VYPE
Congratulations to the incredible players on this list.
Originally appeared on VYPE
The goal is very simple: Recognize the best public high school volleyball players in the state of Texas.
As I've said many times before, Texas has the best collection of volleyball players in the United States (if not the world).
Consider there are approximately 1,200 public high school volleyball teams. If you figure an average of nine players per team (and that's a conservative number), that's about 11,000 players to consider for our 2nd Annual VYPE All-State Awards.
But here they are – we believe these are the best in a state full of incredible volleyball talent.
As I indicated for my own Dazzling Dozen, these selections, too, are as politics-free as we could make them. There's no "quota" of teams, players or regions to be represented; there's no undue influence from one team, area or organization.
I did consult a 10-person committee of coaches from across the state for their thoughts on these selections. We all had one goal in mind; make sure we recognize the players who deserve such recognition. Period. I also worked with Josh Koch of our own VYPE Media as well as Butch Hart, the Guru of Texas high school volleyball and Media Director of the Texas Girls Coaches Association.
As I've learned from my coaching friends, coaches are always the first to be approached with questions (and complaints) about any/all postseason awards. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions with these awards, please contact me directly: e-mail me, chuck.licata@vypemedia.com or hit me up via Direct Message on Twitter (@kmacchuck).
Unfortunately, I only received a couple e-mails for nominations for Class 4A to 1A (we'll work to continue growing that moving forward). Thus, we used the Texas Girls Coaches Association State Awards for our Honorable Mention lists in those classes; I added a few players I saw this season.
Congratulations to the incredible players on this list. And, congrats to all 2019-20 Texas high school volleyball players, coaches, teams and communities for an outstanding season of volleyball!
Find the list here
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The Texas Longhorns still believe in quarterback Quinn Ewers despite two poor games from the third-year starter who was briefly benched in last week's loss to No. 1 Georgia, coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday.
Ewers struggled through one of his worst career games against the Bulldogs, completing 25 of 43 passes for 211 yards with an interception and two fumbles. He was 6-of-12 passing for 17 yards on the Longhorns' first six drives, and was replaced by Arch Manning in the second quarter as Georgia took a 23-0 lead into halftime.
Ewers returned in the third quarter and led two touchdown drives. But the overall performance in one of the biggest games of the season was well below what was expected from a veteran quarterback who some predict as a potential first round NFL draft pick.
Texas never led against the Bulldogs and Ewers looked rattled.
Sarkisian has insisted that Ewers remains the No. 1 quarterback going forward.
“We have confidence and belief in him,” Sarkisian said. “I think he's going to come out and play really good football for us here in the second half of the season.”
Texas (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) plays at No. 25 Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1) on Saturday.
Ewers did not meet with reporters on Monday.
He had performed at his best in some of Texas' biggest games the previous two seasons. He was considered a likely Heisman Trophy contender after the Longhorns won at defending national champion Michigan in week two.
But he was sidelined by an abdomen strain in the first half a week later against UTSA, and the injury knocked him out of the next two games. He returned for Texas' 34-3 win over Oklahoma, but had just 199 yards and one touchdown passing and said he needed to play better.
Against Georgia, Ewers appeared hesitant against a fierce Bulldogs pass rush and missed several throws. The Bulldogs recorded seven sacks and Texas never led.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck was arguably having an even worse game. He was 23-of-41 passing for 175 yards and three interceptions.
But after Texas cut the Georgia lead to 23-15, Beck answered by leading the Bulldogs on an 11-play, 89-yard drive to the final touchdown of the game.
“I think Quinn definitely can play better. We've got to continue to work on his pocket presence,” Sarkisian said. “But I also think we need to play better around him. You know, our offense isn't about one player playing well.”
Texas rushed for just 29 yards and and managed only 259 total yards of offense against Georgia.
Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. said the Longhorns will rally behind Ewers.
“We're always going to trust Quinn. We're always going to believe in Quinn,” Banks said.