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Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (It's all about the damn implications...)

Not if you are really great. If you are great you make the school you grow up rooting for great. Most of the great ones who have played for Texas have all gone in the 1st round of NFL draft.

If you are a 1st round NFL player you get drafted in the 1st round not because you played for Alabama but because you are a 1st round player. The fact that the Brockermeyers believe they need Alabama to win at the college level and get drafted is more a reflection of their lack of confidence in themselves rather than Texas’ failures as a program.
The Brockermeyer's currently will be developed better to play in the NFL and to be drafted higher at Alabama than they will at Texas. They have full confidence in themselves. They don't have confidence in a Texas program to develop them as well as a superior Alabama program.
 
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In ten years of losing, I don't feel any better today than I did in 2011 about the state of the program

Yuk

I feel worse. In 2011 I had hope we could turn it around in a few years, somehow, someway. I can see us sucking for many years to come right now and have no idea when we will ever be good again. At this rate it could be the 30’s
 
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I've been saying this since before Mack left........we are doing a lousy job of COACHING KIDS UP! We have been working on this steaming pile for a long time & it just makes me want to puke.
 
Since 2010, Alabama has the same number of 1st round Draft Choices (32) as Texas has had overall draft choices (32 total). They also have had 93 players drafted to our 32, and 32 1st rounders to our 3 overall. As much as it hurts me to say this, the only thread the Brockermeyer's were hanging onto was legacy. Because, when you look at goals, and aspirations of playing at a level beyond college, you would have had to been a dunce to pick Texas. Sometimes the deep dive reveals all you need to know. You can love Texas and still realize that one school is selling hopes and dreams, and the other one is selling facts and achievements. This is an indictment, not just of this regime, but the previous 2 coaching staffs, as well. We just aren't on that level.
 
wow- that’s high praise for Yellowstone which just happens to coincide with me watching the last episode of Spy on Netflix last night... think I’ll check it out
There's a character on the show (Rip) that might be a Top 10 all-time TV character bad ass.
 
Geoff I get everything you said.. And I certainly understand what Tommy said.. The truth though is something other than has been said.. If you really love Texas and you bleed Orange and you honestly evaluate every game over the last 2 years.. You honestly cannot do so with out saying if not for a few bad series Texas is easily a 9-10 win team for 2 consecutive years..

Now you can't look at Alabama and not appreciate what Saban has accomplished there but if you look at where Saban started from he at the same juncture of his career is behind Tom in terms of accomplishment.. in fact at MSU he was pretty bad and his time with the Dolphins was clearly a failure.. Granted he has righted the ship in a remarkable way..

If you really loved Texas you would want to be a part of helping it return to a place of prominence on the National scene and you would never turn your back on it.. The problem with many of our kids no matter how smart or mature they seem to be based on the environments they develop in they tend in truth not to posses nearly the level of mental toughness or maturity that they project.

I have yet to encounter a kid in 30 years of coaching, and I say this not as some kind of childish boast but simply to honestly convey that although I have placed 65 kids into collegiate programs even the toughest of them had substantial growth that had to occur.. and obviously some were ahead of others in regard to their natural orientation to that quality.. but still they had to grow in ways that made them uncomfortable..

Being uncomfortable is required for meaningful growth.. Every environment, no matter how formal or informal, is an opportunity to develop independence and mental skills, and by doing so you empower the young athlete in sporting environments.

As a coach the question I have to ask myself daily is am I creating an enabling or disabling environment for mental toughness for my players.. Certainly Tom has made mistakes but he has made if you want to do an honest analysis a hell of a lot fewer of them than did Saban at the same juncture of his career..

Are the things that the Brockermeyer's said regarding Alabama true.. in essence yes.. But some actually many of the negatives concerning Texas are far less true than they have been said to be or perhaps appear to be to Tommy and James..

One thing that I have to teach every player I work with is Gratitude and I help them practice gratitude. Being grateful in the middle of a match where you have been on the court for 3+ hours in 115 degree heat (and it is your 3rd match of the day) and down a break at 3-2 in the 3rd set appears to most players and insane way of assessing a situation..

But it is working through those situations being anchored to gratitude that facilitates real growth.. and allows the player to really trust their abilities to find their fullest expression in adverse circumstances..

The one thing that stands out with what happened in the Brockermeyer's recruitment is that the ties they were said to have to Texas were in fact much thinner they they were said to be.
I have always likened good luck or good fortune to a spirit. It is a spirit that is very fickle deciding to bless some and ignore others. But those it ignores it does so for a reason.

