Texas Football: 3 underclassmen winning position battles after first scrimmage
The first fall scrimmage for Texas football took place on Aug. 12. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian came away with plenty of positives to learn from and study for the rest of fall camp, including the second fall scrimmage, which is expected to take place at some point in the next 10 days.
It looks like the Longhorns avoided any significant injuries, which is the biggest thing to note coming out of the first scrimmage of fall camp this weekend. Secondly, Texas saw a lot of key players on both sides of the ball put together solid performances in this weekend’s scrimmage, most notably redshirt sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers, senior defensive lineman Alfred Collins, and redshirt sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks.
Key Texas football players winning position battles after first two weeks of fall practice
But that’s just the beginning of the players that stood out for the Longhorns in the first fall scrimmage this weekend.
It’s worth noting that there was some depth chart movement on both sides of the ball in this scrimmage. The movement on the two-deep usually indicates how various position battles are trending on each side of the ball.
Here’s a look at three underclassmen for the Longhorns winning key position battles after the first scrimmage in fall camp on Aug. 12.
DJ Campbell, IOL
The first-team right guard for offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood and the Longhorns in the first fall scrimmage this weekend was sophomore interior offensive lineman DJ Campbell. This was not the first time Campbell took the first-team reps at right guard and looked good.
Campbell took the first-team reps at right guard in individual and team drills throughout nearly the entire week in fall practice in Week 2. He’s starting to take control of the starting job at right guard over fellow sophomore interior offensive lineman Cole Hutson.
Meanwhile, Hutson took the second-team reps at right guard to start the first fall scrimmage this weekend. Hutson has also taken reps at center in the first two weeks of fall practice behind senior starter Jake Majors.
Campbell is getting every opportunity early in fall camp this year to win the starting job at right guard. And with some of the growth he’s shown since summer workouts this offseason, Campbell is well on his way to locking down this starting job heading into the season.
On the “Longhorn Livestream” following the conclusion of the first fall scrimmage on Aug. 12, Gerry Hamilton of Inside Texas/On Texas Football reported that Campbell and sophomore offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. “looked dominant” in the scrimmage this weekend.