Becker could be option as kicker against Jayhawks
When it attempts its first field goal on Saturday against Kansas, Texas may turn to one of the longest-serving names on its roster.
Texas coach Tom Herman was noncommittal Monday at his weekly press conference when asked who’d kick against Kansas on Saturday. As he has all season, junior Joshua Rowland topped the depth chart distributed to reporters. Herman said fifthyear senior Mitchell Becker, however, was given the opportunity to kick a field goal during a two-minute drill at Sunday’s practice.
“I don’t know who to expect,” Herman said. “There’s maybe no more easier position to grade than kicker. You either made it or you didn’t.”
Herman maintained that Rowland had been the best-performing kicker in practices this season. The transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, however, has struggled mightily in games. Rowland made a 49-yard kick against Iowa State, but he has missed half of his 14 fieldgoal attempts.
In last week’s loss to TCU, Rowland was short on a 47-yard kick.
Texas last had its primary kicker miss half its field goal attempts when Greg Johnson was 3 for 6 on three-point tries in 2006. UT has now missed at least seven field goals in three of the past four seasons. Texas’ last 10-miss season was in 2002.
Becker has not played this season. Last year, he handled kickoffs and replaced Trent Domingue in UT’s season finale.
Becker, who made 24- and 31-yard kicks against TCU, joins linebacker Naashon Hughes and defensive back Antwuan Davis as the only holdovers from Mack Brown’s last team at Texas.
Walk-on kicker Chris Naggar is also a freshman at Texas. Naggar kicked an extra point in UT’s spring game.
Herman on Sutherland Springs tragedy: Texas’ head coach expressed his condolences to victims of this weekend’s mass shooting in Sutherland Springs.
On Sunday, a gunman opened fire during a church service. Twenty-six people were killed. Sutherland Springs is a San Antonio-area town that sits about 80 miles from the UT campus.
Said Herman, “I do want to express our heartfelt condolences to those suffering because of the shooting to the south of us; and our thoughts and prayers, I know that sounds cliché, but they are certainly with those affected by the horrible tragedy, and something being that close to home, we’re still trying to find out how, if at all, we can help. So please keep all of those affected in your thoughts and prayers.”
Injury update: Herman said freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who has played the last two weeks, would be evaluated Monday afternoon for an inner ear problem that sidelined him against TCU.
Center Zach Shackelford and running back Toneil Carter both are still going through the concussion protocol. Linebacker Jeffrey McCulloch suffered a high ankle sprain. Tackle Connor Williams (knee) and nickel back P.J. Locke III (ankle) are likely out this week. table and win a bowl game to finish 8-5, then we can talk improvement. But Longhorn Nation doesn’t have a habit of celebrating invitations to minor bowls.
Privately, I have to believe Herman thinks this season is a disaster as well, but it serves no purpose for him to call out his team publicly.
This hasn’t looked like a good team except one very obvious side of the ball. And if Texas can’t get a bid to one of 39 bowl games — that’s 78 of the 130 FBS teams — it still has a long, long way to go. Longer than Herman ever thought possible. “We’re 79!” doesn’t resonate quite like, “We’re No. 1!”
Herman used a more simplistic definition.
“Anything better than the previous years has to be considered somewhat of a success. It’s called an improvement, right?” he said. “Anyone who has really looked under the hood of this team and this program and know what we lost up front and at the tailback position ... but the program has transformed, with what you see on the field, from an energy and physicality standpoint.”
I don’t disagree with that. They could have beaten USC, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Nor do I blame Herman for “Oh, my gosh, yes,” Herman said. “One hundred percent.
“I hired these guys knowing exactly what I was going to get,” Herman said in a fullthroat defense of his offensive staff. “We’ve all to got to get better, especially on that side of the ball. But I have full confidence that we will.”
Think about what the constant turnover has meant to the UT roster. Greg Davis (2010), Brian Harsin (201112), Major Applewhite (2013), Shawn Watson (2014), Jay Norvell (2015) and Sterlin Gilbert (2016) all wanted to recruit specific players to fit their offensive tastes. Beck is no different.
