"He figured the entire recruiting process out. He told me if you get a quarterback, everybody is going to want to go to where that quarterback is going. For me, since I was an enrollee also, that helped. It showed those guys we would have a quarterback for the next couple of years. That helped a lot with the entire recruiting process, being able to recruit south Florida. Once he recruited me and offered me, it's like a pipeline now."
Teddy Bridgewater to Orangebloods.com this week.
On December 9, 2009, Charlie Strong left the Florida Gators to join the Louisville Cardinals as the program's new head coach.
Three-hundred-seventy-six days later, Miami Northwest quarterback Teddy Bridgewater committed to play football for Strong, giving the coach the Pied Piper and selling point in recruiting he needed to truly begin the rebuild of the program he inherited the previous year.
On January 4, 2014, Charlie Strong left the Louisville Cardinals to join the Texas Longhorns as its new head coach.
One-hundred-sixty-three days later, Strong is still looking for his burnt orange Pied Piper.
Honestly, the layers within a college football program are so plentiful that we often do our best to make this stuff rocket science when it's really not. When discussing the potential rise of the Charlie Strong era, the conversations center on the failures of Mack Brown to leave the cupboard properly stocked and the time needed to develop "Charlie Strong guys." The debate about recruiting lasts weeks, as everyone tries to figure out when it's time to start keeping score. Schedules … depth charts ... historical data … we'll crunch it all in an effort to predict where this season and beyond is headed.
If we eliminate the clutter, re-read Bridgewater's words and evaluate the current state of the program, the only real question that matters is the simplest one.
Who's the damn quarterback? Not just now, but in the future. Who's going to be the guy that becomes the ringleader of the Charlie Strong Rebuild Express?
You can argue this point until you're blue in the face, but history all around us suggests that this isn't a chicken and egg deal. As much as everyone points to the Ricky Williams Heisman as the lightening rod to Mack's rebuild way back in 1998, the fuse that truly started a fire that would eventually create one of the great eras in the history of the program was the commitment from Chris Simms in January of 1999.
From the moment that it became clear that Simms might flip from Tennessee in the final days before the Cotton Bowl, there was a buzz all over the state that Simms was about to become a Longhorn and it was about to change everything about the way recruiting was viewed by the high school prospects around the entire country. About a week before Simms officially committed, future Longhorn all-American Rod Babers was about to announce his commitment in front of Tim Brewster and the only thing he could talk about was the Simms rumors and how he had been told that it was going to happen. I know this because I was there.
Once Simms made it official, the Longhorns soared in recruiting to places that no school in the history of this state has ever known. Say what you want about Simms' actual career on the field, but as soon as he said "Hook'em" in public for the first time, the Texas Longhorn brand took on a new meaning. Days after Simms committed to Texas, the Longhorns landed USA Today Defensive Player of the Year Cory Redding, which represented UT's first national monster defensive recruit of the Mack Era and established roots in Houston that had never existed before. Eventually, the trickledowns of Simms' commitment were the pieces of the 2005 national championship team.
If you look across the state right now at the success of Texas A&M on the recruiting trails, the fruit of Johnny Manziel's labor produced a Simms-like haul of national No. 1 Kyle Allen last year and state No. 1 Kyler Murray this year. Elite prospects want to play with elite prospects, especially elite quarterback prospects, and the thing that keeps coming up time and time again when you talk to the state's top 2015 and 2016 prospects is that the idea of playing with Allen/Murray just sounds like fun. Hell, it's downright sexy.
Just like idea of playing with Teddy Bridgewater sounded sexy to scores of South Florida prospects over the last few years when Charlie Strong walked into their homes and made his Louisville sales pitch. Look, we can talk about Strong's ability to develop unknowns into first-round draft picks all day long, but he's not at Texas right now without his South Florida Pied Piper.
Again, who's the damn quarterback, now and into the future? Who's going to be the guy that gives the program the jolt that it and every program needs?
The best-case answer is that it's Jerrod Heard and if he comes in early and can create the type of buzz that Bridgewater created when he took over the starting duties four games into his true freshman season. If he buzz is going to originate from Heard's presence in the program it will need to be earned with his play on the field because it doesn't really exist at the moment.
If it's not going to be Heard, it probably won't be 2015 quarterback commit Zach Gentry because too few prospects now much about him and that is unlikely to change. Although he might end up being a quality starter for the Longhorns down the road, there just isn't a buzz right now surrounding his commitment from the top difference-makers in the state.
