Football Talk

From the stands: A look at Longhorn spring practice and the special teams

Thoughts:

Texas swept Nebraska over the weekend, dropping the Huskers to 0-7 on the season. The Horns, now 6-2 (lost to Sam Houston on Tuesday) and head to No. 14 Stanford this weekend for three with the Cardinal. Game one is Friday night at 7:30 p.m., Austin time.
Texas softball won their own tournament last weekend, dropping one game along the way. The Connie Clarks are 16-1 and ranked No. 6 and head to Kissimmee, Florida this weekend for the Citrus Classic. Game one is against No. 18 Louisville Friday morning at 10 a.m.
10 a.m? On a Friday? What?
Kristin Chenoweth is a human Barbie doll. I mean like the same size as a regular Barbie doll, but human. A human Barbie doll that talks trash about Texas/ou.
Kristin Chenoweth, Toby Keith, Olivia Munn, Kings of Leon... I don’t need to hear anything ou-related from any of you. In fact, I don’t need to hear anything at all from any of you.
Marquise Goodwin ran a 4.27 at the NFL Combine in the 40-yard dash. It’s the second fastest time ever (Chris Johnson ran a 4.25). I’ve seen many people saying that it doesn’t mean that much in terms of football ability. That’s true I suppose, but it opens eyes and doors for teams to see football ability, because you can teach a player just about anything, but you can’t teach size and you can’t teach speed.
Kenny Vaccaro did nothing to drop him out of the first round with his 4.59 time.

This week we take a look at phase two of our spring practice breakdown: The special teams.

Spring practice 2013: The special teams

You know I am a HUGE special teams guy. They are as important as offense and defense and, usually, a special teams play will decide the outcome of a game. Coaches always talk about it in press conferences being important, but I think most fans hear that and think "coach speak." It isn’t coach speak. It is as critical to success and failure as anything else on the field.

Texas lost one of the best punters in the nation in senior Alex King, as well as kickoff returner extraordinaire DJ Monroe and his main backup Marquise Goodwin. There is work to be done in all phases, but key pieces return in other spots. Let’s dive in.

In order to be the best, you must lose your mind

That’s from a silly movie from the '90s called Ski School. Anyone seen it? Anyway, it’s your typical spring break-esque movie with all the typical spring break-esque antics, but that line has always stuck with me: In order to be the best you must lose your mind. That should be the tag for every special teams coach in the country.

Covering kicks and blocking for returners isn’t sexy. It’s extra work during practice for everyone that isn’t a kicker and usually the rest of the team gets a break while special teams is going on. Guys on special teams are the first ones out to practice, the first ones out to games and, as I said, it’s almost always additional work for everyone. For a guy to want to be out there on special teams he must be out of his mind. And that’s what you need: guys who are out of their minds.

It’s a job for the hungry and the crazy: young guys who want to get on the field and make an impact immediately, older guys that love the contact and the rush. Texas will spend spring practice finding those guys, the hungry and the crazy, that will sacrifice their own safety to make the special teams units elite. Oh, and a punter. And a kicker. Who will those guys be? Who will lose their mind? WHO WANTS TO MAKE FIELD GOALS? Let’s take a look as we hit the special teams, unit by unit.

Points team

I don’t differentiate between “field goal” and “extra point” team. It’s the same guys and the goal is to kick for points, hence the name “points team.”

I said last year going into the season that if Anthony Fera was healthy, Texas would be fine at kicker. If he wasn’t, it scared me to death. He wasn’t healthy and Texas was 11-19 on field goals and missed three extra points. When Fera got healthy, there were still misses (only two). Texas was incredibly inconsistent kicking field goals last year and it cost them against West Virginia and opened the floodgates against Kansas State. It has to get better.

The good news is Anthony Fera and Nick Jordan are back. Points Nick (as opposed to Nick Rose, who is the kickoff specialist, aka Kickoff Nick) took over late in the year and was much better, but I think a healthy Anthony Fera returns to his Penn State form if Texas wants him to (more on that in a minute). I think the plan will be for Fera and Points Nick to share duties this spring and see if someone gets hot or consistent or both. I expect that will be Fera, but look for both to kick. WHOEVER it is needs to be more consistent or Texas will be in similar situations next year.

