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Only one Longhorn invited to NFL Combine.

Might explain why we have struggled. NFL prospects aren't the end all be all but there is a reason Bama, Ohio State, Flordia state have dominated college football and NFL draft boards. You have to have NFL level talent to be elite. Good news is Strong put a lot of Louisville guys in the league.
 
Must be Mack's fault

Yes, the dearth of talent in the senior class is Mack's fault. Charlie is responsible to the degree he ran off possible invitees for disciplinary reasons, but I don't fault Charlie for insisting on certain standards of conduct in his program. The poor evaluation of this class as recruits is entirely on Mack and his staff.
 
Yes, the dearth of talent in the senior class is Mack's fault. Charlie is responsible to the degree he ran off possible invitees for disciplinary reasons, but I don't fault Charlie for insisting on certain standards of conduct in his program. The poor evaluation of this class as recruits is entirely on Mack and his staff.

There is something to both sides of this.

Where I fall though, is I don't give a damn. The dearth of talent isn't as bad as the haters want to make it. And others could have won more with what we had. Bottom line, Strong and co were hired to do a job. They knew what they were walking in to. They didn't have the best roster, nor did they address the issues quickly.

I do like the classes we are bringing in. I wish they would have aggressively gone after some xfers or jucos to address key positions that lacked depth in month 1. Like QB and OL and DL.
 
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As soon as a kid gets an agent, he is no longer eligible to play college ball.....they have to go pro.


As far as JUCO guys....there is a reason they are JUCO ...seems we tried a big JUCO and we couldn't make him wok. Having said that , Seems like Snyder does ok with them, and I think Cam Newton was JUCO.
 
As soon as a kid gets an agent, he is no longer eligible to play college ball.....they have to go pro.


As far as JUCO guys....there is a reason they are JUCO ...seems we tried a big JUCO and we couldn't make him wok. Having said that , Seems like Snyder does ok with them, and I think Cam Newton was JUCO.

Cam was a JuCo because Urban Meyer kicked him out at UF after he was busted for stealing a laptop.

Too many people see JuCos as a magic bullet when many times there are no JuCo players better than what you have. This year's DL haul goes a long way to building a foundation for a permanent fix. The staff did it by selling playing time. If they could have found 2-3 JuCos DL to bring in this year how many of the present DL recruits would have signed on?
 
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Texas has had some success with Juco kids as well. We had a TE last name was Fitzgerald who was a juco and turned out to be a fantastic player for Texas. Shon Mitchell was also a juco and our feature back when Ricky was a freshmen.

When it comes to juco, you just have to find them and they have to be willing to work both on the field and in the classroom.
 
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Yes, the dearth of talent in the senior class is Mack's fault. Charlie is responsible to the degree he ran off possible invitees for disciplinary reasons, but I don't fault Charlie for insisting on certain standards of conduct in his program. The poor evaluation of this class as recruits is entirely on Mack and his staff.

So last years draft class is because of "Developer Strong" and this year it's Mack's fault again?
 
Last years class had very little to do with Strong. If Hicks stays healthy and Brown stays in school its only 3 last year. The two DBs were a product of Akina. I think Strong did have an impact on Hicks getting drafted. His offseason program helped keep him healthy for the year and the scheme allowed him to be the leading tackler on a pretty good defense.
 
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A juco, or even better a grad xfer would not be blocking someone from a 4 yr scholarship.

Lets just say they could be a stop gap. You know, you come in the door knowing the team has no QB. Something like 8 grad xfers moved schools and immediately started at other schools. Happened at VaTech, Hawaii, etc (both of those xfer kids had ties to Texas and we whiffed on them)
 
A juco, or even better a grad xfer would not be blocking someone from a 4 yr scholarship.

Lets just say they could be a stop gap. You know, you come in the door knowing the team has no QB. Something like 8 grad xfers moved schools and immediately started at other schools. Happened at VaTech, Hawaii, etc (both of those xfer kids had ties to Texas and we whiffed on them)

True, but Texas was selling the possibility of immediate playing time.
 
There is something to both sides of this.

Where I fall though, is I don't give a damn. The dearth of talent isn't as bad as the haters want to make it. And others could have won more with what we had. Bottom line, Strong and co were hired to do a job. They knew what they were walking in to. They didn't have the best roster, nor did they address the issues quickly.

I do like the classes we are bringing in. I wish they would have aggressively gone after some xfers or jucos to address key positions that lacked depth in month 1. Like QB and OL and DL.
Could another coach of won more games? Maybe but let's get real. We're talking about 6-6, 7-5. We still wouldn't be happy.
 
Could another coach of won more games? Maybe but let's get real. We're talking about 6-6, 7-5. We still wouldn't be happy.

I would be happier with at least one winning season or a .500 year, in lieu of 2 losing ones.

My whole point is, yes Mack helped get things here. But Charlie has his share of the blame for his record. I like what he is doing to fix it long term. I just think he messed up the short term. In a perfect world he could have done both (people will argue this, but it is possible to have both a short term plan and a long term plan and implement them both...UT wasn't some SMU cancer that had to be gutted). And NO one forced him to hire Watson, in fact Charlie forced us to take him. No one told him not to recruit immediate grad xfers at QB as a stop gap. Or to kick off a bunch of players. I think he still could have accomplished his mission of a culture change, with a softer transitional approach.

Charlie knew what he was walking in to. I won't blame Mack for losses Charlie and co coached. You don't get better by blaming others and constantly passing the buck, I love that Charlie gets this....just wish some posters would take his own comments to heart. Listen to him own it after the bowl blowout last year. And here over a calendar year later, some are still pointing the finger on a guy who hasn't been on a sideline in years.

Just my two cents.
 
