Moderators CJ Vogel Posted July 11 Moderators Share Posted July 11 Want to get a little more of a sneak peek in the next few weeks of what some of the new additions to the Texas roster in 2024. As we near the beginning of training camp, you will begin to hear more and more of newcomers and the roles they are beginning to fill. Today, I wanted to start with Oregon State transfer WR Silas Bolden. After going through all of the opening drives Sarkisian and the Longhorns had in 2023, I am left with the belief that you will see a lot of Silas Bolden early in ballgames. Texas ran some sort of a screen play on nearly 18% of their plays on opening drives a year ago. It is not uncommon for Sarkisian to get his quarterbacks into rhythm early by seeing an easy throw and catch via a screen or short pass attempt. *** Looking back at Bolden's numbers in 2023, I was actually a bit surprised by how little he was used behind the LOS. 80 total targets 17 – beyond 20 yards 25 – between 11–20 yards 31 – between 0–9 yards 7 – behind LOS Where Bolden did his most damage was under 10 yards. On 31 targets, he hauled in 25 passes for an 80.6% rate. And though, only seven of his targets came behind the LOS, he had a tremendous YAC rate. Now, YAC rates are skewed on these types of pass plays as you can only really go forward, but an 11.7 YPC rate on screens behind the LOS is certainly noteworthy. For comparison, Xavier Worthy had a 9.9 YPC mark on 26 receptions coming from 29 targets in 2023. On deep throws: Bolden is an interesting case study on deep pass attempts. He was targeted 17 times beyond 20 yards downfield, though only hauled in five receptions. Not a great hit rate. But looking further into the numbers, and well it is not much of a surprise as to why. Among those 17 targets, only two were classified as 'contested' by PFF. Meaning either Bolden was able to haul in the pass whilst being open downfield, or the ball was poorly thrown. Center of the Field That intermediate range is where Bolden made his money a year ago, and luckily for him, he is now matched up with the best in the country at throwing passes between 10–20 yards. Bolden on passes between 0-20 yards over the middle of the field: 56 targets 40 receptions 71.4% completion 466 yards 11.65 YPC Most importantly above anything else, only two drops on 80 targets in 2023. Reliable with plenty of room for explosivity in 2024. I would expect to see plenty of Silas Bolden early on in the season and more specifically, early in ballgames throughout the season. 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators CJ Vogel Posted July 11 Author Moderators Share Posted July 11 Example of the YAC and body control on the short pass attempts. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrostedHorn Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 It’s kind of funny how we go ballistic over missing on WR’s when Sark can go and get 2 or 3 of these weapons out of the portal every year 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators CJ Vogel Posted July 11 Author Moderators Share Posted July 11 1 minute ago, FrostedHorn said: It’s kind of funny how we go ballistic over missing on WR’s when Sark can go and get 2 or 3 of these weapons out of the portal every year I get it though. The guys Sarkisian and Jackson are pursuing out of the portal likely have NFL futures and tremendous malleability if you are able to land them out of HS. Luckily, and to your point, WR is the deepest position in the portal and there will almost never be a shortage there. Plus, Sarkisian's offense is very attractive to many WR. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marathon Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 (edited) @CJ Vogel Thank you for the information. A reminder that fall camp will be starting soon. Edited July 11 by marathon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsRUs Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 Love this write up CJ, do you envision Bolden being an NFL player whether it be a ST role or a WR/RB flex role? Also, how many of the receivers on campus right now do you envision making it the NFL as draft picks? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators CJ Vogel Posted July 11 Author Moderators Share Posted July 11 18 minutes ago, marathon said: @CJ Vogel Thank you for the information. A reminder that fall camp will be starting soon. Right around the corner! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ_Sports Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 When i saw him play my senior year my buddies and I called him the human joy stick lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syracusehorn Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 So excited about Bolden. I love that first in-motion to jailbreak screen play. That's a great wrinkle for our screen game. His balance after contact is pretty remarkable too, given his size. Great agility. He's great in motion, but I'm telling you, if he's the "forgotten guy" in a formation, he can embarrass whoever is defending him 1v1. Put Blue in motion to draw attention one direction, and then throw back to Bolden. That could be a big play. It doesn't take him long to get separation. He won't run over anyone, but he can find spaces anywhere and has great hands. He's going to be a big piece of the puzzle this year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Lane Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 51 and counting!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators CJ Vogel Posted July 11 Author Moderators Share Posted July 11 47 minutes ago, AJJ_Sports said: When i saw him play my senior year my buddies and I called him the human joy stick lol It fits! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 More great stuff CJ ! 🤘🏻 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas fan in Georgia Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 RPO and bubble screen game with him can be deadly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators CJ Vogel Posted July 11 Author Moderators Share Posted July 11 5 minutes ago, Texas fan in Georgia said: RPO and bubble screen game with him can be deadly 100%, he’ll be lethal in the short game. Though he still has that take the roof off ability which is awesome 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatdude2 Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 Sark’s O might be in for a BIG year 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Lane Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 2 hours ago, CJ Vogel said: Want to get a little more of a sneak peek in the next few weeks of what some of the new additions to the Texas roster in 2024. As we near the beginning of training camp, you will begin to hear more and more of newcomers and the roles they are beginning to fill. Today, I wanted to start with Oregon State transfer WR Silas Bolden. After going through all of the opening drives Sarkisian and the Longhorns had in 2023, I am left with the belief that you will see a lot of Silas Bolden early in ballgames. Texas ran some sort of a screen play on nearly 18% of their plays on opening drives a year ago. It is not uncommon for Sarkisian to get his quarterbacks into rhythm early by seeing an easy throw and catch via a screen or short pass attempt. *** Looking back at Bolden's numbers in 2023, I was actually a bit surprised by how little he was used behind the LOS. 80 total targets 17 – beyond 20 yards 25 – between 11–20 yards 31 – between 0–9 yards 7 – behind LOS Where Bolden did his most damage was under 10 yards. On 31 targets, he hauled in 25 passes for an 80.6% rate. And though, only seven of his targets came behind the LOS, he had a tremendous YAC rate. Now, YAC rates are skewed on these types of pass plays as you can only really go forward, but an 11.7 YPC rate on screens behind the LOS is certainly noteworthy. For comparison, Xavier Worthy had a 9.9 YPC mark on 26 receptions coming from 29 targets in 2023. On deep throws: Bolden is an interesting case study on deep pass attempts. He was targeted 17 times beyond 20 yards downfield, though only hauled in five receptions. Not a great hit rate. But looking further into the numbers, and well it is not much of a surprise as to why. Among those 17 targets, only two were classified as 'contested' by PFF. Meaning either Bolden was able to haul in the pass whilst being open downfield, or the ball was poorly thrown. Center of the Field That intermediate range is where Bolden made his money a year ago, and luckily for him, he is now matched up with the best in the country at throwing passes between 10–20 yards. Bolden on passes between 0-20 yards over the middle of the field: 56 targets 40 receptions 71.4% completion 466 yards 11.65 YPC Most importantly above anything else, only two drops on 80 targets in 2023. Reliable with plenty of room for explosivity in 2024. I would expect to see plenty of Silas Bolden early on in the season and more specifically, early in ballgames throughout the season. Really great work, as always, CJ! Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevo92 Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 Great write-up and video. Our offense is going to be crazy deep this year at every position. Exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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