Deep Dive: Sark's Biggest Play Calling Flaw & How Texas Unleashes Its Playmakers

Summary

Inside Texas Football – Deep Dive: Sark's Biggest Play Calling Flaw & How Texas Unleashes Its Playmakers

Date: July 23, 2026
Hosts: Paul Wadlington and Ian Boyd

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Episode Overview

This "Deep Dive" episode tackles a range of listener-submitted questions focused on Texas Longhorns football, digging into scheme changes under new coordinators, key personnel updates, and especially Steve Sarkisian’s most glaring issues as a play caller. The hosts, Paul and Ian, break down the likely on-field impacts for the upcoming season and provide their distinctive blend of technical football analysis mixed with humor and banter. The show closes, as always, with a historical hypothetical—this time, asking whether a modern sniper could have changed the fate of the Alamo.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Muschamp’s Use of Colin Simmons & Defensive Scheme Evolution

Timestamps: [03:01] – [05:48]

• How will Will Muschamp deploy edge rusher Colin Simmons?

  • Ian: Predicts Muschamp won’t overcomplicate things: “Muschamp is not going to get...he’s not going to overthink this.” ([03:23])
  • Expects Texas to play “mostly four down,” similar to Pete Kwiatkowski’s (PK) look, with Simmons as a dominant, attacking hybrid edge linebacker.
  • Paul: Sees Simmons as Muschamp’s “Sergio Kindle”—primarily a pass rusher, not often dropped into coverage. “I think Colin Simmons is going to rush the passer a lot, guys.” ([04:29])

• Synthesis of Defensive Philosophies:

  • Muschamp will blend his previous systems with the Kirby Smart style from Georgia, using versatile fronts and taking full advantage of Texas’ deep, talented defensive line.

• Defensive Coordinator Tendencies:

  • Muschamp (secondary specialist) likely to trust his DBs while getting aggressive up front.
  • Schumann (Georgia co-DC, linebacker focus) leans on the front seven’s capacity to carry the scheme. ([05:48])

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2. Sarkisian’s Play Calling Flaws

Timestamps: [06:14] – [11:24]

• What is Sark’s greatest play-calling weakness?

  • Ian: Most point to red zone struggles, but attributes that to structural and personnel decisions, especially lacking the ability to "just line up and take it to somebody." ([06:32])

  • Points to personnel mismatches—e.g., tackles moved to guard, limiting a power-run approach.

  • Paul:

    • “He is reluctant to repeat effective play calls.” ([07:54])
    • Argues Sark overthinks call sequencing, treating college football like the NFL where play concepts are “burned” once shown.
    • Sark could use more “college type” offensive concepts—easy spacing throws, QB runs, exploiting hash marks—but prefers intricate, pro-style attacks.
    • Contrasts Sark’s approach with Lane Kiffin’s synthesis of wide-open college elements into pro schemes. ([07:56])
    • Acknowledges Sark’s adaptation running the QB in spots, a positive “college football” wrinkle, but recognizes the inherent risk of over-exposing the QB.

  • Ian:

    • “Sark is the kind of guy that will invest like NFL style reps on QB1 in fall camp...” ([09:26])
    • Highlights Sark’s focus on “one-read plays” and excessive play volume, which leaves him hesitant to repeat plays. “I would prefer...more of a build-a-sound-concept and trust your quarterback to make decisions.”
    • Points to Sark’s past success with more decision-heavy systems (Tua at Alabama, Arch last year) and hopes to see more of that. ([09:54])

  • Paul:

    • Suggests Quinn Ewers may not have had the disposition or skill set for more complexity.
    • When Arch struggled, Sark seemed to pull back to basics rather than overload decision-making. Future development will hinge on Arch’s ability to handle more complete reads and routes. ([10:51])

Quote:

“He is reluctant to repeat effective play calls...he thinks it’s the NFL, and if you show it twice, it’s burned. College is not the NFL. You can run something 14 times and they're gonna still fall for the banana in the tailpipe.”
— Paul ([07:54])

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3. Will Inevitably Losing to Ohio State Make Sark ‘the Next James Franklin’?

Timestamps: [11:35] – [13:25]

• Paul: Calls it a “hater ass question” and rejects the comparison—Sark is not Franklin, though the lazy narrative would be “can’t win the big one.”

• Discusses how sports narratives shift with a single big win (e.g., Andy Reid).

• “The best way for Sark to shut all this up, go win a national title and then it’s Sark, Mr. Clutch.” ([12:10])

• Ian: Fair to note that Sark beats rivals more consistently than Franklin, but Texas' true “measuring stick games” (Ohio State, Georgia) will still dictate public perception.

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4. Wide Receiver Deployment: Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo, Emmett Mosley

Timestamps: [14:17] – [17:53]

• How will Sark scheme receivers to free each other?

  • Ian: “They have such different skill sets...Coleman is going to carry defenders down the field and outside the hash marks; Wingo goes this way.” ([14:22])
  • Predicts a “natural, easy” fit because of their complementarity.

• Paul: Cautions not to assume Wingo is locked in as WR2; “there’s a non-zero chance Emmett Mosley might rise up and be that dude.” ([15:00])

  • Wingo may end up as a “mega athlete” gadget player if route consistency doesn’t improve.

• Ian: If Wingo can’t reliably catch on shallow crosses and slants, “I guarantee Mosley will surpass him. That’s the obvious value add.” ([15:53])

• Paul: Key to the offense—Arch’s short-area (0–9 yards) passing game was a major struggle, and getting consistency at WR is critical for Texas’ ceiling.

