Freshmen Report | Wingo & Simmons are MONSTERS | Young Secondary Shines | Texas Longhorns Football

welcome to on Texas football I'm Bobby Burton your host joined by Jerry Hamilton and CJ vogle on Texas football guys hey I tell you what uh I thought that this afternoon what we would do is talk a little bit about the Freshman that played because we we did a video prior to the season saying hey who's gonna play who won't who's on track we did that for both the freshman and the sophomores right the class of 23 and 2024 it's very interesting uh that according to our tabulations 13 true freshman played in the game against Colorado State on Saturday uh remarkably guess how many he played against rice true freshman a year ago also the number 13 uh but I I tell you what uh probably the biggest news uh of the Freshman uh were the two uh skill position guys and so let's start there and then work our way down the lineup of who all got in the game and let's start with Jarett Gibson he left the Longhorns in rushing averaging 6.7 yards per carry 10 carries on the day actually played in 16 different snaps uh Jerry what did you see from jerck Gibson I thought he was gonna play a little earlier in the game given that they only had Weisner and um Jaden blue but he really came in as a third third quarterback and then played throughout the fourth quarter yeah it's kind of funny that's about what his stats were sometimes that I G when they blew people out right he carried 10 11 12 times for about 70 yards what I saw was the first thing I always say about running backs from Florida guys you ever seen a running back from Florida that's not a physical football player SRI Baxter is Jarrett Gibson is Texas is two for two on running backs from Florida and all the guys I've covered over all the years they've all been physical they have physicality about them kind of like East Texas running backs so Jarrett Gibson he's a bowling ball he's rocked up he looks like he's been doing pushup since he was 3 months old he physically was ready he's 20-year-old freshman he's a little older but he ran with toughness physicality pad lean guys everything was a fall forward even when he took a couple of solid hits he maintained balance little side step fell forward uh and I think SAR said something I believe in the postgame that said sometimes he just ran up the back of somebody I think that happen sometimes for freshman running backs but here's what I thought he showed CJ is this is a guy that can go rush for 500 yards for Texas this year if called upon I don't think there's any doubt about it he fits the scheme he could end up get being in competition for the short yardage in Red Zone running back uh even though Trey Wiser's that guy right now I like everything I saw from Jarett Gibson from a take handoff run football standpoint he can hide behind large humans and then kind of kind of Dart in between the be into the B gaps and make some extra yards there when they may not look like they're there I liked everything I saw from Jared yeah he's about an eighth of the way there right you know 500 kind of is that goal I mean he had he had a good day he ran hard he had great pad level he provided what you wanted in between the tackles as a physical back uh the 22 yard Scamper in which he leaked out of the front side and then you know kind of tiptoed down the sideline I was one of the best runs that Texas had in its running game all day and for him to find that wiggle room create that you know extended explosive play to to to jarck Gibson there I will be interested after this week is how does his role kind of developed in the passing game because you know I think in in Camp and dating back to the spring he wasn't known as that big pass catcher right you know I think we all look towards Christian Clark more so having a role in that game but with how often Texas utilizes a Trey Weisner and jadden blue in two back sets you know if Gibson's in that situation which I bet with only three you know true scholarship running backs on the on the roster right now he's going to have to be when does his impact in the passing game come in is it just strictly screens can you see him running the Texas routes or or checkdowns or swing routes whatever it might be when does that come in does Texas trust him enough already otherwise heck of a debut can't can't deny that many Miss tackles ran hard again so uh I I I really liked it I I agree I liked him too I thought Ray hard uh was not necessarily patient but that's not uncommon for a young running back in his first game he don't want to go down for tackle for loss for sure on his first Carry uh long of 22 which I thought was pretty good as well all right the the next guy up on our list that actually had the most snaps of any freshman is Ryan Wingo uh young man out of St Louis had 24 total snaps in Saturday's game against Colorado State he we ended up 4 for 70 uh had a nice catch to start the game but I'm telling you the last one is going to be kind of memorable in my book a 30 yard kind of quick slant RPO look from Arch and he gave the guy gave the