IT Live: Biggest Developments From Texas Fall Camp

Summary

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Inside Texas Football – “IT Live: Biggest Developments From Texas Fall Camp” (August 10, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode of “IT Live,” the Inside Texas team provides in-depth analysis and updates on the early days of Texas Longhorns fall football camp. Host and analysts Eric and Tyler Horca break down the battles on both sides of the ball, with special focus on the defensive line’s dominance, offensive line growing pains, position competitions, mental challenges, and the key developments the staff and fans are watching as the Longhorns ramp up for a pivotal season opener against Ohio State.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defensive Line: The Team’s Core Strength

• Summary: The Texas defensive line (D-line) is repeatedly cited as the most talented and deepest unit on the roster, with multiple potential top-10 NFL draft picks and credible two-deep at every position.
• Major Players Highlighted:
  • Colin Simmons (contract year): Called "maybe the best player in the country."
  • Justice Terry, Lance Jackson, Hero Canoe: Rising talents, with Canoe expected to "rise up draft boards".
• Depth: “They’re tremendously deep…every player makes the next guy next to him better, especially later in games.” (Eric, 03:18)
• Impact on Practice: The D-line’s dominance in practices might be inflating concerns about the O-line and masking other positions’ flaws (linebacker, secondary) due to how disruptive they are.

2. Offensive Line: Struggling, But Not Panicking

• Cohesion Over Talent: The main concern isn’t raw ability, but communication and cohesion, especially in picking up complex stunts from an aggressive D-line.
  • “It’s not really the individual kick steps and athleticism. It's picking up stunts. The awareness and the cohesion, the communication that comes with that.” (Eric, 07:37)
• Mental vs. Physical Issues: The staff feels better learning now that the O-line’s challenge is mental/experience, not lack of power/athleticism.
• Growth Analogy: Eric likens camp to “taking the donut off the bat”—"once you get against Texas State, that bat gets a lot lighter; then you get some confidence." (Eric, 11:13)
• Competition at Left Guard: “It’s wide open—everyone’s getting a shot. I’m not concerned about who, more about how all five work together.” (Eric, 27:16)

3. Zero-Sum Development & Practice Dynamics

• Zero Sum Concept: When one group (D-line) is so dominant, is it masking weaknesses elsewhere, particularly at linebacker and in the secondary?
  • Quote: “The defensive line could be hiding blemishes behind them…maybe the linebackers aren’t quite as good…and that’s being covered up.” (Eric, 03:18)
• Practice Context: The staff intentionally allows the D-line to go full throttle at times, but will “pull back the reins” to let the offense build confidence—adding necessary context to practice reports.
  • “A lot of fans care who made plays. I want to know why they made the play.” (Eric, 15:58)

4. Quarterback (Arch Manning): Talent, But Needs Protection

• Performance: Arch Manning showed flashes ("beautiful deep ball that was dropped in the end zone") but struggled more as team periods went on, with OL breakdowns impacting his ability to work through progressions (18:31).
• Consistency Concerns: “Just consistency on the shorter throws…that’s really all he needs.” (Eric, 47:09)
• Big Picture: Fans want to see Texas win with Arch’s arm, not just his legs; the offense must come together for the opener.

5. Running Back Room: Versatility and Maturity

• Different Styles: Hollywood Smothers is more of a downhill, inside runner; Relique Brown uses inside runs to bounce outside. “They do complement each other well. There are some overlapping traits, but they’re not the same.” (Eric, 20:15)
• Depth & “Gadget” Players: Derek Cooper brings a unique, contrasting style to the position group. Ryan Niblett called himself a “gadget player”—rare humility and self-awareness.
  • Notable moment: “If he’s good for a gadget play or two every couple weeks, then that can help Texas win football games.” (Tyler, 23:25)
• Pass Protection (RB): Remains a concern; none of the backs are proven as pass protectors, and coaches are tracking scrimmage reps to assess (Eric, 24:59).

6. Position Battles and Depth Chart Update

• Tight End: 11 and 12 personnel packages will feature a rotating cast (Townsend, Shannon, Massunas); “Townsend is going to be a work in progress…but be a lot better in November than in September.” (Eric, 29:31)
• Wide Receiver: Ryan Wingo stands out for consistency and physique: “Everything you’d want to hear about Ryan Wingo is exactly what we’re hearing about right now.” (Eric, 31:06)
• Left Guard: Open competition among at least six players; will pare down after the upcoming scrimmage (Eric, 28:11).
• Secondary: Kobe Black’s emergence gives flexibility at safety; matchups will dictate personnel. “Kobe Black is going to be a better coverage guy than any safety because he’s a converted corner.” (Eric, 38:40)

7. Linebacker Issues: Stability or Cover-up?

• David Crier: Praised as a communicator, green-dot “intelligence and experience are rewarded at linebacker.” (Eric, 34:19)
• Depth: Ty Anthony Smith and Brad Spence are rotating for playing time; Smith behind due to lack of reps (35:18).
• Scheme Impact: Scheme is linebacker-friendly but could be masking development if D-line is too disruptive in practice.

8. Defense: “Boom or Bust” Factor

• Aggressive Tendencies: Will Muschamp’s defensive calls are aggressive, with frequent five-man pressures. This could lead to either game-changing plays or vulnerability if wrong-side of an aggressive call.
  • “The bust concern for me is if a safety misses a run fit…that could be six from way downtown.” (Eric, 44:17)
• Secondary Versatility: Multiple nickel and safety options; “a lot of mouths to feed” with talent and retention dollars invested (Eric, 53:15).

9. Game Prep & Outlook

• Schedule Impact: With an unforgiving early schedule (Ohio State looming), growth has to be quick. “He’s gonna have to play effectively early and fast.” (Host, 49:19)
• Offensive Timeline: Optimism that the offense will “have their days” as camp continues, likely when D-line aggression is dialed back (Eric, 46:14).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Defensive Line Depth
  “Three of those guys have top 10 overall draft pick talent in Simmons, Justice, Terry and Lance Jackson. And then you’ve got nine other guys that can play up front credibly.”
  —Eric, 08:38

• On the O-Line’s Mental Exercise
  “Most important part is these are mental skills which can be acquired. If Eric said they were getting beat one on one because they’re not fast enough or strong enough, that’s a big issue. I’m actually excited that it’s a mental exercise.”
  —Host, 12:42

• Practice Context Matters
  “A lot of fans like, ‘hey, who made plays?’ That’s not what I care about. I want to know why they made the play, how they made the play.”
  —Eric, 15:58

• On Ryan Niblett Embracing the Gadget Role
  “He was accepting of it. He knows he’s not Relik Brown, he’s not Hollywood Smothers…He’s also a humble guy. He literally told us that.”
  —Tyler, 23:25

• On Linebacker Crier’s Role
  “He’s the communicator and you’re going to need that at some level. Of course, he’s the biggest linebacker we have too. I don’t want him running one on one to the flats all the time with running backs. But I think he could be an awesome stabilizing force when you pair him with an electric athlete.”
  —Host, 33:20

• Boom/Bust Defense
  “Will Muschamp is going to be pretty aggressive, he’s always going to bring five.”
  —Eric, 44:17

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Important Timestamps

• 02:00 – Show officially begins; major fall camp storylines previewed.
• 03:18 – Defensive line depth and zero-sum practice challenges.
• 05:03 – Defensive emergence described as “most encouraging” development (Tyler).
• 07:37 – Offensive line’s biggest challenge: Cohesion and handling D-line stunts.
• 11:13 – O-line experience and confidence-building analogies.
• 15:58 – Why context in practice reports matters more than just highlight plays.
• 20:15 – Running back depth and the emergence of Hollywood Smothers & Relique Brown.
• 23:25 – Ryan Niblett embracing “gadget” label and role (Tyler).
• 24:59 – Pass-protection concerns for running backs.
• 27:16 – Left guard competition wide open; depth and optimism.
• 29:31 – Tight end permutations; Townsend’s expected progression.
• 31:06 – Ryan Wingo’s “consistency” and potential as a future star.
• 33:20 – Linebacker stability, communication, and position-specific strengths.
• 38:40 – Secondary flexibility; Kobe Black’s role at safety.
• 44:17 – Defensive “boom or bust” potential with Muschamp’s aggressive play calls.
• 46:14 – What to expect in next week’s practices and scrimmage context.
• 47:09 – Next steps for Arch Manning’s consistency and leadership.
• 53:14 – Secondary packages, competition, and personnel strategies.
• 54:37 – Running back production: Prediction that no single back reaches 1000 yards this year.

