Thoughts from Second Open Practice
by InDKR'sShadow on Mar 9, 2010 9:57 PM CST
Email
PrintBumpty-bump. Thanks for these thoughts. --PB--
There were three ways I could have spent my afternoon: A. Taking notes in my Econ class, B. Studying for my upcoming Accounting test, or C. enjoying perfect weather at the spring practice. Needless to say, it was hardly a tough choice. The crack of shoulder pads was great to hear after a two month hiatus.
The first team group on offense (Gilbert, Kirk, Williams, Chiles, Smith, and Newton) looked consistent all afternoon. Whaley, surprisingly, started practice working with the first team until Newton emerged from the locker room. He hit his holes hard throughout practice and also showed promise as a receiver, despite poor route running, after motioning from TB to split-end. All you need to know about Barrett Matthews is that he is one hell of blocker, especially after Gilbert motioned him from Flex Tight End to Fullback. Matthews and Johnson in the same backfield is exactly what you want on a 4th and 1.
Chiles looked more refined than he did a couple months ago. He blocked aggressively, showed great hands especially on a catch over the middle, and flashed elite speed. Fitzhenry and Hales showed signs that they could contribute this year working in the second group with Harris. Gilbert threw the ball well at different ranges. He completed long passes to Williams down the side line and stood in the pocket under pressure from the A gaps long enough to loft a pass to Chiles uncovered in the end-zone.
I spent a lot the time watching Tucker kick. He was successfully booting kicks from the ridiculous angle that the front end-zone pylon provided while the D-Line worked underneath him. I was impressed by his range, his leg was accurate up until 55 yards. Tucker was later seen with the rest of kickers holding the down markers for the skeleton drill. (I guess thats part of the deal when your a kicker, but you think there would be student assistants to do that.) It looks like he's been preparing himself for the showdown that will occur when Will Russ arrives on campus.
Anyone notice that Case's throwing motion is nearly identical to Colt's? Its like deja vu all over again.
I can't say I spent too much time looking at the defense. It's like seeing Christmas presents early without Hicks and Jeffcoat. I did notice Gideon and Vaccaro together have closing speed and are physical enough to contribute to the stopping the run.
All comments, FanPosts, and FanShots are the views of the reader-authors who create them.
54 comments
|
2 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Good stuff bro
Certainly appreciate it. Football talk is much better than having to resort to posting things like…oh I don’t know. Oscar Results? Who does that?
Stumpy: It's called the '80s. Ford was president, Nixon was in the White House, and FDR was running this country into the ground.
Oh...and welcome to BON
Stumpy: It's called the '80s. Ford was president, Nixon was in the White House, and FDR was running this country into the ground.
Hope the missed classwork opp's don't hurt you.
As long as I’ve followed sports, and worked in sports, I’ve never developed the kind of eye that lets me see who’s on and who’s off when watching practices and drills. I much appreciate someone who can.
As to spring drills, everytime somebody looks good, somebody else looks bad. And vice versa. I take some comfort in the quality of our recruiting, the proven success of our coaches, and that Rice and Wyoming are the first two opponents.
Thanks
Thanks for the compliment.
I firmly believe having a Ferris Bueller Day once a month is healthy. Especially when teachers post powerpoints and notes online.
by InDKR'sShadow on Mar 10, 2010 10:08 AM CST up reply actions
Ohhhhh Yeahhhh
Especially on a yesterday in atx. I have to admit I did the same thing, in a different venue- the park. The scenery was, shall we say, lovely.
Good post. Mack seems pretty excited about Barrett Matthews, too. I also heard that Christian Scott continued to impress.
"You've got to think lucky. If you fall into a mudhole, check your back pocket - you might have caught a fish" -- Darrell Royal
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Mar 10, 2010 12:08 PM CST up reply actions
Nice to hear bout Chile
To me – he has always been a buzzkill. Don’t like his body language, never have thought much of hisrunning ability as a QB. Matter of fact – never looked to me like he has elite speed. Would be sweet to be proved wrong big time about him.
by realmccoy on Mar 10, 2010 2:44 AM CST via mobile reply actions
I'm curious if this is just what happens when you see him in practices.
Will this translate to games or will he regress when he plays more instinctively as I would expect he may in a game?
TEXAS FIGHT
Whaley!!!
