Rain-soaked workout leaves Herman fuming
Tuesday’s workout featured a who’s-who of Longhorns among the gallery at Denius Fields. Mack Brown and Derrick Johnson were the headliners while others like Poona Ford and DeShon Elliott were there to see their former teammates.
The product on the field? Well, it’s been better.
“Not a very good practice today,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “We’ve got to get our guys up and motivated for each practice. We fumbled the ball way too many times today on offense.”
The ball was on the ground several times during the 20-minute period open to reporters. There was a bobbled snap by a freshman quarterback, a fumble from the experienced running back and dropped passes on both sides of the field.
Herman was especially miffed about the first- and second-team defensive units. Both allowed 70-yard touchdown drives.
“As I’ve told you guys (the media) many times, there are two demands in this program,” Herman said. “That’s effort and ball security. We’ve got to figure out a way to do a better job protecting the football. And we will. I’ve been doing this long enough. This is pretty standard for the middle of spring ball.
“It’s our job as coaches to light a fire under them a little bit and make sure we get the best out of them on Thursday.”
Johnson injured: Linebacker Gary Johnson got his cleat stuck, turned in an awkward position and suffered a strained groin, Herman said. “I don’t think it’s anything serious,” the coach said.
Still, Johnson is being groomed to be a senior defensive leader. He finished fourth on the team with 60 tackles last season playing in all 13 games.
Herman wants to get Johnson back as soon as possible. In the meantime, veteran Edwin Freeman and freshman Ayodele Adeoye will rotate with the first two units.
Okafor holding on: Graduate transfer Calvin Anderson will get to compete for the left tackle job this summer. For now, Denzel Okafor must prove that he’s the right choice for offensive line coach Herb Hand.
Okafor played at right tackle last season, but as the season wore on, the coaches became nervous about the sophomore’s consistency. Asked how Okafor was doing in the last week, Herman said, “Better. Better.”
The coaches went over film from last Saturday’s workout, and Hand highlighted one specific block. “I can’t really say what he said,” Herman said. “But he said, ‘You really put yourself in a tough spot there, Denzel, because you proved to your teammates what you are capable of.
“Now we’re all going to expect that every play.’”
Hold onto the ball: Speaking of fumbles, Herman was asked about running back Toniel Carter’s fumble early during the portion open to reporters. Fumbling was Carter’s problem last season.
“His job is to accept coaching, and our job is to coach him,” Herman said. “What a shame it would be if a talented guy had to sit on the bench because nobody could trust him. ”
Briefly: Sam Ehlinger was the No. 1 quarterback ahead of Shane Buechele, based on Tuesday’s workout. Moving left to right, the starting offensive line was Okafor, Patrick Vahe, Zach Shackelford, Elijah Rodriguez and Derek Kerstetter.