Texas Longhorns Football - 2012

[MojoMan]

Same song, different verse. Apparently neither McCoy or Ash has distinguished themselves during camp, so they will split time at QB for the Longhorns again this year, at least in the opening game.

Ash, McCoy both to play opener

AUSTIN — It’s looking more and more like the dreaded “-OR-” on Texas’ quarterback depth chart is here to stay.

While there remains a possibility the Longhorns will pick a clear starter before beginning the season on Sept. 1, offensive play-caller Bryan Harsin said Monday he expects both David Ash and Case McCoy to play in the opener against Wyoming. And like Mack Brown last week, Harsin gave no indication coaches are closer to choosing one player over the other than they’ve been at any point in the 20 months Ash and McCoy have been competing.

Before camp began, Brown stressed the importance of having one quarterback assert himself as the starter, and said he expected separation to happen. Lately, though, he and Harsin have reverted to last season’s tactic of waxing enthusiastic about the advantages of a two-quarterback system.

“It’s ideal to have both guys playing at a high level,” Harsin said. “That’s what you want.”

Little, however, was ideal about the time-share situation in 2011, when the UT depth chart listed “David Ash -OR- Case McCoy” as the starter for the bulk of the season and the Longhorns finished 89th nationally in pass efficiency. Despite those results, Brown and Harsin said they believe Ash and McCoy have both improved so much that splitting snaps shouldn’t be a problem.

“We want both guys to play,” Harsin said. “There’s strengths and weaknesses with both guys.”

It’s a familiar tune they’re playing. The Longhorns just have to hope they’ve gotten better with their instruments.

Not that hardly anyone will get to see the first game, as the first two games will be broadcast on the friggin' LHN, which is carried by almost none of the cable TV providers. Of course the cable TV providers are not to blame here, as the LHN just does not make economic sense for most consumers or most cable TV networks. Personally, I am looking forward to the end of the LHN experiment, which increasingly appears to be just a matter of time.

[MojoMan]

The AP preseason poll has Texas ranked #15 to start the season:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings

Also ranked among the Big 12 are:

04 - Oklahoma
11 - West Virginia
19 - Oklahoma State
20 - TCU
22 - Kansas State

As a result, 6 of 10 teams in the league will be ranked in the top 25 to start the year. This is shaping up to be a pretty tough conference.

[MojoMan]

Then again, it looks as if the Longhorns offense may be primarily orchestrated around the running game this year.

It has been a while, but for those who remember, three yards and a cloud of dust is what Texas has been primarily famous for on the offensive side of the ball. Think Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams and all of the other excellent RB's that have come out of Texas over the years.

This year, the Longhorns have at least two NFL quality backs in Malcom Brown and Jonathan Gray, and a third in Joe Bergeron who could be as well. If the Texas offensive line does their part, this should be a three back running attack that should be something to behold.

Older, wiser Brown ready to lead Texas RB trio

AUSTIN – Malcolm Brown is old, venerable and game-hardened and full of the kind of wisdom he wishes kids would listen to but knows they probably won't. When he was a wide-eyed, 18-year-old running back in 2011, he didn't have the perspective he has now. He struggled to figure out pass protection, allowed himself to be overwhelmed by the attention of playing at Texas, and regularly treated himself to Little Debbie Zebra Cakes.

The more experienced Brown shakes his head at that stuff. And when he talks to Johnathan Gray, the freshman who like Brown joined the Longhorns as one of the top running back recruits in the nation, he tries to make him understand. "The crowd's going to get all hyped up when you get your first touch, and you're going to feel like there's pressure on you," Brown said he told Gray. "But it's still the game of football." And if that simple game of football can be won by handing the ball off to fast, strong guys, the Longhorns think adding Gray's flash to Brown's savvy and Joe Bergeron's bruising ability could make them as dominant as any ground game in the sport.

Uncertainty remains in the incessant David Ash-Case McCoy quarterback competition, but UT has no shortage of answers at tailback. Last year, the Longhorns utilized then-freshmen Brown and Bergeron to average 202 rushing yards per game, 21st in the country.

By adding a third teenager to the group - specifically, a teenager who raced to more high school touchdowns than anyone in history - and by bringing back the bulk of a maturing offensive line, they think they can be better. "The running game we were building in steps last year we know is going to be great this year," guard Trey Hopkins said. "We have some stallions back there." And the styles are diverse enough to take advantage of just about any kind of track. If UT needs to pound the ball between the tackles, Bergeron, with his barrel chest and enormous thighs, is the man. If the Longhorns want a runner who can get wide before turning upfield, Gray has that ability.

....

