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SEPTEMBER 2019 No Boundaries |

6

by Mike Blackwell

Jeffrey McCulloch has had success on and off the field.

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Texas Dispatches Louisiana Tech

Game Story by Joe Cook 5 Quick Thoughts by Ian Boyd

Leading by Example |

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by Mike Blackwell

Devin Duvernay is having a breakout season.

26

LSU Tops Longhorns Game Story by Joe Cook Post Mortem by Scipio Tex

Horns Manhandle Rice |

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by Justin Wells

44

Win Over OSU Stops Streak Game Story by Joe Cook Post Mortem by Scipio Tex

Publishers -- Michael Pearle, Clendon Ross | Managing Editor--Clendon Ross | Editor-- Mike Blackwell InsideTexas.com Editor -- Justin Wells | Lead Writer -- Joe Cook | Contributor -- Ian Boyd Designer/Photographer -- Will Gallagher | Recruiting Analyst -- Eric Nahlin To Subscribe/Customer Service -- Phone: 512-659-8167 | Email: help@insidetexas.com September - 2019

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September - 2019

6

NO BOUNDARIES

By Mike Blackwell

The game of football is defined by its boundaries.

The playing field is precisely - exactly - 100 yards, with end zones that extend the field an additional 10 yards on either end. That field is also 53 yards wide.

These dimensions are so clearly defined that anything that happens during a game beyond the length and width of the football field is “out of bounds.” Coaches build their financial wealth and their perceived self-worth - often from what happens “between the lines.”

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- Jeffrey McCulloch -

The physical measurements of a football field are clear, under-

While watching game film in high school with his teammates,

stood and rarely altered. A football game is defined and detailed,

after one particularly big hit, a nickname was born.

literally down to the last second of time.

“He said, ‘Man, you’re out there like a shark,’” McCulloch shared And limited within prescribed boundaries.

with a writer. “I would always run down the field, always going forward. Before the quarterback would get a pass off, I was

This truth - that football is played within boundaries and rules

hitting him.”

and guidelines and constraints - makes the story of Jeffrey McCulloch one of the more incredible tales you will find. McCulloch

And at 6-2 and 230 pounds in high school, he was definitely

is a senior defender who, being intelligent beyond most, clearly

Shark-esque, especially when you consider his 40-yard dash

understands that his football life will play out within the 100x53-

time is a rather swift 4.48 seconds.

yard grid.

“I just try to be an aggressive pass rusher who can cover anyAnd before we talk about his life outside of the confines of the

body down the field,” McCulloch said of his high school days.

football field, well, since this IS a football-centric publication, we

“Honestly, I didn’t think the nickname would stick. I thought it

must talk first about McCulloch the football player.

was just us being silly at first. Then after a while, I heard teammates saying it, then friends were saying it, then teachers were

Athletically, he was born in Houston into family of athletes. The

saying it.”

son of Deborah and Jeffrey McCulloch Sr., he has a cousin, Ariel Atkins, who is a basketball player at Texas. Another cousin,

His Shark days were salad days, as he earned honor after

Brianna McCulloch, plays volleyball at the University of Texas-

honor. He was an all-state player and was twice an all-district

San Antonio. Another, Aerial Starks, plays basketball at the

performer. Selected to the 2016 Under Armour All-America

University of Massachusetts.

Game, he was also invited to Nike’s 2015 The Opening, and was a semifinalist for the 2015 Greater Houston High School

So yeah, he’s got some athletic genetics.

Rotary Lombardi Award.

McCulloch was one of the top three linebackers in Texas, as chosen by ESPN. Quarterback sacks? Well, he got 19 of them as a senior, when the Davis defense allowed just 14.5 points a game, holding opponents to 10 points or less five times and tossing a pair of shutouts.

So yeah, Shark fit perfectly for him in high school.

At Texas, his freshman year saw him play all 12 games on defense and special teams, and he made his debut in the unforgettable win over Notre Dame in Austin.

He was a four-star player who’s nickname, Shark, came about

As a sophomore, he played in the first nine games of the sea-

because of the rather emphatic manner in which he hit oppos-

son, then missed the final three game because of injury before

ing players - all within the boundaries of the football field, you

returning for the bowl game.

understand.

His playing time and success increased as a junior, when he

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- Jeffrey McCulloch -

played in 14 games with six starts. He had 4.5 sacks in that 2018 season, also adding an interception, a forced fumble and a couple of passes broken up. His biggest moment within the parameters of the football field, of course - came when he returned an interception 65 yards in a tougherthan-expected win against Kansas.

He has had a solid, if unspectacular, career on the field, between those very specific boundaries.

So what does all of this talk about boundaries have to do with McCulloch?

Well, because McCulloch’s time at Texas has flown outside of the lines, outside the invisible walls of end lines and side lines and goal lines. McCulloch remains a talented player, an excellent teammate and a solid contributor to the Longhorns this season.

But what he has done beyond the boundaries is what makes this Shark truly swim.

He is not, by any stretch of the imagination, bound by boundaries. While at Texas, he has created for himself a life that is truly without constraints.

This is the real Jeffrey McCulloch.

out who he becomes. There are no boundaries here.

He owns a shoe company.

“Academics have always been a big part of my life, through the days when my mother taught me,” says McCulloch, who is

He’s a future investment advisor who does day trading in his

taking finance classes this fall after earning his degree in three

free time (there’s probably not a lot of that).

years.

He develops business plans for friends.

Make no mistake, McCulloch’s life between the lines of the football field is very important. He’s intense, driven, athletic and

And oh yeah, he received his real estate license about a year

a key cog within the framework of a talented Texas defense. He

ago.

wants to win badly, and he’s still the Shark.

Next time you hear the team “student-athlete” being used deri-

But he is not, and will not, be defined by a piece of grass

sively, think of Jeffrey McCulloch and know that “student-athlete”

100-yards by 53-yards.

is a very real thing.

“It’s an unbelievable experience to know that it all paid off and I “Jeffrey is a guy with a big heart,” says Texas coach Tom Her-

made my parents proud,” McCulloch says. “You have to do what

man, himself a Mensa who is well-familiar with the infinite pos-

you have to do in order to be successful and nobody else is go-

sibilities beyond all boundaries. “His career after football is very

ing to do it for you, that’s the way I feel.

important to him.”

“The only way to get it done is for me to get it done. I want to McCulloch, a sport management major, is understandably proud

see a smile on my parents’ face, so I go hard.”

of who he is as a football player. But he also can’t wait to find

September - 2019

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HORNS DISPA

BY JOE COOK

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ATCH LA TECH

For For the the first first time time as as head head coach coach at at Texas, Texas, Tom Tom Herman Herman is is 1-0.

1-0.

There There was was little little intrigue intrigue to to the the Longhorns’ Longhorns’ season-opening season-opening tilt tilt with with Louisiana Louisiana Tech, Tech, as as Todd Todd Orlando’s Orlando’s defensive defensive starters starters and and major major contributors contributors held held the the Bulldogs Bulldogs scoreless scoreless through through the the first first three three quarters. quarters.

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- texas vs louisiana tech -

T

im Beck’s offense, led by Sam

Ehlinger and Keaontay Ingram,

accumulated 454 yards in a comfortable 45-14 win.

Texas played its starters for the

majority of the first three quarters, outscoring Louisiana Tech 38-0

come some of those miscues.”

found holes in the running game,

Ehlinger’s 28-for-38, 276-yard, four-

scamper to set the tone for the

including a 19-yard first quarter

score effort combined with Ingram’s

evening. Ingram only had 11 carries

121 yards of total offense allowed

but averaged 7.1 yards each time he

Texas to comfortably create a multi-

got the ball.

possession lead as the first half progressed.

“I thought he did a really nice job

to the field.

The junior quarterback found several

finding the open gap, making guys

Ehlinger started the game strong

Collin Johnson, Brennan Eagles, and

before the backups made their way

by completing his first five passes, including a touchdown toss on a

receivers early including Duvernay,

Ehlinger still missed a couple open

“We were rusty,” Herman said. “Sam

top Big 12 quarterback most in the

ball, we had six penalties which, you

tive in the throw game as well.”

The Longhorn defense allowed some yards to the Bulldogs as J’Mar Smith

throws, but overall looked like the

maneuvered the La Tech offense

down the field in the passing game,

country expected him to be.

know, that happens in first games.

Ingram, despite suffering a bone

fast and that’s what helped us over-

to show any effects of his injury. He

But I thought we started really, really

miss,” Herman said. “He was effec-

Jake Smith.

screen play to Devin Duvernay.

missed some throws, we dropped a

when things weren’t there, certainly,

but that was the only place they

could accumulate yardage. Texas’

defensive front allowed 73 rushing

bruise in training camp, didn’t seem

yards on the evening at 2.8 yards per carry.

Devin Duvernay

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- texas vs louisiana tech -

When the offense did put La Tech in

scoring range, Texas’ defense stood strong. Thanks to spirited efforts

from Chris Brown, Jeffrey McCull-

och, Caden Sterns, and Joseph Os-

the most of his opportunity when

to a five possession margin. When

Ehlinger on a post route after the

the night for most of the Longhorn

he caught a 28-yard pass from

safety responsible for him followed Duvernay instead.

sai, La Tech could not finish drives.

