man this kid is the real deal. Biggest impact from a freshman on D since DJ. What this also makes even more plain to see is how average the rest of our defensive front seems to be. He was the only player to get a QBH last night. He is consistently near the ball or in the right spot to make a play. He doesn't over run the play and then leave a gap. Now we just need the rest of the guys up front to step it up.
He needs to settle down and play his position as he was out of position a lot. That is a freshman deal, and he will be great if he stays healthy.
Aside from ridiculous natural talent I see two other things in him that are difference makers. (1) He’s hungry, and (2) he has a very mature perspective for his age. I heard yesterday that Malik had said, in essence, that we need to quit talking about VY and living in the past glory — let’s look forward and build a new champion to celebrate. It was said respectfully of VY and the 2005 team, of course, but I just thought that was a very mature view.
Viper and Dion make good points. Malik is so quick to the ball, and no doubt that, if he stays healthy, he will be one of the best to wear the burnt orange ever. Great potential as a player, and also as an ambassador for the horn nation.
He's clearly the best player on the defense right now - at least the most impactful. He's GOT to get better at tackling because there were too many opportunities he left on the field. He's still used to being able to put a shoulder into a guy and blow him up. Right now our best option on defense seems to be to find a way to get him into the backfield and disrupt something.
He's young and excited and has great wheels. He has to remember to break down and wrap up on a tackle, not just deliver a blow. He got faked out by the quarterback a few times, but still had the speed to catch him from behind. When he remembers his fundamentals and correct angles, he should be a beast of a linebacker. Boyd looks like he will be a good one too on defense.
+55 (46 for Malik, 2 for Boyd, 7 for NBHorn7). Also, in Charlie's post-game pc he made the point in relation to Malik's 1st juked-out-by-the-QB that he needed to attack the guy's outside shoulder 'cuz he wasn't going to break inside since there was nowhere to go there, so his only option was to go outside.
What NB said. Too many of the bounce offs ended up keeping Owl drives alive. But he is exciting. Seems to make the entire defense come alive. You can really tell the series when he is not on the field.
In my 50+ years of watching Texas football there have been very few players that jump off the screen (or the field) like MJ. Players like Nobis, Saxton, Chris Gilbert, Earl, DJ, Ricky and Vince come to mind. Jefferson may have already been the best defensive player on the field, for either side, in our first two games. We are watching something truly special. Not yet perfect...but special indeed. And frankly, much of the fun of Texas football for me is watching the players. It's going to be a pleasure to witness what this player does on the field over the next three years.
His effort and being around the ball is outstanding!! The game will slow down for him soon and he will make and finish outstanding plays very soon!!!
Now, what are we going to do about Hall? He is the same ways as MJ but he still makes the stupid mistake, running that ball out of the end zone and then fumbling it......... The fifteen yard penatlies against UCLA and BYU last year
I thought the decision to run it out was great. He had plenty of room to run. What WASN'T great was waving the ball around like a loaf of bread. I suspect he'll learn from that one, and may be "learning" even as we speak.
Well hindsight is 20/20 but I did yell at the time he stepped across the goal line, what the hell are you doing? He was 3-4 yards deep into the end zone and there were bodies all around him, we just needed the ball after a 15 play drive that ate up 6 minutes on the clock. We go into Halftime up 21-7 vs. 21-14. The odds of him returning that ball 103-104 yards are slim to none. Anyway, he just seems to make the bonehead mover when it is not needed. I love his intensity and the way he plays, just the bone headed plays bother me.
When I saw him run it out I also yelled out "what are you doing?". After glancing at the field I silently recanted that notion as he did have a solid setup to at least get to the 20 (same as touchback), but also had a decent shot at more yards. On the flip side, the fumble risk taken when guys who don't handle the ball much is what ended up happening. Unless it's clear sailing I tend to side with those guys taking a knee.
