So far I have been pretty underwhelmed with the overall performance of the 6 Texas Longhorns taking part in the NFL combine. Colt McCoy performed pretty well in the 2 drills he took part in, coasting easily to a 4.79s 40 yard dash. Earl Thomas wasn’t among the fastest safties, but got some love from one NFL Network announcer who said he was the most instinctive safety he has seen in the last 8 or 9 years.
Below are the results so far. I will update when more information comes in.
Colt McCoy
40 yard dash: 4.79s (5th)
Broad jump: 9’6″ (4th)
Earl Thomas
Bench press: 21 reps (6th)
Sergio Kindle
40 yard dash: 4.71s (7th)
Bench press: 25 reps
Vertical jump: 36.5″ (7th)
Broad jump: 9’10”
Jordan Shipley
40 yard dash: 4.57s
Bench press: 16 reps (8th)
Lamarr Houston
40 yard dash: 4.85s
Bench press: 30 reps
Vertical jump: 33.5″
Broad jump: 9’6″
Roddrick Muckelroy
40 yard dash: 4.73s
Bench press: 19 reps
Broad jump: 9’2″
Adam Ulatoski
40 yard dash: 5.53s
Bench press: 24 reps
Broad jump: 7’10”
Redshirt sophomore safety [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] won’t be back in 2010 for the Texas Longhorns. The Thorpe Award finalist out of West Orange-Stark has announced he is leaving school early for the NFL. The news is not unexpected but didn’t think we’d get confirmation so soon.
Earl is projected to be drafted in the middle of the 1st round so this is a good decision for him and for his family. You go to college to prepare yourself for your future career and Thomas has done that (and then some) in his three years at Texas. Athletically he seems ready to play in the league and his biggest negative is his size which wouldn’t improve with more time on campus.
Thomas’ departure leaves the Horns a little thin on experience in the secondary for 2010. At safety, starter [tag]Blake Gideon[/tag] is returning as is the promising [tag]Christian Scott[/tag] but neither has man coverage skills Thomas does. Someone else from the group of guys including [tag]Kenny Vaccaro[/tag] and [tag]Nolan Brewster[/tag] will also need to step up.
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during tonight’s national title game on ABC. We’ll be live right around kickoff for Texas vs [tag]Alabama[/tag] so join us to discuss the game at 7:00pm Thursday night.
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The big one is finally here. We’re less than a day away from the Texas Longhorns taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide for the BCS national title. No more waiting. No more listening to national experts drone on and on about how the Horns have no chance based off one game. The two teams will finally take the field and decide everything head to head.
The Longhorns are 4-point underdogs, what can they do tonight to swing things in their favor?
1. Pick up the Alabama blitz.
The Texas offensive line has been the subject of much chatter and consternation both for fans and the national media since the [tag]Nebraska[/tag] debacle. Ndamukong Suh doesn’t play for Alabama but Terrence Cody and Rolando Mcclain do and they’re not too shabby. Cody however has 4.5 tackles for loss on the season, the same number of sacks Suh on [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] in one game.
Cody is more space-eater than playmaker, but his size and strength in the middle frees up other defenders to make plays. As a 3-4 defense the Crimson Tide will blitz frequently and from various different positions than most teams the Longhorns played this year. That will put a lot of pressure on McCoy, center [tag]Chris Hall[/tag], and the Texas running backs to identify who is coming on every play and give Colt enough time to find the open hot route.
2. Don’t give up a big pass play on blown coverage.
The huge pass play on a blown coverage between [tag]Chykie Brown[/tag] and [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] early against A&M was one of the reasons the underdogs were able to grab some momentum and keep up with the Horns. Those two players along with [tag]Aaron Williams[/tag], [tag]Curtis Brown[/tag], and [tag]Blake Gideon[/tag] form one of the best secondaries in the history of UT football season. That’s high acclaim for a school with as strong a recent history as Texas with multiple Thorpe Award winners and former players littered throughout the NFL.
Against inexperienced Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy the secondary should be a big strength, but if they make mental mistakes and let someone get wide open deep (as has happened too often the last two years) McElroy and Julio Jones will make you pay. Force the Tide to drive down the field and make them pay for their own mistakes, don’t give it to them easy thanks to assignment errors.
