It seems a consensus has developed in national preseason rankings. The top of every list has the Florida Gators number one, followed by the Texas Longhorns and then Oklahoma Sooners. The website Over the Pylon slots the Horns in at number two again and has written good previews on all the top 25 teams. From the Texas preview:
For the Longhorns, their season will come down to one game. 60 minutes on October 17th determine their standing within the college football landscape and their ability to control their own destiny in terms of the Big 12. Expect a contest that is truly worthy of the superlatives it will receive both before and after, and expect a close and exciting Longhorn win. The Longhorns make up half of our national title picture, as they finish the regular season 12-0, win the Big 12 title, and try their best to right the wrongs from 2008.
Check out their full Texas preview now and the entire OTP top 25.
Posted August 21st, 2009 by Brian
Filed under: Basketball, Feature
Velvet Hoop, aka [tag]Kevin Durant[/tag], and his friends Chief Blocka, Fog Raw, and the stylin’ Ice-O preach to the faithful to hyperize, not to criticize. Of course it’s actually a Nike commercial, but it’s still pretty funny stuff. KD is still so soft spoken even in a rap video. Watch it:
After a very rough Hall of Fame Game outing against the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans quarterback [tag]Vince Young[/tag] rebounded with an impressive performance in his second preseason game Saturday night. The Titans’ starting QB Kerry Collins threw for only 37 yards and 2 picks while Young used his arm and his feet on the way to an efficient 131 yards and 1 touchdown.
When running back [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] left the University of Texas early, some fans screamed that he was making a big mistake. While the Longhorns could have certainly used him in the backfield last season, Charles’ NFL career is already going strong. After a promising rookie season even with limited touches, Kansas City Chiefs coaches and NFL media experts both think he could be headed for breakout season. The Football Outsiders think Charles is a good fit for the new KC offense:
In 2008, running back Jamaal Charles had an excellent rookie season for the Chiefs. Charles averaged 5.3 yards per carry (although he had just 67 carries) and caught 27 passes for more than 10 yards per reception. Those excellent numbers aren’t the only reason Charles is a good bet for 2009. Compared to backfield partner Larry Johnson, Charles has a style that’s a much better fit for the offense of new Chiefs coach Todd Haley. Charles is a speed demon who patiently looks for running lanes instead of lowering his shoulder and pushing the pile, and that’s a style that fits perfectly with a shotgun attack designed to spread out defenses and take linebackers off the field with nickel and dime coverages.
If you have an ESPN Insider account, read the full article on the Chiefs and check out more Football Outsiders team previews.
Texas quarterback Colt McCoy can work on his footwork to further improve his accuracy.
Yes, Texas quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] was the most accurate passer in the history of NCAA football last season, but a completion doesn’t always mean a perfect pass. ESPN draft guru Todd McShay has a few small changes the McCoy can make to get even more accurate and improve his draft stock this season:
McCoy completed a ridiculous 76.7 percent of his pass attempts in 2008. As crazy as it sounds, there’s no question he can become more accurate by polishing his mechanics.
First off, McCoy has gotten into a bad habit of short-striding many of his passes, which leads to him throwing off-balance. Secondly, he needs to be more consistent with his follow-through as he tries to sling the ball too many times from off his back foot.
After studying McCoy’s passing skills on film, his deep-ball accuracy is underwhelming and he completes a lot of intermediate attempts that take his receivers out of stride. Sure, it goes in the stat book as a completion, but McCoy is leaving too many yards after catch on the field by missing within the strike zone.
The only way McCoy will improve in those areas is by learning to step to his target, lengthen out his stride and follow through on his throws.
If you’re an ESPN Insider read the full article to read more about McCoy and also McShay’s ideas on how fellow Heisman finalists Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow can improve their games.
Bad news on the injury front as news is breaking that tight end DJ Grant’s knee injury suffered last night is serious and will sideline him for the entire 2009 season. A source close to Grant’s family told BON, “Out for the year. Lots of tears. No breaks.”
Terrible luck for the kid and of course for the tight end depth chart. We wish him a full and speedy recovery.
Update: It’s official, he’s out for the year due to “damage to multiple ligaments in his left knee.” Quotes from Mack below:
“We’re disappointed for D.J.,” said Mack Brown. “He’s worked really hard and was ready to compete for playing time this season. We’ll miss having him out on the field but we will be there to support him throughout his rehab. Fortunately we’ll still have him around learning the position and helping the team at practices and meetings. He’s a great kid and we know he’ll get healthy, work hard in his rehabilitation and has a bright future.”
Watch practice highlights from yesterday’s second practice courtesy of MBTF at CBS College Sports.
Watch practice highlights from today’s practice courtesy of MBTF over on CBS College Sports.
Posted August 10th, 2009 by Brian
Filed under: Basketball, NCAA Tourney
Rick Barnes has been tearing up the recruiting trail and the people placing bets in Las Vegas have taken noticed. Sportsbook.com has Barnes’ Longhorns at 10-1 odds to take home the 2009-10 college basketball national championship next March.
The Horns are right behind the two big favorites [tag]Kansas[/tag] and [tag]Kentucky[/tag] and will have as much experience and talent as any team in the country. Joining Damion James and big man Dexter Pittman are two of the most talented freshmen in the entire country in Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton. If Pittman continues to improve and the young guys hit the ground running this team could certainly be one of the last teams standing at the end of the season.
(via The Dagger)
Watch 30+ minutes from the season opening [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] press conference from below:
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