After Brown stuffed La Tech on

In the first half alone, the Bulldogs

half’s opening drive, Eagles picked

had drives stall via a missed field goal, a punt, a fumble, another

missed field goal, an Ossai inter-

fourth and one during the second

up right where he left off in the first

half, hauling in a pass in the corner

the third quarter ended, so did starters.

One of the notable backups to see

time was freshman Roschon Johnson. After fellow freshman running

back Jordan Whittington aggravated a groin issue, Johnson saw his

number called seven times on the

ception, and another punt.

Outside of La Tech’s two scores, the Bulldogs ended two possessions

with a turnover on downs, and one

with an interception from DeMarvion Overshown.

The Bulldogs’ paltry 5-of-14 mark on third downs was due in part to the Longhorns utilizing their

anticipated eight defensive back

package, named “Cowboy” within

the program. Eight defensive backs supported McCulloch, Ossai, and

Malcolm Roach’s pass rush efforts, limiting what Smith was able to do on third downs for the Bulldogs.

“That’s complicated in terms of setting your protection,” Herman said.

Keaontay Ingram

“There’s just so much speed out

there. We’ve got to do a better job.

I think just initial impressions, when they do complete it short of the

sticks we’ve got to do a better job of

of the end zone while essentially uncovered on the ensuing drive.

tackling them.”

“Maybe about as selfless of a player

Where La Tech couldn’t finish

of Eagles. “After his first touchdown

drives, Texas could. Ehlinger found

Duvernay, Johnson, and Eagles for touchdown passes in the first half.

Eagles didn’t start at the Z position as John Burt received that

distinction. However, Eagles made

we have on this team,” Herman said he sprinted to go hug a big guy and

ground and twice through the air.

The former quarterback accli-

mated well to the position despite

his body’s poor condition due to a stomach virus.

that was friggin’ awesome. He is as

“We get to the building yesterday

we do things.”

throwing up all over the place,”

bought-in as you can be to the way

That was part of a 14-point third

quarter that bumped Texas’ lead up

and the trainers say Roschon is Herman said. “He’s got a stom-

ach virus. We’re going to have to

quarantine him Friday at the hotel.

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Joseph Ossai

When it rains it pours, you know? But Ro did a great job.”

Join the Conversation

Texas was able to keep most of the starters fresh for the prime-

time matchup against LSU thanks to heavy rotation and various personnel packages, especially on defense. Fifty-four of Texas’ 110 players saw the field, including 22 different players who recorded a tackle.

The rotation proved effective as Texas’ average starting field

position was its own 39, while La Tech’s average start was on their own 23.

Next up is LSU for one of the most anticipated games in Austin this decade. Despite all the attention paid by fans, Herman

claimed no one in the facility save some lower-level staffers have placed any amount of focus on LSU.

“The letters LSU never came out of anybody’s mouth the entire nine months since we left New Orleans,” Herman said.

But as the clock strikes midnight, Texas will begin to prepare

for the visiting Top 10 Tigers. They’ll go into that game 1-0, and seek to go 1-0 against LSU.

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5

QUICK

vs

thoughts

Texas is now 1-0 under Tom Herman for the first time since he took over in Austin. There was never much

doubt this time, unlike every single game in Texas’ breakthrough 10-4 season in 2018 in which every game included at least a degree of danger late.

The Longhorns scored touchdowns on three of their

first four possessions with the other on pace for that as well before a Collin Johnson fumble turned the ball

by Ian Boyd

over. Meanwhile La Tech failed to score until the 4th quarter.

It wasn’t a 59-0 style blowout but it was a totally dominant win over a solid team executing Big 12-style tactics with a handful of Big 12-caliber players. It’s never

as bad as it looks nor as good, but here are some observations that I made over the course of this game.

#1: CHRIS BROWN IS A PLAYER Texas had a vastly more complicated gameplan on

physical side of things setting the edge and blitzing into

defense (really on offense as well) for La Tech than

the trenches, Brown absolutely excelled there.

expected. Texas played a variety of different packages, mixed four-down looks with the normal 3-down

He created penetration slanting all the way into the B-

concepts, and showed the base dime as well as the .38

gap and was a major disruptor coming off the boundary

special third down package that puts eight DBs on the

edge. The interesting dimension of this deployment

field while McCulloch and Ossai spin down to DE and

was that by using the “joker” safety as the B-backer

flank Roach at nose.

that meant Joe Ossai was the “rover” in dime. I didn’t get a great look at his run fits but La Tech ran for 73

A significant part of the gameplan involved playing

yards on the day at 2.8 ypc and Ossai had one inter-

Chris Brown as a nearly full-time boundary overhang,

ception for the books and then a pick-6 called back for

like a B-backer. When they were in nickel he played

an absurdly by the rule “roughing the passer” penalty.

as the boundary safety but drifted down into the box.

When they played dime he did the same but Caden

Overall the dime looked pretty effective in the important

Sterns came in and lined up behind him in a traditional

realm of controlling the box and spilling runs to speed.

safety alignment. From that B-backer position, Brown

Todd Orlando will unquestionably bring a ton of pres-

brought plus underneath coverage, most notably on

sures and calls to help boost that package but early

Texas’ fourth down stand when he made a tackle on a

returns were good and Chris Brown was a playmaker

quick out and brought the ballcarrier down short of the

as the joker.

marker. The real question though at that position is the

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Chris Brown

#2: SAM EHLINGER LOOKED VERY COMFORTABLE Ehlinger’s final line on the day: 28-38 passing for 276 yards at 7.3 yards per attempt with four TDs, zero INTs, and eight rushes for 34 yards and a few first downs with mostly judicious decision-making by the most important Longhorn.

He even missed a few big plays, hitting behind Jake Smith on an RPO slant and short-arming a wide open Collin Johnson on a vertical, either of which would likely have yielded huge returns. His timing and feel looked very on point and the RBs Keaontay Ingram Sam Ehlinger

and Roschon Johnson caught a combined five balls for 60 yards on a combination of 4-verticals check

downs and then a brutally effective swing pass they mixed in when the left side of the OL (Sam Cosmi and Parker Braun) were aligned to the short side of the field.

They didn’t show much in the way of evolving QB run game, even getting into a suspicious power set in the third quarter only to run a traditional power run for Keaontay Ingram and mixing in a pair of direct snap RB runs where Ehlinger would pretend to call an audible and then head to the sideline while they snapped it. Nevertheless, Ehlinger managed to get eight carries in, took a few licks and had his helmet knocked off, and threw a crucial lead block on a LB for a big Keaontay Ingram run where the QB led with his right, throwing shoulder.

There’s just no taking the competitive fire out from that kid, all he knows is to fight and mix it up.

Texas unquestionably has a lot left they’ve worked on for Ehlinger. They mixed in some RPO slants for Jake Smith that yielded a late throw and incomplete pass and then a nice gain when they ran the play again and hit Smith.

There will be a lot more in the RPO game next week, likely including some QB run RPOs in which Ehlinger’s option are “throw” or “keep as the featured runner.”

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- 5 Q uick T houghts | L ouisiana T ech -

#3: KEAONTAY INGRAM AND THE LEFT SIDE Texas flashed a pair of schemes that were absolute fire

block where the offense is adding an extra gap and look-

in this game that will likely be mainstays all season long.

ing to get movement with a double team. Lots of teams

One was the swing screen I mentioned earlier. When

will have their linebackers shade to the cutback and

opponents want to give attention to Collin Johnson on the

Ingram excels at watching them and waiting until they get

boundary on third down, that leaves them vulnerable to

caught there before bouncing back to the strong side.

that screen pass to the RB, which features Sam Cosmi and Parker Braun advancing out into the open field hunt-

When Texas lines up the TE on the right side, that means

ing for targets.

that the Ingram bounce comes late after the left side of Cosmi and Braun have had a chance to get fit under the

Calvin Anderson was solid in that scheme and Patrick

pads of the defenders across from them and drive them

Vahe really struggled to find targets in space, despite his

off the ball. Between that and the Texas TEs doing a pretty

skill as a puller on power and counter. But Cosmi is bril-

solid job of blocking, Texas was able to do a lot of damage

liant on the move and Braun is also excellent on the move

with their favorite play from 2018.

as well as selling his initial block.

If Keaontay Ingram is healthy this season he should put Then there’s the Ingram cut, which Keaontay was working

up big numbers and hit the 1k rushing yards marker.

very effectively in this game while turning 11 carries into 78 yards at 7.1 ypc with a score. The Ingram cut was per-

Cosmi was dominant in this game, Parker Braun did yield

haps most deadly when they lined the TE up to the right

some movement in the pass-rush but he appeared to

side of the offensive line.

understand how to pick up the blitz.

