With slightly more than six months to go until the rubber meets the road on the 2022 football season for Steve Sarkisian's Texas football program, so much of the discussion about the defensive side of the ball is focused on the ability to add a few missing pieces.
An inside linebacker here. An edge player there. Maybe another defensive back piece.
None other than yours truly has stated on multiple occasions that the ability for the defensive unit to improve its personnel in the coming months could determine the eventual fate of the program for the 2022 season. What's a tad ironic about putting so much weight on the need to continue adding to the talent base is that it might suggest one doesn't like the existing talent on campus.
It's not true. At the very least, there's a lot of talent that I don't dislike.
One of the things about last year's team that I can't quite figure out is that I still believe that there was enough individual talent on campus to produce a defense capable of being better than borderline terrible (at too many times).
When I look at the defensive line talent on campus, I find myself liking the likes of Keondre Coburn, Moro Ojomo, T'Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy and Alfred Collins. If we forget about how they performed as a group last year and look at each through a vacuum, there's not a player from that group that doesn't have NFL upside out there to obtain.
Coburn wasn't an NFL-level player last season, but he's displayed that kind of upside during his career. Same with Ojomo. Same with Sweat. Same with Murphy. All of those dudes have played well enough in doses to make me think they've got a chance to play on Sundays. The most talented player in the bunch might be Collins, who hasn't performed anywhere near the level of a Sunday player, but without questions has that kind of upside.
Someone asked me this week about whether I thought any of those players would play for the 2005 Texas Longhorns. It was a damn good question. Basically, it comes down to whether I believe any of these players could be inserted into the Texas line-up over Larry Dibbles (35 tackles, five tackles for loss and no sacks), Derek Lokey (17 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 1 sack) or a young Aaron Lewis (8 tackles) without the defense losing too much.
I think the answer is yes with each player. I don't think Coburn played better than a senior Dibbles last season, but at his best he's certainly been as good as Dibbles was.
The same is true at linebacker. I'd take DeMarvion Overshown over Robert Killebrew at linebacker. At the very least, there's not going to be a drop-off if Overshown slides into his spot.
Things get a little weird when we look at the secondary. Going into last season, there was a lot of confidence that D'Shawn Jamison was a player that could play at a Tarell Brown-type of level, even if that never happened, which is why he came back for another season. Josh Thompson, Anthony Cook and Jahdae Barron are players that I'd argue could have played at Marcus Griffin/Matt Melton/Brandon Foster levels.
Again, in a vacuum I'd semi-strongly contend that there are nine returning players on the defensive side of the ball that would have been somewhere on the two-deep (mostly the back end of it) of the greatest football team this school has ever produced. Even without a plus-edge player or inside linebacker, last year's defense should have been pretty good ... mainly because it had a bunch of "pretty good" players available to it.
It's the thing I'd point to most if you asked me to sell you on the upside of the 2022 defense. You'd think a line-up full of mostly capable talents would be better than borderline awful with plus coaching. I would have thought it a year ago and I still think it today.
How good can this defense be?
Well, can the Texas defensive staff get anywhere close to maximum levels of production from its players instead of a percentage significantly smaller?
A version of Overshown hitting 90 percent of his ability is a hell of a player. Same with any of those defensive linemen. The version of Jamison playing at 90 percent of his ability is a Sunday player.
That just didn't happen a year ago with a single defensive player on the roster.
If it can happen with a handful of them this season at a minimum, we're going to be talking about a football team that can win a hell of a lot more than five games.
No. 2 - A few things to point out ...
I know what some of you are thinking after reading that section, so let me just acknowledge a few elephants in the room about the first section.
a. Just being able to hang with the worst players on the 2005 national championship defense shouldn't be the bar for anyone in this program. In the case of almost every player from that 2005 team that was referenced today from the defensive side of the ball, all were fringy NFL talents at best. I merely wanted to establish that the foundation of the defensive talent base is full of capable talent.
b. Texas has 9-10 returning players that can be described as capable, but none of them can be described as a difference maker. Again, it comes down to how good this staff is and how much it can get these players to maximize their potential. This is largely where the failures occurred a year ago.
No. 3 - This weekend's Quinn Ewers thought ...
Maybe this stuff matters a little or maybe it matters a lot, but it's hard not to notice that the team's five-star transfer seems to be everywhere with this team's top group of players in a way that Hudson Card isn't.
It doesn't matter whether it's at Top Golf or an autograph show or at this weekend's women's basketball game, Ewers always seems to be smack dab in the middle of what feels like good bonding time.
No. 4 - Positive energy for the men's basketball team ...
It won't be a moment in the season that anyone remembers for more than a few seconds, but I thought Saturday's win in Morgantown was a positive step forward for a team trying to prepare itself for the defining days of March that loom in the near-distance.
For all of the bad stuff that happened on the court that led to the team trailing by double-digits with just over 10 minutes to go in the game, this team scratched and clawed its way back into a position to win the game in the final minutes. Once it was in the position to close the deal, it did exactly that.
I don't care what West Virginia's record is this year. Any win over Huggy Bear in Morgantown is a good win.
