Texas Football: 3 takeaways from dominant win over UTEP in Week 1

3) Takeaways from Texas football win over UTEP: Josh Thompson is a key part of the secondary

One of the major surprises in the first depth chart of the 2020 season for the Longhorns was the fact that redshirt junior defensive back Josh Thompson was set to get the start over junior corner Jalen Green at one of the cornerback slots. That left Thompson and standout junior D’shawn Jamison as the two starting corners for Texas in the season opener.

Coming into this game, the Longhorns got 46 career total tackles, one tackle for loss, and two pass deflections out of Thompson for his college career. In this game alone, Thompson registered two tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, and his first career interception. He didn’t get a whole lot of playing time, largely thanks to a cut to his upper-body that caused him to miss most of the second half.

But Thompson already looks to be a major key for recently hired defensive coordinator Chris Ash and cornerbacks coach Jay Valai. He and Jamison, in unison with a few other cornerbacks, combined to allow less than 200 passing yards from UTEP, no passing touchdowns, and got that one interception.

Thompson posted the highest coverage grade of any Longhorns defensive back in this game. He was targeted on three occasions, good for no catches, and that one interception. In general, the three highest graded Longhorns defensive backs in this game were Green, sophomore safety Tyler Owens, and Thompson.