Position Rating: B+
Starter: Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton
Reserves: Eddie Jones, Sam Acho, Russell Carter, Aaron Lewis
Even after moving two of the position’s best players inside to defensive tackle, defensive end is still one of the team’s greatest strengths heading into the season. There’s a possible dominant pass rusher in [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] and on the other side there’s an interesting battle brewing for the power end. The talent and depth at the position may be the strongest of any position on the team.
Orakpo has all the tools to be a disruptive force off the edge. He had a solid 9 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks despite only appearing in nine games and not being 100% last season due to a knee injury in the season opener. After an impressive Holiday Bowl performance (4.5 tackles behind the line and 2 sacks) Texas fans are hoping for the same thing for an entire healthy season.
At the power end former running back [tag]Henry Melton[/tag] is currently expected to be the starter but is being pushed by young and extremely talented players behind him. At 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds, if he can play hard every down Melton could play himself into a lot of NFL money this season. If he stumbles there’s a lot of talent ready to step up behind him.
Sophomore [tag]Eddie Jones[/tag] is a former five-star recruit and will split time with Melton to start the year. Jones is the future at the position and I expect him to get a larger and larger share of the snaps as the season progresses regardless of how well Melton performs. Behind Orakpo is exciting sophomore [tag]Sam Acho[/tag]. He didn’t play a ton last year but he showed incredible flashes of ability and a knack at getting after the quarterback during his true freshman season.
Overall defensive end should be a position well stocked with talent for the next several years. This season there’s talent and depth and if guys fulfill their promise it will make a huge difference to the entire defense. If the line can put pressure on the quarterback everyone else’s job gets a lot easier.
Update: Official depth chart for FAU is out and [tag]Aaron Lewis[/tag] is listed as a co-starter with Melton so I’ve added him to the list of reserves.
Related Links
The Texas Longhorns held their annual football banquet Friday night (photos) where they honored team members for their accomplishments on and off the field. Though fans and recruits do attend, the event is definitely a night for the players to look back on the season and to honor the careers of the outgoing seniors.
Quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and running back [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] were deservedly named the team MVPs. McCoy didn’t have as good of a season as he did his freshman year but he definitely is the player that made this team go (when it went anywhere). Charles was also named Darrell K. Royal Most Valuable Offensive Player while the Mike Campbell Most Valuable Defensive Players were [tag]Brandon Foster[/tag] and [tag]Marcus Griffin[/tag].
In a team vote [tag]Dallas Griffin[/tag], [tag]Tony Hills[/tag], and [tag]Derek Lokey[/tag] were honored with the D. Harold Byrd Leadership Award. Also, in a shocking development quarterback McCoy was given the Outstanding Quarterback Award.
In a move that infuriated Internet Coaching and Motivational Experts [tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag], [tag]Scott Derry[/tag], and [tag]Robert Killebrew[/tag] shared the honor of being the team’s Outstanding Linebackers. I’m not sure what else you can really do though as no linebacker really deserved the honor and it would be pretty embarrassing to not hand out an award for the position.
A list of all the award winners is after the jump.
Nothing gets me more fired up than watching Ducks Unlimited TV before a big Longhorn game. Do you think Versus would show a show about hunting and killing ducks if Oregon was playing instead of Texas and [tag]Baylor[/tag]? That might be a little awkward.
If you’re not one of the many Texas fans who made the trip to Waco you’ll have to surf through about 1,000 channels before you’ll find Versus and you’re probably only getting it if you have satellite or digital cable. Versus is on channel 603 on DirecTV, channel 151 on Dish Network, and on 470 if you’ve got Time Warner digital cable in Austin.
Here we go…
First Quarter
- I like the straight zone run play with [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] than the zone read or the counter. Gives Jamaal a chance to hit the hole fast and get going north/south quicker.
- I like that a professional football announcer doesn’t know the difference between the zone read and a counter. Not even run out of the shotgun is a zone read.
