Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN, Texas – It took only a few days for the 2013 Texas football promotional video to go from polished to parody.

It took the actual program several years to make the same transition.

But that’s the space Texas occupies now, just to the right of the punching bags, to the left of the gag gifts, nestled right in there with the leftover, used-to-be-oh-so-cool 2009 gadgets.

Texas, which regularly topped college football’s marquee from 2000-09, has two wins in the past three years that anyone even dared shined a light on. And even those wins are highly questionable. The first came in 2010, before the cracks became chasms, when Texas beat then No. 4 Nebraska on the road. (Nebraska finished the season 10-4. Texas 5-7.) Texas finished 2012 with a win over No. 13 Oregon State, which started the season 6-0 and finished 3-4.

It’s that last win, perhaps coupled with the fact that this could be the last gasp for Texas, that has many desperately, and perhaps even eagerly, pointing to 2013 as the year the jabs at Texas’ expense stop being thrown. Or, at the very least, that Texas gets up off the mat.

"All the energy and work that we put into the last two years are going to start showing results," says coach Mack Brown, like a voiceover from the Almighty, in the opening sequence of the aforementioned promotional video.

As the reel flickers to life, lighting with it some tenuous hope that this isn’t all smoke, mirrors and a movie, it is difficult not to notice there are only two highlights from the 2012 Oklahoma game (a 42-point loss), none from the Kansas State game (an 18-point loss) and none from the TCU game (a seven-point loss).

Clearly Stewart Wade, the Aggies fan and creator of the aforementioned video parody, noticed as well. His 2013 Texas video -- what’s the opposite for promotional? -- video features six lowlights against OU, four against KSU, five against West Virginia and two against TCU.

Texas’ true identity is hidden somewhere in between Brown’s celluloid dream and Wade’s mocking nightmare. It’s this fact that makes Texas’ 2013 so completely confounding to forecast.

Every positive Texas produced in 2012 or can produce either through YouTube or another press release naming another player to some breathlessly anticipated watch list in this offseason can easily be juxtaposed by a negative.

For instance, ESPN Insider's Travis Haney recently labeled Texas the second-most talented team in the country based on recruiting and future NFL projections that included Jackson Jeffcoat being the No. 1 "senior" player at his defensive end position, Quandre Diggs being a top-50 projected draft pick and David Ash being the top five of quarterbacks for the 2015 NFL Draft.

But Jeffcoat and Ash both have their share of issues. Jeffcoat has had two pectoral surgeries and had a bad ankle his freshman season. That’s three injuries in three years. He also is not the "overall" No. 1 defensive end, Jadeveon Clowney is. Mel Kiper actually has Jeffcoat projected fifth among defensive ends.

As for Ash being the fifth-best prospect at quarterback in the 2015 NFL Draft, well, Wade surely will be happy to produce a video of the TCU, Kansas and OU games for GMs.

Now there is merit to the argument Texas is loaded with talent. Nineteen starters return. Most were highly sought-after recruits, including two of the nation’s three top running backs from the past two recruiting classes (2011 and 2012). There is a new offense. A new playcaller. A renewed sense that Texas once again understands it has superior speed and skill that it can and should deploy.

It all sounds so ... 2011.

See, optimism meets pessimism. It’s the ying and yang of the college football offseason. Definitive answers, particularly in the head-scratching case of Texas, are not doled out until the season is well underway. (Oct. 12 being the due date for Texas.)

So while it might serve to a program well to swell the masses with philharmonic-backed highlights and omniscient voiceovers -- "You want to get back to being one of the top football programs in the country where we deserve to be and where our fans deserve to be," Brown said in Texas’ video -- right now that is, at best, just the white noise of the offseason. It can be comforting, even soothing. But, in the end, it carries no weight when the lights actually come on and the real action begins.

We're walking through each Big 12 team and identifying its most irreplaceable talent on the blog right now. He's the guy they can least afford to lose and the guy to whom an injury or departure would have the most effect.

Let's move on with Texas.

More most indispensable players.

