‘Horns will rely heavily on youth at Notre Dame

By Steve Habel/Senior Editor

The Texas Longhorns will rely heavily on players recruited by second-year coach Charlie Strong when they open their season Saturday at 11th-ranked Notre Dame, including seven who never have taken a snap in a college game.

Talk about baptism under fire. (Continue reading below.)

(Continued from above.) The Longhorns’ first two-deep depth chart lists five true freshmen (WR John Burt, OT Connor Williams, RG Patrick Vahe, MLB Malik Jefferson and punter Michael Dickson) and two redshirt freshmen (WLB Edwin Freeman and CB John Bonney) as starters. Four other starters — WR Armanti Foreman, TE Andrew Beck, DT Poona Ford and FS Jason Hall — are sophomores who played as true freshman last season.

That’s 11 spots out of the 24 [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]starters (including place kicker and punter) that will be manned by Strong’s recruits.

The depth chart lists seven players on offense and nine on defense (including four linebackers) that are either true or redshirt freshmen, and there are five sophomores on the list.

“This is strong and confident group of freshmen and you feel comfortable playing them, just because of the way they’ve worked,” Strong said Monday at the first game-week press conference of the season. “Sometimes a young guy comes in and just does what he’s told without questioning things like an older player would. These young guys have gone all out.”

The question is not about the talent level or desire of the Longhorns’ young players. It’s about their ability to handle adversity and big-game situations right out of the chute — that’s a lot to ask from players with little to no experience on such a large stage.

“When you sign on at Texas, it’s to play in big games,” Strong explained. “This is a confident group of guys who really believe in themselves. Adversity is going to hit us — we know that. We just have to stay together as a group.”

Strong reaffirmed that junior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes would start against Notre Dame and that backup Jerrod Heard also would see playing time.

Swoopes will direct the Longhorns’ new spread attack, but he said there is not much change in the plays from last season. It’s just the pace that will be different.

“I don’t feel like we’ve added a lot or made big changes to the offense,” Swoopes said. “Everything just moves a lot faster. I feel like it’s my team.”

Strong said Swoopes has taken charge in the offseason, with much of the focus on his leadership.

“The guy who wins (the quarterback) position has to win over the team,” Strong said. “Swoopes has won over the team.”

Worth noting:

• Senior linebacker Dalton Santos is not listed on the depth chart as he works his way back from an ankle injury.

• Strong confirmed that the team will not have a walk-through Friday at Notre Dame Stadium, meaning the first time the players will be able to take in the atmosphere of one of college football’s most hallowed grounds will be in pregame warmups.

• Caleb Bluiett has moved from defensive end to tight end because of injuries on the offensive side of the ball. Strong said Bluiett could get snaps on both offense and defense if needed.

• WR Daje Johnson and RB Johnathan Gray are listed as the team’s kickoff returners. Johnson and CB Duke Thomas will return punts.

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