Also returning are deep snapper Nate Boyer and holder Cade McCreary. Both upperclassmen, Boyer and McCreary are rock solid. Also, Nate Boyer is a former Green Beret. Don’t mess with our deep snapper. Bad things, man. Bad things. With the entire offensive line returning, it means the entire front wall of the points team returns also.

Someone grab this kicker job and run with it, please. It's one of the biggest goals of spring even if it isn't front page news every practice.

Punt team

I said we’d talk about Fera in a minute. That minute is now. When Anthony Fera transferred from Penn State last year, he came in to kick and not punt because Alex King, a Duke graduate looking to extend his college career, was transferring in to punt. King was sensational, garnering All Big 12 honors and finishing with a Big 12 second-best 45.6 yards-per-punt average and I have little doubt that he will be playing at the next level. Texas had an immediate opening at punter last year and King filled it well. This year there is another opening and I expect another All Conference transfer to fill the void: Anthony Fera.

Many forget that while he was an All Big Ten kicker from Penn State, he also was an All Big Ten punter, averaging 42 yards-per-punt with 18 of his 62 downed inside the 20 and 12 going 50-plus yards. He’s a veteran with skills and experience and I think he will take over this job. That means he could pull double duty like Justin Tucker did (or like he himself did at Penn State) and do both jobs. I

t happens all the time in college and he can certainly do it, but I think the staff would rather see Points Nick win so Fera doesn’t wear down, but if Fera wins them both then he wins them both. I think he does, but Jordan gets plenty of work to spell him on points.

Kyle Ashby returns as the deep snapper and while we will not see who is hungry and who has lost their mind trying to get on the coverage team, the staff will. I’m saying little Vaccaro makes his mark on the punt team. Find the right guys and let's lower that 10 yards-per-return average allowed last year.

Kickoff team

And Vaccaro will also be on the kickoff team. Big brother Kenny got on the field as a freshman and was the Tattooed Missile covering kicks. I expect Kevin will be just as exciting. This is the main unit where you need the crazies, because it's dangerous work running down field to cover kicks. Who will join Vaccaro out there? Texas is loaded with speed and talent and you will see lots of young guys competing for playing time there. We won’t see it until game one, but just know finding those guys this spring is a top priority right now.

As for the kickoff job, that’s sophomore Nick Rose all way. Kickoff Nick had 30 touchbacks last season and at times was dominating. The goal this spring will be to get stronger and get the ball deep in the end zone every time.

The coverage was decent last year, but it could be better.

Kickoff return team

Gone are DJ Monroe and Flash Goodwin. Both players had the ability to score just about every time they touched the ball... Yet far too many times the kickoff return fizzled out before it got started.

It’s another job we will not see develop like a running back or quarterback, but one the staff is working to fill. The first two guys to get a crack will be Daje Johnson and Duke Thomas, but I imagine Kendall Sanders will also get a look. I think Ramonce 2.0 is being created right now with Johnson and, like Taylor, he will excel at returning kicks.

One more thing: the front wall of the kickoff team SUCKS. You have to run back 20 or more yards and wait for the nut jobs running full speed with reckless abandon at you. No fun at all. Hats off to all the guys out there for Texas (and everywhere else) that do that.

Punt return team

Quandre Diggs and Jaxon Shipley will likely be the return men next fall, but nothing is set in stone. Texas averaged a very humble 8.8 yards per punt return last year, which was 61st in the nation. There are too many athletes and too much speed on this team for that to be the case. Diggs and Shipley are vets that have done it before, but both can wear down as starters, so look for the staff to seek out others to fill those roles. Still, if they can’t find them, Diggs can do it. Remember this? Me, too.

The front line of the punt return team is comprised of lots of younger defensive players, so expect to see guys like Shiro Davis, Adrian Colbert and others with a shot at playing time quickly if they can block.

Block team

The block party was back in full effect last year as Texas was third in the nation with seven blocked kicks and led the Big 12 with three blocked punts. I don’t see any reason for that to slow down, although it isn’t something the public will see much. But they are working on it. Again, going with Kevin Vaccaro to be a name to watch when the block unit hits the field.