Three things stood out about the end of the game. Marcus Carr and Timmy Allen closed the show when it was time for someone to close the show. This team will go as far as those two can take things in the coming weeks. Also, up until Allen missed a pair of free throws with one second left in the game, the team made 9 out of 10 free throws in the final eight minutes of the game.
No. 5 - The No.1 ranked Texas Longhorns ...
My goodness. The Texas baseball team has played 72 innings of baseball through the early stages of the 2022 season. It has scored 62 runs. It has allowed 8.
Better competition is obviously on the way, beginning this weekend with games against Tennessee, LSU and UCLA.
Without going overboard with hyperbole, I'm starting to wonder if every writer on the Orangebloods staff should just focus on hardball. It feels like a team that might warrant that kind of attention.
Speaking of coverage, I can't say enough about the work that @AaronLittleOB and @ZachattheDisch have done so far this season. Personally, I've enjoyed every minute of it.
No. 6 - Breaking out of a slump ...
The Texas softball team had been in quite the slump going into Sunday, having lost six straight games by a combined 25 runs.
Honestly, this section was going to be called "What the hell?!?" and perhaps it still should, but when Sophia Simpson went out on Sunday and did the damn thing like she did, it somewhat changed the tone of the weekend.
Therefore, attagirl, Sophia.
That being said, what the hell is going on with a team that is currently 5-7?
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) Don't worry about the timeframe. He's not going to be rushed. Honestly, that thought hadn't even crossed my mind.
(Buy) You'd certainly think so.
(Sell) There was more pressure on Chris Simms.
(Buy) Generally speaking, I think so. That being said, if Sarkisian is five years in and hasn't come close to achieving something of significance, not even a Manning will likely save him. There's no guarantee that a player of Manning's ability will remotely stick around for the duration of his eligibility if the Longhorns aren't winning at a high level. That young man will forever have huge options.
(Sell) I'm thinking that 2024 is starting to make more sense than 2025 unless the Longhorns continue to struggle on the field and the program drags its feet to avoid being a complete disaster in its intro into the league. I'm also not sure that we're close to a separate division of football or conference-less football. I don't think any of that is far-fetched, but I'm not quite ready to buy any of it.
(Buy) Most importantly, he might simply be much better.
(Buy) Give me all the Kool-Aid that you're pouring.
(Sell) Chris Beard has never lost an NCAA game where he's been the higher-seeded team. Therefore, I'd be most surprised by a first-round exit until I have reason to believe otherwise.
(Buy) I don't know what the score of the game will be or whether any of his yards amount to anything of real substance, but I think he's going to get his.
No. 8 - Scattershooting on the sports weekend ...
... Shout out to the Texas women's basketball team for winning its sixth straight game on Saturday against TCU. This team has responded very well since the back to back losses to Baylor.
... Speaking of shout outs, let's give some love to the men's and women's track teams after sweeping the Big 12 Indoor team championships this weekend.
... If this weekend is any indication, the men's NCAA Tournament is going to be a crapshoot. There are a lot of teams seeded 5-8 that can beat the teams seeded 1-4 on good days.
... So far, so good for the Sixers and James Harden.
... Over/Under for shrimp cocktails that @Alex Dunlap eats this week in Indianapolis: 4.5
... Surely, Phil Mickelson can recover from all of this... right?
... YNWA! It wasn't easy and Chelsea made Liverpool work for every inch of it, but that might have been the best 0-0 game any of us will ever see with a trophy on the line. The dream of a quadruple lives!
... When the Premier League season ends, it's possible that referee Chris Kavanagh will be the person who decides the championship. Imagine the NFL allowing a referee from Dallas to constantly involve himself in calls that helped Dallas and the entire country knew about it...
No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Led Zeppelin songs ...
I figured if we';re going to argue about music this week, let's really argue.
10. Over the Hills and Far Away
Just a flat out great jam.
9. Achilles Last Stand
John Bonham goes to work like a mad man in of the fastest and hardest songs in their playlist. It's about as close to metal as they get.
8. Heartbreaker
Page is simply on fire on this track.
7. I Can't Quit You
The more bluesy they get, the more I love them. It's not the most dynamic song in their playlist, but it's in my wheelhouse.
6. Whole Lotta Love
It's one of the sexiest rock songs ever recorded. How many babies were created to this track?
5. Dazed and Confused
It's bluesy, rough, raw and uniquely fantastic. It's about as bad ass as rock music gets.
4. Kashmir
No less than Plant says this "the definitive Led Zeppelin song."
3. Immigrant Song
It's fast, primitive and every part of the group is on fire. It's a classic for a reason.
2. Stairway to Heaven
It's Stairway to Heaven… even if you hate the song or think it's slightly overrated… it's still Stairway to Heaven.
1. Since I've Been Loving You
In my mind, the band was at its absolute best when it incorporated a heavy blues sound and there's no better song in its catalog than this classic that allows Plant and Page to destroy rock music like it has rarely been destroyed. It's perfection.
No. 10 - And Finally...
Nothing is scarier than when one of your children gets really sick. My seven-year old son Hendrix went to the ER Sunday morning with a fever hovering around 105 degrees. By noon, he was running around like nothing had ever happened.
Whew. Raising kids is something else, man.
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