OTF Premium What's next for Texas at wide receiver and linebacker?

24 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

Ryan Wingo wouldn't be the first Texas wide receiver to have a sophomore season that left everybody wanting more, only to bounce back with a massive junior season. I mentioned Xavier Worthy, but Mike Davis and Devin Duvernay went through similar career arcs. 

Duvernays 2019 season was special. 

Like gerry was saying on coffee and football this morning, It feels like this offense is missing an elusive in space/take the top off of a defense type of wide receiver. 

Let’s not confuse Wingo with a 2nd year broke hand Worthy, particularly after Worthy put up the freshman year he did.

37 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

Ryan Wingo wouldn't be the first Texas wide receiver to have a sophomore season that left everybody wanting more, only to bounce back with a massive junior season. I mentioned Xavier Worthy, but Mike Davis and Devin Duvernay went through similar career arcs. 

I just want him to catch the dang ball lol

Good stuff Jeff. It’s gonna be an interesting portal season for sure 

Wingo has speed,  not sure how elusive, agile he really is.  

man Arch final year and we are replacing safety, corner, multiple lbs, de’s, kicker,punter center, 2 guards, RB, Te and Wr.   that’s pretty rough 

1 hour ago, ThatHornsGuy87 said:

I just want him to catch the dang ball lol

Agreed. But honestly, he seemed to do that a lot better down the stretch.  He made some really clutch catches.  

1 hour ago, Here for the Wins said:

Let’s not confuse Wingo with a 2nd year broke hand Worthy, particularly after Worthy put up the freshman year he did.

Wingo may have had a few ailments that we never heard about. Sark doesn't spill it often... but yeah, he was definitely healthier than X.

I was pretty critical of Wingo through most of the season, but he did improve as the season went along.  Excluding the first play WR screen bonanza, he still needs to improve his skills as a down the field WR.  I’m not sure if he’s going to end up a WR1 or WR2 next season.  
 

If I was Sark I would get a WR1 out of the portal and see if Wingo makes it an elite WR room ala Ohio State.  Texas could barely field a functional 5-wide this past season.  There is PLENTY of room to add more proven talent in that room.  

1 hour ago, krzy4ut said:

Wingo has speed,  not sure how elusive, agile he really is.  

When you can catch a swing pass behind the LOS and take it to the house like he did . You got something. And I am thinking the D knew It was coming. 

What about Ffrench and Lockett emerging as playmakers too? Those guys were highly rated prospects. Lockett especially is big and looks like he’d be a big asset in the screen game and blocking with Moseley. I’m more interested in focusing on OL,LB , RB, and secondary in the portal rather than trying to find a WR. Honestly, I think with Moseley and Livingstone you have two very dependable big catch radius guys. Wingo’s hands leave much to be desired but if he can find a way to fix that with all that talent I think we’re good at WR. 

We ever figure out what happened with Lefau?

Given Wingos drops and body language on the sideline it’s a stretch to consider him a #1. Hopefully we make a move and get a legit #1. 

35 minutes ago, Chop said:

We ever figure out what happened with Lefau?

Sounds like BYU made him a higher offer and Texas didn't match it (was the impression I got from this site)

My observation is that its 2 issues and not just drops.  The other is he has a very thin resume at making truly contested catches where there is contact but excluding PI (or even "missed PI).  Once there is legal contact, he seems to be out of the play more often than not. 

1 hour ago, Chop said:

We ever figure out what happened with Lefau?

Felt like he should be getting paid more and wasn't happy with the role he was going to play moving forward.

2 hours ago, Jeff Howe said:

Whether it's a running back or a wide receiver, I'd love to see Texas add one of those types of guys in the portal.

A Jaydon Blue or Keilan Robinson type.

IMO they need both. Having a Blue AND a Bond on the field at the same time is what could make this offense truly scary.

17 minutes ago, jdhdavis said:

My observation is that its 2 issues and not just drops.  The other is he has a very thin resume at making truly contested catches where there is contact but excluding PI (or even "missed PI).  Once there is legal contact, he seems to be out of the play more often than not. 

This is my critique. He gives up on balls whenever he gets breathed on. Never fights through contact to make the catch or draw the PI call that refs are usually all too willing to call if you make a (strong) effort. 

2 hours ago, krzy4ut said:

Wingo has speed,  not sure how elusive, agile he really is.  

The answer is he’s not very agile. He’s gonna be a fast big body type of guy. If you are that guy you have to be able to catch the ball well and win 50/50 balls 

Even if they think Wingo can make the leap, they still need to have the mindset of "needing" two WR1s. We've been at our best when we've had Worthy AND Mitchell and then Bond AND Golden. I think you could even make the case that Bond falling off the face of the earth for whatever reason late last season could have been the difference between what we got and a natty. And when Sark had his best offenses of his career at Alabama, we all know the insane amount of WR talent those teams had together.

We need Wingo AND _________, especially if Endries doesn't return. I really like Mosley a lot, but I'm not sure he's got future first round WR type talent and that's ultimately what we need in 2026.

I think if all the WR's have a good off-season with Arch, that should help. I also think if you can grab a proven guy in the portal who isn't a top tier guy like Coleman, for a good price, that would also help. 

It's more of a luxury than a need, imo. But we need a playmaker somewhere on O, Wingo was it sometimes but nowhere else really. Perhaps Bishop makes massive strides early on and gets playing time? Maybe one of the current Fr step up and contribute, who knows.

LB is a whole other thing. With Lefau now gone, that leaves us in a bad spot, imo. Need to hit on the portal, unless they've been backdooring some guys.