Staff in it together — this season
Texas’ defensive play has been under the microscope since the 50-43 loss to California. Normally, players, coaches, fans and reporters would be well on to the next opponent by now. But the Longhorns were off last Saturday and had an extra week to think about it. Or stew, depending on your vantage point.
Based on the tone of this week’s mailbag, it’s safe to assume everyone is looking for defensive improvement.
Bedford is a helluva recruiter and understands these kids. He connects well with them. I don’t think we should get rid of him but maybe assign him as a position coach and let (Sterlin) Gilbert completely run the offense and have Strong take over defensive play calling until we can hire a top 10 defensive coordinator.
Outright firing a coach midseason leaves the rest of the staff short-handed for the rest of the year. The NCAA allows for only 10 on-field coaches (head coach, nine assistants). If Charlie Strong simply pushed Vance Bedford out the door, the Longhorns would be down a man in an area where everyone should be pitching in at the moment. They’re in this through thick and thin. If the shoddy play and losses continue, Strong will be held ultimately responsible, not Bedford.
Kent Perkins did what millions of people do on a daily basis. Get over your self-righteous selves. As long as he rights his wrong and understands the seriousness of his actions, takes his punishment and makes better choices from here on out, then good on him, and let him move forward.
Perkins struck all the right notes during his press conference Monday. He expressed remorse, said he was thankful nobody got hurt, and as for being in handcuffs, “I was terrified.” Safe to say Perkins learned a pretty good lesson. Does that make it right? Absolutely not. But let’s not pretend this doesn’t happen every day in Anytown, U.S.A. Perkins, 21, has a right to go out and have a good time. If anything, it’s a lesson to other teammates that they all need to watch out for one another while in the locker room, on campus and, yes, down on Sixth Street or wherever they may be.
They know better. Off the team. Sorry, just the way I feel.
I saw plenty of folks who believed Perkins should have been outright dismissed. I give Strong credit for properly weighing the punishment against the crime. Perkins is a team captain and someone who, by all indications, has been a model citizen at UT. He deserves a second chance. All that said, his initial court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 7.
Shane Buechele is the best pocket passing quarterback in college football. I just hope he stays healthy and sticks around his full four years.
Buechele has played like a veteran in the first three games. I’m still curious about his injury status, though. Buechele said the supposed rib injury suffered against Cal was not an issue at all. He brushed off questions about the injury two weeks ago and did the same again Monday. I’ll be looking to see if he’s wearing any extra padding against Oklahoma State. But the fact he returned against Cal and played as well as he did makes me think Buechele is OK. but not him. D’Onta took it out on the Sooners with 117 yards on nine carries, including one that went for a game-changing 81 yards. This season, he’s averaging 6.4 yards per attempt.
“I might as well just get a tattoo of a chip on my shoulder because it’s there,” said Foreman, who actually has a dazzling tattoo of Armanti on his back already.
Warren caught fire late last season, putting up 276 yards in a stunning display Thanksgiving night against Texas Tech. He had 119 yards and two touchdowns against Cal. With Foreman and Warren leading the way, the Horns had 307 rushing yards against the Golden Bears.
“We wanted to dominate them, and I feel like that was what we tried to do,” Warren said. “I think that would be a very good platform for us to go off of.”
Every time Strong talks about his team’s overall status, he refers to “two big backs” or he’ll say, “You got Foreman and Warren back there.” This is the best 1-2 running back power punch Strong has had in Austin. Foreman has better lateral movement and speed; Warren simply gets moving and smacks people down.
Texas’ running prowess shouldn’t be a surprise. Quarterback Shane Buechele has been terrific, no question. But Gilbert’s spread offense, designed initially by Art Briles, features balance and heavy doses of big men off tackle.
For all of its high-scoring hype, Baylor led the nation in rushing the past three years. The Bears rank eighth nationally after four games this season. Texas sits 22nd overall.
Remember how many thought Texas’ spread offense might fare better initially because of the talent level already on campus? Well, three games in, Texas has put up more points (44.7) and total yards (500.3) than Baylor did its first three games in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
The Bears really went to warp speed in 2011 — all because of what happened on the ground. Same holds true for Texas.
Strong was deeply troubled by the fact that Texas ran the ball so well at Cal and still lost. Any team that scores 43 points and runs for more than 300 yards should win easily, in Strong’s mind. Texas’ defense has been verbally spanked the past two weeks, but let’s not excuse the offense completely. Penalties short-circuited some key second-half drives against Cal. The offense also got stonewalled late from its own 21-yard line — three plays, no yards and a punt.
“We played good, but we didn’t play great,” Warren said. “And we could have played great in that game, for sure.”
Said Foreman, “I feel like if I ever got complacent, then things would change for me. So I’ll never be complacent. I’ll always feel like I’ve got something to prove every game.”