Is Whaley as big as everyone says he is?? Mostly likey not going to stay at running back???
check out the pics on mb-tf.com (shortened website version), there’s also a guy with a gallery he’s been taking himself, i’ll grab a link to it later. he posts on IT.
but it looks like whaley is as big as advertised, not carrying the extra bad weight from last year but is another cojo type situation where the coaches may be happier with him a lean in BF% 250 rather than an excessively weakened 225. I personally don’t think he’ll stay at running back, there haven’t been a ton of successful NFL franchise 250 pounders, but he could probably be successful in college bulldozing people. i think his natural position will be DE if he can’t catch (and it sounds like he can?) or TE if he can and can block.
by Displaced Longhorn on Mar 10, 2010 9:29 AM CST up reply actions
"successful NFL franchise 250 pounders"
However, this is college football, so the shapes of the holes accommodate a more diverse range of peg shapes.
I have beat wholesale ass for a whole lot less.
by burntorangehorn on Mar 10, 2010 9:38 AM CST up reply actions
hence the “probably be successful in college bulldozing” comment
by Displaced Longhorn on Mar 10, 2010 10:24 PM CST up reply actions
This is why college football is better
Surprises like a 250lb. running back or 4.4 quarterback happen a lot more often.
Boycott Facebook. It's lame. Inform your real friends that you're going to communicate with them like a normal human being, and then delete your account. Seriously.
by burntorangehorn on Mar 11, 2010 6:25 AM CST up reply actions
The question I have
is whether Whaley would be wasting NFL talent playing RB in college when we have other big backs that you can basically plug-and-play. They don’t vary too much in skill set.
There is an interesting article on height, weight and body mass of the top 50 NFL rushers since 1970. Although 18 guys were over 6 ft. tall only one guy on the list has weighed over 240 lbs- Jerome Bettis.
The list is of the top 50 NFL rushers in yards. There have been other big guys in the NFL-Brandon Jacobs is 6-4, 261- but the data suggests that Whaley might be better suited for another position in terms of an NFL career. He’ll be a freshman for another year, though.
"You've got to think lucky. If you fall into a mudhole, check your back pocket - you might have caught a fish" -- Darrell Royal
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Mar 11, 2010 12:56 PM CST up reply actions
I calculated Whaley's BMI and it came out to 30.6 using the stats off MackBrown-TexasFootball
I know those stats are suspect, but 30.6 would put Whaley potentially in a RB sweet spot.
FTA:
It looks pretty clear that a BMI of close to 30 is ideal for a running back
Whaley is taller, but may end up with the same BMI as Ricky and Earl.
As a follow-up:
Fozzy: 28
Newton: 27.1
McGee: 29.4
CoJo: 34.9!!!
Hills: 26.4
If we have a legit downhill running game, maybe McGee and Whaley will start picking up north/south yardage. Fozzy too.
According to this, Cojo has to switch positions…. :)
interesting stats... thanks.
"Don't matter what they throw at us. Only angry people win football games." Darrell Royal
Mmmm...giant Ricky.
Boycott Facebook. It's lame. Inform your real friends that you're going to communicate with them like a normal human being, and then delete your account. Seriously.
by burntorangehorn on Mar 15, 2010 6:35 PM CDT up reply actions
Pretty tight depth chart at DE
Okafor, Jeffcoat, Wilson, Daniels plus any LB’s that may spin down to buck. He could probably get big and strong enough to play DT a la Henry Melton and Lamarr Houston. Randle, Dorsey, Bible and Desmond Jackson might be an easier bunch to break into the rotation.
What do you do with a 6-3, 260 lb guy that can run? Pretty much anything you want I guess. ‘Intriguing’ was the word one of the AAS guys used for him, I think it’s fitting.
"You've got to think lucky. If you fall into a mudhole, check your back pocket - you might have caught a fish" -- Darrell Royal
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Mar 10, 2010 12:31 PM CST up reply actions
bigger...
I went to the practice and he was even bigger than I imagined. He’s a head taller than Cody and built like a defensive lineman. Comparisons to Henry Melton can only be made about things like footwork and lack of forward lean but not about size. He’s built very very differently. Incredibly imposing.
by BeeCaveHornFan on Mar 10, 2010 2:06 PM CST up reply actions
Really, that's the important question: pad level.
Does he run upright like Melton or does he lean forward and have his pads down in contact/bulldozing position?
