Chris Ogbonnaya scoring against Colorado
Now with all of that said, Texas is 5-0 and you really can’t ask for much more heading into OU. I guess we will really get to see what Texas is made of with their tough upcoming schedule (OU, Mizzou, OSU, @Tech).
My favorite stat of the game? QB Cody Hawkins threw for only 13/33 and 118 yards. I bet he is going to have nightmares this week of the Texas defense. Now let’s see how each position fared:
Quarterback - Overall Grade: B
Colt McCoy probably had his worst game of the season. Colt’s stats aren’t horrible, 23/30 for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns. The concerning part is the two interceptions. One of them was just a poor decision and had Tony Romo written all over it. Luckily Colt is having his off day in a game that wasn’t ever in question. I expect Colt to bounce back and have a great game against Oklahoma.
John Chiles seems to be looking more and more lost out there on the field. And now when he is running and seems to be reluctant and has no purpose. Hopefully this isn’t the future of the Texas QB.
Running Backs - Overall Grade: B
Chris Ogbonnaya had a career game. Chris O started off the game with a 65 yard touchdown and reception and later added a 51 yard run. His performance on Saturday deservedly earned him the starting nod against OU. It’s the other running backs that have me a bit worried. Vondrell McGee did show a little speed, but ended up with only 30 yards on 8 carries. I was expecting big things from McGee this year and he has yet to have that breakout game. Cody Johnson did score two touchdowns, but had only 27 yards on 11 carries. It looks like Cody Johnson will be useful for short-yardage situations, but probably doesn’t have the fitness for much else. When is Fozzy Whittaker going to return? We need him stat.
Wide Receivers - Overall Grade: B-
Of course Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley had great games, but I am docking the receivers because someone else needs to step-up and give Colt a solid target. Only 3 catches were made by receivers other than Cosby and Shipley (not counting RBs). That just won’t cut it against Oklahoma this weekend. Man that Blaine Irby injury is looking more and more costly.
Defense - Overall Grade: A
The defense was the main bright spot against Colorado. The defensive front-seven controlled the game and spent most of the game in QB Cody Hawkins‘ grill. The defensive MVP had to be Roy Miller, who had a monster game in the middle with eight tackles, a fumble recovery, three QB hits, and two pass breakups. The play of the game goes to Chykie Brown when he knocked down a long pass attempt early in the game. If he doesn’t make that play and Colorado scores, the game could have been totally different.
Overall Grade: B
The offense was decent and the defense showed signs of greatness. So how am I feeling going into next week? Pretty nervous. But luckily no matter what happens, OU will still SUCK!
Colt running for a first down
Man the Texas Longhorns sure seem to like the score 52-10, now beating 3 of the 4 teams they have played this season by that same exact margin. Let’s just hope we don’t see the other side of that score this year.
Again the Longhorns looked impressive against Arkansas dominating the Razorbacks in every aspect of the game. Going into the game I was actually a little worried, but after seeing Casey Dick throw up floating lobs into the secondary, my fears were quickly dissipated.
My favorite stat of the game? Texas rushed for 208 yards on the ground while Arkansas managed only 11 yards. Talk about a butt-kicking.
Let’s see how each position fared in the game:
Quarterback - Overall Grade: A+
Another almost near perfect performance for Colt McCoy as he continues prove he can hurt you through the air as well as on the ground. Colt finished with only two incomplete passes going 17 of 19 for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns. Colt also added 84 yards on only 9 carriers and 2 touchdowns. I don’t really like to think about the Heisman so early in the season, but he is definitely making a case to at least be mentioned in the talks.
John Chiles got plenty of action Saturday since the game was basically over in the first quarter. By now we all know that he can run, but I would like to start seeing him try to become more of a pass first style quarterback. Why not try to develop his passing skills during the game when we are up by 40?
Running Backs - Overall Grade: B
I wasn’t really all that impressed with that impressed with the Texas running game. Vondrell McGee got the majority of the carries with Mack Brown obviously still trying out the position, but he only managed to average 3.0 yards per carry with a long run of 9 yards. That kind of production against a weak team like Arkansas just doesn’t cut it. Luckily Cody Johnson had a pretty decent game averaging 4.8 yards per carry and ended up with 1 touchdown. Right now it looks like Cody Johnson is the best back we have, and as long as he can keep is conditioning up we should be ok.
The one major blemish on the day for the running backs was when Jeremy Hills showed absolutely no hustle late in the game on a John Chiles fumble, which ended up getting returned by Arkansas for their only touchdown of the game. You can’t totally blame that on Hills, but if you are seeing limited action you need to hustle on every play. I’m pretty sure Major Applewhite had a few words for Hills on that one.
