“Good. We’re not dynamic there. It’s not Vince Young. It’s not Braxton Miller. We’re good enough to win with.”
Texas head coach Tom Herman on Saturday discussing how he feels about his quarterbacks going into the season.
Let's forget about the 2016 season for a moment and what words properly describe the type of season that sophomore starter-to-be Shane Buechele had as a true freshman. The dynamics of questions about the coaching, his physical ailments with which he played for most of the season and the fact that he wouldn't have even been playing if the program hadn't been desperate for any kind of new talent infusion at the position in the program makes the conversation one that can't be illustrated in a black and white world.
Let's just focus on the here and now.
Buechele is virtually a lock to be named the starter in the upcoming week, possibly in just a matter of hours, as Herman and his coaching staff semi-lock down an initial two-deep for the opener in less than two weeks. There is absolutely zero debate that he is more ready to play right now than the only player he's competing against for the job, true freshman Sam Ehlinger.
When Herman talks about his quarterbacks, I'm not of the opinion that he's speaking in code at all. His quarterbacks are not game-changers ... yet. If you're putting together a list of the top 10 performers across all sides of the ball in the last month, it wouldn't be unfair to suggest that neither quarterback ranks among that group.
Yet, the feelings inside the program mirror everything Herman has said, which is that there is a strong belief that the position will be good enough to put this team in a position to win games.
On its most basic level, Buechele will need to do three things this season to make 2017 a successful one for the Texas quarterback position.
1. Play well against the best teams.
A year ago, Buechele played his best football against teams with losing records and some of his worst against the best teams. When the likes of USC, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU roll around this season, Texas will need Buechele to raise his level of play.
2. Play well on the road.
A national top 50 quarterback efficiency rating translated to a rating of 138.2 in 2016. In the six road/neutral games that the Longhorns played in 2016, Buechele posted the following game ratings: 111.4, 128.4, 131.9, 176.0, 117.7, 108.3.
Texas went 1-5 in those games. That's an area of his play that simply must improve this season.
3. Play well consistently.
Buechele just needs to play solid football from week to week and avoid the pitfalls that a roller coaster season can create for a young quarterback.
That's it. As someone who believes so much in his upside as a player that I've claimed it possible that he eventually becomes a Heisman finalist-type of player, it's a matter of where he is in his development right now more than it is about what he can be down the road.
If he can do those three things listed above, almost all questions will be answered and we'll likely never need to revisit them in the two seasons that will follow.
No. 2 – A little birdie ...
* Tom Herman made references twice this week about Shane Buechele putting the ball on the ground in practice and when I asked a couple of sources this weekend about the sloppy play, I was told that consistency and ball security represent the biggest hurdle for the likely starting quarterbacks. "He's just got to tighten it up a little," one source told me. "Nothing makes Herman more frustrated than one of his quarterbacks making an unforced error and fumbled snaps and dropping the ball fits into that category. He has to take better care of the ball and he knows that."
* The surprise of the entire camp might be John Burt. Very quietly, he's spending a lot of time with the first-team offense. One source told me he's pushed ahead of Jerrod Heard to the front of the depth chart in recent practices and a second source confirmed it. Believe it or not, consistency has been a hallmark of him in this camp.
* The battle at right tackle remains close. My brain tells me that Denzel Okafor is going to play quite a bit, but Tristan Nickelson might be the guy that runs out with the first-team in the first game. This is probably the most fluid situation in the starting line-up.
* There will be packages that involve Jerrod Heard at quarterback.
* I'm expecting a full-blown committee at running back to start the season. Look for the coaches to ride the hot hand. I will be interested to see what role Chris Warren can carve out for himself outside of short-yardage and red-zone work.
* The first-team defense has won its part in all three scrimmages by significant margins. When Herman says he believes Texas is going to win games with defense, he's basing this on what he's seeing in practice.
* Every source I've communicated with this weekend feels like the safety position will be significantly upgraded this season with the emergence of Brandon Jones and DeShon Elliott. "The light switch is flipping on for both," one source said.
No. 3 – Texas Football Tweet of the Weekend ...
No. 4 – Bold prediction that I'll probably get wrong ...
Seven of the team's top-10 players will be on the defensive side of the ball this season. Collin Johnson and Connor Williams are the two offensive players I'd put in that group right now.
No. 5 – Buy or Sell …
BUY or SELL: Herman is Texas head coach in 2027?
(Sell) I could see him winning a national title or two and then replacing the guy who is in another Buy or Sell question down below.
BUY or SELL: Texas Football finishes higher than Texas Basketball in the Big 12 this year?
(Push) I have them both in third place.
