On Texas Football: A look at the plusses and minuses from Saturday’s scrimmage
On the latest video episode of On Texas Football, Inside Texas’ Bobby Burton and Gerry Hamilton give us the latest info on happenings from the Longhorns’ Spring drills and the positives and negatives from their Saturday scrimmage.
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Hamilton said the Texas wide receiver corps has been impressive and may be one of the deepest units on the team.
“The Longhorns are just in a better place at wide receiver than they were last year,” Hamilton explained. “When you have a guy like Casey Cain, who started for the Longhorns last year, being slotted as a backup this year once everyone is back healthy, then you understand how far the group has come.”
Quarterbacks Quinn Ewers, Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning all got reps with different units in Saturday’s scrimmage.
“I am told all of them look pretty good,” Burton said. “Arch Manning had some movement of the ball down the field. It sounds like the quarterbacks are starting off where we thought they were a little bit from early on.”
Burton asked about the progress of the running backs and talked about how wide receiver-turned-running back Savion Red is moving up the depth chart.
“Jaydon Blue continues to take reps with the ones,” Burton said. “Cedric Baxter’s reps were with the twos when Jonathan Brooks is out. So just to be clear, Brooks is still limited, but he is not completely limited. He’s not running just ‘routes on air,’ like I say – he’s actually participating in some contact stuff. They’re just being cautious.”
Rumors abound that Red might be the best short yardage back the Longhorns have right now.
“Red is the most interesting guy to me this spring,” Hamilton said. “if you go back and watch his high school tape, he showed all the traits, right? He played quarterback but when he put that ball under his right or left arm, he showed all the running back traits there. He could read the linebacker and he had extremely quick feet in the hole.
“And now you see him at 5-foot-10, 215 pounds. You’ve said it before he’s built like (former Texas running back) Selvin Young. So he’s got a running back skillset. He’s got a running back build. We both have seen that this spring up close. I mean, he’s built like an NFL running back.”
Texas worked a lot on red zone offense in the scrimmage and Ja’Tavion Sanders was a focus of the attack. Burton wondered if there was any other tight ends stood out.
Hamilton said the Longhorns have a lot more talent and weapons to use in the red zone this season. “When you look at the red zone, Texas’ ability to move guys around there versus last year,” he said. “It’s gonna come down more to execution.”
Burton said the scrimmage showed that the second-team offensive line still needs plenty of work.
The duo discussed the progress of linebacker David Gbenda at the linebacker spot opposite Jaylan Ford.
Go take a look at the video for even more insights and opinions on the Longhorns’ progress this Spring.
