May/June/JULY Football



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BevoQ said:
One idea aggie floated out was they wanted to play in September.
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aggy seems to want everyone to believe that Texas is going to aggy on their knees. Texas has nothing to gain from playing aggy, and it is hard to understand why Strong keeps bringing it up. Win on the field and aggy and the $EC recruiting issues will go away.
 

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The remaining months leading up to the 2016 season are a do-or-die time for many members of the 2014 recruiting class. The third year in the program for players is usually the time when either they surge ahead and claim a role, or they fall behind and are eventually recruited over for a prominent spot on the roster.

Even those who’ve had massive on-field roles from that class have to work this summer like they don’t have jobs locked up. Armanti Foreman had a great spring and needs to keep building up on it to maintain his spot in the pecking order at wide receiver. [Jason] Hall is expected to be a heated head-to-head battle with DeShon Elliott. [Poona] Ford currently has four hungry true freshmen at defensive tackle pushing him for playing time.

Jerrod Heard, Lorenzo Joe, Andrew Beck and Edwin Freeman have all contributed significantly, but none of them are certainties to play a lot in the coming season. Texas also needs guys like Elijah Rodriguez and Chris Nelson to step up to provide depth along the lines of scrimmage and to keep the staff from having to rely solely on newcomers for production.

Until the Longhorns have a group of upperclassmen on the roster emerge as leaders and playmakers there will be an uneasy feeling about Texas’ chances to succeed. The true juniors and third-year sophomores have a chance to give Charlie Strong a solid leadership core to where he won’t have to rely completely on the 2015 signees who are willing to step forward and lead.

[Full 247article]
 
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With all sorts of questions surrounding the kicking position this season, a name to know is Chris Naggar. We spoke with the Arlington High School kicker last week to catch up with the latest news surrounding his impending enrollment in Austin. “I’m currently a walk on, but I’m hoping to earn a preferred walk on,” Naggar said.

Naggar earned All-State honors last year, and he actually got on the radar by tweeting to Charlie Strong. Someone in the football office took notice, and Jeff Traylor reached out to him after that. Naggar had scholarship offers to several FCS schools and a preferred walk on offer to Sam Houston State and Toledo. While he certainly entertained those possibilities, Naggar told us that Texas has always been a dream school for him.

Naggar estimated that his biggest strength is consistency from distance, and dealing with pressure. “I went to kicking camps over the summer, and being a finalist means you have to hit ‘pressure kicks’ where everyone stands around you and yells. That really helped me learn how to deal with it.”

What’s unclear is when Naggar will be able to enroll and begin his walk on career. While he’d gladly drop everything to get to campus for the summer session, it looks like he will be coming in the fall. “I was hoping to enroll in the summer to get acclimated to Austin, the team, and classes earlier rather than later. The coaches however said it would be best to enroll in the fall.”

While Naggar sits in a holding pattern, he’s just working on his craft and trying to sort out his situation. “I’m still trying to figure things out. As of right now I am just a walk on, so I will have to go to a tryout. Hopefully I will get a preferred walk on so I can go straight to practicing. I just can’t wait to be in Austin to meet the guys, and prove myself to the coaching staff.”

[Full Hornsports article]
 
Previously mentioned in this post, Bailor un-signee Devin Duvernay is looking for a new school.

Per BON:

Four-star wide receiver and former Baylor signee Devin Duvernay is reportedly on the Forty Acres today.

In what's a huge opportunity for Charlie Strong and his staff to lure the nation's No. 4 wide receiver to Austin, Duvernay is set to take a tour and the campus and facilities and meet with the coaching staff.

At this point, it appears Texas is amid a three-horse race for Duvernay's services, along with TCU and Oklahoma.
 
Summer Is Get Real Time For Texas

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Sorry. Wrong image.

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[T]he Longhorns have a chance to be right in the thick of the conference title picture. Absurd as it might sound to suggest that of a team coming off of a 5-7 campaign, it’s not.

