The Latest on Garrett Wilson

– Super K

I spoke with Ohio State wide receiver commit, Garrett Wilson. Despite all that has happened at Ohio State, Wilson has continued to stand firm on his commitment to the Buckeyes.

But is there any chance, Texas (or anyone else) can make him rethink things?

First, we’ve been asked to comment on Wilson’s relationship with coach Mehringer and according to Wilson, “Coach Mehringer and Beck were for sure my favorites there”.

Garrett said that any concerns he had about Texas or the Texas staff weren’t remotely tied to his feelings about coach Mehringer or coach Beck.

One of Wilson’s concerns, which he’s always been transparent about, was simply seeing (or not seeing) improvement and consistency in the offense. If a window of opportunity were to come open for Texas it’ll be, in part, due to an improvement in the offense, “If they’re throwing the ball around more then for sure I’ll look out for it”.

Garrett was pretty frank, though, about the fact that if “things play out the way I think it will” with Ohio State, he will remain committed to the Buckeyes and won’t even entertain any visits. When we spoke on the phone, he didn’t comment on how he thinks things will play out but outside of Urban Meyer, coach Ryan Day’s (interim head coach) continued presence on the staff will be a big factor.

If a new staff were to be brought in, that’s when you’ll likely see Wilson take a look at other schools.

According to Wilson Oklahoma would be one of those schools, “They would be at the top. They still hit me up a lot. Love that staff”. I think beyond his love for the staff, he loves the offense.

I asked Wilson what visits he might take assuming the Ohio State situation doesn’t play out the way he expects, he mentioned Texas as a school he’d “most likely” visit. He also noted, “Nebraska too, TCU and maybe a USC game or something like that. Not one hundred percent sure yet”.

Simply put, this one is going to be a wait and see.

Step 1) Wait and see if Texas can get the offense moving in the right direction.

Step 2) Wait and see how things play out at Ohio State.

For Super K’s Insider Note on the Garrett Wilson situation, please click the Donor Link!

USC’s Senior OLB Porter Gustin suffers torn meniscus

– Will Baizer

Per Joey Kaufman of the Orange County Register, Gustin tore the meniscus in his left knee and was scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday.

Per Adam Maya of Rivals.com, Gustin is expected to miss four to six weeks after surgery.

This is another big loss for USC after the lost CB Jack Jones due to academic ineligibility, RB Ronald Jones to the NFL, and QB Sam Darnold to the NFL.

Texas plays USC in five weeks, so his return will be one to watch for Longhorn fans.

Porter Gustin suffered an injury last season and was four days off of surgery before playing Texas. He was hurt mid-game and did not return for the rest of the game. However, while he was on the field, he was a huge problem for Texas. This year would be the same, but without Connor Williams holding him up (before he got injured too).

Early Fall Camp Thoughts & Questions

– Andrew King

Week one of fall camp is in the books for Texas, and week two has begun. We have some practice reports and quick hitters from Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, and, Day 5 part 2 of practice from Super K, Will, and Alex that you can check out if you missed them! I just wanted to give some of my main thoughts and questions for Texas as the move forward in fall camp.

– True Slot WR:

Texas is having to replace arguably their most productive WR in 2018 after Reggie Hemphill-Mapps left the program. He was a true slot WR and was a security blanket for the QB’s last season. This year, I’m not sure Texas has a true slot WR that’s ready to play. Guys like Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Jerrod Heard will be used in the slot as mismatches as they’re both bigger WR’s. I think Humphrey is going to be the #1 WR for Texas this season, but I’m not expecting much from Heard at all. He’s been a great practice player since moving from QB to WR, but hasn’t done much when the bright lights come on.

A lot of people have been talking about freshman DB D’Shawn Jamison getting some work with the offense at slot. He’s a dynamic player, no doubt about it. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s Texas’ punt returner in 2018, but I’m pumping the brakes on the expectations for his offensive expectations for 2018. I’ve actually heard some really nice things about freshman WR Joshua Moore in the slot. But there are people that don’t feel like he’s big enough yet and a good enough blocker to see real playing time in 2018. But he’s a guy to keep an eye on for sure in the slot.

– Offensive Line Depth:

Right now the offensive line looks like this in practice. Denzel Okafor – Patrick Vahe – Zach Shackelford – Elijah Rodriguez – Derek Kerstetter (Left-to-Right).

We have been told that the starting left tackle job is expected to be grad transfer Calvin Anderson’s job by the end of fall camp. Denzel Okafor is likely to be a swing tackle who can play on either side. I’m told there are some concerns with Vahe and Shackelford in pass protection. Both are better run blockers, so we will see if Herb Hand can get things right with those guys.

Patrick Hudson has been working with the 2’s and is being eased back in every day as he’s returning from a torn ACL. He’s an x-factor along the OL. If things start to click for him, watch out. And we’ll know more with the offensive line when the pads come on this week.