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5. The Impact of Grayson Littleton (Nickel) in Year Two

Timestamps: [18:04] – [22:18]

• Ian: Notes that Littleton was a true “bright spot” at nickel as a freshman, but portal addition Xavier Filsaime and spring practices with Bo Mascoe at nickel suggest Muschamp might want something different.
• Paul: Believes Muschamp is just maximizing Filsaime’s athleticism at a less “mental” spot; Littleton is likely the nickel still.
  • Littleton gets less attention because there’s “so many other guys to talk about.” ([21:06])
• Discussion expands to depth and talent at DB—Kobe Black, McDonald, Derrick Williams, and portal addition Rasheem Biles (the “football player” who returns every INT for a TD and blocks punts).

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6. How Will the 2026 Texas Team Look Most Different—And Most the Same?

Timestamps: [23:30] – [27:49]

• Ian: Hopes for “less shoot yourself in the foot” moments on offense. Predicts a huge jump in explosiveness: “The offense should feel like insanely more explosive.” ([24:18])

  • Reminds listeners not to forget Arch Manning’s ability as a deep-ball “precision strike bomber.”

• Paul: Defensive changes will stand out—“You’re gonna see press man coverage...When it’s third and seven, we’re not gonna be nine yards off the receiver.” ([25:04])

  • Anticipates more aggressive man coverage and better secondary coaching under Muschamp/Blake Gideon.
  • Fundamentally, the front seven’s standard should remain high with Kenny Baker and Allen Clark coaching.

• Ian: Expects to see more run-down blitzes, similar to the Gary Patterson style, specifically using Rasheem Biles aggressively. On third down, look for “cover five, two man under” and tight windows, with pass rushers upfront. ([26:32])

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7. What to Watch for in Fall Camp

Timestamps: [28:40] – [31:54]

• Ian: Annual rundown of “what I want to hear and what I don’t want to hear” in fall camp reports.

  • Left guard is the main uncertainty—beware if coaches claim “everyone can play” (bad sign).
  • Watch Kojo’s health and versatility as the potential 6th lineman.

• Paul: Wants signs of Arch building chemistry with the new receiver group—major key after last year’s disconnect.

• Nick Townsend (TE): If he emerges as more than a blocking option, could fundamentally change the offensive dynamic.

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8. Two Running Back Sets with Brown and Hollywood

Timestamps: [32:00] – [34:37]

• Paul: Believes we’ll see some two-back sets, possibly mixing Brown, Hollywood, and Niblett. Whether they’re true “real route” threats remains to be seen.
• Ian: Sarkodemically uses exotic sets to blow out undisciplined defenses or to "get it on film" for upcoming opponents who then must prep for it. ([32:57])

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9. Notable Quote – Bijan Robinson Debate

Timestamps: [34:37] – [35:38]

• Listener Question: Is Bijan Robinson the greatest pure football player in Texas history?
  • Paul: Lists Nathan Vasher and Ricky Williams as do-it-all greats, notes running backs are “such freaky athletes.”

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10. Historical Hypothetical: Could a Modern Sniper Save the Alamo?

Timestamps: [35:41] – [43:47]

• Paul & Ian: Analyze whether a lone modern Delta Force sniper with unlimited ammo could have changed the Alamo’s fate.

  • The key would be targeting command & control (Santa Anna, officers)—but even then, probably not enough to “exert battlefield gravity” to save the Texians outright.
  • Paul: “Unless he can get to their command and control, he can’t exert enough battlefield gravity.”
  • Ian: “Most of the cannons we have in Texas are in that stupid fort…Travis was like, no, no, we gotta hold this spot…Totally silly, easily captured.”

• The futility of the defense and Delta’s likely advice: “Let’s go and try to win the war” via guerrilla tactics.

• On follow-up, could a Delta Force sniper as a lone guerrilla harass Santa Anna’s army into withdrawing?

  • “Massive headache, but the likely answer is Santa Anna starts slaughtering civilians as reprisal.” ([44:25])

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Sark’s Play Calling:
  “He is reluctant to repeat effective play calls...He thinks it’s the NFL... In college, you can run something 14 times and they're still gonna fall for the banana in the tailpipe.” — Paul ([07:54])

• On Arkansas' Short Passing Game Issues:
  “If we’re going to win the ultimate prize, Arch has got to get better there. And Wingo can help him too.” — Paul ([16:32])

• On Defensive Aggression:
  “Muschamp is very similar to Gary Patterson...likes to blitz on rundowns, which PK was not about.” — Ian ([26:32])

• On Historic Narratives:
  “The best way for Sark to shut all this up, go win a national title and then it’s Sark, Mr. Clutch.” — Paul ([12:10])

• On Football’s Changing Perception:
  “Everyone is the guy who can’t win the big game...until they do.” — Paul ([12:10])

• Alamo Hypothetical:
  “Unless he can get to their command and control, he can’t exert enough battlefield gravity. Even if a Delta Force sniper can shoot a lot of people, it’s not enough to make that change.” — Paul ([38:09])

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Structure and Flow

• Focused Q&A sections on current Texas team, play calling, personnel, and strategic adjustments.
• Illustrative anecdotes (past games, coaching styles, player traits) highlight broader trends.
• Notable humor and banter throughout, especially as Paul and Ian riff on both football and historical scenarios.

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Conclusion

This Deep Dive is a quintessential “Inside Texas Football” episode—a blend of sharp technical football insight, personnel projections, lively tangents, and entertaining nerd banter. For Texas fans charting the 2026 season, it offers a grounded and granular look at what may define Texas football’s next steps, on both sides of the ball, and what to watch for as fall camp heats up.

