Horns Up! Is the Texas Quarterback Situation in Good Shape?

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/hornsup.jpgFor the past week, I have been on a much-needed vacation, but I ended up getting sick while visiting relatives.  Being sick while on vacation is not a pleasant thing as it really takes away from what you want to do on your vacation; relax and get away from football for a few days.  Being sick gave me time to watch a little television and read different articles about the Big 12.  Every article, conversation piece, etc. I read on Oklahoma talked about how the Sooners are going to run through the conference because they have a viable quarterback in Landry Jones.

Many outsiders are looking at the Texas football program and are puzzled by the quarterback position.  Most wonder how things got so bad after what seemed like Mack Brown couldn’t miss at the quarterback position  That’s long gone now and the Texas Longhorns are left with a land of misfit toys at the quarterback position.  Or are they?  I actually think the quarterback position at Texas is just fine for the foreseeable future.  Sure it might sound crazy to members of the football media that like to live on the past performances of returning starters and poorly prognosticate future success.  They never look for development and just assume things will stay the same.  But it doesn’t happen that way.

A true freshman, which David Ash was last season, can be expected to struggle at the quarterback position.  Sure we hear of phenomenal true freshmen performances from special, talented athletes, but those are rare.

Take a look at these stats:

Player A

85 completions

157 attempts

1159 yards

54.1% completion percentage

Player B

99 completions

174 attempts

1079 Yards

56.9% completion percentage

Both of these stats are comparable and are from two quarterbacks that played last year as true freshmen.  Both were put into situations where they weren’t prepared to be the starter.  Player A represents Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller and Player B is David Ash. Not as different as you might have thought, right?

This narrative that the mainstream media has for the Texas quarterback situation is confusing, even if you only casually follow the Longhorns. David Ash wasn’t the starter moving into the 2011 season and he was used primarily only during trick or special plays.  Then Garrett Gilbert got “injured” and Ash was thrown into the fire right along with Case McCoy.  Neither player had time to fully prepare for the quarterback role in the 2011 season.  If there is one sport in which off-season preparation is paramount, it is football. Players need that time to prepare their bodies for hits and they definitely need time to learn the Saturday playbook.  Neither Braxton Miller nor David Ash had such a luxury and both took their hits during the season.  This led to invaluable learning experiences for both players.  For the media to praise Braxton Miller and downplay the performance of David Ash is ridiculous.

Connor Brewer looked impressive in the spring game this year and Tyrone Swoopes, who I believe will make an immediate impact on the success of the program, is slated to make his arrival in Austin next year.  The quarterback position is looking up for the Longhorns and it begins with the play this year.