defender a leg and then took it away it looked a lot like one something that Roy Williams used to do 100% looked like him B and I was like that's what I was telling you guys that I saw uh and kind of stopped on a dime while he did it CJ where where did you uh I mean we thought he was going to be good but let's let's be honest uh 70 70 yards led the team just like Jared Gibson led the team in rushing yardage on Saturday Ryan Wingo LED in receiving yardage I didn't I did not expect two freshman to lead the way in those two categories on Saturday no I I I didn't either and you know we we talk about 24 total snaps only eight eight of them were pass attempts right so do that math for the yards per route run which is a a big metric that uh is used for w receivers at the NFL level and college level in terms of scouting and and development for the next level that what is that eight and a half eight 8.6 yards per route run that's that's tremendous for Ryan Wingo especially in his first debut uh the first catch that he had was probably the most impressive individual play that he had in my of course the catch and run was superb but for him to have a guy draped all over his back and to Shield the ball with his body from the defender it's a veteran move that's very Savvy you don't see that too often for a guy you know being targeted for the first time in his college career that tip there to Ryan wingo and again back-to-back plays he was utilized immediately whenever he was on the field I think sarkeesian's like yeah let's get this guy involved a little bit so uh I I saw exactly what I wanted to see we saw the glimpse of the after the catch ability we saw the big uh to catch the football and that contested ability as well a great debut you know and it's continuing the theme of what we've heard behind the scenes dating back to when he first steep foot on campus my we've talked about his talents and everything I don't I don't need to go over that here's what I'll say the most impressive thing about what you saw Saturday was that was his first game where's he gonna be by Oklahoma and the rest of the season where's he gonna be in five years that's making a lot of money most likely I tell you that much hey uh Parker Livingstone also got in the game young man out of Lovejoy he played Four late snaps uh but that follows with what we said we thought he was the third or the second best young receiver that the Longhorns had and that that follows uh here are a couple of notes next Jordan Washington uh came into the game in the fourth quarter a couple of long drives by the offense allowed him to get in 11 snaps he was not targeted at tight end but again looked apart while he was out there this one the next one I want to talk about is a guy that when when we looked at the stats and CJ gave these to us about number of snaps Jerry we were both surprised Brandon Baker played the second most snaps out of any true freshman did not realize that they took but we did recognize that they took Kelvin Banks out of the game a little early on on Saturday they're protecting their left tackle right right a little bit just like they protect and they need cam Williams to get snaps they need him to get experience yeah and they need they absolutely do but I'm talking about the idea that you're gonna put Brandon Baker in there uh for 20 snaps that's big time for Texas well the other thing that that means he's the clear number too it's not like split tit snaps with Cojo he played 20 snaps he is the clear number two right tackle God forbid if there's an injury to cam Williams Brandon Baker ERS are starting right tackle that's what Saturday told me he is the next man up at right tackle and he is the number clear number two he's won that job uh but again he's going to be he's going to be a multi-year starter a tremendous player at the University of Texas no doubt yeah on that point there were four players that got snaps at left tackle right including Andre Cojo Malik ogbo Trevor guby and obviously Kelvin banks on the contrary it was just the two that split all 72 snaps 74 snaps uh at right tackle that was C cam Williams and Brandon Baker my apologies for getting that mixed up I I just totally had a a brain freeze on that one all right couple of other things that we should mention all right uh going over to defense now no other no other offensive lineman not Nate kibble nor Daniel Cruz saw action so we'll go on over to defense now before we do that I want to say thank you to our sponsor we got the we're actually wearing some of their gear Jerry is as well as and that's our friends over at Duck Camp if you are uh enjoy the outdoor duck Camp is the place for you uh they have very serious uh camping or excuse me hunting gear available and it is very fashionable it's made for the people that live for the moments out there where there are fish to catch birds to hunt time to kill football to watch they like doing all that stuff so they built a company centered on it based in Austin and dedicated to giving people best-in-class Hunting and Fishing apparel at Duck Camp they believe you can't