Takeaways from the Texas depth chart for Louisiana
The Texas Longhorns released their depth chart for the 2021 season-opening game versus the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. Most of what the program officially released lines up with what Inside Texas’ Eric Nahlin projected on Monday.
Steve Sarkisian spoke about quarterback plenty after officially naming Hudson Card the starting quarterback, but a few more positions have some intriguing combinations.
-Sarkisian named Card the starting quarterback but also mentioned Casey Thompson would play on Saturday against the Ragin’ Cajuns. He also gave the impression that his decision was not a season-long one, but one he’ll take game-by-game.
“Casey will play in the game, then we’ll continue to evaluate from there but that’s the direction we’re going in this weekend,” Sarkisian said at his Monday press conference.
He would later say: “It was a tough call, but I think in general you try to make the best decision for the program at that time. Again, that’s why I think Casey’s going to play in this game. We’ll re-evaluate after one game. Neither guy has ever started a game in their career, so we’ll look at it after one week.”
-The offensive line goes Christian Jones – Denzel Okafor – Jake Majors – Junior Angilau – Derek Kerstetter. Andrej Karic is listed as the backup left tackle. In trying to round out a group of eight linemen behind the top five, Kyle Flood likely has Karic as the next tackle, Tope Imade as the next guard, and true freshman Hayden Conner then available for a swing role.
-There are 76 combined starts among the top five offensive linemen.
-Small interesting note at tight end with second-stringer Jared Wiley sharing an “OR” with Gunnar Helm. Texas will use two tight ends frequently this season, meaning Helm should get opportunities to play.
-Wide receiver had no additional designation to note which role it was for on the depth chart, be it X or H or Z. Troy Omeire, listed third on the depth chart, is out for the season opener.
-While the strongside edge role is labeled as “JACK” on the depth chart, the weakside edge role is labeled as “BUCK.” The position Inside Texas identified as X is the same as BUCK.
-JACK offers a wide range of body types. Starting is 6-foot-4, 255-pound Jacoby Jones. Behind him is 6-foot-5, 302-pound Alfred Collins, who could also see playing time on the interior. Third string is 6-foot-2, 236-pound Jett Bush, who has also practiced at fullback. He’s also sporting No. 43 as his previous No. 52 rendered him ineligible to catch a pass.
-QB1 Hudson Card is also H1 Hudson Card, the H being short for holder.
-Cameron Dicker will have kickoff, field goal, and punting duties. Ryan Bujcevski, the senior recovering from an ACL tear, is listed third behind Dicker and Australian freshman Isaac Pearson.
-Every starter in the secondary is a senior. The only freshman in the two-deep is JD Coffey at free safety. Jerrin Thompson finds himself as the backup free safety and STAR, or nickel. Chris Adimora is the third nickel and second boundary safety behind BJ Foster.
-D’Shawn Jamison and Roschon Johnson get the nod at the two kickoff returner spots, with Jamison in the featured role. Jamison will also return punts.
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