AUSTIN, Texas — We’re deep into training camp, which is why I come to you from a quaint hotel room in North Austin. Fresh off Texas’ recent open practice, it smells like football. Hope you’re as excited as I am.
Let’s get straight to your questions.
Note: Submitted questions are lightly edited for length and clarity.
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Howdy, how do you feel the addition of a healthy Baylor Cupp will change the A&M offense? He was in the same recruiting class as Jalen Wydermyer and was actually a higher-rated player. But injuries have kept him off the field, and now that he’s healthy I’m wondering if you think there are big things coming for him? — Daylan, College Station
A healthy Cupp gives Texas A&M’s offense some great flexibility with personnel groupings. Jimbo Fisher loves utilizing the position, as tight ends led the Aggies in receptions in two of his first three seasons in Aggieland. And though he uses a ton of 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end), Cupp’s presence gives him a chance to utilize more 12 personnel.
Both Cupp and Wydermyer can line up attached to the offensive line or flexed out as receivers. That allows Fisher to go from a heavy run formation, with both attached or close to the line, to a traditional three-receiver or even four-receiver look without substituting. If Fisher uses some hurry-up in those instances, it allows the Aggies to exploit favorable matchups, because if the offense doesn’t sub, the officials won’t make it wait for the defense to do so.
And that doesn’t account for the fact that A&M will continue to move running back/receiver Ainias Smith around, and it sounds like Fisher could be grooming the speedy Devon Achane for a similar role. With Cupp, Wydermyer, Achane, Smith and leading rusher Isaiah Spiller returning, Fisher has a cornucopia of personnel combinations.
Watching Cupp at practice earlier this month, he showed no ill effects from his previous injuries. He’s as explosive as the coaches say; I’m just curious how much rust there will be once he’s playing in games.
What are your expectations for Rice? Was last year’s big upset at Marshall a sign of things to come, or will the Owls continue to struggle to get wins in Mike Bloomgren’s fourth year? — Steve, Austin
Rice will be better, but I’m uncertain of how it will translate to the win column. The win against Marshall was validation that Bloomgren is making progress on South Main, but the Owls’ September schedule is tough.
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Losing linebacker Blaze Alldredge to Missouri via transfer hurt, but most of the key parts of a stellar 2020 defense return. I like what they have on the defensive line with Trey Schuman and Elijah Garcia; those two will set the tone up front. Antonio Montero should be a force at linebacker this year, and getting George Nyakwol back in the secondary will provide a boost.
Offensively, question marks remain. Getting receiver Bradley Rozner, who opted out last season, back in the lineup is helpful, but it only matters if the Owls can get him the ball. The arrival of transfer quarterback Luke McCaffrey infuses a ton of athletic ability to a position that needs it, but he has to learn Rice’s new offense quickly. Bloomgren made it clear after Rice’s first scrimmage last week that the defense is still significantly ahead of the offense. Eventually, with McCaffrey, Rozner and running back Khalan Griffin, the Owls will find their footing offensively well enough to have success in Conference USA.
That brings me back to the hardest part: the schedule. They’re taking the Southwest Conference tour in the first three weeks of the season, going to Arkansas and Texas with a home game against rival Houston sandwiched in between. If those nonconference games were spread out a little more, I would feel better about Rice’s outlook.
Can the Owls get through the first three weeks without getting too beat up or discouraged? If so, then they can make some noise in conference play.
What is the outlook for TCU football? Do you see the Frogs making a push at a Big 12 title or will this be another mediocre season? — Will, Fort Worth
I do, and I’m not alone. They were the popular pick in our Big 12 preview as the “sleeper” team that could find its way to Arlington. I picked Kansas State because I’m high on the Wildcats, too, but I’ve mentioned before in this space how good the outlook for TCU is this season.
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Coach Gary Patterson has said multiple times this offseason that the team chemistry is as good as it was on his 2010 team, which went 13-0 and won the Rose Bowl. TCU has two all-conference caliber cornerbacks (Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson and Noah Daniels). The offensive and defensive lines are solid and experienced. Max Duggan will enter his third year as the starting quarterback. Running back Zach Evans is primed to break out. Quentin Johnston is a legitimate big-play receiver and has multiple experienced guys around him. The pieces are all there.
Had I filled out a preseason ballot of the Big 12 teams from top to bottom, I’d place TCU third, right behind Oklahoma and Iowa State. The biggest catalyst will be the play of Duggan. If he can become more consistent as a passer, TCU may waltz right into Jerry World in December.
Most exciting Texas school vs. Texas school nonconference games? — Jeffrey, Austin
We have some good ones this year! Here are my picks:
SMU at TCU, Sept. 25: The Mustangs and Horned Frogs should each flirt with conference championship game berths this season, so it’s a quality matchup in the Battle for the Iron Skillet. It’s the last nonconference game for each and a way to set the tone heading into conference play. As I mentioned in our Big 12 preview, the recruiting subtext provides another layer of intrigue for fans of these Dallas-Fort Worth area rivals.
Texas Tech vs. Houston, Sept. 4 (NRG Stadium): This game is critical to both programs. Each has a third-year coach (Texas Tech’s Matt Wells; Houston’s Dana Holgorsen) whose team has underwhelmed the past two years, and fans are itching for a breakout season. Even though it has no bearing on their ability to win their respective conferences, the result will be a big mood setter for both teams.