3. Get Colt McCoy involved in rushing attack.
The Horns need Colt McCoy’s legs not only for the running game but to get the senior QB settled in for the passing attack as well. McCoy has stated several times that a big run and even getting tackled helps get him into the rhythm of the game quicker. Texas is a pass-first team but they need to run to keep the Alabama defense honest and to open up the playaction pass. McCoy on a few designed runs (zone read, speed option, QB draws) and also some improvised scrambles for big yardage would be the difference against an excellent defense like Bama’s.
Excellent set of video interviews from ESPN with several Texas players yesterday at BCS title game media day. Good questions and comments from [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] and particularly Emmanuel and [tag]Sam Acho[/tag]. Watch below to get a feel for what the players are thinking with just a couple days left before the biggest game of their lives…
It wasn’t the game most Texas fans expected, but the wild, close game against Texas A&M might end up being a blessing for the Horns and [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]. The coaches have plenty of tape to motivate the offense and the defense all week and McCoy put on a Heisman highlight reel for the entire country. Check out highlights from the game below:
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during tonight’s Texas game versus [tag]Kansas[/tag] on ABC. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game bright and early at 7:00pm Saturday.
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Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during today’s Texas game versus [tag]Baylor[/tag] on FSN. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game bright and early at 11:00am Saturday.
Feel free to leave comments and questions using the live tool, but not all comments will be published. Read below for more notes on comments and how the live blog will work. Hook ’em!
WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas’ game against the Oklahoma State.
Pregame WTH Poke Fans?! Wow, the biggest crowd in [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] football history. You packed it in on Halloween night. You recorded 58,516 fans?! You did renovate the stadium with Boone Pickens money, didn’t you?
1st Qt. (5:56) WTH Burks?! Referee Greg Burks and his staff got a few calls wrong at the beginning of the game. The calls did benefit the Longhorns, but the personal foul call on OSU Lucien Antoine for hitting UT [tag]Dan Buckner[/tag] going across the middle was a good hard play. I wish the NCAA would get rid of the helmet to helmet hit when it does not involve the quarterback. The officials also missed it (1:19 – 2nd Qt.) when UT [tag]James Kirkendoll[/tag] was stripped of the ball when they assumed his momentum was stopped but never blew the whistle. Glad that the Horns blasted the Pokes on Halloween like a blue armadillo to make sure that these calls were not an issue.
1st Quarter (3:37) WTH PVC Man?! Oklahoma State degrades one of their own by having him hold a large PVC pipe flash card stand. A player, #23, for the Pokes holds an elaborate flip card that shows a heart, a number and an image on it for the OSU offensive package. The Poke player is auditioning for holding the leader board for the next round at the Masters.
1st Quarter (1:44) WTH Hubert?! Come on Hubert Anyiam from Oklahoma State. You had a gift touchdown pass that was perfectly placed to you by Zac Robinson on 4th down. (14:25 – 2nd Qt.) Then you got the ball ripped out by UT [tag]Sam Acho[/tag] which led to the first touchdown for the Horns. Oh yeah, great job ABC for cutting away and missing most of the play.
2nd Qt. & 3rd Qt. WTH Goonies?! The Longhorn defense played an incredible game especially the secondary which returned two interceptions for the touchdowns ([tag]Curtis Brown[/tag] – 2nd Qt. & [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] – 3rd Qt.). But you need to slow down with all the nicknames. [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] comes up with the defensive nickname the Goonies because they like to goon it up with the opposing offense (Like that one). This week [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] comes up with the name “Texas Swagger” to get the team motivated to close the deal against the Cowboys. Coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] got into the act early in the year with giving out T-shirts with the logo .0128 which is the margin that they lost to OU for the Big XII championship. I guess I do not care what ploy is implemented as long as the Horns win.
3rd Quarter (10:27) WTH Case?! [tag]Case McCoy[/tag] is standing next to the lovely Rachel Glandorf (Colt’s girlfriend) and proceeds to spit on the floor right next to her. I guess the upcoming UT commit at quarterback is affecting his better judgment.
Next up for the Longhorn’s is a trip home to face Central Florida at DKR Memorial at 11am November 7th.
Watch highlights of Texas taking care of business against #14 [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] below:
Just a few minutes before opening kickoff of Texas vs Kansas.