The big threat is always the cutback lane behind the TE

Zach Shackelford (56), Parker Braun (73) and Sam Cosmi (52)

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- 5 Q uick T houghts | L ouisiana T ech -

#4: THE WR CORPS WAS AS STRONG AS PROMISED

Brennan Eagles

Texas opened the game by crushing the Bulldogs with a se-

Jake Smith looked fast but did struggle to get separation a

ries of quick perimeter screens on RPOs to Devin Duvernay.

few times on some corner routes, he looks thick and strong

They played with Cade Brewer flexed out quite a bit early

for a freshman and should flash regularly this season. Bren-

and blocking on the perimeter for the newly converted, 210

nan Eagles had a big game, victimizing an overstressed La

pound H receiver, Duvernay.

Tech secondary for a pair of scores.

With his size, power, and speed Duvernay was an absolute

Collin Johnson had the fumble while fighting for a ton of

nightmare in the screen game for La Tech. Nine catches

YAC after a double slants play picked up a third down for

for 55 yards and a score really doesn’t tell the story of his

the millionth time in the last two seasons. He also added to

full impact, which included several savage stiff arms and a

his career highlight reel, particularly with the nearly out of

few occasions where he picked up solid gains despite iffy

bounds catch he pulled in.

blocking or hard closes by the Bulldog defenders. Duve also picked up a 4th and 1 in the run game on an outside zone

Cade Brewer didn’t have a big impact in the passing game

play where Jordan Whittington threw a lead block for him

but threw a few solid blocks and snagged throws in his

from a two-back set.

direction. Malcolm Epps was the only WR to disappoint and and allowed the feisty, 5-9 Bulldog corner to jam him up at

Jake Smith subbed in a ton and got a lot of snaps and later

the line on a big slant where Ehlinger was looking for him

on Jordan Pouncey got a few at the H, yet Duvernay was

that almost became an INT. Epps has yet to show, in live

the leading receiver and Texas’ ability to command attention

action, that he knows how to use use size to bully defenders

on the perimeter throwing him screens was on full display.

out wide.

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#5: A FEW PROBLEM SPOTS The first time that Kobe Boyce was beat on a deep ball my thought was, “oh man Boyce, and you already have a bad reputation with the fans, this is unfortunate.” It wasn’t a terrible beat and Boyce was only beat because he incurred a DPI after mistiming a late ball and jumping on the WR before the pass arrived.

But over the course of the game Boyce was often targeted in the Bulldog perimeter screen game and didn’t hold up well to being attacked and then got beat deep again for a touchdown. Then there was the early play in which Kobe Boyce allowed his receiver to run free down the field with the ball after the catch because he believed he’d broken the pass up and was already celebrating while the ball was advancing. That one will be extra hard for fans to forgive. Clearly Boyce has yet to put it all together yet and the big passes or DPI calls yielded burn extra badly in light of the mental gaffe and poor tackling in the screen game.

Texas gave up too many pressures and hits on Ehlinger in this one. He’s smart to pick his spots in the run game and try to avoid contact when he can, but his short-yardage runs are generally now the most dangerous. It’s when he’s scrambling and can get hit from an angle he can’t see or when he’s in the pocket as teams blitz. They’ll clean up some of that and some of it will just always be a risk because of his style of play.

Running back depth continues to look iffy with Jordan Whit-

Kobe Boyce

tington nursing his injury and Danny Young and Kirk Johnson still out. Roschon Johnson did look good but Texas will probably have to lean heavily on Keaontay Ingram for a high volume of snaps.

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LEADING BY EXA

By Mike Blackwell

September - 2019

22

AMPLE

THE TAPE IS ALMOST FIVE YEARS OLD NOW, AND THE HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR SETTLING INTO THE STARTING BLOCKS OF THE TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL FINALS HAD NO IDEA WHAT AWAITED HIM 100-METERS HENCE. OR BEYOND.

And though the five years between someone’s senior year in high school and their senior year in college seems like a lifetime, Devin Duvernay

looked much the same that day he won the final race of his high school

career. He looked then much as he looks now as one of the best receivers in the country - same stocky build, same walk, stout and confident,

throwing off an unmistakable vibe of a strong, silent type. No frills combined with maybe even a touch of anger.

One hundred meters and 10.27 seconds later, Duvernay was a champion, and the tape shows that he did what he normally does when something

good - and often great - happens to him athletically: act as though it was meant to be.

The time and distance for Duvernay between that day in Austin as a high school senior at Sachse High School and today as an elite University of

Texas wide receiver, is great, if not in time or physical distance, certainly dramatically so in his overall life experience.

Fittingly, Duvernay’s life has traversed a great deal of distance in a seemingly short amount of time.

The Devin Duvernay Cliff Notes version can be shared thusly: -- Born into an athletic family (Kyler Murray is his cousin), he was dominant athletically at an early age

-- Becomes a high school phenom and a highly sought-after recruit (this is an understatement)

-- Commits to playing collegiately at Baylor, where their then-coach Art Briles proclaims him to be the “fastest football player we’ve ever signed.”

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devin duvernay

-- Three days before enrolling at Baylor with his twin

tainty in administration and coaching staffs. His quarter-

back situation was also unclear, causing him to launch his

brother, Donovan, Briles loses his job following the

career slowly to say the very least, catching 20 balls for

sexual assault allegations made against players in Waco.

412 yards in 2016, though he played in all 12 games and

-- The Duvernays choose to continue their careers at UT. -- Devin catches fewer balls than expected during his freshman and sophomore years that include general

athletic department turmoil and a coaching change at

made two starts.

the 40 Acres.

-- Catches 41 balls for 546 yards and four touchdowns as a junior.

-- Becomes a slot receiver and catches 39 passes through four games of his senior year, scoring four touchdowns

-

As a sophomore, in Tom Herman’s first year, he caught

just nine passes, prompting many to speculate he might transfer.

But Duvernay stayed true to himself, and stayed, period,

nabbing 41 balls as a junior for 546 yards and four scores.

The 2018 season was undoubtedly his coming out party, as he started in all 14 games and was consistent if not spectacular.

So yeah, the guy in the high school starting blocks might

His senior season has displayed Duvernay in full max mode,

ondary, but he is quite a different man, indeed.

quarterbacks, Sam Ehlinger, and playing with by far the

look exactly like the guy sprinting through the LSU sec-

On the field, Duvernay is certainly worlds apart from who

he was as a freshman, sophomore and even a junior. Early in his career, he was saddled with a team that had uncer-

playing pitch-and-catch with one of the country’s best

best offensive line in his career. Combine all of that with

stability in the coach’s office and other talented receivers taking pressure off of him in coverage, and you can see why Duvernay has been dominant.

The LSU game was by far his career-best: 12

catches for 154 yards and a touchdown; 11 of his catches, and the score, came in a frenzied second half in which the Tigers’ mouthy DBs

had no answer. Two weeks later against Okla-

homa State, the receiver who was moved from

wide to slot prior to the season caught another dozen passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.

When asked about the change, Duvernay was

honest and to the point - exactly like his game.

“I’ve been more focused than I’ve ever been,”

said the man who may have made himself some nice scratch in the LSU game. “I just took it up another notch. I’m working my ass off.”

Duvernay of course has many gifts beyond work ethic. Though short-ish for a receiver at 5-11, he is a stout 210 pounds, and his ability to

break arm tackles from poor, misguided defensive backs (see, LSU), are legend.

To put it mildly, he’s a beast after catching the rock.

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devin duvernay

-

“Breaking tackles is maybe my big-

gest strength,” says Duvernay who - get this - hasn’t dropped a single pass in his career. “Coach always

says that one person shouldn’t be able to take you down, and I truly believe that.

“I feel almost disrespected, or less of myself, if I let one person take

me down. I should always be able to break one tackle.”

Though he matter-of-factly said he

believed he was the fastest player in the Big 12 when asked that question in August, Duvernay is also

known for his quiet demeanor, which might’ve made some people take

pause when he was named to the Longhorns’ Leadership Council.

“Being on the Leadership Council is a big thing,” said

can to help them,” Duvernay says. “If coach needs me to

move to the running back slot, I’m going to do it, because I feel like I’m a deadly player wherever they put me.

Duvernay of the group which shares input from the players

“If coach asks me, I’m going to do it.”

vocal guy, I lead more by example. But I’m happy about it

But he’ll only do what the coach asks him to for a short

with Herman. “I didn’t want to be on it because I’m not a and I take pride in it.”

while now, as his Texas career is in the homestretch. If his

He also takes pride in moving to slot receiver prior to the

question get to take his work ethic and natural talent to

production continues at its current pace, he will without

season, a position change that wasn’t as drastic as some

the National Football League.

slot briefly during the Charlie Strong era, but he does

If his career ended today, he’d be known as a great team-

playing receiver wide and in the slot.

didn’t pile up numbers the way many thought he would

might believe. Duvernay reminds people that he did play

realize the drastic differences in the job requirements of

So does Herman.

“He’s taken to the slot position better than any of us could’ve imagined,” Herman says.

Herman said that he and his staff had long meetings of

mate and talented receiver who because of circumstances after he committed to Baylor years ago.

But he thinks - rightly so - that his career will be defined by much more than numbers.

“I’ve enjoyed my time here,” Duvernay said. “I’ve loved it here. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. What do I want my

discussion prior to moving him, an idea that was born from

legacy to be?

with redshirt freshman Brennan Eagles, who stood out last

“That I was a hard worker, played hard in every game and

the desire to get the senior on the field at the same time

summer and has proven to be another weapon for Ehlinger and the offense in the first four games of the season.

