Coach V's grades: Texas-OSU

Another great effort only to come up short in the end, these young Longhorns are learning and getting better each week. Here are the grades after UT’s 30-27 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday.

OFFENSE

The offense didn’t play as well this week but a ton of the reasons why were the penalty bug dropped on us by the striped shirts. We had some terrific individual efforts but couldn’t make it happen over the long haul. We must get ready for TCU and another chance to improve our team. Here are the grades:

13—Heard—B

Jerrod played well enough to win but couldn’t overcome all the off-schedule situations we (evidently) put ourselves into with penalty. He ran well but the Cowboys were very good tackling in the open field. The interception (tip) was more on the WR—the forward pass on the double pass was his worst pass of the day.

18—Swoopes—A-

just three plays but they were excellent SY runs—good to see Tyrone giving the team a contribution off the bench.

32—Gray—B

several quality blocks including a big hit de-cleater—excellent long run to get us out of a hole—gets tackled too easily—decision making needs improvement—right now J-Gray isn’t a difference-making RB.

33—Foreman—B

played well including a td run that was called back by a holding call that disappeared on instant replay—good blocking—tough running.

36—De La Torre—A-

really outstanding blocking—his SY/GL blocking is the main reason the Swoopes package worked so well.

42—Bluiett—B+

Caleb had the outstanding catch but it was his blocking that really made his game. He’s the best TE right now and it’s not even close.

1—Burt—A-

John didn’t have a great game receiving (not many opportunities) but he did help with his blocking—outstanding blocking along with a short catch.

3—Foreman—B+

Armanti played well with limited chances—blocked well in space.

4—Johnson—B+

Daje was outstanding in the kicking game again but he still has problems in the screen game—he needs to catch the ball first before he can make a big play.

7—Johnson—B

really good post catch for big gain but had a tip that cost us an interception—blocking is below average but for his first game he did fine.

6—McNeal had a good run on the jet sweep—he needs to get more chances.

74—Doyle—C

Taylor plays hard but has trouble with shaded noses and gets caught holding more than we can afford. Pass blocking is good when he can set his feet (guard chip)—his best asset is either line calls or maintaining contact even when losing the LOS.

66—Flowers—B-

Sedrick played better this week but still has pass protection problems along with pulling. He did block much better and longer.

77—Vahe—B

Patrick is a mauler that can play this game. His penalty was hard to see—his pancakes were not hard to see. Pass blocking improved and his pulling is lethal. Good player.

55—Williams—B

Connor didn’t have his best game but played well enough to win—his active feet are a pleasure to watch—pass protection is top notch.

76—Perkins—B

Kent was having a good game until he injured in the third quarter. Run blocking was excellent and pass blocking gave us time to throw. We need Kent for TCU.

65—Hutchins—C

Marcus has been playing well at LT when Connor moves to TE on SY/GL situations but wasn’t quick enough at RT for that DE—it’s hard to come off the bench and align at a position you haven’t practiced.

75—Nickelson—B-

Tristan pass blocked well but lacked conviction in his run blocking—did pretty well for his first action this year.

DEFENSE

We played much better this week but we still have individual efforts that won’t win you many football games sprinkled in with improving performances across the board. The second half was our most dominating play this year. Ridgeway and Hill had outstanding games. Gear up for TCU. Here are the grades:

1—Davis—B

two very good plays mixed in with a steady effort on the LOS—pass rush hasn’t been as consistent as we would like but Shiro had a solid game without flash.

40—Hughes—B+

Naashon made several very good plays playing both up and down in the defense. He’s still not a natural in space/coverage but he does have athletic ability for the position.

91—Cottrell—C+

Bryce had a penalty and a missed tackle among the few snaps he played—one tackle was good.

90—Omenihu—B+

Charles made some plays but slipped and slid too often—shoes/feet acted like two left’s in space. We need to get him more snaps—he has talent and is very instinctive.

98—Ridgeway—A-

Player of the game. Hassan had the td run, a sack, another pressure causing sack, and several plays he destroyed with penetration. He makes a huge difference in our defensive unit—he makes others around him better when he plays up to his talent.

99—Jackson—B

Tank played much better this week—he looked more like his junior year and made some plays along the way. Pass rush is still not his strong point but his pursuit improved for sure.