I want the players I coach to understand too that every action has a consequence, no matter how big or small. Sacrifice is the cause. Compensation is the effect. You must give up something in order to get.

There’s no way around it. Here’s the cool part though.. the greater the sacrifice the greater the reward and that reward is ultimately that the young player becomes a much more whole human being.. That is what I am really seeking to build.. whole human beings that are really talented players..

I never ask players if they want success.. I ask them if they want the pain that comes with pursuing that success.. The path they seek is harder than they realize.. But if you have gratitude the difficulties of the path are in fact minimized..

The one thing that someone with gratitude and true belief has is unwavering commitment.. If you have true love and true belief and you see that things are not perfect but certainly with just a little better approaches in a few small but critical areas then you see yourself as the difference that changes the result in that small but critical area..

You said.. "We're talking about a father, mother and trio of children that have dreamed of one day being able to all return to the 40 Acres together in a world where all three brothers are wearing burnt orange and white on the field together, while their entire family sits in the stands with immense pride."

Truth be told that was far more a pleasant thought of convivence rather than a dream because dreams are never so readily abandoned. One key element in teaching gratitude is dependent on showing my players to be grateful for what they have and for the fact that 3+ hours into a match in 115 degree heat they are right there with an opportunity to win the match..

Its natural for kids to want what seems like more to them and to believe that in seeking that which seems to offer more that they are honoring their obligation to themselves in pursuit of their dreams but often in truth that is done because they lacked in fact the courage to pursue their real dreams..

A dream is never as easily abandoned as they did.. Sam's dream was to play at UT and nothing would have stopped him from following that dream (and I will add that Sam has developed as much if not more than any other player in the country in 3 years).. The truth be told for all their talent and alleged ties to UT Tommy and James never really had the dream of playing at Texas and people really should stop pretending that they did..
I think you're underestimating what they've seen.

The Brockermeyers just aren't to blame IMO.

You know how dreams die? When 70-percent of the coaching staff you've known for a couple of years is fired because of developmental issues.

That'll help kill a dream.
 
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ee0e3a40b744e2eebc3b4d949eaa9055x.jpg

With three full days to marinate on the news that the biggest burnt orange legacy recruits in the last quarter-century and arguably the two biggest UT football legacy recruits of all-time had committed to Alabama, I think the thing that stands out to me the most are the implications of the announcement.

If the recruitments of these two offensive line prospects were a possession in a football game, the Longhorns would have taken over with first and goal on the three-yard line.

We're talking about two kids with a father that's one of the greatest players at his position in the history of the program and a member of the school's Hall of Honor, a mom that graduated on the 40 Acres and met the future father of her children there and a brother who is already on the team.

We're talking about a father, mother and trio of children that have dreamed of one day being able to all return to the 40 Acres together in a world where all three brothers are wearing burnt orange and white on the field together, while their entire family sits in the stands with immense pride.

The dream that has existed for nearly two decades at a minimum for all five members of this discussion was there for the taking and when push came to shove in the year of 2020, the family passed on the dream.

On top of that, they are apparently so ready to move on from the old dream to a new dream that they aren't even going to let Texas attempt to win them over by putting their money where their mouth is with regards to competing for championships and developing players. The Brockermeyer brothers could have waited a little longer. They could have chilled and watched how things unfold.

They didn't.

Why?

Well, that's where the implications of the announcement come in. Actions speak louder than words every day of the week and twice on Saturdays, which means that after having as close of an inside look at the Texas program as any high level prospect in the state has likely ever had outside of perhaps someone from the Shipley family, this legacy family have had the belief stripped from them to such a degree that they have run out of benefit of the doubt.

With as up-close of a look at the program as possible, the Brockermeyers just didn't see enough with their eyes that turned the thoughts in their heads about the direction of the program into a place where they were willing to risk the futures of players with incredible ambition.

Texas might have had first and goal on the three-yard line in this recruitment, but not all first and goal situations end up in touchdowns. Sometimes you fumble the snap in the quarterback/center exchange and turn the ball over. Sometimes your quarterback throws an interception in the end zone. Sometimes a ball gets snapped over the quarterback's head and rolls 50 yards the other way until you're no longer in field goal range.

Frankly, this situation feels like a combination of those things, as if they all got together and had a disaster baby together.

Also, I'm fascinated by the timing of the announcement as much as the actual announcement itself.

