Spring Football

ProdigalHorn said:
The problem with "all that talent" is that it's got some huge gaps in it. If you've got a great back seven and a mediocre (at best) defensive line, you're going to be a bad defense. And add to that, if your talented back seven doesn't know where to line up half the time, it only gets worse. That's where we found ourselves last year, and I'm hoping it's at least somewhat improved this year. But some of those young guys really need to step up.
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In the interview above Herman says he feels good about what he has on the DL with Roach, Ford and Nelson and he is most concerned with LB. That's kinda interesting given the talent we have at LB, but at least I finally feel good about our players being coached up.
 
Run Pincher said:
In the interview above Herman says he feels good about what he has on the DL with Roach, Ford and Nelson and he is most concerned with LB. That's kinda interesting given the talent we have at LB, but at least I finally feel good about our players being coached up.
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Maybe the talent at LB isn't as good as you think. just because a guy can fly around and HIT hard ( usually out of control the last two years ) doesn't mean he is good. Who is to say any of our LBs could start for many of the power five top level teams...? If you can't get off a block, or know what to do, or when to do it; all that "talent" does you no good. I am thinking that is Herman's problem at LB, because we have some physical bodies there.
 
car54 said:
Maybe the talent at LB isn't as good as you think. just because a guy can fly around and HIT hard ( usually out of control the last two years ) doesn't mean he is good. Who is to say any of our LBs could start for many of the power five top level teams...? If you can't get off a block, or know what to do, or when to do it; all that "talent" does you no good. I am thinking that is Herman's problem at LB, because we have some physical bodies there.
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Mailk showed flashes of his 5* talent his freshman year, Wheeler has been solid, McCullouch has shown flashes and wreckyn Breckyn, who was damn good at DE last year, has been moved to LB. We also have the #1 JC LB coming in. There could be a lot issues at LB, I dunno, but I have a hard time believing it's talent.
 
The defensive progress will be interesting as the last three seasons were a complete cluster. Scheme, talent level, coaching or all three but something was way amiss as the back 7 never had a clue.
 
Herman is a master at motivating and playing mind games with his players...publicly saying he's more concerned about his LB's (when in reality he probably isn't) may light a few fires under a few LB a---s.

This is the same guy that would cut the team logo off of shorts and shirts, make players work out in their own gear or lock all the players out of the locker room because a few weren't putting forth the right effort; and put an oversized chain and lock on the door for good measure.
 
Galvestonhorn said:
Herman is a master at motivating and playing mind games with his players...publicly saying he's more concerned about his LB's (when in reality he probably isn't) may light a few fires under a few LB a---s.

This is the same guy that would cut the team logo off of shorts and shirts, make players work out in their own gear or lock all the players out of the locker room because a few weren't putting forth the right effort; and put an oversized chain and lock on the door for good measure.
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Dude, if Herman takes a corner to quick it's gonna break your nose. ;)
 
The Aranda Plan at Texas​

When Todd Orlando arrived at Houston he was inheriting a secondary that included four returning starters, including future NFL corner Will Jackson III and seniors at strong safety and nickel in Adrian McDonald and Trevon Stewart that had been trained up by David Gibbs before he left for Texas Tech. Those three combined for 13 interceptions in 2015 and were eminently capable of executing a variety of different coverages.

They had to replace all three the following season but Orlando had already been training the replacements in his schemes for two offseasons and even then they had to pare things down a bit while leaning on Oliver and Taylor up front to win games.

Orlando is not inheriting a cast of DBs with proven experience playing sound, intelligent football and is adjusting accordingly. As much as everyone loves the young cornerbacks and safeties on the roster, not a one of them has proven that they’re ready to execute a modern, pattern-reading coverage without gifting easy points to opponents on blown assignments.

But if Orlando were to emphasize good old fashioned cover 1 while bringing everyone along in the quarters coverages that might allow the defense a chance at success while building towards the future.

