GhostofBigRoy
Jun 11, 2008 Dec 16, 2009 412 2148
I do my best to provide y'all with some recruiting coverage, then dabble in everything else that's important about Texas sports.. I didn't grow up a Longhorn fan, but I become one quickly when I started going to UT in 2002, developing an equal love for Austin and love for the Longhorn, and the passion has only grown since then, reaching a pinnacle with the two championships in 2005, though hardly declining since then.
I was lucky enough for PB to give me a chance to express my thoughts about the Longhorns in this fine forum and hope that it benefits you as much as writing benefits me -- my girlfriend says I've been less irritable since I started writing here.
Hopefully, I can provide some insight to y'all and help deepen your understanding about Texas. Or at least give you something think about or disagree with. All that stuff is good.
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Wescott Eberts
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Former LSU commit Davis Pledges To Texas
by GhostofBigRoy on Dec 16, 2009 8:00 AM EST
64 comments
Instant Analysis
Back at the first Junior Day in February, Skyline receiver Mike bore the ignominious distinction of being one of the few players not to receive a Texas offer at the event. Some speculated that Davis left unhappy and feeling disrespected about the slight. By the end of February, he had committed to LSU ($) over offers from national programs like Florida, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Stanford, and California, citing his comfort level with the program and the coaches recruiting him. However, several weeks ago, Davis re-opened his commitment.
Upon hearing that Davis was once again taking visits, the Texas coaching staff got into contact with him again and expressed their interest, led by Metroplex recruiter Bruce Chambers. Davis also communicated with Orangebloods, leading him to become the infamous "mystery recruit" until his announcement that he would visit Texas. It's not clear when Davis received his offer, though it probably happened over the phone, but he reportedly was a silent commit for some time before making it to Austin to meet with the coaching staff and make his decision official. Davis says that he will not take any other visits, per Mack Brown's policy, and will sign his letter of intent on National Signing Day.
64 comments | 0 recs |
High School Playoffs: Week Four Update
by GhostofBigRoy on Dec 14, 2009 5:10 PM EST
0 comments
Cayuga 41, Ganado 19
Traylon Shead and Cayuga will have another chance to secure the state championship that eluded them last season after prevailing over Ganado. As is so often the case, Cayuga won by running the football, with Shead and quarterback Malcome Kennedy combining for over 400 yards rushing. Shead rolled up 218 on 25 carries and four touchdowns, including matching 48-yard runs and a 57-yarder, putting him over 10,000 yards for his career, a mark only two other Texas running backs have reached. Shead also completed the first pass of his career.
Cayuga will take on Albany in Mansfield on Saturday for the Class A state title.
0 comments | 0 recs |
Davis Becomes #21 ($)
It hasn't been easy for Texas to recruit Dallas Skyline high school, a hotbed of recruiting. Securing a commitment from Christian Scott was a major victory and now the addition of wide receive Mike Davis may help the Longhorns secure a foothold in the talent-rich school, which features several top 2011 recruits and Corey Nelson, who may take a visit to Austin.
As a player ,Davis is known for his sharp route-running and ability to make defenders miss in the open field, particularly in the screen game. As someone mentioned in the FanShot noting the commitment, at least Adrian White doesn't have to worry about defending any more, as Davis burned White for two monster games in each of the last two seasons. While Davis does have excellent burst and a strong first step, the major concern is about his top-end speed, which is less than elite.
The major question is how Davis' commitment will influence the recruitment of Darius White, as the Longhorns now have four or five receivers in the 2010 class, depending on where DeMarco Cobbs ends up. Given White's talent, there is probably still room for him in the class and further thoughts over the following days will help try to flesh out the implications.
