Texas Football: 3 Longhorns to watch in opener vs. UTEP

2) Texas football players to watch in Week 1: Tarik Black, WR

Another surprise start that one upperclassmen is getting for the Longhorns in the opener against UTEP, just on the other side of the ball, is the former Michigan Wolverines senior grad transfer Tarik Black. This sizable 6-foot-3 and 215 pound wideout Black is getting the start on the outside over the likes of junior Brennan Eagles.

As the most productive returning wide receiver for the Longhorns this fall, it was figured that a healthy (at least we assume) Eagles would be about the closest you could get to a sure thing as a starter. But Black apparently beat out Eagles to get the start in the season opener, which could be partly due to the vast amount of drops that the junior had last year.

Eagles led the Longhorns with nine drops last season, with the next closest on the team being a few skill position players tied at three. Black was a bit more sure-handed during his three years playing for Michigan. But he also didn’t spend a whole lot of his time in Ann Arbor healthy for the Wolverines.

Black has yet to play in a full season healthy in his college career to date. The former blue chip prospect brings a plethora of raw talent and 40 catches for 507 yards and two touchdown catches from his time at Michigan. Black has a lot of potential to make an immediate impact on the Forty Acres, but he can start delivering in a big way this weekend.