Texas Football: 4 Players with the Most to Gain in Spring Practices

The Texas Longhorns will return to the football field March 25 to kick off year two of the Charlie Strong era. After a 6-7 season, the Longhorns need to make drastic changes on the field, and it will begin with spring practice. 

The biggest question mark on the team will be at quarterback, but that will be just one of the positions the coaches will need to figure out for the upcoming 2015 season.

With practice right around the corner, here's a look at four Longhorns with the most to gain in the spring.

QB Tyrone Swoopes

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

The Longhorns will enter spring practice without naming a starting quarterback. Having started 12 games in 2014, Tyrone Swoopes is the most experienced of the thin quarterback group, but he will have to fight to regain the starting role.

Swoopes had a few solid games during the 2014 season, but as the season wound down, the quarterback appeared to have regressed. Strong made it clear that there would be a quarterback competition during the offseason and that he is not ready to name a starter this early in the year.

"Notre Dame is a long ways away," Strong said. "I don't like looking that far ahead. Let's just make sure we get the right guy in there."

Swoopes flashed some signs of talent in his first season as the starting quarterback, but he will need to prove to his coaches that he can be the answer to the Longhorns' quarterback woes.

QB Jerrod Heard

Chris Covatta/Getty Images

Quarterback Jerrod Heard will have a chance to compete for the starting job throughout the offseason. Heard spent his true freshman season on the sidelines as he attempted to adjust to the college game. When Swoopes was struggling, many people questioned why Heard was not given a chance to play, but quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson insisted that the young freshman was not ready to take the field.

With a redshirt season under his belt, Heard will now have the opportunity to show the coaches his talents and battle to become the starting quarterback of the future. The competition will begin once spring practice starts on March 25, giving Heard four weeks to begin his campaign to become the starter.

WR/RB Daje Johnson

Erich Schlegel/Getty Images

Running back/wide receiver Daje Johnson is one of the most explosive players on the Longhorns but has not played up to his potential during his first three seasons at Texas.

With Johnson entering his final year in Austin, the time is now for him to step up and perform in the way he was expected to when he first arrived on campus.

Johnson has run into off-the-field issues throughout his career. He was suspended for four games in 2014 but had no other public issues after the suspension. Johnson has the opportunity to become one of the most reliable playmakers for the Longhorns if he can stay out of trouble and grind during spring practice.

LB Malik Jefferson

USA TODAY Sports

Freshman linebacker Malik Jefferson is an early enrollee and will go through spring practice with the Longhorns. Aside from the quarterback position, the depth at linebacker will be one of the biggest question marks heading into the 2015 season.

With the graduation of linebackers Jordan Hicks and Steve Edmond, Jefferson will have the opportunity to start as a true freshman. But the consensus 5-star prospect will have to earn his spot on the roster.

Fortunately for Jefferson, the thin depth at linebacker could help him earn an early starting role, especially if he grinds it out during spring practice and the remainder of the offseason. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Follow Taylor Gaspar on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.