Texas Football: Position-by-Position Midseason Grades for the Longhorns
Fresh off their much-needed win over Iowa State, the Texas Longhorns have reached the midpoint of their Big 12 slate.
They will need some obvious improvement in order to get the necessary three wins to reach a bowl, but this team is largely trending up heading into the stretch run.
Tyrone Swoopes has grown into a weapon for Charlie Strong's team, bringing an explosive element to back up a defense that had done most of the work through six games.
He's the key moving forward, as is some improved play from the offensive line and special teams.
Quarterback: B
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Taking over for David Ash, Tyrone Swoopes has gone from a deficiency Texas had to cover to its best offensive player.
Swoopes took over after Ash suffered a concussion in the win over North Texas, and he has blossomed into a full-fledged weapon in the Horns' last two games. Since averaging just 5.5 yards per attempt through his first four starts, he's put up a robust 9.4 against Oklahoma and Iowa State.
His downfield proficiency is only part of what has made Swoopes so dangerous as of late. He's also running the ball with confidence, piling up 145 rushing yards and two touchdowns as teams back off to defend his arm.
The end result is back-to-back games with 300-plus passing yards, 50-plus rushing yards and Texas' two best offensive performances since Week 1.
"Only 7 times in Texas history has a player posted at least 300 pass & 50 rush in a game. Only @ColtMcCoy & Tyrone Swoopes have done it twice
— John Bianco (@UT_Bianco) October 19, 2014"
This grade has a chance to go through the roof over the final five games of the season.
Running Back: C
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It's been a disappointing start to the season for Texas' running backs, who have been hampered by a patchwork offensive line.
We're still waiting for Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray to excel in tandem as they did in 2013. Each has had a solid game in isolation, but the numbers have been underwhelming, with neither putting up a 100-yard effort through seven contests.
These two should benefit from Swoopes' development as a dual threat and the maturation of the offensive line.
Because the blocking will improve against defenses that can no longer afford to stack the box, the arrow is pointing up.
Wide Receiver: B
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John Harris has officially broken out, Jaxon Shipley has turned in his two best games of the season and Marcus Johnson has had his moments.
If the coaches can figure out how to involve someone with an all-purpose skill set, the receiving corps will have a great close to the season.
On track for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns, Harris has gone from a wasted talent to full-blown No. 1 receiver. The 6'2" senior has made plays at every level of the field, turning in only one game with less than four catches and 60 yards.
Not to be outdone, Shipley has begun to hit his stride opposite his fellow senior. We're still waiting on a touchdown, but it's impossible to complain about the 15 catches and 207 yards he's put up over his last two games.
With Johnson flashing with a 41-yard catch against Oklahoma, then a touchdown early in the Iowa State win, all the Horns need is a guy with some short-area burst.
Averaging almost 13 yards per touch, Armanti Foreman should complete the puzzle before season's end.
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Tight End: C+
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Combine Geoff Swaim and M.J. McFarland together, and you might have the best tight end in the Big 12. As it stands, Texas can only rotate the two because of their specialized skill sets.
Swaim starts for this team because he is an awesome blocker, and he is irreplaceable in that capacity. He'll never put up big numbers, but Texas needs him out there.
"I hope we can replace Geoff Swaim next year, that dude is a stud blocker. One of the very best in the league.
— Ian Boyd (@Ian_A_Boyd) October 19, 2014"
The opposite is the case for McFarland, who has been one of Swoopes' favorite red-zone options with two touchdowns. He's a role player, albeit one with the physical tools to be so much more.
Offensive Line: D+
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Amid all of the suspensions, injuries and shuffling, the Texas offensive line has been a real weakness through the first seven games.
The positive news is that it's getting better, and help should be on the way soon.
Dom Espinosa's season-ending ankle injury, along with the suspensions of Desmond Harrison and Kennedy Estelle, has had the Horns scrambling since Week 1. Jake Raulerson was forced to start at center, Kent Perkins had to play out of position at right tackle and Marcus Hutchins became a left tackle after playing defense last season.
Predictably, the results have been uneven and sometimes disastrous.
The Horns are averaging less than four yards per carry, which is tied for 93rd in the nation, per cfbstats.com, and have struggled with silly pre-snap penalties. Goal-to-go situations have also been precarious due to bad snaps, which is inexcusable when your quarterback is built like a defensive end.
Moving Perkins back to guard and substituting Taylor Doyle in at center has helped with the run blocking. Harrison's return is also imminent, per HornsDigest's Chip Brown, but he's never been a starter either.
Texas will improve here because Joe Wickline is one of the nation's premier line coaches, but the process is ongoing.
Defensive Line: A
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Texas' defensive front has been the foundation for its impressive defense. And that's saying something given how much Cedric Reed has struggled.
Even with Tank Jackson lost for the season, the interior of this front has been flat-out dominant. Junior Malcom Brown is on his way to the NFL, ranking among the top three on the team in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, deflections, forced fumbles and hurries.
Brown has been spectacular, and it's allowed Hassan Ridgeway to feast alongside him. Thrust into Jackson's old role, Ridgeway is just behind Brown with four sacks. Single up on these two at your own peril.
Defensive end, by comparison, has been disappointing even while uncovering some gems of its own. This can be said because Cedric Reed has only 1.5 sacks and four tackles for loss.
On the bright side, Shiro Davis and Caleb Bluiett each have at least that many sacks, while Naashon Hughes has been impactful as an edge-rusher capable of playing outside linebacker.
Hughes and Bluiett have come on as of late, which has been huge while Reed figures himself out.
Linebacker: B+
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Jordan Hicks and Steve Edmond have combined for 168 tackles, including 17 for loss, to lead the Longhorns this season.
The two seniors have been stalwarts that deserve an "A+" mark. However, the drop-off to Texas' next-best linebacker is dramatic.
Peter Jinkens ranks third among this group with a whopping 16 tackles, closely followed by Demarco Cobbs with all of 15. Behind them is Dalton Santos, who runs like the Michelin Man.
Rather than trot these guys out, Texas has run ends Hughes and Bluiett at outside linebacker.
Should Hicks or Edmond go down, the Horns would be in big trouble here.
Secondary: B-
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Up until its matchup with Iowa State, the Longhorn secondary had been another component of a reliable defense. We will have to wait and see if Cyclones quarterback Sam Richardson exposed this group.
Moving back to the outside, Quandre Diggs has rediscovered his shutdown ways, and teams are just avoiding him in the passing game. That doesn't mean he's hurting for action, picking off two passes and scoring a couple of sacks on the blitz.
Opposite Diggs, Duke Thomas is putting on a career season, leading the team in interceptions and pass deflections.
Moving on to safety, both Dylan Haines and true freshman Jason Hall have come out of nowhere to become regular contributors. Hall is the thumper the Longhorn secondary has missed for the past couple of seasons, while Haines has done a little bit of everything.
Mykkele Thompson had played well through six games as the nickel corner, but he was abused in coverage by big receiver Allen Lazard and E.J. Bibbs. Hopefully it was an off night, because each team left on the schedule knows how to get vertical.
Special Teams: D
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Nick Rose somewhat redeemed the special teams with a 45-yard field goal and the game-winner against Iowa State, but it's not enough to atone for six games worth of boneheadedness.
Special teams gave up two touchdowns in the loss to Oklahoma, including a 91-yard kick return to Alex Ross, and committed a silly catch interference penalty as well.
Overall, the only good thing to be said about this unit is that Rose is a touchback machine, and Jaxon Shipley can field a punt with his eyes closed.
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