DJ Grant Out For Season

But what does it all mean, Basil?

Eyeball tests from sketchy practive reports indicate Barrett taller than DJ Grant. David Thomas was not much taller than 6’1, so I think height doesn’t make much difference if they know what they’re doing.

Phillip Payne’s got to spin down to TE to get some PT. He passes the Under Armour test you’d like to see in a TE.

Running 4-wide’s with a variety of counters and draws would keep defenses’ honest if that’s what we have to do. Not sure I’ve seen much of that w/ Greg Davis (true draw plays).

Damn, damn, damn…

Eskimo:
 
It’s not height. It’s size.
 
Philip Payne is not a TE possibility.
 
Agree on the draw. Its absence from our playbook has always been curious to me.

CloseToJumping has mentioned to me that a shovel pass to Brock Fitzhenry would be deadly.

David Thomas can’t be much bigger than Barrett. Plus, there aren’t many Big XII teams running Mario Williams out there. 240lb DEnds are common in the pass-happy league (see Granny Sherman & Kines steps to spin LBs there).

If I thought we could utilize an H-back, perhaps even putting said H-back in motion, I’d gizz.

However, Mack’s philosophy seems to limit motion (except for goal-line situations), as it can confuse the offense as much as the defense. Mackovic’s offenses, heavy in multiple sets and motion, also generated many more turnovers on average than Mack’s squads.

David Thomas was a grown man weighing 240+ as a senior. Barrett is a true freshman 220. He’s not going to be a credible run blocker straight up on a quality Big 12 DE.
 
But he can get a seal if you line him up in a flex or put him in motion as a H-back. And he can certainly handle a LB or S.

What our TE’s have done to offend the Almighty I don’t know. Perhaps we should go down to 6th street and sacrifice a virgin…oh never mind.

This is just the type of thing that can fuck up this season.

We rocked shit last year without a TE. It will take a lot more than losing Grant to fuck up our season. Hell, as far as we know we’re not losing anything from Grant to Matthews. It’s not like Grant was a known commodity.

Shit, I guess I should have been more specific.

Take out and add

Injuries are just the type of thing that can fuck up this season.

“Greg Smith represents an extra blocking surface.”

When there’s a need for an “extra blocking surface” it should come in the form of Tray Allen, Mason Walters, or WHOEVER. Greg Smith shouldn’t see the field under any circumstances. I’d rather see Ben Alexander at TE than GS. At least if Colt hit him in the navel it might stick…

The horns should see a ton of nickel and dime defenses this season (i.e. the opposition will try to make somebody other than Colt beat them by making the horns run the ball). What makes that doubly enticing for the opposition is that the horns’ running game was not that awesome last season (especially compared to the horns’ passing game) and it is pretty much the same crew returning on offense. The implication is that the horns are going to have to be able to run the ball. The further implication is that the horns’ skilled position players are going to have to be able to do some run blocking. The TE is the ideal receiver to help out on run blocking.

Another reason to not simply go to 4 wide receivers is that the horns are, presumably, going to operate the extreme hurry up offense (ala OU) a lot this season. If the horns are one dimensional again this season, that does not work optimally with the extreme hurry up offense. Also Mack stated that one of the most important goals this season is for the offense to be more flexible (i.e. not forced to throw all the time).

Re: TE prospects,I still have an open mind on Greg Smith. It will be interesting to see how well he catches the ball in practice. I don’t remember that he was a bad blocker (but I did not pay close attention). GD says GS has excellent hands but does not stretch the field. Mack said that “they” said that GS had an excellent summer. “They” is presumably Mad Dog and Colt. GS and DJ were fighting for the starting TE spot and with DJ’s injury, presumably GS is now the starting TE (if Colt is comfortable with him).

GoBR is really high on Barret Matthews. Barret is supposed to be an excellent blocker and has some speed but is undersized (anybody know his current weight?). TE is not the easiest position to learn since it is a hybrid of receiver and offensive line.

The horns might consider Cody playing H back or fullback (rather than going with a TE). IIRC, Cody was the highest rated FB in high school football in the country his junior or senior year. If his blocking skills are good enough, he is plenty big and strong enough to protect the QB and to lead block. He would also give the horns a great second running threat and a receiver of dump passes who could generate YAC.

nordberg,

Grant was a more likely commodity in the passing game than Matthews, who was more of a blocking TE in high school. Definitely a shorter, thicker frame than Grant.

But I agree this just means we beat Florida by three touchdowns instead of five.

To avoid the wear & tear against weaker opponents, Barrett Matthews size should not matter. Can he catch & block at this level? He’s roughly the same size as DJ and a younger David Thomas, so nothing has changed regarding this unit’s ability to block the likes of Austan English.

The ability for our TEs to stretch the field has been severely curtailed, presumingly, given the positive reports of Grant.

