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Good news: Jamari Chisholm is cleared. Participated in practice this AM. Any time a JUCO qualifies at Texas, an angel gets its wings.
Quite a few lazy, paint-by-the-numbers questions today at Herman’s post-practice Q&A (“Can you talk about Malik Jefferson as a leader...again”). There are some useless reporters out there.
I’ll summarize what I found notable with questionable accuracy here:
- The Horns had their 2nd straight strong practice. Herman was happy with effort level and passion. Wore shoulder pads, but still shorts. Full pads Friday
- The football team will see their new locker room tomorrow
- Shane and Sam both get reps with the 1s. Shane gets the most. Sam has “an uphill battle” to start
- 2018 recruiting momentum is good. The current Texas players have been the staff’s best ally
- Herman mentioned that Malik Jefferson has completely transformed his lower body - noticeable on tape
- Jerrod Heard is a leader because WRs are prone to individualism and he can get his peers to consider the team picture. Having been under center is a real advantage to him as a wide receiver in understanding coverages and alignment
- The ideal RB for this offense? “Ezekiel Elliott!” (laughs)
- The defensive install process. Total exposure to the entire scheme right off of that bat. Then they break it down into component parts and re-teach. Then re-exposure to the total scheme. Then re-teach. And so on
- Day 1 was 3 man DL. Day 2 was 4 man DL. Day 3 was a combo, as we’ll see during the season
- Cornerback isn’t deep. Safety is loaded
- Edwin Freeman has been moved to MAC (backup middle linebacker) behind Anthony Wheeler and he’s pushing. Herman was very positive about him
I’d guess the current LB two deep as:
B-backer - Hughes/McCulloch
Mac - Wheeler/Freeman
Rover - Malik/Gary Johnson
Pads will have something to say about whether that remains. If you want a thorough explanation of each LB’s strengths and weaknesses and to really get a grasp of the Longhorn’s prospects in 2017, give Thinking Texas Football a shot.
You’ll be glad you did.