Texas Football: 3 Redshirts with Best Chance to Earn Starting Spots in 2015

It's a tough year to be a redshirt at Texas. Now that Charlie Strong has reeled in a class of 29 commits, there won't be a lot of run available for the guys who sat back on the sideline last season.

Strong recruited this 2015 group with the purpose of getting the players on the field in a hurry. Whether that was an indictment of his redshirts or not, he's added competition to every position and even tried to get an upgrade over Jerrod Heard, his most talented redshirt.

Heard will almost certainly get his shot this spring, but it's going to be a tough road for the rest of his classmates who are still waiting to see their first action. Even where there's talent or experience in the program, the opportunity has been soaked up.

QB Jerrod Heard

Texas lost out on Kyler Murray this spring, which means Jerrod Heard will get every opportunity to earn the starting quarterback job before the summer.

Now that the Longhorns are moving toward a quicker tempo, he has a chance to excel if there's any truth to what recent commit Kai Locksley told Horns Digest's Chip Brown:

"

(QB coach Shawn Watson) explained to me that it would be the same stuff they were running. But now it would be up-tempo and get things going a lot faster and quicker. So, it’s less of the quarterback having to decipher what’s going on with the defense at the line, and just kind of playing fast.

"

Heard has some ideal quarterback traits, but there's no doubt that his running will be his best asset early on. He claimed a 4.3 40-yard dash time this fall and ran for more than 4,000 yards on his way to state titles as a high school junior and senior.

His passing is still a question mark because, despite Tyrone Swoopes' uneven play, Heard never saw the field in 2014. He has, however, put in the work and began seeing increased reps (according to SB Nation's Wescott Eberts) toward the end of the season.

Now that he has a full season under his belt and will run an offense more conducive to his natural talents, Heard should run away with the starting job this spring. In the next three years, he has the potential to grow into an elite Big 12 quarterback.

DE Derick Roberson

A forgotten man following his redshirt season, Derick Roberson is one of the best talents on the Texas roster. The problem is that he will be squaring off with one of the defense's most athletic players for a starting spot.

Heard got most of the hype as the quarterback, but Roberson was actually the highest-rated recruit of the Longhorns' 2014 class. Per SB Nation's Eberts, he's an explosive athlete with the pass-rushing moves to be a terror off the edge, which Texas will need in 2015.

At this stage, size is the biggest obstacle to Roberson's success. Listed at just 219 pounds as a freshman, he's even smaller than originally thought coming out of high school. Until he bulks up by a significant margin, he has no shot against collegiate tackles.

Also standing in Roberson's way is Naashon Hughes, who turned up ahead of schedule in 2014. Thanks to his impressive length and linebacker range at 6'4", the redshirt freshman earned seven starts as a hybrid defender on the weak side.

Unless he outright passes Hughes, the former top recruit will work toward splitting time at the "Fox" position. The good news is that JUCO recruit and projected strong-side starter Quincy Vasser has the ability to play inside (according to 247Sports' Colt Barber), so Texas should have plenty of snaps for both Roberson and the surging Hughes.

Betting on pure talent, the former top recruit should record a start or two in 2015.

OG Alex Anderson

It's going to be a free-for-all this offseason along Texas' offensive line. And if anybody has a chance to earn a surprise starting job, it's guard Alex Anderson, who is on his second offseason in Joe Wickline's system.

True freshman Connor Williams is crushing a lot of dreams as an early enrollee. 247Sports' Jeff Howe is already projecting him to be the starting left tackle, which would knock out a spot that was wide open at the end of 2014.

The Longhorns brought in JUCO transfer Brandon Hodges to play immediately, and Kent Perkins will be the right guard until he leaves. Therefore, Williams' emergence would leave only left guard and center available for competition. 

Anderson does fit well into that guard spot at 6'4", 320 pounds with a mean streak, per Barking Carnival's Scipio Tex. He will have to beat out senior Sedrick Flowers and talented freshman Patrick Vahe, who is the most talented of the trio, but there's a chance here for a guy with real experience under Wickline.

Names to Watch

LB Edwin Freeman

Freeman fits the bill for Strong as a rangy, hard-hitting outside linebacker. He's just nowhere near the athlete that Malik Jefferson is, and the coaches will need Peter Jinkens' senior leadership on a defense devoid of experienced college talent.

TE Blake Whiteley

Geoff Swaim's exhausted eligibility leaves a spot open for a blocking tight end like Whiteley. He and Andrew Beck will battle for this role since freshman Devonaire Clarington will serve primarily as a receiving threat, but Beck got the nod last year as a true freshman.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats and information courtesy of TexasSports.com and 247Sports.com.