What's the next step in Texas preseason camp?
According to coach Steve Sarkisian, the Saturday scrimmage, the first of Texas preseason camp, did little to separate the two quarterbacks vying for the starting role.
Neither Casey Thompson nor Hudson Card played well enough in the eyes of the coach.
Yet it wasn’t just the QBs that struggled. It was nearly the entire offense.
The offensive line specifically looked porous in pass protection. The wide receiver group, with Josh Moore and Kelvontay Dixon sidelined due to injury, is painfully thin after Jordan Whittington and freshman Xavier Worthy.
Poor protection and a receiver group that struggles to get separation will make for a long day for any quarterback.
Some noted high points from observers:
– Keilan Robinson, the transfer running back from Alabama, is going to be a factor for this offense. He’s talented, fast and tough.
– The defensive front was raved about again and again. Is that a byproduct of poor OL play? “I’d put our D-line up against anybody’s. They can come at you in waves,” one source said.
– Luke Brockermeyer’s interception of Casey Thompson was a textbook example of why the former walk-on linebacker is set to play heavy minutes for the Longhorns this season. He was in the right place at the right time, which has been a consistent character trait this pre-season.
– Card led the offense’s most impressive drive of the day.
– Freshman running back Jonathan Brooks also raised some eyebrows with his ability, both between the tackles and on the outside.
Given neither quarterback separated himself from the other during the first scrimmage of Texas preseason camp, what’s next for Sarkisian and the Longhorns?
More practice. And more hope that one of the two remove all doubt in the next week or so, so the Horns can begin game prep for Louisiana with a QB starter named.
Cover photo by Will Gallagher for Inside Texas
