Photo via Getty Images
There is a reason why the Texas offense has excelled in scrimmages against this defense.
Sam Ehlinger is one of the best quarterbacks in college football.
Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando’s guys struggled during Saturday’s scrimmage. We are very far removed from the days when Orlando’s unit dominated scrimmages in year one. That has a lot to do with the Ehlinger's development. The offensive success can also be attributed to having multiple playmakers on that side of the ball. Talent does not appear to be a question at offensive line. Instead, this spring has been about figuring out which talented players will be in the rotation.
Unlike previous years, the biggest concern is not Texas' offense.
Instead, the focus of this year’s spring game is Orlando’s defense.
Obviously, there are plenty of things we want to see on offense. Casey Thompson has done well this spring, and we want to see how he performs under the lights. This will be your first chance to check out running back Jordan Whittington and receiver Bru McCoy. Receiver Malcolm Epps has been a standout this spring. Try not to blink when Jordan Pouncey is on the field, or you might miss one of his receptions. Cade Brewer has to fill Andrew Beck’s shoes. There is still a battle on the offensive line. I am sure you might have more items on your checklist.
The defensive checklist is much longer.
Orlando faces the task of replacing defensive end Breckyn Hager, nose tackle Chris Nelson, defensive end Charles Omenihu, linebacker Anthony Wheeler, linebacker Gary Johnson, cornerback Kris Boyd, cornerback Davante Davis and nickleback P.J. Locke III. They led the third-best total defense in the Big 12, and Omenihu was named defensive lineman of the year.
In addition, the Longhorns finished fourth in rushing defense, sacks, pass defense, and scoring defense, respectively.
That being said, Orlando’s defense did struggle at times to get off the field last season.
Opponents converted 47.1 percent of third-downs against Texas, which was ranked seventh in the conference (TCU was first at 31.5 percent). In addition, opponents converted 54.5 percent of fourth-downs against the Longhorns (eighth in the conference).
Sure, the Longhorns seemingly have talent on defense.
However, one would we will not know until the regular season if Texas is at a plug-and-play point on defense.
To be fair, Orlando lost linebacker Malik Jefferson, cornerback Holton Hill and defensive tackle Poona Ford after his first season. He found pretty good – not comparable – replacements last year. He will need to work the same magic this season.
Here is a look at Orlando’s defense:
Defensive line
The good: Defensive end Ta’Quon Graham, defensive end Malcolm Roach and nose tackle Keondre Coburn are looking like day one starters this year. Graham is up to 300 pounds, while Roach is emerging into a defensive leader. Whenever Herman is asked about Roach, he is quick to praise his senior.
The not-so good: Roach has 11 starts, Graham started in two games, while Coburn played in three games last season. That is a lot of inexperience right there. I have heard good things about Moro Ojomo and Gerald Wilbon, but this is a group that could use an explosive performance on Saturday.
Photo via UT
Linebackers
The good: Jeffrey McCulloch has stood out this spring. McCulloch has made splash plays, and everyone inside the building loves him. Meanwhile, the love for Joseph Ossai is at a Valentine’s Day level. Ossai is constantly praised for the plays he makes on the field, and there are high hopes he can emerge into one of the defensive leaders.
The not-so good: The loss of De’Gabriel Floyd for the season hurts. Texas is already thin at linebacker, and Floyd’s spinal stenosis does not leave many options behind Ayodele Adeoye at the Mac position. Texas needs to get through the spring and hope there might be a grad transfer linebacker who could provide some depth, land a someone through the transfer portal and hope the NCAA grants him a waiver, or have a conversation with Demarvion Overshown about not playing safety for one more season.
Cornerbacks
The good: If we are keeping it real, Kris Boyd was hit-or-miss on most Saturdays It was always hard to predict what you would get from him. Davante Davis seemed to be more consistent than Boyd. Texas has enough talent in the secondary where it might be easier to replace Boyd and Davis than most positions on Orlando’s defense. The reviews on Kobe Boyce, Jalen Green, D’Shawn Jamison and Anthony Cook have been great. It appears the only thing we do not know is if there is a fifth player ready to emerge, such as Donovan Duvernay.
The not-so good: “I think they all play the ball really well,” Herman said on Saturday. “They’ve got a lot fundamental stuff they have to correct. D’Shawn is a physical dude. I love his aggressiveness. I love his tackling ability, but we’re out of position a little too much. Maybe that’s I notice them playing the ball so much because they’re having to make really spectacular plays to get their fingertips on the ball where if they were in a better position from some better technique, they wouldn’t need to.”