BUY or SELL: 2016 Alabama led the nation with 54 team sacks and had 16 interceptions. 2016 Texas had 41 team sacks and 10 interceptions 2017 Texas exceeds the 50 team sack total and gets at least 15 interceptions?
(Buy) In Todd Orlando, I trust.
BUY or SELL: Tom Herman wins a natty here before Jason Garrett wins a Super bowl for the Cowboys (as a coach obviously)?
(Buy) Jason Garrett is never winning a Super Bowl.
BUY or SELL: Four different Texas running backs will have at least one 100-yard game this season?
(Sell) I seriously considered buying this question, but I'll go with three hitting the target and another getting within 30 yards of it.
No. 6 – Commitment watch : Come on down, Rafiti Ghirmai?
Monday is kind of a big deal for the 2018 recruiting class, as Frisco Wakeland offensive lineman Rafiti Ghirmai is set to announce his college decision.
The 6-4, 285-pound Ghirmai is easily the top remaining in-state prospect along the offensive line that the Longhorns are still recruiting and no in-state OL prospect has received as much sweat equity from the Texas staff. Ghirmai is a high upside, very raw athletically line prospect that still has go through some physical evolution, but he's the kind of prospect that could emerge as a starter in a few years after some time in the Texas strength and conditioning program.
In terms of importance, his commitment is probably a four on a 1-5 scale and there's no reason to think this one goes sideways for the Longhorns. The momentum train will continue rolling on in my estimation.
No. 7 – Longhorns pre-season Power 5 ...
Here's a quick glance at the top pre-season performances by Longhorns in NFL pre-season action from the weekend:
1. D'Onta Foreman (Texans) - Caught two passes for 66 yards, including a 63-yard catch and run, while also rushing for 17 yards and a touchdown on seven carries in Houston's 27-23 win over New England.
2. Marcus Johnson (Philadelphia) - Caught two passes for 45 yards in a 20-16 win over the Bills. From the sound of it, Johnson is emerging as a near-lock to make the Eagles roster.
3. Duke Thomas (Cowboys) - Made five tackles, including one for a loss, while also returning kickoffs for the Cowboys in a win over Indianapolis. It's very possible that the former Copperas Cove star makes the team.
4. Tyrone Swoopes (Seahawks) - Caught one pass for 12 yards in Seattle's 20-13 win over Minnesota. Swoopes making the practice squad seems like a safe bet if he passes through waivers.
5. Paul Boyette (Raiders) - Didn't record a stat in the game this weekend against the Rams, but there is a buzz out there that he could emerge as a practice squad candidate.
No. 8 – Five more sports things ...
a. I keep thinking that Dak Prescott will regress to the mean after such a remarkable season, but, damn, he looks good this pre-season. He's basically the most important person in the entire Cowboys organization.
b. So, the Dodgers are pretty incredible.
c. Christian Pulisic is even better than all of the hype he receives. He's on his way to being an American sports superstar heading into next year's World Cup.
d. Barcelona is finding out the hard way that the soccer world market is a different animal than its used to dealing with. Its desperation in the wake of losing Neymar was apparent this weekend when it threatened Liverpool that it would pull its offer at 1 p.m. central time on Sunday if Fenway Sports Group didn't change its mind about constantly telling them to hit the bricks. Uhhhh ... ok. Meanwhile, Real Madrid is approaching the season like...
e. Move over Martin Gramatica...
No. 9 – Game of Thrones Review: Season 7, Episode 6...
I have stayed away from all reports of spoilers this week. These are my stream of conscious on Sunday night's episode of Game of Thrones:
*SPOILER ALERT!*
*SPOILER ALERT!*
*SPOILER ALERT!*
a. Arya is having none of Sansa's excuses. I'm not liking the direction this one is taking.
b. I could watch this group of killers walk and converse in the snow for 60 minutes each week. It's a damn shame we're going to see some casualties before the episode is over.
c. Tyrion is making a lot of mistakes. I feel like he's about to get put on the bench.
d. Holy hell, the bears have blue eyes! It's about to be on.
e. Ok, I'm pretty much on edge right now
f. Man, Sansa... really?
g. Oh hell, Danny is taking her three dragons into battle? I don't know if a time machine has allowed for all of this to happen and I don't care.
h. The Hound just had to throw rocks, didn't he?
i. Tormund saved by The Hound!
j. OMGSGFHKKBCXSHLKMV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
k. Can't type.
l. ICE DRAGONS!!!!!
*END OF SPOILER ALERT!*
*END OF SPOILER ALERT!*
*END OF SPOILER ALERT!*
No. 10 – And finally …
One more college football-free weekend to go. Just one.
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