Brown To Make In-Home Visit With Hicks Wednesday
Florida will get the last word with Jordan Hicks as he takes his last official visit this weekend, but Mack Brown will help keep the Longhorns near the forefront of his mind with an expected in-home visit with Hicks Wednesday.
Perhaps even bigger news is that Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, who also coaches the linebackers, will accept the Lousiville coaching job. Scipio Tex sees it as a big break and though it probably won't eliminate the Gators, there's little doubt that it strikes a blow to their efforts, as Hicks will have little time to establish a relationship with the new defensive coordinator.
Hicks does have an excellent relationship with Will Muschamp and Texas' position is strengthened by the relationship between his mother and Jeff Madden, with whom she worked at Colorado. If the departure of Charlie Strong does in fact weaken Florida's position enough to take them out of the running, the fact that Hicks' mother plans on moving if he attends school out-of-state probably helps the Longhorns as well. After all, Austin weather has to look pretty appealing in the midst of an Ohio winter.
about 2 years ago
Wescott Eberts (GoBR)
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An in-home visit by Brown?
I know a successful Wall Street Journal reader who’ll be shocked to hear about that.
/snark
Hicks, Jeffcoat, and White are the three I think would be considered the most critical remaining offers. That’s no knock on Davis, Nelson, or Humphrey, because any of those guys would also be a very welcome addition with the potential to contribute at a high level for UT. Jeffcoat and Hicks would be the two I’d most like to see added to the class, though, despite the fact that Jeffcoat would be walking into a thick depth chart at end.
by burntorangehorn on Dec 9, 2009 11:59 AM CST reply actions
Sure hope we get this kid, as much as I love Texas talent I’d love to pull in more out of state kids.
by struglin2thetop on Dec 9, 2009 12:03 PM CST reply actions
Strong should've had a HC job long ago
I actually think atm missed the boat by not hiring him. His aggie connections aren’t strong, but they’re there. Putting a guy with Florida recruiting ties in a school with Texas recruiting ability would seem a recipe for recruiting success, and of course he’d bring good coaching ability as well.
Anyway, the fact that he’s the primary DC and specifically coaches linebackers would seem to make his departure a potential concern for Hicks. Couldn’t be happier. Anything that could make it more likely for Hicks to choose burnt orange has to be a good thing.
by burntorangehorn on Dec 9, 2009 12:10 PM CST reply actions
You're surprised the Aggies missed an opportunity for a good coach who could recruit?
The Ags had their man in two days. Sherman might end up getting it done, but he’d better figure out how to get a D that can keep a half-a-hundred off the board.
"I've always been an admirer of Texas' clock management. Now, I am completely sold." -- Les Miles
by Distributor of the Football on Dec 9, 2009 2:23 PM CST up reply actions
I will say Sherm has surprised me and done a creditable job
I thought he was actually a worse hire than Fran
Agreed
He is enjoyable to watch put his hand on his head, as well.
"I've always been an admirer of Texas' clock management. Now, I am completely sold." -- Les Miles
by Distributor of the Football on Dec 9, 2009 5:03 PM CST up reply actions
Sherman
If a&m doesn’t win the Big 12 next year, then a&m should fire Sherman. ou, Texas, and OSU will all be re-loading.
Sherm is 10-14
not exactly a world-beater. They also lost all 6 games on TV. He’s 1-5 against Tech, OU & Texas and 1-1 versus Baylor. I’m pretty sure he’s 5-13 against BCS schools.
really? What has he done?
He can’t use the excuse of being young much longer.
by Longhorns84 on Dec 11, 2009 11:22 AM CST up reply actions
Strong's departure . . .
probably won’t be a crucial factor. QB coach and Ohio native Scott Loeffler is the Florida assistant coach recruiting Hicks. It isn’t a plus for Florida , but I suspect Hick’s interest runs a lot deeper than the desire to play for Charlie Strong.
by Arroyo Grande on Dec 9, 2009 5:16 PM CST up reply actions
Why . . . .
I would love to see Hicks commit just like everyone else, but this still seems like wishful speculation. I just don’t think Strong was that big a factor in his recruitment—-much less significant it seems than Muschamp is for us. I have never read anything he or his coach has said that suggests his interest in Florida was linked in any way to Strong. The Florida program sells itself now to kids in the Southeast which is where I believe Hicks grew up.
by Arroyo Grande on Dec 9, 2009 6:11 PM CST up reply actions
You could be right.
I just say it’s a gamble because if you put yourself in Hicks’s shoes that’s gotta be a huge “unknown”. The new guy might not be as effective, he might not have the same priorities… hell, he might not even run the same schemes (no matter what they tell Hicks at his visit). As you point out, he may have a sentimental link with UF, but he wouldn’t go there at all costs.
Reportedly, this uncertainty was already grounds for one LB recruit (Luc) passing over UF.
And then of course there’s the ND situation, where they’re losing tons of talent because of Weis’s departure.
How could that be?
“Reportedly, this uncertainty was already grounds for one LB recruit (Luc) passing over UF.”
