even better than the top 10 unit a year ago imply that they are going to be really good in most statistical categories?

Show me a post where you said they would be elite.

 

[Ketchum]

I think anyone who was paying attention should have known the floor for this defense was very good.

Very good isn't the bar they are setting. That's the point.

 

[Ketchum]

I was trying to maintain the "we suck until we don't" mantra in the offseason and leading into the season. At this point, I am starting to feel like we don't suck, and it's a great feeling! Totally agree on Gbenda as the WTF player of the year so far. I saw the stats from the Baylor game and was shocked that he didn't registered that many stats given the fact that he was fricking everywhere around the ball making green guys sweat! The duo of Ford and Gbenda are an LB force - hell, throw in Bush too. He was banging it out there too.

Looking at the remaining schedule, my top two pucker games are currently Kansas and BYU. I totally agree that OU is a paper tiger - not to get too confident - but, they really haven't played anyone this year. BYU has been up and down, but they've taken it to some respectable teams, and we have a not-so-great history playing BYU. Would love to get that monkey off of our backs. K State will be interesting, and I'm really not quite sure what to think of TCU this year, but I'm just not as concerned with them yet. If we can get the kinks ironed out on offense and have both sides performing to the defense's level game-to-game, I think the sky is the limit with this team.

I don't know what to think about BYU at this point. Their quarterback is just a guy.

 

[Ketchum]

I'm giving myself permission to dream big.

=================================================

No offense, but I truly hate it when you say this. It reminds me of Lucy, Charlie Brown, and a football.

I said it just to annoy you.

 

[Ketchum]

yup...fingers crossed that we don't get any extreme weather. felt like the crazy wind last year in Stillwater and cold at home vs TCU hurt us more than helped us

Or injuries.

 

[Ketchum]

No. 5 - If I had a vote that mattered ...

1. Washington
2. Texas
3. Georgia
4. Michigan
5. Ohio State
6. Florida State
7. Oregon
8. Utah
9. USC
10. Alabama

Switch USC with Utah, and I agree

Utah has the better win on its resume at this point.

 

[Ketchum]

(Buy) Quinn Ewers, Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Ja'Tavion Sanders, Christian Jones, T'Vondre Sweat, Alfred Collins, Jaylan Ford, Jahdae Barron, Ryan Watts and Jerrin Thompson make 11.

=========================================================


It will be nice in March and April next year to not have to hear that same old tired narrative when the draft approaches. And I think everyone knows what I mean.

💯

 

[Ketchum]

Loved the article on Jaylon Ford, mentioning him in the same breath with Tommy Nobis and Derrick Johnson. Those two guys were highly recruited and good from the jump

Loved the article on Jaylon Ford, which mentioned him in the same breath as Tommy Nobis and Derrick Johnson. IIRC, those two guys were great from the get-go, whereas Ford was a 3-star recruit who didn't start for two years. That's pretty drastic improvement. I think it would be interesting to know how that happened.

PS -- Who knew that we should have had Andrew Beck returning kickoffs?

a. Jeff Choate deserves a lot of credit for his development.

b. I always said Beck was vastly underused as an offensive weapon.

 

[Ketchum]

Ketch, I'm not sure that's entirely fair. Looking at the entire picture, Whitt has been money on 3d downs, gets tough YAC, and blocks great for a WR.

I love Whitt. He's one of my faves as a human being. He's just not been a difference maker out of the slot and this offense could use that.

 

[Ketchum]

... The Dolphins humiliated Sean Payton on Sunday. 70 freaking points. That happened.

=============================================================


No, not the almighty GREAT Sean Payton.

That had to be humbling.

 

[LI_Longhorn]

Very good isn't the bar they are setting. That's the point.

Agreed, but I think saying very good is the floor kind of implies that the defense will be elite, no? I guess regardless, we're all agreeing right now this unit is elite possibly with the best being within sight.

 

[Ketchum]

Came to say the same. Blasphemous.

🤷‍♂️

 

[Ketchum]

No problem. But if I'm going to look it up just reply when I do.

I reply to everything.

 

[Ketchum]

We all love Whitt. He should get plenty of time on field as WR3 for those very reasons. But two reasons why it should be closer to a 66/33 split with Cook are:
1) Cook + Worthy/Mitchell on the same side stresses the secondary more from a vertical standpoint
2) Cook is going to be WR1 next year unless we get a stud transfer. That's already going to be a bigger experience/talent dropoff than any I can recall at Texas since....maybe the collective defensive dropoff from Brown/Hicks/Diggs?

 

[Ketchum]

How do they compare as blockers? It seems like that is something that JW does well and while it isn't why WR's get recruited it appears to be pretty important to our coaches.

JW >>> Cook

I'm not saying he should take all of his reps or even the majority... just more.

 

[Ketchum]

For as good as JT has and will be, this list reminds me that Pat Fitzgerald is criminally underrated and forgotten by today's fans...

One of the most underrated players in the history of the program.

Oh, and I was in love with his future wife (I believe). She was a cheerleader and she should have charged me money for the hours I dazed at her in college.

 

[Ketchum]

Yes. Yes it is.

Make the case.

 

[Ketchum]

American bands only

He knows. 🤣

 

[Rudygamble]

That's literally doing everything you can to NOT put your best players on the field.

