Youth will be served: Texas CBs and LBs ready to shine

By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — Yes, the Texas defense will be tested by a potent Louisiana Tech attack when the two teams square off Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to open the 2019 season.

But the 10th-ranked Longhorns have, according to Texas coach Tom Herman, found a comfort zone in two of the team’s least-experienced units, cornerback and linebacker, in preseason practice. Now it’s just a matter of young players in key positions performing to their abilities when the lights go on for real Saturday.

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If the season started today, Herman said, the two starting cornerbacks would be Jalen Green and Kobe Boyce with D’Shawn Jamison and Anthony Cook backing them up. All of those players are sophomores, and Jamison played on offense last year.

“Jalen has earned the right to consider himself a starter,” Herman said. “The other three guys are still going to battle (it) out throughout this week. It’s not out of the realm that all four of those guys play a lot against Louisiana Tech.”

Boyce and Cook combined for three starts last year. Cook is suspended for the first half of Saturday’s contest after being flagged for targeting in the fourth quarter of last year’s Texas win over Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

At his regular media availability Monday, Herman twice explained that Louisiana Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith is “very experienced” and opined that junior receiver Adrian Hardy has the talent to play anywhere in the country.

That tandem, and the Bulldogs’ spread passing attack, will be a challenge for the Texas’ youthful corners.

Herman said the linebacker group, a unit that lost three starters from last year, has come on strong.

“Joesph (Ossai), Ayodele Adeoye and Jeffrey McCulloch all had great fall camps,” he said. “We are excited about the future of the position.

“For the guys like Dele who’s only run down the field in kickoffs a few times while he’s been here, there are going to be some moments out there when the fact that hits him that he’s the starting middle linebacker. We will have to remind him to take a deep breath.”

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