Texas Football: 4 biggest position battles heading into fall camp

Field CB

Candidates: Terrance Brooks, Gavin Holmes, Malik Muhammad

The deepest position group on this list that will have a battle for the starting job lies at field cornerback. Texas has three starting-caliber talents vying for the starting job in fall camp at the field corner position.

The youngest of the group is the former high-four-star recruit out of South Oak Cliff High School, true freshman cornerback Malik Muhammad. This uber-talented corner out of South Dallas has continuously impressed the coaches and his teammates this offseason with his maturity and progression since spring ball. The biggest hurdle for Muhammad in this position battle is the lack of proven experience.

Sophomore Terrance Brooks is the only returning player from last year’s team amid the three corners in this position battle for the field spot. Brooks got a handful of starts down the stretch last season in place of senior D’Shawn Jamison. He otherwise got rotational reps at field corner last season.

Brooks is probably the odds-on favorite to win the starting job at field corner heading into fall camp, given his starting experience from late last season and how he’s improved “mentally and technically” this offseason (per Inside Texas).

Last but not least, the most experienced of the three candidates for the starting field corner job in terms of FBS live-game reps is the former Wake Forest Demon Deacons redshirt junior transfer, Gavin Holmes. The fourth-year corner has over 1,100 FBS defensive snaps from his time at Wake Forest.

Holmes is also the fastest corner of the bunch. The question for him will be whether he can cover the flats and the short and intermediate passing game one-on-one to the degree that Brooks can. Muhammad’s physicality and agility in one-on-one coverage also shouldn’t be slept on.