If Whaley’s got the natural lean and the right pad positioning, the Horns could really punish people with the big 1-2, not to mention the goal line possibilities.
Tough to tell in the limited practice and without real tackling...
I think with a guy that big you assume he’ll run too upright so it’s my top concern. There was a drill where the RB’s ran over cones, got popped by Major with a pad and then were to duck through a metal rectangle the size of….well…Chris Whaley. Pretty funny watching DJ Monroe go through it with ease and then see Whaley clang his helmet on it b/c he didn’t get low enough. If he doesn’t work out at RB he’s too much of a monster not to play “somewhere”.
by BeeCaveHornFan on Mar 10, 2010 4:36 PM CST up reply actions
His upright running was definitely a concern after his recruitment announcement
Whether or not the coaches have been able to teach him some new tricks will have to wait until the spring game!
IMO Melton had two problems
1. Ran upright without proper lean
2. Tried to dance past tacklers and not use his considerable mass to run thru them.
I would have loved to see him punish linebackers and especially DBs. Wear everybody out by the late 3rd and 4th quarters.
i think we’ll definitely see that employed, there’s something to be said of cycles in college football. everyone recruits the speed on defense, sometimes at the detriment of the size on defense, and that can lead to more people bulldozed by a big power I team…. something that I think we’ll definitely see this year is teams wearing down from the bulldozing
by Displaced Longhorn on Mar 10, 2010 10:27 PM CST up reply actions
Matthews
They moved him all over the field. He was in the slot, split out wide, put in motion from a wing, fullback etc.
Sam Acho moving to DT?
Mack seemed to indicate this in his press conference… he said right now it would be Randall and S.Acho inside, with Okafor and Eddie Jones as the DEs/Buck. Sounds good to me, assuming Sam is big enough…
No way
Mack words in the press conference:
Defensively, you’ve got (Alex) Okfaor and Eddie Jones at the Buck, you’ve got the three-technique (Calvin) Howell and (Tyrell) Higgins, you’ve got the nose guard Kheeston Randall and Derek Johnson, Sam Acho and (Tevin) Mims at the other end,
Sorry
I didnt know about the last press conference. Reading it now, I see you are right. My post is about the first spring conference.
no problem
from yesterday:
“On the defensive tackle position: Right now Kheeston (Randall) and Sam Acho would be the two tackles. Some of the young ones need to come on. We’ve got this group of guys. If we played in the opener against Rice today, it would be Sam inside. You would have (Alex) Okafor and Eddie Jones and Kheeston. "
…which still isn’t entirely clear who is playing where, but I think we can figure it out. :-)
Interesting on Acho and DT. Some months back, I thought this might be tried.
I see several sides:
1. Mack is trying to light a fire under the young defensive tackles.
2. He’s listing the “four best” defensive linemen as the unit he’d put on the field at the moment; can’t argue with that.
3. Lewis and Houston moved from DE to DT in the middle of their careers recently. Bulking Sam up 10-15 pounds and putting him at the ‘3 tech’ may be the best utilization of talent — in the early going. Our four toughest games are in weeks 3, 4, 5 and 7 (open date between OU and Nebraska), so going with veterans early sounds like good strategy.
4. Moving Sam Acho to tackle opens up practice, and maybe game, time for Wilson and Jeffcoat.
5. Who do the coaches prefer as the fourth starter (alongside Randall, SAcho and EJones) — Okafor or Howell?
He hit his holes hard throughout practice and also showed promise as a receiver, despite poor route running, after motioning from TB to split-end.
is “he” newton? or whaley? i’m going to assume whaley since the poor route running and tre always seemed pretty good out of the backfield.
by Displaced Longhorn on Mar 10, 2010 9:29 AM CST reply actions
Clarification
He was Whaley. The Lendale White body type isn’t really conducive to route running.
Fozzy actually had a nice catch out of the backfield on a well timed screen pass now that I think of it.
by InDKR'sShadow on Mar 10, 2010 10:00 AM CST up reply actions
I think he's more....
…Brandon Jacobs than Lendale White
by BeeCaveHornFan on Mar 10, 2010 2:16 PM CST up reply actions
Wouldn’t we love to put these guys on the field next year?
Here is Whaley. He could probably stand to drop to 235 is he is 250.
Apparently I’m doing it wrong.
