Who Plays QB for Texas

[cloverleaf]

Texas head man Mack Brown is being coy about who his starting QB will be. The Longhorns report today for the 2011 season with last year's starter, Garrett Gilbert, suposely fighting for his job. He was a turnover machine last year as Texas had its first losing season in 13 years. Gilbert now is trying to fend off challenges from sophomore Case McCoy and freshmen Connor Wood and David Ash.

"We do think we're in a real healthy spot because we do have four quarterbacks who have a chance," Brown said yesterday at the Texas Gridiron Kickoff luncheon. "We've got to make it work. It's about who is going to win. I'm not worried about it. I'm excited about it."

I can't tell if Brown is blowing smoke or if there really is a QB battle to see who starts. I thought Gilbert had the position locked up.

:think2:

 

[SoonerBS]

Texas head man Mack Brown is being coy about who his starting QB will be. The Longhorns report today for the 2011 season with last year's starter, Garrett Gilbert, suposely fighting for his job. He was a turnover machine last year as Texas had its first losing season in 13 years. Gilbert now is trying to fend off challenges from sophomore Case McCoy and freshmen Connor Wood and David Ash.

"We do think we're in a real healthy spot because we do have four quarterbacks who have a chance," Brown said yesterday at the Texas Gridiron Kickoff luncheon. "We've got to make it work. It's about who is going to win. I'm not worried about it. I'm excited about it."

I can't tell if Brown is blowing smoke or if there really is a QB battle to see who starts. I thought Gilbert had the position locked up.

:think2:

No, I think there really is a QB battle as Gilbert's performance last year was not impressive. The question everyone has been wondering around here is whether or not Texas actually has a QB that could be any better. If they do not, it could be another long season if Gilbert doesn't improve.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

I think Gilbert will start, but will beon a short leash, as will all Texas players.

 

[GoSooners]

From everything I'm hearing, Gilbert is more of an offensive leader among the 4 candidates. And the starters have expressed their preference to have Gilbert at QB. But I agree with BD, he'll be on a short leash.

 

[YourAllAmerican]

I think Gilbert will start, but will beon a short leash, as will all Texas players.

There's your answer, right there.

The general belief right now is that it's Gilbert's job to lose, but that he could very easily do that if he plays poorly in practices and one of the other three QBs looks good. If he does get beaten out of the job -- and I can't tell you how much I hope that happens -- it will like be freshman David Ash, who probably has the most potential of any of the four. Word is that Connor Wood has gotten down because of his inconsistencies and may be on the verge of transferring. Case McCoy would be a fine quarterback and many I-AA schools, but his recruitment to Texas was a thank-you note to the McCoy and Shipley families; he should never be a starter at a major FBS school.

Ash has a lot of upside. He's an excellent all-around athlete -- he was an all-state punter and Applewhite has said he's likely to at least be on the field for some fourth-down plays, if nothing else -- and has a strong arm and has so far impressed more with his accuracy than either Wood or Gilbert. (Ash graduated high school early and was enrolled for the spring semester.)

But if nothing major happens in camp, it's Squintin' Garrett Gilbert for the Horns.

 

[WinningWand]

Gilbert will start. When he loses first game and struggles in first half of next game then McCoy will replace him. He will be the future of the team.

Wood will thrive as Jr and Sr depending on what case does.

 

[WinOne]

There's your answer, right there.
Case McCoy would be a fine quarterback and many I-AA schools, but his recruitment to Texas was a thank-you note to the McCoy and Shipley families; he should never be a starter at a major FBS school.

Same thing was said about Applewhite. Little guy, not a great arm, why's he here again? You are right though, Ash has the most upside but playing him means you are playing for 2012 doesn't it?

 

[YourAllAmerican]

Same thing was said about Applewhite. Little guy, not a great arm, why's he here again? You are right though, Ash has the most upside but playing him means you are playing for 2012 doesn't it?