The Aranda plan is essentially to take a roster full of talented players and first focus on installing sound fundamentals in a few base defenses to ensure success before graduating them to pro-level complexity in how they attack opponents or match route distributions. Dave Aranda did this very well at LSU but the order is a bit taller at Texas for Todd Orlando. LSU was already a very good defense before Aranda took over, his main challenge was to maintain and build on what they were already doing without losing ground in the transition.

At Texas a football 101 approach is necessary not only to maintain and build on what was already being done but to even ensure success in the first place. However, it may well prove that the Longhorns are able to grow into an effective unit using Aranda-lite schemes to thwart Big 12 offensive designs until they can graduate and start playing with “smart aggression.”

Here’s a glimpse of what Texas could look like playing these schemes with the current starting lineup:

[Illustrations and explanations at the site]​

“This team wins a lot of games if it can rush the passer in the late 2nd quarter and 4th quarter without bringing more than four or five. Period.” – Scipio

You solve for the problem of isolated DBs trying to hold up in space by getting consistent pressure on the QB and preventing him from getting clean looks at your defense and clean pockets from which to make throws.

This is where Malcolm Roach’s welcome success at the DE position this spring could be huge, where the battle at B-backer between Naashon Hughes and younger players like McCulloch matters, and where the conditioning of Jordan Elliott comes into play. If Texas can get consistent play from Malik and Hager so as to regularly blitz them as well, mores the better. The more pass-rushing weapons that Orlando has to work with the easier it will be to protect the secondary when playing simple, man coverage on the back end.

There’s a lot more variables in Austin than Dave Aranda found in Baton Rouge but the blueprint is there for Orlando to copy and get some immediate results with the Texas defense.
[More @ IT]
 
TFB Notes:

Defensive Line: Spoke to a source regarding the defensive line and was told that the lone standout at this point has been Poona Ford. Outside of Ford I’m told, “there is no depth chart. Everyone is getting a chance to compete”.

At this point a lot of the players are still trying to figure out the plays. One source on the Texas side said that the staff doesn’t expect the players to know the plays but they want to see them go one hundred percent regardless. Source also noted that a true depth chart probably won’t be established until fall camp. The staff wants the defensive linemen to continue to compete.

Young guys like Jordan Elliot and Chris Daniels are starting to come on I’m told. Both fit the physical mold of guys coach Giles likes in terms of the height and length.

I spoke to someone who was around Herman in his years at Houston and he told me, “You thought Tom was lying when he said in his opening presser that he was going to make practices harder than the games will be? That’s what he does.”
 
Godz40acres said:
The Aranda Plan at Texas​

When Todd Orlando arrived at Houston he was inheriting a secondary that included four returning starters, including future NFL corner Will Jackson III and seniors at strong safety and nickel in Adrian McDonald and Trevon Stewart that had been trained up by David Gibbs before he left for Texas Tech. Those three combined for 13 interceptions in 2015 and were eminently capable of executing a variety of different coverages.

They had to replace all three the following season but Orlando had already been training the replacements in his schemes for two offseasons and even then they had to pare things down a bit while leaning on Oliver and Taylor up front to win games.

Orlando is not inheriting a cast of DBs with proven experience playing sound, intelligent football and is adjusting accordingly. As much as everyone loves the young cornerbacks and safeties on the roster, not a one of them has proven that they’re ready to execute a modern, pattern-reading coverage without gifting easy points to opponents on blown assignments.

But if Orlando were to emphasize good old fashioned cover 1 while bringing everyone along in the quarters coverages that might allow the defense a chance at success while building towards the future.

The Aranda plan is essentially to take a roster full of talented players and first focus on installing sound fundamentals in a few base defenses to ensure success before graduating them to pro-level complexity in how they attack opponents or match route distributions. Dave Aranda did this very well at LSU but the order is a bit taller at Texas for Todd Orlando. LSU was already a very good defense before Aranda took over, his main challenge was to maintain and build on what they were already doing without losing ground in the transition.

At Texas a football 101 approach is necessary not only to maintain and build on what was already being done but to even ensure success in the first place. However, it may well prove that the Longhorns are able to grow into an effective unit using Aranda-lite schemes to thwart Big 12 offensive designs until they can graduate and start playing with “smart aggression.”

