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Big XII Media Days got off and running yesterday, but Texas and OU were scheduled for Day Two - largely to give some distraction and air cover for Baylor, but we digress. Charlie Strong took the podium a little after 10:00 AM, and we're going LIVE(ish) to bring you some immediate HOT TAEKZ on the highlights of Charlie's presser by way of the Tweeterplexer.
Here we go:
"We gotta elevate. It's all about moving this program forward and our players know that." pic.twitter.com/c0moiE68Mi
— Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: No doubt about that one. Wherever you come down on the "Judging Charlie In Year Three Is Premature" debate laid out in Thinking Texas Football 2016, realpolitik demands some significant steps forward on just about every dimension if he's going to get the chance to see this thing through to fruition.
#Texas coach Charlie Strong told some assembled media that LB Anthony Wheeler is a player who will surprise this season. #LetsRide
— Burnt Orange Nation (@BON_SBNation) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: That's definitely in keeping with the hype train that's been building during the Spring and through early Summer workouts. There are a lot of moving parts in the #FreeMalik movement, but none may be important than the emergence of Wheeler as a competent, head-knocking Mike.
"Defensively, has to be a major major improvement. We have to have pass rushers. This is a throwing league"
— Jillian Kushner (@jilliankushner) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: No debate there. Texas had surprisingly impressive Sacks per Pass Attempt numbers last season, but a ton of that was born of blitzing (Peter Jinkens led the team with 6.5 sacks) and there were far too many times when five guys were losing five one on one battles with the OL while skill position guys ran free in the secondary.
Strong: "We were able to stop people on first and second down, but on third down you have to get off the field." #HookEm #Big12FB
— Joe Cook (@josephcook89) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: The first part is a bit of revisionist history, but the second is bang on. Texas' third down D was woeful last year, which is kind of what happens when you combine a lack of one on one pass rush dominators with a back seven too young to effectively scheme with and a dash of "oh by the way, it's third and three" thrown in. Omenihu is the most realistic hope to take a big step forward on the DL and solve some of that root cause stuff, but other guys will have to exceed expectations.
New offense for #Texas will focus on being balanced, running the ball to make things easier on the QBs. #Longhorns
— Burnt Orange Nation (@BON_SBNation) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: There's no better offense than the Atari 5333 for giving a young QB simple reads and the ability to attack downfield thanks to speed and spacing, but it comes crashing down in a hurry if Foreman and Warren aren't getting the O ahead of the chains with reasonable consistency and punishing DCs for keeping their safeties too deep and/or too wide.
Charlie Strong on the Red River Rivalry: That's one game I don't have to give a pep talk for, but want to see Texas play like that each week
— (((Adam Grosbard))) (@AdamGrosbard) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: Don't we all. Young team gonna young, but improved consistency is a must this season. DRASTICALLY improved consistency.
Charlie Strong up first at Day 2 in Dallas. Anticipating a grilling from the Waco media.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: Dan Wolken is a hacktastic douchecanoe flailing for national relevance with a continual array of absurd Tweets on Texas as Puppetmaster during the Baylor fiasco.
Strong said the players are starting to take over the team. "Once they take the ownership you let them run it." #HookEm #Longhorns
— Jeff Howe (@JeffHowe247) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: The locker room fractures that hindered the 2015 team appear to be a thing of the past. The upperclassmen are now exclusively guys who are bought in to Charlie's ethos and they appear to be sharing the wheel with the natural leaders in the 2015 class. Hard to quantify the impact, but hard to think it won't matter.
Strong on Buechele: The thing he's working on is he needs to get bigger and stronger. Won't let players hit him yet.
— Texas Exes (@TexasExes) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: Kinda wish Kevin Vaccaro had gotten that memo in the Spring Game. It's no secret that Buechele won't be an integral component of the run game, but a few Read Options off the end where he can run to green grass and get down would be a nice addition. Time will tell how much it will get employed.
Strong on Buechele: "He puts the ball in the right place and he understands the offense." #HookEm #Longhorns
— Jeff Howe (@JeffHowe247) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: ...which is why we don't want him getting hit.
Strong seems to have only good things to say about Shane Buechele. Boy, I wonder who will start at QB?
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: Yeop.
Strong on new offense: "When you bring in someone who knows the offense its [explodes]." Says many players understand offense well.
— Will Baizer (@WillBaizer) July 19, 2016
IMMEDIATE HOT TAEKZ: Really hoping that [explodes] was Twitter shorthand for an actual quote of "viciously dominance-humps the defense into submission."
Looks like that's it for Strong - Texas is back on the docket around 2:30 and we'll re-launch this deal for Part Two.