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I disagree that Charlie knew what he was walking into.I think he saw a chance to coach at a blue blood programand he took it. Yes, he knew that Texas was bad.....what I think he underestimated was that it was rotten....and I dont mean just bad, but rotten, untended bad. I think he underestimated the ...not just lack of support, but down right resistence from the administration. I think he underestimated how hamstrung he would be. I applaud him for staying the course he knew he would have to take at great peril to himself. Namely, booting or forcing out much of what little talent he did have.

Even still.....regardless of the situation, the time to show improvement is here. This is a damned important year for Strong and Texas.....lets get it done!.....Lets ride!
 
I would be happier with at least one winning season or a .500 year, in lieu of 2 losing ones.

My whole point is, yes Mack helped get things here. But Charlie has his share of the blame for his record. I like what he is doing to fix it long term. I just think he messed up the short term. In a perfect world he could have done both (people will argue this, but it is possible to have both a short term plan and a long term plan and implement them both...UT wasn't some SMU cancer that had to be gutted). And NO one forced him to hire Watson, in fact Charlie forced us to take him. No one told him not to recruit immediate grad xfers at QB as a stop gap. Or to kick off a bunch of players. I think he still could have accomplished his mission of a culture change, with a softer transitional approach.

Charlie knew what he was walking in to. I won't blame Mack for losses Charlie and co coached. You don't get better by blaming others and constantly passing the buck, I love that Charlie gets this....just wish some posters would take his own comments to heart. Listen to him own it after the bowl blowout last year. And here over a calendar year later, some are still pointing the finger on a guy who hasn't been on a sideline in years.

Just my two cents.
I personally think you are nit picking. Could Charlie have done some things different? Sure but even the best make mistakes on staff hires and such. And every coach in sports brings friends along with them. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. In watsons case it didn't work.

As far as recruiting juco and grad transfers. He could of and it might of resulted in a couple more wins short term. I would argue however that even though it has been frustrating these freshman and Sophs getting all these reps was the best thing to happen for the long term health of the program. Let's also keep in mind there was reportedly mutrul interest in Everrett Gohlston coming to Texas but ND blocked it.

Also gotta keep some prespective. Make an extra point against Cal and get a punt off against ok state were probably not having this discussion.
 
Let's also keep in mind there was reportedly mutrul interest in Everrett Gohlston coming to Texas but ND blocked it.

Also gotta keep some prespective. Make an extra point against Cal and get a punt off against ok state were probably not having this discussion.

Also, Wittek was all lined up the year before that and then he didn't graduate from USC.
 
I personally think you are nit picking. Could Charlie have done some things different? Sure but even the best make mistakes on staff hires and such. And every coach in sports brings friends along with them. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. In watsons case it didn't work.

As far as recruiting juco and grad transfers. He could of and it might of resulted in a couple more wins short term. I would argue however that even though it has been frustrating these freshman and Sophs getting all these reps was the best thing to happen for the long term health of the program. Let's also keep in mind there was reportedly mutrul interest in Everrett Gohlston coming to Texas but ND blocked it.

Also gotta keep some prespective. Make an extra point against Cal and get a punt off against ok state were probably not having this discussion.

Nitpicking by saying that the OC hire was a disaster from the start. And Watson was crammed down our throat from day 1. Not only should he not have been hired, but he never should have been retained in year 2 and given the keys to retool the offense towards a style he knew nothing about. Nitpicking that we were left with a brand new WR coach thrust in to the OC spotlight....how often does that happen at major schools within 12 months of a new HCs hire (I can't think of one single time it has happened)?

Nitpicking. By saying it is year 3. And I am still not sure we have addressed the glaring hole that Mack left in the depth chart at QB. I don't care about a name or two we were close and we missed on, so much as we didn't hit on a single option and as we sit today we still don't have a clear answer

(don't misunderstand me....I do like the young options, but it took to year 3 before we even put that on the board and we are still gambling on youth at THE most important position and the MOST obviously dysfunctional one that everyone in America knew was priority numero uno to fix and here we sit...year 3 still unsure about it....not Mack Brown's fault anymore...he was a contributing cause, but Charlie still hasn't solved it...and I'm saying any CEO that takes over a company addresses problemo numero uno immediately and not with patch work prayers like Watson and praying Ash wouldn't take a hit all year and not get concussed and you help him out in that regard by jettisoning half the starting OL and backups from day 1, while not grooming Swoopes as a backup plan and RSting the QB recruit and only other QB body on the roster....a grad xfer or transfer should have been PRIORITY #1, 2, 3, and 4).

And the above, just as much as anything Mack did or didn't do....is why Strong's record is below .500


I do think it is nitpicking to say that there could have been a softer transitional approach and less kids booted right away. But I don't think the main points are nitpicking. And they also aren't Mack Browns fault either. I trust that Charlie is a great recruiter, a good coach, and so far a bad CEO that can't keep a staff together and it funnels down to the inconsistent play on the field. I love the new hires. And finally think the O is headed in the right direction. But it isn't Macks fault any more if its not.
 
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I think I will blame him as long as JT Barrett has college eligibility, for starters.

Why, hasn't he be in trouble with the law several times now? I could be wrong, but if not, wouldn't Strong have just given him the boot?
 
Why, hasn't he be in trouble with the law several times now? I could be wrong, but if not, wouldn't Strong have just given him the boot?

One domestic disturbance and one DUI that were 11 months apart. But, I think Mack would have kept his job with JT Barrett running Major's offense.
 
One domestic disturbance and one DUI that were 11 months apart. But, I think Mack would have kept his job with JT Barrett running Major's offense.

Didn't know that. Nah I doubt Mack would've let JT play in time to save his job. He would've stuck with Case and Ash.
 
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