Texas Football: Five Questions for Spring (Defense and Special Teams)

Nov 8, 2014; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns corner back Quandre Diggs (6) reacts against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas beat West Virginia 33-16. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

 4. Who will replace Quandre Diggs as the leader of the secondary?

When it comes to talking, there aren’t many players who do it better than Quandre Diggs; fortunately, he backs it up on the field and was the undisputed leader of the defense, if not of the entire team. Someone will need to step up to replace all that he brought to the team.

Diggs, a four-year starter and three-time All-Big 12 selection for the Longhorns, did not miss a single game in his college caree. He pushed his teammates to play tough as well and wasn’t afraid to call them out if they weren’t.

With Mykkele Thompson (S) and Sheroid Evans (CB) also graduating, next year’s secondary doesn’t have a whole lot of experience, making it all the more important for someone to lead them on and off the field.

Duke Thomas, who will be a third year starter at CB and was named to the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention team last season, has the most experience and will be the lone senior in the secondary next season.  Can he become the leader that Diggs was? Can he also play the Nickel spot vacated by both Diggs and Thompson?

With the loss of key starters, one would think there would be a lot of shifting going on in the secondary, and they will need a vocal and experienced leader on the field. Can Duke Thomas be that guy?

Next: Will Jeff Traylor be able to fix special teams?