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For further discussion:

• Watch for in-camp news on O-line shuffling and WR chemistry
• Can Arch Manning become “that dude” on short-yardage throws?
• How much “press man” and blitzing will you really see?
• Will Bijan ever get his due as the “purest” Longhorn athlete?
• Next time: Who’s on Texas’s Mount Rushmore of do-it-all football players?

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

I just get a point when the promo came up.

[A]

You're so unhelpful. Thank you. Let's look at the promo because for one American dollar, that will get you 50 for 50% off your first year. Ian, you are an amusing character who never ceases to make me laugh, sometimes unintentionally. But this is the place to intentionally get the best Longhorn banter and information on the Internet. We had a bunch of Inside Texas subscribers faithfully submit a bunch of questions for a Q and A for the deep dive. And in keeping with the traditions of the deep dive, it's going to be about Texas football. But we're going to have a little extra question at the end which of course delves into our historical passions and our obsession with animal fighting armies and all of ancient history. So, Ian, are you ready to tackle these, these excellent questions?

[B]

I'm ready. These are some good ones.

[A]

Note that Ian and I matched up our shirt colors.

[B]

No, I saw that.

[A]

It's kind of not a common color. If we'd matched up navy blue shirts, that's not much of a coincidence. But this is very strange. Ian and I are starting to meld together. All right, how will Muschamp use Simmons versus how he was used to previously? That is a huge question and I'm not entirely sure. Ian, I throw it over to you. What do you think about this?

[B]

This has been a regular component of the Must Champ Defense series that me and Connor have done with Pack just now. Spans over 20 episodes. I recommend you like, scan through, look for the titles that interest you and click on them. Or watch all 20 if you have the time. You will learn more about football than you ever thought was possible. Early on, we talked about 4ey and Edge Jack positions and the Georgia defense. And then by the end of the series, me and Pack and Connor were all like, you know what, I bet you Must Champ just plays mostly four down. Yeah, I bet you it looks a lot like it did with Pete Kowski because that's they have the ideal flexible four down ins on the strong side with ULU and Jackson. And then they have this absolute terror on the hybrid linebacker edge spot with Simmons. MUS Champ is not going to get. He's not going to overthink this.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I think Simmons is his Sergio Kendall.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And I don't think you have to overthink it much more beyond that. I know that Georgia suppresses their sack numbers for the good of the larger defense, etc. Etc. Remember, will Muschamp, when he's working for Kirby Smart, is going to run Kirby Smart's defense. Will Muschamp has also coordinated other defenses as a defensive coordinator and as a head coach. And it looks different from Kirby's defenses. I think he's going to synthesize the two. And I think one of the amazing things about our defensive line, both its depth and the breadth and variety of bodies and skill sets, is that we can run any kind of front and any kind of Defense we want and be not only efficient but potentially excellent. So that all said, I think Colin Simmons is going to rush the passer a lot. Guys. I don't think we're going to be dropping them into zones like 90% of the time or having him just spy the quarterback. So by the way, there are going to be some game plans where he should be the spot on the quarterback. Pete Kwakowski did that against OU with Simmons to good effect. So that's how he's going to be used. And I think I heartily recommend that you go watch that series with Ian and Pack. It's. It's really worth your time on YouTube and you'll learn a ton of football and a ton about Mustang.

[B]

Must Champ and Schumann also. They both fall into the category of defensive coordinators that will over tax their own side. So like Must Champ is more of a secondary guy. So he's like, we're gonna get aggressive up front and my secondary is going to hold up what they need to. Schumann is like a linebacker front guy. He's like, we're going to carry a lot of weight for this defense up front and then y' all will help you all out at other spots. So yeah.

[A]

And I honestly think Mus Champ's approach is what we've been sorely needing and that's what our hired him. What do you think is Sark's greatest weakness when it involves his play clog?

[B]

There's a couple of candidates here. Everyone's going to say red zone. I would say maybe that's a little bit more about his emphasis on play design and creating problems for defensive rules over just being able to line up and take it to somebody. He always pays like he pays lip service to being able to run the ball when the other team knows you're going to run it. They do work on it a lot in practices with like team run drills. But then they also make personnel choices that are not oriented that way, like moving tackles to guard, you know. And so I would say that's one. I have others but I want you to chime in.

[A]

So I would say two things. I actually don't have a huge issue with his red zone play calling per se because I don't think the play calling is the issue. I think it has to do with what Ian referred to. It's structural stuff. More of that has to do with how we do our strength and conditioning even than in our personnel deployment than Stark's play calling. Stark's play calling. There is a consequence of some of Those bigger things. Two things. One, I think he is reluctant to repeat effective play calls.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And I think he thinks it's burned.

[B]

He.

[A]

I think he thinks it's the NFL and if you show it twice, it's burned. And the college, college is not the NFL and you can run something 14 times and they're gonna still fall for the banana in the tailpipe. So I think he is reluctant to do that sometimes to a fault. And then secondly, I think that there's some easy and for lack of a better adjective, college type things you can do on offense with spacing with sort of easy money throws that Sark is reluctant to do because he prefers some of the intricacy and the cleverness of more pro style sorts of attacks. And where I contrast him with is Lane Kiffin, who is an interesting synthesis of pro style with very college type offenses that are built around the different hash marks. Like literally different hash marks allow you to do different stuff in the college game you can't do in the NFL game. Spacing, crazy wide splits, cheaply taking like a nine yard throw. That's not going to really be there in the NFL game. That's the kind of stuff that I'd like to see Sark do more of. You have seen him run the quarterback a little bit in critical spots and that I think that is an improvement because that is a very college sort of thing of sometimes the quarterback's unaccounted for and you just got to run that guy. But if you do it too often, you will break him. So there is a consequence to be paid. So those are my two things.