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Final Insights & Takeaways

• Defensive line sets the team’s floor: This group is viewed as elite, and their strength should help mask occasional breakdowns elsewhere. The main risk comes if their practice dominance prevents other units (like linebacker) from facing enough adversity to improve.
• Offensive line’s struggles are mental/chemistry-based, not physical, giving hope for fast improvement. However, with the clock ticking toward a showdown with Ohio State, progress must be swift.
• Offense has weapons but must build cohesion; RB and WR depth is strong, but the OL must gel and pass protection—especially from running backs—remains a concern.
• Quarterback Arch Manning’s potential is high, but consistency, especially under duress, and the ability to win games with his arm over his legs is the next step.
• Practice reports require context; defensive dominance may sometimes be by design to test the offense, and vice versa.
• Key positional battles and depth packaging will continue over the coming week, with a critical scrimmage set to define the two-deep, especially at left guard, tight end, and in the secondary.
• Fans can expect more offensive “wins” in practice as the staff adjusts the tempo and looks for growth from both units.

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To Stay Updated

For deeper daily insight, head over to Inside Texas and grab the Texas Longhorns Prospectus “Thinking Texas Football” by Paul Wilmington. The next major checkpoint is the upcoming scrimmage, after which position battles and the team's readiness—especially for Ohio State—will become more clear.

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Transcript

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[Host]

Good morning everyone. Welcome to IT live. Brought to you by Academy Sports Now Doors Sorry some technical issues earlier. We will see if those remain. We are going to talk about all the awesome notes that have been dropping what that actually means for the offense and the defense. But before we do that head over to Inside Texas right now guys fall camp sale 575 not 5075 off your first year new members only link down below. Also get Paul's book Thinking Texas Football the 2026 Longhorn Football prospectus. It is the number one preview for the Texas Longhorns, all of our opponents and the sec. All right guys, you've already seen him on a couple videos, but this is our Tyler Horca. I think he's on what day 10 man of joining the squad. So first time on Morning Live and he's got some good stuff for us as well. First things first, Utah Horn is not playing around. Thanks for the super chat with how good the D line should be this year. I'm not worried about the early reports of the O line, serviceable O line play, an upgraded wide receiver and running back talent and the offense should be lethal. And also bring back coach Williams. Yeah, our Charlie Williams also got hired as an offensive line coach running run game coordinator at Mesquite. So coach is no longer with us on the channel. He. He still exists. All right. What are you guys thinking about this? You did just did a piece Eric, on what the zero sum means here.

[Eric]

Yeah, I. Well, you know that's always the big challenge of camp is understanding zero sum and you know, you like that you have knowns the defensive line is a known talented group. There's no doubt about it. They weren't the issue last year. You got Colin Simmons and his contract here. He might be the best player in the country. Justice Terry's emergence is right in line with his talent. What we saw last year in in flashes, Lance Jackson pretty much the same hero canoe. I think he's going to rise up draft boards this season. He's got quickness, technical technical ability and some improved power to him. I really like that. And then they're tremendously deep and you know how a deep defensive line, there's positive returns on that. Every, every player makes the next guy better next to him better, especially later in games. So we feel really good about the D line and that does help ameliorate some concerns about the offensive line. Now it doesn't help help assuage all of our concerns. And there's also the flip side of the defensive line. It could be hiding some blemishes behind them because they're so dominant. Maybe the linebackers aren't quite as good as they need to be and that's being covered up. Or maybe the cornerbacks when they don't have that much time to. Well, they have to cover for a longer period of time. Maybe they won't be as stout. So there's a lot of zero sum concerns that we're talking about and maybe there are even some on the headsets Sark versus Will Muschamp that we're not going to learn more about until the season. So zero sum is always my concern this time of year. That's why we try to get as in depth practice information as we can.

[Host]

We'll go deeper into that, but Tyler's gonna have to go to a press conference here in a little bit. So you wrote a piece yesterday, I believe, and you said the most encouraging thing we've heard from Texas football camp so far. And what was that, Tyler?

[Tyler]

It's that the defense is looking good because offense kind of rules the day in college football. Really in NFL football now, too. Like, you need to score points to win football games. But on the flip side of that, if you're preventing teams from scoring points, you're probably going to win football games, too. I. I pointed to the Ohio State game last year. Like, as ugly as that was, Texas was in that game with a chance to go tie the game late because the defense played so well. And I get it, defenses are ahead of offenses at this point of the year. But I do think that the Texas defense, we're probably going to be talking about that as the strength of this team. Like, we could talk about Arch Manning all day and night and people do, but it's that this defensive line is looking great. This secondary. I'm sure we're going to talk about those guys today because everybody, Eric and Justin have had great reports on that unit. Like, it looks like there's a guy at every position there up front. There's a guy at every position. Linebacker. We're still learning some things, obviously, but I mean, if you're talking about 8 to 10 of your positions being set and you're like, I feel really good about the two deep at those spots, then you're probably going to field a really good defense. And then with the offensive line, like, I, I think you mentioned the, like the chess match between Sark and Will Muschamp. I think the offense needs to see one go through in one of these practices. Like, it's like hitting a free throw. That's the most simple analogy. You hit that first one, you're probably gonna hit, you know, 80 of your next ones if you're a good shooter. Like, these are good football players. They just have to be reminded of that. And the one thing I'm a little bit worried about with the offensive line is hearing about the pass pro issues, because that was the problem last year. I do think Texas is going to be a way better running team. And the offensive line has a lot to do with that. But you've got to protect Arch. He's got the weapons to get the ball out to, but he needs the time to get the ball to those guys. So pass pro has to come along big time throughout the month of August. Also.

[Host]

How close are these competitions? Right. So there's the idea that if you play against elite talent, you'll naturally grow and.

[Eric]

Yes.

[Host]

But if you're getting beat so thoroughly, you never get a good rep to connect those neurons. There's also that difference, too. So it's like, how bad is the defensive line beating them? Because the difference is if we're running a 40 against each other and you beat me by a step. Okay, we can work on that. If you beat me by 20 yards, there's something to go on there too. So, like, Eric, do you have any clue how far that separation is? I know it's only week one, but they do need to get wins as well.

[Eric]

Well, I think that's more. Somebody's asked me yesterday if it was, you know, who's getting beat one on one. It's more about group wins versus group losses. It's. That's a unit versus a unit. And it's. It's even more that way because the. The defensive line is running more stunts than in the past. So that is going to be the number one thing that tests cohesion. I wish that they were just going heads up every play. That's not what they're doing now. There are times that. Where the interior D line gets the better of the interior offensive line. I think those matchups do favor them on the outside. It's a little bit more even, Even though nobody in the country can really keep up with Colin Simmons, even Trevor Goosby and Melvin Siani. But it's. It's a little bit more even, but it's where that cohesion is being tested, which we knew was a question coming into. Into camp. That's the problem with pass pro right now. It's not really the individual kick steps and, and the athleticism. It's. It's not that. It's picking up stunts. The awareness and the cohesion, the communication that comes with that. That's what we need to hear about more of in August. And I'll feel a lot better about it.

[Host]

The.

