The Cavalry is on the way.
In the aftermath of last weekend’s Texas spring game, one of the few comforting elements of the proceedings as it relates to a defensive tackle unit that was forced to exclusively play two walk-ons with the second-string defense is the fact that few schools in the nation can claim to signing a better class of defensive interior linemen last February than Charlie Strong and Co.
Five big fellas are on the way, including three that were ranked as four stars by at least one of the major recruiting services, which if nothing else, will give the Texas coaches some options that didn’t exist during spring workouts.
Yet, how much can be expected when the group of D’Andre Christmas-Giles, Chris Daniels, Jordan Elliott, Marcel Southall and Gerald Wilbon arrive this summer?
Once upon a time about a baker’s dozen years ago, the Longhorns were coming off of a season that witnessed true freshmen defensive tackle Rod Wright earn Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors, but since Wright arrived on campus that season, the number of true freshman interior linemen that have made instant impacts has been far and few between.
In fact, in the last 13 seasons, here’s a list of the true freshmen at the defensive tackle position that have started more than a game for the Longhorns:
None.
In the last 13 seasons, here’s a list of the true freshmen at the defensive tackle position that have averaged more than a tackle per game for the Longhorns:
Malcom Brown (25 tackles in 2012)
Yes, you read that correctly. In the last 13 seasons, the Longhorns haven’t started a single true freshman defensive tackle in more than one game in a season (Frank Okan started one game in 2004) and only player during that time recorded more than 10 tackles in a season. Since the turn of the century, only Wright, Okam and Brown have started or recorded more than 10 tackles in a season. and each of them were five-star prospects, the only three five-star defensive tackles that the Longhorns have signed since the Rivals rankings originated.
Obviously, the Longhorns are going to need more from this freshmen class than many of those great and terrible teams from the last 13 seasons was required or delivered, but what can reasonably be expected of this group? If we ignore the burnt orange data, what does it look like elsewhere?
Well, in an attempt to get an idea of what this discussion looks like on a national level, I went back and chronicled the true freshman seasons from all 22 defensive tackles from the Class of 2015 that were ranked four-stars and higher in the Rivals.com rankings. It’s unlikely that the following data will surprise you at this point in the discussion.
Number of players that started double-digit games: 2 (one of the two stated 13 games at defensive end)
Number of players that started 5 or more games: 4 (one of the four started 13 games at defensive end)
Number of players that recorded more than 25 tackles: 4 (all ranked in the top 7 in the national rankings)
Number of players that recorded more than 3 sacks: 3 (one of the three started at defensive end)
Obviously, the same size is limited in the discussion, but a fair rule of thumb in this discussion is that impact true freshmen at the defensive tackle position are fairly hard to come by, whether they sign with Texas or Alabama or Florida State or Nebraska or Arizona State.
When camp begins in August, opportunities for playing time will exist for every true freshman on the roster, especially those that weight 300 pounds or more per Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford. It’ll be fascinating and critically important at the same time as the the Longhorns try to find a way to defy recent history and conventional wisdom.
Given that games are often won in the trenches, Charlie Strong’s ability to find one or two legitimate contributors could ultimately determine the fate of his defense and the season.
No. 2 – The 2015 defensive tackle breakdown...
Here’s a look at all 22 defensive tackles that Rivals rated at least four stars in 2015 and how they performed last season in their true freshmen seasons.
1. (6.1) Kahlil McKenzie (Concord, Ca/Signed with Tennessee)
Played in all 13 games (zero starts), made 14 tackles with a sack,one tackle for loss and a forced fumble
2. (6.1) Trenton Thompson (Albany, Ga./Signed with Georgia)
Played in 12 games (six starts), made 25 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks
3. (6.1) Daron Payne (Birmingham, Ala./Signed with Alabama)
Played in 13 games (three starts), made 13 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback hit.
4. (6.1) Christian Wilkins (Suffield, CT/Signed with Clemson)
Played in 15 games, made 33 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
5. (6.0) Terry Buckner (E. St. Louis, Illinois/Signed with Missouri)
Played in 10 games (started five games), made 27 tackles, eight tackles for loss and three sacks.
