Bobby Burton
Posted 1 hour ago
The first scrimmage of fall camp gets going here in the next couple of hours.
Scrimmages last roughly two hours. Under Sark, the team typically starts with special teams (punts and kickoffs) when they’re inside DKR like they will be this morning.
Then they typically go 1s vs 2s to start things off before moving to 1s vs 1s and 2s vs 2s, each in multiple eight-play spurts. After that, it’s time for 1s vs 1s and 2s vs 2s.
As part of that session, they focus on situational pieces, including red zone before closing with kicking.
Again, that’s the “typical” order of operations for a Sark-led training camp scrimmage. But he’s also known to change it up at times to keep things fresh.
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I’m told freshman receivers Kaliq Lockett and Michael Terry have been coming on of late.
Terry’s rate of improvement seems to be outpacing all of the others. However, it’s important to note he also had the farthest to come since he had never really played the position before, so it’s not like he’s jumped to the front of the line.
Lockett and Daylan McCutcheon have separated themselves somewhat from Jamie Ffrench and Terry. But Texas is said to like all of the freshman pass catchers.
Ffrench has a little something special to him, but he may actually end up being a better inside receiver than a true outside one. Lockett’s length has proven to be a real advantage there.
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I need to come back to something I wrote the other day.
I am not saying definitively that Matthew Caldwell is now the second string quarterback. I am saying I think he’s the odds-on favorite to be such in Columbus.
He is getting to handoffs quicker, has more mobility and is just operating the offense differently than Trey Owens. If it’s a tie ball game or Texas is up by a score or two and Sark needs someone to finish things out, I think Caldwell is likely the best answer at this time. He takes fewer chances, has been in the fire before on the college level, and is the safer pick.
Owens certainly has a bigger arm and is more willing and capable of pushing the ball downfield and into tighter windows.
So, conversely, if it’s the start of a game, or Texas is down in a game, Sark might lean to Owens simply because of that element. Potentially higher risk but also higher reward.
To be clear, I think Texas is lucky to have both.
It’s definitely not somehow about me personally rooting for one over the other. Far from it.
And it’s certainly not about Sark playing favorites. Caldwell and Owens both have Texas on the front of their jerseys, and that’s all that matters.
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As reported previously, Nick Brooks has moved to right tackle in the wake of Andre Cojoe’s season-ending injury.
Nate Kibble is getting heavy work at right guard while Connor Stroh is now getting a lot of work at left guard.
The two came into camp flip-flopped, with Kibble on the left and Stroh on the right.
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More coming from the scrimmage later today.
Hook’Em!
poor @Helobious