Rewind with Eric Nahlin: Charting Heard

I’ll be on to Oklahoma State later tonight but that offensive performance was too good to let go of so soon. Watching on Saturday and then watching the recording gave me a greater appreciation for what Jerrod Heard and Jay Norvell did. Sure, his legs provided some backbreaking plays and some Human Highlight Reel entertainment, but Heard most impressed me from the pocket.

When watching I meant to count how many designed runs Norvell called and how many were Evening at the Improv (remember that show? it was great). In the 2012 Alamo Bowl – as opposed to the other 12 Alamo Bowls Texas has played in – I lamented the staff was going to get David Ash injured if they continued to run him at that clip. Lo and behold, that was proven unfortunately correct. Ash was too reckless. Bless him, he didn’t have a bigger fan than I, but you can’t play the position like you’re Larry Csonka. Heard on the other hand is used to diving, sliding, and getting out of bounds. He was every bit the straw that stirred the Guyer drink as he is now at Texas. He’s elusive, where as Ash would try to straight-line through a guy.

As far as injuries go, I’m more concerned with a Tony Romo type shoulder injury than anything else. Heard’s a bit slight and narrow up top, built more like a wide receiver or Health and Fitness cover model. Lean doesn’t absorb all that great.

It was amazing to me to see Norvell and Heard on the same page so quickly. Norvell certainly knows Heard’s strengths. The play-calling resulted in communal production through the air. A not so novel concept, but one that’s new to these parts. Four receivers with at least 65 yards receiving means Heard isn’t just focusing solely on any one threat. Another example of Heard’s comfort is his lack of turnovers. Yes, he had two costly ones on Saturday, but in 39 drop backs he has thrown but one interception. That’s a ratio you take all day long, especially considering his 12.67 yards per attempt. He’s not just checking down.

There will be regression, but we’ve seen what the Heard/Norvell combination can be. We’ve seen them threaten the field horizontally and down the sideline. Up next, start ripping apart the middle.

Let’s take a final look at Saturday’s game by charting plays that affected Heard’s yardage output.

1ST DRIVE

Completion to the left sideline. Texas opens in 5-wide with its typical 11 personnel. Norvell lines A. Foreman in the slot and Gray out wide. Obviously Cal will focus on Foreman, rather than Gray. Foreman runs a quick out that Heard actually looks to, which draws the outside corner leaving Gray open in space down the sideline. Heard hits him on the money. Great pocket, great patience, great play design.

Designed run #1. Gray motions out right leading defense to think pass. Heard looks right where the blocking is set-up for the screen. Delayed draw for about four or five yards. Expect Texas to make a lot of hay on QB draw, delay draw, and PA off a feigned draw.

2ND DRIVE

Designed run #2. Zone read for five yards. Multiple lanes for Heard as he kept the ball but Cal closed it down quickly.

Incompletion to the right short. Texas sets up a screen to the right to Warrick. Poorly blocked, Heard had too much on the ball and Warrick isn’t the guy to catch that pass. Strong must have a soft spot for Warrick. Run that play to Foreman or Daje, imo.

Completion to the left sideline. 3rd and 20, Cal rushes three and Texas OL puts them to sleep. Heard has all day. Cal’s nickel pushes Daje (running a switch) out of bounds then decides to not run with him (like he was going to be able to anyway). How Heard put this ball on the money after Daje went out of bounds is beyond me.

Completion to the left sideline. 2×1 to field with Warrick in the slot (he played more than I recalled). Gray lined up in the backfield. Norvell looking for another way to test Cal’s discipline, motions Daje to the boundary freezing the linebacker charged with covering Gray down the sideline. Heard puts the ball directly on Gray. Norvell is having his way at this point. The opportunity is created by the Daje motion.

Designed run #3. Touchdown. Zone read that Cal has read perfectly. Heard b-slaps five defenders as he jukes his way to the pylon. Incredible individual effort for Heard.

3RD DRIVE

Completion to the short left sideline. Stacked receivers with DLT ahead of Foreman. Quick screen that only picks up a couple. Similar play-call to what Greg Davis would try to do. Get defenses moving sideways then go over the top, but in this case Texas has already stretched them vertically. Play develops too slowly. Short gain.

