Colt's last hurrah: Texas offense vs. Alabama's Defense

In the last post we discussed Texas’ great difficulties with elite defenses this year. You may recall that in this space at the beginning of the year I called 2009 “revenge of the defense”. Teams were losing skill players, quarterbacks and offensive line talent while major programs were returning major defensive players.

Anyways, Texas was absolutely wrecked in the trenches against Oklahoma in passing situations and in all phases against Nebraska. Major weaknesses have been exposed in the tendencies and the Offensive-line play. Typically, Greg Davis coached Texas is great on offense when they have a dominant trait that no one can stop with any reasonable allocation of defensive resources despite the obvious tendencies. For instance:

In 2008 Texas had the 3 step West Coast passing game with Colt McCoy throwing to Jordan Shipley and the Quan Cosby. No one could cover Quan and Shipley long enough when Colt would make a quick strike pass or dance around buying time. In 2005 (perhaps the greatest college offense ever) Texas had Vince Young running the shotgun-spread with the option and passing game. It was the perfect combination of a legendary talent with the right supporting cast, including an elite level O-line.

In 2004 Texas had Vince and Cedric Benson and the passing game was a useful constraint to the 2-man beatings inflicted on the Big 12 as well as an additional means of giving Vince space to run. When the passing game had matured by the Rose Bowl the offense was close to the 2005 juggernaut.

The other Texas offenses, no matter how talented, were ultimately susceptible usually due to weak line play or over reliance on one trait. This Texas team came into the year trying to run the same 4-wide 3 step passing game as last year and found that Quan hadn’t been replaced and that teams had worked out how to clamp down on the few routes that had devastated everyone the year before. A lot of teams on the schedule did this and it ultimately amounted to soft coverage where the defenders were free to jump the routes they knew were coming. Without other offensive weapons this Texas offense has been easy to handle for better defenses.

Now Alabama’s defensive scheme is not entirely like Nebraska’s or OUs’ style although closest to the latter. In scheme it’s perhaps most similar to what Texas has run on defense this year under Will Muschamp (who coached under Nick Saban as defensive coordinator at LSU and the Miami Dolphins). As I’ve mentioned, they lack a dominant 3-tech style tackle like Suh or McCoy to blow up the middle of the Longhorn line. Instead they use Terrance Cody to clog the middle and free up their big, athletic ends and linebackers (like All-American McClain) to blow up the middle or the edge. They use the same kind of 4-3 under defense that Muschamp uses and rotate between the 4-3 and 3-4 most frequently using the 3-4.

McClain is a 260 pound monster Middle Linebacker and the ends and other linebackers are pretty fast, downhill players. Corner Javier Arenas is a fantastic cover-guy and the safeties are OU, cover-2 downhill types that can make a big hit but aren’t covering anyone in the slot like Earl Thomas. Both are 215+ and used to handling SEC offenses with lots of power running and the play-action pass.

Alabama was built to destroy these SEC powers and namely Florida. Urban Meyer’s gator squad this year was strongest in the running game getting the fast backs on the edge or getting TE Hernandez the ball in the option game or any other way that occurs to Meyer. Tebow and the power running game could not consistently produce offense against Alabama’s perpetually unblocked linebackers and safeties, although in this game Florida had good yardage without points.

No one has really had any success against Alabama this season, but then none of Alabama’s opponents have had a ton of success against anyone of note. The more schematically advanced Auburn and Florida saw some limited success and Tennessee threw the ball fairly effective and had 10 points to show for it (as well as 2 blocked field goals). The 2005 Texas Offense and this defense would win the game by 30 points. As it is, this will be quite the struggle, I present the following considerations:

1). The immovable object vs. the wheel


Chris Hall will be lined up directly against Terrance Cody on most every offensive play. Chris Hall is most, or I might say only, useful in space. He can no sooner drive block Cody off the ball than he can levitate. The first might be the even less likely given Hall’s great faith. Unless God gives his faithful servant some such supernatural gift or Chris reworks his 295 pound frame into different proportions the Longhorns will have tremendous trouble in the running game getting blockers to McClain and the rest of the back 7. I think Davis should consider abandoning the inside and outside zone runs unless he is running no-huddle.
Which brings us to the positive side of this matchup, while the Blob will not be driven away from the play, he isn’t getting to Colt and he is not going to blow up plays in the backfield save by occupying a guard and freeing up a linebacker. In the passing game, which Texas will very likely rely on entirely, he is almost useless. Additionally, his body is not built for stamina and he can be driven off the field by a no-huddle offense and then perhaps the running game can be opened up.

