'Horns in Trouble

[Doc50]

Ash is done.

He will not be able to find a physician who thinks returning to football is wise, following his latest concussion syndrome, initiated on his first hit of the season. His career should now be over.

To pile on more bad luck, Espinosa broke his lower leg. He was the cornerstone of that young OL.

Swoopes and Heard are not near the same level of leadership and productivity, and they'll struggle even more with the loss of their experienced center.

UT's record this year may not be any better than last year. But expect our D to pull together and be even stronger.

 

[joseephuss]

Of course they are in trouble. They have a huge task of rebuilding, which will take a few years to accomplish. A healthy Ash would not have change the seasons outcome that much. He really isn't that good.

 

[Doc50]

Of course they are in trouble. They have a huge task of rebuilding, which will take a few years to accomplish. A healthy Ash would not have change the seasons outcome that much. He really isn't that good.

My point is that his replacements are a big drop-off in talent, and so is the replacement for their anchor and leader of the OL. This will potentially make already average offense a lot worse.

 

[joseephuss]

I don't think the there is a drop off in talent at the QB position. There is a drop off in terms of experience, but Ash was not a talented passer or QB.

 

[jimmy40]

No olineman drafted since 2008.The fact that Espinosa was the cornerstone of our online makes me hate Mack Brown that much more.

 

[Doc50]

Interesting how his draft classes ranked high, but that young talent was not developed successfully. The staff obviously did not portray or demand a high level of commitment.

We'll see if Charlie can change things - he certainly is more discipline oriented.

This year is going to be difficult.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

they gotta hope their Defense plays outstanding and they can play old fashion ball control offense with a lot of running.

Which is hard to do in the Big 12 with all of the teams scoring at will.

 

[jterrell]

The new Center's Mom has an office right beside me so maybe I am biased but the kid was a beast out of Celina and will be fine in time.

Strong will win more games then people think and this Ash thing isn't all bad.

I think they would have liked Ash to bridge them to Heard but now may have to give Swoopes snaps all year.
What I do know is the team will play harder and be more fundamentally sound then it was under Mack the past 5 years.

UT should move to a pistol type offense with huge emphasis on running the ball this year. Heard ran that in high school and UT has the best stable of backs in the Big 12.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

The new Center's Mom has an office right beside me so maybe I am biased but the kid was a beast out of Celina and will be fine in time.

Strong will win more games then people think and this Ash thing isn't all bad.

I think they would have liked Ash to bridge them to Heard but now may have to give Swoopes snaps all year.
What I do know is the team will play harder and be more fundamentally sound then it was under Mack the past 5 years.

UT should move to a pistol type offense with huge emphasis on running the ball this year. Heard ran that in high school and UT has the best stable of backs in the Big 12.

They do have a lot of talent at RB but they are not necessarily Pistol Backs. I think that Texas might be better off going to a play action style offense JT. That would limit the reads for the QB and allow those backs to do a lot of work. I know Swoops suites a Mouse Davis style offense better from the standpoint of skill set and experience but long term, might be better to use play action to kind of take it out of the hands of Texas QBs to some extent. Would lean on the running game heavily and dumb down the passing game for the QB too.

That might be better for Texas at this point.

 

[Doomsday101]

Of course they are in trouble. They have a huge task of rebuilding, which will take a few years to accomplish. A healthy Ash would not have change the seasons outcome that much. He really isn't that good.

why did not take Mack a few years he took over a 4-7 team and went 9-2 in his 1st year.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

why did not take Mack a few years he took over a 4-7 team and went 9-2 in his 1st year.

I don't think you can take what Mack did and apply it unilaterally. Every situation is different.

 

[Doomsday101]

I don't think you can take what Mack did and apply it unilaterally. Every situation is different.

Given the situation is UT then yes the situation is the same, they expect to win and that is why Mack was pretty much forced to retire despite all he has done for that program at UT. Getting talent is not an issue they can and do recruit the best and have ranked amongst the top teams in recruiting. I hated how Mack was forced out and sorry not giving slack to Strong or any other HC who comes to Texas when I know Mack was not give much slack when he took over. This is not the same as rebuilding in the NFL, recruiting by big programs is not hard.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Given the situation is UT then yes the situation is the same, they expect to win and that is why Mack was pretty much forced to retire despite all he has done for that program at UT. Getting talent is not an issue they can and do recruit the best and have ranked amongst the top teams in recruiting. I hated how Mack was forced out and sorry not giving slack to Strong or any other HC who comes to Texas when I know Mack was not give much slack when he took over. This is not the same as rebuilding in the NFL, recruiting by big programs is not hard.

