Texas football coach Tom Herman delivered the bad injury news after Thursday’s practice before branching out to talk about other topics.
- When asked about his running back situation, Herman said, “It’s a little scary.”
- Here are Herman’s thoughts on a thin running back room: “It makes you nervous. I’m glad we signed two. That’s a very physical position. I don’t know if I’ve had a back go an entire season without missing a little bit of time here and there. You better be deep in that room. Kyle is the last man standing on scholarship. Hopefully, on Tuesday, we’ll triple that number. Go from one to three.”
- However, Herman is not worried about Warren’s durability. He said Warren’s injuries are nothing to be concerned about because they are unrelated. If Warren have four to six injuries, Herman would be concerned.
- Herman was asked what he has seen from running back Kirk Johnson when healthy, and his response was, “not much.” Johnson has not gone through a full practice in pads, according to Herman.
- Herman was asked the progression of offensive lineman Denzel Okafor and Patrick Hudson, and here was his response: “Really good. I’m excited about Pat. He’s got a great motor, which is really good. He goes really hard when he’s in there. He’s go to learn technique and assignment right now, but the thing we demand in effort is there. Denzel is, I think he’s got a great shot to provide us either some depth, or be the starter at right tackle. Even though he’s just a 6-foot-3 guy, he’s got probably the reach of a 6-foot-8 guy. He’s got really freaky long arms. It’s kind of what you want in an o-lineman. Not too tall so they get out-leveraged, but still have the length of a tall guy.”
- Obviously, Herman said he is still looking for a grad transfer. He did say getting those players into graduate school is an issue at Texas. Herman said if he cannot find a grad transfer, he will go with two quarterbacks, but added, “We’ll figure it out. It’s not going to be the end of the world. The main thing is we have to find a guy who can get into school.”
- I asked Herman what he has seen from Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger so far, and he said, “Shane, you can tell, has played 12 college games. There’s some season-ness to him. Practicing against this defense is as hard as it gets for a quarterback, in terms of protections, checks and runs. It feels like they have 15 guys on the field at all times. It’s difficult, you can tell he’s got some poise back there, and some game experience where it’s not too fast for him. Sam, it’s still pretty fast for him. You’ll see glimpses. When things are clean, he makes some nice throws, makes some good decisions. I think you can win with either one of them. Shane, just read now, you can tell he’s got a little bit of experience.”
- Texas tight end Peyton Aucoin has been limited in practice with another shoulder injury. As a result of the lack of depth at tight end, Herman said they have been discussing using formations that do not include a tight end.
- Herman appears to be cautiously optimistic about linebacker Malik Jefferson in this new defense: “He likes it, I know that. He is adjusting daily to the expectations of him playing with lower pad level, playing more aggressive, playing more physical, and he wants to. It’s a learned habit that’s going to take a while. I’ve seen it done many times before. Playing with low pad level, and playing not tentative, but not thinking. A lot of that, pad level and playing low, is leg strength. That will come. Playing aggressively will come when the defense is second nature to you. The good thing is the want to is there. I see him getting better every day.”
- Herman said the receiver room is one of the deepest he has ever been around. He believes six or seven guys can be rolled into games and not have a massive drop off.
- When asked about his running back situation, Herman said, “It’s a little scary.”
- Here are Herman’s thoughts on a thin running back room: “It makes you nervous. I’m glad we signed two. That’s a very physical position. I don’t know if I’ve had a back go an entire season without missing a little bit of time here and there. You better be deep in that room. Kyle is the last man standing on scholarship. Hopefully, on Tuesday, we’ll triple that number. Go from one to three.”
- However, Herman is not worried about Warren’s durability. He said Warren’s injuries are nothing to be concerned about because they are unrelated. If Warren have four to six injuries, Herman would be concerned.
- Herman was asked what he has seen from running back Kirk Johnson when healthy, and his response was, “not much.” Johnson has not gone through a full practice in pads, according to Herman.
- Herman was asked the progression of offensive lineman Denzel Okafor and Patrick Hudson, and here was his response: “Really good. I’m excited about Pat. He’s got a great motor, which is really good. He goes really hard when he’s in there. He’s go to learn technique and assignment right now, but the thing we demand in effort is there. Denzel is, I think he’s got a great shot to provide us either some depth, or be the starter at right tackle. Even though he’s just a 6-foot-3 guy, he’s got probably the reach of a 6-foot-8 guy. He’s got really freaky long arms. It’s kind of what you want in an o-lineman. Not too tall so they get out-leveraged, but still have the length of a tall guy.”
- Obviously, Herman said he is still looking for a grad transfer. He did say getting those players into graduate school is an issue at Texas. Herman said if he cannot find a grad transfer, he will go with two quarterbacks, but added, “We’ll figure it out. It’s not going to be the end of the world. The main thing is we have to find a guy who can get into school.”
- I asked Herman what he has seen from Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger so far, and he said, “Shane, you can tell, has played 12 college games. There’s some season-ness to him. Practicing against this defense is as hard as it gets for a quarterback, in terms of protections, checks and runs. It feels like they have 15 guys on the field at all times. It’s difficult, you can tell he’s got some poise back there, and some game experience where it’s not too fast for him. Sam, it’s still pretty fast for him. You’ll see glimpses. When things are clean, he makes some nice throws, makes some good decisions. I think you can win with either one of them. Shane, just read now, you can tell he’s got a little bit of experience.”
- Texas tight end Peyton Aucoin has been limited in practice with another shoulder injury. As a result of the lack of depth at tight end, Herman said they have been discussing using formations that do not include a tight end.
- Herman appears to be cautiously optimistic about linebacker Malik Jefferson in this new defense: “He likes it, I know that. He is adjusting daily to the expectations of him playing with lower pad level, playing more aggressive, playing more physical, and he wants to. It’s a learned habit that’s going to take a while. I’ve seen it done many times before. Playing with low pad level, and playing not tentative, but not thinking. A lot of that, pad level and playing low, is leg strength. That will come. Playing aggressively will come when the defense is second nature to you. The good thing is the want to is there. I see him getting better every day.”
- Herman said the receiver room is one of the deepest he has ever been around. He believes six or seven guys can be rolled into games and not have a massive drop off.
