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What to look for during Texas Football Orange-White game

Players of extreme interest

Spring is in the air and Texas is treating fans to some football at DKR with the Orange-White Game along with a full weekend of events that will start early.

When the game starts, there are several key plays and players to watch for. Sarkisian has said in the past that fans will not see any of their ultrasecret plays just in case an opponent is in the stands watching. 

Fans will see a real game with a score, and Sarkisian is the commissioner and team owner.

When Quinn Ewers is under center, look for several long passes to Xavier Worthy, Ja’Tavion Sanders, and Jordan Whittington. These three will likely be the weapons of choice for Sarkisian in the upcoming season.

Ewers and Worthy have some unfinished business from last season to attend to so look for that on field connection to heat up.

However, Ewers will have a few problems. Starting off with Jahdae Barron. During a recent media availability with players, we asked Barron about covering Jordan Whittington. Barron's response gave us a deeper picture of what is really happening behind the scenes that fans might not be aware of.

First, Barron went to Ewers and told him point blank, “I will be intercepting your pass during practice!” With an emphatic confident tone like (think Deon Sanders), Barron did not mix his words when speaking about covering Whittington and his obsession with intercepting the ball.

When we asked Barron about Whittington reviewing with him how he is able to beat Barron on plays, Barron corrected us immediately.

Barron raised his arm and lifted his index finger (think Trump with an ‘Excuse Me’ gesture) pointed, and waved it back and forth to suggest that Whittington did not ‘beat’ him, nor did Ewers. The way players see each other challenging their teammates (Barron with Ewers, or Whittington with Barron, etc) is simply this, “Iron Sharpens Iron!,” said Barron.

Another one of Sarkisian’s weapons is Tight End #0 Ja’Tavion Sanders. We asked Sanders what he is working on this off season. Sanders said, “I am working on improving my YAC.”

Yards After Catch (YAC) as Sanders explained is where he is focused and feels his biggest contributions will come while making reference to NFL’s #1 and #2 Tight End players Travis Kelce of Kansas City Chiefs and George Kittle of San Francisco 49ers in how they have high YAC. Last season 2022 Sanders had 54 receptions and 613 yards with an average of 11.4 yards per catch. 

NFL teams are relying on tight ends more and more to be big play makers. Savion is getting ready..

The fifth-year wide receiver Jordan Whittington prepares for a potential NFL career this season will give him more film to show scouts. Whittington has been the most influential player on the team with the least amount of stats. In many plays where Texas gained yards or scored a touchdown, you will find that Whittington was the one who made that block so his teammate could continue down the field. We have photo after photo of Whittington’s exploits. Now, it is Jordan’s turn to be counted in the stats.

(photo Don Bender / Horns Illustrated)

Everyone is hoping for a glimpse of Arch Manning and fans will likely get to see a few passes by Manning. 

Just to prepare everyone, if Manning throws a TD pass to Worthy, expect social media to melt and ‘the pass’ to immediately go to #Trending, which by the way, we think is what Sarkisian loves to do for the sport.

Look for Quinn Ewers to come out with guns blazing, Arch Manning to blow up the internet, Jahdae Barron to issue a warning to all QB’s in the league, and Ja’Tavion to stomp his way into the end zone.

Whittington has a target on his chest, and Worthy will put his stamp of awesomeness on the game.

Come Early | Be Loud | Stay Late

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