Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN, Texas -- When it came to David Ash, Malcolm Brown's answer was no different than any other Texas player has given over the past several years when the quarterback question has come up.

"Like Mike Davis said, he has a swagger about him now," the running back said of the quarterback.

Only now it might be time to believe in the rising junior. Not because of some huge personality shift in Ash, but because this time –-- the junior season following a multi-year starter's sophomore season -- is typically when said actions start to speak louder than words.

Looking back at eight Big 12 multi-year starting quarterbacks -- Texas’ Colt McCoy, Texas’ Vince Young, Missouri’s Chase Daniel, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell, Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden, Baylor’s Robert Griffin III and Kansas’ Todd Reesing -- all but one had a dramatic leap in every statistical category from their sophomore to junior years. (Jones was the exception. In the six categories measured, he only increased his stats in one category, average yards per game.)

So the odds are Ash, who started 12 games in 2012, should follow suit. Maybe not to the extreme of Young, who topped the other seven aforementioned quarterbacks when it came to overall production increase. But there should at least be a measure of improvement to Ash’s stats. How much is up for debate for the next several months.

But if he follows the statistical average presented by those eight quarterbacks who have gone before him, Ash could see his passing efficiency rating rise by 17.10 points, completion percentage by 5 percent, touchdowns by 5.8, interceptions shrink by a nominal 0.25, overall yards move up 581.8 and yards per game to increase by 45.6.

Of course, there are mitigating factors that could shape whether or not Ash has a rise or fall in his stats in 2013.

One of which is that Ash already experienced a dramatic rise in his stats from 2011 to 2012. In his sophomore season, Ash finished in the top 25 in passer efficiency rating and increased that rating 45.9 points. He had 15 more touchdown passes as a sophomore, threw for 1,620 yards and completed 10.4 percent more of his passes. (He also had 144 more attempts as a sophomore than as a freshman.) The point being that quite possibly a ceiling, if not already hit, is at least within arm’s length.

A counter argument could be that a shift in offensive philosophy, from traditional sets to spread, should serve to bolster his stats. In addition, the Big 12’s defenses -- at least that of the top teams Oklahoma and Kansas State -- have experienced huge losses on their side of the ball. Add that fact to the unavoidable truth that the Big 12 is not exactly chock full of top defenses -- only TCU and Texas Tech finished in the top 40 in total defense in 2012 -- and it sets up for Ash to have at least a nominal rise in his statistical production in his junior season.

If all that is not enough to make a decision, there are still the words of Ash’s teammates to go by as well:

"Now that he has it down, he’s a lot more comfortable," Brown said. "He’s loosened up with us and he talks more now because he knows what he’s doing."

Given that this is Ash’s junior year and that history is on his side, it might just be time to believe those words.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel was better than Texas’ David Ash.

The sky is blue. The Earth is round. Texas is an eight-win program. There, just wanted to go ahead and state all those obvious things right up top. Because what is not so obvious, not to those who watched Ash get yanked from two games and benched for one, was that while Manziel was better than Ash, not many other second-year quarterbacks (redshirt freshmen or true sophomores) were.

In fact, only five other second-year quarterbacks had better passing efficiency numbers than Ash. And Manziel wasn’t even the leader of that group. Oklahoma State’s J.W. Walsh finished the regular season as the highest rated in passing efficiency among first- or second-year guys with a 165.67 passing efficiency rating.

That’s the same Walsh who threw a very costly interception against Texas and who could not lead OSU back after Ash led Texas on a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. Now, it was Walsh’s first career start. Ash was in his ninth start. And Walsh ultimately would up as the higher-rated passer although he did not win as many games as Ash.

Ash went 8-3 as a starter -- really 7-3 when taking into account the fact that he was benched in the Kansas game with Texas trailing in the fourth. Among the six top young passers in pass efficiency rating, those seven wins ranked just a shade past the middle.

(Read full post)

The "ESPN The Magazine" college football preview is all about the SEC, including the Big 12's effort to take down the league with six consecutive national titles.

LaRue Cook focused on Texas, who's looking more and more like an SEC team these days.

A power running game that's not reliant on the play of its quarterback, and a defense loaded with future pros and playmakers.