Even in a world where getting Tommy and James was not going to happen, giving the appearance that hope existed is usually a key piece of the puzzle in letting the in-state home favorite down in the Recruiting Handbook For Big-Time Prospects (which is a novel I might write some day). Always let them think there's hope, even when there's not ... all in the name of respecting what the letdown will mean for the in-state program that just lost its cornbread.

Just the mere hope that the Brockermeyer twins would end up at Texas was good for 2021 recruiting with the other elite prospects that are considering the Longhorns. In announcing their decision this early, it kind of reveals how little clothing the emperor has on at the moment and everyone can see it.

Yet, this family wants this over.

Period.

It suggests that their decision wasn't even close and nothing at all could be more damning than that.

No. 2 - The most optimistic thing I can give you ...

115824396_282156323055793_7156326642056015974_n.jpg


Up until last season when Ehlinger was also named preseason first-team All-Big 12, it had been since 2009 that the Longhorns entered a season with a perceived edge on every team in the conference at the most important position on the field.

Of course, OU's Jalen Hurts was right behind Ehlinger with regards to the preseason hype entering last season, while owning an experience and quality of play edge over Ehlinger as he entered his senior season after transferring from Alabama.

That doesn't exist in 2020.

In fact, the Longhorns haven't had such an edge in returning quality of play at the quarterback position since 2005 when Vince Young was coming off of a Rose Bowl MVP in 2005 and Rhett Bomar was an unproven prospect.

When I speak of the upcoming season being so critical for the Longhorns, it's a statement made with the knowledge that these types of quarterback advantages have not grown on trees for Texas over the last two decades.

Yet, it does in 2020 and that should make you feel pretty good.

No. 3 - A quick thought on Kobe Boyce's apparent retirement from football...

https://twitter.com/KobeBoyce/status/1284522276407382016?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1284522276407382016|twgr^&ref_url=https://texas.forums.rivals.com/threads/kobe-boyce-says-he-is-stepping-away-from-football.479923/

I know it's kind of hard to view Boyce separate from Texas football because we all know of him through the prism of watching him perform on the field.

However, when I read his note this weekend about his struggles with mental health and his quest to overcome them, I couldn't help but think of a number of situations on this board over the years where Orangebloods family members have expressed the same type of difficult life challenges and always found compassion and a helping hand from so many Orangebloods family members.

There's no better place when an Orangeblood is in need because we might be a dysfunctional family, but my goodness, we're still family and when the you know what hits the fan, we're here for each other.

We should all feel that same level of compassion and empathy when we see it from these young men, even if they've struggled at times on the field.

Ironically, Boyce's words reminded me of Malik Jefferson's own battle with mental health issues while he was at Texas, especially after he had Tweeted this out a few days before Boyce's announcement.


This situation is just a reminder that these young men are like the rest of us in that not even being a college football player with all of the perks changes the fact that mental health can be a challenge.

Here's to Boyce finding the peace of mind he's looking for.

No. 4 - The stat that had to be a gut punch in the Brockermeyer's recruitment ...

Saw this in The Athletic...

"Alabama’s had 16 offensive linemen drafted in the Nick Saban era, including seven in the first round. Texas has had only one offensive lineman drafted in the past 10 years."

And then there was this from Blake Brockermeyer.

“If you go back … every blindside offensive tackle Coach Saban’s had since he’s been there has been a first-round pick except for (two),” Blake Brockermeyer said. “And one of those unfortunately slid all the way into the second round. The track record’s unbelievable, and if you’re that dude who can do that at Alabama, you’ve got a great chance to get rewarded not only in your NFL career, but also winning a ton of games. You go against the best players in the country every week, and you’re practicing against the best players in the country every day. So, I mean, if you can block the guys on your team, then you’re probably gonna have some success on Saturdays. So that’s definitely a huge reason, if not, you know, maybe the biggest reason.

No. 5 - One last thought on the Pre-season All-Big 12 team...

There were six players named to the first-team All-Big 12 team by the media this week that didn't make first-team, second-team or even honorable mentioned All-Big 12 in 2019.

* Oklahoma junior wide receiver Charleston Rambo
* Texas Tech junior offensive lineman Jack Anderson
* Iowa State senior defensive lineman JaQuan Bailey
* West Virginia senior defensive lineman Darius Stills
* Texas junior defensive back D'Shawn Jamison
* Texas junior defensive back Caden Sterns

No. 6 - Blast From The Past: Twenty Years Ago ...

I couldn't find the exact date for his commitment, but it occurred to me this weekend that it was roughly 20 years ago to the month that Texas legend Cedric Benson announced his commitment to the Longhorns.

