It's Red River Eve. What's the latest team intel after this important week of preparation. Join InsideTexas.com and use promo code "HOOKEM" for 50% off an annual membership: https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-longhorns/join/ This Video Brought to You By Our Wonderful Sponsor: Injured? Call Andre The lawyer at 214-444-8808. Located in Dallas, TX, Andre helps injured Longhorns in car wrecks, slip and falls, 18 wheeler accidents, on the job injuries, and wrongful deaths. https://andrethelawyer.com/ Chapters: 00:00 Preparation for OU 02:30 Players Who Stood Out at Practice 04:20 Texas Running Back Room 06:58 Limiting Michael Hawkins 08:57 OU’s Skill Talent 11:20 Texas OL vs Oklahoma DL 12:58 Team Mindset Purchase The 2024 Longhorn Football Prospectus: Thinking Texas Football - 12th Annual Edition: https://sites.google.com/view/the-2023-burnt-orange-bible/home Written for the passionate, smart fan who wants more than recycled corporate media content. Find out why it's called The Burnt Orange Bible. Smashwords (compatible with any device, select epub for Apple/Kindle): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1591653 Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/2024-longhorn-football-prospectus-thinking-texas-football/id6554008037 Amazon (Print): https://a.co/d/iVszuhf Be the smartest fan in the room and start Thinking Texas Football today. Listen to the Podcast: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3P0cwAUPNZrsNrTOKOfa6x Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-texas-football/id1721623113 Find Us On Social Media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/InsideTexas Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsideTexas/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidetexas/ https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-longhorns/
Inside Texas Football
Inside the Program: Texas Team Intel Going into Red River, Running Back Room, Limiting the Sooners
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Subscribe to the Inside Texas Football YouTube Channel. We climbed at 10,000 mark. We did it, where we're going to go to the next one. We've got to get to the next one. Just like any other mountain. We've got to climb the next one. Help us get to that one, viewers. We sure do appreciate all your help. We're here. We're a little over 24 hours away from Texas OU. Two weeks of build up, it's usually one week. But we were actually-- we got to splurge this year. We got two weeks of build up. And my guy, from what we're hearing inside the program, it sounds like there's some thirsty golf morns right now. There is a lot of preparation for Oklahoma. Obviously, they had a two week advantage. What was kind of the focus this week? Just only a few days out. Yeah, high energy. As you'd expect, your number one rival was a lot of energy, but also a lot of focus. It's always about harnessing your energy and your motions. And I think Stark did that this week. We'll have to make sure he does that, walking out of the tunnel on Saturday as well. But lots of focus is a very clean, crisp practice on offense throughout. And defense was a mistake for you, too. Now, they didn't do a lot of good on good. So you didn't really have a zero sum, necessarily. I felt bad for the scout teams. But yeah, a lot of communication on defense. Like I said, crisp clean on offense. Quinn looked good. Offensive line looked good. It seems like they've got a really good handle on their protections going into this week. A week will need it. Oh, he's got an active defensive front. Active line backers, varied blitz package. So it sounds like the offensive line had a very good week, which I think is maybe key number one, along with Quinn, protecting the ball, makes the plays down the field. But overall, I mean, Sarcos was very candid. He felt they had a good week. And when I checked behind the scenes, they were probably even more positive than Sarcos. This isn't usually a week where you have to get your guys amped up a whole lot. Sometimes if it's ULM, sometimes maybe UTSA, it can take a little bit. It wasn't like that this week. There were guys thumping in practice. There were some dudes that were standing out because when you make a play in the Red River Shootout, that's when you become legendary. Who are some of the guys that you've been hearing that were standing out this week in practice? Yeah, the number one player mentioned was Leunga Lafal. Mike, the backup, Mike linebacker, who has flashed pretty much every time he's been on the field this year. Seems like he's magnetized to the ball. He might be the most natural linebacker on the team when it comes to diagnostics. And he's also the most comfortable when it comes to dropping into coverage. Now how much will you, you know, linebacker need to drop into coverage this week against Michael Hawkins, that remains to be seen. But he had a very good week. Jalen Gilbo was another one. He had some struggles. He didn't have his best game against Mississippi State, but he's had a couple of bounce-back weeks of practice. I think he's gonna have a big week, you know? Looking for an ideal place to start or scale your business? Come to Dubai, the new global powerhouse for innovation and business growth. With the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 accelerating success, entrepreneurs have easy access to flexible regulations, cutting edge infrastructure, tax benefits, and 100% for an ownership. Be a part of the future. Join the leaders of tomorrow in Dubai, where your innovation meets opportunity. Visit www.dubybeyondpossible.com to know more. - Oh, you traditionally like to use two tight end sets. A lot of times that pulls the nickel off. But man, he's playing so well. You know, I'm not sure. I think he might play a little bit more than people realize. And then Silas Bolden, the kamikaze returner. Yeah, yeah, I get asked a lot has, you know, the coaches talk to him about maybe toning it down. Well, you know, you don't want to tone them down too much. 