The current state of Texas football.

Thought some of you might find this interesting, given our second week match-up. This kind of reiterates some of my thoughts posted on here previously regarding our strengths and weaknesses. It doesn't go into specific's about the BYU game, but it's obvious that given your strengths, and our weaknesses, this game is of concern to me.



http://recruitocosm.fantake.com/2011/06/09/program-tidbits-from-el-cohiba-grande/



BTW, not really sure why I'm sharing this with an opponent's fanbase, other than the fact that I have great respect for BYU, and your fanbase in general.

Thanks for the info. Love reading up on opponents, so really appreciate the tip.



I think BYU fans are all really hopeful about our team because we have a young but talented QB who has shown growth, but we have some unknowns as well. We are just glad to have more performing experience in key spots this year.

I've tried to do some research on you guys, and in fact tuned in to a about 3-4 of your games last year, and Heaps is going to be a stud, no doubt about it. He really progressed, from what I saw, between the beginning and the end of the season. Unlike our own.



I'm hopeful Garrett Gilbert gets it together, but by all accounts, it's not happening.

I think there is reason for BYU fans to be optimistic for the season. The team showed some great strides over the last half of the season, even if it was against weaker teams. Those wins gave a ton of confidence to a team that was really lacking confidence. Still, the game against the Longhorns is a home game for Texas. Also, there is likely no doubt which team will field the better athletes overall. However, that edge is mostly likley felt in the 2s and 3s and not so much the 1s.

How are things in the trenches? Are your lines going to be effective this year?

DeVon wrote:
How are things in the trenches? Are your lines going to be effective this year?

Our O-line is of concern, experience wise, and depth wise. Even if our QB situation improves, it may not show if our line doesn't get its act together. Stacy Searels is apparently bringing in a new attitude to our line, but it's going to be a work in progress.



To touch upon BYUcougfan's point, the 2-3's are going to make a difference. We're going to have a lot of freshman in the 2 and 3 deep, maybe even at starter. The status of our line is somewhat reminiscent of OU's when you played them a couple of years back, which should be encouraging to you.



In regards to depth, the same hold's true for our d-line. We have 3 stud DE's (Okafor, Jeffcoat, and Wilson), and an experienced/talented interior lineman (Randall), but the depth chart gets real iffy after that. If you guys are able to sustain long drives, our defense could be in a world of hurt as the game goes on.



We have talent (although I'm not big believer in the recruiting services rankings), but talent doesn't always compensate for lack of experience.



Not trying to sound overly pessimetsic, but stating things as they are.

I am sure there is lots and lots of analysis that can be done for this game, but it seems like these types of games come down to one thing for BYU and that is surviving the first quarter with regard to turn-overs. If BYU holds on to the ball in the first quarter, I expect a close game.

BYUcougfan wrote:
I am sure there is lots and lots of analysis that can be done for this game, but it seems like these types of games come down to one thing for BYU and that is surviving the first quarter with regard to turn-overs. If BYU holds on to the ball in the first quarter, I expect a close game.

Given the present state of, and lack of confidence in our offense, we're going to have to rely on our defense to create turnovers, in order to keep us competitive. Otherwise, it will be 2010 all over again.



I am excited about the direction of our strength and conditioning program, however. I noticed on here that you guys made some changes in this area as well.

What Texas went through in 2010 reminded me a lot of our years under Gary Crowton. The offense was so inconsistent, and turned it over so much, could not consistently sustain drives, and this put too much pressure on the defense. In 2005, our defense was actually pretty solid, but you would never know it by the results because the offense was so horrific. Solid QB play and long drives are a defenses best friend. Bad QB kills a team on both sides of the ball, and moral wise. I think Texas 2011 will depend heavily on QB improvement. Especially in the toss up games for them. Hoping we catch you at the right time(early), because I expect the Horns to be much better in November than September.

Lawboy wrote:
What Texas went through in 2010 reminded me a lot of our years under Gary Crowton. The offense was so inconsistent, and turned it over so much, could not consistently sustain drives, and this put too much pressure on the defense. In 2005, our defense was actually pretty solid, but you would never know it by the results because the offense was so horrific. Solid QB play and long drives are a defenses best friend. Bad QB kills a team on both sides of the ball, and moral wise. I think Texas 2011 will depend heavily on QB improvement. Especially in the toss up games for them. Hoping we catch you at the right time(early), because I expect the Horns to be much better in November than September.

I agree. I think we'll be better towards the end of the season, once we figure out the QB thing. We may end up going with the true freshman, or we may end up surprising everyone, who knows.



I think what we do have going for us, is that we'll have an offense that no one has seen from us before. I believe that Harsin and Applewhite will utilize our talent at the skill positions, which will help (something we were deficient in while Davis was OC,) but execution is key, which again most likely means that we could be pretty sloppy during the first-half of the season, at least until our kids can get the new system down.

Trust me, you don't want to play a true freshman at QB!

scott715 wrote:
Trust me, you don't want to play a true freshman at QB!

