Texas Football 2015: Winners and Losers from Longhorns' Spring Practices, Game

With their Orange-White Scrimmage over and done with, the spring has come to an end for the Texas Longhorns. 

The quarterbacks weren't overly impressive in the spring game, as neither broke 200 total yards on the afternoon. However, Jerrod Heard put up the better numbers with a lesser supporting cast, proving that Tyrone Swoopes holds the job by only the narrowest of margins.

The real excitement came from freshman Malik Jefferson, who turned in an MVP performance for a defense that overachieved without much of its depth.

For him and Heard, the spring has been a great success. As for Swoopes and, really, the offense as a whole, the product should look much better at this point.

Winner: QB Jerrod Heard

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Though unspectacular, Heard proved up to the task on Saturday.

Jerrod Heard has "closed the gap" on Swoopes this spring. After what we saw in the spring game, it's hard to imagine Swoopes being able to hold off the redshirt freshman.

Swoopes has been the unquestioned starter for most of the offseason. He came in as the more experienced and better passer who spent winter workouts improving as a leader. The junior was doing all of the right things, and the coaches rewarded the effort.

Then Heard's athleticism started to shine through as he also improved as a passer, prompting his head coach to acknowledge a real competition on Wednesday:

"

We talk about the quarterback position and look at Tyrone's [Swoopes] doing really well and then Jerrod [Heard] is also. I would say this, Jerrod has taken just tremendous steps here in the last week or so and he's really closed the gap. So it's going to be interesting to get through Saturday and then get to fall camp...

"

Well, we're through the spring game, and two things are apparent when it comes to Heard. First, he's a much more elusive athlete both in and out of the pocket. He cruised through the first-team defense on his initial drive for a 12-yard touchdown run and was dodging defenders as best as he could for most of the afternoon.

Second, he's at least a comparable passer to Swoopes. He had one bad interception, but he completed almost 70 percent of his passes to mostly walk-on receivers and threw some very nice balls downfield.

If they're even close as passers by the end of fall camp, Heard's dual-threat ability makes him the must-start. He's earned that this spring.

Loser: QB Tyrone Swoopes

Associated Press

Swoopes has to be better in order to hang on to his starting job.

When asked about the season opener at Notre Dame, Texas head coach Charlie Strong responded, "I hope I don't have to go into that game starting a redshirt freshman," per Kevin McGuire of College Football Talk.

That's a statement meant to stir up Tyrone Swoopes, who has let Jerrod Heard get right up on his heels for the starting job.

Because he's never going to be as elusive as Heard, Swoopes had to prove that he was a far superior passer this spring. Instead he completed a mere 55 percent of his passes against mostly the second-team defense, whereas Heard connected on almost 70 percent versus the ones.

To his credit, Dorian Leonard let as many as three touchdowns slip through his fingers, but Swoopes looked a lot like the player who gave fans fits late last season. He was overthrowing his deep balls, he made lazy reads underneath and lofted throws when pressured.

He's left the door wide-open for Heard, and there's a strong chance it costs him his job before the start of next season.

Winner: LB Malik Jefferson

Texas may be a year away from seriously competing in the Big 12, but the future is here, and its name is Malik Jefferson.

Forced to play middle linebacker because of the injury to Dalton Santos, the freshman was nothing short of spectacular against the first-team offense. He rushed the passer, made plays against the run and dropped into coverage like it was all too easy for him.

In all, it was five tackles plus one for a loss and a pass breakup for one of the best athletes on the team. Jefferson highlighted his Longhorns debut with the play of the game, chasing down and destroying Daje Johnson to force a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

Jefferson's the real deal, and he's going to start as a true freshman.

Loser: WR Daje Johnson

Now that he's got his head on straight, Johnson had a great chance to finally earn a regular role as the all-purpose player he teased as a freshman in 2012. Instead, he bombed his final spring game, while two of his peers turned in solid performances.

Johnson fumbled twice in the spring game, once on a muffed punt and another when he felt Jefferson's wrath. Johnson's performance prompted Coach Strong to make him roll the width of the field, while the rest of his teammates hit the showers.

This could end up costing Johnson, because the other receivers have turned in outstanding springs. Even Dorian Leonard, who dropped at least two touchdowns, stood out enough in practice to be considered a winner this offseason.

Johnson can't say the same thing. Whereas Leonard is one of the few big receivers the Horns can play on the outside, they already have Armanti Foreman and Jacorey Warrick ready to carve up defenders from the slot. And both players were excellent on Saturday, combining for 118 yards on nine catches.

Then, of course, there's the game-breaking Ryan Newsome jumping on board this summer.

It's unfortunate, but Johnson's wasted so much time figuring himself out that he's lost his monopoly on the all-purpose role he always wanted to fill. There will be three other players on the roster with his skill set, and he'd be sitting behind them if the season started today.

This hurts him, because the rest of this receiving corps turned in a great spring.

Winner: RB D'Onta Foreman

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Foreman showed some pretty dynamic ability for someone who weighs over 230 pounds.

Johnathan Gray sat for most of the spring game, presumably so Texas could protect its only proven offensive player. That gave D'Onta Foreman the chance to run absolutely wild.

As the offensive line (which started true freshman Connor Williams) had its way with the second-team defense, Foreman piled up 84 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

At 6'2" and over 230 pounds, Foreman proved to be more than your average bruiser. He showcased some wiggle and burst to get to the edge, busting a 28-yard run in the second quarter to key a touchdown drive.

Gray will get the majority of the carries this season, but he'll need a complement who can take a beating from the middle of the defense. Foreman proved he can do that and then some this spring, which should put him in line for around 10 carries per game.

Loser: The Offense

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Leonard's dropped touchdowns were part of a much bigger, more widespread problem.

We saw some standout showings from the Foremans and Lorenzo Joe, as well as an encouraging performance from Jerrod Heard. Still, it's apparent this offense has a long way to go.

More than one particular player or unit, the entire offense never seemed to get it going on Saturday afternoon. Neither squad produced more than 350 yards, and they combined to attempt six field goals against a defense that was missing eight members of its two-deep rotation.

You expect Dorian Leonard to catch at least one of the touchdowns he dropped, and you certainly don't want to see Swoopes throwing 14 incompletions against a group of walk-ons. That's just not going to cut it.

The good news is there's still plenty of time to fix the issues on this side of the ball. It's just a longer list of issues than it should be, especially in a conference chock-full of explosive talent.

Winner: The Defense

For a group that has lost so many of its past and present starters to graduation and injury, the Longhorns defense looked pretty good on Saturday. That's a testament to this coaching staff.

Aside from the aforementioned Jefferson, several Longhorns defenders played with a vengeance in the spring game. Hassan Ridgeway, Bryce Cottrell and Naashon Hughes were all unblockable throughout, while Bryson Echols hauled in a pick and could have had two more.

The Horns have also found their new nickel corner. Redshirt freshman John Bonney took over the spot early in the spring and looked quite comfortable in coverage and bringing the wood against the run.

This is a well-coached, disciplined group that will hold its own this season. They just better hope the offense can do the same.

All stats courtesy of SidearmSports.com.