Every one of them wanted to run the offense a certain way and use certain terminology. It was almost always different from the year before.
For example, sophomore Shane Buechele came in last season learning Gilbert’s quick-read passing system. One, two, get rid of it, Buechele was told.
Now with Beck, Buechele has to read the defense and think on the fly, all while running from overzealous putting his spin on this season, but it should be pointed out that he didn’t wave a single red flag about this team in August.
And he can point out the big losses of blockers Connor Williams, Elijah Rodriguez and Andrew Beck, but the last two were hardly all-conference material and Williams wasn’t playing that well before he went down with a knee injury in the USC game.
Granted, D’Onta Foreman left along with his 2,000 yards rushing, but Herman did no complaining about his running back talent in the preseason. That’s where Herman miscalculated in August.
He did get it right when defenders that have blown past their blockers. “They’re totally different,” Buechele said.
Herman said receivers coach Drew Mehringer would not take over play-calling duties. Mehringer, who called plays at Rutgers, has already been moved from the sideline to the press box to sit next to Beck on game days.
Herman said play-calling was a collaborative process. “If a play comes out that I don’t think should be run, I’m going to say, ‘No, don’t run that play,’” Herman said.
Even if the Horns lose every game the rest of the way, Herman appears comfortable sticking to his guns — and his assistants.
“I think continuity and consistency with your staff is really, really important in college football,” Herman Todd Orlando’s defense won all three intrasquad scrimmages, but Herman’s comparisons with Ohio State’s national championship line in 2014 were miscast, he hasn’t been lucky at quarterback with all the injuries, he’s waited too long to get multiple playing time for freshman Toneil Carter and Daniel Young, and he might have too big a rotation at wide receiver.
Herman is selling culture, buy-in, the death of entitlement, gaudy lockers notwithstanding. But it hasn’t taken root enough to show tangible results.
It’s hard to sell improvement to a skeptical fan base, or the media. Well, marginal improvement. said. “It’s one of the most underrated reasons for success in my opinion, and it’s why now as a head coach, now I see why all the other head coach that I worked for were always so protective of their assistant coaches and didn’t want them to leave. They understood the value in continuity.
“That’s a real thing and one that needs to be recognized in my opinion.”
The Longhorns have dropped to eighth in Big 12 scoring (28.6 points per game). That’s just ahead of Baylor (25.9) and this week’s opponent, Kansas (19.7). To be competitive, teams must average somewhere in the mid-30s, preferably closer to 40 per game.
“I think fixing the problem is probably a very tall order to expect in three weeks,” Very marginal, to this point, but other than the defense, much of any upgrade is invisible to the naked eye.
But, hey, the Cactus Bowl would be an upgrade over No Bowl. Herman’s right about that.
“The kids are buying into that, and you see it every week on a consistent basis,” Herman said. “You see hard-playing guys who are really physical and intense. That in itself is a success. They have to continue to translate that success into success on the scoreboard.”
It’s a harsh, bottom-line business.
Oh, by the way, Texas plays Kansas on Saturday. Tickets still available. Herman said. “(Right tackle) Derek Kerstetter is not going to gain 20 pounds the next three weeks. All of the issues are going to be solved; they’re going to be solved through bowl practices, winter offseason, spring football and all of that.
“So I think the biggest thing we can do as a staff is mask the deficiencies as best we can.”
There are no magical answers to fixing the offense. But Texas (4-5, 3-3 Big 12) somehow must win two of its final three games to reach bowl eligibility.
Asked if getting to a bowl game represented success or a huge disappointment, Herman said. “Those are my only two options? Success or huge disappointment, huh?
“Anything better than previous years has to be considered somewhat of a success. It’s called improvement, right?,” he added. “You see really, really hard-playing guys that are playing very physical and very intense; that in and of itself is a success, and we’ve got to continue to then translate that success into success on the scoreboard.”