Texas Longhorns Football Depth Chart: What Jumps Out at Us
Charlie Strong has revealed the Texas Longhorns football depth chart for its season opener against Notre Dame. Here is what caught our eye.
Eight redshirt or true freshmen starting
We knew this team was going to be young and that several freshmen would see significant playing time. Sure enough, there will be two freshmen starting along the offensive line. Connor Williams and Patrick Vahe beat out some older players and now they get to step onto the field first. This is not that big of a surprise considering both players were running with the first team offense most of fall practice.
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Malik Jefferson and Edwin Freeman get the nod at linebacker. Jefferson gets the start at middle linebacker while Freeman will play the weak side. Freshman Cameron Townsend backs up Peter Jinkens at the strong side position while Anthony Wheeler backs up Freeman. There is a lot of youth and inexperience at this position. There is also a ton of talent, and this could make up for the lack of experience. Still, you can bet Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame coaches have taken notice.
The secondary gets young very quickly after Duke Thomas, Jason Hall and Dylan Haines. It’s a little scary to consider Hall and Haines veterans seeing how they have one year of experience themselves. John Bonney will line up at one of the corner spots. Davante Davis, Holton Hill, P.J. Locke and Kris Boyd figure to get ample playing time. Texas can ill-afford a significant injury to Thomas, or the secondary could become a serious liability due to all of the youth.
John Burt beat out the likes of Dorian Leonard and Jacorey Warrick to get the start at wide receiver. Burt has been a stalwart at practice, catching everything thrown his way so it’s no surprise he earned a starting gig.
Michael Davidson will handle the punting chores. The Aussie has a strong leg, but the accuracy isn’t there yet. You have to worry about a freshman punter making his debut in a big game like this. The big concern is out-kicking his coverage. Notre Dame can set up big returns if this happens.
Poona Ford over Hassan Ridgeway?
Ford gets the nod over Ridgeway, but this may just be a case of Ridgeway still working himself back into game shape following a lengthy absence from fall practice. The good news is Ford has looked impressive in practice. This bears watching because Texas needs Ridgeway and Desmond Jackson to be disruptive along the line of scrimmage. If the defensive line cannot get any push, the young linebackers and secondary will be exposed.
Who is Kyle Ashby?
To answer your question, he is the new long snapper. Ashby replaces Nate Boyer – no easy task considering the impact Boyer had on the program. The good news is Ashby has played before, acting as the long snapper on punts back in 2012. If Ashby does his job, we will still not know who he is at the end of the season.
Oh yeah, Tyrone Swoopes is the starter
Not that we didn’t already know this, but now it’s official.
Saturday can’t get here soon enough.