Luc has committed to Florida State when the DC Mickey Andrews has retired. Supposedly LB Coach Chuck Amato is on his way out as well. How the heck is that less certain than the situation at Florida?
If anything Luc might be backing out with all the uncertainty at FSU!
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Yeah. Good question. I’m just going off internet reporting, but it looks like Luc thought the recruiting situation was more stable at FSU.
Check his quotes here:
http://mrsec.com/story/strongs-uncertainty-affecting-floridas-recruiting
and here:
http://www.pbgametime.com/news/recruits-happy-uncertainty-is-finally-over/65962/
The point I was trying to make though is that coaching changes often deter recruits.
Here’s another link, discussing the Luc —> FSU move:
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/highschoolbuzz/2009/12/07/jeff-luc-on-his-florida-state-commitment/
Reading through those....
links…… it becomes rather apparent Luc was using the Charlie Strong situation as a convenient excuse.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
I don't think who recruited you is that big of a deal in football
It’s not like basketball or baseball where all the coaches have something to do with you on a daily basis. Our TE coach recruits a lot of defensive players, but the recruits know he isn’t going to be their coach. Regardless of what position you play, you are going to have significant contact with your position coach and coordinator, especially if you are a highly sought-after recruit.
When Hicks came to Texas for his official, Will Muschamp personally escorted him around the field during warm-ups so he could see up close and personal what the players do and how the coaches interact with them. I have never seen us do that with a recruit before. They all get to come down on the field during warm-ups and watch from the sidelines, but I’ve never seen one actually walk around on the field with a coordinator as he’s going through warm-up drills. Maybe what really hurts Florida is the fact that it WASN’T the DC or LB coach who was recruiting him and that he’s been able to establish such a close relationship with Muschamp.
Strong wasn't the one recruiting him, as you said
But I think the bigger impact is that Strong is his would-be position coach. I think that’s what you were getting at, though, right?
by burntorangehorn on Dec 10, 2009 11:46 AM CST up reply actions
Help Wanted - Offensive Line
Scipio Tex makes a good point about not being able to get too many defensive linemen. The most athletic big guys in high school usually end up on the defensive line, these are the kind of guys you can move over to offense if they don’t make the four-man rotation at DT after a year, injuries aside. Odds at that point of an NFL career diminish rapidly.
Greg Daniels, 2010 DE commitment, is a good example- he played a lot of offense in high school. He’s currently undersized for the line but so was Lamar Houston at one point. Big frame, 4.7 or so 40. I think we should shift our emphasis from position recruiting to recruiting athletes with respect to the offensive line.
This is currently a huge sore spot of mine, I think GD is taking an inordinate amount of heat for deficiencies at a more basic level. Game plans don’t work if your people up front can’t at least begin to execute them.
Point being bring in athletes and teach them positions. Don’t bring in position players and try to teach them to be athletic.
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Dec 9, 2009 1:36 PM CST reply actions
I’m only saying this because every time I slam somebody they prove me wrong for one game. It’s a sort of reverse karma. So the offensive line should have a great game.
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Dec 9, 2009 1:50 PM CST up reply actions
I disagree with you here on GD
I think his game plan has everything to do with the success of the players. When you are passing the ball 80% of the time it is pretty hard to block the most dominant defensive football player in the nation when he knows he can tee off on a pass rush and doesn’t have to check the run.
"I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field."
-Walter Payton
Texas Tech seem to do well against them.
"Football's so important in Texas. On the West Coast, it's a social. On the East Coast, it's a culture. Here, it's a religion."
-- Major Applewhite
Tech has a pretty good scheme for keeping pressure off the quarterback
I remember people going over it when we were about to play them, their whole line practices backpedalling, as well as the QB as soon as they snap the ball.
On top of that, their whole offense is based on quick-release passes.
I think two things make it really hard to get to the QB unless it’s a coverage sack, and are fundementally different from how we snap and practice our shotgun formation.
Uh, no.
McWhorter’s retirement can’t come soon enough. I actually blame him more than Davis. Say what you want about GD, he’s at least a helluva position coach.
+1
The underlying question is ‘Can you consistently recruit AND develop players that fit your scheme? If the answer is ’no’ (and it has been) then a quick analysis suggests a problem with the scheme, recruiting and/or development. All of which are MacWhorter’s responsibility to some extent.
I just saw that Mack is up to 5.1 mil next year. I’m sure he’ll figure it out.
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Dec 9, 2009 5:31 PM CST up reply actions
I'm not defending McWhorter (I think his job may be in jeopardy)
But let’s be a bit analytical about this . . . Four of the five starting O-linemen were 3-star recruits, or 4-stars who were mid-rung to low 4-stars, when they signed with Texas. Hall and Tanner were between 50 and 65 on Rivals list of top prospects in Texas in 2005; Ulatoski was No. 36 in 2004; Hix was No. 28 in 2007. Huey was a top 10 guy in ’07.
