(From Anwar)
Let us shift our attention to strictly football for a moment.
Texas is preparing to face Baylor at home on Saturday. Obviously, there were a lot of concerns about Baylor’s ability to play this game when the team halted practice on October 7 due to concerns about the coronavirus. Baylor resumed practice on Sunday (11 days later) and it appears the Bears will be healthy enough to play their third game of this season.
Baylor coach Dave Aranda said his players were being tested three days a week (Sunday, Wednesday and Friday) during a press conference on Monday. In addition, players were tested every day last week to get ahead of the virus.
“Early in the morning, I’d see my kids, they’d get ready for school, and then we would have staff meetings, we would have recruiting meetings and then we would have offense/defense meetings,” Aranda said via a transcript from Sic’Em Sports. “So, Monday through Wednesday was a lot of self-scout. So, you had special teams, offense and defense all looking at their stuff. So, like offensively, out of this formation, this is how people have been playing us, this is what we’ve done. With these percentages, or these numbers, this is what we can expect how people are going to play us now. So, there’s that. And then, hey, out of this formation, we’ve gotten pressure and our win percentage versus pressure is this percent. So, we can anticipate seeing more pressure. I think sometimes when you’re in the games, and then you even have time off, sometimes there’s a narrative that goes into your head. It’s like, let’s get down to what the truth is, let’s get down to what the reality is, and you have to go down to where that is and do the work. So, I feel like we were able to do that.
“And then defensively, I think the ability to see disguise-wise, we’re trying to show two-high looks, is that really what’s happening? Is there one guy that’s tipping it? We bring (Jalen) Pitre a lot, the STAR, so does it like he’s covering before he comes, or does he tip it? And then special teams-wise, there are certain units that are performing better than others. Is that personnel? Is that scheme? Is that other people’s scheme and/or personnel? So, all of it is kind of whittling down to, what is the reality? This is where we’re at, this is where we want to go, this is how we’ve got to get there. So, I appreciate those days. And then, Thursday-Friday was kind of getting opponent’s scout. Zoom, I forgot how it worked for a little bit, but now I know again.”
Meanwhile, Texas was dealing with its own challenge.
The Longhorns lost two straight games prior to the bye week, but many inside the building believe this team could have a successful season. Texas defensive coordinator Chris Ash said winning a Big 12 Championship was still on table during his media session on Wednesday.
“Every goal that we want, in terms of being our best and having a chance to win the league, all those things are still out there,” Ash said. “We’ve just got to control what we can control and play our best football. Play clean, play consistent, let the rest take care of itself, and we haven't done that yet.”
However, the Longhorns believe it is possible.
According to my sources, players were encouraged to ignore “the outside noise” the past two weeks and stay focused. TCU defeated Texas by two points, while Oklahoma’s victory was by eight. Players and coaches are cautiously optimistic about their chances of turning things around.
Ash was asked about the tackling issues this season, and he quickly pointed out that his guys struggled against Texas Tech, but tackled well in the other three games.
In addition, Texas football coach Tom Herman appeared to be optimistic during his press conference on Monday.
“There is no doubt in my mind that everybody in that locker room sees tangible improvement. Through four quarters, to hold Oklahoma under 400 yards, five of 16 on third down, with three turnovers, That's an improvement compared to the way that we played against Texas Tech. To hold TCU to five field goals, I believe it was, and against Texas Tech it was a touchdown every time they got in the red zone. That's improvement. I think these guys are continuing to see the improvements that they're making. Obviously, the big one is the self-inflicted wounds. Watching a little bit of football across the country, there's a lot of teams struggling with that right now. In our past two games, although we've lost, our opponent has actually had more penalties than we have. It just feels like ours come at much worse opportunistic times than our opponents do. But, the number of penalties, we've been less than our opponent for two weeks in a row.
“So, we have seen a lot of tangible differences, a lot of tangible improvements, and the team has as well. What gives us all confidence is one knowing we're a third of the way through our conference schedule, and we've got everybody that we're looking at that still left on our schedule. That is very encouraging. Our guys know that if we stay together, and that we can continue to improve the way have, we still have a very realistic opportunity to have a great season, and these guys understand that.”
