Texas Longhorns: Is This Tyrone Swoopes’ Last Stand?
By Donny Hunt
Would it be an overstatement to say that Saturday night’s season opener at Notre Dame could be a make-or-break game for Texas Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes?
The practical fan would say yes, it is only the first game of the season. However, practicality and the Longhorns don’t exactly go hand-in-hand. In fact, as I thought about what Swoopes will face Saturday night, I was reminded that Texas was in almost exactly the same situation a few short years ago.
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If you are hopelessly optimistic for the coming season and don’t want me to be a buzzkill, you might want to stop reading here. What follows is not for the faint of heart.
In 2011, Texas faced a critical non-conference test in Week 2 of the season. BYU was coming to town and they brought a stout defense that would present the Longhorns with their first true test of the season. Under center that night was Garrett Gilbert, who had once been a prized recruit and the quarterback of the future. Things hadn’t gone as planned for Gilbert. He was coming off a 5-7 season in which there were more bad moments than good. He struggled with decision making and turnovers. He seemed to lack leadership skills and by the end of the season his confidence seemed shattered. Many were wondering if he was nothing more than a system quarterback.
In 2015, Tyrone Swoopes enters the season after posting a 5-7 record as starter. He, also, was a prized recruit who was the quarterback of the future. Like Gilbert, fans are now down on Swoopes after an up and down season in which he struggled with decision making and turnovers. Like Gilbert, his confidence seemed shattered by season’s end and even head coach Charlie Strong questioned his leadership. He is starting to look like an athlete who excelled against lesser competition in high school than a true collegiate quarterback.
High hopes for 2011 hinged on the fact that Gilbert might be salvaged thanks to a new offense installed by new offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin. Harsin chucked the power running system that previous OC Greg Davis had tried to install the previous season in favor of Boise State’s motion offense.
For Swoopes, much hope rests on the installation of a new spread offense that should suit him more than the West Coast offense Shawn Watson tried to implement last season. To help implement that offense, the coaching staff turned to new hires Jay Norvell (WR coach at OU) and Jeff Traylor (high school).
Gilbert was named starting quarterback in 2010 by basis of his prized recruit status. There was no real competition for the job. In 2011, Gilbert was named starter only after winning a four man QB competition in the fall. He was matched up against a sophomore with virtually no game experience (Case McCoy), a redshirt freshman out of a private school (Connor Wood) and a true freshman (David Ash)
Texas Longhorns
Swoopes assumed the starters duties in 2014 with no competition because he was the only option. Strong and Watson clearly wanted to redshirt Jerrod Heard last season. Swoopes is probably going to be named starter this season after winning an open competition against a redshirt freshman (Heard) and two true freshman in Kai Locksley and Matthew Merrick (who also hails from a private school).
The announcement of Gilbert as starter was unsurprising, yet unpopular. Fans had already given up on Gilbert and were much more intrigued by Longhorn Legacy McCoy and the prized recruit Ash. In fact, Harsin was such a fan of Ash that he installed a special package for him in order to get Ash on the field early.
The expected announcement of Swoopes as starter won’t be surprising but it will be unpopular among the masses. Most fans have already given up on Swoopes and are ready to move on to the talented Jerrod Heard as starter. Heard has shown enough that Charlie Strong has stated without doubt that Heard will play and certainly has a special package put in place to get him on the field.
Fans Will Clamor For Jerrod Heard If Swoopes Struggles This Year. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Prior to the start of the 2011 season, the coaching staff tried to put rest concerns about Gilbert. They spoke about improvements he had made. He would be a much improved quarterback in 2011. Yet despite the efforts of the coaching staff to build up Gilbert, there was plenty of reason to believe that it wasn’t a matter of if a change would be made but rather when.
Swoopes has, by all accounts, dominated the QB competition this year. Strong and Watson specifically have been raving about how much he has improved since the end of last year. Still, one has to wonder if all of this isn’t as much about building his own confidence as it is the fans’ confidence.
Gilbert had the benefit of getting a warm-up game in 2011, getting most of the reps in an easy 34-9 win against Rice. However, BYU brought a stout defense and a much more talented roster to bear against the Longhorns the next week.
Swoopes will face a Notre Dame team with a definite talent advantage and a stout defense as well. Swoopes has the added burden of having to play them game one, on the road no less.
If there is anyone out there who doesn’t remember, Gilbert bombed against BYU. He was lifted in the second quarter after the offense couldn’t get going and he threw a couple of picks. He never stepped on the field again for the Longhorns.
It is not hard to envision a similar fate befalling Swoopes. As bad as Swoopes looked at the end of last season and as much hope rests in the other quarterbacks on the roster, it might be essential for Swoopes to come out of the gate fast. If Swoopes crumbles under the pressure on Saturday night, it will indicate that he really hasn’t progressed at all. If that’s the case, it could be in the program’s best interest going forward to go all in on Heard or Locksley and suffer through the growing pains.
Charlie Strong and Shawn Watson may have no choice than to pull Swoopes if he doesn’t show improvement. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
Swoopes is a different quarterback than Gilbert and Strong is a far different coach than Mack Brown, but the similarities in each situation are eerie. As a fan, you want to believe all the sunshine pumping that the staff has done on Swoopes’ behalf. It is not out of the question that Swoopes could blossom this year. We saw what a year a difference can make when Trevone Boykin exploded last season.
Yet you cannot unsee what you have seen. What we’ve seen so far from Swoopes has left much to be desired. Much like there would have been a full-fledged riot that night in 2011 had Mack Brown not yanked Gilbert, Charlie Strong will have no choice than to pull the trigger on Heard if Swoopes doesn’t take command of this team.
In that regard, Notre Dame could very well be Tyrone Swoopes’ last stand at Texas. He doesn’t have to be the second coming of Vince Young. What he does have to do is prove that he’s not the second coming of Garrett Gilbert. For better or worse, we will find out Saturday night.