It’s not crazy to think D'Onta Foreman and Chris Warren could have a combined rushing total between them that approaches 2,000 yards. Kent Perkins, Patrick Vahe and Connor Williams will pave the way as they lead what could emerge as one of the best offensive lines in the Big 12.

Everybody got a taste of what Malik Jefferson, Holton Hill and Davante Davis could do when given chances to flourish. Fellow 2015 signees Anthony Wheeler, DeShon Elliott and P.J. Locke are coming off of strong spring showings and more talent is on the way.

Put it all together and will anyone in the conference have better linebacker and secondary talent than Texas?

On the other hand, the Longhorns could be starting a true freshman quarterback (Shane Buechele) and a true freshman center (Zach Shackelford). More bodies occupying seats in Charlie Williams’ wide receiver room need to step up.

The coaches will rely on a bevy of true freshmen defensive tackles to solidify the tip of the spear defensively.

The Longhorns have their blemishes but, again, so does everyone else in the conference.

What happens over the [summer] will determine if Texas can be the type of consistent outfit capable of avoiding unexpected lifeless performances and can find the ability to close out games.

That’s what separates the contenders from the pretenders.

The development of Brandon Hodges to give Texas a solid starting five up front is right behind finding the right quarterback in determining offensive success. The same can be said of Armanti Foreman building off of a strong series of spring practices and Collin Johnson having presence when playing under the bright lights for the first time.

The defense needs a pass rush presence to emerge who can be counted on to make a play on critical downs, something the Longhorns didn’t have last season. For Jefferson to be a chess piece for Vance Bedford, Wheeler has to solidify the other starting linebacker spot in Texas’ base nickel defense.

Can DeShon Elliott and possibly Brandon Jones seriously push Jason Hall and Dylan Haines for their starting jobs? If they can, and either emerge as starters or force Hall and Haines to take their respective games up a notch, the safety position won’t be the weakness it was a year ago.

[Full 247 article]
 
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QBs On Defense​

For most teams in the Big 12 the safety position is one of the most difficult to get right.

Unlike most of these teams though, Charlie Strong’s defense doesn’t rely on quarters coverages and consequently has totally different requirements for the safety position in order for the scheme to work properly.

Because Texas leans on the nickel to handle the most dangerous inside receiver, it does create possibilities for the Longhorns to try and field physical, versatile athletes at either safety position.

Ideally each of those two safeties would be able to check off as “competent” but not necessarily “great” across a long list of assignments. Those assignments would include playing coverage on a slot or TE, replacing a linebacker in the box, forcing the edge, being an overlap player/free hitter in the box, blitzing the edge, playing a deep ½ field technique, and playing the deep middle.

The most important traits are an ability to pursue the ball with leverage, tackle in space, and understand what’s happening in front of them. So long as the nickel is a good coverage player, the necessary range required isn’t quite as intense at these spots. These guys don’t really have to flip their hips and run with receivers much, the more valuable kind of athleticism is the ability to run downhill before being able to break down and tackle.

A great athlete is a plus in the Texas scheme, but finding hard-nosed guys that know how to find the football and master multiple assignments between the hash marks is much more likely to bring success than having the fastest safety tandem in the league.

Since 2010, Texas has recruited 11 blue-chip (four-star or higher) DBs that ended up at safety yet is looking at potentially starting a 3-star/walk-on combination for the third consecutive season and has had ZERO safeties named to either the 1st or 2nd All-Big 12 teams in the last six years. Texas hasn’t had a safety make the All-Big 12 team since Earl Thomas in 2009.

That’s truly remarkable.

Clearly finding kids that can handle the mental challenge and then properly developing them is the real key, just like with the quarterback position where Texas has similarly wandered in the wilderness despite a revolving door of top-rated athletes.

[Full IT article]

 
I wanted to do something I like to do every now and then to switch gears, which is to answer a few questions I’ve been unable to get to in our recent weekly staff chats.

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I expect our defense to be much improved in the back 7 (LB's and DB's), but how much better can we expect the DL to be this year?

Before anyone places any expectations on the defensive line there are some position battles that need to shake out in order to figure out exactly what the personnel will look like.

