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Texas Football: 5 pivotal spring camp position battles

By Andrew Miller

LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 10: Da'Leon Ward #21 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders tries to break then tackle of B.J. Foster #25 of the Texas Longhorns during the 2nd half of the game on November 10, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas defeated Texas Tech 41-34. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 10: Da'Leon Ward #21 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders tries to break then tackle of B.J. Foster #25 of the Texas Longhorns during the 2nd half of the game on November 10, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas defeated Texas Tech 41-34. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 06: Cameron Dicker #17 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates with Gerald Wilbon #94 of the Texas Longhorns after kicking the game-winning field goal against the Oklahoma Sooners during the 2018 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 06: Cameron Dicker #17 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates with Gerald Wilbon #94 of the Texas Longhorns after kicking the game-winning field goal against the Oklahoma Sooners during the 2018 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

2. Nose Tackle

There might not be a single point of roster turnover greater at any one position for the Texas football program over the past three years than in the middle of the defensive line. Although, Texas is set to lose all three of the starters from the vaunted 2018 defensive line that was pretty productive.

It is underrated how important the nose tackle spot is to make defensive coordinator Todd Orlando’s scheme run smoothly. Texas was lucky to have so many quick and productive nose tackles for the past few seasons. Senior defensive tackle Chris Nelson was able to replace most of the departed Poona Ford’s production in the blink of an eye.

The hope here is that the rising senior defensive tackle for 2019, Gerald Wilbon, can do much of the same that Nelson did for the Texas front seven in 2018. Wilbon did recover a key fumble in the Allstate Sugar Bowl victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. He also came out in spring camp at 6-foot-3 and nearly 340 pounds.

The size and mobility that Wilbon brings to the table for the Horns this season could be worth giving him the Week 1 start. The other key name to watch here is going to be redshirt freshman Keondre Coburn. For once, it appears that Orlando will have some stability at nose tackle for the long-term with Coburn in the mix so watch out for him to get a significant amount of playing time this fall either way.

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