Coach's Corner: Texas Longhorns spring game takeaways
A Texas-Ex and former graduate assistant for the Longhorns, Bryan Erwin led La Marque to two state championships as head coach in 2003 and 2006. Prior to hanging up his whistle, Erwin also served as head coach at Flower Mound Marcus, Hillsboro and Italy. Erwin is now in private business in Central Texas, and is writing a new column for Inside Texas. We hope you enjoy The Coach’s Corner.
Overall, I liked what I saw from the Texas Longhorns spring game. I attended the game and later watched the recorded LHN broadcast.
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Let’s start with the QB battle. I thought both QBs played well. If I had to decide today, I would go with Quinn Ewers. His feet tell the story. They are incredibly quiet, swift, and confident while in the pocket. His throwing release reminds me a lot of Aaron Rodgers. It comes out with heat and finesse while appearing to throw with little effort. The number one reason why I would go with Ewers is his incredible deep ball.
I would like to see Ewers carry the ball higher, closer to shoulder-height, in his pre-pass posture. He had the ball at his ribs during the spring game. He has a quick release, but I believe carrying the ball higher would improve his release and accuracy even more.
Ja‘Tavion Sanders is a beast at tight end. The catch inside the 10-yard line was remarkable. He has great body control and is confident catching the ball with his hands. His length and athleticism will make him unstoppable. Regarding the strip/fumble, he will learn from it. Great defenses are always attacking the ball looking for a turnover, and luckily Sanders has had this learning experience during Spring practice and not in a game this Fall.
Isaiah Neyor is a game changer. He gives Texas a big boost as a perimeter blocker, possession receiver, and constant deep threat. His deep threat is sexy, but his ability to block for RPOs will boost the run game immensely. This is something we did not have last year.
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The defense seemed to show improvement. Last year we had too many defenders that got stuck on blocks. I am not sure if that was lack of talent or an effort issue, but, nevertheless, it must improve. Defensive football is all about compressing space and shedding/defeating blocks quickly. It looked like we had more guys getting off blocks and running to the football.
One thing I did not like is the wide receivers trying to “cradle” the deep ball with their arms. Wide receivers with great hands always appear to “pluck” the ball out of the air with their hands when making a reception. Xavier Worthy dropped a ball due to the cradling technique. Neyor cradled his TD pass successfully from Ewers, but I didn’t like seeing it. It is a bad habit that needs to be corrected.
There are many more players that I did not mention i.e., Jordan Whittington, DeMarvion Overshown, Morice Blackwell, Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, etc. that are going to have huge seasons this fall.
The O-Line and D-Line are going to determine the ceiling for the 2022 Longhorns, and an evaluation of those groups will have to wait until September 10th.
