By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has faced Oklahoma quarterbacks the past two years who won the Heisman Trophy and were eventually the top picks in the NFL draft. But the No. 11 Longhorns may have an even tougher challenge Saturday when they square off against the sixth-ranked Sooners in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
That’s because [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]OU’s current signalcaller, Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts, brings a different set of, and harder to defend, talents to the field than either Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray, the two Sooners’ quarterbacks currently leading the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals, respectively, at the highest level of the game.
Hurts runs by design, which makes him different from Mayfield (who ran only when he had to) and Murray (who hated “called” runs but killed opponents with scrambles). Texas coach Tom Herman said Monday that Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, who also is the Sooners’ offensive coordinator, calls running plays for Hurts about 30 percent of the time.
“Jalen Hurts is a different animal back there in terms of the style of run game,” Herman said. “Obviously, Kyler Murray is a dynamic, dynamic runner but was used a bit differently. (I have) a ton of respect for how adaptable that offense kind of evolves over the years based on personnel.
“We will burning the midnight oil, trying to figure out a way to score some points and hopefully hold Oklahoma to something reasonable with that offense they have.”
Herman added that the Sooners’ collection of offensive talent has cleared the way for Hurts to average 8.8 yards per carry this season as Oklahoma’s leading rusher.
“You have to cover (wide receivers) CeeDee Lamb, Charleston Rambo, Theo Wease and all those guys,” Herman said of the Sooners’ pass-catching weapons. “Hurts’s scrambles are probably when you see him get the most open because once you do realize it’s pass, you better go cover those guys, and that leaves some pretty big voids in the field.”
The Longhorns will be helped by the supposed return of safety DeMarvion Overshown after he missed three games with an infection in his back. Herman also said safety Chris Brown was practicing and would be ready to go after suffering a bruised thigh in the win over West Virginia.
Having those two players in the mix, along with safety B.J. Foster, who returned against the Mountaineers after missing two games, would allow the Longhorns to unleash its eight-defensive back “Cowboy” package some versus the Sooners.
“We’ll probably be one-deep in that ‘Cowboy,’ and if somebody goes down, probably not be able to play it much,” Herman said.
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