The real tricky (good) mess for TH will be if Sam is playing lights out, Rising and/or Thompson shine and RJ is on campus chomping at the bit...and looks the part we think he'll play. As many have said here before...be nice to finally have this problem!
I am. They don't. I actually might even sneak Bret Stafford in over those guys. Gardere got his OU wins but he was generally a pretty mediocre QB. It actually says something about UT's history that it's so hard to come up with 10 QBs that really stand out. The wishbone era definitely changed the way we evaluated QBs for a long time, and frankly when Fred was here, this was the program where borderline blue-chip QBs went to disappear.
Notre Dame is going to royally screw us (f we can hold it together and put ourselves in position to be considered. I feel like this is going to be the quintessential "four slots for six teams" season, which reminds me yet again how stupid our playoff system really is. Burt (IMO) is what's missing from our five-wide sets right now. Heard has wheels, but he's not a big guy, and it seems like we struggle to get him loose downfield. Collin and LJ aren't scaring anyone with their speed, although LJ gets more out of his than anyone I've seen in a long time. Burt is a pure deep threat and a guy that (unlike Duverney) still has the size to go up and get a contested ball. I fully expect to see him emerge in the back half of the season and make some big plays.
Boy do I disagree with this assessment. What Sam has demonstrated he can do versus what “l” thought Sam could do has changed light years since Maryland. For that reason, I wouldn’t put much past him including his becoming a highly proficient down the field passer.
Gardere made a living throwing to the Cash twins, once they were gone he lost his effectiveness as a QB. Sam is not a finished product by any stretch of the imagination. He has improved greatly, but still can improve more in many areas. I don't see him ever being an NFL QB, but many said the same thing about Drew Brees. We shall see, but as a college QB, right now he is a game manager and he does a great job of picking his spots. For Colt's first two years, he was also a game manager, but his junior and senior year he became so much more. Sam has that same opportunity. But if he falters and falls back into old ways, we know moving forward we have legit options behind him.
Collin Johnson is a 1st round pick and is gone. I sure hope LJH comes back for another year. That guy can play RB, WR, safety. He's one hell of an athlete. If I remember right he was just a 3* out of HS.
IMO if/when Sam gets hurt Shane will go in and finish that game. Whether he starts the next game will depend on the opponent and the number of games left (including a possible CCG and the bowl). At some point after a red shirt season is assured, Rising will take over if Sam cannot go. There is no point playing Shane if Rising can go and save his shirt.
I don't know man....we may be entering an era where TH has a culture that prompts guys to stay and finish like Ricky and others did during the Mack years. It's been easy for guys to leave early lately. My guess is it's about to be a tougher decision.
Interesting take. Hope you’re right. The team chemistry does seem good. Winning will do that, and winning after 9 years of mediocrity will really do that.
I don't know... It's possible, but there has definitely been a push lately it seems to "get out and get yours" primarily due to injury concerns (speaking CFB wide)...There's been so many high profile injuries. As for UT, I do think the current culture will be much more inticing to stick around than previous...and some of those guys were just feeling jilted due to the coaching turnover also, so there's that.
As a legacy, CoJo's reasons for staying/going might be more complicated. LJH is well regarded by Coach. Those two might be more likely to stay than others.
I remember Roy Williams coming back. He said he wanted to learn how to block for VY. Really he just enjoyed the college atmosphere and wanted another year. I was watching the Eagles the other day. Carson Wentz is who Sam is beginning to remind me of.
David Ash was pretty good. 2012 was a fun season. The 56-50 Baylor shootout was classic. Last time we were relevant. Was he top 10? Its debatable.
No it's not. If Ash had remained injury free and been able to play 4 years, maybe. But he didn't and I defy anybody to find objective stats to allow for his inclusion in a top 10 list.
