Texas Football: Final 2014 Positional Grades for the Longhorns

When we look at their middling offense and embarrassing special teams, the Texas Longhorns were lucky to finish the season at a bowl-eligible 6-6.

That should tell you something about how Charlie Strong's defense was in 2014.

While not a single offensive unit cracked a B in our final positional grades, every group on the defense easily reached that mark, with even the lowest-rated group turning in a solid season.

Quarterback: C-

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

He's looked the part at times, but there's a reason Swoopes will be fighting for his job this offseason.

Watching Tyrone Swoopes this season, it's obvious the 6'4" sophomore sports a ton of potential. Then again, there's a reason he's in danger of losing his job this offseason.

You can't get more of a mixed bag than the first 11 starts of Swoopes' career. He played like a star in three games, managed the offense somewhat well in three others and was plain awful against Baylor, Kansas State, West Virginia and TCU.

At his best, Swoopes can drill the short routes, kill you deep and bust through tackles as a runner. At his worst, he's a turnover machine without any semblance of a pocket presence. 

Because of the latter, Coach Strong told the media on Tuesday that redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard will get a shot to take the starting job in the spring:

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When we get to spring ball, they're all going to compete because now it's spring practice and you have a chance towards a number of reps, and guys have an opportunity to go get better.  [Heard] will.  The thing about Jerrod is, when you come and you have to face it each and every day and it moves so fast for you sometimes, you've just got to slow him down, and it's going to happen for him.  It's a development stage, and he's developed because [assistant head coach for offensive/quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson] has done a great job coaching quarterbacks.  We'll just continue to coach him.

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The fact of the matter is that Swoopes is a 5-6 quarterback. Unless he grows by leaps and bounds this summer, his days as a starter will come to an early end.

Grade: C-

Running Back: C

Eric Gay/Associated Press

A late-season surge proved that Gray still has some big games ahead of him.

Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Brown did all they could behind a patchwork offensive line but were far from the chain-movers Texas needed them to be.

Though he earned All-Big 12 honors for the second straight season, Brown turned in arguably the worst season of his career. The senior averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and only went over 100 yards once as he struggled to bust through crowded boxes.

It was the shiftier Gray who emerged as Texas' more impactful back over the second half of the season. He started out slowly on the heels of his Achilles injury and then piled up 305 yards and five touchdowns during Texas' crucial winning streak.

Averaging a respectable 4.5 yards per carry, Gray shares the team lead in terms of total touchdowns heading into the bowl game. He'll be the lead back next season and should excel behind much better blocking.

Grade: C

Wide Receivers: C+

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Harris carried an otherwise disappointing group of receivers in 2014.

John Harris went over 1,000 yards on 64 receptions, and Jaxon Shipley pulled in more than 50 catches for the third straight season. The rest of the Longhorns receivers caught a total of 50 balls on the year.

After nearly transferring to an in-conference rival (per RosterWatch.com's Alex Dunlap), Harris has turned in one of the great receiving seasons in Longhorns history. He's only the sixth Longhorns pass-catcher to ever break the 1,000-yard mark, and his seven touchdowns in 2014 were matched only by running back Johnathan Gray.

Shipley had a solid year as well but paled in comparison to his fellow senior. Slowed by injuries, he averaged a career-low 9.8 yards per catch and scored just one touchdown.

That's pretty much all that can be said for the wideouts. Jacorey Warrick and Marcus Johnson were both massive disappointments, leaving Texas without any real experience at the position next season now that Harris and Shipley are leaving.

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Texas wide receiver John Harris will not pursue another year of eligibility and hopes to enter the NFL. #Longhorns

@Taylor_Gaspar, 16 Dec 2014

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If there's a bright spot here, it's freshman Armanti Foreman. An explosive and surprisingly polished pass-catcher, Foreman averaged 19 yards per touch during his first season and will be a featured component of this offense in 2015.

Grade: C+

Tight Ends: C

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Swaim has excelled at the little things during his two seasons at Texas.

It's going to be another year or two before a Longhorns tight end makes a real difference in the receiving department. But for what these guys were asked to do, they did a good job.

Texas is really going to miss Geoff Swaim's blocking next season. The offensive line needed all the help it could get this season, and Swaim never had any issue with doing the dirty work in the trenches.

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Credit to Bryan Harsin for taking tip from BSU connection, finding Geoff Swaim. Brings it as a blocker every play, in line or moving.

