Spring Game Gif Breakdown

[Ryan Bridges]

Let's jump right in. We can talk some about X's and O's but there's really not a whole lot to take away from spring scrimmages, especially public ones. Let's focus more on the players.

There's not a lot to glean from this play except that (1) Brandon Hodges appears to be the weakest link in the front five, as you'll see, (2) John Burt is still fast, and (3) Tyrone Swoopes was actually pretty accurate on his deep throws. I've said in the past that Swoopes' deep accuracy concerned me, but he really was on target on the deep stuff during the spring game. (I know, 4-of-16, but add a completion and about 45 yards for this one.)

 

[Ryan Bridges]

Same play from the offense, 3 Verticals. 

The thing I really like here, and that I see consistently from Armanti Foreman, is how he creates separation. Watch how he drifts and leans away from the corner at the last moment. He's got some problems, the most significant of which are that he catches with his body and he doesn't have good field awareness. But he can fly, he can get open, and he can run after the catch. I'm really interested to see how he's used in this offense and whether he stays outside or moves to the slot when Collin Johnson takes off.

As for Holton Hill, he was in good position here, but this is a tough play to defend. He looked back for the ball too soon and lost track of Foreman a bit, but really Foreman made this play more than Hill messed it up.

 

[TeamMayhall]

<p>welcome back Ryan!</p>

 

[Ryan Bridges]

D'Onta Foreman is still my favorite of the two backs because of his burst and how slippery he is, but I don't have any questions about whether Chris Warren's talents will translate anymore.

First, notice how Breckyn Hager (defensive end on the top of the screen) nearly stops this play before it starts. His quickness and brutality gave everyone trouble. But then look at how seamlessly D'Onta avoided him and continued ahead. The second camera view really shows how quick D'Onta is — at 238 pounds! — and how well he moves through traffic. 

It's a similar story here. He's at the first level, then through the second level, in a flash and with a full head of steam. Warren is more terrifying for DBs, but D'Onta gets to them quicker.

From an X's and O's standpoint, it was peculiar to me that Patrick Vahe wasn't used more as a puller. I think he pulled only on a counter or two, while Hodges was used on power like in this second example. Vahe is a destroyer of worlds; Hodges, at least in this game, was not.

 

[Ryan Bridges]

I don't want to spend too much time on particular plays, but this one got me excited.

I've complained for a couple of years now about how Texas doesn't make much of an effort to get the running backs involved in the passing game. They've had good athletes there, and with minimal effort you can get the ball to them without asking much of your quarterbacks.

Also, look at Hager get after it against Connor Williams.

 

[Ryan Bridges]

There are a few themes from previous plays to mention here. Let's start with Hager (circled).

I don't expect that he'll be bullying any offensive tackles this season, but he can put anyone close to his size on skates. 

Good pocket awareness by Shane Buechele. He stepped away from Hager's pressure, checked his surroundings, got his eyes back downfield and escaped the pocket. I had a couple of complaints during the game but overall he looked more comfortable in the pocket than Swoopes ever has.

Finally, if you watch the route you can see Armanti Foreman "create separation" again. This wasn't the only time I saw him do this. Over time I expect Buechele will figure out that he can throw these balls to Armanti because he'll get open. 

 

[Ryan Bridges]

This is the same play from before in which Swoopes connected with D'Onta, but this time the back, Roderick Bernard, doesn't sell it as well. 



I'm not quite as giddy as some other writers about Charles Omenihu's performance simply because of who he was going up against, but he was mostly dominant, and that's all you can ask. His change of direction impressed me on this play. 

I think Buechele could have stepped up here instead of trying to escape out the back. It's impossible to judge anything else he did after that because none of the receivers are visible, but throwing the ball away instead of running out of bounds for an 8-yard loss is an improvement over what Texas has had the past couple of years.



I like that Omenihu doesn't overrun the QB here and is able to disengage and get the sack. Those long arms are a huge advantage for him not only against blockers but also against quarterbacks trying to flee the pocket.

 

[Ryan Bridges]

The first-team offensive line whipped the second-team defensive tackles all day. As a linebacker, it's hard to play the run when there's a DT in your lap. 



Quincy Vasser needed to keep "squeezing," shuffling inside. The big hole created by Vahe and Kent Perkins washing the DT down got even bigger when Vasser guessed that Buechele had the ball and stopped his feet.

No DB in the Big 12, except maybe for DeShon Elliott, wants to see Warren running at them in the open field. 

 

[Ryan Bridges]

In addition to the Burt drop, here are two more reasons you shouldn't pay too much attention to the stats from the spring game.



In the first play, DeAndre McNeal tried to make the one-handed catch instead of fighting to get his left arm free. I don't know that he would have been able to, but at least in trying he could have drawn a flag. 

In the second play, Lorenzo Joe mistimed his jump. The ball was underthrown but not so badly that it wasn't catchable.

Buechele was clearly the better of the two quarterbacks, but after rewatching the game the gap isn't as wide as I thought when I saw it live. Besides better deep accuracy, Swoopes was the same Swoopes in my opinion; I saw more mistakes by Buechele in my second viewing, though. I fully expect him to win the job and think he will run the offense better.

 

[Ryan Bridges]

Rod Bernard is an interesting player but he doesn't have the vision and instincts to be a good running back, at least not yet.



I should point out that Paul Boyette, the DT on the top, did a nice job evading the guard and almost wrecking this play in the backfield. I still believe Poona Ford could be a difference maker, but beyond that, I see Boyette as a solid and occasionally disruptive player and Chris Nelson as mostly still just a big guy who can hold his ground.

Once he avoids the initial wave of defenders, Bernard comes to a fork and chooses poorly. A couple of other times he tried to bounce runs that he shouldn't have. Let's hope Kirk Johnson is ready to go and is the real deal.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

 

[Chris Flanagan]

In addition to the Burt drop, here are two more reasons you shouldn't pay too much attention to the stats from the spring game.



In the first play, DeAndre McNeal tried to make the one-handed catch instead of fighting to get his left arm free. I don't know that he would have been able to, but at least in trying he could have drawn a flag. 

In the second play, Lorenzo Joe mistimed his jump. The ball was underthrown but not so badly that it wasn't catchable.

Buechele was clearly the better of the two quarterbacks, but after rewatching the game the gap isn't as wide as I thought when I saw it live. Besides better deep accuracy, Swoopes was the same Swoopes in my opinion; I saw more mistakes by Buechele in my second viewing, though. I fully expect him to win the job and think he will run the offense better.

Agreed that the gap is not as big as most seem to think it is. 

However, I don't want to write off Jerrod Heard yet. Dude is a competitor and wants to play. Swoopes is as well. Given the maturation of a true freshman that everyone believes is the second coming of Colt McCoy, that should motivate them to do better. 

Texas could surprise many people this year (I know, that's been said the last 4 or 5 years, but this time (hopefully) it seems warranted).