Spring Practice 2015

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by Godz40acres, Mar 20, 2015.

  1. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    BON says that UT didn't update the weights of any players formerly on the roster, just the early enrollees.

    Early Enrollees:
    Brandon Hodges.....OL.....6'5.....292
    Malik Jefferson.........LB.....6'2.....222
    Tristan Nickelson.....OL.....6'8.....312
    Garrett Thomas.......OL.....6'7.....296
    Quincy Vasser..........DE.....6'4.....259
    Connor Williams......OL.....6'5.....291
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2015
  2. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    I agree, Santos has kind of been the forgotten man. He is sometimes out of position but I think he is getting better. The kid has a good attitude, works hard, plays with passion pride. I don't know how much of a leader he is, but he motivates others to play hard.

    I hope he has a great season.
     
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    Last edited: Mar 24, 2015
  3. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    My gut tells me that Santos may start the season, but then becomes more of a situational player as Wheeler and/or Cherry develop. Charlie referenced the Mike as being the "glue," so he needs someone familiar with alignments and situations to make the field calls.

    My gut also tells me not to eat another breakfast burrito, but...
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2015
  4. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Strong presser quote:
    "I'm not one of those guys who plays games. If I think you're the best player, the best player is going to play."

    This is what I've wanted to hear for a loooooong time.
     
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  5. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    I don't know about ya'll but I got cabin fever real bad from this winter.

    I am tired of: my job, endless home chores, wife nagging, endless BHO ********, Jerry Jones, draft talk, trades, MLB spring ball that does not count, Men's March Madness, the NBA and NHL.

    I am ready for some serious Charlie Strong Longhorn Spring Football !!!

    As Bluto said in Animal House: WHO IS WITH ME !!!
     
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    Last edited: Mar 26, 2015
  6. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    Woo woo!
     
  7. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    [​IMG]
     
  8. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Per HornSports
    The following players will be out for the spring season:
    WR Roderick Bernard (knee)
    DE Caleb Bluiett (knee)
    DT Desmond Jackson (foot)
    DT Chris Nelson (shoulder)
    DE Derick Roberson (shoulder)

    The following players will be limited during spring drills:
    RB Duke Catalon (knee)
    OG Sedrick Flowers (back)
    DT Alex Norman (back)
    DE Quincy Vasser (knee)

    I'm especially bummed about all the DLmen - 4 out and 2 limited? Tank, I'm okay with, but the others....
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2015
  9. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!



    The players that are out for the spring season will probably wish they were not. S&C Coach Moorer will have them all working their asses off in "The Pit".
     
  10. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Wednesday = first practice

    Per BON:
    Since the coaches made it clear that redshirt freshman Jerrod Heared wasn't ready to compete for the job last season, it wasn't surprising that junior Tyrone Swoopes was clearly ahead of Heard in his Wednesday work both on the depth chart and in his performance, according to most observers.

    IT's Sean Adams:

    KEYE's Adam Winkler agreed that Swoopes looked better and also noted the increased tempo of practice.

    Just how far ahead of Heard is Swoopes? "Way ahead" was the description from Orangebloods' Anwar Richardson, though Heard reportedly looked good on the run. The thing is, he just can't match the overall arm talent of the bigger Swoopes.

    But perhaps it's too early for such definitive statements...​

    Mike Finger, Texas Longhorns beat writer for SA Express-News/Houston Chronicle:

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

    From what little they showed on LHN today, Swoopes looked slightly better than Heard. Yes, his balls spin his passes have better spin; but I keep going back to the fact that Heard excelled at Denton when throwing on the run. What they showed today was just pocket passing. I'm confident that Heard will get much better in the pocket drills throughout the summer and during fall camp.

    But, then again, no one pays me for my opinion.
     
  11. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller



    I peed myself a little when I saw this.
     
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  12. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Nice summary of Wednesday's practice at HornSports. Recommend reading the entire article, but here are some of the highlights...

    COACHES
    Jay Norvell was constantly in motion and very involved throughout practice.
    Charlie Strong was very quiet today compared to assistants. I also made note that for a defensive minded coach, Strong watched an awful lot of offense today.

