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- Thread starter 3yardsandacloud
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Calling UTMNC, calling UTMNC, you've got a new motivational speaker for your support group.
Too bad UTMNC isn't around anymore, else I'd use my new graphic on him:
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Look, with all due respect to all y'all, I don't want our guys playing in rubbers. It's just not natural.
I want Texas, TSUN and (ND or USC). I want there to be no dispute about who is NC.
I want Texas, TSUN and (ND or USC). I want there to be no dispute about who is NC.
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edhookem
Freshman
Calling UTMNC, calling UTMNC, you've got a new motivational speaker for your support group.
To be fair about this whole discussion here is how it seems to balance out.
The losses on Texas' D were significant, but they have a large core of players returning.
The players not returning to Ohio State's D were large in number and in presence last year. However, the returning players often have significant experience in D-1A play, either with the Buckeyes, or in the case of Kerr for a full season at Indiana.
No loss though can really compare to what was a hearbreak of an early exit for Longhorn fans in the party of Vince Young. Like Brown himself said, you can no longer count on 3rd and 30 (or I suspect 3rd and 10) conversions being exciting and frequent occurences. Tack on the loss of Ramonce Taylor and suddenly you have a lot of last years scoring taken off the field of play.
Unlike the players who have to step up into the shoes of the Ohio State D '05 starters the key player(s) who fill the gaping void left by Vince Young have not had a start. I know we keep harping on this, but it is true. Had Troy Smith left early we would have been looking very hard at the capabilities of Schoenhoft and Boeckman in Spring Game settings. Because we were looking forward we did that anyway. Like some Texas fans concerning McCoy or Snead, our general feeling is that these guys are "doing better than we hoped for." Realistically though that does not mean they would step in and run the offense with the same smooth and instinctive quality that Smith brings to the table. He evades trouble from the back side and makes the extra yard with his own legs if the play breaks down in front of him. Which was exactly part of the extra special pizazz Young would bring to the UT offense with frequency.
Expecting someone to even be a pale shadow of that well honed player is unreasonable. To quote Brown, literally this time:
And the unwritten part of that is how much game experience will be needed. Its game two, September 9th, remember? I honestly find it hard, well nigh impossible to believe that a firm, fixed and constant fixture decision will have been made at QB by then - when your warm up is against North Texas.
Your "warm up" is not exactly a powerhouse either and it will be really hard for a brand new defense (9 new starters) to gel in one week as well.
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tsteele316
Mr. Such and Such
True. But NIU will likely win the MAC this year, and would roll North Texas.<!-- / message -->
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xrayrandy
Blowhard Statistician
Frost, ouch! I guess that Nicol is not that much of a drop-off in terms of starter, but it sure hurts your depth.
Do you use 2 TEs much? I don't recall seeing it. What do you think the impact to our game will be, if any?
By the way I went to practice last night, and the DBs got some payback against the QBs. I'm still convinced that Colt can deliver the ball accurately to the open receivers.
Do you use 2 TEs much? I don't recall seeing it. What do you think the impact to our game will be, if any?
By the way I went to practice last night, and the DBs got some payback against the QBs. I'm still convinced that Colt can deliver the ball accurately to the open receivers.
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campies
Senior
Despite my original skepticism, after seeing him in person, I agree with others that Colt is one of the most accurate young passers I've seen in a long time. He is playing like everything we could possibly hope for in a VY replacement heading into the season. This team, read 'team' not QB, has confidence, leadership, and swagger out the wazoo, to go along with talent out of said orifice as well, and those 4 things can off-set freshmen-tendencies better than anything else. Not to mention the redshirt season, coach's son mentality, and tireless-work ethic, Colt is coming into this role with as much going for him as one could possibly imagine.
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Two TE's isn't very common. It was used as a surprise effectively against TSUN at the end of last season, with an unbalanced set featuring previously little-used Andree Tyree.
JT had mentioned using 2 TE's and a FB in order to show more different looks. So there's a little less flexibility, and as you said, a concern about depth.
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rocketman
flying low
We didn't throw it to the TE's much last year, but that was probably due to depth issues. Rory Nicol and Brandon Smith will step up. We also got a 6'8" freshman in Jake Ballard coming in, so he might be given a chance early. As far as how often we'll line up with 2 TE's, thats a question for the more knowledgeable posters on here...
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xrayrandy
Blowhard Statistician
I'm planning on re-watching our game so I'll look at the TEs some.
After watching practice again last night, I cannot understate how good the runningbacks looks. Jamaal looks faster than ever. He doesn't even do the hop that he used so much last year, he just slashes and runs by people. As Mack said Selvin has regained the 4.3 speed he had when the recruited him and looks quick as I've seen him. Puting in Henry Melton behind them is sick and should be outlawed. There is no comparison to where these guys were a year ago.
On the line Hills is dominating at LT, and I can see why coach McWhorter says he is our best lineman. Blalock looks comfortable at RG. He could be the best guard in the country if he stays there, a real road grader. Sendlein and Studdard are just as sold as last year. It looks like the fifth man will be something of a rotation, Ulatoski at RT, Dockery ot RG and Dallas Griffin at Center with Blalock or Sendlien shifting, to keep the top 4 guys on the field much of the time. I think this line will be better than last years especially with the Ulatoski at RT lineup. I also like having Studdard and Blalock in position to neutralize your DTs.
