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One of the most underrated and under talked about advantage of getting to a bowl game is the extra practices it affords the staff and the players. While teams do focus on preparing for the upcoming game, most teams invest a good amount of time practicing the redshirt players and some guys that played but didn’t see significant minutes. These practices serve as a spring board for spring ball for the team and the individual players. Last year’s Holiday Bowl practices are when names like Earl Thomas and Malcolm Williams began to pop up. Texas would like a few guys to step up this year, much like last year’s team was able to do. Here are some of the players that could use a good showing.

Ian Harris – Harris falls into the group of players that have seen time, but has not been counted on for victories. Texas is thin at tight end, reports have suggested redshirt freshman DJ Grant is getting snaps at tight end so far in practices. The future for Blaine Irby continues to be uncertain. The Longhorns need someone to step up at the position sooner than later. It is clear that Greg Davis would like to have a pass catching tight end in his offense. From Bo Scaife to David Thomas, Texas has utilized the tight end very well in the passing game. The position has been silent since the injury to Irby. Ian Harris contains the best skills on campus, and his ability to maximize that potential will be huge for the program. If Harris can’t step up, he is looking at Grant being a full time end with two legit recruits at the tight end position entering campus this fall. Combine that with the possibility of a return by Irby and the depth chart could swallow Harris up in a hurry.

Tray Allen – Allen came out of high school as one touted offensive line recruits this state has ever produced. So far, Allen has not lived up to the hype. Coach Mac McWhorther likes to give every lineman a redshirt year so the guys coming straight out of high school can get a year in the weight room and on the practice field before feeding them to the dogs on major college defensive lines. Allen did not want to redshirt as a freshman so he stands as a second year sophomore. Texas has notoriously used a three man rotation at the tackle position and right now Allen has not been able to be anything more than a serviceable third player in the trio. The Longhorns were fortunate this year in regards to injury to starters Adam Ulatoski and Kyle Hicks. The duo was able to play most snaps which allowed McWhorther to use Allen when he wanted to, not when he had to. At this moment I’m not sure Allen would be the long term solution at either tackle position if one of the starters went down. Allen has to build up the confidence of the offensive staff, and he is going to have to do it in practice.

Kheeston Randall – Texas loses starter Roy Miller and part time starter Aaron Lewis following the Fiesta Bowl. That leaves former defensive end Lamarr Houston, Ben Alexander, and the true freshman Randall. The big man has gotten some snaps this year, but will be counted on heavily next year if the team gets what is expected out of Randall. Texas likes to have a rotation at defensive tackle to keep the players fresh. The depth at the position has continually allowed for this to be a huge advantage for the Longhorn defense, but for the first time in recent memory Texas’ defensive tackle position will enter the off-season as a major question mark. If the Longhorns can find starter quality snaps from Randall it will go a long way in answering those questions.

Keenan Robinson – It is not a guarantee that Sergio Kindle comes back to college. All reports suggest that he will, but the same could be said for Vince Young and TJ Ford. When the money at the pro level is right in front of you it is hard to convince yourself to come do it all for free. Not just for free, but you have to study too. Either way, the Longhorns are going to be top heavy at the linebacker position next year, with all the likely starters being seniors. Robinson has played some plays this year and when he has seen the field he has been very disruptive. The redshirt freshman seems like the type of player Will Muschamp loves to utilize. Robinson may already be the best linebacker on campus when it comes to playing in space. And with the types of offenses run in the Big 12 a player like Robinson is invaluable. A true linebacker that isn’t a liability in pass coverage is worth his weight in oil. It will be hard to take snaps away from the guys coming back, but with the possibility of Kindle’s absence and the willingness of Muschamp to play whoever is performing the best, a strong showing in the Fiesta Bowl practices would make it interesting to watch.

Christian Scott – By all accounts Scott has the most physical upside of any safety wearing burnt orange. What have seemed to hold him back are his practice habits on the field and in the film room. Anybody who saw Scott in the Kansas game knows the potential is there. The redshirt freshman covers more field, hits harder, and makes more plays than starter Blake Gideon. But what keeps Gideon on top of the depth chart is the ability to understand offenses and what to do as the quarterback of the defense. Scott is not there yet and it is a testament that Gideon has been able to do such a great job in that regard considering he is also a freshman and it usually takes a few years for safeties to line up their defenses correctly. Gideon is a good player and a possible four year starter, but Scott has NFL tools. It is almost a Simms-Applewhite conversation. We all know how that one turned out.