[B]

Yeah, I understand that. One also because Sark is the kind of guy that will invest like NFL style reps on QB1 and Paul Camp and build his offense around QB1 in his particular skill set. So he does that. Saban used to do that, Ryan Day does that. And anyone that does that, where it's like 70 to 80% of your QB1 reps and fall or go into one guy, you don't want to run him as much.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Like that's why Justin Fields didn't run that much at Ohio State, which you know, has. That has all the same issues that we've just laid out. One other thing with Sark is that he gets really caught up in designing one read plays and then having a huge volume of them, which is partly why he's afraid to run the same play multiple times is because he knows that the play is not actually that sound. If you figure out how to defend the Targeted guy. And I would prefer a little bit less of a joystick approach to quarterback and more of a build a sound concept and trust your quarterback to make decisions. He is very capable of that. He did that a little bit with Arch towards the end of last year. He did it a lot in the RPO game with tua. I hope that that's a big adjustment he makes this year with architecture.

[A]

Yeah. So in Sark's defense, I think yours may not have been well disposed.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

To some of that.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Weirdly, to get into why and then Arch when he's really struggling, I think Sark's instinct was like, I probably don't want to introduce more decision making and complexity. We need to get some stuff fixed. And then we can go to page two in. In his senior, he was his junior year, I should say, so I expect maybe we'll see a little bit more of that. Ian. We'll see.

[B]

Ironically, Arch got. Was able to figure things out more when they put more decision making. It was weird. All right, I'll read the next question if you're ready.

[A]

Yeah, bring it.

[B]

If Texas loses to Ohio State, will be inevitable comparisons of Sark to James Franklin?

[A]

Be fair, this is a hater ass question. So, no. And I don't think those are inevitable comparisons. I don't. I don't think Sark maps on to James Franklin, to be honest. I think, I mean, I guess broadly what you're saying is can't win the big game. I guess, yeah. These are very different coaches with very different competencies. If you know a little bit about James Franklin behind the scenes, he is not like Sark. He is. No. So I, I don't agree with the premise of the question, but I guess you could say for anyone who can't win the big one, then you can compare him to someone else who doesn't win the big one. But I don't think that's a useful comparison. That said. Well, that said, if you've been around sports long enough or life long enough, everyone is the guy who can't win the game. The big game is a loser. Andy Reid, etc, until they do. And then they're Mr. Inevitable Money. Clint, you know, Clutch, this guy can't fail. And so a lot of this is narrative driven, but narrative driven based on actual achievement on the field. So the best way to. For Sark to shut all this up, go win a national title and then it's Ms. Then it's Sark, Mr. Clutch. Has there ever been a coach like Sarkeesian and Then they'll fawn on him too far the other direction. So. So that's kind of how it works.

[B]

In fairness to Sark, he wins the big games against his rivals fairly often. And Franklin didn't. In fairness to Franklin, Sark's rivals were not peak. Ohio State and Jim Harbaugh, Michigan.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And his equivalents, Ohio State and Georgia, he has struggled with. So people are going to be mad if we lose to Ohio State. People are going to be mad if we draw Georgia and lose to them again. Those are like both measuring stick programs for us right now.

[A]

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[B]

But yeah, I don't have anything else to say about that.

[A]

Next question. How will Sark use Ryan Wingo to get Cam Coleman open and vice versa?

[B]

This is going to be very natural. Easy. Because they have such different skill sets. Coleman is going to carry defenders down the field and outside the hash marks very consistently. Yep. Yep. Wing. Coleman goes. Coleman goes this way. And then Wingo goes this way. Yeah, they are. Yeah, they're. You. You wish that Wingo was maybe a little more like Coleman, but the fact that he's not is going to matter much less now that they have Coleman dragging defenders deep instead of Livingston or Mosley.

[A]

And let me throw out a little subversive thought here. What we're hearing about Emmett Mosley, the fifth of his name in the off season, is true. Don't assume Ryan Wingo is the number 2. Don't assume Ryan Wingo is 1A to Cam Coleman's 1. I think there's a chance, as they like to say, a non zero chance. If you want to sound smart, Emmett Mosley might rise up and be that dude. And Wingo could actually then become even more of sort of the mega athlete. Screen ver, you know, screen vertical, hit him on the run kind of mega athlete. And then Coleman and Mosley are your kind of more sophisticated, refined receivers. So I don't know that's a possibility. I'm not saying it's even probable, but I would say don't discount it.

[B]

I will, I will even say that if Wingo doesn't become consistent catching the ball on the run on shallow crosses, slants, and those over routes across the middle, then I guarantee Mosley will surpass it. Interesting, right? That's, that's like the next step for Wingo. That's like the obvious value add is hit this blazing fast, 210 pound dude on the move coming across. And if they can't do that, it's like, what do you do here? Again, you catch screens every now and then and they're really good. But Mosley can be so much more complete than that.

[A]

And if you read my article on Inside Texas, where you should all join, you know that Arch has spectacularly struggled throwing the ball between 0 to 9 yards. And it's such an inordinate outlier from all of his other things that he does well, that it is probably one of the most critical things that no one had really talked about about the fulfillment of our season this year. If we're going to win the ultimate prize, Arch has got to get better there. And Winko can help him too.

