40 Acres Sports

It wasn’t the greatest game for the Longhorns individually. In the heartbreaking loss to [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] only Malcolm Williams had the kind of night you brag about to your friends. Most weeks it is a struggle to settle on the top 11 players, but this week it was a struggle to simply find 11 players to put on the big board.

1. [tag]Malcolm Williams[/tag] – All year Texas’ offense has searched for a legitimate deep threat out of their third receiver. Many around the program felt that the guy would be red-shirt freshman Malcolm Williams because of his size and speed. Saturday Texas found their deep threat, but it took Quan Cosby getting hurt to do it. Williams had without question his best game as a college player finishing with 182 yards on four catches including two touchdowns.
2. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] – Colt McCoy entered the Tech game as the clear leader for the Heisman trophy, and while Texas lost and McCoy didn’t play his best game he still led his team to a potential comeback. McCoy finished the game 20 of 34 for 294 yards and two touchdown passes. McCoy’s struggles came in large part to his offensive line getting manhandled all night. He was sacked four times.
3. [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] – It wasn’t a great day for the Texas defense, but Kindle made some plays. Kindle finished with six tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. The Texas defensive line failed to get pressure throughout the night giving Tech’s offense all the time it needed to make plays. After Brian Orakpo went down with an injury Kindle was being used almost exclusively at defensive end.
4. [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] – Down 5-0 in the first quarter Shipley dropped a deep pass that would have given Texas the early lead. After that play Shipley played a pretty good game. He got Texas back in the game with a punt return for a touchdown in the second half. Shipley ended his night with six catches for 45 yards.
5. [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag] – The Junior linebacker continues to lead Texas in tackling in seemingly every game. Saturday night Muckelroy registered 12 tackles, most coming in the middle of the field. Tech had a little success running the ball, but in the second half Texas’ defense shut out the Red Raiders until their last drive of the game.
6. [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] – Most people will only remember the last play of the game where the freshmen tried to undercut Harrell’s pass to Crabtree allowing a touchdown pass. What most people won’t remember is that Thomas was playing maybe his best game as a Longhorn before he took that chance at the end of the game. Thomas had ten tackles with two pass breakups on the night.
7. [tag]Foswhitt Whittaker[/tag] – Fozzy has been struggling all season to get on the field. Early in the year he suffered through two nagging knee injuries only to see senior Chris Ogbonnaya secure the running back position by the time Fozzy got back healthy. The Texas staff didn’t allow the speedy freshman to make an impact until the second half, but when they did the potential big play ability he brings to the position was clear. On a night where Texas could do nothing on the ground Whittaker averaged seven yards on six carries in limited action.
8. [tag]Roy Miller[/tag] – When Texas did apply pressure it seemed the big man in the middle was the one applying it. Miller went down with an injury during the game but was able to get back on the field. Miller has been the most consistent player on the d-line this year. He finished the game with five tackles and one of UT’s two sacks.
9. [tag]Hunter Lawrence[/tag] – You know it is bad when a kicker made an impact in a loss. Lawrence continues to be the model of consistency going two for two on the game. Lawrence has been perfect on the season even though he entered it without being expected to get the job.
10. [tag]Aaron Williams[/tag] – The true freshman doesn’t get the chance to play as much as the other corners, but he continues to stand out every time he is on the field. Williams is quickly becoming a playmaker on special teams recording another blocked punt against Tech. He recovered a fumble, had two pass breakups, and made a great play on a screen pass during the game.
11. [tag]Justin Tucker[/tag] – Two kickers on one list? I know, I know, but try to find someone who made more of an impact than Tucker. The rugby style kicks he utilized on Saturday night ended up working extremely well for Texas as they averaged over 50 yards. Tucker also continues to get his kickoffs consistently into the end zone.

Texas players [tag]Roy Miller[/tag] and [tag]Chris Hall[/tag] spoke the media earlier this week about the season and the upcoming [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] game. The Statesman has posted excellent videos of the players answering questions, which you can watch below.