It's quite possible that Charlie Strong's Pied Piper is somewhere in the 2016 class, which is why the decisions they make in terms of targets and offers is so critically important.
If you don't believe me, just ask Teddy Bridgewater. Or Mack Brown. Or Kevin Sumlin. Or Charlie Strong.
No. 2 - Speaking of quarterbacks …
A year ago, the Longhorns' schedule was a paradise of riches on paper, as almost every team on the schedule was experiencing some sort of turnover at the quarterback position, while the Longhorns appeared to have one of the top two or three options in the entire league if David Ash could follow through and take the next step in his progression as a player.
The Longhorns won't be nearly as lucky in Charlie Strong's debut season, as seven of the 12 teams on the schedule appear to have players capable of winning at least all-conference honors in their respective leagues, while six return from a season ago fully entrenched as starters after strong conclusions to the respective 2013 seasons.
What type of quarterback firepower will the Longhorns see this season? Below is my breakdown of things, starting with the worst and working our way up to a possible No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Perhaps most noteworthy is that four of the top five players projected on the list face the Longhorns in the first six games of the season. If the Longhorns can survive the early onslaught of really strong quarterback play, the schedule will get much friendlier.
Here's the list:
12. North Texas: Junior Andrew McNulty
2013 Stats: Five of six passes for 36 yards and an interception.
Overall: The Mean Green is in the middle of a quarterback overhaul and might represent the single-worst quarterback situation that the Longhorns will face this season. Josh Greer is an incoming transfer from Navarro JC that might eventually take the job away from McNulty, who has been a career back-up, but this situation might not be clear when the Longhorns face UNT in the season-opener.
11. TCU: Who the Hell Knows
2013 Stats: None matter
Overall: Total crapshoot between four different prospects, none of which have really played at this level, especially if Travone Boykin sticks at wide receiver. It's a new system and it could be any one of four guys that don't instill a lot of confidence at this point. This position is holding the program hostage right now.
10. Kansas: Sophomore Montell Cozart
2013 Stats: Completed 23 of 63 passes for 227 yards and two interceptions. Rushed for 214 yards and a touchdown on 66 carries (3.2 yards per carry).
Overall: Cozart was named the start this spring by Charlie Weiss and is a total project, but one the Jayhawks can develop while driving teams crazy with his ability to make plays with his feet.
9. West Virginia: Junior Paul Millard
2013 Stats: Completed 92 of 167 passes (55.1-percent) for 1,119 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions.
Overall: Yet another quarterback job that is truly undecided going into fall workouts, but Millard showed promise in a loss to Texas towards the end of the season and is a better option that Clint Trickett, who he split time with.
8. Iowa State: Sophomore Grant Rohach
2013 Stats: Completed 110 of 191 passes (57.6-percent) for 1,208 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. Rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on 48 carries (1.8 yards per carry).
Overall: Technically, the Cyclones don't have a starting quarterback and head coach Paul Rhoads is calling it an open three-man competition, but Rohach was the starter down the stretch last season as a redshirt freshman and played pretty damn well in the final two games of the season, so I'm going to assume that it's him until I see otherwise.
7. Oklahoma State: Junior J.W. Walsh
2013 Stats: Completed 113 of 190 passes (59.5-percent) for 1,333 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Rushed for 294 yards and three touchdowns on 58 carries (5.1 yards per carry).
Overall: Is this the year Walsh finally takes the final step? How ironic is it that the 2011 quarterback recruiting decision for the Longhorns came down to David Ash and Walsh because at this point in their careers, they are basically the same guy.
6. Texas Tech: Sophomore Davis Webb
2013 Stats: Completed 226 of 361 passes (62.6-percent) for 2,718 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Overall: Kliff Kingsbury believes he has the perfect system-quarterback for his system-offense. Regardless of what Kingsbury believes, Webb showed a lot of promise last year when thrust into duty.
5. Oklahoma: Sophomore Trevor Knight
2013 Stats: Completed 79 of 134 passes (59.0-percent) for 819 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Also rushed for 445 yards and two touchdowns on 67 carries (6.6 yards per carry).
Overall: Which Trevor Knight will we see in 2014, the guy who drop-kicked Alabama in the head or the guy that couldn't knock Blake Bell off the field entirely until the end of the season? Most seem to be leaning towards the former and if that's the case, he might be listed too low on this list.