6. (6.0) Noah Jefferson (Las Vegas, Nevada/Signed with USC)
Played in 14 games (zero starts), made 23 tackles.
7. (6.0) Daylon Mack (Gladewater, TX/Signed with Texas A&M)
Played in 13 games (zero starts), made 33 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss.
8. (6.0) Shy Tuttle (Lexington, NC/Signed with Tennessee)
Played in first six games (zero starts) in first season before breaking a fibula, making 10 tackles with one fumble recovery and a blocked kick
9. (5.9) Neville Gallimore (St. Catharines, Ontario/Signed with Oklahoma)
Redshirted in 2015.
10. (5.9) Albert Huggins (Orangeburg, SC/Signed with Clemson)
Played in five games, made five tackles.
11. (5.9) Jacob Daniel (Fresno, Ca./Signed with USC)
Played in three games (zero starts), made three tackles.
12. (5.9) Joseph Wicker (Long Beach, Ca./Signed with Arizona State)
Played in 13 games (10 starts), made 21 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
13. (5.9) Darian Roseboro (Lincolnton, NC/Signed with NC State)
Played in 13 games (zero starts), made 18 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
14. (5.9) Breiden Fehoko (Honolulu, Hawaii/Signed with Texas Tech)
Played in 13 games (started 13), made 19 tackles, four tackles for loss and one sack.
15. (5.9) Jerry Tillery (Shreveport, La./Signed with Notre Dame)
Played in 12 games (three starts), made 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
16. (5.9) Darrion Daniels (Dallas, Texas/Signed with Oklahoma State)
Played in 13 games (zero starts), made 16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks.
17. (5.8) Tim Settle (Manassas, Va./Signed with Virginia Tech)
Redshirted in 2015.
18. (5.8) Darvin Taylor II (Chester, Va./Signed with Florida State)
Redshirted in 2015
19. (5.8) Marquise Overton (Jenks, Oklahoma/Signed with Oklahoma)
Played in eight games (zero starts), made five tackles and one sack.
20. (5.8) Hjalte Froholdt (Bradenton, Fla./Signed With Arkansas)
Played in 10 games (zero starts), made three tackles.
21. (5.8) Thomas Toki (Mountain View, Ca./Signed with Washington State)
Did not qualify.
22. (5.8) Khalil Davis (Blue Springs, Missouri/Signed with Nebraska)
Redshirted in 2015.
No. 3 – Speaking of true freshmen...
If I were a betting man, here’s the list of true freshmen that I believe will see the field for the Longhorns in 2016:
QB: Shane Buechele (likely starter)
WR: Collin Johnson (likely starter)
OL: Denzel Okafor (possible starter at LG)
OL: Zach Shackelford (definite starter)
DT: D’Andre Christmas-Giles
DT: Chris Daniels
DT: Jordan Elliott
DT/DE: Marcel Southall
DE: Andrew Fitzgerald
DE/LB: Erick Fowler (possible starter)
LB: Jeff McCulloch
S: Brandon Jones (possible starter)
Others that could play as well:
RB: Kyle Porter (could give team added depth)
TE: Peyton Aucoin (depth at position needs help)
OL: Jean Delance (likely needs a redshirt, but might have to give the line some depth)
OL: Tope Imade (see above)
DT: Gerald Wilbon
DE: Malcolm Roach
LB: Demarco Boyd (possible special teams)
No. 4 – Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
… In retrospect, how important was Texas pulling Zach Shackelford away from Kansas State right before his recruiting clock struck midnight last year? In the two decades I’ve been covering the Longhorns, I’m not sure I can think of a more important incoming three-star recruit than Shackelford appears to be for this program right now. Without him on the field last week and appearing to fit in pretty well at this level, the options at center for the Longhorns would have been pretty thin to say the least.
… Mike Mattox needs to be in Denzel Okafor’s ear pretty fiercely for the rest of the off-season because I think I’d more comfortable putting him on the field blindly and letting him grow up on the job than I am having Brandon Hodges start at this point.
