Wow, Would "Miss the Boat" Make You Less Angry?

My initial post on Mack and DeLoss possibly 'dropping the ball' seemed to really rile some people up. I don't know if is left over imagery from sideline incident in the Holiday Bowl or if some bitter Cowboy fans can't get the Super Bowl flushing interception out of their mind, but it really pissed some people off. Would 'Miss the Boat' make you less angry?

I certainly don't think that Mack and DeLoss are sitting around twiddling their thumbs and not doing something that they should be doing, but I think there is an opportunity that they are missing out on. Florida, Tennessee, and Michigan seem to be taking advantage of this. They are on the first ship out of port. There will be another one and I hope The University of Texas hops aboard.

After some rooting around I think I've arrived at the following reasons for the lack of Longhorn players:

1. Construction - The use of DKR as Team Texas's home stadium, or for a game, is apparently still on the table. The construction this year was an issue in the original talks and DKR just wasn't available. If all the home games end up in DKR in the future, or if even just one game a year is played there, you may see more interest from former horns that want to run through the tunnel a few more times.

2. Graduation Rates - Lets face it. Texas' graduation rates suck. A lot of this has to do with the success we've had recently and the NFL's thirst for our talent. We've sent a large number of players to the league over the last three years and many of those guys haven't finished their degrees yet. On the other side, Texas seems to have a problem graduating its football athletes. Hopefully the new position created for Ken Rucker will help with this.

3. Financial Incentive - Texas may not see the diversion of cash to a third party as a good idea. If the AAFL is successful and can increase/justify the financial incentive to the Longhorn Foundation, we may get some more direct involvement from Texas. The AAFL currently offers a 12.5% kick back on ticket sales through a foundation. If the Longhorn foundation were to help Team Texas sell out Rice Stadium you might be looking at a $1 million dollar incentive for the foundation, but you'd be draining $7.5 dollars of buying power out of the pockets of their biggest customers. Florida and Tennessee are taking advantage of this deal currently. Their stadiums are larger then Rice's so maybe they reached a better threshold. Lets face it. UT isn't strapped for cash.

I am disappointed in that there is only one Longhorn on the protected player list. I'm hoping to see more Texas guys get their info in for the supplemental draft on February 16th. If the league is successful I think we'll see more Horns in 2009.

Team Texas - Did Mack and DeLoss Drop the Ball?

For those not familiar with Team Texas and the AAFL, this intro paragraph is for you. I you are already familiar, you can skip it. The AAFL is a new Pro Football league that will begin play this April. It will start with six teams: Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, and Tennessee. Players must have completed their college degree. The league is trying to cater directly to College Football fans. One of the way they are doing this is by allowing teams to 'protect' players that went to college in their home state, and with smaller states, adjoining states. Team Texas will play at Rice University in Houston. They will have 5 home games.

The AAFL draft is this coming Saturday and Team Texas has protected 30 players from the state of Texas. Twenty more players will be selected in the draft. Through a number of inquires and bush beatings I've learned that The University of Texas only has 5 players that have submitted paperwork necessary to be drafted this Saturday. 5. Out of 1200 only 5 are from UT. 0.4%. Texas A&M has 14 players in the draft. Almost three times as many as Texas. Now there may be some very good reasons for this, but it may very well be that Mack Brown and DeLoss Dodds dropped the ball.

I have to admit that there may be a fuzzy line approaching for the AAFL. The University of Florida is so involved with Team Florida that the University Foundation members are getting first crack at tickets and three home games are being played in the Swamp. I can foresee a day when the NCAA may one day turn a curious eye toward this type of arrangement. In five years this relationship could give The University of Florida an unfair recruiting advantage. The NCAA might frown on that. But right now it is legal to have that kind of relationship and it will be a recruiting advantage. Team Florida has already announced 10 Florida Gators will be a part of their roster. Team Michigan has announced 14 players that are either from The University of Michigan or Michigan State.

At first I though Team Texas was just sandbagging. I figured they were waiting until draft day to drop a big beautiful burnt orange bomb of James Brown, Chance Mock, Aaron Humphrey, Wayne McGarity, and Nate Jones. It probably isn't going to happen. Only 5 players from Texas submitted their transcripts. Phillilp Geigger is one and he is on the team. Who are the other 4? Will any of them be protected? We will have to wait until Saturday to find out, but something isn't right here.

Do our players not graduate? Surely some don't. Scott Derry would probably be great for this league, but from what I can tell, he hasn't graduated yet. Some players from the 2007 Longhorn squad have. Why aren't they on this list? Beyond those, how does The University of Florida have 10+ players eligible and we only have 5. Do they graduate that many more then us? I doubt it.

Is all our talent in the NFL? Sure...some of it is. But Michigan and Florida send a ton of guys to the NFL as well.

Does the Longhorn network pull players out of the pool? This is a possibility. If you don't make the NFL, many look for a "real job." We love our horns and we love to hire our horns.

