By Steve Habel/Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — It might be a while — maybe even as long as the first offensive snap of the Texas Longhorns’ season-opening game Sept. 4 against Notre Dame in Royal-Memorial Stadium — before fans and the media know for certain who the team’s starting quarterback will be.
But Texas head coach Charlie Strong said Saturday that the reason for the non-disclosure has little to do with who will win the job and everything to do with not allowing the Fighting Irish an easier time of preparing to face the player who will be behind center for the Longhorns. The battle for starting quarterback has come down to [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]senior Tyrone Swoopes and freshman Shane Buechele.
“We will know and the team will know (who will be the starting quarterback), but we don’t want Notre Dame to know,” Strong said. “That means we won’t tell you guys (the media) either. We want Notre Dame to have to prepare for both of our potential starting quarterbacks.”
Strong addressed the media Saturday morning after the first of two practices his team would go through. The morning session included the Longhorns’ first real scrimmage this fall.
But Strong said he and his coaching staff could take little from the results of the scrimmage because a handful of Texas’ most important offensive players missed the workout while dealing with nagging injuries and assorted bumps and bruises.
Missing the action Saturday morning were freshman starting center Zack Shackelford and D’Onta Foreman and Chris Warren III, the Longhorns’ dual hammerhead running backs, and junior wide receiver Lorenzo Joe.
“It’s hard to tell where we are and how good the quarterbacks played because they were limited by the personnel around them on the field this morning,” Strong said. “We have 22 days until we have to play Notre Dame and we want to continue to improve with each of our practices.”
Strong said that if Texas had to line up and play Notre Dame today, Shackelford, Foreman and Warren (all of whom are battling ankle injuries) would play. Joe, who is on crutches after sustaining a hamstring injury, could be out for Notre Dame and beyond.
Eight days of workouts and intense competition have developed a heightened sense of camaraderie for the Longhorns.
“We are really coming together as a team and there’s been actions are reactions amongst the players that you don’t get if you don’t like each other,” Strong said. “The competition on this team is the most heated it’s been since we’ve been here, and a lot of the older players are getting pushed by our freshmen and sophomores. And that’s a good thing.”
The Longhorns will spend the coming week finding out a little more about themselves and firming up the depth chart before turning their attention to preparing for the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish. Strong said he expects to get in one more scrimmage (likely next Saturday, Aug. 20) to put all the final pieces into place.
Other items addressed by Strong on Saturday included:
• Sophomore wide receiver DeAndre McNeal’s decision to transfer after he was suspended from the team right before the beginning of fall camp — multiple media reports have McNeal, a teammate of Texas standout linebacker Malik Jefferson at Mesquite Poteet, heading to either Texas A&M or UCLA.
• Strong said senior safety Dylan Haines made the top play of Saturday’s scrimmage when he roamed from the middle of field to intercept a pass in the end zone intended for speedster Devin Duverney after the speedy freshman broke free from coverage.
• Having Shackelford, Foreman and Warren on the sidelines allowed Jake McMillon to get additional reps with the starting offensive line at center and Kirk Johnson and Kyle Porter to carry the ball more. Strong praised each member of the trio for his work.
• Incoming freshman Erick Fowler is still not on campus or with the team while he awaits word of his eligibility from the NCAA clearinghouse.
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