Fall Camp 2022

Not to worry, Dion, we got your back

 

5 star frosh Kelvin Banks is playing LT at the beginning of camp.

 

Say what you will but I think it’s significant he said “tried” here. But I can be picky.

 

Jeff Howe-@JeffHowe247

Sark said it was good to have QB Maalik Murphy and WR Troy Omeire back on the field healthy today. TE Jahleel Billingsley was limited today as a precaution.

With the moves TexasFootball has made to upgrade the linebacker position and with the strides some guys have made, Sark said he feels better about linebacker now than he did a few months ago.

On Pete Kwiatkowski’s offseason meeting with Dan Quinn, Sark said he helped set that up. He felt like the fact that both are D-line specialists would help the Longhorns.

Filling out coverage and return units will be a big focus the first 10 or so days of camp for the Longhorns per Sark. That’s a good avenue for young guys to get early playing time.

Sark said he enjoys the Longhorns QB room because he’s got competitive guys who are rooting for each other. He felt like Hudson Card and Quinn Ewers both had good days today.

CJ Vogel-@CJVogel_TFB

Texas freshman OL Kelvin Banks turned a lot of heads during his first practice as a Longhorn.

Anwar Richardson-@AnwarRichardson

Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said TE Jahleel Billingsley did not practice on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury. Linebacker Luke Brockermeyer was limited. DB Jaylon Guilbeau missed practice due to personal reasons but will be back on Thursday.

On a positive note, Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy and receiver Troy Omeire were full participants in practice on Wednesday.

 

Now that WR is stacked, watch Omeire have an all-conference season.

 

Looks like Sark has lost weight (check his face and chest). I said last year that Sark put on pounds during the season, which some disputed.

 

Liar! I'm tellin' Dion!

 

CJ Vogel-@CJVogel_TFB

One freshman that really caught my eye today was WR Savion Red. Moved very well, quick, crisp and strong hands.

[Click pic 4 full-size]

 

I thought the same thing.

 

Oooh, wait till I find that post! You are going to be sorry.

 

There was a question omitted from Sark's presser on Tuesday. Fortunately, I know a guy who knows a guy who found it and sent it to me.

 

Steve Sarkisian details the first day of Texas preseason camp - Burnt Orange Nation

"The large group of six offensive linemen who enrolled during the summer provided something Texas hasn’t often had in recent years — some players who look like future NFL linemen, led by freshman left tackle Kelvin Banks."

Good to hear, but quite an insult to the returning OL.

 

No "insult", just fact. Tell them to get off their lard asses and do their job, and they won't have to listen to it. I waited all season for one of them to make a block, and I'm still waiting.

 

Hope he gets the job done. It's been a while since we didn't have to worry about the safety of our QB in the pocket. Our poor QBs for many a year...

By the way, equipment managers, these guys in the trenches should have actual knee pads. (WR and CB are a different story...) Hopefully, he just slipped on some football slacks for the photo, and he actually wears knee pads during practices and games.

 

I took the comment to be more about their size and physique. After all, Kelvin Banks has a beer gut as big as any returning OL.

I'm certainly waiting for them to actually slow down a defender too.

 

I'm sure he will wear pads and knee braces on both legs.

 

Don’t know personally how effective they are both I always like to see the knee braces because they make me ‘feel’ like there is some protection. Those trunks need everything and anything that might offer some protection for carrying that bulk.

 

Best run blocking Oline in years and y’all jumping on the bash em bandwagon.

 

Great comment about a group that has never played a game. True they have huge potential, BUT to quote DKR, "Potential just means you haven't done it yet".

Hope you are right.

 

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“We’ve got D-Mo,” [Pete] Kwiatkowski said Tuesday. “We’ve got Jaylan Ford, who has been awesome... We’ve got David Gbenda. Jett Bush moved back to linebacker. Then we’ve got (Diamonte) Tucker-Dorsey, the transfer. I think he’s going to be a welcome addition.”

Kwiatkowski described Overshown as an “impact player,” who has a lot of explosiveness... Kwiatkowski and Steve Sarkisian alike also expressed a lot of optimism about Ford, who along with Overshown lined up as the starting off-ball linebackers in Wednesday’s first practice with Bush and Gbenda manning the second string.

After linebacker was a problem area last year, Sarkisian said on Wednesday he enters the 2022 season feeling much better about the position thanks to Overshown, Ford, and others.

Bush’s move is one that puts him back into the position he played in high school at Houston (Texas) Strake Jesuit. After a year playing Jack, the strongside on-ball linebacker, Bush is where Sarkisian believes he will be far better served.