“I know my team needs me, so I’m going to do what I

did what I could to help my team win.”

Mission accomplished.

September - 2019

25

TIGERS TOO MU

BY JOE COOK

LSU’s new offense drew several comparisons to Big 12 offenses in the week leading up to No. 9 Texas’ primetime game against the No. 6 Tigers.

That comparison held true as Tiger QB Joe Burrow led a passing attack the Texas secondary failed to stop most of the night.

September - 2019

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UCH FOR TEXAS

Sam Ehlinger

September - 2019

27

- Texas vs LSU -

Burrow’s 31-for-39, 471-yard, four touchdown perfor-

was record breaking, but his inspired Week 2 perfor-

mance, including a late fourth quarter 61-yard strike to

mance against a team that wore DBU t-shirts in pregame

Justin Jefferson on third-and-17, led the Tigers past the

left Texas wondering who exactly it was in the secondary.

Longhorns, 45-38.

Three Tiger receivers – Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and “We wanted to pressure him to obviously get a sack or

Terrace Marshall – had monster evenings. Jefferson

incompletion to give our offense a pretty good or reason-

caught 9 passes for 163 yards and three scores, Chase

able chance to go down and score,” Texas coach Tom

hauled in 8 receptions for 147 yards, and Marshall added

Herman said about the strategy behind pressuring Bur-

123 yards and a score on six catches.

row on the touchdown play.

No matter what Texas DC Todd Orlando played in order Facing that third-and-long, Burrow surveyed the field.

to stem Burrow’s efforts, it did little to solve the problem

Texas didn’t bring on its Cowboy package with eight DBs,

of LSU’s Joe Brady-influenced offense led by a quarter-

but blitzed out of normal dime personnel. Amid pressure,

back Herman once recruited.

Burrow made the throw of the game to Jefferson, who broke a tackle and raced down the sideline to the end

“I thought Joe Burrow was the difference in the ball

zone.

game,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said. “Just really accurate, really aggressive. I thought he fit some balls

Burrow’s Week 1 performance against Georgia Southern

into some really tight windows, was really accurate down the field, and he’s going to have a heck of a year if he stays healthy.”

Burrow wasn’t the only quarterback with a good performance as Texas’ Sam Ehlinger was 31-for-47 for 401 yards and four scores, and added 60 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

The purple and gold claimant of the DBU throne didn’t outright steal the title with its performance as Devin Duvernay and Brennan Eagles each went for over 100 yards, and freshman Jake Smith added a score as well.

Eagles had Texas’ first play of over 50 yards since 2017 early in the second, while Duvernay had two big touchdown catches including an important 44-yard score to make it 30-28 LSU early in the fourth.

However, Texas’ defense could not keep

Malcolm Roach

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up with Burrow and the Tiger offense. In response, Burrow led a six play, 75-yard

- Texas vs LSU -

drive to make it a nine point game. Texas would respond

Tigers scored on 8-of-12, with the 12th drive culminating

with a score with six minutes left in the fourth, except it

in a kneel down.

was only a field goal. Scoring three rather than seven would prove costly.

“I think they can take that we’ve got to get better,” Herman said about his defense after the game. “We’re going

The final 45-38 margin was just a touchdown, and the

to play some good offenses in our conference, and that’s

result of two Texas drives in the second quarter played

on us as coaches, too. We’ve got to put them in position

a key part in that. The Longhorns drove to the LSU two

to be successful.

midway through the first quarter. LSU forced a fourth and goal, and Ehlinger rolled out to his right.

Keaontay Ingram leaked out left and Ehlinger lobbed a pass right into Ingram’s hands. Those hands guided the ball to the ground. Six points were left on the board.

“He will bounce back,” Herman said of Ingram. “I haven’t talked to him personally yet, but I’m sure Coach (Stan) Drayton will and has already.

But he’s our guy and I don’t think he should lose any confidence in that.”

Texas had an opportunity to right that wrong the very next time they had the ball. Joseph Ossai intercepted

Devin Duvernay

Burrow on the ensuing possession returned the ball to the LSU four.

“Not that they weren’t tonight, but moving forward that’s Ehlinger and Ingram could not punch it in the end zone

got to be a huge emphasis for us as coaches, to figure

in the following four plays. Herman was asked if his team

out what our weaknesses are, continue to develop those

lost some energy after missing on those two opportuni-

weaknesses, then provide some kind of assistance

ties inside the five.

through calls that can help the secondary at times.”

“We scored 38 points and had 538 yards of offense, so

Although they play a similar style to Texas’ conference

I don’t think there was any emotional letdown from our

mates, the Tigers aren’t in the Big 12. That means Her-

offense,” Herman said.

man’s often-repeated goal of competing for the conference title in November and December remains on the

Texas had chances to win or to try to win, especially

table.

if they had made that late game third down stop. But where Texas didn’t take advantage of those chances to

But Texas learned the hard way it has plenty to work on if

win, Burrow and LSU made the most of every opportu-

it wants to meet loftier expectations.

nity. Where the Longhorns scored on 6-of-12 drives, the

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29

POST-MORTEM |

O F F E N S E

by Scipio Tex On balance, a terrific winning effort from the Longhorns against a talented LSU (SEC!) defense.

Given the added constraints of the RB depth chart and the baseline level of athlete LSU trots out there, the offensive side

I wrote before the game that Texas needed to win on the white

of the Texas staff can hold its head high.

boards on Wednesday if they want to win on the field on Saturday. I thought the Texas offensive brain trust did that with an

I also mentioned how important conditioning would be in the

aggressive, attacking offense and multiple formations and mis-

brutal heat after the big game adrenaline dips and crashes. S&C

direction plays that confused the Tigers. Texas gave fake reads,

guru Yancy McKnight posted the W on LSU’s Tommy Moffitt as

attacked their scheme with false keys, and came out throwing

the Texas offense ground down the Tigers into a cavalcade of

power shots early. Even if they didn’t all land, that aggression

2nd half PI calls and faked (and a few real) injuries to halt Long-

set the right tone.

horn momentum. That offensive momentum was only halted by

BRENNAN EAGLES

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failing to land a a final meaningful possession when the game

It’s also pretty clear we couldn’t trust Ingram there, unfortunate-

was on the line. And that had nothing to do with the offensive

ly. LSU’s defense gets considerably better in tight spaces - as

headsets.

you’d expect from a huge D that specializes in man coverage.

Given that, do you take 3 on that second 4th and goal situation?

Incredibly, Texas scored on every possession in the second half:

19 plays, 86 yards, TD

7 plays, 75 yards, TD

7 plays, 75 yards, TD

10 plays, 46 yards, FG

8 plays, 75 yards, TD

Even if the first half only yielded 7 points, I liked our approach from the opening possession. Came out in 4 wide. Immediately screen the blitz with misdirection. A deep shot on 2nd and 2.

False keys. Throwing from our run sets. Running from pass sets. That’s good stuff. This staff had plenty up its sleeve. It just

That’s 31 points on >300 yards of offense with a mixture of big plays, ball control (Texas had the ball over 20 minutes in the second half) and LSU defenders dropping like flies when they weren’t getting pancaked in the end zone.

If Texas gets the ball back with 2:30 on the clock and 2 timeouts down 37-31, I have a pretty good guess how this game ends.

As for the first half, Ehlinger was a little off and besting LSU’s defense was going to take time and attrition. Unfortunately, Texas left some points on the field early.

Philosophically, I generally like going for it on 4th down. Anyone equating those decisions with Orlando’s 3rd and 17 choke don’t understand the difference between the odds playing blackjack vs. Powerball.

Reasonable minds can differ on the former.

I find it hard to fault the staff with making a flawless 4th down call exploiting a pre-identified tendency and having player error cost us a TD. On the second failed red zone possession, ideally you’d like to see some more tactical arrows in the quiver for that game situation (how would LSU have responded to 5 wide?), but LSU did a great job defensing Ehlinger’s power play and the pop pass to the TE.

SAM EHLINGER

needed the players executing and LSU in deep water for results to match the process.

OFFENSIVE LINE This unit played well overall. The Tigers are a load when fresh and the Texas OL met or exceeded their physicality for four quarters. It was funny watching LSU’s DL bring it really hard on the first 3 plays of a drive and then show “Oh, damn” body language when the O converted 3rd down.

You’re not going to get perfect in a game like this and 2 or 3 of

September - 2019

31

the 5 sacks surrendered were a function of covered receivers or

group.

a missed throwaway opportunity as much as OL error.

QUARTERBACK Parker Braun was brutally devastating on his pulls. Deep pad

Ehlinger was 9 of 19 for 136 yards in the 1st half. He had four

level and violent contact. His violent pancake of #90 Rashard

accuracy misfires he’d like to have back, but no turnovers. As

Lawrence in the second half is replay worthy, mostly because

LSU wilted under Longhorn offensive pressure after that 3rd

Lawrence rests there like a beached walrus for ten additional

quarter opening soul-stealing 19 play TD drive, Sam started

minutes. Braun was asked to anchor against big ass bodies

dealing dimes. His second half was dominant, going 22 of 28 for

coming in waves and he largely held up, even drawing a frustra-

265 yards and three total touchdowns total.

tion hands to the face PI. He’ll get even better as the season progresses.