[Eric]

The defensive line is still going to win more than they lose just because they're more talented and they could play in a more aggressive manner. You know, the. The stunts really. One thing that's really obvious to me is how explosive that defensive line is. They're not just big, powerful guys. They can all move especially relative to their size. So you got the perfect defensive line scheme for these guys. And it's, you know, just look at the talent. Three of those guys have top 10 overall draft pick talent in Simmons, Justice, Terry and Lance Jackson. And then you've got nine other guys that can play up front credibly. So that's going to be an advantage to place throughout camp. We're not going to hear it should get better. Hopefully the race gets a little bit closer, as you guys were saying. But what this team needs is the defensive line to be dominant throughout the season. And if that's the case, then everything else will be fine. We'll get it. We'll have a true read by the end of August on how good the offense is going to be.

[Host]

Tyler, you are a secret Texas fan while covering Notre Dame, doing your due diligence, but still keeping an eye on the Longhorns the whole time. So we're hearing, hey there. They're struggling with games. This is not necessarily a new concept compared to last year. How much of that is just. Do you think is just adjusting to, hey, it's a new year versus more of a global issue.

[Tyler]

Yeah, I mean, they, it's the confidence piece, right? That's what I was talking about earlier, where these guys are human. They know what happened last year. You're saying that I know what happened. They were the ones in the trenches, man. Like, it happened to them. So they've got to build those reps. And I like that comment, like bad communication. Football is the ultimate team sport, right? And the offensive line is like an ultimate team within the team thing like that. They're their own squad and unit or whatever. You want to look at it like, basketball court has five players out there, right? The offensive line has five players and they all need to be on the same page. If they're not, it's going to look ugly. You're going to get your quarterback killed like this, like Ryan is saying here. So, yeah, it's, it's a little nervy because what are we, 26 days out now? And then that means Ohio State is in 33 and they got good football players over there and they got, they got guys that are going to want to go get after Arch Manning. So it really needs to be this month about, like forgetting. Not really forgetting about what happened last year, but accepting it and saying we've got to be better than that because if we're not, like, this schedule is really tough for Texas and it can go a little haywire again. Like it did last year. So it's a, it's a big month for the offensive line. But we knew that going in, right? Like we were all talking about that before camp started.

[Eric]

And the line is still playing together for the first time. And you know, Trevor Goosby has 15 career starts. By the end of this season, he, he will have double his starts. Connor Robertson has been in the program forever, but he's got eight career starts. Brandon Baker is finally at his NFL position, which means he should have a better season than last year. Melvin Siani, we've heard of good things. And then left guard is going to shake out. There's four guys that could play there this year that are better than last year. I would even throw Cole Hudson in there because he was better than Stroh or Nick Brooks. So I'm not super worried about it. It all comes down to cohesion rep. Getting their butt kicked is going to be good for them. I liken it in my article to taking the donut off the bat. You swing that donut, you swing that donut in the batter's box to make it heavy and harder. But once you get against Texas State, that back gets a lot lighter. Then you get some confidence. You get the run game going, you get the full menu of the playbook, which is going to take some of the pressure off the offensive line as well. We're not, it's not like Sark is going into game plan. Slow down the defensive tackles to really take advantage of them through outside zone like you took advantage of OU's active front last year. So we're just hearing about the mono, a mono aspect of it. Things are going to work more in their favor once they have more cohesion. Sark is actually calling plays, moving the pocket and all that stuff designed to slow down the defensive line. Things are not as bad as they sound, but things need to get a lot better for this offensive line heading into the season. And I'm concerned they're going to improve a lot. Which is all going to come down to making sure that this defensive line is as dominant as we think it is because that's how we're going to get our truest readers.

[Host]

Most important part is these are mental skills which can be acquired. If Eric said they were getting beat one on one because they're not fast enough or they're not strong enough repeatedly, that's a big issue. And I think getting this test early. We didn't know we had this problem until we faced some teams in season and it took us towards the end of the season to figure it out. But also let's point out we did figure it out towards the end of the season as well. So we can see the growth there. But I'm actually excited that it's more of a mental exercise that they need to see it more opposed to having some athletic issues. Now we know the defensive line is going to be elite. Now we just, as Eric says, we gotta, we gotta figure out are they number one in the country or are they number five? And our offensive line isn't that good. Now that's, that's the next kind of trick we need to see. Tyler.

[Tyler]

Yeah, I mean, even if they're number five, then I think it says more about the defensive line than it does the offensive line. Like if we get into this year and it's like, okay, yeah, Colin Simmons is still there, but Justice Terry isn't who we were saying he was in fall camp. And you know, this guy's not this and that guy's not that, then we're probably going to see some poor offensive line play. But I, I don't think it's that. I do think that this defensive line is stacked, probably a top five unit in the country. As Eric mentioned, you got maybe one of the five best football players at any position in Colin Simmons. And like it all trickles down from there. So, and then I like, you know, he, he threw out an analogy. I'll throw out one too. I was talking about pickleball on the message board with somebody pick a ball. I, I was taught how to play this game. You don't really need to be taught. Right. But there's the rules and whatnot. And I played for the first time like three summers ago and the guy up there in South Bend was just killing me. Like, I think I lost 11 to 1 the first time I played him

[Eric]

and it was just brutal.

[Tyler]

That's probably what's happening to the offensive line. Guess what? Three years later, like we had a little pickleball day to send me out and, and go down to Austin here. I, I beat him more times than he's beaten me now. So like the offensive, that's sports, man. Like, you take your lumps and then the offensive line is going to get better from it. You just can't be at a place where you get so mentally degraded that it never comes around for you. But guys, this is University of Texas. These, these are 330 pound offensive linemen. They're going to get it, they're going to figure it out. And I think that mental piece that we're talking about will get there for them once they do start, you know, winning some of these reps. And it's just going to take one day in a practice. Like, I can't wait for the practice report where Eric's like, yeah, the offense looked great. Arch had time to throw and they were slinging it all over. They ran the ball really well, and full pads are coming on. What, today? Tomorrow. Like, it's.

[Eric]

It's going to happen soon.

[Tyler]

And I think the offense is going to have one of those days.

[Eric]

Here's the concern about that analogy is that Kyle Flood is not in his third year. He's in his going into his sixth year. But I know what you're talking about as far as getting better. You know, in a short.

[Host]

We have such a time. Work, work with football, like if you sucked at your job. And I'm like, in three weeks, he's going to be elite at his job. It's only football where we say things like, we have three weeks. It's like, guys, this is a weird mental time span we have for this sport. But I. They're gonna have to figure it out. I mean, there's no question. You got to start off early, right? And it's. We're annoying enough as the media that I think they will be.

[Eric]

Here's the problem with the next practice report is the first thing I'm going to ask is, you know, how aggressive was must champ on his D line calls? Because there's been a lot of practices in the bat in the past where they ebbed back and forth. The next day. The offense has its day, and it's usually because they pulled back the reins on the. On the D line so that the. So that off offense can get some actual work done. So that's. That's one of the things you always have. You got to get context for these practice reports. A lot of fans are like, hey, who made plays? That's. That's not what I care about. I want to know why they made the play, how they made the play. Not necessarily. Yeah, that. That catch that Cam Coleman had was fun to see, but I'm more concerned about, you know, the blocking. Why was it tipped is what I'm concerned about, you know, and who tipped it?

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[Host]

That's nice to know.

[Eric]

But yeah, linebacker, but I wasn't giving it. I didn't hear the name on it.

[Host]

So I'll just assume playmaker dude had to be Biles. I actually do want to go deeper on that thought. But first, let's hear a word from Academy.

[Eric]

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[Tyler]

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[Eric]

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[Tyler]

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[Host]

30 off Nike and Jordan clothes, shoes and backpacks. So something you reported, Eric, was that the offense didn't get a single third down. If you're a defensive fan, you're like, hell, yeah. And if you're paying attention to the offense, you're like, okay, why didn't they get a third down? First off, My questions, and I don't know if you have it, but how many third downs were there?

