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  • Position Battles Heading into Spring Camp

    CJ Vogel

    By CJ Vogel

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    There are not many true position battles headed into the 2024 spring camp, but there are a number of positions to keep a close eye on.

    The 2024 Texas roster consists of plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, but it will take some interesting configurations from the staff to maximize the rotations and on-field performance.

    ***

    Quarterback:

    Quinn Ewers & Arch Manning

    This is not expected to be too much of a battle. Quinn Ewers has the vocal support of Steve Sarkisian and entering year three in the Texas system, Ewers is the man for the Longhorns in 2024.

    Running Back

    CJ Baxter vs. Jaydon Blue + Savion Red, Tre Wisner, Christian Clark, Jerrick Gibson

    At the moment we suspect the first team RB carries to be split into Baxter and Blue for the most part this spring. Though there is plenty of depth which comes with a ton of talent. At 240 pounds, Savion Red provides a build and skillset no other Longhorn possesses at the moment. Either of the freshmen can make a splash as well. Talented room, we will see how the splits work itself out.

    Wide Receiver

    Isaiah Bond and Johntay Cook vs. Matthew Golden, Ryan Wingo, DeAndre Moore

    A completely new room for Quinn Ewers to throw to this spring. Only Johntay Cook has caught a pass from Ewers in a Longhorns uniform before. Outside of theorizing, it is tough to pinpoint the starting three wide receivers for the spring, meaning this group is wide open for Ewers and Sarkisian to adopt into the vaunted Circle of Trust. 

    Right now, my gut tells me to lean on the receivers with experience – Bond and Golden, with Cook being the top returner from 2023.

    Tight End

    Gunnar Helm vs. Amari Niblack

    This is a fun, interesting battle for the Longhorns. There is a clear discrepancy in the skillsets provided by both tight end. Helm has plenty of in-line experience which overshadows his role as a downfield receiver, which is a 180 from what we know of Amari Niblack. To begin the spring, you can expect to see Helm as your TE1. Will that change? We will see, but there will be plenty of competition here.

    Offensive Line

    LG: Hayden Conner, Cole Hutson & Neto Umeozulu

    You can lock in left tackle, center, right guard and potentially right tackle for starting spots in the spring. Though we know there will be some movement at left guard. Can you expect Hayden Conner to fight off Hutson and Umeozulu? A fully healthy Cole Hutson has plenty of talent and experience to make noise here. Plus, the final month of practice from Neto Umeozulu revealed a prospect that has turned the corner here. Left guard is going to be very interesting this spring.

    Defensive Line

    Nose Guard

    Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins don't necessarily have the ideal bodies for the nose guard spot – someone who can plant their feet and hold their ground on a double team. Tiaoalii Savea is added to the group of Aaron Bryant and Jaray Bledsoe as well. At 372 pounds, I am a bit skeptical of what to expect from Sydir Mitchell this spring. And then of course that leads us to early enrollee Alex January who has lost 10+ pounds and comes in with plenty of hunger. This is my favorite battle of the spring.

    Defensive End

    Ethan Burke and Barryn Sorrell vs. Colin Simmons, Trey Moore and Justice Finkley

    The two returning starters from a year ago are going to be pushed and tested from the moment pads get thrown on this spring. Adding Trey Moore from UTSA will provide the most immediate heat on Burke and Sorrell. Texas has not seen a pass rushing prospect with the hype and talent arrive in Austin with the level of Colin Simmons in over a decade. Plus, we saw spurts of Justice Finkley towards the end of the season, can he turn that corner to become a true contestant for a starting job? 

    Linebacker

    Mike Position – David Gbenda vs. Kendrick Blackshire, Liona Lefau and Derion Gullette

    You can lock in Anthony Hill Jr. for a starting spot in the middle of the defense – I believe it is safe to assume it will be at the WILL backer. Now, where does the Robin to Hill's Batman come from? David Gbenda will be the first backer out of the bunch with the Texas starting 11 when spring football gets going. Kendrick Blackshire may not possess the best skillset for a three-down backer, but moving into the SEC his role is significantly larger than it would have been a year ago. Then of course what emerges out of Lefau and Gullette, two ultra-talented backers hungry to crack the starting 11.