2). Speed vs. Power


Texas will be the fastest offense that Alabama plays this season. Florida has some speed but ultimately only a few ways to use it since the ball is usually in Tebow’s hands and the receivers aren’t deep. Malcolm Williams, Jordan Shipley, Marquise Goodwin, Colt (as a quarterback) all have the potential to cause new problems for the Alabama squad. Conversely, Alabama’s power in the trenches could blow up anything before it starts, and the safeties are great if things stay in front of them. It is essential for Texas to use misdirection in this game and take advantage of the speed at Wide Receiver or Bama will swallow up everything and force turnovers making hard plays on the ball.

The misdirection running play debuted against OU, the traditional counters, and the counter-draw must be the staples of the Texas running game. Cody Johnson will be useful only in short-yardage. The various wide receiver screens should be abandoned and replaced with fake screens that turn into pump-fake deep throws. The comeback hitch-routes Texas runs should be supplemented with double moves deep to Shipley. Greg Davis likes to come out, do what he always does and then attack the schemes he expected to see from the defense playing his normal stuff. For once, Texas should assume that Bama will jump the traditional plays like everyone else has and play misdirection early. A fast start and early lead would be totally foreign to Alabama.

If Texas can establish a running game it’s all over. Since they almost certainly will not establish one with any consistency the best bet for scoring is through a few big plays by breaking tendency. The one great advantage to being a team that always does the same thing and relies on talent is that the exceptions will shock and awe. Malcolm Williams is a home-run threat on every play. Alabama cannot handle someone that big and fast, no one can. Both safeties are slow and aggressive, thus very vulnerable if drawn into taking a false step. Their better corner, Arenas, will almost certainly be worried about Shipley. The linebackers, like the safeties, are great playing downhill but aren’t catching people from behind. One or two big plays could very well make the difference. Another possible big play is the Colt scramble which could very well keep a crucial drive alive or punch in points in a big way.

3). Texas O-line vs. legacy


Last year this line stepped up big when it mattered in Dallas and keyed a big Texas victory and 38 offensive points against OU (Shipley kickoff return). This year it hasn’t stepped up on the big stage and is largely to blame for Colt’s failure to win the Heisman in a wide-open year. With Malcolm Williams AND Jordan Shipley in the receiving corp plus Colt and a host of competent running backs the major block to offensive dominance has been a soft running game and weak pass-protection.

OU, in addition to having Gerald McCoy dominate the Texas guards, would zone-blitz and then blanket Shipley. If Alabama doesn’t do the same thing it would reverse what game-tape recommends as well as what Alabama has done all year. Primarily, Saban prefers the same man-free coverage Muschamp has used much of the year. He uses a robber in the middle of the field which he curiously calls “the rat” who rats out the other teams coverages, passes on responsibilities and jumps routes in the middle. Or Saban will use the additional player afforded by man coverage and 1 deep safety to blitz 5 men. All the linebackers are useful blitzers so there can be no certainty which might blitz on a given play, particularly with the zone-blitz.

If ever there was a challenge this line could step up and take on this is it. Confusing blitzes from aggressive players? Nothing these guys haven’t seen before. All of them are multi-year starters. Hall is good in pass protection so long as he isn’t facing a good pass-rushing tackle…he isn’t. Ulatoski is most vulnerable to good pass-rushers who can double move to the inside. I may be wrong but nuanced pass-rush moves aren’t the name of the game for any of Alabama’s guys. They will overload blitz and punish you for your predicted reaction. The Texas line is capable of meeting that challenge and their failure to do so will result in the loss of the Heisman and the national championship.

4). Greg Davis vs. Nick Saban


"Your move white..."
Obvious mismatch. Davis has to go for broke in this game. Run misdirection early in the game. Prepare the line for the blitz and utilize the superior athletes at Wide Receiver with hot routes and deep shots that can punish a defense that won’t look so elite on their heels trying to chase Marquise Goodwin. The traditional slip screens you see in video games and occasionally in Texas games would be a welcome staple. Newton isn’t terribly fast but he is a steady weapon. A steady diet of Fig Newtons will make anyone sick in a hurry. Speaking of hurrying, a fast tempo mixed with clever plays did a number on this defense last year when Utah embarrassed the Crimson Tide and with Texas athletes it could make for a big game. Most of Auburn’s points came this way. Alabama’s size and aggressiveness is begging for a no-huddle attack.

