AUSTIN – Sam Ehlinger lost.*
Asterisk explanation: The Texas junior quarterback played for the losing team in Saturday night’s Orange-White spring game. Ehlinger was a choose-the-description – lousy, poor, bad – 9-of-21 or 66 yards with an interception that set up the game’s only touchdown.
The asterisk requires an asterisk. Texas coach Tom Herman and his staff stripped down the playbook, removing most of the run-pass option plays that makes Ehlinger so effective. Plus, the storm system that blew through the region that caused Oklahoma and Texas A&M to reschedule their spring games from Saturday to Friday left gusty winds of close to 30 miles per hour.
The White team won 10-3. The DKR scoreboard displayed 12-6 but that also needs interpretation. The pregame circle drill of one-on-one pad-popping was scored with the Orange team winning three of the five matchups.
“Almost impossible to do much with the wind the way it was,” Herman said. “I hope none of us are going to take anything away from (this) offensive performance. It was almost impossible to do much throwing the football with the wind. And with no threat of throwing it’s really tough to move the football. We had trouble just throwing bubble screens.”
A total of 105 offensive plays produced 285 yards. The longest play from scrimmage was a 25-yard completion for Ehlinger to Malcolm Epps. Texas was the only Power Five school last season with no offensive plays go 50 yards or more.
During 15 practices, Herman said the passing game had been impressive in terms of deep throws. In the last two scrimmages, the offense had its way with the defense.
“It’s a shame our fans didn’t get to see just how well we’ve been throwing the deep ball throughout spring practice,” Herman said. “We’ve really come a long way in that regard, but that’s OK. We know the extenuating circumstances.”
The good news can be bad news and the bad news can be good news. If your offense rolls up yards and points, the defense is suspect. If the defense stuffs the offense, then the coordinator can’t call plays, the O-line can’t block, and the skill players are inept.
Though Ehlinger goes into his junior season as an established star, the Longhorns are thin at the position. Shane Buechele transferring to SMU leaves UT with zero experience behind Ehlinger, whose rambunctious playing leads to him absorbing plenty of hits.
One of the top takeaways was the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Casey Thompson. His experience in the system makes him the backup even though he hasn’t played in a game. Freshman quarterback Roschon Johnson, who graduated high school early and enrolled for the spring semester, played in the fourth quarter. He hasn’t had enough work to qualify as more than an emergency QB.
Thompson displayed a live arm and impressive running ability. He gained 47 yards on 11 attempts, perhaps more impressive considering the defense could down a QB by playing touch.
“He certainly showed what he could with his feet, but he threw the ball well, too,” Herman said. “We all feel confident in Casey’s trajectory and the progress he’s made.”
Grade/assess these games at your own risk. What happens on the field is not as significant as the atmosphere and attendance. Schools like Nebraska, Alabama and Ohio State can brag about how many fans show up for a meaningless scrimmage. Former Texas coach Mack Brown and now back at North Carolina, wants to eventually pack Kenan Stadium as a lure to recruits. Saturday, though, the turnout was sparse.
An estimated 35,000 showed up for the Longhorns. Bevo Boulevard, which will see its second home season in 2019, was set up exactly like a game day and it was packed like the Midway for the Red River Rivalry.
“Really appreciate the turnout,” Herman said. “Bevo Boulevard, the (pre-game player) walk, was electric, exciting. There were times I thought it felt like there was more people there than in the fall. What a difference a couple of years can make in terms of an atmosphere for the spring game. We’re getting to where we need to be as far as attendance and support of our spring game.”
With no “real” football to observe, the draw for fans is the ancillary activities. The theme for this weekend was “Made in Austin.” Athletic director Chris Del Conte and Drew Martin, UT’s director of external affairs, wanted to make the spring game the highlight of a weekend that also featured a three-game baseball series with Kansas State. Following the spring game, there was a post-game concert featuring Ludacris. One of his biggest hits was “Rollout (My Business),” which was on the charts in … 2001.
The Longhorns are happy to engage old-school nostalgia. A decade ago, UT reached the national championship game. Since then, the program has been wandering in the wilderness.
It doesn’t take much for Texas to flex its ego. For almost 10 years, the Longhorns have been all hat and no cattle. Spring Game No. 3 under Herman was the unofficial start to a season of high expectations. Coming off a victory over rival Oklahoma in Dallas and closing the season with a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia. The design of the team’s Sugar Bowl rings was revealed at halftime and the departing seniors from gathered around the Allstate Sugar Bowl trophy.
Most of another top five recruiting class will arrive following the spring semester and the real work for the upcoming season begins over the next three months. Winning teams are made in the summer.
The off-season will all about the hype and the Longhorns need to deafen the noise.
“We don’t use the words ‘we’ and ‘us’ because that’s last year’s team,” Herman said. “What last year’s team did will not effect what this year’s team can do. What we can do is learn lessons, good and bad, from last season. The guys on this year’s team have taken those lessons to heart.
“When there’s material testimony, material proof that our way of doing things can produce those kinds of winning experiences, they’ve seen the rewards.”
For that, no asterisk is necessary.
