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Spring Practice 2017

The problem is that you've been saying the same shit since December. Do yourself and everyone a favor and practice what you preach. I promise you, as much as it bothers you that "everyone" is saying the same things about Herman they did of Strong, it is tenfold having to have this same conversation with you about Tom Herman.
Truth hurts sometimes don't it? Lecture yourself Weev! You ain't got no room to talk.



Hook'em
 
Truth hurts sometimes don't it? Lecture yourself Weev! You ain't got no room to talk.



Hook'em

That doesn't make sense, nor does it address the issue at hand FB. You're a joy to interact with except when you start your tirade on Texas football since DKR. Akers sucked, Mack 1-3 sucked, CS got screwed and Herman sucks...that sums up your premise the last few months.
 
The Advocate is reporting that former LSU starting quarterback Brandon Harris will soon be taking a visit to Texas, as well as to North Carolina, Arizona, and an (as yet) unnamed 4th school. As a graduate transfer, Harris will be available to play this fall.

Though he's not a terribly exciting QB prospect, he could allow Sam-E to redshirt more easily.

Harris will graduate this summer in time to join someone's Fall Camp. The 6-2 / 210 pounder was a 15 game, 3 year starter until being replaced last season.
 
These Meats Should Feel the Heat

[This spring the UT] roster has some players who have to be feeling the heat... Whether it's competition at their position, the need to bounce back from an off year, or returning from injury....

Matthew Merrick - QB
If Merrick doesn't show the staff anything this spring, it could be time to shelve the idea of him making a dent.

John Burt - WR
With Collin Johnson and Dorian Leonard among the receivers who also have skins on the wall... Burt felt this spring was big enough for him that he's not running track.

Andres Beck - TE
Beck appeared to be grossly underutilized as a receiver last season and he's always had good hands. [He should be returning from his foot injury sometime during the spring.]

Patrick Vahe - OG
He's one of the better run-blocking interior linemen in the Big 12 when he's on his game, but he's got to become more of a well-rounded player to a factor with some level of consistency.

Poona Ford - DL
There are going to be a lot of young players nipping on his heels trying to earn a spot.

Anthony Wheeler - ILB
With Gary Johnson set to arrive this summer, Wheeler doesn't have much time to make his mark and show the coaches why he needs to share time on the field...

Naashon Hughes - OLB
Hughes is experienced and had a monster game against Iowa State last year, but games like [that] have been few and far between during his career.

Holton Hill - CB
Texas has depth at cornerback, but it would be nice if Hill bounced back and regained his 2015 form. [I would say, "regained and improved his 2015 form."]

Jason Hall - S
The Longhorns need to upgrade playmaking ability and speed at safety compared to what's been on the back end of late. Hall could be a part of the solution, or the staff could move on to younger, more athletic players.
[More @ 247]
 
Though he's not a terribly exciting QB prospect, he could allow Sam-E to redshirt more easily.

I like the idea of someone like Harris or Heard (Herman has said he will have a 8-10 play package to get out of games) getting mop up duty in wins. I don't want Sam's redshirt being burned unless Shane gets hurt.
 
Let me preface my reply with (1) I absolutely hated all the losing the past three seasons; and (2) even a single loss season drives me nuts.

With that said, I wonder if Charlie, with all his faults, wasn't the perfect gap filler for Tom Herman. Many believe (including me) that in the last few mack years the players got "soft" and had adopted an entitlement attitude; that there wasn't real position competition; that recruiting was missing out on key personnel.

Charlie came in with a "culture change" agenda to eradicate the entitlement mentality and open up competition. How effective he was can be debated, but at least it was a start. And his recruiting was, overall, quite good.

Enter Herman with a huge emphasis on culture change, strictness, competition, champions vs losers; and the reports are that the staff has been surprised at how much the team is already buying in.

Maybe I'm just trying to console myself after the past three seasonal debacles. One thing's for sure, though – I'm loving me some Hermantor right now.
I'll give you an AMEN.
 
I like the idea of someone like Harris or Heard (Herman has said he will have a 8-10 play package to get out of games) getting mop up duty in wins. I don't want Sam's redshirt being burned unless Shane gets hurt.
He's going to play, I think it's all but inevitable.
 
