Longhorn Football

Texas football kicks off: The Longhorn offense

Head Coach Mack Brown addresses the media
Junior Garrett Gilbert, QB.
August 6 UT practice.
Ready for gameday

The Offense.

Why wait? If there is one area of significant question for this Longhorn football team—and if there is to be a turnaround this year—it will start on the offensive side of the ball.

The questions Mack Brown asked himself during his first pre-season news conference had a common theme: “How quick can the young guys learn? The freshmen will get a hard look in the next 10 days.”

“You’ve gotta have great leadership at that position; you’ve gotta protect the ball, and you’ve gotta put the ball in the end zone.”

The QB:

Where to start? Garrett Gilbert is not immortal. Who knew? The Lake Travis teen entered the program with more hype than any quarterback since Chris Simms; maybe even more than Simms, since Gilbert hails from a legendary high school program in Austin. He has the skills, the size, the smarts that you look for... in high school.

So far, with the very meaningful exception of brilliance against Alabama in early 2010, Gilbert has yet to show any of those qualities at the NCAA level. Last season he threw 17 interceptions against only 10 touchdowns. That stat will not endear you to the Longhorn faithful.

It's likely fans had overly high expectations, and clearly Gilbert received very little help from his line, his receivers, the running game, his coaches — have I missed anyone? In other words, it's a little hard to say how good he can be. No one, though, is ready to call him the second coming of even Chris Simms, let alone Colt McCoy, yet.

There is now competition at the position: McCoy's little brother, Case, played a hand full of meaningless snaps last year; redshirt freshman Conner Wood impressed last spring; true freshman David Ash gets good reviews.

“The good news is we have four capable guys,” said Head coach Mack Brown, who makes clear this job is up for grabs. “The biggest thing is leadership,” he said when asked to describe what he needs from the position. “You’ve gotta have great leadership at that position; you’ve gotta protect the ball, and you’ve gotta put the ball in the end zone.”

“It will be a great battle," Brown said. "We plan to separate them by charting each pass, and putting them in… critical competitive situations... We should know in a couple of weeks.”

Brown compared this competition with another back in 2006. "A few years ago we had a competition between Colt [McCoy] and Jevan [Snead]," said Brown, "and that worked out okay."

Yes it did Coach, but if we don't end up with Garrett Gilbert at QB, it means there is something very, very wrong at Texas and the season is in significant jeopardy. Why? Because Garrett Gilbert came to Texas with the tools and the will to win. If he is not the quarterback for Texas, then it's the coaching staff that broke him, and it's the coaching staff that needs to fix him.

There is hope, and his name is not Fozzy, it's Malcolm, as in Brown.

The Running game:

Where to start? What running game? The bar is set pretty low here. If Texas can find a back capable of putting up more than a few hundred yards and play more than a dozen snaps each game, they have made immeasurable progress.

New co-coordinator of the offense, Bryan Harsin, may bring a passing reputation with him from Boise State, but he also brings a run-first system. Boise averaged over 200 yards rushing last year, ranked 20th in the NCAA Division 1. Texas was, well, not that good.

Most fans can't remember the last time Texas could be proud of its running game. Let me help: Cedric Benson, 2004.

There is hope, and his name is not Fozzy, it's Malcolm, as in Brown (no relation to the coach, although we hope Mack takes him into his arms as a long lost son). Malcolm Brown came to campus as one of the highest rated running backs in the country. He played high school ball at Cibolo Steele near San Antonio. He has all the tools; he's big, he's strong, he's fast. He needs to play — a lot. If Malcolm does not play a lot, Texas season is in significant jeopardy because the guys currently playing running back have clearly shown that while they can play well, they cannot carry the team.

This could turn out to be the deepest most talented group on the team. These guys run fast and catch a football.

The Receivers:

Where to start? Who's left? Malcolm Williams, the sole starting senior in the group, left the team last week for personal reasons. He wasn't a star but he knew how to run routes and make plays, and could have been a leader for an otherwise young untested group.

Further, speedster Marquis Goodwin decided to take a year off from football and concentrate on the Olympics. Goodwin showed signs of greatness last season.

So, we are left with junior DeSean Hales who has all of one catch in his Texas career, sophomores Mike Davis and Darius White, and true freshmen Jaxon Shipley (little brother of Jordan) and Miles Onyegbule. These guys all have tremendous potential but have seen very little, or nothing, of a college football field. They need to grow up fast; if they don't, Texas season is in significant jeopardy (you should be seeing a theme emerge here).

All of that said, this could turn out to be the deepest, most talented group on the team. These guys run fast and catch a football. All of them appeared on someone’s short list of great, talented receivers, now is the time to show it.

Without a quality O-line, there will be no running game, and more interceptions.

The O-line:

Where to start? Seriously, who knows what’s going to happen here? There is a serious shortage of proven talent on the line.

Last year’s line was terrible and a couple guys must step up this year in order to have any chance at keeping the quarterback healthy and the running game moving.

