Longhorns’ first day of pads leaves two ailing
AUSTIN — The crack and pop of enormous humans colliding with one another rang out across the fieldsWednesday morning at theWhitaker Sports Complex. It was the first day of full-pad practice, and Longhorns on both sides of the ball were out to leave a mark.
Junior Josh Thompson proved ready to blow up some teammates. During one drill the 6foot, 200-pound safety bulldozed a lead blocker and leveled 250pound tight end Cade Brewer.
The sequence elicited chest bumps and thunderous cheers from teammates and coaches.
“Really good day today,” coach TomHerman said. “First time in full pads so first timewe could go live. I thought the guys responded.
“Was happy with the energy, enthusiasm, physicality. Even towards the end when I could tell that most of the guys were pretty spent from a conditioning standpoint, they gave it everything they had.”
The day wasn’t without a few hitches.
Sophomore defensive back DeMarvion Overshown was spotted in a walking boot after suffering a mid-foot sprain. The team believes he should be back on the field within a few days.
Of greater concern, senior running back Kirk Johnson fell on his shoulder and is being evaluated for a potential clavicle injury. That announcement drew a noticeable grimace considering Johnson, older brother of senior wideout Collin, has had his collegiate career derailed by injury after injury.
Herman doesn’t believe the damage was too severe.
“I don’t think it’s that serious,” the third-year Texas coach said. “I stayed at my house last night, not a Holiday Inn Express, so I’m no doctor. But they didn’t have to cart him off or anything.”
Minor injuries aside, the ability to play “real” football seemed to energize the Longhorns even as temperatures soared into triple digits yet again.
“There was a lot of chirping and talking, which was good,” Herman said. “A lot of guys out there are looking to prove how tough they are, and I don’t mean prove it by talking. But you could tell guys were into the physicality of the day.”
True freshman stands out on defensive line
The addition of Huntsville defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat didn’t draw the type of rapturous reaction that accompanied the signings of, say, five-star athlete Jordan Whittington or National Gatorade Player of the Year Jake Smith.
But Sweat, who ranked outside last year’s top 600 prospects per 247Sports, has emerged as one of the most impressive Texas newcomers.
Senior defensive end Malcolm Roach likened Sweat to Jordan Elliott, a former Longhorn who transferred to Missouri following the 2016 season.
“I like what I’m seeing out of T Sweat,” Roach said. “He’s a big guy. He reminds me of Jordan Elliott, just how big he is and the way he can move. To see him moving around like that is very surprising. He’s going to be a guy who can possibly see some downs this year.”
Sweat stands 6-4 and weighs about 320 pounds, making him one of the five heaviest players on roster.
Some of that weight needs to be transformed, but the coaching staff has been impressed.
“He shows up,” coach Tom Herman said. “He’s a massive human being, but he’s got twitch. He’s got explosiveness.
“For him, it’s obviously going to be learning the system, building stamina. He’s only had eight weeks in our strength program, so he’s got to reshape some of that weight a little bit. But I think everybody’s sort of noticed him so far.”
Receivers adjust as Eagles shines
The rise of sophomorewideout Brennan Eagles has forced TomHerman and his offensive staff to make some adjustments.
Eagles has been running with the starting lineup as the Z-receiver, manning the spot held down last season by Devin Duvernay. The speedy senior has transitioned into a slot (H) receiver.
“The biggest reason for moving Devin is we’ve got some youth at H right now with Josh ( Moore) being a true sophomore and Jake ( Smith) being a true freshman,” Herman said. “So in order to get what is now our best three guys out there in the starting lineup, Brennan was in that group somoving Duvernay to the slot and Brennan has taken to the starting job pretty well.”
Eagles was the highest-ranked offensive player (No. 61 in the nation, per 247Sports) Texas signed in 2018, but he recorded just one catch for 35 yards in 11 games as a true freshman.