Texas Football: 3 players who could lose their starting job in 2020

2) Texas football starters who could lose their job: Jalen Green, Cornerback

For the first time in a while, it appears that Texas has some level of stability at the cornerback position. The secondary as a whole should be much improved this season under recently hired defensive coordinator (and former Rutgers head coach) Chris Ash. As one of the bigger splash coaching hires among the coordinator positions in the Power Five this offseason, Ash should be able to make an immediate impact for the production of his defense.

Last year, the Texas secondary allowed just shy of 300 passing yards per game, a completion percentage upward of 63.0, and more than two touchdowns through the air. They did all that while forcing less than one interception per game.

Given that, Ash will still be watching to see which pieces of the defensive backfield are still lagging behind this year. Texas should be set at one of the cornerback positions with rising junior D’shawn Jamison standing out down the stretch last season. But fellow rising junior cornerback Jalen Green might not be as safe.

Green had a spotty track record with injuries in the last two years, and never really found that consistent production he had the potential to put up coming out of high school as a blue chip prospect. The 6-foot-1 and 210 pound Green has the length to succeed in Ash’s aggressive secondary scheme, but he’ll have to rise to the occasion more so this year than he did last.

Last season, Green registered 30 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and five pass deflections. He only played in nine games last season, so that tally of five pass deflections is pretty impressive. Green was targeted more than 40 times last season, and the receiver he was covering did come down with the ball less than half of those occasions.

Green still has tremendous potential, and he was good when healthy last season. But more injury problems coupled with any issues in coverage with the new scheme, and Green could be finding himself behind the likes of rising sophomore Kenyatta Watson II on the depth chart this fall.