    Nickel

    Jahdae Barron

    Jahdae Barron is back and is rocking a new No. 7 at the nickel spot. There won't be too much of a battle here. But the question becomes, when or if Barron sees snaps at outside cornerback, who takes his spot? Austin Jordan and Jaylon Guilbeau will be battling for a third consecutive year. Plus, early enrollee Wardell Mack is getting run at nickel as well.

    Cornerback

    Malik Muhammad and Terrance Brooks vs. the rest of the room

    Ryan Watts departs for the NFL, but luckily for the Longhorns, there were extended snaps in 2023 for guys like Malik Muhammad and Gavin Holmes. The Longhorns leaned heavier to the side of Muhammad than they did Holmes and there is reason to believe it will be the two former DFW stars to begin spring as the CB duo. Warren Roberson will enter year two as a backup and Kobe Black will be a freshman looking to make noise on the outside.

    Safety

    Andrew Mukuba, Derek Williams, Michael Taaffe, Xavier Filsaime

    This unit is significantly more talented than we saw a year ago with the athleticism noticeably more abundant. As a result, the back half of the Texas defense should be able to bring more splash plays to the Texas defense in 2024. Now, we know the Longhorn staff likes to rotate in the backend of the secondary very often. Derek Williams and Michael Taaffe were the two DBs to play the majority of second half snaps against Washington in the Sugar Bowl last year, though it is hard to imagine Mukuba not seeing the field early and often in 2024. Pretty fun battle when you added in what is arguably the early enrollee who has made the most noise in winter conditioning so far.

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    Red Five

    "LG: Hayden Conner, Cole Hutson & Neto Umeozulu

    You can lock in left tackle, center, right guard and potentially right tackle for starting spots in the spring. Though we know there will be some movement at left guard. Can you expect Hayden Conner to fight off Hutson and Umeozulu? A fully healthy Cole Hutson has plenty of talent and experience to make noise here. Plus, the final month of practice from Neto Umeozulu revealed a prospect that has turned the corner here. Left guard is going to be very interesting this spring."

    So is Conner to RT not a thing yet? We definitely don't need those three dudes all working exclusively at LG.

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    CJ Vogel
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    2 minutes ago, Red Five said:

    "LG: Hayden Conner, Cole Hutson & Neto Umeozulu

    You can lock in left tackle, center, right guard and potentially right tackle for starting spots in the spring. Though we know there will be some movement at left guard. Can you expect Hayden Conner to fight off Hutson and Umeozulu? A fully healthy Cole Hutson has plenty of talent and experience to make noise here. Plus, the final month of practice from Neto Umeozulu revealed a prospect that has turned the corner here. Left guard is going to be very interesting this spring."

    So is Conner to RT not a thing yet? We definitely don't need those three dudes all working exclusively at LG.

    You will see Conner bumped out to RT to give Texas the best opportunity to cross-train at more positions. Though you can expect LG to be significantly tighter of a battle than RG at the moment. Cam Williams is going to enter as RT1 and I don't see that wavering in the spring.

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    Red Five
    2 minutes ago, CJ Vogel said:

    You will see Conner bumped out to RT to give Texas the best opportunity to cross-train at more positions. Though you can expect LG to be significantly tighter of a battle than RG at the moment. Cam Williams is going to enter as RT1 and I don't see that wavering in the spring.

    Personally, and Flood hasn't asked me yet, I like the idea of Conner being the swing tackle and Hutson being the swing guard. 

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    Red Five
    52 minutes ago, Neil Leininger said:

    I like the idea of Conner transfering when he's beat out by better and younger players.

    I think he's a better tackle than guard. And in a pinch he can play four different positions on the line. He's not one we want to discard.

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    codaxx
    2 minutes ago, Red Five said:

    I think he's a better tackle than guard. And in a pinch he can play four different positions on the line. He's not one we want to discard.