'Cause then you take away what makes them great is play making ability. But, you know, they have talked to them, you know, just play sound, make good decisions, but they don't want to slow them down because then you take away the big play. And, you know, this game has a lot of special teams, big plays in them. He might be due, but he also had a good week as a receiver, made a lot of connections with Archdown the field. We saw he got robbed against Mississippi State. He continues to make plays like that. Maybe he could be a surprise breakout player, not necessarily surprised he'd been falling inside Texas, but out of the six wide receivers, he's probably been the quietest so far this season, but he could be due for a breakout on the field as well. Yeah, and, you know, we've been getting a lot of questions the last two weeks, you know, going into a buy, having a couple of fumbles might be the worst thing on the job. Because, man, you get to think about it. And boy, we've had to talk about it. We've had a lot of questions about it, but it seems like Steve Sarkeesian and those guys, they've got faith and they've got, they've definitely, they know they need to keep all those guys engaged, especially Jayden Blue. What's the latest you're hearing about that Texas running back room? And, you know, everyone wants to talk about who's the starter, but this is generally a buy committee kind of deal this year anyway. Yeah, the response I got when I asked about the running backs was pretty short and sweet. This, you know, basically to charge choice coaches ass off this week. He was very loud, very vocal, wasn't afraid to get in everybody's face, you know, right in front of the whole team. Just very animated, which, you know, his style kind of changes to whatever he needs it to be. You know, he can be quiet, coaching, put his arm around you and whisper to you, or he can, he can steal the show. And he stole the show quite a few times this week, talking to Jayden and Blue, also Trey Wiesner and Jared Gibson. Everybody asks who the starter is. I'm sure it's Jayden Blue based on, you know, just how practice is gone, but Trey Wiesner will play, Jared Gibson will play. And then from there, it's kind of up to them. Who's playing well, who's seeing the lanes the best, who's running behind their pads and moving the pile. You know, this could be a good week for Jared Gibson. We'll see, but Jayden, Blue, I anticipate him being the starter. And he's really only one crease away from being back in the good graces of everybody. Just got to protect the ball. This is a game that can't afford turnovers. That's turnovers and red zone issues are why they lost the game last season. Obviously defense had some issues as well, but if they protect the ball and make a couple big plays, it's going to be tough for you to keep pace. - Yeah, you knew to show our choice was going to bring that A game this week. Knowing the running back room, it's one thing that's going to get talked about. It's one thing I think Texans used to lean on. Hey, there's somebody else we like to lean on, and that's Andre the lawyer. Hey, this video is brought to you by the man, Andre the lawyer. If you're ever injured, trust the team that secured millions for their clients and help thousands of Texans with their injury cases. Car wrecks, slipping falls, 18 with our accidents on the job injuries and wrongful deaths. Do not let that insurance company tell you what your claim is worth. Andre the lawyer is going to fight for you. Give him a call at 214-444-8808. He's located in Dallas, but he will help Texans throughout the state. Give him a call. If you're ever stuck, you're ever in trouble. Get Andre the lawyer at buzz. 214-444-8808. He's so good, he will even mail you back your hoodie that you leave in an Uber and an Arbor. Now, Michael Hawkins, that's the talk. A lot of talk here. Oklahoma really didn't have an identity on offense. I think they're trying to find one. They may have found one with Michael Hawkins. What is kind of the defensive scheme? Or they may not have. Let's see. What is the defensive mindset going to be with trying to limit Michael Hawkins? Because he is a true freshman quarterback. This is a new environment, new atmosphere for him on Saturday. What's Texas going to do to try to confuse him? Yeah, well, everybody respects his upside. I think they respect the composure he showed so far for being a true freshman. They respect his legs, you know, obviously the kid. I mean, he's a player with some tools. There's no doubt about it. I think he's got a nice little arm on him, too. But as far as being mentally prepared for this game, being able to get to a second read, they don't think he's going to have a whole lot of success with that, sort of a one read and run it quarterback. And they're able to prepare for that based on where he's at in this stage in his career. It's not the same as defending Dylan Gabriel in the run game last year because they had much more of a threat of pass. They had better weapons on the outside. You kind of feel bad, I mean, you don't really, but you kind of feel bad for Michael Hawkins. If you're an impartial observer on this game, you'd