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Friday, August 24
Texas football preview
By Mel Kiper
ESPN.com
After producing three straight nine-win seasons, Mack Brown enters his fourth year as head coach in Austin with talk now centering on whether the Longhorns can compete for the national championship.
The reason for such optimism is two-fold. From an offensive standpoint, the Longhorns should field an explosive, balanced attack force that figures to produce points at a fast and furious rate. And last year, Texas ended up seventh in the nation in total defense, while finishing first in pass-efficiency defense.
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Wed., Aug. 22
With a logjam at running back, Kenny Hayder has decided to transfer. Victor Ike is the starting tailback, but the Longhorns also really like true freshman Cedric Benson.
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OFFENSE
Let's start out with the offense, where highly publicized lefty Chris Simms is entering his junior campaign. This time around, there is no QB controversy in Austin. Simms is the undisputed No. 1 signal caller, with battle-tested senior Major Applewhite the primary backup. Late in the 2000 season, Simms really started to show signs of developing into a top-flight quarterback. Over the last three games, Simms threw for just over 1,000 yards, completing 57.3 percent of his passes.
The key reason he has the edge over Applewhite is arm strength. Simms can stretch the field, delivering deep strikes to the Longhorns' awesome receiving corps. During the season, redshirt freshman Chance Mock figures to be groomed as the future backup to Simms in 2002. An athletic talent with a strong arm, either Mock or highly regarded 6-foot-5, 215-pound incoming freshman Matt Nordgren are viewed as the future starting QBs once the Simms era comes to an end in Austin.
In the spring, there was a great deal of competition at the RB spot. Junior Victor Ike, an outside threat who must prove his durability, closed things out with a slight edge over junior Kenny Hayter. However, in the fall, the player to watch figures to be heralded incoming freshman Cedric Benson. The 6-foot, 200-pounder led Midland Lee to three straight 5A championships, rushing for an incredible 8,423 yards during his prep career. Junior Matt Trissel returns at FB where he does a solid job as a lead blocker and also contributes as a pass-receiving option. However, with all the talent at TE, the possibility exists that he may not take part in quite as many snaps as last year.
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Longhorns at a glance
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2001 schedule
Sept. 1 vs. New Mexico St.
Sept. 8 vs. North Carolina
Sept. 22 at Houston
Sept. 29 vs. Texas Tech
Oct. 6 vs. Oklahoma
Oct. 13 at Oklahoma St.
Oct. 20 vs. Colorado
Oct. 27 at Missouri
Nov. 3 at Baylor
Nov. 10 vs. Kansas
Nov. 23 at Texas A&M
2000 results
(9-3, 7-1 Big 12)
La.-Lafayette W 52-10
at Stanford L 27-24
Houston W 48-0
Oklahoma St. W 42-7
Oklahoma L 63-14
at Colorado W 28-14
Missouri W 46-12
Baylor W 48-14
at Texas Tech W 29-17
at Kansas W 51-16
Texas A&M W 43-17
Oregon L 35-30
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The talented group of TEs includes sophomore Brock Edwards, senior Mike Jones, and sophomore Bo Scaife, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. Scaife, a quality talent with the speed to present some big-time options as a receiving threat, returned to action in the spring. Jones, though, who suffered a knee injury midway through last season, was held out of spring practice. He'll be ready to go in the fall, with in-line blocking his forte. The most complete of the Longhorn TEs is Edwards, who checks in at 6-5 and 260 pounds.
While there is plenty of other weapons, the most lethal options are the Longhorn WRs. As a group, they have no peers at the collegiate level. This is no questioning their status as the No. 1 receiving corps in the country. In fact, the Longhorns may have the most feared skill-position performer in 6-5, 210-pound sophomore Roy Williams. Blessed with Randy Moss-type skills, Williams can attain any goals he sets his sights on. Last year, he averaged a whopping 20.2 yards on 40 receptions, with eight TDs. Williams has it all, running a 10.3 in the 100 meters.
If the opposition chooses to double Williams, then another super talented sophomore, B.J. Johnson, will light things up. Operating like a RB in the open field after the catch, the 6-0½, 190-pounder averaged 17.0 yards on 41 receptions last season. And folks, that's not all the Longhorns have. Yet another sophomore, 6-1½, 195-pounder Sloan Thomas, led the way last season with an impressive 24-yard average per reception. The No. 4 option is Kyle Shanahan. The 6-2½, 170-pounder, who is the son of Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, sat out last season after transferring from Duke. He shows both quick feet and excellent hands. To show you how incredibly talented and deep the Longhorns are at WR, their fifth wide-out is Montrell Flowers, who hauled in 34 passes back in '99.
