UT’s Jamison to play both ways this season
FRISCO — With Texas not scheduled to appear at Big 12 media days until Tuesday, the big Longhorns news Monday was the apparent move of freshman D’Shawn Jamison to receiver. Jamison, an All-America defensive back ranked No. 15 at the position per 247Sports, was listed as a wide receiver in the team’s new media guide. But coach Tom Herman on Tuesday clarified Jamison had been working with both the slot receivers and the defensive backs.
“He’s going to play both this year,” Herman said at the Ford Center. “He’s been working at both throughout the offseason. He’s been doing drills with both the slot receivers and the DBs. We certainly plan to use him on offense, but I think it’s more of a stopgap.
“And it depends; he may go light the world on fire and may say, ‘Hey coach can I stay here?’ ”
Herman said the 5-10, 180-pound Jamison could provide “some dynamism” at one of the team’s weakest positions. Texas lost Reggie Hemphill-Mapps to transfer
and Armanti Foreman, Dorian Leonard and Lorenzo Joe to graduation.
“By all accounts, he’s having a really good offseason,” Herman said.
UT play-calling ‘collaborative’
Tom Herman assumed a more active role as an offensive play-caller in Texas’ 33-17 Texas Bowl victory over Missouri. That sparked questions over whether he would retain those duties throughout the 2018 season, with offensive coor- dinator Tim Beck accepting a diminished role.
The hiring of former Auburn assistant Herb
Hand as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach only fueled that speculation. And Herman didn’t exactly issue a ringing endorsement of Beck on Tuesday, instead choosing to kick that can down the road.
“The good thing is we don’t have to make that decision right now in the middle of July,” Herman said. “We’re going to do whatever is best for the University of Texas and for our offense. I have always been very intimately involved with the play-calling on game day. There isn’t a play that’s called I don’t have veto power over.”
In conference play last season, the UT offense ranked sixth in thirddown conversion percentage, seventh in scoring offense, seventh in yards per carry, seventh in scoring offense and ninth in passing efficiency.
“The way that we handle play-calling is very collaborative,” Herman said. “What we do throughout the week is much more important than the three hours on Saturday in terms of game-planning, in terms of installation of the game plan, in terms of the knowledge and retention of our players of that game plan.
“So no decision has been made nor do I feel any sense of urgency to have to do that.”
Herman on QB: It’s up in the air
Tom Herman would like to have a starting quarterback named about one week before Texas’ Sept. 1 season opener against Maryland at FedExField, but no firm timetable has been set. Sophomore Sam Ehlinger is considered the front-runner for the Longhorns, although junior Shane Buechele is in the mix. Freshmen Cameron Rising and
Casey Thompson also will receive every opportunity to prove themselves.
“We’ll figure it out,” Herman said. “We’re going to do what’s best for the team. And if neither one of those guys separates themselves, maybe Cameron Rising or Casey Thompson jumps into the mix because you just can’t keep them off the field. But we’ll figure it out. There’s no timetable, no deadline, none of that.”