Texas Football: 4 upperclassmen with most to prove in fall camp for Horns

Fall camp begins in just over 10 days for Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian. Texas kicks off fall camp on Aug. 2, precisely one month before the regular season opener on Sep. 2 at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium against the Rice Owls.

Sark and the Longhorns have high expectations heading into the fall. The media picked Texas to finish atop the Big 12 standings in the preseason poll. The Longhorns also had the most preseason All-Big 12 selections (five), including the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, senior linebacker Jaylan Ford.

One of the most important tasks in fall camp for Sark and the Longhorns staff is figuring out the two-deep depth chart. It’s refreshing that Texas doesn’t have that much uncertainty heading into fall camp, specifically for position battles.

But many newcomers will be duking it out for key spots on the two-deep on both sides of the ball. That means some returning upperclassmen for the Longhorns will have to earn their spots on the depth chart this fall.

Upperclassmen with a lot to prove for Texas football in fall camp

Here’s a look at four upperclassmen with the most to prove for the Longhorns in fall camp this year.

Morice Blackwell Jr., LB

This spot among the upperclassmen with the most to prove in fall camp for the Longhorns could be junior linebacker Morice Blackwell Jr. or redshirt senior David Gbenda. Blackwell and Gbenda will compete for the starting job at the will linebacker position in fall camp as Texas looks to replace the void left by senior DeMarvion Overshown.

Blackwell got the nod over Gbenda because he doesn’t have as much experience at weakside linebacker in terms of practice reps and live-game snaps at Texas. While Gbenda still has to prove he can better identify route concepts and contest space to truly show he’s ready to make an impact as the starting will linebacker, he is still a proven commodity as a consistent run-stopper rangy athlete.

Last offseason, Blackwell transitioned from safety to linebacker to take advantage of the hard-hitting nature of his game and his instincts in pass coverage. Most live-game reps (albeit limited) came at the sam linebacker position last fall.

Blackwell is now acquainting himself at the will linebacker position heading into fall camp. It sounds like he’s on the right track to push for starting reps at will linebacker near the end of summer workouts. Earlier this week, we wrote that Blackwell has continued to “earn trust” from the coaching staff this summer.

If Blackwell continues to show that he’s got a good understanding of the defensive scheme and his role at will linebacker, he’ll legitimately push Gbenda for the starting job at the position in fall camp.