By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas – As the anticipation continues to build toward 7 p.m. Saturday when Texas hosts Louisiana Tech at Royal-Memorial Stadium in Austin, we look in on four players to watch and one key matchup before the game kicks off.

The Bulldogs are a good team that’s played in, and won, bowl games the past five seasons, and will pose a challenge for the Longhorns, who are looking to win their first season-opening contest in the Tom Herman era.

Here’s some of the players and scenarios Horns Illustrated will be keeping a close eye on during the matchup, which is the first-ever meeting between the two teams:

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PLAYERS TO WATCH

QB ♦ Sam Ehlinger

The junior has become the unquestioned leader of the Longhorns’ offense. Ehlinger threw for 3,292 yards, fifth-best in Texas history, and 25 touchdowns last year. He also rushed for 482 yards and 16 scores, setting the school record for most rushing TDs by a quarterback. Ehlinger’s 41 touchdowns accounted for in 2018 were second-most in school history, trailing only Colt McCoy with 45 in 2008. Ehlinger threw just five interceptions, and attempted a school- and Big 12-record 308 consecutive passes without an interception in between picks in the season opener at Maryland and the regular season finale at Kansas.

WR ♦ Collin Johnson

The Longhorns’ top ball-catching threat, Johnson set a Big 12 Championship Game record with 177 receiving yards against Oklahoma last season, and finished 2018 with 68 catches for 985 yards and seven touchdowns, a year after having 54 catches for 765 yards and two TDs. Now a senior, Johnson has a reception in 27 straight games played, tied for the fifth-longest streak in school history. For his career, Johnson has 150 receptions (ninth in school history) for 2,065 yards (ninth in school history) and 12 touchdowns. Johnson is the huge, intermediate target that the Texas needs to help open up the offense because the 6-foot-6 receiver can go over or through most of the defensive backs that are covering him.

S ♦ Caden Sterns

The now-sophomore was named the Big 12 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2018. Sterns started all 13 games in which he played (missing only the Sugar Bowl due to injury), becoming the first Texas true freshman defensive back since Blake Gideon (13 starts) in 2008 to start the first 13 games of his career. He had 62 tackles (three TFL), four interceptions, four pass breakups and a blocked FG in 2018. Sterns was the first true freshman at Texas with two interceptions in a game since DeShon Elliott (2015) and just the third ever (Chris Carter, 1993). An ankle injury suffered during the Longhorns’ first scrimmage of the preseason limited Sterns during camp, but he’s been cleared to play and is expected to start Saturday.

DE ♦ Malcolm Roach

Roach started the first three games of 2018 against Maryland, Tulsa and USC before a foot injury sidelined him for five games. He made his return against West Virginia and finished the season strong with at least four tackles in each of the last three games against Kansas, Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game, and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Prior to last season, Roach played in all 25 games (13 in 2017/12 in 2016) with a total of eight starts (three in 2017/five in 2016). The senior veteran Roach, who packs 290 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame, can be like a runaway freight train coming off the edge and his play, and continued health, will be a key aspect for the Longhorns this season.

Key matchup

The Texas offensive line versus the Louisiana Tech front six. The Longhorns want to run the ball to take some of the pressure off of Ehlinger, but will be challenged to do so because of injuries to the running back spot in camp. Solid play from an offensive line that had to replace three starters will be the key from the unit that might be the most inexperienced on the team. Senior center Zach Shackelford and sophomore Samuel Cosmi are back from last year to lead the way. Though the team is replacing some outgoing veterans there is some experience joining them in  junior Derek Kerstetter, who had five starts a season ago, and junior Denzel Okafor, who missed most of last year but started four games two years ago, and senior transfer Parker Braun will get some solid playing time after transferring in from Georgia Tech. Redshirt freshman Junior Angilau is listed atop the depth chart along with Braun in the starting left guard spot.

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