2011 Louisville depth chart

[utisdabomb12]

This was the depth chart for Louisville in their final regular season game against USF in 2011 (Strong's 2nd year). Expect to see a lot of young guys playing for the Longhorns this year by the end of the season.

QB-Bridgewater (FR)
WR-Parker (FR)
WR-Harris (RS FR)
Left Guard-Miller (FR)
Right Guard-Smith (RS FR)
DT-Philon (SO)
NT-Dunn (SO)
DE-Mauldin (FR)
LB-Brown (SO)
Safety-Smith (SO)
Safety-Pryor (FR)
CB-Johnson (FR)
Punt return-Rogers (FR)
Long snapper-Donovan (RS FR)
Kickoff returns-Perry (SO)

 

[pringlelake]

I think if we could take just 1 player off that Louisville team and put him on this years Texas team, we could have realistic expectations of being 9-3 or 10-2 instead of hoping and praying for 7-5. I'd even go so far to say that Bridgewater would have a decent chance of delivering an 11-1 this year if we were lucky enough to suffer zero injuries on both the OL or DL. Both Baylor and Oklahoma are beatable. ND and TCU would be the two biggest question marks for me.

At the college level, a great QB will cover up a multitude of deficiencies in other areas. 

 

[utisdabomb12]

It's really interesting following Strong's tenure at Louisville and now Texas. He really is implementing the same formula/approach in terms of roster management and recruiting. 

From a recruiting perspective, very similar to his time at Louisville he doesn't seem to like a bunch of early commits. There's a lot of reasons why Strong probably takes this approach but there certainly is a pattern that shows he's not big on early commits. Also, much like Louisville he seems to recruit athletes without a specific position. Guys like McNeal, Boyd, Davis, Aucoin, Wilbon, Locksley, Kirk Johnson could end up at different positions than what they really recruited as. This is something he did a lot at Louisville. More than anything I think Strong wants athletes and playmakers regardless of where they might project in the future. The final similarity is recruiting out of state. Strong is already hitting Florida and Louisana. He did the same thing at Louisville, he recruited Florida hard. 

From a roster perspective, there's also a lot of similarities. He dismissed a bunch of players in year 1 at Louisville much like he did at Texas. I think you will also see Strong play a ton of young guys in year 2 like he did at Louisville. 

It seems like Strong is taking the same approach he did at Louisville
Year 1-Get rid of cancers on the roster and recruit your ass off to build a foundational class. 
Year 2-Start building your roster where a bunch of young guys get playing time. 
Year 3-Start winning. 
Year 4-Keep winning

 

[North Texas Golfer]

It's really interesting following Strong's tenure at Louisville and now Texas. He really is implementing the same formula/approach in terms of roster management and recruiting. 

From a recruiting perspective, very similar to his time at Louisville he doesn't seem to like a bunch of early commits. There's a lot of reasons why Strong probably takes this approach but there certainly is a pattern that shows he's not big on early commits. Also, much like Louisville he seems to recruit athletes without a specific position. Guys like McNeal, Boyd, Davis, Aucoin, Wilbon, Locksley, Kirk Johnson could end up at different positions than what they really recruited as. This is something he did a lot at Louisville. More than anything I think Strong wants athletes and playmakers regardless of where they might project in the future. The final similarity is recruiting out of state. Strong is already hitting Florida and Louisana. He did the same thing at Louisville, he recruited Florida hard. 

From a roster perspective, there's also a lot of similarities. He dismissed a bunch of players in year 1 at Louisville much like he did at Texas. I think you will also see Strong play a ton of young guys in year 2 like he did at Louisville. 

It seems like Strong is taking the same approach he did at Louisville

Year 1-Get rid of cancers on the roster and recruit your ass off to build a foundational class. 

Year 2-Start building your roster where a bunch of young guys get playing time. 

Year 3-Start winning. 

Year 4-Keep winning

But this is THE University of Texas and it needs to look like this.

First half of Year 1 - Get rid of cancers on the roster and recruit your ass off to build a foundational class. 

Second half of Year 1 - Start building your roster where a bunch of young guys get playing time. 

First half of Year 2 - Start winning. 

Second half of Year 2 - Keep winning

Year 3, or year 4 at the latest - National Championship

Does this sound about right?

 

[Matt Cotcher]

I agree with the intent, UTIS - but there are 2 important things to clarify (IMO):

1. You said this was the end of the year depth chart. I think it's worth noting that there's no way Strong rolls out half a dozen freshmen starters in South Bend. I agree that the roster will get younger as the season progresses.

2. There is more talent on the UT roster than there was at Louisville when Strong got there. Barring a rash of injuries to upper classmen, there aren't going to be nearly that many open jobs for true freshmen to take.

As excited as everyone is about the 2015 class (and rightfully) so, I expect their major contribution to be providing quality depth more than starting.

 

[utisdabomb12]

I agree with the intent, UTIS - but there are 2 important things to clarify (IMO):

1. You said this was the end of the year depth chart. I think it's worth noting that there's no way Strong rolls out half a dozen freshmen starters in South Bend. I agree that the roster will get younger as the season progresses.

2. There is more talent on the UT roster than there was at Louisville when Strong got there. Barring a rash of injuries to upper classmen, there aren't going to be nearly that many open jobs for true freshmen to take.

As excited as everyone is about the 2015 class (and rightfully) so, I expect their major contribution to be providing quality depth more than starting.

I agree you won't see many freshman starting at the beginning of the year. I don't think it's a stretch to think 5 or 6 freshman are starting at the end of the year. Williams, Jefferson, Burt, McNeal, Boyd, and a safety like Elliott doesn't seem like a stretch to me.