Texas Football: Breaking Down the Longhorns' QB Contenders for 2015 Season

Texas' success in 2015 will depend on a quarterback's ability to lead a young roster to victory. Who that quarterback will be remains a mystery.

Down their top two receivers from last season and returning an offensive line that struggled mightily to jell, Charlie Strong and his staff need to get a playmaker at quarterback.

Tyrone Swoopes will get another look despite his brutal finish to 2014, but the odds-on favorite has to be Jerrod Heard. The redshirt freshman brings real dual-threat ability as well as a track record as a successful player in multiple phases of the game.

Should neither emerge, the Horns would be in real trouble, as recruit Zach Gentry will not be ready to go when he arrives in the summer and transfer options are limited.

Jerrod Heard

Unlike the previous regime, Strong and his staff have taken a cautious approach with redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard, whose dual-threat ability and work ethic will push him to the top of the depth chart this spring.

What do Garrett Gilbert, David Ash, Case McCoy and now Tyrone Swoopes all have in common? They were all rushed onto the field as true freshmen despite all but Gilbert being viewed as developmental projects as passers.

That mismanagement, along with simply recruiting the wrong talent, has led to one of the most disastrous quarterback situations at any major program. Those issues came to a head at the end of 2014, when Swoopes bombed against TCU and Arkansas.

If anything positive came from that experience, it's that Heard will get a fighting chance in 2015. The elite running-quarterback prospect got to spend the entire season soaking up Shawn Watson's offense while continuing to develop as a passer.

He will get his chance this spring to show off why his dual-threat ability will end the turmoil at Texas. Behind a below-average offensive line, the added element would slow down the pass rush, allow Watson to move the pocket on play action and open up running lanes with the zone read.

And based on Heard's two state titles, offseason work with George Whitfield and the way teammates like Marcus Johnson talk about him, the expectation is that his skill set will earn him the start in the Orange-White Scrimmage in April.

Tyrone Swoopes

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Swoopes' athletic ability is quickly going to waste due to poor management as a freshman.

There's no doubt Tyrone Swoopes came to Texas with some raw talent. But he was rushed through his development and looks like another casualty of the program's poor management of the position.

Following an uneven showing at the Elite 11 camp, Swoopes was reclassified as an athlete by 247Sports because of his issues as a passer. Recapping the 6'4" quarterback's showing at that camp, SB Nation's Wescott Eberts stated, "Overall, there's really not much right at this point with Swoopes and his mechanics—he needs a lot of work there."

At every other major program in the country, that's a no-brainer redshirt for a player who needs to be wholly evaluated by a collegiate quarterback coach. 

Instead, Mack Brown and his staff decided to burn Swoopes' redshirt so the quarterback could take some meaningless snaps in the seventh game of the season at TCU. From there, he saw unpredictable action in spot duty and garbage time.

In short, the season was a total waste of both a key developmental phase and, more importantly, a precious year of eligibility. So when Swoopes only put up 17 points over Texas' last two games, the national collective could only shake its head.

Now Swoopes has two years to either figure it out at quarterback or somehow make a move to another position.

Given that Swoopes and Heard are the only scholarshipped passers on the spring roster, there's no way Swoopes makes a switch before the spring game. And if Watson can't get through to Swoopes on even the simplest concepts with a month of practice (as discussed by InsideTexas' Ian Boyd), why should we expect the light to come on this spring?

There's an outside chance Swoopes can make good on his considerable potential, but time is working against him.

Zach Gentry

With a little more than two weeks to go until national signing day, 4-star quarterback Zach Gentry is Texas' only quarterback commit for the 2015 class. The hope is that some offseason success will allow the staff to redshirt him as well.

Classified as a pro-style passer, Gentry has surprising athleticism despite his towering 6'7" frame. As Eberts notes, he has some impressive arm talent, though adjusting to the competition and sharpening his mechanics will take some time.

"

congrats to Eldorado's Zach Gentry being named the Gatorade NM Football Player of the Year. almost 3K yds & 26 TD's, also rushed for 22 tds

J.P. Murrieta (KOBSports), 4 Dec 2014

"

As for upside, Gentry uncorked a 73-yard bomb at a Louisville camp last June, per MaxPreps, while his recruiting profile lists a 4.68 time in the 40.

Gentry is evidence to the fact that the Horns are recruiting the position much more aggressively, which should prevent the depth issues the program has faced in the past. As far as immediate help in that area, expect the Horns to seek the services of a transfer.

Possible Recruits and Transfers

John O'Korn

Jameis Winston broke this story on Instagram, so it must be true. However, the Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte has reported that the former University of Houston quarterback will choose between Wisconsin and Syracuse.

O'Korn is a pedestrian talent with below-average mobility, so it should be no surprise that he wants to avoid standing behind Texas' offensive line.

Connor Brewer

Per Tucson.com's Zack Rosenblatt, the former Longhorn will transfer from Arizona, and his dad told the Austin American-Statesman's Ryan Autullo that he "would absolutely entertain a return to Texas." 

Since he can play immediately, Brewer is one of the most realistic options out there in terms of transfers. Just keep in mind that his primary function would be depth, as he's already been passed up by Swoopes once before and lost the starting job at Arizona to a redshirt freshman.

Kai Locksley

The last high school prospect on Texas' radar, the FSU commit is set to visit Texas this weekend. There's a chance he could flip because of opportunity, but there's some speculation he could end up making a move to receiver.

The Horns could use help there as well, so he'd be a quality pickup no matter how you slice it.

Braxton Miller/Everett Golson

These two, especially Miller, are the two most sought-after transfers in the country. Miller's experience would be ideal in a locker room full of underclassmen, while his athleticism would take pressure off the offensive line.

The problem here is that both Oregon, Florida State and UCLA could all use a quarterback in 2015. All three are much more attractive situations right now for two guys with professional aspirations in the near future.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats and information courtesy of TexasSports.com, with recruiting data sourced from 247Sports.