It'll be up to the kids
Have you tried to project next year's depth chart? I fiddled with it this week. I came away surprised at how few Sr.’s and Jr.’s made the list. Mack Brown usually does a news conference before spring training, and he’ll probably provide a few names and maybe announce some positions switches next week. He won’t include the numbers you’ll find here.
My concept was to determine how many members of next year’s two-deep will be newcomers – defined as players who signed this month or who signed a year ago this month. They’re the new guys; those in their third, fourth or fifth seasons in the program are veterans. Let’s get to it.
QB – Three of the four are first- or second-year players.
RB – Two fifth-year seniors, but logic and talent tell us a second-year freshman (Traylon Shead) and a first-year freshman (Malcolm Brown) could see much of the action.
WR – Everything I’ve seen projects true sophomores Mike Davis and Darius White and true freshman Jaxon Shipley getting regular playing time. It's possible all three could start.
TE – I hesitate even to wade into this pool . . . the position’s been a mess for three years. It probably won’t be real young players atop the depth chart, but two strong candidates are Blaine Irby and Dominique Jones. Irby hasn’t played since September 2008; Jones has barely seen the field and is still learning the position.
OL – My description: Not terribly young, extremely shy on experience. Two seniors and four third-year sophomores figure to eat up most of the snaps. True soph Trey Hopkins should start, and a couple of the incoming freshmen almost have to land second-team slots.
DE – Young and thin here. True sophomores Reggie Wilson and Jackson Jeffcoat could start and a true freshman may be in the playing rotation. I can think of three candidates – all third- or fourth-year players – the coaching staff may switch here to alleviate depth issues.
DT – One senior and the rest are young. Six of the eight players at the position are first- or second-year guys and a couple (Ashton Dorsey? Desmond Jackson?) could see major playing time.
LB – Two senior starters and six first- or second-year players; five will be classified as freshmen.
S – A bit more experience here (two seniors, two juniors), though true sophomore Adrian Phillips could break into the two-deep – if he isn’t moved to corner.
CB – Three incoming freshmen, two second-year sophomores, a third-year soph (Eryon Barnett, who has barely seen the field because of injuries). That’s all there is.
Summing up – QB, one of the top two will be young . . . RB, two freshmen could get major playing time . . . WR, three of the top five are likely to be players signed since January of 2010 . . . TE and OL, a bit more time in the program but a major experience void regardless of who wins jobs . . . DE, young starters and new faces in reserve . . . DT, Kheeston Randall and a cast of many – all young . . . LB, Keenan Robinson and Emmanuel Acho and (see DT) . . . DB, plenty of experience at safety, none at corner.
Except at safety, almost the entire second defensive unit will be freshmen (true or redshirt). Half the top quarterbacks, running backs and receivers will be first- or second-year players. The offensive line must replace starters at tight end, both tackles and one guard.
I'm thinking Mack’s new staff will not be knocking off at noon to make tee times.
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Interesting
How long do you think it will take Malcolm Brown to take over the starting position? Assuming the hype is real.
For offense playmakers (no OL) here’s what I’ve got:
QB: Garrett Gilbert – JR, Connor Wood – RS-FR, Case McCoy – SO, David Ash will RS
RB: Fozzy Whittaker – SR, Traylon Shead – RS-FR, Malcolm Brown – FR
FB: Cody Johnson – SR, Joe Bergeron – FR
WR: Malcolm Williams – SR, Mike Davis – SO, Darius White – SO, Chris Jones – RS-FR, Jaxon Shipley – FR
TE: Haha! Not even gonna try.
If I missed any obvious omissions, please let me know.
Eight Walls
<> a new MMA blog from Fantake
forgot marquise goodwin
i still think he can have a breakout year
You are dead on regarding....
….. the tee times. Didn’t we lose an OL candidate because he wasn’t prepared to commit to 16 hour days? That was a pretty accurate assessment on Grimes’ part.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
I like the youth on offense
i think it will help for moving past the GDGD days and into the next chapter of Texas football. I wish we had more experience/leadership on Def but with all the nfl talent we have been putting into the nfl, on this side of the ball especially, it’s a good problem to have.
Will Be Really Disappointed
If we have a Fozzy Cody show in 2011. We know what they can do. I think both have proven that they are a 3rd down back and short yardage specialist exclusively. If the over under for carries for Malcolm Brown is 200 – I am hoping it is over.
Note to Bill Byrne "Because you aren´t Texas and you´ll never be Texas"
If We Commit to the Youth
I will be happy with 9-4.
Note to Bill Byrne "Because you aren´t Texas and you´ll never be Texas"
Even with this. where are the major potential pitfalls?
Ou, Osu, A&m, Tech,Ol’ Miss?
We should be able to take at the least 2-3 of those 5
I think OSU at DKR is definitely a winnable game
Ol’ Miss was 4-8 last year. UCLA was 4-8. Both dropped six of their last seven games. That’s one of the scary things about looking at 2011 . . . as miserable as we were last season, and with some fairly significant senior losses (Acho, 3 cornerbacks, 3 offensive line starters) and potential holes — is there a game other than OU where we’re even an underdog?
Roadies are UCLA, Iowa State, Baylor, Missouri and Texas A&M. We should be solid favorites in the first three; Mizzou, who knows? They’re not noted as killers at home and their QB left early.
But we’ll be so young and with so much staff turnover, I fear one of the not-so-good opponents will ambush us. I’d be happy with 9-3, thrilled with 10-2.
Good catch on BYU
My bad.
That game, OSU and Aggie are the major threats after the Sooners. I think we win one of three (maybe two) from BYU, Oklahoma State and A&M, but fall to one of the lesser-regarded opponents. Please, though — let’s start beating Kansas State!
Irby?
I guess I missed out on this but when did Blaine Irby get cleared to play?
The news broke about him being cleared a couple months ago. From what I hear DJ Grant has been cleared as well (still need confirmation on Grant though). It’ll be interesting to see how much they can contribute after having reconstructive knee surgeries.
ATX
Question is,
for both Irby and Grant, is how effective can they be after such extended periods off the field?
I feel like a hippie in a drum circle!

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