Texas Football: 3 problematic Cajuns players for the Horns
Mekhi Garner, CB
Yet another player for Texas to worry about in the back seven of this Louisiana defense is the redshirt junior 6-foot-2 and 215-pound cornerback Mekhi Garner. As one of the best defensive backs in the Sun Belt this season (if not the entire Group of Five), Garner is a corner that Texas is going to have to really prepare well for this week.
Garner tends to wreak havoc often, no many the strength of his opposition. Arguably the three toughest teams that Louisiana played last year were the Appalachian State Mountaineers, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, and Iowa State Cyclones. And in those three games, Garner was targeted just eight times.
On those eight times that Garner was targeted in pass coverage assignments, he gave up just four catches for 35 receiving yards, and no touchdowns. He also had two pass breakups and one pick on those eight tries against him in coverage.
It is clear that Garner has the ability to compete with the best of them. Texas has to take that into account this weekend.
Nearly all of the snaps that Garner took last season came as a wide corner. That means he is likely to face either redshirt junior Joshua Moore or redshirt sophomore Jordan Whittington this weekend. Either way, that is a difficult test for one of two of the best Texas wideouts.
In total last season, Garner registered 27 combined tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, three interceptions, seven pass breakups, and one forced fumble. It’s hard to ignore the presence that Garner brings to the table for this Louisiana secondary. Texas has to plan well for facing him this weekend.
The way to beat Garner was put on display in Louisana’s First Responder Bowl win over the UTSA Roadrunners. Garner was beat deep on two occasions in that game. In total, he gave up three receptions on three attempts for 86 yards and one touchdown. He also had one costly penalty in pass coverage.
Use the deep threat and contested catch ability on the outside of Moore and the raw speed and versatility of Whittington to beat Garner.