Applewhite was recruited on his own merits, though, coming out of a strong high school in Louisiana. If Case's last name was "Johnson" he would never have ended up at a major FBS school. That's not a knock on him, it's just above his ability. The fact that he never got off the bench last season no matter how horribly Gilbert played spoke a lot about exactly what the staff thought about his potential as a starter.

I'm not so certain that Ash playing would relegate 2011 to a sort of training season for Texas. He's already been in the system for a full semester, they have the potential for a decent running game for the first time in a few years and there's nobody ahead of him who has shown they can win now. He may very well end up being the team's best chance for 2011, not just 2012 and beyond.

Wand, it seems very likely that Wood will be gone. I'd be extremely surprised if he finishes his college career at Texas.

 

[PabloLoco]

I thought Case almost transferred and was not considered the back up?

Gilbert will start, Mack is just trying to push him in the offseason. No real QB battle.

 

[jblonghorn]

I thought Case almost transferred and was not considered the back up?

Gilbert will start, Mack is just trying to push him in the offseason. No real QB battle.

This. Case had one foot out the door at UT and one foot in the door at Abilene Christian after Spring practices, but the coaches talked him into staying, imploring that the QB position is open. GG is the starter in game one, but if he has ANY shakiness, look for David Ash to be the next guy. Don't forget that Texas has the #1 QB recruit in the nation already signed up for next year, so losing McCoy and Wood wouldn't be all that bad honestly. Having Ash, Gilbert and Connor Brewer would be a nice stable.

For everyone that wants to bag on Gilbert, you need to realize that Muschamp forcefully implemented a power run game in spring practice of 2010, but he forgot to look at the personnel. So Gilbert practices a power run scheme for 5+ months, and then they realize they couldn't even push Rice around in game 1, so they scrap 5 months worth of game planning. Bottom line; it wasn't all Garrett's fault. In fact, it was more the coaches fault than anyone else's.

People will be surprised when they see Texas play this year. I can't wait.

 

[taylor13]

This. Case had one foot out the door at UT and one foot in the door at Abilene Christian after Spring practices, but the coaches talked him into staying, imploring that the QB position is open. GG is the starter in game one, but if he has ANY shakiness, look for David Ash to be the next guy. Don't forget that Texas has the #1 QB recruit in the nation already signed up for next year, so losing McCoy and Wood wouldn't be all that bad honestly. Having Ash, Gilbert and Connor Brewer would be a nice stable.

For everyone that wants to bag on Gilbert, you need to realize that Muschamp forcefully implemented a power run game in spring practice of 2010, but he forgot to look at the personnel. So Gilbert practices a power run scheme for 5+ months, and then they realize they couldn't even push Rice around in game 1, so they scrap 5 months worth of game planning. Bottom line; it wasn't all Garrett's fault. In fact, it was more the coaches fault than anyone else's.

People will be surprised when they see Texas play this year. I can't wait.

Mushchamp didn't bring in a power run game, he was the d-coordinator....Greg Davis and Mack brought in the run game.
Gilbert will be fine as soon as his dad and Mack get out of his ear telling him not to throw interceptions. He was scared last year, I personally think this year Gilbert will play ball and since he is a smart kid, I think he will run this new offense just fine

 

[YourAllAmerican]

For everyone that wants to bag on Gilbert, you need to realize that Muschamp forcefully implemented a power run game in spring practice of 2010, but he forgot to look at the personnel. So Gilbert practices a power run scheme for 5+ months, and then they realize they couldn't even push Rice around in game 1, so they scrap 5 months worth of game planning. Bottom line; it wasn't all Garrett's fault. In fact, it was more the coaches fault than anyone else's.

None of that has anything to do with Gilbert consistently missing receivers by 5 yards. He was awful all last season and showed no signs of improvement in the spring. He was highly recruited because his father was an NFL quarterback and he was a star in the high school equivalent of a Mike Leach "system" offense. He peaked at age 18.

 

[jblonghorn]

None of that has anything to do with Gilbert consistently missing receivers by 5 yards. He was awful all last season and showed no signs of improvement in the spring. He was highly recruited because his father was an NFL quarterback and he was a star in the high school equivalent of a Mike Leach "system" offense. He peaked at age 18.