On the edges, will both Naashon Hughes and Bryce Cottrell start again this season or will two of Charles Omenihu, Quincy Vasser and Breckyn Hager play well enough to take playing time away from the two veterans? At the very least the Longhorns need to have a good rotation going with those players involved.

There’s a reason the coaches moved Hager behind Hughes. Omenihu getting so much work with the first defense in the spring was more than just him filling in for an injured Cottrell. It boils down to the coaches knowing they need a more consistent pass rush presence and can’t rely on having to manufacture pressure the majority of the time to get after the quarterback. The Longhorns also suffered from missed sacks last season and guys being unable to finish the play, so the guys who can get to the quarterback and bring him down will be the ones who are in the game on critical downs.

It’s a complete crapshoot at tackle where only the three scholarship players who were on the field for the spring game (Paul Boyette, Poona Ford and Chris Nelson) are back from last season. If you’re a true freshman defensive tackle at Texas you’re going to have a chance to get on the field and make an impact early.

So, will the defensive line improve? It all depends on how the youngsters progress, which as we saw last year can be easier said than done. The hope should be that this group is leaps and bounds better by bowl season than they are on Sept. 4.

Which 2016 offensive signee who wasn’t an EE do you think gets the most PT as a true freshman?

Davion Curtis. The short of it is he knows the offense, a job working in the slot is there for the taking, and the Longhorns have a need for speedsters who can blow the top off of a defense.

Not only does Curtis have a chance to get reps, but Lil'Jordan Humphrey and his ability to work inside as a big slot receiver or outside to spell the likes of Burt and Johnson could have his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame on the field quite a bit.

Of the offensive linemen who just arrived, I’ve said for a long time that I think Denzel Okafor is the first to see the field. I was blown away when I saw him play as a senior because of his length, foot quickness and how well he was able to latch onto defender in space and run his feet. If Texas needed him to start at guard right now I think he could, and I could see him being just as effective as Patrick Vahe was last season.

How likely is it someone else can start right away at right tackle so Kent can move back inside where's he's probably more valuable?

I agree that Kent Perkins is a better fit at guard than tackle, and inside is where he’ll be in the NFL. But this team needs him at tackle. It would benefit all parties on the Forty Acres if Brandon Hodges steps up and becomes the type of player the coaches feel he’s capable of being, which would give Texas one of the better guard tandems in the Big 12 if he’s up to the task.

I mentioned Okafor in a previous answer in terms of what he can do and where he can help the team right away. Jean Delance is a tremendous prospect, but I see him as a guy who needs some time before he gets thrown in the fire, although I love his upside.

Hodges stepping up and putting a stranglehold on the starting left guard spot would allow the coaches to bring the true freshmen along slowly. What Vahe and Connor Williams did last year was the exception, not the rule of how true freshmen offensive linemen are supposed to play.

[Full 247 article]
 
Former Baylor WR signee Devin Durvernay was Texas’ biggest visitor over the weekend, and according to a source close to Duvernay, his visit went very well. As you all know Devin is free to enroll anywhere anytime; however he is waiting on his brother who will require a NLI release. How soon that release comes will determine when Devin is able to arrive and will likely impact whether he’s ready to see the field this year.

After talking with some people on the Texas side of things, it sounds like the Longhorns will take both Devin and Donovan if they choose to come to Texas.

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Some of you likely saw some tweets from 2015 Texas TE signee Devonaire Clarington yesterday of pictures of him on Texas’ campus. I just wanted to let everyone know that he was just up there with some friends, not on a visit to Texas. Clarington recently enrolled at Blinn College in Texas after not attending school last year. He’s not currently on Texas’ radar.

[Full TFB article]
 
Godz40acres said:
Some of you likely saw some tweets from 2015 Texas TE signee Devonaire Clarington yesterday of pictures of him on Texas’ campus. I just wanted to let everyone know that he was just up there with some friends, not on a visit to Texas.
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Too bad he didn't make it in. He was a player that, IMHO, really wanted to be here and could have helped the program. I wish him luck going forward.
 
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