93—Boyette—C+

Paul had the tough roughing penalty that was bogus but he also had big problems getting off blocks—he didn’t give up the LOS but was void in pursuit making plays.

95—Ford—C

Poona had one terrific tackle and some solid pursuit efforts but lost the LOS and missed assignments at least twice plus the penalty that wasn’t leveled against him.

46—Jefferson—B

Malik showed a ton of improvement this week. Missed tackles were down and he got off blocks much better but why we insist on firing into big OL’s is above my pay-grade. He made a bunch of plays on want-to.

19—Jinkens—C+

Peter had his usual game. He made several tackles when he found the ball and was in the neighborhood—he took poor angles or missed tackles on some—he flat-out got lost and never figured in the play at all. Typical game.

45—Wheeler—B-

Anthony held up very well in his biggest test this year. He played more plays than the first three combined and he made plays. He got blocked some but he fought off those blocks back into the play. He needs to play more going forward—maybe some snaps at Will wouldn’t hurt our cause.

30—Cole—B

Tim had a few good plays and made one tackle. He just can’t play up to the speed of the game.

21—Thomas—B+

Duke played very well. His coverage is steadily improving and he makes excellent tackles in space. Good tackles against screens is a bonus.

25—Davis—B

Antwuan had a solid first quarter before giving way to the youth. He made a td saving tackle. We have a bunch of corners (5) playing well.

24—Bonney—C

John didn’t cover or tackle very well this week. He missed tackles and had at least one missed assignment—his best position is probably not corner.

31—Hall—C-

Jason isn’t making any plays, period. He plays too cautious (too deep) against the pass and he is missing most tackle opportunities. We need to be more competitive at this position—his play on our GL defense is less than inspiring.

14—Haines—C+

Dylan had one nice interception and two good open field tackles on the plus side—he missed his coverage on the GL and had too many missed tackles in pursuit. Coverage is not a strength once he’s removed from centerfield.

9—Davis—B

Davante had several nice plays before injuring his ankle/foot. He almost had a terrific interception and had one solid breakup and a nice tackle.

2—Boyd—B

Kris had another good effort which included a interception that was wiped out by the bogus penalty. He is an aggressive tackler that made a tremendous punt tackle on the GL. He’s a player for sure.

5—Hill—B

Holton had his best game with an interception for a td and a big hit tackle that caused a fumble that we didn’t get credit for recovering but actually did. We have five corners playing reasonably well but safety is a different story.

Grading system:

Shortcuts to reduce typing overload:

BRB—beat on a run block.

BPB—beat on a pass block.

GL—goal line.

SY—short yardage.

MT—missed tackle.

MA—missed assignment.

GFT—good fill tackle.

GOFT—good open field tackle.

PBU—pass break up.

tfl—tackle for loss.

5 star—play that most can’t make.

My grading system is based on total points earned against number of plays played. The points are awarded individually on each and every separate play. There are five different possible grades for each play. Players may earn a plus three (3) for a five star type play—-plus two (2) for above average execution—-plus one (1) for doing their job successfully—-zero (0) for getting beat but knowing and attempting their assignment—-and minus 3 (-3) for a missed assignment.

Each player has a total number of points and a total number of his own individual plays. You divide the total number of plays into the total number of points which gives you scale. The grading scale is as follows:

Any player averaging one point per play (1.0) grades out a B which is winning football. If a player plays 60 plays with 60 total points he would earn a passing grade — each point he goes over the total number of plays raises his grade accordingly. The system is built around rewarding any player that doesn’t beat himself or his team with mental mistakes.

The system also punishes any player that knows what to do but loses too many individual battles. If a player plays 60 plays but loses 10 of those with zero special plays (60 plays — 50 points) he falls below the 1.0 needed for a passing grade of B.

I use the plus/minus (A-, B+, etc,) when the numbers indicate a partial add or subtract from the grade. This system was used by my first coaching staff and I kind of carried it with me for 30 years — it’s not perfect but it gives the position coach a measuring stick for his individual players.

The only way to earn the highest grade of A is to play a perfect game. I’ve had exactly zero up to right now so great games still can be better so A- is a very popular second best. This system and my grades will always be subjective filled with agree and disagree opinions. It’s entirely fair for disagreement (without it we might not have horse races) but it’s important to remember that each play only counts once instead of allowing a big mistake to have major influence on an individual’s final grade.