feel bad because the offensive line is not great. The running game is not great. He doesn't really have anything to lean on. The water severs are decimated with injuries. They don't have a lot there. You know, we'll talk a little bit more about that, but so Hawkins is kind of on an island by himself. He's a true freshman, second game, first start of our second start of his career is in this environment, the craziest environment. Wily veterans will tell you that it's sort of a tough environment to play on and he's just brand new. So, you know, I think they've got a good plan for them. Everybody asks if they're going to spy them. I mean, there's going to be eyes on them in every play because they think that's pretty much their greatest threat. That doesn't mean that, you know, Anthony Hill's going to sit back and wait for him to leave the pocket. It doesn't work like that. It becomes too predictable, but they've got a good plan in place, I think, to keep them in the pocket and and flush them. - You know, in the Texas injury report, the last couple of weeks has been a lot of running backs. But for Oklahoma, it's been the same at wide receiver. A lot of wide receivers dinged up in this game. Couple other positional guys as well. What's kind of Texas, what's going to be their approach with some of OU skill talent? Because we know a few of those guys over there, Texas even recruited some of them. I remember JJ Hester's recruitment. You know, what is Texas going to do to try to counter that skill talent that is dinged up? And it's not the same as it was a few years ago when Lincoln Raleigh was running that program. - Yeah, they poked around on Dion Burks out of the portal and they poked around on Nick Anderson a little bit coming out of high school as well. We kept wondering if that offer for Nick would come. He's a pretty talented player. Yeah, I mean, they're missing their top three water receivers and it would be a quality group. If they had all three, it wouldn't be the equal of Texas, but it would be a good group and certainly help matters. You know, they got Brennan Thompson over there who's, you know, wasn't going to start at Texas, probably ever, not to be mean to Brennan or anything, but it's just the way it was looking throughout her early in his career. They got JJ Hester who's made some plays, also had some drop issues. You know, they're not bad receivers at all. They're just not the difference makers that this team desperately needs. They need some playmakers on the outside. They don't have, Texas should be able to man them up pretty well and we do that free up safety to do a lot of things including cover of mobile running back or a mobile quarterback. So that can still, skill talent is going to hurt them. tight ends are, you know, Bower Smith, pretty decent receiver, kind of a deceptive route runner, good at finding space, but not much of a blocker. The other guy, Jake, Jake, not the snake Robert. She's not very slow there at all as a receiver. He is a good blocker. So they kind of have disparate parts and strengths. So it's, you know, they're just not dynamic. They don't have that tight ends going to threaten the field. They don't have that devastating move piece blocker that's always getting out in an open space or help them chip an edge. They're just, they just don't have the same guys. They've got some good talent on defense, but not the same on offense, especially with the injuries. So Texas just has a huge advantage in this game. Defensively, corners versus their wide receivers. I think they've got enough athletes in space to keep Hawkins tamed and not running wild. And then their offensive line just has issues. So even if they did have good skill players, it'd be tough to take full advantage of them because the defensive line has an advantage over their offensive line. - Looking for an ideal place to start or scale your business? Come to Dubai, the new global powerhouse for innovation and business growth. With the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 accelerating success, entrepreneurs have easy access to flexible regulations, cutting edge infrastructure, tax benefits and 100% for an ownership. Be a part of the future. Join the leaders of tomorrow in Dubai where your innovation meets opportunity. Visit www.dubybeyondpossible.com to know more. - It really is, you know, it's about the matchups. That's what this game usually boils down to. And when you're looking at it to me, the Texas offensive line versus the Oklahoma defensive line, that to me, we know how dinged up OU's O line is. We know how strong Texas, how solid it's been up for the first five weeks of the season. But right now, this could be the matchup that shapes a lot of things, especially in the past blocking category for Texas. How do you think these two measure up the Texas O line versus the OU D line here? - Yeah, their D line is pretty good. It's not as good as Michigan. And Texas did mostly well against Michigan. Some of that will sarcope on the O line, getting the ball out quick, but he can do that again as well. Yeah, they had a good week with their protections. You know, the OU throws a lot at you. They'd only throw good players at you and they've got some decent depth in the interior. Of course, they beat Texas off for Dominic Williams. They got a defensive tackle instead of keeping Dylan Gabriel. But they, you know, they've got decent little defensive line and Texas has a good offensive line, especially past blocking. Now, it remains to be seen if the offensive line is going to be able to get movement in the run game. They've been challenged