Texas Football: 3 position changes the Longhorns should make in spring

In less than 24 hours, Texas football players will be reporting for the first day of spring practice. On March 6, Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian will begin the first day of spring ball of the 2023 offseason. Texas will take part in 15 spring practices, roughly a dozen of which will be in full pads.

Sark and the Longhorns have plenty of anticipation building for spring ball. There are plenty of new faces that Texas fans are eager to see in actual on-field practice work. We are also anxiously anticipating the chance to finally see the likes of Arch Manning, Cedric Baxter Jr., Anthony Hill Jr., AD Mitchell, etc., among the new additions in the spring game.

The annual Orange-White spring football game will take place for the Longhorns at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on April 15.

The secondary could be an area to watch for Texas football that has some position movement this spring

With spring ball literally now just around the corner, one of the biggest storylines to watch will be potential position battles and position changes to watch on each side of the ball. Here’s a look at three position changes that make sense for the Longhorns to watch this spring.

Jaray Bledsoe

Possible position change: EDGE to DL

One of the potential breakout candidates to watch this spring for the Longhorns will be second-year edge rusher and former four-star recruit Jaray Bledsoe. The 6-foot-4 and 275-pound Bledsoe flashed in camp last offseason and in a brief stint in live-game action in the opener against ULM last fall.

Bledsoe managed two quarterback pressures and one QB hit in just four snaps as a pass rusher for the Longhorns’ defensive front last season. And he also made some necessary strides to refine his technique and get his body right as an early enrollee in spring ball last offseason.

Heading into spring ball this year, Bledsoe will be looking to solidify a spot on the two-deep along the front seven. He’s widely considered to be entrenched in the competition to win a spot at the jack spot behind junior edge rusher Barryn Sorrell along with the likes of sophomore Ethan Burke.

Bledsoe definitely has the explosiveness and length that Pete Kwiatkowski and the Longhorns want out of an impact pass rusher at the jack position.

However, I do think that Bledsoe’s physical gifts and potency as a pass rusher could come in handy in a different spot along the defensive front in 2023.

Texas doesn’t have much proven depth along the defensive line behind the trio of junior nose tackle Byron Murphy II, redshirt senior defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, and senior defensive lineman Alfred Collins. The players that Texas is expecting to step up at defensive line this spring are some younger and pretty unproven linemen.

Redshirt junior Vernon Broughton is by far the most experienced returning defensive lineman for the Longhorns this year. But even he has yet to emerge as a legit threat to work his way into the defensive line rotation in the last couple of years.

If Texas is still having issues filling depth needs along the defensive line this spring, I think moving a scheme-versatile edge player such as Bledsoe makes a lot of sense. First off, Bledsoe brings to the size and physicality to the table that Bo Davis, PK, and the Longhorns want at defensive tackle.

If Bledsoe can add around 10 more pounds in muscle mass this summer, he would be right around 285 or 290 pounds, which is an ample enough size to compete in the trenches in the Power Five.

Secondly, Bledsoe has the foot-speed, lateral quickness, and violent hands required to read and react and effectively close on the ball carrier in run defense. He also has the suddenness and the arsenal of pass-rush moves required to be an impact pass-rusher from multiple different spots along the defensive front.

From the perspectives of physicality, size, and overall athleticism for his larger frame, Bledsoe checks a lot of the boxes that Bo Davis, PK, and the Longhorns could be seeking out of a defensive lineman.