There's a lot of conversation that can be had about that moment, but the thing that I was thinking about over the weekend was just how stacked the 2001 recruiting class was that year.

Check out this Top 10 from the 2001 LSR List...

1. Tommie Harris - DT- Killeen Ellison (Signed with Oklahoma)

A three-time All-American, a former first-round draft choice and a multiple-time Pro Bowl selection as an NFL player.

2. Derrick Johnson - LB - Waco (Signed with Texas)

A Butkus Award winner, a former first-round pick in the NFL and one of the best defensive players in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs.

3. Cedric Benson - RB - Midland Lee (Signed with Texas)

A Doak Walker Award winner, a first-round draft pick and a 1,000-yard rusher in the NFL.

4. Jonathan Scott - OT - Dallas Carter (Signed wit Texas)

A consensus first-team All-American as a senior, a starter on a national championship team and a player that lasted nearly a decade in the NFL with five different teams.

5. Jami Hightower - OL - Jacksonville (signed with Texas A&M)

Never emerged as a star in College Station, but was honorable mention All-Big 12 for the Aggies.

6. Ben Wilkerson - C - Hemphill (Signed with LSU)

A two-time All-American during his career at LSU, Wilkerson was named a co-recipient of the Rimington Trophy in 2004, as college football's top center.

7. Quan Cosby - WR - Mart (Signed with Texas)

A two-time All-Big 12 player who ranks as one of the top wide receivers in school history.

8. Donta Hickson - RB - McKinney (Signed with Oklahoma)

In four seasons, Hickson rushed for 493 yards and three touchdowns on 127 carries.

9. Thomas Derricks - DT - Dallas Jesuit (Signed with Northwestern)

Started as a true freshman, but ended up leaving the school and transferring to Austin College.

10. Cedric Griffin - CB - San Antonio Holmes (Signed with Texas)

A four-year starter and an All-Big 12 player that emerged as a very good NFL player.

Out of the top 10 players from that class ... four were All-Americans, three won major individual awards, six were named first-team all conference and seven played on Sundays.

Incredible.

No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
penny-stocks-to-buy-or-sell-august.jpg




(Sell) I kind of feel like the benefit of the doubt goes out the window when you haven't done it yet and just fired 70 percent of your staff.



(Sell) That thought has literally never crossed my mind. I think he has a good reputation because he's a good coach with a lot of personality, which isn't the same as saying he has a great reputation with a track record that is ironclad.



(Sell) I would imagine he'll be at games in 2020 or whenever the upcoming season is played, if they let parents into the stadium. If he can't get inside the stadium, I doubt we'll see him much while his kids are playing a thousand miles away.



(Sell) I'll give them Shemar Turner at the moment.



(Buy) I say that only because I've never seen a legacy situation like this ever exist while covering recruiting at Texas. I can't think of what tops it, unless we want to talk about offer mistakes that proved to be a disaster.



(Buy) Yup, I'll buy that.



(Buy) I don't know what I'll do with myself if that happens.



(Sell) When have people on or off the Internet ever stopped freaking out over the life choices of 18 year olds?



(Sell) I think the ship has sailed.



(Buy) It's a must-win every year.

No. 8 - Scattershooting on the world of sports ...

... When the hell is this NBA re-start supposed to start up again? Ok, I just checked and it's 11 days.

... When the hell is this MLB re-start supposed to start up again? Ok, I just checked and we're only a few days away.

... This LeBron James rookie card sold for 1.8 million this weekend,

... Manchester United AND Manchester City were both knocked out of the FA Cup this weekend and I found myself tickled pink about it.

... Where the hell does David De Gea play next season if not with Manchester United? With his contract, can you really keep him in a No. 2 role?

... If the worst thing anyone ever says about your favorite NFL team is that it's not better than the 1989 49ers or the 1993 Cowboys or the 1985 Bears ... your team is really f'ing good. That's where I am as a Liverpool fan today. We might not have posted the most points in the history of a season, but we're in conversations that sound like this ... "I can't rank you ahead of The Invincibles or United's Treble winning team." I can live with that zip code.

... I was all for watching some golf this weekend, but Jon Rahm made the thing pretty anticlimactic.

... I was rooting for Joseph Benavidez this weekend in the UFC, but he's probably always going to be in the Hall of Very Good instead of the Hall of Great. There's just a hump he never seems to quite get over.

No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Texas Longhorns Legacy Recruits of the Last 25 Years ...

It kind of feels like I couldn't have chosen a more timely topic, but it also became very clear when I compiled the list just how much smaller the Texas legacy list is than what we've seen at Texas A&M over the same time frame by a wide margin.