… How good was Rod Wright as true freshmen in 2002… 65 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hits. That’s crazy good production for a true freshman and it makes the fact that he emerged as a very good, but never a truly great player even harder to believe.
… Dark-horse All-Big 12/American candidate: Davante Davis. I think he has a chance to have the best season of anyone on the team.
No. 5 – Texas baseball this weekend in a gif ...
No. 6 – Buy or sell …
(As always, all of these questions were submitted by actual Orangebloods subscribers.)
BUY or SELL: Texas will win 2 National Championships by 2021?
(Buy) Eddie Reese will get it done.
BUY or SELL: Texas quarterbacks throw for 2500+ yards in the 2016 season?
(Buy) I’d feel so much better about quarterback predictions if I knew how many games Shane Buechele was going to start and how many he might miss due to injury?
BUY or SELL: The Tight Ends catch 30 passes this season?
(Sell) I don’t see it.
BUY or SELL: Texas wins minimum of 7 games this year, CS returns, another top 10 recruiting class, Texas wins the Big 12 in 2017?
(Sell) I’m going to see a lot more before I’m buying a Big 12 title in 2017, even if the season on paper right now looks potentially very strong.
BUY or SELL: Strong starts Shane Buechele against Notre Dame?
(Buy) Foregone conclusion IMO.
BUY or SELL: Coach Strong has hired the right coaches to win enough games in 2016 and make it past 2017?
(Buy) I dig his current group of coaches.
BUY or SELL: We will have more freshman all Americans in 16 than we had in 15?
(Buy) Go ahead and pencil Shackleford in. Buechele, Collin Johnson, Denzel Okafor, one of those defensive tackles and Brandon Jones could all emerge as that type of player because of the potential playing time/combination of talent that exists.
BUY or SELL: Dallas wets the bed in the draft?
(Buy) Jerry has the No.4 pick in the draft and there isn’t an obvious pick in that slot and he seems to be in love with a running back who isn’t close to being the type of generational talent some want to make him out to be. What could go wrong?
BUY or SELL: Tyrion will sit on the iron throne?
(Sell) I’m taking Team Sansa on the office pool.
No. 7 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… If you’re the San Antonio Spurs, I’m not sure you could ask for a better first-round of the playoffs than the four-game sweet of the Memphis Grizzlies that just took place. I’m not sure that the Grizzlies would have taken a game from the Spurs if all of San Antonio’s starters had taken the series off. The Spurs are healthy and dialed in… bring on the Thunder.
… I’ll be surprised if the Thunder take the Spurs to six games once they rid themselves of the Mavericks. I just don’t like this team very much right now once you get beyond the Big Two.
… I have a feeling that before it’s all said and done, Steph Curry’s health is going to be a major storyline within his career.
… UFC197 didn’t exactly delver the goods like I hoped, but it wasn’t the worst pay-per-view of the year via the UFC. I just can’t figure out why I can’t get five dynamite matches for my money, rather than two or three if we’re lucky.
… Jon Jones looked like a guy that needed a tune-up fight and somewhat struggles with guys that can match him in height and length. Not that he didn’t dominate Ovince Saint-Preux, he just didn’t look like Megatron in doing so.
… Nothing makes my blood boil in the UFC more than Daniel Cormier acting like he so much as one branch on the tree that he can stand on when discussing Jones, who dominated him to such a degree when they last fought that he was reduced to tears in the locker room afterwards. Every time he opens his mouth, he sounds like a guy that wasn’t humiliated when these two last fought, which he was. He’s the hollowest champion in the history of the UFC, at least as far as my eyes can find in the last eight or nine years I’ve been watching the sport.
… Man, I’d be terrified if I was a Philadelphia Eagles fan and knew my team was about to put the entire future of the franchise on Carson Wentz’s back. Yikes. Double yikes.
… If Joey Bosa ends up being Greg Ellis Jr., is that good enough for the No.4 pick in the draft? If Jalen Ramsey isn’t around at No.4, I think I’m ok with the Cowboys trading back. I think.
… Josh Norman signing with Washington is bad news for Dez Bryant, at least if we’re going off of what happened in 2015 (two catches for 26 yards).
