Elite Secondary? | Colin Simmons is a PROBLEM | Texas Longhorns Football | Michigan Wolverines

welcome on Texas football I'm Bobby Burton joined by Jerry Hamilton it's time to talk a little defensive grades this afternoon uh Jerry the Longhorns uh you know I I thought they swarmed to the ball I thought they played hard I thought they played fast uh that's something that we had talked about particularly in the secondary uh but overall I mean only allowing two field goals and one touchdown and that touchdown did not come until really garbage time uh mid mid Del late fourth quarter uh you could not have asked for a better defensive performance in this game they shut down or at least minimized uh the Michigan Run game made them onedimensional and once that happened I mean the Texas secondary and the Texas pass trush especially late got after that quarterback we'll talk about all of that and more I want to say thank you also to our uh sponsor for the uh on Texas football defensive grades that is allegiate digital marketing uh thank you to those guys Chad Markham and his team we'll talk more about them uh in a little bit Jerry let's start with the defensive line we worried and worried and worried all offseason that people were going to be able to run on them we pinpointed Michigan as a h possible culprit of that and I I I look at Michigan's Rush stats right now and I gotta tell you Jerry you got to be pretty happy and smiling if you're a Texas longor Fan yeah there's no no doubt about it I mean look 14 carries for 66 yards essentially Edwards and mullings um 14 for 66 you would have taken that and walked away on Monday I I really believe that if you said they're only going to carry it 14 times for 66 yards going into this game first down run defense I thought was absolutely key for Texas defensively I don't know the exact numbers but I do know that they Texas defensive front defense as a whole did enough to control Michigan on first down Michigan I they had more second and Longs than second and shorts in this game and that is the goal for the Texas defense in this game is to win on first down and Texas won on first down the only way you're doing that is if your front is holding the point of attack and that includes a baron cell who had a very good game without with only showing up one tackle in the Box Score we going into the game we said last week against though guard Center guard for Michigan did not play well and they're going to have to take a big leap this week but Texas brought it physically in this game uh you know we've been told Bobby this was some of the most physical uh August practices Texas has had in a while and I really think it was for this game I think Sark Was preparing this team for this game and I think this defensive front answered the call and they won enough on first down to where it really affected Michigan especially after Texas got up two scores I'm looking at the stat line right now Jerry uh and Vernon bron three tackles two of which were solos Germaine lle two tackles Alfred Collins one tackle and a pass deflection uh the interior of the defensive line I thought performed better Bill Norton I thought looked good at times he got stood up once or twice but at at times again another big body that played his role uh and did so fairly well uh then you talk start talking about the defensive ends Trey MO chased the quarterback a couple times looked good doing so Ethan Burke came in at at points uh Baron cell to you again thought he had a really good game I'm looking at the statline baron R only had one tackle but you know what he he stood his ground uh and so uh then we'll top it off with maybe the most culating player of the game on defense and Colin Simmons Who records the first sack of the season for the Longhorns he got after him uh and often uh in the second half I mean Colin Simmons looks like a dude Jerry in the M oh yeah yeah no doubt I mean that that is the thing I look at with Texas we were look talking about it offensively how good can the Texas offense be I think Texas defensively I think you already know where they're better this year Andrew makuba safety play drik Williams in year two Taff is a really good communicator leads that communication in the role he plays and then gelani McDon Donald's coming on fast so the defensive the safety position is vastly improved this year now I'm not saying they've been tested all the way Michigan didn't have the ability to truly test him so it was a more of a downhill game for the Texas safeties against Michigan but they're an improved unit and I think Corner as long as Texas can play and I'm not sure they can play Baron at corner all year against every matchup but in the first two they definitely could Manny mohamd is is a stud at corner looks like a hot future draft pick um but I just you know look I I I think as a whole uh the these guys are playing at such a high level but what gives me the most I guess gets me the most excited is where Colin Simmons and Trey Moore gonna be later on this season with this team and what they can provide because when you go up against you know Oklahoma who's offensive line is struggling struggled again last night against uh U ofh and Georgia who is more of a downhill run blocking unit especially guard Center guard or tackles are good but what can this defense become to maximize Texas maximizing defensively is going to come down