echeese
Premium Members
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2013
- Messages
- 2,474
View from the Cheap Seats-Pre Season​
Welcome to the 1st Cheap Seats publication of the Coach Tom Herman era. This could not come soon enough for most TEXAS fans after 3 years of the worst HC in TEXAS football history which were preceded by Coach Brown's last 4"not our standard" years. During that 7 year period, TEXAS would go 46-42, would appear in only 4 bowl games, finishing 2-2.
To say we had re-entered the Dark Days of the late Freddie, McWilliams and Mackovic would be an insult to those 3 men as each enjoyed a year or two of real success during their tenures. The last 7 years have been as bad a 7 year period as TEXAS has ever seen and Coach Chuck would depart as the worst HC (based on winning % or in his case, losing %) in TEXAS history. Jack Chevigny's family will be sending CFS Christmas cards going forward.
So the stage was set and in Dec, CFS was gone and TEXAS won a bidding war with LSU to land the hottest young coach in College Football, Tom Herman. A man described as a young DKR, someone mentored by coaches like Mack Brown, where he began his coaching as a GA and Urban Meyer, where as OC, he organized a team that would win a National Title despite losing 2 starting QBs and having to play in the conference title game and 2 playoff game with his 3rd stringer. Safe to say, Tom Herman brings strong organizational skills to a team in complete organizational disarray.
He also brought with him a young and hungry staff. It seems that his staff is like him, very talented though somewhat unknowns. It will not be long, assuming some early success, his staff will be poached for new HC's lead by the 2 best known members of the staff, DC Todd Orlando and RB Stan Drayton. Additionally staff members Yancey McKnight S&C and Derek Warehime OL are generating some serious off season buzz for their work.
ALIGNMENT​
Perhaps no single term will define the early success of CTH than ALIGNMENT. He mentioned it often in his intro press conference and has built everything around the concept of ALIGNMENT. Not surprising for anyone who has followed HC transitions, the new sheriff in town was not without his detractors and TEXAS has seen several players move on to other pastures. To be expected and fortunately not one of them a deal breaker, though a few were certainly talented. And the new sheriff blew in a breath of fresh air and some much needed, seriously lacking the past 3 years, organizational skills. Case in point, CTH really emphasizes the S&C program which has produced some early and impressive results among the players in the offseason. The focus goes down at every level, even to the point of using "pee charts" to make sure players are hydrating properly at championship levels.
Before we discuss the 3 sides of the team, it is worth mentioning that for the 1st time in years, not one true freshman is projected or expected to start for the Horns. And barring injury, not many of them will even crack the 2 deep this year. Given the distribution on the depth chart, TEXAS does not face major position overhauls in either 2017 or 2018. Again, with the standard 'barring injury' caveat.
DEFENSE​
Let's begin with the defense. For all CTH's reputation as a QB whisper and offensive genius, expect to see the biggest difference in 2017 come on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Todd Orlando inherits a defense that while very talented, was in serious disarray, finishing as one of the worst D's in TEXAS history. TEXAS' D will feature 13 players who logged at least 2 starts last year and be dominated by players with 2 years or more of on field experience. Keep in mind this is also a very talented bunch. Up front the line will be anchored by last year's surprise player pass rusher Malcolm Roach and Senior DT Poona Ford, both All Big XII candidates. Now LB and DB is where the most talent on the team lies, at least per Rivals/the recruiting services, but this is also the area where the last guy could not "coach up" his young charges. For TEXAS' D to step up and be the difference CTH expects, these 2 position groups need to live up to their potential. Good news is they have great talent and the experience, they are primed to break out. Bad news, potential means you ain't done it yet.
Face it, the Cheap Seats makes no bones we are seriously drinking the CTH Kool Aid and we expect to see the defensive play significantly improve as a group. Coach Todd might only be here for one season as he is a top candidate for his own HC spot in 2018. Our top 2 concerns, while we love the DL starters, bit worried about depth and can our very talented back 7-8 play to their potential?
