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Texas head coach Mack Brown spoke with the media on Tuesday in a rare offseason appearance and provide the latest on the punishments for seniors Alex Okafor, Kenny Vaccaro, and Barrett Matthews, the three current players who were involved in the incident at Roppolo's Pizza back in early May:
Mack says three players who got in trouble downtown earlier this year (Okafor, Vaccaro, Matthews) being punished, won't miss games.
— Ricky Doyle (@RickyDoyle) June 13, 2012
The lack of punishment has been expected after the details of the arrests emerged and the fact that the charges have now been dismissed. Besides the internal punishment being meted out by the program, there is another significant consequence:
Mack Brown: Kenny Vaccaro, Alex Okafor, and Barrett Matthews will not attend Big 12 Media Days after offseason arrest. #Hookem #Horns
— Cedric Golden (@CedGolden) June 13, 2012
In fact, the players won't represent the Longhorns publicly until the fall.
Brown also shared several other nuggets, including this one:
UT creating a new position in offense for DJ Monroe and Daje Johnson.
— Ricky Doyle (@RickyDoyle) June 13, 2012
It's not clearly exactly what that will entail, but if it's different from the role that Monroe played last season, it would certainly involve the speedster spending more time lined up as a wide receiver, where Monroe worked more this spring, though he struggled warming up in the spring game catching passes and did not play at receiver during the actual Orange-White game.
Giving one or both significant time in the new and likely expanded role should help on the recruiting trail. Texas will likely take an all-purpose back in the 2014 class and Dontre Wilson clearly wasn't sold on the DJ Monroe role in this recruiting cycle, so putting something on film there would provide a major benefit.
Mack Brown says with smaller '13 recruiting class, UT is further ahead with 2014 class than ever before at this point.
— Ricky Doyle (@RickyDoyle) June 13, 2012
Considering the number of high-level defensive backs in the 2014 class, the head start on evaluations should pay dividends at that position, even if several of the top players there didn't camp at Texas, including Lancaster star Nick Harvey, one of the top players in the state.
Brown also had an updated on the injured players who missed spring practice:
Brown says Diggs, Phillips, Jeffcoat, and greg daniels have not been released for summer drills. should be ready by aug. 2. #hookem #horns
— William Wilkerson (@ESPNwilkerson) June 13, 2012
For the first three, the lost time isn't a major issue, but for Daniels, who hasn't played tight end since high school, the summer 7on7 reps would have been beneficial for him to work on his skills in the passing game.
A growing trend in the state in recruiting is schools holding satellite camps around the state, which provides better access for those prospects who don't have access to transportation to travel for camps. As a result, there's growing concern that Texas could be falling behind as a result of only holding camps in Austin.
Mack Brown says he will look into #longhorns having satellite camps but worried they keep kids away from experiencing texas campus. #hookem
— William Wilkerson (@ESPNwilkerson) June 13, 2012
Even if Brown does have a legitimate point, the coaching staff is currently missing out on opportunities to interact with and evaluate players who currently aren't attending camps. Given that those are the stakes, cheapening the camp experience seems like a minor issue.
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