Here are the questions even Mack Brown was asking, “Is Luke Poehlman ready?”, “What about Espinoza’s shoulder?” And in one statement, “David Snow had mono in the spring and couldn’t practice.”

Not exactly the motivational speech you were hoping for right?

The only obvious answer is Snow, who played well on a bad line last year. It’s not a leap to say the answer to this question may be the single most important forecast of what lies ahead this year. If this line does not significantly improve, Texas season is in serious jeopardy. Every game plan, every offensive scheme starts with the O-line. Without a quality O-line, there will be no running game and more interceptions. The coaching staff will be watching closely for who’s improved over the summer.

Mack Brown does not shy away from honestly laying out the challenges this season represents. Texas has the talent to be a dominant offensive team. Top 10 recruiting classes don’t bring in mediocre players. We’ll discuss the coaching staff more in a few days. These players rely on their coaches to put them in successful situations and teach them how to excel.

Tomorrow — The Defense.

unspecified

High Score

Austin named the nation's pickleball capital in industry report

Photo by Henry Selis Photo

Other Racquet Social Club is back after city woes.

It's no secret that Austinites love pickleball. A new study proves just how much by ranking Austin the No. 1 city for pickleball in the whole country. Dallas and Houston also made the top 10 at Nos. 3 and 8, respectively.

The report was published by TeachMe.To, an online marketplace for learning sports (and sometimes music) from private instructors. It used data from its own platform, USA Pickleball, Places2Play, local pickleball associations, and more. It also referred to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), which named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America, with a growth rate of 223.5 percent over three years.

Similarly, TeachMe.To ranked Austin as the fastest-growing city for pickleball, and citing this as the main reason for the overall title of "the nation's pickleball capital."

It name-checked the Austin Metro Pickleball Association (AMPA) — with approximately 3,000-3,500 members — and the Austin Pickleball League (APL), estimating that overall, "15,000-20,000 people play pickleball at least occasionally in the greater Austin area." About half of those players — about 8,000-10,000 people — play at least twice a month.

The report did not include gender data on Austin, specifically, but it did note that not only are two-thirds of pickleball players female; women's involvement in the sport is also growing 50 percent faster than men's.

New courts everywhere
This probably isn't a surprise to people who have noticed the number of courts opened around Austin in recent years. By 2024, TeachMe.To's data shows 32 dedicated courts in Austin, and thanks to with a utility rate of 92 percent it doesn't look like that'll be slowing down.

In the summer of 2023, the online booking platform Swimply noticed how many pickleball courts there were in Austin compared to such great demand, and added courts to its service. In fall 2023 and summer 2024, at least two important developments expanded that availability: Other Racquet Social Club opened as a friendly, country club-like neighborhood option, and national chain The Picklr announced it's bringing five locations to Austin and Round Rock.

Perhaps because Austin is such a food-obsessed city, there seems to be some growing opportunity for food and beverage hospitality around pickleball, too. Other Racquet recently started hosting the Bill's Dips food truck, a spinoff of the popular downtown restaurant Bill's Oyster; and a pair of bars with pickleball courts, Drifters Social Coffee & Cocktails and The Pickle Pub, also opened in South Austin this year, with strong online ratings already.

The trend has even reached into real estate (see this cute house with its own pickleball court) and inspired athletes to introduce similar sports to the local market, as in the case of the padel club Paddle39. TeachMe.To's report also mentioned tech companies adding pickleball to their campuses.

Aside from growth, the study also considered lesson activity (including information about teacher availability and diversity of clinic offerings), infrastructure, community vitality, the tournament scene.

Austin had the highest concentration of all the cities of players under 40 (65 percent), as well as the highest share of national lesson bookings. At 16.90 percent, that means about one in six of the pickleball lessons contracted through this platform were in Austin. Lesson demand, the report says, is growing 125 percent year-over-year.

Elsewhere in Texas
Dallas was No. 3 thanks in part to its "central location" according to the report.

"The city's 45 dedicated courts and 85 [percent] public accessibility rate have fostered one of the most active competitive scenes in the country, with 8,500 registered league players," it says. "The combination of strong tournament presence, extensive infrastructure, and a 112% growth in lesson bookings solidifies Dallas as a powerhouse in the national pickleball landscape."

Houston made No. 8 with an emphasis on integrating pickleball with other sports.

"The city's 22 dedicated courts have seen a 92% increase in lesson bookings, driven by innovative programming that includes the nation's first corporate league system," it says. "Houston's success in integrating pickleball into existing sports infrastructure while maintaining 72% year-round utilization demonstrates a sustainable model for rapid growth."

Overall predictions
After laying out data about the top cities in pickleball, the report made some predictions. As the Austin newcomer mentioned above believes, the report also thinks padel is the next big thing. It also guesses more cities will act like Houston by focusing on hybrid facilities.

It also expects to see an expanded professional circuit and mainstream coverage, more technology used on the court, a rise in the prevalence of young players, and more opportunities in corporate wellness and real estate. "Dedicated pickleball facilities will become as common as swimming pools in luxury developments," it says. Texans will be the judge of that one.

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