3 notable adjustments Texas football made during the bye week

The bye week came at a good time for head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program following a tough one-possession loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys and longtime head coach Mike Gundy on Oct. 22. Texas got a much-needed week off to reflect and ready up for what looks to be a really daunting task next weekend to face head coach Chris Klieman and the No. 14 ranked Kansas State Wildcats on the road.

Kansas State is coming off a dominant 48-0 win at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan on Oct. 29 over Oklahoma State, which shocked the college football landscape. Klieman and the Wildcats completely dismantled Gundy and the Pokes behind the efforts of junior quarterback Will Howard who had an explosive day through the air.

Sark mentioned in his Monday press conference on Oct. 31 that the bye week was huge for the Longhorns last week. He talked about how the extra reps and rest were key to helping Texas get ready for a critical week of practice leading up to the Kansas State game on Nov. 5.

But one interesting aspect of the bye week was some of the adjustments that Sark and his staff had to make to get this team ready for Kansas State in the wake of some injuries coming out of the Oklahoma State game.

Adjustments Texas football made coming out of the bye week

With that in mind, here’s a look at three notable adjustments that Sark and the Longhorns made during the bye week.

Jahdae Barron will have to stick at nickelback more often

In the wake of some recent cornerback injuries, cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph and co-DC/LB coach Pete Kwiatkowski were forced to maneuver some pieces in the secondary in the last few weeks. And one of the moves that the Longhorns staff made in the last few games was getting junior defensive back Jahdae Barron more reps as a true corner.

Having freshman defensive back Jaylon Guilbeau able to take some of the key live-game reps at the star position helped the Texas secondary have more flexibility surrounding the usage of Barron.

Yet, Guilbeau is probably going to miss at least the next game or two due to an injury that he suffered in the Oklahoma State game on Oct. 22. That means Barron will probably have to move back to the star position at least until Guilbeau returns to live-game action.

Barron still has taken the most snaps this season of any DB at the star position. But injuries in the secondary in the last couple of weeks will limit the options that Texas has in terms of spreading out reps and cross-training at corner in the wake of the injuries to players like redshirt sophomore Ryan Watts, Guilbeau, and senior safety Anthony Cook.