to Colin Simmons and Trey Moore and just how much pass rush they can provide consistently in the key games on this schedule and that's Oklahoma and that's and that is uh Georgia and that will probably be at A&M yeah I'm just looking at you know what happened on the defensive line and let let's start with the grades there um I want to separate them out because uh I want to first of all I would give a game ball to the interior of the defensive line um because I thought they they had to come today with the best that they had and I thought they did that um and so I look at that and I'm I'm all in for this game all right the second piece okay that I would say I would give them an A minus the interior of the defens lineman as well as game game ball because based on expectations I was worried in the offseason it was going to be a c and so were you probably Jerry or even worse it didn't it didn't work out that way on Saturday the edge play I would give a solid B+ to an A minus again they focused on run stopping not necessarily getting up field until the fourth quarter and then when they got after it in the fourth quarter we saw what that NASCAR package looked like and they got after him so no they only got one sack but I thought both the interior and the exterior the defensive line look really really good yeah for sure I mean I I I'm gonna go solid a on the inter to D line again uh Michigan run rushing the football had 23 carries for 80 yards okay if you you if we said 23 for 80 against Michigan you would take it all day we' touch it all summer we' have taken it Monday through Friday so yeah you got to give the defensive front an a as a whole against the run I think the edge POS I we we'll get into that but interior defensive line I give him a solid a all right what about the edge what about the edge guys Colin Simmons Trey Moore Ethan Burke Justice Finley uh those guys what what did you think of their play because I I'm I'm of the opinion that they helped as much in the Run game as anything um and you know they didn't get bowled over uh they they kept everything inside of them I big fan of of what Texas did against from the edges as well yeah I I I give them an a as well look and it's easy to pass out A's after this game but I do I think Baron cell was a ter terrific three quarterback hurries he only had one tackle but he does more than what's in box score he holds the point of attack he brings physicality he brings toughness he brings motor the three quarterback hurries yesterday I mean you know then Colin Simmons you're seeing Trey Moore begin to have more of an effect on these games a little bit more Colin Simmons definitely coming on Ethan Burke doing his job it may not be the big numbers in terms of tackles and sacks early on in the season but the job they're being asked to do they're executing so I'm not sure how you don't give them an a Michigan had how many yards at half 79 Bobby well how many yards do they have after three quarters when Sark shut it down what what I mean seriously what what did Michigan have they had 284 yards in the game what they have 165 after three quarters how do you not give them all an a yeah you you're speaking a little truth here hey I before we go on to linebackers who I thought played a wh of a game too by the way I want to say thank you to our friend Chad Markham over at Allegient digital marketing he and his team uh give you an opportunity to really find new customers create consistent leads and use marketing services to promote your business that actually work uh it is an austin-based ad agency that has helped thousands of business owners just like you if you own one for more than 25 years conquer uh some of these same challenges if you are ready to start making money in your business and grow with confidence visit Allegient digital.com Onex foot and get a free marketing plan that's right it's free plus you can save up to $2500 in advertising with their hookham horns special today congratulations uh to Chad and his team they just signed a big client I don't want to give it away but I'm happy for them good for them over at Allegient digital art hey uh congratulations also the Texas long corn linebackers Jerry uh again same as the line the interior def lineman are anthon is Anthony Hill gonna be there is David Benda gonna be there are they going to be a good enough to handle it I mean they were period uh played played smart played hard played with effort um they were not a weak spot uh in fact I think they may have been a team strength uh just really good-looking group uh against Michigan on saturday uh yes David B seven tackles half tackle for loss Anthony Hill six same so that's 13 tackles and a tackle for loss combined Maurice Blackwell four tackles Leong laou three tackles always looks good when he's in you know a youngster like Ty Anthony Smith comes in and runs around like he's going to be a really good football player they drop a Colin Simmons or a Trey Moore in coverage uh they had an impact that Trey Moore had a reroute right into makuba for a pass breakup against Colton Loveland everybody's doing job they didn't have the Run fit issues maybe they had a couple times against Colorado State The Leaky plays sarc at it do do these guys play perfect no it's hard to play Perfect When other teams have good players too uh but again I'm gonna give him a solid a because there weren't any major busts