3 Texas football upperclassmen with most to prove in fall camp

Ahead of the start of fall camp, Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian are getting this team set for an important non-conference slate that will put them to the test almost right away. Texas doesn’t have the toughest battle to open up the regular season, which comes on Sep. 3 at home against Louisiana-Monroe.

But the rest of the non-conference schedule is sure to put the Longhorns to the test in a big way. Sark and the Longhorns will battle the defending National Champion runner-up Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 2 of the regular season, set to come at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sep. 10.

And then, Texas will have one more big test during the non-conference slate against a likely top 25 preseason team in the defending Conference-USA Champion UTSA Roadrunners. If Texas can come out of the non-conference slate with two or three wins, though, that should be considered a success from a realistic perspective.

Moreover, Texas will take the first step toward getting set for the 2022 season early next month at the outset of fall camp. Texas is set to begin fall camp on Aug. 4, which is just a few weeks away now.

Upperclassmen for Texas football that need to have a big fall camp

With that in mind, here’s a look at three upperclassmen for the Longhorns with a lot to prove in fall camp next month.

Tarique Milton, WR

One of the most underrated additions for the Longhorns out of the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason was the former Iowa State Cyclones elusive senior wide receiver Tarique Milton. If Texas is going to get any version of Milton that is even somewhat close to what we saw from him at Iowa State in 2019, then this will be a tremendous addition to the receiving corps.

Milton was a big-time playmaker at Iowa State during the 2019 season. But injuries and other underclassmen stepping up in the receiving corps would ultimately wind up supplanting him in the last couple of seasons. After having a breakout 2019 campaign, where Milton registered more than 700 receiving yards and three touchdown catches, his yardage was roughly cut in half in the last two seasons combined.

That looked to be a driving factor as to why Milton put his name in the transfer portal this offseason. And he’ll now get a shot to prove that he’s able to contribute at a high level in what could be the most potent offense he’s ever played in.

Milton is likely to start out the 2022 season as the backup at the h-wide receiver spot, behind redshirt junior Jordan Whittington. There will more than likely be some real competition to get the backup spot in the slot in fall camp. Milton could face a lofty challenge this fall in trying to hold off the speedy freshman wideout Brenen Thompson to get this backup job.

But with some of the injury issues that Whittington experienced in his three years in college thus far, there’s a decent chance that Milton could get thrust into the spotlight this fall coming out of the slot. That is if he can hold off the hard-charging Thompson in fall camp and throughout the upcoming regular season slate.