Houston at Rice, Sept. 11: If the Owls are going to steal a win from their tough early trio of nonconference games, this is their best opportunity. Houston has historically dominated the crosstown rivalry (the Cougars lead the series 31-11), and on paper, Holgorsen has the more talented team. But Rice’s defense is good enough to at least make this one interesting. If they can keep it low scoring, the Owls could have a shot at the Bayou Bucket.
Since Steve Sarkisian will be busy running the show offensively, Pete Kwiatkowski will have all the autonomy he could possibly want. What do you expect from the UT defense that will be different from those of previous defensive coordinator regimes? —Keary H., Brooklyn, N.Y.
The variety of fronts will probably be the most noticeable difference for fans. Todd Orlando liked to operate primarily out of a three-man front; Chris Ash leaned more toward a four-man front. Kwiatkowski is content to use both and get creative beyond that. There were multiple instances during the spring game in April in which only two defensive linemen had their hands on the turf, giving the defense a bit of a 2-4-5 look.
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Texas’ defensive line depth will allow it to substitute more often. During training camp, defensive line coach Bo Davis has shown no hesitation rolling guys in and out with regularity. The talent of some of the younger linemen has enabled that; Kwiatkowski singled out redshirt freshman Vernon Broughton as someone who has shined this month. True freshman Byron Murphy II is also having a good camp. The staff is using a variety of players as edge rushers and seemed pleased with the options, from LSU transfer Ray Thornton to Jacoby Jones to Notre Dame transfer Ovie Oghoufo and a few others.
If the Longhorns can get consistently good play on the defensive front, it should allow linebacker DeMarvion Overshown to have a huge season. The more free he is to use his athleticism, the better off the Longhorns will be.
What’s the most underrated college football venue in Texas? — Jared C.
I like the Sun Bowl. With UTEP being so far west, it’s easy to forget about the Miners, but with the stadium nestled in the mountains, it’s one of the prettiest settings in college football. It’s also a lot less humid than it is in most of the rest of the state.
I also am partial to Ford Stadium at SMU. I like the sight lines and the intimate feel, and it blends in well with what is a beautiful campus.
Earlier this summer, I did a full ranking of the 12 FBS stadiums in the state. Be sure to check it out.
Hudson Card or Casey Thompson wins the UT QB battle? — Chandler M.
Do you think Haynes King starts for A&M? and if so what do you expect out of him this year? — TJ G.
Who’s winning the QB battle going on in the heart of Big D? Has Tanner Mordecai done enough to hold off Preston Stone? — Cole C.
Quarterbacks are a hot topic this week.
At Texas, it’s a difficult choice. As I wrote in my practice report on Thursday, I see why Sarkisian isn’t in a hurry to declare a winner. He keeps saying eventually he has to go with his gut. Well, if I’m going with my gut, I think Card wins the job and starts versus Louisiana. The way Card spins the ball gives him some real upside in Sarkisian’s offense, even though Thompson looks a little more comfortable at times back there.
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In Aggieland, Zach Calzada has performed well this offseason, but I believe King will be the guy. When he takes over, King will find quick success and won’t look like the redshirt freshman he is. He’s considerably talented and has a lot of support in that locker room. If he gets the protection from the offensive line like Kellen Mond had last year, King could really shine.
At SMU, I fully expect Mordecai to take the first snaps when the Mustangs face Abilene Christian on Sept. 4. But from everything I’ve heard, Stone has acquitted himself well in training camp. The true freshman and former four-star prospect has met the challenge and provided Mordecai with stiff competition. But Mordecai has moved the offense well, operated with confidence and has experience and a familiarity with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley’s scheme on his side.
Is Dana Holgorsen ever going to get UH football to the “next level” of national recognition, be that (ideally) entry into a major conference or more national prominence? Or are the Coogs doomed to languish in forgotten mediocrity? — Matt from H-town
If he’s going to do it, Houston must take a huge step forward this year. Remember that joke president Renu Khator cracked at a party once about how they “fire coaches at 8-4”? Well, Holgorsen is 7-13 in his first two seasons on campus (for the record, Major Applewhite, who was fired after an 8-5 year, was 15-11 in his two seasons at UH).
Now, I fully understand that last year was a mess for the Cougars, few teams were impacted as heavily as they were by the pandemic: Eight of their games were canceled or rescheduled. But Holgorsen’s heavy redshirt strategy in Year 1, which led to a 4-8 debut season in 2019 and the eventual transfer of D’Eriq King, created urgency.
The Cougars schedule sets up well this year. They get SMU and Memphis at home, they don’t have to play Cincinnati or UCF, and their signature nonconference game (Texas Tech) is just down the road from campus. If the Cougars beat Texas Tech, a 9-3 or 10-2 season is not out of the question. And that’s what the expectation should be.
Even if they have that kind of success, I don’t think it’s going to heavily impact their chances of joining one of the remaining power conferences. Unless the Pac-12 has some intrigue in UH that I’m unaware of, Houston’s best hope is trying to latch on to a remade Big 12, assuming the remaining eight schools hold together.
(Photo of Baylor Cupp: Daniel Dunn / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