In conclusion...

Texas has the pieces in place for a terrific special teams unit: veteran kickers, speed all over the field and tons of athletic depth. If they can just get the points sorted out, I think the rest falls into place. Back next week with the defense.

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Trey McLean writes From the Stands for the University Co-op. Follow Trey on the University Co-op Game Day Page, on Twitter @TreyMcLean, or email him here.

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Longhorn Sports

From the Stands: Orange-White Scrimmage signals the end of Longhorn spring practice

Thoughts on the past week:

Sheldon McClellan will transfer from Texas. The Longhorns’ leading scorer was at odds with head coach Rick Barnes for most of the season and the break from Texas is probably the best thing for everyone. A young team will get one player younger next season. Good luck, kid.
I cannot overemphasize the awesomeness that is Florida Gulf Coast University basketball. I was in their stomping grounds while they were making their tourney run and the energy and emotion in the area was palpable. Good luck, Dunk City, I wish you the best.
And you, too, Wichita State. All I know about Shockers basketball is Maurice Evans transferred from there to play at Texas. Now they are in the Final Four, so I know two things.
I met two Kansas fans on the beach and offered them my support (I had KU in the National Title game) and both responded with nothing close to polite, nice or even decent behavior. Both guys — adults in KU jerseys on the beach who weren’t together and didn’t know each other — took great delight in reminding how bad Texas was in everything and how good they were in basketball. I’m done with you, Rock Chalk. Who is their biggest rival now? K-State? Whoever it is, I’ll be for them.
Tubby Smith to Texas Tech. That’s a great hire for Tech. They have a nice basketball arena and now they have a brand name that can coach with skins on the wall.
I am not talking about the Louisville guy...
... But what a year for the Cardinals. They win the Big East and shock Florida in the Sugar Bowl last fall, got to the NCAA Tournament in baseball and are now in back-to-back Final Fours. Oh, and their ladies knocked the No. 1 Baylor Bears in the Sweet 16 on Sunday night. Well done.
Colt McCoy is a 49er. A much better fit, a much better team and a much cooler town.

The Longhorns wrapped up spring practice last weekend with the annual Orange-White Scrimmage and while it wasn’t the tell-all some wanted it to be, there was plenty to see. Here are my thoughts from Saturday night.

The new offense

The offense has installed the new up-tempo and it did not disappoint. The Horns first team offense took opening kickoff and drove right down the field on the No. 2 defense, snapping the ball consistently 10 to 15 seconds into the play clock. It’s important to note that Texas isn’t trying to be Baylor, snapping the ball with 30 seconds left on the clock, but rather speeding up the tempo 15 or more seconds per play not substituting, which prevents the defense from substituting as well.

I heard the commentary on LHN about the tempo being Baylor-fast according to the coaches, but it didn’t seem that way in application, which is just fine. I thought the Horns did an excellent job of implementing that and all the players looked comfortable in it.

A (sort of) reborn defense

There is no denying the talent has been there on defense, but for some reason it just wasn’t working last year. I surely didn’t expect Texas to be the Baltimore Ravens in the spring game, but as a whole I thought the defense looked pretty good. The newly-bearded Manny Diaz simplified his scheme (possibly just for the spring game) and everyone looked more assertive and aggressive.

The big takeaway for me was, even when the offense had big plays, they were not the result of missed tackles (except for Kendall Sanders’ touchdown catch). It wasn’t perfect and there is more work to be done, but I liked what I saw.

Energy

Desmond Jackson was the mouthpiece for the defense when the game started and I saw coach Stacy Searels whooping and slapping his guys and lots of hooting and hollering. Dalton Santos body slammed a guy and the entire running back corps met walk-on Gaston Davis with the same passion and intensity after his fourth quarter touchdown run as they do when they meet the starters after a touchdown in the season. This is supposed to be fun, and the Texas Longhorns were having fun, and so were the fans.

