THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Tom Herman wasn’t joking about having an ever-changing depth chart
Tom Herman has said all along that his team’s depth chart, at every position, can change daily depending on how guys are practicing. With the release of the Maryland depth chart on Monday, Herman was true to his word, as he’s been about everything since he was hired.
A couple notable examples …
Herman listed Shane Buechele as the starter, which was expected, but it sounds like Buechele’s grasp on the starting spot has solidified a bit after what Herman described as “a really, really good last few days of practice.” But Herman did leave the door open a bit, saying things could change again if Buechele has a bad week leading up to the game.
At running back, Kyle Porter and Chris Warren are listed as co-starters, but it sounds like that could be a fluid situation as well. In fact, I’ll be surprised if we don’t see plenty of movement in the RB rep distribution from week to week, possibly even from quarter to quarter within games. Herman said on Monday that Kyle Porter probably would have been listed as the stand-alone starter had he not missed practice time with a shoulder injury. That time away from action opened the door for Warren, whose work in practice of late earned him the co-starter role.
At wide receiver, there was a time last week when John Burt was getting first-team run, but in this week’s depth chart he’s behind Devin Duvernay and tied with Jerrod Heard at the Z receiver spot. This one could change a time or two before Saturday’s kickoff.
“The battles will continue. I mean, that Z receiver, it's whoever's having the better practice between Jerrod, Devin and John Burt,” Herman said.
Perhaps the biggest example of depth chart movement based on recent practice performance is at defensive end, where Malcolm Roach and Charles Omenihu are listed as co-starters. Omenihu, quietly, has had a really good camp and there had been some talk that he was pushing for more playing time. But I’m not sure anyone outside the program, myself included, truly believed he’d push Roach, who some consider UT’s best defender, for reps. If what Herman said on Monday is true, Omenihu is basically on even footing with Roach and their work will be divided pretty evenly.
Obviously, you’re going to have some guys (think Connor Williams) who are going to be locked in as starters no matter how on or off they are in practice, but I do like the message Herman and the staff is sending by rewarding players who are performing well in practice. It should give the expected starters a bit of an edge as they look over their shoulder, and it should keep the back-ups hungry as they try to climb into that top spot.
2. The Longhorns appear to have made big strides along the defensive line, which should have Texas fans feeling good
Back in early March, things looked pretty bleak along the Texas defensive line, especially after Tom Herman issued the following statement: “I think we’d know a lot more if some of these really fat guys lost some weight.”
That comment, as one might expect, became a major talking point among Longhorn fans and media members, and the Texas defensive line was suddenly viewed as the team’s biggest weakness projecting out to the 2017 season.
On Monday, Herman actually labeled the defensive line as a group that has exceeded expectations in fall camp, and it seems like he’s pretty comfortable with the rotation he has up front.
“The defensive line has been a very welcome surprise, considering where I thought we were at this position in January,” Herman said. “Charles Omenihu has exerted himself as kind of the fourth starter there. We're getting quality play from guys like Jamari Chisholm, Gerald Wilbon, Ta'Quon Graham. Obviously those guys aren't going to be 60-play-a-game guys. We'll rely on Poona and Chris Nelson, Charles and Malcolm for the 50 plays a game. It will be the other 20 that those guys can go in and hopefully make a difference when they're in.”
Poona Ford is clearly a guy the coaches and players respect, but the senior still does need to prove himself a bit from a playmaking perspective. Roach was productive last year, but is now being pushed by Omenihu, who has picked up his play in fall camp. Nelson has shown flashes of productivity but has struggled with consistency. We’ll get our first glimpse of Chisholm and Graham on Saturday.
According to Herman on Monday, Texas does now have some depth along the line and the Longhorns should be able to field a pretty good rotation. I’m still of the opinion that I need to see more productivity in actual games before I’m ready to fully buy in on this group, but the praise the d-line received from Herman on Monday is certainly reason for optimism.
3. This week has made me proud of our great state, and proud of the Orangebloods community
I know this column has always been about UT athletics and only UT athletics, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the tragic flooding that is taking place in Houston and surrounding cities.
Like everyone else, I cannot stop watching the news reports of the flooding that is devastating much of the coastal area. The pictures and videos I continue to see are gut-wrenching and incredibly emotional. The longer the rain goes on, the harder it becomes to watch and witness so many affected Texans. Some of the reports I’ve heard and photos I’ve seen are heartbreaking, but I cannot bring myself to turn away. On Monday, my hometown of Bay City was faced with mandatory evacuations, sending some of my longtime friends scrambling to get out of town without knowing what kind of situation to which they’ll eventually return.