No opponent is going to out compete Texas at the QB position.

Texas put the game on Sam’s shoulders and he delivered 66

Sam Cosmi was really good. He got beat once and had to tackle

plays from scrimmage for 461 yards and four touchdowns. Zero

the rusher in a predictable passing situation. Otherwise, pitched

turnovers. Did he have a few off throws? Sure. But let’s try to

a shut out.

keep the larger picture in mind. He shouldered a monster burden and schlepped it up from the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Shack did a solid job. LSU made some hay on T/E stunts but

Maybe Orlando could’ve pitched in and carried his own water?

they were just really well-timed or caught us in the wrong pro call. Angilau impressed me with his physicality and improved

RUNNING BACK

mobility. Kerstetter had a tough penalty but battled for four quar-

Tough day for Ingram. He dropped an open touchdown and put

ters. He has really improved his base.

the ball on the carpet twice while amassing a 2.9 yards per carry average on 10 touches. He was useful in the passing game

The Texas OL was the hammer more often than the nail against

beyond the 4th down drop, tallying 5 receptions.

a front renowned for their physicality. So far, I REALLY like this Roschon Johnson is a straight up football player.

Damn, that kid competes.

Falling forward like a power back, running through arm tackles, pushing piles, leaping for the sticks, taking on 245-pound linebackers in pass pro. 7 carries for 32 yards and 3 catches for 17 doesn’t do his contributions justice. I’m proud #2 is a Longhorn.

The staff’s willingness to throw to the RB position is a nice wrinkle in the offense.

Last week, RB totaled 7 ROSCHON JOHNSON

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catches. This week? 8.

DEVIN DUVERNAY

for his long term cause though.

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END A wonderful national coming out party for Devin Duvernay and

John Burt has had two straight weeks of invisible snaps. C’mon

Brennan Eagles. Eagles is the downfield threat we’ve dreamed

#1.

about and his size, speed and hands make for a lethal combination if the DB doesn’t do their work early. On the day he went

We need more from Epps than a penalty and an empty box

for 5 catches, 116 yards and a TD. It’s also worth noting that

score.

the level of difficulty of his catches was not low. He’s not fluid just effective.

Jake Smith ran a terrific post route and secured the 20 yard TD against a strong late recovery from the LSU DB. Stud. Brewer

LSU couldn’t get Duvernay on the ground. He played like the

had a first down catch, but was otherwise quiet in the passing

perimeter YAC garbage gainer and slot deep threat we’ve been

game. Leitao was more active and snagged a ball of his own.

dreaming about. 12 catches, 154 yards, 2 TDs. An absolute career game. Playing straight man against him is folly and Duve’s

FINAL THOUGHTS

ability to run through soft tackles is a real problem for folks.

The Texas offense put up 38 points against a fine defense, dominated TOP in the second half when Texas most needed to

Collin Johnson got some extra coverage attention and was

shield its own defense (LSU only ran 68 total plays - an absolute

shutout in the first half. He had a much stronger second stanza,

best case scenario for the Longhorn D) and played with relent-

grabbing 3-49 and drawing some PI calls, but there were three

less effort, physicality and focus.

different instances where Texas found him in single coverage and he wasn’t able to win. If he can’t separate, he has to assert

I’m very heartened by what I saw and what it portends for the

himself as a schoolyard bully in tight spaces. The book on him

future. I’m equally frustrated by how that effort was wasted.

won’t change until then.

Duvernay and Eagles punishing single coverage is very helpful

September - 2019

33

POST-MORTEM |

D E F E N S E

JOSEPH OSSAI

The final butcher’s bill was long and bloody. I’ll hit a few low-

accuracy and DOT (depth of target). Higher completion percent-

lights beyond 45 points surrendered at home before a raucous

age? Fewer yards. More yards downfield? Lower accuracy.

100,000+ Texas crowd. The larger context of that is important.

Texas failed on both accounts, allowing what will likely be Burrow’s highest passer rating all season. Generally, a defense

LSU QB Joe Burrow was 31 of 39 for 471 yards passing. He

can make an impact on one part of that equation by simple

completed nearly 80% of his attempts on largely downfield

alignment. Not so Saturday.

throws (>15 yards per completion). He averaged 12 yards every time he attempted a throw.

LSU converted 50% of their 3rd downs. On par with the rate Orlando surrendered last year in Big 12 play, where Texas

As a general rule, competent defenses force a trade off between

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surpassed only conference winless Kansas in money down

insidetexas.com

P.J. LOCKE

defense.

attempted throws (factor in scrambles) allowing LSU only 11 possessions is a triumph of the clock-milking, possession-

As I wrote last year during the season, in my preseason preview

stealing Longhorn offense. Typically, a game like that might yield

and pointed out leading up to this game after we saw the La

14 possessions for the opponent. Had that occurred, LSU likely

Tech effort, Todd Orlando has exhibited a post 2017 problem

puts 59 on the scoreboard.

with 3rd down defense and the call matching approach, with squads absent overwhelming talent advantages and seniority.

The Texas defense was never placed in a bad spot the entire

Those situations more than any other call for coherent team

game. Every point they gave up was excruciatingly deserved.

defense and individual agency at some key positions. Not mind-

LSU’s average scoring drive length was 68 yards.

less Xs running to spots.

Relevance? No short fields.

All three LSU primary receivers went >100 yards receiving.

Jefferson: 9-163-3td. Marshall: 6-123-1td. Chase: 8-147-0.

Tiger average starting position? The LSU 23 yard line.

Jefferson was in single coverage on his game sealing 3rd and 17 zero blitz 61 yard touchdown catch. Of course, so was every

The Texas offense and special teams did not have a single

other Tiger receiver.

turnover. That’s ideal.

LSU’s “normal runs” (non sack yardage) went for 5.7 yards per

In the second half, in a game played in 98 degree heat, Texas

carry. But why run for 6 yards a pop when you can throw for 12

dominated time of possession: 20:38 minutes to LSU’s 9:22. But

yards an attempt? When LSU ran successfully, it was primarily

LSU’s last three possessions? Three 6 play, 75 yard touchdown

when Texas lined up wrong. They won surprisingly few individual

drives. Bam. Bam. Bam. In the late 3rd quarter on, when the

match ups in the run game. Mostly leaning and screening.

game boils down to conditioning and picking up the other team’s tendencies and adjustments over the course of the contest, the

LSU had only 11 meaningful possessions. They scored on 8 of

Texas offense dominated. The Texas defense got worse (from a

them. Surrendering points on 73% of possessions is not good.

low bar), despite barely having to play.

Particularly given that Texas will play some Big 12 games where the opponent will have 12-14 possessions.

Due to the Longhorn O dominating time of possession, LSU ran only 68 plays. But had 573 yards of offense. That’s 8.4 yards

In a game featuring 88 combined passing attempts and 100

per play.

September - 2019

35

sealing 61 yard touchdown.

The Texas offense and special teams did everything possible to protect the Longhorn defense. And were resoundingly success-

That call defies Football 101. It’s bad probability analysis - the

ful in that effort.

difference in not understanding the percentages between playing Powerball or a hand of Blackjack. It also ignores the larger

So while the defensive effort looked bad, in the larger picture,

context of the game. All that matters there is possession of the

it’s substantially worse than what you saw. Usually a defense

ball. A 10 yard gain is cause for riotous celebration.

surrendering 45 at home is doing so on the wrong end of short fields, handicapped by a sputtering offense, betrayed by

At that point, statistical window dressing, frustration that you’ve

turnovers, a blocked punt, general bad breaks. The scoreboard

been taken to school by a 29 year old passing game coordinator

reflecting a total team failure more than any one one unit.

for four quarters, or the dream of inflicting a defensive big play is out of bounds. You play the percentages established by God

Nope, nope, nope and nope. This was all on the D.

and man.

I won’t try to characterize Todd’s thinking there, but I will say that it was consistent with his defensive approach the entire game.

It might be a useful encapsulation of Todd Orlando’s 3rd down problem. Increasingly, the Texas defense just looks like a bunch of calls on a play sheet.

“Looks.”

A defense is a coherent blend of 11 men playing their positions and doing their jobs within a

MALCOLM ROACH (32) AND BRANDON JONES (19)

larger construct. Some Texas was also able to run dime personnel against LSU’s O,

players have necessarily narrow assignments. Hedgehogs.

but saw no (or negative) coverage benefits despite a seemingly favorable personnel mix that played more to the defense’s rela-

Some key positions require individual agency if you want a suc-

tive strengths. Maybe that’s because we chose to play that dime

cessful defense - particularly against wide open offenses. Open

more for pressure rather than helping/disguising in coverage.

doesn’t just refer to space - it’s also about being open-ended.