The addition of Tucker-Dorsey also is one Sarkisian likes. After “Tuck’s” transfer up from the FCS ranks, Sarkisian sees a lot of what made Tucker-Dorsey an All-American at that level.

Other players drew mention from Sarkisian and Kwiatkowski in recent media availabilities. Sarkisian took the time to compliment Devin Richardson’s progression after one year at Texas, while Kwiatkowski looked forward to seeing what freshmen Derrick Brown and Trevell Johnson could accomplish this year.

The group has a significant amount to prove, just like the rest of the defense and defensive coaching staff. Progress made over the spring and summer, and a brief glimpse in Texas’ first preseason practice, at least has Sarkisian feeling more optimistic about one of the toughest positions to play in the Big 12.

[More at IT]

 

I was referring to the comments related to “returning” guys. But as a collective unit, they technically did not do that together.

Itll be interesting nonetheless.

 

​

This article is two words shy of being longer than War and Peace. Click the link below for the full version.

When Steve Sarkisian declares either Hudson Card or Quinn Ewers the winner in the latest race to be named QB1 on the Forty Acres, there’s going to be no shortage of elite-level playmakers at the disposal of the man operating the Texas offense. A group headlined by a 1,000-yard back in Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy, who’s coming off of arguably the greatest debut season ever for a Longhorn wideout, has to be considered the Big 12’s best collection of skill talent given what Texas returns and what Sarkisian and Co. acquired in the eight months between wrapping up a 5-7 season with a Nov. 26 win over Kansas State and the start of preseason practice on Wednesday.

The quarterbacks remain largely unknown commodities with Pro Football Focus crediting Card with only 222 snaps in eight games last season after logging 17 in 2020 and Ewers yet to throw a collegiate pass. There’s also the matter of the offensive line remaining one of the biggest concerns for the Longhorns heading into camp, something Sarkisian mentioned in his remarks from Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium’s Centennial Room on Tuesday.

With that said, there’s enough firepower on the perimeter and in the backfield to believe an offense that threw the fifth-most touchdowns of any Longhorn attack ever (29) and ended 2021 as the eighth-best unit in school history in yards gained per play (6.35) can be better in Sarkisian’s second season calling plays. The challenge for Sarkisian isn’t figuring out if the offense has the tools necessary to build on a season in which Texas finished No. 18 nationally in points per game (35.2), it’s making sure his bevy of pre-snap cheat codes and being diverse with personnel groupings result in a level of unpredictability that makes the Longhorns a nightmare to defend.

Along with the offense centering largely around two players, Texas relied heavily on 12 personnel (one running back and two tight ends) as a base personnel grouping and sparingly used two-back sets, which would’ve gotten Robinson and Roschon Johnson or Keilan Robinson on the field together. The percentage of two-back sets has to increase to maximize the offense with Johnson and Keilan Robinson worthy of getting the ball in their hands, in addition to Bijan Robinson getting the opportunities he needs to surpass his highly-productive sophomore season when he finished eighth in FBS in both rushing yards per game (112.7) and all-purpose yards per game (142.2).

Sarkisian loves targeting his runners in the passing game and along with his fondness for the tight end position, it doesn’t leave enough targets for everyone in the wide receiver room to get a high volume of opportunities to make a play when the ball is in the air. That was the case in Sarkisian’s two seasons as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and it’s a trend he continued in his first season calling plays for the Longhorns.

[T]he return of a healthy [Jordan] Whittington (19 of his 26 receptions last season resulted in a first down) gives Sarkisian’s quarterbacks two proven commodities. Isaiah Neyor looked in the spring like the big-time addition he was billed to be after transferring in from Wyoming, a season that has him entering 2022 with the second-most contested catches (15) among qualifying returning FBS wide receivers (minimum of 37 targets) according to PFF while ranking No. 11 with 2.87 yards per route run (the number of snaps a receiver runs a route as an eligible receiver against the receiving yards he gains) and No. 12 with an average depth of target (how many yards down the field a player is being targeted on average) of 17.7 yards, totals which would’ve led the Big 12 in 2021.

Those last two numbers highlight the elite vertical threat Neyor is on a per-snap basis, doing further justice to the gaudy production of his sophomore season (44 receptions for 878 yards and eight touchdowns). With Neyor and Worthy in the fold, Texas is the only FBS program in the country featuring two wide receivers who caught 10 or more touchdowns last season, but Neyor isn’t the only newcomer vying for a chance to shine and earn snaps when the Longhorns hit the practice field.

Agiye Hall turned 10 targets in Alabama’s offense in 2021 into four receptions for 72 yards. A change of scenery could be all the No. 45 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite for 2021 needs to truly kickstart his career with Sarkisian and tight ends coach Jeff Banks playing a big role in getting Hall to Tuscaloosa and then to Austin after the Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale product entered the transfer portal.

