In theory, the Texas Longhorns have an ongoing competition for the starting quarterback position.
In theory.
Indeed, senior Tyrone Swoopes and true freshman Shane Buechele are sharing reps with the first-team offense, with the rep distribution through two practices proving to be fairly even. Truth be told, neither player has truly separated from the other over the course of 17 official practices that have taken place in 2016.
In theory, there probably should be some kind of competition for the job since no one has definitively won the job.
In theory.
In reality, Buechele is going to be the starting quarterback when the Longhorns take the field for the first time this season against ninth-ranked Notre Dame in 27 days.
Not might. Not could. Not possible.
Is.
While Charlie Strong has been very diplomatic about what’s happening at the position, he knows as well as anyone what is on the line this season with his team and the need to turn the page from an 11-14 start to his career at Texas. After what happened in South Bend last year, there’s just no chance in Waco that he’s ever going to let that happen again if he has another option, which he clearly does in his prized true freshman.
Earlier this week, I was having lunch with Anwar Richardson and I asked him, “What if Swoopes is 10 times better than him in workouts.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he replied.
I contended that if he was actually 10 times better that Strong would have to consider starting Swoopes, but it would have to be a full 10 times better and not eight or nine times better. Oh, and guess what? It’s all a moot point because through two days, Swoopes hasn’t really been better than Buechele, a player who represents the future, while Swoopes represents what Strong will hope is a distant past never to be seen again while he’s in Austin.
Don’t get me wrong, Swoopes still has a key role as the leader of the “18-Wheeler” package, but the only thing that is going to keep Buechele from taking the first snap in one of the most important games of Strong’s coaching career is an injury.
The fact that Buechele needs all the reps he can get with the first unit between now and September will probably cement this conversation ending in about a week or so.
Basically, what I’m saying is this … It’s Buechele.
No. 2– Christmas comes early for Buechele ...
If someone asks me this morning to name the single most important development from the first two practices, I’m going to point to Charlie Williams’ group of wide receivers.
Depending on who you talk with, sophomore John Burt, freshman Collin Johnson and junior Armanti Foreman have each been the best offensive player on the field through the first two days of camp. Burt is winning more match-ups against Davante Davis than he is losing, while Foreman has flashed the kind of do-it-all skill that seemingly made him a future star when he arrived a few years ago. As for Johnson, he’s had kind of a quiet start, but nobody questions the fact that he’s going to be a big piece of the offense.
Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned Devin Duvernay, who has been everything everyone thought he might be when he joined the program this summer.
If the Texas offense is going to perform at a level that allows the Longhorn team to play at a high level this season, the skill players need to put their young quarterback on their shoulders and do all the heavy lifting for him. Yes, it’s early, but this group is flashing the type of game-changing upside that has been missing from a Texas offense for pretty much all of this decade.
The pieces of a really exciting offense are starting to come together.
No. 3– Coach on the Hot Seat ...
Is it his cat? The fact that he’s a former Texas player? Or is it because we view him as a defensive coordinator in name only because of the presence of his boss?
Whatever the reason, current defensive coordinator Vance Bedford has lived the last two years without the kind of scrutiny that a guy like Manny Diaz ever had the pleasure of knowing. Both are ring-leaders of defenses that rank among the worst poo-poo platters this school has ever offered up on that side of the ball.
One got run out of town quicker than you can say BYU, while the other has been seemingly chillin’ and collecting checks as one of the highest paid assistants in the Big 12, despite having a defense that his boss deemed “embarrassing” two days ago.
Embarrassing.
After listening to Strong tell the world that he had no play-calling responsibilities on the defensive side of the ball and that he lets his coordinators lead the way, it was impossible to ignore the message that Strong seemed to be sending, which is that a second straight season of disappointment on that side of the ball won’t stand, regardless of how many games this team wins. After what happened with Shawn Watson a year ago, we all know Strong is not going to put anyone in front of him in the survival line.
Keep in mind that Strong has a linebackers coach in Brian Jean-Mary who ranks as the best recruiter in the Big 12 and due to receive a promotion from someone in the next year or so.
