3 Texas football players feeling the most pressure in fall camp

Alfred Collins, DL/EDGE

It’s hard to exactly pin down what the goal will be for the usage of sophomore defensive lineman/edge rusher Alfred Collins will be this fall. Texas did anything but effectively put the insane physical skill set of Collins to good use last season. It is up to co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Pete Kwiatkowski to more effectively utilize Collins’ tools this fall.

But there is still some locus of control that Collins will have in terms of elevating his game coming out of fall camp. And the very fact that we’re still hearing that Collins is not getting regular first-team reps in fall practice is pretty concerning.

At this point of his collegiate career, Collins just seems too talented not to be getting consistent first-team reps in fall camp. This likely signals that Texas is either still trying to find the right schematic fit for Collins, or someone else is proving to be more effective in picking up the defensive scheme in the spots Alfred played last fall.

There are some ideas flying around in the midst of fall camp that Collins could come off the edge or line up in the three-technique as a true defensive lineman early this season. But Collins will need to work in the next couple of weeks to prove he belongs among the ones for the regular season opener against ULM on Sep. 3.

Collins is an NFL-caliber talent that needs to prove to the coaching staff that he’s just too good to keep off the field this fall. And while I do believe that part of the responsibility is on PK here to utilize Collins more effective this season compared to last year, both parties need to rise to the occasion to make him a real force to be reckoned with in the trenches right away this fall.