Five Texas Longhorns Veterans to Watch in the Fall
Sep 13, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Jordon James (6) runs against Texas Longhorns cornerback Duke Thomas (21) during the third quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Duke Thomas, senior cornerback
Quandre Diggs and Mykkele Thompson have moved on to the NFL. Sheroid Evans has been snake bitten with injuries and has never been able to develop into the lockdown corner who can run step-for-step with speedy receivers.
Someone needs to take charge.
This is Thomas’ secondary. He will take the field knowing he has experience behind him in safeties Jason Hall, Adrian Colbert and Dylan Haines. Who starts at the opposite corner spot and nickel is another story. We could very well see redshirt and true freshmen out there.
Thomas should make quarterbacks think twice about throwing his way. This will be a reversal of the 2014 season when teams generally stayed away from Diggs and went after Thomas. He responded with a team-high ten pass break-ups. He was second on the team with three interceptions. Sure he had his “oh boy” moments when he would get beat, but he kept battling.
Thomas can pass along the ups and downs of last season to the younger players. These guys will need a veteran to lean on. Last year it was Diggs. This season Thomas gets to pay it forward and prepare the next generation of defensive backs.