One method of eliminating the silly penalties and missed assignments is giving players reps to the point where it becomes second nature. That was another point of emphasis the team has focused on since the Red River Showdown.
We will learn is Texas’ approach was successful after its home game on Saturday.
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Bye weeks are typically when young players have an opportunity to gain more playing time in practice.
In a normal year, starters are limited in practice during a bye week to rest and recover, which gives backup players and scout teamers an opportunity to receive meaningful reps. It also allows their position coaches to get quality time with them.
However, this is not a normal year.
I was informed first-teamers received most reps during the past two weeks of practice.
The main reason is because the Longhorns went three straight weeks without summer conditioning, three games were determined in the last possession, and two went into overtime. Even though this season has been exhausting on Longhorn players, I was told they needed the reps.
Texas attempted to manufacture the reps it missed during spring ball and training camp. I was told the practices were short, but mainly consisted of ones-versus-ones. The Longhorns did not focus on Baylor until the end of last week.
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I sense it is just a matter of time before freshman running back Bijan Robinson obtains more reps.
Robinson has been adjusting to the speed of college football, and nobody associated with the program wanted to throw him into the fire before he was ready.
However, it appears we are getting closer to seeing more of Robinson.
Nobody was willing to say if Robinson’s reps will increase against Baylor, or later this season. To be fair, I would not expect anybody to reveal a game plan before facing an opponent. This is a situation where you expect sources to be a little vague about specific details.
Nevertheless, if Robinson’s playing time does increase in the near future, I am told it will be because of the running back’s natural progression, and it has nothing to do with the staff’s belief in Keaontay Ingram.
In fact, what I heard from my sources was similar to offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich’s response when I inquired about his faith in Ingram after witnessing his running back fumble in consecutive games.
“Still a very effective runner and a very good player for us,” Yurcich said. “The mistakes of the fundamentals of ball security are correctable. We've worked very hard, not just with any one particular player, but all of our guys on ball security with our turnover circuit, our ball security circuits. Those fundamentals are stretched in every meeting, every video session and throughout the day in drill work, and backfield action, it's a big coaching point there. Then throughout team and any drill that you do, ball security is always stressed. So, we'll continue to do that, and we'll eliminate those mistakes.”
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(From Suchomel)
We updated our 2021 recruiting board this week, so thought this would be a good time to take a big-picture look at the Longhorns’ recruiting class and some of their top remaining targets …
QUARTERBACK
Commitments – 1
Needs – 0
Charles Wright – Austin High – committed – Wright is off to a great start to his senior year, helping lead his team to a 3-0 start while averaging 58 points per game. You don’t have to worry about Wright’s commitment. This is a young man who grew up following the UT program, he flipped his commitment from Iowa State to Texas as soon as UT offered and I don’t think there’s anything that could get him to reconsider. Wright’s got talent but he’s also got a confidence level that you need to play the position at the next level. He’s not worried about coming in sandwiched between other talented quarterback prospects and feels he has the skill set to win the job once he’s on campus.
RUNNING BACK
Commitments – 1
Needs – 0
Jonathon Brooks – Halletsville – committed – Texas was Brooks’ first offer, he committed early and it’s looking more and more like Stan Drayton may have found himself a gem. Brooks has dominated the competition to the tune of more than 12.5 yards per rushing attempt this year (prior to last week’s game). In talking to him recently, he’s still solid with Texas but said he’ll evaluate things if/when he thinks it’s necessary. The guess here is that he sticks regardless, although OU sniffing around on this one is worth watching.
LJ Johnson – Cy Fair – Johnson has gone silent of late, and even those close to him haven’t really been offering up much information. I did drop UT’s chances to 45%, meaning I’d favor another school right now (A&M) but that’s mostly just based on assumptions on my part. With Texas struggling on the field, including in the running game, while A&M has shown positive strides, it would make sense that the Aggies have closed the gap on what was a big Texas lead.
