Stock Watch: Longhorns to invest in ahead of Texas' final out of conference game

With Texas’ final out-of-conference game just one day away, we’ll get our last opportunity to observe the Longhorns before SEC play.

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Texas’ schedule places them in an odd spot. The staff will get one more game to evaluate its players, then a full bye week, and then a trip to Gainesville to play Florida in the Swamp. We talked about this a lot in the preseason—Texas basically got a month off after Ohio State.

Some of that month has been productive: players are getting healthier and the defense continues to impress, but the offense is far from where it should be heading into Week 4 of the season.

With this being the last chance for fringe contributors to impress, head coach Steve Sarkisian is bound to give plenty of run to his younger, high-upside players clawing for more reps when SEC play comes around.

Texas deployed just 32 players for more than 10 snaps against Ohio State in Week 1. The hope would be to have closer to 40 you’re comfortable with by October as they head into the Florida and Oklahoma matchups. With more depth needed, it’s now or never to call your shots on some of the young stars on this team.

Christian Clark

I’ll buy low on Clark heading into this game. This is probably the lowest the fanbase has been on him since the start of the offseason. He has been mediocre in two games so far, and true freshman James Simon looked like the better back last game.

With the game plan likely more laid out (no unexpected CJ Baxter injury or Arch Manning 0-10 streak), Clark has the chance to assert himself as the true No. 3 in this offense. That was the plan heading into the season, but he hasn’t quite looked the part.

Still, he is Texas’ best option in the passing game, a trait Sarkisian really values. And as much as Simon impressed, he’s a true freshman playing against UTEP. With Jerrick Gibson still dealing with ball security and pass-blocking problems, Clark has a great shot to solidify the role we originally envisioned for him.

Ryan Wingo

We’ve got another buy-low here, and one that is sure to ruffle some feathers. Here’s what I like about Wingo’s stock right now: Manning just played the worst game of his career, but Wingo produced even more than he had in the last two games. He caught a touchdown and probably should’ve had another with a better throw. He didn’t have a single drop. All of their failures to connect seemed to be on Manning.

It probably can’t get worse for Manning, and it seems like Wingo is on an uptick. This looks like a clear game for him to get back into rhythm and put up his best numbers yet. With DeAndre Moore back in the picture, Manning on a bounce back, and the worst defense they’ve seen all year, I’ll gladly be early on the Wingo hype train. I think he’s about to break out.

Brandon Baker

I think we’re really starting to see Baker’s natural talent on display these last few weeks. He was okay against Ohio State—pretty much as good as you can ask from a second-year player starting his first career game in The Shoe—but he’s leveled up each week. He had a team-best 84.6 pass-blocking grade against UTEP last week, according to PFF.

He may already be a great pass blocker; we just need to see him go against real competition, like the Gators’ or Sooners’ edge rushers in a few weeks. He’s still struggling in run blocking, but I have a feeling he’s going to blossom into a real asset on this line between now and those two matchups in early October.

Zina Umeozulu

I’ve been talking about Texas looking for that extra edge rusher for a few weeks now. They need more bodies they can trust after Colin Simmons, Ethan Burke, and sort of Trey Moore, who plays multiple positions across the front. Texas needs both someone to relieve these three when tired and a different skill set they can use to rush the passer.

The coaches have shown that the player most likely to make the jump into the rotation is Zina Umeozulu. He’s now one of 17 players with over 50 snaps on the year, and he’s one of just three players with a sack. He’s being scripted for in the NASCAR package. We’ve seen him both as the outside edge rusher and as the down defensive lineman on obvious passing downs. He’s explosive, moves with fluidity, and has shown to be the best of that group of four pushing for snaps. Don’t be surprised if we see a sack or two tomorrow.

Wardell Mack

Despite all the off-field drama early this year, Mack has gained a lot of trust with this staff. As we’ve been reporting the last few days, we expect a lot of him at STAR tomorrow. The staff wants to see both how he plays and what Graceson Littleton can do at outside corner.

Mack played all over the secondary in high school and is a strong athlete. His wingspan is insane for a cornerback. He’s someone who’s quietly worked very hard behind the scenes and is emerging as a potential rotation player going forward. Texas really only utilized six DBs against OSU. He has the chance to crack in as the No. 7.