Texas Football: 5 Things We Learned About the Longhorns This Spring

Spring is over, so there's no more Longhorn football until the regular season.

At least we got a good look at where the quarterbacks, the new offense, Malik Jefferson and the rest of the team stand heading into the summer. And at this point, not much is clear.

The quarterback battle has become so close that there's speculation of a two-quarterback system, and depth looks like a problem across the board until the incoming freshmen can get into the mix.

All we really know for sure is that this will be an interesting offseason.

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Heard Has Closed the Gap on Swoopes

Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard turned in comparable performances in this year's spring game, and that's just the beginning of their quarterback battle. 

Swoopes, the junior who started 12 games last season, entered spring as the unquestioned starter. He had been putting in the work, had the experience and was miles ahead of Heard as a passer.

Then Heard got to work on changing the latter and outplayed Swoopes in the spring game. The redshirt freshman completed almost 70 percent of his passes compared to 54 percent for Swoopes, edging him in both passing yards and rushing yards on the day.

The numbers were close—and Heard did throw one interception—but there was a major difference: Heard spent most of his day against the first-team defense with several walk-ons for teammates. He didn't have a lot of help and still turned in an encouraging performance.

Considering Heard's superior dual-threat ability after he ran for almost 5,000 yards in high school, it's hard to imagine he doesn't eventually win the job. And Strong now sounds amenable to giving Heard the nod should he win the job.

"I have no fear at all in playing a redshirt freshman," Strong said to reporters in a teleconference last Wednesday. "If [Heard] earns it and ends up becoming the starter, I'm good with it because I know that he is good enough and can get the job done."

Now that Texas has moved to the spread offense, it's only a matter of time before Heard gets the keys to the attack.

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Malik Jefferson Is the Real Deal

Top recruit Malik Jefferson arrived in January with as much hype as any Texas recruit in the last 10 years. He's already proved to be worth the fuss.

As noted by 247Sports' Jeff Howe, Jefferson has already become one of Texas' most versatile defenders. He's gotten work as an outside linebacker, the hybrid Fox defensive end and even middle linebacker, which is pretty amazing for an 18-year-old.

Due to injuries, Jefferson mainly played on the inside during the spring game, turning in the play of the day on a forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown. In addition to that play, the true freshman recorded six tackles (one for loss) and a pass breakup.

With the ability to rush the passer, play in space and deliver grown-man hits, Jefferson is a lock for early playing time. Before long, he'll be a starter whom Texas will line up everywhere on the field.

The Defense Still Packs Some Punch

Until Texas gets things going with this new offense, its defense will have to pick up the slack. Luckily, it'll still be one of the best-coached units in all of college football.

Even without six of last year's starters, the Longhorn D looked pretty dominant in the spring game. We've already talked about Jefferson, but both Fox end Naashon Hughes and John Bonney looked excellent as the schematic linchpins for Strong's favored 3-3-5 fronts.

With players like these, Strong can throw multiple looks at offenses while still being able to get pressure, play coverage and keep enough size on the field to handle the run. That versatility is what made the Horns so tough to score on last season.

So long as the returning starters take a step forward, the drop-off from last year shouldn't be too significant.

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

There Will Be Several Playmakers at the Skill Positions

The jury's still out on the quarterback and the offensive line, which both had enormous hands in tanking last season's offense. We do know that should these guys get it going the rest of this offense has some firepower.

Johnathan Gray looked as spry as ever in the spring game. The senior forced several missed tackles on his two carries, showing the explosion that made him so successful in 2013. He'll be one of the better backs in the conference this season.

Gray's also got a pretty solid complement developing behind him in D'Onta Foreman. The 230-pounder proved he's more than just a bruiser, reaching the edge of the defense to rip off big runs in the spring game. Chris Warren might push him this fall, but Foreman looks ready for 10-15 carries per game.

At receiver, we're going to have some heated battles that extend well into the season.

Dorian Leonard, Marcus Johnson and Jacorey Warrick looked like locks to be starters heading into the game. They all had great offseasons, and the coaches constantly singled them out for their efforts in practice, specifically by Shawn Watson leading up to the spring game and Strong since early spring.

Then Johnson sat out the spring game for precautionary reasons, Lorenzo Joe severely outplayed Leonard, and Armanti Foreman led everyone with 77 yards. Johnson's probably safe because he has the most experience, but everyone else will be fighting for snaps, especially once the freshmen arrive.

If you had to bet, Leonard had too good of a spring to fall off solely because of a bad scrimmage. And though Foreman played on the outside when we last saw him, Texas will play him out of the slot before giving snaps to anyone else.

The Freshmen Will Need to Be Ready

Malik Jefferson's just the beginning of the young talent Texas will rely on in 2015. Make no mistake, these young guns need to be ready.

Texas' two-deep depth chart is going to be littered with freshmen, both first-year and redshirts, in 2015. Heard and Bonney lead the second-year guys, while early-enrollee offensive tackle Connor Williams has already been taking first-team reps. Then there's Jefferson, who's too good to leave on the sideline.

Those are just the ones who are already on campus. With senior Sheroid Evans probably out for the year, Texas could be starting incoming freshman Holton Hill at corner while putting fellow defensive backs Kris Boyd, DeShon Elliott and P.J. Locke into immediate backup roles.

The offense should have less of an issue with being forced to play freshmen aside from Williams, but there's talent that will demand attention. Chris Warren, Ryan Newsome and DeAndre McNeal will lead that discussion, and more could emerge as the season wears on.

The point is that there's a very clear path to playing time for a bundle of guys who have never even logged a college practice. That means growing pains, even from the ones who have already staked their claim to starting jobs.

It's up to Strong and his staff to have these guys ready to make an impact early in the season. Otherwise, this team will have a hard time improving on last season's record.

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