Let's get to it.

10. Cedric Dockery
9. Collin Johnson
8. Jaxon Shipley
7. James Brockermeyer
6. Austin Sendlein
5. Kasey Studdard
4. Quandre Diggs
3. Robert Thomas
2. David Warren
1. Tommy Brockermeyer

No.10 - And finally...

I went all-in on Yellowstone in the last four days and I'm completely going into Sunday night's episode with great anticipation.

For those that have never seen it, it's as if The Godfather, Legends of the Fall and Dallas (the TV show) had a baby.

It comes highly recommended.
The crushing words of Blake Brockermeyer hit me like a locomotive and now I understand where in reality Texas stands.College players are all good but without a doubt ,if you practice against 4 and 5 stars everyday ,you just have to develop faster and better.There is no way to debate that. IT hurts
 
The Brockermeyer thing would be a lot less concerning to me if their big brother wasn't giving them the best possible insight into the program. That's what really sets off alarms in my head.
exactly. If he was all-in and the family felt his belief, that turns into a positive instead of a negative.

They don't like what they are seeing up close and they have a father that you can't fake it in front of.
 
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There brother is on the team and they are high school recruits and their parents are alumni. Not that big of commitment to go to a bowl game with free tickets. in your home state.

I agree with you that it is a huge problem for CTH and Texas that the football program is so far from the big time of Alabama and Clemson that Texas couldn’t close the deal with legacy recruits like the Brockermeyer Twins.

However, after last season there was nothing CTH or Herb Hand could do to change the recruiting issues with the twins this year. Texas lost the twins last year not this year.

Unfortunately for Texas, the Brockmeyer twins are front runners who want what they feel is a sure thing of success both in college and NFL draft by committing to Alabama. What they are forgetting is if they don’t deliver the goods or get injured Nick Saban will not remember their name. If they are as big of studs as they think they are the same winning opportunities and NFL opportunities exist at Texas that they are chasing at Alabama.

Hope they enjoy playing for that mercenary type coach and IMHO their choice of Alabama reveals some character weakness. Alabama has done nothing for this family while Texas has given their brother a scholarship, their father a football career, and mother a college degree and experience. Alabama is only offering a chance to play football. Nothing more and nothing less.
There eventually has to be a price for major failures.

Tom Herman is paying for his.

This just can't be a situation where you blame the messenger.
 
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Since 2010, Alabama has the same number of 1st round Draft Choices (32) as Texas has had overall draft choices (32 total). They also have had 93 players drafted to our 32, and 32 1st rounders to our 3 overall. As much as it hurts me to say this, the only thread the Brockermeyer's were hanging onto was legacy. Because, when you look at goals, and aspirations of playing at a level beyond college, you would have had to been a dunce to pick Texas. Sometimes the deep dive reveals all you need to know. You can love Texas and still realize that one school is selling hopes and dreams, and the other one is selling facts and achievements. This is an indictment, not just of this regime, but the previous 2 coaching staffs, as well. We just aren't on that level.
Painful, but truthful.
 
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I think you're underestimating what they've seen.

The Brockermeyers just aren't to blame IMO.

You know how dreams die? When 70-percent of the coaching staff you've known for a couple of years is fired because of developmental issues.

That'll help kill a dream.

that’s a dalliance not a dream. Sam wanted to right the ship. Johnson bro’s weren’t afraid to work against the odds. T shirt fans show up for the wins. And that has its own problems; see Blake Gideon era. But you can’t tell me they’re fans as in fanatics. Or dreamers like Sam. They’re opportunists who have an opportunity.

oL is a position of extreme need. We’re 1-3 vs OU and have a decent bowl record. We have Sam, Card JJ in the QB room. We have Bijan, Whittington and Smith for years.

We are just a few good players away From competing, heisman running etc and they still said no.

I agree that this is Herman, they don’t like the program and all that. But it just reinforces they’re another set of people demanding change from the outside instead of working for change on the inside.

Roll Tide.
 
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Painful, but truthful.
Painful and truthful but it isn't forever,everything cycles out and it will. We need to start winning consistantly and we'll get really good players with a need to win and maybe chip on their shoulder that will beat a group of complacent 5 stars if Saban ever leaves.It will happen someday
 
What a crappy way to start the week! Maybe I need to put off reading this column til later in the week.
Prayers for Kobe and Yellowstone is a great show.
 
ee0e3a40b744e2eebc3b4d949eaa9055x.jpg

With three full days to marinate on the news that the biggest burnt orange legacy recruits in the last quarter-century and arguably the two biggest UT football legacy recruits of all-time had committed to Alabama, I think the thing that stands out to me the most are the implications of the announcement.

