OT: Tarik Black named starter at Texas
He beat out a 2-year player Brennan Eagles for the starting X WR spot. The general take among Longhorn fans is "uh oh, why is a guy who struggled at Michigan walking right in and starting over an experienced player"
https://twitter.com/AnwarRichardson/status/1303088287947595776
September 7th, 2020 at 11:06 PM ^
I hope he has a great year. Godspeed, Tarik.
September 8th, 2020 at 8:04 AM ^
Agree 100%. He's starting because he can flat-out play. I hope he stays healthy.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:20 AM ^
I double agree and wish him nothing but great success even if Texas gonna Texas
September 7th, 2020 at 11:09 PM ^
Good luck to him. If he's healthy I don't see why he wouldn't be able to compete for a spot at P5 program. Hopefully he's been able to recover and be successful.
September 7th, 2020 at 11:11 PM ^
Good luck.
September 7th, 2020 at 11:18 PM ^
Best of luck! His injury set him back, then his quarterback set him back even more.
September 8th, 2020 at 5:59 AM ^
He didn’t do himself any favors by running his routes short of the sticks on 3rd downs.
September 8th, 2020 at 6:34 AM ^
I wouldn't put it on his QB. He wasn't very good after he got hurt. He just looked a step slow when he came back. He couldn't get open, couldn't get that separation and just looked non-explosive.
September 7th, 2020 at 11:18 PM ^
Cool, Hook’em
September 7th, 2020 at 11:26 PM ^
Watch him light it up.
September 7th, 2020 at 11:31 PM ^
Yeah I could see him really succeeding. Some time to heal his injuries and a fresh start could do wonders for him. Texas fans probably shouldn’t be too freaked out by this one.
September 7th, 2020 at 11:34 PM ^
He should be fine since they don’t play D in that conference.
September 7th, 2020 at 11:54 PM ^
I like the Texas QB.
Should be a good combo.
September 7th, 2020 at 11:59 PM ^
Should be a good Texas team this year. I'm looking for them to build off last year's 8-5 campaign that included a double digit loss to 5-7 TCU
September 8th, 2020 at 12:13 AM ^
I don't wanna bash him but I know Magnus has said reviewing tape its obvious he was taking some plays off. Just didn't mesh with Gattis and/or Harbaugh I guess. Often transfers don't do much but I can see him having a good year.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:25 PM ^
Yep. I don't have much of a problem with his athletic skills, but if you don't want to block and don't want to run routes hard, then you're not going to maximize your talent. Maybe his departure will be a signal to younger guys that if you don't do the little things, you're not going to play (as much as you want).
September 8th, 2020 at 1:13 AM ^
Great news for Mr. Black. I knew that first season at Michigan he was going to be a star but then he had injury problems and may be he lost his confidence a bit for a big break out year, last year for us. May be I'll add him to my FF team.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:13 AM ^
Great news for Mr. Black. I knew that first season at Michigan he was going to be a star but then he had injury problems and may be he lost his confidence a bit for a big break out year, last year for us. May be I'll add him to my FF team.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:10 AM ^
Doubly great news!
September 8th, 2020 at 1:17 AM ^
I can totally see Tarik putting up mega numbers for Texas, especially in a conference that plays little to no defense. Good for him!
September 8th, 2020 at 3:17 AM ^
Because the QB was struggling.
September 8th, 2020 at 6:01 AM ^
And because Tarik took plays off and ran his 3rd down routes short of the sticks...
September 8th, 2020 at 5:50 AM ^
We should be worried about these types of transfers. This is a bad sign for our program. People won't be happy to read this, but we should not be having top talent transfer. The Aubrey Solomon transfer epitomized this trend. That crushed us. I am surprised more people on this site don't focus on how detrimental our transfers have been to this program. We will not be beating OSU with 10-12 seniors of middling quality. I rather have 20-25 seniors every year. That either has to come from who we recruit or a coaching staff that can develop and retain.
September 8th, 2020 at 6:03 AM ^
He was (at best) our fourth WR last year. And he was losing playing time to younger WRs towards the end of the season as well. This wasn’t a transfer that hurts Michigan at all.
September 8th, 2020 at 7:20 AM ^
If this were Nico transferring you’d have something here, but the truth of the matter is that Tarik, for whatever reason, got buried on Michigan’s depth chart and was even getting passed by younger guys. While it sucks to see him leave, I’m not sure how much this really hurts Michigan’s depth or production at the position because Tarik really wasn’t able to get on the field much anyway.
