40 Acres Sports

ESPN’s Big 12 blog is ranking the top 40 players in the conference and so far they’ve named three Longhorns between 27 and 40. The latest is tackle Adam Ulatoski at number 27, here’s the write-up:

Why he was picked: Over his career, Ulatoski has become one of the most productive linemen in the Big 12. He’s started 30 games at Texas, with the first 16 in his career at right tackle before moving to left tackle before the Longhorns’ Holiday Bowl victory over Arizona State in 2007. He’s been the most productive lineman on Texas’ team the last two years.

We’ll keep track of the list and let you know where other Longhorns fall.

Other Longhorns

#32 - Earl Thomas
#37 - Chris Hall

Follow along below with our live thoughts and analysis during today’s Texas Longhorns game versus Baylor on FSN. Participate in the discussion by following 40acressports on Twitter or by refreshing and commenting on this post.

Texas vs. Baylor tweets

• Final score is #UT 45, Baylor 21. Now to watch and hope for LSU and Oklahoma State. Geaux Cowboys! right after the game
• Bah. They call another one on Cody. Apparently the Big 12 didn’t get the point of complaints on non-calls. Two BS ones late dont count. during garbage time
• Damn. Big TD run by Chiles is called back because of holding on Cody Johnson well out of the play. during fourth quarter
• #UT offense doing much better job milking play clock today than we did last week with 90 seconds left. during fourth quarter
• Disappointing effort by #UT defensive backups. K Robinson and N Brewster need to do better job taking on blocks instead of avoiding. during fourth quarter
• Ryan Bailey kicks FG instead of Hunter Lawrence. Might be seeing Bailey on shorter FGs now? #UT 45, BU 14 during fourth quarter
• Chiles fumbles 3rd down snap and forces FG. Hope Chiles keeps his head up it’s been fun to watch him play with more energy (and fun) lately during fourth quarter
• @kbohls agree about Baylor improvement. Think A&M is wishing they had hired Briles right about now? during fourth quarter
• Retweeting @suzhalliburton: McCoy’s final stats — 26 of 37 for 300 yds, five TDs, two picks. #UT during fourth quarter
• Colt is done and John Chiles is in at QB for #UT. during fourth quarter
• Sure hope this is Colt McCoy’s last series after that (late) hit. Get a score and call it a day during fourth quarter
• If I’m Baylor on 4th and 41 I throw deep and see if I can get a pass interference penalty called. during third quarter
• How do you lose Shipley like that? Wide open for TD catch. Great long drive with 2 4th down conversions. #UT 42, BU 14 during third quarter
• Very annoyed that FSN never shows play clock. Really odd that I think it hasn’t been put on screen once today. Malfunction or bad coverage? during third quarter
• V McGee running with a little extra pep and strength today as well. Good to see during third quarter
• FSN announcers are right (for once). Running game creates wide open B Collins for 40yd TD catch. #UT 35, BU 14 during third quarter
• Ulatoski out with elbow injury (hyperextension?) and tray allen in during third quarter
• #UT WRs need to do better job concealing holding on run plays. Tougher to get away with out in the open. during third quarter
• 2nd half is underway with great KO tackle. #UT defense could use some fan support but no one is in the stands. during third quarter
• Click to view first half…

Can Lamarr Houston get quick pressure on Harrell?

At this point in the season teams offer very few surprises. They are who they are. Guys like Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, Brian Orakpo, and Sergio Kindle are going to be crucial for Texas to win their fourth straight high profile match up in Saturday night’s game against Texas Tech. Beyond those guys there are a few players that fly under the radar that are equally responsible for the Longhorn success.

Brandon Collins

The Texas offense has moved from a good offense to a great offense starting with the Oklahoma game. The main reason has been the implementation of the four receiver set and the main reason the set is working is because of the solid play of sophomore receiver Brandon Collins. Wide outs Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby get all of the hype, but when tight end Blaine Irby went down with a knee injury one of the young receivers needed to step up. There were a lot of potential suitors for the third receiver spot with freshmen Malcolm Williams and Dan Buckner expected to get the snaps because of their physical skills, but it has been the sure handed Collins that has emerged as an every game player. His skills are in the mold of Shipley and Cosby in that he can fit into tight spots in the middle of the field. He is smaller and quicker than Buckner or Williams who rely on speed more than quickness. Cosby leaves after this year and his spot will be in good hands with Collins.