Lol! The prospect of such, is probably why Texas fans, including myself, are trying to brace themselves for the potential horror of what could be the upcoming season.



At least you guys saw progress in your decision to play a true freshman. You played for the future, and it appears that you at least have the hope, based on that progress, that this season could be a good one. I think your gamble on Heaps could be a great payoff in the near future.



I'm willing to go through one more year of pain, if that means that we'll be back sooner, than later.

It would be really nice for you guys to have a stud at QB so you could RS the freshman like Colt did during VY's last year. It's when you don't that the problems happen, like our 2-QB system last year. Some guys, like Colt McCoy, can develop well enough as a redshirt player that they hit the ground running as a redshirt freshman. Unfortunately, by the time you know if you have that kind of guy, it's too late...

Hookem wrote:

I'm willing to go through one more year of pain, if that means that we'll be back sooner, than later.

Isn't it against the Texas fan honor code to use that word? I've heard of a guy getting stabbed in a bar over using that word in Austin... ;)



Here are some alternate words you can utilize for next time:

quicker

faster

earlier

more rapidly

in an amount of time that would not be longer than the alternative... :lol:

Thanks for the alternates Wickchad, I'll definately keep those in mind for the future, especially while visiting any bars in Austin. ;)



Redneckjedi - You're right. We were spoiled with VY and then Colt. Colt was a pleasant surprise. A 3 star recruit out little Jim Ned HS. Which is why I'm not always sold on the recruiting rankings thing. Sometimes is obvious that you've got a great player, sometimes it's not. We experienced the 2 qb nightmare with Applewhite and Simms, and then a little bit w/ Chance Mock and VY. I'm not a fan.



I'm hoping to be surprised like we were with Colt. A lot of people really didn't want Colt at QB when he was recruited, and were really upset when a guy by the name of Perriloux, changed his commit on signing day to LSU. I'd say that worked out really well for us.



How's your secondary looking? I know you lost some guys, do you guys go the JUCO route much?

We go JUCO for DBs, especially corners. Actually, our corner position is probably the deepest and most talented it has been in years. It is typically the weakest spot on the field for us. We go 2 deep, maybe 3 deep in ability, and we have solid game experience in the 2-deep. WE will be solid there. Safety, however, is a bigger question. We lost our best safety to graduation, the the replacement will lack experience. It is a key position for our defense as well, as they are asked to make many plays at the line, and pass cover. The other safety spot has returning guys, but was a weak spot last year too. We have a JC guy coming in that should be good, but you never know how they will pan out. And for game 2, might be too early to tell.



Our strength will be our front 7, and our LB core in particular. Our NT spot is also really deep, which is crucial since we run a 3-4 scheme. We try to make teams throw to beat us. After we switch out our D coordinator last year, it worked extremely well, too. Even in the loss to TCU, we played them tough on D.

If I were designing a game plan, I would definitely work on some things to confuse the safety and take advantage of that.

Thanks Lawboy.



Mack has always shied away from JUCO players. Sometimes, I wish he would at least give them a look. Especially when we are so thin in certain areas.



Our secondary situation is basically the same but reversed. Our safeties are experienced, while our corners are young and not so experienced.



My favorite of the safeties is Kenny Vaccaro. Kid plays with outrageous intensity and never lets up. Blake Gideon has started every game at Texas since his true freshman year. However, a lot of Texas fans still haven't forgiven him for dropping a sure interception, the play before Crabtree's infamous catch up in Lubbock, that knocked us out of the NC picture. That being said, it will be interesting to see what adjustments we make on defense. The safeties always seemed to be out of position last year.



The DB's have the "potential" to be great, but we could be a year or two away from that being a reality. They're pretty green. Plus when you have talk of a true freshman possibly starting, that can be a concern.



Our LB's are really strong. Robinson, Acho and by the looks of it, Hicks (Although he broke his foot or ankle in spring - he should be back). DeMarco Cobbs was a nice surpise in the spring.



But as I said before, our depth is a concern. We may have some guys step up, but we really just don't know what we have just yet.

I don't know what to think about this game. both teams have coaching turnover and both teams are coming off a bad year after having a lot of success prior to that. If BYU has an edge its because our qb situation is stable and nearly all of our offense returns. If texas does its because its at their place and they have the talent. I think its a toss up. I can't wait to come to the game.



My dad and I have two tickets on the texas side of the stadium. hope your fans take it easy on us.

jonnylingo wrote:
I don't know what to think about this game. both teams have coaching turnover and both teams are coming off a bad year after having a lot of success prior to that. If BYU has an edge its because our qb situation is stable and nearly all of our offense returns. If texas does its because its at their place and they have the talent. I think its a toss up. I can't wait to come to the game.



My dad and I have two tickets on the texas side of the stadium. hope your fans take it easy on us.

I live in Longhorn country, and my experience so far is that they're a classy bunch. It'll probably be a similar situation to what we had in Dallas in '09. When you're at the top, you don't have to be a jerk to be noticed. It'll definitely be better than visiting the yewts' craphole.