The Austin American-Statesman has posted the full 30 minute video of the [tag]Florida Atlantic[/tag] postgame press conference up and it’s embedded below. The Texas coaches field most of the questions but [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] also have a few things to say. Watch it:
(Kudos to the paper for providing high quality video and to UT for actually allowing them to post it.)
Texas starting defensive tackle [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] was arrested and charged with drunken driving early Sunday morning. He was involved in a minor traffic accident at 3am in Austin and failed a field sobriety test given to him by police officers on the scene. Houston was taken to the Travis County Jail and charged with driving while intoxicated.
Mack Brown released an official statement on Houston’s arrest earlier today:
“We’re aware of Lamarr’s situation and are disappointed anytime one of our players is accused of wrongdoing. We take a strong stance against drinking and driving and will thoroughly investigate this situation,” said coach Mack Brown . “Following the completion of the legal process, we will do what’s best for the university, Lamarr and the team. One thing we have really prided ourselves on in our program is our family atmosphere, and this will be handled within our family.”
Since that statement word has come down that Houston will miss at least next week’s game with [tag]UTEP[/tag]. No official information yet on if Houston will miss additional games. Lamarr is a young man with no previous issues and has twice been on the AD’s Honor Roll. Last year Sergio Kindle and Henry Melton were each given three game suspensions under similar circumstance, so the depending on the situation Houston would likely be back by the start of conference play against Colorado at the latest.
Let’s hope Lamarr has learned from his mistake and never gets behind the wheel drunk again. An arrest and a suspension are a light punishment considering the chances you’re taking with your own life and others when you drink and drive.
The first game of the year is finally upon us. It has been a long eight months since the Longhorns were last on the football field, but at 6pm tonight (only on pay-per-view) Texas will face off against [tag]Florida Atlantic[/tag]. I’ve coughed up the $35 (thanks DirecTV for the extra $5 fee!) so feel free to sit back and listen to Craig Way on the radio while my expert observations complete the picture for you.
Follow along with the live blog of the game below, starting at 6pm.
Note: Comments closed till after the game, please use the CoverItLive bulit-in comment system to participate in the discussion. Game’s over, comments now open for discussion on the game.
Position Rating: B-
Starters: Deon Beasley, Ryan Palmer
Reserves: Chykie Brown, Curtis Brown, Aaron Williams
If you’ve watched the last few NFL drafts you know the Longhorns have had a lot of talented cornerbacks in recent years, but if you watched games or looked at stats you’ll notice the Texas pass defense has been awful since the 2005 championship season. This year the position is as talented as ever, but hopefully with new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp it will translate to fewer big plays and fewer points on the scoreboard.
The two starting corners both saw significant playing time last season. Senior [tag]Ryan Palmer[/tag] is by far the most experienced player in the Texas secondary. Palmer started every game last year and led the team in pass break-ups while also recording 80 tackles. He is a little undersized but makes up for it with speed and confidence. Palmer might not be the playmaker some of the younger guys are but coaches will be looking to him to provide consistency and leadership in the young defensive backfield.
At the other corner is [tag]Deon Beasley[/tag]. 2008 will be his first as a starter but the junior saw significant snaps last year as the team’s nickelback and in a couple of spot starts. He picked off three passes last year and with more time on the field this season should create even more turnovers for the Texas D. Lean and athletic Beasley has already shown flashes that he could be the team’s next great corner.
The guys behind the top two should also see a lot of the field as the defense should play a lot of nickel against the many spread offenses they’ll face this season. Sophomores [tag]Chykie Brown[/tag] and [tag]Curtis Brown[/tag] (no relation) are both gifted players that stand over six feet tall. Chykie has performed so well in spring and fall practices that on the first depth chart of the year he was actually listed as a co-starter with Beasley.
Behind them is true freshman [tag]Aaron Williams[/tag] who has come in and immediately impressed. Currently listed as the fifth corner there was buzz in the last two weeks that his incredible talent already had him passing some of the more experienced players ahead of him. Look out for him as the season goes on to get more and more playing time.
Cornerback is full of speed and talented depth, but that has been true before and hasn’t resulted in good defense. There are more playmakers in the group than in recent seasons and if the front seven can pressure the quarterback we could see a lot more turnovers created this year. With the big time passing offenses in the Big 12 this group will be tested early and often, but an improved performance will mean a vastly improved defense. We’ll find out soon what Palmer, Beasley, and company are capable of.
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[tag]Florida Atlantic[/tag] isn’t a national power but they’re not the typical Texas first game opponent either. Sun Belt champs and a bowl winner last year under coach Howard Schnellenberger, FAU is certainly capable of giving the Horns a scare if they don’t bother showing up.
The last thing Texas coaches and fans want is a repeat of the Arkansas State game a year ago. Here’s three things the Longhorns need to do to make sure the big upset doesn’t happen:
1. How will the young safeties react under fire?
The five safeties listed as co-starters for the Horns are all freshmen and two of them have been in class less than a week. Meanwhile FAU quarterback Rusty Smith led the Owls to a bowl game last year with his strong play in the latter part of the season including a 336 yard, 5 touchdown performance against Memphis in their bowl game. If the safeties (and the entire secondary) can limit mental mistakes and the resulting big plays the Longhorns should be able to stave off the upset.
2. Use John Chiles and the Q Package.
We saw [tag]Greg Davis[/tag] use [tag]John Chiles[/tag] in a few unique situations last season but mostly as a decoy or a traditional quarterback. The full “Q Package” installed this offseason reportedly has Chiles all over the field including quarterback, receiver, and running back. It’s important for the success of the offense to have someone step up as a big play guy and if Chiles is that guy it needs to start early. Hopefully not only will Chiles line up in multiple spots but we’ll get to see him throw, catch, and run a little from all over the field.
