Thanks for posting. But the permanent AD excuse is weak. So if Strong loses 1 more and is out, you're okay with having to deal with the "awkwardness." But if he wins out, part of your reason for keeping him is to avoid the same? Doesn't really compute.
Ya that's correct but guess it depends on whether they'd want to make a decision before the bowl game. Ideally you would to get your HC in ASAP if a move needs to be made.
It'll be like Mike Sherman when he lost to Texas a few years ago: fired the next morning. UT is playing West Virginia at home which is a huge help but I still have a hard time seeing them beat them both. If he wins out then it means he would have won 6 of his last 7 games which makes it harder to justify firing. He gets just far enough to keep him for another year. It also suggests Charlie helped right the defense and he can make the priority fixing the defense with a good coordinator like fixing the offense was the issue last year. Since taking over the defense, Charlie has held 4 out of 5 teams to less points than their season average and held OU to practically the same amount. That's something I guess. Go out and get the best defensive coordinator you can get and keep recruiting like a boss if you stay. Disagree with you greatly about hiring an athletic director is an excuse. It's a very very very good reason to not try to replace a coach. You're expecting a highly sought coach to come to UT when he doesn't know who is boss will be. The NFL doesn't typically hire coaches when they don't have GMs. What is so great about the NCAA board? I really don't know what the position is. We can expect the current red shirt list to be final. No reason to think they'll play with only 3-4 games left. They'll be some good players that will start out the next class. Hudson, Daniels, Fitz, Cuffee and JP are all solid. I'm surprised Fowler didn't red shirt given how little practice he had but I think they got desperate given their current LB core. Freshmen who played against Texas Tech (13) QB Shane Buechele — 20/40 (50%), 244 yards, 2 TD RB Kyle Porter — 6 car, 51 yds, 8.5 YPC WR Collin Johnson — 4 rec, 47 yds, 2 TD WR Devin Duvernay — 2 rec, 25 YDS RB/WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey — 1 punt return, 0 yds C Zach Shackelford — starting center OL Denzel Okafor — reserve offensive lineman Fox Malcolm Roach — 1 tackle LB Jeffrey McCulloch — 3 tackles, 1 fumble recovery DE/LB Erick Fowler — no stats (though I though he could have been credited with a half sack) DL Gerald Wilbon — no stats DL D’Andre Christmas — 1 tackle, 1 sack DB Brandon Jones — 2 tackles Freshmen who’ve played through seven games (16) (If they have recorded stats, I’ve listed those next to their names as well) QB Shane Buechele — 172/278 (61.87%, -2% decrease since the previous game), 2257 yards, 19 TD’s, 6 INT (plus 1 rushing TD), 148.31 RTG — 29th nationally (-13 spots from previous week), 5th in B12 (-1) RB Kyle Porter — 39 car, 135 yds, 4.8 YPC, 2 rec, 10 yds WR Devin Duvernay — 13 rec, 300 yds, 3 TD WR Collin Johnson — 17 rec, 196 yds, 2 TD WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey — 2 rec, 15 yds, 1 punt return, 0 yds C Zach Shackelford — starting center OL Jean Delance — reserve offensive lineman OL Denzel Okafor — reserve offensive lineman DE Malcolm Roach — 21 TT, 3 TFL, 2 sacks DT D’Andre Christmas — 3 TT, 1 sack, 1 fumble rec DT Gerald Wilbon — 1 TT DL Jordan Elliott — 6 TT, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack (currently injured) LB Jeffery McCulloch — 16 TT, 2 TFL, 1 sack S Brandon Jones — 14 TT, 2 blocked punts (got a piece of another), 1 safety, 2 PR for 33 yards, 2 KR for 44 total yards DB Donovan Duvernay — no stats recorded DE/OLB Erick Fowler — 1 TT, 1 TFL Freshmen still on track to redshirt (12) WR Davion Curtis WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps TE Peyton Aucoin OL Tope Imade OL J.P. Uriquidez OL Patrick Hudson DL Marcel Southall DL Chris Daniels DE Andrew Fitzgerald LB Demarco Boyd DB Chris Brown DB Eric Cuffee http://www.burntorangenation.com/20...hnson-shane-buechele-texas-longhorns-freshmen Not sure how many people know but our 2017 QB Sam Ehlinger suffered a season ending hand injury after missing the 1st part of the season with a different injury. Pretty sure there is no chance he de-commits to go to a different school given his disaster of a senior year. He's 6'2" and 215 lbs and threw 50 TDs last year with 5 INTS. He'll be enrolling early which is good for him. Shane and Jefferson both enrolled early and it made a big difference in their freshman years. It's crazy that Sam and Shane are about the same height but Sam is 25 lbs heavier. Mallik Jefferson was asked about his benching and had this to say: http://www.burntorangenation.com/20...erson-benching-texas-longhorns-charlie-strong
