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From:truorange@aol.com
To:truorange@aol.com
Subject:True Orange, September 18, 2000, Part 2
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Date:Mon, 18 Sep 2000 04:58:00 -0700 (PDT)

Part 2

Scouting Houston
The Longhorns should be able to get back on the winning track Saturday nigh=
t
when they host Houston at 6 p.m. in a game that will be a regional Fox
telecast.
The Cougars won their first game of the season Saturday, defeating Army,
31-30. Army had a chence to win with a 32-yard field goal on the final play
of the game, but UH defensive back Emile White blocked it.
Houston had lost its first two games, 30-27, to Rice in overtime, and 28-13
to LSU.
New Cougar coach Dana Dimel has installed an all-out passing offense and hi=
s
QB, senior Jason McKinley, is fifth in the nation in total offense with 333=
.3
yards per game.
The Cougars are sixth in passing with 346.3 yards per game, and WR Brian
Robinson is among the national leaders with 31 catches for 299 yards.
The Cougars gained 524 yards against Army and ran 92 plays.
Defensively, Houston has struggled.
In losing to Stanford last week, the Longhorns lost all three of the "keys =
to
victory" I cited in my scouting report. They lost the rushing battle, they
didn't put as much pressure on the Stanford QBs as the Cardinal defenders p=
ut
on the Texas signal callers, and they had two turnovers, while Stanford had
none.
The Cougars are far less formidable than Stanford, so Texas should win fair=
ly
easily.
Here are three keys to victory, in my opinion:
1. Do a better job of running the football. That's not a huge order since t=
he
Horns are averaging only 50 yards per game on the ground.
2. Protect the Texas quarterbacks. Stanford got five sacks and had tremendo=
us
pressure on the Texas QBs most of the game.
3. Put a lot of pressure on McKinley. The Texas secondary gives up a lot of
big plays when opposing QBs have time to throw.
Long-Range Outlook
Coach Mack Brown likes to talk about four or five "key games" on the
schedule. He doesn't mean the other games are against patsies, but let's ta=
ke
a look at the teams Texas plays this year.
First, there are six games the Longhorns should win. The opening victory ov=
er
Louisiana-Lafayette was one of those. The others are Houston, Oklahoma Stat=
e,
Missouri, Baylor and Kansas.
If Texas takes care of business in those six games, the other five will be
the key to going 10-1 or 6-5 or somewhere in between this season.
Stanford, as Brown noted, was one of the key games, so Texas is 0-1 in the
big games. The others are Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas Tech and Texas A&M.
Texas needs to win at least three of those to have a chance to finish 9-2 a=
nd
win the Big 12's Southern Division title.
Big 12 Roundup
Texas lost at Stanford and Colorado fell to visiting Washington in the Big =
12
Conference's top intersectional games Saturday, but Iowa State's Cyclones d=
id
gain a measure of respect by whipping state rival Iowa.
This week's schedule is the last week before Big 12 play kicks off on Sept.
30.
BIG 12 STANDINGS
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Conference Season
W L PF PA Pct. W L PF PA Pct.
Texas Tech 0 0 000 000 .000 4 0 101 26 1.000
Oklahoma 0 0 000 000 .000 2 0 100 21 1.000
Oklahoma State 0 0 000 000 .000 2 0 59 26 1.000
Texas A&M 0 0 000 000 .000 2 1 106 44 .667
Texas 0 0 000 000 .000 1 1 76 37 .500
Baylor 0 0 000 000 .000 1 1 29 41 .500
NORTHERN DIVISION
Conference Season
W L PF PA Pct. W L PF PA Pct.
Kansas State 0 0 000 000 .000 3 0 157 17 1.000
Iowa State 0 0 000 000 .000 3 0 86 51 1.000
Nebraska 0 0 000 000 .000 2 0 76 37 1.00=
0
Kansas 0 0 000 000 .000 1 1 40 51 .500
Missouri 0 0 000 000 .000 1 2 69 95 .3=
33
Colorado 0 0 000 000 .000 0 3 52 62 .0=
00
Last Week's Results
Stanford 27, Texas 24
Texas A&M 45, UTEP 17
Texas Tech 26, Louisiana-Lafayette 0
Oklahoma State 23, Southwest Texas 0
Minnesota 34, Baylor 9
Washington 17, Colorado 14
Iowa State 24, Iowa 14
Kansas State 76, Ball State 0
Michigan State 13, Missouri 10
Kansas 23, Alabama-Birmingham 20
This Week's Games
Houston at Texas 6 p.m. (Fox TV)
Rice at Oklahoma
South Florida at Baylor
Southern Mississippi at Oklahoma State
North Texas at Kansas State
Iowa at Nebraska
Southern Illinois at Kansas