NCAA rules state that teams get a maximum of 15 spring practice days, including a "Spring Game." This doesn't include sessions when players are limited to the film and/or weight rooms. Practices must take place within a 34-day window (not including spring break and exam days).​

Only 12 practices can have contact, but the first two must be non-contact. Of those 12, only eight can involve tackling. Of those eight, only three can devote more than half their time to full scrimmaging (the spring game counts as one of the three).

Practices cannot run for more than four hours per day or 20 hours per week.
I'm all for safety, but how many practices get to involve the use of an actual American football? Or do they introduce that in the fall?
 
Herman's 2 Spring Goals

[Tom] Herman has a simple, yet complex plan. He’s looking to do two things (along with everything else as well) — evaluate and teach.

Herman and his staff will closely watch every player, looking for effort, the right attitude and where they fit best. He doesn’t plan to have a perfected depth chart built by the end of the spring, but he wants all of his evaluations to be done by the time Texas takes the field in August. That time is for the remaining position battles to play out.

That’s the easy part, however. The hard part is the teaching.

Texas hasn’t had a winning season since 2013 and it hasn’t appeared in a bowl game since 2014. Herman’s task is to fix that and make sure every player is on board with his message as well. He’s off to a good start with 31 players currently in the “gold group,” which is reserved for the players doing everything right. Herman called that “pleasantly surprising.”

“It’s also our job to teach them what is necessary in order to win championships,” Herman said. “I would hope that after 15 practices, they know what that expectation is.”

The other thing Herman is looking to teach is that he’s invested. When asked if he thinks his players are afraid of him, he responded, “I hope so,” before taking a step back.

“I retract that statement, Herman said. “I think they’re unsure off the field. They’re very sure on the field. So I try my best to show them my plan.”

Herman eats with his players during lunch and dinner. He asks about their parents and girlfriends and checks to see if they need help finding an internship over the summer.

That’s why just after he screamed at them during the stretching period of [the] first practice he was also playing air guitar in front of his players.

“They need to know that I care,” Herman said.
[More @ 247]
 
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If you remember, PJ grew up with Texas as his "dream school" and decorated his bedroom walls with Longhorns posters. However, when no UT offer was extended to him, PJ committed to Oregon and replaced his posters. It wasn't until the week before 2015's NSD that Charlie and Vance visited PJ and convinced him to become a 'Horn.

So far, the new staff is loving them some Locke.
 
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The Hermanator Inside Zone Offense

It’s all about convex outcomes. You want the most big play potential from the most mundane. Horizontal spacing does this and the typical way it’s achieved is to feature 3 and 4 receiver sets, splitting them out wide. You may remember last season, the receiver splits were wider than usual. You will not see that very often next season, as Herman’s brand of spread football does not descend from that of Art Briles. Nevertheless, the spacing is meant to isolate defenders and create wider lanes. Whether it be a spread-to-run or spread-to-pass offense, this helps create numerous opportunities for ‘explosive’ plays, as defenders are often tasked with making a tackle all by their lonesome. If you miss the tackle, chances are there is only one more man or none to beat for big yards or house calls. That is the gist.

You may have noticed that uptempo practices are en vogue today. While Herman utilizes uptempo procedures, the offense will not be a 100-play offense. Instead, Herman will seek to utilize faster tempo more as tactic more so than an overall strategy. In order to achieve this, position groups are often tasked with observing a signal from the sideline and adjusting accordingly.

A major aspect of most spread systems is using basic math to run core schemes. Whether you’re running or passing, you’re looking to match-up against favorable numbers. This is where the now ubiquitous ‘box count’ comes into play. What you’ll often note, if a defense is in a 2-high safety shell, the offense will often opt to run, as it often indicates that the number of blockers in the box is equal to the number of defenders. For the most part, you’ll see that from Tom Herman. Now, say the defense adds a defender to the box, you just pass, right? It just so happens, most spread teams also incorporate the ‘read run game’. In that case, the blockers all ignore the ‘key’ defender and the quarterback is asked to ‘read’ him and either hand-off or pull the ball to run or throw. These schemes are also ubiquitous and, in Herman’s case, you’ll see all manner of zone and power schemes with a read element, all meant to even the numbers in the box. To be clear, Herman wants to run the football. It’s what he does.

