Freshman Notes - Catching My Eye

[Bobby Burton]

Here are the freshmen that truly caught my eye yesterday.

Couple of things before I get to the list:

First, I did not pick a certain number of players here. I didn't say only the top 5 or top 10. That's not an honest assessment of who caught my eye. These are truly the ones that got my attention.

Second, if a player didn't make this list, it's not an indictment on them. Far from it. I just didn't see enough of them athletically that really caught my eye on day one. For example, Christian Clark and Jerrick Gibson both looked good physically, but I didn't see them do anything other than "look good" to really single either of them out.

The List

WR Ryan Wingo - early leader for most impressive true freshman IMO. Fluid, plus-sized athlete with excellent separation speed downfield (similar to AD Mitchell) and natural hands.

WR Aaron Butler - quick, lots of short space burst and decent long speed, too. Natural pass catcher, even when hands are low and away from the body. An interesting mix between say Xavier Worthy and Johntay Cook IMO.

TE Jordan Washington - this is how you want to draw up long-term TE prospects. Lanky, good athleticism, good ball skills, ability to add smart weight. Seemed focused mentally and coachable.

OL Brandon Baker - clear-cut elite prospect. Not sure if he's super-sized to be a first-round pick but he's an NFL OL at either tackle spot IMO or even guard if he wanted. Excellent feet and body control. Naturally thick frame in both upper and lower body.

OL Daniel Cruz - he "looks" different than every other OL on campus, which is saying something. He looks like he swallowed an oak barrel. Surprisingly quick for that type of body build.

DL Alex January - attentive and focused in practice; good muscle mass, nice body weight for plus-sized player early in his career; abnormally quick with his hands for someone this early in their career.

DE Colin Simmons - he's chiseled from different clay than most. One drill he showed quickness no one else on the edge has. Time will tell if he can play with the requisite toughness to get on the field early.

DE Zina Umeozulu - his arms are looooooooooong. Also athletic. I know some have questioned his toughness out of the gate. But if he can overcome that, he has an elite tool set with length, quickness and speed.

S Xavier Filsaime - I knew he had the speed and frame but he showed some advanced route/ball awareness on one play in particular.

 

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[Baron]

It's surprising that Collins and Filsaime are that far down your list, but it is day one. 

[closetojumping]

I know this is probably an unfair question and I am not trying to play "gotcha", Bobby, but was there anyone you saw in which they caught your eye for the wrong reasons and give you pause on how they'll fit into things? Not asking you to name names. 

[David Latiolais]

Bobby, how would you compare what you're seeing from Wingo vs what you're seeing from Cook? A chance Wingo can pass Cook on the depth chart. Not a lot of talk about Cook so far?

[Red Five]

13 minutes ago, Baron said:

It's surprising that Collins and Filsaime are that far down your list, but it is day one. 

hahaha

[codaxx]

2 minutes ago, David Latiolais said:

Bobby, how would you compare what you're seeing from Wingo vs what you're seeing from Cook? A chance Wingo can pass Cook on the depth chart. Not a lot of talk about Cook so far?

I am not Bobby, but I think Wingo is a superior prospect to Cook from a physical stand point. It will be interesting to see how he develops

[codaxx]

15 minutes ago, Baron said:

It's surprising that Collins and Filsaime are that far down your list, but it is day one. 

I am not sure that is Bobby's rankings. 

[closetojumping]

5 minutes ago, codaxx said:

I am not sure that is Bobby's rankings. 

You're going to find responding to things like this to be futile. I find myself wanting to help, and then I realize, nope, the mods know what they're doing. 

[TexShoe]

1 hour ago, codaxx said:

I am not Bobby, but I think Wingo is a superior prospect to Cook from a physical stand point. It will be interesting to see how he develops

the new guy is always the superior prospect, just as next year's flavor du jour will be a better prospect than Wingo.  

[codaxx]

1 minute ago, TexShoe said:

the new guy is always the superior prospect, just as next year's flavor du jour will be a better prospect than Wingo.  

Not at all. Cook is ~6'0 and 195 lbs. Wingo is 6'2" and 210. Cook ran a 10.76 100.. Wingo ran a 10.55 100. Wingo would will likely destroy the combine. He is bigger and more athletic, than Cook. That doesnt guarantee he will be better, but his ceiling is higher. 

[Driskill33]

Glad to see Alex Januarys name on here. He is going to need to be part of the rotation next year. 

