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As always, we'll give some quick analysis along with the tiered rankings (Now through Week 2 of 2023) and are derived via a proprietary scoring formula, and based on the following advanced charting statistics (please note the distinctions in how tackles, etc. are counted and why these stats will always differ from the official university stats):
Click Images to Enlarge
DEEP DIG DEFENSIVE LEGEND
***Also, Please note: -1 point has been added for any defensive penalty outside of defensive pass interference which is always considered a coverage burn and is not double-counted. Also, please note that missed tackles that result in blown contains are counted as blown contains (-1) and are not double-counted as both a blown contain and a missed tackle. Also, please note that exact snap-count numbers may differ from other sources at times, as the Deep Dig does not count plays as defensive player snaps that are blown dead due to penalty, punts, extra points or other plays where the player is not technically playing on defense***
Defensive Snap Counts By Week and Percentage of Total Defensive Snaps Played Through Week 2
Defensive Productivity Market-Share Percentages and Snaps per Production Caused Metrics Through Week 2 (snaps per disruption caused is colored coded from blue/best to white/median to red/worst - the number next to the name indicates movement in the rankings since last week):
Quick Hits and Thoughts
It was a monster game versus Alabama and you don't need an investigation from the Deep Dig to tell you that it was one for the ages.
Indeed, there are only a few things you can point to as mildly concerning among the defense - things you probably didn't even notice in real-time: The fact that Alfred Collins is playing so many snaps and doing next to nothing with them. A few more coverage burns (3) than you would typically like to see (Gavin Holmes, Jahdae Barron and Jerrin Thompson). Multiple missed tackles each from each of the three safeties that got on the field for Horns in Tuscaloosa (Thompson, Jalen Catalon and Kitan Crawford).
Texas also had three blown contains against Alabama, and normally that could be a small area to nitpick and fret over, but here's the fact: Jalen Milroe was going to break contain a few times during that game. It was in the cards from the moment he was named the starting QB for the Tide, and it was drilled in all week with Savion Red simulating him in Texas practice as the Horns got their preparation in. Milroe got free more than three times, but it was not always due to force-players not keeping their assignment. Milroe can simply move and get free. It was the name of the game to not allow him to do so.
The staff had all kinds of implements put in place to stop it, and in the end, it was mission accomplished. Spy Milroe with a mix of David Gbenda and Anthony Hill, play assignment football on the edges and make that dude beat you as a pocket passer. Looking back, Texas, despite those few areas of concern we hit at the top, actually made it look relatively ... simple.
And here's why: we're seeing the start of something with this defense that we haven't really seen during the history of the Deep Dig. And, admittedly, it's a very small sample of only two games and the trends we're witnessing are likely unsustainable -- but also keep something in mind. The numbers you see illustrated in the market share rankings and snaps-per-production caused metrics above have been collected through two games: 1) Rice (a traditional cupcake) and 2) Alabama (the best team you'll play all year). So, the average of those two is probably a decent representation of what your average Big 12 opponent looks like. It's a small sample, but in thinking of things this way, it's at least a representative sample of the level of competition Texas is set to face during this last season in the Big 12.
What we haven't seen during the history of the Deep Dig is so much BLUE at the top of the market share rankings. That s/prod column (snaps-per-production caused) is color coded from blue (lowest/best) to red (highest/worst). It is designed to show you who is playing the most efficiently. Typically, in these rankings, a few players will be sprinkled in at the top -- even after only two games -- due to simple snap volume. These market share rankings are, by nature, volume rankings more than efficiency rankings. The guys who get the most snaps get the most opportunities to score points in the system and will typically be toward the top, even if they are not necessarily as efficient on a PER-SNAP basis. That's why we started color-coding the s/prod column. That's to tell us, as we look to the sub-replacement group, etc. what players have played in a way that could justify more playing time. Who has made the most of their snaps?
Well, in 2023 thus far, it's your volume studs who are making the most of their snaps -- being the most efficient, and THAT'S what different and exciting.
Ethan Burke was an animal versus ALABAMA of all teams and so was Anthony Hill. Oftentimes going against a very good, likely future NFL starter in CJ Latham. Byron Murphy is a freak for doing what he did against the Tide. David Gbenda we can officially now call a really good player for Texas. Ryan Watts' NFL future might be at safety according to some, but he's played like a shutdown D1 corner to start the 2023 season. And it's not just volume driving these assertions -- remember, it's efficiency tacked on volume. We ran through a little exercise to help in illustrating how this group at the top stacks up. Remember, the inside LBs at the very top for now are operating at about 7 snaps/production caused. Murphy, Hill and Burke are all a ludicrous sub-5. Sweat is sub-6, etc. You can see the chart above for reference.
Now, let's look at the most efficient players from previous seasons with qualifying sample sizes, and also throw in the efficiency numbers from some of the other notable defenders so we can put the start this defense is off to into context:
2022: Moro Ojomo (6.72); Jaylan Ford (6.83); Keondre Coburn (7.27); Demarvion Overshown (8.01)
2021: Byron Murphy (5.87); Anthony Cook (8.01); Demarvion Overshown (8.22)
2020: Joseph Ossai (6.28); Keondre Coburn (7.32); Caden Sterns (10.7)
2019: Demarvion Overshown (6.01); Brandon Jones (8.77); Joseph Ossai (9.28)
2018: Gary Johnson (7.74); Charles Omenihu (8.14); Chris Nelson (8.61)
2017: Poona Ford (6.30), Holton Hill (6.52); Deshon Elliott (6.57); Malik Jefferson (7.11)
2016: Breckyn Hager (5.83); Malcolm Roach (6.36); Malik Jefferson (8.09)
2015: Hassan Ridgeway (5.31); Deshon Elliott (7); Malik Jefferson (7.13)
In all cases among Tier 1 and Tier 2, again, the guys so far who are projecting to play among the most volume on the team, they are either hanging right in or downright demolishing the efficiency precedents set by some of the best defensive players Texas has rostered over the last eight seasons.
If we weren't such loudmouths around here, it's almost enough to leave you speechless.
Onward to the offense.
