Texas Football: The Longhorns' Biggest Storylines So Far This Offseason

When you finish with a losing record at Texas, the expectation is that you launch a full-blown attack on the offseason. You establish yourself on the recruiting trail and do whatever possible to correct what caused the perceived failures.

By those standards, Charlie Strong has aced the pre-spring practice portion of his second offseason as head coach of the Longhorns.

Rather than letting blowout losses to TCU and Arkansas define the direction of his program, Strong has cranked out a top-10 recruiting class and established a new direction for his troubled offense. It also helps that he has a projected first-round draft pick providing some support for his leadership style.

We still have no clarity on the quarterback battle or how Strong plans on replacing his many departed starters, but the offseason has been almost a best-case scenario to this point.

Jefferson Keys Recruiting Resurgence

Malik Jefferson committed before the Longhorns' loss in the Texas Bowl, but his decision has still been the defining moment of this offseason.

After Jefferson pledged on December 19, the Longhorns reeled in 11 recruits plus his underrated high school teammate DeAndre McNeal. Of those 12 recruits, at least three will have major roles in 2015, namely projected starting cornerback Holton Hill.

The wild part is that the falling of the Jefferson domino almost led to something much bigger. Kyler Murray, Daylon Mack, DaMarkus Lodge and Soso Jamabo, a foursome of elite talent, all took hard looks at Texas late in the process before ultimately picking three different programs.

Some might consider missing on those three a failure, but it speaks to an encouraging truth—there's no quit in Charlie Strong. The Horns had no business getting even a whiff of these four so late in the game, and Texas' head coach came quite close to nabbing them.

Instead, he settled for six commitments within a week of signing day and the best class in the state.

Over a month later, it's become clear that the Jefferson signing was just the beginning. The Longhorns have already landed Shane Buechele, the state's No. 2 quarterback, for their 2016 class.

The recruiting resurgence is real, and it's completely changed the narrative of this offseason.

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The Move to the Spread

The degree to which Texas commits to the spread remains unclear, but every word and deed to this point suggests it's happening. 

A lack of offensive identity tanked the Longhorns in 2015. By season's end, they ranked 93rd in yards per carry and 105th in yards per attempt in the country, per cfbstats.com. 

The blame falls on several parties, including quarterback Tyrone Swoopes and a porous offensive line, but the numbers indicated a need for a fundamental change in how Texas attacks the defense.

Its first response was hiring Jay Norvell as a wide receivers coach. Norvell served as co-offensive coordinator for Oklahoma's spread attack from 2011 through 2014 while also coaching up dynamic receiving talents like Ryan Broyles and Jalen Saunders.

"

.@Horns247 said when Jay Norvell was hired that Charlie Strong liked his tempo/QB run game experience. Changes comin'!

— Wescott Eberts (@SBN_Wescott) January 22, 2015"

Norvell and offensive line coach Joe Wickline each have extensive experience implementing spread attacks in the Big 12. Working together with regarded quarterback coach Shawn Watson, some serious strides should be made this offseason.

With the coaches in place to implement the system, the Horns then went out and grabbed players who could run it. Quarterback commit Kai Locksley obviously fits as an athletic and intelligent football player, while Ryan Newsome's future as an all-purpose terror seems set in stone.

Before too long, the Horns should field an offense capable of keeping pace in the explosive Big 12 Conference.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press/Associated Press

Malcom Brown Leads Group of NFL Prospects

"Humbling" would be a pretty light description for Texas' failure to get even one player drafted in 2014. Malcom Brown and a trio of his Longhorn teammates are set to put that experience in the rearview.

With a month and a half until draft day, Brown is almost a lock to go in the first round. After backing up his 2014 production with a solid combine, he remains high on B/R draft expert Matt Miller's board.

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah (transcript courtesy of 247Sports' Jeff Howe) sounds like he's seen enough: "One of my favorite players in this draft class, he's easy to figure out when you study him, he had a great day today. He can be dominant at the point of attack but also has that quickness to penetrate upfield and I thought he did a nice job through the bag drills today."

Brown is easily a top-three tackle in this class and should only get things started for the Horns. Linebacker Jordan Hicks also impressed at the combine, particularly in the vertical jump, three-cone drill and 60-yard shuttle.

Quandre Diggs, Malcolm Brown and Cedric Reed were the last Longhorn players to participate in the Underwear Olympics. Diggs probably secured a late-round pick with some decent measurables, though he still needs a solid pro day.

"

Just saw Quandre Diggs do his position drills. I don't care what he runs. Those feet are special, and he's physical like his brother.

— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) February 23, 2015"

Reed was only able to compete in the bench press, but running back Malcolm Brown has become a surprise late-round candidate. He showed off some quickness that wasn't always evident on tape, and B/R's Ian Wharton sees a lot of Alfred Morris in his game.

At this point, Malcom Brown and Hicks have made themselves known. Diggs and Malcolm Brown will try to improve their stock at next week's pro day, where receiver John Harris gets a chance to enter the late-round discussion.

All recruiting stats and information courtesy of 247Sports.com.