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Texas Football: Early bold predictions for the Longhorns in 2018

By Andrew Miller

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 07: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns sings the Eyes of Texas after the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 07: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns sings the Eyes of Texas after the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Armanti Foreman #3 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates his touchdown with Collin Johnson #9 to take a 17-14 lead in front of Ajene Harris #27 of the USC Trojans during the fourth quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 16, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Armanti Foreman #3 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates his touchdown with Collin Johnson #9 to take a 17-14 lead in front of Ajene Harris #27 of the USC Trojans during the fourth quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 16, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

3. Collin Johnson has more than eight touchdown catches

A huge jump in the stat line of junior wide receiver Collin Johnson would be required for this bold prediction to pan out. Last season, Johnson led Texas in receiving yards. The touchdown numbers weren’t quite there to match up considering the size mismatch that he is.

For anything like this to happen for Johnson, the passing game will have to be much better as will the play calling from offensive coordinator Tim Beck. Last season, Texas had just 18 passing touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions. That will have to get better for Johnson’s stats to see a significant rise too.

A few things working in Johnson’s favor include the return of two quarterbacks with previous starting experience, departures of other key wide receivers, and his second consecutive year with the same coaching staff. Losses of key wide receivers from the 2017 squad like Armanti Foreman, Reggie Hemphill-Mapps, and Lorenzo Joe, all opens up more opportunities for Johnson to thrive individually.

One negative statistical trend for Johnson was that he caught less touchdowns his freshman year to his sophomore. But, that was only three his freshman season compared to two last year. A spike in receiving touchdown numbers from two to eight would be huge, but it would take a massive improvement for the Texas passing game in the red zone week in and week out. Yet, eight of last year’s 18 receiving touchdowns for the Horns will be gone at the start of the 2018 season.

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