Texas Fall Camp Day 2 Report: Standouts, Notes & Takeaways

Summary

Inside Texas Football: Texas Fall Camp Day 2 Report – Standouts, Notes & Takeaways

August 6, 2026
Host: Evan Veith
Guest: Eric Naleen

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the Texas Longhorns’ second day of Fall Camp 2026, focusing on player performances, position battles, and coaching dynamics. Hosts Evan Veith and Eric Naleen offer an on-the-ground perspective, breaking down standout players by position, excellent practice moments, and emerging storylines that will define the Longhorns’ season. The tone is conversational, detailed, and packed with honest assessments drawn from first-hand camp access.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Quarterbacks (00:54 – 02:32)

• Arch Manning headlines the group, but KJ Lacy’s accuracy stands out among all QBs.
  • “Accuracy-wise, KJ Lacy's been the best on the team so far.” — Evan (00:54)
  • “He puts it on the spot. It was really impressive back to back days for him... you can see why they made comparisons to Bryce Young.” — Eric (01:44)
• No pass rush in current drills—evaluations focused on mechanics.
• Arch Manning looked more assertive and threw a memorable deep ball to Cam Coleman.
  • “We both caught video of him throwing a bomb to Coleman. That was good to see.” — Eric (02:09)
• Diabell (QB3) showed comfort hitting tight ends over the middle.

Running Backs (02:32 – 04:22, 12:14 – 13:41)

• Derek Cooper (freshman) draws rave reviews for downhill running and shiftiness.
  • “Cooper’s twitchiness and the way he just moves real effortlessly... he pops out to me.” — Evan (03:08)
  • “He's got that shiftiness side to side. Lateral agility – it's kind of subtle, but it's there.” — Eric (03:08)
• Hollywood Smothers and Raleigh Brown bring energy and fun to the group.
  • “Brown... seems kind of like the minister of fun on this offense.” — Evan (03:39)
• Running back depth:
  • Cooper locked in as likely RB3; he’s expected to play more than Michael Terry and James Simon.
  • “Cooper's going to play a lot. Cooper's going to play more than Terry... Those reps are probably going to earn more reps as the season goes on.” — Eric (12:50)
  • Varied running styles offer versatility but outside/inside zone remains a staple of the run game.

Wide Receivers (04:22 – 05:38)

• Cam Coleman shines as a complete receiver—route running, blocking, and deep threat capabilities.
  • “He’s a complete receiver and we love everything we’re hearing about it.” — Eric (05:03)
  • Potential Top 10 NFL pick level talent.
• Cohen Brown consistently impresses and is projected as a future major contributor.
• Minor drops in slot WR group (Emmett Mosley, Dalen McCutcheon), but improvement over Day 1.
  • “Overall, it was a cleaner day for the quarterbacks, which... was a cleaner day for the wide receivers.” — Eric (05:38)
• Jermaine Bishop getting snaps in the slot—a storyline to watch.

Tight Ends & Coaching (06:01 – 06:49, 11:18 – 11:43)

• Steve Casula (new staff, Michigan background) brings hands-on energy to tight ends, especially in blocking drills.
  • “Michael Massunas was teach tape here. Casula continued to say, that's how you do it.” — Evan (06:14)
• Nick Towns demonstrates standout power; Amari Winston provides pass-catching upside.
• No clear cut top TE: Rotation likely among Shannon, Massunas, Towns, and Winston depending on personnel and play calls.
  • “They all have strengths... They're going to mix and match. The true guy has not emerged.” — Eric (11:43)

Offensive Line (07:23 – 09:51)

• Melvin Siani (RT) dominates—called a “mauler” with quick feet and immense power, possibly best run blocker on the team.
  • “…moved about 10 yards backwards before Siani was done with it. Just a Mauler in the run game.” — Evan (07:23)
• Jordan Coleman (underrated recruit) and Andre Kojo (getting looks at LG) are emerging as reliable depth/possible future starters.
  • “We've been hearing good things about Coleman... you want clarity about the future, the depth of competition of the position.” — Eric (08:48)
• Depth chart still fluid: Coaches rotating players to assess combinations; Kojo’s performance at LG noted as especially promising.
  • “If you started picking out the five that you would want to play just on how they look, Kojo would be one of those five.” — Eric (09:23)

Defensive Line & Edge (13:41 – 14:55)

• Jamari Carlton & Orogbo highlighted as breakout edge rushers; both possess long arms, added bulk, and promising technique.
  • “Carlton’s going to carry 290 comfortably, maybe more in his older years. I really like his build.” — Eric (13:57)
  • “Rogbo... put on a lot of muscle for that build type. Really like the way they're looking, that the whole team looks bigger and stronger.” — Eric (13:57)
  • Rogbo flashed on limited snaps as a freshman; high ceiling in year two.