Up front, the key loss is destructive LT Leonard Davis, but the Longhorns will still field what should be an excellent starting offensive line. With Simms being a southpaw, the focus is on physically talented 6-5½, 345-pound senior RT Mike Williams. The former prep defensive linemen, who has only 3½ years of experience at OT, has the potential to rank as one of the top players at his position in the country. Williams will be protecting Simms's blind side. The left tackle spot is still up in the air. Junior Derrick Dockery, who excels at LG, saw action at both spots in the spring. Currently, though, junior Robbie Doane is listed as the starter at LT. Over the ball at center will be Matt Anderson, entering his third year as a starter. At the other OG spot will be veteran Antwan Kirk-Hughes. A shoulder injury kept him sidelined in the spring.
DEFENSE
The Longhorn defense has the potential to be just as good or maybe even better than last year, but that will only happen if they are able to adequately replace DTs Casey Hampton and Shaun Rogers. On the plus side, while Rogers was battling an ankle injury that limited his effectiveness until the latter portion of the season, 6-4, 290-pound sophomore Marcus Tubbs was able to gain the necessary experience. Tubbs shows excellent potential. With redshirt freshman Stevie Lee out in the spring with a foot injury, sophomore Adam Doiron was shifted from DE to DT to fill the void. The concern with Doiron is that he could get overpowered in the middle. He checks in at 6-3½, 275 pounds, while Lee is a more physically imposing 6-4, 305 pounds.
While the strength last year was along the interior with Hampton leading the way, the DEs figure to set the tone this season. Junior Cory Redding and sophomore Kalen Thornton are major factors with their speed off the edge. Last year, Redding finished with 6½ sacks and 17 stops behind the line of scrimmage. Thornton recorded 3½ sacks and eight tackles for loss.
With senior D.D. Lewis keying things from his MLB position, the Longhorns' back seven looks to be in excellent shape. Lewis, the spiritual leader of the defense, shared the team lead last season with 78 stops. He also recorded 15 tackles for loss. A major boost is being provided by senior Lee Jackson, who solidified what had been a suspect OLB spot when he made the transition in the spring from SS. Another senior, Everick Rawls, returns for his third season as a starter at weakside LB.
Looking to add more speed to the deep patrol, Ahmad Brooks and Dakarai Pearson were moved from CB to free and strong safety respectively. On the corner will be junior Roderick Babers and super blue-chip senior Quentin Jammer, who ranks as one of the elite defensive players in the entire country. Now, the Longhorns basically have four stating CBs working in the deep patrol. In addition, nickel back Nathan Vasher is also a true cover man.
SPECIAL TEAMS
When the season gets underway, the primary worry of Mack Brown and his staff could end up being the kicking game. Last year, Kris Stockton handled both the placekicking and punting jobs. With Stockton a key graduation loss, unproven redshirt freshman PK Matt McFadden and JUCO transfer P Brian Bradford must be up to the task. Reportedly, neither really distinguished himself in the spring.
OVERVIEW
Now entering his fourth year as the Longhorns' head coach, Mack Brown has the them poised to challenge for the national championship. Simms has the deep arm to connect with an awesome receiving corps that features one of the elite players in the country, sophomore Roy Williams. In addition to going five-deep at WR and three-deep at TE, the Longhorns have a great deal of depth in the backfield. What they don't have right now is a true feature back. That player could be incoming freshman Cedric Benson. The offensive line, led by huge and talented RT Williams, should be a extremely solid.
On defense, replacing Hampton will be impossible, but they were able to work Tubbs into the mix last year while Rogers was injured. Lewis is an outstanding mike-man, while Jackson will be looking to solve a problem on the strong side. With so much speed and cover ability in the secondary, as well as a super blue-chipper at CB in Jammer, this group should be able to pick the pocket of opposing QBs when the opportunity presents itself. In the end, it could all hinge on how effective the new-look kicking game turns out to be.
Schedule-wise, the first four games, which include Brown's old team, the North Carolina Tar Heels, will basically serve as a nice tune-up for their Oct. 6 battle at the Cotton Bowl with the defending national champion Oklahoma Sooners. Last year, OU humiliated the Longhorns 63-14. In order to remain in the national championship hunt, the key will be whether they'll be able to avenge the debacle against the Sooners from last year.
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