http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/49289077/MuckBrown.jpg

Look for these shirts to be all over the Holiday Bowl. They are being sold online by a company called AfroPop. Here is the quote that goes with it:

Yeah, we haven't forgotten, Mack Brown. We'll never forget how you whined your way to the '04 Rose Bowl, depriving one of Cal's best teams ever, a chance to play in the Granddaddy of them all. And now that we've got you in the Holiday Bowl, this is the t-shirt we're going to greet you with. Go Bears!

So be prepared to be deluged by whiny Cal fans talking about '04 until the Holiday Bowl is over.

http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2011&rpt=IA_teamtotoff&site=org&div=IA&dest=O

Just looked at the top offenses according to the official stats of the NCAA.  As you can see for yourself, this is not a good time to be breaking in a new defense with a new and very young defensive coordinator.  Plus, a DC who has never coached in this conference.  5 of the top 7 offenses are in the Big 12.  Some Longhorn fans wonder why our defense isn't as good as it should be right now.  Here is your answer.  Try running this gauntlet.  I thought 2008 was bad for Texas.  This is just stupid.  This must be the real reason why the aggies are going to the SEC.  Not one SEC offense in the Top 20.

By now everyone has become fully immersed in the QB competition the Texas Longhorn football team is having right now.  Some people have chosen a favorite.  Others are waiting to see how things turn out.  While still others believe the outcome is already preordained.  I myself am waiting to see how things turn out.  But the question that I keep coming back to is it really possible that a true freshman QB could start Sept. 3?  I know people have seen the quotes that are floating around about Ash and how well he is doing.  I won't re-post them but one was from Blake Gideon and the other was from Emmanuel Acho.  Both were highly complimentary of David Ash.  Now comes Jesus Shuttlesworth of Recruitocosm.com and his source, The Asset, with these nuggets:                                                                                                                                                        

We’ll start with, what else, the Quarterbacks. A time honored Texas tradition is rooting for the backup and this report will do nothing to extinguish those flames. The Asset tells us that David Ash had a masterful day today especially in picking apart Manny Diaz’s zone. So much so that when I asked the Asset about the wide receivers, he replied, "they had a quiet day."

 

 

They dropped a lot of balls?

"No. They basically caught everything but they didn’t have to do anything special but turn and catch Ash’s ball delivered in a pinpoint window."

The report was so glowing that I started to think that perhaps the Asset is just an Ash-man, so I asked him if he was biased in his assessment. He simply replied. "No. You’ll see."

The Asset went on to tell us that Ash had some solid work against the zone, had some well timed scrambles for big yards, and was the beneficiary of several zone-read designed runs for solid yardage. He continues to play at a really high level.

Once again very complimentary to young Mr. Ash.  But there is one more quote that knocked me back and got me thinking hard that this is a real possibility.  Here is the money quote from The Asset:

As for snaps with the first team, David Ash took 50%, Case McCoy had 30%, while Gilbert and Wood had 10% each we’re told.

Now this is one source from one website so take it with a grain of salt.  But if this is true, then true freshman QB David Ash is getting the majority of the snaps with the first team in practice.  I never played football, but to me that seems really significant.  Now the Asset doesn't say if this will continue or if this was just a one time thing.  But if it does continue, this tells me that David Ash just might be the starting QB come Sept. 3 vs. Rice.  So I ask again is it really possible that a true freshman QB will start on Sept. 3?

Mel Kiper, Jr. and Todd McShay have each released a three round mock on ESPN Insider.  I have Insider so I am giving you their mock picks here for everyone to discuss.  Interesting thing is that both are fairly similar when it comes to positions picked.

Kiper:  

Round 1:  Tyron Smith, OT, USC

Round 2:  Brandon Harris, CB, Miami (FL)

Round 3:  Da'Norris Searcy, S, North Carolina

McShay:

Round 1:  Tyron Smith, OT, USC

Round 2:  Aaron Williams, DB, Texas

Round 3:  Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia

So what do people think?

The Dallas Cowboys have the #9 pick in the 2011 Draft.  So I was curious to see who had previously been drafted at that spot.  Well, I did the research for everyone.  Here is a brief history of the #9 pick in the NFL Draft:

Continue reading this post »

Per ESPN, Stanford has announced today that Andrew Luck will stay in school.  I am very disappointed and I'm sure the Cowboys are disappointed too.  That is one less high quality player that the eight teams ahead of Dallas have to look at and pick.  Patrick Peterson, the LSU DB, just became that much harder to try to get.  Carolina has to be just pissed off as hell.  I wonder if there will be a QB taken in the top ten now.

