Texas Football: 4 upperclassmen with most to prove in fall camp for Horns
Vernon Broughton, DL
The upperclassman along the defensive line that had the most to prove all offseason is redshirt junior Vernon Broughton. The former high-four-star recruit is in his fourth year at Texas.
Broughton needs to impress the coaching staff this fall to show he’s finally ready to make that leap to become a more well-rounded defensive lineman that can hold his gaps and not get pushed off the ball against bigger linemen.
In this play against Texas Tech, Broughton is lined up in the 3-tech with two bigger D-linemen next to him. He can better utilize his quickness of the line of scrimmage to get past a slow tackle for the run stop while the bigger tackles eat up the double teams. pic.twitter.com/G4ZWwYSYze
— Hook'em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) July 22, 2023
To some degree, I think we know what we’re getting from Broughton at this point in his career. He is a 6-foot-4 and 290-pound defensive lineman best utilized as a true three-tech. When Broughton is asked to take on bigger interior offensive linemen and double-teams, he gets pushed off the ball too easily.
There were many examples of Broughton getting pushed off the ball last season against bigger interior offensive linemen. Putting Broughton in spots where he’s asked to be a one or zero-tech tackle is asking for trouble.
Broughton needs to improve his approach and pad-level technique. He often gets too low with his upper body, which makes it difficult to get the proper leverage at the point of attack.
A report from Horns247 this week detailed Broughton’s progress ahead of fall camp. This report indicated that Broughton has made strides with his motor and technique this offseason, which is an encouraging sign.
"“He’s [Broughton] really coming on. He’s ahead of Alfred Collins because he’s just more consistent with his motor, technique and work ethic. AC is picking it up, too. But AC can pick it up even more.”"
If this report holds, it signals that Broughton could finally be on the verge of getting his technique right. Before we put the cart too far out in front of the horse regarding Broughton’s progress with his technique and motor, I think it’s worth noting that Collins being cited here for effort is a bit concerning.
Given the amount of depth Texas has along the interior defensive line heading into fall camp, this must be viewed as a contract year for Broughton. If he doesn’t make the necessary strides to earn his spot in the defensive line rotation on the two-deep this fall, he could get passed up for good with how much depth and talent Bo Davis and the Longhorns are bringing in future recruiting classes.