You just got done saying Whitt's not a major factor as slot WR. IMO, best way to attack a well-coached/schemed defense is to be 'multiple'. mixing in 2 WR/2 TE and 2 WR/2 RB does that. Sticking stubbornly to 3 WR as your majority base offense gives me flashbacks to McAdoo at NYG and McCarthy at GB.

The 2 WR / 2 TE seems like a given at this point. Using 2 RB is a SWAG (and think a little more Keilan is a good thing but if he's sole RB, I'm less enthused)

 

[Ketchum]

Agreed, but I think saying very good is the floor kind of implies that the defense will be elite, no? I guess regardless, we're all agreeing right now this unit is elite possibly with the best being within sight.

If you're only kind of implying it, it kind of makes my point, no?

 

[Ketchum]

You just got done saying Whitt's not a major factor as slot WR. IMO, best way to attack a well-coached/schemed defense is to be 'multiple'. mixing in 2 WR/2 TE and 2 WR/2 RB does that. Sticking stubbornly to 3 WR as your majority base offense gives me flashbacks to McAdoo at NYG and McCarthy at GB.

The 2 WR / 2 TE seems like a given at this point. Using 2 RB is a SWAG (and think a little more Keilan is a good thing but if he's sole RB, I'm less enthused)

Johntay Cook might be a future first round pick. I'm not sure these other dudes are future pros.

 

[LI_Longhorn]

If you're only kind of implying it, it kind of makes my point, no?

Eh, maybe. I joined Alabama victory... I just noticed a couple posters that seemed to belabor the point that our defense should take considerable jumps this year (which would go from 2022 very good defense - especially in the second half of the season to elite in 2023.) Not really sure it's worth discussing further, as clearly we're all seeing the defense now and it's ceiling is not just elite, but one of the top defenses in the country.

Now - there's still some question marks on this defense that will help define our ceiling as a unit. Kansas should be a great metric from some of these (I'm looking at you Gbenda and over the top vertical shots for safeties/CBs)

(I lurked forever here in the 2010s, stopped after end of Herman era)

 

[Catass]

I remember hearing the offense was having trouble moving the ball against the defense during the preseason and I’ll also remember saying “maybe the defense is just that good.” Looks like I was right. First time. Lol

 

[Rudygamble]

Johntay Cook might be a future first round pick. I'm not sure these other dudes are future pros.

That's fair. I was seeing it as less Whitt. Just a stab at a desired split against the 3-3-5 flyover

3 WR (Worthy/Mitchell/Whitt) - 30%
3 WR (Worthy/Mitchell/Cook) -30 %
2 TE - 30%
2 RB (mostly Keilan as RB2) - 10%

Rotate the hell out of this throughout the game + tons of pre-snap motion.

 

[Rudygamble]

Eh, maybe. I joined Alabama victory... I just noticed a couple posters that seemed to belabor the point that our defense should take considerable jumps this year (which would go from 2022 very good defense - especially in the second half of the season to elite in 2023.) Not really sure it's worth discussing further, as clearly we're all seeing the defense now and it's ceiling is not just elite, but one of the top defenses in the country.

Now - there's still some question marks on this defense that will help define our ceiling as a unit. Kansas should be a great metric from some of these (I'm looking at you Gbenda and over the top vertical shots for safeties/CBs)

(I lurked forever here in the 2010s, stopped after end of Herman era)

Over the top vertical shots scare me the most w/ this team. I don't even recall when that was a strength.

Here's hoping pass rush keeps making incremental steps.

 

[Dave C2]

That's fair. I was seeing it as less Whitt. Just a stab at a desired split against the 3-3-5 flyover

3 WR (Worthy/Mitchell/Whitt) - 30%
3 WR (Worthy/Mitchell/Cook) -30 %
2 TE - 30%
2 RB (mostly Keilan as RB2) - 10%

Rotate the hell out of this throughout the game + tons of pre-snap motion.

In Sark I trust.

I think the more talent we get on offense the more our offense is going to look like something that at least resembles what we saw in Tuscaloosa in 2020.

And then after Texas had hired Sark prompted Billy Loochey to write that Sark was putting up those numbers because he just had insane talent at Bama...talent that he wouldn't be able to come close to at Texas. Well, I remember thinking then, let's look at that again in a few years.

 

[Ketchum]

Eh, maybe. I joined Alabama victory... I just noticed a couple posters that seemed to belabor the point that our defense should take considerable jumps this year (which would go from 2022 very good defense - especially in the second half of the season to elite in 2023.) Not really sure it's worth discussing further, as clearly we're all seeing the defense now and it's ceiling is not just elite, but one of the top defenses in the country.

Now - there's still some question marks on this defense that will help define our ceiling as a unit. Kansas should be a great metric from some of these (I'm looking at you Gbenda and over the top vertical shots for safeties/CBs)

(I lurked forever here in the 2010s, stopped after end of Herman era)

If you joined the week of the Alabama victory, how would you know about the off-season discussions we're talking about?

ps. Glad to have you back. I'm here f you ever need anything,

 

[Ketchum]

I remember hearing the offense was having trouble moving the ball against the defense during the preseason and I’ll also remember saying “maybe the defense is just that good.” Looks like I was right. First time. Lol

I feel like we all said that in August. Or at least a lot of us did, considering the offense they were going up against.