Realistic Expectations for Charlie Strong and Texas in 2015

If Texas head coach Charlie Strong didn't think the Longhorns were going to play for a national championship last year, what does he think about the 2015 team?

After going 6-7 in Year 1, it wouldn't be surprising if Texas regresses in the win column in Year 2.

Why? There are no clear answers yet at quarterback, several defensive leaders are gone and the schedule is still tough.

Bleacher Report contributor and former Texas quarterback Chris Simms brought up a valid point when interviewed in December: According to him, the program former coach Mack Brown inherited in 1998 was in a better place than the one Strong inherited. 

Though this team should have more of Strong's stamp on it, there's going to be a lot of growing up involved. The question becomes how quickly the Horns can mature. The '14 team showed some promise in November during a three-game winning streak but couldn't sustain it. 

Immediate results are important to some, but the big-picture goal for next season has to be about growth. Never mind the number of wins; can young players show that the future is indeed bright?

Here are realistic goals for Strong and Texas in 2015.

Find Someone, Anyone, at Quarterback

Maybe it's time for redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard. Maybe it's true freshman Kai Locksley. Maybe it's a grad transfer who has yet to even speak to Strong, let alone arrive on campus. And for all anyone knows, maybe it's incumbent starter Tyrone Swoopes. 

Whoever starts at quarterback next season, Texas has to get as much as possible out of the position.

Quarterback play was hit-and-miss in 2014, to put it lightly. While Swoopes was put in a tough situation, writers like Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News don't have much confidence that he is the answer going forward. 

It's amazing that with all the quarterback talent coming out of Texas, the Longhorns can't nail down a top-flight signal-caller. Maybe Heard will change that narrative. With a more wide-open offense being installed this year, perhaps quarterbacks will be more interested in coming to Austin. 

Either way, it's important the quarterback spot isn't a liability again. In theory, all Swoopes had to do last year was move the chains, because the defense was so good. That might not be the situation this time around. 

Find One or Two New Leaders on Defense

That leads to the next point: Defense was the one thing that kept Texas in games last season. 

The best players on the team were on that side of the ball: defensive end Cedric Reed, linebacker Jordan Hicks, defensive tackle Malcom Brown and cornerback Quandre Diggs. Of those four major departures, the losses of Brown and Diggs hurt the most. 

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Brown had a legitimate case to be the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and Diggs was the outspoken emotional leader. It was Diggs who was unafraid to call out his own teammates and, at least publicly, seemed more hellbent than anyone on resurrecting the program. 

Now it's time for someone else—maybe multiple people—to take on that role. Per Ourlads.com, the Longhorns have to replace seven starters on defense.

So who steps up?

Defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway seems like a natural fit. Ridgeway was overshadowed by Reed and Brown but put together a solid season with 9.5 tackles for loss. He'll be a junior and a veteran on the team.

It's the same story with cornerback Duke Thomas, who will be a senior. Again, Diggs got most of the attention from opposing quarterbacks last season, which freed up Thomas to lead the team with 10 pass breakups. 

It wouldn't be surprising to see some 2015 freshmen crack the defensive two-deep or even start, so it'll be up to guys like Ridgeway and Thomas to show them the ropes. 

Get Young Players on the Field

The future faces of Texas football may be in the 2015 class. How many of those players will see the field right away? Maybe several of them. 

Linebacker Malik Jefferson was the No. 1 player in the state of Texas according to 247Sports. He's a program-defining pickup for Strong. 

But Jefferson probably won't be the only one who sees playing time. Running back Chris Warren, cornerbacks Chris Boyd and Holton Hill and receiver John Burt could be among those who make an immediate impact, according to Max Olson of ESPN.com: 

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Texas is going to have a young team in 2015, and the list of signees who can help this team immediately could be a long one. Hill, Boyd, DeShon Elliott, Chris Warren III, Devonaire Clarington, Gilbert Johnson and John Burt are among the many incoming players who could be relied upon early, but they'll have to show up ready to go when they enroll at the end of May. And you never know who will rise up that list -- remember, Jason Hall was Texas' lowest-rated recruit a year ago.

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No matter whether a player is a 5-star or a 2-star recruit, adjusting to the college game is tough. Keep in mind that most will have been on campus for only a few months. They're going to be thrown into the fire, and mistakes will be made. 

That's OK. Ideally, these young players will look different—for the better—by the time November and December roll around. Strong is an excellent coach and he has a staff capable of developing players. The only way to do that, though, is to put those players in live (and tough) situations. 

2015 could be another tough year for the Longhorns. Scraping to six wins could be a challenge again. Ultimately, though, it should be a defining season in terms of turning the program around. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise. Stats courtesy of CFBStats.com.