THE 3RD AND 17 CALL

The way to combat that is having some of your own flexibility

With 2:38 on the clock, the Texas offense dominating (they

and open-endedness. Not creating robotic Xs running to spots

scored on every 2nd half possession), down 37-31, 3rd and 17

you anticipate will cause a problem and playing Battleship with

on the LSU 39 yard line, Todd Orlando chose to go with a zero

the opposing OC. (I-9? A-4? G-3?)

blitz on the game’s most important play. Texas brought six men,

36

leaving four Texas DBs in single coverage on four LSU receiv-

The inability to trust athletes and a possible failure to teach them

ers (the middle safety, Chris Brown, didn’t have depth and was

the game from position up means that in key moments, he’s

basically a QB spy). Burrow evaded the blitz and threw a game

always going to try to make them mindless X’s running to spots

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and try to call match the opposing OC. If we don’t guess right, we blame a lack of instincts for their struggles to operate within larger defensive principles they may not really have been taught.

I mistakenly believed/hoped that more experience, some smart players, and a loaded safety room would have our staff grant their pupils more freedom and trust.

Or at least put them in a base defense that they know and are confident in where they can display the instincts that made them four and five star recruits.

JALEN GREEN

I think defense should start at the position level up. Not the white board down.

THE PLAYERS

So while Joe Ossai, Mal Roach and Chris Brown had several great individual efforts and McCulloch missed an open field tackle on Helaire (and made some others) and Kobe Boyce and

Usually, I break down the players, but why bother? It’s irrel-

Jalen Green got beat in single man coverage (sometimes as we

evant. The Texas defense played hard. Actually, really hard.

rushed four and had four Longhorn players at LB depth in noman’s land incapable of pressuring or coverage) what exactly is

They also have talent. They weren’t assignment perfect, but

the value of evaluating their individual play? I’d be making the

they weren’t blowing coverages and melting down either. LSU

same mistake our defensive staff did.

has three NFL quality wide receivers and a good QB playing in a cool scheme.

The game wasn’t about that.

So it’s not as if the reasonable standard is defensive domi-

The defensive staff lost their battle. They didn’t just lose on the

nation. But the standard should be something higher than a

white boards on Wednesday. They lost in Spring and Fall camp.

thorough X&O pantsing for four excruciating quarters despite

Because we still don’t have a hang your hat defensive identity or

massive support from the offense, special teams, field position

a plan - however imperfect - for answering the same questions.

and crowd.

A laminate with some pressures on it isn’t a defense.

LSU’s excellent receivers made some good plays. But most of those throws were open by scheme. Just as they were last year

Want to know why Texas can cross train it’s linebackers and

against hurry up spread practitioners with lesser talent.

defensive backs so easily?

Burrow made accurate throws to open receivers. If our defense

Because they’re not learning a position...

is relying on offensive incompetence, that’s going to hurt our ceiling.

...they’re just memorizing a call.

September - 2019

37

HORNS ROLL

BY JUSTIN WELLS

HOUSTON — Texas and Rice played for years in the old Southwest Conference, where UT dominated much of the series.

Almost 25 years later, some things never change.

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L OVER RICE

Sam Ehlinger

September - 2019

39

- texas vs rice -

B

ehind the arm of Sam Ehlinger, the legs of Keaontay In-

caller, Ehlinger, agreed they couldn’t let LSU “beat them twice.”

gram and Roschon Johnson, and a stout defense, No. 12

Controlling the ball and tempo was just the trick to trip up the

Texas defeated Rice, 48-13, from NRG Stadium in Houston.

Owls.

Texas overwhelmed the Owls from the opening kick, including

“Converting on third downs is huge,” said Ehlinger, who became

having 19 first-half first downs, while Rice ran only 20 plays.

only the sixth Longhorn in history to amass 7,000 total yards.

Texas had four drives of 70+ yards, while the Owls had 40 yards

“When we’re over 50% on third downs, its helps us. It’s great for

total in the opening stanza.

us do to the things we want on offense and wear the defense down.”

Ehlinger finished the day almost perfect: 23-of-27, 279 yards, three TD passes. He also added a 5.4 ypc to fuel the offense.

The second half was much like the first.

Ingram and Johnson totaled 182 yards and three scores, and freshman Jake Smith had his breakout game. The rookie H

Ingram, sophomore, capped off UT’s first series in the third with

(slot) tallied 75 yards, on six catches, and two touchdowns.

a 14-yard touchdown run and a 38-0 advantage.

“Really proud of our team,” said Texas coach Tom Herman.

“Everyone was worried about the running back room coming

“Certainly the way that they started, they did what we asked

into this season,” Ehlinger said. “I didn’t bat an eye. I have so

them to do all week, which was to put last week behind them. I

much confidence in Keaontay, Ro, and Danny.”

know that playing the game last week, win or lose, was going to help us down the road. And it will.”

Let’s not forget the defense that held Rice to 262 yards. Keondre Coburn, Ayodele Adeoye, and Juwan Mitchell all played

Tonight was a large step in the right direction. The junior signal-

outstanding and all recorded their first career sacks.

Keaontay Ingram

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- texas vs rice -

Roschon Johnson

Texas started the scoring on its opening drive when Ehlinger hit

Ingram wasn’t finished. He capped off UT’s first series in the

Johnson for a 25-yard touchdown. The 12-play, 82-yard drive

third with a 14-yard touchdown run and a 38-0 advantage.

chewed up 6:12 in the first quarter.

“If I had to pinpoint any one quality about Texas is their athletiAfter a Rice punt, UT marches 90 yards, culminated by an Eh-

cism,” said Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren. “They are an

linger to Jake Smith 53-yard pitch-and-catch for the score, and

athletic group with great length and great skill. We looked like a

14-0 advantage through one quarter.

MASH unit by the end of the game.”

UT didn’t take long in the second quarter with heavy doses of

Rice prevented the shutout with a 12-play, 73-yard drive,

Ingram and Johnson. Ingram capped off the 10-play, 73-yard

capped off by a Aston Walter 3-yard scoring catch. 38-6, Texas,

drive with a 26-yard scoring scamper and a 21-0 Texas lead.

with 7:50 left.

Later in the first half, Ehlinger hits Smith for a 12-yard scoring

Rice added another late score, then UT’s D’Shawn Jamison

grab, his second of the night. Smith is one of only five receivers

returned the favor, literally. His 98-yard kickoff return for six was

at Texas to catch two touchdowns in a game – Collin Johnson,

the icing on the cake at NRG.

Roy Williams, Sloan Thomas, and Artie Ellis the others.

With Big 12 play starting next Saturday, and Oklahoma State Smith’s score gave Texas a 28-0 lead late in the 1st half. Cam-

owning a 4-game winning streak at DKR, Herman and his troops

eron Dicker would close out the scoring nailing a personal-re-

know what lies ahead.

cord 57-yard field goal and UT a 31-0 lead heading into halftime.

“It’s an empty the chamber kind of week,” said Herman. “We’re Dicker’s 57-yard boot was the longest FG by a Texas kicker

not going to leave any stone unturned.”

since Jeff Ward’s 57-yarder at Texas A&M in 1985.

Jean Delance

September - 2019

41

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September - 2019

43

LONGHORNS STOP

by Joe Cook

AUSTIN - Entering Texas’ game with Oklahoma State, Longhorns head coachTom Herman repeatedly likened facing the Cowboys’ offenseto a quote from the movie Armageddon.

It wasn’t the combined efforts of the OSU’s talent-laden, “scariest environment imaginable” offense that almost ended Texas’ opportunity to defeat Mike Gundy’s program in Austin for the first time this decade, but rather repeated gaffes by the Longhorns.

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P OSU WIN STREAK

September - Breckyn 2019 Hager 45

- texas vs oklahoma state -

I

n ten drives where OSU’s method

wasn’t. Tonight we took a step, in my

due to several injuries in the secondary,

of obtaining the ball was a kickoff

opinion, because we played less than

grabbed the ball out of the air.

or a punt, the Cowboys mustered 9

our best and still beat a really, really

points. In four drives where the method

good football team.”

According to Herman, it was his first ever live rep on the hands team.

was a Texas turnover via fumble, interception, or on downs, the Cowboys

The final Texas turnover, a dropped

totaled 21 points for a sum of 30.

punt by Brandon Jones with 3:44 left in

There was still work to be done, as

the game, allowed the Cowboys to cut

Gundy had all three timeouts in his

The burnt orange gaffes weren’t enough

the margin to one score via a Chuba

pocket and the Longhorns needed a

to give the bright orange another win in

Hubbard touchdown run. It was Texas’

first down to ice it. Enter Ehlinger.

Austin, as a career night from Keaontay

second major special teams blunder of

Ingram and a four touchdown perfor-

the evening, as freshman Jake Smith

In a play that looked very similar to the

mance from Sam Ehlinger led the Long-

dropped a punt leading to a second

game-sealing run in 2018’s contest by

horns to a 36-30 victory in both team’s

quarter Cowboys touchdown.

OSU’s Taylor Cornelius, Ehlinger faked a give to the running back, pulled the ball,

Big 12 Conference opener.