Wide Receivers - Overall Grade: B+
It’s really hard to give grades when you beat a team as easily as Texas did on Saturday. The receivers played pretty good all around, but everything seemed so easy it’s hard to say they were “great.” Jordan Shipley looks like he is the new safety net for Colt now that we know Blaine Irby is done for the season. They said it a few times on the telecast, but it really does look like Colt and Shipley are just out there relaxing and playing a game of catch in the backyard. Shipley ended up with 2 touchdowns and Quan Cosby added one more. The one nice thing about a blowout win is we get to see some young players get some action. Sophmores James Kirkendoll and Brandon Collins both look to be solid receivers.
Defense - Overall Grade: A
I believe this is the defense’s first A of the season and it is well deserved. The front seven had constant pressure on Casey Dick, and knocked him around so much that I actually almost started to feel bad for him. And for the first time this season I actually started to notice some of the secondary in a positive way. Earl Thomas actually made some plays, and Blake Gideon’s name was called for some other than getting beat. It looks like Will Muschamp might actually be getting through to these guys.
Aaron Williams returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter on an absolutely horrible pass by the Arkansas backup quarterback. The front seven added 7 sacks with Brian Orakpo leading the way with 2 for 17 yards in losses. Hopefully we can keep this up.
Overall Grade: A
That was about as dominating a performance as you can have. Bobby Petrino has to be a little embarrssed with the way he made his debut in this storied rivalry. Texas now gets to start Big 12 play against a Colorado team who is looking for revenge after their 70-3 loss in the 2005 Big 12 Championship game.
Sam Acho hates quarterbacks
John Chiles
The Texas staff stressed getting the best 11 players out on the field this year regardless of class or position. Chiles is clearly one of those players even if he is not the best quarterback on the team. Chiles offers the big play ability that UT severely needs for this offense to be as dynamic as it can be. Offensive coordinator Greg Davis must find ways to get the former blue chip recruit involved, be it in the running game or in the passing game as a quarterback or as a receiver.
Vondrell McGee
This could be McGee’s last week to show the coaches he is worthy of important carries in important games. So far the sophomore has done nothing to warrant a starting job and is not only getting pushed by injured Foswhitt Whittaker, but by bruiser Cody Johnson. With Texas wanting big plays out of the running game, expect to see fewer and fewer carries for McGee unless he comes out and impresses this weekend against a SEC defense in Arkansas.
Peter Ullman
Losing Blaine Irby for the season is a huge blow for Texas’ offense. Irby allowed the Longhorn offense to lineup in four receiver sets without changing personnel. While Ullman will never scare opposing defenses in the passing game, he will be an upgrade in the running game and if he can add a few catches in the flats or in the shallow middle of the field Texas’ offense will continue to succeed. If the former Round Rock Dragon cannot offer any threat to opposing defenses UT may have to look at a different position for a player to contribute at the tight end position.
Sam Acho
The coaches have been impressed with Acho since fall camp began. In reserve duty behind star Brian Orakpo Acho has played well. If he continues to outplay Henry Melton (who isn’t playing poorly) and backup Eddie Jones, the staff may have to look at getting Orakpo, Sergio Kindle, and Acho on the field at the same time. Texas wants pressure on the quarterback, and through the first three games Acho has shown more ability to do that on a consistent basis than any other defensive lineman not named Brian Orakpo. If it continues some upperclassmen are going to find themselves standing next to Will Muschamp more than they’d like.
Chykie Brown
It is no secret that the weak link on the defense; and the team for that matter is in the Texas secondary. Going into the season most onlookers expected Deon Beasley to start next to Ryan Palmer, but through the first three games it has been sophomore Chykie Brown. Brown had his struggles tackling in the first game, with every other member of the secondary, but has made good strides in the last two ball games. Texas plays a lot of five defensive back sets with Beasley playing in the slot. Opposing defenses will continue to test Brown until he shows he can make plays. A good game heading into conference play will go a long way in building confidence for the ultra talented corner.
It was immediately obvious after watching the first replay of Blaine Irby’s gruesome knee injury but it is now official that the sophomore tight end will miss the remainder of the 2008 season. According to a press release from the university Sunday evening Blaine suffered a dislocated right knee and will undergo season ending surgery. He’ll be able to seek a medical redshirt and should have a full three years of eligibility remaining when he (hopefully) returns to the field in 2009.
Read the full press release including quotes from Irby and Mack Brown below:
Longhorn sophomore starting tight end Blaine Irby sustained a dislocated right knee in Texas’ 52-10 victory over Rice on Saturday, will undergo surgery and is out for the rest of the season, UT Head Athletic Trainer for Football Kenny Boyd confirmed on Monday.