Adam Ulatoski

The big offensive tackle has struggled through injuries in previous seasons, but has been able to stay healthy and hold down Colt McCoy’s blind side. Overall, the offensive line has played great, especially in pass coverage, and a lot of the credit has to do with the play of the junior left tackle. In the win over Oklahoma, Ulatoski shut down Auston English and has done so to all the defensive ends he faced before and after. McCoy’s mistakes come when he is rushed, so if this offensive line can give the Heisman front runner the time to sit back and pass with a clean pocket the Texas offense will pick apart a porous Tech defense.

Lamarr Houston

The Texas Tech offense makes it hard for edge rushers to impact the game by using enormous splits for their offense line. The best way to disrupt a passer is to get pressure into his face from the middle and with the philosophy Tech’s offense uses in regards to splits, up the middle pressure is the best and sometimes only way to get to quarterback Graham Harrell. Fellow defensive tackles Roy Miller and Aaron Lewis are more gap style inside players, so the ex defensive end Houston will be the man to provide pressure for the front if Texas hopes to provide it. The importance of the inside pass rush could pay dividends to the outside guys like Melton, Kindle, and Orakpo because Harrell will be forced to move around, and once he does the speed of the Texas ends will be able to force sacks and badly thrown balls. Texas used their inside guys against Missouri before having to use them to focus on the run last week against Oklahoma State. Look for Texas to use the Missouri game plan again this week.

Aaron Williams

In most cases freshmen in the secondary, especially true freshmen would spell certain disaster for a defense going up against the high powered passing attack of Texas Tech. At times in this week’s game the Longhorns will have three freshmen in their back five or six against maybe the best passing offense in the nation. Williams has played a lot of football this year, so inexperience isn’t as big of a problem as it may be in most cases, but with the nagging injuries to Chykie Brown and Ryan Palmer it looks like Williams will be counted on to step up big time. The true freshman from McNeil looks to have all the tools needed to be a big time player in the secondary, but no one knows if he is ready to play major snaps in a primetime game against two top 10 teams. My guess is he will be fine and that this secondary will be great for years to come.

Curtis Brown

Curtis Brown is another young cornerback whose role has increased the last few weeks because of the injuries to the other cornerbacks and the styles of offenses the Longhorns have been facing. A lot of people on the outside of the program were concerned about Brown’s progress as little as three weeks ago, with many wondering aloud on message boards if it was time to move the athletic sophomore to offense. The former Gilmer star made a big play in special teams against OU in Dallas and since has played with the confidence a player in the secondary has to have. Coaches and players say all the time that what separates a lot of sports stars is plain old confidence. “Swagger” can turn a good player into an impact player overnight. The light has appeared to come on for Curtis and he’ll get plenty of opportunities to prove it Saturday night in Lubbock.

Position Rating: B
Starters: Adam Ulatoski, Charlie Tanner, Chris Hall, Cedric Dockery, Kyle Hix
Reserves: Tray Allen, David Snow, Buck Burnette, Michael Huey, Britt Mitchell

The Texas offensive line struggled through the 2007 season due to injuries and inexperience. Injuries to important senior players forced young guys to step in and play before they were ready. Those struggles last year should however prepare the group for 2008, as every starter has significant playing experience and nine of the top 10 guys have seen previous playing time.

Adam Ulatoski and Kyle Hix are entrenched as the starting tackles. Ulatoski is the most experienced player on the line but will be moving from the right side to the left to protect QB Colt McCoy’s blindside. Various serious and nagging injuries have prevented him from becoming the dominant tackle Texas fans thought he would be, but he’s still only a junior and he’s finally healthy so this could be a big year for Ulatoski. On the other side, Hix played in every game last year as a true freshman and started at right tackle in the Holiday Bowl. He was a top recruit in the state and expectations are high for him for this season and his career. Tray Allen and Britt Mitchell will be the primary backups at tackle.

The guard positions aren’t as set in stone. The current starters are Charlie Tanner and Cedric Dockery but there is also a lot of noise about sophomore Michael “Baby” Huey. Tanner and Dockery were the starters for most of 2007 and each is a consistently solid performer. Dockery once looked like he’d follow his brother Derrick to the NFL but missed significant time with a serious knee injury in 2006 and is hopefully finally at full strength now. The three players will likely all see good amount of playing time early on as the coaches see if Huey can unseat one of the veterans. True freshman David Snow is the fourth guard on the depth chart and looks to have a bright future.