While I understand what you believe you saw and how you can blame what you saw on Gilbert, he never felt comfortable last season, and that was due to the coaching and the schemes. Let's give him this fall camp and at least the 1st game before you write off the Gatorade High School player of the year and the #1 overall recruit in the nation. Remember, this true freshman almost brought Texas back from 20+ points down in the National Championship. He's got game.

 

[SoonerBS]

While I understand what you believe you saw and how you can blame what you saw on Gilbert, he never felt comfortable last season, and that was due to the coaching and the schemes. Let's give him this fall camp and at least the 1st game before you write off the Gatorade High School player of the year and the #1 overall recruit in the nation. Remember, this true freshman almost brought Texas back from 20+ points down in the National Championship. He's got game.

I actually think there is some truth to this. I expected Texas to be a lot better last season than they were based on what I saw Gilbert do coming in to relieve McCoy in the National Championship game of 2009. Once he settled down in that game, he really looked pretty decent. I never saw anything of that player last season. I guess that is one of the reasons why I think Texas will be a lot better this season -- I'm chalking up last season to a learning curve for Gilbert and I know he is capable of much better performance. We'll see . . . . . .

 

[jblonghorn]

I actually think there is some truth to this. I expected Texas to be a lot better last season than they were based on what I saw Gilbert do coming in to relieve McCoy in the National Championship game of 2009. Once he settled down in that game, he really looked pretty decent. I never saw anything of that player last season. I guess that is one of the reasons why I think Texas will be a lot better this season -- I'm chalking up last season to a learning curve for Gilbert and I know he is capable of much better performance. We'll see . . . . . .

I'm not saying he will set the world on fire, but the kid is a 4.0 GPA student, he comes from a wonderful family and he's got a hell of a head on him. As long as he's put in the right position to succeed, he will succeed. Last year was an anomaly in so many ways. You guys don't realize how dysfunctional the coaching situation was last year.

 

[YourAllAmerican]

he comes from a wonderful family

JB, Gale Gilbert is a POS.

We should never, ever judge a son because of the sins of his father, but a quick Web search for stories about the senior Gilbert's acquittals on sexual assault charges should disavow you of any notions that his Pop is a good dude.

 

[PabloLoco]

Wow. Kind of shocked to see he's a 4.0 GPA kid. My impression of him was that he wasn't smart, at least football smart.

He always looked indecisive on his reads and it seemed they really dumbed down the playbook a bit compared to Colt.

I expect him to be better but not sure how much. Guess well see. It doesn't have much proven help around him on offense.

 

[WinOne]

JB, Gale Gilbert is a POS.

We should never, ever judge a son because of the sins of his father, but a quick Web search for stories about the senior Gilbert's acquittals on sexual assault charges should disavow you of any notions that his Pop is a good dude.

So much for wonderful family!!! go back and look at the film of the NCG and you'll see dropped passed by Bama defenders and miss timed routes. Last year those dropped passes were picked off and he never got on the same page with receivers. Power run game is one thing but passing route are PASSING ROUTES. They did not change the passing game and the kid threw too many picks and put the defense in bad positions all year long. They need to fix the OL, and if the QB does not improve, then either fix the QB or replace him. They need to run the ball to protect whoever lines up under center.

 

[jblonghorn]

Mushchamp didn't bring in a power run game, he was the d-coordinator....Greg Davis and Mack brought in the run game.
Gilbert will be fine as soon as his dad and Mack get out of his ear telling him not to throw interceptions. He was scared last year, I personally think this year Gilbert will play ball and since he is a smart kid, I think he will run this new offense just fine

You don't know what happened if you think that Muschamp had no influence on the Offensive philosophy.

 

[GoSooners]

You don't know what happened if you think that Muschamp had no influence on the Offensive philosophy.

Just the idea that Muschamp had any say in what the offense did tells me how seriously messed up things were at Texas. Ultimately it all falls on Mack Daddy's shoulders. We'll see if he's a better CEO this year.