Casey Thompson dead wrong about Texas football’s depth at skill positions

After falling short of winning the quarterback battle when he was with the Texas football program and head coach Steve Sarkisian last offseason, redshirt junior signal caller Casey Thompson was able to come out on top this time around with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Thompson transferred from Texas to Nebraska earlier this offseason.

And it became clear pretty fast that head coach Scott Frost and the Huskers would favor Thompson to win the starting quarterback job for Week 1 against the Northwestern Wildcats on Aug. 27. That became a reality for Thompson early in fall camp, as Frost officially named him Nebraska’s starting quarterback a couple of weeks ago.

But Thompson certainly had some interesting takes from his viewpoint as Nebraska’s new starting quarterback after he took the bulk of the starting reps for Texas last season, despite losing the job to Hudson Card out of camp last year.

Former Texas football QB Casey Thompson wrong about Nebraska’s skill position talent compared to the Horns’

In a recent press conference, Thompson compared the skill position talent that is surrounding him at Nebraska compared to what he had around him with the Longhorns last season. Thompson mentioned in this press conference that he essentially thinks the Huskers are deeper at every skill position this season than the Longhorns were last year.

Here is some of what Thompson had to say in this press conference.

"“The biggest thing is, Nebraska football, we have a lot more bodies out there. So we have more players, more depth at every position,” Thompson said. “Offense, defense, special teams, offensive line, we have more bodies. Receiver room we have more receivers. And the same thing with the running backs. I really like the way the running back room and the receivers and tight ends are on offense. We have great leadership in each room and I think the running backs, we have guys that have really good game experience."

He noted that Nebraska is deeper in the wide receiver and running back rooms this season compared to when he was starting at Texas last year. Thompson even noted that he thinks Nebraska’s talent on each side of the ball is about level with the Longhorns’.

Those are some really hot takes. And to be honest, it is objectively wrong to say that Nebraska’s running back room is deeper than Texas’.

Here’s a look at Nebraska’s production at running back from last season:

• Rahmir Johnson: 495 yds (4.4 YPC), 4 TDs
• Jacquez Yant: 294 yds (6.3 YPC), 1 TD
• Gabe Ervin Jr.: 137 yds (3.4 YPC), 2 TDs

Now, here’s Texas’ running back production for the returning players from last season:

• Bijan Robinson: 1,127 yds (5.8 YPC), 11 TDs
• Roschon Johnson: 569 yds (5.9 YPC), 5 TDs
• Keilan Robinson: 322 yds (7.2 YPC), 3 TDs

It’s clear to see that the Longhorns just had and have the better running back room than the Huskers any way you look at it.

And while I do get that Thompson is looking to boost the confidence of his teammates and have the most positive outlook that he possibly can for the upcoming season, this is still a statement that is objectively wrong at a high level.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12), missing out on bowl season for the first time since 2016. New starting quarterback Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns are set to open up the regular season at home on Sep. 3 against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.