[Eric]

Yeah, I don't know. That was Justin's report from on Saturday night. I was watching Jumanji for the first time and he said, hey, I got some information. I'll say, all right, man, you're saving me from this movie. What's it at? What you got? So it would be.

[Host]

But this is more the mental exercise. How many third down and then what do those third downs look like? You know, if, if were we in third and 11, a bunch to where? You know, my middle school team could

[Eric]

pretty much shut down. I think it was short area. Normally when they do that, it's. Yeah, I don't think that was the third and long because the defense wouldn't be celebrating stuff like that. But yeah, I don't, I don't know. I can find that out. That's always. Yeah, because that's the key.

[Host]

Because the problem last year is we were what, 100 something in average third down distance. We averaged like 7.8 yards in third down. And if you're doing that, that means you're not good on first and second. So is third down telling us we're struggling on first and second? These are the things we need to figure out kind of about the offense. They're stuffing them on third and one. I'm not surprised by that because for some reason, for the past three years, Texas has been like top three in the nation and shutting down short yardage offense. But I think that context will help us understand. So having to deal with all of this. How was Arch's performance in that practice?

[Eric]

He had a. Yeah, he started off really well. You know, he missed a lot of the easy stuff when we were watching them. Not a lot of it, but it was kind of noticeable. Like, like we said, KJ Lacy was more accurate in that, you know, on air setting. But he's, he's. He had a really good practice last we heard on that and then it was. It wasn't really until 11 on 11 where the struggle started to show. And that was obviously because of what we talked about. He still made some plays, had a 30 yard scramble and he threw a beautiful deep ball that was dropped in the end zone even with good coverage. One of those plays that you just like. All right, you want to hear more about that, right? Everything was right except for the conversion on the catch. So, you know, he did what Arch does is, is, you know, try to. He makes something happen even in when the situation is tough. He did that a lot last year too, but it wasn't, you know, we're not hearing about him being looking like the one one overall, although he does make, you know, we had one guy saying, yeah, there's a reason this guy's in the Heisman conversation. We haven't heard about that yet. But it's just, it's just the offensive line, you know, you need to, you can't do it all by himself against that D line in practice. He needs time. You gotta, you gotta have time to take advantage of the weapons and you got to have space up in the run game that's created by the running game. But again, you have to have the full menu, the complement of the calls, the uncertainty on defense. You know, if the run game's working, then play action is going to work a whole lot easier. You know, it's just all the, all the positive feedback loop you get of a real game. It could be negative on the other side. That's the problem too. But once the. That's the thing about practice is it obscures so much of what happens in real game.

[Host]

Let's talk about some other pieces here and we'll get your thoughts on it. Tyler, but running back, not just this last practice, but kind of the previous two. Like, what's the update, Eric, on how the running backs are looking? Those guys are gonna be slotting into the positions are the play style that I expected as well, which is nice.

[Eric]

Yeah, I mean, a lot of people will think that they're the same guy. I had somebody, you know, I was DMing with the other day, a national guy, he said, I don't know why they wouldn't got the same. They're not the same guy. They. Yeah, Hollywood likes to run inside more. He's. He's going to finish runs, try to get downhill. Relique will run inside, but it's. He's mainly runs inside so he can get the, get the defensive, the secondary flowing inside and he can bounce it out. That's what he's looking to do. So they do. They do complement each other well. There are some overlapping traits, but yeah, they. The good thing here is you just haven't ever heard about a bad practice out of either of them. You know, I think that has to do with both being experienced, both being in contract years, both being super excited to be in an environment like Texas where the expectations are so high. That's. That's a big thing now. That's something we heard about Lawrence Seymour is. He understands the expectations around there. It's a lot different from where they just came from. So it never. Haven't heard a negative thing about either of them. You know, the season will probably. Somebody's gonna fumble. Who knows, man? Something the season will avail something about them that maybe is. We're not hearing about yet. But they haven't had a bad practice in Austin.

[Host]

Tyler, whenever you got eyes on them, what stood out? And it could be the whole room.

[Tyler]

Yeah, I mean, I guess it's kind of what Ryan Niblett was saying the other day. Like, I feel like this group feels like they have something special. And if Eric is saying that they haven't had a bad practice yet, like, you feel that it's the. It's the other side of the coin from what the offensive line is feeling right now. The offensive line's waking up every day. Like, I gotta go block Colin Simmons and Lance Jackson again, man. Like, how am I gonna get a win here? Whereas every single time Hollywood Smothers gets the ball, relief Brown gets the ball, they feel like they're gonna do something with it. And that is incredibly encouraging because we are talking about offensive line struggles not so much in the run game, but the run game was an issue last year. Right. And if it's not going to be an issue this year and those guys are dudes. And then you talk about like a Derek Cooper. I mentioned Niblett. You're not going to go past four. I really think you're only going to have probably a core three. But if Derek Cooper's your third, he looks the part two, man. Like, everyone was talking about how Hollywood Smothers and Relik Brown look the same. Eric kind of refuted that just now. But Derek Cooper does not look like those guys. So he's adding like a third element. He's going to do some different things and he's a different style of runner and player. So versatility in the running back room. And I think the potential is really high. But you do have to be wary of, like, okay, yeah, what is the issue? Because it's not all sunshine and roses, man. Like there's going to be something. You hope it's not fumbling and turning the ball over and whatnot. But I think overall you should be really excited about these guys.

[Host]

I saw Smothers on third and Longhorn and he showed his maturity. At one point he just said the sentence. He's like, sometimes there's only four yards to get and you need to get four yards. And I was like, that's exactly his run style.

[Eric]

That's what we.

[Host]

That's exactly what you need. What'd you think of Niblet calling himself a gadget player? I thought that was unique. Most players are like, I'm not a gadget guy. What did you think of that, Tyler?

[Tyler]

Yeah, he was accepting of it. I think he knows that he's not Relik Brown and he's not Hollywood Smothers. He might not even be Derek Cooper. Like Cooper's probably going to out carry him this year, but if he's good for a gadget player too, like every couple weeks, then you know that can help Texas win football games. And I think that's why he's accepting of. He's also a humble guy. He literally told us that.

[Eric]

Yeah, straight up.

[Tyler]

You know, he was asked who are the three fastest players on this team. He's got all these punt return touchdowns and whatnot. He didn't even include himself. So he's humble. But he's also smart. Like you got smart football players at the University of Texas. And he knows, hey, I'm not going to carry the ball 10 times in a game, let alone maybe five. But if you do give me a chance to make a play and it's Steve Sarkeesian offense, I'm gonna do it. So yeah, it is weird to hear somebody call themselves a gadget player. But hey man, if you own it and you're good at it, that's good for the team.

[Host]

I love it. And he's just awesome to listen to, man, when he's talking about his kid and all that. He's just smart. Good on the mic. I see absolutely why he was in the press conference spot. What about pass blocking for these running backs? So this is something I think Ian and Paul and I have been talking about. We need to figure that out because we don't seem to necessarily have it. They were always in their tape prior Smothers and Brown were sent out. Third down, get out, which is an option. The question Is. Well, okay, well, Derek Cooper's bigger. Maybe he can do that, but that's a dead give if you're just bringing him in for third down. So this is a piece to the offense that I need to hear a lot more about that I haven't heard a ton about.

[Eric]

Depends on where that third down is. If you're on the other team's 40 and it's third and eight, Stark might run that. He loves to run it right there. Yeah, it's. And it's not just about size and strength. It's awareness. You know, guys coming from different angles, you. You know, you got to pick up the right guy. Knowing who to pick up is step one. That's what Trey Wisener was good at. It wasn't. You know, Trey wasn't nearly as big as Derek Cooper yet. You would still feel better about him than a true freshman. So, yeah, that's one thing that we're still learning about. It's on the. It's on the list of things that we're tracking. Haven't heard much about it yet, but scrimmage. Scrimmage work is going to reveal a lot of information there. But that's. That's something we're tracking.