4. Kansas State: Junior Jake Waters
2013 Stats: Completed 159 of 260 passes (61.2-percent) for 2,369 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Also rushed for 312 yards and six touchdowns on 118 carries (2.6 yards per carry).
Overall: The Jake Watters that was useless against Texas last season was replaced by a pretty salty player by the end of the season, as evidenced by a standout performance against Michigan in the bowl game (21 of 27 for 271 yards and three touchdowns). This is a kid that can't be slept on entering this season.
3. BYU: Junior Taysom Hill
2013 Stats: Completed 236 of 438 passes (53.9-percent) for 2,938 yards, 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Also rushed for 1,344 yards and 10 touchdowns on 246 carries (5.5 yards per carry).
Overall: Hill basically fired Manny Diaz last year when he rushed for 259 yards and three touchdowns against the Longhorns in week two of the season, and he also represents one of the top two-way threats in the country.
2. Baylor: Senior Bryce Petty
2013 Stats: Completed 250 of 403 passes (62.0-percent) for 4,200 yards, 32 touchdowns and three interceptions. Rushed for 209 yards and 14 touchdowns on 94 carries (2.2 yards per carry).
Overall: Petty isn't so much a great talent as he is the perfect extension from Art Briles' brain on the sideline to a quarterback's brain on the field. You can take 4,000 yards and 30+ touchdowns from the Baylor quarterback position to the bank.
1. UCLA: Junior Brett Hundley
2013 Stats: Completed 248 of 371 passes (66.8-percent) for 3,071 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Also rushed for 748 yards and 11 touchdowns on 160 carries (4.7 yards per carry).
Overall: A pre-season Heisman candidate and projected to be one of the top three quarterbacks selected in the 2015 NFL Draft.
No.3 - The one that got away …
For seven innings on Saturday afternoon, the Texas Longhorns were better than UC-Irvine in every way a team can be better than another.
The Longhorns pitched better. The Longhorns played defense better. The Longhorns hit the ball better.
And they led by a single run.
You could just sense that leaving a dozen men on-base over the course of the first seven innings would came back to haunt the Longhorns before the day ended and they did. Just like watching your quarterback throw three interceptions in the red zone, leaving men in scoring position inning after innings doesn't come without consequence, especially when your margin of error is as small as this team's on a daily basis.
These Longhorns are about execution and doing the little things better than the other guy but that's not who they were on Saturday. All the team needed was a single two-out hit at the right time and the game might have blown completely wide open. If … if … if … You get the sense those will be words mentioned in conjunction with this trip to Omaha for quite a while.
The loser's bracket isn't exactly a death sentence, but for a team already missing its No. 1 starter, the situation might very well turn into one. All the Longhorns can do is grind for nine innings and attempt to get back into a rematch situation with the team that has owned them lately in NCAA play. The goal has to be to play long enough that Nathan Thornhill can make another start before this season concludes because he certainly deserved better than the hard-luck loss he received this weekend.
Texas was six outs away from a yellow brick road to the championship series and now it must dig deeper than at any point this season. It was there for the taking and then it got away.
All those ifs loom rather large right now.
No.4 - Scattershooing on the Longhorns …
… Of course, Mark Peyton gets to Omaha and sees his streak of getting on base in 101 straight games come to an end. Of course, that happened.
… I'm pretty sure that we can call Monday's start against Louisville the single most important moment in the history of Parker French's baseball career.
… The Longhorns appear to be on the outside looking in for Ennis defensive end James Lockhart, but I wouldn't freak out about this one because Charlie Strong never made Lockhart a top priority and I kind of agree with him, as continued evaluation this spring shows a player that is closer to being a high-level three star than a top-end four-star. I'm not telling you he's not very good because he is, but I am telling you that there are bigger fish to fry.
… The idea that the Longhorns are 10 weeks away from the start of the season and are still entertaining quarterbacks like Copiah-Lincoln Community College's Daniel Fitzwater tells just how poor of a decision it was the last few years to pass the buck on addressing the quarterback position. In the beginning, I think it was about not impeding the development of Ash, but at the end I think he just didn't want to admit the mistake.
… Vince Young is retiring from football and him having a job inside the football program is the easiest call of all-time. Give him a six-figures job in football operations and ake sure he's available when recruits are around.
