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Christmas Day is finally here.
It is time to watch the kids tear open their presents like Gremlins who were fed after midnight. For the parents of teenagers, it is a time to remember when they wanted more than money and did not spend the entire day locked in their room. Some of you will open thoughtful presents from your spouse. @Alex Dunlap 's wife will wonder if he can top last year’s gift of an electric toothbrush with something she can brag to her girlfriends about, like a sweat-absorbing armpit pad or a nose/ear hair trimmer.
You can smell Alex’s Sex Panther cologne from here.
I began thinking about presents I would hypothetically give Longhorn staff members. Steve Sarkisian’s wife will buy him something fashionable and does not need anything from me. Brennan Marion probably doesn’t need a new Cowboy hat. Bo Davis won’t read Tony Robbins’ latest book titled “Smiling on a bus.” Kyle Flood probably has a personalized sledgehammer to remind himself that he is smashing the competition in recruiting.
Then there is Longhorn defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski - sitting at the kid’s table a day after opening the last number on his Advent calendar.
I began to think about what should I give the man who has not received much since arriving in Austin. Pete K deserves more than a gift certificate to Pappadeaux. A P Terry’s gift card is not enough. Forget a weekend at the Lakeway Resort and Spa. There is not enough water in Lake Travis to make an outing worth his time.
I have the perfect gift for Kwiatkowski.
Well-deserved respect.
There was not a coach on this staff more scrutinized and criticized than Kwiatkowski after his first season on the 40 Acres. The Texas defense was ranked as one of the worst units in 2022. None of his players stood out on his defense in 2021.
It was so bad, I began asking Kwiatkowski about his team’s pass rush last season and he interrupted the question and said, “What pass rush?”
Sarkisian hired former TCU football coach Gary Patterson as an analyst to assist Kwiatkowski. The head coach viewed it as a way to strengthen his staff. Most Longhorn observers viewed the addition of Patterson as the official countdown to Kwiatkowski’s firing.
Some Longhorn observers guessed which game would be Kwiatkowski’s last this season. Some of you pondered if he would be fired mid-season or after the season. The majority of Longhorn fans did not believe Kwiatkowski would still have a job by December 25, 2022.
'Tis the season to be dead wrong.
Here are a few defensive improvements in 2022 that deserve to be recognized:
Total Defense (nationally)
2021: 100th
2022: 51st
Big 12
Total Defense
2021: 8th (425.6 yards per game)
2022: 2nd (362 ypg)
Sacks
2021: 7th (20)
2022: 3rd (27)
Tackles For Loss
2021: 7th (72)
2022: 2nd (87)
Opponent’s 3rd down conversions
2021: 7th
2022: 6th
In addition, I checked the Alamo Bowl game notes and found a few defensive accomplishments worth sharing.
• Texas has the best rush offense to rush defense ratio in Big 12 with K-State ranking second: Texas +76.6 (199.6 rush off/123 rush def); K-State +60.7 (209.6 rush off/148.9 rush def).
• After forcing just two turnovers in the first five games of the season, the Longhorns have forced a turnover in each of the last seven games.
• Over the last seven games, Texas has totaled 11 takeaways which have resulted in 49 points, including touchdowns heading into halftime following three Jaylan Ford interceptions.
• Texas’ defense limited the high-powered Crimson Tide offense to 20 points, just the seventh time in the last eight seasons that Alabama has been held to 20 points or fewer.
• In the first half, Alabama rushed for 94 yards on 12 carries, with 81 of those yards occurring on one play.
• Following the 81-yard run, Texas forced Alabama to punt on each of the next six drives.
• The Horns did it again against TCU, holding a Horned Frogs team that was averaging over 43 points a game to 17 for the game, and limiting them to three points in the first half, the fewest points TCU had scored in a half all season.
• UT also posted season-high five sacks and 14 tackles for loss against TCU.
In addition, we saw the emergence of several defensive players this season, including Jaylan Ford, who earned third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press and first-team All-Big 12 accolades from the league's coaches and the Associated Press.
