15 Comments

  1. Davey OBrien

    No comment on Aviante’ Collins who measured at 6′ 4″ and 295, did 34 reps, and ran 4.81?

    Guy is exceptionally raw as he has basically never been coached properly in the offensive line.

    Watched him play a couple of times in high school on what was one of the worst coached high school teams I have ever seen at Willowridge and he basically just stood around and pushed the guy in front of him.

    His two best years at TCU were while he played for Eddie Williamson. When Williamson retired that was the end of any coaching in the offensive line for TCU which could be seen in the way certain players have regressed.

    I don’t know whether Collins loves the game enough to put the work in to become a good pro, but if he lands with a good offensive line coach he might be a big surprise.

    • Philly Frog

      The OL problems in Fort Worth are likely one reason Kansas has a new OC.

      In my mind, the single most important thing that needs changing is the goal line/short yardage package. Too many sideways plays and too many fade throws to midgets.

      My kingdom for a power dive play!

      • Davey OBrien

        A friend who is an alum for another B12 school wanted to rain a bit on my parade by pronouncing one night over beers that Chris Thomsen is an average at best o-line coach.

        I simply said average would be a huge step-up from the dog crap we have seen the past few years. Noteboom and Collins played the last half of the season as if they were on skates and that is a byproduct of terrible technique. Not something you should see from a 5-year senior and 4-year junior.

        Word is that change in the o-line is quite noticeable already and I would imagine we will actually see an offensive scheme under Cumbie instead of random plays.

        Look for a few more power sets and run to set the pass.

        • ianaboyd

          “Look for a few more power sets and run to set the pass.”

          And because the starting QB will likely be someone that is an effective runner. With either Hill or Robinson at the helm it makes sense to emphasize the run game more.

          • Davey OBrien

            I agree and I think it will be a good way to utilize some of the offensive pieces they have that can fit into multiple formations.

            Shaun Nixon proved two years ago he can be effective as a running back or in the slot. Christian Williams was lined up in the backfield and in the traditional tight end alignment. Put both of them on the field with either quarterback and the Frogs can either go two backs in a power set or five-wides.

          • ianaboyd

            Oh yeah, Nixon’s skill set and the Hill or Robinson pair is a good combo. TCU could look like they did back in the Andy Dalton era once more. The problem after Fuente left wasn’t the scheme but the teaching, practice, and perhaps the culture. I think the big fix that Cumbie and Meacham brought was the Air Raid install plan and Cumbie’s effectiveness reaching Boykin.

        • Philly Frog

          Davey:

          It’s early, but I’ve been impressed with Thomsen’s recruiting chops. We desperately need a good OL tranche next February.

          • Davey OBrien

            Philly,

            I am very interested in watching to see if Thomsen can develop the group of 10 young offensive linemen the Frogs will have on campus for next season. Can’t think of the last time they had this much young talent in the offensive line at one time.

            Two overlooked prospects in White and McMillon White is raw and physical from a part of the country that doesn’t provide the resources for its high school programs as if White had gone to school in the Metroplex. Interesting to see how he progresses.

            Really like McMillon’s footage as Abilene often lined him up in the backfield and led with him. Not often do you see a tackle prospect lining up four-yards deep, pulling, and then effectively leading a back upfield. Have to like the feet and mobility. Question know is can he gain the weight and strength.

            Both guard commits are physical players who indicate to me a different type of running game than we have recently seen at TCU.

          • ianaboyd

            McMillon’s older brother Jake is probably the 2nd best OL on Texas’ roster right now and no. 1 is a plausible top 10 draft pick. Jake came to Austin at 6-3, 240 and I wasn’t sure if he could add the weight or not. It proved pretty simple and now he’s an absolute mauler.

            Letting Coy go to TCU is one of my few frustrations with Herman and his staff so far.

  2. Davey OBrien

    Ian I agree the teaching fell off after Fuente, but I also believe we also saw TCU fall away from offense being executed in some sort of connected way.

    Fuente’ didn’t just call a series of plays out of formations, but you saw things build on things the Frogs were having success and attack from there as the defense tried to adjust or we saw cases of where the Frogs attacked a defense’s weaknesses. Perfect example was how TCU attacked Utah with the deep ball as well as Boise at Boise.

    Under Meachum we saw random formations and what seemed to be random play calls except in an attempt to have no pattern the offense fell into a pattern. A reverse at the goal line only fools teams so many times to not be expected.

  3. Philly Frog

    It should probably be mentioned that the 2016 problems at QB and WR made the OL production look worse than it really was.

    The offense will be fairly heavy in upperclassmen across the board in 2017. Those kids and Cumbie probably feel like they have a lot to prove.

    In some ways, this off-season feels an awful lot like the one after 2013’s four-and-eight nightmare.

    We have to win in Norman and Stillwater sometime, right?

    • Davey OBrien

      Quarterback and receiver play did not help, but in the games against three of the better defensive fronts the Frogs faced in the Big 12 they got whipped against WVU, OSU, and KState.

      Those last two at home were nothing short of brutal and the o-line in 2016 was not inexperienced. Collins was a fifth year senior who had started multiple games over four years, Noteboom was a fourth year junior who was a multi-game starter, Pryor and Morris were fourth year juniors, and Schlottman was the youngster of the group as a true junior.

      Twenty combined years in the program and twelve letters among the five of them and yet at the end they were making mistakes and getting beat in ways you would expect of much younger lines. Collins would make the same mistakes again and again and again. He and Noteboom looked like they were on roller skates at the end of the year.

      It is one thing to draw up blocking schemes on a chalk board and another to teach the position for individual mastery of the position. The change at OC got most of the attention, but the hiring of Chris Thomsen was the biggest change for the future of the program.

      In response to 2013 and the 4-8 result in 2013 I never felt the team was just going through the motions, only twice were the Frogs really out of a game, and from the start it seemed that the staff was struggling with the 2016 team.

      • Philly Frog

        FYI:

        One of the moderators on a TCU board mentioned recently that Cumbie and Meacham spent most of the last month of the season not talking to one another.

        That reminds me a lot of my first marriage, actually.

  4. Davey OBrien

    Ian,

    I don’t have a good feel on this, but it seems Coy’s path is one we have seen more than once. High school d-line/TE with a frame to gain weight to go with the good feet and agility.

    Not even close to saying he will be Connor Williams, but that is the path taken by TCU’s Joseph Noteboom who has a chance to get a shot in the NFL after next year. Even if Coy doesn’t become Noteboom and is only Clint Murphy that would be a nice piece for the Frogs running game.

    Maybe this summer I will go back and look at the number of high school TE/D-Line who ended up tackles.

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