Jerry Scarbrough's True Orange
The Internet Newsletter for the True Texas Longhorn Faithful

Volume 11, No. 7, December 4, 2000

Longhorns Will Face Pac-10 Tri-Champion
Oregon in Culligan Holiday Bowl December 29

The 12th-ranked Longhorns, who haven't finished in the AP top 10 since 1983,
can wipe out 17 years of frustration on Dec. 29 in San Diego by beating No. 8
Oregon in the Culligan Holiday Bowl.
While that's easy to say, it will be much harder to accomplish. The Ducks
went 9-2 overall and tied BCS-bowl teams Washington and Oregon State for the
Pac 10 championship with a 7-1 record. Texas has the same overall and league
record at 9-2 and 6-1.
The Holiday Bowl game starts at 7:30 p.m. Texas time and will be nationally
televised by ESPN.
Now, before I get back to the matchup, let me urge all Longhorn fans to buy
tickets and attend this game.
Why? Because one major criteria for getting one of the eight elite BCS bowl
bids is fan loyalty. The Longhorn team forgot to show up for the Cotton Bowl
last year and so did Longhorn fans, who didn't fill their ticket quota.
Bowl folks notice things like that. Coach Mack Brown has Texas poised for a
long run at top 10 status and our fans need to be in the top 10, too, to help
the team land good bowl games.
So please buy some tickets (the information  is on page 2) and take a few
days to enjoy San Diego. It will help the Longhorns in this bowl game and it
will help them get in future ones.
That's it with the sermon. Let's get back to the bowl matchup.
Brown called the game "an exciting matchup and a great challenge for both
programs."
"Both teams are very well respected state institutions with a great deal of
pride and tradition," Brown said. He also called Oregon's coach, Mike
Bellotti, "a personal friend," and said "he has done a great job of building"
that program.
Bellotti boats a 48-22 record in six season at Oregon and has taken the Ducks
to bowl games in five of his six years at the helm.
Oregon has lost only eight games in the last three years, going 8-3 in 1998,
9-3 in 1999 and 9-2 in 2000.
Oregon was picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the Pac 10 after
racking up nine wins in 1999 with a senior-laden team.
But Bellotti rebuilt his offense around strong-armed junior QB Joey
Harrington, 6-4, 210, and junior college transfer RB Maurice Morris, 6-0,
205, and found competent replacements for eight lost defensive starters to
produce a surprisingly good team that lost only two games all season.
Harrington completed 195 of 375 passes (52%) and the Ducks ranked 25th
nationally in passing with 257.7 yards per game.
Harrington threw 20 touchdown passes while being intercepted 13 times.
Morris filled the void at running back by averaging 100.5 yards a game. He
ran for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns.
Senior WR Marshaun Tucker, 5-10, 185, was the team's leading receiver with 50
receptions for 871 yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore WR Keenon Howry, a
5-10, 165-pound speedster, is another outstanding receiver.
Defensively, tackles Jason Nikolao, 6-2, 300, and Jed Boice, 6-4, 295, end
Saul Patu, 6-3, 265, and LB Matt Smith, 6-4, 247, are the team leaders.
The Ducks' defensive philosophy is to "stop the run and don't get beat deep
on pass plays."
Let's hope they don't make that work in the Holiday Bowl because the Horns
live on beating people deep on pass plays, and they also like to run the
football.
The Ducks beat Rose Bowl representative Washington, 23-16, during the regular
season and were undefeated in the Pac 10 until the final week of the regular
season when they lost to arch-rival Oregon State, 23-13.
Their only other loss was in their second game to then No. 4-ranked
Wisconsin, 27-23.
Their other victories were over Nevada, 36-7; Idaho, 42-13; UCLA, 29-10; USC,
28-17; Arizona, 14-10, Arizona State, 56-55; Washington State, 27-24, and
California, 25-17.
The wins over Arizona State and Washington State were in overtime.
The Longhorns have won six games in a row after a 3-2 start and they can beat
the Ducks and make it seven in a row if they can win four key battles.
To win, the Longhorns have to be able to run the ball better than the Ducks,
they have to get a fast start offensively, they must win the turnover battle
and they have to get another great effort from their outstanding defense.
Against Texas A&M, the Longhorns got a terrible start offensively and failed
to even make a first down in the first quarter.
But they were able to keep the early lead because safety Greg Brown scored on
a 10-yard pass interception on the Aggies' first offensive plays.
They probably won't be able to count on scoring a quick defensive touchdown
against Oregon, which is why getting a fast start offensively is one of the
main keys to the game's outcome.
Here's how the teams compared statistically at the end of the regular season
(national rank in parenthesis):
Texas                            Oregon
Offense
(60)   145.5         Rushing Avg.           (52) 151.2
(14)   293.2         Passing Avg.           (25) 257.7
(14)   438.7        Total Off. Avg.     (34) 408.9
(8)     38.6       Scoring Avg            (42)   28.7
Defense
(12)     94.0        Rushing Avg.           (31) 124.0
(17)   184.3         Passing Avg.           (45) 207.1
(7)   273.3       Total Def. Avg.         (32) 331.1
(11)     17.9    Opp. Scoring Avg           (31)   19.9

