Texas Football: Casey Thompson facing most important offseason to date

It is true that the Texas football program will have to really do its due diligence to find their next answer behind center starting this offseason.

The quarterback room for the Texas football program is about to get rather crowded with the insertion of the incoming 2020 signing class to campus this offseason. Texas added two more quarterbacks with their 2020 recruiting class, including four-star Duncanville dual-threat QB Ja’Quinden Jackson and four-star Lake Travis product Hudson Card.

There’s a chance that Jackson could move to a different position in his first year with the Texas Longhorns football program. But that would just mean that the Longhorns are essentially swapping one position change for another among former four-star dual-threat quarterback recruits. To-be sophomore Roschon Johnson could wind up moving back from running back to quarterback this offseason. Johnson switched for running back ahead of spring camp last offseason to help address depth issues at the position.

However, there is sure to be a ton of competition in the Texas quarterback room over the course of the next two offseason. Three or four guys will be battling to win the starting job next year once the eligibility of to-be senior Sam Ehlinger is up following the 2020 season.

There is likely to be three presumed favorites to be the starting quarterback if anything is to happen to Ehlinger this year and once his time on the Forty Acres is done entering 2021. Those three quarterbacks should be Roschon, Card, and to-be redshirt sophomore Casey Thompson.

During his second-year in the Forty Acres, Thompson did finally get some game exposure. But it wasn’t much. He had a few rushing attempts and completed 8-of-12 passing attempts. All that amounted to no picks and one total touchdown.

What Thompson does have working in his favor is a skill set that is a good fit with head coach Tom Herman’s basic offensive concepts. He’s very elusive and has a bevy of arm strength. Thompson could very well turn into one of the best passers on the run in the Big 12 if he eventually wins the starting job. He has two years of experience in this offense already under his belt. And this will be his third spring game with Texas.

He’s going to have to surpass quite a few other talented quarterbacks with similar skill sets to himself to solidify the starting job next year and the backup this year. Johnson got a lot of playing time out of the backfield last season, and will be a true contender to be the backup quarterback this year if he proves himself in spring and fall camp.

What Thompson can do to get the edge on others like Card and Johnson is continue to show his development in running through reads and accurately hitting his outside receivers. He’ll have a younger receiving corps that he’s throwing to this season, so that could be a challenging hurdle to work past.

However, Thompson showed progress last year and made a few good throws when given the opportunity against opponents like the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the regular season opener. Herman and recently hired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich should leave the door open for another quarterback to get more playing time this fall, and the job as backup is Thompson’s for the taking if he impresses the coaching staff starting in spring camp.

Thompson will open up spring camp with Card and Johnson being able to challenge him for the backup job. Card was an early enrollee so he’ll be able to participate in spring camp. Johnson could switch positions back to quarterback ahead of spring ball too.