Texas Football: The Most Important Longhorns Players for the Rest of the Year

Bowl-eligible coming off an impressive 28-7 win at Oklahoma State, the Texas Longhorns can now focus on upsetting No. 5 TCU and then winning said postseason game.

So maybe that's a little easier said than done, but it's possible if head coach Charlie Strong's most important players can step up and close the season as one of the hottest teams in the country.

That means the Horns need big showings from their quarterback, resurgent running back and—most importantly—the guys who have shown up for them all season.

QB Tyrone Swoopes

Associated Press

When quarterback Tyrone Swoopes is at his best, so are his teammates.

No Longhorn can swing the outcome in Texas' favor like an effective Tyrone Swoopes, who transforms the entire team when he's on his game.

Swoopes broke out of major funk during Texas 28-7 victory at Oklahoma State, completing 24 of his 33 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns. In three games prior, the sophomore was connecting on just 47 percent of his throws and averaging less than 153 passing yards.

The 300-yard performance was Swoopes third of the season, with the Longhorns now averaging 34 points per game when he crosses that milestone. 

It's a small sample size, but the explosive element makes a major difference for this team on both sides of the ball. Defenses that have to account for Swoopes' arm have to pull defenders out of the box while one of the nation's top-10 pass rushes can tee off on an opponent that's trying to play catch-up.

In short, this team's straightest path to victory is an effective game from its young quarterback.

DT Malcom Brown

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Junior tackle Malcom Brown has been a force up the middle all season for the Longhorns.

If Malcom Brown isn't named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, there had better be a good reason why.

The junior defensive tackle has been a monster all season, recording 12.5 tackles for loss, including 6.5 sacks. Both of those figures are good for top 10 in the Big 12, and Brown is the only tackle to appear on either list.

But Brown's impact goes beyond his raw numbers. Because of his size and explosiveness, teams rarely use less than two men to block him, which has freed up guys like Hassan Ridgeway to have career seasons alongside him.

Along with high sack numbers, the Longhorns also boast a top-five defense in terms of opponent yards per pass attempt, per cfbstats.com. Brown's play has been the main reason why.

CB Quandre Diggs

USA TODAY Sports

Nov 8, 2014; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns corner back Quandre Diggs (6) reacts against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas beat West Virginia 33-16. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-U

Quandre Diggs is more than just Texas' top corner. He's the unquestioned vocal leader of a defense that's allowed just 36 points over its last three games.

About as irreplaceable as it gets, Diggs' value comes from his ability to do anything necessary in the defensive backfield. He can deliver the big bit, man up on receivers like West Virginia's Kevin White and make an open-field tackle with the best of them.

All that from a corner listed generously at 5'10" and 195 pounds.

Without Diggs' play and leadership, Texas' remarkable defensive turnaround would never have happened, and he will have a big hand in whatever success it enjoys over these last two games.

RB Johnathan Gray

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Gray finally looks like himself as we approach the final two games of the season.

You pretty much know what you're going to get from power back Malcolm Brown. He's going to pick up what's blocked and not much more beyond the occasional chunk play.

The complement to Brown's consistent style is Johnathan Gray, whose recent emergence has added another dimension to the Longhorns running game.

Recovering from a torn Achilles, Gray looked like a shell of the player who averaged over 86 yards per game in 2013. The former 5-star back looked reluctant to use his unique explosiveness, only twice breaking the 50-yard mark with two touchdowns through eight games.

Whatever the reason, Gray has flipped the switch over his last three, averaging 6.2 yards per carry, crossing the century mark against West Virginia and scoring five touchdowns. In all, he's put up 310 total yards, with 265 on the ground.

Gray looks like he's back, and that's an enormous addition to this offensive attack.

OG Kent Perkins

USA TODAY Sports

Oct 11, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns tackle Kent Perkins (76) in action against the Oklahoma Sooners during the Red River showdown at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Texas can ill afford to lose any more offensive linemen this season and would be lost if it was without right guard Kent Perkins for any stretch.

At 6'5" and 330 pounds, the true sophomore is one of Texas' biggest and, according to his head coach, most physical players up front.

"Perkins is so strong, I think in the weight room, he's the strongest person we have," Strong said. "He's such a big body inside, and he can engulf you. If a guy tries to run inside, he can latch on. If he ever latches on, the defensive linemen don't have a chance."

Perkins has made good on that physical potential, growing into one of Texas' most reliable linemen. He's one of three big uglies to start all 11 games, even stepping over to help out at right tackle for three outings.

As far quantifying Perkins' impact, one need only look at Texas' last loss, a 23-0 blowout at Kansas State in which the Horns netted a pitiful 90 yards on the ground. Perkins injured his leg on the second play of that game, per The Dallas Morning News' Chuck Carlton, and was hobbled the rest of the way.

Fans of the Texas rushing attack better hope that doesn't happen again.

LB Jordan Hicks

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Hicks has overcome two severe injuries to have one of the best seasons of any linebacker in the conference.

Lost in the dominant play of the defensive line and secondary, linebacker Jordan Hicks has had an incredible comeback from consecutive season-ending injuries.

Over his previous five full games, Hicks averaged over 10 tackles per game as one of the Big 12's best linebackers. Of course, the issue is that those games were scattered over two seasons in which he missed all or part of 21 games with hip and Achilles tears.

Now 10 games into his fifth season, Hicks looks even better than he did before his two major lower-body injuries. He's back to averaging double-digit tackles, posting at least seven tackles in all but one game in 2014.

The one time Hicks failed to hit that mark, he had six tackles with a sack and another for loss in Texas' 28-7 win over Oklahoma State. The Longhorns allowed just 192 yards of offense that night.

On his way to an All-Big 12 nod, Hicks' all-around play has been an underrated aspect of Texas' return to form on defense. Maybe that's why 5-star recruit Malik Jefferson all of a sudden seems to be trending toward Texas, per 247Sports.

WR John Harris

USA TODAY Sports

Senior wideout John Harris has emerged as an all-around star in 2014.

Texas' running game has been the key to its decisive wins over Texas Tech, West Virginia and Oklahoma State. That said, receiver John Harris' role remains just as important as it's been all season.

Emerging as Texas' No. 1 pass-catcher, Harris leads the Longhorns in every receiving category with 59 receptions for 976 yards and seven touchdowns.

The impressive part about Harris' season, other than it came out of nowhere, is that he's excelled no matter where the Longhorns have been on the field. He's winning deep for big plays, getting open on possession routes and using his body to finish drives in the red zone.

He has to keep that up against a TCU team that's scoring over 45 points per contest.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats and information courtesy of TexasSports.com.