5). Colt McCoy vs. himself


Colt McCoy is a far better quarterback than Greg McElroy. Saban wants this game to be Ingram vs. Colt. Muschamp will try his damndest to make it McElroy vs. McCoy. If you gave me odds on who is more likely to have more turnovers between McElroy and Colt I would stare into space for a while and then just start praying. The only time Nebraska would dare to allow Zac Lee to throw the ball was on deep routes off of play action where an interception was like a punt. I very much suspect that Alabama will have a similar strategy on when they choose to allow McElroy to make something happen. Colt, on the other hand, will be looking to make things happen all day long. But turnovers cannot happen like they did with Nebraska and Oklahoma, Texas can’t afford to give away points. Colt will likely have to win the game scrambling and making things happen and at the same time must shoulder this without putting the defense in holes that can allow Alabama to accumulate field goals and the odd touchdowns. If he succeeds, we can finally start the discussion about how he stacks up to his predecessor.

Texas against the dominant defensive tackle: how will Texas deal with Alabama?

Albert Haynesworth has at times been a dominant defensive tackle in the NFL, and so has Vince Wilfork. Ndamukong Suh was a dominant defensive tackle in the Big 12 this season while Terrance Cody dominated the SEC anchoring the middle of the Alabama defense.

This is Haynesworth:


This is Wilfork:

This is Suh:

This is Cody:


Anything stand out? While all of them are enormous men, they have different bodies and subsequently different physical skills. Wilfork is a big space eater who lines up across the center and defends the gaps to either side of the center. Haynesworth is an explosive athlete who attacks the gap between the Right Tackle and Right guard.

We’ll get back to that, first let’s examine some conventional wisdom regarding the Alabama vs. Texas matchup. In 2 games vs. high level defenses Texas won 12-10 and 16-13. In both games, the interior line for the Texas offense was humiliated and Colt McCoy took multiple sacks in each game.
I’d like to highlight the performances of the defensive tackles for Oklahoma and Nebraska in those games.
Gerald McCoy: 3 tackles including 2 for loss. 1 sack and 5 quarterback hurries. You might also remember that his opponent, David Snow, was called for several false starts in a panic trying to deal with him.
For the season McCoy had 31 tackles, including 14.5 for loss and 5 sacks. He created 9 quarterback hurries.

Ndamukong Suh: 12 tackles including 7 for a loss of 22 yards. He had 4.5 sacks and 2 quarterback hurries. On the season he put up 77 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, one interception, 10 other passes broken up and 22 quarterback hurries.

A few things should stand out here. One is that both Suh and McCoy performed better against Texas than they did against most of the teams on their schedules. McCoy doubled his season’s quarterback hurry output against Texas alone. I have a few explanations for this
1). Chris Hall: He lines up in the center of the Texas offensive line. He completely lacks the necessary strength to stop the momentum of guys like this. He has talents and by all accounts is one of the finest young men at the university. But he is a soft interior lineman.
2). Huey’s ankle: Michael Huey is a much stronger interior lineman but he has had a bum ankle all season. It’s hard to use leverage against 280 pound men with a tender ankle.
3). David Snow’s bizarre regression. Sophomore Snow was expected to emerge as an elite interior lineman that could push the guards and Hall for their starting spots. That hasn’t happened and he looked completely lost against Gerald McCoy.

McCoy, overall, put up half of his quarterback hurries against Texas. The quarterback hurry is an underrated stat that indicates when a lineman is creating pressure on the quarterback that will lead to turnovers and incomplete passes. Gerald McCoy’s 5 quarterback hurries indicate that he was making a dwelling place in the Texas backfield in Dallas.
Suh dominated Texas to the point where nothing could be accomplished offensively because any and every play design was blown up before it could start. The frequent negative plays against Nebraska and OU stalled the Texas drives.

People want to look at these two games as a measure for how Texas will fare offensively against Alabama. It seems reasonable to conclude that since Texas won by 2 and 3 points against the two good defenses they faced (both of which were poor on offense), that an Alabama Team with an even better defense and very solid offense will consequently manhandle the Horns and walk away as champions.