"After 5-7, I felt like I'd let everybody down," says Brown, who hadn't won fewer than nine games in a season since he took over. "I had to make a hard decision: Is it good for Texas for me to go on? I knew it would take a lot of work and time to get this program back." At 59, he contemplated retirement. But as arguably the most successful coach in UT history, he couldn't bear to end a legacy that way. Instead, he kept that BCS title loss to Alabama in the back of his mind -- namely, how the Longhorns' game plan was rendered useless when quarterback Colt McCoy went down with a shoulder injury in the first quarter -- and set out to hire assistants who could create a group of 21 that didn't rely on an improvisational Vince Young or a thoroughbred dropback passer like McCoy.

"I look at the SEC and recognize that's how they've won," says Brown. "At Texas, you don't want to lose a game just because your QB is having a bad day. That's why I hired three SEC coaches."

Great stuff on the Horns from Cook. Check it out.

After two years of being an also-ran on the national stage and in the Big 12, Texas appears poised to move out of the wings. The Longhorns return eight starters from a defense that was No. 11 nationally last season and have added quality depth at defensive tackle position. Defensive lineman Brandon Moore and linebacker Steve Edmond could be breakout stars. Offensively, Texas is still trying to find the next Colt McCoy. It's clear it is not his brother, Case. The younger McCoy continues to be locked in a quarterback battle with sophomore David Ash. Whoever wins will have the benefit of what appears to be the Big 12's best and deepest backfield with sophomores Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron as well as the nation's top running back recruit in Johnathan Gray.

The Big 12 isn't stocked with many fresh-faced coaches, but the league's biggest rising star just finished his first season on the sideline.

It ended with a league title and a BCS bowl win -- rather emphatically, I might add -- but he just didn't do it in the Big 12. What did he do in the Big 12? Groom one of the game's best offensive minds underneath Mike Leach before helping revitalize offenses at Houston and Oklahoma State.

That earned Dana Holgorsen a heck of a first job -- West Virginia -- and earns him my pick as the Big 12's biggest rising star in the coaching profession.

It's really not even close. Holgorsen earned a strong reputation at Texas Tech, but he wasn't the man calling the plays. That changed with record-breaking quarterback Case Keenum at Houston. His prolific offenses persuaded Mike Gundy to reluctantly cede the play-calling duties at Oklahoma State.

That may have been the best decision of Gundy's career. Oklahoma State blossomed into a force in 2010 and kept an almost exact replica of Holgorsen's offense to win the Big 12 in 2011. Anybody else know the last time one coach's offense won two league titles in a single season?

Now West Virginia is reaping the benefits of Holgorsen's offensive expertise. At 41, he is the Big 12's youngest head coach (31 years younger than its oldest, Bill Snyder) and three years younger than anyone else in the league (Mike Gundy is 44).

West Virginia has proved that it may not be one of college football's ultimate destination jobs (Hi, RichRod!), but it's a place you can stay for a long time and win. Every indication is that is exactly what Holgorsen will do, and now he'll get a chance to do it in familiar territory in the Big 12.

Want a few other rising stars in the coaching game? They're roaming the sidelines as Mack Brown's right-hand men.

Manny Diaz is my No. 1 on the list. He has had the athletes, sure, but in one season, he turned Texas from a very good defense into the meanest in the Big 12 by far -- and one of the nation's best.

Despite losing tons of NFL talent at linebacker, the Longhorns are back this year and fit to lead the Big 12 in total defense for a fifth consecutive season. Diaz has helped turn his secondary into the league's best, built on toughness. Last season, Texas was the nation's last team to give up a touchdown pass longer than 20 yards, holding out until the season finale against Heisman winner Robert Griffin III. In today's Big 12, that's unbelievable.

Diaz has risen faster than anybody in coaching recently. Ten years ago, he was preparing for his first position coach job after serving as a graduate assistant at NC State. Now, he has a case as one of the nation's best coordinators. Two years ago, he was the coordinator at Middle Tennessee State, and now he has replaced Will Muschamp, who left the Texas DC spot to take the head-coaching job at Florida. Don't be surprised if a big boy job comes calling for Diaz, even with his inexperience, very soon.