Linebackers (15:09 – 15:55)

• Tyler Atkinson had a standout day, hitting the sled hard and showing physicality.
  • “He was one of the first guys out there hitting the sled and really getting after it. What you want to see.” — Eric (15:20)
  • Acclimating after a learning-heavy spring; depth chart progress will be monitored.

Defensive Backs & Coaching (15:55 – 18:32)

• Safety room: Jelani (leadership emerging), Michael Taft (noted leader), Derrick Williams, McDonald—all pushing for major roles.
  • “Jelani's an interesting leader... he took charge of him today.” — Eric (16:10)
  • Moment noted between Sark and Derrick Williams—mutual encouragement.
• Wardell Mack didn’t participate in drills; had an interception the previous day.
• More man coverage likely
  • “There’s going to be man coverage... If those safeties are going to have to help in coverage, that’s going to open up the run game…” — Eric (18:32)
• Mark Stoops (consultant role): Working with DBs, but not vocal—behind-the-scenes presence, mostly video and coaching points.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On KJ Lacy:
  “He’s been the most accurate…It was really impressive back to back days for him…” — Eric (01:44)

• On Cam Coleman:
  “Complete receiver…love everything we’re hearing…catch those deep balls…top 10 pick.” — Eric (05:03)

• On the OL’s development:
  “If you started picking out the five that you would want to play just on how they look, Kojo would be one of those five.” — Eric (09:23)

• On the competitive energy of transfers:
  “Why not have fun? Why not be loose? Why not just come out here and compete and work hard?... Those guys are attacking their opportunity.” — Eric (04:02)

• On the safety position:
  “I like where that safety room’s going…expect a good year out of the safeties.” — Eric (16:10)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:54 — Quarterback breakdown and KJ Lacy’s accuracy
• 03:08 — Derek Cooper’s emergence at running back
• 04:22 — Wide receiver standouts; Cam Coleman and Cohen Brown
• 06:14 — Tight ends’ coaching and technique (Casula, Massunas)
• 07:23 — O-Line highlights: Siani and the young depth
• 09:51 — O-line depth chart fluidity and Andre Kojo’s reps
• 12:14 — Running back rotation and scheme discussion
• 13:41 — D-Line/Edge notes: Carlton, Orogbo
• 15:20 — Linebackers: Tyler Atkinson thudding in drills
• 16:10 — Defensive backs and safety room leadership
• 17:52 — Mark Stoops’ role on the defensive staff
• 18:32 — More man coverage expected from DBs

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Final Takeaways

• KJ Lacy is pushing Arch Manning at QB with consistent accuracy.
• Freshman RB Derek Cooper is positioning as RB3 and should earn meaningful touches.
• Cam Coleman looks every bit the elite receiving prospect, with a versatile game.
• O-Line depth and physicality are strengths, especially with Melvin Siani and rising players like Kojo and Coleman.
• Defensive edge rush and secondary both look bigger, stronger, and deeper than prior years.
• Coaching additions (Casula, Stoops) are creating tangible improvements in technique and preparation.

For ongoing updates, listeners are encouraged to check back with Inside Texas for practice recaps, in-depth reporting, and exclusive team insights.

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Listen to the full episode for more insider analysis and to keep up with the latest from Texas Longhorns Fall Camp.

Transcript

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[Evan Veith]

for a Reese's welcome to the Inside Texas YouTube channel. It live presented by insidetexas.com Evan Veith here with Eric Naleen right after day two of Texas Fall Camp. Another hot day here in Austin, but got a lot of good information about this Longhorn team. Before we get into it, Eric, make sure you're going over to insidetexas.com and checking out arguably the best promo we've ever had. 75 off your first year. If you're a new member for this Fall camp cell, read everything that Eric, Justin Tyler and I are writing about this team as well as everyone else. And of course check out Paul's book Thinking Texas football, the 2026 Longhorn football prospectus. Go buy that. Go check it out Eric. Day two concluded another kind of short window for us media, but got a lot of looks at the offense in particular I think for the both of us and a lot of just good energy from the team today. Let's start at the quarterbacks and of course Arch Manning is the big topic, but I think we both agreed that accuracy wise, KJ Lacy's been the best on the team so far.

[Eric Naleen]

Yeah, he's been the most accurate. I thought Arch looked better than he did yesterday as far as accuracy, but KJ it's just pinpoint, man. He puts it on the spot. It was really impressive back to back days for him of course. Look, there's no pass rush. He's not having to evade people in the pocket, which Arch was exceptional at last year. So it's, it's just not real football. But I'm telling you against Eric, that guy looks the real deal, man. You can see why they made comparisons to Bryce Young to him and why people have been so high on him this summer.

[Evan Veith]

I'm.

[Eric Naleen]

I'm really happy for KJ Arch. Arch definitely had some good throws. You know, we saw. We both. I think we both caught video of him throwing a bomb to Coleman. Yeah, that was good to see. Again, Arch looked a little bit more assertive today. I didn't catch a whole lot of Diabell. You know, I saw the running back or the quarterbacks doing handoff drills and stuff. I was focused more on the running backs at that time. But again, KJ looks great, but that's not to say anything that is negative about Archbishop.

[Evan Veith]

Yeah, I think it's just good press for KJ Lacy, who I think we've done a good job of making sure, like, this is QB2 on this roster. And this is a guy who deserves to have kind of his flowers after a good first year in the program. Now, year two really stepping up. And. And I thought Diabell, I mean, I got, you know, not the main guy you're looking at, had some good throws kind of over the middle to tight ends especially. That's where he was doing well, leading the passers. But let's go over to the running backs, as you pointed out. And for me, Eric, you know, this is a name that keeps getting brought up and a guy who. Who we're hearing a lot of good stuff about his freshman year. But it's hard not to notice Derek Cooper's twitchiness and the way he just moves real effortlessly every handoff and easily he pops out to me, even with Bradley Brown and Hollywood Smothers on his team.

[Eric Naleen]

Yep, I got a good look at the running backs today. I said yesterday I didn't get a look. Good look. I take my time on him today and I did that. Yeah, he's got that really good. He's a downhill runner first and foremost, but he's got that shiftiness side to side. Lateral agility. It's kind of subtle, but it's there and it's a big thing. It keeps people from hitting him square, tackling them square. The shiftiness at his size and the downhill velocity he creates. If you bring an arm tackle to it, you might get your shoulder dislocated. He's coming downhill with authority, but again, he's got that evasiveness to him that you just don't expect out of somebody his size.

[Evan Veith]

Really good clip there of Hollywood Smothers. That lateral movement he's got in his agility. And even Ryan Niblett carrying the ball right there. I think what really stood out to me as well in that running back room was actually not when they were carrying the ball, but I saw Raleigh Brown when they're doing warm ups, dancing around, having fun. He and Smothers have this great relationship going on and, and I. He just seems kind of like the minister of fun on this offense. Something to note at least because that's kind of guys you want to bring in from the portal. They're actually bringing energy like that.

[Eric Naleen]

Yeah. I mean look at the lease on life these guys have. There's nothing wrong with going to Arizona State and NC State. I would have cut my arm off to play college football at one of them. But you're. You go from that to play for a national championship contender under the spotlight. You know, the NFL scouts are all over you. Why not have fun? Why not be loose? Why not just come out here and compete and work hard? I mean it's. Those guys are attacking their opportunity. Love to see it.

[Evan Veith]

Yeah. Wide receivers, let's talk about them. We both mentioned it. Getting deep balls which you're seeing on the screen right now. Another good day for Cohen Brown in my opinion. He just continues to impress. So, so clearly going to be a guy that matters for the Texas Longhorns at some point. But Cam Coleman on the deep ball, it was connecting with Arch and it was really, it was pretty effortless just up there and not a lot of slowing down for Coleman. It really landed right where he was at.

[Eric Naleen]

Yeah. You know we haven't done a video since I posted intel. You know yesterday we got a window, 15 minute window and we all had until everybody did. But this morning I posted from behind the curtain what we couldn't see and Cam Coleman was mentioned for his route running. We've talked about his blocking. So when you put it all together, there's really no, no shortage in his game. And then you see the deep. I can't believe I actually caught a decent usable video.

[Evan Veith]

No thumb.

[Eric Naleen]

Yeah, I was really happy myself. I can't believe I didn't delete it trying to send it to. But yeah, he's a complete receiver and we love everything we're hearing about it. But then also he's here to catch those deep balls. Obviously it's on air, don't get too excited. But we know he can do it. It's in his game. It's the reason why it's being talked about as a top 10 pick.

[Evan Veith]

And we noted yesterday that there was a little bit of that, that rust Some drops from the wide receiver core and really the only ones that we noticed were coming from the slot. Emmett Mosley tripped on accident. Felt like that's not really a drop, it's just turf candy. Dylan McCutcheon had one Jermaine Bishop working in the slot exclusively from what we saw. Of course they change it around throughout practice, but true slot snaps for him with these on air throws.

[Eric Naleen]

Well, I didn't see him in slots, so I'm excited to see that. I've been talking about it all, all offseason, waiting for it to happen and that was good to hear. The McCutcheon drop, I saw that actually. Dalen, you better bail me out, man. I've been talking about you. But he was looking up field and you know you shouldn't be looking up field in this drill because you're not going to get tackled. But he was looking up field. Overall, it was a cleaner day for the quarterbacks, which I, you know, probably part in parson with. Why it was a cleaner day for the wide receivers tight ends.

[Evan Veith]

I got a real close look at it and this has kind of been an underrated addition, but I really liked what I saw from Steve Casula, who's remembers the assistant offensive coordinator at Michigan has kind of been their interim head coach for two of the last years with. With some of the things that have been going on in the portal.

[Eric Naleen]

So why do they always need an interim coach? Why do they always need an interim coach?

[Evan Veith]

Yeah, he's done it twice and he's really. It's funny with these, with so many new staffers being allowed on, he can kind of be the hands on guy while Jeff Banks is looking at. Of course Jeff Banks is screaming at his guys, but Casula was doing a lot of that hands on training. And I was especially locked in with these blocking drills and I know it's not the sexiest thing to talk about, but Michael Massunas was teach tape here. I mean he was. Casulla continued to say that's how you do it. Look at what Mike Massunas is doing. And he was doing it well with technique. Nick Towns and the power is so. It's so evident there. He was really moving the guys back and you know they're holding a weighted ball and it's his teammates, but it still really popped out to me.

[Eric Naleen]

Well, you can see when guys come off with urgency and special intent and Massunus, that's what you were brought to do here is block. And you know there's probably some big ten loyalty between the Michigan coach and The Michigan State player there. But yeah, that's what Massunas was brought in. You know, I love it when I have to look at my roster and go, hey, who the hell was that? And I had to do that on a rep for Charlie Jalek on a just a crossing route. I'm like, I didn't know he's big obviously. So I knew he was a scholarship player. Haven't paid too much attention to him. He brought in sort of be a Spencer Shan, Michael Massunas inline guy. But there was evidence on his tape of some athleticism and I saw that today, so that was good. You always want a little confirmation of the high school take.

[Evan Veith]

Yeah, definitely. And it's Shannon. Sometimes you forget that he's truly 6 foot 7 out there. He's a giant. And I think the blocking game is going to work well for this group. It's just about combining that all with the pass catching ability and that will come. We both got a really good look at the O line today. Eric up in that kind of top part of the field. And I think the name that stood out the most, Melvin Siani. Melvin Siani. Melvin Siani. I saw a drill, you know, they bark out, outside zone. The right tackle is expected to kind of move to this right laterally and push. The other offensive lineman who was holding the pad moved about 10 yards backwards before Siani was done with it. Just a Mauler in the run game. He definitely looks above £317.

[Eric Naleen]

Yeah, I'm looking at the same things I'm looking for in the defensive lineman. The quick, quick feet. And he showed quick feet in the run drills. And when you're that big and that powerful, if you got quick feet, you're going to get to where you need to and you're going to have an advantage over the defensive tackle. And it's hard to believe that he's 317. I'm not sure I do, but that's possible given the fact that he's not carrying a lot of bad weight. Some guys, sometimes players are way less when they're not carrying bad weights. A lot of muscle. His BMI is pretty dang good for a right tackle and I like it. Yeah, he's got, he's got power in his hands and quick feet and you can see why. You know, we've been hearing good things about him as a run blocker. You know, one source last week before practice started said he's probably the best run blocker on the team. And if you're better than Trevor Goosby you know, we'll take that and you

[Evan Veith]

know who I'll also add in that equation kind of working right behind him is Jordan Coleman. I thought we continue to hear good things about Coleman. It's just kind of these underrated three star recruits who are really getting up into the ranks and I think he's going to be a player that makes an impact sometime soon.

[Eric Naleen]

Devin caught my eye to both Coleman's. We've been talking about him. It's, you know, it's not, it's not a this year thing but tuck it away. We've been hearing good things about Coleman and you like that because you know, after the last few years you want clarity about the future, the depth of competition of the position. I think they're in good hands with having guys like Coleman on the roster.

[Evan Veith]

Some notes on the interior backup center was Jackson Christian today. A thing we saw the other day. Dylan Sikorsky taking some reps there as well. Left guard. From my point of view, Dylan Sikorski was kind of the starter which you know, take these with a grain of salt. We said that Jane Chapman was taking kind of the first reps forward but it was he and Baker together right there. So note that Andre Kojo as well, Eric was getting some left guard reps.

[Eric Naleen]

Well that's ties right into my. Jermaine Bishop been reporting all year waiting for it to go for him to take slot. We're waiting for Kojo to get some looks to the left guard. But also keep in mind, you know, as we reported in the intel this morning, there's a whole lot of depth chart moving, you know, up and down. There's no rhyme or reason to a lot of it. Guys are just, I think the coaches are just giving every chance, every player a chance to win reps and. But Kojo at left guard, I mean if you started picking out the five that you would want to play just on how they look, Kojo would be one of those five.

[Evan Veith]

Yeah, really impressive building unfortunately with the injury, but we're past that and now he's really kind of pushing for some spots on there and you know, left guard is one that clearly is open. But worst case, like your backup left tackle 6 guy on the O line, that's what you're looking for. We're going to toss over David McClellan for a second before we get back to you with the defense.

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[Eric Naleen]

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[Evan Veith]

we got a few comments from about the offense in the comment section manuals asking about the tight end packing or I think my answer would be I just it's not going to fully reveal a 1234 from our looks right now and and that's just how it's going to be until we get later on the camp. I would say probably it's a top three with Shannon Massuna's Townsend kind of however you want to mix it in with Amari Winston right behind. But I think we've been talking about 11 personnel is really up in there who that number one will be in 12. It's going to be all three of them.

[Eric Naleen]

Well I mean they all have strengths and you know not you know not really really weaknesses. But what do you want to lean into? If Sark wants to lean into the run game he's probably going to have Shannon and Massunas out there. But if you want a dynamic but but again if you want a dynamic blocker coming across the the formation in split zone which they run a lot you might want that hammer Nick Townsend coming across too down blocker you're going to want Shannon 11 personnel you're looking for a receiving threat that's going to be Townsend or or or Amari Winston. So it's they're going to mix and match. The true guy is not emerged. That's one of the themes we've been covering over the summer. We'll see what the rest of August brings us.

[Evan Veith]

And a few different comments about the running back room. Would you say Cooper might play more than Michael Terry this year, James Simon getting a mention here. How much is he going to get? Some run in. Then Robert asks, you know, should we expect a different run game with the running backs? And, you know, I'm not sure how different it's going to look because Steve Sarkeesian has types of plays he wants. We know outside zone is an important part of this concept. I would say right away, Derek Cooper probably I would have as the RB3 right now, and I think over Terry and Simon. But with the type of players that we have in that top three, right. Cooper, true freshman, Brown, someone who hasn't taken a true bulk that much and smothers, there's definitely a lot of chances for those four or five guys to get touches throughout the year. Just keep them fresh.

[Eric Naleen]

Cooper's going to play a lot. Cooper's going to play a lot. Cooper's going to play more than Terry. Terry still. Terry's still trying to carve out his role again. If you just went by practice and on air, when Michael Terry goes downhill, it's a beautiful thing. It's big, strong, fast. But he's still looking. You know, he's not the most natural running back. Running backs are born. That's the common saying about the position. That's feet, balance, vision. That's what we're talking about.

[Evan Veith]

The feet.

[Eric Naleen]

The feet of Derek Cooper are very good for a running back built like him. Derek Cooper's going to earn reps early, and then those reps are probably going to earn more reps as the season goes on. As far as the run game, outside zone, some inside zone, and that split zone we're talking about, where the tight end comes across the formation, creates a cutback lane. You still want a good blocker there. But the blocking is different than down blocking. I like Nick Townsend in that setting where he can build up some momentum. And then which running back is the most natural at finding the cutback lane? Because there's going to be a lot of money to be found there. That's. That could be Hollywood Smothers.

[Evan Veith]

Yeah. Fair point. Let's move over to the defense. Eric and we talked a lot about the D line yesterday. That's really what we were keyed in on. I know we mentioned quite a few names. Justice Terry, looking good. Richard Wesley is a favorite of yours. Two edge rushes that you told me before we got on that were really catching your attention were Carlton and Orogbo.

[Eric Naleen]

Yeah, we've got nothing else to do but watch them come off the bus. And you still shake your head at Watching Jamari and Carlton now, you know, Jamarion came onto the recruiting scene as a, as a pure pass rusher. He was a longer, leaner, and what I thought at the time was a more narrow guy. Narrow is going to depend on how much weight you ultimately carry. He's widened out, gotten taller and longer and I think he's going to carry 290 plus eventually. Some have talked about Alfred Collins, different body type than Alfred. Alfred was, was a bigger dude in general, bigger frame in general. But Carlton's going to carry 290 comfortably, maybe more in his older years. I really like his build. And then Arago, you know, he's a longer, leaner guy. Nobody's going to really break out of what their build is meant to be, but he's put on a lot of muscle for that build type. Really like the way they're looking, that the whole team looks bigger and stronger. I mean, we could have talked about the offensive line for another five minutes, probably just on the way they're built.

[Evan Veith]

Yeah, naming every name and just pointing out how much a lot of people moving when we were looking at the run game stuff. And yeah, Roguebow really flashed in like the very few, maybe 21 snaps he had last year, I believe one of the out of conference games in a really nice sack. So just guys keep your eyes out on, you know, Rogbo year two and then Carlton and that comes around either

[Eric Naleen]

early this year, two guys with long arms. Long arms plus strength and good technique with your hands. It's a huge advantage that you have over the offensive lineman. I really, you know, I, I think this, the staff hits on their evaluation more often than not. Some of these guys just need a little bit more development than others. Yeah, definitely.

[Evan Veith]

Linebacker. Let's talk about it. A name that we, you know, didn't really get to mention yesterday. Kind of a quieter day of fall camp and the little bit that we got to see. But Tyler Atkinson, you said was thudding in these practice drills.

[Eric Naleen]

Yeah, absolutely. Hitting the sled hard. He was one of the first guys out there hitting the sled and really getting after it. What you want to see. We've talked about him having a good summer, you know, sort of an acclimation period during the spring. Tough position, head swimming a little bit. Worked through it this summer. And yeah, he's attacking the field. We're really excited to hear if he can start moving up that depth chart a little bit. Of course, you know, we're seeing Miles is an absolute stud. Didn't watch the linebackers Overall, too much. Focused a little bit more on offense. We spent a lot of time on defense yesterday, but we like the early word from Atkinson. I talked to a couple other bystanders that. That watched that side of the ball more than I did, and a couple people named him as well.

[Evan Veith]

Yeah, dbs. Let's go over that first. I will mention that Wardell Mack, from at least what we saw was not participating in drills. Samari Matthews, the guy we already reported on, taking the sideline, so a little bit thinner of a group, but I think especially the safety room is one that we keyed in on yesterday. And you have even more thoughts on it today.

[Eric Naleen]

Yeah, Jelani was sort of taking the. The role from Arch of getting the team pumped up beforehand. You know, Jelani's. Jelani's an interesting leader. He is a leader, but he's. It's not really his nature to go out there and be. He's not Michael Taft. Right. Not many people are. But he took charge of him today. Obviously. Tremendous upside. There was also a moment when Sarkin and Derrick Williams were talking one to one, and it was more like just a really. I don't know if it's a pep talk. It was really encouraging on both ends. Both had. Both were really energetic in the conversation. Yeah, I, I like. I like where that safety room's going. I like how the scheme sets up the safeties to make a whole lot of tackle. A whole lot of plays on the ground and plays in the air. They get to kind of freelance a little bit. If everybody else is matched up how much Champ wants them. Expect a good year out of the safeties. Didn't see much out of the corners, but man, we feel really good about that position. Wardell Mac, I should say, I think he tweeted something about him getting a little bit of a chewing from my chant. Well, circle back. This is why we circle back. If you just watch that tweet and said, oh, man, he had a rough practice. Well, come to find out during the team portion where El Mac had an interception yesterday. So it's not all bad.

[Evan Veith]

Yeah, I don't think John Meredith was. Was dealing with as much of the stuff on the sideline today, at least. Hopefully not. We was probably not.

[Eric Naleen]

There was probably nothing left.

[Evan Veith]

Exactly.

[Eric Naleen]

He was having broth for lunch.

[Evan Veith]

We reported yesterday, you know, Kobe Black I thought was the best looking safety of that group. And now you bought it, brought it in like, you know, these were two other starters who maybe we weren't talking about as much, but Clearly Williams and McDonald. I mean, these are the top guys in that room and yet you've got that depth of JJR as well. Jonah Williams, when he kind of ramps up. Let's get back to some of the questions. Eric Stoops. You know, I had the tweet about him yesterday about how he was at practice for the first time and you know, I didn't get a chance to really look at him today. Yesterday he was definitely taking kind of a hands off approach just looking at how Mark Orfeh and Blake Gideon and especially Will Muschamp were conducting practice. What do you see his role most likely being this year, Eric?

[Eric Naleen]

Yeah, just an extra set of eyes, a trusted set of eyes. He's had some good defenses, of course, his defensive backs are his background. He's been working with the safeties quite a bit. But he's not going to be out there a rah rah guy in practice. He doesn't, he's not there to step on any toes. These guys know, you know, you can't, you can't be a leader if you haven't led before. He know, he knows he has to take a bit of a back seat to the main guys. It's their job to coach him up and then afterwards they'll pick his brain. He'll go over video with them and, and give them some coaching points. But yeah, he's not going to be a real vocal guy in practice. A lot of his work is going to be behind the scenes and then during games I expect him up in the press box relaying down what he's seeing.

[Evan Veith]

Definitely. Let's do one more question that Robert's got here. All the superlatives being used to the defensive backs. More man coverage this year, Eric?

[Eric Naleen]

Well, yeah, there's going to be man coverage. And again, when we just talked about the safeties having the ability to freelance rob, you know, play the run downhill with reckless abandon. That's because there's confidence that the corners are going to be able to hold up outside. If those safeties are going to have to help up help on the outside and in coverage, then that's going to, that's going to open up the run game to break some big runs which they can't afford. So the first things first, those corners have to match up one on one. Then you've got your safeties that kind of play a backup role to the linebackers.

[Evan Veith]

We'll be talking to Steve sarkeesian in about 30 minutes. Get you more info on that on the Inside Texas YouTube channel before we go make sure you're going over to Inside Texas and checking out that awesome deal we were talking about earlier and in the show. 75% off your first year. Help Dave McClellan out a little bit. New Members only deal for Fall camp is a great, great promo and of course Inside Thinking Texas Football by Paul Waddington. The best book about Texas, best preview you can get out there. Eric, thanks so much for coming on. Hope you guys have a good rest of your day and keep looking over for insidetexas.com for the best reports you can find on Texas football and fall camp. We'll see you next time.

[Eric Naleen]

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