Inside the Gameplan: finding fits for 2016's class

The 2016 class is now signed, sealed, and delivered for Charlie Strong, finishing 11th in 247’s class calculator rankings. Of course the consensus rankings by 247 often fail to account for negative aspects of a class, like Strong losing much of 2015’s Florida Five for various reasons, or positive aspects like his ability to find 3-star gems that will respond to his culture and prove to be better than expected.

I’m going to tackle the class from the perspective of how Strong did at finding recruits who can be projected to develop into players that will fill needs and fit Charlie’s strategy for subduing the Big 12.

OFFENSE

Quarterback

Texas had two needs at the QB position, the first for a player that can make the quick reads and throws that allow a spread offense to come to life and unleash the University’s typically considerable athletic advantages at the skill positions. The other is for a QB that can do this right now since the last three QB recruits were all raw and possibly even poor fits for the modern spread passing game.

Shane Buechele was the sole take here, and while his lack of size (180 pounds) combined with the fact that he’ll be a true freshman make him an inadequate haul for the purpose of filling both of UT’s needs, he’s the exactly the kind of prospect that Texas desperately needs in order to get this position right in the future.

His skill set includes vision to see the field, a quick release and the ability to throw the ball accurately from in or out of the pocket, and some quickness to boot. Buechele has the Colt McCoy or Baker Mayfield start-up kit and if he has the right mindset he should be a great one in time.

Grade: B+

Running back

Texas’ new system has been proven to be equally adept at generating consistent gains with a sturdy, hard-running back or with a burner that can be loosed into space. Any back who’s effective at running gap schemes should feel free to apply for a job that’s likely to get a lot of glory.

Kyle Porter is the sole take here and he’s a good one who has experience running a variety of power schemes at Katy and very little interest in the normal drama or attention that comes from playing football (doesn’t even have a Twitter account). His tape reveals an exciting ability to make reads and threaten multiple creases before making LBs wrong for their choices with jump cuts and hard running through the hole. Porter isn’t the sexiest RB recruit Texas has ever had but he’s exactly the kind that could end the drought of 1K yard runners, especially in this new system.

Grade: B

Ancillaries

You can basically divide Gilbert’s veer and shoot offense into the passing game personnel and the run game personnel as each will often stick largely to their own area of expertise while the QB chooses which to emphasize. On the run game side you have the five OL and then often an additional blocker, who’s ideally an H-back in skill set (able to execute different blocks from the backfield) but if he can serve as a TE and catch some passes all the better.

Peyton Aucoin comes ready made for this role as he excelled in high school as a mobile, 6th OL that could block as an attached TE or move around in the backfield and maul opponents as a lead blocker. Of course I think there’s a good chance he grows into a true OL but in this system he can get started here and move inside if his body and talent takes him to tackle. He’ll be immensely valuable either way.

Demarco Boyd is limited by size, as he’s 6-foot-0 flat, but if he grows into the kind of lead blocker I expect he will, then Texas can always just emphasize H-back and fullback sets rather than using an attached TE, it really doesn’t matter much. He also has the potential to be a utility back who serves in situations that call for a blocker or short-yardage runner next to the QB.

Grade: A-

Wide Receivers

Gilbert’s variety of the veer and shoot is actually a tad more Air Raidish than what you see from Briles in Waco as he likes to mix in a lot of traditional passing concepts from the ultra-spread alignments. For that reason, traditional possession receivers have more value for Gilbert than they would in the Briles O where it’s almost entirely about speed. That said, speed and stretching the field vertically or horizontally with the ability to house a bubble screen are the most important traits for a Gilbert wideout.

Collin Johnson has been the big piece of the offensive class for quite a long time after committing as a sophomore along with his older brother in April of 2014. His excellent hands and 6-foot-6 frame make him a pretty easy fit in any system as an outside receiver but in this particular offense that will regularly see him draw single coverage he’s going to be very difficult to stop.

Davion Curtis is exactly the kind of player that you normally see explode into prominence after getting inserted into this offense. Curtis is all raw speed and what route running he has done in high school, finding soft spots over the middle on dig routes, projects well to running vertical option routes in Gilbert’s offense. This is a guy Texas could put outside opposite another deep threat and wreak havoc on teams that don’t have two corners they can trust to play deep routes without help.