3 days ago
GhostofBigRoy
51 comments
0 recs
Anatomy of Stagnation: Second and Short Failures
by GhostofBigRoy on Dec 10, 2009 5:31 PM EST
40 comments
The Big Picture
Even though play-action passing has become a much bigger part of the Longhorn offense since the coaching staff decided to uset the 11 personnel package much more often, Greg Davis continues to eschew play-action passes on second and short. The reasons for this are relatively unclear, though the most common belief is that Davis much prefers 1st and 10 to 2nd and 2, causing him to run the ball at an extremely high rate in such situations. In some ways, it's a bit paradoxical, as Davis will often eschew the running game entirely for long stretches and comes under criticism for abandoning the running game at times, with some believing that the running game has suffered over the last few years because Davis would rather pass on every down. Call it Jason Garrett syndrome with a dash of reflexive conservatism, in this case similar to a bad twitch.
Situation 1
Context
On the fifth drive of the game, Texas came out running the football after dropping back for passes on 11 of the first 12 plays (including the first play of the game, the chop block call against Chris Hall. Tre' Newton picked up four yards running power on the first play, Colt McCoy picked up 14 yards on a zone read on the second play, and then Newton picked up eight yards on a jet tempo run, most likely an inside zone play.
40 comments | 1 recs |
Brown To Make In-Home Visit With Hicks Wednesday
Florida will get the last word with Jordan Hicks as he takes his last official visit this weekend, but Mack Brown will help keep the Longhorns near the forefront of his mind with an expected in-home visit with Hicks Wednesday.
Perhaps even bigger news is that Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, who also coaches the linebackers, will accept the Lousiville coaching job. Scipio Tex sees it as a big break and though it probably won't eliminate the Gators, there's little doubt that it strikes a blow to their efforts, as Hicks will have little time to establish a relationship with the new defensive coordinator.
Hicks does have an excellent relationship with Will Muschamp and Texas' position is strengthened by the relationship between his mother and Jeff Madden, with whom she worked at Colorado. If the departure of Charlie Strong does in fact weaken Florida's position enough to take them out of the running, the fact that Hicks' mother plans on moving if he attends school out-of-state probably helps the Longhorns as well. After all, Austin weather has to look pretty appealing in the midst of an Ohio winter.
7 days ago
GhostofBigRoy
42 comments
0 recs
Morning Coffee: Sunshine Pumping Edition
by GhostofBigRoy on Dec 9, 2009 12:24 PM EST
37 comments
As mentioned in Sunday's Celebration and Reflection post, there is plenty of time for worrying about what went wrong against Nebraska and what could possibly go wrong against Alabama. In that spirit, here's a sunshine pumping edition of Morning Coffee focusing on the positives.
Eyes on the prize. For the Texas football team, there were three goals for the season -- winning the Big 12 South, winning the Big 12 championship game, and then making it to Pasadena to play for the national championship. With the weak schedule, each goal became absolutely necessary to reach the next. A loss in conference play might not have kept Texas out of the championship game for the Big 12, but it would have kept them from having a chance at Pasadena.
My oponent preview for The Eyes of Texas magazine this summer was entitled "Expect Perfection" -- that's been the narrative the entire season. In fact, that was the narrative even stretching back to last season, the reason why all that success seemed like such a bonus. Texas fans are famous for outsized expectations, but how could there be more pressure than for a fanbase to expect a berth in the national championship game for two full seasons? For anything less than perfection to be a monumental disappointment?
Even though this post will focus on the positives of the Nebraska game and future posts will analyze the numerous breakdowns, ultimately the eyes of Texas rest on the ultimate prize -- that crystal football. The parallels to the last Texas appearance in the Rose Bowl are significant and could grow even more pronounced if Colt McCoy loses the Heisman to Mark Ingram this weekend. Like USC, Alabama is highly favored in the game, with pundits across the country writing off the chances of the Longhorns, just as they did in 2005. Like the 2005 team, these Longhorns are led by an experienced quarterback, one of the greatest in the history of the program, and backed by defenses filled with future NFL players. The visit to Pasadena will seemingly complete the cycle, as McCoy will fulfill the trust that Vince Young put in him when Young told McCoy he would be the next quarterback at Texas before trotting onto the field to win the national championship. The symmetry is perfect, just like this season.