I wanted to apply similar wisdom to the Texas matchup vs. Ohio State last season. Texas had amazing numbers against the run on defense while Ohio State was poor statistically against the pass. Those two bits of knowledge combined seemed to suggest a strong Texas victory. As it turned out, Texas’ front 7 was inexperienced against power running schemes and struggled with the Buckeye running game and containing Terrelle Pryor. Meanwhile, Ohio State gave up 300 passing yards but it required Colt throwing the ball over 45 times to do so and resulted in less than 25 points. That game was a forerunner in dealing with the Texas passing game that was matched in the following two games.

The gameplans used by Nebraska and OU against Texas were markedly different from each other. Nebraska just asked the defensive line to control the game and free up the back 7 defenders to sit on the Texas short passing routes they had mastered from watching game film. Some nice use of pattern reading allowed Nebraska to blow up the simple Texas offense by challenging all of Colt’s comfort reads and the domination by Suh and the D-line killed drives with negative plays.

Oklahoma could have done that as well, besides the somewhat meaningless downgrade from Suh to McCoy they have the best D-line in the conference. However, that would waste all the creative zone-blitzes Brent Venables had been writing on napkins in Oklahoma diners. Instead OU zone-blitzed Texas and rushed Colt into making hasty short throws where, again, the back 7 defenders were more than prepared for simple Texas passing routes.

So, Alabama can just get to McCoy really fast and sit on the short routes while the offense grinds out a methodical 20 points or so en route to an easy 24-9 victory right?
Well, it’s possible but they are missing one big ingredient to achieving that success. Remember those numbers put up by Gerald McCoy and Ndamukong Su over the season? These were the numbers of Alabama’s star defensive tackle Terrance Cody:
25 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback hurries, 1 pass broken up, 2 blocked kicks.
The only time Cody showed any real explosiveness up the middle was in blocking the field goals that gifted Alabama the victory over Tennessee.

The difference between Cody and Suh or McCoy is similar to the difference between Haynesworth and Wilfork. While McCoy and Suh are frequently facing double teams, like Cody, they aren’t just trying to occupy blockers and keep the line from moving defenders off the ball. They are attacking an interior gap and getting into the backfield. Terrance Cody isn’t getting into the opposing teams’ backfield. He’s occupying a center and a guard so that Rolando McClain or one of Alabama’s other big linebackers can get to the ball unimpeded. At 350+ pounds, Terrance Cody simply isn’t physically built to chase down Colt and disrupt the Texas passing game.

I’ll be back later with detailed analysis of the matchup between the Texas offense and Alabama defense but for now let’s just consider how the easy analysis can overlook the real details in matching up opponents on the gridiron. Nebraska and Oklahoma used different methods but ultimately relied on their dominant DT play to blow up the Texas offense. Alabama doesn’t play that way and while having a tremendously rare and valuable talent in Cody, they don’t have the personnel to get after Texas in the manner that Nebraska and OU did. Take a quick sigh of relief.

About those All-Big 12 Teams...

The All-Big 12 lists that rank all the conference stars as 1st team, 2nd team and so on is predominantly based on preseason expectations. If a player is expected to be great, or is a senior, his place on the lists will reflect that. Coaches will make sure to soothe each other’s political desires and reward seniors, program kids and pretend like the preseason expectations were matched by the performance on the field.

Of course there is an exception to that standard; Texas is routinely robbed in the All-conference teams. In the instance of the newly released 2009 All Big 12 teams, Texas has 3 first team players. OU managed to get 4 players selected to this list and that offensive juggernaut Kansas St. placed 4 players, all on offense.

Before I look over other injustices how about we just look at the list?

1ST Team defense:

DE: Von Miller, A&M: this one is obvious. He leads the nation in sacks.
DE: Brandon Sharpe; TT: another big achiever in the pass rush, fair choice.
DE: Jared Crick Nebraska: at this point it’s clear that they chose the ends with the 3 highest sack totals. Also, it’s unclear how this defense will perform with 3 quick-ends and 5 total defensive lineman. This will be a reoccurring theme.
DT: Ndamukong Suh: He is really good.
DT: Gerald McCoy: the tricky thing is, you can’t really point to any stats that would suggest either McCoy or Suh have been more dominant than Texas’ Lamarr Houston. They are ahead of him here because they were ahead in the preseason.

