Three key takeaways from the Texas spring game

[Jameson McCausland]

 

On Saturday afternoon, Texas fans got their first look at the 2021 Longhorns under new coach Steve Sarkisian. The Orange-White spring game concluded spring practice for Texas and allowed everyone to get a sneak peak at what to expect this fall. Here are three key takeaways from the Texas spring game:

1. The QB battle is nowhere close to being over

Despite Casey Thompson taking all the reps with the 1st team during Saturday's scrimmage, the QB battle is just heating up on the 40 Acres. Thompson finished the afternoon 23 of 42 for 242 yards and a pair of interceptions (one of which was a hail mary on the last play of the game). Redshirt freshman Hudson Card led the second team offense and tossed a touchdown while finishing with 191 yards on 16 of 26 passing. 

Steve Sarkisian has preached the need for consistency when talking about his quarterbacks. Thompson started off well but cooled off towards the end of the first half while Card started off slow but heated up as the game progressed. This is a battle that is likely to last well into August and potentially even into the week of the season opener. 

2. Texas' biggest strength heading into the offseason is the defensive line

Despite losing star pass rusher Joseph Ossai to the NFL, the Texas defensive line appears to be in a really good place entering the summer, especially at defensive tackle. Keondre Coburn is entering his 3rd year as a starter and the Longhorns have plenty of depth behind him. Alfred Collins flashed a lot of potential as a freshman will likely open the season next to Coburn, with Moro Ojomo, Vernon Broughton and T'Vondre Sweat (who missed the spring game due to injury) getting snaps as well.

On the edge, LSU transfer Ray Thornton and Jacoby Jones flashed several times on Saturday. Texas will also get reinforcements in June when Notre Dame transfer Ovie Oghoufo and Alabama transfer Ben Davis join the program. The Texas coaching staff has done a good job of building quality depth along the defensive line and Bo Davis should have a lot of pieces to work with when camp opens in August.

3. Wide receiver remains the biggest question mark

If there is a position group right now that causes Steve Sarkisian to lose sleep at night, it is the wide receivers. It is no secret Sarkisian prefers gamebreaking speed to help maximize his scheme, something the Longhorns lack on the current roster. Sarkisian also lost Jake Smith, who might be the receiver with the best quick twitch on the current roster, on the first day of spring ball to a broken foot. Jordan Whittington will likely be a big piece of the puzzle as long as he can stay healthy, but after Whittington there are more questions than answers. Joshua Moore was leaned on heavily at times a year ago, but is still searching for consistency. Marcus Washington was someone mentioned throughout the spring by Sarkisian and did reel in a touchdown from Hudson Card, but also had two critical drops in the opening drive for the White team. The biggest wildcard for the position is Troy Omeire, who missed last year with a torn ACL and played limited snaps on Saturday. If Omeire is back to 100% by fall camp, it could go a long way in helping solidify the biggest question mark for Texas heading into the season.

[Sirhornsalot]

21 minutes ago, Jameson McCausland said:

 

On Saturday afternoon, Texas fans got their first look at the 2021 Longhorns under new coach Steve Sarkisian. The Orange-White spring game concluded spring practice for Texas and allowed everyone to get a sneak peak at what to expect this fall. Here are three key takeaways from the Texas spring game:

1. The QB battle is nowhere close to being over

Despite Casey Thompson taking all the reps with the 1st team during Saturday's scrimmage, the QB battle is just heating up on the 40 Acres. Thompson finished the afternoon 23 of 42 for 242 yards and a pair of interceptions (one of which was a hail mary on the last play of the game). Redshirt freshman Hudson Card led the second team offense and tossed a touchdown while finishing with 191 yards on 16 of 26 passing. 

Steve Sarkisian has preached the need for consistency when talking about his quarterbacks. Thompson started off well but cooled off towards the end of the first half while Card started off slow but heated up as the game progressed. This is a battle that is likely to last well into August and potentially even into the week of the season opener. 

2. Texas' biggest strength heading into the offseason is the defensive line

Despite losing star pass rusher Joseph Ossai to the NFL, the Texas defensive line appears to be in a really good place entering the summer, especially at defensive tackle. Keondre Coburn is entering his 3rd year as a starter and the Longhorns have plenty of depth behind him. Alfred Collins flashed a lot of potential as a freshman will likely open the season next to Coburn, with Moro Ojomo, Vernon Broughton and T'Vondre Sweat (who missed the spring game due to injury) getting snaps as well.

On the edge, LSU transfer Ray Thornton and Jacoby Jones flashed several times on Saturday. Texas will also get reinforcements in June when Notre Dame transfer Ovie Oghoufo and Alabama transfer Ben Davis join the program. The Texas coaching staff has done a good job of building quality depth along the defensive line and Bo Davis should have a lot of pieces to work with when camp opens in August.

3. Wide receiver remains the biggest question mark

If there is a position group right now that causes Steve Sarkisian to lose sleep at night, it is the wide receivers. It is no secret Sarkisian prefers gamebreaking speed to help maximize his scheme, something the Longhorns lack on the current roster. Sarkisian also lost Jake Smith, who might be the receiver with the best quick twitch on the current roster, on the first day of spring ball to a broken foot. Jordan Whittington will likely be a big piece of the puzzle as long as he can stay healthy, but after Whittington there are more questions than answers. Joshua Moore was leaned on heavily at times a year ago, but is still searching for consistency. Marcus Washington was someone mentioned throughout the spring by Sarkisian and did reel in a touchdown from Hudson Card, but also had two critical drops in the opening drive for the White team. The biggest wildcard for the position is Troy Omeire, who missed last year with a torn ACL and played limited snaps on Saturday. If Omeire is back to 100% by fall camp, it could go a long way in helping solidify the biggest question mark for Texas heading into the season.

Pretty accurate in my mind.

I don't have as much fear about the WRs due to the addition of Xavier Worthy, and the return of Jake Smith. I think Josh Moore just had a bad day, because we've seen him make good catches in the past. 

I think you're right about Omeire. His body is there, but his mind is still timid. Thats probably a good thing for now. By Fall, he needs to put that away.

Hopefully, Sark has the whole WR unit sleeping with footballs.

 

[TB14]

I wish Card would have played with the 1s to compare. But I trust Sark will make the right call in August.