As bad as things are, I must say that I’m impressed with the reports I’ve seen of friends helping friends, and even to a greater extent, strangers stepping up to help those most affected by the storms. It makes me damn proud to be a Texan, and the generosity offered by many of you on this board makes me once again proud of the community on Orangebloods.com.
On an unrelated note, thank you to those of you who have put in the legwork to organize our OB Dillard Memorial Tailgate, and thank you to those of you who have contributed. What a terrific way to honor our late friend Jeff Dillard and the generosity of the board to raise the necessary funds was nothing short of incredible. I have no doubts the tailgate will be a smashing success.
Once again, you all have proven why this is the best board in the business, and dare I say, it's not even close.
In the event you haven’t read about the tailgate plans/efforts, here’s a link with more information.
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TWO QUESTIONS
1. How long will Shane Buechele’s leash be?
Tom Herman said on Monday that Buechele has taken a bit of a step forward with some good practices of late, but it sounds like the quarterback situation will still be handled on a day-by-day basis. In a perfect world for Texas, Buechele goes out and plays well enough beginning on Saturday to alleviate all concerns and he completely locks down the job. If he’s playing well, Herman said, Buechele will play the entire game.
If Buechele hits some bumps in the road, Herman and the staff will have to re-evaluate things.
“You're only as good as your last practice. That's a big deal around here,” Herman said. “If we're going to hold the rest of the team to that standard, we need to hold the quarterback to that, as well.
“So I think Shane is in control of that. He goes out and he practices well every day, he'll continue to start and play the game. If he stumbles and opens the door a little bit in practice, stumbles and opens the door during a game, then we'll have to evaluate it at that point.”
I’ve always viewed Buechele as a bit of a gamer who can rally when needed, so the guess here is that he’ll play well enough in the first two weeks that Ehlinger won’t be needed. But nothing is given, obviously, and you have to wonder how quickly the coaches will be to give Ehlinger a series or two if the offense is struggling at any point on Saturday. If it comes to that, they could potentially be opening themselves to a year-long quarterback controversy if neither Ehlinger nor Buechele is able to play much better than the other.
Again, if you’re a Texas fan, the best thing you can hope for is that Buechele plays a clean game on Saturday and the offense turns in a productive, efficient performance. But odds are there will be some struggles at some point for Buechele, at which point the coaches will have some tough decisions both in the short- and long-term.
2. How mentally tough is this team?
By all accounts, this team is ready to hit the field, and most of us are expecting Texas to be highly successful. Tom Herman sounded confident on Monday, even stating that his starting 22 could play with any team in the country.
It all sounds good on the surface, but the proof will be in the pudding when the team actually hits the field on Saturday. Truthfully, we won’t know what kind of team this is until it is faced with some real adversity, which may not happen until week three against Southern Cal.
It feels like Texas has turned the corner from both a mental and physical standpoint, but it’s one thing to talk about it and another to show it when a team’s back us against the wall. I think this team will be different than the ones that have struggled to three-straight losing seasons, but it’s no guarantee that the players won’t revert back to their old ways when the chips are down.
Herman himself said on Monday he didn’t know for sure if this team knew how to win. The players have been trained to win, but there’s no real way to predict how they’ll respond in live action.
“If we have a couple three-and-out drives to start the game, how are we going to respond? If we give up an early touchdown, how are we going to respond?,” Herman said.
“I think we will respond well to adversity. I think we will know how to win. But, again, that remains to be seen.”
Again, I think the values instilled by the coaches have taken hold, which is why I predicted a nine-win season for Texas in last week’s column, but that’s still a bit of an unanswered question and we may not have our answer for a few weeks.
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Prediction: Anthony Wheeler leads the team in tackles
Linebacker Wheeler seems like kind of a forgotten man this camp, but he’s locked in as the starter at middle linebacker and something tells me fans are sleeping on him a bit, as so many other players have dominated the talking points. The guess here is that Wheeler, who actually led Texas in tackles last year (one more than Breckyn Hager, his back-up on this week’s depth chart), not only holds onto his starting spot but once again leads the Longhorns in total tackles.
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