Texas Football: 3 takeaways from Longhorns’ final walkthrough scrimmage
Gavin Holmes still pushing for starting reps at field corner
A few remaining Longhorn position battles will spill over into the season. Field cornerback, will linebacker, interior offensive line, and running back are position groups that could all see depth chart movement early in the season. Backup quarterback is also a notable battle, as redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy and freshman Arch Manning duke it out to secure the second-team job this fall.
Field corner is one of the most intriguing position battles that could spill into the season. Texas has multiple corners capable of taking the starting spot, namely redshirt junior Wake Forest transfer Gavin Holmes and sophomore Terrance Brooks. True freshman cornerback Malik Muhammad could also see live-game reps at field corner this season if the situation calls for it.
But Muhammad will likely take most of his live-game cornerback reps this season at the boundary spot as the backup behind redshirt junior Ryan Watts.
It sounds like Holmes is the faster of the two corners vying for the starting reps at the field spot regarding straight-line speed. He reportedly looked more assignment-sound and stickier in coverage against the deep pass than Brooks.
Meanwhile, Brooks appears to be the more well-rounded and physical corner. Brooks also has the better ball-hawk skills, giving him the higher upside as a playmaker at the cornerback position for Texas this season.
A couple of weeks ago, Brooks was the favorite to win the starting job at field corner coming out of fall camp. Brooks is probably the favorite to be the starting field corner heading into Week 1 against Rice. But we’ve mentioned the rampant discussion recently about Holmes pushing for the starting job at field corner heading into the season.
There is reportedly a chance that, if Sark releases a Week 1 depth chart for the Rice game, Holmes and Brooks will be listed as the co-first teamers at field corner, with an OR next to their names.