Seven storylines that will define Texas Longhorns spring practices

The Texas Longhorns are set to start spring practices one week from today. It’ll be the first set of 15 practices the program will go through in preparation for a season as members of the Southeastern Conference, not to mention a matchup with the defending national champions in Michigan.

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Arrivals and departures dominated the news for the Longhorns since the season ended in New Orleans, but these seven storylines that Inside Texas will dive deeper into during the week leading up to practice one will be worth tracking on the 40 Acres during March and April.

Quinn Ewers and the need to mesh with new receivers

Gone are Adonai Mitchell, Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington, and Ja’Tavion Sanders. Even Jonathon Brooks, a capable pass-catcher out of the backfield, has moved on to professional opportunities.

In their place arrives Isaiah Bond, Matthew Golden, Silas Bolden, and Amari Niblack to join Johntay Cook, DeAndre Moore, and Gunnar Helm in the pass-catching corps.

Ewers is primed to continue his year over year improvement and have that manifest during spring practices, but that improvement will have to coincide with learning the nuances of several brand new receivers.

Importance of culture in light of coaching, player departures

Texas saw two assistants depart in Bo Davis and Jeff Choate, with Choate bringing several members of the support staff with him to Nevada. Several other key analysts and special assistants left the program for other opportunities as well. The Longhorns also lost a host of talented players who recently exceled at the NFL Combine and are likely to hear their names called in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Successful programs often have to deal with these types of losses, with Nick Saban‘s Alabama being the preeminent example of overcoming significant staff and talent turnover and succeeding in spite of those losses.

That’s a testament to Saban’s culture and recruiting acumen at Alabama, things that Steve Sarkisian learned about during his two years in Tuscaloosa. Texas intends to remain in the upper echelon of college football this season, its first in the SEC. To do that, it will have to rely on a culture that asks a certain standard no matter who the talented players or assistants in burnt orange are.

Arch Manning‘s new role at Texas

Manning doesn’t find himself in the main spotlight just yet with Ewers on campus likely for one more year. However, instead of occupying the third-string role like he did for most of last season, Manning enters 2024 as Ewers’ backup and primary understudy now that Maalik Murphy is at Duke.

That means Manning will receive more opportunities with first- or second-string players than he would as the No. 3 quarterback. That’s not to say he’ll overtake Ewers, especially since Sarkisian already said Ewers would be the Longhorns’ starter a month ago. But it does mean Manning is closer to seeing the field this season than he was last year when the novelty of him in a Texas practice uniform was at a fever pitch.

The next stage of the Longhorn run game

With Brooks off to the NFL, the Longhorn rushing attack will look a bit different in the 2024 season. CJ Baxter and Jaydon Blue are options one and two to lead the way and continue Sarkisian’s streak of 1000 (total) yard backs

Baxter saw plenty of carries last year after injury hampered the start to his true freshman campaign. He finished with 138 carries for 659 yards and five scores, and rushed for over 5.0 yards per carry in three of the final four contests. Staying on the field should be his primary goal as he showed plenty of promise when healthy.

So too did Blue, whose top-end speed was on display when he rushed 10 times for 121 yards and a score in the regular season finale against Texas Tech. Those two offer Sarkisian two different profiles of rushers for his offense ahead of the Longhorns first foray into the SEC.

A veteran secondary looks to improve

The Longhorns were No. 3 in rushing defense last season, allowing 82.36 yards per game on the ground.

Through the air? Texas was No. 116 in pass defense, surrendering 254.4 yards per game.

There’s a push and pull that takes place when a defense is that dominant against the run. Teams were going to opt to pass against Texas simply because they knew running against Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat was a no-go.

Even so, bottom 20 in the nation is not excused by that tradeoff. The Longhorns gave up 250 passing yards nine times and over 300 yards on six occasions. The only 400-yard game posted against the Longhorns exploited the season-long secondary issues, as Michael Penix played an All-American level game against Texas with 430 yards and two touchdowns on 29-of-38 passing in the Sugar Bowl.

Most of that secondary returns. Terrance Brooks, Malik Muhammad, Jahdae Barron, Derek Williams, and Michael Taaffe are back and looking to improve. They’re joined by Clemson transfer Andrew Mukuba and three talented freshman in Kobe Black, Wardell Mack, and Xavier Filsaime who finished in the top 150 of On3’s 2024 rankings.

Linebackers move on to life without Jaylan Ford

Ford posted 220 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, six interceptions, four passes defended, three fumble recoveries, and four forced fumbles over the past two seasons. That’s production the Longhorns will need to replace as they embark on spring ball.

The candidates to take over at middle linebacker are standout Anthony Hill, a freshman All-American, and David Gbenda, a sixth-year senior.

Outside of those two, Alabama transfer Kendrick Blackshire along with second-year players Liona Lefau, S’Maje Burrell, and Derion Gullette are working to move up the depth chart. Replacing Ford will likely be the task of Hill, Gbenda, and Blackshire. Who then replaces 2023’s second stringers?

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The stakes have been raised in the SEC

There was an urgency last year, even during spring drills, as the Longhorns prepared for their final season in the Big 12. That urgency carried over all season and was a key part of the Longhorns winning the conference title and reaching the College Football Playoff.

The urgency will still be around, but it might have a different focus. Instead of striving to reach the heights of the sport, Texas now is working to remain among the nation’s elite in the SEC even as the CFP expands to 12 teams.

The goal — winning — is the same for Texas no matter their conference affiliation. But more effort is required to achieve those goals now that the Longhorns are in the Southeastern Conference and face teams like Georgia, plus rivals Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas A&M.

Make no mistake, that starts in spring practice.