Key offensive Longhorns through the first 4 weeks

By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — Before the football season began, Horns Illustrated outlined a Texas Six-Pack of somewhat under-the-radar players who we thought would make an impact for the Longhorns in 2019.

On the offensive side of the ball, we picked out tight end Cade Brewer, who has produced five catches, one of them for a touchdown against Oklahoma State, and 43 total yards receiving, and Devin Duvernay, who leads the nation with 39 catches in four games and has scored four touchdowns while becoming the team’s go-to receiver out of the slot.

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In a nod to the special teams, we highlighted kicker Cameron Dicker, who has converted four of five field goals, including a 57-yarder against Rice in Week 2 that was the longest field goal for Texas in 35 years.

I think we deserve an “A” for our choices, which were made before seeing one snap of action this season.

So, with the change to fall, we have chosen six other Texas players who didn’t enter the season as stars but quickly have established themselves as key components to the Longhorns’ 3-1 beginning.

Today, we focus on the offense:

Brennan Eagles — sophomore wide receiver

Texas coach Tom Herman and offensive coordinator Tim Beck talked a lot about Eagles’ potential in the preseason and even moved Duvernay to the slot to make sure Eagles, Duvernay and Collin Johnson all could be on the field at the same time.

As Duvernay has flourished out of the slot, Eagles has stretched the field from the “Z” wide receiver spot, hauling in 10 passes, four of them for scores, and 276 yards, producing a team-high 27.6 yards per catch.
One of the highlights of the year was Eagles’ 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the Longhorns’ win over Oklahoma State. That came a week after he snagged a 55-yard scoring pass against Rice.

Once the Longhorns get Johnson back from an injured hamstring, Texas will continue to the final eight games of the regular season with three of the best receivers in the nation — and that’s a good thing.

Roschon Johnson — freshman quarterback/running back

Johnson began the preseason as the Longhorns’ No. 3 signal caller, but was pressed into service at running back

when injuries ground away the team’s depth at the position. Johnson has been remarkable in his pinch-hitting role — he now is Texas’ No. 2 running back on the depth chart — running for 147 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries (an average of 4.3 yards per carry) and catching nine passes for 76 yards and another score.

Although Johnson still is considered a quarterback playing out of position, his commitment to do anything to help the team says a lot about him and the culture Herman and his staff have built on the 40 Acres.

“Any chance Roschon gets, he’s putting in the extra work with film sessions, asking questions, everything else,” Herman said. “He’s real mature about the situation, so I feel like we’ve got the right guy in the room.”

Samuel Cosmi — sophomore offensive tackle

It would be difficult to find anyone who has improved more than Cosmi from one year to the next, and the 6-foot-7, 300-pound left tackle leads a Texas offensive front that has gelled more quickly than expected.

“One of the things we do always (in the) fourth quarter is we all look at each other and say ‘we love you,’” Cosmi said after the win over Oklahoma State. “That kind of gives us that united front and pride knowing I got this guy right next to me, that I have to count on him to do the same and put just as much effort as I am.”

Cosmi, who was voted a freshman All-America last year while playing right tackle, now has started in 17 games for the Longhorns over the past two seasons. He said the line was well prepared for the rigors of the season by practicing against the Texas offense in the preseason.

“We went through every aspect you can think of when it came to blitzes and stuff like that and checks and all that,” Cosmi said. “We go through everything.”

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