The Texas Longhorns got off to an early start this spring and wrapped up practices over the weekend with the annual Orange-White Game. We checked in with ‘Horn über-guru Westcott Ebbers of Burnt Orange Nation for his take on spring drills and where things stand for UT a year after the program’s extreme makeover.
1. The big story last year at this time in Austin was how the team would adjust to all the turnover on the coaching staff. Does it feel like the coordinators, Bryan Harsin and Manny Diaz, have moved beyond the “training wheels” phase in terms of installing the playbook?
There’s no question that the coaches have moved past the initial installation phase. Now, that wasn’t readily apparent during the Orange-White game on Sunday, as both sides were predictably conservative, with the defense opting for a base 4-3 look the entire scrimmage, while the offense only ran plays from last season.
When the fall comes along, I’m not expecting a ton of wrinkles from Bryan Harsin, although there certainly will be some new packages to take advantage of new or developing players, specifically some efforts to get speedster DJ Monroe the ball in different ways by using him more as a receiver. However, the real difference in his second year should be the execution level — better decisions from sophomore quarterback David Ash, who will be the starter barring a major upset, better blocking from the wide receivers, and a more experienced and cohesive offensive line.
On defense, Manny Diaz should have his entire package of blitzes and defensive fronts available, which he did not last year. Look for him to take advantage of the versatility of junior linebacker Demarco Cobbs, who can come off the edge in a hurry to pressure the quarterback or drop into coverage and blanket running backs, tight ends, or even slot receivers. Sophomore linebacker Steve Edmond will provide Diaz with another shiny toy with which to play, with his blitzing specialty attacks of the A gaps, where he can use his size and physicality to take on and beat interior linemen.
2. David Ash is Texas’ starting quarterback. He has to be, right? It seems like Mack Brown won’t let the Case McCoy talk die.
It’s almost impossible to imagine Ash not being the starter over the junior McCoy (both in age and eligibility), especially after McCoy completely failed to protect the football in the Orange-White game, perhaps the major point of emphasis with the position this spring. McCoy didn’t think his two interceptions and near-pick were bad decisions, but instead said that the ball “came out wrong.” The obvious issue there is that the ball comes out wrong often with McCoy because of his limited physical attributes and often poor mechanics.
There was some evidence of improvement with his pocket presence, but the fact remains that Ash has a significant advantage in physical talent, clearly grew during the spring, and is now consistently making strong decisions, as evidenced by both open practices and the spring game. The borderline cocky McCoy believes that he’ll be the starter come fall, while Ash essentially feels the same way. At least both are confident at this point.
Why is Mack Brown hesitant to name a starter amid all his talk about how Texas needs to have two quarterbacks ready in the event of an injury? Perhaps there is something going on behind the scenes as he attempts to make sure that McCoy doesn’t bail on the team over the summer, which would force Harsin to burn Connor Brewer’s redshirt. Or maybe he thinks the competition during the summer will be healthy, which goes strongly against the conventional wisdom of wanting a clear leader and starter to lead 7on7 workouts.
Who knows? I just don’t see the upside in the decision. Ash is going to be the starter. Just name him the starter — he’s not the type of kid who will become complacent simply because he locked up the job.
3. Mack has shied away from going the JUCO route in the past, but he broke tradition this year in picking up two guys to add some depth on the lines. What are the early returns on Donald Hawkins and Brandon Moore?
The early returns on Hawkins and Moore are excellent. In fact, it’s hard to imagine how the offensive line would look right now without Hawkins, who had a solid performance in the spring game at left tackle, which in itself is a massive improvement over what Texas was receiving early last season from departed five-star bust Tray Allen. The ability to immediately pencil Hawkins in at left tackle allowed last season’s right tackle Trey Hopkins to move to his natural position at guard for his junior year and for sophomore tackle Josh Cochran to move from the left to right. In other words, the trickle-down effect from Hawkins showing up on campus has already led to reduced pressure on other players, regardless of how well Hawkins performs.
As for Moore, his ability to also come and play immediately will help replace the departed Kheeston Randall, while preserving depth at a position that desperately needs it in a league where up-tempo offenses can quickly tire the big guys along the defensive line. Speaking of conditioning, as impressive as Moore can be at times moving his 6-5, 330-pound frame off the ball with alacrity, he’s still working into the type of shape that will allow him to play more than a handful of snaps at a time. When he does start tiring, he loses his pad level and gets pushed off the ball instead of creating havoc in the backfield. The good news for burnt orange faithful is that all reports indicate he’s working hard to improve his conditioning level.
4. What was the biggest surprise of the spring to you?
I’m not sure there were too many major surprises during the spring — Cobbs and Edmond both received a lot of buzz, but that was expected based on reports from last year and the small glimpses of potential in 2011. The JUCO guys are certainly as good as advertised.
The only true surprise and major emergence was that of early enrollee Duke Thomas, the cornerback who played quarterback in high school and had only limited experience at his collegiate position. Natural is the word that has been thrown around regarding Thomas this spring and while he probably won’t challenge for significant playing time this fall with the quality depth ahead of him, he’s ahead of schedule early.
5. How about an area where you still have some questions?
Besides the fact that the linebackers are mostly unproven and have to replace to longtime contributors in Keenan Robinson and Emmanuel Acho, the biggest concern is probably still the kicking game. Coming into the spring, I thought that the quarterback play would be the primary factor in determining the upside of this team.
After the placekicking debacle in the second open practice and the development of Ash, I decided that the kicking game could instead determine whether this team can challenge for the Big 12 title or not. Fortunately, the returns on Sunday were positive — Ben Pruitt made all his PATs, though he didn’t attempt a field goal. Will Russ was booming punts with height and length and put the ball into the endzone with the wind and through it with it behind him. Field goal attempts could still be an adventure, but at least Texas fans can take their collective fingers off the panic button for the moment.