OFFENSE​
Jumping over to the offense, the biggest challenge TEXAS will face is replacing D'Onte Foreman's 2049 yards. The "after thought" recruit of the Foreman twins turned into the best player of the 2 and the best RB at TEXAS since some kid named Charles. Had he not be so underutilized in 2015, he certainly would have cracked the list of Top 5 all time rushers at TEXAS (he finished #9 all time). The candidates start with oft injured Chris Warren III and even more injured Kirk Johnson. Both have dazzled when healthy and together they could form an awesome thunder and lighting duo. Behind them is Kyle Porter who was solid but unspectacular in 2016 and spring game star Toneil Carter.
Now for a bit of a surprise, the Cheap Seats thinks the RB to watch is Daniel Young, a player CTH recruited at Cougar High to be his primo ball carrier. 6 foot, 220 with sub 11 second 100 speed.
Let's spend a moment discussing the position group which is the unquestioned best on the team, the WRs. CTH showed up with a WR group that is both deep and talented. In fact the only problem is too few plays to get too many WRs the ball. The group is lead by All American candidate Collin Johnson at the X (outside) WR spot. CJ is a gifted player with all the tools, size, speed body control and excellent hands. Latest reports show John Burt re-emerging as a go to WR after a very inconsistent 2016, currently slotted as our #2 X. Where does spring game star Reggie Hemphill-Mapps fit into the equation? Per Alex he's running #1 at the Y (slot) with Devin Duvernay nipping at his heals. In the WR mix is Jerrod Heard, our single game record holding QB who is emerging as a quality WR and the Cheap Seats choice as "Breakthrough Player of the Year". . .Lil Jordan Humprey, another player with great size and speed, is another big bodied WR with speed. There might not be as talented a WR 2 deep in the nation. Again, biggest problem our WRs have is not enough balls to go around.
Andrew Beck has been lost for the season with a broken foot requiring surgery. So TE is anyone's guess and unfortunately, TE is very important to the CTH offense. Given our wealth of WRs, do we see more 4 WR sets? Cheaps Seats does not know at this time but it's going to be very interesting to watch.
The offensive line has the ability to be the best in the conference but as always, there is a "but". The starters are lead by All American and projected Top 10 NFL pick Conner Williams at LT. Next to him is Patrick Vahe,another player coming off an up and down 2016 but who seems to be "re-aligned" with new OL coach Derek Warehime. Jake McMillon and Zach Shackleford have flip flopped between OG and OC but Zach seems to be the C while Jake the OG. Those 4 are very solid. So here are the 2 issues. The first issue is RT where Tristen Nickleson has logged much of the starter time in practice but Denzel Okafor is still making a push. This spot is still undecided (or at least it appears that way from the Cheap Seats view. . .hey, we never claimed to be insiders). After the starting 5, our 2nd string are talented but largely unknown quantities. So injuries along the OL are a serious concern.
That leaves us with the single most important position on the field, the signal caller, the man under center. Now before our jock sniffers who want to pick favorites cry foul, the Cheap Seat always cheers for the QB taking the snaps. So disclaimer aside, Shane Buechelle enters the season as the unquestioned starter. As a true freshman in 2016, he looked at times amazing and at other times. . .well he looked like a true freshman. But overall he has statistically an identical season to fellow freshman Jalen Hurts of Alabama who won the national title. Now some claimed he did not play well against the good teams on the schedule but a closer review of the season showed he had very good games against OU, OSU, KSU and Baylor so the complaint rings hollow to us. Part of the reason for the controversy is the recruitment of Sam Ehlinger, the all everything QB from Westlake who many think has both a better arm than Shane and better running ability. A running QB is key to CTH's offense.
While it will disappoint some, today the Cheap Seats thinks the only way Shane is unseated is injury in 2017. Shane will not be handicapped by a HS offensive scheme that considered the center of the field a toxic zone and a passing scheme that avoided simple things like combination routes or always having a check down pass catcher. With any production from the run game and these WRs, we see Shane going from a Top 50 passer into the Top 30 range. Having said that and as much as we wish the depth chart was different, Sam will log meaningful playing time in 2017 and likely helps create a full blown QB controversy in 2018.
