Thoughts on the CFP national championship and Texas' 2023 secondary
TCU’s Cinderella season turned quite dark last night. It went from a blowout to a sad laugher somewhere in the third quarter.
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The Bulldogs scored 51 unanswered points, 14 of those in the fourth quarter with Georgia’s backups dominating TCU’s starters.
Cinderella lost her glass slipper. And the prince, Stetson Bennett, didn’t try to return it because his evil step-mom Kirby Smart made him smash it against top of big Jalen Carter’s helmet.
Better offense, better defense, better play-calling and better players. That’s the summation of that game.
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If opponents are looking for a recipe to beat TCU in the future, there’s one that is clearly coming into view.
On offense, utilize misdirection frequently against TCU’s lighter front.
On defense, stop the TCU run game. Make them beat you in the air.
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Congrats to TCU on a great season overall, even though they didn’t actually win a championship of any kind (neither national nor conference). Hat tip to Ian Boyd for pointing that out last night in the IT group chat.
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My thoughts on the portal for Texas have not changed.
Find starters. Find upgrades.
So far, the Longhorn coaches are three-for-three in the players they have attracted.
Jalen Catalon, who committed to Texas yesterday, is the latest in the group.
The former Arkansas safety was a three-year starter for the Razorbacks before injury befell him each of the past two seasons.
He was even named All-SEC as a redshirt freshman and a freshman All-American.
He has since received a clean bill of health after shoulder surgery, one I’m told the Longhorns and other teams checked out extensively before deciding to pursue further.
Safety was a big, big hole for the Longhorns this off-season. They needed immediate help and experience.
The additions of Catalon and Wake Forest corner Gavin Holmes all of a sudden give Texas an extremely experienced secondary heading into next year.
Here’s the starting five, at least on paper, all with starting experience:
Jahdae Barron
Jerrin Thompson
Gavin Holmes
Jalen Catalon
Ryan Watts
Add in Terrance Brooks and Jaylon Guilbeau and the Horns go seven deep in players with some starting experience.
That’s a significantly better starting point than the Horns had a year ago.
