Running through the 3rd quarter plays of the Texas offense in 2024 and I couldn't help but take note of the route concepts for the Longhorns in the red area.
Some of the more memorable moments for the Longhorns came on 1-on-1 wins. Right. It was Matthew Golden's one-handed catch vs. Vanderbilt. Or Isaiah Bond's first touchdown as a Longhorn vs. Colorado State where his facemask was yanked. Or the route win by Golden against Michigan.
Isaiah Bond also added a pretty rub-route touchdown in man coverage against Georgia at DKR. Of course, there was some a return, exit motion attached to that play, but point being, there were some bright spots here.
All of those routes were out-breaking wins in man-to-man coverage.
Of course, we are all well aware of some of the issues we saw in the red zone otherwise. More so in the run game trying to get movement in the middle.
But the point I wanted to bring to this is when looking ahead at the fall roster and personnel at the position, I begin to wonder what might this offense look like in the tight red. Will Texas rely on the 1-on-1 route winning ability again? Or do they not have that wide receiver ready on the roster?
Or does the legs of an Arch Manning alleviate whatever hindering issues showed up time and time again in the tight red? Right now it is all an unknown.
Looking at the skillsets of the receivers on the roster, a Matthew Golden or Isaiah Bond prototype could be tough to find. Wingo and Moore each had different strengths a year ago, with neither of their notable red zone targets coming in tight area man-to-man victories. Wingo was more of a vertical jump ball guy, and Moore was relied on slot fades and corner routes time and time again.
So, my question is this. Who becomes the tight area route winner?
Is that the next step for Wingo? Can a Ffrench, or Lockett, or McCutcheon step up in this case as well?
Do these targets change to back-shoulder or jump balls with Arch Manning?
A lot of unknowns.
***
But more than that, I will attached some notable moments in the tight red from a year ago to highlight what spurred this conversation.