he's predicted to go top 5 in the draft. is he the reason why foreman and warren ran so well last year?
Why would he play again this year? Bruce Matthews Jr. Tackle, Guard, left, right, wherever they need him in the pros he can play it.
It wasn’t just having Williams. It was having a consistent line that stayed mostly intact all year. The guys knew how to play their own positions and how to play alongside each other. You also had two upperclassman anchoring the right side which you lost to graduation and a transfer. Your starting 2016 center who is in and out of the lineup (Shackelford). You lose one of your backups (Rodriguez) to injury. You lose basic scholarship depth from another transfer (Delance) and injury (Hudson).
Rarely do I just watch an offensive lineman, but he's fun to watch. His footwork and balance is impressive. Of course, watch him flame out in the NFL now that I'm talking him up.
If it helps understand the difference between last year and this year, here is the depth chart from the OU game last year. Note that Patrick Hudson and J.P. URQUIDEZ were on the roster but red shirted. Hudson was lost early on in this season. Here is a list of guys in last year's depth chart that have not played most of this season for various reasons (Graduation, Transfer, Injury). TE Caleb Bluiett TE Andrew Beck LT Connor Williams LT Elijah Rodriguez LT Jean Delance RG Kent Perkins RT Brandon Hodges Also, the jury is still out about OL coach Derek Warehime. Yea. He just needs some plays from this year for the highlight reel. He didn't shine vs Maryland.
This is a long but a good read about the OL. After each Texas game, former Longhorns’ All-American OL DAN NEIL, who won three conference titles at Texas and two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos, will provide a breakdown of what he saw. Here's his analysis of Texas' 42-27 win over Kansas: (part 1)
I really liked the job Mattox did last year. Obviously he had more bodies to work with but a 2,000 rushing season behind a freshman center and 2 underclassmen on the left side is pretty damn good. The OL play hasn't improved much at all since the start of the season IMO.
Small update on the AD search from Chip Brown. Luck is my first choice but would be just as happy with Del Conte. Don't know much about Reid Ryan but with facilities expansion about to be in full swing, would like someone who has experience with this first hand.
Is AD of a top tier university a step above president of a professional team that just won the championship?
He was with Ryan Sanders Baseball when they built Whataburger Field. Agreed on Luck & Del Conte, I have to believe they'll hire 1 of those 2. Don't see Ryan leaving the Astros.
Good question. Think AD, especially at UT, presents an entire new spectrum when looking at facilities, coaches, budgeting, boosters, tv deals, and now the seemingly never ending expansion talks that might seem appealing. But hard to imagine leaving an organization with the potential the Astros have going on right now.
The offensive line took another hit. Brewer was our starter because Andrew Beck got hurt before the season began. Womp womp.
What does the President of the Astros really *do*? All the credit for their success tends to be heaped on the GM, coaches, and players. AD gets to really be fully in charge, manage all sorts of projects, pick the coaches (though, unfortunately for him, the football and basketball head coaches only got recently hired), etc. Seems like President might be a bigger title but less influential.
I think UT > Astros' President, but ultimately, whichever pays more is what I'd take. I imagine UT AD to be more stressful though.
Overseeing and delegating the business side of: The entire ML office The entire MiLB system: 8? affiliates in 8+ locations The business relationships with X# of sponsors/affiliated companies The Stadium itself, coordinating maintenance as needed The goings-on at MMP (food, fan-related crap, etc...) Fundraising, community, PR stuff Something else I'm not thinking of Other than that....