Lol. My response was to it being "more about the awkwardness when the new AD arrives not having hired the football coach" part. The article doesn't mention the hiring aspect, but I agree 100% with you on that. Either way, doesn't seem like Fenves is worried about either aspect since they're not seemingly in a rush to bring in a permanent AD.
I'm sorry I interrupted the never ending "Fire Charlie Strong" posts with some information that actually relates to the team. Anyone remotely interested in talking about something else?
Sure, I'm encouraged by many of the freshmen on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, I like Roach, McCulloch, and Elliott (injured) so far. We really need depth at linebacker and better play-makers at the position. Wheeler and Jefferson could potentially be great players, but there isn't much behind them still. Hopefully we can get someone like Baron Browning and/or Anthony Hines during recruiting to add more depth at the position.
Sorry to take on only one part of your post, but I'm still confused by the fact that the defense suddenly showed up against Baylor and Texas Tech. Why weren't they ready to play from the first (or the 2nd or 3rd) games of the season? Based on the list of players you listed, the issue doesn't seem to be talent. We shouldn't have expected all that much from the freshmen, but they have performed well. My issue is with the sophomores, especially players in the secondary like Hill, Davis, and Boyd, and how they have regressed this year.
Blame Strong for not having them ready. These are college kids. This **** wouldn't happen at Alabama, Florida, etc.
All good points. I feel like Jefferson is only going to be here for another year before he goes pro which is tough because LB is such a weak position for us. I think Roach has been really great and can become a real anchor for the defense. Because the defensive coordinator sucked. He didn't understand how to setup formations against the spread or how to instruct his players who move and adjust when in motion. Guys were missing tackles because they were out of position or going the wrong way. Nick Saban would have chewed out the coach like he chewed out his national champion coaches now. Strong was way to hands off and trusting when he should have been on the guy. It's better if his coordinators aren't his friends and especially not his protege. I think Strong does deserve a lot of credit for benching some of those players. He told them that they are wrong to assume they have the job no matter what and it helped a lot. That was good coaching that Strong can't do because he can't micromanage the defense like that. He needs a good coordinator with good assistants. Go get the co-defensive coordinator from Alabama. Maybe the LSU defensive coordinator will jump ship given they are bringing in a new coach. What about non SEC teams that might play better against the spread? Maybe Washington or Colorado? I don't know. I don't get paid to do that kind of research so hopefully someone does. Try to buy the Stanford defensive coordinator and then apologize to Duane Akina and ask him to come back to DBU.
Wow, I always heard Malik was mature for his age, but what an incredibly responsible and mature response. I've been seriously disappointed with him this year, but I automatically forgive him after reading this.
Scout reporting that Hill is out and doesn't sound like it's injury related. Unfortunate as he was coming off his best game of the season. Also, Vahe has basically been delegated to 3rd string at this point.
Defense is getting gashed. Coverage has been horrendous; pass rush has been even worse. There's no way the offense can get in a rhythm with his terrible play calling. But give WVU some credit, they are a very good team.