Ryan Bailey/Hunter Lawrence – Mack Brown has been uncharacteristically fickle with his kickers this year. Ryan Bailey was great last year, and then Hunter Lawrence took his job before the season, then after being perfect for 2/3 of the season Lawrence misses two in one game and is benched in favor of Bailey. Maybe the competition is good for the kickers, but if a game comes down to a kick it has to be better if one guy knows he is the guy. Kicking is already stressful enough before you add in the fact you will lose your job if you miss. The next few days will determine who will be the kicker in the Fiesta Bowl, and I have a feeling the man who wins that job is going to keep it for a long time.

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 …)

The 2007 Rivals100: One year in. Notes on how all the top prospects did in their first seasons on campus, including Tray Allen and Curtis Brown.

Looks like we’re definitely headed towards another situation where the early FSN game is going to interfere with the start of the Texas vs. Rice game. Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have decided to forego defense and play a 9-hour offensive shootout. All is not lost however, if you’re a DirecTV customer the game will start on schedule on channel 667 and you can check out FSN Southwest’s contingency plan for the telecast over on the official UT football site. Plus I’ll post frequent updates on the game here on this post. Stay tuned…

First Quarter

• Rice won the toss and will kick off.
• Good deep kick and Quan Cosby takes a knee.
• Chris Hall starting at right tackle again. Limas Sweed is healthy enough to make the start at receiver.
• Colt McCoy misses Cosby on a 12 yard out.
• Jamaal Charles may never touch the football again. Another damn fumble. Rice football.
• No surprises starting at linebacker. Same three veterans: Derry, Bobino, Killebrew.
• Great penetration on the blitz by Rashad Bobino results in a loss of yards.
• Deon Beasley got the start at cornerback over Brandon Foster.
• How is that not grounding? Rice OL forgets to block Frank Okam and he gets a free run at the QB.
• There’s a flag, they called it after all. Rice lining up for 50-yard field goal attempt.
• Rice kicker misses wide left. My former coworker and former Rice kicker Derek Crabtree would’ve made that one. Or so he’d tell me.
• Charles is still the running back. McCoy hits Jermichael Finley on a quick out for a 9 yard game.
• Charles reverses field and gets a good gain. Kid has tons of talent, hold on to the ball and I’ll be your best friend.
• Ugly option play and McCoy gets brought down hard. Guard Cedric Dockery got his ass kicked.
• Great catch on a hitch by Cosby. Colt tried to get him killed. Short of the first down and Texas has to punt.
• Texas sends out Colt McCoy with the rest of the punting team in some sort of likely fake but we screw it up and have to blow a timeout.
• After the timeout we’ve got the regular offense out there for 4th and 2.
• Lead dive out by Charles behind FB Atwan Cobb gets the first down.
• Completion from McCoy to Nate Jones on a slant. 7 yard gain.
• McCoy fumbles the shotgun snap but he rolls to his left and finds Cosby alone for a completion and a first down.
• Terrible looking play where two Texas linemen are running laterally 3 yards deep in the backfield and Charles has to fight his way through them on the counter before he can get a couple of yards. Yikes.
• Tony Hills with an obvious hold made more obvious by the fact that he threw his hands up in the air trying to claim innocence. Costs the Horns a first and goal opportunity.
• McCoy and Cosby bail out Hills. Great pass and catch for the touchdown on 3rd and long. The inside receiver was even more open on the play.