“It’s going to be a long journey, and I just have to take it one step at a time,” Irby said. “I know the tight end spot and the offense won’t lose a beat because Peter (Ullman) and Greg (Smith) are there to lead the way. I’m going to be there too, helping out Coach Chambers. I’ll be there as a coach and a teammate and ready to help anybody in any way that they need me. Coach Brown told me that I could use a medical redshirt since this happened so early in the season, which would give me three more years, but that’s down the road. Right now, I just need to focus on being patient, taking it one day at a time, getting healthy and coming back stronger than ever.”
The 6-3, 235-pound Irby started all three games and had 10 catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns on the year. He led the Horns with seven catches for 62 yards and a TD in their 52-10 season-opening victory over Florida Atlantic. Irby also posted nine knockdown blocks in that game. He had a 23-yard catch at UTEP and registered two catches for 10 yards before sustaining the knee injury against Rice. He played in 11 games and registered two catches for 29 yards as a true freshman in 2007.
“We have a great history of tight ends and Blaine was quickly developing into the type of player to follow in those footsteps,” said head coach Mack Brown. “He was getting better every week and making a big impact in our offense. Blaine was very productive for us at a key time since we lost Jermichael (Finley) early to the NFL. As much as we’ll miss him this season, thank goodness he’ll get a redshirt year and have three seasons left when he gets back.”
In addition to Finley leaving school early, Texas also lost sophomore Josh Marshall during preseason drills. He sustained a left scapula injury and remains out indefinitely. Senior Peter Ullman and sophomore Greg Smith both have played this season and will compete for the starting tight end job.
Redshirt freshman Ahmard Howard will move up the depth chart and compete for action after playing primarily on special teams this season. Fellow redshirt freshman Ian Harris, who sustained a neck sprain in August, is expected to be cleared to return to practice soon. Offensive tackle Britt Mitchell has been playing tight end in short-yardage and goal-line situations as well.
We wish Blaine good health and determination through his rehab and can’t wait to see him back catching passes again as soon as possible.
We’ve had several people emailing asking for video of the Blaine Irby injury and also had several people send us the link, but out of respect for Blaine we’ve decided not to post the video. It is a gruesome and scary injury and right now we’d rather send some good vibes Blaine’s way than rewatch his injury.
If you’re desperate to watch it just head over to YouTube and just search for Blaine Irby and you’ll find it.
Get better soon Blaine. Hook ‘em!
Update: Irby’s injury is in fact season ending. (9/21/2008 10:20 pm)
Follow along below with our live thoughts and analysis during tonight’s game versus Rice. Feel free to leave comments and questions using the live tool, but not all comments will be published. Read below for more notes on comments and how the live blog will work. Hook ‘em!
Notes: Comments on the article itself will be turned off till after the game. The Writer can view all comments sent to them but only they can publish your comments for everyone to see. The “autoscroll” feature ensures you’re always shown the newest content without having to refresh or scroll your screen. Subtle sound effects alert you to new content as the writer publishes it. You can turn these features on or off by using the controls at the bottom of the Live Blog.
Comments now open.
Texas heads into this week’s game against Rice off an unexpected bye week thanks to Hurricane Ike. Going into this game, the emphasis will not necessarily be on winning (that should come from just showing up), the emphasis will be on setting a tone for the upcoming Big 12 season.
When Texas has the ball
Through the first two games, one thing has become unmistakably obvious: this is Colt McCoy’s football team. This year’s Longhorns will go as far as he takes them, and so far that seems to be a good thing. After a sophomore slump that saw McCoy’s interceptions jump up significantly from his freshman year, McCoy has started off his junior year in spectacular fashion, including only throwing one interception.
On top of his improved passing game, McCoy is also leading the Horns in rushing. He is the only Longhorn to have over 100 yards on the season. This needs to change, and luckily for UT the Rice Owls are just what the doctor ordered for the Texas running game in the past few years.
New running backs coach Major Applewhite has stressed ball security and pass blocking over explosive plays in the running game, but if Texas wants to get to their yearly goals of playing for the Big 12 championship and reaching a BCS game both need to happen. Texas ranks 23rd in the nation in pass offense, but sixth in the Big 12. The good teams in conference will be able to put up points, and with the youth in Texas’ secondary, UT’s offense must find a way to control the ball and shorten the game. This offense will not be able to score with the likes of Missouri and Oklahoma. In games like this weekend’s versus Rice, the running game needs to start asserting itself.
Texas’ offensive line should be able to physically dominate the smaller Rice defense. Expect the line to come out and quiet the naysayers after being out rushed by UTEP.