Lil’ Jordan Humphrey is a guy that will cause Gilbert to get creative with his schemes because he is a rare breed of athlete. The most special skill Humphrey possesses is being agile and fluid enough to have played RB in high school at 6-foot-5, a trait that will likely help him become a favorite target as a slot receiver in the middle of the field for Gilbert.

Reggie Hemphill-Mapps is great at breaking out of his route stem and getting separation but whether he sees the field often at Texas will depend on whether he take the top off of defenses going vertical better than the rest of the skill talent being stockpiled in Austin. His tape shows a player with good situational awareness and willingness to block, which are essential in a bubble screen-heavy offense, so you can’t bet against him.

Grade: A-

Offensive linemen

Matt Mattox’s scheme is at its best when featuring guys that can move and find targets in space but big, nasty maulers are also useful in the inside zone, trap, and power schemes. Texas has a nice class of four coming in but this could become five or six if Aucoin or Gerald Wilbon join the party.

Jean Delance is the crown jewel of the class, an ultra-athletic tackle that could become the feature of the pass protection schemes, the slip/tunnel screens, or any runs that get the left tackle out in space to flatten LBs and DBs at the second level. He’ll need time to grow into the role but he’ll get it with Connor Williams playing ahead of him.

Denzel Okafor is Trey Hopkins redux. He has the athleticism and feet to play tackle but is maybe 6-foot-4 in cleats, so he doesn’t have the ideal length to play outside and swat away pass-rushers. No worries, he might still be able to play right tackle or else be a well above average guard. If he can learn to translate his athleticism to pulling in Mattox’s power schemes, he could be a special part of future Texas OLs.

Tope Imade was more of a Joe Wickline kind of take, a massive guard prospect (6-foot-4, 320) with good feet and length that had a lot of upside in a zone-blocking scheme. In Mattox’s system the big question will be the same as it is for Okafor, whether he can become an effective pulling guard that can beat DEs and LBs in space. Whether he clicks in those assignments or not, Imade could very well find a role as a massive guy in the middle creating space for other lead blockers by driving opposing DL off the line on double teams or with down blocks.

Zach Shackelford is one of the more college-ready guys in this OL class since he’s already close to 300 pounds, which is good news since he’s an early enrollee who will be in the mix early competing for the starting center. Shackelford is good at turning shoulders, blocking down, and executing combo blocks before climbing up to a linebacker, all skills that will come into play at center.

Grade: A-

DEFENSE

Defensive line

Texas desperately needed some kids that could eat a double team and ideally also have the quickness to stunt and get some pressure. Additionally, there’s always a need for dominant 3-techniques that can blow up opposing blocking schemes as those are the players that separate the dominant programs from the rest. Finally, Texas has lacked strongside ends that can set the edge from a 4i-technique in the 3-3 fronts.

Jordan Elliott is the crown jewel of the DL class, and his SPARQ numbers do a great job of explaining why. He threw the power ball 41’ and ran a 4.35 shuttle at 6-foot-4, 300, giving you an indicator of how this kid is both absurdly strong and impossibly quick. He may end up inside at the nose because of his power and the fact that he could still develop as a pass-rusher from inside but his ideal spot would be as a 3-technique or 3-3 DE like Malcom Brown.

Chris Daniels might be a DL that allows Elliott to play outside as his wide base and improving punch at the point of attack make him a good nose tackle project that could learn to eat space inside much like the similarly long and raw Kheeston Randall years ago.

Gerald Wilbon is the official nose tackle signee of this group and his senior film suggests he may stick there and not be moved to OL. Wilbon’s greatest attribute is that he fires off the ball both low and hard, which helps him to split double teams and to beat control interior gaps since he’s generally playing with great leverage. Because his technique is good and he’s faster off the ball than as a junior, Wilbon may prove to surprise and be one of the first 2016 DL to see the field.

D’Andre Christmas-Giles is a fantastic 3-technique prospect who is lightning quick off the ball and uses his hands very well, two of the best indicators of future success. Texas may struggle to get all of these guys on the field together if they all adapt well to college life but they’re going to have to find a way if DCG becomes as effective as he could.