there wasn't anything you could look at Bobby and say that could have cost you the game you can't point to anything that happened for the Texas defense that said that could have cost you the game hell you can't even say anything that could have cost you the momentum so it's hard not to give guys an a now are they tested all the way like a Georgia May test them or you come across a team that may be able to get them in some matchups probably not uh coulston Loveland had eight for 70 but you know look he's a first round pick at tight end he's the best tied end Texas Texas played the best tied end they're going to go up against he had eight for 70 he didn't dominate that game he didn't score touchdowns he didn't make a he didn't make huge plays he had one great catch yeah he's a great player but what did nothing happened in this game that would make you say um I these guys didn't have a good game that could have really cost Texas so how do you not give these guys an a you're just handing out A's all over the place Bud uh but here's what here's what I would add to that to your point both linebackers led the team in tackles seven by six by Hill um they answered the Bell you you said that as well and I agree with it 100% uh I'm gonna give him an A minus a look I don't even know what to say right now because when I when I look at this game and think back of it um David binda and Anthony Hill just played a smart intelligent football game and helped te Texas win bottom line you know say whatever else you want the real star of this game though in my opinion was the secondary now maybe that's because they're playing a quarterback that is not an elite level quarterback we you gotta you got to give that but man Texas just seemed like they were around the ball more Jerry they played tighter coverage they looked intelligent they played smart they wrapped up I mean what they had one missed tackle that I saw all game and that was a Jay Baron versus colon lovland where the guy makes a hurdle you know of a defensive back that uh that that th those are going to happen because the other guys are good my point being uh Sark has changed the offense and he's he's connecting in the red zone right now I'm not so sure PK and Johnny nanson have it done the same with this secondary group and I want to add this which is really important I wonder how much not only Blake Gideon and Terry Joseph being back there in that secondary but also Scotty Hazelton I agree I was gonna bring that up on the on the on the corner slash uh Nickelback because Jaylen Gilbo five tackles Jay Baron looks like he's all over the place you know they they've got five or six DBS right now that are playing at a really really high level yes uh I'm giving these guys an A+ now Michigan didn't couldn't really test him over the top but two interceptions fumble recovery like a simple a simple play it looks like on TV but again treymore drops in the coverage reroutes Lovel lovelin inside makuba is there for the past breakup I think they're all playing their roles extremely well and you can only do that if you have really good communication so whether that's Taff and makuba working together where it's Taff makuba and Derek Williams and J Baron they're all tying it together a secondary has to be tied together from a communication standpoint else there's going to be breakdowns everywhere so I think the communic a is much better with the secondary so far this year and again they don't have bar they haven't faced a Barry and brown with a team that actually can run the football I'm not saying Kentucky can they lost to South Carolina yesterday I'm just saying a for instance but you got to take it for what we've seen so far and what we've seen so far is a is safety's the most improved position in the program with the addition of makuba Derek Williams year two Michael Taff year three and gelani McDonald has really taken major steps in this program he was learning a position last year now he's come so far that Scotty Hazelton and these guys will stick him out at nickel that's a lot of growth in a short amount of time for galani McDonald uh so I'm going A+ in the secondary Manny Muhammad's you know look Manny Muhammad's a tremendous Corner um J Baron GA Gavin Holmes I think everybody's made plays this year they've been opportune again so I don't see how I don't give these guys an A+ what based on what we've seen so far in the game yes the game game yesterday certainly combine it with the Colorado State game I mean they get an A+ for two games for me now yeah I'm giving them an a for sure uh some some uh issues in the in the second half especially when the quarterback got out of the pocket start Play yeah they started playing off they weren't playing as aggressive I I agree I agree um and and they were letting the quarterback get out of the pocket as well so that's not on them that's on the front right I I get it look My My My overall grade for the defense though is going to be different and it'll be different for the coaches too I gave him an A+ yeah because I don't know here's my point I don't know that any one portion of this defense was just lights out beyond beyond maybe the secondary was for the first time um but the cumulative effect um they executed the game plan and it it we always talk about uh what what the term complimentary football yeah was that not the absolute definition of complimentary football