If the recruitments of these two offensive line prospects were a possession in a football game, the Longhorns would have taken over with first and goal on the three-yard line.

We're talking about two kids with a father that's one of the greatest players at his position in the history of the program and a member of the school's Hall of Honor, a mom that graduated on the 40 Acres and met the future father of her children there and a brother who is already on the team.

We're talking about a father, mother and trio of children that have dreamed of one day being able to all return to the 40 Acres together in a world where all three brothers are wearing burnt orange and white on the field together, while their entire family sits in the stands with immense pride.

The dream that has existed for nearly two decades at a minimum for all five members of this discussion was there for the taking and when push came to shove in the year of 2020, the family passed on the dream.

On top of that, they are apparently so ready to move on from the old dream to a new dream that they aren't even going to let Texas attempt to win them over by putting their money where their mouth is with regards to competing for championships and developing players. The Brockermeyer brothers could have waited a little longer. They could have chilled and watched how things unfold.

They didn't.

Why?

Well, that's where the implications of the announcement come in. Actions speak louder than words every day of the week and twice on Saturdays, which means that after having as close of an inside look at the Texas program as any high level prospect in the state has likely ever had outside of perhaps someone from the Shipley family, this legacy family have had the belief stripped from them to such a degree that they have run out of benefit of the doubt.

With as up-close of a look at the program as possible, the Brockermeyers just didn't see enough with their eyes that turned the thoughts in their heads about the direction of the program into a place where they were willing to risk the futures of players with incredible ambition.

Texas might have had first and goal on the three-yard line in this recruitment, but not all first and goal situations end up in touchdowns. Sometimes you fumble the snap in the quarterback/center exchange and turn the ball over. Sometimes your quarterback throws an interception in the end zone. Sometimes a ball gets snapped over the quarterback's head and rolls 50 yards the other way until you're no longer in field goal range.

Frankly, this situation feels like a combination of those things, as if they all got together and had a disaster baby together.

Also, I'm fascinated by the timing of the announcement as much as the actual announcement itself.

Even in a world where getting Tommy and James was not going to happen, giving the appearance that hope existed is usually a key piece of the puzzle in letting the in-state home favorite down in the Recruiting Handbook For Big-Time Prospects (which is a novel I might write some day). Always let them think there's hope, even when there's not ... all in the name of respecting what the letdown will mean for the in-state program that just lost its cornbread.

Just the mere hope that the Brockermeyer twins would end up at Texas was good for 2021 recruiting with the other elite prospects that are considering the Longhorns. In announcing their decision this early, it kind of reveals how little clothing the emperor has on at the moment and everyone can see it.

Yet, this family wants this over.

Period.

It suggests that their decision wasn't even close and nothing at all could be more damning than that.

No. 2 - The most optimistic thing I can give you ...

115824396_282156323055793_7156326642056015974_n.jpg


Up until last season when Ehlinger was also named preseason first-team All-Big 12, it had been since 2009 that the Longhorns entered a season with a perceived edge on every team in the conference at the most important position on the field.

Of course, OU's Jalen Hurts was right behind Ehlinger with regards to the preseason hype entering last season, while owning an experience and quality of play edge over Ehlinger as he entered his senior season after transferring from Alabama.

That doesn't exist in 2020.

In fact, the Longhorns haven't had such an edge in returning quality of play at the quarterback position since 2005 when Vince Young was coming off of a Rose Bowl MVP in 2005 and Rhett Bomar was an unproven prospect.

When I speak of the upcoming season being so critical for the Longhorns, it's a statement made with the knowledge that these types of quarterback advantages have not grown on trees for Texas over the last two decades.

Yet, it does in 2020 and that should make you feel pretty good.

No. 3 - A quick thought on Kobe Boyce's apparent retirement from football...

https://twitter.com/KobeBoyce/status/1284522276407382016?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1284522276407382016|twgr^&ref_url=https://texas.forums.rivals.com/threads/kobe-boyce-says-he-is-stepping-away-from-football.479923/

I know it's kind of hard to view Boyce separate from Texas football because we all know of him through the prism of watching him perform on the field.

However, when I read his note this weekend about his struggles with mental health and his quest to overcome them, I couldn't help but think of a number of situations on this board over the years where Orangebloods family members have expressed the same type of difficult life challenges and always found compassion and a helping hand from so many Orangebloods family members.