Contrast that with the pedigrees of M. Williams, Shipley, McGee, Kindle, A. Williams, Thomas, Houston, Buckner, Curtis and Chykie.
Ulatoski started as a RS freshman because there wasn’t anybody else. Hall and Tanner started as sophomores because there wasn’t anybody else. By 2008, those guys had the experience so valued in offensive linemen, and most of the 2006 class that was supposed to provide some help (Webb, Burnette) was gone.
Bottom line: McWhorter didn’t have the latent talent/skill the position coaches who work with the DBs and WRs and DEs had.
Coaching matters, sure. But you win with talent, not with coaching. It’s fair to say good coaches develop talent — and maybe McWhorter has. He just hasn’t had a lot of skilled players. (I’m aware Colt McCoy was a 3-star, and Tray Allen was a 5-star, and there are certainly some good stories there.)
players can always be coached up, and schemed up, this season it seems that neither is happening, or neither is working. boise st, stanford, oklahoma st, TCU, georgia tech, all these schools I imagine we out recruit on the oline (even with our 3* and mid/low 4* olinemen), and yet those teams are among those leading the nation in sacks allowed.. i haven’t done the legwork to check their oline recruitng the last 4 years, but I’m sure it’s fairly true.
our line has to perform better than what they’re capable of coming out of highschool, or else we’ll forever be the school that doesn’t out play you, but out talents you. how can you fall on your face so hard when you’re a coach at Texas?
by Displaced Longhorn on Dec 10, 2009 8:26 AM CST up reply actions
T. Allen
Why didn’t he get a chance against Suh? Snow and Huey failed, why not give Allen a chance?
Maybe because
we wanted McCoy to go to NY this weekend walking on his own.
Snow
got whipped against McCoy when Texas played ou, why not give Allen a chance? I thought he was coming on well now.
by Longhorns84 on Dec 11, 2009 11:20 AM CST up reply actions
we’re keeping him fresh for terrence cody
by Displaced Longhorn on Dec 10, 2009 8:13 PM CST up reply actions
How is that possible?
“Four of the five starting O-linemen were 3-star recruits, or 4-stars who were mid-rung to low 4-stars, when they signed with Texas. Hall and Tanner were between 50 and 65 on Rivals list of top prospects in Texas in 2005; Ulatoski was No. 36 in 2004; Hix was No. 28 in 2007. Huey was a top 10 guy in ’07.”
-———————————————————————————————————————————-
All we’ve been told, repititously, is that we have 1st pick of the state of Texas.
Are our assessment skills flawed? Do we miss our targets? Or, is the player development flawed?
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Texas fans always want....
….. to behave as if Texas Tech’s wide splits allow for pressure on the QB.
Yet when Texas Tech played Nebraska ( a 31-10 TT victory ) they gave up 5 sacks.
Our OL gave up 9!
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Bit of a nit pick
Against Nebraska we threw 36 pass and had 38 rushes. Now 9 of those were sacks (not sure why they count this in the rushing) so it was really more like 45 passing plays and 29 rushing plans, but that still works out to about 40% rushing- 60% passing.
To break this down even more:
Of those 74 plays, “passing downs” make up 34 plays (passing downs = 1st and 15 or more, 2nd and 10 or more or 3rd and 5 or more, or less than 1:30 in the game – not sure what convention is on this, but needed to make some arbitrary value). Of those 34 “passing downs” we passed or got sacked 29 times and rushed the ball 5 times.
So for non passing downs, we ran the ball 33 times and passed the ball 16 times. Even taking out the two obvious dive plays, that is 67% rushing.
I think this shows that we were not passing the ball too much in the game, but other than that I am not sure what this means. Maybe this is indicative of the complaint that GD is too predictable and needs to mix it up more like SMQ alludes to in this article. Maybe we just had too many mistakes that forced us into passing downs.
In addition
We had 2.7 yards per play and held NU to a similar 1.9 yards per play.
"I live in the tower with Coach Brown." -Bevo
Sorry, wanted to add
Colt’s 9 sacks totaled -52 yards and Colt’s actual rushing yards (taking out the sacks) were 8 carries for 32 yards. The official individual stats have a Colt gain of 37 rushing, the play by play summary has a gain of 32, I’m not sure why.
Also, 4 sacks during the first half and 4 Colt rushing attempts and 5 sacks and 4 rushing attempt in the 2nd half.
Hope all that blows everyone’s hair back.
"I live in the tower with Coach Brown." -Bevo
Early News Out of Ohio: Disaster!
Apparently the visit ended prematurely when Mack found a short and curly in the Lady Hick’s meatloaf and painted the tablecloth with his meal. Jordan asked him to leave and Mack was seen clapping and nodding in retreat. Or so I’m told by the internet.
Is that sarcasm?
Where did you see that on the internet?
Charlie Strong Takes the Louisville Job!!!!
It’s official. This could be very big/good news in our recruitment of Jordan Hicks.
"I don't care if I have to run100 times or pass it 100 times...Whatever it takes to win is all that matters to me" -VY
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