Camar Wheaton – Garland Lakeview Centennial – He’s still technically on the board at 20%, but probably needs to be removed since he officially released a top three that doesn’t even include Texas.
WIDE RECEIVER
Commitments – 2
Needs – 1 or 2
Casey Cain - New Orleans Warren Easton – committed - There have been rumors of Cain looking around but when I talked to him last week, he said he’s not even communicating with anyone other than the UT staff.
Jaden Alexis - Coconut Creek (FL) Monarch – committed - Alexis hasn’t given any concrete reasons to be concerned about his commitment, but my efforts to reach him of late have been unsuccessful so I’m still trying to get official word on his status. You always have to watch out-of-state commits closely, and with Miami playing well, they could be a team to watch if the ‘Canes try to push here. I’ll try to track down Alexis soon.
JJ Henry - McKinney North – I’ve got Henry holding steady at 40%, mostly because he stays pretty quiet about which schools are standing out and he’s shown that he’s in no rush to end the process.
Antonio Harmon – Kosciusko (MS) – There was a lot of buzz on Harmon this week coming out of the state of Mississippi, meaning reporters in that state were hearing that Harmon was really trending up with Texas. Attempts to reach Harmon this week were unsuccessful, but in talking to someone close to Harmon, I was told Texas is a school that he’s liked for quite a while. I wasn’t told of any leaders, but one source in his state told me the scuttlebutt is that Harmon favors Texas and Ole Miss. A two-way player who has played in a ground-based offense, Harmon hasn’t had a chance to really showcase himself as a receiver, and there’s some thought that Ole Miss is taking some time to evaluate him a little further this fall.
TIGHT END
Commitments – 2
Needs – 0
Juan Davis – Everman – committed – He’s been a Texas commitment forever and he’s always told me he’s not interested in talking to any other schools.
Gunnar Helm - Greenwood Village (CO) Cherry Creek – committed - Helm told me recently there’s nothing that could pull him away from Texas. Winning some games on the field would help, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about here. I’m scheduled to see Helm in a few weeks.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Commitments – 3
Needs – 1 or 2
Hayden Conner - Katy Taylor – committed – Conner’s been locked in since the day he committed. I’m sure he’d like to see Texas stack up some wins, but he’s always said his decision is based on much more than just football.
Michael Myslinski – Jacksonville Bishop Kenny – committed – In talking to Myslinski recently, he’s completely locked in. Other schools are still reaching out and trying to get him to keep an open mind, but Myslinski told me he’s solid with Texas.
Max Merril - Houston Strake Jesuit – committed – Texas’ most recent commitment, Merril made a quick decision once the Longhorns offered. That in itself indicates he’s solid.
Savion Byrd – Duncanville – Byrd recently told Rivals.com that he was basically focused on three schools (Oklahoma, LSU and SMU). Texas is running fourth here and fading, according to Byrd himself, so I have the Longhorns at 20%.
Bryce Foster - Katy Taylor – Foster hasn’t really said much lately about where things stand, but this one has felt like it was trending away from Texas for a long time. Throw in Texas’ struggles on the field and it feels like an extreme longshot, thus the 25% tag.
Erick Cade – Denton Braswell – I haven’t talked to Cade in a few weeks, but the last time we spoke he had a top four that included Texas and was still in contact with Herb Hand. It feels like multiple things could be in play here, including UT’s needs/interest and the number at other programs like Alabama. I’ve got Texas holding steady at 30%.
DEFENSIVE END
Commitments – 2
Needs – 1
Ja'Tavion Sanders - Denton Ryan – committed – With Billy Bowman decommitting, it’s obvious to keep a watchful eye on Sanders but he’s been pro-Texas on social media, which is about as much as you’ll get out of Sanders.
Jordon Thomas - Port Arthur Memorial – committed – Thomas has remained rock-solid with his decision since the day he committed. Nothing to worry about here.