@SBN_Wescott, 15 Nov 2014

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Now that he's gone, Texas will need someone to step up either in his role or as a receiver to attack the middle of the field. JUCO transfer Blake Whiteley projects to fill a similar role to Swaim's, while the Longhorns will need a meteoric rise from M.J. McFarland or a big-time recruit in the receiving department.

Grade: C

Offensive Line: D

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

All things considered, Joe Wickline did a decent job with a depleted group of linemen in 2014.

Texas was in trouble from the start after the suspension of Desmond Harrison and dismissal of Kennedy Estelle cost the program its two top tackles. Then Dom Espinosa's broken ankle robbed the Horns of their most experienced blocker, and trouble became disaster. 

Joe Wickline squeezed what he could out of his depleted front, but a group that blocks for only 3.9 yards per carry and gives up over two sacks per game won't get you too far. In the end, that's just too much to overcome, especially with such an inexperienced quarterback running the offense.

With another offseason to learn Wickline's ways, the young talent here should only get better.

Grade: D

Defensive Line: A

Brett Deering/Getty Images

Tackle Malcom Brown led a dominant defensive front that paved the way for Texas' defensive success.

Led by All-American Malcom Brown, Texas' defensive line easily earns the highest grade on the team as one of the best defensive fronts in the nation.

Brown, who refuses to discount that he'll return in 2015, has been a beast at defensive tackle this season. A national award finalist and probable consensus All-American, the junior led the Horns in sacks and tackles for loss as a game-changer up the middle.

Next to Brown, redshirt sophomore Hassan Ridgeway also enjoyed the best season of his career. His stats were mediocre in comparison to Brown's, but his six sacks and experience as an every-down player spell big things for his future.

The real testament to this group is how well it performed without any consistency from defensive end Cedric Reed, as it managed to finish seventh in the nation with 3.25 sacks per game. There is more talent here than any other unit on the team by a landslide.

Grade: A

Lienbackers: B+

Harry How/Getty Images

Jordan Hicks (left) combined with Steve Edmond to form one the top linebacking duos in the nation.

Jordan Hicks and Steve Edmond were the only Longhorns linebackers to do much in 2014, but it was all Texas needed in the pass-heavy Big 12.

Playing their last seasons in burnt orange, Hicks and Edmond worked as Texas' most consistent stoppers on the field. The two seniors combined for a ridiculous 260 tackles and 25 tackles for loss, backing up a defensive front that was pretty nasty on its own.

This time next season, these two may get even more credit for their roles on the conference's best defense in terms of yardage. Both are done as Longhorns, and their backups combined for only 65 tackles this season.

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Pretty much expected but Texas LB Jordan Hicks confirms he will not pursue a 6th year of eligibility. Texas' leading tackler at 138 stops.

@ChuckCarltonDMN, 16 Dec 2014

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Per Grantland's Chris Brown, Charlie Strong's defense only needs two true linebackers with a mobile defensive end manning an outside spot. Naashon Hughes, Caleb Bluiett and Derick Roberson can each fill that role, but somebody will have to step up next season.

Grade: B+

Secondary: A-

Starting a true freshman and a walk-on at safety, the Longhorns secondary still managed to end up as one of the most reliable units on the roster.

Led by Quandre Diggs, who bounced back from a down junior campaign, the Longhorns ranked first in the Big 12 in pass defense and finished as a top-five unit in terms of yards per attempt, per cfbstats.com.

The credit belongs to more than just Diggs, the emotional leader of the entire defense. Walk-on Dylan Haines brought some consistent play to the last line of defense, while freshman Jason Hall showed off signs of being an enforcer back there for years to come.

The defensive backs gave up some yardage against Kansas State and TCU, but this group more than held its own all season.

Grade: A-

Special Teams: D-

Brett Deering/Getty Images

STILLWATER, OK - NOVEMBER 15: Place kicker Nick Rose #23 of the Texas Longhorns kicks an extra point against the Oklahoma State Cowboys November 15, 2014 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Longhorns defeated the Cowboys 28-7. (Photo

Texas' special teams were so bad this season that kicker Nick Rose, who completed less than 70 percent of his attempts, was a bright spot.

Per NCAA.com, the Longhorns finished 96th in punt return defense, 112th in kickoff returns and dead last in kickoff return defense. They were in the top 60 in both net punting and punt returns, but you'd be hard-pressed to find another major program that was as bad.

Across the board, the Longhorns must get better at the little things in this phase of the game.

Grade: D-

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