Texas Football: 5 breakout freshmen to watch in 2018

The only player on this list that was around for the 2017 campaign, and from the 2017 recruiting class, is the former three-star wide receiver prospect Jordan Pouncey. This to-be redshirt freshman showed out nicely in both spring camp and the spring football game. Making the most of limited opportunities is exactly what Pouncey needs to do to work himself into a position to earn some playing time early in the season.

Last season, Pouncey saw the Texas receiving corps have some newer faces step up in the way of players like Collin Johnson and Lil’Jordan Humphrey. He also gets to learn from other talented receivers for the Horns like John Burt, Devin Duvernay, and Jerrod Heard. The impact that Pouncey makes this season would be more helpful for the following years considering this is just his first year actually playing, but he could still be very valuable this fall.

In his showing during the spring game for the Horns back in April, Pouncey had a few nice catches from the freshmen quarterbacks in Cameron Rising and Casey Thompson. That bodes well for the immediate future of this Texas offense. Pouncey should be a key piece of the wide receiver, and passing game altogether, for the Horns moving forward.

Next: 5 reasons Texas Football has the top defense in the Big 12

One other thing that bodes well for Pouncey is the fact that Texas didn’t haul in a wide receiver that is of the skill level that might qualify as a “can’t miss” prospect. The pair of four-star wide receivers in Brennan Eagles and Joshua Moore should be solid, but Pouncey has earned his way on the field beyond them at this point with his efforts during spring camp.