Sam has made some improvements in the area I feel he still needs the most improvement on : ball placement. He's improving on those 3rd and short slants. He's hitting his guys right off the break, in stride on most throws now. His deep balls still are 50/50 or less. He hit CJ in stride on the first drive. His other throws have been high and outside, or short. The throw to Burt. If he hits Burt in stride, Burt is gone for a TD. Thankfully, we scored on that drive anyway. The low throws right down the middle. The announcers said something interesting. There was that one throw where he put the ball way outside to CJ on an up and out. There was a zone nickleback just below the pass. Maybe that throw was some growth. Instead of trying to put the ball where it's "easily" catchable could have been tipped or even picked off by that OU defender playing zone underneath. Either CJ can make a play on the ball, or it falls harmlessly incomplete. And maybe that's something to be said for most of his throws that are off ... he's putting the balls in a place where our guy and our guy alone can make a play. Look, Colt had an AWFUL deep ball as well. People praised his "accuracy" but all it was, was a high completion percentage. But he had chemistry with Shipley, Quan, etc. Surprisingly, Vince threw one of the more accurate balls by his 3rd year, more so than Colt. The important thing right now, is Sam's confidence is rising, and he has the leadership moxie, which is incredible for a 2nd year. His guys believe in him and want to play for him. If he continues to play smart, manage the game and exude confidence, the team will do well. Tom Herman's presser yesterday had some interesting comments about conversations he had with Sam, on when he feels Sam performs the best. Should check it out. He tells Sam to grip and rip it, w/o being reckless, and not to overthink. That's when Sam plays the best.
Todd Dodge predicted before the season started that all this (Sam's improvement, especially WRT protecting the ball) was going to happen this year.
Another key factor will be not getting hurt. I like that he has shown the inclination to slide or avoid contact when necessary instead of just bullrushing into needless contact.
Love what's happening in our passing game esp. for ljh and Johnson. I think they will fare well in the draft or at least deserve to. This is their breakout seasons though they have shown flashes. And let's not forget about TE Beck. It's a good time to be a horn fan. What's more incredible to me is that Sam is making this happen. Keep on trucking!
With his limited number of games - he ranks in the Top 10 in Passing Yards Passing TDs Passing Efficiency Career CMP ATT PCT YDS Y/A AY/A TD INT RATE 385 612 62.9 4728 7.7 7.4 31 18 138.6 2012 214 318 67.3 2699 8.5 8.6 19 8 153.3 Texas Longhorns Passing | College Football at Sports-Reference.com
Thing is, it's way easier to get those stats the closer you are to the present day. Makes it pretty hard to compare even for teams that ran balanced offenses. Then you have a team like us where some of the best times in our history, we were running wishbone - when #2 Texas beat #1 Oklahoma 28-7 in 1963 on our way to our first title, we completed 1 pass.
Still, Sangre's post was "find me objective stats." I don't think he's top 10, but HTown brought facts.
I don't think he is. I don't think he's got the speed that a Calvin Johnson or Roy Williams had that made them such hot targets, and I don't think his pure size translates as well in the NFL. He'll be drafted, and I hope/believe he'll be a solid pro. But I don't see first-rounder out of him yet. First-day draft, possibly. LJ has a better shot because while he's not as fast as a lot of guys, he's clearly a gifted open-field runner and can make some things happen. But again... I don't see first-rounder there. He might leave early but he's not getting drafted that highly. I'm not sure you can make the argument. I'm watching it and from what it looks like, it's a comeback throw and Burt breaks back to the ball. He's not running cross field and stopping. He's coming back on a deep throw which is exactly what he's supposed to do. Might be a timing route, might be a deep slant, might be a pass where he's supposed to drive and come back. But it's not a bad throw.
Sam is making huge strides, but watching Overdrive this morning, he still needs improvement in accuracy and arm strength. He has made huge strides in leadership and game management which is why we are winning with him right now.
Yes, HTown brought some facts to the discussion. Fair enough. But Prodigal pointed out the problem with limiting the fact set to passing stats, given that we are trying to compare QBs from across decades of football, most of which were predominantly run oriented teams. Again, I happily concede Ash could well have been in the discussion, or even could have been a no-brainer for the list had he remained healthy. The possibilities were tantalizing. But given the injury plagued reality of his career, I don't think he merits serious consideration at all.
Collin Johnson is a Dez Bryant clone without all the drama. I really hope we can keep LJ, but I got the impression he is going to be moving on no matter what rating he is given. I don't care if Sam can make every throw on the passing tree, I only care that none of his passes go into the wrong hands, and so far he has been great since the Maryland game. He has always been a good leader, even as a freshmen, now he is the unquestioned leader. Don't worry about arm strength or accuracy, he is getting better, I've seen a enough to know he is improving greatly since the first two games. He is even going through his progression and only Colt did that better. He is really becoming a complete QB. I don't know if this will translate to a NFL career, but for a college sophomore he is doing really well.