… Leicester City is almost at the finish line after running roughshod over Swansea.
… Watch the hell out for the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS. After scoring nine goals in its last two games, this looks like a very talented team that is ready to fle some muscle like that little kid in section five.
… Speaking of the MLS, I’m really digging following the league this year and I find the fantasy aspect of things to be very challenging and a lot of fun, but the lack of injury information/reporting is wildly missing. I’m finding out what the expression “Because MLS” means on a weekly basis for a variety of reasons, but the
No. 8 – Finally, the return of Game of Thrones - Live blog...
The following are my stream of concious thoughts on the season-six premier of Game of Thrones.
********SPOILER ALERT ***********
********SPOILER ALERT ***********
********SPOILER ALERT ***********
Oh man, we’re starting with Ghost howling in the background, while Jon dies. I always cry at the videos where a dog sees its owner come home from a long trip and HBO is playing on my emotions. Kill someone, Ser Davos.
So, let me get this right, Ramsay’s reaction to losing to someone he loves is to feed their meat to the hounds?
Reek and Sansa never had a chance. Holy hell, is that Brienne of Tarth’s music!?! It’as Brienne of Tarth’s music! That’s what I’m talking about!
Oh boy, it’s Cersei time. This is not going to go well for Jamie. Geez, what kind of trip back do you think that was for him?
Remind me again how Jamie turned baby-face?
Margaery just keeps fighting the good fight. I wish I had her backbone.
The Sand Snakes are in control of Dorne. I imagine this is the way the rest of the Democratic primaries would go if Hilary had her way.
You just kind of get the sense that the Queen of Dragons is going to have a rough season six.
Speaking of rough seasons sixes, Arya is going to come out of this season a bad, bad girl.
Uhhhhhh… The Red Woman… uhhhhh… ok.
********END OF SPOILER ALERT ***********
********END OF SPOILER ALERT ***********
********END OF SPOILER ALERT ***********
No. 9 – Remembering a national treasure...
We lost more than a pop star this week with the news on Thursday that Prince died at the age of 57 inside of a Paisley Park elevator.
What we lost was the Mozart and Beethoven of our times, which is oddly one of the least full of hyperbolic statements I’ve ever made. We’re talking about a guy that played 26 instruments on his debut album when he was 19 years old. Actually, we’re talking about a guy that played 26 instruments really well on his debut album. We’re also talking about a guy that was a god among mere mortals in his realm.
Don’t believe me? Watch this video from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions in 2004. On a stage full of Hall of Famers, Prince ran the score up by about 80 points on them by the end of his solo and every single one of them knew it.
We’re talking about a genius that could take someone else’s song and reinvent it in such a way that the original creator might think he doesn’t deserve to play the song again.
We’re talking about a guy that grabbed my imagination at the age of eight when I saw Purple Rain the movie theater by myself. Oh, Apollonia had a lot to do with that as well.
Anyway, here’s my personal list of Prince songs.
Top 10 Prince Songs
10. I could never take the place of your man
9. Little Red Corvette
8. The Beautiful Ones
7. 1999
6. Purple Rain
5. Kiss
4. I Wanna Be Your Lover
3. Darling Nikki
2. Let's Go Crazy
1. When Doves Cry
Bonus Prince: After-Hours
10. Cream
9. Lady Cab Driver
8. Let's Pretend We're Married
7. Sexy MF
6. Bambi
5. Erotic City
4. Scandalous
3. Get Off
2. Do Me, Baby
1. Darling Nikki
No. 10 - And finally…
I wanted to give you guys an update on fundraiser that we hope to have in the works in the coming weeks as a way of honoring the memory of Haruka Weiser.
The hope is that I’ll be able to put together an event planned for the weekend of the Notre Dame game, with the goal of raising enough money to establish multiple scholarships within the school’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
If anyone of you want to be involved on the front lines of helping organize or sponsor the event, please email me at geoff@orangebloods.com. With a little help from the Orangebloods Nation, this has a chance to be the best thing the site has ever accomplished.
Stay tuned.
