By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — There are plenty of key players who will make a difference in the success of the Texas football this season. Everyone knows and expects big performances from the bellcows of the 10th-ranked Longhorns, beginning with junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger, sophomore safety Caden Sterns, senior wide receiver Collin Johnson and senior defensive end Malcolm Roach.

To get to pieces that will help boost the Longhorns up even more, we’re looking past that lead group to identify players Texas will need to step up and out of the shadows. We’re bringing those faces to the forefront as our preseason “Texas Six-Pack,” with two players on offense, three on defense and a specialist.

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This first of our two features highlights our breakout players on offense and special teams.

Horns Illustrated will update the progress of this group throughout the season, and monitor their “impact factor” as Texas battles through its demanding 2019 campaign.

Offense

Cade Brewer, junior tight end

In Texas coach Tom Herman’s offensive scheme, the tight end can be a real weapon. Brewer, who’s packed on muscle and now is listed at 250 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame, has the tools to be a real standout in that regard.

Brewer has played in 24 career games with three starts over his first two years on the Forty Acres. He’s the most experienced of Texas’s tight ends, with 11 catches, two of them for touchdowns.

“I think I love Cade,” offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. “Steady guy. He had a great spring. He’s having a really good fall camp for us right now. Veteran player, understands the game, got a great feel of being a tight end.”

A good season for Brewer, who can work underneath the deep zone while acting as a secondary outlet for Ehlinger, would be 30 catches for 400 yards and five scores.

Devin Duvernay, senior wide receiver

Duvernay, in case you’ve forgotten, has world-class speed, having won the 2015 100-meter Texas 6A State Championship with a time of 10.27.

He may be even faster now. Herman said Duvernay had a peak speed of 22.5 mph in a recent practice, and Duvernay believes he’s the fastest player in the Big 12 and that he’s capable of producing a 4.3-seconds clocking in the 40-yard dash.

Texas has experimented with moving Duvernay into the slot, both to maximize his speed advantage against nickelbacks and slower safeties, and to get budding wide out Brennan Eagles on the field as an outside receiver.

“That’s worked out great – Duvernay is a really, really strong guy, too, so he’s tough to tackle,” Herman said. “Obviously, he’s really fast.”

Last season, as the Longhorns’ third receiver option behind Johnson and Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Duvernay caught 41 passes for 546 yards (13.3 average) and scored four touchdowns. Expect him to haul in 60 throws this year for 800 yards and six TDs, with at least one of those scores covering 70 yards or more.

Special teams

Cameron Dicker, sophomore placekicker

“Dicker the Kicker” is so damn likable, one almost has to smile when thinking about him. Dicker hit 18 of his 25 field goal attempts last year (the most-ever makes by a Texas freshman in school history) and was 51 of 52 on his extra-point kicks.

Dicker’s most impressive performance was against USC, when he went 3-for-3, but he’s most beloved – and we mean that in the truest sense – for his 40-yarder to beat Oklahoma 48-45 last fall.

The key for Dicker is to stay on track, and there’s every indication that he’s more than up to the task.

“I think our kicker’s pretty dang good,” Herman said. “Not afraid to say that. It’s a luxury. It’s rare to find one who is that talented and mentally in a really, really good place.”

We predict Dicker will get 30 field goal chances this season, and convert 25 of them, with one from at least 55 yards.

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