OSU’s Jake McClure lined up for an on-

ran around the right edge, and scam-

“That was not a very well-coached or

side kick with 1:34 remaining and it was

pered 29 yards, remaining in bounds to

very well-played game in certain spots,

everything the Cowboys could have

keep the clock moving and seal the win.

but we found a way to win,” Herman

asked for. It took several bounces and

said. “We’ve been telling them since

players from both teams had an oppor-

“We had been running a lot of wide

we got here that our best was good

tunity to grab it. Then, freshman Chris

zone so we had that in our arsenal,”

enough, but less than our best probably

Adimora, who was thrust into action

Ehlinger said. “To pull it out on the last play showed me that coach had a lot of confidence in me, so it was great.”

Texas’ final big gain was indicative of the night it had on offense. Ehlinger, Ingram, and freshman Roschon Johnson ran effectively against the Cowboy defense for the entire night. That trio rushed for 209 yards on 4.98 yards per carry and one score via Johnson.

Ingram set a career high with 114 yards on 21 carries, eclipsing his mark set against Baylor last year. Johnson again excelled at a position he is still learning.

He added a score and a 2-point conversion reception.

Ehlinger continued to build his Heisman candidacy. He found Smith, Brennan Eagles, Cade Brewer, and Devin Duvernay for touchdown passes. The only blemish on his record was an interception he tried to fit into a tight window that was deflected and gathered in by OSU’s Kolby Harvell-Peel.

Though Hubbard amassed 121 yards, it came on 37 carries. Standout receiver

Roschon Johnson

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Tylan Wallace, who burned Texas for

insidetexas.com

- texas vs oklahoma state 222 yards last year, was double-covered

following a turnover. It played winning

for most of the evening and limited to

football on offense by punishing a Cow-

Texas now enters its first bye week at

just 83 yards on five receptions.

boy defense that has only struggled

a time when it needs it most. Following

under second-year OSU defensive

the game, Herman said Marcus Tillman

Sam Ehlinger

Texas struggled to limit Cowboy QB

coordinator Jim Knowles.

Spencer Sanders. The 2017 Mr. Texas

was preliminarily diagnosed with a MCL sprain and needed a MRI to see if he

Football returned to his home state and

Where it didn’t play winning football

sustained any damage to his ACL, Jalen

put on a show. He was 19-of-32 for 268

was in the third phase of the game, spe-

Green dislocated his shoulder, and

yards and added 109 yards and a score

cifically the two dropped punts that set

Josh Thompson would miss time with a

on the ground. His efforts played a ma-

up two OSU touchdowns.

fracture of his fifth metatarsal.

game, despite throwing interceptions to

“Obviously the punt return game was

On top of that, Caden Sterns landed

Montrell Estell and Chris Brown.

embarrassing,” Herman said. “We have

awkwardly in the fourth quarter and

got to do a better job of coaching those

needed to be carted back to the locker

situations.”

room. Herman said Sterns’ knee “is still

jor role in keeping the Cowboys in the

“I told Coach Gundy after the game he’s got himself one in that quarterback,”

really hurting” and would need an MRI

Herman said. “Man, that guy is very,

“At that point in the game I should have

very difficult to defend in that offense

reminded (Jones), hey, if in doubt, let

and the way he can run the football. You

the thing hit the ground,” he continued.

“We’ve got to get some guys healthy,

try to guard Wallace, try to stop the run

“Let the thing roll around for a little bit

get them rested, and make sure that

with Hubbard, and then he’s either run-

and kill some time.”

we know we’ve got a four-game stretch

ning it or throwing it to somebody else.”

to assess any problems.

coming up and then another bye week,” The error almost proved costly, but the

Herman said. “We’ve got to be at our

Texas played winning football on de-

work done throughout the game by the

best starting with West Virginia in two

fense when Todd Orlando’s side of the

offense and defense was able to cover

weeks.”

ball didn’t have to rush onto the field

for the special teams woes.

Jean Delance

September - 2019

47

POST-MORTEM |

O F F E N S E

by Scipio Tex The Texas offense racked up 503 yards of offense on only 69

alternated between ball control domination (14 of the first 16

plays (7.3 yards per play), but two late game kneel downs ticked

plays were runs - including three Ehlinger scrambles logged

the Horns back just below the 500 yard mark.

as runs) and big plays (Ehlinger to Eagles for a quick 73 yard touchdown).

Texas dominated at the line of scrimmage (the Texas OL surrendered no sacks, only two quarterback pocket touches, and

The only thing that really kept 40+ off of the board was a pair of

three negative runs) while paving the way for 217 yards rushing

really poor money down calls. The first was a Johnson run into a

at 5 yards per carry.

zero blitz on the OSU 29 yard line in the 2nd quarter on 4th and 3 with Texas up 14-6. I know some people wanted the Dicker

Sam Ehlinger was a hyper-efficient 20 of 28 for 281 yards and 4

kick there. That would be fine. I would just prefer a smarter play

touchdowns with another 70 yards rushing on 10 carries. Texas

call.

JAKE SMITH

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The second uninspired call was an Ehlinger QB draw on 3rd and

and his end zone throw to Duvernay was a perfect pass and

1 at the OSU 38 in the 4th quarter...into a zero blitz. Those are

harder than it looked. On throws outside of the numbers (real

both check-with-me at the line situations where you look at the

big boy throws) Sam was 6 of 8 for 117 yards and 3 touch-

D and then take the passing game candy.

downs.

Herman flagellated himself properly in the post-game press con-

RUNNING BACK

ference until I could see blood on his polo, so we’’ll move on.

Keaontay got his knee brace off and had an impressive performance with 114 yards rushing on 21 carries.

I know some feel that Texas lost too much aggression in the 4th quarter trying to run clock.

Roschon Johnson gave us good snaps, including a nice 15 yard reception, but it was KI’s night. Can’t wait to see this RB unit

Texas had three substantive 4th quarter possessions after

after the bye week.

establishing the 36-23 lead: One drive was stopped by the bad QB draw call into zero blitz on 3rd and 1.

The next possession saw Texas run Ingram on 3rd and 8 for 5 yards.

The next possession was sealed by Sam’s 29 yard run on 3rd and long.

There’s some validity to that criticism, but fumbling a punt didn’t exactly play into that master strategy and a decent play call on Ehlinger draw likely seals the game. I have a feeling that next time the staff will trust Sam a little more and punish some of those late game overloaded

SAM EHLINGER

boxes.

QUARTERBACK

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END

Ehlinger is in the process of moving up into the tier of all-time

Brennan Eagles flew to the end zone on his only catch of the

great Longhorn quarterbacks. Yeah, I said it. That tier. That

game after the OSU cornerback lost his mind and tried to squat

Bobby Layne, Colt McCoy, VY one. Even his interception (his

on a route that wasn’t being run.

first of the season) was a case of a good CB taking advantage of a WR who lacks the aggressiveness or instincts to protect his

On the season, Eagles has 10 catches for 4 touchdowns and

space or his QB.

averages 27.6 yards per catch. #13 should bat down any pass less than 20 yards so he doesn’t ruin his average. Eagles also

Ehlinger had money throws to Eagles and Jake Smith for scores

drew a personal foul, when an OSU DB face-masked him rather

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49

than get blown by. I appreciate his blocking and overall effort.

John Burt could have fought harder for a post route and went catchless. He has one catch on the season.

Devin Duvernay is the most reliable, valuable receiver on the team and Quan Cosby reincarnate and cast as a slot. 12

I think the staff has some decisions to make about trying more

catches, 108 yards, 1 touchdown. Just racking up third down

of one or two of Woodard/Pouncey/Washington/Lewis instead of

conversions at will. An amazing blossoming of a player almost

Epps and Burt over the next few games. They’re not giving the

all of us thought was fully formed. What a treat to watch.

offense the quality relief snaps it needs and CJ’s absence really highlighted that. I’m not saying it’s a certainty, but it has to be

All things being equal, Malcolm Epps would rather be playing

considered if the staff doesn’t want to offer free passes to cover-

Rice every week. A lack of aggressiveness, bad ball tracking

age when we rest our core receivers.

(Sam’s sideline go route was a good throw - #85 didn’t track it) and a lack of effort characterized his game. He caught one ball

OFFENSIVE LINE

for six yards against OSU coverage so on an island that I feared

This is the best Texas OL since 2006. Unfortunately, it’s really

he’d be hit by a coconut. We missed Colin Johnson a lot.

going to take a step back when Parker Braun redshirts for the rest of the season. Speaking of Braun, he was flagged for a hold

Cade Brewer had a nice touchdown catch on the 25 yard re-

that I found fairly dubious on replay, but it eliminated a 23 yard

verse flea flicker. Your OL is playing good ball when you can get

Ingram run.

away with calling that.

Proud of Shack for battling hard through injury and pain. He Jake Smith nabbed his 4th touchdown of the year on a nifty

earned his bye.

crosser route that he carried up the seam.

Really fun to watch these guys play so hard and with such obvious pride. Nothing much more to say - every guy won his battle.

FINAL Texas pushed around a defense they should have pushed around and that I predicted they’d push around.

The only thing that kept the Horns from putting up 40+ were a couple of offensive coaching own goal calls on key downs, but 36 points on the scoreboard with Texas trying to take the air out of the football during the 4th quarter is a pretty nice place to be if any of you care to recall 2017 or some of KEAONTAY INGRAM

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the early season slogs of 2018.