Inside Zone, the cornerstone of the offense, where everything starts. Coaches love zone blocking for good reason. It’s very flexible and provides options for the runner. Though blocking rules may vary, they often entail covered-uncovered or “0-out” rules... if you don’t have a defender aligned directly over you (or ‘shaded’), then you are helping your fellow blocker to the play side with the defender directly over him. The helper helps his fellow blocker gain control of the block. As the helper is ‘combo-blocking’ he eyes the linebacker at depth, disengages, then attempts to block the linebacker only when that linebacker’s within immediate reach. If he’s not coming downhill and not within arm’s reach, it’s typical to see the helper ignore him until he is. Now, zone can be run a few different ways, but again, this is the gist.

What’s important to note is that the scheme can be altered to allow the quarterback to read different defenders. In the modern age of football, you have 1st, 2nd, and even 3rd level reads. What you’ll see mostly are 1st and 2nd, either a defensive lineman or linebacker being left unblocked and the quarterback reading that player, deciding to hand-off or keep to run or throw. You’ll also see how the alignment of the back and his path are altered within the scheme to create different angles of attack. What I often look for and what I hope you begin to look for are the combination blocks along the front. If you see good displacement there more often than not, it’s going to be a good day.

Inside Zone is a tried and true scheme, one that almost all coaches run. It’s where everything starts and it’s also where the other schemes you’ll see are derived. It’s all good in the Herman hood.
[More @ TFB including game photos with in depth analysis]
 
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Sam Ehlinger only has two spring practices under his belt and he’s only been in the Texas program since the start of winter conditioning in January.

However, the short time he’s been on campus hasn’t stopped Ehlinger from making a big impression on his new teammates.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound true freshman who graduated from Austin Westlake in December arrived on the Forty Acres carrying a truckload of confidence and an alpha dog mentality with him. When he signed his financial aid paperwork with the Longhorns in December, Ehlinger said he was ready to come in and compete with Shane Buechele, or anyone else standing between him and the starting quarterback spot.

“I think if Andrew Luck went to UT I would compete with him to make him better,” Ehlinger said. “I want to do anything to compete and competing is the best thing possible for anyone to get better. So competition is always good and that’s what I want to have.”

There are 13 practices remaining this spring to determine if Ehlinger can pass Buechele. [His] bravado has [OT Connor] Williams anxious to see what he does once the pads go on once the Longhorns return from spring break.

“I would say, as an O-lineman, he’s not afraid to tuck the ball and run over somebody,” Williams said.

Hopefully for his own sake Ehlinger isn’t running over too many people in practice.

Either way, adding Ehlinger to the quarterback room should result in Herman and Tim Beck working with quarterbacks who have a heightened sense of urgency about themselves on the practice field and beyond.
[More @ 247]
 
LHN on Sunday aired "Texas Football Aligned: The Offensive Staff" and followed on Monday with "Texas Football Aligned: The Defensive Staff." I've been waiting for them to appear on YouTube so that I could post them but, alas.... Each is an hour long and are rerunning on LHN, so be sure to check them out.

In the meantime, HD has an article about the first one.

-------

OC Tim Beck - UT's sixth offensive play caller in six seasons
It's clear Beck has been under the microscope as an OC/play caller at Nebraska and Ohio State and isn't going to be fazed.

"I don't know that it's much different from Nebraska or Ohio State," Beck said. "My players come first, and I'll work as long as I have to work to make sure they are prepared to go out there (and play)."

Beck said the ingredient his players most need to possess is "toughness."

"They gotta be the toughest guy in the room - mentally and physically," Beck said. "Mentally because the game has changed a lot in the last five years - coverages, the skill level of the players. And because of media.

"And then physically. Everyone's trying to get 'em, especially the quarterback, because everyone's trying to stop the passing game, and it usually starts with hitting the quarterback."

When asked what has to develop this spring on offense, Beck said "a better knowledge of general football."

Beck said players can't be focused on "results" but rather the "process" which includes all the attention to detail when it comes to technique.

"It's not just an outcome," Beck said. "It's a process that leads to an outcome. If you just focus on the results, a quarterback may come to the sideline and say, 'Yeah, coach, but the pass was complete,' and I'll say, 'Well, your footwork was off, and that's gonna catch up to you.'"