Rice 0, Texas 7

• About 1:30 left in the Tech/OSU game and OSU just scored to go up by four on a 54 yard TD catch.
• Didn’t know Texas was using the Bill Bates air conditioned shoulder pads. Great technology.
• Great job by Aaron Lewis to string out the play, Bobino flies to the ball and blows up the blocker, and Lewis is able to make the tackle.
• The Rice receiver might have been bobbling that ball. Rice thinks so too and is running the no huddle.
• Rice’s line is getting whipped right now. They’re doubling the two defensive tackles and that allowed the end to come and make the tackle untouched.
• As I’ve said over and over again, that spread punt formation is the dumbest thing in college football. Texas gets the ball at their 33.
• Colt is holding the ball a tick too long on the deep ball. Another underthrown bomb and another incompletion. He’s got a good enough arm if he gets rid of it a little quicker he’d be a lot more successful.
• Long run by Charles on the single back counter.
• Another ill advised deep ball. Come on Colt. Be smart. Interception but there’s flag on the play.
• McCoy bailed out by the pass interference call. That could have gone either way. First down Texas.
• John Chiles in the game. McCoy motioned left and Chiles ran the zone read. Nice idea but center Dallas Griffin got his ass beat and a Rice lineman blew up the play.
• Two incompletions and Texas will have to attempt a field goal.
• Ryan Bailey’s 44-yard field goal goes right down the middle.

Rice 0, Texas 10

• If our corners are going to give 15 yard cushion they can’t miss freaking tackles. Beasley whiffs and there’s a good gain for Rice.
• Ryan Palmer shows Beasley how to do it.
• Sergio Kindle in the game. Texas defensive line is blowing up the zone read every time.
• Looked like all the young linebackers might have been out there on that series. Rice has to punt.
• Cosby fair catches a line drive punt at the 10 and Texas starts this possession with bad field position.
• Charles lined up at wideout and McCoy puts a beautiful pass in his hands and Charles drops it. Would have been an easy 6.
• Colt is leaving all these short passes up high. Doesn’t seem to have the zip on it he did last season.
• The game is on regular FSN Southwest now so I’ll be doing less play by play and make more witty comments.

(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

Name: Tray Allen
Position: Offensive guard
Ranking:

Hometown: Grand Prairie, TX
School: South Grand Prairie
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 305 lbs

Background

Tray Allen is the premier recruit in this class. A dominant offensive lineman in the mold of Justin Blalock and probably the most upside of any lineman signed in the last several years by the Longhorns. Can line up at either offensive tackle or guard but is probably more suited to play inside and that’s where his NFL future likely lies. Great in pass protection and a dominant run blocker. Excellent strength and agility (he’s also a basketball player) and already has solid technique.

Allen is Rivals‘ top overall prospect in Texas and their number two offensive guard. Scout has him as their number six player in the country and the top rated guard. A great kid who is excited to be a Longhorn.

Immediate Impact

Allen has the talent to see the field in 2007 but the offensive line is one of the hardest places for true freshman to make a difference. This past season J’Marcus Webb played in eleven games as a backup tackle but Mack Brown would probably prefer to redshirt all linemen. He’s unlikely to earn a starting spot on the line, but guard depth is lacking and if Allen can beat out Chris Hall or Charlie Tanner he could see playing time.

Future

Should be a three year starter up front. A player to build the offense around. If he fulfills his potential he’s the next great UT All-American and top NFL draft pick. Future anchor in the trenches.

We’ll be updating this list as we get news (mostly from Rivals) of which players have officially signed their letters of intent and if everything goes as planned will be the newest Texas Longhorns in August. The first two players to become Longhorns were Ian Harris out of San Antonio and Cody Johnson from Waller. Keep checking back here because we’ll update this list as we hear more names.

Confirmed Signings

• Ian Harris
• Cody Johnson
• Kyle Hix
• Tray Allen
• Michael Wilcoxon
• Russell Carter
• Aundre McGaskey
• Tyrell Higgins
• Sam Acho
• James Kirkendoll
• Brandon Collins
• G.J. Kinne
• Ahmard Howard
• Keenan Robinson
• Malcolm Williams
• Blaine Irby
• Earl Thomas
• Christian Scott

Early Enrollees

• Curtis Brown
• John Chiles
• Michael Huey
• Andre Jones
• Ben Wells
• Fozzy Whittaker

