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Has Tyrone Swoopes Grown into the Leader Texas Needs?

By Jeff Kubiszyn

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No one could blame Texas fans for writing off Tyrone Swoopes last December. He had just performed miserably in the Texas Bowl against Arkansas, leading the Longhorns to 59 yards of total offense. For the game.

Fans were ready for a change.

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This spring the spotlight was on Jerrod Heard. We all wanted to know at what point Charlie Strong would turn the offense over to the redshirt freshman. It seemed, to many, only a matter of time. A formality, really. The spring game was inconclusive, but we all saw the potential Heard has. Still, fans would have to wait a while longer until fall camp to see Heard take the reigns.

Fast forward four months and things haven’t quite played out like some thought. Heard has not seized the starting job. He still sits behind Swoopes on the depth chart. And according to Strong the junior will start the season opener versus Notre Dame (although he did mention both quarterbacks would play).

Can this be true? Is Swoopes still the better quarterback?

It seems the junior used last December’s beating – both on and off the field – to prepare himself for the impending quarterback battle. The quiet Swoopes has turned into the vocal leader on the field, inspiring his teammates to work harder. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson spoke to the media and talked about how Swoopes has learned from the trials and tribulations of the 2014 season.

“He’s done a nice job,” said Watson. “He’s had a really good camp. Like we talked about before we actually got started, he’s got a new resolve and a new purpose about himself because of the criticism that came his way. It’s developed an edge in him, so we’ll see how far that takes him.”

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After hitting rock bottom against the Razorbacks, there was only one direction for the quarterback to go – up. Watson believes Swoopes’ competitive nature, and the presence of Heard, has lit a fire under him.

“He’s got high character, and I understood where he came from. He came from a small program. He got thrown into a tough situation last year and just all of the different pieces. That’s the faith, patience and trust. It’s a process, so we help him find his way through it. The greatest thing that happened was Jerrod [Heard] in the spring. That helped him a ton. He needed competition. He needed to feel somebody, and Jerrod made him feel him, and Jerrod has made him feel him in camp.”

Swoopes still has a long way to go. Beating Notre Dame will not be an easy task. He will need to avoid the big mistakes that hurt the offense last season. A new offense based on running the ball will help. Improved offensive line play is a must, no matter who is under center. Swoopes wasn’t the sole reason for the offense performing poorly, but as the quarterback you take the lion’s share of the blame. I think he wasn’t mentally prepared for that last season.

The season opener is just weeks away. Swoopes will be out there when the offense takes the field. All indications are we will see a much different quarterback than who we saw in Houston last December.

And that is a step in the right direction.

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