A few notes:
"While the specifics on how a scheduling pact might work remain unclear, sources in the three conferences suggest the larger goal is alignment so that the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC can work and vote together on major issues such as College Football Playoff expansion and upcoming NCAA governance changes.
“This is their shot right back at the SEC,” one athletic director said."
*****
While these plans are still in the works, it does appear the Big 12 will not be included in the alliance. Last week, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby met with Kliavkoff to discuss potential options for a strategic alliance. The Big 12 is currently exploring options to preserve its future after Texas and Oklahoma exit.
If this alliance comes together, it would clearly be a setback for the Big 12. Sources in the conference said Bowlsby was optimistic about the potential of working with the Pac-12, and the possibility of this three-league alliance was not discussed on a call between Bowlsby and Big 12 athletic directors on Friday.
Poor Kid.
Inside Texas:
A couple of three-stars adding more than expected value
When Luke Brockermeyer was offered a walk-on opportunity at Texas in the 2018 class, his more football famous little brothers were mostly unknown 8th graders. The secret was beginning to get out on Tommy with his recognizable last name and nearly 6-foot-5, 220 pound stature. James was nowhere close to hitting his ultimate size, as he was around 5-foot-10 at the time. I quipped at the time I hope he took comfort in knowing he had a big growth spurt ahead of him.
The point of mentioning Tommy and James — aside from triggering the mentally weak among us — is to remind readers Tom Herman didn’t pursue Luke because of his brothers. Sure, the legacies of his father Blake and grandfather Kay helped, but Luke was an interesting prospect in his own right. He held a real offer from Rice and was set to sign with Oregon State before Texas put a lot of effort towards the recruitment and offered him as a preferred walk-on.
Luke’s one-line evaluation was he moved well enough to play linebacker or H-back. The recruitment boiled down to whether or not he’d get a chance to earn a real scholarship.
He did earn that scholarship but apparently never earned a chance at real playing time. That doesn’t make much sense unless Herman was angling for the twins by this time, but in any event, Luke’s first real chance came this past spring. Needless to say he took advantage and entered the summer as a de facto first team linebacker.
Early returns in camp have been positive as he’s playing the run and pass decisively. At this point, he seems a lock to be in the top three of the two inside linebackers. Today’s scrimmage could go a long way towards him ultimately opening up as the starter at Mike linebacker versus Louisiana. Right now he’s the favorite to do so.
If that happens, it’ll tell a number of stories, including: want-to, football genes, and poor roster management. Who knows, maybe Juwan Mitc really was better…
*****
Christian Jones was a very interesting “project” as a junior playing defensive end. He was both athletic and uncoordinated when it came to the game of football. This was further highlighted his senior year when he played offensive line for the first time. He was already pretty new to the sport and o-line doesn’t come with the same ’pin your ears back’ simplicity d-end does. It requires a large amount of technique and choreography and at times Jones was tough to watch even if his upside was pretty obvious.
While he was missing the things you can coach, he had a large measure of those things you can’t coach, namely size, bend, and the ability to move omni-directionally. When I saw him as a recruit at a Texas bowl practice he looked better on the hoof than any current offensive lineman, to include Connor Williams. I knew Jones by tape, and I was a fan of the baseline attributes, but did not know him by face. I was blown away.
Texas recruited him pretty aggressively as a contingency, having him visit for a game or two and then getting him to that bowl practice. The main compe ion was Cal who had his commitment as a defensive end. Justin Wilcox liking Jones at defensive end did as much to underscore Jones’ raw upside as anything else.
The staff pulled off the late cycle steal of the Cypress prospect but now the real work was to begin. More often than not projects on the offensive line get lost in the shuffle. It’s a demanding position that requires a mature understanding of delayed gratification. Jones in particular had a long way to go. Credit to him, he’s already come further than most players with his college starting point.
Last season he was a year ahead of schedule when it comes to real playing time. That explains his inconsistency, well, along with questionable coaching. Now, as a fourth year player with plenty of development behind him, not to mention a new o-line coach with a good reputation for development, he’s poised to take the next step.
He’ll have a couple more steps in him after that.
*****
This is not a pro three-star post. Three-stars on a micro level can fare quite well. They can become NFL Hall of Famers. That’s because there’s an excess of them. Macro-ratings are far less kind to them. You want five- and four-stars. Lots of them.
This is a pro-contingencies and good evaluation post, and should serve as a reminder staffs need to work towards building out the entire roster, and then some in the case of walk-ons, in each and every cycle.
For fans, it’s a good look at how players can go from afterthoughts to starters if they have the ability and will to maximize.
It should also be noted that some 4 and 5 star athletes did not fare well in college and eventually had 2 and 3 stars playing better college football ahead of them. then the draft, they get lost or get picked late, and then are healthy producers in the pros.
the paradox:
We need good college football players, what they do in the pros does not count in our current college football games.
But, the more players you have make the pros (clearly 4 and 5 star by %) the more likely you are to get 4 and 5 stars on your college football team.
Also I think we see a fairly eye opening occurrence when you look at pro football rosters. There are some very small colleges producing pros and some N/A as well. The pros clearly require a superior level of athleticism. If the football mind then clicks in you are in. Basketball types, great HS players who get lost in the *psuedo academic and maturity shuffle resurface.
*Not having the want to nor even the capability of making it to a classroom.
No mention of the Oline...
I guess the Dline did a number on them.
Hope they have u tube for this scrimmage or something.
my biggest worry is the OL. if our OL is good, we will have a great year. If our OL is bad, we will struggle, per status quo for the last decade or so.
apparently brooks looked like the best rb today.......he was taking snaps over rojo & the bama transfer & made tremendous runs
Last edited by playblair; 08-14-2021 at 06:45 PM.
Uh yeah. Color me intrigued.
Better than Bijan?
bijan only rushed a handful of times including a td in goal line situation
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