If he goes down to Texas, starts and puts up huge stats, I’d say he’s found a system more conducive to his skill set, in which case there isn’t anything Michigan could’ve done to help him with that. Texas runs system A, we run system B, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. I will never deny Tarik is a really talented guy, but for some reason (injuries were part of this as well), things just never meshed here for him even after he worked his way back.
It just is what it is.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:04 AM ^
Thanks, Maizen...
September 8th, 2020 at 7:07 AM ^
If he stays healthy he’s got a shot to start just about anywhere. Hope he blows up at Texas and has a huge year that leads to getting drafted.
September 8th, 2020 at 7:24 AM ^
"The general take among Longhorn fans is "uh oh, why is a guy who struggled at Michigan walking right in and starting over an experienced player"
Should they really be surprised at this point? Have they not seen the records their starters have been putting up this past decade? Texas is back to looking like the way Texas looked while I was growing up, where 8-5 is considered a good season.
September 8th, 2020 at 8:06 AM ^
Good for him. Thanks, Tarik! Double flex to you!!
September 8th, 2020 at 8:45 AM ^
Out of the gate I thought Tarik was the most impressive receiver out of Collins and Peoples Jones. And then injuries hit and it looked like it sucked the life out of him. He certainly has the raw talent and skills to be a top receiver, just needs to hone in on his focus and effort, which are both fixable things. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he has a big season! Good luck to him!
September 8th, 2020 at 9:18 AM ^
Good for Tarik. Hope he has a great year
September 8th, 2020 at 9:26 AM ^
Yeah, Not sure why he was struggling at Michigan, but he was our top reciever for a while before he got hurt. Dude can play.
September 8th, 2020 at 9:54 AM ^
Injuries can take a lot out of you. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Injured almost all of 2017, then more than half of 2018. I wonder, once he got back in 2018, if he was trying really hard on each and every down to just do everything he could to not get injured again. It sucks up a lot of your focus and energy when/if you're worried about getting injured again.
I don't know that this was the case with Tarik. I don't know him so for all I know he wasn't worried about it at all. But it wouldn't surprise me if he was. In any case, sometimes guys just need a fresh start somewhere else.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:06 AM ^
His development also might have become stagnant with all the injuries while his peers (Nico and Donovan) kept improving. Once those guys and Ronnie Bell emerged, he might have felt like he fell too far behind. If he had stuck around, he would have probably made a great WR2 next to Bell in 2021 but totally understand not wanting to be a back up going into your 4th season.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:14 AM ^
I honestly don't think he struggled to measure up against his teammates. I believe the injuries caught up to him, along with a combination of QB and offensive scheme - neither of which matched up with what he was recruited into. He came in to play in an NFL heavy West Coast scheme, which blew up because Pep couldn't teach it (and didn't have the QB's to run it, anyway). The switch to Gattis' offense happened largely when he was still out with injury, so he got behind his teammates learning an offense he wasn't recruited for.
Texas got a good kid and an excellent receiver, although I can understand their concern. But getting into the Texas version of modern college offense can't be too dissimilar to Gattis' version of it, so this could reasonably be considered his 2nd year in such a scheme. I wouldn't be surprised if he's UT's leading WR this year, with stats as good as - if not better than - any Michigan WR.
(HAA!! If they play, anyway!)
September 8th, 2020 at 10:43 AM ^
I hope Tarik has a great year, although I am no fan of the Longhorns in general and Tom Herman in particular
September 8th, 2020 at 11:05 AM ^
Cool. Hook 'em.
September 8th, 2020 at 11:04 AM ^
Very unfair to say he struggled. Poor kid was injured a ton, but a revelation when healthy (and someone threw the ball his way).
All the best young man.
September 8th, 2020 at 11:44 AM ^
I can’t wait to watch him run a three yard out on 3rd and 6.
September 8th, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
I don't think anyone ever questioned his physical ability. Something was off with him last year, though, whether it was health, attitude, I don't know what.
September 8th, 2020 at 12:19 PM ^
Happy for Tarik but must be a depressing news for all his former teammates who are likely not going to see the field at all this fall.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:52 PM ^
He’s a great player if he can stay healthy. I think his injuries set him back at UM while others got snaps and took his spot. He was the best deep threat for us outside of Nico but he was more of a speedster and still had size. Shame because he’d definitely see the field this year at UM and had a shot at starting even - that is until the season was cancelled/postponed. We’ll see how the season goes but I’ll be surprised if it isn’t a complete shit show.
September 10th, 2020 at 2:50 AM ^
I think he just needed a change of scenery...I'm thinking a big year is in store for Mr. Black