Texas Longhorns Season Preview

In case you did not know, the Texas Longhorns went 5-7 last year, and did not make it to a bowl game. This was the first time it had happened since 1997, over a decade ago. Can the Longhorns turn it around this season and get back to their winning form? Or will they disappoint their fans with another losing season? There are several reasons as to why the Longhorns can succeed this season and we are going to break it down and see if the Longhorns can turn it around.

Gilbert

Garrett Gilbert- The junior quarterback took the blunt of the criticism for the Longhorns last season, and deservingly so. Gilbert was expected to be another name on the long list of great Texas quarterbacks, which includes Colt McCoy, Vince Young, Bobby Layne and James Brown. After nearly leading the Longhorns to a comeback in the National Championship game, Texas fans expected nothing less than greatness from their new quarterback. However, the former high school super star, fell short of expectations. Gilbert threw more interceptions (17) than he did touchdowns (10), and had a disappointing completion percentage (59%). Compared to Colt McCoy’s senior season, Gilbert’s first year as a starter was atrocious. McCoy had 27 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and an incredible 70% completion percentage. Gilbert, the record holder for the most passing yards in Texas high school history, did not even come close to playing at the level of Colt McCoy.

BUT

There is still hope for Gilbert. One thing that cannot be denied of him is that he has the “it” factor. Gilbert has proved that he has incredible arm strength and great awareness, being able to pick up first downs with his feet once the pocket collapsed around him. Co-offensive coordinator, Major Applewhite says this about Gilbert, “He has an NFL arm, if he can play with poise and maturity that arm is going to show.” Gilbert certainly has the athletic skill set required to play the most important position in the Texas offense. However, Gilbert’s natural skills weren’t enough for him last year, mainly because of his lack of experience and confidence. Mack Brown has told reporters that Gilbert is actually emerging as a leader this season, a sharp contrast to his personality last season. With new confidence and great athletic skills, hopefully Gilbert will be able to put his last season behind him.

Defense- The Texas offense was awful last season, and their defense was the sole reason why they even won 5 games. The defense has many returning starters, such as Alex Okafor, Kheeston Randall, Keenan Robinson, Kenny Vacarro, Blake Gideon, and Jackson Jeffcoat. All of these players had excellent seasons last year and will continue to contribute to Texas’ defense this season. Keenan Robinson emerged onto the scene last year as a junior linebacker with a total of 106 tackles, almost double the amount he had his sophomore season. Another completely unexpected defensive star last year was Kenny Vacarro. Kenny, known for being a hard-hitter, started the season as a backup, but after several outstanding games where he displayed his athletic talent, he was quickly elevated to a starting position. He had 53 tackles last season at the safety position, 37 more than his previous season and will start at the FS this year. Vacarro will start the season with a ton of confidence, and will expected to preform at an even higher level than he did last year. Opposite of Vacarro is Blake Gideon at strong safety and he is a proven player on the defense. Gideon has continuously preformed for the Longhorns and he will lead the young, talented secondary. Jackson Jeffcoat and Kheeston Randall will both be key pass-rushers for the Longhorns this season. Jeffcoat was a freshman last season, and after having a sensational season, he is expected to lead the Longhorns in sacks for the rest of his career. Randall is a big player and his size at the nose guard position will help the Longhorns plug up the holes against other teams’ rushing attacks. The Longhorns defense will be even better than they were last year because of their great young talents and experienced juniors and seniors. Expect the Longhorns to have a shutdown defense and give offensive coordinators in the Big 12 fits.

Brown

Running Backs- The Longhorns will be able to run the ball this season. The Longhorns were 66^th in rushing yards last season and defenses had no problem shutting down their rushing attack. Expect that to change. That change is going to be caused by true freshman, Malcolm Brown. Brown, a 5 star runningback, ranked #2 in the nation, will greatly improve the Longhorns rush attack. Although he will not start the season as the first string back, he will be expected to constantly contribute to the offense and eventually win the starting job. Malcolm Brown is one of those rare combinations of speed and strengths, the type of running backs that can easily succeed in college football. In front of Brown is Foswhitt Whittaker, a senior runningback who is very capable of leading the ‘Horns rushing attack, and mentoring future-star Malcolm Brown. Whittaker is a smart runningback who has a knack for finding holes. He’s not the most athletic player, but he can continuously pick up enough yardage for the Longhorns to move the chains. Another player that will contribute to the rushing game will be Joe Bergeron, a freshman who was originally expected to become the Longhorns starting fullback. However, Bergeron impressed the Longhorns coaching staff so much that they decided to make him the third string running back. Another change to the Longhorns rushing game is Cody Johnson’s transition to the fullback position. Johnson led the Longhorns with rushing yards (592) and touchdowns (6) last season. This is hardly impressive for a teams leading rusher, and it shows just how much the Longhorns are in need of a revamped rushing game. However, the unimpressive rushing game was not entirely the running backs’ faults. They had no fullback to open up holes for them. Johnson is the answer to that problem. When he played running back, he was a huge, powerful runner that defenses struggled to tackle. This year, he will use his size and strength to pave way for the Longhorn running backs and open up holes for them that they did not see last year. The Longhorns offense will be much more balanced this year thanks to an improved rushing game.

Wide Receivers- There is no doubt that the Longhorns receivers last year were incredible athletes. Their only problem was that they didn’t really know how to play the receiver position, save for Mike Davis. Marquise Goodwin is a perfect example of this. Goodwin is a track star, one of the fastest college athletes in the nation. However, despite his athleticism, he only had 324 receiving yards and one touchdown, mainly because he lacked the ability to consistently run good routes. Goodwin will not be returning this season because he wants to focus on track. Malcolm Williams, another athletic wide receiver, had 334 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had high expectations going into the season, and he disappointed everyone, including Garrett Gilbert. He will also not be returning this season because of personal reasons. There is hope for the Longhorns wide receiving squad, though. Mike Davis exploded onto the scene late last season and right away became Gilbert’s favorite option. Davis runs good routes, is very athletic, and has great hands. He was only a freshman last season, and his experience will help him excel even more this season. Jaxon Shipley, Jordan Shipley’s younger brother, will be another favorite target of Gilbert this season. Jaxon is very similar to his brother, he runs almost perfect routes, and it is a rarity for him to drop a ball. He will be to Gilbert what Wes Welker is to Tom Brady: a player who can constantly catch the ball in the short game and move the chains. Shipley and Davis will be excellent targets for Gilbert this season, and they should help the Longhorns passing game be much better than it was last year.

Prediction- The Longhorns will be much better than they were last year. Much, much better. They will not be back to championship form, but they will make it to a bowl game with an 8 or 9 win season. They will be much improved but not unstoppable as they were in the past.