UT: The best-case quarterback scenario isn't happening

[Harry]

With spring practice now nearly a month in the rearview mirror, the answer to the first question was disappointingly answered to the negative, as the fractured left foot that Ash suffered a week before the spring game meant that he could not stay healthy for the spring, even though most reports did hold that he had mostly returned to his pre-concussion form.

Ash's availability for the fall is now somewhat in question because his Jones fracture has a 25% chance of not healing in the ideal timeframe, not to mention the continued concerns about the long-term impact another concussion could have on his career.

And it appears the second question has also been answered, also to the negative in terms of the best-case scenario that was laid out in that post, which would feature a healthy Ash on campus, backed up by Wittek.

For the third question, the news continues to be negative. There was probably some growth for Swoopes mechanically during the spring, but after overthrowing Jaxon Shipley twice in the first half of the Orange-White game on would-be touchdown passes and throwing an interception on his first pass attempt, the consensus take on Swoopes is that he's still not ready to play.

Read more: http://www.burntorangenation.com/football/2014/5/15/5721824/texas-longhorns-quartebacks-max-wittek-david-ash-jerrod-heard

[JesseMartin]

Something something "Jonesin'" something...

[DirtySavage]

[Rudy]

Proof that 3 negatives equal a positive.

[HoustonEagle]

Last season's Mean Green would have had a real shot. This season's Mean Green has even more question marks than UT does. With these games I hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

[MeanGreenTexan]

[SilverEagle]

Like our situation is better.

Last season's Mean Green would have had a real shot. This season's Mean Green has even more question marks than UT does. With these games I hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Our main question mark is how our interior DL holds up against the run. I see our LB and DB situation as being pretty solid. We might not be quite as good on special teams this year....but you never know who will step up this year.

Our big strength on offense is our OL and (assuming everyone shows up healthy in the fall) the depth of our RB's. Since I have said several times that I rated McNulty slightly ahead of Thompson coming out of last years spring practice, I don't worry about our QB situation so much. Texas is going to try and put a lot of pressure on McNulty, but our OL will keep him relatively unmolested (like they did for Thompson vs Georgia) and will give him time to "drive the bus". Which is what our coaching staff really wants anyway.

We have our "heat of the battle" communications well in place. Texas has yet to get theirs worked out.

[Harry]

Boy howdy, if we could get 3-4 yards a carry out of them running backs, limit turnovers and make them earn their points with long sustained drives we have a chance to make things interesting.

Historically against Texas their speed and special teams have done us in. Also, we were unable to get first downs and score.

[UNT90]

Our main question mark is how our interior DL holds up against the run. I see our LB and DB situation as being pretty solid. We might not be quite as good on special teams this year....but you never know who will step up this year.

Our big strength on offense is our OL and (assuming everyone shows up healthy in the fall) the depth of our RB's. Since I have said several times that I rated McNulty slightly ahead of Thompson coming out of last years spring practice, I don't worry about our QB situation so much. Texas is going to try and put a lot of pressure on McNulty, but our OL will keep him relatively unmolested (like they did for Thompson vs Georgia) and will give him time to "drive the bus". Which is what our coaching staff really wants anyway.

We have our "heat of the battle" communications well in place. Texas has yet to get theirs worked out.

If McNulty starts, I think the 4 turnovers that follow will ruin the day. Hope I'm wrong.

QB is a HUGE question mark for us. More so than for UT. At least they know what they have.

[MeanGreenD]

If McNulty starts, I think the 4 turnovers that follow will ruin the day. Hope I'm wrong.

QB is a HUGE question mark for us. More so than for UT. At least they know what they have.

Were you at the spring game? I was chasing down dozens of paper plates and even our chairs at tailgating as the wind gusts were insane all day. He had some good zip on the ball and tight spirals given the elements he was up against. I was impressed with his play and have the utmost confidence in his ability to manage a game.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Were you at the spring game? I was chasing down dozens of paper plates and even our chairs at tailgating as the wind gusts were insane all day. He had some good zip on the ball and tight spirals given the elements he was up against. I was impressed with his play and have the utmost confidence in his ability to manage a game.

I'm glad you do, because in watching him play over the last few years, either coach Chico, coach McCarney, or both, do not feel comfortable letting him throw the ball in game-time.

Let's all hope he has improved to the point where the coaches trust him to throw the ball during a game. Or, let's hope that (and I have some confidence in this:) Greer is Thompson2.0, or better.

[MeanGreenD]

Let's all hope he has improved to the point where the coaches trust him to throw the ball during a game. Or, let's hope that (and I have some confidence in this:) Greer is Thompson2.0, or better.

Hope! Exactly! Let's put positive energy out there rather than say anyone CAN'T do it. While O-line is a terrific strength, coaching is the true strength of this Mean Green team.

I am beyond impressed with the work of all these men and I am confident HOD BOWL was "not the end, only a beginning".

This QB race is wide open. Each young man has 100 days to prove they have what it takes. I hope they all take advantage of this opportunity and Chico has a real difficult decision to make.

[Ben Gooding]

GMG

[JesseMartin]

Boy howdy, if we could get 3-4 yards a carry out of them running backs, limit turnovers and make them earn their points with long sustained drives we have a chance to make things interesting.

Historically against Texas their speed and special teams have done us in. Also, we were unable to get first downs and score.