[Goldensilence]

Originally Posted by MojoMan

The AP preseason poll has Texas ranked #15 to start the season:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings

Also ranked among the Big 12 are:

04 - Oklahoma
11 - West Virginia
19 - Oklahoma State
20 - TCU
22 - Kansas State

As a result, 6 of 10 teams in the league will be ranked in the top 25 to start the year. This is shaping up to be a pretty tough conference.

I think a good argument could be made that the Big 12 last year was deeper as a whole than the SEC last year.

Far as the Longhorns as a whole, I agree it's likely same song second verse. The defense is going to carry this team again, and hopefully the offense will continue to grow under Harsin in his second year. It's really frustrating to see a LOT of good offensive pieces going to waste because lack of a quality QB.

If only they could somehow squish Ash and McCoy together you'd get a capable QB. I guess i subscribe to the idea if you have two QBs then you don't have a real solution at QB.

[Doppelganger]

Originally Posted by MojoMan

Then again, it looks as if the Longhorns offense may be primarily orchestrated around the running game this year.

It has been a while, but for those who remember, three yards and a cloud of dust is what Texas has been primarily famous for on the offensive side of the ball. Think Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams and all of the other excellent RB's that have come out of Texas over the years.

This year, the Longhorns have at least two NFL quality backs in Malcom Brown and Jonathan Gray, and a third in Joe Bergeron who could be as well. If the Texas offensive line does their part, this should be a three back running attack that should be something to behold.

I think UT is trying to go the route of becoming an SEC style team:smothering Defense and prolific running game. I liked what I saw out of the D last year and I think the running game has a chance to be one of the best in the country. I think the D can certainly be top 5 if not top 10. The running game is potentially very dangerous and has 3 really good youngsters carrying the rock. This will be a return to the days of Ricki and Priest establishing the tone rather than Vince or Colt.

My prediction is the D and running game will propel the team to a top 10 finish. The team won 11+ games with Chris Simms as a QB: surely Ash and/or Case are not significantly worse than Simms.

[Blake]

Hookem baby!

[MojoMan]

Originally Posted by Doppelganger

I think UT is trying to go the route of becoming an SEC style team:smothering Defense and prolific running game. I liked what I saw out of the D last year and I think the running game has a chance to be one of the best in the country. I think the D can certainly be top 5 if not top 10. The running game is potentially very dangerous and has 3 really good youngsters carrying the rock. This will be a return to the days of Ricki and Priest establishing the tone rather than Vince or Colt.

My prediction is the D and running game will propel the team to a top 10 finish. The team won 11+ games with Chris Simms as a QB: surely Ash and/or Case are not significantly worse than Simms.

I think you are right. Of course defense has always been key, but for most of Mack Brown's tenure, the passing game has been much more heavily featured than I think he really wanted. Now with the re-engineering of his coaching staff and the struggles the Horns are having at QB, now is the time to make it happen.

Of course he will only be able to stick with that approach as long as it works, as it is difficult to come back from behind solely by running the ball. The Horns will play 5 teams currently ranked in the top 25 this year and also Ole Miss. If they dominate with the run game and defense through 10 of 12 games, the Horns will finish again in the top 10.

[Stemp]

Oklahoma should be lower. In fact, I'll be surprised if they finished ranked above 20 this year. Texas should be about 19-20 but where they finish will depend on the QB play and if they can stay healthy,

Okie St, TCU, and KSU shouldn't be ranked IMO. I see all 3 having 3-4 losses this year.

[MojoMan]

Here is a link to the preseason depth chart for the Longhorns, for those who are interested:

http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.c...pth-chart.html

Also, the Longhorns have officially named David Ash the starting QB:

UT officially ends controversy, tabs Ash starter

Just over 19 months ago, David Ash enrolled at the University of Texas fresh off graduating early from Belton High School. He immediately found himself competing with Case McCoy for playing time at quarterback, and the competition continued through two springs, two summers and a football season.

By releasing UT's depth chart and tabbing Ash as his opening-game starter Wednesday, Longhorns coach Mack Brown formally ended one of the most interminable quarterback controversies in college football. "Both quarterbacks are good enough to win games," Brown said. "(Ash) ended up having a little edge, and that was it."

That Ash landed in the No. 1 spot was not a shock. The surprise, if there was one, was that Brown did not make much of an effort to appease McCoy by guaranteeing a specific amount of playing time to the backup. For weeks, Brown and offensive play-caller Bryan Harsin had been reverting to their comments from last year, when they continually praised both quarterbacks equally and insisted a time-share situation could work.

Brown did say McCoy, who started five games to Ash's six last season, will play in the season opener against Wyoming on Sept. 1. But unlike in 2011, Brown couldn't be sure McCoy will play in the first half. "We don't have a plan for it," Brown said.

....

[Texecutioner]

It always ticks me off at how the Sooners have always been coached better than the Horns. It seems like the Sooners have always been able to do really well no matter who their QB was even when that one guy got suspended and they used that WR to play QB. They still won the BIG 12 that season.