this week, kind of part and parcel with the chart choice, getting on the running backs. You know, Kyle Flood has made it known they've got to run the ball better. And, you know, we'll see if they can do that. If I think that, you know, there's a good chance. Oh, you could try to, you know, focus on taking away the pass for Quinn years. And if that's the case, then Texas has to take full advantage and run the ball. And then if Texas has success running the ball then, then it's probably going to be over anyways because that should open up the pass. - That's the beauty of the run game. It opens up every thing. You know, the team mindset, I believe Michael Taft was talking to the media this week and they remember stuff. You remember stuff, the Daddy Stutzman t-shirt and things of that sort. And Michael had a really good statement. I remember everything. And you know what, I think this game means so much to the die hard horns that became Texas Longhorns. Kids that grew up loving this game like Quinn years and Michael Taft and those guys, what do you feel like is the team mindset? And they understand the importance. If anybody in this program, those are guys that completely understand how important this OU game is. It's not just about staying at the top of the SEC rankings. It's not just about winning week to week. It's beating Oklahoma. This is how you keep your job at Texas. What has been the team mindset? Preferably, this week in particular and just how important this game is to share. - Yeah, I think any competitor and there's a lot on the team, not just Taft, we'll remember last year, Stutzman, you know, Ethan Downs standing over Quinn years. You know, they remember that sort of thing. They didn't necessarily reflect on the game a whole lot. You know, they don't wanna, you know, they don't wanna put bad thoughts in their head. You know, their idea, they talk more about, it should be more like 49 nothing. That's our expectation and not playing poorly and having to claw their boat way back into the game and that sort of thing. It's kind of like when Tom Herman was at Texas and they were struggling against Kansas and he goes and a half time he goes, "Guys, this is just like last week where they had blown a lead." You don't put those thoughts in. You don't put those thoughts into your players head, man. So they don't really reflect on the game. They know they've gotta play better, but they do use some of the antics and stuff, I guess, as motivation. I'm not sure they really need all that stuff. I think Taft can be a little hyperbolic. David Bendo, we've heard him be a little hyperbolic at times too, but those are two of the most competitive guys on the team, so that stands to reason. But yeah, I think they've got all the motivation they need. I do think something I put in the article this morning and I encourage everybody to go read inside Texas 'cause there was some cutting room information that I did not post just because it's a little too sensitive this far out from the game. I'll write up some notes right before kickoff. So, you know, it can't harm anything. But yeah, I think Sart is finally understanding the magnitude of this game. And that's not to say he ever took it lightly. It's don't miss, don't pick my words out of context. But I think he's probably, he's given it the added emphasis. It probably requires. And I think Texas will come out with a killer instinct and I expect them to maintain it for four quarters. Now that means they still have to execute well. They can't have these dead ball fouls that they've had way too many of, way too many of going back to really Sartre's first year. What's the value of being the most experienced team on the field if you keep shooting yourself in the foot? So they got to protect the ball. They can't have stupid penalties. But if they do that and just execute, this game is going to be over with before the fourth quarter. And then we'll see if Sartre wants to put it on. - Guys, it's hate week. It's Texas OU and we've never been able to cover both, back-to-back weeks of bi-week going into it. But if you're Texas and you know you've got a big run ahead of you, I mean, next three weeks, you got Oklahoma, Georgia, and do not underestimate the fighting Diego Parvias, at Vanderbilt, man, there's so much good stuff. Come see us at InsideTexas.com. It really is the best, absolute time. If you use promo code hook 'em, we will give you 50% off of your annual membership. It really is a great time. Come join us at InsideTexas.com, promo code hook 'em. And man, that will set you up. Eric, you're ready? Get your game. You've already got your game face. I can tell you're already in the right mindset. And go have fun and Dallas to all the fans. If you see the guys from Inside Texas around say hi, you know, shake your hand, let us earn your business and enjoy some Texas hate week. Fans, thank you for watching us and making us a part of your day and joining us on the Inside Texas Football YouTube channel, Power, by InsideTexas.com. Looking for an ideal place to start or scale your business? Come to Dubai, the new global powerhouse for innovation and business growth. With the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 accelerating success, entrepreneurs have easy access to flexible regulations, cutting edge infrastructure, tax benefits, and 100% for an ownership. Be a part of the future. Join the leaders of tomorrow in Dubai, where your innovation meets opportunity. Visit www. DubaiBeyondPossible.com to know more.
It's Red River Eve. What's the latest team intel after this important week of preparation.