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I heard the delay was caused by a Ukrainian special forces mission.

Perfectly stated imo ! 🤘🏻

It's not that baffling. Elliott has never believed in Swindle as the setter. It's why he brought in Averi Carlson in Swindle's sophomore season after winning the national championship. That move completely disrupted team chemistry and ended with an abomination of a season. He puts Swindle back in as a starter and we end up with a #1 seed, regional host, come within inches of beating Kentucky in the SEC tournament and lose to Wisconsin because our serving sucks. True, Swindle was never a world beater as a setter, but she regularly set a hittable ball to the pins to the tune of a .300+ hitting percentage (some of that was due to Binney's contributions on the double sub - on Swindle's sets the team hit around .285). More importantly, she has intangibles as a leader this team needs, especially with Elliott doing his best Tom Landry impression on the bench. But Elliott is famous for making changes to his setters if he feels like it gives him the best chance at winning a national championship, and that's what he did in the offseason. I never liked it. I never liked bringing in Carlson, either, although I hoped for the best. But I absolutely loathe the 6-2 as a system for a program like Texas. A mid tier P4 or a program outside of the P4, sure. There aren't that many tall setters around because most of them are forced into other positions at a young age, just like there aren't that many tall point guards. But if you're Texas, you can basically go get anyone you want that Nebraska doesn't covet, and we even beat the Cornhuskers in talent acquisition every now and then. You shouldn't ever be forced into a situation where you depend on 5'6 setters like we do with Binney currently. Or Gabriel. But let's look at what we've done with the setter position over the last decade. After very short Chloe Collins ran out of eligibility (who was short but could jump out of the gym - still a liability on the block) Elliott decided he was done with short setters and brought in Ashley Shook. Shook did not just not enroll in January like most premier players. She decided she owed it to her summer club teammates to participate with them to give them the best shot at scholarship opportunities, and so literally didn't enroll at Texas until right before fall camp started. She was the #1 setter for that recruiting cycle and ended up being a bust. Gabriel took over as a walk on from Hawaii. She was a spit fire who was about 5'6 but set for an incredibly talented team, including Butler, O'Neal, Eggleston, White, and Fields. We eventually made it to the national championship with her leading the team during the Covid spring season, and had Kentucky on the ropes until they made it a point to abuse her when she rotated to the front row. We simply couldn't get out of those rotations. The next year Elliott brings in Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres who was the 6' starter at Utah. However, because of some problems with the transfer paperwork, she's not able to enroll or practice with the team until several weeks into the season. In the Elite 8 match against Nebraska that year, Nebraska ended up upsetting Texas in Gregory Gym. Gabriel was benched during that match and she and Elliott exchanged words. Watching that match I don't have to guess very hard at what that exchange might have been, because Gabriel wasn't really the problem for that match. It wasn't Nebraska abusing Gabriel's ineffectual block that led to their victory. It was one of the worst showings of Texas receiving serve I've ever seen, and that's always been a traditional Texas weakness since Elliott never valued quality littles through much of his tenure. Gabriel had to run around with her hair on fire simply to set anything. In the offseason Gabriel announced her retirement from volleyball for mental health reasons, later became a volunteer assistant with Dawn Sullivan at UNLV, then decided she wanted to play for her last year of eligibility and did a slam bang job leading the Rebels to a surprise NCAA tournament appearance. She later went on to join Sullivan's staff at Missouri (Marina Crownover joined her after transferring from Texas) but it looks like Sullivan cleaned house with her staff, and Gabriel ended up with a promotion at Arizona, where she currently coaches. In the meantime, Elliott also recruited Naomi Cabello, the #1 ranked 6'1 setter in her class who later transferred to NC State along with Madison Williams as part of the purge that allowed Elliott to bring in the transformational transfer class that led to the 2022 national championship. Her younger sister, btw, is currently the starting setter at top 5 Louisville this year. Cabello was the second setter in a 6-2 for the Wolfpack, and never did put up the numbers her recruiting ranking coming out of high school would lead one to anticipate. Then he brought in Ella Swindle. Swindle and Nebraska's Bergen Reilly were the two top setters in their recruiting class. Allegedly Nebraska would have taken either one, but Reilly was the first one to raise her hand and commit, so that's who John Cook took. Swindle then defaulted to Texas. I'm not saying Swindle wouldn't have chosen Texas anyway, but Reilly was never an option. Swindle led Texas to their second national championship, including walking around in a boot and not participating in practices for the last 3 weeks of the year. She didn't even jump when she was on the court setting during the tournament. The next offseason he brough in Carlson, the top setter in the portal after transferring from Baylor. She lasted one year, then transferred to SMU after a tumultuous season at Texas. Not that it was anyone's fault necessarily. Everything I've been told is that Carlson and Swindle both handled the dynamics as well as possible, but the way Elliott managed the two created divisions within the team and natural tensions arose which affected their overall competitiveness and the effectiveness of both setters. BTW, while Carlson is likely the best pure setter Elliott has ever coached, she too was abused on the block - at Baylor, at Texas, and then again at SMU. It's not always about the setting. While Texas didn't land her, I should note that Texas went HARD after Campbell Flynn, who ended up committing to Nebraska and is still there waiting her turn behind Reilly, and might very well wait even another year if Reilly uses her new 5th year of eligibility. Even after the commitment Texas tried to flip her, which is unusual in volleyball, although it does happen (see Ayden Ames flipping from Nebraska to Texas late in the process). Flynn would undoubtedly be the current starter if that had worked out. She's good friends with both Vander Wal and Krueger from that class, so there was hope something could happen, but it didn't. This past year we went after Genevieve Harris, a 5'11 setter out of the state of North Carolina who was the top setter in her class. She is close friends with Henley Anderson from the national teams, which was a big factor in her recruitment. Oh, and while we don't have a setter for the 2027 class, we yet again have a commitment for the #1 setter in the 2028 class, Taimane Ainu’u, a 5'11 setter out of Hawaii. So to recap, we've brought in Shook (#1 setter) Cabello (#1 setter) Ka'aha'aina-Torres (#1 portal setter), Swindle (#1a or #1b setter), Carlson (#1 portal setter), and now Harris (#1 setter) and yet none of those other than Ka'aha'aina-Torres has left the program as the starting setter. So far. We chased off Gabriel. We used walk on Binney as a situational double sub last year, then promoted her to co-starter in the 6-2 with Harris, then abandoned that after the Vander Wal injury, with Binney running all 6 rotations with infrequent subs of Swindle in the front court. After the OU 3rd set I fully anticipate a return to the 6-2 with Harris and Spears/Gaido swapping out on the right side. I don't have any confidence that's going to work out that great, but there aren't any good options in my opinion, since Binney can't be spending a lot of time in the front row. The obvious solution to me would have been to keep Swindle as the starter in the offseason. Allow her and the hitters to perfect their timing, which includes adjusting to less than ideal sets from Swindle the way the team did the year before. But that's not what the coaches decided to do, and so here we are. What I don't think is a solution is to put Swindle in at this point. Stick a fork in her. She's done. They basically spent all offseason sabotaging her as a player, teammate, and team leader. They exclusively prepared all spring, summer and fall for a 6-2 with Binney and Harris as the setters. And again, it was because Elliott has never believed in Swindle as his starting setter. The times she's in there she has looked terrible as a setter. I'm sure she feels incredible pressure to perform, because it's obvious she has a very short hook. She doesn't have the reps with the starters. It's basically setting her up to fail. The bigger question I feel like we should be asking ourselves - and in any event I'm certainly asking myself - is what the heck are we doing at the setter position anyway? Of the 5 positions on the court - OH, MB, Opp, Libero, Setter - even DS if you want to include that - the setter position is far and away the biggest disaster over the last 10 years. And it hasn't been because of a failure in talent acquisition. Texas is basically getting anyone they want that isn't going to Nebraska. It's either a failure in evaluation or a failure in development, take your pick.

