Texas Football Recruiting: Why Quarterback Position Is Longhorns' Biggest Need

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the Texas Longhorns have issues at the quarterback position. In fact, if you have working vision and just so happened to catch a Texas football game after the 2009 season, you would know the quarterback position has plagued the Longhorns.

It is somewhat alarming to recap all of the Longhorns quarterbacks who did not work out under center. 

The quarterback position is easily one of the most vital positions on any football team. If a team has an outstanding QB—for example, Vince Young and Colt McCoy—success will likely follow. But the teams with quarterback issues will likely see little success on the football field.

Let's take a look at Ohio State.

Some people may have thought the Buckeyes would be in trouble when Braxton Miller suffered a season-ending injury in fall camp. But little did we know Ohio State had not one, but two viable options behind Miller. The end result was a national championship thanks to the depth at quarterback.

Texas is light-years away from the Buckeyes' situation.

The Longhorns have not had a viable quarterback take the field since McCoy during the 2009 season. Texas has since seen four quarterbacks under center, all of whom did not live up to the Texas standard.

Head coach Charlie Strong inherited a team that was lacking a true starting quarterback in 2014, which ultimately resulted in the Longhorns' 6-7 season record.

Some will say it isn't fair to put all of the blame for the record on the quarterback, and that's probably an accurate assessment. But it's nearly impossible not to pin a lot of the blame on the quarterback when the position got progressively worse throughout the season.

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Texas currently has two scholarship quarterbacks on campus: Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard. Swoopes' career record as a starter is 5-7, and Heard has yet to take any snaps for the Longhorns.

The position has less depth than most of the other positions on the field, and that is a major issue.

The Longhorns have one quarterback commit in Zach Gentry, who 247Sports rates as a 4-star prospect. But Gentry will not enroll until after the spring semester.

Texas could only have two quarterback options in 2015 if Gentry needs time to adjust to the college game, similar to the time Heard needed in 2014. Adding another option is almost vital to the Longhorns' success in 2015.

But who would be the addition? Texas fans would love to hear that a highly touted transfer quarterback would pick the Longhorns. But once again, who?

Some speculation has surfaced that Ohio State's Miller may transfer after JT Barrett and Cardale Jones' breakout seasons. But if Miller does choose to leave the Buckeyes, Texas may not be his landing spot, according to Orangebloods.com. (Subscription required.)

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Strong and quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson may be in a bind if Gentry, Heard and Swoopes are the only options to start in 2015.

There's a possibility all of these questions about the future of the quarterback position could be answered by one of the options currently playing on campus or entering the program following the spring, particularly Heard.

The redshirt freshman has a lot of hype from his stellar play in high school, where he led Denton Guyer to back-to-back state championships his junior and senior year.

But it never hurts to have options, and Ohio State is the perfect example of that statement.

There may not be an exact answer at this current point, but one thing is certain: Texas needs to add depth to its quarterback position sooner rather than later.

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.