My take on the bowl game - SDSU made adjustments, we did not. This is not a hit on the staff, lord knows they did all they could with what they had to get those kids prepared. When you are trying to prepare for a bowl game, you need your full coaching staff. To have TH take most of the staff prior to the game and leave GA’s and analysts to try and get a team prepared is just not fair to the players. I feel for the players, and especially the seniors. They deserve better from the former head coach. At least don’t pillage the staff before a bowl game.
Now - on to 2017 and beyond.
What I think we need.
First, depth. Thankfully we are a very young team. We need more depth on the o line and d line. We have some great players, they all just need the experience.
Second, speed. We don’t have the speed of the Ware/Klingler area at receiver. We have some amazing receivers that are big and strong. What we need is a few burners (and I mean serious speed burners) that can keep those safety’s deep. This will allow the running game to open up and also allow us to utilize the big strong receivers we have.
Last, support for Applewhite and his staff. I am confident he is the right choice. I am looking forward to watching that he puts in place.
We greatly need depth at OL, but even more than depth, we need good players. There were guys who got extensive playing time this year from the very beginning that are not D1-level OL. We have some highly rated OL who either redshirted this year or are going to be true FR next year. I’m hoping these guys develop a lot during the off season because we’re going to need them! We’re losing some really good seniors from the DL. I’m still holding out hope that Chaisson decides to come here and play next to Oliver. But even if he does, we’re going to need some of the younger guys to step up to replace Bowser, Singleton and Malveaux.
I 100% agree and posted about it on another thread. We don’t even have to go back as far as Ware/Klingler. Keenum had several burners to throw the ball to. I’m looking forward to having Marquez Stevenson, Rashaad Samples, Keith Corbin and Courtney Lark all contributing next year. Those are the burners we badly needed this year. It sounds like Stevenson would have contributed immediately if not for the injury. I hope Corbin and Lark learn from their experiences and progress a lot during the off season. Isaiah Johnson can fly, but he has to work on his hands.
Unlike a host of other people, I refuse to judge Applewhite on the bowl performance. Herman gutted the staff leaving CMA with almost nothing to work with. It was obvious after the 1st quarter when SDSU made adjustments and we couldn’t. Let’s let CMA hire a staff and have an entire off season to install his systems before passing judgment. I still like the hire and what it means for continuity and recruiting.
My primary concern is the O-line. Sometimes great athletes on offense can mask vulnerabilities. I feel that’s the case for this year’s team and 2011’s team. It seems to be the toughest position group for UH to recruit.
I’m definitely ready to start seeing some leaks about staff members Major is targeting and/or hiring. The sooner the better but maybe the longer it takes the better. Could be guys on big bowl teams which would be an exciting start to unveiling who’s about to put on that Red and White.
HGetting a major league O-line has always been s challenge for UH. Ironically it has led to UH’s tradition as an offensive juggernaut. Over the years - heck, over the decades - UH has relied on innovation to compensate for lack of size and ability in the O-line.
Bill Yeoman relied on the veer and both speed and quickness in his day to run up incredible yards and scores. And don’t think that all UH did was run. We were very effective in the pass game. Elmo Wright didn’t just innovate dancing in the end zone - which he did! Even with a half-blind QB he managed to blow big holes in both the UH and the NCAA record book. Some of these records still stand. And don’t forget receivers such as Robert Ford and the great Riley Odoms. And all this was because our O-line didn’t have the beef to pound the ball into opposing defenses.
And when Yeoman retired, UH didn’t miss a beat. Again UH didn’t have the big beefy O-line needed to run the Pro-set that was becoming the rage. We didn’t invent the run and shoot but we darn sure introduced it to major college football and made it a household name. And while traditionalists did everything in their power to slander both UH and its offense we ignored their “wisdom” and blew more holes in the record book. Oh, and picked up a Heisman along the way.
The years go by but some things just don’t seem to change on Cullen Blvd. The run and shoot served us well untill the traditionalists in the athletic department managed to run off Jugular John and bring in a real football coach who would install something like the Miami offense. I’ll simply ask one and all, how did that work out? One - and there were several - of the reasons that Helton failed was the simple fact that he could never recruit the big hairy lineman needed to shove the other guys around.
I’ll stop there, while pointing out that nothing has really changed. Whether we’re talking about Briles’ offense with Kevin Kolb or the Air Raid with Case Keenum, beginning with the run and shoot, UH has specialized in pass-based innovative offenses. These offenses turn weaknesses into strengths. And it worked. Even Levine opined that if it wasn’t broke he wouldn’t fix it while he completely went about dismantling the explosive offense he inherited.
So as we greet yet another head coach I would ask - beg, really- that Major at least give a serious thought to what has worked for 50 years at UH, and WHY. If it ain’t broke please don’t fix it.
Yea, it’s my memory that Helton was the last coach to recruit an above average o-line. I remember the o-line we went to LSU with, when we beat them 20 to 7, was the largest in all Div 1 football, and pushed d-lines around all year long.
One of my favorite o-linemen was SirVincent Rogers, he was a penalty machine but he would dominate lesser d-lineman, and then let them know it. He also played with Vollmer, so I guess that 2007ish line was pretty good too.