The receiving corps has been solid with Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley being the go to guys. Against Rice look for Texas to try and get Malcolm Williams and Dan Buckner deep, these two flankers need confidence heading into the upcoming schedule. So far, the biggest surprise has been the play of tight end Blaine Irby who has scored in the first two games.
When Rice has the ball
Another week, another spread offense for Texas’ young secondary to deal with. The preseason schedule has worked out perfectly in terms of giving this group practice seeing the types of offense they will in the Big 12. The talent will obviously be a step up once conference games begin, but don’t be surprised if the Owl offense presents a challenge for the defense. Quarterback Chase Clement and wide receiver Jarrett Dillard are no slouches, especially Dillard who could be the best player to come out of Rice in recent memory.
Texas ranks 98th in the nation against the pass so look for defensive coordinator Will Muschamp to start bringing more pressure as the season wears on. In a game like this one where the outcome isn’t in much question UT may play close to the vest on offense and defense, but if Rice has success early look for Sergio Kindle to be unleashed. Texas has worked on a “Buck” package with Kindle coming off the edge. This should become more and more a staple of this defense.
Rice offers no real threat to Texas on the ground. The linebacker corps has played as good as it ever has under Mack Brown. Texas’ emphasis moving forward in the season is to create more turnovers and to create more pressure. With offenses running the way they do now, sacks are not as easy to come by. Muschamp keeps track of pressures and hits on the quarterbacks each week. He would like the number to continue to go up.
Quan Cosby kneels after scoring a touchdown
Now let’s see how each position fared.
Quarterback - Overall Grade: A-
Colt McCoy had another outstanding game, throwing for 282 yards and 4 touchdowns. Colt’s one interception came in the 3rd quarter when wide receiver Dan Buckner was not able to get off the line against the smaller cornerback. I can’t really blame Colt on that one. Colt spread the ball around well, completing passes to 7 different receivers. I really like the confidence Colt is playing with so far this year and it doesn’t look he will be slowing down anytime soon.
Backup quarterback John Chiles did make a brief appearance in the game, but did not attempt any passes. He did run twice for a measly 5 yards. He was a total non-factor. Greg Davis needs to get him more involved.
Running Backs - Overall Grade: B+
The highlight of the running back group is the emergence of a possible future star, Fozzy Whittaker. Fozzy missed the first game with a knee injury but showed no signs of that against UTEP. Fozzy showed off his great lateral speed and ability to get around the corner in a hurry. He is the perfect compliment to the downhill slasher, Vondrell McGee. Fozzy ended up with 72 yards on 12 carries for an impressive 6.0 yards per rush average. Vondrell ended up with only 6 carriers and 18 yards. He better watch out, the way Fozzy ran Saturday, he better improve his production if he wants to see more action on the field.
Receivers - Overall Grade: A-
If you remember last week I was a little disappointed with Quan Cosby’s performance. Well you can throw all of that away, because this week he had the game of his life against UTEP. Quan caught 8 passes for 154 yards, including one where he completely burned the cornerback for an easy touchdown. Tight end Blaine Irby found the end zone again with a nice leaping touchdown up the middle in the second quarter. Dan Buckner also scored a nice touchdown off of a Colt scramble, but his inability to get a push off of a much smaller corner ended up with Colt’s only interception. Dan has the size, he just needs to learn to be more physical around the goal line. Chris Ogbonnaya continued to show he is always a threat coming out of the backfield and is definitely a nice luxury to have on 3rd downs.
Defense - Overall Grade: C+
So how do you give up only 13 points and still get a C+? By letting a team move the ball on you the whole game. Well ok, maybe not the whole game, but at times UTEP moved the ball down the field with ease. Texas allowed 3 drives over 65 yards, 4 field goal attempts, and 1 touchdown. The young secondary again looked average at best. Earl Thomas is supposed to be the one all of the coaches were impressed with in practice. Well somehow he needs to figure out to translate his success in practice to the field.
The defensive played a decent game, but only started to dominate late in the game when they had finally worn out the UTEP offensive line. Brian Orakpo did end up with 2 sacks, but with their size and speed they should have dominated the whole game. Linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy had a ridiculous game, racking up 14 tackles and returning a fumble 26 yards for a touchdown. Overall the linebackers played pretty decent.
Special Teams - Overall Grade: B+
Quan Cosby had an impressive game at the wide receiver position, but he also made an outstanding play on special teams. Quan caught a missed field goal right on the edge of the endzone and alertly returned the ball all the way to the UTEP 35 yard line. Texas scored easily and basically put away the game right there. The kick-offs were much improved from last week, but that is probably due to the high altitude in El Paso. We’ll see how that goes next week.