The mindset of his players has to get to one of "imposing our will on opponents consistently. We've got a ways to go on that," Beck said. "But I do see progress."

RB Coach Stan Drayton

Drayton said he's working with Chris Warren III on his "why," his purpose.

"The thing with Chris is he just has to learn how to bring that 'what-it-takes-to-be-great' work ethic with him every single day," Drayton said. "He's got to put in relentless work ethic every single day. So, we've worked with him about what his 'why' is, what his purpose is. And he probably won't even talk about it. I won't expose that.

"But he's got an incredible purpose and why about him. If he can just plug into that when things get tough and when he's away from football, when no one's watching, he has a chance to be great."

Drayton said the entire running back group "needs to put their why, their purpose at the forefront and just get mentally and physically tougher."

OL Coach Derek Warehime
Warehime said he's walking into a much better situation on the O-line at Texas than he walked into at Houston two seasons ago. Obviously, a first-team All-American LT (Connor Williams) and freshman All-American C (Zach Shackelford) helps.

"The group here is closer than the group I first had there," Warehime said. "Comparing the two situations, they don't compare."

Warehime said he toughens up his offensive lineman with individual drills that require hitting someone else - "drills that you can't go half-speed."

Warehime said Herman is still similar to the guy he knew at Rice, when Warehime was a GA.

"Tom was then and is now - full of life, full of energy, loves what he does, wants to enjoy work," Warehime said. "But at the same time, he's got an edge that 'no one is going to outwork me."
[More @ HD]
 
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Connor William Excited About His Line

Connor%20Williams01.jpg

Using his status as a returning consensus All-American to help Tom Herman and offensive line coach Derek Warehime make sure the Longhorns on the offensive side of the ball are aligned with the new regime is a logical step forward in Williams’ development. While Texas can use Williams’ leadership skills to get the offense moving in the right direction, the talented junior said following a recent spring practice that his focus right now is on getting the offensive line right.

That process, Williams said, has been coming along nicely. With winter conditioning and two spring practice under their belts, Warehime’s group is making the kinds of strides that has Wiliams excited about what he and linemates can do in 2017.

“Through the seven weeks or so that we’ve had an offseason I think we’ve had tremendous growth,” Williams said. “It’s amazing what we’ve been doing. We’ve been coming together as a unit and everything and we’re really excelling.”

Warehime inherited a group headlined by Williams that could be the strength of the offense in Herman’s first season on the Forty Acres.

Patrick Vahe could give the Longhorns a left side of the line as good as anyone in the country can boast if he returns to the form he showed as an ESPN.com Freshman All-American in 2015. Under the new regime, Williams likes the path the 6-foot-4, 325-pound Vahe is taking in his quest to return to a prominent spot on offense.

“He’s been impressing me,” Williams said. “That’s hard to say because he always impresses me. He’s definitely been picking it up and working very hard.”

Vahe and Williams have played pivotal roles in the Longhorns establishing themselves as a team capable of running the football as well as [any]one in the country over the past two seasons.

Though the Longhorns found a[nd] cultivated a couple of valuable assets last season with the emergence of Freshman All-American center Zach Shackelford and Jake McMillon, Williams likes the young depth in the room.

It starts with Patrick Hudson, the former Under Armour All-American lineman from Silsbee. Hudson redshirted following a September toe injury. According to Williams, Hudson is finding his way under the new regime.

“He’s just excited to be back,” Williams said. “He’s been working hard.”

Williams said that during a time when everyone is having to learn a new offense and adjust to new coaches, the key for youngsters like Delance and Okafor is to make sure they don’t fall behind the group.

“We’re just trying to bring them along,” Williams said. “They’re young guys. We’re trying to make them have more active roles in the offense, so we’re trying to get them to understand (the scheme).”
[More @ 247]
 
That is the first I heard that Hudson was injured last year. I simply assumed he was red shirted and even thought I heard Hudson was far from a "polished" OL guy. What was the nature of his injury?
 
those damned toe injuries.....I swear a guy would recover quicker with a broken pelvis....So how is he now?....and hell....while I am at it, how is K Johnson?....I understand he is limping. Is that poor kid ever gonna get to play?
 
those damned toe injuries.....I swear a guy would recover quicker with a broken pelvis....So how is he now?
You're right about those toe injuries. He's all healed and working hard in practice.

