Building around Gilbert

On paper I like that OL unit more than last year’s. Snow at center is an upgrade, and so is Allen at guard. Mitchell is the only real question mark.

That Colt measurement has me wondering how tall I am. I thought he was closer to 6’3". He have lifts in his shoes or something.

If we play a true fullback it’s hard to imagine Matthews being more suited than Cody Johnson. I am excited about Matthews, but wonder about GDGD’s capacity to use him.

In the day and age of people running a 4.49 and saying they ran a fo fo, I’ll get a little more exact. Colt 4.65, Ship fo fo, Kindle 4.6 (has he been trying to gain weight for the combine), Muck 4.62, Earl 4.38, Ulatoski 5.2 (strides aren’t as long now that he’s shorter)

I could be wrong on Earl going sub 4.4. He just seems extremely fast for safety, but that might have something to do with his angles.

Does this quote bother you guys as Horn fans, or do you generally agree?

From ESPN Insider:

“…And the coach is as known for sending ‘I love you texts’ as he is for dadgumming missed defensive assignments.

All of it is intended to ensure that everyone’s working toward the same goal. Winning it all, right? Actually, not quite.

‘We would love to win a national championship, but we’re not obsessed with it because we’re obsessed with these guys trying to live their NBA dream,’ Barnes says, with a nod to their predecessors. ’What’s happened to Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, T.J. Ford- I’d give up a national title for all our guys to be able to live their dream.’"

“Ulatoski 5.2 (strides aren’t as long now that he’s shorter)”

Magnus – you sir are a genius.

Coupleofcoitalcanines—not me, but there are some around here

South06—shitty, shitty quote. It’s been/being discussed.

http://fantake.com/forums/topic.php?id=820#post-4956

SouthO6, I read that article last night in my ESPN the mag. I think we tend to underestimate that Barnes is more concerned with player development and imposing his standards of play on the young men than necessarily winning Big 12 titles or winning in general.

I’m not sure how I feel about all the quotes. I’m glad we were able to watch Kevin Durant here to the point that I may remember his season as fondly as a championship season believe it or not. I still think there’s a solid chance that Barnes eventually has all the pieces together to make a championship run. We’ve come reasonably close about 3 times.

Good call on the times Magnus, I bet you’re right. Anything from a 4.5 to a 4.7 would be unsurprising to me from Kindle. I’ve seen him catch guys from behind enough to think that it’ll be on the lower end of that spectrum.

GD was giddy when we signed Matthews. Time to see what he’s got planned.

I would feel better about the prospects for our OL if I knew what McWhorter’s retirement plans are. Is there an annuity he’s waiting to vest?

I think a lot of the rumors about his departure were based on the graduation of mini-Mac. Since that isn’t true I’m not sure where a timeline comes from for his retirement now.
You can bet that if this season sees a 3.6 ypc average and subsequent losses to certain Big 12 South foes McWhorter will be under more fire.

Given the attention that will be paid to it I can’t see how this running game fails to improve even if the staff stuck with the Colt-era Shotgun running game. Given a shift to under-center formations and the use of a capable H-back I think the improvement will be fairly strong. My greatest dream is the implementation of Power to the playbook and a greater use of a Counter with actual counter step and misdirection hand-off. Or, God forbid, a draw and screen pass series.

I like the idea that Greg Davis architected an offense around Vince Young.

Uh, fair point. Let’s say that after at least a season’s worth of frustration he built the offenses around the quarterback. I think the zone-read offense of 05 was suited to Vince’s skills. The offense trotted out early in 03…

You mean when Vince and Vince’s mom asked our coaches “what the fuck are you doing? Vince isn’t Chris Simms”.

“Ulatoski …. He could be an upgrade over Columbo for Dallas right now.”

Hyperbole IMO. Aside from that, nice piece.

MLB – Jared Norton?

“Garrett Gilbert is one of the more known commodities on next year’s team. We know he has talent, can throw the ball downfield, and has the necessary leadership and poise to be a featured player. Given these talents, and the fact that Davis has built his offenses around the quarterback in every season here save for 98 when Ricky was everyone’s meal ticket, we can assume they will try to build around Gilbert.”

First of all, let’s be generously realistic and call your ‘10 OL as ’similar’ to your ‘09 OL…which put up no run game vs OU or NU. The O generated momentum in those games only when McCoy tucked it on draws/scrambles (otherwise McCoy got pummeled in the pocket). Since ’98 UT has flourished best with a QB that can scramble (i.e., the last 2 QBs). Gilbert is no doubt going to be a fine QB but if McCoy couldn’t thrive in those games…..At this point he’s being propped up by the phrase “biggest stage”, a performance with a lot more lowlights than highlights, the latter mainly consisting of him hitting a WIDE OPEN Shipley on both TD strikes. Not only is the 8th year senior gone, but the potential #1 WR next year is working on his timing on the track this spring, not on catching passes from Gilbert. As for the scheme change, I’m not convinced putting Gilbert under center is going to: 1) improve the run game; 2) give him the necessary time in the pocket against an OU or NU defense.

Having said all that, OU’s OL has many more Qs (but returns over 90% of its receiving yards – UT is under 50% + see Goodwin ref above). More relevant – and Pellini preseason-pollster-directed-hyperbole aside – NU’s D is going to be down more than a notch with their underrated safeties, O’Hanlon and Ashanti, moving on (not to mention MLB Dillard, DE Turner, all-everything DT Suh and, for the most part, lackluster recruits filling these spots). Still, I think its a fair statement that the ’10 Longhorn O is going to have develop chemistry/rhythm to thrive and I wonder if the spring is going to move things significantly forward with key components of the passing game out (Monroe, Grant, Goodwin partial or all spring) and time is spent (wasted?) on an under-center scheme (with use of non-catching TEs and Fullbacks)…that stands a good chance of getting jettisoned in the fall as GD hits the panic button and reverts to form.

There’s a chance they jettison the under-center game but I think it’s a mistake to believe that the run game won’t be better this season.
I don’t honestly believe the team dedicated that much time the last few years to improving the running game for all of Davis’ talk. Now it will be the focus and it can’t help but improve as a result. That’s without factoring in the schematic changes away from the QB-reliant inside-zone running game that Texas has used the last several seasons, the upgrade in run-blocking at center and left guard, and the addition of a 2nd back in Barrett Matthews to add another solid blocker.
As far as time in the pocket, I’m worried about protection from the Left tackle but buying time in the play-action game is mostly achieved through establishing the run as a threat to keep DEs from selling out. Also, Garrett can definitely hit some big passes on the rollout, he did it extensively in high school.

I like your blog – excellent work!