In the aftermath of last weekend’s Texas spring game, one of the few comforting elements of the proceedings as it relates to a defensive tackle unit that was forced to exclusively play two walk-ons with the second-string defense is the fact that few schools in the nation can claim to signing a better class of defensive interior linemen last February than Charlie Strong and Co.
Five big fellas are on the way, including three that were ranked as four stars by at least one of the major recruiting services, which if nothing else, will give the Texas coaches some options that didn’t exist during spring workouts.
Yet, how much can be expected when the group of D’Andre Christmas-Giles, Chris Daniels, Jordan Elliott, Marcel Southall and Gerald Wilbon arrive this summer?
Once upon a time about a baker’s dozen years ago, the Longhorns were coming off of a season that witnessed true freshmen defensive tackle Rod Wright earn Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors, but since Wright arrived on campus that season, the number of true freshman interior linemen that have made instant impacts has been far and few between.
In fact, in the last 13 seasons, here’s a list of the true freshmen at the defensive tackle position that have started more than a game for the Longhorns:
None.
In the last 13 seasons, here’s a list of the true freshmen at the defensive tackle position that have averaged more than a tackle per game for the Longhorns:
Malcom Brown (25 tackles in 2012)
Yes, you read that correctly. In the last 13 seasons, the Longhorns haven’t started a single true freshman defensive tackle in more than one game in a season (Frank Okan started one game in 2004) and only player during that time recorded more than 10 tackles in a season. Since the turn of the century, only Wright, Okam and Brown have started or recorded more than 10 tackles in a season. and each of them were five-star prospects, the only three five-star defensive tackles that the Longhorns have signed since the Rivals rankings originated.
Obviously, the Longhorns are going to need more from this freshmen class than many of those great and terrible teams from the last 13 seasons was required or delivered, but what can reasonably be expected of this group? If we ignore the burnt orange data, what does it look like elsewhere?
Well, in an attempt to get an idea of what this discussion looks like on a national level, I went back and chronicled the true freshman seasons from all 22 defensive tackles from the Class of 2015 that were ranked four-stars and higher in the Rivals.com rankings. It’s unlikely that the following data will surprise you at this point in the discussion.
Number of players that started double-digit games: 2 (one of the two stated 13 games at defensive end)
Number of players that started 5 or more games: 4 (one of the four started 13 games at defensive end)
Number of players that recorded more than 25 tackles: 4 (all ranked in the top 7 in the national rankings)
Number of players that recorded more than 3 sacks: 3 (one of the three started at defensive end)
Obviously, the same size is limited in the discussion, but a fair rule of thumb in this discussion is that impact true freshmen at the defensive tackle position are fairly hard to come by, whether they sign with Texas or Alabama or Florida State or Nebraska or Arizona State.
When camp begins in August, opportunities for playing time will exist for every true freshman on the roster, especially those that weight 300 pounds or more per Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford. It’ll be fascinating and critically important at the same time as the the Longhorns try to find a way to defy recent history and conventional wisdom.
Given that games are often won in the trenches, Charlie Strong’s ability to find one or two legitimate contributors could ultimately determine the fate of his defense and the season.
No. 2 – The 2015 defensive tackle breakdown...
Here’s a look at all 22 defensive tackles that Rivals rated at least four stars in 2015 and how they performed last season in their true freshmen seasons.
1. (6.1) Kahlil McKenzie (Concord, Ca/Signed with Tennessee)
Played in all 13 games (zero starts), made 14 tackles with a sack,one tackle for loss and a forced fumble
2. (6.1) Trenton Thompson (Albany, Ga./Signed with Georgia)
Played in 12 games (six starts), made 25 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks
3. (6.1) Daron Payne (Birmingham, Ala./Signed with Alabama)
Played in 13 games (three starts), made 13 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback hit.
4. (6.1) Christian Wilkins (Suffield, CT/Signed with Clemson)
Played in 15 games, made 33 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
5. (6.0) Terry Buckner (E. St. Louis, Illinois/Signed with Missouri)
Played in 10 games (started five games), made 27 tackles, eight tackles for loss and three sacks.
