Syllabus Week: What Connor Stroh and Colton Vasek need to work on
Depending on who you ask, “syllabus week” isn’t limited to a seven-day period. Some recognize syllabus week as lasting one day, others recognize it for an entire month.
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Whatever your preferred way to celebrate the beginning of the semester is, any newly-minted Texas Longhorns football player has a learning curve they have to navigate as they settle in on campus, begin workouts with Torre Becton, and learn other aspects of the program in preparation for spring football practices.
Rather than just telling each new Longhorn making their first few steps on the Forty Acres to “learn the playbook and get to know your teammates,” Inside Texas will look for specific areas for each mid-year enrollee to focus on during their first few weeks and months on campus.
Connor Stroh
Stroh’s highlight film with Wakeland is an entertaining and revealing watch. He was without a doubt the biggest and strongest human on all the fields he stepped on in high school, and he regularly let his opponents know just how much size he has on them.
There isn’t a ton of technique on tape due to his strength. If beaten inside, one quick shove from his right arm would knock the defender to the ground. If beaten outside, a quick shove from his left arm escorts the rusher too far up the field to make a play.
When squared up, there’s no escape.
However, few of his highlights showed much, if any, technique in the upper body. He was just throwing people around, not so much engaging and utilizing proper hand placement. He is large, so a lack of pure quickness isn’t surprising, but there was a decent amount of solid footwork in his highlights.
Learning how to marry his sheer strength with quality upper body technique would help Stroh, especially when it comes time for him to face similarly sized bodies on the interior.
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Colton Vasek
Playing for one of the best defenses in the state, Vasek showcased a considerable amount of motor, skill, and strength on the edge for the Chaps. The son of a former Longhorn defensive end, Vasek’s polish is evident thanks to all the time he has spent learning the ins and outs of the position at home and on the practice fields.
He’ll benefit greatly from college strength and conditioning, as all the early enrollees will. But new responsibilities will be one of the more important tasks for Vasek to nail down during his first few weeks learning Pete Kwiatkowski’s system.
PK’s defense asks both EDGE players, whether the Buck on the weakside or the Jack on the strongside, to occasionally drop into coverage. No matter where Vasek ends up on the field, he’ll be in one of those positions and will be asked to go backward for what might be the first time in a long time.
Learning how to make those reads and react accordingly from the edge is something slightly foreign to Vasek. The quicker he familiarizes himself with that skill, the quicker he’ll be on the field for more than just pass-rush opportunities.
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