Texas Football

By Travis Stewart/Texas Football -- What Pro Days are worth, Houston Yates' issues with sportsmanship and the Texans' move along the OL.

Looking at college football Pro Days
Every year, dozens (if not hundreds) of deserving college football players are stiff-armed at the annual NFL Combine, left at home while the top talents in the country are dissected, cross-examined, re-dissected and then interrogated to judge their value to a potential suitor. Somewhere along the line, Pro Days started popping up all over the country, and now even non-FBS programs host their own to try and maximize their players' exposure. A&M's was yesterday, and of all the participants -- including 2009 graduate Alton Dixon -- Jordan Pugh appears to have put on the finest showing. Corners with speed to burn are a hot item in the modern era of NFL football, so he might have pushed himself up a few spots come draft time in April. TCU's Pro Day is tomorrow (Friday), and guys like Marcus Cannon, Rafael Priest and Nick Sanders have a lot to gain out of a good showing. Daryl Washington and Jerry Hughes are both locks for a high round. But those other TCU kids can improve their stock with some strong numbers.

Houston Yates -- am I in over my head?
ESPN's Rick Reilly spared no expense in his withering criticism of the Houston Yates basketball program and its high-scoring exploits, including beating another school 170-35 this year. Now, I know this is a football site, but from time to time, a little foray into the vast world of other sports can be refreshing -- this is as good as time as any. I remember being young, and playing sports, and I remember the good days and the bad days. I've never been on a team capable of administering epic beatings like the one mentioned here, but I've certainly fought through my fair shre of blowout losses. I remember being frustrated, and angry, and sometimes a little confused, but I don't remember having my feelings hurt. Granted ... 170-35 is the kind of loss that you'll always have to live with. But if Yates is running every guy on its bench through the rotation, and the result is still looking like that ... what else do you want out of them? Do you really think NOT full-court pressing is going to make a big difference? Was Greg Wise, the Yates' coach, a little out of line in the way that he went about the game-time coaching? Sure. But Reilly's article was over the top. That shouldn't be a shocker.

Texans sign Wade Smith
The Texans finally brought in a completely new face to the fold today, inking guard Wade Smith (from Lake Highlands) to a four-year deal worth about $12 million. Smith has not been promised a starting role, but he has the ability to battle for one of the interior line spots, especially if the Texans opt not to re-sign Chester Pitts on the left side. Houston management has been oft-criticized for its reluctance to sign marquee free agents to lucrative contracts, but they're also somewhat free of the albatross deals that are weighing down so many teams. Mario Williams' contract is mammoth, but other than that number, most of the team contracts are fairly workable. Refusing to fall victim to bidding wars for mid-level talents like Dunta Robinson and Leigh Bodden is the right way to manage your team, regardless of what people say.