Safety
The good: Caden Sterns (knee) and Brandon Jones (ankle) are not participating in spring practice, but are expected to be at 100 percent once fall camp rolls around. Sterns and Jones are the strengths of this defense. Their injuries have allowed B.J. Foster and Overshown to get a lot of reps during practice. One goal the staff has is to find ways to get Overshown on the field this season, and he is taking advantage of his opportunity.
The not-so-good: There is so much talent in the room, somebody will be left on the sidelines. These are first-world problems, but Chris Brown, Foster and Overshown will be fighting for playing time behind Sterns and Jones. Even after Jones leaves, there will only be one spot open next year. Finding a way to keep a talented room happy is a good problem to have. Nevertheless, it is still challenging.
There are a few things to keep in mind.
--- No matter what you see during the spring game, Herman is going to remind you that one scrimmage does not overshadow the previous practices.
--- The incoming freshmen will challenge for playing time once they hit campus this summer.
--- Texas will not face a quarterback as good as Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) or Will Grier (West Virginia) this season. Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts still has a lot to prove, while Baylor’s Charlie Brewer could emerge into one of the Big 12's passers (not better than Ehlinger, of course).
The good news, for Longhorn fans, is hearing their offense is playing well.
That makes this spring game all about Orlando’s defense.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Man’s best friend
This kid caught the 2019 spirit in church
Yancy McKnight’s new strength and conditioning exercise
This must be John Burt’s very distant cousin
Sports On A Dime
1. Herman on Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay speaking at his coaches clinic: “It was great. Close to 500, if not more. Always great to see those guys, the high school coaches in this state. We had a bunch from out-of-state. We had a crew come out from Monterrey Mexico and one down from Quebec Canada. There were a lot of people there. With coach McVay, we had Bill Belichick one year and Marvin Lewis the next. He’s not only one of the best offensive minds, but head coach minds now. He’s 24-8 as a head coach in two years. I just reached out to him, and he said he’d be happy to do it.”
2. Speaking of McVay, it totally sucks his home was robbed while here in Austin. The blessing in disguise is nobody was at home, and his family was not harmed. If you have ever had a car broken into, home burglarized, or something stolen, your disdain for thieves is probably high, just like me.
3. Herman on his biggest concerns heading into the final week of spring football: “The two o-line. We got to find two or three guys that you feel good about jogging into a game. Again, we’re banged up in the secondary, but not at corner. Those guys have got to continue to improve. Then linebacker. So green at that position.”
4. Herman on defensive end Jacoby Jones: “He’s a really long, twitched up athlete. He lost some weight over spring break. You can see during some of the inside run game, he gets pushed around probably too much for his liking. He’s got good ball get-off, and he’s long. He can separate off blockers pretty well.”
5. I asked Herman about the scoring format for the spring football game. He said if there are enough healthy bodies to pull it off, the first-team offense and second-team defense will be on one team, while the first-team defense and second-team offense will be another team. It will be scored as a regular game. If there are not enough healthy bodies, the staff will figure out an alternate plan.
6. When asked about Cameron Dicker, Herman said he felt great about his kicker. Herman did not want to jinx Dicker. However, he believes Dicker has a chance to be really good.
7. Herman on Casey Thompson and Roschon Johnson’s performance during Saturday’s scrimmage: “Casey probably had his best scrimmage. I thought he looked really good. Made some really, really nice throws. Had a couple of checks that were not great, but that’s to be expected. Again, he’s a redshirt freshman, and he’s being thrust into this backup quarterback position. I think he’s progressed for about as good as you can hope for. Would you love for him to have the moxie that Sam [Ehlinger] does at this point? Sure, but being realistic, he’s at, if not ahead, of schedule. Roschon, the game is really fast for him. He’s doing really good things. He made some nice throws today. He made a couple of good reads. Just really, really fast for him. But for a guy who’s had nine to 10 or 11 college practices under his belt, he’s doing just fine.”
8. Alabama coach Nick Saban is known for his rants, but this might be his best one (@Alex Dunlap , your rants are good, too). I could not stop thinking about a few Longhorn players who recently skipped their senior seasons while listening to Saban.
9. I watched the LSU spring game and think Texas can definitely compete with the Tigers. Joe Burrow finished the game 15-of-25 for 159 yards, one touchdown and an interception. LSU ran some four-wide receiver sets and five-wide receiver sets, which was interesting. Overall, I think Texas will be ready to compete against LSU at home.
10. So, Steph Curry has been an assassin throughout his NBA career without perfect vision? If that is the case, take a look at what Curry did in the past against taller players without 20-20 vision.
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