just sit around and wait for adventure to come to you you have to get out there stay out there and make the most of each and every second here's the great Seasons y'all yes hunting and football shop hunting gear at duck camp.com that's duck camp.com love my hat that I've got wearing right now can can I just say that was not a freshman read good job Bobby oh yeah longer lot of snaps there hey I'm a year into this I should be better pretty good now give me give me give me my props no I said not a freshman read that's an experience Reed good job ah yeah all right let's talk about a guy that also doesn't look like a freshman and that's Colin Simmons um not a ton of snaps CJ and Jerry but production came from it 11 snaps two tackles one of which was completely in space where he actually dropped into coverage uh that was pretty pretty darn impressive in my opinion he did not get after the passer because it wasn't really there for Texas to get after the passer on Saturday what did y'all think of Collins's performance CJ I'll start with you yeah I thought it was about what to expect from Colin Simmons in the debut right Texas knows how valuable he can be to the pass rush they know how much they can get out of a five-star edge with his twitchiness and quickness off the edge they're not going to show that week one against Colorado State game uh or team in which you're up by 50 right you know that's not the game plan you don't want to show your cards too early we didn't see this a year ago with a guy like Anthony Hill right you know uh week one against rice you didn't know what his role might be by week two you had a pretty good idea because they needed his talents to go on the road to Tuscaloosa and to win that game you're going to see a much different Callin Simmons against Michigan than what I think you will see obviously this past Saturday against Colorado State and what do I mean by that I don't think you're going to see Colin Simmons dropping back into coverage very often against Michigan you know his his whole Mo the reason why he had five stars by his name is because he could get after the quarterback and he can make plays behind the line of scrimmage coverage is there he did well to your point first tackle was a one in which he needed to make a big tackle in space and he did but his role moving forward is going to be getting after the quarterback in SEC football play that's why they got him that's why he's the big guy in this freshman class on the defensive side of the ball regardless did a great job making sure he played to the role in the scheme that was asked of him which is big and key for a freshman as well I I'm not gonna add anything else to to what we've talked about with Colin I just want to say this to Texas fans Saturday when you're watching Josiah Stewart for Michigan the senior who started his career at Coastal Carolina as an undersized recruit and now has the look of a first second round pick think of Colin Simmons as an inch taller version of that that's what he's going to be one day that's a great point I like the sound of that don't like the sound of Josiah Stewart playing for the Michigan and the Maze and blue for this weekend all right his high school teammate we said Collins Simmons played 11 steps his high school teammate Alex January played 12 and on Monday Steve sarkeesian mentioned Alex January is having a pretty good day at defensive tackle as a true freshman uh a year ago at the same time by the way Sadir Mitchell played all of One play y that g you an idea of where maybe Alex January is on the same trajectory at the same time period he's a little bit ahead of where some other guys prior to him were uh Jerry what did you think of the young man's performance well we had been reporting that he was going to be in the rotation and he's expected to be more as the season moves along especially I think as he gets more comfortable teams that are going to try to run the football against Texas I I think he is going to be one of the better guys Texas puts on the field uh playing the Run he's got really good hand placement shout shout out to his dad Mike January for coaching him up he's got really good hand placement for a young guy so he understands leverage he understands hand placement those guys tend to play The Run well at a young age he understands um all that all everything in the Run game and his eyes are always up a lot of times freshman the one thing I've noticed about January a lot of times freshmen on contact tend to drop their eyes he doesn't do that he keeps keeps his eyes up so he's always be able to locate the football that again gives him a chance to play more this season as season moves along he doesn't have to be taught to keep his head up something David McWilliams told me a long time ago the old Texas coach when I was an undergrad he said he liked defensive lineman that played with their eyes and that's what you're talking about if they drop their head they can't play with their eyes they can't see what's going on uh that that's a big deal for a young guy to be able to accomplish that especially as