- Three attempts towards [tag]Jermichael Finley[/tag] already. One good completion, one ball he should have caught, and one that he and [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] had a miscommunication on.
- And another pass towards Finley. Texas attempts a fake field goal after he goes out wide and uncovered but [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] can’t get the play off quickly enough and then can’t get the ball out to him before the defense adjusted. Versus missed the whole play because we were zoomed in on kicker Ryan Bailey’s helmet.
- [tag]Erick Jackson[/tag] has been serviceable at safety this season but he is absolutely awful at adjusting to the ball in the air. He was there in coverage on a terrible Baylor pass but couldn’t make a play on the ball. Looked similar to the unnecessary pass interference penalty he picked up last week.
- Baylor offensive lineman Dan Gay IV commits a holding penalty. How unfortunate is that last name? Especially with the IV after it. You can essentially put any noun after that and hilarity will ensue.
- I’m surprised how empty Floyd Casey Stadium is. Enough Texas fans normally make that trip to fill up the place a little better.
- Second time already that I thought the Baylor defensive back got there early on pass coverage. [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] doesn’t drop many passes, it looked like he got bumped early.
- Great punt but Jackson can’t down it before it bounces into the end zone. The only good thing to come out of the Kansas State game is punter Justin Moore.
- Versus really likes to use the camera angle from the roof of the press box. The damn thing is so high i can’t tell anybody’s number.
- [tag]John Chiles[/tag] and the second team offense is in there for this series. I actually like the timing of this one better than last week. The first team offense didn’t have much momentum so it’s not really going to disrupt them.
- Chiles has to be more careful with the football. First downs are important but not as important as holding onto the football. Don’t stretch the ball out in traffic on your own 40 yard line.
- Smithson Valley sucks!
- Big run by [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] up the middle. 18 yards on the carry is probably the second teamers biggest gain against first team defenses. I think as Chiles gains more experience running the zone read the whole offense opens up. Right now he looks a little like he’s keeping and handing off randomly and not doing a great job reading the defensive end. That’s a tough read and you can only really learn in live game situations.
- Set your feet before you throw John.
- [tag]Ryan Bailey[/tag] nails the 46-yard field goal into the wind. Right down the middle.
Texas 3, Baylor 0
- How sad is Baylor that the announcers are talking about their defense getting a victory by holding the second team defense to only a field goal?
- Not sure if this is their first series or not, but the young group of linebackers are in there now for Texas.
- What did they rule that play on the field? I thought I saw an official pointing that he was down before the fumble. Looks to me like the ball is coming loose a little before the Baylor running back hits the ground.
- Not sure how they ruled he was down after reviewing that play. Looked pretty clear from one angle that the ball was loose before his butt hit the ground.
Looks like we’re definitely headed towards another situation where the early FSN game is going to interfere with the start of the Texas vs. [tag]Rice[/tag] game. Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have decided to forego defense and play a 9-hour offensive shootout. All is not lost however, if you’re a DirecTV customer the game will start on schedule on channel 667 and you can check out FSN Southwest’s contingency plan for the telecast over on the official UT football site. Plus I’ll post frequent updates on the game here on this post. Stay tuned…
First Quarter
- Rice won the toss and will kick off.
- Good deep kick and [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] takes a knee.
- Chris Hall starting at right tackle again. Limas Sweed is healthy enough to make the start at receiver.
- Colt McCoy misses Cosby on a 12 yard out.
- [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] may never touch the football again. Another damn fumble. Rice football.
- No surprises starting at linebacker. Same three veterans: Derry, Bobino, Killebrew.
- Great penetration on the blitz by [tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag] results in a loss of yards.
- [tag]Deon Beasley[/tag] got the start at cornerback over Brandon Foster.
- How is that not grounding? Rice OL forgets to block Frank Okam and he gets a free run at the QB.
- There’s a flag, they called it after all. Rice lining up for 50-yard field goal attempt.