3. Get the running game started early.
Last year with Jamaal Charles the Texas offense still waited till late October before getting a consistent running game going, if they want to have a chance at a Big 12 South title this year they’ll have to get rolling a lot sooner than that. It’s going to be a running back by committee approach this year with sophomore [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] leading the way. Against FAU Davis needs to get McGee 15 carries before halftime and see what he can do.
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.
[tag]Adam Ulatoski[/tag] and [tag]Kyle Hix[/tag] 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. [tag]Tray Allen[/tag] and [tag]Britt Mitchell[/tag] will be the primary backups at tackle.
The guard positions aren’t as set in stone. The current starters are [tag]Charlie Tanner[/tag] and [tag]Cedric Dockery[/tag] 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 [tag]David Snow[/tag] is the fourth guard on the depth chart and looks to have a bright future.
[tag]Chris Hall[/tag] 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 [tag]Buck Burnette[/tag] 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.
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Posted August 28th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Quick Hits, TV
Programming providers announced for Texas-FAU pay-per-view telecast. Find out who is airing the game in your area.
Posted August 28th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Basketball, Quick Hits
Kevin Durant is the future of Team USA. The 2012 Dream Team should feature KD and several more of the league’s new stars.
Everything is right again in the world now that the college football season kicks off the 2008 season tonight. Since most schools schedule cupcakes for the season opener, you obviously can’t expect any marquee match-ups. But you know what? I don’t care. All that matters is that I get to watch ESPN Gameday Saturday morning and follow that with 10 hours of college football. Let’s see what looks good this weekend.
(23) Wake Forest at Baylor (+12) – 8:00 PM EST (Thur) on FSN. The Big 12 starts of the season with Baylor playing a tough Wake Forest team. Former Houston coach Art Briles takes the helm for the Bears, hopefully ushering in a new era down in Waco. Unfortunately it looks like they will be overmatched by a Wake Forest team returning 2 ACC offensive rookies of the year (QB Skinner and RB Adams), along with 9 returning starters on defense that ranked 28th in the nation last year allowing only 340 yards per game. I don’t normally like to go against home underdogs, but Baylor is not known for showing up in the first game of the season, and they just don’t have the offense to keep up with Wake Forest.
Appalachian St at (7) LSU (NL) – 5:00 PM EST on ESPN. Normally I wouldn’t really care about this match-up, but there are a couple of things that interest me here. First is obviously the fact that Appalachian St beat Michigan last year in what is arguably the greatest upset in college football history. Second is the quarterback situation down at LSU. Punk kid Ryan Perrilloux finally ran out of excuses and was kicked off the team due to “not fulfilling his obligation” as an LSU athlete, according to head coach Les Miles. I can’t say that I’m not surprised. There is no line for this game, though not surprising for a Div I school playing a Div I-AA.
FAU at (11) Texas (-24) – 7:00 PM EST. Obviously this game won’t get much national attention because it is on PPV, but is a game we all need to watch. How does Colt recover from last season? Is the defense going to be improved under Will Muschamp? How ready is the incredibly young talent? These are all questions that coming into the season. The line here is sitting at right around 24, probably my least favorite number of all. Since I don’t bet on Texas (EVER), I can’t really make a prediction here.
(24) Alabama at (9) Clemson (-5) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. The pressure starts now for Tommy Bowden and the underachieving Clemson Bulldogs, as they are the clear favorites to win the ACC this season for the first time in school history. Unfortunately they have to start their season facing a solid Alabama, who are looking to improve in their second season under head coach Nick Saban. I think Clemson has too many offensive weapons for Alabama to handle, and their defense is set to be one of the best in the nation. Even though there are a lot of doubters on Clemson, I think they squeak by on this one and cover those 5 points.
Position Rating: C-
Starters: Earl Thomas, Blake Gideon
Reserves: Christian Scott, Nolan Brewster, Ben Wells
The Texas secondary has come under a lot of scrutiny after allowing a school record 3,306 yards passing (109th in the nation) last year. And if things weren’t already bad enough, junior [tag]Ishie Oduegwu[/tag] is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury forcing the Longhorns to start two freshman at the safety position, redshirt freshman [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] and true freshman [tag]Blake Gideon[/tag].
So far this training camp, new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has been impressed with Earl Thomas’ athleticism and explosiveness. When asked to name the most productive safeties of the spring, Will Muschamp said, “Earl Thomas — and then really it’s a toss-up after that.” So for now Blake Gideon has won out, but it looks like redshirt freshmen [tag]Christian Scott[/tag] and [tag]Ben Wells[/tag], along with true freshman [tag]Nolan Brewster[/tag] will be competing for that starting spot. Scott, Wells, and Brewster were all high-school all americans, but competing against the offenses of Oklahoma and Texas Tech is a whole other story.
One of the scariest things about starting such inexperienced players is summed up quite well by head coach Mack Brown. Brown said the terms “strong” and “free” have been dropped from the safety position, instead they have been replaced by the terms “right” and “left” so the players know what area of the field to cover. Brown is obviously trying to make things simple back there, but it sounds scary when the players need that much simplification.
Hopefully Muschamp can work his magic back there. At least so far he seems pretty pleased with the progress they are making. “We’ve got guys who can run vertically and judge the ball downfield, which is key. I think we’ve got guys who can tackle in space. I like our speed. We’ve got the tools. I’d rather be working with this than a bunch of experienced guys who can’t play,” said Muschamp.
Obviously this group has a lot of potential to become quite solid over the next few years, but for now I had to grade them on where they are at now.
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