Syllabus Week: What Sydir Mitchell, DeAndre Moore Jr., and Malik Muhammad need to work on
Depending on who you ask, “syllabus week” isn’t limited to a seven-day period. Some recognize syllabus week as lasting one day, others recognize it for an entire month.
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Whatever your preferred way to celebrate the beginning of the semester is, any newly-minted Texas Longhorns football player has a learning curve they have to navigate as they settle in on campus, begin workouts with Torre Becton, and learn other aspects of the program in preparation for spring football practices.
Rather than just telling each new Longhorn making their first few steps on the Forty Acres to “learn the playbook and get to know your teammates,” Inside Texas will look for specific areas for each mid-year enrollee to focus on during their first few weeks and months on campus.
Sydir Mitchell
Mitchell arrives on the UT campus after several other national powers, notably Georgia, wanted to keep him closer to the East Coast. Thanks to New Jersey connections from offensive coordinator Kyle Flood and tenacious recruiting by Bo Davis, Mitchell decided Texas was where he wanted to be in what Gerry Hamilton likes to call a “through the whistle” recruitment.
Senior highlights from the Under Armour All-American show an advanced ability versus the run. He keeps a solid pad level while engaging with (often undersized) blockers before using his strength and motor to track the ball-carrier. A lot of big guys with Mitchell’s strength just like to go forward using their weight to dominate blockers. Mitchell is adept at using skill and strength to get into position to track runners.
What his film doesn’t show much of is pass-rush ability. There aren’t a ton of high level offensive linemen in New Jersey, and in matchups with fellow state finalist Don Bosco Prep, Mitchell didn’t have to work often versus Texas A&M signee Chase Bisontis. Even so, extensive high quality pass-rush reps aren’t evident in his film.
Mitchell could see the field early as a two-down player, but if he wants to be a regular member of the rotation he needs to work with Davis on pass-rush technique.
DeAndre Moore Jr.
Two different high schools offered Moore Jr. two extremely advantageous situations. The first was time spent at Los Alamitos High School with Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Malachi Nelson, and the second was his senior season with So-Cal powerhouse St. John Bosco.
Even with those advantages, Moore Jr. did a lot of excellent things with the ball in his hand and on defense, more than enough to be worthy of his No. 110 ranking in the On3 Consensus. His defensive clips show a want-to factor and competitiveness not always evident on the Hudl highlights, and the same is visible in his receiver film.
Moore Jr. has good speed for the position and vision when he has the ball in his hands There isn’t a ton to see when it comes to blocking, which is a must for slot receivers at Texas. Blocking technique and crisp route running should be Moore’s focuses during the early stages of his time in Austin.
Malik Muhammad
One of the reasons Muhammad is so highly rated and was such a difference maker for the Golden Bears during their state championship runs is his ability in man coverage. The SOC coaches could more often than not play 10-on-10 football because there was faith in Muhammad being able to cover the man across from him without help.
Most of the time, that was true. His best play as a high schooler was the result of constant man coverage in the state championship game versus Port Neches-Groves. Muhammad stuck with his man, identified the ball during the scramble drill, caught it, and returned it for an important score in SOC’s 34-24 win over the Indians in the 5A Div. II championship.
While those man abilities will be crucial throughout Muhammad’s career, Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski uses a variety of coverages including many that involve zone or pattern-matching. SOC likely had more defenses in its repertoire and its possible Muhammad ran them while at The Mecca.
However, it wasn’t something they appeared to major in. Learning to read and react in zone coverage against college receivers, communicating efficiently, and occupying the right spaces will be key for Muhammad as he likely contends with Gavin Holmes, Austin Jordan, and others at cornerback.
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