It’s likely Texas remains a predominantly 12-personnel offense in 2022 because Sarkisian likes the flexibility of potentially lining up in an empty formation with five legitimate receiving threats on one snap and pounding the football when the defense adjusts on the next, but Sarkisian has numerous reasons to mix things up if the players who can force his hand when it comes to diversifying personnel groupings do so with what they show on the practice field.

Between the quarterback and offensive line situations, a defense that struggled mightily and is looking to get things headed in the right direction and a kicking game that’s trying to replace every key piece involved in punting and placekicking last season, Sarkisian has a lot of things on his plate that needs to be addressed over the next 31 days. As far as he’s concerned, however, wondering if one football is enough to feed the capable hungry mouths wanting to do their part to help the Longhorns pile up yards and put points up on the scoreboard isn’t something that’s causing him to lose sleep.

[Much more at Horns247]

 

[Pics from IT]

 

Troy Omeire could be a revelation for
Texas football in fall camp

​

[W]e are now through two days of fall practice... And while there weren’t a ton of nuggets to speak of coming out of the second day of fall practice, it does seem like one particular skill position player is really making a surprising impact in the last 48 hours.

The former blue-chip recruit and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Troy Omeire is definitely looking the part through the first two days of fall practice. It’s great to see Omeire back at full speed in practice really for the first time since his true freshman campaign in 2020.

Omeire has suffered unfortunate season-ending knee injuries in each of the last two years. But he’s as healthy as he was in the last 18 months entering his third round of fall camp on the Forty Acres.

The word coming out of fall practice through the first two days of the festivities in Austin basically are giving the impression that Omeire is living up to the hype he was drumming up two years ago. It sounds like Omeire is one of the most impressive wide receivers so far in fall practice.

Omeire was a good downfield blocker in high school and he’s got a really underrated route tree that he’s able to run proficiently. That type of skill set, combined with a big showing in fall practice, would likely be enough for Omeire to get at least eight or 10 offensive snaps each week this season.

[More at Hookem Headlines]

 

Joe Cook-@josephcook89

Bijan Robinson says, though it’s in good fun during training camp, “I like to get the defense mad.”

“It’s just fun and motivating.”

Robinson says he gets coaching from both Tashard Choice and WR coach Brennan Marion when learning aspects of route running and pass catching. Mentioned there have been plenty of instances of him lining up in the slot.
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No surprise, but at Z wide receiver, Xavier Worthy is the No. 1 guy. Big year two upcoming for Texas' leading 2021 receiver.
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The top three at XWR: Isaiah Neyor (18), Casey Cain (88), and Troy Omeiere (21). All three hauled in nice catches during the media viewing portion of practice on Thursday.

 

Texas Football-@TexasFootball

Back at it

 

Is it just me, or does Patrick McBroom resemble a Mondoshawan?

 

Hudson Card not going down quietly​

Entering the third day of fall practice, it doesn’t feel like we’re much closer to having a starting quarterback named for the regular season opener. Texas is still seeing the likes of junior quarterback Hudson Card duke it out with redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers a few weeks ahead of the regular season opener...

Card is getting the first-team reps to start off fall practice so far this week while Ewers mixes in with the twos and then the ones later on.

Yet, the fact that Card is taking more of the first-team reps at the outset of fall camp over Ewers is still pretty surprising to some degree. It felt like Ewers had the momentum in the quarterback competition over Card at the conclusion of spring ball.

[W]e should note that the more experienced of the two signal-callers getting the first-team reps is completely in line with Sark’s thinking this week.

More and more position battles will be decided as certain players step up in the next couple of weeks of fall practice. There’s no reason to expect anything different at the quarterback position.

It looks like Ewers and Card are both more confident in their throws down the field and to the sidelines than they were in spring ball, which is a good sign.

The main difference between these two... appears to be the decision-making and footwork. Card has shown some pretty massive strides in terms of his footwork and movement within the pocket. And he looks to hold the edge in these regards over Ewers at the outset of camp.

We all know the insane arm talent that Ewers brings to the table. And we’re getting to see some of those crazy arm angles and throws that he can make that really set him apart as a top talent at the quarterback position.

Thus, we’re left with the question as to whether Card’s increasing pocket awareness and improving footwork can give him a big enough edge to push Ewers for the starting job coming out of fall camp.

[More at Hook'em Headlines]

CJ Vogel-@CJVogel_TFB
A good look at the difference in arm slot for both Quinn Ewers and Hudson Card. Same route, throw, distance for fwiw