Jefferson moves outside; Buechele emerging at QB
AUSTIN — Maybe the hype got to Malik Jefferson. Maybe the expectations weighed too heavily on the All-America linebacker from Mesquite Poteet High School. Perhaps, as Jefferson himself admitted last season, it was hubris that felled him.
Texas coach Tom Herman and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando believe Jefferson just needed a different point of view.
As part of several switches made to the Longhorns’ defense, the former No. 1-rated outside linebacker in the country will move back to his natural position. Breckyn
Hager, who led UT with 65 tackles in 2016, now will play the “mike” position in Orlando’s 3-4 defense.
And how has Jefferson responded to this change?
“He likes it, I know that,” Herman said. “He is adjusting daily to the expectations of him playing with lower pad level, playing more aggressive, playing more physical — and he wants to.”
The prevailing theme at Texas’ spring practices has been physicality. Names, statistics and former honors matter little to this new regime. Orlando may have even taken a veiled shot at Jefferson earlier this spring when he insisted Texas would not enter the season with a “soft middle linebacker.”
“That position should be the quarterback of the defense,” said Orlando, who also serves as the team’s linebackers coach. “He should be the toughest guy, everybody should respect him. He should go extremely hard all the time and be vocal. So that’s kind of the prerequisite that you look for when you’re trying to fill that spot.”
With Texas’ spring game rapidly approaching, Herman appears pleased with Jefferson’s development and demeanor.
“It’s a learned habit, it’s going to take a while, but I’ve seen it done many times before,” Herman said. “Playing with low pad level and playing not tentative, and not thinking. The good thing is the want-to is there. So I see him getting better every day. I don’t know where he was at last year, but I like where he’s at now.”
Buechele becoming more of a leader
Texas offensive coordinator Tim Beck believes early enrollee Sam Ehlinger is still adjusting to the quickened pace of the college game.
That has allowed sophomore Shane Buechele to emerge as the leader in this two-man quarterback competition.
“I think (Buechele) sees things faster,” Beck said. “I think defensively, there’s a lot of movement, a lot of things that are happening so he’s able to adapt quicker. He’s able to see it, he understands and knows where the hole might be, where he needs to go with the ball faster than Sam does.”
Beck also sees Buechele taking a more proactive role within the team, emerging as a leader after mostly allowing the upperclassmen to fill that role last season.
“He’s growing in that area certainly,” Beck said. “I expect that of him, I do. I think coach
(Tom) Herman expects that of him. I think he’s learning, he’s growing into that. Sometimes it’s very hard to lead when you’re overwhelmed.”
Herman issues a challenge
Coach Tom Herman thinks he has a pretty good batch of wide receivers.
“It’s nice to be able to roll six, seven guys in there and not feel like there’s a massive drop-off,” the coach said.
But with Herman praise is fleeting. After the Longhorns’ most recent practice, he issued a demand.
“That whole position group’s got to get tougher,” Herman said. “Really talented, but really not physically tough. And this is coming from a guy that coached wideouts for five years, so I kind of know the stereotypical personality of a wide receiver and it’s not very conducive to our culture. Coach (Drew)
Mehringer is getting that out of them slowly but surely.” Former UT quarterback
Colt McCoy stood on the sideline during Tuesday’s practice, “oohing and awing” at the route-running ability of these young receivers.
“I asked Colt, it was funny — because it had just slipped my mind — I said, ‘Did you ever know, or be around, some really tough wideouts?’ He said, ‘Oh yeah, Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley. Those were some bad dudes.’ ”
Cosby and Shipley caught a combined 460 balls for 5,789 yards and 52 touchdowns in burnt orange.
“So my challenge to our wideouts right now,” Herman said, “is go be as tough as Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley.”
Odds and ends
Tight end Andrew Beck reinjured his foot. … Peyton Aucoin suffered a shoulder injury. … Freshman Reese Leito’s status remains in limbo since being arrested at Jenks High School in Oklahoma for possession and delivery of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a school. … Kendall
Moore has transferred from Syracuse and will be available to play out his fifth and final season of eligibility with the Longhorns after receiving a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA. Moore caught 14 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns in 12 career games with the Orange. …
Fort Worth Eastern Hills outside linebacker Byron Hobbs on Friday announced his commitment to Texas. The 6-3, 204-pound linebacker had also received offers from Texas A&M, Baylor, Houston, Nebraska and Arkansas. He is the Longhorns’ first defensive commitment from the 2018 class. A threestar project according to the 247Sports composite rankings, Hobbs is currently the No. 24 outside linebacker in the country and the No. 44 overall prospect in the state.