4 Texas players climbing the depth chart in spring practice

DeAndre Moore Jr., WR

In many ways, Texas's receiving corps embodies the make-up of Sarkisian's roster that he's assembled for the SEC with the more than half-dozen players who highlight the depth and talent at this position.

Through a combination of high school recruiting for the last couple of cycles and the transfer portal during the winter window, Texas has assembled a potent group of six or seven wideouts who will be fantastic for the offense this season.

One of the young wideouts who has been a fast riser on the two-deep for the Longhorns this spring is sophomore slot receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. The former blue-chip recruit from St. John Bosco in Bellflower, CA, has established himself as a real threat to take the starting slot receiver spot after Jordan Whittington exhausted his eligibility this offseason.

Despite Texas adding so many proven and impactful weapons at receiver among transfers this offseason, Moore is still doing all the things necessary in practice to show he can be a starter in his second year. He's running good routes consistently out of the slot, generating separation in one-on-one receiver drills, and showing a level of motivation that's caught the coaches attention.

This reliability factor that Texas had with Whittington for so many years as a starter in the receiving corps has set the tone for Moore's mindset and motivation since early in offseason workouts. Moore has latched onto this idea of becoming the most motivated and hard working player at his position, which has translated to him performing at higher levels consistently more on the practice field.

"He just reminds me of a mini-me. He was one of the players that actually sat back and watched us and learned a lot of things from us, and he just instills it into the team today. He's a big-time leader at a young age."

Moore was praised by Whittington for his mindset and work ethic at Texas's Pro Day last week.

If Moore continues to make progress with his ability to win these one-on-ones in practice while showing out in scrimmage settings in the next few weeks of camp, he'll exit the spring with the starting slot receiver job well within his grasp.

Check out our latest Texas football articles on Hook'em Headlines