There's no better place when an Orangeblood is in need because we might be a dysfunctional family, but my goodness, we're still family and when the you know what hits the fan, we're here for each other.

We should all feel that same level of compassion and empathy when we see it from these young men, even if they've struggled at times on the field.

Ironically, Boyce's words reminded me of Malik Jefferson's own battle with mental health issues while he was at Texas, especially after he had Tweeted this out a few days before Boyce's announcement.


This situation is just a reminder that these young men are like the rest of us in that not even being a college football player with all of the perks changes the fact that mental health can be a challenge.

Here's to Boyce finding the peace of mind he's looking for.

No. 4 - The stat that had to be a gut punch in the Brockermeyer's recruitment ...

Saw this in The Athletic...

"Alabama’s had 16 offensive linemen drafted in the Nick Saban era, including seven in the first round. Texas has had only one offensive lineman drafted in the past 10 years."

And then there was this from Blake Brockermeyer.

“If you go back … every blindside offensive tackle Coach Saban’s had since he’s been there has been a first-round pick except for (two),” Blake Brockermeyer said. “And one of those unfortunately slid all the way into the second round. The track record’s unbelievable, and if you’re that dude who can do that at Alabama, you’ve got a great chance to get rewarded not only in your NFL career, but also winning a ton of games. You go against the best players in the country every week, and you’re practicing against the best players in the country every day. So, I mean, if you can block the guys on your team, then you’re probably gonna have some success on Saturdays. So that’s definitely a huge reason, if not, you know, maybe the biggest reason.

No. 5 - One last thought on the Pre-season All-Big 12 team...

There were six players named to the first-team All-Big 12 team by the media this week that didn't make first-team, second-team or even honorable mentioned All-Big 12 in 2019.

* Oklahoma junior wide receiver Charleston Rambo
* Texas Tech junior offensive lineman Jack Anderson
* Iowa State senior defensive lineman JaQuan Bailey
* West Virginia senior defensive lineman Darius Stills
* Texas junior defensive back D'Shawn Jamison
* Texas junior defensive back Caden Sterns

No. 6 - Blast From The Past: Twenty Years Ago ...

I couldn't find the exact date for his commitment, but it occurred to me this weekend that it was roughly 20 years ago to the month that Texas legend Cedric Benson announced his commitment to the Longhorns.

There's a lot of conversation that can be had about that moment, but the thing that I was thinking about over the weekend was just how stacked the 2001 recruiting class was that year.

Check out this Top 10 from the 2001 LSR List...

1. Tommie Harris - DT- Killeen Ellison (Signed with Oklahoma)

A three-time All-American, a former first-round draft choice and a multiple-time Pro Bowl selection as an NFL player.

2. Derrick Johnson - LB - Waco (Signed with Texas)

A Butkus Award winner, a former first-round pick in the NFL and one of the best defensive players in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs.

3. Cedric Benson - RB - Midland Lee (Signed with Texas)

A Doak Walker Award winner, a first-round draft pick and a 1,000-yard rusher in the NFL.

4. Jonathan Scott - OT - Dallas Carter (Signed wit Texas)

A consensus first-team All-American as a senior, a starter on a national championship team and a player that lasted nearly a decade in the NFL with five different teams.

5. Jami Hightower - OL - Jacksonville (signed with Texas A&M)

Never emerged as a star in College Station, but was honorable mention All-Big 12 for the Aggies.

6. Ben Wilkerson - C - Hemphill (Signed with LSU)

A two-time All-American during his career at LSU, Wilkerson was named a co-recipient of the Rimington Trophy in 2004, as college football's top center.

7. Quan Cosby - WR - Mart (Signed with Texas)

A two-time All-Big 12 player who ranks as one of the top wide receivers in school history.

8. Donta Hickson - RB - McKinney (Signed with Oklahoma)

In four seasons, Hickson rushed for 493 yards and three touchdowns on 127 carries.

9. Thomas Derricks - DT - Dallas Jesuit (Signed with Northwestern)

Started as a true freshman, but ended up leaving the school and transferring to Austin College.

10. Cedric Griffin - CB - San Antonio Holmes (Signed with Texas)

A four-year starter and an All-Big 12 player that emerged as a very good NFL player.

Out of the top 10 players from that class ... four were All-Americans, three won major individual awards, six were named first-team all conference and seven played on Sundays.

Incredible.

No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
penny-stocks-to-buy-or-sell-august.jpg




(Sell) I kind of feel like the benefit of the doubt goes out the window when you haven't done it yet and just fired 70 percent of your staff.