[Tyler]

I want to make a note on if people are like Cooper Terry because they're bigger than the other two guys, right? To Eric's point, it's not that easy, man. Those are young players. And pass pro as a running back isn't just about, hey, I'm big, I'm strong, I can get in this guy's way and protect my quarterback. Like, there's a technicality to it. There's smarts to it. You've got to be in the right spot at the right time. And I've seen big guys still get bowled over because they're just, like, they're not ready to accept that role. So, yeah, that is definitely something Texas needs to figure out, because I don't. I don't think you point to any of these one guys and say, it's him for sure. And then even if you did, it's. It's pretty obvious when you bring a guy in who gets no carries or no touches and you're like, oh, yeah, he's gonna block for the quarterback. Like, deep. Smart defensive minds will scheme around that and make that guy look silly.

[Host]

They attack the running back specifically. If you watch any of our videos with Pack, all the stuff they're doing on the blitzes is how can we get lined up on the running back? And can we do it from different angles. So they're setting their defensive front to force the offensive line to do a certain thing so they can attack the run running back. So it's not about size or power. And you need to be able to scan properly because they're going to try to tax you mentally as well. And interior pressure is a killer. Tyler, we're gonna let you get out of here, man. You got to go do your work at the press conference. But thank you for hopping on the show, man.

[Tyler]

Yeah. See y' all later.

[Host]

See you, man. So, yeah, Eric, that'll be a big thing. You can't lead the witness, but if we can get anything on running back walking, I'm gonna be absolutely obsessed with that. And then also, Hudson is officially back on the roster. Eric, have you heard anything about that?

[Eric]

Nope, not really. You know, obviously he's gonna get in that musical chair battle at left guard, and we'll see what's what. You know, they're trying. Everybody there. Jackson Christian, Dylan Sikorski, you know, Jaden Chapman in the first practice. Devin Coleman is. Everybody's got a shot. Andre Kojo got reps there. I mean, it's. Everybody. It's wide open. This is what we talked about back in January. They were going to throw a million guys at it. They feel good about it, not just because they're just at a desperation. They feel like a couple guys are going to stand up, and if they don't have, they're going to. In the process, they're going to create depth out of it, too. So, you know, they're not. They're still not concerned. The bigger thing is just how do all five work together? I'm not. I'm not nearly as concerned about who's left guard. I think a lot of those guys are going to be interchangeable.

[Host]

Yeah, but that is, like, a lot what it is gonna be six guys trying for that spot. When does it normally pare down into your, like, top two or about a week from now, you think, well, they'll

[Eric]

have a scrimmage this Saturday, and I think they'll evaluate that tape. Obviously, they evaluate practice tape every day, and then they'll start probably going whittling it down to two or three. And then, you know, the last couple weeks of camp, they should have their guy that they plan on going with. But I do believe it's going to be an open competition likely into the season. If they're not seeing whoever wins it, if they don't like what they're seeing, they'll. They'll they'll keep, they'll keep the competition open. Now we expect Lawrence Seymour to, to emerge, but that's. That hasn't become reality yet.

[Host]

How tall is he? From seeing him in person?

[Eric]

Six, two, maybe.

[Host]

Six, two. How do you look though? Movement wise, you probably only got to see him do high knees and warm ups, but.

[Eric]

Yeah, well, I mean, obviously compared to everybody else, he looks smaller. You didn't. I didn't get to see a whole lot of him as far as any blocking and they weren't even in pads or anything like that, so I don't, I don't have any personal opinions on them based on what I've seen. I go by what I hear anyway, so the people I talk to know more about it than I do.

[Host]

Line Towns and Arch and let him go full. Okay, so Towns and up beside Arch, let him go full steam into the linebacker. So there's an option. You can go 12 personnel and pass protection as well. What are you hearing about the tight end position? It's been different names I've heard mentioned kind of back and forth between. Between mostly Shannon and Massunas.

[Eric]

Yeah, and Townsend. We've talked about Townsend too. It's just, you know, Sarcas is. We've known this throughout the off season that he's going to run 11 personnel and 12 personnel and don't be surprised by anybody being in any of them. You know, just depends on what they want to do. If Michael Massunes is out there in 11, there's a good chance they're going to run. If, if Townsend is out there in 12, then you know, the pass is going to be probably more likely. You know, they, they are going to mix and match. Nobody's really emerged. My theory is that Nick Townsend is going to be a work in progress throughout the season, but be a lot better in November than he is in September. Game tape is going to speed up his development, I believe it sure did last year. You got to remember he didn't even get to campus until the summer. The upside is huge. The want to is huge, the athleticism is there. Hands have been good enough. But yeah, I think a little bit of time is going to go a long way with him. What do you think the guys are credible receivers? You know, Masunison and Shannon, they're not just the big bulky titan that catches it and looks to fall. You know, they're trying to, they're trying to get yards after the catch and they, they run hard too after the catch. So, you know, they're good to pick up three, four Sometimes five or six yards after the catch, just kind of by being bounced around and falling down the hill.

[Host]

We've heard some positives about Wingo as well, and it's mostly consistency. Based the pictures we got of him too, at practice. He looks awesome, man, freaky athlete, but he looks pretty incredible right now, too. So those two factors just. He looks like he's done good work in the weight room, and then on top of that, he's more consistent.

[Eric]

You had a buddy that just laid eyes on him for the first time. He goes, man, I didn't realize just how damn big he is. He said, as fast as he moves, I don't know how anybody tackles him. I was like, that's. They look, they look like they don't want to tackle them. You know, if you could ask me what's one thing I'd want to hear about Ryan Wingo from this camp, it would be consistency. And that's exactly what we're hearing. He had a couple good catches on the boundary Saturday night and then he, you know, got down, down field on a couple other catches too, as far as, you know, after the catch. So everything you'd want to hear about Ryan Wingo is exactly what we're hearing about right now. I don't want to jinx it. You're scared.

[Host]

You were hurt last year. You're all right, Eric. I think you can, you can come out and be confident. Before we keep talking, let's hear a word from. Texans know when you're injured, there's one name that gets results. Andre the Lawyer Trust. The team that has secured millions for their clients and helped thousands of Texans win their injury cases. Car wrecks, slip and falls, 18 wheeler, accidents on the job, injuries, wrongful deaths. Don't let the insurance companies tell you what your claim is worth. Andre the lawyer will fight for you. His principal office is in Dallas, but they serve Texans throughout the state, so don't wait. Call 214-444-8808. That's 214-444-8808. Contact info is in the description.

[Eric]

Hey, look at that. I see this comment. Now. That's a handsome lawyer. It looks like Andre's transition has gone well. It used to be Andrea, I think, but yeah, it's gone well.

[Host]

Have you seen Crier playing? Hearing good things about him tells me this defense is suspect. I do not. I don't disagree or I don't agree with that. Even though I was suspicious of Crier, I think there's foot speed things there. Even though that Spring game, he ran the seam. There was no foot speed problem there. What that told me when they did that is that they had a really young room at that point and they wanted somebody with consistency. Intelligence can learn the playbook. And we keep hearing things. I think Eric did it, but Crier is the communicator and you're going to need that at some level. Of course, he's the biggest linebacker we have too. So I don't want him running one on one to the flats all the time with running backs. But I think he could be a, an awesome stabilizing force when you pair him with an electric athlete.

[Eric]

Like, I don't, I don't get the logic here. Hearing good things about him tells me the defense is suspect. Hearing good things about me tells me the defense is really good. You know, because they're able to protect them. Like you said, they're not. They isolate them, they keep them in the box. They do like to shoot them downhill on, on blitzes. They're always bringing somebody. Can't bring Biles every time. A lot of times you want bottles and coverage as well. But yeah, if we're hearing good things about him and we have seen him in the spring game, I've, I saw him. There's some clips out there. He's looked a little more athletic than we were expecting. Yeah. But hearing good things about him tells me the defense is awesome because it's going to elevate his level of play. They're able to, to lean into what he, he can do, which is play in the box.

