Spring Practice 2015

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

  1. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    HD observations of the defense from the first practice:

    Brick Haley and Brian Jean-Mary were easily the two most ferocious coaches that I saw.

    Jake McMillon has been moved back to the defensive side of the ball after spending last season as a reserve offensive linemen to help with numbers. He worked at DT on the second and third-teams and actually made a few plays. The dude can play. He was the first-ever four-year starter at Abilene. He’s going to get a long look with all the injuries across the defensive front. Let’s see if he can take advantage of the opportunity.

    I thought John Bonney had a really good opening practice. He’s a big body but has incredible bend and, as Duke Thomas noted afterwards, is extremely intelligent. He is an ideal nickel because of his smarts, quickness, and size.

    This could already sound cliché given how often we sing his praises, but the game already seems to be slowing down for Malik Jefferson. He just gets it. Duke Thomas touched on the fact that Jefferson is extremely humble and is always asking him questions and doing the extra things right now.

    The decision to play Jinkens at MLB could pay off in droves if the Dallas Skyline product can harness some of that swag into his playmaking abilities. Jinkens has the size and can hit as well as anyone. If he can get the defensive calls down, and grow into that QB on D roll, his athleticism, I assume, would be much more preferred than Santos’.

    Hassan Ridgeway is going to have a monster year. One of his biggest issues last season was not playing with that fire all the time and getting down on himself too easily. That’s not the case from what I hear, and what I saw Wednesday. He’s going to be a handful, especially if/when Tank Johnson is healthy.
    [Full article here]
     
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  2. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    How's Poona looking?
     
  3. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    "Bigger" is the only quote I've seen.
     
  4. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    A little more from Saturday's practice...


    Video Link
     
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  5. BevoJoe

    BevoJoe 10,000+ Posts

  6. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    An unnamed "insider" talked to BON about what's taking place in the closed Spring practices.

    At quarterback, redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard is making plays in the zone read game... Tyrone Swoopes is still ahead in the competition, setting himself apart with his work ethic on and off the field. He stays late to throw extra passes, he lives in the film room...

    [Dorian] Leonard is becoming a physical force on the field, a trait that could help him become a reliable target on third down.

    Wickline thinks that [Tristan Nickelson] is the "real deal" because of his motor and overall work ethic. If there's one area where he's still lagging behind, it's with his strength, which could necessitate a redshirt after all depending on how the other early enrollees develop.

    [Malik] Jefferson is "as advertised" and "unblockable" on the field and making plays all over the field already.

    [T]he negative players who impacted others are now gone and there's a much more positive attitude overall. "Off the charts" positive, in fact, according to the source.
    [More in the article]
     
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  7. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

  8. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    I recall Derrick Johnson played back-up for the first 6 games and then started every game thereafter. Even as a back-up he played quite a bit. Maybe it took a while to learn the assignments.
     
  9. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    It sounds like Santos may eventually find himself not starting or on the bench and Jefferson in the starting lineup tearing up **** and bustin' heads. I like that.... I know it is way, way early, but.... maybe, maybe Malik will wear #60 one day.........................
     
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    Last edited: Mar 31, 2015
  10. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    From a HornSports post, an unnamed source said:

    "Tell your readers not to read too far into what’s happening in the first two weeks of practices. The coaches have talked and talked about 'competition' for months – that’s what’s happening right now.

    I’ve been to practice. They’re mixing lineups and shuttling players in and out to make sure they get a good look at everybody. Beyond that, the coaches obviously realize there’s a difference in which line group you run behind and against. So when I say they want a good look at everybody, that means that some players are going to have to wait while other position groups take form.

    These coaches know what they’re doing, and the players know the deal. Nobody on the 40 is in a hurry to write a depth chart, so you shouldn’t be either.

    My sense from talking with them is that if it takes the whole Spring, then it takes the whole Spring."​

    Also, from an unnamed source:
    • The offense didn’t perform well today. The defense was throwing a lot of blitzes and the offensive line didn’t know what to do.
    • Duke Catalon looks good. Really good.
    • Kevin Vaccaro destroyed Blake Whiteley – massive, massive hit.
    • Dalton Santos missed too many plays today.
    • Bryce Cottrell looked really good today and the defensive line had a good day overall.
    • Prior to today, JUCO transfer Quincy Vasser hadn’t shown much. That changed during one-on-ones. Vasser had a super nasty pass rush move – it was impressive to say the least.
    [Much more in the article]
     
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  11. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    Is Darius James on the field, or is he still injured?
     
  12. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    He wasn't on the "out for" or "limited during" lists for Spring Practice. Strong mentioned in his pre-Spring Practice presser that James had some work to do academically, so I'm guessing the young man isn't participating.
     
  13. IvanDiabloHorn

    IvanDiabloHorn 1,000+ Posts

    What? The offense didn't perform well today? No Watson magic?

    Our defense is going to be real good.
     
