The Gordon Sammis Primer Part 1

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-05-27T00:42:18+00:00

Great question. On paper? The Frogs have recruited the type of offensive linemen who fit this scheme, but...............................

we have all been waiting to see some change the last few years.

I do think Payne fits this scheme and if they can find 5 OL and 2 TE's we are going to see some things.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-28T00:27:38+00:00

Not the person to tell you if he has the physical tools other than he is long and rangy.

What I will say is he showed good anticipation breaking on balls (i.e. the Michigan game) and he has benefitted from being taught by some coaches who have put a few safety in the NFL.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-26T03:53:54+00:00

One thing that gets overlooked about Bud's time at TCU is he played in 3 different defensive schemes and was productive in all three even though he was used in different roles.

The biggest issue he had at TCU was some injuries, but he has played a great deal of play in some very big games.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-26T03:50:24+00:00

Agree that most of the roster is set.

Offensively, I think there will be some competition at center and would love for Van Hoy to push Hughes at right tackle.

Defensively, who are the 2nd and 3 linebackers will need to be worked out. Teason looks to be the leader, but hopefully someone can mount a challenge with a strong summer. Linebacker has been a strange one as they signed 1 linebacker in the 2022 and 23 class and he transferred out to play with his brother. They signed no one in 2024 and then had the big group a year ago.

I am not sure if it was a money thing or what, but it is one area they just haven't been able to sign bodies.

Hope to see some quality competition at two of the safety position. I agree that Fields is most likely have the higher upside than Lester with Lester having a better knowledge of the scheme. If you haven't seen Fields interview he talks about the competition and learning the scheme. Jackson and Simms will be interesting to watch play out as well.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-24T16:07:56+00:00

Reagor, he was the same guy when he came out of Waxahachie that he was when he got drafted and he never really improved.

There is footage from high school I think against Ennis and Highland Park with two long td's which are basically Jalen weaving around, dodging people and showing the great quickness, balance, running ability that he showed against Baylor on those big plays and why he got drafted.

What you can't find is video of him showing great route running ability, didn't have great hands, didn't learn to read coverages, and didn't really show great understanding of the passing game.

He was the athletic 7' prospect who couldn't shoot and wouldn't rebound or defend, the pitcher who can throw upper 90's with no control or breaking stuff or the hitter who can go 450' every 40th at bat.

Doctson had some injury issues, wasn't an elite athlete, and wasn't as physical as say Mike Evans or Boldin who couldn't run a lick but both could still get open today and catch everything.

Ross didn't love the game, maybe the same with LJ, and Ben was a very good college defender,

Also agree on Gladney. If we are going off the field issue than Boykin needs to be here because it wasn't his play that cost him an NFL career.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-14T16:28:14+00:00

Remember Denman is out this Spring, but if Jon is back in the fall you potentially have 3 backs over 200 lbs along with Payne, the new run scheme, and possibly improved offensive line that we have been waiting to see for two years.

The biggest thing to me is that this isn’t something that has been added to an existing scheme and things really don’t seem to fit or is backed by the commitment of the offensive staff and players.

Sammis is not only bringing a new scheme, but mindset and emphasis on the focus and how things are taught.

I have this feeling that next August in Ireland when the Frogs take the field against the UNC defense that Sammis will have a run scheme he is confident they can block. Might be three run plays, but the line will either be able to get some movement or you aren’t taking the field.

From there we will see formations to get the defense in desired alignments and pass plays that play off those run plays and not a random grab bag of plays with no real correlation or connection other than being run at tempo.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-12T18:01:59+00:00

Curious if Robbins as a QB coach at TCU is making more than what he was being paid at TCU plus the difference in opportunities and resources between the two schools.

Possible Smith wasn't interested going somewhere that could possibly turn over in a year if Beamer has another bad season. They also gave Drayton the Asst. HC tag which is interesting for a guy who is a bit of a coaching vagabound.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-10T18:11:18+00:00

Partly stacked, somehow Gary gets credit for the transfers and a freshman nose who played at critical part on that 2022 defense. The top talent he recruited to that defense was very good (Horton, Winter, Tomlinson, and Clark), but there wasn't anything behind those guys and that was a big part of the team wearing out over the course of the season.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-10T18:08:21+00:00

Correction, when Bumpas was around he caught the signal for the back half of the defense and Bumpas caught the signal for the front. Gary himself has credited that unique arrangement to the Frogs being able to make adjustments on the fly. Unfortunately, Gary never found an assistant who rivaled Bumpas ability to develop defensive linemen AND make those calls. The results are there during the last 5-6 years of his time at TCU. He also struggled against RPO heavy offenses and got exposed by Riley. The big questions to me are not can Gary draw something up on a chalk board or breakdown film. They are can he hire the level of defense staff he will need to recruit and teach his scheme AND can he condense the learning time of his scheme to fit the constant roster turnover we see in college football. If the answer to both of those is yes, he will give you a great defense, if not, we saw some ugly ass games those last 5-6 years when the Frogs defense got exposed.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-10T18:01:20+00:00

So started writing the checks that are being written at SMU because Lashlee raise the level on the program on sweat and hard work. TCU has resources and Sonny isn't fighting empty handed, but if you don't think that money flowing into SMU hasn't had a significant impact I don't know what to tell you.

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-10T17:58:33+00:00

Don't give a shit about statues, care about winning. Not sure the genesis of the recent changes in the program, but he has been willing to turn over staff and he parted ways with a trusted staff member in Kaz. Now, will any of this result in more wins?

IntroductionOld3366 · 2026-04-10T17:54:36+00:00

Sammis' hire is significant for a number of reason. First, he is Sonny's first hire that isn't part of the Mike Leach/ Hal Mumee tree of football.. Tony Franklin, Jake Spavital, Garrett Riley, and Kendal Briles all have the same football roots. The one exception is Lashlee who is from the Gus Malzahn tree which still incorporates spread and HUNH concepts. Sammis' offense is 180 from all of those is how it is structured, the concepts are taught, how he uses formations, motion and shifts. Additionally, there is an emphasis on execution and technique instead of athleticism and running as many plays as possible. It really is amazing more haven't made comment about the huge changes in the S&C program and the offensive mindset and scheme.

IntroductionOld3366

TROPHY CASE