6. (6.0) Noah Jefferson (Las Vegas, Nevada/Signed with USC)
Played in 14 games (zero starts), made 23 tackles.
7. (6.0) Daylon Mack (Gladewater, TX/Signed with Texas A&M)
Played in 13 games (zero starts), made 33 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss.
8. (6.0) Shy Tuttle (Lexington, NC/Signed with Tennessee)
Played in first six games (zero starts) in first season before breaking a fibula, making 10 tackles with one fumble recovery and a blocked kick
9. (5.9) Neville Gallimore (St. Catharines, Ontario/Signed with Oklahoma)
Redshirted in 2015.
10. (5.9) Albert Huggins (Orangeburg, SC/Signed with Clemson)
Played in five games, made five tackles.
11. (5.9) Jacob Daniel (Fresno, Ca./Signed with USC)
Played in three games (zero starts), made three tackles.
12. (5.9) Joseph Wicker (Long Beach, Ca./Signed with Arizona State)
Played in 13 games (10 starts), made 21 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
13. (5.9) Darian Roseboro (Lincolnton, NC/Signed with NC State)
Played in 13 games (zero starts), made 18 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
14. (5.9) Breiden Fehoko (Honolulu, Hawaii/Signed with Texas Tech)
Played in 13 games (started 13), made 19 tackles, four tackles for loss and one sack.
15. (5.9) Jerry Tillery (Shreveport, La./Signed with Notre Dame)
Played in 12 games (three starts), made 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
16. (5.9) Darrion Daniels (Dallas, Texas/Signed with Oklahoma State)
Played in 13 games (zero starts), made 16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks.
17. (5.8) Tim Settle (Manassas, Va./Signed with Virginia Tech)
Redshirted in 2015.
18. (5.8) Darvin Taylor II (Chester, Va./Signed with Florida State)
Redshirted in 2015
19. (5.8) Marquise Overton (Jenks, Oklahoma/Signed with Oklahoma)
Played in eight games (zero starts), made five tackles and one sack.
20. (5.8) Hjalte Froholdt (Bradenton, Fla./Signed With Arkansas)
Played in 10 games (zero starts), made three tackles.
21. (5.8) Thomas Toki (Mountain View, Ca./Signed with Washington State)
Did not qualify.
22. (5.8) Khalil Davis (Blue Springs, Missouri/Signed with Nebraska)
Redshirted in 2015.
No. 3 – Speaking of true freshmen...
If I were a betting man, here’s the list of true freshmen that I believe will see the field for the Longhorns in 2016:
QB: Shane Buechele (likely starter)
WR: Collin Johnson (likely starter)
OL: Denzel Okafor (possible starter at LG)
OL: Zach Shackelford (definite starter)
DT: D’Andre Christmas-Giles
DT: Chris Daniels
DT: Jordan Elliott
DT/DE: Marcel Southall
DE: Andrew Fitzgerald
DE/LB: Erick Fowler (possible starter)
LB: Jeff McCulloch
S: Brandon Jones (possible starter)
Others that could play as well:
RB: Kyle Porter (could give team added depth)
TE: Peyton Aucoin (depth at position needs help)
OL: Jean Delance (likely needs a redshirt, but might have to give the line some depth)
OL: Tope Imade (see above)
DT: Gerald Wilbon
DE: Malcolm Roach
LB: Demarco Boyd (possible special teams)
No. 4 – Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
… In retrospect, how important was Texas pulling Zach Shackelford away from Kansas State right before his recruiting clock struck midnight last year? In the two decades I’ve been covering the Longhorns, I’m not sure I can think of a more important incoming three-star recruit than Shackelford appears to be for this program right now. Without him on the field last week and appearing to fit in pretty well at this level, the options at center for the Longhorns would have been pretty thin to say the least.
… Mike Mattox needs to be in Denzel Okafor’s ear pretty fiercely for the rest of the off-season because I think I’d more comfortable putting him on the field blindly and letting him grow up on the job than I am having Brandon Hodges start at this point.
