Texas Football: Early Look at Longhorns' 2015 Roster

The first season of Charlie Strong's career in Austin is nearing the end, and the head coach will have a lot of changes to make on the two-deep in 2015.

The Longhorns will be looking to replace impact players on both sides of the ball. The offense will not lose as many players as the defense, but it will lose two of the biggest difference-makers in running back Malcolm Brown and wide receiver John Harris.

Compiling the best players to fit Strong and his assistant coaches' schemes will be a difficult task. Texas has a lot of talented athletes on its roster and Strong is actively recruiting to find the right guys to fit his mold. 

With a lot of starters leaving the 40 acres, let's take a look at the possible two-deep for year two of the Strong era.

Offense

Position	Starter	Second String	Third String
Left Tackle	Desmond Harrison	Marcus Hutchins
Left Guard	Sedrick Flowers	Jake McMillon
Center	Taylor Doyle	Jake Raulerson
Right Guard	Kent Perkins	Elijah Rodriguez
Right Tackle	Darius James	Camrhon Hughes
Quarterback	Jerrod Heard	Tyrone Swoopes	Zach Gentry
Running Back	Johnathan Gray	Donald Catalon	D'Onta Foreman
Fullback	Alex De La Torre
Wide Receiver	Lorenzo Joe	Dorian Leonard
Wide Receiver	Daje Johnson	Armanti Foreman
Wide Receiver	Marcus Johnson	Jacorey Warrick	Roderick Bernard
Tight End	M.J. McFarland	Andrew Beck	Blake Whiteley

The Longhorns will lose Brown and Harris but have a variety of skill options to replace the duo. Running back Johnathan Gray will return for his senior season and Texas has a large group of wide receivers to help eliminate the drop-off from Harris.

Texas will return its entire offensive line from 2014, which has made a decent amount of progress in the unit's first season as starters for the Longhorns. But whom the line will ultimately protect is up in the air.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson will be tasked with making the decision between quarterbacks Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard.

Swoopes' struggles in his first season as a starter have ultimately caused his job security to be nonexistent. His competition will also be difficult to beat.

Heard was a highly touted quarterback prospect coming out of Guyer High School in Denton, Texas. The quarterback led his team to back-to-back Class 4A state championships as a junior and senior.

An interesting storyline to watch is if Watson decides to change the offensive scheme to suit Heard's talents. The Longhorns ran more of a pro-style offense in 2014, but Heard is at his best as a dual-threat quarterback.

Heard rushed for 2,161 yards and 27 touchdowns and threw for 2,136 yards and 22 touchdowns in his senior season at Guyer.

Swoopes and Heard will likely battle for the starting role, but one could assume Heard will be the starter in 2015.

Defense

Position	Starter	Second String	Third String
Defensive End	Caleb Bluiett	Shiro Davis	Bryce Cottrell
Defensive End	Naashon Hughes	Derick Roberson
Defensive Tackle	Desmond Jackson	Chris Nelson	Paul Boyette Jr.
Defensive Tackle	Hassan Ridgeway	Poona Ford
Linebacker	Peter Jinkens	Cameron Hampton
Linebacker	Dalton Santos	Timothy Cole
Linebacker	Cecil Cherry	Edwin Freeman
Cornerback	Duke Thomas	John Bonney	Bryson Echols
Cornerback	Sheroid Evans	Jermaine Roberts
Safety	Jason Hall	Antwuan Davis
Safety	Dylan Haines	Adrian Colbert

The Texas defense was as good as it has been in recent years in 2014, but it will lose a variety of key players in 2015.

The position that will take the biggest blow will be the linebackers. Jordan Hicks and Steve Edmond were massive difference-makers in their senior seasons, and the Longhorns will need to find worthy replacements.

But Hicks and Edmond are only two of the players the Longhorns need to replace.

There has not been an official word about whether defensive tackle Malcom Brown will forgo his senior season to enter the 2015 NFL draft, but it's difficult to expect Brown to return. The junior had a breakout season which landed him as a finalist for the Outland and Nagurski Trophies and is projected as a Round 1-3 draft pick by various draft experts.

It isn't easy to replace someone with Brown's talent, but the Longhorns will have returning starters in Desmond Jackson and Hassan Ridgeway to help soften the blow.

Ultimately, the Longhorns will likely have a better offense compared to 2014, but the attrition on the defensive side of the ball will cause for a drop-off in experience.

Defensive coordinator Vance Bedford and Strong will have their work cut out for them trying to find a way to maintain the progress on defense. The coaches did a fantastic job in 2014, and Texas fans will see if Bedford and Strong can continue the positive momentum with many less experienced players next season.

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.