According to ESPN, Jose Lima died this Sunday morning of an apparent heat attack.  Sad day since he was one of my favorite Astros.  The last year of the Astrodome when he won 20 was one of my favorite seasons , too.  Sure it didn't end well, but it was so much fun.  Lima wasn't  the greatest pitcher, but he was very charismatic and so fun to watch.  I feel for his family.  I will always remember him well. 

Scouts, Inc.  of ESPN.com has put together a seven round mock the day before the draft.  I don't know what people will think of it, but I figured it was worth posting.  Here it goes:

Round 1:  Kyle Wilson, CB, Bosie St.

Round 2:  Bruce Campbell, OT, Maryland

Round 3:  T. J. Ward, S, Oregon

Round 4:  Jordan Shipley, WR, Texas

Round 6:  Mike Hoomanawanui, TE, Illinois

Round 7:  Derek Hardman, OT, Eastern Kentucky

There you have it.  Todd McShay and the Scouts, Inc. guys think that this is one way the Cowboys could go in the draft.  Would you guys be happy if the draft worked out like this tomorrow?  Any thoughts?  And no I never heard of the Illinois TE either.

On ESPN Insider, Mel Kiper Jr. has released a four round mock which predicts how he thinks each NFL team will draft next weekend.  I have Insider so I will post his predictions for Dallas.  Insider isn't free and I don't know how to link articles so I won't try.  Here it is in all its glory:

Dallas Cowboys

Top Needs:  LT, FS, OG, WR, PK, ILB, CB

First Round (27):  OT Charles Brown

Second Round (59):  S Nate Allen

Third Round (90):  CB Myron Lewis

Fourth Round (125):  LB O'Brien Schofield

Summary:  Brown isn't a flashy pick, but he's the necessary pick.  The Cowboys have the weapons on offense, but if the left side of that line becomes a crater, they can't reach their potential.  As Brown develops, I think he could step in for Doug Free.  A former tight end, Brown has the upside to be there for years to come.  Allen is a necessary addition to the safety position.  I think even if Taylor Mays is still on the board, Dallas should wait for Allen or a guy like Major Wright or Morgan Burnett.  The gap isn't big enough to skip the tackle necessity.  Lewis adds some skill at CB (Terence Newman will be 32 this year) and Schofield led the nation in TFL at times last year.  He's constantly in the backfield.

There it is.  What do ya'll think?  Would you be happy if this was how the draft broke down next weekend?

Well, today is March 31 and that means it is the University of Texas Pro Day.  All of the draft eligible Texas Longhorns will be doing position drills and exercises for tons of NFL coaches and personnel directors.  Colt, Lamar, Sergio, and others will do their best to increase their draft stock.  As Longhorn fans and alumni, lets all root for our Longhorns to kick ass!  There will be a spotlight on the NFL Network because every year they seem to do a spotlight on UT Pro Day.  If someone could post that here it would be appreciated since currently I am without a television.  GO HORNS!!

Mel Kiper, Jr. and Todd McShay have released their third version of their mocks.  The twist is they are side by side instead of individually.  It interesting to see how often they agree.  After the first three picks, it's sporadic at best.  They also don't agree on who the Cowboys take.  Mr. Kiper, Jr.  has Dallas drafting Earl Thomas, S, Texas with the 27th pick.  Todd McShay has Dallas reaching for Charles Brown, OT, USC with the #27 pick.  I have Insider so I thought I would share.  Enjoy and discuss who you would prefer.  My humble opinion would to go with the fellow Longhorn.

I just recently purchased ESPN Insider.  Had to do it for the draft information.  It seems like anything worth reading is going to be on the Insider part of ESPN.com.  I will gladly post any Longhorn related nuggets of info.  I just have one question.  Is that ok?  I don't want to overstep my bounds or do something that is frowned upon by the producers of this greatest of sites.  Just let me know what is in and what is out of bounds.  I will comply with the tribal council decision.  Thank you.

Go Horns!!!

Just read an article on ESPN that stated that the Big 10 will be "aggressive" in finding a 12th team to add to their conference.  I'm sorry but my linking skills are poor so I will let someone else post the actual article.  Would the Big 10 be interested at all in Iowa St?  I don't think so either, but it does start an interesting chain reaction.  If the Big 10 were to take Iowa St. to pair with Iowa in the new Big 10 conference, it would open a spot in the Big 12.  Who does the Big 12 invite as a replacement for Iowa St.?  TCU?  Hmmm......interesting.

