We all have our hobbies. Some of you fish. Some of you cook, or at least over salt and burn. Some watch movies to the point they know what noir and Das Boot means. Impressive.
I always liked recruiting, at least since I started reading Dave Campbell’s upon moving to Texas. A nerdy recruitnik – not unlike W.W. McClyde and his vicissitudes – I was hobbying like an SOB on Saturday.
The final installment of this undertaking underscores my lede: perhaps no position in sports is more underappreciated than offensive line.
What makes this position group so interesting is Texas has missed on a number of top-end talents the last few cycles, yet wide receiver is still probably the deepest position, if not the most talented — that would be the secondary.
A lot of names, but only one likely headliner, the Texas defensive line has a nice mix of complementary parts, veterans, and talented youth.
In this world, these are the things that can be said to be certain. Feel free to worry about the first one, Turbo Tax the second, and I’ll cover the third.
There is no controversy. What Texas has is a depth chart – sort of – and quarterback competition not unlike competition at most other positions. That’s a good thing fans should be celebrating.
We’ll continue the series with running backs as Texas looks to find a replacement for D’Onta Foreman’s 2000 yards.
Texas has talent, albeit largely unproven, and it has bodies, but can anyone assert himself as the lead back while the rest of the depth chart finds its level behind him? That answer is yes, provided Chris Warren stays healthy. That’s an ‘if’ the size Warren himself, as illustrated by an exchange between Scipio and I.
Sometime in the early mid-2000’s some friends and I were on one of those river buses in New Braunfels catching a ride back to the parking lot. It being a long day in the sun, we might have had a little buzz working. I look over to the side and I see somebody’s head standing way taller than the rest. It’s THE Chris Mihm. Within 15 seconds we had that whole bus chanting “Let’s go Celtics!” I still laugh about it wondering if most of the people even knew why we were chanting that.
One of the surprising developments in Texas high school football last year was the improbable playoff run made by the Atascocita Eagles out of Humble.
Other than a 10-point loss to traditional power, North Shore, Atascocita made it through an otherwise easy district schedule unscathed. The playoffs loomed with dates against Deer Park first, then Pearland. Atascocita dispatched those two by a combined 60 points.
We look at each position, Post-Spring Football and see the developments then and now. Today, linebackers.