[B]

We need to put a pin in that for a future deep dive. How much of that was unreliable receivers? How much of that was skewed by Manning having the yips early in the year and air mailing hitch routes? And how much of that is freaking Arch cannot reliably throw these balls?

[A]

Well, I addressed the first one in my article and it's not the receivers dropping the ball.

[B]

Yeah, that's right.

[A]

So. But it could be the other two. And it is possible that Wingo is the guy that when you say run a five yard cross, I mean rotted. Crossing right across. Running, crossing route at five yards across. He runs it at six and a half.

[B]

Right.

[A]

He could be that guy. I'm not accusing him of it. I'm just saying when you tell Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby to do it, it's at 5.0000 and you could measure it with a laser level.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So that's something to look at as well. But ultimately, Arch has got to be the guy to clean that up. Next question. Is it possible? Oh, go ahead.

[B]

Okay, thank you, sir. Is it possible we're underselling the impact of year two? Grayson Littleton. He gets talked about, but not to the extent of others. Littleton flashed so much last year, some of it was, holy crap, we're actually getting good enough play from this freshman nickel. This was a huge concern and it doesn't seem to be the biggest point of failure. That's awesome. You know, the thing about this position in the. In the fall or in the off season has been Filsami is moving there. And you Masco repped there in the spring presumably so that he could shadow a top receiver no matter where he went, but unclear exactly why must Champ did that. And then he moved Filsamy there for the fall and seems to like his potential there. So you kind of wonder if Muschamp wants something a little different from this position than what Littleton offers, do you think?

[A]

I think he just could be finding the best use for Xavier F, who's a very good athlete, but kind of has been frankly kind of a space cadet at safety.

[B]

There's a lot less to process at nickel. Yeah.

[A]

It just kind of happens faster. It's a little bit more instinctive.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you know, frankly, in F's defense, he was not well coached as we documented extensively in the deep dive. I like Littleton. I think Muschamp likes Littleton. I think you nailed it with Bo Mascow practicing there in the spring. I think he's there to shadow. I think we want Cade Phillips and. And Bo out on the edges as our shutdown corners. And I think Will Muschamp's excited about that. I think Littleton is going to be our nickel. Why does he get talked about a little less? I think the prospects of Cade Phillips and his upside are considerable.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And because I went and really watched his snaps when I was. I'm finishing up my book. You guys hang in there. And when I was writing up his thing on the book. He's very impressive.

[B]

He's very impressive in season snaps.

[A]

In season. In Michigan.

[B]

In Michigan. Because he was pretty good in the spring, but he was apparently like limping through an injury for much of the spring.

[A]

Yeah, maybe. And then Bo is. Bo is gonna be good. He's gonna be our number one corner. And then don't discount Roberson. That guy's such a freak. He's a maniac as well, which I. Which I love.

[B]

We also have like a potential second round draft pick at safety in McDonald.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And then the return of this freak, Derrick Williams, and then this like two sports star that is done nothing. But we'll always get attention and questions. And Jonah Williams, it's possible that. It's possible that he's ready to unleash hell and there just hasn't been enough oxygen for that story to be told.

[A]

That's it. And. And I was talking about this. I just recorded. Everyone wins A trophy with Randy last night just released it. So y. Y' all go check it out. But we're talking about the fact that Rashim Biles, in any other year, people would just be ra, like, raving about this edition, because if you go watch him, it's like, that guy is just a football player. And I started researching his history. Ian, it's hilarious. I mean, he's. He's everywhere. Like, so when he got to Pitt, they weren't sure what he was. He was basically a high school running back, you know, safety, win the game position. He gets there. His freshman year, can't start because Pitt had good starting linebackers. He blocked three punts as a true freshman. He has three picks in his career at Pitt. All three have been returned for touchdowns. Like, that's Rasheed Biles. He's that guy. So he should be getting raved about, but because we have all these other high profile guys returning, but also other people in the portal, I think he's not gotten. So basically, Grayson Littleton is competing for Oxygen with a lot of players. And so, you know, if you have your favorite player, it's very easy to say, why is no one talking about this guy? Well, because there's so many other guys to talk about, is the answer.

[B]

Yep. We haven't even talked that much about Simmons other than fretting about whether he'll get to rush the passer or not.

[A]

That's right. Whether he. We're gonna. He's gonna come a strong safety. Here's something you want to fret about. And here's the guy we know we can rely on. Escape. Onceo. You can reach him at 832-557-1095. This guy is phenomenal at what he does. Go pull up his name, pull up his Google reviews, and read the paragraph after paragraph of people raving about the problems that he solved so they could close on their dream home or refi their existing home. This is the guy that should be the first call that you make even before you go start looking at houses and thinking about, oh, you know, it's time for us to move, and all that kind of stuff. Or if you need a refi, please call his number and you'll be very glad you did. He is a loyal Longhorn. He's a great supporter of Inside Texas and this here program. And he's phenomenal at what he does. He's got a law degree, former National Merit Scholar. This guy's very, very sharp. And you'll realize that within about the first 40 seconds of talking to him. 8, 3, 2, 5, 5, 7, 1, 0. 95. All right, I'll take a hack at this one.

[B]

Go ahead.

[A]

Based on coaching and personnel changes, where will this team feel most different to last year's? In what ways will it be most similar?

[B]

I mean, less shoot yourself in the foot on offense. If we're. We hope to God that it looks so much different in that regard. Right. Like lineman letting guys get free runs at Arch, running backs missing wide open holes or going down easily with NER Juke in sight.

[A]

Ner what?

[B]

Juke.

[A]

Oh, okay. I don't know. Go on.