– Veteran Defensive Backs:

It seems that during the Spring and now into the fall, all the talk has been about the freshman DB’s. And there’s no denying how special that group is and could be for Texas. I just feel like people aren’t talking about how important the play and mentorship from the veteran DB’s is going to be in 2018. Specifically Kris Boyd and Davante Davis.

I know people want to see guys like Anthony Cook and Jalen Green get shots at CB. But if Boyd and Davis play in 2018 like they’re expected to as seniors, Cook and Green won’t see the field too much.And that would be a good thing for Texas. Caden Sterns has been working with the 1’s at safety opposite Brandon Jones, which surprised me to see it happen this early in camp. Part of it has to do with John Bonney not being a good enough athlete at times in the open field, but Sterns has also been exceptional. BJ Foster has also been working with the 2’s in the first week of camp.

I’m excited to see the freshman DB’s, but let’s not forget about the two senior CB’s that will be massive keys to Texas’ defensive success in 2018.

– Chris Nelson/Defensive Tackles:

Texas lost a lot of good players on defense from last season. Malik Jefferson, DeShon Elliott, and Holton Hill will all be hard to replace but none of them will come close to replacing Poona Ford at defensive tackle IMO.

Chris Nelson has been the guy tabbed to replace Ford in 2018. Some concerns with him have been injuries, he missed a lot of Spring practice due to an elbow injury but is healthy now. Another is that some aren’t sure he’s a perfect fit as a 3-4 nose tackle. He is arguably the biggest key to Texas’ defense in 2018. TaQuon Graham has been working with the 2’s behind Nelson so far. Graham is a guy who made a lot of noise in the Spring, so we’ll see how he performs during fall camp.

The same thing can be said about the defensive line that I said about the offensive line battles. We’ll know a lot more once the pads come on this week.

New Interior 2019 OL Target

– Andrew King

The interior offensive line recruiting for Texas in the 2019 class is a bit of a mystery right now. They missed on guys like Branson Bragg (Stanford) and EJ Ndoma-Ogar (Oklahoma), so now we’ll see when the next batch of offers goes out.

One guy to keep an eye on is Whitehaven (TN) OG Melvin McBride. He has picked up some SEC offers this summer from schools like Florida, Arkansas, and Tennessee. He also has a Louisville offer, and I talked to someone and it sounds like Arkansas and Louisville are in the lead right now in this recruitment. Tennessee and Florida have offered but aren’t necessarily pushing as hard as the Razorbacks and Cardinals right now.

McBride told me last night that he’s been in frequent contact with Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand this summer. Right now McBride is hopeful to get down to Texas for a visit during the season but a date hasn’t been set just yet. Hand told McBride that he’d like to add a couple other offensive linemen to this class to go along with Tyler Johnson and Javonee Shepherd. And that he is one of the top guys he’s evaluating right now.

Latest Fall Practice Report | August 8th, 2018

– Will Baizer

DEPTH CHART

1s…

QB: Sam Ehlinger

RB: Daniel Young

X: Collin Johnson

Y: Lil’Jordan Humphrey

Z: Devin Duvernay

TE: Andrew Beck

OL: Denzel Okafor – Patrick Vahe – Zach Shackelford – Elijah Rodriguez – Derek Kerstetter

DL: Breckyn Hager – Chris Nelson – Charles Omenihu

BLB: Malcolm Roach

RLB: Gary Johnson

MLB: Anthony Wheeler

NB: PJ Locke

CB: Kris Boyd, Davante Davis

BS: Caden Sterns

FS: Brandon Jones

2s / 3s / 4s…

QB: Shane Buechele/Casey Thompson/Cam Rising

RB: Tre Watson / Kyle Porter / Keaontay Ingram / Kirk Johnson / Toneil Carter

X: Brennan Eagles / Malcolm Epps

Y: Jerrod Heard / Jordan Pouncey / Josh Moore / D’Shawn Jamison

Z: John Burt / Davion Curtis / Al’Vonte Woodard

TE: Reese Leitao / Cade Brewer

OL: Samuel Cosmi – Patrick Hudson – Elijah Rodriguez – Tope Imade – JP Urquidez / Calvin Anderson – Rafiti Ghirmai – Austin Alsup – Junior Angilau – Reese Moore

DL: Taquon Graham – Gerald Wilbon – Marquez Bimage / Jamari Chisholm – D’Andre Christmas – Moro Ojomo

BLB: Joseph Ossai / Jack Hanna

RLB: DeMarvion Overshown / Russel Hine

MLB: Ayodele Adeoye / Cameron Townsend / Luke Brockermeyer

NB: Josh Thompson / Jarmquist Durst

CB: Anthony Cook, Kobe Boyce / Eric Cuffee, Donovan Duvernay / Jalen Green

BS: Chris Brown / BJ Foster

FS: John Bonney / Montrell Estell

NOTES

Injuries:

– RB Tristian Houston (bruised rib)

– BLB Jeffrey McCulloch (strained peck)

Take Aways:

– As you probably saw above, there was a big addition to the LBs this practice. That is freshman DeMarvion Overshown. I talked about how DeMarvion looked like a grown man on 8/5’s practice notes. Well, now he is playing with the grown men. This was a position change many saw coming; however, I have reason to believe that this change was more out of necessity than it was out of readiness. It still seems as though he is getting used to this next level, but Coach Orlando spent (relatively) a lot of one-on-one time with Overshown during drills making sure he understood what he was doing. I don’t think he’s anywhere ready to step onto the field from what I saw during tackling drills. He’s still learning the ropes.