Whether the fans or media have ever truly applied it, the pressure is on Bedford to perform … now.
No. 4 – ICYMI ...
In what’s been a whirlwind of a last 60 hours or so, here’s a look at all of the content from the opening of training camp, in the event that you were overwhelmed by it all or simply took the weekend off to be with the family.
Sunday (Practice Day 2)
Alex's Thoughts and Notes
Suchomel's observations and grapevine talk
Anwar's Breakdown from the first two days
Practice Photo Gallery
Live Practice Update Thread
Saturday (Practice Day 1)
Strong breaks down his quarterbacks and day one
A few under-the-radar things from Day one
Suchomel's Top 25 observations
20 quickie notes
Alex's Day One Chat
Friday (Reporting Day)
Updates from Charlie Strong's media day press conference
Texas OC Sterlin Gilbert discusses his offense and Shane Buechele
Time for Bedford Accountability, OL Nuggets, Clay Jennings on Safeties, More ...
Mattox just said...
Nice job, OB staff.
No. 5– Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
… Davante Davis is going to be so much better for those battles with John Burt than he would be otherwise. That’s iron vs, iron every day for both players.
… I’m a huge proponent of the move of Kent Perkins to guard, as it accomplishes multiple things, including getting him in his best position, adding protection to Zach Shackelford and merely getting the five best options on the field at the same time.
… The Texas defensive line might be the unit that determines whether this team wins six or seven games vs. eight or nine games. It’s a unit that lacks a little bit of everything that’s needed.
… Kris Boyd might not be among the top corners in the secondary, but there’s no way he’s not one of the top five defensive backs in the program. Vance Bedford needs to find a way to get him on the field.
… It’s early, but Lil’Jordan Humphrey should have been rated higher by Rivals.
… Is it possible that Collin Johnson really is the third best receiver on the team at this moment in time?
… Tristan Nickelson feels like one of those dudes that Charlie Strong almost wills into an NFL-level prospect over time. I’m not predicting anything, I’m just saying …
No. 6 – Buy or sell …
(As always, all of these questions were submitted by actual Orangebloods subscribers.)
BUY or SELL: After two days of practice you view this team more positively than you did coming in?
(Buy) I’ve been sitting on 7-5 for a while, but you could easily talk me into 8-4 tonight. If you’re wondering, that Baylor game feels real winnable right now.
BUY or SELL: Texas upsets Notre Dame?
(Sell) I’m not there yet.
BUY or SELL: We win one of the following three games: ND, OU, TCU?
(Sell) I’m not there yet.
BUY or SELL: Our D against the run ranks better than our D against the pass?
(Buy) I think it has more to do with the skilled passing games that the team will face more than anything else because I think the secondary is going to be a strength.
BUY or SELL: The incoming freshman class will have no players who change positions before the end of their career at Texas?
(Sell) The odds favor someone getting moved somewhere at some point.
BUY or SELL: DeAndre McNeal never plays another down at UT?
(Buy) There's a second chance out there for McNeal, but it almost certainly won't be in Austin.
BUY or SELL: One of the new DTs is earning equal reps by mid season (i.e. Emerges as a real baller)?
(Sell) I don’t think any of the freshmen will be matching the starters for reps this season.
BUY or SELL: Jeffrey McCulloch finishes the year starting in front of Anthony Wheeler?
(Sell) Wheeler earns and keeps his job this year, but McCulloch will definitely see action.
BUY or SELL: Godfather II is a better movie than Godfather I?
(Sell) Both are perfect 10s in my book, but if I’m choosing one film vs. the other, give me the original.
BUY or SELL: Texas signs a GOR extension with this expansion?
(Sell) Over Bevo’s dead body.
No. 7 – A motivated Kevin Durant…
For the first time in Kevin Durant’s career, he’s feeling a ton of outside heat and every day that passes convinces me that his move to Golden State was the best decision he’s ever made.
After nearly a decade in the NBA, his career was plateauing and the hardest thing to do in a situation like that is to not allow your comfort zone to blind you of such a truth.
Durant needed a push. He needed something to keep the edge alive and the move, along with the extreme criticism that comes with it, will do exactly that.
