Someone asked about the Texas depth chart, so I'll give you a rundown going into spring practice. They just had their second day in shorts.
OL - The starters should be better than last year, but the depth is not as good. Expect the Texas line to be rated in the top 3 nationally in the preseason publications. The biggest dropoff is that we may not be able to exchange the entire line every 3 drives or so like we did last year.
OT - Blallock returns as one of the best in college and Hills replaces Scott. Believe me when I say there is no dropoff going with Hills. There were lots of times when he looked better last fall. The backups are a soph and RS Fr Dolan and Ulatoski. Ulatoski will be another very good tackle for us down the road, while Dolan is a capable backup, but we won't have the depth at tackle we had last year, at least not at first.
OG - Studdard returns and is a likely All Big 12 guard. The other spot is wide open with a RS-FR Tanner getting some good press. Or Cedric Dockery (younger brother to Derrick - Redskins) could take that spot. All I can say is that whoever wins the starting spot will be NFL material, but inexperienced. We did lose a senior backup and will likely have another RS-FR backing up Studdard, or more likely a 3 man rotation. So, as with tackle the starters are outstanding but the depth is not as good, or you could say needs experience.
C - Seindlein returns and will be a likely 1st or 2nd team All-Big 12 pick. Dallas Griffin was his backup last year and returns, and is very good.
TE - We return last years backup Tweedie, who has been an OT and DE in his career, and is like a 3rd OT when in the game. He can pancake LBs all day. He is not a big pass catching threat, but adequate. Jermichael Finley is the receiving TE, and the coach Akina has said that he will break David Thomas' receiving records, and I was saying that before after watching him practice. He is 6-5 235 and has great hands and jumping ability. He was a top 50 BBall prospect, and should be the go to guy in the red zone, impossible to cover unless you have a 6'9" power forward available to play safety. We have Ullman as teh #3 TE, who is very quick off the ball, (fastest TE at the Army All American combine the year he went.) Don't expect much falloff at TE, if any.
WR - All the starters, Sweed, Pittman, and Cosby are back. Shipley will hopefully be healthy and Ramonce Taylor will also be available. This group was still very young last year, and should be a lot better, especially if Shipley plays like he practices.
RB - The early word in Spring is that Selvin Young is finally looking like he is at full speed and finally recovered from his fall 2004 injury. Jamaal Charles is healthy and ran a 6.68 60 meter last month and may make the finals in the 60 and 200 at the NCAA indoor meet in about 10 days. Taylor is also in form and will be available, with Melton still being a possible short yardage back. The returning RBs had 42 TDs last year, more than most teams (OSU did have 47 total).
FB - This isn't a starting spot for us, but we may use one for 15 plays or so. Ahmard Hall is gone and will likely be replaced by Myers or Ogbannaya who should do fine. Someone else could emerge, or Ullman could cover it, but in any case it isn't that big a deal, as Davis treats this spot as a blocker only.
QB - Colt McCoy has drawn comparisons to Major Applewhite at this stage in his career except he is bigger, faster, stronger, and has a stronger arm. If he matches Major's RS-FR QB rating of 147 or so, we will be fine. He is the #3 all time leading passer in Texas HS history, so he isn't exactly a stiff off the street. Jevan Snead has enrolled early and been in the 6:00 AM informal practices since day one, and is reportedly looking very inpressive as well.
Under Mack UTs offenses have average right at 40 points a game, and this year should be no different, even without Vince. It would help if the QBs play at the kind of level mentioned above, and that is the real unknown about this offense. It should be able to generate 250+ yards rushing against most teams given the line and RBs, so opposing defenses will need to stop the run first.
DL - If Robison and Crowder can stay healthy this Dline will be better than last year, when they struggled with injuries. If you notice how far Wright (and Dibbles) is falling in the draft, you will realize that replacing him is not as big a job as one would have thought this time last year.
DE - Robison and Crowder return along with the #1 backup Orakpo who backed up both side. Robison just finished second in the Big 12 with a 63'8" shotput and will join Charles at the NCAA meet (Texas may be favored). We have a couple freshman (Jones, Houston) who may improve the depth situation over last year. We struggled at times with Robison and Crowder both having injury problems.
DT - Our Best DT Okam returns to anchor the middle. Miller and Lokey are both faster off the ball and stronger than either Wright or Dibbles, so I really don't expect any dropoff there. We should have a real good 3 man rotation. Thomas Marshall is the 4th guy and he reminds me a Marcus Tubbs at this point in his career.
LB - This was the weakest and least experienced unit on the team last year. The good news is that we return three guys who started, Killebrew, Kelson and Bobino. Harris was playing injured much of the year, so these guys gained valuable experience while he was limited. The question is how much better they will be. Both Kill and Kelson had some great moments but need to be more consistent. All three linebackers are crosstrained, so we don't know where they will play. Foreman is the best of the returning backups on the outside. We have a RS-FR Muckelroy who you may see. His claim to fame was single handedly shutting down Adrian Peterson while in highschool, and after dropping a few pounds made a name for himself in practice last year. Kindle is also expected to have an immediate impact. As a unit the LBs should be better than last year, with better depth, but the jury is out over whether their game will be up to the level of the rest of the team.
CB - We return our too best cover corners Brown and Ross and both have starting experience, although Brown has started more (20+). What we won't have is 3 experienced CBs like last year. Brondon Foster looked great in the Rose Bowl when he came in for Brown when Brown's arm got broken. He is the best candidate to backup both sides. Ryan Palmer or true freshman Chykie Brown will be looking for backup playing time. This is another spot where the starters will be better, but the depth is the issue going into the season.
S - As mentioned previously Michael Griffin is a Thorpe finalist waiting to happen, since he outperformed Huff much of the time last year. His twin brother Marcus will likely start beside him, and should be another great safety once he gets the playing time. The two of them together should be very good together, although not as good as the two last year. There is also a dropoff at nickel since Cedric Griffin used to rotate there with Ross coming in at corner, when we went with our best nickel formation. Eric Jackson is the one to watch there, although Brown could move to nickel with Foster coming in at corner. Note that Jackson was rated above Youboty in Texas coming out of school but has been lost on our depth chart, until now. Matt Melton is a 5th year senior who should contribute at safety. The DBs will not be as good as last year without Huff, but with 3 guys back and Michael's twin, I would put them in the preseason top 5 for DBs.
On balance we expect the starters at OL, WR, RB, DL, and LB to be better than in 2005. The DBs and OL depth will slip a little, but still alot better than all but a couple teams. Of course, QB won't be anything like last year, but all we really need is someone who can deliver the ball to the playmakers.