Separation

Lots of meaningful moves for the future in the spring game with some guys confirming their place on the field. Let’s break them down:

Tyrone Swoopes is the backup quarterback. I know officially it’s Case McCoy, but after watching Swoopes calmly and smoothly drive the second team offense down the field on the first team defense, he’s definitely the No. 2 (Mack Brown has said he’s already ahead of Jalen Overstreet and Connor Brewer). He’s so fluid and so agile you don’t realize he’s 6-foot-6, 245 pounds. I’ll spare the VY comparisons, but he’s special and I fully expect to see him in game one next year if he continues on this path.
Jonathan Gray is the starting tailback. Gray looked great on Saturday night to me. He was sudden, quick and hit the holes hard and caught the ball well. I think there is clear separation between Gray and Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron. Texas has the best running back trio in the conference, but Gray is a cut above.
Bryant Jackson is the No. 3/4 receiver. Daje Johnson was shelved for most of the game (why show anyone what your x-factor is?) and Bryant Jackson had a solid game, tipped ball for an interception aside. His six catches for 27 yards don’t seem like eye-popping numbers, but he’s consistent and understands his role.
MJ McFarland is the starting tight end. As I mentioned last week, he’s the best option at the position as Texas uses it in the passing game and he flashed that Saturday night.
Sheroid Evans is taking over the backup/second corner spot. He isn’t there completely, but his interception and strong play on Saturday night opened the door for Duke Thomas to pull double duty on offense as well (he looked very good at receiver). Evans has track speed and at 6-feet, 185 pounds is a big corner opposite Carrington Byndom. Look for Thomas to get reps at corner as well, but I think Evans will allow Quandre Diggs to move inside to the slot, like Kenny Vaccaro did last year.

Reclamation

Texas was bad on defense last year, but there were definite signs of life that I just didn’t see in 2012. Such as:

Adrian Phillips looking like pre-shoulder injury Adrian Phillips. In 2011 AP was the best defensive back on the field for most of the season, but off-season shoulder surgery robbed him of his confidence in 2012. He took bad angles and used poor technique to protect himself and the result was, well, you saw the result.
Mykelle Thompson didn’t have a shoulder injury last year, but he tackled like he did. He’s been far better in the spring and looked a lot better Saturday night. If he keeps that progression up he will hold on to his job this fall.
Jordan Hicks’ return. Again, you already know why this is such a big deal.

Stand outs

I thought quite a few guys made great impressions in the spring game and will take terrific momentum into the home stretch of the off-season:

Caleb Bluiett. It’s been a foregone conclusion that the four-man end rotation would be Jeffcoat/Reed and Wilson/Davis, but redshirt freshman Caleb Blueitt was terrific. He had two tackles for loss, including a sack, and deflected a pass playing against the first team offense. Fellow end Bryce Cottrell got a lot of attention during spring, but Bluiett was one of the stars of the scrimmage on Saturday.
Kendall Sanders. The wide out from Athens is a playmaker similar to Daje and looked terrific, taking a screen pass for a touchdown after picking his way through traffic. That play looked a lot like this one to me.
John Harris. Fully healthy from the foot injury that sidelined him in 2011, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior is the perfect wide out/tight end hybrid and I think he’s worked his way into a flex tight end spot like Dan Buckner was in 2009. He led the team with 73 yards receiving on just three catches, showing he has pass-catching abilities as well as blocking abilities.
Kennedy Estelle. The 6-foot-7, 300-pound sophomore is making the most out of the opportunity to play with injuries in front of him. I think he’s looked very good and has locked up the backup tackle spot.

Other observations

The “one-minute offense” at the end of the first half was bad: a false start, a dropped pass and a turnover ended it. Yuck.
Points Nick and Kickoff Nick changed roles, but luckily for us, it’s still Points Nick and Kickoff Nick.
The kicking game has to be better, as does the return game.
Mason Walters was blowing some people out.
Longhorn Network needs to be careful with that parabolic field mic. I thought a few times Mack Brown was going make for some awkward TV.
I had no idea backup quarterback Trey Holtz was Lou’s grandson and Skip’s kid.

In conclusion

In conclusion I am sad. Football is officially over until August. But football magazine day is coming soon and I have plenty of time to entertain all of us with “whatever happened to” and “what if” scenarios.

Follow me on Twitter @TreyMcLean or email me.

The Offensive line at the Orange and White scrimmage.

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