2008 Texas Longhorns Preview

It’s rare when Mack Brown needs to win the offseason at Texas, especially after his seventh straight 10-win campaign. But after watching his defense give up the most yards in school history; after suffering his worst home loss in 10 seasons in Austin — a 41–21 drubbing by Kansas State; after losing to Oklahoma for the first time in three years; and after a second straight loss to Texas A&M, which fired its coach minutes after the game, Brown needed some positive mojo.

Two Minute Drill

A Quick Look at the Longhorns

To compete for a Big 12 title, Texas has to figure out how it’s going to run the ball. Last year, the offensive line was in constant flux and ineffective. So Texas ended up making yards on the ground with the zone read, which meant quarterback Colt McCoy running the football. UT coaches say the zone read will remain, which means McCoy must get even better as a runner. McCoy’s supporting cast on offense is full of question marks. The offensive line needs to get a lot better. The team’s best skill players from last year are gone. Texas used several trick plays as well as quarterback John Chiles in its Holiday Bowl win against Arizona State. Mack Brown says those things will continue this season. Brown also says he’s determined to play young players, even true freshmen, something he has been reluctant to do. With Will Muschamp calling defenses, UT should finally get a pass rush, which will help an inexperienced secondary. Brown says the linebackers improved the most of any position in the spring. That’s huge, because Texas’ LBs the last two seasons have been a glaring weakness. With nine bowl teams from last year on the schedule, including surging Texas Tech, Kansas, Missouri and Colorado, Texas could struggle if skill players on offense and the secondary don’t break through quickly.

He got it with a convincing 52–34 Holiday Bowl victory over Arizona State and by hiring 36-year-old defensive coordinator dynamo Will Muschamp and former Texas quarterback/favorite son Major Applewhite. Brown is hoping Muschamp, a Nick Saban disciple who helped LSU win a national title as defensive coordinator in 2003, and Applewhite, the team’s new running backs coach, will help find ways to beat nine bowl teams on a 12-game schedule.

“We had maybe our best spring since we’ve been here,” Brown says. “We’ve got the toughest schedule I can remember this year, and we have a lot of inexperience in our players. So we have to come back in the fall with the same great attitude we had in the spring.”

All of Muschamp’s expertise will be required for a schedule that replaces three non-bowl teams from the Big 12 North  — Nebraska, K-State and Iowa State — with three bowl teams — Kansas, Missouri and Colorado.

“We’re going to see it all this season,” Muschamp says. “So we have to be multiple and be ready for everything. I want this group to be blue-collar and overachieve.”

Only five starters return from a defense that gave up 4,825 yards, including a school record 3,611 passing yards (277.8 ypg), and allowed 25.3 points per game. But plenty of experienced players return on the defensive line and at linebacker — players who probably should have been on the field more last season. The biggest question mark is in the secondary, where cornerback Brandon Foster, who had a school-record three returns for touchdowns last season, and safety Marcus Griffin have moved on.

Another huge question is how to replace the speed on offense of running back Jamaal Charles, receiver Limas Sweed and tight end Jermichael Finley.

“We’ve got enough potential,” Brown says. “We just have to live up to it.”

Quarterbacks

Junior Colt McCoy had what can be politely described as a sophomore slump in 2007 — not all of it his fault. He threw for 22 touchdowns with 18 interceptions behind an offensive line that only once started the same combination in consecutive games. What remains to be seen is how much backup sophomore quarterback John Chiles gets onto the field in a change-of-pace role. Chiles completed only one pass in nine attempts in seven games in 2007. But he ran 36 times for 191 yards (5.3 yards per carry) in UT’s shotgun-option offense. Chiles’ ability to scare defenses with his legs could be needed as Texas searches for playmaking on offense.