(Sell) That thought has literally never crossed my mind. I think he has a good reputation because he's a good coach with a lot of personality, which isn't the same as saying he has a great reputation with a track record that is ironclad.



(Sell) I would imagine he'll be at games in 2020 or whenever the upcoming season is played, if they let parents into the stadium. If he can't get inside the stadium, I doubt we'll see him much while his kids are playing a thousand miles away.



(Sell) I'll give them Shemar Turner at the moment.



(Buy) I say that only because I've never seen a legacy situation like this ever exist while covering recruiting at Texas. I can't think of what tops it, unless we want to talk about offer mistakes that proved to be a disaster.



(Buy) Yup, I'll buy that.



(Buy) I don't know what I'll do with myself if that happens.



(Sell) When have people on or off the Internet ever stopped freaking out over the life choices of 18 year olds?



(Sell) I think the ship has sailed.



(Buy) It's a must-win every year.

No. 8 - Scattershooting on the world of sports ...

... When the hell is this NBA re-start supposed to start up again? Ok, I just checked and it's 11 days.

... When the hell is this MLB re-start supposed to start up again? Ok, I just checked and we're only a few days away.

... This LeBron James rookie card sold for 1.8 million this weekend,

... Manchester United AND Manchester City were both knocked out of the FA Cup this weekend and I found myself tickled pink about it.

... Where the hell does David De Gea play next season if not with Manchester United? With his contract, can you really keep him in a No. 2 role?

... If the worst thing anyone ever says about your favorite NFL team is that it's not better than the 1989 49ers or the 1993 Cowboys or the 1985 Bears ... your team is really f'ing good. That's where I am as a Liverpool fan today. We might not have posted the most points in the history of a season, but we're in conversations that sound like this ... "I can't rank you ahead of The Invincibles or United's Treble winning team." I can live with that zip code.

... I was all for watching some golf this weekend, but Jon Rahm made the thing pretty anticlimactic.

... I was rooting for Joseph Benavidez this weekend in the UFC, but he's probably always going to be in the Hall of Very Good instead of the Hall of Great. There's just a hump he never seems to quite get over.

No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Texas Longhorns Legacy Recruits of the Last 25 Years ...

It kind of feels like I couldn't have chosen a more timely topic, but it also became very clear when I compiled the list just how much smaller the Texas legacy list is than what we've seen at Texas A&M over the same time frame by a wide margin.

Let's get to it.

10. Cedric Dockery
9. Collin Johnson
8. Jaxon Shipley
7. James Brockermeyer
6. Austin Sendlein
5. Kasey Studdard
4. Quandre Diggs
3. Robert Thomas
2. David Warren
1. Tommy Brockermeyer

No.10 - And finally...

I went all-in on Yellowstone in the last four days and I'm completely going into Sunday night's episode with great anticipation.

For those that have never seen it, it's as if The Godfather, Legends of the Fall and Dallas (the TV show) had a baby.

It comes highly recommended.
Been on Yellowstone since the start and agree that it is great television.
Unfortunately, the last two weeks have been some of the slowest ever. Confident it will return to great in the coming weeks.
 
Been on Yellowstone since the start and agree that it is great television.
Unfortunately, the last two weeks have been some of the slowest ever. Confident it will return to great in the coming weeks.
I think they overcorrected a pace that was probably too out of control in season number two.

I mean that poor family has more shit happen to it in a week than I see in.. well.... nevermind. :)
 
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If true...and Mack did block Saban from coming, want to kick him in the nuts. Hopefully something drastic happens and Herman is gone so Urban can come in and WIN. Thanks Ketch for a great write up, makes sense, just is a condemnation.
 
“Alabama blind side OT’s go in the first round...”

I’m thinking if we had five star talent at blind side OT year in and year out, we would have a good chance at matching this.
 
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Circling the drain hole. CTH is weak. The program is weak.

Folks got angry at me when I challenged Herman marching the team to the Capitol, but that was just another reflection of the deep emptiness of what he brings to the table. There is no there there. He just mouths what he thinks will get him favor with the TPTB, a true cargo cult mentality. Not unlike the OP.
 
X’s & O’s v Jimmy’s & Joe’s. May be contrarian but Bama development is a little overrated based on level of recruiting. Alex Leatherwood was a true freshman and walked cold into the 2018 National Championship game at LEFT freaking tackle and kicked ass. Not a lot of coaching up and practicing against elite players to explain his elitism.
 
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