Overall - Overall Grade: B+
I give Texas the same rating as last week. Not too great, not too bad. They definitely need to sure up some things in the secondary, but luckily there is some time for them to improve. And besides, right now Colt is on fire and the offense is rolling, so let’s save the worrying for a few more weeks.
Quan Cosby had a career night
As Texas fans we’re spoiled and were expecting more out of the offense in the second half and a better showing from the defense. Despite the final score the game didn’t go as many predicted, and the team didn’t seem nearly as sharp as in the opening week. It is important to remember that at this time last year Texas had squeaked by Arkansas State and needed a second half comeback to beat TCU.
The team is definitely not playing its best football, the young secondary and the offensive line are only going to get better with each game. However, to win two games by large margins while so many youngsters learn on the job has to be encouraging for later in the season and certainly 2009.
Read on for some additional quick thoughts on the game:
Good
- Jared Norton got the start. Rashad Bobino got plenty of playing time but the fact that Norton started ahead of the senior linebacker is a sign that playing time is based on performance and not seniority.
- Quarterback Colt McCoy was incredibly sharp again in the first half. He completed 14 of 16 passes in the first half for 187 yards and three TDs. He finished the game with 282 yards and 4 TDs. He seems to always be on the same page with his top wide receivers, Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley.
- Speaking of Cosby, he played his best game as a Horn against the Miners. In addition to his 8 catches for 154 yards he also made a huge play by returning a UTEP missed field goal for a momentum-changing 74 yards.
- Tight end Blaine Irby made another appearance in the offensive gameplan. After the loss of Jermichael Finley to the NFL there was expected to be a big drop off in performance at the position but Irby has been great so far. He only had one catch but it was a nice 23-yard touchdown grab.
- Welcome Fozzy Whittaker. It might take a few more weeks, but it looks like we may have found our next starting running back.
- Will Muschamp coaches angry. The defense has been far from perfect, but the effort and attitude is definitely there and that can be directly credited to Muschamp. The team hasn’t allowed a second half point yet this season.
Bad
- Earl Thomas needs to step it up at safety. The talent is there but he needs to improve with every game.
- The offensive and defensive lines did not look like they were overpowering UTEP’s inferior players until the Texas depth started to wear on them. Texas should be capable of dominating the trenches from the opening snap against a team like UTEP or they could struggle against Big 12 opponents.
- Greg Davis showed no interest in getting the running game going. Whittaker was ripping off big chunks of yardage every time he carried the ball but despite that there wasn’t much effort to get him the football. There were only 18-20 rushing attempts before garbage time.
- Colt McCoy was far from sharp for most of the third quarter. It may have just stood out after three nearly perfect quarters of QB play but he missed several open receivers and threw a couple of ducks into the dirt as well. His tendency to abandon the pocket too quickly also reared its head a couple of times in the second half.
- Where is John Chiles? He hasn’t gotten a ton of plays and when he’s in there as part of the “Q package” he appears to largely be being used as a decoy. He had no catches and only two carries for five yards. Even worse, when he got in there to replace McCoy in the fourth quarter it was purely to hand off the football and he didn’t look too excited about that.
Colt McCoy looks to pass against FAU
Now let’s look at how each position fared.
Quarterback - Overall Grade: A
If there were any doubts about how Colt McCoy would perform this year, he quickly put the naysayers to bed by completing his first 13 passes and 19 out of his first 20. And if that wasn’t enough he tacked on 100 yards rushing, joining Vince Young as only the second player in school history with 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in the same game. One of the best things about Colt’s running was he didn’t have that chicken-with-his-head-cutoff style he seemed to have perfected last year, but that he actually ran with a purpose. And luckily for us, he was even able to survive two very late cheap shots from the FAU linebackers on the sideline.
John Chiles also got into the action as both QB and in the new “Q package” on offense. The Q package didn’t necessarily contribute to any big plays, but having Chiles out there with Colt at the same time definitely made the defense think a little extra. Hopefully will get to see this a little more throughout the season. Chiles also threw for his first touchdown, 29 yards down the middle to WR James Kirkendoll.
Running Backs - Overall Grade: B+
The running backs didn’t do anything to get me too excited, but Vondrell McGee, Chris Ogbonnaya, and Cody Johnson all had solid games. All three scored touchdowns, and Ogbonnaya even caught 4 passes for 35 yards and a touchdown.
I must say I am a big fan of McGee and I think he has a lot of potential to be a great running back this year. He showed that he isn’t afraid to run up the middle, and also has the speed on the outside. McGee finished with 63 yards and 1 touchdown. Even though they split a lot of time at the running back position, I expect to see a few 100 yard games out of McGee this season.