No. 5 - Champions once again …
The San Antonio Spurs didn't win the NBA Championship on Sunday night as much as they slapped the taste of mouths of a team they feel stole something of theirs last year.
First, the Spurs called out the two-time defending champions and admitted they wanted to kick their ass. Then they proceeded to the Heat's run of NBA history with one of the most humbling five-game beat-downs I've ever seen.
The margin of defeat in this series was 15, 19, 21 and 17 points over the course of four wins in five games. To be the man, you have to beat the man and they slaughtered the man.
Congrats to the 2014 world champion San Antonio Spurs… the best team in basketball by what turned out to be a mile.
No. 6 - I need your help watching the 2014 World Cup …
I feel like the little kid who cried wolf, but I'm finally ready to get into this soccer thing that all the hipsters and cool kids are going head over heels for these days.
Also, I now I've said this before (see at the conclusion of the 2010 World Cup), but this time I mean it. Plus, I have a plan, but it involves you basically making the decision for me.
First of all, I need a favorite player because if I have a favorite player, I'll have both a country and future pro leagues to watch.
Second of all, I need a favorite pro team, which as I stated previously goes hand in hand with the need of having a favorite player, which means that both have to go hand-in-hand.
Also, here are my basic requirements:
a. The professional team he plays for has to be pretty damn good. As a fan of the Cowboys, Phillies and Sixers, I kind of feel like front-running a little because I have enough hard times going on as a professional sports fan as it is.
b. If there's a player out there that's kind of a jerk and plays or a jerkish kind of a team ... that sounds like that could be fun. I don't mind rooting for a player or team that everyone hates if he has some Ric Flair appeal.
c. It can't be RVP or anyone connected to the Dutch National Team because then I'd have to hear my wife retell the story of how she picked me over some Dutch volleyball player and I already hear that story a lot. His header on Friday against Spain was pretty dope, though.
Ok, so help me out here and decide my soccer fan fate.
No. 7 - Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… Thanks to Martin Kaymer for making my first Father's Day U.S. Open a complete snooze-fest unworthy of audio from the TV. This was not what I was hoping for going into the weekend…
… The theater in the Ecuador/Switzerland game was the kind of thing that would be on the World Cup's One Shining Moment video if there was such a thing. Oh, to be an Ecuador soccer fan today is to be a fan that knows heartbreak and pain.
… Being an English soccer fan is like being a Red Sox fan before they won the World Series back in 2003, right?
… Congrats to Jimmy Rollins for becoming the all-time hits leader for the Philadelphia Phillies, passing the incomparable Mike Schmidt for the top spot. The Phillies might be terrible right now, but once upon a time J-Roll helped bring the franchise out of a really dark age. It's been a hell of a run.
… Demetrious Johnson is simply in a class of his own in the 125-pound flyweight division of the UFC. We're almost at the point now where we're going to have to recycle fighters back to him because he's already gone through everyone. Yes, I'm talking to you, John Dodson. I'm not sure you can have a top-five pound-for-pound list of UFC fighters and not have Mighty Mouse on it.
… Rory McDonald flat out took Tyron Woodley to school at UFC174, not only looking like a true No. 1 contender, but making Woodley look completely out of his league.
… Ovince Saint Preux keeps getting better and better in the light heavyweight division. I've said it before, but I think a match-up with Phil Davis would tell us a lot about both fighters. I think OSP would finish him in less than two full rounds.
… I'm going to have to go back and re-watch the Chris Algleri/Ruslan Provodnikov fight because I thought the fight was closer than the HBO crew was letting on. I had Provodnikov up by at least a couple of rounds on my personal scorecard, which admittedly was done very late at night and in-between baby feedings at 2 a.m. That being said, I thought Algleri started winning rounds as soon as round two, so maybe the judges had it right. Like I said, I need to re-watch that one.
… It warmed my heart to now that Joe, the 15-year old Orangebloods Intern, lost his mind a little on Friday night in celebration of the L.A. Kings winning the Stanley Cup. Live up, youngster.
… RIP, Rodney Thomas.
No. 8 - Game of Thrones Review: Season Four, The Season Finale
My expectations for the 10th and final episode of the season are nothing short of pure greatness. I've been told my mind will be melted and that this might be the best episode in the show's history going in, so there's no turning back.
Melt my mind, HBO.