I get the premise, but flagging 50+ yard missed fg's is not it

McDaniel is the offensive coordinator for the Chargers. At the rate they’re going, he might be available soon.

It’s simple Brady Sarkisian. He knows the team, he knows Texas, he knows his dad’s offense, and he’s cheap. I kid I kid, what’s Mike McDaniel doing these days?!

That's exactly how he sees it. He thinks he can win a title like Jimbo & is set out to do so to prove all the naysayers wrong. Or until CDC tells me to hire an OC

Hey, easy now, @Grant Ward. Winning is hard!

Haha. That's great

To further add to my response to @jkates' comment, Urban Meyer is another coach who elevated his coordinators while overseeing the offense without being the play-caller. Mike Sanford (Utah), Dan Mullen (Florida), Tom Herman (Ohio State) and Ryan Day (Ohio State) all got head coaching gigs after calling plays under Meyer.

Couldn't have said it better, jkates. I wonder if in Sark's mind, giving up play-calling would be admitting defeat. He shouldn't look at it that way.

That made me laugh because it stung so badly.

Sark has impressed me more as a head coach than an offensive coordinator during his time in ATX. That doesn't mean he's nailed every hire, but he's done a great job getting this program elevated from the Strong/Herman mess he inherited. I wish Saban or Kiffin or Carroll or someone he trusts would convince him that hiring an OC wouldn't diminish "the reason [he] was hired." Yes, you were hired to call a great O, Sark. But, beyond that, you were hired to win. Maybe teaching your O to young, hungry coaches - as Saban, Smart, etc. did in their programs - is a good thing!

I get what your saying. Yet it's true. It's about the "process" and the bigger issue is most don't know how to plan, install, and run an effective process to reach maximum effectiveness. Failing to incorporate the required systems, individuals, and support structure to manage/ run the process. It's also not a cookie cutter answer to meet each environment. But in the end. I'm willing to bet most, if not all great people, businesses, and sports dynasties have one thing in common....their "process." Herman i again, 💯 agree with you on. Tried to short cut many things and believe his character/ personality traits killed things as well.

And if Sark were to truly buy into doing it that way, I think it would be the best thing for him and Texas. Sark might not want to admit it, but I think his biggest strength as a head coach is assembling a staff and being the CEO. In the current climate of college football, you need a great CEO as head coach more than you need an X’s and O’s genius.

CJ is the only guy in the room with the balls to ask the right question. I would have been even more pointed. I guess Sark isn’t paid enough yet to answer with accountability

Exactly.

Loved it. That quick move up the field was so smooth. Just an effortless athlete all the way through.

He will be a major part of the offense next year.

Jermaine Bishop Jr caught his first career TD and was actually used and targeted more on Saturday than he had been all season prior. I know it’s one guy and all that so it gets lost in the shuffle, but his usage and TD have to be confidence boosts for him. Hopefully we can keep it up.

You shall not question Sark about qb play or play calling

At times, I wish Sark would respond to questions a little more like a coach and a little less like a politician. Especially after losses. Especially after this question specifically.

I hate that cliché, "process". Herman used it all the time. The only process he knew was the pink slip process.