Spring Football

I keep hearing that the new staff really likes Naashon Hughes from what they've seen during the winter. It'd be nice to have the old guy be a major and consistent contributor next season.

 

Hey, bad coaching is still coaching. So, there was some coaching going on last year, too.

 

Spring Breakout Predictions

LB Jeffrey McCulloch: McCulloch has the size to compete at OLB and ILB. In 2016, as the season went on he saw the field more and more and was playing well and always seemed to be around the ball. I can see him passing up senior Edwin Freeman this Spring and even Anthony Wheeler or Malik Jefferson if they slip up. His combination versatility and size is his biggest asset and I predict he’ll be a starter vs Maryland in September.

OL Denzel Okafor: His redshirt was burned during week 2 vs UTEP but didn’t see the field much more after that. Coming out of HS he was looked at as a guard due to only being 6’3, but his very long arms are the reason former OL coach Matt Mattox liked him at OT. I think he’ll stick at RT and pass up Tristian Nickelson as the backup and I predict he’ll take the starting job from the inconstant SR Brandon Hodges this Spring.
[More @ TFB]

 

Nobody's Special​

As a sign of showing there’s no preferential treatment being given to anyone in the program, Herman said that the offensive staff ripped into Buechele for being careless with the football. The sophomore quarterback ... “got disciplined as hard as anybody got disciplined,” during the first of 15 spring practices, according to the head coach.

“He was loose with the football and every single offensive coach undressed him,” Herman said. “Did up-downs and the whole nine. I’m not sure that’s the way things have been done around here before.”

The Longhorns are taking ball security so seriously that skill position players carry a ball with them throughout the stretch period. Coaches patrol the field and try to poke the ball out of the ball carrier’s hands with padded sticks.

Should a coach catch a player loafing or see a ball being carelessly handled..., you’ll be called out in front of your teammates. As Herman has said numerous times since arriving in Austin, there are no secrets in the Longhorn family and he wants everyone on the field to know who’s the culprit not pulling their own weight.

“If you loaf on the football field in between snap to whistle, it’s really bad in front of your teammates,” Herman said. “If you’re loose with the football in between snap and whistle, it can be really bad. Those are the two demands of this program.”

Herman and the staff weren’t singling Buechele out or picking on him. Getting onto the starting quarterback sent a strong message right out of the gate that no one Longhorn is beyond reproach in the eyes of the coaching staff while the culture of the program is getting established.

“It’s pretty good for the Average Joe to know that with this coaching staff there are no favorites, there is no teacher’s pet,” Herman said. "There's no doghouse either."
[More @ 247]

 

I am very concerned about our defense after watching the two videos Easy posted.
Ehlinger and Boo were both shredding the D up. Its like the defense wasn't even on the field...

 

It's like last year......

 

Another Quarterback Battle



In my La-La Land, a bona-fide battle would not be taking place, just a "motivational" one.

Every year Texas would have another top rated frosh QB in the fold. In the spring, the successful incumbent would feel the heat, the other quarterbacks would apply the burn, but the staff would secretly know that they will be redshirting the true freshman to allow him more time to acclimate and develop.

Kinda like...

 

The stuff they put on Snapchat was bad. Db's got killed on 1vs1 I think Boyd may have had the only stop but it is first day so hey it can only get better right

 

hey it could also be the Offense is juts going to be THAT good! If that's the case, we might finally have the 10 Yard Minimum offense installed this year.

And they didn;t even have all 11 guys on the field!

 

but there is - it's human nature

 

The media team is on

 

nobody is going to beat this guy when he gets it all set up.

We are about to be on a run unlike anything since the 60's. I said it before, he has all the charisma and recruiting ability of a young Mack Brown; but this guy also knows "X's and O's".

 

The same guy that lost to navy, smu, and memphis?

 

TFB Tuesday Practice Notes

I know we reported after Herman got the Texas job, that he isn’t afraid to stop things during practice and chew somebody out. And that he isn’t going to watch his mouth, no matter who’s around. I was told Herman was in mid-season form when it came to that as he was really pushing his guys on Tuesday.

Herman mentioned that the one player he probably chewed out more than any other was QB Shane Buechele, but not for his lack of effort but for his lack of urgency when it came to ball security. Buechele, who hurt his thumb on his throwing hand last season was wrapped on Tuesday. That could be something to keep an eye on over the spring/fall.

Dorian Leonard and Collin Johnson were with the 1’s at outside WR. Jerrod Heard and Armanti Foreman were in the slot. Lil’Jordan Humphrey is back with the WRs and I was told he had the catch of the day during 1-on-1s.

Williams-Vahe-Shackelford-McMillon-Nickelson were the 1’s on the OL.

Roach-Ford-Nelson were the 1’s on the DL with Hughes-Hager-Jefferson starting at LB.

Boyd and Hill started at CB, with Locke at nickel. The lone surprise was John Bonney starting at safety with DeShon Elliott.

 

Galvestonhorn, I'm right there with you.

 

Easy will be bending over backwards kissing TH *** in a couple of years.

 

He can win 5 straight nattys and I'm still not kissing anything. Let's hold up a second before we start to declare the guy our "messiah".

 

you'll see soon enough.