Here is the link to the gallery:
http://www.texassports.com/view.gal?id=64927
Great pics
Whaley does look like a BEAST, here is to hoping he excells and learns the position at this level!!
"Don't matter what they throw at us. Only angry people win football games." Darrell Royal
Whaley
looks a lot better than I would have thought from some of the comments. I don’t think he really looks like CoJo. Around the same weight, but Whaley has a good 3 inches on him at least, which makes him look more fit. I really hope that he puts it together, and turns on beastmode this year and the years to come
Geez, dude
Did I just pick the wrong major to be able to ditch class and not fall way behind? Is this something that happens in the business school? I thought about doing the same to watch practice, but then I had a pop quiz in one of my earlier classes and decided I’d be tempting my bad luck to ditch the later ones. But it’s good to know someone enjoyed it.
I just wanted to ask if they ran the plays exclusively under center or if GD tried to run any spread from the pistol.
Every time I feel down and depressed, I think of seven simple words by a true wise man, Matt Leinart: "I still think we're the better team" and I usually end up hurting myself by laughing so hard.
Some slack, Please
One class missed now and then can’t hurt. McCombs understands when it is 75, perfectly sunny, and the Longhorns are practicing.
I would say yesterdays practice was 60% shotgun with a single tailback usually on the weak-side, and one yard behind the quarterback. The rest was Single-I. Motion to full spread and to Power-I was common.
by InDKR'sShadow on Mar 10, 2010 4:27 PM CST up reply actions
Case McCoy...
I’m such a huge fan of Colt. He saved us when Perriloux left us in a lurch. Case’s story reminds me a little of Colt’s. Less heralded of the two in class, small school, up against the odds. I’m rooting for Case… But that being said I thought he looked pretty awful yesterday. His throwing motion didn’t appear to be similar to Colt’s at all. He delivered from what seemed like below his shoulder pretty much every time. Not a lot of arm strength either but I also remember Colt struggled with that his redshirt year. That being said I’m hoping he learns a lot and gets stronger but I’m not ready to compare him to Colt yet aside from the last name.
Colt/Case
It’s going to be a long time before someone will be
My vantage point was from sixty yards away so you may have gotten a better look. I thought that Case delivered a nice ball. Gilbert’s passes are hard and accurate but many of them didn’t arrive as a spiral and wobbled.
Harris overthrew his receiver a couple times and fired one to Fitzhenry (I think it was him or one of the other receivers working in the second group) long before he turned on a comeback.
I thought that Case snapped the ball off well as he threw and all of his passes were tight spirals.
by InDKR'sShadow on Mar 10, 2010 4:36 PM CST up reply actions
Big disclaimer from me...
…is that I really only saw three legit/game speed passes thrown by him and while all three looked ugly two of them were on rollouts that arent easy for anyone. I agree on Harris not looking great either. And maybe my disappointment in Case is that I hoped it would just be Colt with a new number. Good news for all of us is that we’re a long way away from having to count on him so he has time to mature and that if he’s like his bro he’s a gamer.
by BeeCaveHornFan on Mar 10, 2010 4:41 PM CST up reply actions
haha don't forget
Colt’s also like…what 4 years older? or 5? And also…even brothers aren’t clones of each other
by willyoubemycharizard on Mar 10, 2010 6:37 PM CST up reply actions
Since I graduated with an Economics Degree last August
I was just curious which class you skipped and which teacher you had?
Econ
Macroeconomics with Bencivenga.
I’ve got to start being careful, I’m pretty sure the person who pays my tuition also reads BON daily. I’m expecting a phone call tonight about this.
by InDKR'sShadow on Mar 10, 2010 4:37 PM CST up reply actions
Your name might be where you are buried.
"I live in the tower with Coach Brown." -Bevo
by run Bevo run on Mar 10, 2010 5:15 PM CST up reply actions
DUDE
That is ridiculous! That class was so hard! Especially with Bencivenga; she was my least favorite teacher in all of my Economics courses. May god look kindly upon you. And as for your monetary support, if they were to ask, just say its a coincidence.
I simply cannot wait...
I am ready for some football!!!
YES I'm a girl! YES I watch Sports! YES I drink beer! If you don't like it, you can kiss my girly, sports watching, beer drinking ASS! ♥ my Longhorns..
by LadyLonghorninOK on Mar 10, 2010 6:23 PM CST reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
