Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert finally came up for air and spoke to the media this past week. It was only the second time Gilbert had a media session since he was hired in December. To his defense, Gilbert was preoccupied with recruiting, teaching the Longhorn staff his offense and assessing players during spring practice. There is no need to waterboard John Bianco.
During Gilbert's press conference, he talked about the installment process of his offense, Tyrone Swoopes and the quarterback battle, plus answered several other questions for around 20 minutes. His offense should be better than anything Longhorn fans witnessed during the very brief Shawn Watson era. Texas is far from a finished product, but Gilbert appears to have a plan.
Obviously, there is a lot riding on Gilbert’s success right now. After two straight losing seasons, this could be a do-or-die year for the football staff. Texas struggled on defense last season, but those young players are expected to get off the canvas and compete when the regular season begins. This offense was inconsistent prior to Gilbert’s arrival, which is the main reason why Charlie Strong hired Gilbert instead of retaining Watson, or promoting former receivers coach Jay Norvell.
Gilbert may not have been Charlie Strong's first choice, but people behind the scenes are convinced he will help make Texas into a powerhouse program again.
“He has such a command,” one source told me. “He knows what he wants to do, and he does it.”
Gilbert has quickly earned the respect and support of people in the building because of his leadership skills. The confidence we see in press conferences is the same swagger Gilbert displays when conducting meetings, or leading his unit during practice. He has never been stumped on a question. So far, he is effectively implementing a new system to his players after spending most of February teaching the playbook to his staff.
Why does it matter?
Last year, Watson tried to install an offense he admittedly was unfamiliar with. After promising to deliver a spread offense, Texas basically ran a slightly quicker version of Watson’s predictable system. Having an offensive coordinator who understands a spread offense has given everyone in the building a shot of confidence.
Texas’ predictable offense was ranked 100th in the nation last season, averaging a mere 26.4 points and 371 yards per game. Meanwhile, Gilbert was the co-offensive coordinator at Tulsa, guiding the Golden Hurricane to rank 14th nationally in total offense (502.8 ypg), 25th in scoring (35.9 ppg) and 11th in passing (329.5). That offense scored at least 40 points in five of Tulsa's six wins. Everyone in the building is optimistic Gilbert will eventually duplicate that success at Texas.
In addition, Watson is viewed as a nice guy who did not challenge his players enough. Watson was not a screamer. He did not have an anger button. However, I have been told Gilbert is a guy with the same attributes, but is not afraid to come at a player like a spider monkey if necessary. He knows how to push buttons, manage egos, and has the respect of everyone in the building.
Sure, it could a simple case of the new person you are dating seems wonderful simply because he or she is not your ex. Then again, sometimes it does not take long to realize the new person is not only better than your ex, but you were settling for the sake of familiarity in that previous relationship.
When players have been asked about Gilbert’s offense, everyone says it is easy to understand. From what I have been told, the reason why is because Gilbert’s approach is simple. Gilbert only attacks one side of the field. Watson tried to attack the entire field. By narrowing the attack, players have been able to pick up the offense a lot easier.
For instance, if a receiver is running a route, he is only looking to see if a cornerback does two things (sometime three) in Gilbert's offense. He is not required to scan the entire defense. That makes it easier for Gilbert’s players to read and react. It also speeds up the execution of his offense.
As much as Longhorn fans do not want to hear it, this is they reason why Gilbert is buying into Swoopes. Even though Swoopes has struggled in the past, Gilbert is optimistic the quarterback can be successful in a simplistic offense. If Swoopes cannot get the job done, Gilbert could turn to Shane Buechele, who is shining during practice, too. Gilbert's system makes it easier for quarterbacks to succeed, which is why the coordinator is giving so many people hope.
If Gilbert’s offense lives up to the hype, he will help the Longhorns to achieve this year's goals. The plan is to establish consistency and show up every week. Texas was embarrassed during the season opener against Notre Dame last year, but had opportunities to defeat California and Oklahoma State (yeah, I skipped the Rice game on purpose). After two competitive games, TCU blew out Texas. Strong's team pulled off a miraculous win against Oklahoma. The Iowa State loss was embarrassing, then Texas closed out the season with a win against Baylor.
Gilbert has a chance to end this emotional roller coaster.
For now, his biggest achievement is giving the Longhorns hope.
Funniest Thing You Will See This Week
Okay, it is time for somebody to sign Emmanuel Acho. If not, maybe he can get an audition on America’s Got Talent:
Sports On A Dime
1. UConn’s women’s basketball team is routinely criticized for its dominance, but the men’s basketball games on Saturday were not worth watching. There is no way two final four teams (Oklahoma and Syracuse) should have been beaten so badly when it counts. The men might jump higher, but that does not equate to better games.
2. If Jerrod Heard is unable to play again this spring because of his shoulder injury, Swoopes will continue to hold down the top spot. Heard's biggest task is preventing Shane Buechele from taking his No. 2 role on the depth chart.
3. Colin Kaepernick needs to do simple math. There is no way Kaepernick should play in Denver for less money. Nobody should walk away from $12 million guaranteed in the NFL. If Kaepernick sustains an injury, or gets benched, he will never recoup that financial loss.
4. Detroit Lions tackle Khyri Thornton is one of the good guys. His dinner bill was $304.94, and he decided to leave a $250 tip for his server. It was the exact amount of money she needed to cover her pre-operation procedure. You just never know how blessings will come. Click here to read the story.
5. According to ESPN, “J.J. Watt had five partially or fully torn muscles in his torso, groin and upper legs, necessitating surgical repair on both sides of his body.” It is about time for Watt to be mentioned in the same Chuck Norris/Tim Tebow one-liners.
6. Speaking of ESPN, somebody needs to slip Brian Windhorst a Red Bull:
7. D’Angelo Russell is not the guy you want to trust with family secrets. Shaquille O’Neal is the guy you trust to make you laugh at Russell’s expense.
8. Oh, Matt Barnes:
We have to make this fight happen in real life:
9. The drama involving Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving, Kehlani and Party Next Door reminded me of how old I really am. To start, I never heard of Kehlani or PND until the backlash they received after he posted a picture of them holding hands in bed. Second, I cannot understand the need for young people to put their personal business on social media, a statement that puts me one step closer to complaining about kids playing their music too loud.
10. I am not a Floyd Mayweather fan, yet, this recent quote about Adrien Broner deserves a lot of applause: “Adrien Broner, his nickname is "The Problem". I think he has a lot of problems. Adrien Broner was just an alcoholic six months ago. One thing I'm trying to find out about Adrien broner, is he a boxing promoter, is he a rapper, is he a porn star, or is he a gangster? Like I said before, "The Problem", that's what Adrien Broner likes to call himself, if I'm not mistaken. The problem that he really needs to focus on is his problem in Cincinnati. We're talking about "The Problem", Adrien Broner. He still got Maidana problems that I had to solve for him. We heard him talking about that he wanted to fight Shawn Porter again. Why, when you lost 11 rounds? You only won the 12th round.”
Broner called out Mayweather after his victory on Friday. Honestly, I hope their dislike for each other is real and not staged animosity to create a future fight/payday for both guys.
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