Texas vs. Alabama: Six Longhorns to watch
For Texas to pull off the upset versus Alabama on Saturday, 100 people on the UT sideline and in the coaches booth are going to need to show up and do their job, not five or six. However, these are players I believe need to play very well for Texas to have a chance at pulling the upset.
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It’s a little scary, because this list is dominated by youth, albeit extremely talented youth, while Alabama’s roster is populated by experience at most positions, including a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, a Nagurski Trophy winning Edge, and generally the most overall talented roster in the country.
This early in the season they are not an unbeatable team and there’s a path for Texas to keep this game competitive into the 4th quarter. If Texas does keep it close, these players will have had good games, and so too will known stars Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy.
[Worth your time: This article from the Alabama perspective]
No. 1 Quinn Ewers, QB
It’s going to be up to Steve Sarkisian to use the information he gathered on his freshman quarterback in Week 1 to construct a game plan Quinn Ewers is comfortable with. Then it will be up to Ewers to execute that plan to the best of his considerable ability. He won’t have to play out of his mind, necessarily, but that’s dependent on Sark devising the proper plan. Alabama has the seasoned personnel in the back end to confuse the young quarterback while also possessing elite athletes up front to reduce his time to get through progressions.
If left unblocked, Bama’s edge athletes can also blow up plays like this before they start:
I don’t care how talented a quarterback is, this game is a very difficult task. A win in these circumstances is typically only pulled off by a young QB if his team has decided talent and experience advantages elsewhere.
Ewers doesn’t have that, but he does have weapons and arm talent. Hit a big shot to Worthy and things might start to fall into place for the offense.
No. 2 Kelvin Banks, LT
Banks is going to be the most talented offensive lineman on the field, but like Ewers, he’ll be making his second career start and he’ll be going directly against Will Anderson, the best defensive player in college football.
When not going one on one with Anderson, Banks will face either Dallas Turner or Chris Braswell. These are all first round draft picks, or maybe second in the case of Braswell. There will be no time for Banks to catch his breath.
While devising a game plan that protects Ewers, Sark will have to do the same for his young offensive tackle. The ball is going to need to come out quick, but Banks can help himself by earning his share of victories in the run game.
To add, pretty much everything that goes for Banks goes for veteran right tackle Christian Jones.
No. 3 Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE
Sanders has the chance to serve as a schematic force multiplier. A weapon like him in Sark’s hands gives UT a chance to neutralize Bama’s advantages on the edges. Neutralize might be too optimistic, but you understand the sentiment. Sanders is not a finished product as a blocker, but he’s big, plays with good intent, and most importantly, has to be accounted for as a receiver. He’s an easy guy to slip into space quickly and feed the ball. On top of that, he can motion out to help lighten the box for the run game. His biggest role for the entire game may be as a help blocker to buy time for Ewers to locate targets down the field.
Sark will have to figure out ways to slow down the pass rush and Sanders should be able assist in a couple of different ways, including the ability to effectively use tempo — at least in theory.
No. 4 DeMarvion Overshown, LB
Should he bring back No. 31 to duel with Anderson? Nah, No. 0 looked good on him last Saturday. Whether it was the lesser competition, his improved comfort within the defense, or a combination of both, Overshown was the most confident, decisive, and physical we’ve seen him. Like everyone else on this list, he’s faced with multiple challenges. In his case, he needs to chase elite athletes like Jahmyr Gibbs in space, and provide a pass rush from different alignments. He may even be called to spy Bryce Young who just had a breakout game with his legs. Young hasn’t been much of a running threat in his career but high school tape demonstrated good athleticism and his point guard background.
No. 5 Jaylon Guilbeau/Jahdae Barron, Star
Guilbeau, a true freshman, registered much more on the field than he did the box score. He was in the backfield, helped force an errant throw on the pick-six to D’Shawn Jamison, and generally showed good field awareness and closing speed. We expect he’ll start but Barron is perhaps the best cover man on the team. The reason Texas defensive coaches have two former corners at Star is precisely for games like this. Alabama true freshman slot receiver Kobe Prentice is a potential game breaker who can’t be covered by a nickel who profiles to safety over corner.
Others receiving votes: Barryn Sorrell, Jake Majors, Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey, Byron Murphy, Ryan Watts