You had me at "boy howdy."

[Travis]

I am willing to bet that our best odds of winning this game is if we can get more points on the board than they do, we can win this game.

[Cerebus]

I am willing to bet that our best odds of winning this game is if we can get more points on the board than they do, we can win this game.

I think Travis just figured this whole ball of wax out.

[greenminer]

Right there with Silver: I have my preferences at QB but won't get too worked up about the position. Our OL and depth at key non-QB positions will dictate our offensive performance.

Edited May 23, 2014 by greenminer

[mccox2]

McNulty is not an inexperienced freshman quarterback or a JC transfer. A lot of growth and maturation has come between his freshman year and now. He knows and understands the offense. He can also use his legs if needed. Here is a link to his biography:

http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/andrew_mcnulty_847328.html

He's undersized but out of the group of quarterbacks that we have right now, I believe his body of work gives us the best chance to win at this moment. I am not against putting him on a short leash if he can't facilitate a spark in the offense. Give him a chance. He's done his time backing up Thompson. It's obviously his position to lose. I trust that he will protect his position, prepare as the starter, and compete for his starting job again once they start back up in August. The coaches assessed his competencies and can TRUST him as a starter so I too will TRUST these coaches with that decision unless proven otherwise.

[mccox2]

When it comes to UT's situation, if Ash is not game ready by then, our biggest concern is stopping the run, forcing their QB to throw the ball, but keeping him contained and not having him make plays with his feet. Easier said than done I understand that. Our defense needs to attack early and not let their QB develop any kind of rhythm. Capitalize on specials will also work in our favor. I think this is our best case scenario to have a chance to compete with Texas in this game. We just need Texas to shoot themselves in the foot a couple of times and not shoot ourselves.

Edited May 23, 2014 by mccox2

[Greenrex]

I am noticing more posters on this board who are relatively new making solidly informative comments...not so much whining or SMU this or that. That bit of fresh air is refreshing.

[BillySee58]

When it comes to UT's situation, if Ash is not game ready by then, our biggest concern is stopping the run, forcing their QB to throw the ball, but keeping him contained and not having him make plays with his feet. Easier said than done I understand that. Our defense needs to attack early and not let their QB develop any kind of rhythm. Capitalize on specials will also work in our favor. I think this is our best case scenario to have a chance to compete with Texas in this game. We just need Texas to shoot themselves in the foot a couple of times and not shoot ourselves.

As down as UT may be right now, I don't see this as a game where we can just not make mistakes and win. We're still going to need to make plays, especially in the passing game.

Conservative playcalling against Texas will get us maybe 14 points scored by our offense. Maybe. Texas doesn't have a good enough offense to blow us out, IMO, but I still don't think 14 is enough to go down there and win.

The throws that Dajon made against Idaho were what we'll need against UT. Getting out of the pocket and throwing darts on the run. His capabilities are why I want him. If it's Mcnulty or Greer, we'll need them to make plays too. I just don't like our chances if we're just going out and going "run-run-play action pass." Maybe that won't create a lot of turnovers, but it's also asking for 3 and outs and losing the battle for field position.

[the green rokemi]

And we'll need enough plays to beat the refs. We will not get the favorable calls when we need them. Instead we'll get holding penalties and pass interference calls right when it kills us the most

[mccox2]

As down as UT may be right now, I don't see this as a game where we can just not make mistakes and win. We're still going to need to make plays, especially in the passing game.

Conservative playcalling against Texas will get us maybe 14 points scored by our offense. Maybe. Texas doesn't have a good enough offense to blow us out, IMO, but I still don't think 14 is enough to go down there and win.

The throws that Dajon made against Idaho were what we'll need against UT. Getting out of the pocket and throwing darts on the run. His capabilities are why I want him. If it's Mcnulty or Greer, we'll need them to make plays too. I just don't like our chances if we're just going out and going "run-run-play action pass." Maybe that won't create a lot of turnovers, but it's also asking for 3 and outs and losing the battle for field position.

I agree that we do have to make plays and take risks down the field in order to have a chance to beat Texas. Dajon played well against Idaho (1-11 overall last year) during clean up time after Thompson gave Idaho a clinic. ONE game against Idaho didn't tell me a whole lot except that he does have potential. The game and UT's defense will be 3-4x faster than the snaps and throws he made against Idaho. I'm not taking anything away from him and I think he'll be really effective down the road but those same play making abilities can also add up to quick turnovers by trying to do too much and take us out of the game early. That would be playing right in Coach Strong's defense starting an inexperienced quarterback who is trying to make plays against a disciplined defense. As I stated, McNulty earned the starting QB position but if he can't generate anything on offense early, then I'm all about putting Dajon in to try to create a spark. I don't want UNT to play conservatively either but in a sense it is a chess match and there is more complexity with the game calling (reference to Georgia's game where the run opened up some golden passing opportunities on 1st and 2nd down that should have been converted but passes were dropped and/or throws were not accurate) that can enable the offense to take those risks at the right time.

[Mean Green 93-98]

McNulty earned the starting QB position

Do you know something the rest of us don't? I was under the impression that Greer was still in the running.

[SilverEagle]

Do you know something the rest of us don't? I was under the impression that Greer was still in the running.

He is, but IMHO Means has better potential. If Means continues to develop, I wouldn't be surprised if he makes it a very close three way race this fall.