Some Longhorn fans will stubbornly credit Patterson for that success, even though an analyst does not call plays.
However, there is an indisputable fact.
Elite high school players want to play for Kwiatkowski.
Texas recently acquired several elite players in the 2023 recruiting class. Anthony Hill, the nation’s top linebacker, committed to Texas this week. Derek Williams, arguably the nation’s top safety, committed to Texas. Colton Vasek, one of the nation’s top defensive linemen, committed to Texas.
This is what wrote Ketch wrote before signing day:
“The 2023 class probably finishes behind the 2010 class on paper ... barely. While Hicks and Hill basically wipe each other out, the 2010 group had three other players ranked in the national top 155.
“Still, don't completely discount the 2023 class from potentially taking over the top spot if .... IF ... it can land Tausili Akana, who is currently ranked as a mid 4-star, the No. 121 overall player in the country and the No. 1 ranked prospect in Utah. That would allow the Longhorns to land three different linebackers that are ranked as mid-4 star prospects or higher.
“Plus, Burrell is underrated from my perspective and deserves to be a national 250 type of player.
“I know what you're probably thinking ... Texas isn't going to land Akana. I suppose all I would say about that is that Texas shouldn't be discounted in that recruitment.”
Of course, Texas landed Akana on signing day.
“I think on a couple of fronts here. I think, one, I'd like to brag on our defensive staff a little bit. I thought those guys did a great job developing relationships with the players on the defensive side of the ball in this class. You start talking about getting a Derek Williams out of Louisiana, in my opinion, the top safety in the country. That's Terry Joseph, that's Blake Gideon. You start talking about a Malik Muhammad at corner, that's Terry Joseph, that's Chris Gilbert, that's Jeff Banks. You start talking about the four linebackers that we signed, whether it was S’Maje Burrell, Anthony Hill, Derion Gullette, Liona Lefau. I mean, Jeff Choate, fantastic job. But that was a group effort for all those guys as well. You start talking about a Billy Walton, Colton Vasek, Sydir Mitchell. I mean a lot of coaches are Bo Davis, PK, Kyle Flood's involved in that. This was a group effort to make that happen.
“But I think in the end, the reason a lot of these guys are coming is because they saw the growth in the progress that our defense made from year one to year two, and they could see the development of the players in our program and what they were doing. They can see the growth and development of just our overall defense and our style of play. This is a great hall. When you start looking at the safety, the corner, the linebacking core, the edge position, the interior defensive linemen. Every one of these guys I'm extremely excited about because I think they're going to have a real impact in our program.”
Kwiatkowski is having an impact, too.
Merry Christmas, Pete K.
You have earned some well-deserved respect.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Sadly, this is me on Christmas Day
It is always the season to make fun of Texas A&M
Momma was not having it
True friends joke around like this
There has to be a better way to teach
Sports On A Dime
1. Speaking of Kwiatkowski, he will address the media on Monday afternoon during an Alamo Bowl press conference. Texas offensive coordinator Kyle Flood’s press conference is on Tuesday, while Sarkisian will speak on Wednesday.
2. Two players who need strong performances n the Alamo Bowl are quarterback Quinn Ewers and running back Jonathon Brooks. Ewers needs to shut the door on a potential quarterback competition with Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning next season, while Brooks has the opportunity to distance himself from Jaydon Blue and incoming freshmen Cedric Baxter and Tre Wisner.
“I think freshmen can come into play the running back position," Sarkisian said. "I've seen it done at multiple times at different stops. I'll go back, way back, in my own career when we had Reggie (Bush) and LenDale (White) as true freshmen playing for us at SC and the impact they had on that team to most recently to what Bijan (Robinson) did as a true freshman here just a couple of years ago, and then everything in between. We don't want the same runner every year. If we're going to take two, how do they balance each other out? Obviously, Ced Baxter is a big physical runner. He's all of 6-1, 220, if not more, and he may be a little taller than that now. He's a guy who's young in age. He's going to be 17 years old here showing up. But he’s going to be a big physical back one that we're used to having in our system. And then you complement that with a Trey Weisner, a guy who's a very versatile back. We saw in the state championship game he had over 200 yards of all-purpose yardage, whether it was receiving, running, playing in the slot, or lining up in the backfield. That complementary look of those two guys to fit into our system I think is really important to our own style of play.”
3. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian is recruiting on a level necessary to compete in the SEC in 2024 if everything goes according to plan. Here are the top 20 recruiting rankings of each current and future SEC team:
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Texas
6. LSU
7. Oklahoma
12. Florida
14. Texas A&M
16. Auburn
18. Arkansas
4. Sarkisian shared a couple of interesting nuggets during this interview with Alex Loeb. He expects the linebackers and receivers to contribute in 2023 due to the lack of depth in those respective rooms. That is good information to put in your mental Rolodex before winter conditioning begins.
5. If Texas receiver Xavier Worthy did not want to remain with the program, I doubt he would risk an injury by playing in the Alamo Bowl. Worthy has accomplished enough during his two seasons at Texas to have options if he entered the transfer portal. However, Worthy is not in a hurry to leave, and everyone will move on if he catches a long touchdown pass from Ewers against Washington.
6. ICYMI
7. Bijan Robinson was ranked first on PFF’s running back list, while Roschon Johnson was 10th.
Here is Mike Renner’s assessment of the Longhorn running backs:
ROSCHON JOHNSON, TEXAS (SENIOR | 6-2, 222)
2022 Grade: 81.6
Play Style: Power Back
Initial Round Projection: Early Day 3
"Playing second fiddle to the No. 1 running back on this list could not have been easy for a player as talented as Johnson, but he still brought it every single time he touched the rock. While he’s a little high cut at 6-foot-2, Johnson has a knack for taking away his plant leg just before contact, leaving defenders nothing solid to hold onto. It’s why he has the highest broken tackle rate in the country over the past two seasons (85 broken tackles on 189 attempts).
"While he’s likely the slowest running back on this list, that’s not going to be his game or usage at the next level. He’s going to grind out the tough yardage consistently in the NFL."
BIJAN ROBINSON, TEXAS (JUNIOR | 6-0, 220)
2022 Grade: 95.2
Play Style: Offensive Focal Point
Initial Round Projection: 1st
"Robinson's talent level is what many NFL offenses build around. Even the biggest running back haters here at PFF recognize the value he brings to the table. I wrote all about exactly why that is earlier this season. The SparkNotes version: He has ideal size, breaks tackles at a rate we’ve never seen and can pass as a wide receiver in a pinch.
Bijan is simply capable of things other running backs in this class can only dream of. The way he sinks out of his cuts is reminiscent of a race car banking around a turn. He finished with 104 broken tackles this season — a PFF college record.
"Robinson is a special prospect."
8. Georgia coach Kirby Smart unsuccessfully recruited Arch Manning and did not land a quarterback in the 2023 class. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if anyone asked Smart about not signing a quarterback, and a reporter did inquire.
Here is the question and answer:
Q. You guys didn't sign a quarterback in this class. Did that make recruiting guys any different or harder because there wasn't sort of this quarterback leader figure in there? What kind of challenges going forward does not having a quarterback signee in this class possibly present to you guys?
Smart: “I think it's irrelevant in today's day and age. The portal is full of them. There's going to be multiple guys in every year. You want to do the best job you can to get the best quarterback you can.
“When you have three quarterbacks, sometimes you don't have any. And when you have one quarterback, that's when you have a quarterback. We're very pleased with what we have in our quarterback room. We think we've got three quarterbacks that are going to be really good, so the concern wasn't about a quarterback.
“And none of the skill players made it about that because they know what we've signed the last really three or four years. They know what we have the potential to sign in '24.
“So, it's one of those deals that the quarterback position kind of sells it based on who your offensive coordinator is and how your offense does, and we've excelled in that.”
9. Oh, Jimbo …
10. Here is Tom Herman's contract at Florida Atlantic University:
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas from my family to yours.
For those celebrating Christmas for the first time without a family member or someone you loved, I hope the great memories of them get you through this day.
Happy holidays, OB.
