Burnt Ends (12-1)

[HornSports Staff]

The point on a brisket is typically the fattiest cut. Pitmasters often trim the point and select edges off a whole brisket and return them to the smoker.

Are burnt ends tough, chewy worthless cuts of meat, or are they a heavenly bites of smoky goodness? I suppose it depends on who you ask...

Rather than discard trimmings and fat, we chose to savor all the information that flows through the site. So, sit down and help yourself to some burnt ends.

***DO NOT FORWARD***

Reality is setting in…the Texas Longhorns have already played all 12 regular season games. Sure there’s still a bowl game yet to come, and these days a bowl game is followed by National Signing Day; is followed by Spring Football; is followed by Junior Days; then the NFL draft and so it goes. College football is a year-round sport, but we all are just biding time until August.

If it hasn’t already, your thoughts will soon turn to "next year" - the eternal hope of college football fans. Bowl practices are designed as a precursor to Spring football as much as they are about the actual bowl game itself.

Knowing that everyone would soon start to focus on 2015, we asked a few Seniors what their expectations were for Year 2 under Charlie Strong. These are the guys watching the 2nd team practice, so there shouldn’t be a more accurate forecast anywere…

Senior starter at DB: “Based on what I’ve seen in practice, the talent is there for the defense to stay at this level next year. Plenty of talent to step in but Jermaine Roberts is one I’m excited to watch. He ain’t the biggest out there – (smiling) not by a longshot. But that guy balls."

Senior offensive starter: “Trust me, the guys waiting in line to start on D-L are gonna be nasty. From my perspective, the tough part with that group is picking which one to double team. There’s no obvious choice, and no matter who you pick, one of the other guys has the ability to make you pay.”

Senior starting wide receiver: “I don’t mean to say they won’t be good, but you don’t just replace guys like Big Mal, #6, #3…that’s the heart and soul of the defense, man.”

Same wide receiver: “Y’all just caught a quick look at the end of the season of Armanti [Foreman]. You saw it. With first team reps, he’ll be on the same page as Ty, and then watch out.”

Senior starter at linebacker: “Let me put it this way…I’m glad [Naashon] Hughes is on our team. The whole “competing in practice” thing, my boy loves that.”

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With six wins under their belt, it’s a given that Texas is going to a bowl game. But with a weekend full of conference championship games ahead, as well as the game between Kansas State and Baylor, it is impossible to predict with any certainty where the Horns are headed.

Losing to TCU on Thanksgiving likely eliminated the Russell Athletic Bowl as a possible destination. But as one door slammed shut, it also gave way to a new choice – the Cactus Bowl. The three probable choices for bowl destinations are:

Liberty Bowl – Memphis, TN on December 29th

Texas Bowl – Houston, TX on Decemer 29th

Cactus Bowl – Tempe, AZ on January 2nd

Once the College Football Playoff committee releases their ranking on Tuesday night, HornSports will publish an updated version of our bowl scenarios that covers as many different outcomes as possible. Before then, we thought we’d share what a few connected folks are saying about the selection…

Bellmont source: “Anybody that tells you they know where Texas is going is guessing.  We’ve heard from 3 different bowls and all are interested in Texas. The determining factor will end up being how many conference teams get placed in a New Year’s Day Bowl.”

Team source: “I know Orlando and the Russell isn’t likely now, but with all the recruiting we’re doing in Florida, there will be a push to make it happen. UT has plenty of advantages to sell their people. Just know that the coaches will push to make sure we give Orlando our best effort. It’s actually not that big of a stretch depending on outcomes this weekend.”

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Continuing with the bowl intel, we’ve connected with several bowl officials in recent days in efforts to be accurate with projections in this week’s edition of bowl scenarios. As you might imagine, everyone on the bowl side of the equation is anxious to set their game so they can start promoting, selling tickets, etc. It’s a different motivator than the Longhorn folks mentioned above, but the bowl officials are also held captive by the results of games this coming weekend.

Both of the bowl reps we spoke to said that overall and conference records were the first filter they consider when selecting teams. Both bowls also said they try to avoid duplicating a head-to-head matchup that took place earlier in the season.

