Swoopes wants better execution, Ash says goodbye
Tyrone Swoopes. (Will Gallagher/IT)
AUSTIN — Texas ranks No. 119 in offensive 3rd-down conversions. Guess where the emphasis was during the recent bye week?
The focus last week was “getting better at 3rd downs and staying on the field,” Tyrone Swoopes said Monday during the media availability.
Swoopes insists it’s simply a matter of better execution and making improvements in the “little things”, such as holding a block or “putting my throws in better spots.”
“It’s not the big things with us. It’s executing the little things. Once we start doing that, we can be pretty good.”
Swoopes refused to throw his diminished offensive line, with its combined 15 starts, under the bus. Swoopes has, on more than one occasion, cited his feet as his greatest asset and believes he should be able to elude a crashing lineman. He is also convinced that Texas, even with the depleted lineup, still has the offensive playmakers to be productive.
“From watching the film, we can see that we are one block away, one cut away from busting a big one,” Swoopes said. “We definitely have big-play ability on this team.”
Ability? Yes. Sustainability? Remains to be seen. Johnathan Gray’s 31-yard run and John Harris’ 33-yard reception — both against UCLA — were the exceptions when Texas mustered 322 yards on the night. The past two games, opponents have nearly doubled-up Texas (52-to-29) in getting a fresh set of downs
“We haven’t been getting 1st downs and haven’t been giving our defense a rest,” Swoopes said. “If we do that, and execute on 3rd down, we’ll be fine.”
Problem is, Texas isn’t a whole heckuva lot better on 1st- and 2nd-down. Heading into conference play, this year’s offense is, statistically, trending toward across-the-board historic lows. Contributing toward 3rd-down woes is an offense that currently ranks 89th by allowing 2.33 sacks-per-game, 98th in rushing (123.7 ypg) and 101st in passing (187.3).
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Offensive coach Shawn Watson has managed to get Swoopes into his comfort zone by getting him out of the pocket. His intermediate tosses off rollouts have resulted in one of the nation’s best completion percentages (67.7). But Texas is averaging less than 15 catches-per-game and a far-from-explosive 8.5 yards-per-catch
However, when UT’s defensive-minded head coach was asked to name an area that still needed improvement, Charlie Strong mentioned defensive 3rd-down efficiency. The Horns currently rank among college football’s upper-tier in that area, checking at No. 29 (31.3 percent).
“We have to do a better job of getting off the field on 3rd downs,” Strong said.
David Ash. (Will Gallagher/IT)
Former Texas QB David Ash came in towards the end of the availability to officially retire from Texas football and say ‘thank you’ to the UT faithful. He also has interesting opinions on his family playing football in the future.
“I love football,” said Ash.”If my son wants to play football, I’ll say go for it. The doctors told me that if ‘you were my son, I wouldn’t let you play.'”
Ash said he had headaches for seven to eight days after the North Texas game. “And I didn’t take a vicious blow.”
“I want them to remember what I stand for more than my abilities,” said Ash. “I would like people to remember me for what’s on the inside. For my character and my faith.”