....while I am at it, how is K Johnson?....I understand he is limping. Is that poor kid ever gonna get to play?
I haven't heard anything about KJ limping. The reports from last week were that he was going full speed.

Here he is at last week's practice....

KJ-Oldhorn2.jpg
 
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You're right about those toe injuries. He's all healed and working hard in practice.


I haven't heard anything about KJ limping. The reports from last week were that he was going full speed.

Here he is at last week's practice....



LOL...thanks for the love Godz....






Thanks for the "love" by the way.....

KJ-Oldhorn2.jpg
 
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I hope KJ stays healthy because I have a feeling we're gonna need depth at RB this year. Warren, Porter, and a freshman is all we got right now.
 
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The Hermanator Outside Zone Offense

Outside Zone, a scheme you should be excited about. Whereas Inside Zone is meant to attack the heart of the front, Outside Zone is meant to circumvent it.

With Outside Zone, the back is often placed to a side of the quarterback and often at a slightly more shallow depth. The same blocking rules as Inside Zone apply, but the steps, aiming point, and direction of movement are different. What you’ll see is the offensive linemen taking an initial diagonal step back to open their hips, taking a karaoke step to get moving laterally, then attempting to reach the outside shoulder of their blocking assignment. The idea, if you can get to your assignment, then turn him inside or outside to shield him off, you can create massive creases. The back will first attempt to reach the edge, turn the corner, and sprint upfield. If he can’t win the edge, then he’s expected to find a crease, plant his play side foot, and turn upfield through it. There should be no ‘dancing’, the back needs to be decisive.

That’s the gist, but you should like Outside Zone in particular for the current personnel at Texas, because it provides a framework for a diverse array of both run and pass concepts. You can easily imagine utilizing the scheme to execute sprint-pass, bootleg, read run, and RPO concepts. Should Texas become deadly proficient running Outside Zone, you will find it very hard for defenses to contend with both a physical and brutal Inside Zone run game, as well as it’s change-up, a quick and stretching Outside Zone run game.

If you watched any Houston games, you saw Herman scheme mostly lead zone runs. Outside Zone is no exception. What you also saw, the quarterback running behind a lead in the scheme. It’s important to note, the quarterback doesn’t need to be a ‘burner’. He only needs to be fast enough and execute the scheme well. Beyond that, the Texas running backs will be tasked with properly executing the Outside Zone scheme. Let’s take a look at the quarterback run first.

Herman’s favorite personnel grouping is ’20’, with a tight end and running back in the backfield. What sets this grouping apart from ’11’ personnel with a tight end and running back is, with the tight end ‘off-line’, set behind the offensive line, he is free to take a wider variety of paths as a lead blocker. The formation...also sets 3 receivers split into the boundary. This stresses the defense’s alignment and the numbers it can dedicate to the field side, very important.

A major question for the Texas quarterbacks, can they move fast enough to reach the corner? I’m curious if this scheme shows up in the Spring Game.

’30’ personnel [is] an ‘off-line’ tight end and two running backs in a shotgun split-back formation. This set doesn’t stress the formation in the same way as the previous example, but it doesn’t tip the defense at all. Herman can run any number of concepts from this set, running or passing.

Outside Zone read. Post-snap, the offensive line leaves the boundary Edge defender unblocked. He is the quarterback’s read key. [T]o the play side, the tight end and the running back to the right of the quarterback lead to the play side edge. The quarterback meshes with the running back who crosses his face, ready to be given the ball if the read is to hand off. The alley defender stays outside and upfield of the running back lead blocker.

The Texas running backs all have speed, especially Kirk Johnson and Toneil Carter. Johnson is a player who I expect to excel in this scheme. Add all the bells and whistles to this scheme and the offense now has a dangerous compliment to it’s Inside Zone play.

For this scheme to work, you need mobile offensive linemen. Texas has options there, especially players like Connor Williams and Jake McMillon. While it’s nice having very large linemen, I suspect Herman will require the offensive line to manage their weight, so as to help the big uglies be as fleet of foot as possible.

If the Longhorns offense gets this scheme going, watch out! There will be house calls.
[More @ TFB including game photos with in depth analysis]
 
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