[B]

The offense should feel like insanely more explosive. I was noting the other day on a live that like it's easy to forget based on last year that Arch Manning is like a precision strike bomber on deep throws. And we barely saw it last year because they couldn't get open and they couldn't protect either. So like we could see Arch throw for like 10 yards in attempt throwing bombs this year and it's like, oh yeah, I forgot that last year we thought we were going to score 40 points a game with this and then we didn't see it all year.

[A]

Well, we didn't really have receivers that were very good at tracking the ball.

[B]

Yeah, I didn't know anything. Paul have tight ends didn't have anything.

[A]

Yeah, I, I think defensively I'll take a crack at that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You're gonna see press man coverage not every down, not all the time and not against every opponent. But when it's third and seven, we're not going to be nine yards off the receiver. You're gonna see our guys walked up and they're not going to be fake walked up. They're going to put their hands on that receiver and try to drive him into the water cooler sideline. That's going to be very different to, to feel and see. And the idea is going to be can we get some initial coverage so that those easy early throws that offenses would get on us are not available and the quarterback's got to hold the ball and start to make progressions and make decisions. And when that happens in college football you get turnovers and sacks. So I think you're going to see that's going to feel different. What will feel the same is that Pete Kwakowski did a very good job of coaching broadly like the position, especially up in the front seven. Muscamps going to continue that. Kenny Baker has been doing a really good job. I love the edge coach Allen Clark. So I think you're to see a good standard of coaching positionally. I think you're going to see much better coaching in the secondary. I don't think you're going to see the crazy busts that we saw over and over. Blake Gideon is very good at his craft. Mus Champ is very good at his craft. And those two guys are locked in. There's not going to be any like deviate. There's not going to be any arguing about what needs to be done or anything like that. They see everything exactly the same.

[B]

I got one more too. I don't remember if me and Pac talked about this during a show or off air, but Mus Champ is very similar to Gary Patterson and that he likes to blitz on rundowns, which PK was not about that. Like he did it some, but very little like Anthony Hill rarely used as a early down. Let's try to create a negative play and put the other team behind the chains. Must have is going to do that all the time with Biles probably in particular. So that's going to be different. And then on third down, like Patterson, a lot of times Maschip likes to put a guy behind the chains. Then you get to third down and it's like cover five, two man under and they're. They got like a pass rushing group up front so that you don't have forever. But everyone on the back end is just laser focused on denying any possible window and playing more conservatively.

[A]

And you sort of play the chains.

[B]

Yep, that's more. Patterson was the maestro of that and must Champ has a similar philosophy and that is PK would kind of do that actually on third down, but he would also do it on first and second down or fourth down or any down.

[A]

Yeah, the other advantage of blitzing unexpectedly on a rundown is that you can catch people in play action. A lot of play action protections in college game are predicated on the sell of the run that causes your guys to hesitate and then they go, oh, the quarterback's throwing. Let's start our pass rush. By that time the the play's already developed when you blitz play action and the quarterback's got his back to the play and he does his fake and then as he's turning around, Rasheem Biles is three feet from him. You get a lot of like, ah, especially in college where you're gonna throw a bad ball, you're gonna fumble or you're gonna get sacked. So. All right, Ian, what are the specific things you'll be listening for during fall camp?

[B]

I need to do my.

[A]

The babbling of Brooks.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I need to do my annual. What I want to hear and what I don't want to hear.

[A]

Yeah, we need that. People need it.

[B]

The people need it because so often, I mean, the coaches are going to tell you what and the coaches and sometimes sources in the program are going to tell you what they think you want to hear to negate any possible concerns. Right. And so you want to hear. You want to listen very carefully for the right things. I mean, we're going to be listening for left guard and what's going on there. They are probably going to shuffle some, so that's. We're going to have to be careful to calibrate. Like going to hear about some shuffling at left guard and some shuffling along the offensive line because they need to do that to build depth and cohesion across multiple groupings. But by God, you sure want to hear that they have an answer. So I guess you want to listen for specific answers to left guard and not. Well, we feel awesome. Because I'll tell you what, Chapman can do it, Kojo can do it, Sikorski can do it. Seymour is awesome. When you hear that, you know, we are so screwed.

[A]

That's right. You mentioned one of the players that I'm going to be listening for, for the O line, specifically, Kojo.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Can he be our sixth man? Can he be our utility plug and play? Can he play tackle? Can he be our third tackle and can he play guard? I don't know. We're going to find out in August camp how healthy he is. One thing that I did like is that his. His weight on the roster is under 340. I was really worried that big injured guy would report it like 362. And then I was like, oh, no. Like we can write him off, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But looks like he's tanned, rested and ready. And then Cole Hudson, who knows what's going on with all that? How do you want to open that can of worms? I would also like to hear that Arch is building some cohesion and some. Some mind meld with his receivers because I think that was really lacking last year.

[B]

Yeah, we've already heard that a little bit. Definitely want to hear it more. We've already heard that him and Coleman are. Are in good rhythm. Last year it was like all off season it was like the season is going to be made or broken by his cohesion with Ryan Wingo and then, boy, was that true. Yeah, in the wrong direction. Nick Townsend is another name. I'm curious to Hear about they have a lot of options at tight end. It'd be easy for them to fall back on experience and trust these big blockers, Shannon Massunas, because there's so much they can do with those guys. But Townsend is such a potential game changer because of his athleticism. If he flips a switch, then that changes the dynamic of the year. As we talked about last year when somebody asked about what a high end, dual threat, tight end could do to the offense,

[A]

Townsend's roster weights 250 right now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

He's up like five or six pounds from spring.