[Host]

The communicator is not the moniker most linebackers are searching for. Yeah, but when he's a green dot, so the communication is a huge factor. He's an older, mature player. I'm not adding time to his 40, but being realistic, that's a stabilizing force and you have the dynamic experience.

[Eric]

Experience and intelligence are two things that are rewarded at linebackers. So, you know, and, and he is well respected behind the scenes. He's doing a great job helping the, the true freshman line along. But yeah, play to his strengths. The problem is if you want Malcolm Roach playing mid, you know, middle linebacker against Maryland, when they're running end arounds, you know, that's. They're not going to ask him to do that. Put guys into their position, put in positions to succeed, which is what they're doing with him. They don't ask him to do anything he can't do. Yeah, the position, the, the defense really asks a lot of some positions and asked A little of others.

[Host]

And don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking to say you can't question the linebacker position. I was the. Probably the first to do so consistently through the off season. So it is the position I have the most questions about. So I'm not like trying to denigrate you being worried about linebacker. I just think there's maybe other reasons you could glom on to that would be more effective. So what does this mean for Ty Anthony Smith?

[Eric]

Well, I mean, scientists still, you know, knocking some rust off and, you know, making up for missing spring. I don't know. I don't know if it means anything yet. He needs to. He has. He hasn't been with the first team. He hasn't been with the first team all that much right now. Brad Spence has gotten a lot of reps with the first team. Backing up, backing up Crier. Yeah, they're getting. Ty Anthony's getting a lot of reps kind of with the second team and, you know, trying to get caught up.

[Host]

Knocking rust off, like not knowing the scheme. Knocking Rust off like he's a step behind because he's coming back. Like what?

[Eric]

He didn't. He didn't. He didn't practice at all. He's never practiced in this scheme. So he's, you know, you don't have the muscle memory in it. Knowing what to do in the classroom is not the same as knowing what to do on the field, which is, you know, the same as any classroom. Going into the real world from the classroom, it's. It's all great in theory. Stuff changes in a hurry.

[Host]

So here's a one of the fears that I've seen. I'll be cautious with Crier. I believe in Biles, but I think Smith being underwhelming is why Crier is looking like a starter.

[Eric]

I mean, we were talking about Crier having a good spring when Smith wasn't out there. So it had nothing to do with him being underwhelming.

[Host]

Yeah. And then the Spence thing is interesting. So is he kind of out of the realm of edge right now and he's just going to be in unique kind of packages or true Sam.

[Eric]

And then, you know, Sam, they're probably in about 20 of the time. And so he's also the backup at Mike and Will and. But that's, you know, that's not set in stone. That's. Again, Ty Anthony's just got. Needs more time. Ty Anthony hasn't practiced in this scheme other than, you know, what he's getting right now.

[Host]

And then you made a good point in your zero sum piece. I think I'll pull it up here, actually, about the diminishing returns of the defensive line wrecking the offense and what that can mean for certain layers you kind of touched on in the beginning. But what's something you're watching there with the second level? Will the defensive line steal development from the linebackers if they keep being that dominant?

[Eric]

Well, I mean, if they're not that dominant against other offenses when they go up against, you know, offensive. Ohio State's offensive line, which, you know, they still have their, their things they're working on up there in Columbus, you know, it could expose the linebackers in the. Whether or not in the run fits or even in past draws coverage. You know, we don't. If the, if the sacks are getting, are happening in practice, you know, the quarterbacks aren't having time to hit an open hook where the linebacker should have been. You know, we don't know that right now.

[Host]

Is it, are they getting there that fast?

[Eric]

I mean, I was being, I'm just talking in theory.

[Host]

I'm sensitive to this.

[Eric]

I mean, they wrecked them in 11 on 11. What else do you want to hear? I mean, that's, I don't know how else to put it. I don't, I don't have my.

[Host]

Like if you're third and seven and Stark's doing the Florida game plan where Cam Coleman has to go 40 yards and they get a sack, but if it's third and four and they're getting there before he throws a quick slant, it's like that, that stuff matters, but that's too granular for, for right now. But it is something that I'm paying attention to.

[Eric]

Yeah, I don't, I don't have cameras underneath 35 watching everything, so. Yeah, I don't, I don't know.

[Host]

Well, we should, we should.

[Eric]

We're getting, we're already a little bit spoiled compared to where the market is and where, where it was in the past.

[Host]

Yeah, for sure. What does this mean for the secondary, too?

[Advertisement Voice]

What.

[Host]

How's that playing out with Derrick Williams and Kobe Black right now at safety?

[Eric]

Well, Derek had a nice pick the other night. You know, we'll see if that highlight makes it out public. But they like, again, they like matchups and you know, Kobe Black is going to be a better coverage guy than damn near any safety because he's converted corner. You know, it's obviously it's a lot harder to cover at corner than it is at safety. And so they like Matchups where Kobe's, you know, I guess certain teams, they face, maybe even Ohio State where they, they. They like to throw it deep. Kobe's going to have a. A greater utility against some of those teams than if you want to run downhill. You know, that's when you would want Derek over there in the boundary. So I need to learn more about Kobe. If they start playing him in the boundary, that's going to say a lot. That means if they start playing him in the boundary consistently, that means he's forcing his way onto the field. Yeah.

[Host]

Chat is full of beta male complainers this morning, so we can tell that fall camp is back because there will be no question. Yeah.

[Eric]

I mean, if you say one thing, all right, he's. He's the veterans playing like a veteran. You're like, oh, that's. That's not good. Well, yeah, he's not Derek Brooks. I mean, yeah, but there's also. Not everybody is a superstar, but there's

[Host]

a wider context because last year we kind of collapsed in a lot of ways. So it's just. I understand. I have that too. This kind of like, base suspicion. And we all, we all said all the off season, like, there will be no benefits of the doubt. But now it's fall camp again and all the benefits of the doubter immediately assigned. So I, I'm okay with being suspicious here. I didn't agree with why on some of these, but I get it. They need to prove.

[Eric]

If we were talking highly of the offensive line, you would have a case. We were talking about the defense, coached by Will Must Champ, that has Rasheen Biles on it. One of the top. Look at the. You have. You have a top five player on the defense, one at each position. Colin Simmons at edge, one of the top five players on the team. Hero. Canoe's number five. If you're ranking five. Biles is number two. McDonald is number three. Masco's number four. I mean, the team's freaking loaded on defense. It's pretty easy to believe that, you know, Texas won a national championship with Rashad Babino. I mean, it's. I don't know, man. And then you talk about the, The. The player's ability to. The scheme. Crier. You can get away with crier in this game, without a doubt. You don't have to be. You don't need Derek Johnson there. It'd be nice, but you don't have that.

[Host]

I was worried about cry going into it, and then every day it's been kind of less and less there. So that's something positive.

[Eric]

He's getting home on some blitzes too. I mean, it's not, you know, or at least he's flushing the pocket. He's. People acting like he's a total zero. And that's. That hasn't been the case since he arrived. We've been talking about him since the spring is surprising people.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Not. And that's not to say he's going to be all SEC or anything like that.

[Host]

Yeah. That's the craziest part of the take is saying the defense sounds suspect when we know it's loaded with proven players.

[Eric]

Yep.

[Host]

I think it's mostly just Mike. That's the only position that I even hear ever get questioned. What's going on.

[Eric]

People are questioning safety, too. I mean, it's.

[Host]

Oh, yeah, safety. Safety to me is like, who's going to be number three? But it's not like I'm actually worried about it. What does Paul say? If we're worried about like third and fourth string safeties, we're in a. We're in a pretty good position as far as teams go. But yeah, safety. But really it's. I get asked about Mike all the time. That's the big factor. What's going on in nickel.

