I'm so excited, I'm so scared.

I realized recently how unusually excited ecstatic I am about the upcoming season, so I decided that in order to remain reasonably balanced I would force myself to write a post from a positive standpoint and a post from a very negative standpoint. This one, obviously, is from a positive standpoint, but the negative version can be found here.

It's official, the off season is over. Sure the first game is still a few days away, but at this point the focus has shifted from the season to a game. The time has come to start getting in the orange-bleeding-fan mindset, and what better way to do that than write lots of nice things about the team.

1. It's better to keep John Chiles off the field for now, we have plenty of distractions as it is. 

No. Wrong. The Double-barreled shotgun is far more than a distraction. My biggest fear this season is that the first time it is used, it doesn't work spectacularly and is summarily discarded. John Chiles is one of the best athletes on the squad, and a playmaker to boot, so there is no acceptable reason to not get him involved somehow. In my opinion, even making him a WR is a waste. Due to his level of physical ability, coupled with the fact that he is a quarterback, John Chiles is a mismatch regardless of who the opponent is. And mismatches are good. 

2. Sergio Kindle won't really make a difference. 

Having big #2 rumbling around the backfield, murdering anyone who dares touch the ball is going to be a pleasure heartily shared by every fan in burnt orange (so long as he stays healthy) (knock on wood). Even if he doesn't get to the guy with the ball every time, teams are going to have to put more than one blocker on him to keep him away. The more blockers he can attract, the less eligible receivers the young secondary has to concern itself with. Not to mention the fact that the opposing quarterbacks will be so busy trying not to defecate while Kindle chases them around, attempting to stuff them into his Magic Bullet Blender of Pain, they won't even notice our safeties trying to figure out which one of them is actually starting.

3. Every team will most likely throw 800+ yards against us because we don't have any safeties. 

We seem to be in almost the exact opposite situation as we were in last year as far as the defense goes. Last year, our premier (starting) defensive player was a safety and every other position looked uncertain. This year the rest of our defense looks solid, but all of our safeties are fresh out of the womb. There will be mistakes made by the young safeties, but a strong supporting staff will minimize their occurrence and gravity. The high level play of the linebackers this season should allow the safeties to focus most of their attention on pass defense, further minimizing their oversights. 

I freaking love mb-tf.com

I'm a bit late on this, but mb-tf.com has posted a great set of interviews with a couple of the team leaders for 2008. I really do like these sorts of comments from the actual players because not only does it let me get a decent feeling of what sort of philosophy Mack is instilling in them in practice, but it also reminds me that most of these guys are really college kids and football machine robots. It's hard to remember that when someone drops a deuce on pass coverage, and lets Colt's spine get readjusted, or gets hit in the back of the head by a pass, or forgets what position they are playing. It really levels the playing field in my mind when I am forced to compare them as humans roughly my age. Lets be honest, if I was on the field with them at any position on either side of the ball, I would just be screaming in that falsetto type of scream that makes everyone shut up and stare, and running away from anyone that got even close to me. Mack would have to come find me in the bathroom, probably sobbing, because Sergio Kindle took a few quick steps toward me. Even though I was on defense with him. 

That being said, I really do love what the comments all the players are making in these mini press conferences. My favorite topic of discussion posed to Colt was:

On sustaining the intensity from the end of last season:

His response: 

That's the goal.

Short and sweet, the first sentence is all I needed to hear. I want them to be mad and stay mad like they just lost to A&M for the second time in a row. 

Top Five Players That Won't Start on Aug. 30th

Disclaimer: I have not included John Chiles in this list because it has been promised to us by the Texas information machine that the coaches are hard at work trying to get him on the field no matter what, and I fully expect them to at some position.

5. Sam Acho DE: Behind the likes of Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton, and Eddie Jones it is tough to believe that we have this kind of talent at defensive end this far down the depth chart. At any other school, dare I say it, even in the SEC, Acho would not only start, but be a star defensive player. He just has the misfortune of playing at the same time as a bunch of guys that out-mutant him. Acho is not quite the secret some other players on this list are, as he was named one of the Defensive Newcomers of the Year for Horns, but still will struggle to get on the field with the group of future All-Americans he currently sits behind. As a backup last season he registered more sacks than certain starting linebackers, and will likely continue to create havoc in the backfield given the chance.

4. Sherrod Harris QB: Sherrod Harris might be one of the most overlooked players on the roster right now, but had a remarkable showing at the spring game that propelled him up the "replace Colt list." He would be higher up on that list at this point if he had not been injured as a freshman. If you've read anything on this blog you'll know I am a huge supporter of Colt, but there is always the chance that he gets surpassed as the team's top quarterback this season. On top of that,  Colt has to leave the program at some point. If or when either of those do happen I would really like to see Sherrod take over. He's got a strong arm, currently sufficient vision (and I mean that as a compliment at this level), and can effectively use his legs as a weapon. In the mean time, he will hopefully continue to be a tough competitor for snaps against both John Chiles and Colt McCoy.

3. Chykie Brown CB: If you have ever seen Chykie Brown in person, you really get the idea that he can destroy anyone at any sport. Extreme checkers, underwater hockey, you name it. Maybe the best part of Chykie (pronounced "Shockey") is that at 6'1, no ABC announcer will ever refer to him as "undersized." You'd think with our current squad of lollypop kids, that it is a requirement to be well under 6' in order to be a cornerback for Texas. To compliment his size and physical abilities, he already has good sense and the kind of bridled aggression you like to see out of a defensive back. Unfortunately for us and him, he will most likely be watching senior Ryan Palmer and the very talented junior Deon Beasley trotting out in front of him on August 30th.

2. Sergio Kindle LB: With the amount of hype Sergio Kindle received coming out of high school, it is unbelievable to me that he is going to be a junior this season. I remember seeing his recruiting videos almost three years ago and thinking that he was going literally kill some poor Rice slot receiver at some point in his career at Texas. He's scary big, fast, has a killer instinct, but unfortunately either very unlucky or very breakable. Kindle simply hasn't been healthy long enough to be the haymaker at linebacker that  EVERYONE seems to know he can be. He will have a heck of a time passing up senior linebacker Rashad Bobino, given Texas' affinity for seniority. Here's to hoping Kindle stays healthy, and has a good enough summer to get some serious play time.

1.  Fozzy Whittaker RB: This might be my favorite player associated with all of Texas football. I mean, he plays the tuba and has has a dog, two turtles, a ferret, and a catfish named "whopper." A catfish. Named "whopper." Not only is he wildly eclectic, he's also a pretty phenomenal running back. He will only be a sophomore, but already he has shown his ability to break open plays and get huge gains on any play, any down. It'll be tough for him to get a ton of carries over the more experienced Vondrell McGee, but expect him put up some pretty gaudy stats, especially in the per carry column. 

Thoughts? Leave a comment or send me an email at texaswhisperchant (at) gmail (dot) com.