LB: Sean Witherspoon, Missouri: a lot of all-around hype for this guy.
LB: Jessie Smith Iowa St.: we can’t offend Iowa St. by not including one of their fine athletes somewhere right? Might as well do it at the expense of a Longhorn like Roddrick Muckelroy who has terrorized the league for 2 years at a level beyond anything Smith could dream of.
LB: Travis Lewis, OU There is nothing in the numbers that suggests that Lewis is better than Muckelroy either.

Here the list just names DBs but I’m going to list their exact position to further demonstrate the absurdity:

Corner: Perrish Cox, OSU: He’s a standout to be sure. Aaron Williams is a better player who was injured too often. I might take Curtis Brown here as well.
Corner: Dominique Franks, OU: Another worthy enough pick. The trend here, however, tends to reward the Sooner Defense over the even more dominant Texas one.
Coner: Prince Amakamara, Nebraska: This is our 3rd corner I notice. I suppose that actually makes sense in this league but it should be at the expense of a defensive end AND a linebacker.

Safety: Larry Asante, Nebraska: Anytime a safety makes 2 interceptions and breaks up 7 passes in a pass-heavy league you adorn him with praise.
Safety: Earl Thomas, Texas: Arguably the best player in the league, somehow not a unanimous 1st team selection.

1st Team Offense:

QB: Colt McCoy: they managed to avoid blowing this, surprisingly.
RB: Daniel Thomas, Kansas St.: The Kansas St. running game gets a lot of attention in this list. I think everyone is afraid of Coach Snyder.
RB: Keith Toston, OSU: He’s really not that great of a runner. He benefitted from getting the majority of the carries in the Oklahoma St. running system.
FB: Bryant Ward: OSU: it’s required to pick a fullback to honor so they simply choose the one on the best running team. I think OU might actually have an argument here but who cares about this position anyways.
TE: Jeron Mastrud, Kansas St. Mastrud terrorized defenses to the tune of 21 catches for 233 yards and a devastating Touchdown. When not horrifying defenses with the threat of a 3 yard release pattern, he plowed ahead for Daniel Thomas en route to 1200 yards over the worst competition college football has to offer. He’s a no brainer here.
WR: Jordan Shipley, Tx: duh. Thank you.
WR: Danario Alexander, Missouri: Pretty explosive player, 1600 yards on the year.
WR: Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas: Solid overall list at WR. You could make a case for OU’s Ryan Broyles but I sure won’t. It’s not hard to pick 3 dominant WR in this league.

Now the OL:
LT: Nick Stringer, Kansas St: Had as much to do with Thomas’ amazing success running the ball as just about anyone else on the line.
LT: Trent Williams, OU: Was not completely embarrassed by the Texas pass-rush.
LT: Russel Okung, OSU: Best LT in the conference, possible top 10 draft pick.
LT: Nate Solder, Colorado: I have trouble seeing the logic here given Colorado’s terrible pass protection.
RG: Brandon Carter, Texas Tech: Great run blocker, good pass-protector for an interior lineman. I hope he knows how to snap the ball…

KR/PR: Brandon Banks, Kansas st: He’s an awesome kick returner, with 4 TDs. Not so great a punt returner. Shipley should go here if they didn’t want to avoid rewarding the same guy twice.

At this point all I can do is attempt to form my own list. I don’t have the benefit of having seen all these teams play very much, only my own few perceptions and the use of stats which alone may ascend my list above this crappy one.
Additionally, I’m going to create a real Big 12 offense and defense. And it will be schematically coherent.

Ian’s All Big 12 Offense:

QB: Colt McCoy, Texas: I’m choosing Colt because he’s the best quarterback in the country. He can run well enough to operate some option-read and he’s the best short-intermediate passer Texas has ever had.

RB: Daniel Thomas, Kansas st: As much as I’ve mocked Kansas St. he was the most accomplished runner this year and is used to the shotgun formations this offense would run. I would rather choose a back with explosiveness in the receiving game but Batch from Tech and Murray from OU put up inconsistent seasons.

FB: There is no fullback.

TE: Riar Greer, Colorado: No one really utilized a Tight end very well in this conference but Greer is one of the better receiving threats and a solid check down for McCoy.

Sub B receiver: Jordan Shipley, Texas: He’s going in the slot where he can punish everyone.

Flanker, Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas: Another phenomenal midfield weapon.