    You need guys like Conner. Texas has been very healthy the last 2 years on the OL, you can not expect that to happen every year. That is guy that can play 4 spots. He may not start game one, but there is a good chance he starts at least one game 

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    Just now, Breezey A LH4LIFE said:

    Jelani McDonald for safety?

    He will certainly be in the mix for a rotational spot. I am eager to see if he eventually gets run at corner as well. CB is where he was used primarily in HS and at the All American Bowl game practices where he held his own against the country's best WRs.

     

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    Neil Leininger
    39 minutes ago, Red Five said:

    I think he's a better tackle than guard. And in a pinch he can play four different positions on the line. He's not one we want to discard.

    He's horrible at movement for a guard and you want to move him outside where is lack of mobility would be a clear disadavtage against elite athletes in space.

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    Red Five
    5 minutes ago, Neil Leininger said:

    He's horrible at movement for a guard and you want to move him outside where is lack of mobility would be a clear disadavtage against elite athletes in space.

    Well we are moving him to RT, so take it up with the coaches I guess? And I'm not saying he's going to win a starting job, just that it's valuable to have a guy with that much experience who can play up and down the line if needed.

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    codaxx
    8 minutes ago, Neil Leininger said:

    He's horrible at movement for a guard and you want to move him outside where is lack of mobility would be a clear disadavtage against elite athletes in space.

    This is not true. Conner moves well for a guard, He struggles with his base. He is not the most powerful guy on the OL. He may not be an All-Conference level player, but he does have 27 starts for the program. The OL was not an issue last year and he started every game. Can Texas upgrade? Sure. Is he a guy you want out of the program? Hell, no. If he doesnt win the RT job (i dont think he does), he is still likely to be the 1st or 2nd guy off the bench.. That has huge value. 

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    codaxx
    4 minutes ago, Burnt Orange Horn said:

    When and where will Zac Swanson get a look?  Does Jaray play DT or Edge and how well?

    Bledoe is up to 293 pounds. He is a tackle all the way and maybe the best pound for pound athlete in the program. His play could range from jag to all-conference. Talent is there, we are  just going to have to wait to see how close he is to ceiling. 

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    Rickysonehitter
    5 minutes ago, Hermanator said:

    I think Bolden is too experienced and too productive to not factor into the top 4 receiver spots. He may be the starting slot. 

    He doesn't practice until the fall, and he'll need to be more versatile than just slot. Maybe he overtakes Golden or Moore at some point in the season, but he'll need to learn the playbook first. 

    Edited by Rickysonehitter
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    NothinButDaHorns34

    I just hope and pray either colin simmons and trey moore are the real deal getting to the QB or burke develops into that guy because we’re going into year 4 of the secondary possibly being the achilles heel of sark’s program so a pass rush that gets the QB to the ground would be YYYYYUUGE help. 

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    pinkman_90
    4 hours ago, codaxx said:

    This is not true. Conner moves well for a guard, He struggles with his base. He is not the most powerful guy on the OL. He may not be an All-Conference level player, but he does have 27 starts for the program. The OL was not an issue last year and he started every game. Can Texas upgrade? Sure. Is he a guy you want out of the program? Hell, no. If he doesnt win the RT job (i dont think he does), he is still likely to be the 1st or 2nd guy off the bench.. That has huge value. 

    sure but will Conner want to stay if he gets beat out?  Who knows. 
     

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    codaxx

    codaxx 283

    Posted (edited)

    2 hours ago, NothinButDaHorns34 said:

    I just hope and pray either colin simmons and trey moore are the real deal getting to the QB or burke develops into that guy because we’re going into year 4 of the secondary possibly being the achilles heel of sark’s program so a pass rush that gets the QB to the ground would be YYYYYUUGE help. 

    This is the first year in Sark’s tenure that the secondary should be the strength of the defense 

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    NothinButDaHorns34
    43 minutes ago, codaxx said:

    This is the first year in Sark’s tenure that the secondary should be the strength of the defense 

    We hope and think that, But don’t make it true until it’s proven. Theres a reason Gideon and Joseph didn’t get raises. 

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