Mack Monday Presser & Kansas Depth Chart

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University of Texas head football coach Mack Brown met with the media on Monday to discuss the win over Baylor and to talk about the upcoming road game against Kansas.  He praised the offense for its consistent ability to convert points in the red zone (Texas ranks 11th nationally) and for continuing to convert 3rd downs at an impressive rate (the Longhorns rank 4th nationally).  With the exception of the Oklahoma game the Texas offense has been extremely efficient.  The Longhorns are 6th in scoring offense nationally and average 44.43 points per game.  Those numbers tend to make you think Texas is dropping bombshells on opponents, right?  We all know there are two sides to every coin – and two sides to every team.  Using a literary analogy, the Texas offense can be considered Dr. Jeckyl and the defense Mr. Hyde.  On the defensive side of the ball things have spiraled out of control.  A unit that had every intention of returning this season as a top 5 caliber defense is relegated to no better than a bottom dweller among FBS teams.  Manny Diaz’s crew ranks 107th out of 120 teams and instead of improving weekly, they seem to stay equally as bad or worse from the previous week.  Mack Brown mentioned today that they played better against Baylor, but it was hard to see exactly how that was the case.  The Bears racked up 607 total yards and both rushed and threw for more yards than Texas.

The Longhorns take on the Jayhawks on Saturday in Lawrence and will have an opportunity to show improvement by attempting to contain a Kansas offense that averages only around 17 points per game.  Mack mentioned today that the defense will face what could be it’s toughest rushing opponent to-date.  The Jayhawks, under first year head Coach Charlie Weis, are averaging 180 yards rushing per game.  It will inevitably be a challenge for the Longhorns to stop the run no matter who they are playing…

Depth Chart

The depth chart released in conjunction with the presser relfects several changes from last week.

 

• Adrian Phillips has won back his starting job at strong safety over Mykkele Thompson

 

• Peter Jinkens (true freshman) played in the Baylor game and will be the backup weakside LB behind Kendall Thompson (who is starting due to the injury to Jordan Hicks)

 

• Josh Cochran will start at left tackle.  Donald Hawkins is apparently still recovering from an ankle injury  and will be the reserve

 

• Luke Poehlman will start at right tackle

 

• In the absence of Jackson Jeffcoat, Cedrick Reed OR Reggie Wilson will start at defensive end

 

Ending on a positive note… there were a load of big plays from the Texas offense.  Enjoy a few highlights below.