Shemar Turner – DeSoto – I had Texas trailing slightly at 45% in my September update, and it’s hard to imagine that number has gone up with Texas losing some momentum during a two-game losing streak. There’s still time in this one since Turner doesn’t plan on deciding until January, but the Longhorns need to find a way to pick up steam here.
Arden Walker – Greenwood Village (CO) Cherry Creek – He told me recently he’s close to a decision (he actually said it would happen this month). If that’s true, it’s probably not going to be Texas. I’d focus on Colorado if he decides soon, so I dropped his percentage to 30%. I do think if Texas really pushed here, the Longhorns could make it interesting.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Commitments – 0
Needs – 1
Ike Iwunnah - Garland Lakeview Centennial – With Albert Regis committing to A&M, Iwunnah could become a much bigger priority for Texas. He’s a guy I need to follow up with for an update. For now, I’ve got him holding steady at 40%.
LINEBACKER
Commitments – 2
Needs – 1 or 2
Derrick Harris - New Caney – committed – Harris told me recently he’s still happy with his decision to commit to Texas, but he also mentioned that he hears the rumors of potential change at UT and it’s something he’ll watch if/when it happens.
Morice Blackwell – Arlington Martin – committed - When I spoke to Blackwell about a month ago, he told me his decision to commit to Texas was the best decision he could have made. I haven’t heard anything to make me think his mind has changed at all. Baylor was one school trying to get him to keep an open mind, but Blackwell told me when we talked he’s locked in.
Terrence Cooks - Pearland Shadow Creek – Cooks is a guy who has been extremely high on Texas going way back to the spring and he’s set a few commitment dates that have come and gone. Had he pulled the trigger on any of those, it almost certainly would have been Texas. Now, I’m not so sure. He’s scheduled to announce his decision in November and LSU and Baylor are now lurking. LSU is always going to be a threat if the Tigers have room and push. Don’t rule out Baylor with a defensive-minded head coach. I don’t know how this one will fall, thus the 50% tag.
DEFENSIVE BACK
Commitments – 4
Needs – 1 or 2
Ishmael Ibraheem - Dallas Kimball – committed – Ibraheem has been pro-Texas since he committed so it doesn’t feel like there’s any reason to worry here.
JD Coffey – Kennedale – committed – See Ibraheem. Coffey has always been pro-Texas, even before he committed. I’d be surprised to see him waver.
Jamier Johnson – Pasadena (CA) Muir – committed – Johnson’s pretty quiet, but as a guy who is planning to enroll early and skip the chance to play a senior season in the spring, it seems like he’s pretty locked in.
KICKER/PUNTER
Commitments – 1
Needs – 0
Isaac Pearson - Prokick Australia – Pearson’s very supportive of other recruits when they get a UT offer and when he committed, he was pretty much done with the recruiting process. In fact, Prokick guys really don’t even go through the process at all.
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(From McComas)
The Longhorns have completed just over a week of full practices ahead of the 2020-21 season-opener November 25th. Andrew Jones probably wouldn’t be a true guard if he didn’t mention the backcourt exciting him, but he blurted it out before I could even finish my question about what’s excited him the most during workouts so far.
“The backcourt. The backcourt is very mature with older guys,” said Jones. “We understand our roles on this team, and we started to build a level of chemistry that you know will benefit us for this upcoming season. Because I didn't play with Courtney and Matt the year before when they had Kerwin Roach. And last year was our first time actually gelling because nobody knew how I was going to play. Honestly, I was a wild card going into the season. And so now that we have a level of comfort and confidence with each other, that's going to make us play better together, which it has during practice.”
Unsurprisingly, the athleticism and depth in the frontcourt has caught Jones’s eye positively as well. The veteran guard believes UT’s rebounding issues won’t persist this season.
“Our frontcourt… man. I haven't seen anybody as athletic as Greg Brown. I’ve played with or Jericho, or Kai, or Royce you know so I feel like our frontcourt has gotten a lot stronger and we have more depth,” Jones stated. “So, that talk of us being soft on the inside or not getting enough offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds that is going to go completely out the window. I feel like we're going to be more aggressive team, a more violent team which is going to eventually make us more exciting team to watch.”