**************SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!**************
I'M SERIOUS.
I REPEAT, I'M SERIOUS
**************SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!**************
a. Say what you will about Jon Snow, but the young buck has nuts.
b. Stannis rode in there like a boss. I believe they call that momentum.
c. What in the world has Cersei approved?
d. Oh hell, Cersei. Giiiiirrrrllll, you better be careful or Tywin is going to kill you instead of Tyrion… is that possible?
e. Cersei is out of control. This feels like a crash and burn episode for her. BTW, the love-making scene with Jamie didn't even bother me because I've already been exposed to so much this season. I don't know how I am supposed to feel about this.
f. I'm not sure what to make of what Daenerys did with her dragons.
g. If Ygritte comes back as a white-walker, I'm not sure what I'll think or say, but Jon Snow's ass better run.
h. OK this has been a good, but not great episode through the first 40 minutes. Just for the record.
i. What the hell just happened with Bran? Why did the kid from Love Actually die? Where those white-walkers? I'm sooooooooo lost.
j. Brienne whupped The Hound's ass. Damn, Arya just left his ass to bleed to death. The women are winning tonight's episode.
k. Holy hell, Tyrion. Happy Father's Day, Tywin.
l. Not the best episode ever, but damn fine.
**************END OF SPOILER ALERT!!!! END OF SPOILER ALERT!!!!**************
No. 9 - Pop goes the culture because the culture goes pop …
… Hottie of the Weekend: I heart Anna Kendrick
… My No. 1: 'I heart Keira Knightley
… RIP: Casey Kasem Dead -- Radio Legend Dies at 82 After Battling Parkinson's Disease
… Aquaman: Here comes the King of Atlantis
… Put him in general pop Accountant held women as sex slaves, investigators say
… More Game of Thrones: The GOT Yearbook
… True Detective Update: Three leads + Not female-driven + Transportation occult?
… Box Office Dominance: Get ready for 23 Jump Street
… Miley Link of the Weekend: Not a fan of the new hairdo
… 100-Words or Less Movie Review: 22 Jump Street (C+)
It pains me to write this because I'm such a fan of the first installment in this potential series, but I was underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, I got my laughs in and there were a few genuinely funny scenes, but this one misses the mark that its predecessor clearly hit.
No. 10 - The List: Jeff Buckley (Listen Via Spotify)
Everyone in a while I get into a Jeff Buckley mood and this week just happened to be one of those weeks, so while I'll be taking on the music of David Bowie in one of the last 10TFTW before yours truly takes a little vacation, I'm revisiting a list I first tackled 23 months ago this week and I'm making a few tweaks
Last five songs out: Vancouver
10. Eternal Life
Despite being known for his tender vocals, Buckley had a hard rock side to him that he'd jump in and out of.
9. Satisfied Mind
Just a simple piece of gracefulness all wrapped up into a nearly six-minute song.
8. Lilac Wine
The perfect song if you want to settle into a chilled out Buckley song.
7. Forget Her
Maybe the most underrated song of his career.
6. So Real
We're starting to get into some rarified air as far as music that I love is concerned. I've got this song at No. 6 and it's not a song I'd ever want to do without. I love the Grace album… it's a top 10 all-timer for me.
5. Grace
The song on Grace that lets you know greatness was in your possession.
4. Everyone here Wants You
If you've got a lady friend over at the house and can't close the deal with this song in the background, I don't know what to tell you. This one is an all-timer in that department.
3. Last Goodbye
One of three songs I considered for the No. 1 spot on the list.
2. Lover, You Should Have Come Over
If this list were all about my personal views and nothing else, this song would rank No. 1.
1. Hallelujah
Not my personal favorite, but it's the song that made him a star. It's power cannot be overstated.
Archives List
Blues/Jazz: Listen via Spotify )
Classical: Listen via Spotify)
Country: Listen via Spotify )
Electronic: Listen Via Spotify
Funk: Listen Via Spotify (Part II ? After Hours))
Metal: Listen Via Spotify
Pop: Listen via Spotify )
Punk: Listen via Spotify)
Random: My Number 1's on Spotify
Rap: Listen via Spotify),
R&B: Listen via Spotify)
Reggae: Listen via Spotify)
Rock: Listen via Spotify )
and Listen via Spotify )
This post was edited on 6/15 10:41 PM by Ketchum