To avoid the wear & tear against weaker opponents, Barrett Matthews size should not matter. Can he catch & block at this level? He’s roughly the same size as DJ and a younger David Thomas, so nothing has changed regarding this unit’s ability to block the likes of Austan English.
 
I was assuming that you understood that we’re a base zone blocking offense now, Eskimo.
 
VY is gone, zone read is no longer our base running game, we don’t block down. In zone read, David Thomas released inside and looked for a LB or S. The playside DE is left unblocked.
 
It’s apples/oranges.
 
To zone block effectively, you must be able to dominate the point of attack. The scheme offers no solace.
 
As I wrote, if you want to use him effectively as a dual threat, he needs help before the snap via alignment.

Matthews didn’t catch many balls in high school because NS didn’t really throw many his much and really don’t throw as much as many teams in high school anymore. DeAndrew White only had 37 catches last season and he was their leading receiver.

Matthews can catch the ball and more importantly has some athletic ability which is something Smith, Harris, and Howard haven’t shown to date.

Bad day all around for the horns. Shaun Lewis verbaled to Ok St. I wanted this guy bad, but unfortunately Texas only offered 5 lb’s in a year in which they need 4. This guy is going to wreck shop in the Big 12. Apparently the thinking was he is undersized and not going to be able to add bulk. Paging Patrick Nkwopara.

Will Lyles wanted Lewis more.

Magnus:
 
Mack made the right call on Mr Lewis.

Starting to like the idea of H back, even though it doesn’t and will never exist in this offense. Im still waiting for the Cluster Flux to take off.
H Back>Co-starter?

Even if you’re not sold on his ability to play lb at a high level for UT, wouldn’t you offer from a numbers standpoint. We need 3 lb’s at the very least, 4 would be preferable. We offer 3 in state kids right off the bat and the only OOS kid had to recruit us. We waited too long on Marshall and now we’re fucked. If this DT and TE situation has taught us anything it would be you should never short yourself on numbers. We should have gone OOS with more offers if we didn’t like more kids in-state. We shut OU down in Texas for the most part and they’ve adapted nicely by throwing out offers nationwide. I can’t fault our early recruiting strategy, but we need to make half-time adjustments after the second Jr days in February. Our recruiting arrogance is tired. With our lb “tradition” we should offer 5 every year. I think if Ok. St. can turn former Jack Yates qb Orie Lemon into a player, I think they fancy their chances with Lewis. Top 40 prospect on ESPN for what that’s worth.

Is Cobb that much worse than Grant/Matthews as a receiver?

Scipio,

I made no comments about our run game – since this thread is about the tragic season-ending injury to the 220-lb (maybe 230) DJ Grant and you mentioned Colt getting tattoed by lowly Baylor & ATM. I also mentioned the sketchy reports of Barrett being both taller and thicker than Grant.

I should have remarked when I mentioned “wear & tear,” that I was thinking about what Matthews (or DJ Grant previously) could do for our passing game to help prevent Colt from getting knocked down by the likes of Baylor & A&M. Even without a viable running threat, an extra blocker in pass situations would help – one who could both take on pass-rush specialists and beat a LB.

Nothing has changed with respect to the unit’s ability to block the likes of Austan English, either in run or the pass. Davis & Colt will once again need to get creative.

The Finley curse.

Do I exist?

Scip—-thought Britt Mitchell was the best blocking TE last season with some punch that Smith hasn’t exactly exhibited yet. If we are seriously going majority with a foundation TE it will be interesting whether BM is more value as the third tackle or possibly the main cog at blocking TE—-Walters may hold the key to the solution.

Smith hasn’t been able to change the LOS so there’s that—-Mitchell has more poot in his butt and can establish a seal—-the TE from Kilgore?? looks to be the best blocking newbie but he might be a DE unless we think we need numbers to find one TE—-Matthews is a keeper in the passing game but his blocking at NS was Help Me Rhonda at best.

I honestly didn’t think much about Grant being done when I heard about it last night. I would have liked to have seen him, but I was from Missouri on the concept of the TE being a meaningful position for this team in 2009. I hope we get creative and do some interesting stuff to compensate, no doubt. I am hoping Matthews can get it done. I liked his film and like the early reviews. Not sure how Tre Graham doesn’t redshirt.

If we go through the season with Greg Smith handing off interceptions to the other team on the occasional pass thrown his way, or watch Britt Mitchell take up space while the talented 4th or 5th WR or Cobbs rides pine, I will probably beat HenryJames to death with scally’s spinal column.

Magnus:

Will Lyles

I would think that Dan Buckner would be a viable option to play te, he’s a big target and he isn’t going to see the field much more this year than he did last year if he’s kept at wr. That would be two years used up already and for what, mop up time? Someone with size down the seam would do wonders to open up the underneath. Of course he’s not said to be the toughest guy ever.