Beyond those two factors, each bowl took a different approach to how they weigh teams during the selection process…

Bowl A: Geographic proximity; Anticipated ticket sales

Bowl B: A team’s bowl history; Each team’s last appearance (if any) in the bowl game; Any marquee players that might figure prominently in the game

Both answers make sense. Bowl A is focused on ringing the register, while Bowl B is trying to sell a story.

And for those that are hoping…the Texas Bowl is not Bowl A. Sorry.

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The current fad on the board is Blinn College quarterback Jake Hubenak. Tyrone Swoopes turned it over 5 times against TCU, and it was a tipping point for the fan base – that performance pushed most people out of a state of tolerance and into impatience. So it’s only logical that fans would latch on to a gunslinger with gaudy stats that isn’t already committed elsewhere…

We checked in with Hubenak last night to see if there was any truth to the rumors of him having discussions with members of the Texas coaching staff.  Hubenak’s response: 

“Sadly I haven't heard anything from them. I've been contacted by a lot of guys outside the program, but no coaches. I'd love to go to UT.”

Hubenak is hearing from several other Division-I programs and his recruitment will undoubtedly continue to gain momentum in the last few weeks before the dead period. In Hubenak’s 8 games played with the Blinn Buccaneers he has thrown for 4,052 yards and 47 Touchdowns.  He is averaging 506.5 yards passing per game.

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To say that the rumblings of the potential for 4-star wide receiver John Burt (Lincoln High School, Tallahassee, FL) to flip to Auburn were rampant, would be a gross understatement. Especially in recent weeks when Burt has taken additional trips to Auburn, Texas fans seem to have already dismissed Burt’s verbal pledge to the Longhorns.

As we told you in last week’s Burnt Ends, with the final regular-season game behind them, Texas coaches hit the “recruiting road” immediately in an effort to secure visits,  and to confirm current commitments.  Les Koenning and Chris Vaughn flew to Florida and paid an in-home visit to Burt on Sunday.  According to a source very close to the situation, the visit went really well and Burt reiterated his commitment to the Longhorns to Koenning and Rumph. The word used in our conversation was “confident”.

National Signing Day is still a few months away and when recruiting head-to-head against a school that has made a habit of dodging alleged recruiting violations, Texas fans won’t rest easy until early February. Burt has yet to take his official visit to Texas, but as it stands today Texas fans should feel comfortable with Burt’s commitment.

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The Longhorns offered OL/TE Parker Boudreaux (Bishop Moore High School, Orlando, FL) yesterday, adding to the string of Florida offers by the Charlie Strong regime.  Boudreaux, a 4-star prospect, has offers from more than 50 schools. 

Was Boudreaux excited about the offer from the Horns or was it just another among many?  HornSports asked him exactly that and he had this to say:

“I'm pretty interested.  It's always a great program with good people. With Coach Strong in there now they are going to turn their program around.”

Boudreaux went on to say: “The fans are already showing me a lot of love.”

On what the Texas coaching staff told Boudreaux: “They said I’m a swing guy that can play multiple positions but they would like me at tackle because of my athleticism for an offensive lineman.”

And for those wondering, with a last name like that, he doesn’t have an offer from LSU - yet.

 

[MikeV73]

Wonder what schools have shown interest in Hubanek? I say roll the dice Watson.

 

[monarch]

thanks gents!

 

[Worster1]

Some good info there. I agree, let's take a chance on Hubanek.

 

[Matt Cotcher]

There are 2 quarterbacks already committed in this class (Gentry & Merrick). That will be 4 scholarships tied up in QB's (assuming they sign).

As it stands, there is a year separating Swoopes & Heard. Merrick is headed for a RS year. Gentry's status is a question, but a RS seems probable.

Hubenak is a project and is the same class as Swoopes. I can't see the coaching staff adding another scholarship quarterback to the roster unless he's ready-made for the system and more of a hired gun (one or two years).

 

[bcherry168]

Good, interesting report. Thanks.

 

[armadillo slim]

next time you get the chance, can you ask sean watson why in the ever loving f'ck he calls a g'damn draw play after EVERY first down incompletion.  the fourth time he did it in a row against TCU the DT tackled Brown before he got the damn handoff.

please let CS know that I will be happy to call plays for him (for free!!) since his OC doesn't appear to have a fricking clue.