Finley still showed he is the go to guy as far as the QBs are concerned he catches everything, and at 6-6 (He was noticable taller than Vince when they stood together) the QBs can always find him. Tweedie dropped a lot of balls today, so even though he is sort of a returning starter (4 starts) he will probably be a blocking TE again this year for the most part.
Wideouts Quan and Shipley both looked great again last night, beating some guys deep and making great catches. Pittman has been struggling with drops. I'm not sure what is up with that, but hopefully just a lack of focus. Sweed is better than I have seen him and looks solid. Backups Hardy and Jones have also been consistently good, continuing with the improvements both made in the spring. We have 6 very good WRs ready to go.
Fullback is a bit of a concern, we don't have one. Last year we only used one about 10 plays a game, predominantly in short yardage situations. that could drop to 5 or less this year. Mack mentioned that he may try one of our DTs Lokey or Miller there as they both had runningback experience in highschool and can catch too. That would probably only be for jumbo sets at the goal line.
I talked with one of the local sportswriters yesterday during warmups, and he is pretty certain we will go with freshman place kicker Hunter Lawrence. That could make things interesting. He has a strong leg and looks very accurate. Some people had him down as the #1 kicking prospect in the country last year. He will be OK for the season, but the second game could be more interesting than we want. I expect Greg Johnson will still do kickoffs as he did last year, to make sure we have experience in that critical part of the game.
Defensively the DBs stepped things up as the coaches let them have contact with the receivers at the LOS, unlike yesterday. It made a big difference. The starting 4 looked solid although Ross is struggling with some lower back pain from the way he kept stretching it and grabbing it. It is still an open audition for the backups. Foster (Looks 5'-8") who played well in the Rose Bowl when Tarell Brown broke his arm is the #5 guy, but I'm not sure after that.
We have a lot of experience back on the front 7 on defense and they are so deep Mack is calling them the front 14. I can't tell much when they aren't hitting, so I will have to wait until the Fan Appreciation Day scrimmage in a couple weeks to report more on them.
After watching practice again last night, I cannot understate how good the runningbacks looks. Jamaal looks faster than ever. He doesn't even do the hop that he used so much last year, he just slashes and runs by people. As Mack said Selvin has regained the 4.3 speed he had when the recruited him and looks quick as I've seen him. Puting in Henry Melton behind them is sick and should be outlawed. There is no comparison to where these guys were a year ago.
On the line Hills is dominating at LT, and I can see why coach McWhorter says he is our best lineman. Blalock looks comfortable at RG. He could be the best guard in the country if he stays there, a real road grader. Sendlein and Studdard are just as sold as last year. It looks like the fifth man will be something of a rotation, Ulatoski at RT, Dockery ot RG and Dallas Griffin at Center with Blalock or Sendlien shifting, to keep the top 4 guys on the field much of the time. I think this line will be better than last years especially with the Ulatoski at RT lineup. I also like having Studdard and Blalock in position to neutralize your DTs.
Finley still showed he is the go to guy as far as the QBs are concerned he catches everything, and at 6-6 (He was noticable taller than Vince when they stood together) the QBs can always find him. Tweedie dropped a lot of balls today, so even though he is sort of a returning starter (4 starts) he will probably be a blocking TE again this year for the most part.
Wideouts Quan and Shipley both looked great again last night, beating some guys deep and making great catches. Pittman has been struggling with drops. I'm not sure what is up with that, but hopefully just a lack of focus. Sweed is better than I have seen him and looks solid. Backups Hardy and Jones have also been consistently good, continuing with the improvements both made in the spring. We have 6 very good WRs ready to go.
Fullback is a bit of a concern, we don't have one. Last year we only used one about 10 plays a game, predominantly in short yardage situations. that could drop to 5 or less this year. Mack mentioned that he may try one of our DTs Lokey or Miller there as they both had runningback experience in highschool and can catch too. That would probably only be for jumbo sets at the goal line.
I talked with one of the local sportswriters yesterday during warmups, and he is pretty certain we will go with freshman place kicker Hunter Lawrence. That could make things interesting. He has a strong leg and looks very accurate. Some people had him down as the #1 kicking prospect in the country last year. He will be OK for the season, but the second game could be more interesting than we want. I expect Greg Johnson will still do kickoffs as he did last year, to make sure we have experience in that critical part of the game.
Defensively the DBs stepped things up as the coaches let them have contact with the receivers at the LOS, unlike yesterday. It made a big difference. The starting 4 looked solid although Ross is struggling with some lower back pain from the way he kept stretching it and grabbing it. It is still an open audition for the backups. Foster (Looks 5'-8") who played well in the Rose Bowl when Tarell Brown broke his arm is the #5 guy, but I'm not sure after that.
We have a lot of experience back on the front 7 on defense and they are so deep Mack is calling them the front 14. I can't tell much when they aren't hitting, so I will have to wait until the Fan Appreciation Day scrimmage in a couple weeks to report more on them.
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High Lonesome
Hook 'Em
Randy, I love your enthusiasm and I hope you are right, but I am skeptical of how you could get such a good feeling of the physical dominance of our line in a tshirt practice. By the way, you are not the first person I have heard say these things, just the first I have had a chance to ask
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