[A]

All right, next question. Do you think you'll see two more running back sets with Brown and Hollywood? I'd like to see them out in routes, in space. I think you will see some two running back sets. But you know what, it may not be with Brown and Hollywood. It may be Brown and Niblet or maybe Hollywood and Niblett, but I think any of those permutations would be interesting. Here's the thing. We can play football a lot of ways on offense. We've got a lot of dudes and they're all interesting. And so I don't think we're going to major in any new wrinkle, but I do think this will be a wrinkle that we'll see. The extent, I don't know. And what I think when we put Brown and Hollywood out there in a two back set, I think it's to run the ball or to have them both go out on routes. They're not the ideal, like pass protectors for like taking a deep shot. I don't know. What do you think, Ian?

[B]

Yep. I've noticed that sometimes Stark likes to get a little exotic with formations when playing weaker or undisciplined defenses because he's like, you know what? I can drop a two back set on this team and just blow them away early with a clever screen pass to Niblet that they won't know how to defend and he'll just like, yeah, bombs away. Bury teams like that.

[A]

Well, you also get it on film. So now Elko or Venables, we gotta prepare for this stupid screen. You know, they're like, they're not gonna run it on us, I don't think. But we got to show these guys the screen and show them for 10 minutes who has the actual running back on this because this is, you know, I think it's one of those get it on film things as well.

[B]

Yeah, especially with Niblet or you or you show the One screen with Niblett and then you have the play that you drop where you show something that looks like that and then it's instead it's the tunnel to Wingo on the other side of the field or whatever. So yeah, lots of fun stuff there.

[A]

Yeah. And I know Brown and Hollywood can both catch. However, there are degrees of running back catching ability. There's Bijan, where you can like throw a post route to him when he's lined up out wide and he runs it like a receiver and like catches it with one hand. And then there's like, I can catch the check down, you know, running back. We need to figure out if Hollywood and Relique have some of that real pass catching ability that you can run like real routes with them or are they good pass catchers within the running back pass catcher context.

[B]

Paul, I'm going to add a question from someone called ENB in Liberty Hill. He asks, is Bijan Robinson the greatest pure football player that Texas has ever had?

[A]

Oh, what an interesting question, huh?

[B]

Can't believe I used that. I gotta get to the airport for media days. We're up against the gun and I just dropped this on you. I'm sorry.

[A]

He's up there. The list is short. I think Nathan Vasher is actually on that list. I know it seems like weird, but if you think about like can do lots of things.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm pretty sure he would have been a thousand yard receiver if he wanted to be. Right.

[B]

We should come back to that. We should Mount Rushmore of Purist do it all football players at Texas history.

[A]

Also, Ricky, very underrated as a do it all guy. He could kind of. He really could do it all.

[B]

A lot of running backs are like that.

[A]

Yeah. There's such freaky athletes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Next question.

[B]

Oh, here we go.

[A]

This is where we get good. Could one modern Delta 4 sniper with unlimited rounds, but only his bolt action, key point bolt action be enough to keep the Alamo from falling to Santa Ana's forces? Quick reprise of that famous conflict. 183 Alamo defenders, 1800-2000 Mexicans.

[B]

I was bored. Right. I don't think they split up by then. I think it was closer to 4. 5.

[A]

Oh, okay. Well, I think the initial part of the siege, there were more. And then I think some of them left. I can't remember all the details. And how about lots of Mexican soldiers? How about that with artillery? That's important. So my answer, if, if you will mind me attempting it first. I think it depends on how far off was The Mexican army, like, where were their picket lines of like, and, and like, could that Delta operator reach out to their command and control? So that's the key. It's not the number of Mexican soldiers he could shoot. That's immaterial in this context. Even if it's 50. Right. Can he reach out and touch their command and control? So I think that's a key, critical element. Because if you are able, you know, the Mexican army was not a modern army in the sense that, you know, they have these easy replacements. It's a hierarchical society, especially back then with Santa Ana. And if you took out enough of those guys, they, they might just sort of like leave, like kind of just say, hey, we don't know what to do. So I think that's part of it also. Him going out into enemy lines and trying to get through their pickets in his ghillie suit that he's going to design. If the Mexicans see him, they're going to be like el Diablo. And just. In 1840 is really going to throw people for a loop. Right. So that's, that's an element of this 1830s. I know you nerds are like, it's not 1840. I. Okay, okay. But no, I. Unless he can get to their command and control, he can't exert enough battlefield gravity. Even if he and a Delta Force sniper is obviously going to shoot a lot of people, it's not enough to, to make that change. And also I think ultimately what he would do is this guy's pretty smart and he's modern. We just specified he's a modern Delta Force guy. He's going to go to Colonel Travis and say, I don't think this is an optimal thing to defend. I think we need to melt away and I think we need to fight some asymmetrical counterinsurgency warfare out in the countryside and ambush these guys. And that's his counsel.

[B]

That gets me to my big point. Yeah. Homer notes in the private chat that it was a 13 day siege. The thing with the Alamo is that if you go there today, it's mostly just the chapel and then like a little bit of the remaining wall. So the actual Alamo was a fortress around the chapel, but it was doing

[A]

a lot of work in that sentence.

[B]

It wasn't that big.

[A]

It was not big and it wasn't much of a fortress, man.

