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Spring Practice

If you are like me, not being able to go to open practices that reveal little if anything about the future of our beloved football team is brutal. I know that it's Basketball/Basebal season but I, like many, live and die with Football. Luckily, I was able to attend the first of these affairs and here is what I gathered with emphasis on the more unknown players:

Star-divide

-As biased as I am towards big, #4 wearing recievers, Buckner didn't look ready. Seems like his athleticism is still trying to catch up to his frame.

-Chiles' passing looked improved from what I saw last year, especially at the beginning of practice. He seemed to get worse as the practice went on. Struggles mightily on out routes.

-Ditto Sherrod on the out routes. Very little seperation if any in the passing game between these two, still. If anything Harris' release takes longer than Chiles'.

-Kinne struggled mightily with everything.

-Does anyone else get the impression that whenever Quan gets the ball someone is controlling him with a playstation controller?

-Playstation controller or not I don't feel as if he has the speed to be an elite return man. Quan, Earl Thomas and Brock Fitzhenry fielded kickoffs. Beasley, Chykie and Kirkendoll fielded punts.

-Thomas and Ben Wells "started" at safety. Both looked fast, athletic and lost. Even though Ishie and C. Scott are out and its only spring, safety depth has to be a concern when Blake Gideon and Martin Egwuagu are second on the depth chart.

-Why did Montre Webber wear a protective boot on his right foot and a cleat on his left?

-Fozzy looks fast. He's really, really fast. He can really run.

-Colt hearts Shipley.

-Collins was very impressive. Extraordinarily quick. Good practices for both Payne and Malcolm Williams. Both look like they can contribute.

-Palmer has come a very, very long way. Except for a stop and go by Quan he was outstanding.

-Beasley makes some awesome plays, and then falls asleep. Maybe he is guessing the routes? A little consistency and DA might have his next award winner. Also, working as the edge rusher to block kicks, and showing promise.

-Maddog wears a gold chain that says..... MADDOG.

-Quite a few blitzes in the schrimage type setting they did at the end of practice. Bobino didn't vaporize into the offensive line for once. Rashad was practicing with Muck and K. Robinson(for Kindle). Don't think Norton was hurt but Bobino looked pretty good today. They also blitzed Wells from the safety spot effectively a couple of times.

-Boom is fun to watch. Full of intensity.

-Offense practiced the 'I formation with WR end around option' (not sure of a better way to describe it). I think this could be a productive play with all of the speedy WRs on the roster.

More to come tomorrow. Questions? Did anyone else go that had other impressions?

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Great practice

Guess I'll add my notes:

A few preliminary notes:

  • This is my first practice report.  I'm not an analyst; just doing my best.  
  • Standout player of the day for me was Brandon Collins.  More on him below.
  • Muschamp is crazy.  We had a solid hour of BOOM MOTHERFUCKER-isms.  He was out on the field yelling at players, nearly tackling players, all in that accent we know so well.  Talk about fire.  I really really really hope he sticks around for a while.
  • Curtis looks good, I think only one day after surgery.  He was walking without crutches.  Here's to a full and fast recovery.

Here's what stuck out to me, position by position:

QB
Colt - Given that QBs did little running, Colt was the clear leader.  With and without a defense, his throws seemed quick and accurate.  Picked up 20+ on a designed run against full D, probably would have been 6 in a game.

Chiles - Chiles looked pretty good without a defense.  I saw a couple of throws that were off by a step or two, but nothing looked terrible.  Many of his passes had perfect zip and hit receivers in the hands, above the waist.  Other deep passes sailed perfectly into receivers' hands.  This changed, however, once they added LBs, CBs, and safeties.  Then he started having a lot of trouble connecting.  He had a couple of great moments: deep pass to Buckner, great pass to Collins (more on him later), but struggling a little bit overall.  Overall, his passing rate seemed much better than 1/9, so I'll call it a noticeable improvement.

Harris - Didn't take as many snaps as Chiles, but, overall, he looked roughly equivalent, if not a little bit sharper.

Kinne - Didn't take as many snaps, underthrew a few passes.  Clear #4.

WR
As a preliminary note, I didn't pay as much attention to Ship and Cosby, as they're known quantities.  Both practiced kickoff return.  Cosby dropped one.  Ship had a couple of great plays on deep passes.  Anyway, I focused more on the younger players:

Collins - When I step back and think about the entire practice, Collins stands out.  He was phenomenal.  I only saw him miss one catch.  A lot of the throws were off by a step or two, but he had a sense of where he was in relation to the ball, and he knew what to do to bring it in.  Watch out for #5. [Update: After I wrote this and posted it on a forum, I read two other practice reports that weren't as high on Collins.  The authors didn't criticize him either, but they didn't find him the standout player that I did.  This might be because I spent a lot of time watching the QB drills on the second field; that's where Collins separated himself from the competition.]

Williams - I'd put Williams as the #2 most impressive WR of the night.  He struggled a little bit in warmups, and even later, he missed some passes that looked good.  Overall he looked decent.

Payne - Payne struggled more.  One pass hit him right in the hands, but he couldn't bring it in.  Not as impressed with him.

Buckner - Buckner is tall.  Looks taller than any other WR when they're together.  He didn't practice as much as the others.  Chiles hit him in the hands, a little low, and he dropped it.  But Chiles also had one sweet connection to him, in the end zone, that got some whistles from the crowd.  He looks promising, but I want to wait and see.

RB
They mainly practiced Chris O, McGee, Fozzy, and Hills.  