 

[joeywa]

next time you get the chance, can you ask sean watson why in the ever loving f'ck he calls a g'damn draw play after EVERY first down incompletion.  the fourth time he did it in a row against TCU the DT tackled Brown before he got the damn handoff.

please let CS know that I will be happy to call plays for him (for free!!) since his OC doesn't appear to have a fricking clue.

Just a guess, ghost of Greg Davis got him? 

C'mon Slim. 

 

[MikeV73]

There are 2 quarterbacks already committed in this class (Gentry & Merrick). That will be 4 scholarships tied up in QB's (assuming they sign).

As it stands, there is a year separating Swoopes & Heard. Merrick is headed for a RS year. Gentry's status is a question, but a RS seems probable.

Hubenak is a project and is the same class as Swoopes. I can't see the coaching staff adding another scholarship quarterback to the roster unless he's ready-made for the system and more of a hired gun (one or two years).

Forgot about the Merrick kid. Does the gray shirt mean he doesn't enroll at Texas until the next season, or he enrolls ASAP and pays his own tuition for a year? The grayshirt has always confused me, and still pissed we offered Michael Brewer a grayshirt instead of a full scholarship.

 

[Matt Cotcher]

Forgot about the Merrick kid. Does the gray shirt mean he doesn't enroll at Texas until the next season, or he enrolls ASAP and pays his own tuition for a year? The grayshirt has always confused me, and still pissed we offered Michael Brewer a grayshirt instead of a full scholarship.

Greyshirt means he enrolls for 2015, but has to sit out the year. Then he'd go on scholarship in 2016.

IF (and that's a big if) they decided to play Gentry a bit, that would space all 4 out ideally.

 

[Aaron Carrara]

Hubenak has 3 years of eligibility left (he must play them within 3 years).  I think every Texas fans will tell you that you can't have too many QB's on the roster.

The question is would a Hubenak/ other JUCO QB be able to step in and give you a significant upgrade over a Swoopes or Heard?  

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And for those asking, 3 SEC schools are the primary programs reaching out the Hubenak - LSU, Georgia and Ole Miss.

 

[joeywa]

I think the kid from Blinn, Hubenak, would be a nice safety net to have on our roster. 

 

[MikeV73]

Greyshirt means he enrolls for 2015, but has to sit out the year. Then he'd go on scholarship in 2016.

IF (and that's a big if) they decided to play Gentry a bit, that would space all 4 out ideally.

So by sitting out he doesn't participate at all with team activity/practice for a year? Let's hope he has a private QB coach to work with.

 

[MikeV73]

Hubenak has 3 years of eligibility left (he must play them within 3 years). I think every Texas fans will tell you that you can't have too many QB's on the roster.

The question is would a Hubenak/ other JUCO QB be able to step in and give you a significant upgrade over a Swoopes or Heard?

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And for those asking, 3 SEC schools are the primary programs reaching out the Hubenak - LSU, Georgia and Ole Miss.

Not a bad selection of football schools reaching out to this kid. Texas should take this kid, he has game experience with proven results, at least that is my take from my sofa having never seen him play! However, he could jump to Mississippi and step in and start much like Wallace did. Might have the opportunity for immediate playing time there if he can transition to the big leagues from JC ranks. But not trying to de-recruit this target!

 

[Bear19]

I do not see any downside in taking him. Injuries are always going to happen.

 

[Matt Cotcher]

So by sitting out he doesn't participate at all with team activity/practice for a year? Let's hope he has a private QB coach to work with.

Basically a greyshirt defers his college enrollment for a semester, preserving the ability to play 4 in 5 years by competing in a 4th year after graduating.

Where it gets murky is when to count the scholarship. Some think it should go with the upcoming class in Feb, some think it's closer to 2016,

 

[Lukus Alderman]

Great Burnt Ends, guys!

 

[Lord Vader]

We have the extra room on scholarships. Its madness NOT to bring in Hubanek and give him a chance to win the job. Texas needs to beat OU next year and win at least 9 games. Has to happen. 

 

[Bear19]

We have the extra room on scholarships. Its madness NOT to bring in Hubanek and give him a chance to win the job. Texas needs to beat OU next year and win at least 9 games. Has to happen.

Totally agree. More emphasis needs to be placed on offense. We have to have a decent quarterback next year. May not be all American but has to be at least adequate.