SPECIAL TEAMS​
Special teams were problematic in 2016 and look for them to be greatly improved in 2017. Punting is not a concern but kicking could be. One thing we are absolutely loving to hear, that Coach Tom is putting serious attention and practice time into special teams.
Wanted to spend a minute discussing the most significant change to the Horns. . . . ALIGNMENT. . . . CTH has brought the concepts of ALIGNMENT, organization, accountability and a National Championship understanding of what needs to be done in the off season to get a team ready. The single most exciting change and frankly one that was greatly needed, TEXAS hired the brightest/hottest young HC candidate in the nation. S&C is different, player accountability is different, heck, you go to the head and you see a chart measuring championship hydration. And it's not just our current players who see it, CTH has leveraged his great connections with Texas HS players but also the ability to share a championship vision with recruits that TEXAS currently sits at #4 on the recruiting rankings with 6-8 spots to fill.
Yes, the Cheap Seats has ordered extra doses of the Burnt Orange/CTH kool aid. Though not so much that we are predicting Conference title and playoffs in year 1 of the Coach Tom era. The Vegas over and under line started at 7.5, we have the over and are projecting a 9-3 season. Think TEXAS wins it's bowl game as CTH will use it as a launching pad for 2018 and TEXAS is back with double digit wins and a Top 12 finish.
TEXAS offensive MVP: Shane Buechelle HM: Collin Johnson and Conner Williams
TEXAS defensive MVP: Malcolm Roach
Break out player of the year: Lil Jordan Humprey
Newcomer of the Year: Daniel Young
Around the BigXII. . .Pre Season rankings​
BigXII honors (1st or 2nd team) for Conner Williams, Collin Johnson, Patrick Vahe, Malcolm Roach, Poona Ford and DeShaun Elliott.
#1 OU. .. .sucks to put the dirt burglers here but until you beat the champ, they are the champ. BTW, with even a modicum of decent coaching, the last guy should have gone 3-0 vs OU.
#2 OSU. . . lots of talent, team to beat. Can Gundy and crew handle the pressure of being a front runner. And OSU is getting pre season playoff press
#3 TEXAS Future so bright, we gotta wear shades
#4 KSU Always a well coached team
#5 TCU Another consistently well coached team
#6 Baylor Sadly we like the new HC at Baylor. .. shame he's smeared by rape u
#7 WVU Cheap seats will not be shocked if they finish higher than 7, even potentially climbing into the top 5 of the conference.
#8 TT Is this KK's last year of banging TT co-eds
#9 ISU TEXAS has ISU in Ames on a Thurs night . .. weird juju happens on Thursdays
#10 Kansas Is it basketball season yet?
RECRUITING​
Just a quick overview of recruiting as others are far more talented in this department. Not only is the Cheap Seats buying into what Coach Tom is selling, it seems Texas and National HS recruits are buying in as well. As we type this, TEXAS enjoys the #4 Team recruiting ranking with an average star ranking higher than all but one other program in the Top 10 or 20. CTH has reloaded the WR and DB classes, if he can keep them, he's landed 2 top flight QBs (word is CTH/staff considered Thompson the best DT QB in the nation),he's landed the best RB in TEXAS and restocked the TE position. He has also landed quality along the lines but we need some quantity and we also need a LT ready to go in 2018. With18 commits and a new hard 25 recruit cap from the NCAA, there are 5-7 spots (some think we limit this class to 23). So the biggest question is, who do we take? And from here is gets tough as we can likely take 30 quality guys if we had the room. Cheap Seats would take 1 more DB (Jamison is likely) 1-2 more DLs, 1 more OL (JUCO OT maybe?) and another WR simply because there is so much talent. Use 23 as this year's cap and call it a class. Coach Tom is showing it's not just fans drinking the kool-aid, the HS players see it too.