Split End: Danario Alexander, Missouri: I would love to just put Malcolm Wiliams here and moved Alexander to flanker and could have justified it had Williams not had to split time with John Chiles. Alexander with his 6-5 frame will go very nicely here though.

LT: Adam Ulatoski, Texas: He was entrusted with handling Von Miller alone against A&M. He’s not as good as Okung, but I like Ulatoski here with potential help from Greer and Okung plowing the road on the right.
LG: Andrew Lewis, Oklahoma St: Part of the Oklahoma St. machine who is mobile enough in the zone-blocking game and good in pass protection.
C: JD Walton, Baylor: Best center in the conference that I’m aware of.
RG: Brandon Carter, Texas Tech: He’s adept at pass-protection, which is what this offense will be all about, and a punishing run-blocker.
RT: Russel Okung, Oklahoma St.: As great a Left tackle as he is, his value in the run game makes him a better fit here.

Here we have a coherent Offense that utilizes the conference’s best talent and features a line that can handle zone-blocking and the pass-protection necessary to keep McCoy upright.

Ian’s All-Big 12 defense

This defense will be designed to handle the typical Big 12 offenses and have a 4-2-5 under alignment.

End/Linebacker: Von Miller, Texas A&M: He’s lightning quick and has 17 sacks on the year. If left single-blocked he will wreck opposing passing games.
Nose-Tackle: Ndamukong Suh. He can provide a great interior pass-rush with 6.5 sacks and the ability to handle the double teams that come here. Another perk, when the double team keeps him off the QB (besides freeing up Miller) is his 10 pass break-ups at the line.

3-tech/quick tackle: Lamarr Houston, Texas: I will justify Houston over McCoy with the following numbers. Houston had more tackles, 50-31, more sacks 7-5, more quarterback hurries, 26-9, and more tackles for loss 20-14.5. Houston is a more disruptive option and lived in the opponents backfield.

Power-end: Sergio Kindle, Texas. Sergio split time as the linebacker on this side and as a defensive end at Miller’s position. His sack numbers were down on the year but his season was phenomenal. 28 quarterback hurries, 17 tackles for loss and 56 tackles overall make him the best option at this spot.

We are only taking 2 linebackers here, a Middle Linebacker and a Weakside linebacker. MLB needs to be able to handle the inside running game and intermediate coverage responsibilities. Weakside LB needs to be a fast, tackling machine who can strip the ball.

Middle Linebacker: Joe Pawelek, Baylor: Interceptions were down from last year to only one and his 4 tackles for loss weren’t stunning but overall this is one of the most well rounded players in the conference and his 109 tackles overall speak to his ability to find the football.

Weakside Linebacker, Roddrick Muckelroy, Texas: It’s time Muck got his due. I like Emmanuel Acho for the future because of his ball-stripping abilities but Muck’s 10 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 87 total tackles demonstrate how much of a speed demon he is for the Texas defense. Additionally, he did this from middle linebacker after Jared Norton was injured.

Corner: Perrish Cox, Oklahoma State: He had 4 interceptions on the season along with 15 pass break-ups.

Corner: Curtis Brown, Texas: Only 1 interception on the season for Curtis but it was one that few could make. His 14 pass break-ups are a good indicator of his athletic ability and its usefulness in finding the ball at its highest point in coverage. His 50 tackles and forced fumble also demonstrate his physical play.

Nickel: Prince Amukamara, Nebraska: He’s solid as a physical option inside against the run with 50 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble on the year. Against the dangerous slot receivers in the Big 12 he should be fine having picked off 3 passes this year and broken up 10 more. Aaron Williams might be more talented but Amukamara’s production earns him this spot.

Strong Safety: Earl Thomas, Texas: He’s going to hang near the line in Cover-1 robber at times where he can pattern read and jump routes. With 8 interceptions on the year he is a weapon to disrupt any and all passing routes made by the opposing team.
Free Safety: Quinton Carter, Oklahoma: Carter is a Cover-2 safety who can crash down on plays in front of him with speed. On my defense he’ll be way back as a free safety where his 3 interceptions and 5 pass break-ups suggest he is a more than adequate centerfield playing behind Amukamara, Brown, Cox and Thomas. He had 80 tackles on the year and 2.5 for loss so he has the ability to attack plays closer to the line as necessary.

All that said, clearly I believe that Texas has the best defense in the Big 12 and should have been rewarded as such in the all-conference teams.