Roy Miller talks about leadership and not being satisfied…

Chris Hall very happily answered all sorts of questions…

Source

Texas did beat beat a decent conference opponent on the road by 24 points, but did we really look all that good? I would say the defense probably had their best all-around game, but there are still some areas of concern. The offensive line had one of their worst games of the season and is anyone going to step up at the receiver position so Colt can throw to someone else besides Cosby and Shipley? And our running backs? Obviously Chris Ogbonnaya had a great game, but we need some more consistency from Cody Johnson and Vondrell McGee. It’s pretty scary to have to rely on Colt to do everything.

Now with all of that said, Texas is 5-0 and you really can’t ask for much more heading into OU. I guess we will really get to see what Texas is made of with their tough upcoming schedule (OU, Mizzou, OSU, @Tech).

My favorite stat of the game? QB Cody Hawkins threw for only 13/33 and 118 yards. I bet he is going to have nightmares this week of the Texas defense. Now let’s see how each position fared:

Quarterback – Overall Grade: B

[tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] probably had his worst game of the season. Colt’s stats aren’t horrible, 23/30 for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns. The concerning part is the two interceptions. One of them was just a poor decision and had Tony Romo written all over it. Luckily Colt is having his off day in a game that wasn’t ever in question. I expect Colt to bounce back and have a great game against Oklahoma.

[tag]John Chiles[/tag] seems to be looking more and more lost out there on the field. And now when he is running and seems to be reluctant and has no purpose. Hopefully this isn’t the future of the Texas QB.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: B

[tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag] had a career game. Chris O started off the game with a 65 yard touchdown and reception and later added a 51 yard run. His performance on Saturday deservedly earned him the starting nod against OU. It’s the other running backs that have me a bit worried. [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] did show a little speed, but ended up with only 30 yards on 8 carries. I was expecting big things from McGee this year and he has yet to have that breakout game. [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] did score two touchdowns, but had only 27 yards on 11 carries. It looks like Cody Johnson will be useful for short-yardage situations, but probably doesn’t have the fitness for much else. When is [tag]Fozzy Whittaker[/tag] going to return? We need him stat.

Wide Receivers – Overall Grade: B-

Of course [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] and [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] had great games, but I am docking the receivers because someone else needs to step-up and give Colt a solid target. Only 3 catches were made by receivers other than Cosby and Shipley (not counting RBs). That just won’t cut it against Oklahoma this weekend. Man that [tag]Blaine Irby[/tag] injury is looking more and more costly.

Defense – Overall Grade: A

The defense was the main bright spot against [tag]Colorado[/tag]. The defensive front-seven controlled the game and spent most of the game in QB [tag]Cody Hawkins[/tag]’ grill. The defensive MVP had to be [tag]Roy Miller[/tag], who had a monster game in the middle with eight tackles, a fumble recovery, three QB hits, and two pass breakups. The play of the game goes to [tag]Chykie Brown[/tag] when he knocked down a long pass attempt early in the game. If he doesn’t make that play and Colorado scores, the game could have been totally different.

Overall Grade: B

The offense was decent and the defense showed signs of greatness. So how am I feeling going into next week? Pretty nervous. But luckily no matter what happens, OU will still SUCK!

Starting this year the coaches have started to keep a “big board” of the top 11 players on the offense and defense each week. With the start of conference play, we’ve decided to make one of our own. Here’s the list after the [tag]Colorado[/tag] game:

1. [tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag] – Texas may have found their running back. Chris “O” made the game’s first big play on a 65 yard touchdown catch from Colt McCoy that set the tone. He also added 75 yards on the ground and showed some big play ability.
2. [tag]Roy Miller[/tag] – The big guy was everywhere on Saturday night. Miller had eight tackles, a fumble recovery, three quarterback hits, and two pass breakups. He may be the conferences best in the middle.
3. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] – It says a lot about McCoy’s play thus far this year that the game versus Colorado is a step back. Colt had been playing out of this world so far, and came back to earth a bit against a Colorado team that decided to blitz all night. He finished 23 of 30 for 262 yards including two touchdowns and interceptions. McCoy didn’t lead the team in rushing finally, rushing for a solid 59 yards.
4. [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag] – Muckelroy was all over the field in this game. He led the team in tackling again, accounting for 10 tackles and a pass break up. The speed and violence he is bringing to this line backing core has the unit playing better than any group in Mack Brown’s tenure.
5. [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] – “B-Rak” is making himself a lot of money this year. Texas fans were hoping he’d put it all together on the field and he hasn’t disappointed. When teams decided to block him with just one guy he seems to get at least a hit on the quarterback every time. He finished with only two tackles, but had five hits on the quarterback and made the pocket a place CU’s quarterback Cody Hawkins a place he didn’t want to be.
6. [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] – As Earl Thomas goes, so goes this young secondary. The red shirt freshman appears to be the emotional leader of the group in the back. Earl’s name wasn’t mentioned all that much last night, and that is a good sign. He had two pass breakups and provided good support in the run game.
7. [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] – Johnson began the game as the starting running back for the first time in his young career at Texas. With Ogbonnaya having such a big game and the score becoming lopsided, Cody was limited to a short yardage back. He capitalized however, and two touchdowns will get you on the big board every week.
8. [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] – Shipley caught the other McCoy pass on the night. It wasn’t a huge day for the ex Burnet star, but he got in the end zone and moved the chains on a few receptions. He has definitely become the guy McCoy looks to on hot reads and around the goal line. Their chemistry is amazing.
9. [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] – Cosby had the most catches on the team and appeared to be the most explosive on the night. The old guy on the team finished with nine catches for 71 yards. His long was just 15 however, as all the wide outs failed to make a big play.
10. [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] – Sergio is just a physical freak. He causes havoc wherever he is on the field. When he lines up opposite Orakpo in the “buck” package an offense has no chance. Kindle looked better playing in space as he gets more and more comfortable on his surgically prepared knee. The light has finally come on in his third year on campus, and the sky appears to be the limit for this guy.
11. [tag]Chykie Brown[/tag] – Chykie Brown played his best game as a Longhorn Saturday night against Colorado. It started early, as the starting corner knocked down a long pass attempt by Cody Hawkins. If that pass is completed the game may have been completely different. The whole secondary played with a swagger it never had last year. The Tony Yayo hand dance needs to go, but the play of this group is here to stay.

Houston Chronicle writer Joseph Duarte has posted three brief but good interviews from after Saturday’s game with Texas players. Maybe it’s because I’m not living in Austin but hearing from the players in this casual situation is a rarity. The only video we usually get is from organized press conferences so it’s nice to see them talk in a different setting.

Senior [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] discusses CU and the Big 12 schedule:

[tag]Roy Miller[/tag] talks about the difficulty in not looking past Colorado:

[tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] talks about the match-up with OU:

Source

Texas played their best defense in years as they knocked off their first conference opponent [tag]Colorado[/tag]. Quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] wasn’t perfect but he was darn good and senior running back [tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag] had his best day as a Longhorn. Watch video highlights of the game from ESPN below:

There’s also some good but not embeddable highlights available from FSN to check out.

Football season is so close you can smell it. Less than a week from now the Longhorns will finally take the field for the 2008 season against FAU and today [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] and Co. released the first official depth chart of the year. We wouldn’t be true Texas fans if the first thing we did wasn’t overanalyze and complain about it, so of course we’ve done that below:

General Thoughts

• Lots of OR‘s all over the place like every year. Harder to complain this year because there’s a ton of youngsters on at least one side of the conjunctions.
• Looks like there will also be a lot of situational players as well. There are several places where players (e.g., [tag]Aaron Lewis[/tag]) are listed as co-starters with very different complementary players.
• Lots of youth in general, including several true freshmen. There may be some games this year where you’re yelling at the television set because of the mistakes but 2008 and 2009 should be exciting.