There are the two buzzwords Shaka Smart has mentioned every time the media has spoken to him since Texas signed Greg Brown III – aggressiveness and violence.
“It’s every day,” responded Jones about how often the team hears those words and the accompanying message. “We're trying to mold that into our identity, into our culture. We want to be the most aggressive team. We want to be a team that's diving on the floor for loose balls, on the offensive glass, challenging every shot at the rim, no easy layups, blowing up ball screens, really enforcing our will on a game and on our opponent. Not necessarily trying to give a point up to get a point. We want to get a point and limit you [as much] as we possibly can. Really to be just a dominant force.”
By the end of last season, Texas couldn’t truly practice fully because of how many injured players it has. Now, every player – minus Jase Febres who is still recovering from microfracture surgery – is back from last season and a potential lottery pick was thrown into the mix. Considering how often college basketball sees players transfer in search of a more prominent role and playing time, it was at least mildly surprising returned everyone.
The result is increased competition in practice among a roster 12-deep (13 when Febres returns) with talented, scholarship players all capable of being in the main rotation.
“It brings positive pressure, in my opinion,” said Jones about the depth and competition in practice because of how many talented bodies the Longhorns have. “Guys come in with all these accolades out of high school, and now they get to college and now it's like, ‘Okay, this guy has just as many accolades if not more than what I came in with.’ And that kind of pressure motivates the competition. We're fierce competitors, and guys like Courtney and Matt are equally talented players as me. So, if I want to prove that I'm just as good or I can be on the court with them, I have to prove it.
“And that's another thing that we have to do. One thing that coach Smart has done a good job of is not just literally handing anybody any opportunity without actually working for it. And I think that's what really drives our competitiveness, our competition is that if I look over my shoulder, there's another guard that could be playing. If I want to play, I have to play just as good or better than my teammates. So, that drives the level of competition to get better. The better you get the more you'll play.”
It struck me last preseason to hear Febres candidly and immediately say ‘inconsistent’ when asked what he thought the outside perception of Texas Basketball was. So, I suppose it isn’t a surprise to hear Jones list consistency as the main thing he wants the team to accomplish during the preseason practices.
“Building consistency,” he responded. “Once we’re able to build a level of consistency in practice playing hard every day and practice competing together in practice. That should translate into the game, because we'll have times when we'll think we're the best team in the country. And then there will be times like, ‘Man, y'all look like a mid-major team.” So, if we can just be able to be consistent, both on the court, off the court, frontcourt, backcourt, as long as we can be consistent as a unit, as a team, I feel like everything else will take care of itself.”
A way Texas believes it can find more consistency is by managing its emotions better.
“I think we’re going to do a better job of managing emotions as far as if I have a good game or somebody else has a bad game as long as we win,” responded Jones about the mental battle associated with becoming more consistent. “As long as winning is the most important part of our culture, our drive to go play that is what's going to make us a better team. If we start drifting off about how I'm playing individually or I'm not getting as many shots in as many minutes that's what's going to disconnect us and cause the inconsistency to happen.”
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Earlier this week, Yale forward Paul Atkinson, Jr., who averaged 17.6 points and 7.3 rebounds last season as the Ivy League Co-Player of the Year, announced his intention to transfer as a graduate transfer for the 2021-22 season. Texas is among the schools that has reached out to Atkinson after he entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, a source confirmed.
Typically, programs initially reach out and gauge interest from the player while also doing their own background work. And that’s where this is currently. Texas is rightfully interested and is seeing if it can compete for his future services. Atkinson, who put his name in the NBA Draft before electing to return for his senior season, is a really good college player and could immediately help any high-major team.
All along the Longhorns have planned on taking at least a couple transfers in the 2021 class in anticipation of transfers being granted immediate eligibility. Obviously, Atkinson would me immediately eligible regardless.