2000 Longhorn Schedule, Re cord (1-1)
Texas Opp.
Sept. 9 Louisiana-Lafayette 52 10
Sept 16 at Stanford 24 27
Sept 23 Houston
Sept 18 Rice
Sept 30 Oklahoma State
Oct. 7 Oklahoma (Dallas)
Oct. 14 at Colorado
Oct. 21 Missouri
Oct. 28 Baylor
Nov. 4 at Texas Tech
Nov. 11 at Kansas
Nov. 24 Texas A&M

Scoring by Quarters
Texas 2 38 21 15 - 76
Opponents 16 7 7 7 - 37

Recruiting Roundup

The Longhorns picked up two more commitments last week, getting LB Lance
McFarland, 6-1, 225, 4.6, of Jefferson early in the week, followed by a
pledge from his teammate, RB Anthony Johnson, 5-11, 195, 4.4, on Friday.
Johnson rushed for more than 200 yards in a loss to defending Class 3A
chamion Texarkana Libery-Eylau earlier this season. He has great power,
outstanding moves and tremendous speed. In other words, he has all the
attributes of an outstanding running back.
He also has confidence. The Longhorns already have a commitment from super
Midland Lee RB Cedric Benson, but Johnson says that doesn't worry him.
"I want to play on a great college team," he said. You're going to have
competition wherever you go if you want to play for a winning program."
His coach, Jerry Bennett, is the brother of Kansas State's defensive
coordinator, and Johnson said the Wildcats finished No. 2 on his list.
The Wildcats also were after McFarland, a hard-nosed tackle with good speed
for a linebacker. He won a "fat-boy" 100 event after his sophomore year wit=
h
an 11.3 clocking. Only players who weighed more than 200 pounds competed.
The two additions give the Longhorns 15 early commitments. It looks more an=
d
more like the Texas coaches will award close to 25 scholarships because th=
ey
still hope to add four of five defensive linemen, a quarterback, a tight en=
d,
a wide receiver, a linebacker, a safety and at least one cornerback.
Seven of the Longhorns' 15 commitments are offensive linemen. Texas has
signed only three offensive linemen in each of coach Mack Brown's three
previous recruiting classes and he said heading into this recruiting season
that the offensive line was the No. 1 priority.
But he also said the defensive line was a high priority, and that is where
most of the remaining scholarships probably will be awarded.
Here's a list of the Horns' early commitments:
Offensive Line (7)
Jonathan Scott, 6-7, 290, 4.9, Dallas Carter, a national top 25 player.
Abe Robinson, 6-6, 270, 4.9, Jersey Village, a national top 100 player.
Alfio Randall, 6-6, 300, 5.1, Blinn JC, was a national top 100 player two
years ago.
Mike Garcia, 6-5, 280, 5.2, Galena Park, was the Aggies' top early pledge
before switching to UT.
Will Allen, 6-5, 300, 5.2, Cypress Falls, is in his three year as a starter=
.
Roman Reeves, 6-6, 295, 5.2, another of the state's top eight offensive
linemen.
Terrance Young, 6-6, 340, 5.5, Longview, is tremendously strong and had
offers from several top schools before committing to Texas.
Running Back (2)
Cedric Benson, 5-11, 200, 4.5, Midland Lee, the greatest Class 5A rusher an=
d
scorer in state history and a national top 25 player.
Anthony Johnson, 5-11, 195, 4.4, Jefferson, No. 19 on my top 25 list.
Linebacker (2)
Yamil LeBron, 6-2, 240, 4.7, Killeen Ellison, was the middle backer the
Longhorns targeted early.
Lance McFarland, 6-1, 225, 4.6, Jefferson, No. 23 on my top 25 list.
Defensive Back (4)
Cedric Griffin, 6-1, 180, 4.42, San Antonio Holmes, one of the state's top
two cornerbacks.
Kendal Briles, 5-10, 175, 4.5, Wolfforth Frenship, a great option QB who wi=
ll
play safety at Texas.
Braden Johnson, 6-2, 200, 4.5, Euless Trinity, a fine athlete who is playin=
g
QB this season.
Brian Carter, 5-11, 180, 4.5, The Woodlands, a two-way star at WR and CB.
RECRUITING NOTES: Super FB James Buchanon of Sarasota, Fla., plans to take
his official visit to Texas this weekend. . . DL Kaelen Jakes of Valencia H=
S
in Placentia, Cal., says he will visit this weekend or the following weeken=
d.
Jakes is playing nose guard this year and said he had two sacks and several
other tackles for losses in Valencia's opening 24-0 victory over Palmdale
Highland. He said Highland is supposed to have a playoff-caliber team "and =
we
really shut them down." Jakes lived in Plano when he was in junior high and
he said he is strongly considering coming to UT. "I really like the way
football is king in Texas," he said. . . Super DT Tommie Harris of Killeen
Ellison and outstanding OL William Winston of Houston Madison both say they
plan to come to the Houston game this weekend on unofficial visits. Harris =
is
the nation's top DT prospect, and Winston is a dominating OL. . . UT pledg=
e
Braden Johnson of Euless Trinity rallied his team from a 14-3 third-quarter
deficit to a 17-14 victory over Arlington Martin by running 58 and 1 yards
for TDs. . . DE Eric Hall of Clarksville, Tenn., took his official visit to
Texas the Sept. 9 weekend and said he really enjoyed it. He said Texas is h=
is
favorite right now, but said he wants to take some other visits before
committing to anyone. Hall was born in Fort Hood and, like Jakes, says he h=
as
fond memories of Texas football.

