SB Nation User Blog: owenh

Does anyone buy into VT: Nat'l Title Contender

owenh — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:49:34 -0000

I was just watching a bit of College Football Live today on the old worldwide leader. One of their focuses today was Virginia Tech's prospects for 2009. Now let me preface this by saying I don't know a great deal about the ACC or Virginia Tech for that matter but I consider myself a fairly educated unbiased observer. When I hear that Virginia Tech is a serious contender to win it all I find myself really skeptical.

I just wonder, what exactly has Virginia Tech done in the last 3-5 years to justify the hype? They've won the ACC three times in a row. That's nice, certainly we Horns fans can't exactly scoff at that. However comparing the Big 12 competition to the ACC isn't fair. In addition when was the last time Virginia Tech beaten another legit elite contender. When they played LSU they were completely outclassed. I think they have 1 BCS victory in 4 tries, and that is against Cincinnati.

They have a respectable defensive unit year in and year out, and I do admire that. At the same time, factor in the teams they play in conference and how the defense fares out of conference and I have my doubts about the numbers it puts up.

Aside from that I look at the overall talent pool VT brings in yearly and I'm not impressed. Don't get me wrong there's a lot to be said about "coaching up" players and finding "hidden gems" but at the end of the day you need big time talent to beat big time talent on a consistent basis.

I look at QB Tyrod Taylor, a nice athlete who has contributed a lot to VT's success. He still isn't a polished passer (who is right?) and I have doubts about whether he brings enough to the table to make a step up from good to great. The offense around him is young and scrappy (AKA 2-star or 3-star talent) and I just dont see a dangereous team.

Overall when I think Virginia Tech I think: consistency, defense and special teams, good coach, scrappy. I don't think Virginia Tech: National Title Contender. They're good for 9-10 wins a season, maybe a conference crown but they have a ceiling.

Anyone disagree? I understand this is BON but I think its okay to talk about college ball at large, especially in the off-season. Please inform me if I'm way off base...

Erick Jackson-CUT His brief stay on "4th and Long" is over

owenh — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 05:09:05 -0000

Erick Jackson-CUT
His brief stay on "4th and Long" is over

This is a pretty cool video looking at the returning starters in 09

owenh — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:34:22 -0000

This is a pretty cool video looking at the returning starters in 09

The future of Texas basketball

owenh — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:20:38 -0000

It's time to close the door on another season of UT basketball. While the team frustrated many of us, the truth is attrition gets you eventually and every program has a "down" year. Thankfully a down year with Rick Barnes at the helm is a wave goodbye in the second round of the NCAA's.

Did Texas underachieve? In hindsight I am not so sure they were as good as we all thought, but overall i'm proud of the season they duct-taped and paperclipped together.

Over the course of the season we saw some inspiring improvements and nauseating steps back. Formerly reliable vets like Atchley and Mason regressed while raw players like Pittman and Ward made definite improvement.

Meanwhile the future of Texas hoops looks pretty nice. Consider the tentative roster for next year:

Center:

Dexter Pittman, Clint Chapman, Matt hill (maybe transfers)

Guard:

Varez Ward, Justin Mason, Dogus Balbay, Jai Lucas (not clear on his eligibility), Avery Bradley

Forward:

Damion James, Shawn Williams, Gary Johnson, Jordan Hamilton

Think about what this lineup gives us. Dominant big man inside (Pittman), veteran guards who can both handle and defend (Balbay, Mason, Ward), some newbies that hopefully can knock down an open 3 (the frosh), monster athlete/rebounders (James, Johnson), and a ton of depth.

All we need is some better PG play, and this team could be Texas' best ever.

There's much to look forward to. Ah the offseason, the mother of optimisim.

Power running

owenh — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:18:47 -0000

So the speculation of late seems to center around some supposed shift in running philosophy. Orangebloods and several of ya'll have recently alluded to ideas of Cody Johnson as being the starter and having Colt take the snap from under center and have a fullback...etc.

From what I'm hearing this is going to be something they toy with in the spring in hopes of using it situationally throughout the season.

The first thing that comes to mind to me is..."not gonna happen". This seems to have "q package" written all over it.

Who sees real results coming out from this spring.

Poll

What's most likely to happen?

It'll actually make it through the spring and work out for us a little

65 votes

These rumors are the product of idle minds yearning for football

51 votes

We're gonna become a rushing machine next year

14 votes

It's going to be interesting, then annoying, then it'll be scrapped

62 votes

192 votes | Poll has closed

2010 OL Trey Hopkins commits

owenh — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:23:24 -0000

2010 OL Trey Hopkins commits

look under 2010 commits

DT Tyrell Higgins no longer on Scholarship?

owenh — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:22:57 -0000

DT Tyrell Higgins no longer on Scholarship?

It may be a data entry error but theres a asterisk on the roster next to his name, indicating he's now a walk-on. He was a 2 star (rivals) recruit so is it possible his scholly got yanked?