Offense

• No [tag]Malcolm Williams[/tag] anywhere at wide receiver. Not in the top 3 at either flanker or split end. True freshman [tag]Dan Buckner[/tag] right behind [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] is encouraging but overall no Williams seems like bigger story. Let’s hope the light comes on.
• Former tackle [tag]Greg Smith[/tag] has been back at the position for less than two weeks but he’s already listed ahead of [tag]Peter Ullman[/tag] as the blocking tight end.
• [tag]Michael Huey[/tag] vs. [tag]Cedric Dockery[/tag] vs. [tag]Charlie Tanner[/tag] at guard. Everyone has been raving about Huey throughout fall camp but most believed he’d be cutting into Tanner’s reps not Dockery’s. The general opinion (and we all know that’s never wrong) is that Dockery is the better of the returning guards but Huey is listed behind him. Is there a strategic reason the coaches believe Huey should stay at right guard?
• The 12 names and 5 OR‘s confuse me at running back. What exactly is going on there?

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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

Update: Download named rosters for NCAA Football 10. (7/23/2009)

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:

Real Name	Name	Year	Position	Rating
[tag]Buck Burnette[/tag]	C #66	Soph(RS)	C	78
	C #60	Fresh	C	72
[tag]Deon Beasley[/tag]	CB #7	Junior	CB	85
[tag]Ryan Palmer[/tag]	CB #13	Senior(RS)	CB	84
[tag]Curtis Brown[/tag]	CB #3	Soph	CB	83
[tag]Aaron Williams[/tag]	CB #26	Fresh	CB	80
[tag]Chykie Brown[/tag]	CB #8	Soph(RS)	CB	80
[tag]Earl Thomas[/tag]	CB #12	Fresh(RS)	CB	78
[tag]DJ Monroe[/tag]	CB #27	Fresh	CB	76
[tag]Roy Miller[/tag]	DT #99	Senior	DT	90
[tag]Jarvis Humphrey[/tag]	DT #96	Fresh	DT	80
[tag]Brian Ellis[/tag]	DT #90	Soph(RS)	DT	78
[tag]Ben Alexander[/tag]	DT #92	Junior	DT	76
[tag]Kheeston Randall[/tag]	DT #88	Fresh	DT	76
[tag]Chris Ogbonnayya[/tag]	FB #3	Senior(RS)	FB	93
[tag]Cody Johnson[/tag]	FB #31	Fresh(RS)	FB	72
[tag]Ben Wells[/tag]	FS #5	Fresh(RS)	FS	84
[tag]Christian Scott[/tag]	FS #6	Fresh(RS)	FS	77
[tag]Blake Gideon[/tag]	FS #21	Fresh	FS	77
[tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag]	HB #2	Soph(RS)	HB	85
[tag]DeSean Hales[/tag]	HB #30	Fresh	HB	80
[tag]Antwan Cobb[/tag]	HB #24	Soph(RS)	HB	79
[tag]Fozzy Whittaker[/tag]	HB #22	Fresh(RS)	HB	78
[tag]Jeremy Hills[/tag]	HB #32	Fresh	HB	76
[tag]Tre Newton[/tag]	HB #23	Fresh	HB	73
[tag]Hunter Lawrence[/tag]	K #15	Junior	K	82
[tag]Justin Tucker[/tag]	K #9	Fresh	K	69
[tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag]	LE #33	Junior	LE	91
[tag]Aaron Lewis[/tag]	LE #95	Senior	LE	85
[tag]Henry Melton[/tag]	LE #37	Senior	LE	80
[tag]Charlie Tanner[/tag]	LG #52	Junior(RS)	LG	86
[tag]Tray Allen[/tag]	LG #70	Soph	LG	82
[tag]Chris Hall[/tag]	LG #71	Junior(RS)	LG	81
[tag]Aundre McGaskey[/tag]	LG #76	Fresh(RS)	LG	74
[tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag]	LOLB #2	Junior	LOLB	85
	LOLB #16	Fresh	LOLB	80
	LOLB #57	Fresh	LOLB	76
[tag]David Snow[/tag]	LT #78	Fresh	LT	78
[tag]Britt Mitchell[/tag]	LT #72	Soph(RS)	LT	78
[tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag]	MLB #44	Senior(RS)	MLB	90
[tag]Jared Norton[/tag]	MLB #11	Junior	MLB	85
[tag]Trevor Gerland[/tag]	P #17	Junior(RS)	P	83
[tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]	QB #12	Junior(RS)	QB	89
[tag]Sherrod Harris[/tag]	QB #17	Soph(RS)	QB	81
[tag]John Chiles[/tag]	QB #7	Soph	QB	79
[tag]Eddie Jones[/tag]	RE #32	Soph(RS)	RE	92
[tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag]	RE #98	Senior(RS)	RE	90
[tag]Russell Carter[/tag]	RE #97	Fresh(RS)	RE	77
[tag]Cedric Dockery[/tag]	RG #55	Senior(RS)	RG	89
[tag]Michael Huey[/tag]	RG #63	Soph	RG	81
[tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag]	ROLB #38	Junior(RS)	ROLB	87
[tag]Keenan Robinson[/tag]	ROLB #53	Fresh(RS)	ROLB	82
	ROLB #4	Fresh	ROLB	75
[tag]Adam Ulatoski[/tag]	RT #74	Junior(RS)	RT	85
[tag]Mark Buchanan[/tag]	RT #54	Fresh	RT	74
[tag]Ishie Oduegwu[/tag]	SS #19	Junior(RS)	SS	88
[tag]Nolan Brewster[/tag]	SS #36	Fresh	SS	79
[tag]Peter Ullman[/tag]	TE #86	Senior(RS)	TE	81
[tag]Ahmard Howard[/tag]	TE #13	Fresh(RS)	TE	74
[tag]Blaine Irby[/tag]	TE #19	Soph	TE	73
[tag]Quan Cosby[/tag]	WR #6	Senior	WR	89
[tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag]	WR #8	Senior(RS)	WR	84
[tag]Montre Webber[/tag]	WR #14	Soph(RS)	WR	83
[tag]Dan Buckner[/tag]	WR #4	Fresh	WR	79
[tag]Malcolm Williams[/tag]	WR #9	Fresh(RS)	WR	78
[tag]DJ Grant[/tag]	WR #80	Fresh	WR	75
[tag]Antoine Hicks[/tag]	WR #81	Fresh	WR	75
[tag]James Kirkendoll[/tag]	WR #87	Soph	WR	74

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.

[tag]Tray Allen[/tag] gets the start today at left tackle with [tag]Adam Ulatoski[/tag] out.

I thought [tag]Brandon Collins[/tag] had dropped that pass but on the replay cornerback [tag]Deon Beasley[/tag] 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. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] threw a nice pass but put it over [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag]’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 [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] reverse by [tag]Henry Melton[/tag]. 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.

[tag]Ishie Oduegwu[/tag] is in street clothes on the sideline, I didn’t realize he was hurt. I assume that’s why true freshman [tag]Blake Gideon[/tag] got the start at safety for Team Tradition. Okay that’s the last time I’ll mention these lame team names.

[tag]John Chiles[/tag] and [tag]Fozzy Whittaker[/tag] 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 [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] ended with him delivering a blow to [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag]. 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 [tag]Justin Tucker[/tag]. We’ve already got [tag]Ryan Bailey[/tag] and [tag]Hunter Lawrence[/tag] and I want one of them to win the kicking job this year so we can afford to redshirt Tucker.

[tag]Russell Carter[/tag] sure looks like a football player. Big old sucker. Nice play by him bringing down Whitaker.

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