[Eric]

You got Grayson, Littleton, of course, playing physically. You know, I think that there's a case to be made that he's like John A. Baron in 2022. I'm not going to say he's going to have 10 tackles for loss with whatever Jade did that crazy year, but very good. Obviously, corner traits. You've got Bo Masco who gets looks over there still. I think that there's certain matchups they like with Masco there. They've got Xavier Filsamy, Jonathan Cunningham, two converted safeties. Got a little more size Fils to me. You don't sacrifice speed with him there like you normally would by putting a safety. But speed is not. That's not the only thing you need in coverage. But Cunningham brings the physicality to it. They. They really like that kid. I think you're going to see him play well on special teams. And you still got Wardell Mack, who had a pick in the first practice. So they got a lot of options there. They're all coached up by Will Muschamp. Obviously you've got to be physical to play for Will Muschamp. Even at nickel.

[Host]

I can fall into this trap, too. Nightmare. They act like Crier cannot improve. He's in the year four. So I think I still have Tom Herman hold over in Some ways where somehow our players were better as freshmen and got worse. I have to shake that off because, yeah, it's like linebackers in experience position as well. It's experience matters there. It's like safety. So even I fall into that trap as well.

[Eric]

I mean, and he's got the defensive line in front of him. I mean, goodness gracious, dude. Literally, there's. There's some thinking behind the scenes that anybody can play linebacker there. Now, it's nice that you have a studded biles who can. Who could be a stud on any team in the country. But the scheme is very friendly to the linebackers. I can't emphasize that enough.

[Host]

I think the defense will be more of a boom or bust unit. I think this could. It depends on their play style. Like, if we end up with this level of aggression, games and blitzing, then naturally it's going to be boomer bust. That's like kind of the OU style or the A and M where you're going for big plays, TFLs and stuff like that. And then whenever you do occasionally miss or don't get home, then they can get explosive. But it could also be like Schuman's defense at Georgia, which is actually pretty conservative. And they're. They're just letting you get kind of two yards. Two yards. And then they're going to go after you on third. So anytime you crank up the aggressiveness, you do crank up the boomer bust factor. But I am curious to see because Muschamp was very aggressive in the spring game. Eric, it sounds like he's been aggressive. Whenever they decide to unleash him, he kind of goes in an aggressive path. Do you think that's how it's going to look in season?

[Eric]

Yeah, I think he's going to be pretty aggressive. He's always going to bring five, that's for sure. The bus, the bust concern for me is if a safety miss a run fit, you know, because you got the linebackers being really active. If safety misses the run fit, that could be six from way downtown. And we'll probably see that once, maybe twice. Who knows, you know, it's tough to be right on, on every play. And you know, you can get caught in a run and it go bad in a hurry. But overall I'm not too concerned. You know, you got a lot of experience back there. Derek. Derek is playing smarter than ever. Jelani's playing smarter than ever. That's why you want a guy crier there. You know, if you're gonna blitz crier, blitz Biles, you know, Crier kind of runs the box. From a run standpoint. I'm not super worried about it, but I do think that is a concern. Team run defense is something that must champ accounts for and the more you have guys moving around, the more it has to be played by all 11 together on the same page. So I do think that's a valid concern.

[Host]

Yeah, it's just a natural byproduct of being that aggressive too and just how it goes. But also if you're good at being that aggressive, it outweighs it. So you have a best case scenario here. This is the whole zero sum article. You can actually go read it on Inside Texas 75 off. This is what you're looking for here. The defensive line is as dominant on the field as it is on paper and how it looks in practice. I agree. That group forces offensive line cohesion in time for Ohio State and doesn't beat them so thoroughly. They don't get good reps. They still need like, you know, to get some real wins there. Facing the best D line in the country in practice is like taking the donut off the bat before heading home. That played against nearly every other team. There's value there. The secondary linebackers continue to benefit from the D line, but don't need the amount of protection they receive. They're good on their own and battle tested due to Texas's elite skill talent this next week. You've covered this a billion times. What do you expect out of this next week of practice to start here?

[Eric]

Well, I, I do think that the offense is going to have a couple good practices after this, but probably due to, you know, defense pulling back the rain some, letting them have good reps, good days, you know, you got to have good reps to, to develop. You know, it's, it's like, it's like getting used to the heat. It's great. But you know, if your practices are suffering because you're tired, it's time to go in the bubble, you know, get in some good reps. You need to get your good reps. So I do think we'll hear more about the offense having good practices, but I'll be most curious about Saturday when they scrimmage again and then again, I'll still be all right. Well, what was it like? Were they, you know, was, was, was it like a 10 out of 10 on a must champ call sheet or were they a little bit more dialed back? You know, you always have to, you always have to investigate the context.

[Host]

What are the next Steps for Arch, you think, say he's allowed to survive the pocket and start quarterbacking.

[Eric]

Just consistency on the, on the shorter throws. You know, that's, that's really all, that's really all he needs and that, you know, I don't know. Even if we hear about it in practice, it's not gonna, it's still. That's going to be one that I won't really care about until I see him do it. Live in a game, honestly. So, you know, I don't even know what the value of the practice will be. But yeah, he's got.

[Host]

It's still better to hear than not here though.

[Eric]

Well, but we didn't really hear issues about him missing short stuff last year. And yeah, like I said, the first couple practices he missed a couple throws on air that you expect a quarterback as talented as him to, to hit. You know, I still have a few. I still do have a few concerns over Arch. You know, he wasn't great at times against A M. Is he gonna have to take over games with his leg still? Obviously you like, you like to have that ability when you need it, but I don't want it to be sort of like, hey, that's why they, they won the game. You know, even that Michigan game was way too close for too long. A lot of people got excited about the blowout. Now, I don't know, Steve Sarkeesian probably prepared for that game about 50 what he normally does. He had so much going on with Portal and coaching hires and all that. But yeah, I'd rather see them. I don't want to see them win games with Arch's arm more than his legs. That's what I hope. That's what I hope we see. You know, certainly against Ohio State. I'd rather they. If they could beat Ohio State without Arch having to take over, that'd be. That'd be a really good sign for the, for the whole season.

[Host]

It's awesome that he has the break glass in case of option. Like that's. You're gonna need that in a couple games no matter what. But yeah, it can't, it can't just be arches running for 70 twice a game. It's got to be a little bit more sound with that. That's the next kind of stage that I'm looking for with Arch. Arch will be good, but that elite jump may not be what we thought in the off season. Yeah, I think that's. There's potential for that. But also he didn't play in the spring, which I know Sark downplayed that. But there you want your quarterback to play in the spring. Do sources have any thoughts on that? Maybe why the short accuracy is off? Did they think there's rust from the spring anything?

[Eric]

I haven't heard anything about that. I. I expect him to get much better this year like he. Just like he did last season.

[Host]

Yeah. It's just how quick because this schedule is not forgiving and you know, growth timeline. So I think that's a big factor. He's gonna have to play effectively early and fast.

[Eric]

Yeah. You got Ohio State coming to town and he can't have the game that he had last year. That's where you, you know, the defense sets the floor for the team. That's, you know, the defense travels. They're going to keep them in every game. You need the offense to be good to a certain level when they. When the season starts. Obviously we're not going to see a whole lot against Texas State. Probably. Hopefully they can. They're able to blow out Texas State running base outside zone and throwing it over the top. But they've got to play well versus Ohio State and that's, you know, they're. I'm glad that game's not tomorrow.

[Host]

Yeah. Any other major factors that you still need a lot more intel on that you're watching?

[Eric]

Yeah. Tight ends. I want to. I want to see. I want to hear more about the preferred usage in. Of tight ends personnel packages. Like there's going to be times that they have Nick Townsend and. And even Amari Winston out there. You know, obviously that's going to be something that they have. That's a wrinkle. We haven't heard much about 21 personnel. I tend to think that's going to be something that they break out mid season when you hit a bit of a plateau. Maybe. Maybe Sarcast writer's block when it comes to scripts and stuff like that. So he wants to infuse it. They're working that a little bit. Personnel groupings is what I care most about. Depth chart. Yeah. Where's. What are still the credible battles? You know, that's. That to me shapes what if you can figure out the personnel matchup specifically like at 11 personnel and we know what they really feel confident about running. If. If they run a lot of 12 personnel and it's Shannon and Massunas, that tells us that Townsend probably hasn't quite developed at the speed they want. If Townsend is their guy in 11 and 12, then we can probably feel good that Townsend is going to have a pretty good Breakout season.

[Host]

What do you think the true battles are? Left guard, number two safety, left guard.

[Eric]

I mean, Kobe Black's covey. Some of it isn't just for starter reps, you know, or. Or starting. But you could be starter reps with Justice Terry. You know, maybe he's going from a guy that was going to get 20 snaps to 35. You know, that would. That would say a lot. Yeah. Given that we know that the first three are going to play a ton. And I think Justice Terry is moving into that range where he's going to basically be a de facto level starter. You know, Kobe Black hearing things about them liking him in certain matchups. There's going to be games where I think he plays a lot more than perhaps others. You don't want him coming down the alley when Jaden Boss in town, but if you can protect them from that, you'd like him over the top when Dallas Wilson's outside, you know, so I mean there's going to be. There's going to be times where they really like some of these guys in. In certain games and matchups than others. I'm still trying to get an idea for all that, but yeah, Kobe Black is coming on which. Which other guys are start making noise. You know, every camp has guys that make noise. This time last year we said Grayson Littleton's going to start at nickel and people weren't believing it. I even found it hard to believe at times. Justice Terry right now is looking like a guy that's going to play a lot. I'd like to hear more about Richard Wesley since he was making a lot of noise this off season. Yeah, I mean there's. I'm looking forward to seeing.

[Host]

Still trying to figure out corner two because what didn't Roberson get a rep or was that was because Bo went to nickel. I'm trying to figure out what kind of Cade's role is that.

[Eric]

Yeah, Kate is. Kate and Bo are the starters. Okay. There's no doubt about them around their time. If they put Bo at nickel. Yeah, they might like Warren out there at corner. I mean they view. They view Warren as a. As a starter level player just like they view Xena Umiya Zulu as a starter level. Yeah. Edge. Yeah.

[Host]

It's hard to tell sometimes. Like is it a battle or are they just in a different package? And these guys get reps so we have a lot of.

[Eric]

Well, I mean if they like Masco in the slot, you know, I'm trying not to give away too much, but you just keep asking it's

[Tyler]

you wrote it.

[Eric]

It's not like. Yeah, I wrote it. I wrote it. I wrote it in a certain way. Yeah. I mean there's certain way. There's certain times they like Masco in certain places and, and Warren Roberson in certain places. You know, that's just. They got a lot of little packages and they got a lot of mouths to feed too. Man. You spend a lot of money on retention. You got to play all these guys.

[Host]

Yeah, for sure. Warren is a great athlete. It's just the dumb mental mistakes that's going to be the big thing with Roberson on that huge third down they throw the fade. They're looking for the dpi. Does he survive that? That. Because there's no question about his athleticism.

[Eric]

I have it. The funny thing is I haven't even seen like a mental mistake where he actually like made a play wrong, you know, just didn't fulfill his duty. It's always like some stupid flag.

[Host]

Yeah, but it's like. And it's not on defense. It's always been on special teams. But that is the question for Warren is like in those really high leverage moments, if they know that he commits fouls and they throw at him, who was. I can't remember. There was a giant SEC db, it wasn't A M but this last year who fouled on everything. And so he got targeted in all these fades for like free 15 yards. Eric, do you think Texas has a thousand yard rusher this year? I know Last year the 1k streak ended for running backs under Stark. You know, Sark was devastated.

[Eric]

Well, I mean he didn't act like he was too concerned about it.

[Host]

Yeah, but that was it.

[Eric]

He loved that time. He went into the season with Trey Wisner and C.J. baxter. Not off at the line that he was. It was like he was trying to end that streak. Yeah, no, I don't. I think that at least if you're talking about within the 12 game season, you know, obviously, hopefully they play so many games that people inch their way to all kinds of records. But yeah, I think, I think Smothers and Brown are going to be right around the 800 yard range. And then you know, Archel Arch is going to poach some yards. Derek Cooper's going to poach some yard. Arch is going to push more touchdowns than anything. But I, I don't think they're going to get to. I don't think they'll have a thousand yard season within the 12th game.

[Host]

I think you'll get it. I'll get Your thousand yards through all purpose, probably with Brown quickest to that. So I think if you start adding up their, their catches as well, I think you'll be good. All right, Eric Homer. I think Ohio State are coping down playing how big of a loss Downs recent styles will be this year in our matchup. I thought Downs was one of the most intelligent players I've ever seen. He looked like that as a freshman too. So I am weary of that because Ohio State does reload, but they had such elite talent that you, you can't replace those three. You're gonna have to do something in aggregate. And then also they let Downs play such a unique role on the defense that he pretty much had total freedom to kind of. He was like Troy Palomalu out there. You only get that with a special minded player. So now you're going to have a scheme that's not as intuitive. You're not going to have a safety that's able to kind of matrix the game like that.

[Eric]

Yeah, they. You talk about force multipliers. That's. Those three guys were forced multipliers. They, you know, and they don't have the same path Rush either. So they've got a lot of. They got a lot of questions, particularly earlier in the season. They're talented, you know, and they've upgraded talent in some places too. Devin Sanchez is better than Igba Nelson. I'm not sure how to say his name, but Devin Sanchez is better than that guy or more talented, but he's still relatively young. Downplaying those losses is crazy to me. All three of those. Imagine if next year we were downplaying the loss of the four guys that Texas has projected to go in the top 12. I mean that would be insane.

[Host]

Yeah, we're like Colin Simmons is. He was. Whatever man. We can make it work. The funniest part is that will undoubtedly happen among the fans.

[Eric]

In some ways I think Richard Wesley's actually going to be better than Collins.

[Host]

You're gonna have some of that, but I do think that's a factor. But most importantly, just how Downs was able to like control the field. And I said that in the pre game last year. It's like once they lose him, it's a different feeling. Defense. All right, Eric, what kind of is the plan this week? You said a scrimmage Saturday, but do you know, kind of the layout yet for practices?

[Eric]

They practice today, tomorrow. I think Wednesday or maybe Wednesday. I don't know. I don't have the schedule in front of me. Uh, but you know, All I know is we have practice notes up about as quick as. As we possibly can after practice. You know, we do our best. It's tough to get notes, but yeah, we'll have an update after every single one. They. They're in, you know, they're in pretty good depth. Again, we're. We're hunting context. We want to understand why. Not, not necessarily who so and so made a catch is fun and fun and all. We like to hear that, but we want to know why it happened. You know, why did. Hey, that sounds great. Sounds like Arch had time to throw it, you know, or what was the defensive line doing on that player who was in coverage. And you know, we try to learn as much about that as we can.

[Host]

Absolutely. The context matters. Guys, head over to Inside Texas. You will get those practice reports as soon as they drop for our fall camp sale. 75% off. Link in the description. If you want to know this team inside and out, you need to get the 2026 Longhorn football prospectus. Thinking Texas football by Paul Wilmington. I believe it's the 14th year, Eric.

[Eric]

They have flown by, man. You know, it's. They have flown by. I don't. I don't know how he does it every year.

[Host]

Dude, he gave himself perpetual annual homework. He's a victim of his own success there. I know it stresses him the hell out, but it's worth it for us. So thank you, Paul, everyone. This was brought to you by Academy Sports and Outdoors. And stay locked in for the rest of the shows. Coming at you today. See you.