… How good was Rod Wright as true freshmen in 2002… 65 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hits. That’s crazy good production for a true freshman and it makes the fact that he emerged as a very good, but never a truly great player even harder to believe.
… Dark-horse All-Big 12/American candidate: Davante Davis. I think he has a chance to have the best season of anyone on the team.
No. 5 – Texas baseball this weekend in a gif ...
No. 6 – Buy or sell …
(As always, all of these questions were submitted by actual Orangebloods subscribers.)
BUY or SELL: Texas will win 2 National Championships by 2021?
(Buy) Eddie Reese will get it done.
BUY or SELL: Texas quarterbacks throw for 2500+ yards in the 2016 season?
(Buy) I’d feel so much better about quarterback predictions if I knew how many games Shane Buechele was going to start and how many he might miss due to injury?
BUY or SELL: The Tight Ends catch 30 passes this season?
(Sell) I don’t see it.
BUY or SELL: Texas wins minimum of 7 games this year, CS returns, another top 10 recruiting class, Texas wins the Big 12 in 2017?
(Sell) I’m going to see a lot more before I’m buying a Big 12 title in 2017, even if the season on paper right now looks potentially very strong.
BUY or SELL: Strong starts Shane Buechele against Notre Dame?
(Buy) Foregone conclusion IMO.
BUY or SELL: Coach Strong has hired the right coaches to win enough games in 2016 and make it past 2017?
(Buy) I dig his current group of coaches.
BUY or SELL: We will have more freshman all Americans in 16 than we had in 15?
(Buy) Go ahead and pencil Shackleford in. Buechele, Collin Johnson, Denzel Okafor, one of those defensive tackles and Brandon Jones could all emerge as that type of player because of the potential playing time/combination of talent that exists.
BUY or SELL: Dallas wets the bed in the draft?
(Buy) Jerry has the No.4 pick in the draft and there isn’t an obvious pick in that slot and he seems to be in love with a running back who isn’t close to being the type of generational talent some want to make him out to be. What could go wrong?
BUY or SELL: Tyrion will sit on the iron throne?
(Sell) I’m taking Team Sansa on the office pool.
No. 7 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… If you’re the San Antonio Spurs, I’m not sure you could ask for a better first-round of the playoffs than the four-game sweet of the Memphis Grizzlies that just took place. I’m not sure that the Grizzlies would have taken a game from the Spurs if all of San Antonio’s starters had taken the series off. The Spurs are healthy and dialed in… bring on the Thunder.
… I’ll be surprised if the Thunder take the Spurs to six games once they rid themselves of the Mavericks. I just don’t like this team very much right now once you get beyond the Big Two.
… I have a feeling that before it’s all said and done, Steph Curry’s health is going to be a major storyline within his career.
… UFC197 didn’t exactly delver the goods like I hoped, but it wasn’t the worst pay-per-view of the year via the UFC. I just can’t figure out why I can’t get five dynamite matches for my money, rather than two or three if we’re lucky.
… Jon Jones looked like a guy that needed a tune-up fight and somewhat struggles with guys that can match him in height and length. Not that he didn’t dominate Ovince Saint-Preux, he just didn’t look like Megatron in doing so.
… Nothing makes my blood boil in the UFC more than Daniel Cormier acting like he so much as one branch on the tree that he can stand on when discussing Jones, who dominated him to such a degree when they last fought that he was reduced to tears in the locker room afterwards. Every time he opens his mouth, he sounds like a guy that wasn’t humiliated when these two last fought, which he was. He’s the hollowest champion in the history of the UFC, at least as far as my eyes can find in the last eight or nine years I’ve been watching the sport.
… Man, I’d be terrified if I was a Philadelphia Eagles fan and knew my team was about to put the entire future of the franchise on Carson Wentz’s back. Yikes. Double yikes.
… If Joey Bosa ends up being Greg Ellis Jr., is that good enough for the No.4 pick in the draft? If Jalen Ramsey isn’t around at No.4, I think I’m ok with the Cowboys trading back. I think.
… Josh Norman signing with Washington is bad news for Dez Bryant, at least if we’re going off of what happened in 2015 (two catches for 26 yards).