Jerry Palm says it is official.  We will be in the national championship game.  The other teams will be begging for other BCS game slots.  So tell TCU fans that they can go to hell.  Also, Cincy can go play some Big 10 team.  Go Horns, go Colt, Go the University of Texas Longhorns.  Mt. cody will be a lot easier to play then Suh.  Anybody says anything else can suck it.  Yes, I have been drinking.

What if, and this is merely speculation at this point, Texas plays the perfect game?  The UT offense is firing on all cylinders.  The defense turns it up to 11.  Special teams gives a score and great field position all day.  Does OU have any shot to win or is it just about keeping it close?  I assume our ceiling is higher then OU's , but is there an ass-spanking of epic proportions if everything goes right?

He's a bad bad man!

I don't know if anybody else noticed, but when John Chiles caught the ball against ULM he looked to inflict harm on the guys trying to tackle him.  That young man is going to run over and hurt someone one of these games.  The dude isn't the biggest receiver at Texas, but he is by far the most physical.  He will be a huge weapon for this team and Colt.

I've got a question on a situation that could happen during the game Sat.  Let's say that Texas jumps out to a quick 14 point first quarter lead, do you as Coach Brown put Gilbert in with the ones to start getting his playing experience for a drive or two?  Or do you keep Colt in to get his stats for his Heisman race and just turn over the game to Gilbert and the second teamers in the second half?  Let me know what everything thinks.

    As I've been reading the preseason mags and websites, I've noticed that a lot of places have Stoops ahead of Brown as coaches.  I know that Coach Brown has gone 3-1 vs. Stoops the last four years, but I think the 5 year losing streak in the early '00s still works in Stoops's favor.  I know the conference champsionships OU has won vs. UT has won also plays a part as well.  But with the team that Coach Brown has this year, what will it take for Brown to overcome the '00s debacle and thus finally pull ahead of Stoops? 

a.  beat OU on field.

b.  win Big 12 South

c.  win Big 12 title game

d.  play in the national championship game

e.  win the national championship

f.  This can't be done in just one year.

In my humble opinion, it will take another national championship ring for Coach Brown to vault ahead of Stoops.  Nothing less I think will work.  Does anybody have any other ideas of what it might take?

I read this and had to share it with everyone here:

"Colt is living in The Matrix.  He should just start wearing all black and talk in barely audible whispers.  If you can't beat Tebow's Christian bonhomie, just go to the Dark Side.  Have a beer.  And a threesome.  On the same night!  Right before the Tech game.  Wearing a zorro mask!

I laughed so hard I cried when I read this paragraph.  Enjoy the good!

Rivals.com had their post-spring coaches ranking released.  I thought people would be interested in where our beloved coach ranks.

  1.  Urban Meyer

  2.  Pete Carroll

  3.  Nick Saban

  4.  Bob Stoops

  5.  Jim Tressel

  6.  Mack Brown

  7.  Frank Beamer

  8.  Joe Paterno

  9.  Mark Richt

10.  Jim Grobe

What do the Longhorn masses think about the ranking?  I myself would like to see him higher.  I think Coach Brown is a top 5 coach, but I'm not gonna lose sleep over it.

With it being the dog days of summer, I thought I might add a post for people to chime in on.  I was wondering if other people had favorite wash-outs from UT.  While I was attending UT, '90-'96, there was one player who was amazing on the football field and garbage in the classroom.  His name was Butch Hadnot.  His name will echo in the hearts and minds of people my age who were at UT during the early '90s.  He was an awe-inspiring combination of size and speed.  Hadnot would run over and around people for huge chunks of yardage.  I rode with him alone in an elevator and the dude was built like a tank.  Alas, the guy couldn't handle the student part of being a student-athlete and left the University.  B. Hadnot was a shooting star that lit up Memorial Stadium and then burned out.  Please list any of your favorites as well. 

I was a student at the University of Texas in the early '90s, the "Dark Ages" long before Coach Brown, and one of the things the teams used to do back then in big games was change up their shoes.  The football team would never even think to change their uniforms like other schools, ahem Aggies, but for big games Texas Football would break out the black cleats.  So I am wearing my burnt orange Texas Longhorn shirt, kakhi shorts, and black shoes to cheer on the baseball team tonight.  Who is with me?!!  Go Horns!!  Beat ASU!!

Does anybody have any idea what time it is going to be?  I already have tickets and the hotel room.  Now I'm just looking to plan out the weekend.  This will be only my second game at DKR since 1996 so any help with bars or restaurants would be greatly appreciated.  I barely recognized Austin when I was there last year for the Florida International game.  Can't wait until football season.  Hook 'em!!