on Saturday because that's what it felt like to me offense got out and scored got the ball out to the edges Etc the defenses the defense then got him into third and medium and the secondary made plays yeah I I have to that's complimentary football and that's partially part of that is coaching and thinking that through and then executing and for me Jerry at least um I I really loved what what I saw from the Longhorns on Saturday I just it felt like a team that was gluing together coming together now you can go beat colado State 52 to nothing and say that but when you go to Michigan and play an in front of 111 and you don't hold you hold them without a touchdown into the fourth quarter no that's that's a little different and I I don't care who their quarterback is no you got you gotta take it for what the game plan was how they executed the game plan were they opportune did they tackle well did they bring the physicality on the road against the program that is traditionally one of the most physical teams in college football they did all of that they stopped the 23 game winning streak they made Michigan feel like they were getting their butt kicked on both sides of the ball you can only do that if you're physical and you execute and if you physical and execute on the road against a team that have won 16 in a row and 23 straight 41 and three over 44 games I don't care how much the teams change say the same thing I said about the offense that Michigan uh the Texas offense against the Michigan defense the Michigan offense did not walk out from under the tunnel and start warming up thinking they were gonna have 70 yards at halftime and weren't going to cross 200 yards until the fourth quarter you got to give him an A+ for for the effort uh in the execution of the game plan there does that mean Texas going to be a top five ranked defense in college football this year it's too early to say that uh but what we can say is they've executed two game plans beautifully well and they've been physical doing it they've got to have confidence in their coaches right now too yeah because they're putting him in positions to succeed yeah I mean that you know success breeds confidence in that way and for two consecutive weeks I think they've had a really good game plan for their opponents and that will allow them to lean in in lean in even more but before I get to the final question Jerry for that I have for you on these uh offensive or these defensive grades I want to say thank you to our sponsor one last time if you're looking for ways to grow your business and save up to $2,500 in advertising visit Allegient digital.com Onex foot visit allegiate digital marketing today uh they are a tremendous group for more than 25 years uh Allegiant digital CEO Chad Markham a UT grad and instructor of the digital marketing boot camp here at UT Austin has helped thousands of businesses uh get better at marketing themselves take advantage of their hook and horns special and save up to $25 $100 in advertising visit Allegient digital.com Onex foot to learn more today uh Jerry last question I have for you um this defense uh is it is it you you mentioned the top five ranking in your opinion you didn't know what they were I I don't I don't care what they that label is is this defense good enough for Texas to win every game this season in your opinion I still don't know about that but I think they're good enough to if the offense has an off game keep them in it now I I still think there's GNA that to be determined now it may be georg's offensive line guard Center guard that's like nothing Texas will have faced guard Center guard this year that maybe that's the one team that can have some success and has enough speed at running back by the way and enough and a quarterback and you know maybe that's the only team on this schedule because Texas doesn't play Ol Miss they don't play Missouri Oklahoma does not look good on offense right right now A&M unless they make a quarterback change I'm not sure how good they're going to be on offense ky's got injury issues they lost at South Carolina yesterday Mississippi State struggling I mean so you look at this schedule Vanderbilt's got a playmaker but you know Texas is going to whip them up front over the course of a game this de this defense is good enough to give Texas a chance to win every game and the way I kind of look at a defense is if your offense has a bad day if you have a couple of turnovers in a game are you going to enough to give your offense second opportunities and I do think Texas defense is that what they do against Georgia maybe Georgia has an elite offensive line and guard Center guard they're just really really good and then you just tip your cap and move on uh but I do think Texas defense is good enough this year to give them an opportunity to win every game I don't think we're ever going to look at this team defensively and say wow we didn't have a shot because of the defense today fair fair stuff all right all right that's going to do it for the defensive grades we'll be back later today we got the rewatch with Rod uh you've already seen the offensive grades we also have a live stream tonight at 7 o'clock for Jerry Hamilton I'm Bobby Burton thank you also to our sponsor Allegient digital marketing this has been defensive grades on Texas football for the Texas 3112 win over the University of Michigan hook them