    QUARTERBACKS
    • Noted that Swoopes waits for timing on throws to be perfect whereas Heard simply tucked the ball and ran, rather than waiting.
    RUNNING BACKS
    • Alex De La Torre got a lot of first-team snaps and was in pre-snap motion on almost every play. Andrew Beck ran second-team in that hybrid, motion role.
    • In the 7-on-7 period, Donald Catalon ran with the first-team.
    WIDE RECEIVER / TIGHT END
    • Marcus Johnson caught everything thrown his way and consistently had separation.
    • Daje Johnson primarily worked out of the slot with the first-team unit. He caught balls with his hands well today.
    • Andrew Beck had the highlight reel catch of the day – a one-handed grab over the middle, in traffic.
    OFFENSIVE LINE
    • The first-team offensive line was: Marcus Hutchins – Sedrick Flowers – Taylor Doyle – Kent Perkins – Tristan Nickelson
    • The second team offensive line was: Connor Williams – Brandon Hodges – Jake Raulerson – Elijah Rodriguez – Garrett Thomas
    DEFENSIVE LINE
    • Shiro Davis – Paul Boyette, Jr. – Hassan Ridgeway were the first-team defensive line. Interestingly, the three of them mixed positions pre-snap on every play. There was no telling which order they would line-up in. Then mix in Naashon Hughes darting up to the line (or staying back) and the DL was highly variable for Day 1.
    LINEBACKERS
    • Peter Jinkens and Dalton Santos were the two linebackers consistently on the field with the first-team defense.
    • Every time he came off the field during scrimmage work, Malik Jefferson went straight to Vance Bedford for feedback and instruction.
    DEFENSIVE BACK
    • Sheroid Evans – John Bonney – Jason Hall – Dylan Haines was the first-team unit at defensive back.
    • Sheroid Evans was really aggressive with his hands and with contact at the line of scrimmage.
    • Sheroid Evans versus Marcus Johnson is well worth the price of admission.
     
  13. Grey But Orange

    Grey But Orange 25+ Posts

     
  14. Grey But Orange

    Grey But Orange 25+ Posts

    What has Swoopes done to suggest he might be successful at TE or Safety? He doesn't have speed, he has shown that he doesn't like contact, and where has he demonstrated that he can catch? I don't understand your point.
     
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  15. ViperHorn

    ViperHorn 10,000+ Posts

    The point is he is an athlete, but not a QB at this level. Options for big QB's who cannot play that position are TE or safety.
     
  16. Grey But Orange

    Grey But Orange 25+ Posts

    I am not suggesting that Swoopes is not an athlete. However, I am saying that I have not seen anything from him that suggest he has the attributes of either a TE (catching a pass , blocking) or a safety (speed, tackling, quick decisions).

    Tell me where I am off. Thanks, because I would love to see Swoopes find a position where he excels.
     
  17. HornSwoggler

    HornSwoggler Horn Fan

    Could not find current status of D Harrison. I had high hopes for him at UT.

    TE - injuries, lack of emphasis in offense scheme and recruiting, lack of development/improvement of TE recruits, less than successful conversion of athletes from other positions to playmaking TE, under-performance of OL forcing TE to be a blocker first, decline of UT offense in general - all had an impact and are interrelated.
     
  18. Dionysus

    Dionysus Idoit Admin

    • Like Like x 1
  19. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    @Grey But Orange - Love the "name!"

    Now all you need is an appropriate avatar to match. Which do you prefer...

    A.
    [​IMG]

    or

    B.
    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 1
  20. majorwhiteapples

    majorwhiteapples 5,000+ Posts

    J-Mike and Irby was on his way until......
     
  21. Badass

    Badass 2,500+ Posts

    Malik already has a 6 in his number -- I sure hope he earns that 0 to go with it some day cuz that means he will have been a rare talent. Who was the last 60, was it Brian Jones? Gosh it's been a long time ...
     
  22. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    • Like Like x 4
  23. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    Godz - I will weigh in on football later. Sample B has my vote right now!:whiteflag:
     
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    Last edited: Mar 26, 2015
  24. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Wednesday player interviews per TexasSports:

    CB Duke Thomas
    On if the locker room has changed: Definitely. I feel like we came together after that season and people understand what Texas is about. This offseason, we were trying to come together and build a camaraderie... DBs reaching out to other groups and trying to get everybody to come along.

    On what's changed from the coaching staff from last year to year two: No more slacking. Everybody knows what's expected and can move forward.

    On what day one was like last year and if he feels more at home this year: Last spring, we still felt the jitteriness and excitement... Now you're just playing the game instead of learning the defense as well.

    RB Johnathan Gray
    On what he likes about the offense: I like how it spreads out everything where you can run and pass. It mixes up everything. The defense doesn't know what's going to happen. I love this offense.

    On how much faster the up-tempo offense is: It's very fast. As a matter of fact, we hit the field running and didn't stop until practice was over. Guys were pretty dog-tired, and it's something we've got to get used to.

    On the new offensive line: Those guys have shocked me, actually. They don't need any motivation. They go out there and work 100 percent. They work hard, too. That's what you want to see in young guys, and I think they know what they're supposed to do and what we're trying to get done and accomplished. Those guys are ready, I think.

    OL Taylor Doyle
    On what he likes about the new offense: Well, we started running a tempo, so obviously that's exciting and will catch defenses. I'm ready to play. It's similar to what I ran in high school with Coach Chad Morris, so it's always fun to come back to the tempo offense.

