Darrell McPhaul
Inside
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2013
- Messages
- 1,851
I had a doctors appointment near campus today so, I scheduled lunch with an old friend and he brought along someone near & dear to the program.
One of the first issues you all asked me to address is: Texas looking at any JUCO QB's? The answer is yes but, we are not impressed enough to offer at this time. The staff does not believe there is a JUCO QB that will beat out Heard much less Swoopes. With that said, there are only so many practice (snaps) reps to go around & both Swoopes & Heard could use everyone they get. The other issue is we don't want to burn another scholarship on a QB unless we are confident he is going to compete for the backup Or starters position,
I asked about the issue about trying to fit a peg (Heard) in a round hole with the type offense Strong wants to run. He said that's not true. Both Watson & Wickline are not opposed to running an offense that fits the QB's talents and Watson has showed as much at Nebraska with Taylor Martinez. He also said that the talk of Watsons pro set offense being to difficult for kids to pick up is hogwash. He said that Watson has been complemented by pro coaches for coming up with a system that is easy to understand for younger QB's. He said Heard would have the same problems he is having no matter what offense he was being taught. It's the speed of the game and reading basic defenses that has been the issue. Not uncommon for any true freshman trying to make the jump to this level.
He also said that you need to to keep in mind that Swoopes should have been the third string QB this year behind Ash and Brewer (Arizona transfer) and all the sudden this 3rd String QB is surrounded by an offense that lost:
Top WR in Sanders & Top Playmaker in Daje arguably the top 2 talents on offense.
Gray coming off a major injury.
3 OL that have never played in a college football game and one of those (Hutchins transferred over from the DL.
The two OL that had played before this season had a combined two starts.
Suspensions of the top 2 OT's.
Lost starting Center that called out the OL alignments.
This staff member has been with Texas for a long time so, I took the opportunity to ask him to compare Watson with the other OC's.
He said Watson is a teacher like Davis was and has the intensity of Harsin. He said that all the QB's appreciate his teaching methods.
He also said that between Watson, Strong & S&C Moore, they have a plan that is centered around building confidence in Swoopes. He went on to say that the plan is 180 degrees different from the previous staff. He said this is going to be like the Marines approach it and either Swoopes will respond or won't.
Since he brought up Harsin I would ask about the rumors of Harsin not getting along with other staff members and not being a favorite amongst team members. He said he couldn't see clearly why it was an issue but, now that time has passed he see's it as Harsin & some other hard core coaches like Searles not being able to instill the sense of urgency & discipline that they believed was necessary.
He said it's ironic that Mack believed that coddling the players built a family atmosphere but, in reality, he now sees it brought dissension amongst staff members. Some staff members went along to get along with Mack and the one's like Bennie Wylie, Stacy Searles and Brian Harsin resented them for being complacent. He said the truth of the matter is this team is closer with this coaching staff than they were ever under Mack and as a matter of fact, this team is closer with the staff than any team he has been associated with and he has been associated with two major schools.
I asked about Wickline sticking around for the Eyes and if there was anything to it? He laughed and said no, that Joe is just one intense son of a gun and takes his craft extremely serious. He said no one wants to be around Joe after a loss.
Concerning Transfers:
This staff is dead panned honest with the kids and let them know where that stand every second of everyday. If they don't see you getting any reps, they tell you as much but, they also tell you what you need to work on to become an option. There are no misunderstanding between the players and the staff.
When can the fans expect Texas to compete for a B12 title?
There are two crucial area's a team cannot fall behind in recruiting and player development and that is the QB & OL positions and we have. Until we develop real Div 1 talent & depth at these positions it's good to be hard to compete for a B12 title.
BTW, Applewhite is talking to several schools about a staff position, not OC at this time.
Darrell
One of the first issues you all asked me to address is: Texas looking at any JUCO QB's? The answer is yes but, we are not impressed enough to offer at this time. The staff does not believe there is a JUCO QB that will beat out Heard much less Swoopes. With that said, there are only so many practice (snaps) reps to go around & both Swoopes & Heard could use everyone they get. The other issue is we don't want to burn another scholarship on a QB unless we are confident he is going to compete for the backup Or starters position,
I asked about the issue about trying to fit a peg (Heard) in a round hole with the type offense Strong wants to run. He said that's not true. Both Watson & Wickline are not opposed to running an offense that fits the QB's talents and Watson has showed as much at Nebraska with Taylor Martinez. He also said that the talk of Watsons pro set offense being to difficult for kids to pick up is hogwash. He said that Watson has been complemented by pro coaches for coming up with a system that is easy to understand for younger QB's. He said Heard would have the same problems he is having no matter what offense he was being taught. It's the speed of the game and reading basic defenses that has been the issue. Not uncommon for any true freshman trying to make the jump to this level.
He also said that you need to to keep in mind that Swoopes should have been the third string QB this year behind Ash and Brewer (Arizona transfer) and all the sudden this 3rd String QB is surrounded by an offense that lost:
Top WR in Sanders & Top Playmaker in Daje arguably the top 2 talents on offense.
Gray coming off a major injury.
3 OL that have never played in a college football game and one of those (Hutchins transferred over from the DL.
The two OL that had played before this season had a combined two starts.
Suspensions of the top 2 OT's.
Lost starting Center that called out the OL alignments.
This staff member has been with Texas for a long time so, I took the opportunity to ask him to compare Watson with the other OC's.
He said Watson is a teacher like Davis was and has the intensity of Harsin. He said that all the QB's appreciate his teaching methods.
He also said that between Watson, Strong & S&C Moore, they have a plan that is centered around building confidence in Swoopes. He went on to say that the plan is 180 degrees different from the previous staff. He said this is going to be like the Marines approach it and either Swoopes will respond or won't.
Since he brought up Harsin I would ask about the rumors of Harsin not getting along with other staff members and not being a favorite amongst team members. He said he couldn't see clearly why it was an issue but, now that time has passed he see's it as Harsin & some other hard core coaches like Searles not being able to instill the sense of urgency & discipline that they believed was necessary.
He said it's ironic that Mack believed that coddling the players built a family atmosphere but, in reality, he now sees it brought dissension amongst staff members. Some staff members went along to get along with Mack and the one's like Bennie Wylie, Stacy Searles and Brian Harsin resented them for being complacent. He said the truth of the matter is this team is closer with this coaching staff than they were ever under Mack and as a matter of fact, this team is closer with the staff than any team he has been associated with and he has been associated with two major schools.
I asked about Wickline sticking around for the Eyes and if there was anything to it? He laughed and said no, that Joe is just one intense son of a gun and takes his craft extremely serious. He said no one wants to be around Joe after a loss.
Concerning Transfers:
This staff is dead panned honest with the kids and let them know where that stand every second of everyday. If they don't see you getting any reps, they tell you as much but, they also tell you what you need to work on to become an option. There are no misunderstanding between the players and the staff.
When can the fans expect Texas to compete for a B12 title?
There are two crucial area's a team cannot fall behind in recruiting and player development and that is the QB & OL positions and we have. Until we develop real Div 1 talent & depth at these positions it's good to be hard to compete for a B12 title.
BTW, Applewhite is talking to several schools about a staff position, not OC at this time.
Darrell
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