Marcel Southall has a reputation for not making the most of his athletic ability but instead regularly taking lots of plays off, but now he’s entering a culture that Charlie has worked hard to transform into a feisty, dog-eat-dog environment where you either make the most of your opportunity or get left behind. With all of the other DTs in this class, Southall becomes a fantastic insurance policy. Either he fails to work hard enough to separate from the pack or Charlie has landed one of the more athletic DL in the state.

Malcolm Roach could end up in a lot of different spots. As a senior he played something like Texas’ Fox position but he might end up closer to 300 than his current weight of about 250. Roach is explosive off the ball but has the length and could develop the strength to become a strongside end or even yet another DT.

Andrew Fitzgerald is Charlie’s darkhorse to become the most dominant recruit and has been a personal favorite since long before he committed. He’s at least 6-foot-4, has fantastic fluidity and functional strength, and will probably end up being a 6-foot-5, 280-pounder who can play on the edge and be the kind of strongside end that will make the 3-3 fronts exceptionally hard to run on.

Grade: A+

Linebackers

The goal here is to accumulate as many versatile and explosive athletes as possible as the nature of Charlie’s defense is to attack the offense with the LBs and dictate what they can do by regularly bringing at least one backer on the blitz. The more linebackers on the field that can get into the backfield and cause problems the fewer options opposing offenses have for attacking the defense.

Erick Fowler might be the best take here simply because he projects as a highly disruptive blitzer from a number of positions. Sam, Will, Mike, or Fox backer are all in play for this kid as he’s a brilliant pass-rusher but also a versatile athlete who can beat blocks and play coverage from the interior.

Shark McCulloch projects more cleanly to the Fox position as a 6-foot-3, 230-pounder who will probably only get bigger. His 4.2 shuttle time speaks to his quickness on the edge and the next time an OT gets a clean block on him during an edge rush might be the first.

Grade: A-

Safeties

The nature of Charlie’s defense is such that either safety position can become a playmaker that dominates football games. Locking up opposing receivers with the corners and nickel allow the strong safety to hang out near the line where a strong box player is set up to blitz or make tackles around the line of scrimmage that can snuff out an opposing run game. Meanwhile a deep safety with range and open field abilities can play over the top of everything and erase an opponent’s ability to land any knockout blows.

Chris Brown fits in with Boyd and Fitzgerald as guys that may exceed expectations because they simply have the ideal mindsets for football players. Back in high school, Brown’s teammate Dontavious Jackson would frequently force runners to bounce outside where they’d be lined up for Brown kill shots when he’d come to support the run from a corner or safety position. This is a physical player who loves the game. Brown could conceivably fit in any of the three interior DB positions (FS, SS, N) but his heady play in zone and knack for separating receivers from the ball might make him a good FS.

Brandon Jones is the best player in this class. His role at Texas will hopefully depend on where he’s most effective rather than where he’s most needed and thanks to his ability to fight through the wash and deliver jarring blows in the box, he might be most effective as a strong safety.

However, his effective range is so great that he may also be able to grow into a dominant eraser at free safety that completely stifles opposing teams’ ability to have a successful play go for more than 10 yards. It’ll be fun to see where his talent takes him.

Grade: A+

Cornerbacks/nickels

UT’s scheme tends to put the outside corners and even the nickel on an island at times, asked to play man coverage and prevent deep passes while the middle of the field is loaded up with hard-hitting and hard-blitzing linebackers and safeties. Because Texas landed perhaps as many as four solid coverage players in the 2015 class, there wasn’t a great need to load up with numbers here in 2016 but the position is undeniably essential to the offense. Without athletes that can play man on Big 12 receivers this defense doesn’t work.

Eric Cuffee is arguably the sole take at this place of need in the class and his projection is still uncertain. He’s a 4.65 40 guy but with a 4.1 shuttle, so while he’s more than quick enough to keep up with people in and out of breaks, his ability to recover if he’s beat is slightly suspect. Because there’s so much talent ahead of him at corner there’s plenty of time for Cuffee to develop the skills to make the most of his physicality and quicks at corner or find a home inside at nickel where the coverage assignments leave a defender less exposed.

Grade: C+