  14. Dionysus

    Dionysus Idoit Admin

  15. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    Yes, please keep the updates coming for all us hungry Horn fans out here in cyberspace!
     
  16. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Thanks. It's hard to get much info outta closed practices.

    I called Charlie to tell him (1) that I understood his need to keep practices closed to both the public and the press; and (2) that he could send me daily updates that would only be posted for HornFans members.

    Charlie has such a great sense of humor - he pretended not to know me and hung up.
     
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  17. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    Hey Godz, tell Charlie WorsterMan says hello next time you speak to him:smokin:
     
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  18. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Sheroid Evans out for the Spring

    Per BON:
    Sr. Cornerback Sheroid Evans suffered a knee injury in practice on Saturday on a non-contact play. Evans will miss the rest of the spring and undergo further evaluation at that point. Strong did not provide any more information on the severity of the injury, providing some hope that it's not another ligament tear for Evans.​
     
  19. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

  20. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Per Jeff Howe:
    Based on what Strong has said and what I've heard, it sounds like things are status quo with Swoopes No. 1 and Heard No. 2. I've been told Heard has done some good things, but he's still got some work to do to overtake Swoopes.

    Per Max Olson:
    LB Malik Jefferson is playing up to the hype so far in spring practice, and might already be the most talented linebacker on the roster. He’s going to be a menace at the line of scrimmage from the Fox position.
     
  21. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    Oh, me likey!
     
  22. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    I've only seen Jerrod Heard on video but, for some reason, I can't help but think of him as The Sundance Kid - you know, better in the moment and on the move than he is in drills. We'll get to see him at work April 18th and, suck-or-shine, have a better idea of his capabilities at this level.

     
  23. Statalyzer

    Statalyzer 10,000+ Posts

    I wish I could have caught the name, but somebody on 1300 was talking to Rod Babers around 4:30 today about the UT spring football and Rod asked him for specifics about all the talk of changing the offense, like is it basically the same, is it "tweaking", is it a major overhaul, what's really going on. The guy essentially said "It's closer to an overhaul than it is to just tweaking, they are going with lots of read options and power runs both from the same spread formations."

    Sounds like most of the past 25 years.... :D
     
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  24. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    From a post 14 up from this one:
    Here's the video:



    And here's the slo-mo:



    Nice touch by Heard and nice catch on the tipped pass.
     
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  25. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Per HornSports:
    [Because of going up-tempo,] Texas will be sure to score some points and move the ball, but the offense will only go as the offensive line goes. The good news on this front is that Joe Wickline has been recruiting lineman for just that purpose – lineman like Connor Williams, a former high school tight end from Coppell… he will start next year. Williams isn’t at the top of the depth chart today, but this kid is the real deal.
     
  26. militaryhorn

    militaryhorn Prediction Contest Manager

    That hit, while nice, was not good form. Wrap them arms around and make sure to follow through.
     
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  27. Brad Austin

    Brad Austin 2,500+ Posts

    Count me in on the side who hopes Jinkens overtakes Santos. Santos never shed his hyperactive "chicken with his head cut off" play style. He runs around possessed with reckless control and lacking anticipation. He's so amped it results in poor angles and missing his assignment at an unacceptable rate. I once thought he was just a young player not yet adjusted to the faster pace of the college game. But nothing changed since his arrival.

    Aggressive, reckless abandonment makes a solid special teamer and is okay for a change of pace sub. But the starting MLB needs better flow anticipation, selection of proper angles to avoid blockers, and an ability to quickly re-direct to consistently make tackles. Santos just sees fresh meat and b-lines right at it like a starving hyena. Sometimes it looks great because of the violent style, others he'll be left face down as the RB sprints through the secondary. We can't afford his limited play style in the middle of the defense.
     
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  28. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    That video of the hit, looks like Heard throwing on the run. First time I have seen him do it. Supposed to be how he best throws. Looked like it was tipped by the DE but it fluttered to the receiver.
     
  29. BevoJoe

    BevoJoe 10,000+ Posts

    Nice hit! Or in the words of Ralph Kramden, "BANG! ZOOM! TO THE MOON!"
     
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  30. Godz40acres

    Godz40acres Happy Feller

    Per 247Sports:
    Charlie Strong singled out sophomore Dorian Leonard and junior Jacorey Warrick as receivers who are off to good starts during spring drills. Those two names being at the top of the list was a surprise, but not so much once you realize both Leonard and Warrick were offered and coveted by Jay Norvell during his time at Oklahoma.

    Before he committed to the Longhorns..., Warrick was strongly considering Oklahoma. The attractive thing about Warrick is he fits the mold of the receiver Strong likes -- capable of catching a quick slant or a hitch, making a defender miss and breaking off a long gain.

    Leonard's 247Sports Crystal Ball had six predictions, all to Oklahoma.

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

    Leaping Leonard Lassos Leather Left-handed

     
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