- Rice kicker misses wide left. My former coworker and former Rice kicker Derek Crabtree would’ve made that one. Or so he’d tell me.
- Charles is still the running back. McCoy hits Jermichael Finley on a quick out for a 9 yard game.
- Charles reverses field and gets a good gain. Kid has tons of talent, hold on to the ball and I’ll be your best friend.
- Ugly option play and McCoy gets brought down hard. Guard Cedric Dockery got his ass kicked.
- Great catch on a hitch by Cosby. Colt tried to get him killed. Short of the first down and Texas has to punt.
- Texas sends out [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] with the rest of the punting team in some sort of likely fake but we screw it up and have to blow a timeout.
- After the timeout we’ve got the regular offense out there for 4th and 2.
- Lead dive out by Charles behind FB Atwan Cobb gets the first down.
- Completion from McCoy to Nate Jones on a slant. 7 yard gain.
- McCoy fumbles the shotgun snap but he rolls to his left and finds Cosby alone for a completion and a first down.
- Terrible looking play where two Texas linemen are running laterally 3 yards deep in the backfield and Charles has to fight his way through them on the counter before he can get a couple of yards. Yikes.
- Tony Hills with an obvious hold made more obvious by the fact that he threw his hands up in the air trying to claim innocence. Costs the Horns a first and goal opportunity.
- McCoy and Cosby bail out Hills. Great pass and catch for the touchdown on 3rd and long. The inside receiver was even more open on the play.
Rice 0, Texas 7
- About 1:30 left in the Tech/OSU game and OSU just scored to go up by four on a 54 yard TD catch.
- Didn’t know Texas was using the Bill Bates air conditioned shoulder pads. Great technology.
- Great job by Aaron Lewis to string out the play, Bobino flies to the ball and blows up the blocker, and Lewis is able to make the tackle.
- The Rice receiver might have been bobbling that ball. Rice thinks so too and is running the no huddle.
- Rice’s line is getting whipped right now. They’re doubling the two defensive tackles and that allowed the end to come and make the tackle untouched.
- As I’ve said over and over again, that spread punt formation is the dumbest thing in college football. Texas gets the ball at their 33.
- Colt is holding the ball a tick too long on the deep ball. Another underthrown bomb and another incompletion. He’s got a good enough arm if he gets rid of it a little quicker he’d be a lot more successful.
- Long run by Charles on the single back counter.
- Another ill advised deep ball. Come on Colt. Be smart. Interception but there’s flag on the play.
- McCoy bailed out by the pass interference call. That could have gone either way. First down Texas.
- John Chiles in the game. McCoy motioned left and Chiles ran the zone read. Nice idea but center Dallas Griffin got his ass beat and a Rice lineman blew up the play.
- Two incompletions and Texas will have to attempt a field goal.
- Ryan Bailey’s 44-yard field goal goes right down the middle.
Rice 0, Texas 10
- If our corners are going to give 15 yard cushion they can’t miss freaking tackles. Beasley whiffs and there’s a good gain for Rice.
- Ryan Palmer shows Beasley how to do it.
- Sergio Kindle in the game. Texas defensive line is blowing up the zone read every time.
- Looked like all the young linebackers might have been out there on that series. Rice has to punt.
- Cosby fair catches a line drive punt at the 10 and Texas starts this possession with bad field position.
- Charles lined up at wideout and McCoy puts a beautiful pass in his hands and Charles drops it. Would have been an easy 6.
- Colt is leaving all these short passes up high. Doesn’t seem to have the zip on it he did last season.
- The game is on regular FSN Southwest now so I’ll be doing less play by play and make more witty comments.
Posted September 11th, 2007 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Quick Hits
Statesman Longhorns Notebook. Tidbits on Sam Acho, the first road trip, Nate Jones, and the secondary.
