With Fall Camp at End, Texas Looks Forward to North Texas Game Week

 

Habe on the Horns

By Steve Habel

Texas coach Charlie Strong walked to the podium Thursday in the Multipurpose Room of the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Center to meet with the media for the final time before getting down to the business of playing another team.

Strong, nine days before sending his Longhorns to the field against North Texas, already had his game face on.

During the 20-minute news conference he never cracked a smile while answering a handful of questions and telling the assembled press corps that his team still had a few questions to be answered before the lights go on for real on Aug. 30.

“We have a week to go still but we’ll start game planning and just see where we are with North Texas,” Strong said. We haven’t had a chance to look at them, but when we go out to do the mock scrimmage on Saturday it’ll be a lot of the plays that North Texas does.”

Strong basically gave the press his list of the players that will run out on the field with the first-team next Saturday.

Beginning with the defense: Shiro Davis and [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]Cedric Reed at the defensive ends, Desmond “Tank” Jackson and Malcom Brown at defensive tackle, Peter Jinkens, Steve Edmond and Jordan Hicks at linebacker, Duke Thomas and Quandre Diggs at cornerback and Mykkele Thompson at safety.

The only question mark was the other safety, as walk-on Dakota Haines and freshman Jason Hall are still working to be the starter.

The offense is a little more unsettled. The starting offensive line looks like this: Kennedy Estelle at left tackle, Sedrick Flowers at left guard, Dominic Espinosa at center, Kent Perkins at right guard and either Marcus Hutchins or Darius James at right tackle.

Desmond Harrison, who will miss at least one game for a violation of team rules, is expected to assume the right tackle spot once he is re-instated.

David Ash will be the starter at quarterback, with Tyrone Swoopes the No. 2 guy. Marcus Johnson will be at one receiver, and Jaxon Shipley will man the slot back spot once he’s healthy (he is still not in the practice rotation after pulling a hamstring in the first week of fall camp.

Either Malcolm Brown or Johnathan Gray will get the start at running back and be virtually interchangeable throughout the season.

Strong didn’t mention the starting tight end or the other wideout, so the battles are still being waged for those spots.

Strong said he thinks his team is ready to go play a game.

“We’re here looking at late August and we need to get ready for the game coming in another week,” he said. “I think it’s all coming together. They understand and they know the direction in which we’d like this team to go.

“The players, they get it now,” Strong added. “Now it’s all about not being complacent and being able to grow and develop and get better. I think they’re sensing it now. You can just tell.”

It won’t be long before we see just how far Strong and his staff have brought the Longhorns. After one of the longest offseasons in recent memory, that first snap can’t get here soon enough.

Just sayin’, ya know?

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