Receivers - Overall Grade: B
It’s easy to have a good game as a wide receiver when the quarterback is on fire. Tight end Blaine Irby had a stand-out game catching 7 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. Irby seemed to be Colt’s safety valve throughout the game. Jordan Shipley put in a solid performance, including a nice touchdown catch in the back of the end zone. I do hope to see some more production out of Quan Cosby in the next game. Cosby never really seemed to be a factor, and dropped a catchable ball from McCoy after a nice scramble.
Defense - Overall Grade: B-
It’s hard to give the defense a B- when they only allowed 10 points, but the secondary looked somewhat shaky throughout the game. Our young safeties struggled as expected, as redshirt freshman Earl Thomas got beat on several big plays. At least he helped to make up for it with a blocked punt. The front seven was actually pretty strong. Even though the defense did not record a sack, they were constantly putting pressure on FAU QB Rusty Smith and forcing him to make some hurried decisions. Muschamp definitely has some work to do with this defense, but one good sign is it looks like they responded well after giving up to early red zone drives.
Special Teams - Overall Grade: B-
Starting the game off by kicking it out-of-bounds is not something I wanted to see. I am not sure why we always struggle with the kick-off, but it is something they eventually need to correct. Quan Cosby was returning some punts, which is pretty scary considering he is one of our main receivers. Not sure we can handle an injury to Cosby at this point. Earl Thomas’ blocked punt was nice, and I think having Akina back focused on special teams will be a good thing this year.
Overall - Overall Grade: B+
Like I said, overall I was pretty impressed with the performance. The offense executed well and Colt looks like he is back on track. There are still some things we need to sure up on defense, but they are young and have a lot of potential to be very good.
Position Rating: C-
Starter: Blaine Irby
Reserves: Peter Ullman, Ian Harris, Greg Smith
Tight end was a position of concern headed into fall practice and Josh Marshall’s injury only makes things worse. When Jermichael Finley bolted early for the NFL it left the Longhorns without any proven pass catching threat at the position.
The top returning receiver and most important tight end this season is sophomore Blaine Irby. Last season as a true freshman Irby caught only two passes for 29 yards but Texas fans should be expecting better total numbers by week one this year. With no proven third wide receiver, quarterback Colt McCoy will need Irby to step up to provide him another option or the offense will struggle against better defenses.
Behind Irby the Longhorns have veteran blocker Peter Ullman. Ullman is expected to be the team’s second tight end in two tight end sets. He may accidentally find himself open and catch an important touchdown pass but mainly will be relied on as a sixth blocker on the line.
There’s not much behind the top two with Marshall out. Greg Smith was moved back to tight end last week but as a current/former tackle you know what to expect out of him. Redshirt freshman Ian Harris will be the first guy off the bench if the team needs a TE who can stretch the field a little. He’s 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds so he’s got prototypical size to play the position and block as well as catch the football. I don’t think you can expect much out of him this year but he’s a player to look out for in 2009.
Not much production from the starting slot and little depth make tight end one of the biggest holes going into the 2008 season. If Irby doesn’t show flashes of being the next David Thomas you’ll likely see a lot of four wide receiver and two back formations than in recent years.
Related Links
Posted August 14th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Quick Hits
Tight ends hope to make an impact. Irby, Ullman teaming up to fill void left by departed Jermichael Finley.
Update: Bevo Sports is giving away NCAA Football 09, enter to win!
NCAA Football 09 is less than a month away, the demo is up on Xbox Live and the Playstation Network, and player ratings are starting to make their way on to the Internet. EA Sports released the team top 25 and player ratings for all those teams.
I went through the list and put the players’ real names in where possible. I had trouble with a lot of the true freshmen in the game so if you know who any of the blank names are or if I made any mistakes please let me know in the comments. It really looks like EA did a poor job this year on the roster and depth chart. Hopefully it’s a little more accurate when the game is released.