he steps up this level so quickly in his career um all right linebacker this one surprised me a little bit and I'm not it's not so much that it surprised me because we've been talking about how Ty Anthony Smith had had a good fall Camp he actually got in relatively quickly uh after some I you know certainly leonga lafal came in and Maurice Blackwell to to back up David binda and Anthony Hill but Ty Anthony Smith I he had nine snaps but I think he played in the first half of this game if I'm not mistaken for a couple snaps very interesting what we saw there with him CJ yeah definitely and it's interesting dating back to when he first arrived on on campus and we filmed you know who of these uh true freshman are gonna red shirt who's gonna see the fil and at the time you know the question was is he gonna be physically fit will he have enough on his frame and to his credit he got his body right to Tor becton's credit they got his body right and you know there's one play in there he's on the only on the field for nine snaps Bobby but there's one play where you know the play is over he's still been latched on to by an offensive lineman he just flings him to the ground I'm like hey this is not the play you would expect a true freshman who was 195 pounds about eight months ago to make so for that to be the case impressive stuff for him he out snapped Darren gallette he out snapped toil aana uh right now I think as we talked about the defensive lineman you start to see that packing order start to take place at the linebacking position as well uh for Anthony Hill earlier this fall Camp to say that he's more advanced between the ears than where he was a year ago gives you a pretty good idea of the type of player Texas has growing in its freshman class right now I only got two things on to Anthony Smith one I think he could be uh a multi-year starter at Texas and a guy with a future in football have a career in football two you think Jasper didn't miss him Ricky Stewart rushed at 10 times for 225 Friday against Jasper think they think Jasper didn't miss Tai Anthony Smith they call him hurricane maybe so maybe so all right hey let's go to the secondary all four of these guys got time uh in the pre game depth chart release CJ you and I talked about this Jerry you and I did as well Kobe black is the backup at one of the corner stop Corner spots ahead of Warren Roberson uh Wardell Mack had a centilating interception uh Xavier filmy played 13 steps Jordan Johnson Rebel and maybe of all the guys this may be the most impressive thing among the DBS he only played 12 snaps guys he had three tackles how's that for production you were talking earlier about Ryan Wingo having four catches and he's only in the game where they're throwing the ball eight total times Jordan johns rebell made a tackle once out of every four snaps that's a bullet too Bobby he was flying to the football there's a you know he's he's added to the the collisions and the in the the scrum you know by The Trenches he he was diagnosing quickly and shooting quick he is a very instinctive football player um I think he's just got athletic instincts in general whatever he does he'd have a feel for it but here's what I'll say the interesting thing about Jordan joher Bell and I reported this last year when I went to IMG and I was talking to people around the IMG program the one thing Billy Miller the head coach told me was he said we can play him off the ball we can play him in the Box because he's physical we can play him off the ball because he's smart and can make this the calls and he was pretty much the leader of that team I'm just saying those guys are generally successful football players at the next level I want to read this back to y'all just so you get it Kobe black played 18 snaps Xavier philmy played 13 Jordan Johnson Rebel with 12 Ward Elm he played four plays one of which was one of the prettier interceptions you'll see uh Michael Kern and then I want to wrap up and talk to you all about what yall think about this class as a whole uh Michael Kar had one kick or one punt on the day 39 yards it's only 39 yards but it was it was fair caught at the 10 yard line right I mean that that's doing your job guys if he kicked at 49 we'd say he didn't do a good job exactly that's exactly right um uh he was hey Bobby real quick I wanted to a quick note on Kobe black right 18 snaps as we talked about Brandon Baker being that Surefire number two right tackle for Texas to get him as many snaps at cornerback much earlier than some of these other guys that got run way later in the game Texas knows that they're gonna need a guy like Kobe black to make an impact at some point this year it was no accident that he was listed number two on that dep chart at cornerback right 18 snatch for Kobe black gives you an idea of the trust and development that he's already been able to uh you know kind of take place and shoulder since arriving in Austin he I I I think has done a tremendous job getting up to speed with the college game as someone who maybe wasn't a full-time cornerback at the high school level I