Spring Game

[HarvCrimYaleBlue]

With time, Texas Ranger will be a distant memory.

I lobbied for Walker as well (happens to be a family name) but it didn't flow with the first name of either boy.

I guess that is what dogs are for. We can name them whatever we want!

[Pony Boss]

I would not be surprised if 4,000 people show up, everyone I have talked to is going to the game.

Bump. I think it was more than 4,000. Maybe close to 6,000 like Stallion posted in the other thread.

[TidePony]

It was a lot of people, many coming and going (especially students). Chad Morris should be thrilled! June would of drawn a couple dozen people and three middle aged hookers!

[GiddyUp]

Nice crowd, good stuff. Big boys recruits in crowd that make our guys look JV

[lwjr]

It was a lot of people, many coming and going (especially students). Chad Morris should be thrilled! June would of drawn a couple of dozens people and three middle aged hookers!

Don't forget the girl volleyball players

[TidePony]

I sure won't lwjr!

[vielsiehorsepower]

It was a lot of people, many coming and going (especially students). Chad Morris should be thrilled! June would of drawn a couple dozen of people and three middle aged hookers!

I was under the impression that he was more into volley ball players..

[SMU89]

Good crowd, well organized....food trucks, stadium concessions, bounce houses, Cervesa (beer), music, etc.

Doing it right.

[Stallion]

thinking about Morris early exit-actually think it might have been a decent exercise. We've got an Offensive Coordinator Craddock that has never been a position coach. Hand him the reins and let him take command of the offense. Kind of a final exam. Grade his performance

[soccermom]

Ha! Have you considered Walker as middle name? (that's my son's middle name) and there's plausible deniability that you named your kid after Doak Walker-you can just start calling him Littl' Doak after birth

Yep - that's mine son's middle name. My wife put the kibosh on Doak.

I also wanted Maco after Maco Stewart, but that didn't work either.

Just curious why Maco Stewart?

[ojaipony]

Ok, I'm back home now. My quick take aways:

1 - The fact that we had a Spring Game was AWESOME!
2 - Absolutely everything was wonderful except the product on the field. Great turnout, the weather held up, they sold beer, live DJ, all the bells and whistles -- seemed like even some of the greeks showed up (rowdy drunkard frat boys sat near me - I loved it).
3 - Maybe they were just holding back a bit to avoid further injuries, but IMHO the team just looked flat out terrible. No energy, no pads popping. Granted, I've never been to a spring game ever, but I felt the team's energy in general was really flat and I was very bored with the product on the field. Very very sloppy - I enjoyed the bounce house more. Just being honest.
4 - We have a few good players . . . a few. Sutton, of course, and mostly the rest are more than likely injured or haven't arrived yet (I hope). I know it happens to every program, etc, but it seemed some of our best players were out . . . Shak, KC, Zelt and some of the younger OL. Very unimpressed with Matt Davis's arm strength.
5 - Yep, the OL is terrible. Davis had very little time to throw so he ran a lot (as did Colbert). Our defense isn't exactly the steel curtain and we couldn't really run against even the 2nd string much either.
6 - Very happy to see Hollie out there making some plays. Big guy needs to still get into better shape, but I love seeing us have some actual size on the DL for once. Against weak opponents, he and Zelt should dominate their opponents.
7 - The highlight of the day was seeing the men's bball team - a group that has actual talent and competitive fire.

Bottom line: very excited for the future. All the buzz is there, we just need the product on the field to match it.

Oh, and by the way, I have to drive right by McLane Stadium every time I come up from Austin. My arm strength isn't as good as it used to be - my apple core couldn't make it to the stadium from my car window. Next time I'll have to pull over and just get out.

Great turnout, keep up the good work HCCM. I just hope we don't turn people off with all the buzz and excitement and then they see the on the field product and say "I got dressed up for THIS?"

Pony Up!

[JasonB]

FWIW, Line had 9 carries for 69 yards against the second string D. So I wouldn't say we couldn't run the ball at all. The second team OL couldn't run the ball at all. The first team D dominated the second team O so thoroughly that it made the whole game look sloppy.

To the point of the offensive line struggling, Davis was sacked three times by the second team defense. Believe it or not, there has been significant improvement on the o-line during the spring - the first scrimmage the o-line was about as porous as it was against Baylor. 71 is good, but to have a chance next season we need Barns to continue to improve, Lasecki to take a step up, and one other player to take a massive step forward at LG or RT. Barns and Lasecki I thought were awful in the first practice and good better. Weeks also improved as the spring went along as he got into better shape.

[ojaipony]

thinking about Morris early exit-actually think it might have been a decent exercise. We've got an Offensive Coordinator Craddock that has never been a position coach. Hand him the reins and let him take command of the offense. Kind of a final exam. Grade his performance

I was thinking the same thing. Spring Game was as important for these new coaches (game time simulation/logistics, etc) as it was for the players I'm guessing.

[knuckleup]

FWIW, Line had 9 carries for 69 yards against the second string D. So I wouldn't say we couldn't run the ball at all. The second team OL couldn't run the ball at all. The first team D dominated the second team O so thoroughly that it made the whole game look sloppy.

To the point of the offensive line struggling, Davis was sacked three times by the second team defense. Believe it or not, there has been significant improvement on the o-line during the spring - the first scrimmage the o-line was about as porous as it was against Baylor. 71 is good, but to have a chance next season we need Barns to continue to improve, Lasecki to take a step up, and one other player to take a massive step forward at LG or RT. Barns and Lasecki I thought were awful in the first practice and good better. Weeks also improved as the spring went along as he got into better shape.

? From my seat Line ran against 1st defense 2nd defense whatever defense equally well

[Rebel10]

I think we will have a number of freshmen wee playing time. Bates and Wilds on the OL could give us some more athleticism to add to Briggs and Hyder, Xavier Jones and Braeden West could give us that home run threat from the backfield that we have not had since Shawnbrey McNeal. And Castille, Thomas, Proche, and Honey will give SMU a serious receiving group added to Sutton. Still think 2 to 3 wins but the team will give full effort. Looking forward to the season.