The bottom line is this -- in the only two close games this season, Texas found ways to win, the ultimate mark of a champion. There was no room for imperfection, the disappointment of a loss too great to even fathom. So they did not lose and now have a chance to win it all.
37 comments | 0 recs |
White To Visit Oklahoma State, Not Oklahoma ($)
Fort Worth Dunbar wide receiver Darius White was supposed to take his official visit to Oklahoma for the Bedlam game, but decided to re-schedule. Now it looks like White might not make it back to Norman in the near future, as he canceled another visit and decided to travel to Stillwater instead, a slap in the face for the Oklahoma coaching staff.
Without any word from White, it's hard to say why he made this decision, but it certainly bodes well for Texas in his recruitment and poorly for the Sooners. As for Oklahoma State, it's possible that the Cowboys are back in the race for White, but it probably says more about the other two programs and their respective positions.
8 days ago
GhostofBigRoy
19 comments
0 recs
Texas Coaches Working Hard on Humphrey ($)
Two Texas coaches stopped by Dallas Episcopal on Monday to visit with fast-rising 2010 defensive tackle prospect Eric Humphrey, whose stock has soared in recent weeks with the release of his senior film. Area recruiter Bruce Chambers, responsible for securing Mike Davis' visit this weekend and continuing communication with Corey Nelson, made the trip along with defensive tackles coach Mike Tolleson. Will Muschamp is expected to visit next week.
The issue for the Longhorns is that Humphrey's visit schedule is now filled up. He took an unofficial visit to TCU last weekend and will take his first official to Oklahoma next weekend. That leaves four official visits left, currently filled by Texas Tech, Colorado, Wake Forest, and Arkansas. For Humphrey to make it to campus in Austin, necessary to receive an offer, he would have to take an unofficial visit or drop one of the four schools planned for future visits -- it's not outside the realm of possibility considering that Humphrey already dropped plans to visit Baylor and substituted another school.
8 days ago
GhostofBigRoy
39 comments
0 recs
High School Playoffs Update: Week Four
by GhostofBigRoy on Dec 7, 2009 3:43 PM EST
4 comments
Graham 48 Wimberley 7
For Case McCoy, there's every reason to believe that this was a grudge match against Wimberley. Not because Graham has any particular history with the team from Hill Country, but because Wimberley took out Brownwood last week and ended the season for McCoy's close friend, Jaxon Shipley. Consider the grudge settled and it didn't even take a full day's work to do so -- McCoy left the game with time still remaining in the third quarter, having thrown three touchdown passes in the first half to take a 34-0 lead at halftime. For the game, McCoy 11 of 21 passes for 178 yards, the three touchdown passes and one interception, while adding 58 yards on the ground on three caries, including a 19-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Wimberley hurt their chances early by committing seven penalties and star running Dennis Smith never got going, carrying the ball 17 times for only 50 yards.
Graham will play Pittsburg on Friday in Mansfield.
4 comments | 0 recs |
Nelson May Visit Texas, Davis Will ($)
For the first time, there is actual smoke surrounding the fire -- after weeks of rumors about Skyline receiver Mike Davis, who is committed to LSU, visiting Texas, it now appears that may happen. ESPN's Gerry Hamilton is reporting that Davis will take an official visit to Austin next weekend. With all the wide receiver commits in the class and the outstanding offer to Darius White, whose interest in Texas appears to be renewed, it doesn't seem like the Longhorns have much room for Davis or even really need another receiver that much, even if it's the talented White. If Davis really is interested in Texas and thinking about de-committing from LSU, the coaching staff may have to decide if they would take Davis and basically lose any shot with White -- in other words, make a decision between the two.
Though Davis' visit is set, there is another player committed to another school who may visit -- another Skyline player, linebacker Corey Nelson, set to become an Aggie. According to Nelson, the visit is not set, but he is considering making the trip. Considering that he still signs his text messages to recruiting services "Mr. A&M," its hard to say whether his commitment to A&M should be considered a "soft" verbal at this point or if he just wants to take advantage of the ability to travel that taking official visits provides.
10 days ago
GhostofBigRoy
25 comments
0 recs
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