Texas Longhorns Football Report Card: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Next up on the Texas Longhorns Football Report Card – the wide receivers and tight ends.

The wide receiver group had its share of highs and lows this season. Much of the individual receiver’s accomplishments – and disappointments – were based on the play of the quarterbacks. Needless to say, the lows outweighed the highs for the guys catching the ball in some cases.

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It all started prior to the season opener when Kendal Sanders and Montrel Meander were kicked off the football team. Sanders was a regular, and fans were expecting big things from him. Meander was a tall target, similar to Roy Williams. I’m sure the coaches were looking forward to taking advantage of some height mismatches during the season.

Their departure left fans wondering who would step up behind Jaxon Shipley and Marcus Johnson. Shipley was the top receiving threat coming into the season. The senior did not disappoint, taking up his familiar role as the possession receiver who could get you that first down when you needed it. Johnson struggled to fill the void left by Sanders and Mike Davis. He did, ironically, have his best game of the year against the Oklahoma Sooners, the team that put Johnson on the map in 2013. Unfortunately, the speedy receiver never managed to build much report with Tyrone Swoopes, with Swoopes often over-throwing Johnson on numerous deep passes.

The loss of Sanders and Meander did open the door for two true freshmen to see the field on a regular basis. Armanti Foreman and Lorenzo Joe did not catch a bunch of passes – 13 between the two players. But both gained valuable experience, and showed they could adjust quickly from high school to college football. Foreman had a nice touchdown grab late in the season versus Oklahoma State.

The real beneficiary of the depleted wide receiving corp was an obscure senior, barely on the radar when Charlie Strong took over the program.

Oct 11, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns wide receiver John Harris (9) runs for a touchdown after making a reception against Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Aaron Franklin (25) at the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma beat Texas 31-26. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

2014 was the year Texas fans learned the name John Harris.

Harris came into his senior season with a grand total of nine receptions. He had played so sparingly, he contemplated transferring to Texas Tech. Longhorn fans are glad he didn’t go through with it.

With a renewed work ethic – thanks to some motivational words from Strong – Harris had a breakout campaign no one saw coming. He finished with 68 catches for 1,051 yards and seven touchdowns. Lost in the numbers was the fact that Harris was the security blanket for Swoppes. Teams keyed on Shipley early on, forcing the young quarterback to look for other options. Harris bailed his quarterback out of many tough situations. He used his 6-foot-2 frame to fight through tackles to gain positive yardage.

The emergence of Harris helped open up the running game ever so slightly as teams had to game plan for him. Texas wasn’t as one-dimensional as it could have been with Harris on the field.

Another group that saw a bit of a resurgence was the tight ends, namely Geoff Swaim and M.J. McFarland. Swaim came into the season known mostly for his blocking. It seemed he was always the last option in Mack Brown’s offense. The same with McFarland.

Neither was a world beater when it came to receiving. McFarland had 11 grabs, Swaim 10. But considering Texas tight ends had six catches total in 2013, the 21 receptions between these two showed the difference in philosophy between Strong and Brown. Strong wants his tight end to be a part of the offense.

In all, the wide receivers and tight ends had a good number of positive plays. Disaster was adverted with the emergence of Harris. Quarterback play kept this group from posting even better numbers than they did. Of all the offensive units, this group was the least offensive, if you know what I mean.

Grade: C+

Next: Offensive Line

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