Spring game: What to watch for

Texas fans get a much-anticipated look at new coach Charlie Strong’s first Longhorns football team Saturday, but just what will they see – and should they expect – at the annual spring game?

Strong said Tuesday the game will look like a real game and not practice. Rather than divide the team into orange and white, fans should expect to see “good on good,” in Strong’s words. That likely means the first team offense against the first team defense and such. Don’t expect to see the special teams in too much action, though the kickers and punters will get work as situations dictate.

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“We’re looking forward to letting our guys get out and have a good time,” Strong said, though that doesn’t mean the coaches won’t be looking for continued progress on both offense and defense. “Well, not so much have fun because we want to score and we want to keep them from scoring…”

As is often the case, fans will have their eyes on the quarterback position, though it will be difficult to get an idea on the position as a whole, though they aren’t the only ones with a keen eye trained toward the situation. The Austin American-Statesman’s Brian Davis reported this week that quarterback remains his top concern.
Tyrone Swoopes will be the only scholarship quarterback taking snaps with David Ash out with a broken foot. Receiver Miles Onyegbule and walk-on Trey Holtz (grandson of Lou) will spell Swoopes. Heralded recruit Jerrod Heard won’t be on campus to take part in drills and conditioning until the summer, and former Southern Cal quarterback Max Wittek hasn’t announced his transfer plans though many feel he’s leaning toward Texas.

While Swoopes’ development will be the main focus, fans should also look for improved tackling and overall team efforts as signs of early progress. Tackling – or lack thereof – cost Texas dearly in losses to Brigham Young and Ole Miss early in the season, and though Greg Robinson’s move to defensive coordinator brought improvement, many feel Texas still has a long way to go. Quandre Diggs spoke earlier this spring about improving the overall toughness, which should be evident Saturday.

Earlier this spring Strong made waves when he stopped practice and made the Longhorns start anew. Then came comments that they didn’t finish an earlier scrimmage with the energy he expected.

“We’re not good enough to waste practices,” Strong told the team. “That’s not who we are and that’s not what we are about.” Expect players to go harder until the final whistle than they did at the first.

Another area to watch could be at receiver, where any number of players are looking to impress Strong and the new offensive coaches in game conditions. Marcus Johnson, Daje Johnson and Kendall Sanders all possess big play potential – in fact all three scored touchdowns on plays of longer than 50 yards last year – and will look to step into the role vacated by Mike Davis. The trio all landed on a Dallas Morning News list of Longhorns to watch this spring.

The scrimmage gets going at 1 p.m. in the stadium following fan fest, which starts at 11 a.m.
The event is free and open to the public.
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