Completion to the right sideline. 3rd and 8. 3×1 to the field. Burt clears out the DB’s and Daje goes unaccounted for down the side. Cal rushes four and Texas picks it up with ease. Daje plays this smart and decelerates between defenders once he’s wide open and Heard has time to find him. Cal’s pattern matching would have exploded Muschamp’s head by now.

Completion over the middle. 3rd and 8 again. Texas is on the boundary in 11 personnel. DLT in-line next to Connor Williams. 3-wide to the field. Cal has three down linemen with linebackers threatening to blitz the interior. One linebacker blitzes, the other picks up D. Foreman out of the back field. OL does a great job here. The receivers clear room for DLT to drag underneath. Nice play, well executed.

Incompletion to the right. RPO that Heard wisely pulls back and drills A. Foreman on the slant. Should have been six. Encouraging play. Heard through it the only place he could because of the linebacker and corner coverage.

Incompletion to the right. Daje runs a flag route. Wrong personnel for that play. Heard does well to put the ball long rather than short. Texas gets a field goal. Good long drive.

4TH DRIVE

Flag on Heard. RPO from the 5-yard line but Heard crosses the LOS before retreating behind it and throwing to Bluiett. Negating a big play, but…

Designed run #4. Backed up to the 2, Heard pulls off one of his best runs of the day. ZR keeper where he runs left out of the end zone then cuts up field and over to right sideline for 34. He gets a tremendous block from Bluiett who lines up as an H-Back and locks up on the Will. The play doesn’t happen without that block.

Completion down the deep right sideline. 43 yards on ZR PA. Heard underthrows (puts too much air underneath it) Burt who makes a tremendous adjustment on the ball.

*95-yard quick strike offense. Is this real life?

5TH DRIVE

Incompletion to the deep left sideline. Armanti draws the PI. Texas was in 11 personnel with Beck as an up-back. PA to Warren. OL creates a great pocket with Beck picking up a late blitzer. Heard briefly looks to Daje running a post but locates Foreman down the sideline. Could have been six if Foreman locates the ball.

Completion to the short left. Beck lines up in the slot and runs a quick out. Good timing on the play puts Texas in 3rd and short. Real offense.

*Cal jumps offside on the next play. The short gain on the previous play made the 5-yard penalty result in a first down.

Completion to the short right. Texas in 3×1 to the field, Heard hits Burt on a quick stop route. Burt does well to fight for yardage putting Texas in 3rd and short again.

6TH DRIVE

Designed run #5. Clap-count gets down to 1 before Heard gets the ball and picks up 9 on the delayed draw.

Completion to the short right. RPO, Heard thinks about keeping it but hits Daje on the dump off for 9 yards.

Interception to the right. Heard tries to hit Burt at the sticks but the linebacker jumps the route underneath. Heard through it with conviction but didn’t see the LB who made a great snap. Heard would go on to drill this throw twice in the would-be game tying final drive.

7TH DRIVE

Completion to the short right. Confident throw to Burt on the comeback for 7 yards.

Fumble. Heard should have given to Gray on the RPO, bad pass protection and poor ball security result in the fumble.

8TH DRIVE

Incompletion to the short right. Texas motions out of 2×2 into 3×1 to the field with Beck, setting up a screen to Foreman. Interesting play design, but it wasn’t there (good defensive recognition) so Heard slings it into the ground.

Improvised run. 3rd and 10, pocket breaks down quickly and Heard scrambles for the 1st. Texas finally has a guy who can do that again. Good, decisive decision and vision.

Improvised run. ZR PA is disrupted by defensive end, Heard evades him and picks up five. Should have been a loss.

Designed run #6. Delayed draw, Heard picks up the first on a 6-yard gain.

Incompletion to the short right. 3rd and 24 because of the penalty killing clip by Flowers (dumb). Heard is under pressure quickly and just gets rid of it.

9TH DRIVE

Designed run #7. Diamond formation with Foreman deep and Heard flanked by Beck and Bluiett, Heard was unsure if he would give or keep. He decides to keep and picks up a couple. The play was a bit disjointed.