The Horns definitely got screwed with how badly Gilbert ended up being which didn't seem possible, but it is what it is. They need to have a new QB ready to go pronto for next season.

[Stemp]

Originally Posted by Texecutioner

It always ticks me off at how the Sooners have always been coached better than the Horns. It seems like the Sooners have always been able to do really well no matter who their QB was even when that one guy got suspended and they used that WR to play QB. They still won the BIG 12 that season.

The Horns definitely got screwed with how badly Gilbert ended up being which didn't seem possible, but it is what it is. They need to have a new QB ready to go pronto for next season.

I think you need to worry more about WV than OU this season. Though both games will be difficult.

[Texecutioner]

Originally Posted by Stemp

I think you need to worry more about WV than OU this season. Though both games will be difficult.

Not worried about either one, as this should still be a rough year for the Horns. I can't remember any Longhorn team that ever over achieved under Mack Brown. They're always strapped with talent, but GD's scheme was so vanilla for so many years along with Mack's blind loyalty to certain players that wouldn't perform at times. Ash and Case just don't have any type of "it factor." They're going to have to really rely on a running game and a top defense to help them get through with an SEC style approach.

[badboy]

Originally Posted by Doppelganger

I think UT is trying to go the route of becoming an SEC style team:smothering Defense and prolific running game. I liked what I saw out of the D last year and I think the running game has a chance to be one of the best in the country. I think the D can certainly be top 5 if not top 10. The running game is potentially very dangerous and has 3 really good youngsters carrying the rock. This will be a return to the days of Ricki and Priest establishing the tone rather than Vince or Colt.

My prediction is the D and running game will propel the team to a top 10 finish. The team won 11+ games with Chris Simms as a QB: surely Ash and/or Case are not significantly worse than Simms.

With that defense, may not need much of a QB.

[texanhead08]

I have never understood how their running game struggled all those years. UT gets the cream of the crop lineman and RB's every year.

[HJam72]

I will only go to Longhorn games if I am rooting for an opposing player that went to somebody's high school, and I will bash them for not recruiting him....even if he is retarded, immature, goes to gay beer parties, and walks out on team meetings.

PS-JK, I still wouldn't drive that far.

[Mr. White]

Originally Posted by texanhead08

I have never understood how their running game struggled all those years. UT gets the cream of the crop lineman and RB's every year.

[MojoMan]

Much to my amazement, I just turned on my television, and AT&T U-verse now includes the Longhorn Network. As a result, I will be able to watch the Longhorns first two games on TV.

AT&T had better not jack up everyone's cable rates for this, that is all I have to say.

[Mr. White]

Funny how much I hated LHN when I couldn't get it.

What's even funnier is that I've been watching the hell out of it the last two days after I heard UVerse picked it up.

[MojoMan]

Originally Posted by Mr. White

Funny how much I hated LHN when I couldn't get it.

What's even funnier is that I've been watching the hell out of it the last two days after I heard UVerse picked it up.

I hate the idea of the precedent being set that individual college teams will now be getting their own channels, with individual fees charged to every subscriber for each one, even though most people will have no interest in most of these channels. It is a recipe for jacking up everyone's cable TV rates, and that I hate.

I have been watching it to. It is nice to be able to watch all of the Longhorns games this year. But prior to the LHN, all of these games were televised anyway. This is just an unnecessary ploy to milk consumers out of more of their hard-earned cash. I kind of wish that the LHN would just fold up shop and go away.

[MojoMan]

The Longhorns beat the Wyoming Cowboys in their home opener 37 - 17. Overall, the Longhorns looked less than stellar, especially early on when the Texas defense gave up a number of big plays.

The Longhorns QB controversy is officially over. David Ash looked great as he played nearly the whole game, with Case McCoy coming in for mop up duty late in forth quarter. Ash was 20 of 27 for 156 yards and a TD. Unless he melts down going forward, Ash will be the starter from now on.

The Horns also had two 100 yard rushers, with Joe Bergeron rushing 15 times for 110 yards and Malcom Brown rushing 14 times for 105. Total offense was 436 yards, with 280 on the ground. It was a solid offensive performance, although the OL did struggle a little early.

The Texas defense gave up 276 yards through the air. Hat tip to the Cowboys for having some really good players in the passing game, especially their QB Bret Smith and WR Robert Herron, who caught 5 passes for 173 yards, including a short play that he turned into an 82 yard romp. While the Wyoming air attack does deserve some credit, the Texas defense will not be happy with this performance, nor should they be.

I sure am glad that Texas was not playing a ranked team today, or they likely would have lost. But overall, Texas did get the win, so this was a nice start for the Horns and something they can build on.