So there it is, the Cheap Seats view of the off season. We are READY for football to tee off.
Welcome to the 1st Cheap Seats publication of the Coach Tom Herman era. This could not come soon enough for most TEXAS fans after 3 years of the worst HC in TEXAS football history which were preceded by Coach Brown's last 4"not our standard" years. During that 7 year period, TEXAS would go 46-42, would appear in only 4 bowl games, finishing 2-2.
To say we had re-entered the Dark Days of the late Freddie, McWilliams and Mackovic would be an insult to those 3 men as each enjoyed a year or two of real success during their tenures. The last 7 years have been as bad a 7 year period as TEXAS has ever seen and Coach Chuck would depart as the worst HC (based on winning % or in his case, losing %) in TEXAS history. Jack Chevigny's family will be sending CFS Christmas cards going forward.
So the stage was set and in Dec, CFS was gone and TEXAS won a bidding war with LSU to land the hottest young coach in College Football, Tom Herman. A man described as a young DKR, someone mentored by coaches like Mack Brown, where he began his coaching as a GA and Urban Meyer, where as OC, he organized a team that would win a National Title despite losing 2 starting QBs and having to play in the conference title game and 2 playoff game with his 3rd stringer. Safe to say, Tom Herman brings strong organizational skills to a team in complete organizational disarray.
He also brought with him a young and hungry staff. It seems that his staff is like him, very talented though somewhat unknowns. It will not be long, assuming some early success, his staff will be poached for new HC's lead by the 2 best known members of the staff, DC Todd Orlando and RB Stan Drayton. Additionally staff members Yancey McKnight S&C and Derek Warehime OL are generating some serious off season buzz for their work.
ALIGNMENT​
Perhaps no single term will define the early success of CTH than ALIGNMENT. He mentioned it often in his intro press conference and has built everything around the concept of ALIGNMENT. Not surprising for anyone who has followed HC transitions, the new sheriff in town was not without his detractors and TEXAS has seen several players move on to other pastures. To be expected and fortunately not one of them a deal breaker, though a few were certainly talented. And the new sheriff blew in a breath of fresh air and some much needed, seriously lacking the past 3 years, organizational skills. Case in point, CTH really emphasizes the S&C program which has produced some early and impressive results among the players in the offseason. The focus goes down at every level, even to the point of using "pee charts" to make sure players are hydrating properly at championship levels.
Before we discuss the 3 sides of the team, it is worth mentioning that for the 1st time in years, not one true freshman is projected or expected to start for the Horns. And barring injury, not many of them will even crack the 2 deep this year. Given the distribution on the depth chart, TEXAS does not face major position overhauls in either 2017 or 2018. Again, with the standard 'barring injury' caveat.
DEFENSE​
Let's begin with the defense. For all CTH's reputation as a QB whisper and offensive genius, expect to see the biggest difference in 2017 come on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Todd Orlando inherits a defense that while very talented, was in serious disarray, finishing as one of the worst D's in TEXAS history. TEXAS' D will feature 13 players who logged at least 2 starts last year and be dominated by players with 2 years or more of on field experience. Keep in mind this is also a very talented bunch. Up front the line will be anchored by last year's surprise player pass rusher Malcolm Roach and Senior DT Poona Ford, both All Big XII candidates. Now LB and DB is where the most talent on the team lies, at least per Rivals/the recruiting services, but this is also the area where the last guy could not "coach up" his young charges. For TEXAS' D to step up and be the difference CTH expects, these 2 position groups need to live up to their potential. Good news is they have great talent and the experience, they are primed to break out. Bad news, potential means you ain't done it yet.
Face it, the Cheap Seats makes no bones we are seriously drinking the CTH Kool Aid and we expect to see the defensive play significantly improve as a group. Coach Todd might only be here for one season as he is a top candidate for his own HC spot in 2018. Our top 2 concerns, while we love the DL starters, bit worried about depth and can our very talented back 7-8 play to their potential?