Chris Hall looks to have finally found a permanent home. After spending time at all five positions on the line last year as a sophomore he’ll anchor the line this year as the starting center. His intelligence and experience at every position should let him excel as the quarterback of the offensive line. Talented backup Buck Burnette needs to be ready in case Hall is required to shuffle around again this season.

They may not get the pub other positions do, but the offensive line is the most important piece of any good football team. After a rough 2007 season the line should be a strength in 2008. If they stay healthy it’ll mean more time for McCoy to pass and more holes for the running backs to run through, which in turn means a more consistent offense.

Related Links

• Quarterbacks preview
• Running backs preview
• Wide Receivers preview
• Tight ends preview
• Defensive tackles preview
• Defensive ends preview
• Linebackers preview
• Cornerbacks preview
• Safeties preview

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:

Downloads

• Texas player ratings
• Full top 25 player ratings

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.

(more …)

I’ll be posting periodic updates, comments, and vulgarity as the game goes on. It’s kickoff time and I’m as fired up as I’ve been since early on in the season. Let’s see how the Horns respond to a little adversity.

First Quarter

• 2 seconds in to the game and it’s clear Brent Musberger didn’t do any preparation. Brutally mispronounces Chris Ogbonnaya’s name and then calls Lamarr Houston the name of some random walk on. Houston takes the very short pooch kick off and the Horns start the game off with the ball out at the 50.
• Looked like a bad read by Colt McCoy on the zone read. Picks up close to 10 yards though and the Horns have a 3rd and 3. Big play as the team really needs to get going early.
• 3rd and short run that the line did a terrible job blocking on but Jamaal Charles breaks it for a 15 yard game.
• Mack Brown is right. Charles was hit out of bounds down low and that should have been a penalty.
• Bad awareness by Nate Jones. He was wide open but let himself drift out of the back of the end zone. Announcers have good comment though about how the design of the end zone in the stadium could be confusing.
• Greg Davis is a gosh damn genius!!!!!!! WoooOoo! Touchdown Derek Lokey for the touchdown!!! That a boy! Bill Belichick would be proud.

Arizona State 0, Texas 7

• The team really looks fired up. Let’s hope that results in some inspired play, and no let down once that energy wears off.
• Jared Norton, Roddrick Muckelroy, and Scott Derry are the starters at linebacker. That might shut some Internet coaches up (for a few minutes.)
• And Norton is already hurt. Damnit.
• Defensive package on 3rd and long includes only 3 down lineman, Drew Kelson and Deon Beasley in there as extra pass defenders. Nice new look.
• Designed QB draw play. I don’t mind McCoy scrambling (in fact he’s been darn good at it this season) but not sure we should be calling too many first quarter QB runs in the huddle.
• As Musberger talks about Chris Hall I just noticed that freshman Kyle Hix is getting the start at right tackle and they’ve moved Adam Ulatoski to the left side.
• Quan Cosby on the reverse pass. Not really anybody open and Cosby does the smart thing and just throws it away. Or maybe it twas just a terrible throw. The play wasn’t blocked well and the receivers were all covered as well.
• Sergio Kindle in there on this series. Norton back in there as well.
• Fumble! Maybe. They called it a fumble on the field at least as corner Brandon Foster appears to rip the ball out as the ASU running back falls to the ground. Looks like he had it out before his knee was down and doesn’t look like there’s 100% evidence of the contrary. Replay confirms, Texas ball!
• Hot damn! Hey there John Chiles, I vaguely remember you buddy. The young dual threat QB is in there and on the first play Charles takes the zone read hand off close to 50 yards. On the very Next play Chiles keeps it on the same play off the left end for the touchdown! (Psst… where has this been all year?)