Bowl Ticket Information

Longhorn fans can purchase tickets to the Culligan Holiday Bowl in San Diego
by contacting the UT ticket office at 512-471-3333 or 800-982-BEVO or by
logging on to the athletic department website at www.TexasSports.com
You can save $6 by buying your tickets throught the UT ticket office. Tickets
are $46 each if bought through the bowl ticket office, but they are $40 each
if purchased through either school's athletic ticket office.

Big 12 Gets 7 Teams in Bowls

Seven Big 12 teams are going to bowl games, headed by top-ranked Oklahoma,
which will play Florida State in the Jan. 3 FedEx Orange Bowl in Miami in a
matchup that is expected to produce the national championship team.
Big 12 Southern Division runner-up Texas plays Pac-10 tri-champ Oregon in the
Dec. 29 Culligan Holiday Bowl in San Diego.
Texas A&M will go against Mississippi State and former Aggie coach Jackie
Sherrill in the Sanford Independence Bowl in Shreveport on Dec. 31.
Northern Division co-champion Kansas State will play Tennessee in the Jan. 1
Cotton Bowl in Dallas, and the other Northern co-champ, Nebraska, will play
Northwestern in the Dec. 30 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
Texas Tech kicks off the league's bowl activity on Dec. 27 against East
Carolina in the inaugural Galleryfurniture.com Bowl in Houston.
Iowa State plays in its first bowl game in 22 years in the Insight.com Bowl
in Phoenix on Dec. 28 against Pittsburgh.

900 Number Updated Daily

I update my 900 number daily with football and football recruiting news. The
number is 1-900-288-8839. It costs $1.59 a minute. You must be 18 to call.

Coaches Waiting for a Few Top Recruits to Come Aboard

Coach Mack Brown and his assistant coaches already have enough top recruits
to assure them of their third straight top 10 class, and it could challenge
for the top spot again if things fall right.
Texas has 19 commitments already (the list is on page 4), and the Horns
probably will sign six or seven more players.
The Longhorns will challenge for the No. 1 spot again if most of them come
from a group of nine top national recruits that includes DT Tommie Harris of
Killeen Ellison, LB Derrick Johnson of Waco, OL Jami Hightower of
Jacksonville, S Derrick Johnson of Temple, Ath Quan Cosby of Mart, DE
Jonathan Jackson and TE James Moses, both of Galena Park North Shore, OL
William Winston of Houston Madison and DL Kaelen Jakes of Valencia, Cal.
The good news in this recruiting season is that Texas has cleaned up in every
critical area except the defensive line. That makes the bad news pretty
obvious: if Texas doesn't sign both Harris and Jakes, the class will come up
short in the big guys up front in the defensive line.
But even that cloud has a silver lining. This was the year of the offensive
lineman in Texas. Next year will be the year of the defensive lineman. There a
re more good ones than I have seen in several years.
The Longhorns cleaned up on offensive linemen this year and they should be
able to clean up on defensive linemen next year.
I have already seen four junior defensive tackles who are better than anybody
except Harris in this year's senior class.
I spotted one of them, Rodrique Wright of Alief Hastings, the first week of
the season when I went to Houston to watch the Galena Park North
Shore-Hastings game.
I was there primarily to look at Jackson and Moses, but Wright was the most
dominant player on the field. At 6-5 and 315 pounds, he was able  to stuff
the run and he showed the quickness and upper body strength to get off blocks
quickly and rush the passer.
Mesquite's Marco Martin, 6-4, 285, 4.7, is generally regarded as the state's
top defensive line prospect next recruiting season. He is so quick he doubles
as a running back.
But Wright is the most physical defensive tackle I have seen in the junior
ranks. Suffice it to say that both Wright and Martin will be top national
recruits next year.
Wright's 40 time is in the 5.0 to 5.1 range, but he has as much quickness
over 10 to 15 yards, the key distance for defensive tackles, as any of the
guys who might outrun him in a 40.
The other two top junior DTs I have seen this year are Earl Anderson, 6-4,
275, 4.9, of San Marcos, and Patrick Lee, 6-4, 295, 5.0, Dallas Carter.
The Longhorns will have great shots at Wright, Anderson and Lee, who all list
Texas among their favorites. They also will be in the hunt for Martin.
While I have only seen them on tape, there are several other junior DTs who
will be highly recruited next year.
They include Damon Brown, 6-4, 260, 4.9, of Houston Washington; Tully
Jontzen, 6-3, 270, 4.9, of Keller; Jarre Rhodes, 6-4, 260, 4.9, of Dallas
Lincoln, and David Johnson, 6-3, 270, 5.0, of Aldine Nimitz.
Since the Longhorns are down to recruiting a handful of players to complete
this year's recruiting class, let's look for a moment at some of the other
top juniors who will be the "difference makers" next year.
There are two junior QBs college coaches everywhere know about. They are
Reggie McNeal, 6-3, 180, 4.6, of Lufkin, and Vincent Young, 6-5, 200, 4.5, of
Houston Madison. McNeal is Arkansas' No. 1 recruiting target in Texas next
year.
Both are outstanding runners who also have strong arms.
TE Eric Winston, 6-6, 270, 5.0, is the second best player at Midland Lee,
behind super senior RB Cedric Benson, who is committed to Texas. Winston is a
devastating blocker who probably will move to the offensive line in college.
He is a strong A&M lean and has been to the Aggies' summer camp.
Travis Leitko, 6-5, 255, 4.7, of The Woodlands, is an outstanding defensive
end. If he was a senior this year, he would have colleges from everywhere
clamoring for his signature.
At LB, Marvin Byrdsong, 6-3, 240, 4.5, of Longview; Andy Matakis, 6-3, 225,
4.6, of Corpus Christi Flower Bluff and Archie McDaniel, 6-3, 225, 4.7, of
Bay City, are already established stars.
L'Tydrick Riley, 6-4, 215, 4.5, of Crockett, who also plays QB very well,
Kendrick Muckelroy, 6-0, 190, 4.4, of Hallsville, and Michael Cuba, 6-3, 190,
4.5, of Taylor, are great safety prospects as juniors.
Now let's get back to this year's recruits.
I thought Benson and Midland Lee might be in trouble Saturday against
defensive powerhouse Duncanville, which hadn't allowed any team to score more
than 17 points all year.
Benson, the Energizer Bunny of the high school running backs, carried 35
times for 200 yards and four touchdowns and scored another TD on a 51-yard
screen pass to pace the Rebels to a 44-9 victory.
Benson now ranks No. 5 among all the high school running backs in Texas
history in yardage gained with 8,076. He is the only Class 5A rusher in Class
5A in the top 20.
Kenneth Hall, the Class B terror at Sugar Land from 1950 through 1953, holds
the record at 11,232 yards. He was an amazing runner, but he never ran
against the kind of defenses Benson faces every week.
Benson has led Midland Lee to back-to-back state champsionships, but he lost
most of his supporting cast after last season and the Rebels looked