Running backs

When Charles surprised Brown by announcing he was forgoing his senior year for the NFL, Texas lost a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. Charles ran for 1,619 yards (on a 6.3 average) and 18 touchdowns, was an excellent blocker and receiver and also happened to be a Big 12 sprint champion. Finding anything close to that this season could be a real challenge. Fans were hoping Texas would land Darrell Scott, considered the nation’s top high school running back. But Scott chose Colorado over Texas. Brown thinks he has the answer already on campus in a committee that includes sophomore Vondrell McGee, senior Chris Ogbonnaya and redshirt freshman Fozzy Whittaker. Texas has had a threat in the backfield who could score on any given play since 2004 thanks to talents like Vince Young, Selvin Young, Ramonce Taylor and Charles. The Longhorns don’t appear to have that threat this season unless a new name emerges in fall camp.

Receivers

Gone are five of the team’s top eight receivers from last season — Sweed, Finley, Charles, Nate Jones and Billy Pittman. Texas will look to seniors Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley to be the steady hands in the receiving corps while coaches hope for some new stars to emerge. Cosby caught 60 passes, including five touchdowns, last season while playing all three receiver spots. Shipley, who had 27 catches and five TDs in 2007, also can play all three wideout positions. Sophomore Brandon Collins received strong praise in the spring and could start in three-receiver sets with Cosby and Shipley. Redshirt freshman Malcolm Williams is also pushing for playing time. Sophomore tight end Blaine Irby will take over Finley’s pass-catching duties, while senior Peter Ullman will be the blocking specialist in two-tight end sets.

Offensive linemen

Left tackle Tony Hills has moved on to the NFL, but Texas should now benefit from being forced to play a bunch of young guys last year due to injury and inconsistency. Junior Adam Ulatoski will move from right to left tackle. Sophomore Michael Huey appears to be a rising star and will challenge Charlie Tanner at left guard. Sophomore center Buck Burnette has the mean streak coaches love and will challenge junior Chris Hall for playing time. Senior Cedric Dockery, the younger brother of the Buffalo Bills’ Derrick Dockery, is finally healthy and expected to start at right guard. Sophomore Kyle Hix looks like the future at right tackle. Texas will have depth at tackle thanks to sophomore Tray Allen.

Defensive linemen

Defensive tackles Frank Okam and Derek Lokey were a huge reason Texas ranked No. 6 against the run nationally last year (93.4 ypg) and No. 3 nationally in 2006 (61.2 ypg). Both have moved on to the NFL, but some would argue senior tackle Roy Miller is every bit as good as those two. Miller will line up next to Lamarr Houston (6'2", 275), who moved to tackle from end. Coaches have high hopes for end Brian Orakpo, who had 5.5 sacks after missing four games early last season with a right knee injury. Senior end Aaron Lewis is solid against the run and pass, while running back-turned-defensive end Henry Melton received praise from coaches for his work in the spring.

Linebackers

Probably the biggest source of consternation among Texas fans last season was the belief that Texas didn’t always have its best linebackers on the field. That debate should calm down this season thanks to attrition. Juniors Sergio Kindle at strong-side linebacker, Rod Muckelroy at weak-side linebacker and Jared Norton in the middle will now get their chance to prove themselves in a rotation with senior middle linebacker Rashad Bobino and redshirt freshman Keenan Robinson. Brown says some of the biggest improvement in the spring was made at linebacker, and that’s a good sign. The Longhorns have been plagued by poor pass coverage from their linebackers the past two seasons.

Defensive backs

The success of this group may depend on how quickly defensive backs Curtis and Chykie Brown pick up their new assignments. Both are 6'1" with blazing speed and will be asked to play corner and safety  — a signature of secondary coach Duane Akina. But they have exactly zero starts between them. Junior Deon Beasley, who could be the next star defensive back at a school that has produced two of the last three Thorpe Award winners, and senior cornerback Ryan Palmer figure to have two of the starting jobs. Safety is a huge concern because there’s little experience other than junior Ishie Oduegwu, who is coming off left shoulder surgery. But there’s a ton of athletic talent at the position, including Christian Scott, Earl Thomas and Ben Wells.

Specialists

Senior kicker Ryan Bailey, a former walk-on, has proven himself in the clutch by kicking two game-winners (at Nebraska in 2006 and at Oklahoma State in 2007). Freshman Justin Tucker was ahead of junior Trevor Gerland for the starting punting job coming out of the spring. Cosby did a nice job with kick returns last year (24.2 ypr with one TD) but struggled on punt returns (9.4 ypr).

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