 

Coach Quotes After Tuesday's Practice​

On accountability among the teammates: “There’s no secrets around here. If you’re a bad guy, your teammates are going to know you’re a bad guy. There’s zero preferential treatment. Shane Buechele got disciplined as hard as anybody got disciplined today. That’s the way we do things around here. He was loose with the football and every single offensive coach undressed him. He did up-downs and the whole nine. I’m not sure that’s the way things have been done around here before now, but it’s a good way to know with this coaching staff there’s no favorites.”

On the aspect of practice that was the most difficult for the team to grasp: “Stretch. We sprint at the end of stretch 10 yards. That’s it. 10 yards. We do things, we call it “plus 2” around here. Any 10 yard drill should not be pulled up until after 12 yards. They kept pulling up and they kept testing the fence. Buzz! Is it still on? Yes, it’s still on. Lot of you guys were there, right? How many times did I call them back?”

On addressing the team after the stretch period: “What I said to them is that everything matters. We were not going to end that period until every single person on the football team did their sprints completely right. What does that have to do with football? It’s got everything to do with football. Everything. It’s about taking care of the details and putting forth the effort. Those are all things that take zero talent to do and are decisions that are made in your head.

On the defensive line: “There’s very little grace in our program. It’s fourth and inches every time you walk in the door. I’ve said many times that you only get five pats in the back around here – one after each bowl win and one when you walk across the stage and graduate. There are certain things in the back of my mind that I know to be true. This isn’t the NFL – there’s no waiver wire. These are our guys and we are going to have to play with them.”

On the team trusting this coaching staff: “I feel very confident. Everybody feels confident. I think it’s the level of commitment from the staff and the people in our organization to never let anything slide. That mentality will be a difference for us. What do they have to lose? If I had lost seven games in three straight years and you told me to jump, I’d ask how high? Something has to change.”
[More @ IT]

 

Herman Praises Two DL "Fat Guys"​

The first was sophomore Jordan Elliott, who Herman praised for his work in winter conditioning.

“Better than I thought,” Herman said.

Herman admitted Tuesday he had concerns about Elliott because he committed to and de-committed [to three other schools]. One of those programs was Houston, which left Herman with the impression that Elliott could be someone who simply refuses to give a desired effort.

That’s not what Herman has found to be the case. Elliott, despite Herman saying the 6-foot-5, 330-pound former U.S. Army All-American was “so out of shape” when winter workouts began, did a good job of pushing himself and continues to do so.

“For as out of shape as he was, he knows how to go hard, which was a big concern of mine,” Herman said.

On the practice field Tuesday it was a defensive lineman, senior Poona Ford, who had one of the better days in Herman’s eyes. Like Elliott, Herman described Ford as being someone who isn’t in ideal physical condition but knows how to go hard.

Specifically, Ford impressed Herman with how he sprinted to the football every time he was on the field.

“It’s the last set of plays in period 24, and his 305-pound butt is hauling you-know-what to the football,” Herman said.

Herman was so impressed with Ford that he stopped practice and called Ford over to come see him.

“Poona Ford went really hard. And he’s not in the best shape. It was pretty to watch. As pretty as a 5-foot-11, 305-pound man sprinting can be.” Herman said.

Herman admitted there’s very little grace given in his program, which means he’s not going to wait for the defensive linemen on the roster to get into ideal physical condition before requiring them to meet expectations.
[More @ 247]

 

Champion VS Loser Life​

When the head coach was hired at Texas in November he made sure his team knew that he would be installing a new performance-based labeling system for all of his players.

Gold would be the champions group, those who do everything with the right effort and mentality. Green is for those that are on their way there while players in the crimson group, well, struggle to put forth the correct attitude.

All of the players received their first label on Monday night and then were subsequently treated to a dinner at the Touchdown Club in Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium based off whatever group they were in.

“Crimson is rough,” said senior Naashon Hughes, who is part of the gold group.

Those in the lowly group don’t get the same gear as everyone else, Hughes said. They don’t get the same dinner and are subjected to mandatory study hours at the choosing of the coaching staff.

Defensive back P.J. Locke, a gold group member, accidentally walked into the losers dinner Monday night and saw first hand what they were offered to eat.

“I walked in and they had white bread burned and they had burned hot dogs,” Locke said. “That’s all I really saw."

Hughes added that they had some burgers (most likely burnt) and baked beans.

"Guys are going to try and plead their case. I think there were some people that were close to making gold, but there were just one or two things that held them back," Hughes said. "You just have to speak with those guys and mention if you did this a little better, they would have had no excuse [to put you in gold]."

On the other hand, the gold group, which Herman said had 31 players in it, gets to choose their own study hours, gets the better food and gets other perks as well. Their dinner on Monday night included ribeye steak, shrimp, chicken, pasta, cheesecake and triple chocolate cake, among other things.

“It’s basically being a winner,” said Hughes. “So you get the gold club, you get to move off campus, so you don’t have to stay in the dorms all the time.
[More @ 247 and E$PN]

 

The guy knows what he's doing and knows how to build chemistry on a team.

 

Some saying Jason hall went down today

 

Yep. Out rest of Spring...Hamstring.

 

Didn't think holton could get under that thing