    On how the offseason changed the overall attitude in the locker room: This has been an impressive offseason for everyone, just because every day, guys were ready to work. They weren't easy on us and no one expected the coaches to be easy on us.

    On the improvement he's seen in QB Jerrod Heard: Jerrod is an athlete. During the offseason, we've been seeing similar things with him, as far as he is going to work and he wants to lead the pack. Whether it's a sprint or whatever drill we're working on, he wants to be up there in the front.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2015
  25. majorwhiteapples

    majorwhiteapples 5,000+ Posts

    I heard that Jinkens was the Mike and Santos was playing SAM, can anyone confirm?
     
  26. majorwhiteapples

    majorwhiteapples 5,000+ Posts

    The last full time 60 was Jones, what a disgrace to that number, Derrick Johnson and Dusty Renfro each wore it for one game.....not sure about anyone else...
     
    • Like Like x 1
  27. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Pat Culpepper played for The University of Texas from 1960-62 and graduated from UT with a B.A. degree with honors in history. He coached college football for 12 years as an assistant at Texas, Colorado, Tulane, Baylor, and Memphis State and was head coach at Northern Illinois from 1976-79. He also spent 16 years as a high school coach in Texas at Midland, Lufkin, Galveston Ball, Westfield and his hometown of Cleburne. He was selected to the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1991.

    The following excepts are from his recent article at IT:

    I don’t believe that [Tyrone Swoopes] can ever breakthrough against a top team, and here are the reasons for that:

    1. Tyrone Swoopes is not a physical leader - He won’t use his size to make first downs. When I watched Ohio State’s third string QB win a National Championship, I was most impressed by his tough running style, using his size to make key first downs. When Swoopes runs, he either ducks down or runs out of bounds. I am not sure you can coach him out of it. There is no doubt Swoopes has a big-time arm but so far he has proven erratic on short throws and underneath routes. In big games, first downs are the blood in the body of an offense. To think of Swoopes as a zone-read threat is not practical. The youngster is slow with his decisions and is not in the least quick on his feet.

    For Texas to try the spread zone read, their only hope is Jerrod Heard, who won a state championship at Denton Guyer running the zone read offense.

    2. Tyrone Swoopes is not a mental leader. Over and over Swoopes couldn’t read the sideline play signals in time to get to the Horns huddle to challenge his teammates. Of course the delay of game penalties made the Longhorn offense a joke and an embarrassment to former players like myself. In three years as a starter at Texas and two years as an assistant, I never saw Darrell Royal’s offense have a delay of game penalty. Period. It happened on the second play of the Texas Bowl in Houston and that goes right back on Watson and Swoopes. There is no doubt that Tyrone Swoopes is a good young man, but from what I have heard and seen in his interviews, mixed with his on-field performances, I don’t believe he has the leadership qualities to be a starting quarterback at Texas.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------​
    While I am a member of the NoMoSwoopes camp, I think Mr. Culpepper was remiss in considering that Tyrone could have been/was probably instructed to take the dives and avoid injury as there was no one else to come in.
     
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  28. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Per 247Sports:
    One of the surprising moves was having [John] Bonney, who took a redshirt last season, come out with the first defense as the nickel cornerback. While that might raise some eyebrows due to Bonney not being an elite athlete, there's more than one profile of a player who can man the nickelback spot successfully.

    Texas has historically rolled with a freak – guys like Nathan Vasher, Michael Griffin, Earl Thomas, Aaron Williams and Kenny Vaccaro – who possessed elite size, athletic ability, ball skills, instincts and both the willingness and ability to defend the run.

    Bonney came to Texas with his football intellect being one of his better qualities. You don't have to be the fastest guy on the field if you can be good enough to put yourself in a position to make your share of plays and be in the right spot more often than not, which is what Bonney did at Houston Lamar.

    The bottom line is Bonney can make the nickel position work for him because he seems to understand things like route concepts, leverage and angles better than most young defensive backs. It's a risky proposition putting a true freshman in that spot, so Bonney excelling there and not having to throw P.J. Locke or Kris Boyd into the mix before either is ideally ready right off the bat would be almost a godsend for the staff.

    [Full article here with analysis of 5 players]
     
  29. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    First day in pads and the boys had some fun...


    Video Link

    1. Boyette makes TFL on Gaston Davis
    2. Quincy Vasser stuffs Trenton Hafley
    3. Timothy Cole brings down Philipp Moeller
    4. Dalton Santons wraps up Philipp Moeller
    5. Gaston Davis scores on Dylan Haines, Jason Hall and Adrian Colbert
    6. Trey Gonzales tackles Trenton Hafley
    7. Antwuan Davis hangs on to Gaston Davis
    8. Duke Thomas gets TFL on Gaston Davis
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2015
  30. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    30-Tim Cole and 80-Blake Whiteley had some fun on Saturday.

     

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