vulnerable this season, losing two early-season games.
But his rebuilt line is getting better every week and Duncanville coach Bob
Alpert, who has been coaching at the 5A level in Texas for many years, first
in the Houston area and now in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, has seen and
played against a lot of great running backs, but he says Benson is in a class
by himself.
"He's the best high school running back I've seen, and he's by far the best
one that one of my teams has had to try to stop," Alpert said.
What makes Benson so special?
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist," Alpert said. "He's got great vision,
he's really quick through the hole, he can get something if there isn't much
there, he's hard to bring down and he has great, really great balance. He's
also got really good speed, and he runs as hard on his 30th carry as he does
on his first one."
And, of course, the high school coach to end all  high school coaches, the
legendary Gordon Wood, long retired after winning state titles galore at
Stamford and Brownwood, put his stamp of approval on Benson after his junior
year, saying, "Benson is the best all-around high school running back I've
ever seen."
I've moved Benson to the top spot on my "difference maker" list on the
previous page. With endorsements from guys like Wood and Alpert, he's
obviously an awesome prospect.
By the way, an interesting and fairly obscure note on Wood's career is that
he's the guy who ended the Breckinridge dynasty in Texas.
If you remember Chuck Moser and his mighty Abilene Eagle dynasty and its
multi-year winning streak in the 1950s, there is a connection to Breckinridge
there, too.
The reason Abilene won all those games in a row was that the Eagles quit
playing Breckinridge. That long winning streak started the week after
Breckinridge thumped Abilene by three touchdowns. I think the score was
34-13, and it was a whipping.
But the team Breckinridge really had the hex on was Brownwood. The Lions had
never beaten Breckinridge and it was a really sore topic of conversation
around Brownwood.
Back in those days, Class 4A was the big school class. Abilene was Class 4A
and Breckinridge was Class 3A. Both teams won state regularly.
But Breckinridge fell down to Class 2A one year, and fell into Stamford's
district. Wood's Stamford team beat the Buckaroos that year en route to
another state title.
Folks in Brownwood noticed that the little 2A school was 1-0 against the team
it had never beaten and they hired Wood, hoping he could do the same thing
for them.
Did he ever. Brownwood started beating Breckinridge every year and winning
state titles almost every year. The Buckaroos still have some good teams, but
they are in Class 3A now and happy they don't play the Class 4A Lions now,
even with Wood long retired.
Pardon me for drifting back so far, but I grew up in West Texas when it had
the best football played, and teams like Abilene and Breckinridge got
everyone's attention before giving way to Gordon Wood and his powerhouse Br
ownwood teams.
* * * *
So far, eight members of  Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine's 24-man
Super Team have committed to colleges, and the Longhorns have six of them.
Benson is the only high school player ever to grace the cover of the state's
top football magazine and he is joined on the Super Team by fellow UT
commitments Frenship QB Kendal Briles, San Antonio Holmes CB Cedric Griffin,
and OLs Jonathan Scott of Dallas Carter, Terrance Young of Longview and Abe
Robinson of Jersey Village.
The other Super Team  players who have committed are Madisonville RB David
Underwood, who says he will sign with Michigan, and Lancaster WR Armon
Dorrough, who has given his pledge to Texas Tech.
Briles threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth score to lead
Frenship to a 42-6 victory over Fort Worth Wyatt in the Class 4A regional
finals Saturday.
Briles, who led Stephenville to the Class 4A state title last year, is
threatening to do the same thing at Frenship. He needs just two more
victories to accomplish that rare and possibly unprecedented feat.
If UT has a shaky commitment, it would be Briles. He was recruited by Texas
as an athlete, probably a safety, and he says he still thinks about going
somewhere like Nebraska to get a shot at playing QB.
* * * *
There is always a chance that lightning will strike and the Longhorns will
get a commitment from some blue chipper from out of the blue.
If it happens, it probably will be DT Marquise Hill, 6-7, 300, 5.0, of New
Orleans De La Salle.
Michigan has a big lead over LSU, but he says he probably will take a trip to
Texas just to be sure.
He's a long, long shot, but if he does take the trip to Texas, it could
happen. Brown and his staff don't miss on many guys who take official visits.
The 56-visit limit rule isn't one that UT coaches even consider. They
normally bring in about 32 kids, offer about 28 of them and sign about 25 of
them.
* * * *
Look for all of the UT commitments except DE Eric Hall of Tennessee, who has
already visited, and possibly Benson and Briles, who might be playing for
repeat state championships that weekend, to take their official visits to
Texas the Dec. 15 weekend to attend the Texas football banquet. Most of the
other players Texas is recruiting also will take their visits that weekend.

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