Texas Football: What Tyrone Swoopes Must Work on Before Longhorns Bowl Game

Thanksgiving night may have been the last time Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes starts a game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The Longhorns were coming off of a three-game winning streak and Swoopes' season-high performance against Oklahoma State before TCU came to Austin. At the end of the night, the sophomore was responsible for five turnovers, which led to 24 points for the Horned Frogs and ended in a 48-10 Thanksgiving defeat.

Swoopes' performance did not sit well with head coach Charlie Strong and caused him to finally open up about the Longhorns' quarterback issues.

"I told him he has to play. You can't turn the football over and you can't get down on yourself. It's all about his demeanor," Strong said. "I said the only way we're going to drive the football and score is you have to make it happen and you have to play well. And he didn't."

Prior to Thanksgiving, Strong had not publicly said anything negative about Swoopes. In fact, the head coach would rarely mention many of the offensive issues and would pin the majority of the blame on the defense following losses. But his message after the TCU game was much different and has led to many questions about Swoopes' future starting for Texas.

Strong has never asked Swoopes to do anything more than to manage the offense and not turn over the football. But Swoopes struggled to complete those tasks on a consistent basis.

After 11 starts and winning less than half of the games, Swoopes does not appear to be the long-term answer as the Longhorns' signal-caller. But he has a little bit of time to prove his worth to the coaches as Texas prepares for the upcoming bowl game.

In going through Swoopes' performances, the quarterback continued to struggle in three main areas this season. Swoopes will need to make these issues a thing of the past if he wants to hold on to his job.

No. 1: Decision Making

Any young quarterback is going to struggle with making the right decisions in every game. But Swoopes consistently made poor decisions, which was detrimental to the Longhorns offense.

Swoopes threw 10 interceptions in 11 games, and the majority of those interceptions were either thrown into double coverage or were anxiously forced throws.

In addition to his interceptions, Swoopes' lack of awareness when under pressure was part of the reason why opponents racked up 24 sacks on the quarterback.

The inexperienced offensive line was partly to blame for the pressure on Swoopes, but there were many instances where Swoopes could have avoided being sacked if he was more aware of what was going on around him. 

No. 2: Confidence

Some of the most successful athletes are ones who have short memories. Swoopes has struggled with this idea all season.

The sophomore struggled to shake off a poor play, which ultimately led to more bad plays. The quarterback is the leader of the offense, and Strong constantly reiterated that the offense would go as the quarterback goes. 

When the quarterback hangs his head and cannot get into a rhythm after a slow start, the offense will follow in the same direction. Swoopes needs to understand that he is going to make mistakes, but the way he handles himself afterward could make or break the offense's success.

No. 3: Consistency

Many young quarterbacks will experience highs and lows as a first-year starter. Swoopes had a few games where his play gave Texas fans hope for the future. But he also had a number of low points—West Virginia, Baylor and Kansas State—that caused people to question if he is the answer.

Nobody is perfect and everyone will have off days, but there comes a point where a bad game erases any and all positive progress. TCU was that game for Swoopes. 

Swoopes is already under the gun following the Thanksgiving night massacre and needs to put up his best performance of the season in the bowl game if he wants to regain the confidence of the Longhorns' faithful.

Starts	Cmp-Att-INT	Pct.	Yards	TD	Rush	Yards	TD
11	211-359-10	58.8	2,352	13	103	294	3

All of these issues can be corrected, but it will be up to the quarterback to prove he can fix his mistakes and be the future of the program.

Swoopes will likely be the starting quarterback in whatever bowl game Texas plays, not because he has earned the role, but because there are no other viable options on campus. But the lack of depth will change in 2015.

True freshman Jerrod Heard has spent the season learning Shawn Watson's offense and will compete for the starting role next season.

Swoopes will need to make a statement in the upcoming weeks if he wants to remain as the No. 1 quarterback on campus.

After the bowl game, the quarterback position will be up for grabs.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.