Most indispensable player: QB David Ash

Texas is pretty close to being one of the most complete teams in the Big 12 on paper, but Ash holds a lot of that together. The Longhorns have legitimate Big 12 title aspirations, but it's not happening with Case McCoy at quarterback for the conference season. Ash is the Big 12's most experienced quarterback with 18 career starts, and though he's had consistency issues throughout those starts, he's shown the potential to be way, way above average. Critique Ash's shortcomings all you want, but he's definitely good enough to win a Big 12 title considering the team around him, and no other quarterback on Texas' roster can say that. Unless they've got a big lead in the standings late in the season, an injury to Ash means saying goodbye to the Longhorns' Big 12 title hopes. No other position has a player that integral to the team's overall success.

The Longhorns have some promising freshmen on the roster in Tyrone Swoopes and Jalen Overstreet, but no doubt about it: Texas' most indispensable player is Ash.

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.

2012 record: 9-4
2012 conference record: 5-4 (third in the Big 12)
Returning starters: Offense: 10; defense: 9; kicker/punter: 1

Top returners: QB David Ash, RB Johnathan Gray, WR Mike Davis, WR Jaxon Shipley, LT Donald Hawkins, RT Josh Cochran, G Mason Walters, DE Jackson Jeffcoat, LB Jordan Hicks, CB Quandre Diggs, CB Carrington Byndom

Key losses: P Alex King, S Kenny Vaccaro, DE Alex Okafor, WR Marquise Goodwin

2012 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Johnathan Gray* (701 yards)
Passing: David Ash* (2,699 yards)
Receiving: Mike Davis* (939 yards)
Tackles: Kenny Vaccaro (107)
Sacks: Alex Okafor (12.5)
Interceptions: Quandre Diggs* (4)

Spring answers:

1. Under center: Texas has finally ended all the debate about its quarterback situation and settled on David Ash. While Ash has yet to be stellar in his first two years at Texas, the junior has steadily improved -- he was top 25 in pass efficiency rating in 2012 -- and has won the trust of new quarterbacks coach Major Applewhite. Applewhite believes Ash is the quarterback best suited to run the new up-tempo, spread attack.

2. Loaded at linebacker: One year after being the worst tackling team in the Big 12, Texas went into the spring looking to shore up its linebacker position. And it had plenty of options. Texas has seven linebackers who have started at least one game. Included in that group is Jordan Hicks, who is back after missing 10 games last year because of a hip injury. Hicks will team with true sophomores, Dalton Santos and Peter Jinkens for what should be a much faster and aggressive unit in 2013.

3. Along the lines: While there were a sprinkling of injuries along the offensive line this spring (Josh Cochran and Trey Hopkins), Texas appears to have finally solved the depth riddle at that position. Tackle Kennedy Estelle was able to get quality snaps and should prove to be a solid backup and Sedrick Flowers finally emerged as an option at guard. While Texas returns all five starter from a year ago along the line, the Longhorns know that in the new up-tempo offense it will have to lean heavily on these backups.

Fall questions

1. Speed thrills: Texas wants to move the ball fast. So fast that the offensive players were even taught how to quickly get the ball back to the official so that they could put it down and Texas could line up and run the next play. But Texas only decided it wanted to play this way in mid-December when there was a change in playcallers from Bryan Harsin to Applewhite. So Texas has only had a handful of practices to get up to speed. With a schedule that has Texas at BYU for the second game of the season there doesn’t appear to be much time to get things perfected.

2. Safety dance: Texas’ defense was the worst in school history and that was largely due to the play of the back seven on defense. And now the best player in that back seven, Kenny Vaccaro, is gone. He was a first-round draft pick. That has left Texas wondering who will step up and make some stop at the safety position. Adrian Phillips takes over for Vaccaro, but he was inconsistent last season. The coaches blamed a shoulder injury and the fact he missed the spring. Mykkele Thompson and Josh Turner also missed their share of tackles but both are being called on to be possible starters.

3. Receiving praise: Texas has not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jordan Shipley in 2009. Mike Davis had 939 yards last year and appears poised to break the 1,000-yard mark this season. But to do that he will need help. And right now there are some questions as to where that help will come from. Texas wants to go with four wide receivers but two of the four players expected to fill those roles -- Cayleb Jones and Kendall Sanders -- are currently suspended because of legal issues. Both will probably be back. But even then, Texas is very thin at wide receiver and needs some other players to step up to help take the double teams away from Davis.

After Texas' dramatic Alamo Bowl comeback, Mack Brown sat down and explained the significance of the win to his team. After winning eight games in 2011 following a five-win disaster in 2010, reaching nine wins in 2012 was important.