[David Latiolais]

I only asked the question is that have not heard very much about Cook, and is that because we know who Cook is, or is he being over shadowed by others? 

Is the Media allowed at practice all week or just Tuesday? 

[HenryJames]

2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

I know this is probably an unfair question and I am not trying to play "gotcha", Bobby, but was there anyone you saw in which they caught your eye for the wrong reasons and give you pause on how they'll fit into things?

Heard that @Gerry Hamilton looked like he swallowed Taylor Bible.

[jonbailey]

1 hour ago, codaxx said:

Not at all. Cook is ~6'0 and 195 lbs. Wingo is 6'2" and 210. Cook ran a 10.76 100.. Wingo ran a 10.55 100. Wingo would will likely destroy the combine. He is bigger and more athletic, than Cook. That doesnt guarantee he will be better, but his ceiling is higher. 

Wingo has the better measurables but Cooks strength is the polish on his route running and technic. Imo. Im glad we have both guys.

[Red Five]

2 hours ago, TexShoe said:

the new guy is always the superior prospect, just as next year's flavor du jour will be a better prospect than Wingo.  

Yeah if it's Dakorian Moore.

[davideowens]

35 minutes ago, jonbailey said:

Wingo has the better measurables but Cooks strength is the polish on his route running and technic. Imo. Im glad we have both guys.

ARCH is gonna love those 2 guys in 2025!!

[Vertigo]

2 hours ago, codaxx said:

Not at all. Cook is ~6'0 and 195 lbs. Wingo is 6'2" and 210. Cook ran a 10.76 100.. Wingo ran a 10.55 100. Wingo would will likely destroy the combine. He is bigger and more athletic, than Cook. That doesnt guarantee he will be better, but his ceiling is higher. 

They are both elite prospects, they are just different players. Cook is going to be the volume 9 catches for 95 yards type, and Wingo is going to be the 6 catches for 130 yards type. Those two pair perfectly in this system as we saw with Worthy and Mitchell. 

[goathumper]

"He looks like he swallowed an oak barrel" is quite a descriptor

[codaxx]

4 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

They are both elite prospects, they are just different players. Cook is going to be the volume 9 catches for 95 yards type, and Wingo is going to be the 6 catches for 130 yards type. Those two pair perfectly in this system as we saw with Worthy and Mitchell. 

My comment was in no way a slam at Cook. Just simply that if they both maximize their talents, I would pick Wingo. He is the bigger, faster player. 

[Vertigo]

4 minutes ago, goathumper said:

"He looks like he swallowed an oak barrel" is quite a descriptor

Sounds like a Texas One tailgate. 

[K. Baughman]

Bottom line for me is how fun it is to have so many exciting freshmen. In the past it has been one maybe two a season. There have been times there really wasn’t one at all. Exciting times for sure. Sark and company keep it rolling.

[NothinButDaHorns34]

Sark’s really built an elite roster over these almost four years for these to ONLY be the true freshman. I am beyond happy to be eating my crow when i thought he wasn’t a championship level coach when he was hired. 

[Bobby Burton]

7 hours ago, Baron said:

It's surprising that Collins and Filsaime are that far down your list, but it is day one. 

They're not far down. I went position by position.

[Bobby Burton]

7 hours ago, closetojumping said:

I know this is probably an unfair question and I am not trying to play "gotcha", Bobby, but was there anyone you saw in which they caught your eye for the wrong reasons and give you pause on how they'll fit into things? Not asking you to name names. 

Well, Sydir. Some close to him say he has been a little under the weather the last couple of weeks, but that just wasn't a good look for him when conditioning has been an asterisk for him. It happens.

Outside of that, I wouldn't say any freshman was an obvious no. Dubose did not go full on. Livingstone looked like he belonged. Didn't see enough of LB Smith or the other DBs.

 

[Bobby Burton]

7 hours ago, David Latiolais said:

Bobby, how would you compare what you're seeing from Wingo vs what you're seeing from Cook? A chance Wingo can pass Cook on the depth chart. Not a lot of talk about Cook so far?

They are totally different players and player types.

Wingo is faster. He is the fastest receiver on the team. Well, it's him or Bond.

Cook is more refined in his routes and cuts them off more quickly, making him a tough guard AND he doesn't lack for speed either (he's just not as fast as Bond or Wingo).

I could see most of the WRs moving around quite a bit, but always keeping Wingo outside in year one. He's got a lot to learn but I'm told he's on the right track.