Football

Inside the Gameplan: Mike Yurcich and the evolving vision for the Texas offense

Tom Herman had to make one of the most important decisions of his career this offseason after “reassigning” Tim Beck from offensive coordinator. The obvious narrative that Herman has encouraged was that Texas needed an OC that could handle more of the play-calling and gameplanning load in order to free up the head coach to oversee overall program quality and culture. That’s certainly true, but Herman had a bigger challenge for 2020, which was to find someone to help the offense fully unlock their potential in a make or break year for his tenure and to make the most of being the flagship program in a state known for offense.
Football

Inside the Gameplan: Yurcich versus Inverted Tampa 2

Back in 2017, Mike Yurcich was one of the early victims of the inverted Tampa 2’s initial pass through the league. Iowa State threw the scheme at Texas, who struggled mightily with it, then used it while upsetting Baker Mayfield and the playoff-bound Oklahoma Sooners. Not long afterward, Texas incorporated the scheme into their own defense and ended up relying on it to take the Mason Rudolph Oklahoma State Cowboys to overtime in Austin.
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Inside the Gameplan: Diamonds are forever

Mike Gundy’s intention in hiring Dana Holgorsen after 2009 was to free himself up from play-calling and to update the already spread-curious Cowboy offense with fresh Air Raid principles. He heralded the arrival of “basketball on grass” to Stillwater but to the outside eye the ‘Pokes didn’t look particularly imposing heading into 2010. Holgorsen inherited a roster that didn't have many of the big names that had driven OSU success in previous years like QB Zac Robinson (replaced by a 26-year old Brandon Weeden), WR Dez Bryant, TE Brandon Pettigrew, or LT Russell Okung.
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Jalen Milroe discusses first face-to-face meeting with Mike Yurcich

One of the attractive features of Texas' offensive coordinator opening was the rostered players and committed prospects at the quarterback position. Sam Ehlinger is set to challenge school records during his senior season. Casey Thompson has two years of backup experience and three years left to play. Highly touted prospects Hudson Card and Ja'Quinden Jackson recently ended their accomplished high school careers.