All this talk of a motivated Russell Westbrook this season ignores what a motivated Kevin Durant might look like. Perhaps this is what both of those players needed.
I can’t wait to watch it all unfold.
No. 8 – The ups and downs of a long-time fantasy football league …
Saturday (8:55 PM): Moments after my primary fantasy league voted in a “Captain’s Rule” that I had proposed that allows for an owner to choose one player each week that earns double-points (a feature I stole from fantasy soccer), I sent Suchomel a private message that read, “I am so proud of my fantasy league.”
Saturday (10:18PM): One of the owners in the league channeled his inner-Conor McGregor and called a group of owners that voted to reduce the number of roster spots for each team from 17 to 16 a bunch of kitty-cats.
Sunday (8:14AM): Another owner responds to the previous comments by typing, “Every step of the way since you guys (and it's not everybody, but you know what I mean) joined the league, it's been "swindle this, swindle that, and on and on"... If you think you're being swindled, or don't like the rules that are made, then GTFO”
Fantasy Football, it’s faaaaaaaaaan-tastic.
On a side-note, I fully urge you to embrace the captain’s pick idea. Only two rules are needed.
No quarterbacks allowed.
No player can be used in consecutive weeks.
You’re welcome.
No. 9 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… A-Rod retired from baseball on Sunday (kind of) and leaves behind one of the most complicated legacies in the history of the sport. As a baseball fan, I’ve always felt like we were better off for having A-Rod around because he brought out emotions from everyone that watched him play. Hell, the greatest moment in Red Sox history might be Jason Varitek putting his hands in A-Rod’s face. Perhaps there’s never been a more perfectly imperfect person who tried to be perfect in the history of sports. With Jeter and A-Rod both gone from the game in a week from now, it feels like the clear end of an era in baseball. Still, it warms my heart to know we’ll always have this.
… I’ve written about Texas-Ex Cameron Rupp a few times this season, but after hitting a homer for the third straight game on Friday, becoming the first Phillies catcher to do so since the guy who caught Ryan Dunne’s debut performance that ended in a Ken Griffey Jr. homer was still behind home plate, I thought I’d post these eye-popping numbers. Rupp's career slugging percentage in the minor leagues was .391, but it currently sits at .494 in 267 at-bats this season, a number that ranks third in the majors among catchers with that many at-bats.
... All hail, Ichiro. The new Hit King.
… Oh my, Jim Furyk. On a weekend that had a lot going on, was anything more impressive than the 58 he shot on Sunday to set a new record-low round in a PGA event?
… How very Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score a goal and win a trophy in the first game of the Zlatan Ibrahimovic Era at Zlatan United.
… Prediction: Sadio Mane will score more goals than any midfielder in the EPL this year. In Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Barcelona on Saturday … yes, THAT happened, Mane was the best player on the field. Jurgen Klopp wants pace, a high work-rate and explosiveness on the pitch. Mane gives him all of those things.
… After calling the men of the WWE a bunch of kitty-cats, Conor McGregor got served a shuddup-sandwich from none other than the Nature Boy.
.... Randomness from Rio:
a. Women’s rugby is the surprise must-see sport of the Games.
b. Diana Taurasi is a top-five all-time women’s player, right? Cheryl Miller, Cynthia Cooper, Lisa Leslie and Maya Moore are the other four for me.
c. I don't care what anyone says, I like watching out hoops team beat the hell out of the rest of the world.
d. Get ready for our women's gymnastic's team to become the darling of the next two weeks. Those girls are kicking butt and taking names.
e. What in the world is going on with the Brazilian soccer team?
f. I really hate it for our Olympians that they can’t go into Rio brothels without TMZ pestering them. What’s the world coming to?
g. What Katie Ledecky did to the rest of the field in the 400-meter freestyle was pretty crazy. And by crazy, I mean she beat everyone by at least five seconds.
h. Dario Saric punking Pau Gasol at the rim on Sunday at the buzzer might be my favorite Olympic moment of the weekend.
No. 10 - And finally …
If you’re not watching HBO’s The Night of, you’re missing out on my favorite show from the summer.
It’s kind of a cross between The Wire and True Detective.