You can download Excel files of the player ratings at the bottom of this post or check out the overall ratings for the Texas team below:
| Real Name | Name | Year | Position | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buck Burnette | C #66 | Soph(RS) | C | 78 |
| C #60 | Fresh | C | 72 | |
| Deon Beasley | CB #7 | Junior | CB | 85 |
| Ryan Palmer | CB #13 | Senior(RS) | CB | 84 |
| Curtis Brown | CB #3 | Soph | CB | 83 |
| Aaron Williams | CB #26 | Fresh | CB | 80 |
| Chykie Brown | CB #8 | Soph(RS) | CB | 80 |
| Earl Thomas | CB #12 | Fresh(RS) | CB | 78 |
| DJ Monroe | CB #27 | Fresh | CB | 76 |
| Roy Miller | DT #99 | Senior | DT | 90 |
| Jarvis Humphrey | DT #96 | Fresh | DT | 80 |
| Brian Ellis | DT #90 | Soph(RS) | DT | 78 |
| Ben Alexander | DT #92 | Junior | DT | 76 |
| Kheeston Randall | DT #88 | Fresh | DT | 76 |
| Chris Ogbonnayya | FB #3 | Senior(RS) | FB | 93 |
| Cody Johnson | FB #31 | Fresh(RS) | FB | 72 |
| Ben Wells | FS #5 | Fresh(RS) | FS | 84 |
| Christian Scott | FS #6 | Fresh(RS) | FS | 77 |
| Blake Gideon | FS #21 | Fresh | FS | 77 |
| Vondrell McGee | HB #2 | Soph(RS) | HB | 85 |
| DeSean Hales | HB #30 | Fresh | HB | 80 |
| Antwan Cobb | HB #24 | Soph(RS) | HB | 79 |
| Fozzy Whittaker | HB #22 | Fresh(RS) | HB | 78 |
| Jeremy Hills | HB #32 | Fresh | HB | 76 |
| Tre Newton | HB #23 | Fresh | HB | 73 |
| Hunter Lawrence | K #15 | Junior | K | 82 |
| Justin Tucker | K #9 | Fresh | K | 69 |
| Lamarr Houston | LE #33 | Junior | LE | 91 |
| Aaron Lewis | LE #95 | Senior | LE | 85 |
| Henry Melton | LE #37 | Senior | LE | 80 |
| Charlie Tanner | LG #52 | Junior(RS) | LG | 86 |
| Tray Allen | LG #70 | Soph | LG | 82 |
| Chris Hall | LG #71 | Junior(RS) | LG | 81 |
| Aundre McGaskey | LG #76 | Fresh(RS) | LG | 74 |
| Sergio Kindle | LOLB #2 | Junior | LOLB | 85 |
| LOLB #16 | Fresh | LOLB | 80 | |
| LOLB #57 | Fresh | LOLB | 76 | |
| David Snow | LT #78 | Fresh | LT | 78 |
| Britt Mitchell | LT #72 | Soph(RS) | LT | 78 |
| Rashad Bobino | MLB #44 | Senior(RS) | MLB | 90 |
| Jared Norton | MLB #11 | Junior | MLB | 85 |
| Trevor Gerland | P #17 | Junior(RS) | P | 83 |
| Colt McCoy | QB #12 | Junior(RS) | QB | 89 |
| Sherrod Harris | QB #17 | Soph(RS) | QB | 81 |
| John Chiles | QB #7 | Soph | QB | 79 |
| Eddie Jones | RE #32 | Soph(RS) | RE | 92 |
| Brian Orakpo | RE #98 | Senior(RS) | RE | 90 |
| Russell Carter | RE #97 | Fresh(RS) | RE | 77 |
| Cedric Dockery | RG #55 | Senior(RS) | RG | 89 |
| Michael Huey | RG #63 | Soph | RG | 81 |
| Roddrick Muckelroy | ROLB #38 | Junior(RS) | ROLB | 87 |
| Keenan Robinson | ROLB #53 | Fresh(RS) | ROLB | 82 |
| ROLB #4 | Fresh | ROLB | 75 | |
| Adam Ulatoski | RT #74 | Junior(RS) | RT | 85 |
| Mark Buchanan | RT #54 | Fresh | RT | 74 |
| Ishie Oduegwu | SS #19 | Junior(RS) | SS | 88 |
| Nolan Brewster | SS #36 | Fresh | SS | 79 |
| Peter Ullman | TE #86 | Senior(RS) | TE | 81 |
| Ahmard Howard | TE #13 | Fresh(RS) | TE | 74 |
| Blaine Irby | TE #19 | Soph | TE | 73 |
| Quan Cosby | WR #6 | Senior | WR | 89 |
| Jordan Shipley | WR #8 | Senior(RS) | WR | 84 |
| Montre Webber | WR #14 | Soph(RS) | WR | 83 |
| Dan Buckner | WR #4 | Fresh | WR | 79 |
| Malcolm Williams | WR #9 | Fresh(RS) | WR | 78 |
| DJ Grant | WR #80 | Fresh | WR | 75 |
| Antoine Hicks | WR #81 | Fresh | WR | 75 |
| James Kirkendoll | WR #87 | Soph | WR | 74 |
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Posted March 29th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Live, Spring Football
The last scrimmage/practice of the spring is about to get underway on Fox Sports Southwest. The Orange-White Game is most fans’ first look at a lot of players and it’s always interesting to see who is playing where. We won’t see much (if any) new scheme or plays, but it’s football and gosh darnit I like it. The most important thing in this type of event is always that nobody gets seriously injured.