[B]

If you watch like the old John Wayne Alamo movie, they have like a full replica of it. And I don't recommend that you do. Honestly, it's Shockingly bad. I don't know how they made that movie so boring, but you look at it and you're like, oh my God, that's the easiest thing to capture ever. And the Mexicans honestly were not too worried about it. And they just. When they decided to do it, they just did it and they took the whole thing like in a day by storming it. So to your point, very precarious position. Sam Houston was writing to Travis like, get out of there. Most of the cannons we have in Texas are in that stupid fort. Get the cannons or scuttle them and get the heck out of there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And Travis was like, no, no, Fanon will be here. And we got to hold this. This is a vital spot. This is a wonderful spot. Totally silly, easily captured. Once the Mexicans decided to finally close in on it. Another problem, to your point, like, could. Because this seems like the spirit of the question is, could the Delta guy just mow down the Mexican army with the limitations of a sniper? They already had Crockett and a bunch of dudes with Kentucky long rifles. They would have had been pretty darn accurate.

[A]

Yeah, I mean the Mexicans had five or six hundred casualties and killed mostly from sniper fire from the Texians, as they were called back then.

[B]

That's not. That was so that wasn't like a big missing piece to the defense.

[A]

The missing piece in efficacy and range. This guy's got a. He's a Delta sniper with a scope on his rifle.

[B]

So. But to your point earlier, you immediately hit on the first thing I thought, which was if he could hit Santa Anna, then yes. But not his ability to mow down oncoming soldiers is not going to be enough because they're going to be able to blow holes. They had that part of the. There was like a gap in the wall that was like a wooden staked palisade where Crockett was and his Kentucky guy or Tennessee guys. It was always going to fall against a determined charge. But if he. There's so much. The fact that he's like Delta force and obviously super smart in calculating adds so many wrinkles to it because honestly,

[A]

he's going to try his best to take out the command and control.

[B]

Yeah, he could maybe do it.

[A]

And if he can't do that, he's going to Travis and being like, hey man, I understand you want to die gloriously and you read lots of Greek tragedy and like, this is your stand and you're going to live forever. But also, let's go and. And like try to win the War there was a symbolic value, obviously, to the Alamo.

[B]

Yeah. It was mostly propaganda. When Travis drew the line in the sand of the sword in legend, Delta Force guy would have been the guy that's like, nope, I'll see y' all later. I'm not, I'm not going to stay here on this stupid wall under artillery fire and try to win this war for you like that. I'm going to get out another line

[A]

and made a tic tac toe board and, you know, tried to make, make a farce of it. Here's another question. It's, it's a fun question, but also in these sorts of questions, which they always do, they're like, imagine there was a Sherman tank at Waterloo, you know, that kind of thing. Right. They forget that that Delta Force operator, as impressive as he is, can still get hit by a Mexican cannon.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, he's subject to physical laws. He's not, he's not outside of the combat.

[B]

Right.

[A]

He can get shot as well.

[B]

Much more so than a tank. Right. Because yeah, they wouldn't, they wouldn't be able to hurt the tank.

[A]

Your tank at Waterloo can blow a tread and get caught in the mud. Like, just like, people kind of lose the creativity and imagination. That war, like, stuff happens and it's not all happening like perfectly like on a video game. Right. So that's a really fun question. And there's a ton of these sorts of things that people always do, you know, and then we got one with the, you know, what wrote, you know, a peak? Roman Legion. What's the latest army it can defeat? And you know, we ended up talking about stirrups and Mongol grass range. But this is a fun question.

[B]

I have a follow up to it.

[A]

Go on.

[B]

Let's say, let's say that he's like, he can't hit the command structure. He snipes, he snipes a couple guys. But then the Mexicans are like, wait, they got a long range sniper. We have to be careful. And then he goes to Travis and he's like, no, dude, this is not gonna work. He slips out. Could this one dude operating as a gorilla in Texas have harassed Santa Ana's army enough to make them quit and go home before they even got to San Jacinto Against General Houston?

[A]

No. He could be a massive headache. But what would happen is as he's killing five or six Mexican soldiers a day from various hides and hideouts and, you know, running around and hanging out in barns and then, you know, immediately leaving after he shoots two Guys, what will happen in any sort of thing like that with the guerrilla war is Santa Anna is going to start rounding up townspeople and murdering them. Right. Like, you're gonna get into, like, reprisal type stuff of, like, turn this guy in. Don't give him aid and comfort. Right.

[B]

Does he have munitions, though? Is it possible that he could just, like, slip in and, like, blow up the whole command center tent?

[A]

He has unlimited rounds, but he does not have any C4. He doesn't have plasti.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

He doesn't have any grenades. He's got a. He's got his bolt action rifle and a bunch of bullets.

[B]

So presumably a knife. Slip in there, stab him.

[A]

Well, I think. Yes. I mean, is that possible? Yes. You know, the Mexican army showed later in the Battle of San Jacinto that, like, sometimes they'll just all take a nap and, like, not put up any, Any, any pickets or any, any sort of, like, guards. Army was not an efficient killing machine. Let's say that.

[B]

Yeah, you've heard that story of the lros of Texas.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Santa Anna may have procured the services of a person that occupied him right up till the moment of the Battle of San Jacinto in his tent.

[A]

Yeah. A beautiful prostitute. Yeah. Gotta. Gotta love it. And then he dressed like a private and denied being Santa Ana. You gotta love that guy. All right, well, on this awesome historical note, we want to thank you. Thanks for your questions. Thanks for joining the Deep Dive, and we'll see you guys later at Inside Texas. Go join now. $1.50 off. Good morning, students. Soccer teaches us teamwork, leadership, geometry, art, physics, and a lifetime of lessons we can take with us long after we leave the field. That's why bank of America and US Soccer are committed to helping bring soccer to every school. Soccer is officially in session. Raise your hand to help bring soccer to [e-mail] socceratschools.