THE JURY’S OUT
Are Longhorns back or not? With new coordinators in place, goal is Big 12 title
AUSTIN — The “Is Texas Back?” debate reached fever pitch during the Big 12 media days of July 2019.
The interview stage erected for then-junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger resembled a feeding frenzy before he even emerged inside AT&T Stadium. Away from that tangle of reporters and recording equipment, other Big 12 players situated around the room weighed in on the rising Longhorns. Everyone seemed eager to find out what was next for coach Tom Herman’s program after it upset No. 5 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to finish 10-4.
Looking back at it now, Herman admits last year was something of a letdown. Texas finished 8-5, lost four conference games, and failed to return to the Big 12 Championship Game for a rematch with Oklahoma.
That prompted Herman to recalibrate heading into year four.
He hired seven new assistant coaches, highlighted by defensive coordinator Chris Ash and offensive coordinator Mike Yurich, in an effort to reform a disappointing defense and relinquish some control on offense. And with a veteranheavy team led by Ehlinger and buoyed by a few electric underclassmen, the Longhorns expect to rebound from a down season.
Intent on playing football this fall, the Big 12 released revised team schedules featuring 10 games (one nonconference), a minimum of two open dates and a kickoff date of Sept. 12.
Texas, set to open the season at Royal-Memorial Stadium against UTEP, was thankful to know its league was forging ahead amid the COVID-19 pandemic after the Big Ten, Pac-12 and several non-Power Five conferences postponed all fall sports with plans to play in the spring. The Longhorns were also grateful to have at least some input, with Ehlinger and junior safety Caden Sterns serving as team representatives in talks with the Big 12 and commissioner Bob Bowlsby.
“It’s been good that the Big 12 has allowed us to be involved in the process, because there is obviously a lot of uncertainty,” Sterns said. “And for us to get some sort of an answer, that helps ease our minds. We want to play, so to have that schedule, and to see the structure of what it’s going to look like, is relieving for us as players.”
Sterns, a junior, will be one of the most vital components of Ash’s 4-3 defense. The 2018 Big 12 defensive freshman of the year slogged through an injury-filled 2019 season, like seemingly every other key defensive back, as Texas finished No. 97 in total defense and No. 127 in pass defense. But Sterns and the other veterans in the secondary — senior Chris Brown and juniors Jalen Green, D’Shawn Jamison, Josh Thompson and B.J. Foster — are all healthy and ready to anchor a unit that couldn’t get out of its own way in 2019.
“I do know we like those three guys,” Herman said of Green, Jamison and Thompson. “We’ve got some young talent behind them in Kenyatta
Watson and freshman Kitan Crawford, so we feel good about that position. And with Chris Adimora sliding down to play nickel for us, we feel good.”
The other defensive X factor will be junior jack Joseph Ossai, the breakout star of the Longhorns’ season-ending Alamo Bowl rout of Utah. The 6-4, 253-pound defensive end/ linebacker hybrid will carry into the season all sorts of hype as a major disruptor.
While Ash has worked for months to overhaul the defense, the offense hasn’t changed much.
Texas will still go as far as Ehlinger can carry it. And this year he’ll have to find a way to do it without wideouts Devin
Duvernay and Collin Johnson after both were drafted into the NFL.
Even with that duo gone, there’s a reasonable expectation the Longhorns could be just as explosive this year. Ehlinger has weapons to air it out to in Michigan graduate transfer Tarik Black, junior Brennan Eagles and second-year slot receivers Jake Smith and Jordan Whittington, plus a stable of tailbacks (Keaontay Ingram, Roschon Johnson, Bijan Robinson) with soft hands.
“I think any time you have a player like Sam Ehlinger coming back, that’s an advantage,” Herman said. “He’s everything that’s advertised and more.”
Texas also boasts one of the nation’s top left tackle prospects in redshirt junior Sam Cosmi, who will form the foundation of the line alongside senior center Zach Shackelford and third-year guard Junior Angilau.
Not that talent has ever been an issue for UT, even throughout a down decade. The Longhorns have compiled three straight top-10 recruiting classes, setting the bedrock for a hopeful revival.
Of course, no one knows whether this college football season can be played to its conclusion, assuming it starts as planned. Regardless, Herman, Ehlinger and the rest will continue their preparation for a run at a conference title.
“They’re gonna hand out a Big 12 championship trophy at the end of the season as it’s currently scheduled,” Herman said. “We understand that the Big 12’s decision certainly isn’t final until we kick the ball off on Sept. 12. But our guys are excited and very hopeful.”