3 Texas players excelling in their new positions in spring camp

Jahdae Barron, Nickel

All of the position changes worth noting on this list among those Longhorns players excelling in their new spots in spring ball are coming in the defensive backfield.

That is a good thing for the Longhorns, who had a weak point in the back end of the defense as part of a historically bad season for this side of the ball last year.

The last name up on this list among the Longhorns player excelling in their new positions this spring is one of the rising defensive backs to watch in 2022. Rising junior nickelback and converted cornerback Jahdae Barron could be one of the rock-solid pieces of this secondary that the likes of Gideon and cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph can rely on this fall.

Barron flashed a lot last fall but didn’t get enough consistent reps to really prove a point to the coaching staff. He took just over 225 defensive snaps last season. Expect that number to at least double this coming season.

Moreover, it’s hard to overstate how important it is that Barron is showing out in spring drills as an emerging standout in this secondary. Barron is apparently looking incredibly smooth in his transition to playing nickelback in terms of his field vision and consistency in pass coverage assignments.

If Barron and Cook are both able to be consistently solid starters in the secondary for Texas at their respective new spots this fall, Kwiatkowski will be able to see his side of the ball make some huge strides in his second year at the helm.

At this point of the offseason, I would expect Barron to be the clear-cut favorite to win the starting job at nickel. His strong showing in spring ball thus far should be more than enough to prove that he can handle getting the starting reps here this fall.