Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert met with the media following Tuesday evening's practice, and the focus of the press conference focused on ... what else? ... quarterbacks.
Gilbert was asked right off the bat if he would be the one to spill the beans on Sunday night's starter against Notre Dame, but he immediately shut down the chance of any big revelation, saying everyone will find out on Sunday.
If you're looking for hints, there really weren't any to be found. Gilbert praised both quarterbacks and said both Tyrone Swoopes and Shane Buechele have performed well in the spring and in fall camp.
Gilbert did echo the thoughts of Charlie Strong at Strong's Monday press conference, when the Texas head coach stated a decision had pretty much made who would start. But like Strong, Gilbert wasn't about to tip his hand. From the sound of things, one quarterback has separated from the other. I'll leave it up to you all to wager a guess as to who won the battle.
"Just about being consistent, being progressive, execute," Gilbert said of one quarterback's efforts to win the starting job. "It's like any offense, if you execute it at a high level and do it at a high level, then the majority of the time then you're the guy, you're the person who is going to be able to do it at the end of the day. We look for the same at every position, just as we do the quarterback position."
So apparently at least one QB has been executing at a high level ... well that's certainly a positive.
--- Perhaps the most interesting comment offered up by Gilbert was his declaration that they basically have a starter, and they're not planning to have a scheduled rotation. Charlie Strong said the same thing on Monday, but later followed it up with a comment that they could rotate in the non-starter fairly early in the game. Gilbert sounds like he's like to settle on one guy, and have that guy fully take charge and lead the way.
"We don't really view it as a two quarterback system. We're going to have a starter, then we'll go from there," Gilbert said.
--- When asked if Buechele picked up the offense faster than Swoopes because of Buechele's experience running a wide open offense in high school, Gilbert said playing in a spread probably did help, but added that with Swoopes having experience at collegiate level "they probably match up." ... "They've just done a great job, both of those guys, with their knowledge, with their learning, with their wisdom."
--- Should he be named the starter, Swoopes will have his share of skeptics after an up-and-down career at Texas, but Gilbert had high praise for his senior when asked about Swoopes' confidence level.
"He is a guy that walks around here with his chin up and his head held high. What he is, is a big, strong confident, great young man. That's what he is every day," Gilbert said. "When he comes in that meeting room, that's what we expect him to be. It's like I just told him a while ago, 'Be what you are every day when you get up, which is big, which is strong, which is confident, which is a great football player.' When he wakes up in the morning, that's what he is. When he shows up over here, that's what he is. When he goes to the classroom, that's what he is. Our expectations of him are high. His leadership, his experience, what his value to this football team is, is huge."
Are those the words of a coach trying to praise a veteran who has won the job? Or are they words of a coach trying to build up a senior who was beaten out for the top spot? Hard to say, but I'm sure there will be plenty of varying opinions.
--- With only five days remaining until the season-opener against Notre Dame, Gilbert seems comfortable and confident with where the offense is. He didn't want to put a number on how far along the team is with a full offensive installation, instead saying the only goal is to score more than the opponent, no matter how it gets done.
"I don't know if I'd put a percentage on it. At the end of the day, every time we get on the field, we'll do what it takes to win. You never know exactly what that is going to be each time you step on the field ... whatever it takes for us to have one more than they have, that's what we'll do," Gilbert said. "Our ultimate goal, we've obviously got a base of what we do and how we do it, and we're going to go out and do and execute those things and see what path that takes us down.
--- Gilbert said both Jerrod Heard and Kai Locksley "absolutely will contribute this fall" as wide receivers.
--- When asked if all the coaches were on the same page about the starting quarterback, Gilbert's response was simple: "100 percent."
--- Texas has had a rough go of it with offensive line injuries in fall camp. Center Zach Shackelford, tackle Tristan Nickelson and guard Patrick Vahe have all been recovering from ankle injuries. Gilbert mentioned that Nickelson and Shackelford got some reps on Tuesday. No mention of Vahe, which would seem to indicate he was held out of action.
Of note, I was talking to someone this week about the offensive line injuries, and a couple interesting points were brought up by a person close to the UT team.
If Shackelford is unable to go at center, having to start an inexperienced player like Jake McMillon may not be a huge setback. From the day he stepped foot on campus as a true freshman, McMillon has quietly earned rave reviews from his teammates behind the scenes for his strength and tenacity. Those traits could serve him well against a good Notre Dame front. As for making OL calls, one person told me that shouldn't be a problem since the schemes Texas is running aren't as complex as they have been in previous years, and on pass plays the quarterbacks will be releasing the ball much quicker.
On Vahe, him apparently not practicing on Tuesday isn't ideal, but he is a "veteran" at this stage, so it could be a case where the coaches are bringing him back slowly and he could be inserted late in the week without a lot of actual Notre Dame prep.
--- Gilbert will be on the field on Sunday. He said it's still undecided where the rest of the offensive staff will be.
--- Sunday will certainly be the biggest stage to date of Gilbert's young coaching career. He understands there is pressure on him to get the Texas offense on track, and he said he and the entire staff have been working towards this moment since the day he was hired.
"It's been on my shoulders since I got here. You just show up and just work. We've been counting those days down since we got here. Some people just started counting in the last week. We've been counting since we've been here," Gilbert said. "It's been about work since our feet hit the ground here. It's been about installing this offense. It's been about changing an attitude, getting our alignment with coach Strong and his core values, which is an equal alignment."
They've put in the work in the spring, the offseason and fall camp. Now it's time for coaches and players to execute.
"We'll roll out there with our guys, a prepared football team and excited football team that will be highly motivated," Gilbert said. "We'll come out there, it's those guys' jobs to go out and execute, it's those guys' jobs to go play. From the sideline, we'll just call it, and they'll ball it."
