Tuesday, March 29
Spring football notes
From ESPN's Bruce Feldman:
"I went to Texas' scrimmage Saturday and saw a defense that was really hitting. The Horns seem to be adjusting just fine to new D-coordinator Gene Chizik and his new terminology. One pleasant surprise for UT has been the development of Chris Ogbonnaya, who has bulked up 15 pounds and is challenging for time at RB. "He's really been impressive," says UT MLB Aaron Harris. "He's kind of a mix guy. He has the speed and some power, and he's shifty. He's not as much of a downhill guy like Ced (Benson) but I think he can really help us."
Harris, an All-America candidate, says it's been a big change this year not having superstar Derrick Johnson flying around the field making plays. "It is really different," he says. "I mean Derrick helped me out so much. It felt like he was Superman and I was Batman out there."
I was also out at Texas' pro day Wednesday where two busloads of scouts came to see the Longhorns test. Most eyes were on Cedric Benson who clocked a 4.58 forty weighing in at 225 pounds. A scout I talked to said he wasn't wowed by anything Benson did, but added he wasn't turned off either. "He's got a good body of work on film for us," said the scout, himself a former NFL RB. "That's what matters most. We just didn't want him to run a 4.8 or something like that." UT All-American linebacker Derrick Johnson didn't run (he ran up at the combine) but he did measure out at 6-3 and some change and 243 pounds. He also bench pressed 225 lbs 21 times. He also was put through position drills by a scout for the Vikings. Most of the Longhorn underclassmen, including future high picks OT Jonathan Scott and DT Rod Wright, watched the drills from the sidelines."
--PB--
"I went to Texas' scrimmage Saturday and saw a defense that was really hitting. The Horns seem to be adjusting just fine to new D-coordinator Gene Chizik and his new terminology. One pleasant surprise for UT has been the development of Chris Ogbonnaya, who has bulked up 15 pounds and is challenging for time at RB. "He's really been impressive," says UT MLB Aaron Harris. "He's kind of a mix guy. He has the speed and some power, and he's shifty. He's not as much of a downhill guy like Ced (Benson) but I think he can really help us."
Harris, an All-America candidate, says it's been a big change this year not having superstar Derrick Johnson flying around the field making plays. "It is really different," he says. "I mean Derrick helped me out so much. It felt like he was Superman and I was Batman out there."
I was also out at Texas' pro day Wednesday where two busloads of scouts came to see the Longhorns test. Most eyes were on Cedric Benson who clocked a 4.58 forty weighing in at 225 pounds. A scout I talked to said he wasn't wowed by anything Benson did, but added he wasn't turned off either. "He's got a good body of work on film for us," said the scout, himself a former NFL RB. "That's what matters most. We just didn't want him to run a 4.8 or something like that." UT All-American linebacker Derrick Johnson didn't run (he ran up at the combine) but he did measure out at 6-3 and some change and 243 pounds. He also bench pressed 225 lbs 21 times. He also was put through position drills by a scout for the Vikings. Most of the Longhorn underclassmen, including future high picks OT Jonathan Scott and DT Rod Wright, watched the drills from the sidelines."
--PB--