Alright, alright, gotcha on the Lyles/Lewis dry hump. Lewis didn’t strike me as one of those kids, but now it occurs to me that he also really liked LSU.

Eskimo,

You might be taking this into account – the use of verb tense here is vague – but I think Scip was talking about not the potential of Colt being pounded by Baylor and A&M but in fact, the actuality of him getting hammered in those two games last year. And if we have the same nullity at that spot this year, more teams – even those of low quality – will simply mimic those tactics unless we find a way to counter them.

But if that’s what you took from Scipio’s comments, I apologize for my pedantry. But never my podiatry.

Nor your pederantry.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

I agree magnus. Buckner is the tallest player on the team by the looks of it (there is no way that guy is only 6-4), and he looks the part of a TE up close muscle-tone wise, though obviously he’d still have to bulk up some to factor as a blocker. Could see him being a Jermichael type of player very quickly…

Re Dan Buckner: if you’re not aggressive enough to get off of a line jam from a 185 pound corner, we’re going to ask you to take on LBs and DEs?

How about me?

Scipio: Our tight end, however, does not need to dominate, he just has to hinder the end and the run often goes away from him on the inside zone.
We’re better off with Greg Smith or someone of his size and blocking experience but I think we can effectively run our scheme in hurry-up with a passable blocking tight-end.
Of course, we were planning on trying this with DJ Grant and surely Matthews can block as well as him.

I think all you old fogies who sit down at a computer and type your “knowledgeable and informed” opinions about TE’s are purely negative and close minded. Give the guys in the position a chance to prove themselves. Greg Smith played TE last season as a huge 290 lb TE because Mack didn’t want him to lose all the weight and be unable to play on the o-line if they needed him. You try and run routes carrying that weight— that’s a lot of momentum to get going in the other direction.

 GROSSMAN- I sure hope we don’t have many more despicable Longhorn fans like you, who constantly put down Longhorn players. Go find a team that you can say something nice about. We don’t need you.

Barrett Matthews absolutely beasted someone tonight. I think it was an Acho. Took him 10 yards backwards. I’m in.

Yea HornGirl!!

Ahco? Uh-cho. He’s our starting end.

Who let a girl on the internet?

It don’t make a shit

I don’t negotiate with terrorists…

Greg Smith played TE last season as a huge 290 lb TE because Mack didn’t want him to lose all the weight and be unable to play on the o-line if they needed him.

The real problem is that he is a blocking tight end at 290 that was a horrendous blocker. Greg Smith should not be part of plays that don’t inlcude a kicker.

Or a volleyball set to a streaking Marquis Goodwin.

This needs to be in the playbook.

Good call, Vasherized (sargassum). I have enough emotional issues watching the Horns on game day. I don’t need a play that causes a momentary knife-in-the-balls sensation even when it works.

Horngirl is actually Katie from hornfans.

It’s funny. Blaine got hurt against Rice (like the 4th game). Who started at TE for the whole season? Greg or Peter. And then we went to the Fiesta Bowl. Absolute failure (sarcasm)- huh- those TE’s didn’t do too much wrong otherwise Colt would have been on his butt a lot more often and wouldn’t have been able to have such a great completion percentage. You’re right, the coaches should absolutely move a big receiver to TE that way they can learn a new position in 3 weeks. Good luck to them. Good thing your opinions don’t matter.

“Who started at TE for the whole season? Greg or Peter.” holyhopshit

Holyhop,

Seeing as how our TE’s were invisibile and our run game was pretty ineffective I would say that our TE’s were an absolute failure. Buckner lost his redshirt and had 12 meaningless catches. I would rather he get 12 meaningful catches from the TE position. The only way it would be tough to learn is if he was going to be involved in the runnig game which clearly he won’t be. I’m not worried about having a pass catching TE until Oct. 17th so I don’t know where you get the 3 weeks to get ready from. It’s not like Grant had any experience and he was already listed on the first team. I just want somebody to distract a safety.

Are you blowing those guys? If not, quit using their first names.

Let’s just do everything you wanna do… poopy pants. I’ll use their whole names just for… you.

I wonder why they moved D.J. Grant to TE in the first place? Did the coaches think he was a poor receiver? Granted I know we’re stacked at WR, but don’t we need some bigger receivers since Malcolm Williams hasn’t exactly stepped up yet? There’s gotta be a reason they didn’t give him a chance at WR… that’s all I’m saying?

Personally, I think the TE coach shot himself in the foot when he recruited Greg Smith and Ahmard Howard as TE’s, then abruptly sent them to other positions (o-line and defense) once Blaine Irby showed up. They lost a whole year at the position to develop. Now they have less experience and consequently less confidence.

PS why doesn’t anyone mention Ahmard Howard? Who’s better- him or Greg Smith? They have more experience than the freshmen… just a question.