I have to think that Mack and DeLoss either just missed the boat or had a good reason for not more actively recruiting former players to this new league. Don't get me wrong. We hope we graduate men who can take care of themselves. I sure as hell would rather have Mack in Darrell Scott's living room then trying to help Wayne McGarity get a transcript sent in. But...on the other hand this could be a huge recruiting tool.

Come to The University of Texas and we'll do every thing we can to help you make it to the NFL. If that doesn't work out, we have a long tradition of players continuing their careers playing professional football in Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium as part of Team Texas.

And, please, think of the tailgates!

So what is the deal? Did Team Texas contact UT and get turned away? Did Team Texas ignore the Horns? Were Mack and DeLoss so distracted in their coaching searches that they missed a golden opportunity? Leave a comment. I'll try to get the bottom of this.

In the mean time. There is a supplemental AAFL draft on February 16th. 10 more players will be drafted and Team Texas will be able to protect three more players.Will someone at Belmont please go pull the T-Ring roster, go down to main hall, request those transcripts be sent to:

All American Football League HQ
One Glenlake Parkway
Suite 700
Atlanta, GA 30328

Then get on a fax machine and start faxing draft paper work to player, agents, and players' mommas.

Star Power! - Geigger, Symons Protected

Ask and you shall receive again! Team Texas has added some new players to their Team Page.

From the Team Texas Site:

BJ Symons, QB Texas Tech:

B. J. Symons started for one season as quarterback for the Texas Tech RedRaiders. During his only season as a starter (his senior year), Texas Tech finished the season 8-5, and Symons broke the NCAA record for single-season passing yards at 5,833 yards. Symons set the NCAA 12-Game Passing Record with 5,336 yards in 2003. Symons also established a new NCAA 12-Game Total Offense Record with 5,476 yards this season. At the time of his graduation Symons held the Big 12 and Tech record with 48 touchdown passes in one season. Symons broke Kliff Kingsbury's school and Big 12 single-season record of 45 touchdown passes.


Wade Koehl, LB University of Houston:

Koehl signed with Houston after he played linebacker and fullback for the Bulldogs in their run to the Class 5A Division I State Championship game in 2002. He started for four years at Houston, where he led the team in tackles as a freshman.


Phillip Geiggar, DB University of Texas:

Geiggar was an athletic, hard-hitting defensive back who was the veteran leader of the Longhorn secondary, a key member of the special teams and returns punts and kickoffs, and played in 50 career games (including bowls).


Jason Hunt, WR Trinity University:

Hunt received All-SCAC first-team honors for his play at wide receiver for Trinity.


Alan Reuber, OL Texas A&M:

Alan Reuber was an American football guard and tackle and was a practice squad player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Texas A&M.

I'll try to get some more detailed profiles up next week.

Graduating Longhorns to the AAFL?

A number of Texas Longhorns from the 2007 squad earned their degrees this past December. Could they be playing on Team Texas for the 2008 season?

Lets take a look:

NFL Locks:

Frank Okam 1st or 2nd Rounder
Limas Sweed 1st Round
Marcus Griffin 2nd half
Derek Lokey 2nd half

NFL Maybe:

Brandon Foster - Brandon improved quite a bit in 2007 but I would hardly call him NFL material. If he gets a chance with Team Texas he may show us more. I think the AAFL will be right in his wheel house and he could be a contributor for years to come.

Nate Jones - I've seen Nate ranked in the 70s of available draft prospects. This is not good. I would expect his draft stock to improve if he is invited to the combine but the draft doesn't look like a possibility for Nate. This is a shame because Nate was such a great target for Colt this year. If Nate isn't on the protect list for Team Texas, he should be. As much as we expect to throw the ball, Nate's hands should come in handy. The season should wrap up just about the time NFL training camps get underway. I'd love to have Nate on Team Texas for just one year. My guess is that he would turn enough heads to make an NFL roster for 2008.

AAFL Candidates:
Erick Jackson - Erick Jackson hits hard. He didn't make as much of an impact as everyone would have liked as a Seinor. Maybe there is room for Erick to grow in the AAFL?

Drew Kelson - Drew seemed to be a victim of the Coaching Staffs whims and fancies. He was moved around a lot and never settled anywhere. Whether this was due to his lack of talent or his lack of opportunity was never answered.

Robert Killebrew - Please No. One can only take so many personal fouls per game. I appreciate his leadership and energy, but he always seemed to be a step behind the play.

Thomas Marshall - Thomas Marshall was injured a lot. When he got to play, I enjoyed watching him. It is hard playing behind Lokey and Okam. He may be perfect for the AAFL if he can stay healthy.

Justin Moore - Looks like Justin graduated and has taken a job in Houston(thanks UTPhil2006). Congratulations. Maybe he can punt on the weekends?

Scout Team:
Freddy Torres
Gilbert Zepeda
Ryan Moench
Jaime Carvajal

I have no idea about these guys. Thanks for all your hard work in practice?