Dooms, you can say it's the same all day long but it's not. EVERY situation is different and you know this. These classes may be rated as top 10 or top 5 or top 3 or whatever but that doesn't mean that the players recruited from previous classes fit Strong's scheme or whatever.

It doesn't really matter. Strong will be given time to get the program on track, regardless of what his record is this year. Probably not more then 3 seasons with improvement shown season to season but he will be given more then just a year.

 

[BoysFan4ever]

I like Coach Brown but it was so obvious it was time for him to go. He has a cushy job with the school.

It's an unforgiving business. Stay still & other schools run right over you. It has happened to UT. There are several schools much better than UT in the state.

If you are a fan give the new guy a chance to right the ship. He's a very good hire I think.

 

[Doomsday101]

Dooms, you can say it's the same all day long but it's not. EVERY situation is different and you know this. These classes may be rated as top 10 or top 5 or top 3 or whatever but that doesn't mean that the players recruited from previous classes fit Strong's scheme or whatever.

It doesn't really matter. Strong will be given time to get the program on track, regardless of what his record is this year. Probably not more then 3 seasons with improvement shown season to season but he will be given more then just a year.

I will not make excuses for strong he is here to win period, this is not the NFL Yes a program like Baylor I can see time being given they are not a big program where kids are lining up to sign with them but Texas does get pretty much the pick of the players in Texas.

 

[Doc50]

The new Center's Mom has an office right beside me so maybe I am biased but the kid was a beast out of Celina and will be fine in time.

Strong will win more games then people think and this Ash thing isn't all bad.

I think they would have liked Ash to bridge them to Heard but now may have to give Swoopes snaps all year.
What I do know is the team will play harder and be more fundamentally sound then it was under Mack the past 5 years.

UT should move to a pistol type offense with huge emphasis on running the ball this year. Heard ran that in high school and UT has the best stable of backs in the Big 12.

That's really good to hear regarding the new center. But the rest of the OL is inexperienced as well, and they're actually thin at RB after the loss of Bergeron and Overstreet.

So, you have inexperience and subpar accuracy at QB behind a young OL, without a full stable of RB's and with unproven receivers (other than Shipley).

I'm hoping for the best, but that D better be dayum good.

 

[Doc50]

I will not make excuses for strong he is here to win period, this is not the NFL Yes a program like Baylor I can see time being given they are not a big program where kids are lining up to sign with them but Texas does get pretty much the pick of the players in Texas.

Not any more.

Look at all the difference-makers that have gone to A&M and Baylor and others over the past few years.

Winning at UT should change that.

 

[Doomsday101]

Not any more.

Look at all the difference-makers that have gone to A&M and Baylor and others over the past few years.

Winning at UT should change that.

past few years? Texas ranked 2nd in 2012 and 3rd in 2011 in terms of getting blue chip recruits only trailing Bama and Florida State.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I will not make excuses for strong he is here to win period, this is not the NFL Yes a program like Baylor I can see time being given they are not a big program where kids are lining up to sign with them but Texas does get pretty much the pick of the players in Texas.

I don't think Strong needs us, or really anybody, to make excuses for him. He knows what's up and he knows he has to win. Having said that, excuses or not, he's not getting fired in year 1 if he doesn't go 9-2. That's the reality IMO and if by some chance (which I do not expect to be the case BTW) if he were to get fired for not winning in his 1st year, then that would say more about why Texas is where it is. Texas isn't going to do that IMO. It didn't take a year to get in this mess. I don't think it's realistic to expect Texas to remove themselves from it in a single season either.

 

[BoysFan4ever]

I will not make excuses for strong he is here to win period, this is not the NFL Yes a program like Baylor I can see time being given they are not a big program where kids are lining up to sign with them but Texas does get pretty much the pick of the players in Texas.

I think you're wrong about the appeal of Baylor. New stadium & a great coaching staff . I think a ton of kids want to go there now. That program is on a huge upswing.