Improvised run. 3rd and 7, Heard holds out and keeps his eyes downfield as long as he can before taking off and running, coming up short in the process.

10TH DRIVE

Completion to the right. Great crossing route here. Texas had a lot going on with formation and motion, resulting in a wide open A. Foreman crossing the field. He did well to turn it up for a nice 38-yard gain. Great touch on the ball from Heard.

*the next play was the violent facemask. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that play. That was Vahe’s man, he should have Haka’d on him afterwards.

Improvised run. Drops back and shows good feel in the pocket by evading the blitzer and not taking a sack. Picks up a yard. I’m not sure if he had anyone open to get the ball out sooner but I think he did. Looked like he was looking for six rather than the easy yards underneath.

Improvised run. THE RUN. Drops back, sees nothing and just creates. Texas was in 5-wide. Heard got some help in the open field. Great blocking from the skill guys.

11TH DRIVE

Completion to the right. Daje lines up to the field-side slot and runs a slant-ish route towards the boundary. Kind of a “run to where they ain’t” route. Good ball from Heard hits him in stride.

Designed run #8. ZR keeper. Heard wants to go outside but cuts back towards the middle and starts making people miss. This dude’s uncommon. Another 1st down picked up with his legs.

Incomplete pass to the left. 3×1 to the field. Daje in the slot runs what looks like that same slant-ish play again but runs an out instead. Heard hits him in the hands but it’s dropped. Not Daje’s strength but also not something he can’t come up with.

Incomplete over the middle. Daje with his second drop in a row on the screen. Ball might have been a little hot but Daje has to come up with that. Should have been picked.

Sack. 4th and 17 with nothing doing for Heard. Cal actually cleaned up some of the issues on the outside had Texas exploited earlier.

12TH DRIVE

Improvised run. ZR PA, doesn’t find anyone and takes off for positive yards, about 6.

Completion to the short left. 2×2 stacked, Heard throws it to Daje, who is behind Armanti. Foreman, picks up a great block and Daje gets the first.

Incompletion to the left. Heard looks for Daje on the crossing after ZR PA. Should have been a PI, defender arrived early.

Improvised run. Minimal gain but again he could have suffered a loss after rolling right. HIs ability to cut inside shakes defenders.

Improvised run. 3×1 to the field. Heard doesn’t see anything he likes and takes off. This is the run where he came up just short of the first down. Having Beck and Bluiett in the slot is great for blocking and formational diversity but they’re not exactly shaking defenders and getting loose. Need more DeAndre McNeal.

Completion to the intermediate right. Ball is in the center of the field. Heard rides the ZR PA with comfort then makes a long, confident throw to Burt on the comeback on the outside to pickup 9.

Completion to the intermediate left. 2×1 to the field, Heard rips a long throw from the boundary to the field sideline to Foreman. WUT?

Improvised run. Texas is in 2×2, Heard sees nothing and scrambles up the middle for 8.

13TH DRIVE

Incompletion short over the middle. Quick ball to Warrick which would have done more harm than good had he caught it. Not a throw you want to make in that situation.

Completion to the short right. Heard stays poised in the pocket until it begins to breakdown. He thinks about taking off but then sees Gray wide open for the dump off. Gray collects and gets out of bounds. These types of plays help you win ballgames.

Completion to the intermediate right. Heard sits in the pocket like a veteran while he waits for A. Foreman to break open. He drills a ball to Armanti on the comeback. Absolutely beautiful.

Completion to the short right. 3×1 to the field (note all the 4-wide in this game), Heard hits Gray on the swing pass check-down to the boundary for six yards. Gray gets out of bounds again.

Incompletion to the short right. Heard aims high to Warrick at the sticks. Still two downs to pick up four yards.

Designed run #9. Delayed draw for UT’s 44th and final point. What a run.

I know I learned a lot while writing this. I’d like to see the middle of the field attacked more going forward, but obviously the delayed draw seriously threatens that part of the field. After watching that game for the 4th time, I simply can’t believe what Norvell has done in such a short time, and also, it’s obvious the team got a lot of reps of this stuff in the spring and August.