… Leicester City is almost at the finish line after running roughshod over Swansea.
… Watch the hell out for the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS. After scoring nine goals in its last two games, this looks like a very talented team that is ready to fle some muscle like that little kid in section five.
… Speaking of the MLS, I’m really digging following the league this year and I find the fantasy aspect of things to be very challenging and a lot of fun, but the lack of injury information/reporting is wildly missing. I’m finding out what the expression “Because MLS” means on a weekly basis for a variety of reasons, but the
No. 8 – Finally, the return of Game of Thrones - Live blog...
The following are my stream of concious thoughts on the season-six premier of Game of Thrones.
********SPOILER ALERT ***********
********SPOILER ALERT ***********
********SPOILER ALERT ***********
Oh man, we’re starting with Ghost howling in the background, while Jon dies. I always cry at the videos where a dog sees its owner come home from a long trip and HBO is playing on my emotions. Kill someone, Ser Davos.
So, let me get this right, Ramsay’s reaction to losing to someone he loves is to feed their meat to the hounds?
Reek and Sansa never had a chance. Holy hell, is that Brienne of Tarth’s music!?! It’as Brienne of Tarth’s music! That’s what I’m talking about!
Oh boy, it’s Cersei time. This is not going to go well for Jamie. Geez, what kind of trip back do you think that was for him?
Remind me again how Jamie turned baby-face?
Margaery just keeps fighting the good fight. I wish I had her backbone.
The Sand Snakes are in control of Dorne. I imagine this is the way the rest of the Democratic primaries would go if Hilary had her way.
You just kind of get the sense that the Queen of Dragons is going to have a rough season six.
Speaking of rough seasons sixes, Arya is going to come out of this season a bad, bad girl.
Uhhhhhh… The Red Woman… uhhhhh… ok.
********END OF SPOILER ALERT ***********
********END OF SPOILER ALERT ***********
********END OF SPOILER ALERT ***********
No. 9 – Remembering a national treasure...
We lost more than a pop star this week with the news on Thursday that Prince died at the age of 57 inside of a Paisley Park elevator.
What we lost was the Mozart and Beethoven of our times, which is oddly one of the least full of hyperbolic statements I’ve ever made. We’re talking about a guy that played 26 instruments on his debut album when he was 19 years old. Actually, we’re talking about a guy that played 26 instruments really well on his debut album. We’re also talking about a guy that was a god among mere mortals in his realm.
Don’t believe me? Watch this video from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions in 2004. On a stage full of Hall of Famers, Prince ran the score up by about 80 points on them by the end of his solo and every single one of them knew it.
We’re talking about a genius that could take someone else’s song and reinvent it in such a way that the original creator might think he doesn’t deserve to play the song again.
We’re talking about a guy that grabbed my imagination at the age of eight when I saw Purple Rain the movie theater by myself. Oh, Apollonia had a lot to do with that as well.
Anyway, here’s my personal list of Prince songs.
Top 10 Prince Songs
10. I could never take the place of your man
9. Little Red Corvette
8. The Beautiful Ones
7. 1999
6. Purple Rain
5. Kiss
4. I Wanna Be Your Lover
3. Darling Nikki
2. Let's Go Crazy
1. When Doves Cry
Bonus Prince: After-Hours
10. Cream
9. Lady Cab Driver
8. Let's Pretend We're Married
7. Sexy MF
6. Bambi
5. Erotic City
4. Scandalous
3. Get Off
2. Do Me, Baby
1. Darling Nikki
No. 10 - And finally…
I wanted to give you guys an update on fundraiser that we hope to have in the works in the coming weeks as a way of honoring the memory of Haruka Weiser.
The hope is that I’ll be able to put together an event planned for the weekend of the Notre Dame game, with the goal of raising enough money to establish multiple scholarships within the school’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
If anyone of you want to be involved on the front lines of helping organize or sponsor the event, please email me at geoff@orangebloods.com. With a little help from the Orangebloods Nation, this has a chance to be the best thing the site has ever accomplished.
Stay tuned.
Last edited:
