Bedford talks players stepping up on defense

AUSTIN — Spring training is typically when a handful of lettermen spring forward.

Here’s the short list, on Vance Bedford’s side of the ball, of those who are now standing head-and-shoulder-pads above the rest:

LB Anthony Wheeler, Nickel P.J. Locke, CB Davante Davis, DT Poona Ford and DT Chris Nelson.

“Those guys have taken a major step from a year ago,” Bedford said. “That’s not saying that other guys have not, but those guys have shown a lot in picking things up and it shows in how they practice.”

If there is a first-and-among equals among the rising stars, it would be Wheeler. He played in all 12 games last season as a true freshman while logging starts against Kansas State and Baylor.

“Wheeler has taken gigantic steps,” said Bedford. “When you look for a linebacker with physical and mental toughness, you see Wheeler doing those things. When we pass-drop, Wheeler’s been in the right spots.”

Keep an eye out for DT Jake McMillon. Bedford described the RS-sophomore as a fighter, a scrapper, and a technician.

“He’s a guy who takes coaching. He’s a guy who does the details of the game the way the details need to be played. He’s battling, he’s fighting, and he’s not getting knocked off the ball. When we get, he’s getting penetration. It’s exciting to see what Jake has done for us.”

Then, there’s the otherwise-talented players whose game still lacks at least one key ingredient. Case-in-point: a pair of Longhorn safeties.

Jason Hall, in 18 career starts, has been a “big hitter” and has “done a great job of stripping the ball” the past two practices, Bedford said. Now, it’s time for Hall to take the great leap forward.

“The next step for him is understanding the game. He cannot rely on (Dylan) Haines to get him aligned. (Hall) now needs to have an idea about what to do, how to fit the run and how to read your keys. He’s had a good spring and is headed in the right direction.”

The same can be said of S DeShon Elliott. His seven appearances as a true freshman unveiled a raw talent who is as apt to bring the wood as he is to play out of position.

“(Elliott) has the most confidence of anyone you’re ever going to see. In tight quarters, he is going to knock your helmet off. The question is: can he get lined up? If he can’t get aligned, I’m going to be asking him to give me grape Gatorade on game day. It’s not high school where you fly around and hit somebody. You need to get aligned and making checks. Otherwise we’re going to be drinking Gatorade together. That’s where he is right now. I’m not into the guys who think they know. They need to show they know it. Show me what you can do by getting into the right alignment and making the right checks. If he does those things, he will play.”

The defense has dialed-up a steady diet of blitzes and stunts this spring, in part, because it’s Bedford’s M.O. It also reveals just how desperate Bedford is for an honest pass-rush. In fact, he thought long-and-hard Wednesday when asked to name his best pass-rusher. Turns out, he couldn’t.

“I’m still waiting for one of those guys to say ‘I’m your guy,” he said. “We don’t have a guy who’s showing me that right now. Right now, we’re not getting close to the quarterback. I say, ‘Somebody, please, just show up.’ We’re waiting for a guy to show up. We didn’t have that guy last year either, and that’s part of the issue.”

The closest might be OLB Breckyn Hager. In fact, Hager has run some plays with his hand in the dirt because Bedford he may be natural at DE.

“The quarterback better look out because Hager’s coming full speed ahead. Hager is one of our best blitzers. He’s got a long way to go as far as pass-drops but, as far as run-fits and as far as blitzing, he’s our best blitzer. He played defensive end in high school, so he has some pass-rushing skills. We find ways to get him to rush the passer because he’s caused some havoc.”

Bedford put Hager in a three-point stance and unleashed him when the defense struggled in Tuesday’s goal-line scrimmage.

“We put him at defensive end and, oh my goodness, that’s how it was supposed to look,” Bedford gushed. “That’s his spot. He plays with reckless abandon. We need to find what he does (best), and let him go do it.”

As expected, LB Malik Jefferson has assumed the mantle of leadership. However, Bedford recently informed his troops that Texas needs more than one, and that leadership has as much to do with what happens off-the-field as he does on.

“If you look around and no one’s following you, then you’re not a leader,” Bedford told them. “We’re looking for guys at each position to stand up.”

Bedford revealed a bias: he expects leadership to emerge primarily from the linemen. Simply put: size matters.

“When you see the big guys step-up and become the leaders of your team, then you see a team that’s ready to take off.”

The lettermen currently dotting the 2-Deep up-front are not “naturally big”, Bedford noted, but that is in contrast to the incoming class. Three (Chris Daniels, Jordan Elliott, Gerald Wilbon) of the five linemen inked weighed 300+ on Signing Day, while D’Andre Christmas-Giles was not far from the pace at 292).

“If you’re 300 pounds, you will play for us this season as a true freshman. Why? Because you’re big…They can hold the point because of their weight,so those guys will come in and play. To be honest, I expect those guys to play 20 snaps per game. I’m not talking about the fourth quarter. I’m talking about the first-quarter and second-quarter. We need them today. We don’t need them six weeks from now. We don’t them a year from now. We need them to come and play for us right now.”

For Bedford, the operative word is “urgency.” The current “sense of urgency” is one that he reiterated during Wednesday’s media availability and one that he stresses during spring drills. Part of it has to do with coming off consecutive losing seasons; it also has to do with repping against what’s shaping up as the most up-tempo offense in program history. Bedford’s unit, coming off the statistically worst season in school history, has nowhere to go but up.

“The expectation, for The University of Texas, is to be dominant and win championships. That’s the expectations. Period. Are we there right now? No. Have we done it the past two years? Of course, we have not. But that’s the direction we’re heading in right now.”