OFFENSE​
Jumping over to the offense, the biggest challenge TEXAS will face is replacing D'Onte Foreman's 2049 yards. The "after thought" recruit of the Foreman twins turned into the best player of the 2 and the best RB at TEXAS since some kid named Charles. Had he not be so underutilized in 2015, he certainly would have cracked the list of Top 5 all time rushers at TEXAS (he finished #9 all time). The candidates start with oft injured Chris Warren III and even more injured Kirk Johnson. Both have dazzled when healthy and together they could form an awesome thunder and lighting duo. Behind them is Kyle Porter who was solid but unspectacular in 2016 and spring game star Toneil Carter.
Now for a bit of a surprise, the Cheap Seats thinks the RB to watch is Daniel Young, a player CTH recruited at Cougar High to be his primo ball carrier. 6 foot, 220 with sub 11 second 100 speed.
Let's spend a moment discussing the position group which is the unquestioned best on the team, the WRs. CTH showed up with a WR group that is both deep and talented. In fact the only problem is too few plays to get too many WRs the ball. The group is lead by All American candidate Collin Johnson at the X (outside) WR spot. CJ is a gifted player with all the tools, size, speed body control and excellent hands. Latest reports show John Burt re-emerging as a go to WR after a very inconsistent 2016, currently slotted as our #2 X. Where does spring game star Reggie Hemphill-Mapps fit into the equation? Per Alex he's running #1 at the Y (slot) with Devin Duvernay nipping at his heals. In the WR mix is Jerrod Heard, our single game record holding QB who is emerging as a quality WR and the Cheap Seats choice as "Breakthrough Player of the Year". . .Lil Jordan Humprey, another player with great size and speed, is another big bodied WR with speed. There might not be as talented a WR 2 deep in the nation. Again, biggest problem our WRs have is not enough balls to go around.
Andrew Beck has been lost for the season with a broken foot requiring surgery. So TE is anyone's guess and unfortunately, TE is very important to the CTH offense. Given our wealth of WRs, do we see more 4 WR sets? Cheaps Seats does not know at this time but it's going to be very interesting to watch.
The offensive line has the ability to be the best in the conference but as always, there is a "but". The starters are lead by All American and projected Top 10 NFL pick Conner Williams at LT. Next to him is Patrick Vahe,another player coming off an up and down 2016 but who seems to be "re-aligned" with new OL coach Derek Warehime. Jake McMillon and Zach Shackleford have flip flopped between OG and OC but Zach seems to be the C while Jake the OG. Those 4 are very solid. So here are the 2 issues. The first issue is RT where Tristen Nickleson has logged much of the starter time in practice but Denzel Okafor is still making a push. This spot is still undecided (or at least it appears that way from the Cheap Seats view. . .hey, we never claimed to be insiders). After the starting 5, our 2nd string are talented but largely unknown quantities. So injuries along the OL are a serious concern.
That leaves us with the single most important position on the field, the signal caller, the man under center. Now before our jock sniffers who want to pick favorites cry foul, the Cheap Seat always cheers for the QB taking the snaps. So disclaimer aside, Shane Buechelle enters the season as the unquestioned starter. As a true freshman in 2016, he looked at times amazing and at other times. . .well he looked like a true freshman. But overall he has statistically an identical season to fellow freshman Jalen Hurts of Alabama who won the national title. Now some claimed he did not play well against the good teams on the schedule but a closer review of the season showed he had very good games against OU, OSU, KSU and Baylor so the complaint rings hollow to us. Part of the reason for the controversy is the recruitment of Sam Ehlinger, the all everything QB from Westlake who many think has both a better arm than Shane and better running ability. A running QB is key to CTH's offense.
While it will disappoint some, today the Cheap Seats thinks the only way Shane is unseated is injury in 2017. Shane will not be handicapped by a HS offensive scheme that considered the center of the field a toxic zone and a passing scheme that avoided simple things like combination routes or always having a check down pass catcher. With any production from the run game and these WRs, we see Shane going from a Top 50 passer into the Top 30 range. Having said that and as much as we wish the depth chart was different, Sam will log meaningful playing time in 2017 and likely helps create a full blown QB controversy in 2018.
SPECIAL TEAMS​
Special teams were problematic in 2016 and look for them to be greatly improved in 2017. Punting is not a concern but kicking could be. One thing we are absolutely loving to hear, that Coach Tom is putting serious attention and practice time into special teams.
Wanted to spend a minute discussing the most significant change to the Horns. . . . ALIGNMENT. . . . CTH has brought the concepts of ALIGNMENT, organization, accountability and a National Championship understanding of what needs to be done in the off season to get a team ready. The single most exciting change and frankly one that was greatly needed, TEXAS hired the brightest/hottest young HC candidate in the nation. S&C is different, player accountability is different, heck, you go to the head and you see a chart measuring championship hydration. And it's not just our current players who see it, CTH has leveraged his great connections with Texas HS players but also the ability to share a championship vision with recruits that TEXAS currently sits at #4 on the recruiting rankings with 6-8 spots to fill.
Yes, the Cheap Seats has ordered extra doses of the Burnt Orange/CTH kool aid. Though not so much that we are predicting Conference title and playoffs in year 1 of the Coach Tom era. The Vegas over and under line started at 7.5, we have the over and are projecting a 9-3 season. Think TEXAS wins it's bowl game as CTH will use it as a launching pad for 2018 and TEXAS is back with double digit wins and a Top 12 finish.
TEXAS offensive MVP: Shane Buechelle HM: Collin Johnson and Conner Williams
TEXAS defensive MVP: Malcolm Roach
Break out player of the year: Lil Jordan Humprey
Newcomer of the Year: Daniel Young
Around the BigXII. . .Pre Season rankings​
BigXII honors (1st or 2nd team) for Conner Williams, Collin Johnson, Patrick Vahe, Malcolm Roach, Poona Ford and DeShaun Elliott.
#1 OU. .. .sucks to put the dirt burglers here but until you beat the champ, they are the champ. BTW, with even a modicum of decent coaching, the last guy should have gone 3-0 vs OU.
#2 OSU. . . lots of talent, team to beat. Can Gundy and crew handle the pressure of being a front runner. And OSU is getting pre season playoff press
#3 TEXAS Future so bright, we gotta wear shades
#4 KSU Always a well coached team
#5 TCU Another consistently well coached team
#6 Baylor Sadly we like the new HC at Baylor. .. shame he's smeared by rape u
#7 WVU Cheap seats will not be shocked if they finish higher than 7, even potentially climbing into the top 5 of the conference.
#8 TT Is this KK's last year of banging TT co-eds
#9 ISU TEXAS has ISU in Ames on a Thurs night . .. weird juju happens on Thursdays
#10 Kansas Is it basketball season yet?
RECRUITING​
Just a quick overview of recruiting as others are far more talented in this department. Not only is the Cheap Seats buying into what Coach Tom is selling, it seems Texas and National HS recruits are buying in as well. As we type this, TEXAS enjoys the #4 Team recruiting ranking with an average star ranking higher than all but one other program in the Top 10 or 20. CTH has reloaded the WR and DB classes, if he can keep them, he's landed 2 top flight QBs (word is CTH/staff considered Thompson the best DT QB in the nation),he's landed the best RB in TEXAS and restocked the TE position. He has also landed quality along the lines but we need some quantity and we also need a LT ready to go in 2018. With18 commits and a new hard 25 recruit cap from the NCAA, there are 5-7 spots (some think we limit this class to 23). So the biggest question is, who do we take? And from here is gets tough as we can likely take 30 quality guys if we had the room. Cheap Seats would take 1 more DB (Jamison is likely) 1-2 more DLs, 1 more OL (JUCO OT maybe?) and another WR simply because there is so much talent. Use 23 as this year's cap and call it a class. Coach Tom is showing it's not just fans drinking the kool-aid, the HS players see it too.
So there it is, the Cheap Seats view of the off season. We are READY for football to tee off.
Last edited by a moderator:
