Offensive Line
KEY LOSSES: None
RETURNING STARTERS: Marcus Hutchins, Sedrick Flowers, Taylor Doyle, Kent Perkins
KEY ADDITIONS: Connor Williams, Patrick Vahe
KEY BATTLES: Connor Williams vs. Marcus Hutchins
This year’s offensive line is the definition of addition by subtraction. Gone is Camrhon Hughes, who started the second half of the season at right tackle. Joe Wickline has options to replace Hughes including junior Kent Perkins and senior Marcus Hutchins. Perkins is widely seen as the Longhorns’ best lineman – he started 10 games at right guard and three at right tackle in 2014.
The surprise of the spring, true freshman Connor Williams, sets up opposite Perkins at left tackle. A tight end for most of his high school career, the 6-foot-5-inch, 283-pound Williams has the athleticism — if not yet the size and strength — to protect the blindside of the Texas quarterbacks.
Next to Williams at left guard is senior Sedrick Flowers. The second-heaviest player on the team at 326 pounds (behind late arrival offensive tackle Buck Major), Flowers has played in 31 games — including 14 starts, all of them at left guard. He’s the only member of the Texas O-line to have seen action in more than 19 career games. Meanwhile, right guard will be occupied by Perkins or true freshman Patrick Vahe, the Tongan with the wild hair whom assistant head coach for offense Shawn Watson described as a “cage fighter.â€
Finally, snapping the ball is senior Taylor Doyle, who started the last 11 games of 2014, including the final seven at center. The leadership of Doyle and Flowers will be critical to keeping the freshmen calm and focused when the season kicks off. If either freshman struggles, there’s depth behind them to fill the void, unlike last season. The most obvious replacement for Williams would be senior Marcus Hutchins, who started 12 games last season at left tackle, while Perkins would likely bump inside to right guard should Vahe struggle, with Hutchins again joining the mix at one of the tackle spots.
Tight End
KEY LOSSES: Geoff Swaim
RETURNING STARTERS: Andrew Beck
KEY ADDITIONS: DeAndre McNeal, Caleb Bluiett
KEY BATTLES: Everyone
If there was any doubt that Geoff Swaim will be missed, consider this: Four players — including a defensive end and a freshman who came in as a four-star wide receiver — were moved to tight end this offseason. Before a week ago, senior Alex De La Torre (formerly a fullback) and sophomore Andrew Beck were the favorites to see the majority of the snaps, at least early in the year.
The addition of junior Caleb Bluiett, who is working at tight end for at least the third time since coming to the 40 Acres, to the mix is an indication of the depth available…to say the least. At 6-foot-4-inches and 258 pounds, Bluiett is significantly larger than any of the other options, and he’s also one of the most athletic.
In addition to the names mentioned, true freshman DeAndre McNeal is sure to see some action. All of the contenders have their areas of expertise – McNeal’s is as a receiver. De La Torre’s strength should be lining up in the backfield; Bluiett has obvious upside with his hand in the dirt next to a tackle; and McNeal, the tight end/wide receiver hybrid, should be the most dangerous when split out wide.
Wide Receiver
KEY LOSSES: John Harris, Jaxon Shipley
RETURNING STARTERS: Marcus Johnson, Daje Johnson
KEY ADDITIONS: John Burt, Ryan Newsome
KEY BATTLES: Marcus Johnson vs. Armanti Foreman, John Burt vs. Dorian Leonard/Lorenzo Joe, Daje Johnson vs. himself
Based on practice reports, there are four receivers standing out: senior Marcus Johnson, senior Daje Johnson, sophomore Armanti Foreman and true freshman John Burt. Given what little experience most of those players have — outside of Marcus Johnson, they had 15 catches between them in 2014 — fans don’t know how the position group will shake out once the crowd, cameras and lights are introduced. Also unknown is how often Texas will come out in four-receiver sets in the “new†offensive scheme.
Marcus Johnson is the leading returning receiver (27 catches, 313 yards, 1 touchdown), and he should be a legitimate threat if new receivers coach Jay Norvell has fixed his inconsistency in catching passes. Foreman and Daje Johnson are explosiveness personified, but Foreman is young and Daje is an enigma.
What looked to be an exciting battle between sophomores Dorian Leonard and Lorenzo Joe became much less interesting after the spring game and was all but decided only a couple of days after Burt joined the team. Junior Jacorey Warrick, who caught 10 passes last season and saw the second-most targets among returning receivers (18, behind Marcus Johnson’s 57), should find his way onto the field as well.
There is more speed and athleticism in this year’s receiving corps than in last season’s group, but there’s no one as sure-handed as Jaxon Shipley, and Tyrone Swoopes will need to find a new go-to guy to make the contested catches that John Harris was known for.
Running Backs
KEY LOSSES: Malcolm Brown, Duke Catalon
RETURNING STARTERS: Johnathan Gray
KEY ADDITIONS: Chris Warren
KEY BATTLES: D’Onta Foreman vs. Chris Warren
Johnathan Gray, one-half of the 10-star backfield the Longhorns enjoyed for the past three years, is the all-purpose, every-down workhorse of the 2015 rushing attack. In terms of importance to the offense, only Gray’s leadership will surpass his ability to catch and run out of the backfield (Marcus Johnson is the only returning player who had more receptions last season).
Behind Gray are two big backs: 241-pound sophomore D’Onta Foreman and 232-pound freshman Chris Warren. Both are capable of running in traffic and wreaking havoc on the second and third levels of a defense. In terms of speed, Warren had the better 100-meter time as a high school senior (11.00 vs. 11.57) but Foreman showed he can get the corner in limited action last season (16 carries for 74 yards) and is purported to be able to run a sub-4.5 (hand-timed) 40-yard dash.
With redshirt freshman Duke Catalon transferring to Houston a few days into fall practice, the door is open for true freshmen Kirk Johnson or Tristian Houston to see the field. Johnson is probably the most similar to Gray in terms of skill set and can be a weapon as a receiver out of the backfield. It’s unclear how many backs the coaches intend to play; only three saw action last season, and the same could be true in 2015. A redshirt seems likely for Houston, who is probably the fastest of the position group.
Quarterback
KEY LOSSES: None
RETURNING STARTERS: Tyrone Swoopes
KEY ADDITIONS: Kai Locksley
KEY BATTLES: Tyrone Swoopes vs. Jerrod Heard
Thrust into action after the season opener in 2014, Tyrone Swoopes hovered around average for most of the season before imploding in the final two games of the year. Most Texas fans expected redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard to be the frontrunner in the quarterback race by this point in the offseason.
But by all accounts Swoopes executed the offense better than Heard this spring and summer, and according to the coaches he appears to have put his disastrous finish to 2014 behind him. While Swoopes is expected to start against Notre Dame; Heard is certain to play. What happens after that is anyone’s guess. True freshmen Kai Locksley and Matthew Merrick will likely redshirt barring serious injuries.