POST-MORTEM |

D E F E N S E

JALEN GREEN

Todd Orlando came in with a winning game plan.

doubled Wallace irrespective of alignment, and dared Oklahoma State to beat Texas with Chuba Hubbard, Spencer Sanders’

This was the two deep shell we’ve written about and it largely

legs, and secondary Cowboy receivers.

emulated some of the key aspects of our successful 2017 defensive game plan against OSU: layered pass defense (and a

OSU did pretty well compensating for the Wallace double team

doubled primary receiver) to stop single shot big plays, stopping

given their inexperience at QB and very average secondary

the run with a light box, minimal blitzing.

receivers, but they also turned it over twice, only converted 3 touchdowns out of six red zone trips, and had an obvious ceiling

52

Orlando abandoned the pressure-above-all mentality, minimized

put on their offense deprived of Wallace’s downfield playmaking.

orchestrated calls for the positions who need to read and react,

And yeah, Spencer Sanders is going to be a huge pain in the

inside texas

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ass for the next three years when he actually learns what he’s doing.

Texas was really only held back from a potentially great performance by a lack of time basing out of that scheme, containment discipline, injuries, dumb special teams turnovers, and some instances of horrid outside run/containment force tackling that featured shoelace diving and bad angles.

Three of those things are in the defensive

KEONDRE COBURN

staff’s control and can be improved on. I would have preferred to see a base identity established in the Spring and Fall so that we could nail the fundamentals of position and scheme and then build out the exotics in the D to create change-ups (position up rather than white

a returner back there at all.

Following that with #57 Cort Jaquess on our hands team flubbing a kick aligned with only one other Longhorn player against the strength of OSU’s onside kickoff formation and it’s not very

board down), but that milk is spilt and the bye week beckons.

clear the staff has done a lot of coaching there. My guess?

Oklahoma State amassed 494 yards of offense, but it took 89

ally know what they’re doing. Chris Adimora’s cool saved Texas

plays to do it. They were 9 of 21 converting on money downs and per usual, I’m a lot happier seeing us defend 4th and 1 than

Some of this has been tasked to GAs or analysts who don’t refrom a potential nightmare scenario.

3rd and 5. OSU gained >46 yards on six drives, but Longhorn

DEFENSIVE LINE

red zone defense generally did a good job of shutting down

I’m so proud of these guys. Reading commentary in the game

the OSU conventional run game reading TE keys and eliminat-

thread critical of their performance was bizarre. The entire Texas

ing the single play scoring threat of Tylan Wallace (5-83, two

game plan hinged on Graham-Coburn-Roach holding up in a

catches came on OSU’s opening drive).

tight front against OSU’s outside zone and counter runs while outnumbered and doubled by a decent Cowboy OL blocking for

We had a plan. Not a bunch of calls shotgun sprayed at the wall.

a damn good running back.

Special teams, specifically the return teams, did not have a plan.

My respect for Chuba Hubbard actually grew after this game.

I’m reluctant to pin any blame on the coaches for a freshman

That was a hard ass 121 yards earned on 37 carries (3.3 per

returner freaking out as when Jake Smith dropped an easy punt

rush). Texas also inflicted 12 tackles for loss against a Cowboy

that set up Oklahoma State points in the first half, but a senior

running game that does a good job of moving sticks.

“safe returner” sprinting to the football and attempting a Willie Mays slide catch in the 4th quarter with the Longhorns up 13 is

Keondre Coburn proves the Poona Ford Rule to never trust

just awful football and terrible situational coaching. You’re not

a box score to assess nose tackle impact in this defense. Big

going to have a word with him about that situation before the

boy created a huge 3rd and 1 stop after the Ehlinger intercep-

kick? C’mon. I can make a strong argument for not even having

tion to force a Cowboy field goal attempt (faked, failed) and his

September - 2019

53

outstanding stunt between the G/T from the nose to create a

he’ll help us down the road against purer passing spread teams.

deflection and tipped ball INT to Chris Brown was massive. Big Keondre got worn down in this game, but he’s a force when his

I cannot stress how much we asked of this DL in terms of

energy reserves allow. Moro Ojomo showed some good pen-

responsibility and energy expenditure. Battling outside zone

etration as well. Very effective in pursuit and a nice contrast to

through double teams, pass rushing with three, and chasing a

Coburn’s size. Four hustle tackles and some damn good snaps

4.5 40 QB is the height of anaerobic taxation. If you saw them

from Ojomo. I couldn’t be more proud of these two NTs. Studs.

wear down or pass rush with less than ideal energy, consider what we asked them to do.

Graham had two terrific tackles for loss, walking back OSU OL into a Spencers Sanders keeper and destroying a “catch ‘em with their pants down” outside zone run from Chuba Hubbard on 3rd and 6 which has a long history of catching us with our trousers ‘round the ankles. If he could bring it every play, he’s a star.

Malcolm Roach had his own huge short yardage stop, flinging an OSU guard five yards into the backfield to create a jam up on

LINEBACKER Joe Ossai battled through a shoulder injury to notch 8 tackles and a sack. I really prefer Ossai as an edge defender, but he certainly gives all we ask of him - his full attention and effort. He lost contain a couple of times, but finished with two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. His personal foul call was regrettable, but you gotta keep your hands down on QB hits.

McCulloch was physical, mostly inside. Six solo stops, but a lack of lateral range was evident on some plays. Very evident. Juwan Mitchell notched another sack and he both split and shared the field with Adeoye at the same time in some nickel looks.

DEFENSIVE BACKS The walking wounded hung in there, but tackling angles and containment principles were quite poor from several of them. Early execution of the Wallace double team was shoddy, but improved over the course of the game after they got coached up on the sideline.

Chris Brown notched a pick off of the Coburn tip and got beat deep on a sensational Sanders throw where you can really only tip your cap. I love Brown. He makes his mistakes full speed and he has some ball awareness. We need him looking at the ball

AYODELE ADEOYE (40) AND MALCOLM ROACH (32)

and playing open-ended assignments.

4th and 1 when Texas was protecting a 28-23 lead. Roach was exhausted after logging about 70 hard snaps but notched four hustle tackles and left it all out on the field.

Bimage has the potential to really help us if he can avoid selfish plays like slamming a RB’s head into the ground after the ref’s blow a play dead.

Jacoby Jones isn’t really built for this game plan, but I believe

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inside texas

Caden Sterns went down late with what looks like a major injury and led the team in tackles with 12. His ability to range free from the Cover 2 shell plays to his strengths, but in this game tackling was decidedly not one of them. He blew three tackles on Sanders where he took bad angles, didn’t acknowledge inside help and shoe dived. I think he wore down. It’s possible he never fully recovered from his injuries that plagued him right up to Fall camp.

insidetexas.com

This is the playing freshman early paradox I’ve written about.

They show talent and ability, but a lack of physical preparation for the rigors of the game and a lack of “armor” virtually guarantee injuries that can lead to more down the road.

Montrell Estell drew the start and notched nine tackles and an interception and 37 yard return on a Sanders overthrow to the TE. We saw good play from Estell in the Spring and I’m not surprised the staff gave him the

FINAL Let’s take a step back and survey the big picture.

Texas improved to 3-1 and posted a big W over one of the two or three best teams remaining on the schedule. A team that had won 7 of their previous 9 against Texas and five in a row in Austin. Most of those wins posted by simply out-coaching Texas and having a real program, composite #48 national recruiting

start so that they could play Thompson at CB and Jones at nickel. Estell will probably be starting more games based on our injury situation. Expect him to be a shell safety.

Brandon Jones was very active supporting the run from the SuperNickel (2 tfl, 7 tackles) and he also had two break ups. He’ll get even better in this role as he acclimates and I’d be very tempted to keep him there as it’s best for the defense overall. I can’t get past the punt return attempt. Holy moly, #19.

Jalen Green had some good and bad. Really tough kid who will stick his nose in

BRANDON JONES (19) AND JEFFREY MCCULLOCH (23)

there in the running game and fight through a blocker with urgency. His TFL on the reverse was studly. Left the game with a shoulder injury. We need him badly.

Kobe Boyce and D’Shawn Jamison played competitively. Boyce drew the weakest of OSU’s receiving threats. Jamison was reckless with his body and physical against the OSU perimeter game. Good job addressing an early deficiency.

Chris Adimora was pressed into emergency action, had no idea what he was doing, and still got an end zone PBU and caught a flubbed onside kick despite being outnumbered. Football player.

Josh Thompson played cornerback and suffered a serious injury. Anthony Cook did not impress me in his limited action.

Effort and physicality need to improve.

rankings notwithstanding. Texas fought through injuries, showed some flexibility in the defensive booth, and battled through their own mistakes for a big win.

Don’t be afraid to celebrate an important imperfect victory.

3-1. 1-0 Big 12. Todd Orlando is working to fix some decisions he made months ago, but got enough game plan in on a week’s notice to play opportunistic winning defense.

That’s great news. Let’s figure out who can go in the secondary, further establish a defensive identity, and go pummel West Virginia in their place.

Hook ‘em.

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