Chris - Chris seemed to struggle, but maybe that was just a preexisting expectation.  

McGee - Low center of gravity, fast.  We know this stuff.

Fozzy - Smoking fast, cannot be caught, good cuts.  Impressive.

Hills - Surprised to see him practice as much as he did.  Had a couple of impressive runs with the full D out there.

Corner
I was really impressed with what I saw here, esp out of Deon and Chykie.

Deon - #1 corner in my mind.  Great interception that made Muschamp go apeshit.  Also very vocal.  Broke up Chiles pass to endzone, stood to his feet and yelled "NO GOOD" three or four times.  Crowd loved it.  Muschamp must be addictive.

Chykie - broke up a couple of big plays.  I think Muschamp thinks he's a player, b/c after one of these plays, he rushed onto the field screaming and tackled Chykie.  Apparently this is a way of saying "good job" in Alabama.  Mikey like.  

Palmer - was there but didn't do much.

Curtis - glad to see him on the sidelines and walking without crutches.  Obvious limp though.  I think surgery was yesterday, so this looks good.

Others
I didn't pay much attention to the other positions.  Really wish I had paid more attention to safety, sorry about that.  I noticed that Deon played LB for one snap.  Looked more like a scramble to get someone on the field than a planned play.  That's about it.

by mikey 4 on Feb 23, 2008 7:19 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

i'm not an analyst

But I appreciate both of these practice breakdowns.  Thanks a ton, y'all!

by Kool Hand on Feb 23, 2008 4:36 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

about Payne

It was mentioned somewhere, I can't recall, that some consider Payne better suited for LB.  MB's website lists Payne at 6'2" and 213 lbs.  I'm thinking a 20ish lbs weight gain could bolster this idea.  Also, he appears to have the proper neck type, what my sister refers to as a "head neck" or "heck", for the linebacking position.

Are the coaches considering him at LB?  Anyone know more than I do about the Payne situation?

by Kool Hand on Feb 23, 2008 4:54 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

wow, thanks

this is great information.

by crocodile235 on Feb 23, 2008 9:36 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

I Form WR end around option...

...with Colt or Chiles under center?

My boy Sherrod says, "What's with all the Chiles love? Y'all forgettin' that it was #17 with the 70 yarder in the spring game..."

by Sweed4Heisman on Feb 23, 2008 9:44 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Colt from what I remember

But they sould have been running it with Chiles too

Yes sir! I damn thee!

by Navin R. Johnson on Feb 23, 2008 11:23 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Could*
Yes sir! I damn thee!

by Navin R. Johnson on Feb 23, 2008 11:27 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Two awesome recaps...thanks guys

Sincerely appreciate the notes.  Great information.  

by renfro redux on Feb 23, 2008 9:52 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

re

Thank you guys for being our eyes and ears on the field. For those of us who can't make it this is our only direct connection. Again thanks and keep up the good work.

by vivalonghorns on Feb 23, 2008 10:53 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Spring Practice

D. Scott who??? Fozzy is the man!

Is it good or bad to look like your controlled by a playstation controller?

What happened to Christian Scott? Will he be alright for the season?

Hopefully D.Hales will return kicks, but I doubt it if the coaches take Cosby off returns his last year.

by Longhorns84 on Feb 23, 2008 11:36 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Boom

Best name for a coach ever?
Indeed

by anonyMoose on Feb 23, 2008 11:59 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Coach Boom...I like it! <slow clap>

Thank you both very much for posting your observations. I had a few questions.

  1. Is Mad Dawg's gold chain sponsored by Golden Corral,USDA Cattle Growers, or Hungry Jack Bisquits?

2)Did it appear that there might be hints of different defensive alignments other than the standard issue? (doubt it since it was an open practice, but I secretly long for a 4 LB set on occassion considering the talent pool).

  1. Any hints of mixing in a draw, middle screen, or shovel pass? (sorry...still trying to take some pressure off of last year's O-line)
  1. ANY sets with Chiles at a position other than QB? (SO wanna get him on the field more)

by Horns4Ever on Feb 23, 2008 1:42 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

2009 recruiting - unbelievable

while the spring practice game is on i took a look
at the espn 150  for 2009.
amazing.
59 of the 150 are from texas
29 are CONSIDERING texas
7 have VERBALLY committed to texas
Mack will have the finest recruiting class by any school ever before the other schools can even start a list!!
HORN FOOTBALL is headed for dominance ala USC!!

ut1ou2 means ut is #1 and ou is #2 for texas-ou weekend

by ut1ou2 on Feb 23, 2008 4:37 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

Can anyone confirm this?

Ketchum from OB reported that Brandon Collins almost always looks "smooth".  What did you think?

I like the idea of having a smooth receiver on the team.  Quan and Shipley are awesome, but "smooth" doesn't come to mind when I think of their playing styles.

by Kool Hand on Feb 23, 2008 4:40 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

Saturday Practice

Anybody catch the saturday morning practice?

by 98horn on Feb 23, 2008 4:57 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

saturday practice

I was just wondering the same thing. I know they had it this morning but have yet to read anything about it at all.

by vivalonghorns on Feb 23, 2008 5:10 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I have Fozzy thoughts

about vision blurs created by his speed :D

More than just 10 wins?

by Ultra Horn on Feb 23, 2008 7:49 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

Oops..

Sorry to have forgotten,

Great work on the notes!

More than just 10 wins?

by Ultra Horn on Feb 23, 2008 7:51 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

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