Keep an eye on Oklahoma OC Josh Heupel, but my other coach to watch is Texas offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin. He has more experience as a playcaller and groomed his skills under one of the game's best coaches, Chris Petersen at Boise State. He spent five seasons calling plays at Boise, which calculates to approximately 464,126 pre-snap shifts from the time he was promoted after three seasons as tight ends coach to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

That's the title he holds in Austin, but it might not be for long if he can help usher in the balanced, power-running attack Texas has wanted since Colt McCoy left after the 2009 season. There is no more visible place to do it, and if Harsin succeeds, he'll be adjusting to the title of head coach at some place nice very soon.

1. A renewed rivalry, sort of?: By all accounts Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill had an impressive performance at his pro day Thursday. ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley reported that a large contingent from the Cleveland Browns were on hand. Perhaps the A&M-Texas rivalry will live on in Browns training camp.

The Browns would have likely drafted Baylor’s Robert Griffen III before the Redskins moved up via trade with the Rams to take RG3. There’s certainly no guarantee that the Browns would take Tannehill with the No. 4 pick. It’s certainly a reach for a player who has more time at receiver than QB. If the Browns do take him, it will set up a camp competition with former Longhorn Colt McCoy.

McCoy suffered a nasty his from the Steelers’ James Harrison and a concussion. McCoy did not play the rest of the season. He has only been in Cleveland for two seasons and came in with high marks from GM Mike Holmgren. McCoy was 2-2 in his career against the Aggies.

2. Drawing the line: Donald Hawkins is one of the more intriguing players to watch in Sunday’s spring game. The junior college transfer arrived at Texas with what some called a bit of an ego. He also proved his ability pretty quickly. To walk in and immediately move into the starting left tackle is no easy task. But if he is as good as advertised, he should solidify the Texas offensive line. There was a pretty steady rotation of players in and out last fall.

Hawkins, guard Mason Walters and center Dominic Espinosa are three solid starters. That leaves some combination of Trey Hopkins, Sedrick Flowers and Josh Cochran in the other two spots. Having a consistent group should only further build David Ash’s confidence.

3. A replacement for Coach G?: The Associated Press reports that North Texas women’s basketball coach Karen Aston has interviewed to the vacant job at Texas. Aston is a former Texas assistant who has coached at Charlotte and North Texas since leaving the Longhorns in 2006.

The report cites Aston as a top recruiter for the Longhorns during her tenure from 1998-2006.

Gail Goestenkors resigned from Texas on March 20.

We'll start taking a look at what each program in the Big 12 needs to deal with during the offseason, whether it be in the spring, summer or fall preseason camp. Maybe all three! Who knows?

Next up: The Texas Longhorns.

Invest in David Ash. Texas will bring on another true freshman this spring, Connor Brewer. The Longhorns have already been down that road. Ash is the most physically gifted of the Longhorns' quarterbacks, and that gives him the most upside. He's been in the program just one calendar year, and he got hardly any practice reps last spring and in the preseason while Texas was trying to prepare Garrett Gilbert to bounce back. If you ask me, forget competition with Case McCoy. Get Ash tons of reps and get him ready to take over in 2012. They'll be better off for it.

Find new defensive leadership. Leadership was one of the Longhorns' downfalls in 2010 after Colt McCoy left. Without Keenan Robinson, Emmanuel Acho and Blake Gideon, the Longhorns have a huge hole once again. Who's going to take over? Senior Kenny Vaccaro's probably the most talented player returning for the Horns, closely followed by junior-to-be Jackson Jeffcoat. What about Alex Okafor, the senior up front? Somebody's got to take hold of this team.

Figure out how the running backs will be used. Texas' backfield next year's going to be real crowded. Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron return, and Johnathan Gray, the nation's No. 1 running back and No. 2 prospect overall, will join them. All three could probably start for most teams in the Big 12, if not the country. The Longhorns need to utilize that strength, along with a maturing offensive line. Will offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin debut some new formations to get them on the field? Maybe a Wishbone redux? Copycatting Oklahoma and Oklahoma State's "Backs" or "Diamond" formation? Who takes over for Fozzy Whittaker in the Wildcat formation? Who gets the lion's share of the carries for these Horns? All are questions that have to be answered over the next seven months.

More offseason to-do lists.