Today’s speaker was offensive line coach Stacy Searels. The attendance at the lunch was down quite a bit, but that may have been because of the area wide flooding.
Before Coach Searels spoke, head women’s basketball coach Karen Aston spoke. She spoke about how their season opens tonight and that team is excited to put on the uniforms and play tonight.
She said that last season was a transition year. We had injuries, but we have a new vibe. We are still a work in progress, but that is exciting to her.
Coach then introduced her staff that was there, that includes Travis Mays. Didn’t realize he was back coaching on campus.
Then, after some words from Bill Little that I didn’t bother to write down, Coach Searels came up to the stage.
Opening line: “Happy Halloween, and this is not a mask.”
The rest of this should be considered paraphrasing.
All our goals are still ahead of us. We’re looking forward to continuing our Big 12 play against Kansas.
They’ve got a lot of experience on their staff, and some good players, but it’s not about them. It’s about Texas.
Coach then showed some clips and analyzed some of plays for us. Granted, the plays were picked to show us off, but it’s still interesting.
He then talked about how Kansas will go cover 0 and play man to man. We have to run the ball on early downs.
Next, he opened up the floor to questions.
Your right guard reaches over and touches the center. What’s that about?
When you play on the road in the shotgun, it’s hard to hear. It’s a non-verbal cadence. Center keeps his eyes up, and Mason reaches over to tell him when the quarterback is ready.
To what would you attribute how much better the o-line has been the last four games. Will we ever throw a pass to a tight end again.
Yes.
I’m proud of how the o-line has played. They’ve been very physical the last four games.
Coach Brown says you get rid of bad streaks when one team gets tired of getting their butts kicked.
With Kansas coming in, and their record, how does the defense prepare for what may be a lot of trick and gadget plays?
Charlie Weiss has a vast amount of experience in calling plays. They ran the ball on us effectively last year.
The main ingredient in our victories has been stopping the run.
If we stop the run and get them in long distance, life is better.
Will Tyrone get more snaps?
I’m sure he will, but you need to talk to Major.
We need to have him ready to play. When you’re a freshman, you have the blinders on. But the more you play, the better off you’ll be.
Do you sub on the o-line when they’re tired, or do you have a set rotation.
I have a set rotation of who is going to play if someone gets dinged. We prefer to have continuity on the line. The last few games, five games have played most of the game.
You know who your top five are, and then who your sixth is who can rotate in various places.
Could you tell us how people look on the o-line after the top guys.
I’m excited about the younger guys. Desmond Harrison is going to be a tremendous player for us.
Rami Hammad had shoulder surgery, but he’s a big strong kid.
Darius James is down to about 325, and is very athletic.
Kent Perkins is the one true freshman who has played for us. Has great feet.
I really like how those kids are coming along.
I’m really proud of these seniors, though. I told them before the OU game that they’ll remember this game the rest of their lives.
We really appreciate your support.