Arizona State 0, Texas 14

• In case you hadn’t noticed, yes I’m about 5 minutes behind live on the DVR. I’ll be caught up after one or two commercial breaks.
• Wonder what the wind situation is like. Hunter Lawrence’s kickoffs have all been pretty short.
• Has Roger Clemens hired investigator to “discredit Brian McNamee” or two prove that he didn’t take steroids? Those are two very different things.
• Not only did senior Robert Killebrew not get the start at linebacker but I haven’t seen him in on defense at all yet tonight. Two series in a row where it’s nothing but the young guys and Derry is off the field as well.
• Erick Jackson got really burned on a deep pass but gets back just in time because of the underthrown ball (and maybe a little early) and the ball is tipped up and safety Marcus Griffin has the ball come right to him for the interception.
• I like the fair catch trash talk by the ASU punt returner. “Did you see the way I waved my arm and caught the ball. You can’t handle this!”
• Killebrew, Derry, and Rashad Bobino in there for this series.
• Can Musberger get anyone’s name right? It’s Dick Tomey, not Toomey. Dufus.
• Finally. McCoy scrambles and throws deep on the run and get its to his open receiver Cosby for a huge 55 yard gain. That a boy Colt.
• And Charles runs tough and right through the Sun Devils’ defense for the 15-yard TD run. Heck of a run and refusal to get tackled by one guy. The Horns are now up 3 scores and it’s still the first quarter. Come on guys keep this up, don’t let an ASU score or anything swing this momentum.

Arizona State 0, Texas 21

• Veteran linebackers in for second series in a row. Henry Melton getting some early playing time at defensive end.
• Bobino shaken up. Now both middle linebackers have needed to be helped up by the medical staff but both were able to walk off on their own power.
• We’re bring multiple linebackers on every play and if we don’t start getting to Carpenter a step quicker we could be in trouble.

(more …)

The Texas Longhorns held their annual football banquet Friday night (photos) where they honored team members for their accomplishments on and off the field. Though fans and recruits do attend, the event is definitely a night for the players to look back on the season and to honor the careers of the outgoing seniors.

Quarterback Colt McCoy and running back Jamaal Charles were deservedly named the team MVPs. McCoy didn’t have as good of a season as he did his freshman year but he definitely is the player that made this team go (when it went anywhere). Charles was also named Darrell K. Royal Most Valuable Offensive Player while the Mike Campbell Most Valuable Defensive Players were Brandon Foster and Marcus Griffin.

In a team vote Dallas Griffin, Tony Hills, and Derek Lokey were honored with the D. Harold Byrd Leadership Award. Also, in a shocking development quarterback McCoy was given the Outstanding Quarterback Award.

In a move that infuriated Internet Coaching and Motivational Experts Rashad Bobino, Scott Derry, and Robert Killebrew shared the honor of being the team’s Outstanding Linebackers. I’m not sure what else you can really do though as no linebacker really deserved the honor and it would be pretty embarrassing to not hand out an award for the position.

A list of all the award winners is after the jump.

(more …)

The Longhorns finally played good football in the second half last week against TCU. The defense was tough all game long and held things together until Colt McCoy and the offense got rolling. This week against a solid Central Florida team Texas will have to continue to improve and get ready for some tough games ahead. Texas fans won’t be satisfied with anything other than a blowout.

Here’s the keys to victory for today’s game:

1. Play four good quarters.

In two games this season the Longhorns have played two good quarters, today at UCF the Horns need to put together four solid quarters. The team will have to play more consistently on both sides of the football if they are going to beat the tougher teams on the schedule. The Black Golden Knights aren’t chumps, if the team takes half the game off they’re certainly capable of pulling off the upset at home.

2. Continue to run the ball out of multiple formations.

During the TCU game Texas (finally) came out and mixed a little I-formation and single back in with the shotgun offense we’ve relied on since Vince Young was destroying defenses. The change in philosophy paid off with a more effective and consistent running attack against a solid TCU defense. If the Horns can mix a straight ahead running attack and play action passing with the wide open shotgun offense, Colt McCoy and his teammates will be tough to stop.

3. Find a right tackle.

Chris Hall performed well at right tackle against TCU but he’s better suited to play inside and does not look like the long term answer at the position. Hall will get the start today but if Adam Ulatoski is going to be out for an extended time it might be worth giving one of the younger linemen a chance to earn the spot. We could see true freshmen tackles Kyle Hix and Tray Allen on the field against UCF today.

Related Links

• Keys for TCU
• Keys for Arkansas State

Adam Ulatoski doubtful for Central Florida. Seems like good news to me, I thought for sure he’d be “out” for several weeks.