I’ll be posting my live thoughts and opinions below.
First Quarter
Nice to see we tackled more this spring, much more so that we did more full contact drills than in a scrimmage like this.
Here’s the spring roster off the official site. Definitely going to be needed today.
Tray Allen gets the start today at left tackle with Adam Ulatoski out.
I thought Brandon Collins had dropped that pass but on the replay cornerback Deon Beasley made a nice diving play to break it up. Collins probably needs to use his body better though to prevent the defender from being able to do that so easily.
I don’t know about that interference penalty on Beasley. Colt McCoy threw a nice pass but put it over Quan Cosby’s wrong shoulder. He had the position and Colt should have been able to put it in a more catchable position.
Not a good job on the Jordan Shipley reverse by Henry Melton. As the backside defensive end his responsibilities are RCC (reverse, counter, or cutback) and while he held his spot for a moment he started to pursue too quickly. Not a good job by the corner/safety over there either, the moment they saw Shipley going back the other way they should have been screaming at the top of their lungs.
Ishie Oduegwu is in street clothes on the sideline, I didn’t realize he was hurt. I assume that’s why true freshman Blake Gideon got the start at safety for Team Tradition. Okay that’s the last time I’ll mention these lame team names.
John Chiles and Fozzy Whittaker screwed up the hand-off on their first play of the day. Zone read and Chiles tried to change his mind and keep it but they put in on the turf.
On his first pass attempt Chiles makes a decent throw to Collins but he looked like he was tripled covered. The pocket was still holding so I think John could have waited another tick, bought himself some time, and looked for a more open receiver.
Nice run by Vondrell McGee ended with him delivering a blow to Earl Thomas. Good play though by Thomas to hold on despite the big hit and make the tackle.
I hope we’re not planning on playing freshman kicker Justin Tucker. We’ve already got Ryan Bailey and Hunter Lawrence and I want one of them to win the kicking job this year so we can afford to redshirt Tucker.
Russell Carter sure looks like a football player. Big old sucker. Nice play by him bringing down Whitaker.
Posted January 21st, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Draft, Football, Quick Hits
Replacing The 2008 NFL Draft Early Entries. Vondrell McGee replaces Charles and Blaine Irby has to step up for Finley.
In a surprising decision, tight end Jermichael Finley has declared for the 2008 NFL Draft and will forgo his final two seasons of eligibility at Texas. Only a redshirt sophomore, Finley is eligible for the draft since he has spent three years on campus.
In just two seasons for the Longhorns Jermichael quickly climbed into the UT record books for tight ends. He finishes his brief career third all time in career receptions (76) for the position and sixth in receiving yards (947). Finley finished the 2007 season with an impressive 45 catches for 575 yards.
From the official UT release:
“The NFL is every football player’s dream and when my NFL grade came back, it was encouraging and I felt like it was in my best interest to enter the draft,” Finley said. “I’ve worked really hard for three years at Texas to prepare for this and I think I’m ready for the challenge. Coach Chambers and all of the coaches have helped me improve and taught me so much that I can’t thank them enough.”
“I want to thank Coach Brown for the great opportunity he gave me and everything I learned from him. He’s a great man. Playing at Texas was the experience of a lifetime. Austin, the campus, every one in the football program and the fans have all treated me so well. It’s a first class place and I’ll really miss it. The win in the Holiday Bowl, getting another 10 wins and the team coming together capped off a great experience for me at UT.”
“I really enjoyed the opportunity to help out the younger guys, especially Josh (Marshall) and Blaine (Irby). They’re both great guys and will be great players so I look forward to watching them and all of the Longhorns. The future is bright at Texas and I’ll always be a Longhorn.”
Rumors this weekend were that Finley would be returning next season after reportedly only receiving a fourth or fifth round grade from NFL scouts. Without going into details, Jermichael had to weigh more than just his draft slot when making this decision. Though he might have improved his draft stock by returning for another season, he has apparently deciding that leaving now was ultimately in his best interest.
The mismatches his size and speed created will definitely be missed in next year’s offense. Blaine Irby played a good bit this year as a true freshman and looked promising, but with no other highly rated guys on campus or in this year’s recruiting class the position is definitely lacking quality depth. We might see a lot more four wide receiver sets or tight ends pass blocking than we did this year.
Good luck Jermichael.