Trio of Longhorn DBs gain comfort at safety during spring
Three Texas players vying for playing time at one of the two traditional deep safety positions were not recruited as safeties. In fact, they weren’t even practicing at the position until this most recent stretch of 15 practices for the Texas Longhorns.
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Anthony Cook, a former top 75 prospect from Houston (Texas) Lamar, originally signed with Texas to play cornerback and spent two years there before moving to the nickel position. Tyler (Texas) Tyler High’s Kitan Crawford was one of two corners in the Longhorns’ 2020 class. Morice Blackwell signed with UT out of Arlington (Texas) Martin with intentions on playing linebacker.
All three made the move to safety throughout the course of the spring, whether prior to Texas’ 15 spring practices or in the midst of them. Near the end of the spring after practice No. 14, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian praised the work of Cook, Crawford, Blackwell, and the rest of the safety group.
“I thought today was maybe their best day back there from a communication standpoint, being on the same page, and confidence making the calls and doing it collectively together,” Sarkisian said on April 21.
A good practice No. 14 led into a solid performance at the spring game from that group.
Cook recorded an interception versus Quinn Ewers, reading the former Five-Star Plus+ quarterback before hauling in the interception.
“I read the quarterback’s eyes, then he blessed me with that throw right there,” Cook said Saturday.
Blackwell delivered several big hits, including one to star wideout Xavier Worthy. Crawford showcased an ability to read and react in a tackle of Keilan Robinson. They had a few misses, including sharing responsibility for both explosive touchdown plays, but still showed signs of improvement at their new spots.
That trio moved Blake Gideon’s position room due to several departures from the 2021 Longhorns. Brenden Schooler, a seven-game starter at safety, exhausted his eligibility. Tyler Owens, Marques Caldwell, BJ Foster, and Chris Adimora all entered the transfer portal.
There were some holdovers from last year’s team at safety, including Jerrin Thompson, who played in all 12 games with six starts, and JD Coffey, who appeared in six games.
Thompson made a handful of plays on Saturday, including one where he stripped Ja’Tavion Sanders of the ball near the goal line. While Sanders’ forward progress may have been stopped, his effort had not, and Thompson simply took the ball from him.
Coffey was held out and had a brace on his right knee. This meant the bulk of snaps at safety fell to Thompson and the converted trio of Cook, Blackwell, and Crawford.
“All the guys who switched to the safety position have been doing good,” Cook said. “It’s all new for a lot of guys in the safety room, and I feel like they’ve improved and learned a lot.”
So much so that Cook and Crawford are vying to be the top two at safety, with Cook at the boundary safety spot and Crawford aligned to the field. Blackwell is right behind Cook on the depth chart. Crawford is competing with Thompson and Coffey.
Cook has gained more comfort at his new role, even though he may lack the experience of his position mates.
“When I first started playing safety this spring, I was a bit nervous because it was so new to me,” Cook said. “But then, after getting coached up by coach Gideon, coach (Terry Joseph), it kind of happened naturally for me.”
Safety was not a position of strength for the Longhorns in 2021, one of several areas on the Texas defense that could stand to see some improvement ahead of the 2022 season. From the position, Schooler and Foster were the leading tacklers with 50 and 46, respectively. In addition, Foster led the Longhorns with three interceptions. No other safety picked off a pass last year.
Relying on three newcomers to the position to improve it from the previous season’s output may have its inherent risks. But Cook believes that the entire room, not just the three who switched spots on the roster, made strides during Texas’ spring practices along with the rest of the team.
“As a whole, I feel like we really improved our team,” Cook said. “I feel like we took another step forward.”
