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Where's the beef for Chris Ash?
When I was writing my depth chart column on Monday, the obvious story on the defensive side of the football was the excellent two new additions of Ishmael Ibraheem and JD Coffey (who Suchomel informed us all on the podcast, pronounces his name COE-fee, and not like the drink).
But the thing that kept popping into my head as a subject that probably needed to have some attention paid to it is the fact that Texas is going to a 4-3 defensive scheme and is yet to get any pieces in place from the 2021 class to address the interior of the defensive line. In essence, one interior DL position has been added to the defensive equation and it just doesn't seem like the urgency for loading up on big boys hasn't shifted with the seriousness you would expect.
We have Vernon Broughton for the 2020 class and nobody from the 2021 class as of yet that profile as true, standard interior DL-types. True freshman Alfred Collins is a giant and could eventually move inside, but I think everyone understands his ultimate ceiling is as a mega-jumbo SDE given his length and ability to long-arm offensive tackles off the edge. Ta'Quon Graham and Jacoby Jones, both middling producers thus far during their times at Texas but at least possessing the body types to profile positively for play inside, are set to graduate.
This means, as things currently stand, Texas will have 5 guys recruited as interior DL prospects to handle those two spots in 2021 should nothing be done to further address the position: Three then-juniors in Coburn, Sweat and Carson, a sophomore in Myron Warren and Broughton, who'd either be a sophomore or a RS freshman by then.
Now, addressing it can happen in several ways. But how have we not at least talked about how by now? As mentioned, Collins could eventually bump inside. Moro Ojomo has played inside and could likely move back to the three-tech next season, that is, unless he is too effective off the edge in 2020 to justify a position switch. That would be what you'd call a good problem to have, though.
The two slots on the image above that should contain names of new DT prospects to add to the pipeline are empty. When we look at the state in 2021, though, the bad news is that it's not a very good year for interior DL talent. Ketch only has two DTs in the entire state (!) on his LSR Top 100: Marcus Burris and Byron Murphy from Desoto (ranked No.78 overall). 247 Sporrts has Murphy as the 49th-best prospect in Texas. While it's not the most lofty of recruiting rankings, pickings are slim in Texas this year and it's impossible to reconcile how Texas, according to Suchomel, really hasn't been in on the dude thus far in the cycle, especially considering he's teammates with SDE Shemar Turner, who Texas -- and every other school in the country -- is after pretty hard.
According to Suchomel's most recent recruiting board, Texas is trending up with 3-star Ike Iwunnah, who fits the bill from a pure size-standpoint and whose tape is fine. It should be no surprise that Texas is trending up given Iwunnah's mediocre offer list. But the rest of the recruiting board shows that Texas has really only interacted with five (5!) guys at the DT position for 2021 - Iwunnah, Marcus Burris (who Suchomel pins at a 15% chance of landing) and three out-of-state guys who are simply currently viewed as "on the radar".
Texas needs at least two DTs in this class and three would be better.
If Tom Herman and staff don't want to face a future shortage at one of the most important positions needed to field a competitive team in college football, they need to get these guys (and others like them) from off the "radar" and into laser-focus. There needs to be a higher volume of offers and a greater effort spent on going after difference makers in the defensive trenches. Unfortunately, it looks like they'll have to go out-of-state to get it this year. They don't grow on trees and you don't have all year to mess around before going around to collect them.
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Where's the beef for Chris Ash?
When I was writing my depth chart column on Monday, the obvious story on the defensive side of the football was the excellent two new additions of Ishmael Ibraheem and JD Coffey (who Suchomel informed us all on the podcast, pronounces his name COE-fee, and not like the drink).
But the thing that kept popping into my head as a subject that probably needed to have some attention paid to it is the fact that Texas is going to a 4-3 defensive scheme and is yet to get any pieces in place from the 2021 class to address the interior of the defensive line. In essence, one interior DL position has been added to the defensive equation and it just doesn't seem like the urgency for loading up on big boys hasn't shifted with the seriousness you would expect.
We have Vernon Broughton for the 2020 class and nobody from the 2021 class as of yet that profile as true, standard interior DL-types. True freshman Alfred Collins is a giant and could eventually move inside, but I think everyone understands his ultimate ceiling is as a mega-jumbo SDE given his length and ability to long-arm offensive tackles off the edge. Ta'Quon Graham and Jacoby Jones, both middling producers thus far during their times at Texas but at least possessing the body types to profile positively for play inside, are set to graduate.
This means, as things currently stand, Texas will have 5 guys recruited as interior DL prospects to handle those two spots in 2021 should nothing be done to further address the position: Three then-juniors in Coburn, Sweat and Carson, a sophomore in Myron Warren and Broughton, who'd either be a sophomore or a RS freshman by then.
Now, addressing it can happen in several ways. But how have we not at least talked about how by now? As mentioned, Collins could eventually bump inside. Moro Ojomo has played inside and could likely move back to the three-tech next season, that is, unless he is too effective off the edge in 2020 to justify a position switch. That would be what you'd call a good problem to have, though.
The two slots on the image above that should contain names of new DT prospects to add to the pipeline are empty. When we look at the state in 2021, though, the bad news is that it's not a very good year for interior DL talent. Ketch only has two DTs in the entire state (!) on his LSR Top 100: Marcus Burris and Byron Murphy from Desoto (ranked No.78 overall). 247 Sporrts has Murphy as the 49th-best prospect in Texas. While it's not the most lofty of recruiting rankings, pickings are slim in Texas this year and it's impossible to reconcile how Texas, according to Suchomel, really hasn't been in on the dude thus far in the cycle, especially considering he's teammates with SDE Shemar Turner, who Texas -- and every other school in the country -- is after pretty hard.
According to Suchomel's most recent recruiting board, Texas is trending up with 3-star Ike Iwunnah, who fits the bill from a pure size-standpoint and whose tape is fine. It should be no surprise that Texas is trending up given Iwunnah's mediocre offer list. But the rest of the recruiting board shows that Texas has really only interacted with five (5!) guys at the DT position for 2021 - Iwunnah, Marcus Burris (who Suchomel pins at a 15% chance of landing) and three out-of-state guys who are simply currently viewed as "on the radar".
Texas needs at least two DTs in this class and three would be better.
If Tom Herman and staff don't want to face a future shortage at one of the most important positions needed to field a competitive team in college football, they need to get these guys (and others like them) from off the "radar" and into laser-focus. There needs to be a higher volume of offers and a greater effort spent on going after difference makers in the defensive trenches. Unfortunately, it looks like they'll have to go out-of-state to get it this year. They don't grow on trees and you don't have all year to mess around before going around to collect them.
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