Prognostication

owenh — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:02:00 -0000

Stewart Mandel's (SI) pre-preseason projections:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/01/09/early-top10/index.html?eref=T1

Mark Schlabach (ESPN) pre-preseason projections:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3818270

So it looks like Texas is gonna start around #2 next year in the polls. This is nice, however preseason rankings never got you anywhere.

You know looking back at 2008 it's such a good story. The perseverance, the grit of this team was great to see. They never backed down or gave in. They always came to play, the effort was always there.

As much had been made about "Just wait until 2009", 2008 turned out to be one of the best seasons ever. Texas started under the radar for the first half of the season, built a lot of confidence, and piggybacked on some senior leadership who's worth we may not yet understand. They formed a solid core for a winning team and had great chemistry.

What can we expect next season? Undoubtably missing a Title game berth would be an absolute heartbreak. This Texas team faces a new challenge next season; enormous expectations. This team will probably get the most preseason hype since the 05-06 dream team. When you think about how special 2008 turned out, you have to wonder if you can just bottle that and recreate it the next season. Granted VY and co. did it and Mack has been around a long time. This offseason is of utmost importance and will be a very delicate time. Between now and September, the legacy of this team will be brewing.

So what are the major concerns facing 2009? Can you lose Quan "first down" Cosby and be the same team. Orakpo, Miller, Melton, Lewis are all gone. We also say farewell to some solid role players Ryan Palmer and Rashad Bobino who weren't the most talented but held down the fort admirably. No doubt there is some exciting young blood being infused now, but it's hard to say what the results of the turnover will be.

Here it comes...

owenh — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:48:00 -0000

Setting: San Diego, California

Outcome: A noffense oriented BIG12 south team guns to an early lead, only to be flat out pistol whipped by an "ok" Oregon team. Oklahoma State plays its injured players (Bryant, Robinson, Hunter) and (not surprisingly) shows no inkling of defense. I suppose the Cowboy players were saying "Sorry, didn't mean to touch you" as the Ducks raced by them over and over. FAIL!

Setting: Dallas, Texas

Outcome: Another offense oriented BIG12 south team guns to an early lead, only to be embarrassed and out-physicalled. Harrell was chucking ducks over a hobbled Crabtree's head all game long. Meanwhile an "improved" Red-Raider defense got bullied around. Jevan Snead became Eli Manning and that Darren McFadden wannabe became a superstar tailback. FAIL!

Setting: Glendale Arizona!!!

Are we next?

Muschamp you better stop this trend. Remind all the players they have to be ready!

...

But seriously here, big let down. The BIG 12 North is 3-0 in bowl games against some suspect compettion and now some of our conferences flagship teams in the south (0-2 btw) have been pantsed. Queue Mark May, Lou Holthss, etc "Oh my god told you so BIG 12 defense sucks Big 12 overrated, SEC!"

Sorry at this point there's no way to counter the argument about the big 12 defenses. The only thing to hold on to is that OSU and TTU dont have TEXAS/OU level talent on defense. Year in and year out there is a ceiling on these teams ability on D. If Texas and OU have similar trouble there's gonna be backlash on a BIG 10 scale.

Still I hope OU loses.

Everyone take a step back, don't worry about "Jmac"

owenh — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:57:27 -0000

Post after post has sprung up regarding everyones favorite ex-longhorn recruit. In recruiting these bigtime athletes you play with fire. You either are going to snag one or you're left looking like an absolute fool. Either way a lot of time, resources and yes, for the extreme, emotions are invested into the situation.

This time we didn't come out on top. It's okay. I don't wanna hear anything about "I hope he blows a knee" and the like. I also don't want to see things like "Well I always knew he wasn't that good". It's just hypocritical.

And the idea that these rumors and allegations are soooo important is ridiculous. ESPN hasn't even mentioned anything, not even on the ticker on the bottom of the screen. SI and ESPN.com have no "news" about NCAA violations.

Everyone just remember it's the offseason for these ($) sites and controversy sells, sells, sells. The OU/Texas feud is easy fodder and writers all want a piece of the action. To us BONers or those of you who frequent Orangebloods, just remember we kind of exist in a different world than the average fan. When the demand for information is as high as it is around the blogosphere, sometimes news isn't really available. In these cases news must be manufactured. And that is what we have in my opinion, manufactured news.

The situation we have received for christmas is not a nice one especially considering the parties involved, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. This NY times guy is probably some small-time writer and thought he'd throw his hat into the fray, make a name for himself.

Until Mack/Muschamp/UT president/ Deloss has anything to say about this just let it die. The overanalysis (ahem Geoff), the speculation, the sky is falling attitudes are all a little to much about one teenager's decision. Next year and the year after probably do not in fact hinge on Jmac's decision.

There are loudmouths in plenty on each side that are all talk and no substance. Don't waste too much time or dwell on everything thats going oh so wrong for Longhorn Nation. Nobody outside of OU and Texas are talking about this, it just isn't that big of a story. If I'm wrong we'll know pretty soon.

And as far as lady lucks particular abhorrance for us at the moment, over a given sample size most things inevitably regress to the mean. OU is sort of peaking right now, eventually they'll be no place to go but down (hopefully Jan 8th in Miami).