Satchell, Richardson Status

Two Longhorn freshmen football players, linebacker Aurmon Satchell and RB
Tyrone Richardson, have been lost to the team for at least this semester.
Satchell and Richardson both said they have some academic issues that need =
to
be resolved before they can return. Both said they hope to be back in Janua=
ry.
Satchell is from Denver Jefferson and Richardson is from Clarksville.

True Orange Observations

Coach Mack Brown is in his third year of what should have been a major
rebuilding job at Texas.
Thanks to the way he and his assistants took charge and changed one of the
nation's worst defenses into one of its best, and thanks to the way they
recruit, the Longhorns are already back among the nation's elite.
I know they lost at Stanford. I didn't like it. The coaches and players
didn't like it either. It bothers them even more than it bothers us.
But Texas hasn't finished among the nation's top 10 in football since 1983,
so we probably all expected too much from this team. The Horns will finish =
in
the top 10 again very soon and probably next year if not this one.
With three great recruiting classes already in school and a fourth in the
making, there are going to be a lot more W's than L's in the weeks and year=
s
ahead.
Let's be grateful for what he and his assistants and players have
accomplished and help them get back on the winning track.

Gustafson's Lawsuit Dismissed

State District Judge J. Scott McCown ruled last week that former Longhorn
baseball coach Cliff Gustafson's lawsuit against UT athletic director DeLos=
s
Dodds has no merit and he dismissed it.
McCown also said Dodds has official immunity from such a lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that Dodds falsified an outside income statement by
Gustafson and provided false information to then-UT president Robert Berdah=
l
that Gustfson has violated university rules by maintaining a non-university
bank account for a baseball camp. The suit alleged Dodds' actions forced hi=
m
to resign.
The judge ordered Gustafson to pay Dodds' court costs.

Basketball Recruiting

T. J. Ford, the outstanding point guard at Fort Bend Willowridge, says he h=
ad
a great visit to Texas the Sept. 9 weekend, but isn't ready to commit to
anyone until he looks at some other schools.
UCLA probably is the Horns' main competition for Ford, a super quick 5-11
star who is the state's No. prospect. He led Willowridge to the state Clas=
s
5A title and a 36-1 record last season.
Coach Rick Barnes only has one more scholarship to award, so UT's recruitin=
g
will be over for this year if Ford commits to the Longhorns.
The Longhorn women are going to get a visit late this month from Kala Bower=
s,
a 6-2 forward from Woodward, Okla.
She is a national top 25 star who plays on a team that has lost only two
games in the last two years.
Coach Jody Conradt already has a pledge from the state's top prospect, 6-2
forward Heather Schreiber of Windthorst.

Kelly to Miss Fall Semester

Senior guard Darren Kelly will miss the fall semester, Longhorn basketball
coach Rick Barnes announced last week. Kelly hopes to return to game action
for the Longhorns following the fall semester.
"It is going to be difficult not being able to play this fall, but I have
some academic issues that I need to take care of to return to the team,"
Kelly said. "I am going to attempt to take care of that this fall and hope =
to
rejoin the team in December."
Kelly was slated to return for his second season as the team's starting
shooting guard. He earned Big 12 Conference All-Newcomer and All-Bench team
recognition as a junior, averaging 10 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
He was third on the squad in scoring and second in assists (81) last season=
.
He also was the top three-point shooter on the team and second-best in the
Big 12 (.452), including a .500 mark in league play (25-of-50).
"I'm sad for Darren because he had made such great strides in his game duri=
ng
the latter part of last year and over the summer, and he had really taken a
strong leadership role on this team," Barnes said.
"With the addition of so many new guys this year, there's no question that
his loss in the fall will hurt us. Hopefully he'll be able to return to the
team and give us a big lift heading into Big 12 Conference play."

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Next Issue September 25
The next issue will be e-mailed on September 25 and will report on the
Houston game and preview the Big 12 Conference opener with Oklahoma State
September 30 in Austin.
It will also have lots of football recruiting news, a report on the team's=
=20
progress, comments from the coaches and players and reports on other Longho=
rn
athletic teams.

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