Posted February 8th, 2007 by Matt
Filed under: Football, Recruiting
Name: [tag]Sam Acho[/tag]
Position: Defensive End
Ranking: 
Hometown: Dallas, TX
School: St. Mark’s
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 250 lbs
Background
Sam Acho looks to be the sleeper of the 2007 recruiting class. He came out of nowhere in the summer of 2006, getting multiple offers from several big-time BCS schools such as Oklahoma, USC, Virginia, and Iowa. Texas started to take notice and made a great impression on him in an official visit to Austin in August 2006.
Sam was a three-time All-Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) performer at St. Mark’s in Dallas, TX. He was also a three-sport letterman and a member of ESPN’s top 150 national prospects.
Sam also takes his academics very seriously. He scored a 1220 on his SAT and was a four-year member of the honor roll. He is almost fluent in Spanish and helps teach adults English as a second language at a local community center.
Immediate Impact
Tough to say what will play out with Sam Acho because of his relative obscurity in 2006. Might not play much in 2007, but with his athleticism he has great upside potential for the future.
Future
With his athletic ability, Sam could project as either a tight end or a defensive end. He is a natural fit at defensive end and says he tries to model his game after Julius Peppers. Watch out for him in the years to come. This kid looks to be a special player.
Posted February 7th, 2007 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting
We’ll be updating this list as we get news (mostly from Rivals) of which players have officially signed their letters of intent and if everything goes as planned will be the newest Texas Longhorns in August. The first two players to become Longhorns were Ian Harris out of San Antonio and Cody Johnson from Waller. Keep checking back here because we’ll update this list as we hear more names.
Confirmed Signings
- Ian Harris
- Cody Johnson
- Kyle Hix
- Tray Allen
- Michael Wilcoxon
- Russell Carter
- Aundre McGaskey
- Tyrell Higgins
- Sam Acho
- James Kirkendoll
- Brandon Collins
- G.J. Kinne
- Ahmard Howard
- Keenan Robinson
- Malcolm Williams
- Blaine Irby
- Earl Thomas
- Christian Scott
Early Enrollees
- Curtis Brown
- John Chiles
- Michael Huey
- Andre Jones
- Ben Wells
- Fozzy Whittaker
Update: Just added Blaine Irby and Earl Thomas to the list which leaves only Christian Scott remaining. The stud safety just was the last player to commit to the Horns (just this weekend) and it looks like he’ll be the last one to fax in his letter of intent as well. Hopefully he’s not having any second thoughts. (10:38 am)
Update: Christian Scott’s letter is in and confirmed by both Rivals and Inside Texas (thanks Eric!). That means all 24 recruits, 18 today plus the 6 already on campus, are signed and will officially be Longhorns either this summer or in the fall if their grades are in order. Congrats to the class of 2007 and welcome to the family. (11:58 am)
Posted August 29th, 2006 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting
The Texas Longhorns continued to add to their fantastic recruiting class on Monday with a surprise commitment from defensive end [tag]Sam Acho[/tag]. The 6-foot-2 250 pounder from Dallas St. Mark’s exploded onto everyone’s recruiting radar with several big time camp performances this summer. He went from virtual unknown to holding offers from national powers such as Oklahoma, Texas, USC, and Virginia in just a handful of weeks. Texas made a strong impression on Acho during an unofficial visit to Austin in early August, but he was expected to take a little more time before making a decision.
Acho was rated as a 3-star prospect by Rivals before his meteoric rise and reportedly will be elevated to 4-star status during the current reshuffling of their 2007 prospect rankings. National top 100 status is a possibility for the young man who excels in the classroom as well as on the football field.
Acho is the 23rd member of the Longhorns’ 2007 recruiting class and the fourth defensive lineman to give the team a verbal pledge. He joins DE Russell Carter and defensive tackles Andre Jones and Michael Wilcoxon as future anchors of the defensive front line. The Horns are still strongly pursuing 5-star DT Joseph Barksdale out of Detroit’s Cass Tech High School. Acho’s commitment likely leaves just one or two more slots available in this class.
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