Here’s a glimpse of what Texas could look like playing these schemes with the current starting lineup:

[Illustrations and explanations at the site]​

“This team wins a lot of games if it can rush the passer in the late 2nd quarter and 4th quarter without bringing more than four or five. Period.” – Scipio

You solve for the problem of isolated DBs trying to hold up in space by getting consistent pressure on the QB and preventing him from getting clean looks at your defense and clean pockets from which to make throws.

This is where Malcolm Roach’s welcome success at the DE position this spring could be huge, where the battle at B-backer between Naashon Hughes and younger players like McCulloch matters, and where the conditioning of Jordan Elliott comes into play. If Texas can get consistent play from Malik and Hager so as to regularly blitz them as well, mores the better. The more pass-rushing weapons that Orlando has to work with the easier it will be to protect the secondary when playing simple, man coverage on the back end.

There’s a lot more variables in Austin than Dave Aranda found in Baton Rouge but the blueprint is there for Orlando to copy and get some immediate results with the Texas defense.
[More @ IT]
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Yea. Good points. If he can mend the achilles heal, the secondary, by coaching this guys to an acceptable level, or give them help with pressure, it will be the major contibution to the the team. I hope he can pull it off.
 
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Galvestonhorn said:
Herman is a master at motivating and playing mind games with his players...publicly saying he's more concerned about his LB's (when in reality he probably isn't) may light a few fires under a few LB a---s.

This is the same guy that would cut the team logo off of shorts and shirts, make players work out in their own gear or lock all the players out of the locker room because a few weren't putting forth the right effort; and put an oversized chain and lock on the door for good measure.
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I don't want to hear anyone is a master of anything until proven on the field AT The University of Texas.......js

6 years of mediocrity now....
 
car54 said:
I've heared UH fans say Herman lies a lot .....
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I've heard some say Alien Abduction that included a probe to keep things real happened to them.
I've heard a boss tell his employees to accumulate debt to keep them focused.
I've heard sour grapes toward a coach from scorned fans.
And I classify them all as nonsense.
Car something tells me you're not on board with Mack I mean Strong I mean Herman I mean Warren I mean Hager- aww shucks never mind.
 
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TFB Scrimmage Notes (Saturday, April 1)

Brandon Jones and DeShon Elliott were still with the 1s at S. With Kris Boyd and Holton Hill at CB.

Denzel Okafor, Tristan Nickelson, and JP Urquidez all got some looks at RT, but none really got going.

Some guys whose names came up when mentioned as either making a big play or forcing a turnover: Malcolm Roach, John Bonney, Jeff McCulloch, and Chris Daniels. Daniels seems to be a really good scheme fit, and could start seeing some more time with the 2s behind Poona Ford at NT.

Both QBs made good plays, and bad. The strengths and weaknesses of both guys were clear. Ehlinger can make much more out of nothing than Buechele with his feet. And Buechele is just a step ahead as a passer and when it comes to timing with the WRs he has a clear step up. Was told neither one really stood out too much on Saturday.

In general over the weekend we are told that the offense is struggling to do much of anything against the defense. Not surprisingly, Todd Orlando’s defense is difficult to adjust to given all the various pressure points.

One source said, “The offense is getting suffocated. They couldn’t do anything. The defense is playing downhill and they come from everywhere. There really wasn’t much completed past 8 yards”.

Source also noted, “The practice (this past weekend) was very violent.”

------------

"The practice was very violent."

 
Run Pincher said:
That's kinda interesting given the talent we have at LB, but at least I finally feel good about our players being coached up.
Click to expand...

Exactly! The LBs didn't get much coaching from what I saw. Oh yeah, there were flashes and some big plays but their play wasn't consistent.
 
NRHorn said:
Car something tells me you're not on board with Mack I mean Strong I mean Herman I mean Warren I mean Hager- aww shucks never mind.
Click to expand...

Something tells me Car would have called for Geno's job after that completely unacceptable loss to Miss St the other night in the final four after only 110 consecutive wins. I mean, he's seen coaches do more with less.
 
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