– LB Gary Johnson is still a beast. He still isn’t the biggest guy on the field, but during tackle drills, he manhandled or drove out-of-bounds every player that was put in front of him. If he stays healthy, he’s in a for a special year.

– The extra Spring (from early enrolling) on freshman LB Ayodele Adeoye is noticeable compared to his classmates. Dele looks more physically imposing than the other freshmen LBs and he plays like it to. Guys like fellow freshman Keaontay Ingram are no match in tackling drills and he seems to have a better understanding of what is going on around practice.

– Today sophomore TE Cade Brewer ditched the green jersey for a more fashionable burnt orange one. He then proceeded to level second teamers in the tackling drill. They’re working him back into the rotation of tight-ends, but it seems he feels more prepared to go in than the coaches are willing to allow him to participate.

– Tre Watson seems to be stepping into the vocal leadership role in the RB room. Whenever you pass by the RB station you could hear Watson encouraging his teammates or chirping at the defense.

– I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Freshman WR Brennan Eagles is impressive physically and when he gets the ball in his hands. During tackle drills, I watched Eagles run over an unprepared Jamarquist Durst, and then juke someone else out. The key is getting the ball in his hands. He still needs to learn a bit more until he’ll be a consistent contributor, but what’s there is promising.

– Neither I nor Alex saw Toneil Carter during RB drills. He was out there though when they did the tackling drills. I will say this about Toneil. He will have a chance to prove himself this year, but what he needs to work on is how he uses his hands while running. He has very good footwork, but his hands are forgotten in the process. This could be a big reason for his loose footballs.

– BJ Foster looks to have the same if not more height, size, and sturdiness as his older teammates. While he did get bumped down the depth chart by Chris Brown (who I like), it is fair to say that he will be fighting for playing time once he learns the defense.

– In fact that entire safety room will be a battle throughout the course of the year. There are too many bodies with too much talent.

– Caden Sterns is holding onto the safety position with two hands and using a third hand to hold off Bonney. I believe the coaches are enamored with Sterns instinct as I was following him up through high school. By all reports, he is really exceeding expectations in practice, but I also wonder whether or not Bonney was going to be serious competition for him.

– Quote of the Day was from Meekins to Epps: “If you stand still like that you’re a statue. Do you know what happens to statues? Birds shit on them.”

Sourced Fall Camp Quick-Hitters | “Offense is Light Years Ahead | Fast Five

– Super K

Below you will find our “Fast Five” hand-picked sourced notes which we thought you would particularly enjoy from yesterdays post on the Donor Board.

For additional sourced team notes, please click the Donor Board link!

To be honest, starting to feel more and more optimistic about this team and the prospects for this season and the future.

***I asked a source, very simply, is this offense actually better than last years.

The answer I received was equally as simply but the most exciting sourced note I’ve received in a while…

“The offense is light years ahead of where it was last year”.

***While they aren’t starter, two guys I’m hearing a lot about in recent days in Junior Angilau and Sam Cosmi. Texas just hasn’t had enough guys in the past number of years to be elite on the offensive line and certainly haven’t had enough depth. What I’m hearing about Angilau and Cosmi makes me more optimistic about the kind of talent that’s coming into the program.

Source said, “Angilau is f***** special. Him and Cosmi are competing in a way that is, frankly, exciting. The future is bright with those guys. You’ll see them this year. They may not be starters but they’re creating more intense competition and they’re guys who mark an upward trend in the cieling of offensive linemen at Texas”.

***Related to the note above, a source praised Keondre Coburn saying, “Keondre penetrates. People do not stop Keondre Coburn when he bull rushes”.

Although apparently, Angilau is not “people” because I’m told he straight stoned Coburn yesterday at practice.

***I know some have been asking about why Calvin Anderson isn’t running with the 1st team when the media is at practice and what it might mean.

I was told once again, “That is Calvin’s spot” regardless of the current rotation. Source added that while our guys have seen Okafor at left tackle, “Okafor is going to be your right tackle”.

***Source also talked about how in the second year in Orlando’s defense more guys are further along in their understanding of what Orlando wants. That means, more guys can play faster. I’m told that despite the losses, they are not only playing faster but they’re even more violent…

Speaking of violent, gotta give it up to our designer, Stamps, he killed this Todd Orlando edit…