40 Acres Sports

Unseasoned secondary must grow up quickly. The safety position scares me but is the one I’m most interested in watching at the same time.

ESPN has up a great write up from Ivan Maisel on the talented crop of Big 12 quarterbacks as well as a poll to rank them.

Maisel thinks Texas signal caller [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] is the fourth best QB in the conference behind Chase Daniel, Graham Harrell, and Sam Bradford. I can’t argue with the top two but I think Kansas’ Todd Reesing and McCoy could be in the top 3 but Bradford deserves consideration as well.

Currently in the fan vote Daniel is leading with McCoy at number 5. If you don’t like the list go vote in their SportsNation poll and order them yourself.

Augie Garrido booted from USC football practice. Apparently they didn’t notice him hanging around before the 2006 Rose Bowl.

Todd Dodge & Will Muschamp are two of Fox Sports’ coaches on the rise. I’d hate to lose Muschamp after just one season.

Position Rating: B-
Starter: Lamarr Houston, Roy Miller
Reserves: Ben Alexander, Aaron Lewis, Michael Wilcoxon, ???

Defensive tackle is one of the most exciting positions on the Texas defense going into 2008 but also the spot where depth is the biggest concern. [tag]Roy Miller[/tag] and [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] are the starters and might be the best pair of interior defenders in the conference. The complete lack of both proven depth and warm bodies behind them could mean big trouble if either of the top two goes down.

Miller saw significant playing time as the third member of the tackle rotation last season and was one of the defense’s most consistent performers. This year the big run-stopping DT out of Killeen will be leaned on to be more of a playmaker while also holding down blockers to allow the defensive ends to get after the quarterback. Next to Miller will be the former defensive end Houston, who might be the player that has Texas fans the most excited. It’s been a long time since the team has had a pass-rushing presence on the interior, but the noise coming from insiders is that Houston is going to be a force on the interior. Both players have incredible upside and could be early round NFL draft picks soon.

Behind the starters things get a lot murkier as both on and off field issues have left the cupboard pretty bare at the position. Andre Jones, Brian Ellis, and Tyrell Higgins were all going to be relied on this season and now all are out of the program. The first player off the bench might be another former defensive end in [tag]Aaron Lewis[/tag] who will probably continue to play both positions. The biggest key to the position will be the development of [tag]Ben Alexander[/tag] and [tag]Michael Wilcoxon[/tag]. The team desparately needs two guys to step up from that second group to be able to spell the starters or else promising true freshmen [tag]Jarvis Humphrey[/tag] and [tag]Kheeston Randall[/tag] better be ready in a hurry.

Update: In surprising news, [tag]Tyrell Higgins[/tag] is back on the roster as a walk-on.

Related Links

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

Earl Thomas and Ben Wells make CFN All-Redshirt Freshman Team. Texas is going to be incredibly young at safety but the talent is exciting.

Tight ends hope to make an impact. Irby, Ullman teaming up to fill void left by departed Jermichael Finley.

Cat Osterman throws no-hitter, K’s 13 as U.S. extends Olympic win streak to 16. 14 of the wins have been by shutout.

Just a few days after I hear that he’s one of the pleasant surprises from the open practices, redshirt sophomore tight end [tag]Josh Marshall[/tag] fractured his shoulder today. Josh came in as a wide receiver but was transitioning nicely to tight end and would have provided some solid pass catching ability to the position’s depth chart.

It is officially a left scapula injury and there is no timetable for his return to the field. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, scapular fractures usually don’t require surgery. Most injuries heal fully in six weeks but full functionality will not return for several months. I’m not a doctor but this likely means Marshall is done for the season.

His absence means Blaine Irby and Peter Ullman are pretty much the only players at the position expected to contribute this season. Orangebloods is reporting former tight end and current center Greg Smith will return to the position in at least a part time role.

Jordan Danks could return to Texas. Everyone thought he’d be gone but if he’s not signed by August 15th he’ll be back next season.