ON THE CLOCK
Houston Dynamo in the MLS SuperDraft under GM Matt Jordan
Jan 9, 2020, 7:51 am
Wilf Thorne / Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo hold the eighth overall pick in Thursday's 2020 MLS SuperDraft (11:30 a.m. CT, ESPN+).
Once a source of solid contribuitors to the club, only five of the 18 SuperDraft selections under Matt Jordan's five-season tenure have seen MLS minutes for the Houston Dynamo.
The Dynamo have actually gotten more by trading away draft picks. For example, the acquisition of Goalkeeper Joe Willis in 2016 was one that provided the Dynamo a solid contributor and starter until he was traded to Nashville this offseason.
The following is every draft choice of Jordan's tenure as the club's Senior Vice President/General Manager:
[Players in bold remain with the club]
2015
Round 1, #8 overall - Midfielder - Zach Steinberger (3 games played, 29 MLS mins)
Round 2, #30 overall - Defender - Oumar Ballo (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Round 2, #36 overall - Forward - Rob Lovejoy (19 GP, 351 MLS mins)
Round 3, #49 overall - Defender - Taylor Hunter (1 GP, 90 MLS mins)
2016
Round 2, #26 overall - Defender - Ivan Magalhães (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Round 3, #47 overall - Defender - T. J. Casner (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Trades:
Round 1, #6 overall - Traded to Philadelphia Union along with general allocation money, and targeted allocation money in exchange for midfielder Cristian Maidana and forward Andrew Wenger (December 7, 2015)
Round 4, #67 overall - Traded to D.C. United along with midfielder Andrew Driver in exchange for goalkeeper Joe Willis and defender Samuel Inkoom (December 8, 2014)
2017
Round 1, #10 overall - Midfielder - Joe Holland (5 GP, 22 MLS mins)
Round 2, #30 overall - Goalkeeper - Jake McGuire (0 GP, 0 MLS mins) [Acquired by trading Corey Ashe to Orlando]
Round 2, #36 overall - Defender - Danilo Radjen (0 GP, 0 MLS mins) [Acquired by trading Brad Davis to Kansas City]
Round 4, #70 overall - Defender - Robby Sagel (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Trades:
Round 1, #4 overall - Traded to Portland Timbers for the the #10 pick, an international roster spot and $100,000 in general allocation money.
Round 3, #48 - Traded to Real Salt Lake for defender Abdoulie Mansally
2018
Round 1, #20 overall - Goalkeeper -Michael Nelson (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Round 2, #43 overall - Forward - Mac Steeves (3 GP, 26 MLS mins)
Round 3, #59 overall - Midfielder - Pablo Aguilar (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Round 3, #66 overall - Defender - Sheldon Sullivan (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Round 4, #89 overall - Defender - Manny Padilla (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Signed to affiliate RGVFC outside of the draft: Goalkeeper Nico Corti, Midfielder Bryce Marion
2019
Round 1, #8 overall - Defender - Sam Junqua (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Round 2, #33 overall - Defender - Andrew Samuels (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Round 3, #56 overall - Midfielder - Brad Dunwell (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)
Trades:
Round 2, #32 overall - Traded to Chicago Fire in exchange for midfielder Arturo Alvarez (December 10, 2017)
Round 4, #80 overall - Traded to Real Salt Lake in exchange for the MLS rights to midfielder Luis Gil for the 2018 season (April 23, 2018)
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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.