A to Z Sports

Sizing up the Texas Longhorns at the seven most important positions in football

By Brian Davis,

1 day ago

Most casual football fans look at the entire two-deep roster and try to glean whether This Is The Year for their favorite team or not. In reality, you don’t need to analyze the entire starting 22. Seven key positions tell the tale.

Anyone can judge whether a team has a chance just by measuring the quarterback, running back, receiver, left tackle, rush defensive end, cornerback and kicker.

Go back and look at most NFL Drafts over time, and you’ll see those positions, save for kicker, usually dominate the first round. If a college coach assembled five-star studs at those positions, you can believe that everything else will fall into place.

So how do the Texas Longhorns look at those seven positions going into the 2024 season and their first year in the SEC?

It should be noted these are not ranked in any particular order. Quarterback is not more important than defensive end, per se, although most would see it that way. All seven are equally important for the health of the overall machine.

Quarterback — Quinn Ewers is the man

Quinn Ewers enters the 2024 season as a Heisman Trophy contender and one of the preeminent faces of college football. He ranked 12th nationally last season in yards per game (289.9) and threw 22 touchdowns as Texas stressed a balanced offensive attack.

Sure, a lot of fans want to see backup Arch Manning, and coach Steve Sarkisian has said that he wants to get the redshirt freshman some experience. But this is Ewers’ team, and he’ll get every chance to lead the Horns during the SEC schedule. Most expect Ewers to head to the NFL after this season.

Remember, it wasn’t that long ago Texas was plodding along with marginal quarterback options while the team languished in multiple Alamo Bowls. Sam Ehlinger lifted the program out of the muck, but it was Ewers who turbo-charged the drive back to being a conference champion.

Running back — Depth questions are a real problem

Back in July, this was considered a real team strength. CJ Baxter was the returning starter, and Jaydon Blue made for a terrific backup. But Baxter suffered torn knee ligaments during training camp. Then, freshman Christian Clark tore his Achilles. Suddenly, depth is thin.

In no way should this diminish what Blue can do. The Athletic labeled Blue the team's most important player for 2024, considering Baxter's injury. The third-year player has appeared in 23 games. Last season, he rushed for 398 yards and three touchdowns and caught 14 balls for 135 yards and scored once. The Houston native will be a solid contributor.

The Horns also have sophomore Quintrevion Wisner, who played on special teams last year as a freshman. Freshmen Jerrick Gibson, Reid Watkins and Nik Sanders all came in with respectable high school credentials.

But the coaching staff dipped into the portal and added Kansas and SMU transfer Velton Gardner last week. It’s as close to an NFL-style, off-the-street free agent signing as you can get in college.

How will all this work out in the backfield? Time will tell.

Receiver — At least a half-dozen Longhorns

At least the Horns have a ton of options out wide for Ewers. Where to start? NFL scouts are looking hard at Alabama transfer Isaiah Bond, who started 12 games for the Crimson Tide and had 65 catches for 888 yards and five touchdowns the last two seasons. He’ll be a prime target.

Everyone has goo-goo eyes for Oregon State transfer Silas Bolden , a 5-foot-8 lightning bolt. Houston transfer Matthew Golden hasn’t been as talked about as much this August, but he’s another one who should get plenty of targets.

Johntay Cook II is the sophomore with the Beats by Dre headphones deal. You’ll be hearing about him plenty this season. Ryan Niblett has impressed Sarkisian, and Ryan Wingo seems like a freshman who will get chances aplenty.

If Sarkisian is confident enough that Texas could rotate three receivers at a time with little drop-off, he must like the group wholeheartedly.

Left tackle — Kelvin Banks is a future NFL starter

You could make another strong argument that Kelvin Banks Jr. is the most important player on the Longhorns’ roster. Doubt you’ll get much pushback. Banks arrived at UT as a tailor-made starter, and he’s never disappointed.

Banks has played in and started 27 games and appears on the Outland and Lombardi Award watch lists. Last season, he was a second-team All-American as Texas averaged 477.5 yards per game, the third-highest total in the Big 12.

Now, Banks is going to face a better class of edge rushers in the SEC. Four of last five starters return this season, so it’s a veteran group overall. The Longhorns’ season goal is to win the Joe Moore Award for the nation’s best offensive line.

Rush defensive end — Barryn Sorrell aims for double-digit sacks

Pro Football Focus determined that Texas still has one of the nation’s top-10 defensive line units even having lost tackles T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy to the NFL. Barryn Sorrell is a huge reason why.

Sorrell was a breakout star in 2022 with 5.5 sacks. The fourth-year player started all last season and had 37 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. His stated goal this spring? “I want to have double digit sacks,” Sorrell told reporters.

Sorrell doesn’t have to do it alone, though. Ethan Burke was something of an out-of-nowhere breakout star last season. The Westlake product had 41 tackles and a team-high 5.5 sacks, earning his way to honorable All-Big 12 status. Justice Finkley is another player with a ton of experience (26 games) under his belt.

The Longhorns may not have SEC household names at this spot. But they’ve got names that Texas fans sure know.

Cornerback — Transfer Jay’Vion Cole makes impact

Last season’s Big 12 champions had one real trouble spot — pass defense. The Longhorns were 12th in the 14-team Big 12 after allowing 254.4 yards per game. Sarkisian made pass defense a huge focal point this offseason.

Sarkisian started by dipping into the transfer portal to land San Jose State transfer Jay’Vion Cole, who was honorable mention All-Mountain West last season. His 10 pass break-ups was second-most in the league and 14th-most in the nation. He also had 38 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery.

Gavin Holmes, who transferred from Wake Forest in 2023, started twice for Texas last season and finished with 16 tackles. Malik Muhammad also started two games last season and had one interception four pass break-ups and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.

The one addition that’s really going to help the corners is Clemson safety transfer Andrew Mukuba. He tallied 149 tackles, 20 pass break-ups and two fumble recoveries in 35 games from 2021-23. He’s an Austin native returning home looking to make a big splash in front of family and friends.

Kicker — Trust in Bert Auburn

It’s always mind-boggling how coaches dismiss the important of special teams, including the pivotal role of the kicker. The kicker usually leads the team in points scored and can bail out the offense tight spots.

Bert Auburn is as dependable as it gets with college kickers. He was an honorable-mention All-American last season after setting a new school record with 19 made field goals. He set a new season record with field goals made (29) and attempted (35). His 143 points was the third-most ever for an individual player and most by a kicker.

Sarkisian will have no problem sending Auburn into the fray whenever Texas crosses midfield.