Update: Just added Blaine Irby and Earl Thomas to the list which leaves only Christian Scott remaining. The stud safety just was the last player to commit to the Horns (just this weekend) and it looks like he’ll be the last one to fax in his letter of intent as well. Hopefully he’s not having any second thoughts. (10:38 am)

Update: Christian Scott’s letter is in and confirmed by both Rivals and Inside Texas (thanks Eric!). That means all 24 recruits, 18 today plus the 6 already on campus, are signed and will officially be Longhorns either this summer or in the fall if their grades are in order. Congrats to the class of 2007 and welcome to the family. (11:58 am)

Just a reminder that the US Army All-American Bowl will be on NBC today at noon. The game takes place in San Antonio at the Alamodome and features some of the best high school football players in the country.

This will be most Longhorn fans first opportunity to watch any of the 2007 football commits in action. Bevo Sports will have some thoughts on the game and possibly some video later this weekend. There will be 13 Texans on the West squad and the Longhorns have six commits and a few targets playing in the game. Here’s the guys to keep an eye on during the game:

Texas Commits

• Tray Allen, West #56
• Curtis Brown, West #3
• John Chiles, West #5
• Michael Huey, West #70
• Blaine Irby, West #19
• Andre Jones, West #89

Texas Targets

• Ron Brooks, West #81
• Joe McKnight, West #4
• Christian Scott, West #23

Others to Watch

• John Brantley, East #12
• Matt Simms, East #2

The first Rivals100 list is out for 2007 and it had a decidedly burnt orange hue. Nine Texas Longhorn commitments are on the list and three receive five-star status. Guard/tackle Tray Allen is the highest ranked Horn at number eight, followed by the two quarterbacks John Chiles and John Brantley at twelve and thirteen respectively.

Not a ton of controversy (and keep in mind this is an early list that will definitely change) over the rankings but there are a couple of things that stand out. Hempstead wide receiver Terrance Toliver is a tremendous raw talent but hasn’t put up big numbers despite playing at a small school. Definite potential but a bit of a reach as the nation’s number ten overall prospect. Interesting to note that Toliver has big time talent but Mack Brown has decided not to pursue him, there’s usually a reason for that.

The omission of future Texas linebacker Keenan Robinson from the list is a little surprising, Robinson’s camp performances have been impressive and he’s been rising quickly. His latest performance at last weekend’s Texas Junior Day had people talking. There are reports that he’s a near lock to be on the next top 100 list.

To put things in perspective, the Longhorns have more top 100 commitments than any other school has total commits. With three, or possibly four, more spots available, it’ll be interesting to see how the coaching staff decides to use those final scholarship offers.

One of the top overall players in the state of Texas and top national offensive lineman Tray Allen will announce his choice of schools today at a press conference scheduled for 12:30pm. The future 5-star from South Grand Prairie was thought to be an Aggie lean early on but left the Texas spring game on the verge of committing to the Longhorns. He told Rivals.com this week that Texas remained his leader despite his recent unofficial visit to Texas A&M. Allen also holds offers and is interested in USC and Oklahoma, among others.

Allen was planning on waiting and letting things play out before making a choice. The only school on his list that needs him to make an early decision is Texas. The Horns probably only have five more spots left in this class and have already taken five highly rated offensive linemen. If Allen wanted to be a Longhorn he couldn’t wait too long or it might be too late. Neither OU or USC have a single lineman onboard and Texas A&M only has one, with his talent he could’ve taken it all the way down to Signing Day next February and his offer would’ve still been on the table.

A commitment from Allen would give the Longhorns the top five linemen in the state and six from the top ten. He could also be a boost in landing Dallas Lincoln’s Richetti Jones, the state’s top defensive player and another possible 5-star. The two young men have mentioned they’d like to go to the same school and Texas has long been thought to be Jones’ favorite as well. A commit from Allen might be the thing that gets Jones to finally pull the trigger as well.

My prediction: Texas. With his recent comments and the timing of his decision, Longhorn fans should definitely have a good feeling about this.

Update

It’s official, Tray Allen will be a Texas Longhorn. Listening to his mini press conference and his phone interview with Rivals Radio right afterwards, sounds like another fine young man. Well-spoken and excited to be a Longhorn. (1:00 pm)