appreciate you re-injecting because if if you guys ever have anything y'all need to say please add it in good stuff there CJ because I look I did point it out I mean he led the way in snap count in that secondary of the young guys and we had seen him have some issues actually uh early in Camp he got better condition physically since the end of the spring by the way he was he did not come in looking like I thought he should have physically he's done really good job getting there on his just his whole just physical Outlook he looks losing a little baby fat maybe just he you know Under Armour game he didn't have that look physically like Xavier philam had and some of the other DBS at the Under Armour game I don't want to say he look soft because that means soft as a player that's something I'm talking about he just needed to get serious about diet and strength and conditioning and he did hey so what do y'all think that's 13 guys you know uh half half the rest of them were guys that I mean look Freddy deos is injured right U the the offensive Lin you don't expect them to play Early Melvin Hills just showed up uh you know six or two months ago right Sana Wilson the same Sana Wilson same thing what what do y'all what do y'all take away what are y'all's takeaways uh on this this class if is it as good as we thought it was is it a true top five class does it look like that I kind of think it does especially if guys like Wingo uh Jordan Washington Brandon Baker Colin Simmons Alex January those could be guys that that are future you know Lynch pens of a of a football team in my opinion yeah I think it looks like a top five class because Tran's look good in the spring in the spring game but he's not going to play unless Quinn gets hurt this year that means he a back up to Arch he's going to red shirt Nate kibble was the third team Right Guard he got he zipped past Conor stroe that says something for a guy that wasn't here in the spring Nate kibble looked really good physically when he showed up and had a great summer you know Daniel Cruz is going to be a really good player he's just learning the center position he's always been a tackle D tackle last year played some Center uh for North Richland Hills this is his first full year playing center learning it calls everything that goes into it Melvin Hills is up to 307 pounds had a really good summer and has impressed enough early on that Texas expects him to be a rotational player at that dline position um and yeah so I think it has the makings of that type of class um I really do because I think there's a number of guys you can already say they have a chance to be high draft picks one day but I'll say this CJ for this class to end up a top five class one day when we look back on it in four years how many of those secondary guys are starters for me because they're gonna have to be yeah absolutely I think that's the next step obviously for Texas to continue what was a really good debut of this secondary you're going to want to keep those guys inhouse right transfer portal has done great to get these guys accumulated to this roster now but uh that that cohesiveness in the system especially in the backing is gonna be big uh also Bobby we and Jerry we could have pointed out another name that would have contributed had been healthy would have been Christian Clark you know I I guarantee he would have gotten some run late that game uh and unfortunately you know out for the year but to add to this class A lot of guys already contributing in big moments you know we've talked about the the list of guys with you know 10 or more snaps in the debut it's pretty good and I can only imagine that some of those roles grow more and more for Colin Simmons Ryan Wingo you know the the headliners are going to play and play uh a very impactful role for the Longhorns this year I've got to tell you like I'm just comparing this class to the 23 class I would rank the 23 class slightly ahead right because you got Arch yeah Trey Owens is going to be really good don't get me wrong both probably NFL quarterbacks but you also had Cedric Baxter you have Derek Williams who started as a true freshman Manny muhamad uh Trey Weisner now Anthony Hill is a big one obviously DeAndre Moore now starting for Texas but the great thing about it we're talking him they're at least in the same breath you know as opposed to just like y'all have heard me talk about this the importance of stacking classes is not just the recruiting rankings it's actually are the players as talented as you think they are and this Texas class looks like to me it is what it is hey we none of us mentioned a guy with a lot of upside Zena who you won't see this year but a ton upside great Point all right all right that's going to do it for today's episode of on Texas football freshman recap we won't do this every week but we're going to check in with multiple classes over uh one or two weeks at a time we'll see which ones we recap next uh but for Jerry Hamilton and CJ vogle I'm Bobby Burton thanks for sponsoring us duck camp.com again yall have a good one guys hook them