Sure, it signified progress. It also wasn't enough.

"Nine’s not enough at Texas. They understand that the last three years are not acceptable," Brown said. "They’re not the standard that we set forth for many, many years. They’re not who we want to be. We want to go back and win the conference championship and get back in the mix for the national championship, and at Texas, our expectations are obviously to win every game."

Brown is done calling his team "young" for a while. He still lacks a huge, experienced senior class, but quarterback David Ash, receiver Jaxon Shipley and running back Malcolm Brown have matured into juniors entering their third seasons as starters, and four starters return on the offensive line. Texas' 17 returning starters are the most in the Big 12.

"It’s been a fun couple of years and a tough couple of years for us getting it back on track, but I think we’re about to reap some rewards for those hard Saturdays," Brown said.

Brown would love to string together nine consecutive 10-win seasons, as he did earlier in his career, but has said on several occasions that while the losses aren't enjoyable, the process of rebuilding is more fun for him than trying to maintain an established team. Still, re-establishing the program and winning big is the end goal, and entering 2013 that looks like a realistic goal.

"That’s the reason (our players) came to Texas. That’s what they expect. They know that they want to please their fan base, and coaches understand as well that they didn’t come to Texas to win nine games," Brown said. "Everybody’s on the same page and everybody wants to win every game."

Lopsided losses to co-Big 12 champions Oklahoma and Kansas State showed how far Texas had to go to reclaim its status as a Big 12 title contender. The Longhorns can't afford close losses like they had to West Virginia and TCU last season, both at home.

The rebuilding job has been a success in filling the depth chart with quality talent and depth, but the Longhorns still have to prove they can be the best team on the field in every game (or close to every game) as they did for much of the 2000s, when Texas won a pair of Big 12 titles under Brown and played for a pair of national titles, winning one.

"We hope we’re getting ready to start that kind of run again," Brown said, "but it’s easier to build one than to keep one."

AUSTIN, Texas -- David Ash no longer looks over his shoulder or even to his left or right.

Instead, everybody else is looking right at him. The junior is Texas’ quarterback now. And, because of that, he is also the team’s leader.

"There’s no other guy to do it now," Ash said. "It’s all on my shoulders and it is my responsibility and I’m for sure going to take that seriously."

Of that there is little doubt. Ash is a worker. Reared bailing hay and throwing footballs, he has always been of the belief that sweat drips along the path to success. But the role he has chosen now demands more. A quarterback must lead. Ash has only inconsistently done so in the past.

Maybe that was, in part, because of youth. Few become leaders as freshmen and sophomores.

Undoubtedly the trap door he danced over as he played those first two seasons contributed to his inability to find a foothold as a leader as well.

Now those obstacles have been removed. Ash stands on solid ground with knowledge and history at his sides, talent laid out before him and expectations within arm’s reach.

For Ash, and Texas, to grasp those expectations, the quarterback must first comprehend what it means to be the leader of this team. It’s not a difficult concept, although it can be a difficult one to master, particularly when the natural instinct is not inherent.

(Read full post)

AUSTIN, Texas -- Malcolm Brown wants to believe, once again, that there will be enough carries to go around this year.

That very well could be true. Texas wants to move from running around 65 plays a game to up near 85. David Ash doesn’t appear to be a 45-pass-attempt-a-game guy, so those extra plays, if Texas is successful in producing them, will have to fall to someone’s shoulders. And Johnathan Gray probably cannot carry that load by himself.

"We can all run in there with the first group and play," Brown said. "Nobody in the running back room is selfish at all. We’re all happy for each other and want to see everybody do well. Whatever situation it is and whatever guy is best at that situation will be in the game."

That hasn’t always been the case, particularly with Brown. That’s due in part to injuries. Brown, once heralded as the back who would bring back the Texas run game, has only started eight games in his two-year career. He has played in 18. And has really only been 100-percent healthy in 12 games.

Then there were the issues with the playcalling. Brown had 14 carries and 100-plus yards in the opener against Wyoming and two carries in the next game against New Mexico State. Texas said it tried to get him the ball. But that excuse rings slightly hollow considering the level of difficulty involved in turning and handing the ball off to a running back is typically mastered in pee wee football.

Then there was the Alamo Bowl, Brown’s homecoming and a game in which he was fully healthy. He carried the ball four times for eight yards.

(Read full post)