Wow. That sucks for the guy. He was such a talent coming out of high school...one of the best to ever play in Texas. Between injuries and s***ty coaching, he just couldn't get going in college. I thought he could be a good pro if he was put in the right system and coached up. I'm guessing this means even that won't be possible.
Belton offensive lineman Zach Shackelford flipped his commitment from Kansas State to Texas after enjoying his official visit. He'll be enrolling this week with QB Shane Buechele which is good news. I think that really helped Malik Jefferson last year. I'll continue to post commitments when they come. UT hosted a ton of recruits last weekend but I don't think it's worth talking about rumors about what 18 year olds say they might want to do. All I'll say is that it's really sad how many Texas high school players are going to the SEC. Zach Shackelford: http://247sports.com/Player/Zach-Sh..._medium=ExternalEmbed&utm_campaign=CommitList Shane Buechele: http://247sports.com/Player/Shane-B..._medium=ExternalEmbed&utm_campaign=CommitList
Is Mattox really on par with Wickline as OL coach? People hate on Wickline about recruiting - what OL coach's freshmen did better last year?? I don't know why this Tulsa non-playcalling OC had so much leverage over us that we had to grovel at his feet and bring aboard his entourage member as a position coach. It's not like the OL isn't important.
I don't think you would see that happening if A&M hadn't gone to the SEC. It's not their fault. It's just a byproduct.
Wickline did a nice job with the OL this year but he rubbed a lot of players the wrong way and was getting his butt handed to him in the recruiting front. Mattox is a bit of an unknown but we've already had 2 big OL commits and huge prospect visiting tomorrow since he's come on board. We will have to wait and see how he does but all reviews have been very positive so far.
Seems like recruiting is a lot less important with the offensive line and player development is more important. Wickline had player development down, and I have my doubts Mattox can equal that. We'll see.
Recruiting absolutely matters for the OL and when you have recruits telling you they don't like wickline or they aren't committing because of him then that's cause for alarm. Who knows if mattox can coach but at least he has experience coaching this new system we are going to run.
I am not saying I think Wickline is the be all end all. But I am saying we traded out a proven coach for a relative unknown. Say everything that you want about Wickline and recent recruits....when you look at the results given what they were dealt in players, I can't think there was a better position coach for us than Wickline - and I don't even think it was close. And if I recall...somebody correct me if I'm wrong b/c I don't feel like visiting Rivals over this....I don't think either of the studs we had as freshman starters last year were THE most sought after OL recruits. Prioritize recruiting all you want, but let's not discount coaching & player development on OL. I just don't like the idea of throwing the job at Gilbert's friend to strengthen our package for a Tulsa offensive coordinator who didn't even call plays.
But recruiting is part of the job and you cant be bad at it especially when we are operating at a talent deficit on the OL. Connor Williams had close to like 30 offers from programs like Michigan, Ohio State, OU. Vahe had offers from LSU and Baylor and was a 4* recruit. Wickline could absolutely coach but we needed someone who could recruit as well. I get what youre saying about giving our OC's friend the OL job, but he has experience in that system and has been successful at the few stops he's had. Wickline was a big reason why we had almost no success at recruiting top notch OL. Even the recruits that committed to him said he was an odd guy that you really had to get used to. Its no coincidence that since he's left we got Delance and have a shot at Hudson.
Wickline also had 4 players transfer out from under him. That is a ton of attrition for one position group and it was not all a coincidence. It's almost losing an entire OL on the depth chart if you think about it. So if you're talking about what he was dealt in players, part of that was his own doing. Wickline is a heck of a technician but the guy is extremely difficult to play for. I encourage you to do some google searches and you will find this out pretty quickly on your own. As far as Mattox, yeah he is a bit of an unknown but he has done a surprisingly good job at what he can only do currently, recruit. There have been a lot of really positive reviews from current players, commits, and prospects thus far. Him and Gilbert have worked together for quite some time so he knows the system. Yeah we will have to wait and see but don't see what the point of being so negative on every offseason move will accomplish.
Hey, hey - "being so negative." We have sucked for a long time. I am fully in my rights as a fan who supports the team and goes to games to look at moves with a critical eye. Were you saying the same thing when they brought in Watson? "Why are you being so negative?" The question about Wickline has a definite point. You can get ticky tack with certain aspects of his job performance, but I don't get caught up in that. I'm looking at results. And by results, he seems to have been the best position coach.
The question about Wickline has a definite point. You can get ticky tack with certain aspects of his job performance, but I don't get caught up in that. I'm looking at results. And by results, he seems to have been the best position coach.[/QUOTE] Not getting ticky tack at all, Wickline was simply not getting an important part aspect of the job done, period. Strong did not simply decide to let a longtime friend walk just for the hell of it. Like I said, do a quick google search on Wickline and let me know if you think he should have been kept. As far as your "critical eye," go back and read some of your posts. You readily admit that you don't know anything about Gilbert other than he didn't call plays. You're also doing the same with Mattox in that you know nothing about him other than he came along with Gilbert. There is a difference between being critical because of things you've researched and believe versus being negative simply because you don't know. And to answer your question, I was super critical about Watson but mainly because I watched his offense for multiple years at Nebraska, knew what type of system he was going to try and install, and knew he wasn't going to be an ace recruiter. Also, Watson had quite a bit of experience as a play-calling OC, so would that automatically make him a better hire than someone who didn't?
Not getting ticky tack at all, Wickline was simply not getting an important part aspect of the job done, period. Strong did not simply decide to let a longtime friend walk just for the hell of it. Like I said, do a quick google search on Wickline and let me know if you think he should have been kept. As far as your "critical eye," go back and read some of your posts. You readily admit that you don't know anything about Gilbert other than he didn't call plays. You're also doing the same with Mattox in that you know nothing about him other than he came along with Gilbert. There is a difference between being critical because of things you've researched and believe versus being negative simply because you don't know. And to answer your question, I was super critical about Watson but mainly because I watched his offense for multiple years at Nebraska, knew what type of system he was going to try and install, and knew he wasn't going to be an ace recruiter. Also, Watson had quite a bit of experience as a play-calling OC, so would that automatically make him a better hire than someone who didn't?[/QUOTE] Who was a better position coach last year? Who was a better coach than Wickline for us last year??
I apologize for not watching a lot of Tulsa last year. I just find it alarming that we used to pluck defensive coordinators from SEC powerhouses like Auburn at will and now our President has to get on his knees and beg co-OC's who don't even call the plays to join us. It has been a hard fall, and I am a bit cranky.
Another elaboration on my point. In my field, you don't get the title until you have actually proven you can do it by already having performed the responsibilities for a period of time, so of course I am not comfortable with having a non-playcaller now be a play caller at a different competition level.
you're being negative. we got change because we need it but you complain about the change? What you want Muschamp back? He's not coming back as a D coordinator. It's recruiting season, don't want negative vibes to the recruits.
But with that field of thinking, we would never see new head coaches or coordinators in any sport or league. It would just be a retread of the same guys over and over. Tom Herman and Bruce Arians wouldn't be HCs. There wouldn't be new hotshot OCs like Lincoln Riley and Doug Meachum (who I believe you wanted for OC originally). I have no idea what you do but I'm sure at some point in your career, someone took a chance on you and it's no different with coaches in the NCAA, NBA, NFL etc... You've mentioned plucking DCs from Auburn but with your line of thinking, Saban never would have promoted Muschamp to DC at LSU since he had no prior experience with defensive play calling. With that said, it's always a risk and no team is going to hit every hire out of the park so I understand your concern.
